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AKA Christopher George Latore Wallace was born on March 21,1972 and passed away on March 9,1997. He also went by "Biggie Smalls" named after a fictional gangster from 1975's "Let's DO It Again". He was part of the East Coast hip hop scene, at a time when there was an East Coast/West Coast hip hop feud. He was killed March 9,1997 by a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles which is still unsolved. He was part of the Junior M.A.F.I.A label and was discovered by Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. His "Ready to Die" album which came out on September 13,1994 was number 13 on the Billboard charts and certified Platinum four times. His popular singles were,"Big Poppa" and "One More Chance" with Faith Evans.
Tags:
hip-hop, rap, gangsta rap, hardcore rap, east coast rap, pop-rap
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30 reviews
Sure, like many of the hip-hop greats, the messages conveyed through his lyrics are misogynistic and materialistic. But the lyrics are just so damn clever, you just can't help but sing "Fuckin' You Tonight" at the top of your lungs, with your girlfriend providing the backup vocals.
Now that I've accepted that hip-hop artists steal all their beats and samples from older hits, I've begun rating them on WHAT they choose to steal, and what they do with it, rather than complaining about any plagiarism issues.
Not only has Notorious BIG stolen from some of the coolest artists of the 60's, 70's and 80's(Isley Brothers, Mtume, Diana Ross), but in some cases he's produced tracks that end up sounding cooler than the originals(you have to admit that B.I.G.'s "Hypnotize" sounds way better than Herb Alpert's original fruity song, "Rise").
Sure, his music never says anything profound, but that's not why people listen to hip-hop these days(or even back in the 90's). They listen to hip-hop because it has a good beat, strong rhythmic vocals, and cool samples. If only Puff Daddy's wimpy voice weren't peppered liberally throughout EVERY DAMN SONG.
Despite that, Notorious B.I.G. is just fun to listen to.