March 9, 1997

16 years ago today, the Hip Hop community was rocked to its very core. The crazy thing about it was that we hadn't fully recovered from what happened 6 months earlier. It's almost sad that you can't talk about one without the other because they became permanently linked to each other. 6 months prior to what happened 16 years ago today, the Hip Hop community lost what many consider the face of the Hip Hop, most definitely the most recognized artist of the genre, Tupac Shakur (a.k.a. 2Pac). Mr. Shakur was only 25 years old at the time and he was still in his prime. However, as many had speculated, Mr. Shakur's reckless behavior played a huge factor in his demise. I'm not even going to recap the events of what happened that September night in Las Vegas, but I will say that his death could or could not be directly tied into what happened on March 9, 1997. The night prior, there was I believe an album release party or something of that nature. All I know that there was a huge celebration in California (2Pac's home turf) that was attended by a lot of celebrities. It was a very star studded affair. One of those stars just happened to be Christopher Wallace (The Notorious B.I.G.), who was accompanied by Sean "Diddy" Combs and his crew. Following the party, both Biggie and Puff (Diddy) traveled behind each other in separate vehicles with their respective entourages. Unfortunately, Biggie's vehicle stopped at a red light, and little did he or his crew know that he would take his last breath. That's right, we lost another rapper, dead at the age of 24.

Before I talk more about his death, let me give you my personal account about The Notorious B.I.G. He first arrived on the scene in 1992 on a remix of Mary J. Blige's Real Love. Their mutual connection just happened to be the man who jump started Mary's career during his tenure at Uptown Records, Sean "Diddy" Combs (a.k.a. Puff). I was only 8 at the time, so I didn't pay too much to it but I did take notice a year later. In 1993, a movie called Who's The Man? came out. It starred the comedic Yo! MTV Raps duo, Ed Lover and Dr. Dre (not to be confused with the rapper). Personally I thought the movie had its moments, but just like most customers I thought it stunk overall. However, the main talk wasn't about the movie itself, it was the soundtrack. The soundtrack was produced by Uptown Records and the mean who spearheaded the soundtrack was Puff, who featured some of his pals. There was this one record that caught everyone's attention (not mine because I was very young, but I've heard about it) called Party & Bullsh*t by a then still unknown Biggie Smalls. While the song didn't break any ground, it put the Hip Hop scene on notice. A storm was coming, little did we know how big of an impact it was going to make.

The year was 1994, a lot of changes had occurred in the music business. Riding off the strength of Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and 2Pac, the West Coast was still dominating the Hip Hop scene. However, with the help of the Wu-Tang Clan and vets, A Tribe Called Quest, the East wasn't quite ready to throw in the towel. 1994 introduced several newcomers such as Nas, Da Brat, and Craig Mack, who signed to Puff's newly created label, Bad Boy Entertainment. Late in 1993, Puff was fired from Uptown Records, but he had enough money and clout to start his own label, of which he did. While he was instrumental in Mary J. Blige and Jodeci's careers, they belonged to Uptown, so he took Biggie with him. While Biggie was working on his debut album, Puff and business partner Harvey Pierre already had Craig Mack prepped and ready to put Bad Boy on the map. Craig Mack came out with a minor hit called Flavor In Ya Ear. The song managed to stay on the charts and it garner such buzz that Puff figured he'd do two things with it: 1) Create a super star studded remix, and 2) use it as a way to generate buzz for Biggie's debut album. Puff waited until that summer to release the remix featuring Biggie, Busta Rhymes, LL Cool J, and Rampage (Busta's protege). The song became an instant hit and it did more for Biggie than it did for Craig Mack. Riding high off of the song's success, Biggie released his first official single, Juicy around August 1994. Several weeks later, his debut album, Ready to Die came out.

Riding off the strengths of the singles Juicy, Big Poppa, and Warning, Ready to Die became a success and has earned Bad Boy Entertainment its first platinum album. However, it wasn't until 1995 when a remix of the 4th and final single, that the album had achieved even greater success. On the original version of the album, he had a very raunchy and female degrading song called One More Chance. The song had no chance of reaching the masses because it would probably be banned from all radio stations. Bad Boy were still looking for that 4th and final single to help put the album on top, but none of Biggie's other songs were single material. Therefore they did the smart thing and totally repackaged One More Chance into a more softer, female friendly version titled, One More Chance/Stay With Me. The video accompanied by a star studded cast of rappers, singers, and other entertainers immediately set the Hip Hop world ablaze. Biggie was now known as a Hip Hop Heavyweight (no pun intended). 1995 became his year and everywhere you go, you would see him on TV (sitcoms, commercials, etc.), and One More Chance/Stay With Me became one of the most popular songs in Hip Hop history. The funny thing about it was that while he was hot, they never put the song on the album but yet it became main the reason the album went multi-platinum. Biggie was so huge at the time that he didn't even have to release another album. Actually that was his plan. His plan was to put his crew Junior M.A.F.I.A. (featuring Lil Kim & Lil Cease) on, and sit back and produce their records. Prior to the release of One More Chance/Stay With Me, before his stardom took off, he was engaged in a little bit of controversy that not only he benefited from (which is disputed), but also it could have been responsible for his untimely demise in 1997.

Prior to the incident that occurred in November 1994, an unknown Biggie befriended a star on the rise, 2Pac. No one knows the extent of their relationship, except I guess it was hearsay that they met in a club in New York. 2Pac was impressed with Biggie and they performed together (a freestyle). I guess they kept in contact and decided to one day create a song which will not only help Biggie get more recognized, but also help simmer down the brewing beef between the East Coast and West Coast. They were going to be that bridge to bring both coasts together. Unfortunately that November night, it all went to hell. I'm not going to go into too much details, but 2Pac was shot in the lobby (or elevator) of the recording studio on his way to meet Biggie. Biggie and Puff were already upstairs at the studio waiting for him when it happened. Conflicting reports say that 2Pac was robbed, while Pac himself (in an interview with Vibe) said that Biggie and Puff set him up. Following his recovery, Pac also went to prison for a rape charge. And throughout his bid in prison, Biggie's star burned brighter. Now again, I don't have an opinion on what happened because I would like to believe that it was all a coincidence, but who knows. Based on Biggie's connection to Pac that night, it set the whole West Coast off and ignited a very bitter East/West feud, spearheaded by 2Pac and his future boss/best friend, Suge Knight. By late 1995 when 2Pac got out of prison and signed with Knight's Death Row Records, Biggie was known as the King in Hip Hop. It fueled 2Pac's rage and influenced by Knight, he unleashed a barrage of insults at Biggie, his family and other loved ones. Biggie himself remained quiet.

In 1995, Biggie decided that he was going to retire from music to concentrate on helping his neighborhood friends, Junior M.A.F.I.A. with their careers. Later that year, they released the album Conspiracy, which only saw small moderate success until they released their 3rd and only hit single, Get Money featuring Biggie. This song/video also somewhat contributed to the 2Pac saga because the video and Biggie's verse showcased problems between Biggie and his wife, singer Faith Evans. The reason why 2Pac was the centerpiece of that was because rumor has it and it was started by Pac himself, he slept with Faith. More fuel was added to the fire after the release of a photo of the two in a club together. Faith herself maintained her innocence and later responded that they were supposed to do a song together. Pac on the other hand did all he could to hurt his rival, and "confirmed" that he did indeed sleep with Faith. Again, I have no opinion on that, but who knows? The music industry is a dirty game. While Biggie remained silent in regard to 2Pac, he did manage to this anger out on Faith with the video.

By 1996, Junior M.A.F.I.A. failed as a collective, but Biggie didn't give up on them. He decided to focus on the careers of its two most marketable members, Lil Kim and Lil Cease. The former became a major star and cultural icon. Biggie also decided to work with other talents in the New York area. One of them was a little known fella by the name of Shawn Carter, who later became known as Jay-Z. I don't know the extent of Biggie and Jay's relationship, but I do know that they both along with Busta Rhymes attended the same high school, so maybe their relationship was deep. I do know that after Biggie appeared on the classic track, Brooklyn's Finest (of which he threw another hint at Faith & Pac's relationship), they were intent on creating an East Coast supergroup (with Nas and AZ) called The Commission. Unfortunately, because of the looming feud between Nas and Jay (along with Big), it never saw the light of day. So while Lil Kim became a star, Biggie was enjoying "retirement" and the success of her debut, while also being heavily featured on other albums and songs. He even did a song with Michael Jackson. That's how big he became. On the other end, 2Pac himself was regaining his stardom and off the success of his Death Row debut, the double album All Eyez On Me, he released what was known as the most hard hitting, personal, and most disrespectful diss song, called Hit 'em Up. They also released a video portraying a scene of Scarface with 2Pac coming back as a battered and bruised Tony Montana confronting a very scared Biggie and Puffy. The video also showcased a bunch of fake members of Junior M.A.F.I.A. as well as Faith Evans. It was very disrespectful, but the Hip Hop world ate it up and it became the center of the East/West rivalry. Biggie still remained silent, except during interviews where he continued to deny the source of the 2Pac beef. Unfortunately, his "retirement" came to an end following 2Pac's death.

By the fall of 1996, Biggie sort of disappeared from glitz and glamor. He was still a household name, but he was enjoying his time in the background. Unfortunately, following the demise of his one-time rival 2Pac, Biggie himself was dealt a serious blow. He and his sidekick, Lil Cease got into a car accident. Biggie badly injured his leg that he had to get around with a cane the remainder of his life. Not many people know because they assumed that Puff and his associates posthumously titled Biggie's 2nd album, Life After Death because of his untimely death. They couldn't be any more wrong because during his interview promoting the album in February 1997, he explained that he titled it Life After Death because he felt that everything came crashing down following 2Pac's death and his accident. He felt that it was the end for him, but he was then encouraged to create another album and a double album at that. That's why he came up with the title, Life After Death, it was supposed to be a new beginning. Unfortunately, he was cheated out of enjoying its success.

Life After Death was released posthumously later that month of March in 1997. It broke all kinds of records in sales and along with 2Pac's All Eyez On Me and several other albums, it was certified diamond which is very rare in the Hip Hop world. It featured hits Hypnotized, Mo' Money Mo' Problems (which catapulted Puff & Ma$e's careers), Notorious Thugs (with Bone), and Sky's The Limit (with 112). The album also featured his ally Jay-Z, DMC (of Run-DMC), The Lox, and several others. It became the album of 1997. Nothing else came close to achieving its success. It reinvented Puff and Bad Boy, who saw great success with the releases of No Way Out (Puff Daddy & The Family, Biggie included) and Harlem World (Ma$e). It also helped catapulted Jay-Z's career due to his association with Biggie, Puff, and Lil Kim. Biggie created a lot of careers whether it was intentionally or not. Other than his unmatched skill, I think that's why people also put him on such a high pedestal although his career only lasted a few years.

Both Biggie and 2Pac's murders remained unsolved mysteries, although there's more to go on with Pac's. All I know is that two lives ended prematurely at the ages of 24 and 25, respectively. It shouldn't have happened and I think because of the nature of their music and their environments, it was almost unavoidable. It's a shame because music is supposed to bring people together, but yet it did the opposite. Both coasts were on alert that it took their deaths to finally get people to wake up and smell the coffee. We almost had similar incidents with Ice Cube and Common, but with their mutual affiliations with the Nation of Islam, they were able to form a truce. Following their deaths, Snoop Dogg, Puff, and several others began to mend fences in efforts to unite the warring coasts. Unfortunately Suge continued to wage war, but by the time of Pac's death, Suge himself became irrelevant and a shell of his former self. While there was peace within the the coasts, war in Hip Hop remained, and more young men died at the cost of it.

Biggie's influence was strong. Without him, we wouldn't have a Puff/Diddy, Jay-Z, Lil Kim, and many others. He also inspired people of all shapes and sizes that you could do anything no matter how you look. Big Pun before his untimely death (heart attack) even credited Biggie as a major influence. His talent and appeal was so great that people no longer cared how fat and unattractive you may be. As long as you had talent, then you could achieve new heights. In a way, you can say Biggie was responsible for Adele and Jennifer Hudson's (before losing) fame. Before him, not many people their size were successful. His influence has no limits. Even today, you see a lot of people crediting and referencing him. 16 years is a long time. The man was only 24 and he became a cultural icon. Hell of a career for someone who only had 2 albums, right?

I just hope that these young up and coming rappers today pay close attention to what happened to Biggie and 2Pac because it could happen to them. I wish I could somehow get the message out there differently, but what more can I do? It's right there in their faces. I don't know if they chose to ignore it or just doesn't take it seriously. We need to wake up people. We don't need any more casualties in this genre we love. We need more success stories. We need people to live long enough to explain to their children the impact of Biggie and 2Pac. It's time to wake up because before you know it, it'll all be taken away.

R.I.P. Christopher Wallace, the true King of Hip Hop.