Pick a name, Biggie Smalls or Notorious BIG; either of these could be used when speaking of Christopher George Latore Wallace. This is a man that died early- too early most thought. Back in 1997, Biggie was shot in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. Most, if not all people, that listened to hip-hop kept up with the scenario that was playing out in Biggies’ life. While recording his sophomore album, Biggie was heavily involved in the East Coast/West Coast hip-hop feud dominating the scene at the time. Biggie’s death hit many people in the hop-hop community hard. I imagine that most of those looking from the inside were not shocked by it.
Several months ago I was flipping through the channels and stopped on a Vh1 special that went behind the scenes of hip-hop. The episode mentioned different artists, one specifically named Biggie Smalls. With my interest peaking at this point in the episode, I kept tuned in to hear how many different people/artists kept talking about what a legend Biggie is. Is Biggie himself really the legend or is it his music? I would agree that he is a gifted rapper, but a legend, I think not.
I looked up the word “legend” in the dictionary, and one of the definitions that it gave was the story of the life of a saint, esp. one stressing the miraculous or unrecorded deeds of a saint. Not exactly a title that I would put on a gambler/womanizer. As I would agree that he is a talented artist and popular in the hip-hop community, but it is just not a title I would place on the Notorious BIG.
I am sitting here thinking, who exactly is considered legendary? There are: Tupac, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, and Aaliyah. I find it ironic that these “legends” are all dead. In the light of the topic, I am noticing that maybe the word legend may be just a form of respect placed upon the deceased. For Biggie, his beats were good if not great, but legendary they weren’t. Just off the top of my head I can think of two hit songs that were released. If you were to compare the music of Biggie to that of someone such as Michael Jackson, countless songs will come to mind for the latter. There is an obvious difference from one celebrity to another. Obviously a person does not have to die before the public notices how brilliant and life changing an artist is to the hip-hop community.
I didn’t drink my haterade today; I truly love Biggie. I also think his music has an impact on many peoples’ lives. Lots of artists have stated that he was an inspiration to them. I just find it interesting that the transition that made Biggie a legend was his death not his music. I’m just saying…
Lyrics for Biggie Smalls
http://www.lyricsmania.com/lyrics/biggie_smalls_lyrics_14925/
No comments:
Post a Comment