Despite being slain at just 24 years old, Biggie left behind a rich legacy as one of hip-hop’s greatest artists. Here are some of the songs that define the legacy of Big Poppa.
Videos by According2HipHop
Ten Crack Commandments (1997)
Biggie’s mother, Voletta Wallace, did everything she could to keep her son out of the street. But ultimately he became a product of his environment. It is no secret that Biggie had a dark past. Despite being a model student, the struggles of being impoverished became too much for him to overcome. And ultimately he turned to selling drugs to change his situation. Biggie became a drug dealer during the height of the crack epidemic in the 1980s, but he wasn’t just a dealer he was a master of his craft. Biggie’s Ten Crack Commandments outline some of the staple bylaws that he followed to become one of the biggest drug dealers in his neighborhood.
Juicy (1994)
As one of the best storytellers in hip-hop history, Biggie left very little to the imagination. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Juicy is among the most notable tracks in his career, because it details not only the good part of his life where he became a successful rap star, it also shows the hardships that he faced as a lower-class child growing up in the underserved community of Bed-Stuy Brooklyn in the 70s and 80s. But Juicy also details how someone can take a tragedy and turn it into something beautiful. And Biggie explains how the tragedies that he faced growing up, made the victories he enjoyed as a young adult that much sweeter.
Who Shot Ya? (1994)
The beef between the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur is one of the most noted in the history of the genre. And it all stemmed from a shooting at New York City’s Quad Studios in the 1990s. Pac was there for a studio session the same night Biggie was recording. And on his way up to the studio he was shot several times in an armed robbery. Pac believed that Biggie and Bad Boy Records arranged the shooting. And it didn’t help when Biggie dropped his song Who Shot Ya? Although Biggie and several members of his camp claimed the track was recorded before the shooting, the optics weren’t great. Many took the track as virtue signaling that he was behind the shooting. That was the catalyst of the East Coast, West Coast beef that resulted in both rappers being slain.
Story to Tell (1997)
Smalls had such a way with words, that his lyrics would help put listeners at the scene of the situation he was detailing. A Story to Tell from Biggies 1997 album Ready to Die, gave listeners an inside look at one of the rapper’s sexual experiences. In the song, he details sleeping with a woman who was dating one of the players from the New York Knicks. Biggie puts on a storytelling masterclass on the song. From how he describes the woman’s features, to him hiding in the apartment, to the actual encounter with the athlete. Everything is perfect and leaves you wanting more as the listener.
