CHRIS LIVE AKA SHAKER SAYS: For the loyal Hip Hop citizenry of my era, March 9th, 1997 has become a historical flashpoint akin to that of the assassination of J.ohn F. K.ennedy, that begs the question, "Where were Y.O.U. when Biggie Smalls died?"
For me, the news met my ears early that Sunday morning as Angie Martinez sobbed live on air @ New York City's Hot 97. I wasn't home - I was @ the Uptown K.B./N.B.C. sanctuary of my beloved brothers-from-another-mother Apea and Dear (NOTE: Real names have been withheld to protect the guilty).
As often happens, the significance of an event is rarely accurately assessed @ the actual point of impact and, instead, over time evolves into something of profound importance. When B.I.G. was murdered I clearly knew that he was gone forever, but, what did that really mean? Only in the years since his (and 2Pac's) death, as I am left to stare @ the eroded and increasingly barren landscape of the rap game, can I now fully appreciate all that we lost the fateful morning those cowards riddled the passenger side of his Chevy Suburban in front of L.A.'s Petersen Automotive Museum.
At 24 years young he had accomplished more than 99.9% of his contemporaries could ever hope to achieve and the future that laid before him was paved with platinum plaques and illustrious pavé stones. What were Y.O.U. doing @ 24 years old? For the younger members of the greater Livestyle community, what will Y.O.U. have done by the age of 24? I know that as I edged towards a quarter-century on this planet that my life was nowhere close to being figured out (NOTE: Not much has changed in that department in the ensuing years either ... lol) and that, while my bars are still celebrated in underground circles, 2 classic albums and "bringing the East Coast back" is certainly not a fulfillment that can be cited on my extensive resume.
This is so much more than mere Brooklyn bias; it's not my fault that we breed the finest. The late, great Christopher Wallace AKA Biggie Smalls AKA Notorious B.I.G. AKA Frank White, even in his death, continues to influence the world well beyond his earthly years and his peers. My ears, nay, OUR ears owe his bold baritone and illicitly intricate Fulton Street inspired R.I.C.O. Act raps an immeasurable debt of gratitude. Yes, we'll ALWAYS L.O.V.E. Big Poppa. Salute this man. Think B.I.G.
For me, the news met my ears early that Sunday morning as Angie Martinez sobbed live on air @ New York City's Hot 97. I wasn't home - I was @ the Uptown K.B./N.B.C. sanctuary of my beloved brothers-from-another-mother Apea and Dear (NOTE: Real names have been withheld to protect the guilty).
As often happens, the significance of an event is rarely accurately assessed @ the actual point of impact and, instead, over time evolves into something of profound importance. When B.I.G. was murdered I clearly knew that he was gone forever, but, what did that really mean? Only in the years since his (and 2Pac's) death, as I am left to stare @ the eroded and increasingly barren landscape of the rap game, can I now fully appreciate all that we lost the fateful morning those cowards riddled the passenger side of his Chevy Suburban in front of L.A.'s Petersen Automotive Museum.
At 24 years young he had accomplished more than 99.9% of his contemporaries could ever hope to achieve and the future that laid before him was paved with platinum plaques and illustrious pavé stones. What were Y.O.U. doing @ 24 years old? For the younger members of the greater Livestyle community, what will Y.O.U. have done by the age of 24? I know that as I edged towards a quarter-century on this planet that my life was nowhere close to being figured out (NOTE: Not much has changed in that department in the ensuing years either ... lol) and that, while my bars are still celebrated in underground circles, 2 classic albums and "bringing the East Coast back" is certainly not a fulfillment that can be cited on my extensive resume.
This is so much more than mere Brooklyn bias; it's not my fault that we breed the finest. The late, great Christopher Wallace AKA Biggie Smalls AKA Notorious B.I.G. AKA Frank White, even in his death, continues to influence the world well beyond his earthly years and his peers. My ears, nay, OUR ears owe his bold baritone and illicitly intricate Fulton Street inspired R.I.C.O. Act raps an immeasurable debt of gratitude. Yes, we'll ALWAYS L.O.V.E. Big Poppa. Salute this man. Think B.I.G.
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