The Notorious B.I.G.

Christopher Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), also known as Biggie Smalls (after a stylish gangster in 1975's Let's Do it Again) and Frank White (from King of New York), but best known as The Notorious B.I.G (Business Instead of Game and, since his death, Books Instead of Guns), was a popular Brooklyn-born rapper of the mid-1990s. Following his untimely death in 1997, he has been immortalized as a hip hop legend.

Legacy

The Notorious B.I.G. has been celebrated as one of the greatest rappers of all time. His lyrics have been sampled by many of today's rappers, such as Jay-Z, Fat Joe, 50 Cent, Fabolous, Foxy Brown, Busta Rhymes and even R&B star Usher. In 2001, hip hop magazine The Source crowned Biggie as the greatest MC of all time. In 2003, XXL Magazine asked many elite hip hop artists such as Nelly, 50 Cent, Memphis Bleek, Jadakiss among others who was their 5 best rappers of all time, Biggie's name appeared on more rappers' lists than any other MC. During Canibus's 1998 feud with LL Cool J, Canibus responded to LL Cool J's claim to be the greatest rapper of all time by saying "the greatest rapper of all time died on March 9th.", which was the day Biggie died.

Related Topics:
Jay-Z - Fat Joe - 50 Cent - Fabolous - Foxy Brown - Busta Rhymes - Usher - 2001 - The Source - XXL - Nelly - Memphis Bleek - Jadakiss - Canibus - 1998 - LL Cool J - March 9

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Unlike Tupac Shakur, Biggie does not have a large collection of posthumous albums, as Born Again is the only release to date. (Shakur, on the other hand, has had more posthumous albums released than he did when he was alive.) There have been sporadic appearances of Biggie's lyrics, mostly appearing on songs that have sampled a verse of his (such as Akon's "Ghetto", Jay-Z's "A Dream" and Ashanti's "Foolish". Nowadays, a new, original Notorious B.I.G. song is rare, but his legacy as an all time great is cemented nonetheless.

Related Topics:
Akon - Jay-Z - Ashanti

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