We refuse to deal with the violence we create, so we venerate the two men whose outsized legends seemingly make all the crap worthwhile. In this toxic environment, Biggie and Tupac made the ultimate sacrifice. Theyre like suicide bombers who make videotape confessions before detonating themselves. Our artists claim invulnerability by cutting down rivals with taunts and bullets, and then offer their own to the society that made and eventually annihilated them. Unfortunately, hip-hop is locked in a death culture. Bob Marleys February 6 birthday, for example, was commemorated with concerts and parties around the world. Other icons that are no longer with us draw tributes on their birthdays. No disrespect to his mother, Afeni Shakur, but how ironic is that? Last fall, two months after his death day on September 13, Amaru Entertainment released Pacs Life. Then theres Tupac Shakur, Biggies onetime rival and another frequent candidate in the greatest of all time sweepstakes. If some werent convinced that Biggie was the best when he was alive, many were won over by his murder. The tragedy seemingly helped make the album one of the biggest-selling rap recordings of all time. But Biggie didnt become a multi-platinum superstar until after he was assassinated in Las Vegas, just before the release of Life After Death on March 25, 1997. On his classic 1994 debut Ready to Die, he metaphorically blasted himself on the albums final track, Suicidal Thoughts. That disc went platinum, and its many singles sold enormously well. Perhaps Biggie would have enjoyed the sick joke we play by honoring his death day. Arent they concerned with the image of Notorious B.I.G.s as a ghostly figure that haunts us every year, instead of a great man who once blessed the world with his music?
One would imagine that journalists and rap industry veterans would act responsibly and choose Biggies birthday as a more appropriate time.
We cant get over the fact that hes dead, so we use his demise to mourn what we have lost. It marks the moment when he transformed from an amazing artist into a martyr, a symbol of unrealized potential. Instead, we use March 9, 1997, the day he was shot down in a hail of bullets, to commemorate one of the greatest MCs who ever lived. In two months, he would have been 35 years old. And on March 6, Bad Boy Records released the Notorious B.I.G.s Greatest Hits.Ĭhristopher Wallace was born on May 21, 1972. Numerous websites offer stories explaining why many consider Biggie the best MC of all time. Mick Boogie and Mister Cee have compiled mixtape tributes. On the tenth anniversary of his murder several rap mags and other music publications have marked the occasion with splashy covers and heartfelt stories. This year, that question is more relevant than ever.
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