iconic records Archives - New Hip Hop News

Fat Joe Recalls Convincing Bone Thugs-N-Harmony To Work With The Notorious B.I.G.

June 6, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Fat Joe recently recalled operating as the middle man to orchestrate the studio session with The Notorious B.I.G. and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony that lead to the making of the Life After Death track, “Notorious Thugs.” He discussed the song during an appearance on Angie Martinez’s new podcast, Iconic Records.

“Biggie hit me up and was like, ‘Yo bro, I’m trying to get in touch with your guys. They don’t wanna do it. They ignoring me.’ They didn’t wanna do a song with Biggie. And just for Biggie to think that advanced because New York wasn’t up on Bone Thugs like that. He know that they was gigantic and he was like, ‘Yo, I need to do a song with them.’ And I was like, ‘Um alright.’ And he was like, ‘Nah, I know you the plug. You can do it.’ I was like, ‘Alright Big, I got you.’”

Fat Joe At Made In America

PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 01: Fat Joe attends Made In America – Day 1 on September 1, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Shareif Ziyadat/WireImage)

“So, then I called them and they had already been cool with 2Pac. And so they was like, ‘Yo Joe, we can’t do it. We cool with 2Pac.’ And I’m like, ‘Yo bro, this is B.I.G. You know what it is to do a song with B.I.G.?’ So I convinced them and shout-out Steve Lobel and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony showed up to the studio and they did the record, ‘Bone and Biggie, Biggie.’ And so, every time I see that picture I laugh but that’s why we got that.”

Martinez has been analyzing Biggie’s final album, Life After Death, for months now to celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. In doing so, she’s sat down with Lil Cease, Pusha T, Rick Ross, Too $hort, and more to discuss the late Brooklyn legend. Each of the artists has praised Biggie, with Pusha T even labeling Life After Death the “best double album” of all time.

[Via]

The post Fat Joe Recalls Convincing Bone Thugs-N-Harmony To Work With The Notorious B.I.G. appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

DJ Clark Kent Says LL Cool J Passed On 2 Iconic Notorious B.I.G. Beats

May 9, 2023 by newhiphopnews

DJ Clark Kent says that LL Cool J passed on two beats that The Notorious B.I.G. later went on to use on classic tracks. Appearing on the second episode of Warner Music Group’s Iconic Records podcast series, Clark Kent explained that the beats for “Sky’s the Limit” and Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s “Player’s Anthem” were originally in LL Cool J’s possession.

“[‘Player’s Anthem’] rings off in the Tunnel,” Clark Kent began. “[Kap] plays it like 10 times in a row. Now, me and Biggie are standing against one of the walls in the Tunnel. LL COOL J’s walking by and the club’s going crazy. I’m like, ‘Yo, wassup?’ And he goes, ‘Yo, what is this?’ I was like, ‘It’s the new joint with Big and his crew.’ He was like, ‘Who did this?’ I was like, ‘I did.’ He was like, ‘Yo, dawg, I need a joint like that.’ I said, ‘Well, remember that tape I gave you with the silver label on it? That was the first one on the tape.’ And he was like, ‘This?!’ I was like, ‘Yeah, you had it first.’ ‘You had it before [JAY-Z], you had it before all the guys that you had any rivalries with. You had it first. I shouldn’t have gave it to you but I did. But you had it first and you didn’t pick it. So now you hear it in the club.’ And he was just like, ‘Damn.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, listen to the tape.’”

DJ Clark Kent In New York City

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 18: DJ Clark Kent attends CQ3 The Harlem Renaissance With DJ D-Nice presented by The Apollo on March 18, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

“The next track on there was ‘Sky’s the Limit,’” he said. “He missed that. LL had ‘Player’s Anthem’ and ‘Sky’s the Limit.’ And then it was magical because the Tunnel was upside down that night. And I was just like, ‘We did this yesterday. This shit shouldn’t even be playing.’ But it’s me, Big and Un. Un’s like, ‘Yo, this gon’ be the first single!’ And Big’s like, ‘I told you so, I told you.’ And I was just like, ‘Okay, you told me.’”

Clark Kent went on to praise Biggie for his ability to recognize and incorporate a good beat into his songs. He felt that LL Cool J, on the other hand, didn’t “listen to it properly.” He explained that not all artists can hear an entire composition when they listen to a beat. “Most people hear the track and they think, ‘How do I rhyme to it?’ Biggie’s like, ‘Oh no, there’s a whole song here,’” the DJ said. Check out the second episode of Iconic Records below.

DJ Clark Kent On “Iconic Records

[Via]

Biggie Initially Refused To Do “Big Poppa,” Nashiem Myrik Recalls

May 3, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Nashiem Myrik, a member of Diddy’s Bad Boy production team, The Hitmen, says that The Notorious B.I.G. initially didn’t like “Juicy” and “Big Poppa” from his debut album, Ready To Die. The two singles went on to be among the most iconic songs from the late legendary discography. Myrik recalled the making of the tracks and Biggie’s hesitancy to do them during the premiere of Angie Martinez’s Iconic Records visual podcast series.

“Big didn’t want to do certain songs, like ‘Big Poppa.’ He didn’t like that record. ‘Juicy?’ He didn’t like that record [either],” he said on the show. “He [just] didn’t want to do them records, but Puff knew he needed singles, and those were them.”

The Notorious B.I.G. At The Billboard Music Awards

American rapper Notorious BIG (born Christopher Wallace) attends the 1995 Billboard Music Awards, New York, New York, December 6, 1995. (Photo by Larry Busacca/WireImage)

When Biggie “refused to do it,” Diddy suggested giving the beat, which Myrick created with Chucky Thompson, to the Lost Boyz. Eventually, Myrick says he was able to get the beat back and traded it for the beat that would be used in the Lost Boyz’s “Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz & Benz” from their album, Legal Drug Money.

For Iconic Records, Martinez interviewed 25 subjects over the course of five days to not only discuss his final album, Life After Death, but also the career and legacy of the late rapper. Guests for the series include Lil Cease, Fat Joe, Pusha T, Rick Ross, Too $hort, and more. “I’ve pivoted in my career. At this point, I want to do things that I’m truly passionate about… Things that I want to leave on the table,” Martinez told Billboard in April. “Celebrating B.I.G. and 25 years of this album in a different way was exciting. That’s because some of the people we talked to weren’t the traditional people we see or hear from and who had different types of viewpoints on him.” Iconic Records is available on the WMX Hip Hop channel on The Roku Channel. Check out the latest episode below.

Nashiem Myrik On “Iconic Records”

[Via]

The Debut Season Of ‘Iconic Records’ Will Dive Deep Into The Notorious B.I.G.’s Classic Album ‘Life After Death’

April 19, 2023 by newhiphopnews

The Notorious B.I.G.’s 1997 album Life After Death, which was released just days after he was murdered, is an iconic piece of hip-hop history. Now, to coincide with the ongoing celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary this year, Warner Music Group’s WMX has announced the debut season of visual podcast series Iconic Records will focus on the landmark Biggie Smalls album.

The eight-episode run of the show, hosted by Radio Hall Of Fame member Angie Martinez, will premiere on April 29 at 8 p.m. ET, on the new WMX Hip-Hop channel on The Roku Channel (channel 1137). Further episodes will debut every Saturday after that. It will also be available on Biggie’s YouTube channel and on major audio podcast platforms starting May 1. Guests appearing over the course of the season will include Fat Joe, Pusha T, Rick Ross, Too Short, Lil Cease, and surprise guests yet to be revealed.

Martinez said in a statement, “Biggie was, and still is, one of the most important artists of our lifetime and Life After Death is a masterpiece! To collaborate with WMX on this series has been an incredible experience. It’s especially meaningful as we also pay homage to 50 years of hip-hop and how it’s changed the course of history.”

Ben Blank — WMX president, media & creative content — also noted, “We’re excited to be able to share stories about the albums that have shaped entire generations so profoundly – beginning with Biggie’s Life After Death. The launch of Iconic Records embraces the huge appetite and need for unique content tailored for genre-specific audiences. WMX lives at a crossroads where artists, content, and experiences converge to reach music fans where they are, and this exciting series is the first of many forums in which we will continue to tell the stories about the art that shapes and inspires our culture.”

Wayne Barrow, Biggie’s manager, added, “The Notorious B.I.G. is a once-in-a-lifetime talent. His work has been examined and reviewed before, but this series provides new stories and firsthand accounts by the people that were there. It’s something special.”

Check out the Iconic Records trailer above.

The Notorious B.I.G. is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Pusha T Labels Biggie’s “Life After Death” The “Best Double Album Ever”

April 19, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Pusha T says that The Notorious B.I.G.’s 1997 album, Life After Death, is the “best double album ever.” He revealed his thoughts on the project during a trailer for Warner Music Group’s new visual podcast series Iconic Records. The first season of the podcast will dive into Biggie’s classic final album.

“[Life After Death] is by far the best double album ever created — ever,” Pusha T says via a Zoom call. He wasn’t alone in his praise of the album. Rick Ross also noted: “He had the attention of not just the rap game, but the entire world! … There will never be another B.I.G.” Iconic Records will premiere on the WMX Hip-Hop channel on The Roku Channel on April 29 through an exclusivity deal. It will later be available to stream elsewhere starting on May 1.

Pusha T Performing At Coachella

INDIO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 14: Pusha T performs at the Coachella Stage during the 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 14, 2023 in Indio, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Coachella)

The Iconic Records trailer isn’t the first time that Pusha has praised the late Biggie Smalls. Writing an op-ed for Rolling Stone in 2015, he labeled Biggie the greatest to ever do it. “I believe the Notorious B.I.G. was the greatest rapper who’s ever lived,” he wrote at the time. “His personality was all confidence. This guy’s 300-plus pounds with a fucking lazy eye — and what woman did not love Biggie Smalls? You have to be damn near magical to do that.”

Iconic Records‘ analysis of Life After Death comes after the 25th anniversary of the classic album’s release. Speaking in a statement for the podcast, Angie Martinez remarked that it is a “masterpiece.” “It’s an honor to host the first-ever season of Iconic Records,” Martinez said. “Biggie was, and still is, one of the most important artists of our lifetime and Life After Death is a masterpiece! To collaborate with WMX on this series has been an incredible experience. It’s especially meaningful as we also pay homage to 50 years of hip hop and how it’s changed the course of history.”

The “Iconic Records” Trailer

[Via]