Born on this date in 1974, Bedford-Stuyvesant native Lil’ Kim has certainly paved the way for female rappers to gain traction in a highly male-dominated world of hip-hop. Making her name, sound, and style notorious (no pun intended) in her appearance on Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s debut album, Conspiracy.
Backed by hardcore lyrics filled with provocative and liberating content, Kim’s attitude and determination broke down gender barriers (which female rappers currently still face) that excelled her respect in the game.
Kim’s resume includes many Hip Hop greats, timeless tracks, fashion moments, and jaw-dropping lyrics. As the musical heiress of the Notorious B.I.G. legacy, Kim has continued to rep the memory of “the greatest rapper of all time”, even naming her sophomore 2000 release Notorious K.I.M.
Morphing from a femcee from Bed Stuy into the iconic figure she is today is a trail that has only been traced by the likes of Cardi B, Megan The Stallion and today’s entire female rap roster. They all have to salute the Queen B.
The Source Magazine sends a supreme born day shout to the Queen on her Birthday!!
Wu Tang Clan member and actor Method man opened up on Math Hoffa’s podcast My Expert Opinion about his appearance on “The What” from Notorious B.I.G.’s debut album Ready To Die.
Meth explains that when he entered the studio to record the song in 1994, “By the time I got [to the studio], Biggie’s verse was written and he told me that he wanted to end it with, ‘You can’t mess with M-E’ and I was supposed to go, ‘T-H-O-D.’ But I overlapped him because it didn’t fall on beat doing it that way. That’s where the ‘T-H-O-D Man, here I am/I’ll be damned if this ain’t some sh*t.’”
Meth added, “I wrote that shit quick as f**k. Who was I biting there? Whose flow was I [biting]? Nas. That’s biting Nas’ flow. ‘I’ll be damned if this ain’t some sh*t/Come to spread the butter lyrics over hominy grits… Coming where you rest at, surrender/Step inside the ring, you’s the number one contender/Looking cold-booty like your p***y in December.’”
According to several confirmed reports, DJ 50 Grand, the man who produced and put the “Microphone Murderers” demo tape from Biggie Smalls in the hands of Mister Cee, has passed away. 50 Grand, whose given name is Kevin Griffin, was 55 years old.
Griffin first learned of a 15 year old emcee that lived nearby in his Bedford-Stuyvesant and eventually connected with the young wordsmith through a mutual friend who used to sell drugs with the late Christopher Wallace in 1991. it didn’t take long before Biggie was in 50’s basement on Bedford Avenue and Quincy Street recording what would become the launching pad to the career of the game’s most revered emcee in its history.
Griffin managed to get the tape into the hands of DJ Mister Cee, Big Daddy Kane’s DJ, who slipped the tape to Matteo “Matty C” Capoluongo, who ran the “Unsigned Hype” column in The Source Magazine. The feature article caught the attention of a young exec at Uptown Records by the name of Sean “Puffy” Combs and the rest is history.
50’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood showed out for the legendary neighborhood DJ, coming out in droves to the corner of Nostrand Avenue and Monroe Street to show their respects to their fallen legend. Salute to 50 Grand and condolences to his family and friends.
While posthumously celebrating the 50th birthday of the Notorious B.I.G., Diddy participated in TIDAL’s Twitter Spaces convo about the King Of New York, where he shared some of his most memorable experiences with the late Brooklyn legend. One memory that has raised eyebrows, especially during the country’s opiate epidemic, is Diddy telling the story of when he and Biggie first tried Ecstacy on the set of the “Hypnotize” video.
During the TIDAL convo, Diddy said, “Ah man, the video was fun.” He continued: “That was like the first time we both tried ecstasy. I mean, it was an experience, you know what I’m saying? Ayo, Biggie’s 50. Check this out, we have nothing to hide. That was a long time ago… it was the first time. It was just a little nibble, it was all right. It was a little nibble. But we was in extra high, high spirits. Yeah, this breaking news and s**t. F**k it. On his 50th birthday, I wanna let y’all know that.”
The rainy weather didn’t keep Brooklyn and the rest of the New York from showing up and showing out for the exclusive, black-tie Notorious B.I.G. 50th Birthday Gala. Last weekend, the city’s biggest influencers and tastemakers were all on hand the bring in what would’ve been Biggie’s 50th born day(May 21). Sponsored by Pepsi and put on by the Christopher Wallace Estate, Manhattan’s Guastavino’s was the locale of the prestigious bday bash for the game’s most celebrated emcee, which drew celebs from all facets of urban entertainment.
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B.I.G.’s real friends, family and diehard supporters were in attendance for this second annual event. Everyone impactful in his career was in attendance; from his original Brooklyn family/crew, Lil’ Kim , Lil Cease and Junior M.A.F.I.A., to his extended family in the Hip Hop community, including Fat Joe and Sway Calloway, who conducted Biggie’s last radio interview just four days before he was killed in Los Angeles on March 9, 1997.
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The night began with an exclusive full course dinner while a live band called The Frank White Experience played some of Biggie’s most revered hits, which preceded some of his “Notorious” hits being played in digital format by none other than HOT 97’s DJ Enuff for the capacity crowd to enjoy. A large ice sculpture with the letters “B.I.G.”graced the stairs to the entrance of the upper level gala, where many of the attendees took their “I was there” pics.
Some of the other notables who came through to show Biggie sone Brooklyn love include Biggie’s children T’Yanna and C.J. Wallace, Havoc of Mobb Deep, Smif N’ Wessun, Caesar Emanuel of Black Ink, Karliee Redd of Love And Hip Hop ,Don Pooh, Bri Steeves, Coodie (director of Kanye West’s Jeen-Yus documentary}, Lil Kim’s business partner Alyi V, marketing guru Greg Walker, entertainment attorney/The Source Magazine owner Londell McMillian and countless others.
Performances included a set by Lil Kim and Junior M.A.F.I.A., including a “Quiet Storm” cameo with Kim and Havoc. The surprise of the night was watching “Lil Biggie” Christopher “C.J.” Wallace perform his one of his father’s premiere hits, “One More Chance”, as the crowd felt the spirit of Biggie through his only son.
Like father, like son. In a warm moment this past weekend, CJ Wallace, son of The Notorious B.I.G, took the stage and delivered a spirited performance of his late father’s classic record “One More Chance.” He chose no better time to do so, rapping along with those who also attended the second annual B.I.G Dinner Gala. This year’s event was especially significant as this would have been the Brooklyn legend’s 50th birthday.
CJ Wallace performing “One More Chance” by his father, the late Notorious B.I.G., at the second annual B.I.G. Dinner Gala. #Biggie#BigDaypic.twitter.com/QJr1LsgaAv
Lil Kim spearheaded The B.I.G Dinner Gala, partnering with Pepsi and Lexus to put on the event at New York City’s Guastavino’s. Fat Joe, Havoc, Sway, and many more came out to celebrate Biggie’s legacy, which has stood firmly atop the music game despite now being gone for 25 years. Media veteran Sway even took the stage to share some of his memories with B.I.G before the performances began.
The gala aligns with The Notorious B.I.G’s most recent posthumous release “G.O.A.T” featuring Ty Dolla Sign and Bella Alubo. The track utilizes his verses from “I Love The Dough” in a completely reimagined way over Afrobeats production on his first release in 17 years. Last week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared that May 19 would forever be known as ‘Biggie Day’, in addition to various other celebratory measures the city displayed over the week.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
This past Saturday, Christopher Wallace, aka The Notorious B.I.G., would have turned 50 years old. Among the many, many celebrations of the Brooklyn rapper’s life and legacy over the weekend was a Twitter Spaces event hosted by Tidal. Thousands of listeners tuned in to hear B.I.G.’s contemporaries, friends, and peers share their stories and remember the giant-sized footprints he left on hip-hop despite his short reign.
One of those peers was Jay-Z, who said that a void was left behind by the deaths of Biggie and his friend-turned-rival Tupac. “That’s a big void,” he admitted, before allowing, “Others stepped in to fill it as well, not just myself.”
Jay received praise from Sean “Diddy” Combs, Biggie’s benefactor as the founder of Bad Boy Records, who told him, “You filled them shoes, though. You came in and we definitely give thanks. You definitely came, and I just know how much Big really looked up to Jay. They looked up to each other. That is crazy you had to step into the shoes of two people. That’s all it was was those two people. They had things on lock.”
He continued, pointing out how, before the two titans’ deaths, Jay was still something of a neophyte, having only released one album, Reasonable Doubt, in 1996. Unfortunately, by the time he’d released its follow-up, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, both Tupac and Big had been gunned down. “Hov was coming,” Diddy explained to the Spaces listeners, “but it was like these two cats was just so big… I think Hov kept the art of it going and took where they was at and took it even higher.”
In addition to the celebration on Twitter, Big’s birthday was honored by the city of New York with commemorative MetroCards, a series of murals throughout the city, and a crown atop the Empire State Building.
Biggie’s golden anniversary is this upcoming Saturday. The Notorious B.I.G., who would have turned 50-years-old on May 21, is receiving a number of tributes in New York City.
On Friday, there will be a ceremony in partnership with Bad Boy/Atlantic and Rhino Records at the Empire State Building with family members, friends and collaborators of the legendary rapper, Christopher Wallace.
While Brooklyn’s Barclays Center will feature a video montage of him on the mega oculus display above the venue’s entrance.
New York City is going B.I.G. for Biggies 50th birthday.
On Saturday, the landmark skyscraper will be changing its lights to red and white, with a crown spinning on its mast.
In addition, the MTA is releasing a special MetroCard edition featuring the Brooklyn-born Hip-Hop icon and there will be a free orchestral tribute at the Lincoln Center on June 10.
The Notorious B.I.G. would have been 50 years old today.
In honor of his birthday, the King of New York was celebrated by some of his closest friends and collaborators including JAY-Z and Diddy during TIDAL’s “A Toast to BIG” on Twitter Spaces, hosted by Elliott Wilson.
While he was only 24 when he died, he left behind a legacy that will live on forever. “You realize the impact that he made on the world in such a short time,” JAY-Z said. “Some people live twice as long and won’t accomplish and won’t touch the world in a way that someone like Big did. If anyone can touch the world the way he has, you’ll have a blessed life regardless of the time.”
Hov also reflected on their friendship, which went beyond music. “He was just an incredible lyricist, but even better human being, was super funny. All we did was laugh,” he said. “We talked about serious things in between but everything was based around when we were getting our next laugh. We would work and get that out the way so we could just hang out.”
In 1995-1996, Biggie told JAY-Z that he wanted them to buy two houses next to each other in Atlanta, but JAY-Z couldn’t understand why at the time. “I’m looking like, Atlanta? I’m like, we’re the hottest guys in New York City, like in the world. Why we going to Atlanta?” he recalled. “You think about how influential Atlanta is today, you see how much of a visionary this guy was.”
Diddy, who signed a young Christopher Wallace to Bad Boy in 1993, was asked how he took Biggie from “ashy to classy.” “Man, it wasn’t that hard,” he said. “He always wanted to really be fly. He had some sensibility and it really came from the Brooklyn style at that time.”
B.I.G. loved to dress in designer clothing, and they were able to find tailors to make fits for his large frame. “He always had the problem where it wasn’t in his size,” said Puff. “Shout to 5001 [Flavors] and all the other tailors that we was able to find that we was able to really, really get him real drippy. He was basically like, ‘I wanna dress like a skinny ni**a, I wanna dress like you.’”
“He was fly on his own so it was a great time in fashion,” he added. “Fashion was a big part of his shit, the way he looked.”
In addition to his style, his confidence was on display in his flow. Diddy brought him records like “Mo Money Mo Problems” and Big was able to adapt. “He could only make music that was coming from his heart,” said Puff. “I knew I could give him the shiniest record that would make people feel good and he’d be able to still bring it where it was relatable to the people we were making our music for, which is people in the hood.”
Added Diddy, “That’s a beautiful example of his song arrangement, of his artistry, and also that other side of him too. He could flow at that frequency because he was a cat that really wanted to have fun all the time.”
Tonight, the Empire State Building will be lit up red and white in celebration of Biggie’s birthday. The MTA is also releasing special edition Biggie MetroCards, which will be available at subway stations near his old Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.
This Saturday, May 20, will mark what would’ve been The Notorious B.I.G.’s 50th birthday. As expected there are big plans to honor the late rapper, and it continues what’s been a celebratory year in honor of Biggie. This year also marked the 25th anniversary of Biggie’s Life After Death, and back in February, his estate released an anniversary box set for the album complete with eight LPs for fans to indulge in. Now, in celebration of his upcoming 50th birthday, Biggie’s estate delivers the late rapper’s first song in 17 years with “G.O.A.T.” and it’s quite the unique song, at least for what you would expect from Biggie.
Thanks to some help from Ty Dolla Sign and Nigerian singer Bella Alubo, Biggie arrives with “G.O.A.T.” which features an unexpected dose of afrobeats within the record. Biggie delivers verses at the beginning and at the end of the song while Ty Dolla Sign takes care of the middle verse. Elsewhere, Alubo takes care of the song’s hook. The track also samples “I Love The Dough,” which is a fan favorite from Biggie’s Life After Death album.
“Being on a song with Biggie has been a dream of mine since I was a kid,” Ty said about the new song. “The song title is fitting of him…the GOAT. Happy Birthday, Big. We miss you!” Biggie’s mother, Voletta Wallace, also spoke about the new song. “It’s wonderful to witness my son’s music reimagined for his fans and today’s generation of young men and women to embrace his art,” she said. “I appreciate the hard work of all involved in bringing together the perfect blend of voices and music to this song, G.O.A.T.”
You can check out the new record in the video above.
Ty Dolla Sign is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
(@GuttaDenise)