Lil’ Kim honored the Notorious B.I.G. in honor of the late Brooklyn rapper’s 50th birthday at the 2nd Annual B.I.G. Dinner Gala at Guastavino’s in New York City. Lil’ Ceaser, DJ Enuff, Fat Joe, The LOX, Dave East, Havoc, and Sway were among those in attendance at the black-tie event.
Kim remarked to People that Biggie would still be “funny, fun, handsome, fly crazy” at age 50.
“It’s always important to honor the king. He’s the king. The king lives on,” she added. “He’s just an amazing person, amazing artist … his legacy. It’s just great. Like, I mean, look at the catalog. Look at everything that he’s accomplished, even at such a young age.”
Carmen Mandato / Getty Images
Biggie helped kickstart Kim’s career in music by adding her to his Junior M.A.F.I.A. group in the ’90s. Her debut album, Hard Core, was released in 1996.
Biggie’s son, C.J. Wallace, was also in attendance at the gala.
“You know how deep the legacy lives on and you know how important it is to the family at the end of the day,” he said, according to the outlet. “He has more than just his bloodline, he has a real distinct family of people that go beyond the grave.”
He added: “He was more than just a rapper more than an artist. He was an educator, he was a poet, obviously a writer. He was a prophet. He was here to do more than just make some songs or record a couple of albums, which is at the end of the day, that’s what he did. And he did way more than that in his spare time.”
Elsewhere in the city, the MTA sold 50,000 Notorious B.I.G.-themed MetroCards.
[Via]