The Notorious B.I.G. - "Miss U"

I've purposefully avoiding posting Christopher Wallace's songs on this blog.  It's not that I'm not a Biggie fan, but, as someone who has only experienced his music posthumously, my words cannot do justice to what he meant to hip hop.  Biggie is and always will be a legend.  He had the most crossover appeal of any rapper ever garnering critical acclaim from hip hop heads while still topping the charts.  Tomorrow will mark the 13th anniversary of Wallace's tragic death.  An emcee in his prime and on top of the game, it is impossible to know where his career would have led had he lived, but as such his record remains 2/2 with two classic albums.  Lately Biggie's name has been trampled on by people trying to make a quick dime off of his legacy, but he remains one of the most revered persons in hip hop lore (the only person on his level was Pac).

This song, featuring R&B group 112, was dedicated in the memory of some of Biggie's closest freinds who were violently robbed of their own lives.  It's the only song that I felt could really do justice to this day.  R.I.P.

Peace, Love, & Hip Hop,

WordIsBorn

Previous: Jay-Z, Biggie, & Nas - "Who's The Best?"

Jay-Z, Nas, & The Notorious B.I.G. - "Who's The Best?"

This song has been around for a while.  To give you an idea of just how long it's been, I originally copped this when I was still using Limewire.  It's off of DJ Mello & DJ Cinema's Talk of NY mixtape that dropped back in '06 (not that old, but in terms of internet time that's an eternia).  One of the best (of many) mash-ups of the three greatest New York emcees of all time.

Jay-Z, Nas, & The Notorious B.I.G. - "Who's The Best?"

The Notorious B.I.G. & Miley Cyrus - "Party & Bullshit In The USA"

Every time I hear this song I die a little bit inside.  The reason I post this song isn't to share my misery, but rather to make a point about how much Biggie's legacy has been tainted by these posthumous collaborations with artist he never would have collaborated with if still among us (same goes for 2Pac).  It is more than fair for you to point out that Biggie was an emcee who had more mass appeal than any rapper of all time (other than perhaps the modern Jay-Z), but this remix is utterly absurd and doesn't even mash the two well.  I'll give Ms. Cyrus credit.  She is a very successful artist and "Party In the USA" appeals to the 12-year-girl inside of me as much as I would prefer to say otherwise, but Biggie wasn't purely a pop artist, and came with a message that no rapper other than 2Pac has matched (see "Juicy").  It saddens me to see people profiting off Biggie's name like this.

R.I.P.

"Party & Bullshit In The USA"

"Juicy"