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There isn’t much that can be said that hasn’t already been said about the greatness of Christopher Wallace, aka The Notorious B.I.G., whose life was tragically cut short 16 years ago today.

He had the style, the influence, and when it came to bars, nobody can say it better than he once did:

“Lyrically, I’m supposed to represent/I’m not only a client, I’m the playa president”.

Hip-hop’s youth in the scope of music has been well documented. Add to that the the fact that it has typically been viewed as “a young man’s game” and there’s not a ton of room for tradition within the culture and “history” is as relative a term as you’ll find.

But it seems like when Canibus said, “The greatest rapper of all-time died on March 9th” on “2nd Round K.O.” — his epic 1998 diss record of LL Cool J, and his only real contribution to hip-hop — something happened. That one line gave rap fans a lyrical timestamp to which the masses could cling. From then on, tributes to the Bed-Stuy bred MC have poured in annually on this date.

Hip-hop is no stranger to gun violence. Far too many of our legends have had their lives ended prematurely at the hands of a coward with a firearm. While we still mourn the losses of heroes like Scott La Rock, Big L, Jam Master Jay and of course Tupac Shakur, the exact date in which these men (and other deceased legends like Big Pun, Eazy-E and ODB) met their maker remains largely in obscurity.

Sidebar: Though we recognized Tupac on the most recent anniversary of his death, few others hold that date in their memory in the same way they do Biggie’s, perhaps because Pac actually died six days after being shot.

But Biggie is different. March 9th is different. It has become hip-hop’s adopted holiday.

When you realize that this man was only 24 when he passed away, yet some of rap’s greats (most notably Jay-Z) are still quoting him to this day, you really begin to understand his impact on not only music, but people as well. Considering he only released one album while he was alive (two if you count Life After Death, which dropped two weeks after he was murdered, and three if you factor in that it was a double CD), putting his influence on the rap game into context is truly amazing.

Many people still believe Biggie Smalls was the greatest rapper of all-time, which in actuality is a staggering claim. That would be like calling Len Bias the greatest basketball player of his generation. One could certainly make that argument, but it’s really an incredible compliment to the former Maryland star considering he never played a game in the NBA.

Sidebar: “During my years as an ACC coach, the two most dominant players we’ve faced were Michael Jordan and Len Bias…I always thought those two players were a cut above. They did things no one else could do. I would put the two of them together.”- Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski

The sad irony about Biggie’s life and death is that he was so consumed with his own mortality that it haunted him in a very unsettling way, to the point that he wound up predicting his own demise. Moreover, we as a society have always placed emphasis on celebrating the births of our best and brightest. It is the unusual celebration of Big Poppa’s passing that is far too cryptic to ignore.

If Big has the crown, then Faith is the queen.

Leave it to hip-hop, a brand of music that has done more to promote death and dying than The Undertaker himself, to turn this great tragedy into a party each March.

And why not?

In his short time, Biggie blessed us with some of the best rhymes anyone could remember. Some personal favorites include:

“If I wasn’t in the rap game/I’d probably have a ki, knee deep in the crack game/Cuz the streets is a short stop/Either ya slang crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot”.

“I’m slammin’ niggas like SHAQUILLE!/Shit is REAL!/When it’s time to eat a MEAL!/I rob and STEAL!”

“There’s gonna be a lot of slow sing-ing and flower bring-ing if my bur-gl-ar alarm starts ring-ing”

“I got techniques drippin out my butt cheeks/Sleep on my stomach so I don’t fuck up my sheets”

“Stay far from timid/Only make moves when your heart’s in it/And live the phrase, ‘Sky’s The Limit'”

Sidebar: Lines like that last one are the inspiration behind the launching this website.

And who could forget the way he bodied everybody on the first verse of the “Flava In Ya Ear Remix”?

As you can see, Frank White’s collaborations were legendary. Whether with fellow Brooklynite Jay-Z, where the two bantered back & forth in a competition of lyrical dexterity, or with groups like Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony on the classic record “Notorious Thugs“, where Biggie goes bar-for-bar with some of the fastest rappers in the game, it was always an event when Big hopped on the track.

Biggie led off “Flava In Ya Ear” and “Notorious Thugs”; it’s fitting that the lead single on his debut album turned out to be one of the greatest rap songs ever recorded. “Juicy” set the tone for his critically acclaimed debut album Ready to Die, which turned out to be one of the greatest rap albums ever recorded. While many have tried their hand at “the come up” record, nobody will EVER duplicate this ultimate rags to riches tale Big dropped on us in ’94.

There are too many hits to name. Too many legendary rhymes came from his brain.

Biggie was a leader, for better and for worse. He carried the flag for an entire coast during hip-hop’s more immature years, largely against his will it often appeared. He was in fact one of the more mature people involved, despite the conflicting perception.

He came from nothing. “Fat, black and ugly as ever, however…” he still bagged an R&B songstress that was way out of his league. He helped launch the career of one of the most successful female MCs of all-time. He gave the most influential figure in hip-hop his style when he was first starting out. And today, many have taken to social media to remember Christopher Wallace.

So as we all sit back and reflect on Biggie’s life and work today, let us remember him not just for being a great poet, but also for posthumously pushing the culture forward. The Notorious B.I.G. has blessed us with so much joy through his music. But now he’s blessed us so much more— a day hip-hop can call its own…

And if you don’t know, now ya know.