Biggie's Final Masterpiece Was Ahead Of Its Time

CLEVELAND - Rap legend The Notorious B.I.G. blasted onto the music scene with a stunning debut that meticulously detailed the harsh realities of the crime infested streets of urban America.

His sophomore album took all of that to another level.

Today marks the 12th anniversary of the bittersweet release of Life After Death, a sprawling double CD produced by Bad Boy Records CEO and founder Sean Combs (as Puff Daddy) and starring the master of lyrical dexterity, Christopher Wallace (as B.I.G.). Of course, the fervor over the highly anticipated album was both dampened and elevated with Biggie's shocking murder in Los Angeles three weeks prior to the LP's release. Even still, the album was a true classic and further affirmed what we all knew; Biggie was a giant in his field and was getting better.

Life After Death was noticeably different from B.I.G.'s 1994 debut, Ready to Die. On this LP, he was more refined, polished and of course, accomplished. His life had become one of immense success and decadent pleasure. As a result, the gritty complexion of Ready to Die was present only in spurts. This album was a celebration of surviving the streets, while still tethered to them in the subtlest of ways.

Combs, then a 27-year old entertainment mastermind with a remarkable sense of what would best get his target audience's attention, was the man who urged Biggie to craft more mainstream music. It was his shrewd way of getting B.I.G. to appeal to a wider range of people while retaining his street credibility.

It was a flawless concept.

That 1997 album was clearly ahead of its time. Biggie's narrative was deliberately theatrical and it told the tale of a Brooklyn hustler turned Madison Avenue superstar. The hustler still existed in him and was even gangster-like if need be. But outwardly, the stunning ascension was something to celebrate and for his followers, even strive to emulate. Other rap albums of that time wasn't even close to being this complex. Study the epic set a little closer and notice Biggie adopting different rhyme schemes ("Notorious Thugs"), delivering a song in rap form, then delivering it again in conversation form ("I Got a Story to Tell"), and even paying tribute to the West Coast ("Goin' Back to Cali") even though he was clearly persona non-grata out there.

Life After Death will forever be Christopher Wallace's magnum opus. It will also always be the historical artifact that cemented his legacy.

B.I.G.'s 1997 Murder Still Hurts

CLEVELAND - Between 1994 and 1997, a young man from Brooklyn, N.Y. rapidly became a rap phenomenon and soon, an icon of popular music. Physically, I was being compared to him early and often.

I hated it.

Today marks the 12th anniversary of the murder of The Notorious B.I.G. (nee Christopher Wallace) and years ago I became aware of his legacy. That made me proud to be compared to him, even if the comparisons were meant to be cruel. Wallace, with his formidable 6'3," 380 pound frame was even larger in rap music. He wasn't simply "a rapper," he was precision personified on the mic. When he was gunned down in a still unsolved drive-by shooting on that March 9, 1997 day in Los Angeles, the music industry suffered a cataclysmic loss of staggering proportions, even though it still doesn't realize it.

As I've stated many times, I wasn't a fan of rap music until Eminem came around in 1999. When Biggie was dominating the charts (and car stereos), I paid little attention. Make no mistake though; I knew of him...I just didn't know how amazing he truly was. Biggie's obvious skill for vivid storytelling was the catalyst in Bad Boy Records founder and CEO Sean Combs becoming so enamored with the young man. Combs, 23 at the time, signed B.I.G. to his label with a plan of making history, which they did. Combs (popularly known as "Puff Daddy" at the time) was just the ambitious and relentlessly focused leader that Biggie needed to steer him to superstardom.

They greatly benefited from each other and dominated.

B.I.G.'s critically acclaimed debut, Ready to Die catapulted him to the forefront of rap music. Prior to that point, the West coast seemed to monopolize the genre with their great roster of talent, especially once megastar Tupac Shakur (2Pac) joined Death Row Records in late 1995.  

With Biggie's star rising and Shakur in jail for most of '95, the stage was set for a very competitive 1996. Tragically, Shakur was murdered in September and B.I.G. was seriously injured in a car accident. It was six months later in '97 that Biggie was killed and everything changed.

Of course, B.I.G.'s second album, Life After Death was brilliant. He'd clearly refined his already stunning skill set to near perfection and developed a keen diversity in his subject matter. When the LP hit shelves on March 25, 1997, it was a bittersweet moment because of its epic quality and scope coupled with the knowledge that the man would never again bless us with his greatness.

It was awful.

Combs has become an extremely successful entrepreneur in the dozen years since that horrific night. Now known as "Diddy," the 39-year old mogul has amassed a fortune worth hundreds of millions of dollars and a legacy worthy of encyclopedic inclusion. The specter of Biggie's murder still looms though, even for Combs himself. Last night, the tycoon was driving through the streets of L.A. and lamented the still painful loss of his friend and colleague. "I couldn't sleep so I was driving down Sunset [Blvd.] blasting Life After Death," he wrote on Twitter. "It feels surreal...it's my first year in L.A. on March 9 since '97. Miss you..."

Combs isn't the only one that misses B.I.G.