today (march 9) marks the 12th anniversary of rapper notorious b.i.g.’s murder in 1997.
the morning of biggie’s murder i got a call from my cousin who broke the news to me. I was in disbelief and remember fumbling for the remote to turn on the local news for confirmation. he and i were both big fans and stunned by the news. my cousin came through shortly after and we got blasted out of our minds listening to b.i.g.’s music and commiserating with each other. we did the same thing 2 weeks later when the life after death cd was released and i immediately realized the impact the cd would have on the industry. for the rest of the decade, Life After Death and puffy’s consequent productions became the soundtrack to every party and club experience.
it’s so unfortunate that notorious b.i.g. died so soon. so much that has happened in hip hop over the ensuing 12 years can be traced to what he and diddy created with the two albums he was able to release. i’ve spent hours wondering how his career (and r&b hip hop) would have played out if diddy & biggie had been able to continue making records together.
the life of notorious b.ig. was the subject of a successful biopic film released just this january, notorious.
