Before I begin, I’d like to congratulate the Arts editor of the Argus on the brilliant pickup of someone who I hold in the highest esteem: myself. Working (with me) on death matches will truly be an honor this semester, and I look forward to winning all of them, beginning with Big Poppa himself, the Notorious BIG, a.k.a. Biggie Smalls.
Notorious is one of the all time battle champions. Only one of the all-time greats could unite the entire East Coast with his Junior M.A.F.I.A. in opposition to the West Coast’s Death Row movement. Biggie brought Brooklyn back to the forefront of hip-hop, and whether because of its sick verses, or its tragic end, his beef with Tupac Shakur will never be forgotten.
The Big Poppa clearly wins this death match for a number of reasons. Even though he was “Ready to Die,” he outlived Pac, and was immortalized forever through his Life After Death album. Though intensely bated by Shakur throughout the beef, Notorious stayed above the fray, and never directly responded. He didn’t have to. He won the battle through his unmatchable flow and lyrical brilliance, without needing to resort to the petty insults and threats Pac and his “little homies” leveled at him in Hit Em Up.
The Notorious B.I.G. may not have sold hundreds of thousands of shirtless posters like Pac, but he made big sexy. He Hypnotize(d) the ladies and he was involved with some of the baddest women in the hip hop world from Faith Evans to Lil’ Kim. But B.I.G. was more than a rapper and a ladies’ man; through his autobiographical lyrics he was a symbol of life in the hood. His commercial success brought attention with it, and absolutely transformed not only hip-hop culture, but American culture. He still inspires the love of hip-hop among thousands of young Jewish teens from all over metrop olitan New York.
Neither Pac’s flow, nor his street cred ever approached Biggie’s. While Pac studied ballet in high school, Biggie was hustling on the streets of Brooklyn at 12. Pac’s freestyles never hyped crowds like Biggie’s. California may be where to party, but Brooklyn goes hard. There’s only one greatest emcee of all time, and he’s clearly Notorious.
“And if you don’t know, now ya know…”
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