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20 years since BIG passed. I remember the day. Remember where I was when I heard, what I was doing. Just like with Kurt Cobain a few years earlier.
I definitely wasn't nearly as open to hip-hop in 1997 as I am now. There was a small group of artists that I embraced (ATCQ, Wu-Tang Clan, Kool Keith, Fugees, De La Soul, Busta, OutKast, some others) but for the most part, I really didn't think much of rap back then.
But I was not deaf, so I liked BIG. I appreciated interesting uses of language and high-quality storytelling in rap, and BIG was truly the king of the scene with this shit. Ready to Die blew my mind despite the violence, which I found distasteful even then. Somehow the brutality on that record was balanced out by BIG's indomitable spirit and ambition — he weaved his life story into a glorious narrative, and the result is undeniable. One of rap's greatest achievements despite some terrible production.
I'm not super into all the public mourning shit that goes along with being a fan of deceased artists. None of them were saints, certainly not Biggie. But ... whatever ... the guy dropped two albums that still managed to outshine the entire Death Row catalogue, even with Sean Combs' unintentional attempts to sabotage them, and bend them to his stupid ass will.
Big earned his legendary status when he was still alive. He maintains it in spite of, not because of, the myth-making bullshit that took place after this day, 20 years ago.
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