As a tribute to the late Notorious B.I.G., who died 16 years ago this month on March 9, 1997, New York rappers Lil Cease, Joey Bada$$, Uncle Murda, Maino, Fred the Godson and Joell Ortiz spit bars during a BET cypher.
Debuting nearly two decades after hip-hop was birthed uptown in the Bronx, N.Y., Brooklyn's Biggie Smalls -- or the Notorious B.I.G. to many -- almost instantaneously reinvented the East Coast sound. The Bed-Stuy native could freestyle, weave tall, menacing tales or just spit bar after endless bar, leaving listeners in awe of the detail and wit he had easily made his signature...
The most unnecessary beef in the history of hip-hop with the most detrimental results. Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls were actually friends until 1994, when Tupac was shot five times at Quad Studios in New York City. Biggie was recording in the building, and Pac blamed him and his crew for the shooting that sent him to the hospital...
When the Notorious B.I.G.'s sophomore album, 'Life After Death,' debuted in 1997, just weeks after his murder -- still unsolved today -- the opus served as an eerie lyrical depiction of his demise, though Biggie himself had no clue his life would actually be cut short...