Building a Legacy That Shifts a Culture

The way Brooklyn celebrates the birthday of The Notorious B.I.G., year after year never ceases to amaze me. I was ten living in Brooklyn and had never heard of Biggie at the time he died. I found out about his passing when a heartbroken classmate ran up to me in school that Monday morning to tell me. I remember looking at her like “who?” And not knowing that answer sent me on a musical journey like no other.

Perhaps, Big would  have remained this larger-than-life force in hip-hop culture or maybe he said it best “you're nobody til somebody kills you.” Either way, there is no denying that the career of Christopher Wallace altered the course of hip-hop. As an adult, I've grown to appreciate his contributions to hip-hop culture. I even began to understand why until about 2017 it was blasphemous to name your top 10 hip-hop greats without acknowledging B.I.G. 

This year would have been Big's 50th birthday and I'm looking forward to stopping by the Juicy Pizza pop-up event being produced by Tyra Myricks and T’yanna Wallace, Biggie’s daughter. Before that though, I want to share three things I've taken away from the legacy of the one and only Christopher Wallace.

Be teachable and be willing to accept what you don't know. 

I wasn't there, but from what I've read and seen in documentaries Biggie went through an extensive amount of growth between signing with Bad Boy Records and his first single. In part, that growth was due to artist development. Most artists underwent some form of artistic development at that time, what makes Biggie so great in my eyes is the way he took what he learned and applied it when building Junior Mafia and when he gave us Lil Kim. 

Lay the foundation for those coming behind you.

To be a successful rapper from Brooklyn, you have to measure up somewhere in the realm of the elites: Biggie, Jay-Z, and Fab to be specific. In my life, I've seen plenty of Brooklyn rappers step into the spotlight Maino, Papoose, Uncle Murda, Red Cafe, Bobby Shmurda, Pop Smoke, and a few others. All of them were inspired one way or another by the notorious one. And if I'm being completely honest the more successful the homage paid to Biggie, the more successful that rapper's career.

Always keep your composure!

One of my favorite Big lyrics is: “Excellence is my presence/Never tense, never hesitant...nights I perform like Mike, anyone/Tyson, Jordan, Jackson, action.” I plan to write extensively about crisis management soon, but this is a thing most people overlook. The energy you bring to a space is how you will be remembered! A lot of today's artists pop off first and have to face the consequences later. Yes, people love to cheer on the neucence but they remember the one who made them laugh and who made them feel seen with larger than life reverence. There was an air about Big that made him someone for Brooklyn residents to aspire to. Yes he had his beef and his drama but how he handled the way he addressed it in his music didn't allow that to be his legacy, a lot of rappers won't be able to say they were remembered for their music and their impact on the culture. 

That's my two cents on the matter. What are some things you've taken away from the legacy of The Notorious B.I.G? We want to hear! Comment below or leave a comment on our Facebook page.