One of the best parts of that album is hearing a very young Jay-Z kill it on the song “8 Iz Enuff”. All in all, there isn’t a weak track on that album.
I think Big died at the right time, I mean look at what Puffy did to Mase. Seriously though, he was a gifted wordsmith so who knows what me might have still been able to do had he lived?
I enjoy quite a bit of hip-hop, but am not especially versed in the genre as a whole. I do have the impression, however, that innovation and “newness” is valued much, much more highly by hip-hop fans than say, thrash metal fans (a camp I’m more squarely in.) If that’s the case, many fine hip-hop acts may find themselves in a damned-if-they-continue-on-with-what-works, damned-at-being-forced-to-experiment-and-potentially-fail conundrum.
Biggie definitely felt to me like someone more notable for his assumed influence than his output (though not to dis his output); once the influence was subsumed, he himself would become less noteworthy. So, in a purely artistic and career sense, he may have died at a good time.
My old nemesis SuntanTigerTamer has already come into this thread and said better than I would have, a lot of the stuff I would have posted. I do want to add that this idea that hip hop suffered from ‘bling and hos’ isn’t accurate in my opinion. Bling and hos was a huge part of hip hop from the gate. And there are tons of bonofide hip hop classics that I could name that are in praise of bling and women. Paid in Full, by Rakim to begin and end with…if the god of hip hop can rap about being paid in full back in '86, then I think we can establish that rapping about women and bling is not what is wrong with hip hop.
In my humble opinion, a lot of people confuse lyrical skill with content. That is why a lot of people think Common and Mos Def are good rappers…just because they drop positive rap…well, no. They suck. If you want positive rap with actual superior lyrics, try Tribe, De La, Talib, Lupe…etc.
I agree that Puffy was starting to lead Big down a ‘bad rap’ road, though. Biggie had proven that he can do radio friendly with Juicy. Great song, lyrically; still radio hit. But then, right before he died, he made that song “Notorious” (no, no, no, noTORious!) and it was crap. It was obviously made for commercial success; but it was also crappy lyrics.
I love a lot of the things that were released after his death…but I do fear if he had kept living, he was going to start making more crap like “Notorious”
I can has nemesis?!
That’s really a pretty stupid assertion. It’s a little disturbing reading this thread with all the people playing God saying “I think he died at the right time”. Died at the right time? He was friggin’ 24 years old. Who knows what else he would have done, but I can assure you it would blow anything Lil’ Wayne will ever do right out of the water.
Well, to try and defend myself here; I didn’t mean I am glad he died, to save me from the garbage he was about to put out…I meant that I think he was indeed going to start putting out some garbage, though. That Notorious song just looked like a bad omen to me…I mean, would he have ever released some of the great posthumous stuff, if he hadn’t died? Some of the stuff that they released after his death; I don’t think we would have heard that good stuff if he had lived.
I don’t believe anyone in this thread thinks a 24 year old should be gunned down like a dog. I think many of us are just speaking in shorthand for, “I think Big had spit the best shit he was gonna spit on wax.”