A Word About B.I.G.

 

The Black Frank White

I know I’m a day late with this post, but I’ll write it anyway……12 years ago yesterday, the world was deprived of the skills of the nicest MC of all time and we still miss him and haven’t recovered from the loss still.  I will not go into the movie that was just made about him; I had my own personal boycott of it going ’cause it just had that feel of an afterschool special, and of all people whose stories should be told, I thought Biggie deserved better.  Plus, I just didn’t get how you could tell that story without the participation of key figures in his life…..but I digress, that’s water under a worn out bridge.  Biggie’s skill set and lyrical prowess set the tone for all that would follow him.  After he dropped, the bar was raised super high, almost like if the NBA raised the rims to 12 feet ’cause Lebron or somebody was just killing it.  Hearing him just let you know that if you dared tried to follow him, you had better come heavy with it or not at all (shout out to Uncle Junior).  He was the benchmark, the gold standard, the flow of all time.  I’ve heard all the arguments against him, not enough material, only rhymed about material things, etc.  Even if some of the points have a limited amount of validity, there is no denying the chasm that was left in his absence.  Hip Hop has turned and gone in another direction since March 9, 1997, no doubt moving on, but suffering from a lack of content and context, just the same.  Perhaps it’s because we had a brief taste of his talent that we even keep it moving.  RIP Biggie, forever.

~ by darrylthewriter on March 10, 2009.