Biggie's Legacy

Biggie's untimely death did not at all stop his supreme reign over the rap game. He is celebrated as one of the best MCs of all time. He reached #3 on MTV's list of top ten rappers, both of his albums have earned a spot on the 500 Best Albums of All Time. Many influential hip- hop magazines have dubbed him the Greatest of All Time. His name appears on lists of best rappers more times than any other rapper dead or alive, including Tupac, Jay z, and Lil' Wayne (if you consider this guy a rapper). Its not uncommon for speakers to be blasting Biggie's lyrics before a big concert or award show. Biggie is also famous for having his lines quoted by many, many artists. Primarily Jay z, 50 Cent, and Lil' Wayne.


There is ten parts to this video, all of them containing samples of Biggie's lyrics, and then the same lyrics rapped by other artists.

Biggie's style of rapping will always be remembered and it will always remain original. He had a husky, powerful tone that he would use alongside his ability to overlap many rhymes in one verse to stun his listeners. He rapped in many styles, he would sometimes even sing in a falsetto tone like in his songs, "Playa Hater", and "Come On." He was featured with the group "Bone- Thugs and Harmony" who are famous for their extremely rapid style of rapping, and Biggie rapped to that style better than they did, according to most people. Biggie's beats were mostly simple repetitive beats that really captured the mood of the content of the song. Sometimes he would have a few seconds at the beginning of a song in order to get the listeners in the mood.

Biggie was also respected greatly for his diversity in the themes of his rap. In Ready to Die, he portrayed himself as a common hustler, doing whatever it took to get to the top and how he finally reached the top. In Life After Death, Biggie portrayed himself as a ferocious drug lord, a mafia leader. He wrote romance, comedy, drug dealings, autobiographical stories, everything. But perhaps the area where he was most renowned, was his story telling ability. A very large portion of his songs were stories of his past, back when he dealt drugs, and would commit petty crimes to get money. Famous titles include, "Warning", "Somebody's Gotta Die", and "Niggas Bleed." He could put a story into rap better than any other MC could ever come close to, and everyone knows it.

This guy was a beast.