Biggie Smalls - Fucking You Tonight. Biggie Smalls - Fucking You Tonight. The Notorious B.I.G. Best Of The Notorious B.I.G. Old School Hip Hop Playlist. Hip-hop has transformed dozens of times in the decades since the ‘90s, and will change dozens of more times in the years to come. That said, there won’t be a permutation of the genre that doesn’t carry The ’s DNA. Best Notorious Big Album
Sifting through it, a lot of his material still stands as some of the best hip-hop has to offer, thanks to the charisma that naturally leaks out of his prose, as well as Sean 'Puffy' Combs’ pristine ear for beats. That goes for every dimension of Biggie’s persona -- the certified mack, the raconteur, and the English language-loving street rhymer. In honor of what would’ve been his 46th birthday today (May 21), here are the Notorious B.I.G.’s best 25 songs, including collabs and featured appearances. “Just Playing (Dreams)” (1993) The decades of intense idolatry surrounding Biggie’s catalog sometimes overlook that his best material often hung on his comedic wit. “Just Playing (Dreams),” stands as his catalog’s most obvious example. Essentially a boast rap about which R&B singers Biggie wants to have sex with, the two-verse favorite showed early on he’d become one of mainstream hip-hop’s most ribald stars. The stars he name-checked -- including,, and ‘70s/’80s star -- all supposedly took the mentions in stride. The women who did take issue, somewhat understandably, were the “ugly ass bitches.” 'We saw them in Atlanta and Big explained to them that it was all in fun,' friend. 'Gimme the Loot' (1994) “Gimme the Loot” stands out because it’s one of the more animated examples of Biggie’s signature knack for vivid details. The Ready to Die fan favorite finds B.I.G. Effortlessly giving his two characters definition: The older robber is the kind of guy who sees murder as an inconvenience (“Don’t be a jerk and get smoked over being resistant”), while his helium-voice partner takes joy in crime the same way a child might beg for a Sega Genesis (“Oooooooo, Biggie let me jack her!”). The resulting shock raps were too much: The lines “I wouldn't give a fuck if you're pregnant” and “Bitches get strangled for their earrings and bangles” were even censored on Ready to Die’s Parental Advisory version. 112's 'Only You (Remix)' feat. Mase and The Notorious B.I.G. (1996) One of the biggest innovations of Bad Boy -- a label whose ‘90s hits have aged better than songs decades their junior -- was how its biggest hits presented R&B and rap as two naturally complementing flavors. A key example was Atlanta R&B quartet ’s Top 20 hit “Only You.” The Notorious B.I.G., already with “Can’t You See” under his belt, was still in his mellifluous pocket, slipping in a reference before ceding the floor. “Only You (Remix)” was also significant for introducing many to Bad Boy labelmate, who’d go on to run this honeyed lane with his own brand of charisma on his 1997 multi-platinum debut, Harlem World. “Things Done Changed” (1994) Ready to Die was another example of a cultural sea change in hip-hop. The good times of “Rapper’s Delight” and peace-keeping block parties were gone; from the late ‘80s onward, we’d become familiar with the trauma of the Reagan era’s survivors. “Things Done Changed,” Ready to Die’s first song, explicitly lends Biggie’s debut this context. “Damn, what happened to the summertime cookouts/ Every time I turn around a n---a getting took out/ Shit, my Momma got cancer in her breast/ Don't ask me why I'm motherfucking stressed,” raps Biggie in the closing bars.
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