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Click here to read an article about B.I.G and his worthiness of a biopic.
Fanon Hutchinson makes interesting comments about B.I.G and his place in Hip - Hop history. Although, the author mentioned Krush Groove and Beat Street as the two most important Hip - Hop movies, he must have forgot about or never heard of "Wild Style." Wild Style is the first and most important Hip - Hop movie ever made. It's a small issue, but if you're going to write about Hip - Hop movies, then it has to be included on the list.
Anyway, I'll agree with Hutchinson about the tag line of this movie. "The most important film of our time" is an overstatement, obviously an attempt by some advertisement agency to hype up this film before its release. I don't think anybody would seriously try to compare the importance of B.I.G to Malcolm X, if you know someone who does, then they need help.
As far as Biggie deserving a flick, I guess my response would be why not? There have been biopic's of gangsters (Bugsy Siegel), serial killers (Ted Bundy) and other people on the fringes of society, why not let B.I.G have one? I'm not saying Biggie is comparable to those individuals, I'm just saying that if they got a movie made about them, then Biggie can damn sure have one.
Is Biggie the greatest rapper of all time? That's pretty much subjective, you ask ten people and you'll get ten different answers.
In my opinion, the answer would be no. I would place Rakim and KRS - One ahead of Biggie Smalls.
Rakim is a legend, he has lyrics that no one before or after him can touch. Take for instance Rakim's "My Melody" -
- I take seven MC's, put 'em in a line,
- and add seven more brothas, who think they can rhyme
- Well, it'll take seven more before I go for mine
- And that's twenty — one MC's, ate up at the same time
Or take this line from Rakim's "I know you got Soul" -
- I start to think and then I sink into the paper like I was ink
- When I'm writing, I'm trapped in between the lines
- I escape when I finish the rhyme
Let me know what you think B.I.G's influence and who do you think is the greatest rapper/MC of all time?
14 comments:
I was having this discussion just today with some friends of mine.
The Greatest of All Time is a hard
moniker to put on any one person.
I loved Big as much as anybody..He single handedly brought the East Coast back ,when the West Coast was taking over everything..but I wouldn't say BIG was the G.O.A.T.
My friends and I agreed that Rakim,
KRS ONE, L.L. Cool J., TUPAC and Chuck D. might garner that title more so than BIG..but like you say,that's a subjective matter.
To your first question... I guess (although after reading what you wrote, I can say "why not"). To your second question... Absolutely not.
Biggie was more influencial that good, and alot of the was the partnership with Puffy. If I rapped over "I'm Comin' Out" I would have had at least a little success. His videos changed the game by bringing overly self-indulgence into Hip Hop and killing any good the X-Clan did. And me made already quasi-literate people think you could be successful without reaseaching and writing, killing all the good that KRS and Chuck D. did. As you can see, I wasn't his biggest fan. He absolutely had talent, but he wasn't the best, and he did more harm than good.
I would take Keith's group and put Mellee Mel in there too (I'd put "Beat Street" up against anything made the last 10 or 12 years... check out the lyrics for yourself). Biggie didn't have the volume of work, uniqueness of style or the diversity of topics for me to put him in the top ten for me.
...more influencial "than" good...
It's still early.
Is Biggie the greatest?
No.
But he is one of my favorites.
Rakim in my book is the G.O.A.T. Followed by Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, KRS 1 and Ice Cube.
Do you remember that boy CANIBUS?
IF his career would have jumped off, I might have added him to my list.
Keith,
B.I.G did bring the East Coast back and there is no doubt that he had talent.
I like the list of MC's you had ahead of B.I.G, they probably all deserve to be ahead of B.I.G in a top ten ranking.
Peace
Dwane T,
I agree with you about Biggie being influential, but that artists copying his style has had negative consequences.
The whole in the club and popping champagne bottles video theme can be traced back to B.I.G. Although, My guess would be it was Puff Daddy's idea.
He was a gifted MC, but he probably would have been better off had he not messed with Puff.
Peace
Dirty Red,
I do remember Canibus and I thought he was extremely talented. But he was young and a little arrogant, so he made a big mistake by dissing LL Cool J. LL ends rappers careers and that's what happened to Canibus.
Canibus and Ras Kass are two talented and intelligent rappers who could never garner mainstream attention. I don't if it was because the public had been dumbed down to the point where they could not appreciate their gifts or what.
I think Eminem is extremely talented, but can you really say he's any better than Canibus or Ras Kass?
Peace
Now I'm from Kali so you know Biggie aint' it but I think even the West will go with Rakim. Rakim is by far the best rapper ever to be on the mic while others are clever, insightful, and provide good information only Rakim is the trifecta.
Biggie has a movie why not Pac? But I guess Pac mom has enough albums that have been released in the past 10 years not to worry about a legacy. Now I like Biggie's first album but two albums in and he's one of the greatest?
Either way the East Coast defines Hip Hop so it's a homage to their King. I don't think anyone else will even put Biggie on the top. Only Rakim is universally considered the greatest everyone else even Pac is somewhat regional.
Marvin Gaye deserved a Movie!
Freeman Press,
I agree with you that New York rap journalists pretty much designated Biggie the greatest of all time. Also, I concur that Rakim is the best MC of all time. In my opinion, he did manifest all the essential elements of being a great MC!
Peace
Anonymous,
You'll get no argument from me on Mr. Gaye deserving a biopic!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Peace
Not all east coast folks say Biggie is the best from all time. I'm from Long Island, and Biggie was never bigger than Rakim, Chuck D., EPMD, or De La Soul, but he was respected for bringing attention back to the east coast on a national level. He spoke to a different consciousness that was more nationally relate-able than the LI or Mt. Vernon (Heavy D., Grand Puba, Pete Rock) consciousness. But to say he was "better" than "all" those brothers... particularly when they were all out at the same time, would have been absurd.
Why is that Rakim lyric considered so great? I think Rakim's style was really different when he came out, but looking back, I'm not as impressed. He doesn't seem particularly witty to me, and most of his great songs seem to be him discussing how wonderful he is. I take Pac over everybody just because he touched on every topic, and evoked emotion in a way that nobody could match.
Also, that article said Ready to Die wasn't a classic, and it complained that Biggie didn't really have much to say about black life. Bullshit. Ready to Die was an accurate portrayal of life in the early 90s. I grew up in New Orleans, and I lived far from the "hood." Well, not that far. But, from what I saw and heard from my peers Biggie's bleak representation of the hood was spot on.
Rakim is on the top of my list as well.
As far as Biggie goes, I often wonder where his lyrics and style would have gone if he'd lived longer. For some reason I think he would have moved away from the money, clothes, and hoes thing. I must admit, he's still one of my favs. I remember him bringing it back to the east when the west was taking over.
First, but definitely not last, time on your blog. Love it.
Dwane T.
Point taken.
My reference was to New York rap journalists in the mid to late 90's. Specifically, those who wrote for "The Source" magazine during that time frame.
But, Biggie was a great talent and no one can take that away from him.
Peace
Big Man,
I think Rakim's major contribution was his style. He forced other rappers to step up their game. Rakim did have songs like "Casualties Of War" and "Juice" which he speaks about different topics than just himself.
But I will concede many of Rakim's songs do talk about his greatness.
Pac was a great poet and one of my all time favorites. Personally, I enjoyed his earlier work over the latter. Most of the material that was released while Pac was on Death Row, I didn't care for too much.
Ready to Die was a great Hip Hop record. It did describe a lot of the hopelessness that seemed to suffocate the city.
Peace
Strongblackwoman,
Thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog!
I've thought about how BIG would have changed over time as well, unfortunately we'll never know. No doubt, BIG was a great talent.
Peace
Rakim, KRS-1 LL when he's feeling well.
Mista Jaycee,
You'll get no argument from me with your top three MC's listing!
Peace
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