It starts out as a typical love-making session, as Big’s got 112 blaring on the speakers, and they roll up some weed and kick it. The track begins with a warning for Big, but by the end, you’ve got the feeling that it’s the would-be robbers who should be worried.įor this one, Biggie tells the story of a time he hooked up with a lady who was seeing a New York Knicks player. Blending humor with menace, Big responds with a colorful description of a ghetto fortress with gun powder-eating rottweilers, Calicos and a Beretta to handle any and all enemies. In the second verse of “Warning,” a friend explains how the rolexes, the fact that he copped his mom a crib and more made Biggie a target of robbers. You can practically see Big going on a robbing rampage on Fulton Street. 1 Mom” pendant and describes the welts a victim would have on their neck after getting their chain snatched. At one point, Big demands that a mother gives up her “No. On the song, Biggie and his mans are as ruthless as they are hilarious, and Biggie’s details bring an immediacy to their threats. Big’s plotting robberies with a younger friend who’s got a higher-pitched voice and a child-like enthusiasm for a potential homicide. The story’s only 12 bars, but with his vivid details and a conversational dynamic, he covers a lot of ground.Ī Ready to Die standout, the first verse of “Gimme the Loot” succeeds by creating two distinct personalities and laying out robbery logistics with painterly strokes. First he remembers the champagne-colored Range Rover, then he remembers the Gucci glasses and thinking he might have been part of Big Daddy Kane’s crew before ultimately recalling his demise. He struggles to remember the man’s name, but, through short, choppy sentences filled with spurts of details about the character, you can practically feel the memories rush into Biggie’s head.
The notorious big suicidal thoughts skin#
In the convo, Big and his friends remember Dark Skin Jermaine, a local dude who was killed over two kilos of cocaine. “You’re Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You)” (Verse 3)īig simulates a conversation about a dead man to make a trenchant point about the way death can, ironically enough, make you immortal. The granular elements help Biggie create a unique character who is as much a mythic street figure as he is just a guy from round the way.Ģ. It’s all casual enough to be a barbershop conversation, but over the course of just 20 bars, Big lays out everything from Ron’s earlier crimes to his favorite music as he outlines the ethos of someone with “Nothing to lose” - a phrase tattooed around Ron’s gun wounds - and “Everything to gain.” Ron loving the Isley Brothers isn’t as important to the story as him murdering the brother of his baby’s mother, but Big spares no details. He uses that gift to its fullest effect on “Niggas Bleed” verse two, where he renders the life story of a career criminal named Arizona Ron in colorful detail. Check out the list below.Īs a storyteller, Biggie’s best attribute was his ability to blend hyper-specific bits of information with conversational ease. Today, to celebrate what would have been Christopher Wallace’s 49th birthday, REVOLT takes a look at 11 verses that prove Big was hip hop’s greatest storyteller. one of the greatest rappers ever in his brief, but indelible career. These gifts, combined with a malleable flow and an ear for hits, helped make The Notorious B.I.G. On a song like “Warning,” he could be plotting preventative measures against would-be robbers, while on “Niggas Bleed,” he could color a lowkey street legend in everyday detail. Big was The Godfather meets Boyz N the Hood. With an impeccable command of the English language, conversational flow and a director’s eye for detail, Biggie could turn even the most casual of conversations into a revelatory look at the nature of human existence. had a story to tell feels like a drastic understatement because he seemingly had hundreds.
0 kommentar(er)
