Jul
28

A Story To Tell, Part II: The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Gimme the Loot”

Abe Beame loves your fucking attitude. Ready to Die. September 13th, 1994. It was game changing in the purest sense of that played out term.  You can’t discuss a single song without assessing it in the context of the album itself. Puffy and Biggie brought the big picture, a cinematic vision, one present in every… Continue reading »

Jul
26

A Story to Tell: Biggie Smalls and Narrative

Abe Beame took the bread and the lamb spread. Part 1: Love No Hoe You run into immediate problems when you start analyzing Biggie Smalls. For kids steeped in his brief catalog, it’s practically scripture. Most hip hop fans interested in these type of workouts can already recite the songs by heart. After all, by… Continue reading »

Jan
31

From Pasadena to Medina: Mister Cee’s “The Best of Notorious B.I.G.”

Caring about contemporary music is particularly difficult on a Monday. Last night, I attempted to trudge through an iTunes clogged with random demo’s, middling efforts from bands who released one song that I liked a year ago, and uh, The Streets’s George Orwell spaceship grime record released only to iPad users.  Within five minutes,  I… Continue reading »

Mar
09

I Want the Fucking Fortune Like the Wheel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgVcxrHEPkA Sometimes, I think that Canibus’ greatest contribution to the rap game was the line “the greatest rapper of all-time died on March 9.” Otherwise, no one would remember the exact date that B.I.G. passed. Were he wise, ‘Bus would go into business writing songs to help husbands remember anniversaries and their wives’ birthdays. There… Continue reading »

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