| A Story to Tell: Biggie Smalls and Narrative – “N***** Bleed” | January 11, 2012 |
Abe Beame knows Captain Ron too. Consider everything you know about Arizona Ron. We know what part of Arizona he’s from, what kind of car he drives, the crew he used to run with, that he has a predilection for the Isley Brothers, he’s bilingual, the motto he has tattooed around his gun wounds, how […]
| The Feminine Mystique: Lil Kim- Hardcore | November 23, 2011 |
Abe Beame interrupts his series of obsessive nerding out to bring you a think piece on “Hardcore.” It’s difficult to gauge how responsible Biggie was for its composition. He executive produced the album, shows up with small, perfectly placed touches, lends Kim his delivery and cadence, but gets no explicit writing credits. But to ignore […]
| A Story to Tell: Biggie Smalls & Narrative – “Get Money” | November 1, 2011 |
Abe Beame beat Cease-A-Leo at Tecmo Bowl Biggie followed Ready to Die with Junior Mafia’s Conspiracy—a spotty album with two great singles, but one notable for being one of the first times a crew got a deal exclusively due to their friendship with a talented, successful rapper. Ultimately, Junior Mafia birthed one decent personality in […]
| A Story To Tell: Biggie Smalls & Narrative — “Suicidal Thoughts” | October 26, 2011 |
Abe Beame likes black Tim’s and black hoodies. Ready to Die ends with a bang. After an album of unbridled aggression and desperation, the climax is delivered through a quiet, inverted moment of reflection. Throughout his masterpiece, there are demons chasing the protagonists of Biggie’s songs. Though we never hear their deaths explicitly, we can […]
| A Story To Tell: Biggie Smalls and Narrative — “Friend of Mine” | October 19, 2011 |
Abe Beame does the blunts and brews thing, knocking that Wu-Tang. My favorite moment on Ready to Die comes at the end of the “Fuck Me” interlude. Biggie and Lil Kim simulate sex on a chair in the studio. As the skit reaches its climax, Kim intentionally or unintentionally falls off. Biggie immediately apologizes, and […]
| A Story to Tell: Biggie Smalls & Narrative — “Respect ” | October 13, 2011 |
Abe Beame hollers respect to all the con men. There’s a hypnotic quality to the bounce that anchors Poke and Puffy’s brilliant flip of George Mccrae’s “I Get Lifted.” Understandably, the beat and Biggie’s effortless wordplay have always mesmerized me on more casual listens. As a fan, it can drain the fun from a song […]
| A Story to Tell: Biggie Smalls & Narrative — “Juicy” and “Everyday Struggle” | September 27, 2011 |
Abe Beame apologizes to those who have been enjoying this series. He lost a hard drive with nearly half the articles, and it took him this long to extract them. Biggie’s most important stories were his own. Prior to 1994, rappers had largely been entrenched reporters relating facts on the ground. Biggie defied the tradition […]
Abe Beame feeds his Rottweilers gunpowder. And so for the second time in the first five songs on his first album, Biggie raps with himself. Only the magic moment that was rap in 1994 could a rookie release a two minute and 45 second phone conversation detailing his desire to defend himself from attackers plotting […]
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 […]
| A Story to Tell: Biggie Smalls and Narrative | July 26, 2011 |
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 […]
