We'll Always Love Big Poppa.

The greatest rapper of all time died on March 9th, 1997, thirteen years ago today. Fuck all the haters and the detractors, Christopher 'Frank White' Wallace, a/k/a the Notorious B.I.G., b/k/a Biggie Smalls, is the greatest storyteller/lyricist of all time. Who else do you know, living or deceased, that could go off the top and drop from memory some of the most masterfully crafted verses of all time. Don't get me wrong, I love Wayne and Hova as much as the next guy (no homo), and they are two of the greatest to ever do it, but they aren't touching Big's sycamore style (more sicka than yours). There is not one rapper in the game who could spin a more compelling narrative than the King of New York. Don't believe me? Then peep "Somebody's Gotta Die", "Gimme the Loot", and "I Got a Story to Tell" for starters.

Hit the jump to keep reading and cop the file/tracklisting:


Just the other night, I was chopping it up with some of the homies, politicin on what coulda/shoulda/woulda been had we not lost Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, 2pac, and B.I.G.. While we were curious about the first three's potential unseen impact, they were our parents' generation, and there was some speculation that had they not all overdosed, they would have been so fried that they would have compromised their musical gifts.When 'Pac and Biggie's names came up, it was like the air had been taken out of the room. Thirteen years since the East vs. West beef was at it's highest, thirteen years since the genre's biggest icons were snatched from us, there is still one question: Why?
The "Why?" questions are endless, but no matter how many we ask, or how long we sit and think about it, the result is always the same. And it's always bleak. They are the closest thing I've seen to a martyr in my twenty one years as a resident of the planet earth, and thirteen years later I'm still trying to understand the ramifications of their untimely passing. So while I try to decipher that, I wanted to share a video I always found particularly moving from B.I.G.'s funeral in Brooklyn. It's amazing that even as the were mourning his death, all it took was Biggie's "Hypnotize" coming from one man's stereo to send Brooklyn into a lightweight riot, and full blown party.

Thirteen year's later, his words still hypnotize me.
Rest in Peace Christopher Wallace. We'll be missing you:


Click here to download still.grimey will always love big poppa
Tracklisting:
"Sombody's Gotta Die" - The Notorious B.I.G.
"Niggas Bleed" - The Notorious B.I.G.
"I Got a Story to Tell" - The Notorious B.I.G
"Letter to B.I.G." - Lil' Cease
"Gimme the Loot" - The Notorious B.I.G.
"Letter to B.I.G." - Jadakiss featuring Faith Evans
"Slam" - The Notorious B.I.G. & Jay-Z
"We'll Always Love Big Poppa" - The L.O.X.
"A Letter to B.I.G." - Raekwon
"I'll Be Missing You" - Puff Daddy featuring 112 & Faith Evans