Co-signed by Premier himself, DJ Finesse presents his Biggie Over DJ Premier mixtape which actually made it’s debut on Premo’s Live From Headqcourterz SiriusXM show on March 8th. Seamlessly blended Biggie a cappellas over Premo instrumentals. Hit the jump for the tracklist and stream/download.
Forget Casper the Friendly Ghost. There’s a new HNIC-ghost in town, kicking in the doors. House of Wallace is a new animated series that will follow the late Biggie’s two kids, CJ & T’yanna in which the premise is their struggle to “prevent their father’s Brooklyn music studio from being replaced by “a cookie cutter ‘entertainment factory.’” Yes, Biggie will star as the ghost who “serves as a central character, appearing to the children in ethereal form to guide them through the adversities they face as they struggle to preserve their father’s labor of love.” The press release states: “Not only will C.J. and T’yanna be voicing their own characters, but a bevy of musical artists will also appear on the show, alongside a hilarious and endearingly-affable staff of studio employees. Music will constitute a central component of the show, including original songs from guest stars and re-imagined renditions of classics from the Wallace catalog.” This really gives a new meaning to Life After Death. Sorta. Spotted at Complex via Gawker.
PREVIOUS: Diggers Union: Enjoy & Be Educated – The King and I
With today marking 16 years since we lost B.I.G., a lot of unearthed gems are being showcased to the world, including never-before-seen alternate album artwork for Biggie’s posthumous Life After Death. egotrip tracked down artists Ebon Heath and Michele Thorne to talk about the original artwork concept, their relationship with Bad Boy Records at the time, Puffy’s reaction to the artwork and how the final, darker-themed motif came to be. Read it here.
PREVIOUS: The Cypher: The Notorious B.I.G. Tribute (Trailer)
With tomorrow being the 16th anniversary of The Notorious B.I.G.’s untimely passing, Tim Westwood unearthed some rare footage of Biggie and Diddy Puff Daddy performing at the Hammersmith Palais in London on March 19th, 1995. Check the impressive footage (the audio is better than 75% of the clips we see today, in 2013) of the two running through countless classics.
Although these vids have been floating around the YouTubes for awhile now, some may have never seen these, especially considering that it’s hard to navigate through all the trash that permeates YouTube. Up top, Biggie and entourage, including Dream Hampton who shot this footage, get kicked out of their hotel while on tour. A rare glimpse into the personal life of BIG on tour. Down bottom, BIG is interviewed while on the set of the video shoot for Warning where he talks about his relationship with his Moms, deading the name “Biggie Smalls”, and tells us “Don’t play Kwame, he’s waaack!”
The Junior M.A.F.I.A. member explains why he favored Biggie’s I Got a Story To Tell and the genius of the story telling in the Life After Death cut.
The Buckwild-produced “I Got a Story to Tell” is bare-bones as far as rap tracks go. With its drum track reminiscent of MC Lyte’s “Paper Thin” and its sparse acoustic guitar strokes, the song’s beat is the perfect background for Big to weave his complex robbery tale. In addition to its detailed imagery, the late rapper injected a healthy dose of humor into the track; that, for Cease, is the song’s greatest quality. “Me and Big used to listen to records all the time, and when I heard ‘Story to Tell,’ just the story line … Big’s charisma, his sense of humor is what used to catch me about him,” he said. “He could take you off and on, light switch. It could be so hard and in a minute you’ll be crying, laughing in tears, like, hold up, you gotta rewind that back.”
READ: Lil Cease Says His Favorite Biggie Record, Story To Tell Is Genius
PREVIOUS: The Guy Who Shot Biggie
Some of y’all may have heard this Biggie verse on mixtapes in the past. This is the original joint that that verse is from, off Doctor Dré & Ed Lover’s 1994 release Back Up Off Me! The 7 King Just and Biggie shine like the Sun on this, but what else did you expect? Produced by Mark the 45 King.
DOWNLOAD: Doctor Dre & Ed Lover – Who’s The Man f. Biggie, King Just & Todd1
Photo via: upnorthtrips.com
First of all, shame on Bad Boy management* for not trying harder at getting these pressed up and out to the masses back when it meant more. Instead, we had to wait nearly a decade to hear this. *Refer to Industry Rule #4080. Now on to the music. First up, we have the demo version of Come On (Motherfuckers) produced by DITC’s Lord Finesse. Originally released on Finesse’s Rare Selections V. 1 in 2008, Japanese label Soundtable repressed these on a double-sided 12″. As expected, Finesse’s version beasts on Clark Kent’s, so much to the point that listening to the Born Again version is nearly unbearable, as is practically the entire album. Just imagine if this version was a part of the official tracklist for Ready To Die; a whole ‘nother echelon!
Next up is the original version of Think Big by Pudgee Tha Phat Bastard which unfortunately barely saw the light of day (with the exception of a few test presses that made it out) due to sample clearance issues. Although I was hardly a fan of Pudgee, all three emcees went in and did their thing. A few years later, Biggie was replaced by Sadat X and the Donny Hathaway sample (props to KN) stripped, with production handled by someone else. For more behind-the-scenes info, read the official review here.
DOWNLOAD: Biggie – Come On f. Sadat X (Demo Version) (prod. Lord Finesse) | Mediafire
DOWNLOAD: Pudgee Tha Phat Bastard – Think Big f. Lord Tariq & Biggie (prod. Minnesota) | Mediafire
In the next installment of Grind Music Radio’s sit down with The Funky Man, Finesse breaks down the story behind Dre’s The Message which he explains was originally for himself and how he wasn’t able to shut Dre down on taking the beat, as well as working with Biggie, including their first record together; the Party & Bullshit remix.
With the blessing of the two Commanders that helm this ship, I will be starting up a new section called T.R.O.Y. (2)Deep (changed out of respect to the other blog bearing the same aforementioned title). This section will focus solely on rare cuts, demos and classics from the real Golden Era of Hip-Hop, the early 90s. I understand the photo above doesn’t directly reflect the post, but I’m running with it until I find a suitable picture.
Have you ever come across someone that made you ask (in a bad way…) who the fuck is this!? I sure have… which is probably why I’m digging this record (and video) so much as I’ve been in a few of these situations haha. Taken off True 2 Music’s Biggie inspired mixtape, Larger Than Life, which can be downloaded after the jump…
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Episode 2 of Will Roush’s animated series. Serving as promotion for his upcoming mixtape, Know My Name v.1, which is getting a cosign from DJ Skee & Whoo Kid. This post also brings a new freestyle from Will.
We pick up in middle of the mixtape, where Will’s already time-traveled to Compton to check Game, and Atlanta to hang with Outkast. He’s overwhelmed by all the hip-hop history he’s experiencing and he’s calling Biggie for help. Biggie sends Will to see his man Jay-Z in Marcy Projects. Again, the illustrations are by an amazing artist out of Texas named Profesone , and directed by legendary hip-hop visual artist Skam 2, who was the creative force behind artwork for Eminem’s The Slim Shady LP and A Tribe Called Quest’s Beats, Rhymes and Life, among others. The video was written and produced by Matt Fingaz. The episode is followed by a freestyle over a melange of different beats, that exhibits Will literally going from the past to the present.”
DOWNLOAD: Will Roush – Take It Back Freestyle
PREVIOUS: Will Roush Meets Biggie (Video) x Know the Ledge Freestyle
