Top 6 Reasons Biggie Smalls Is the Best Rapper to Walk the Earth

Top 6 Reasons Biggie Smalls is the Best Rapper to Live:

The Notorious B.I.G was hands down one of the best rappers of all time! Here we are…20 years after his tragic death in LA, Biggie Smalls still reigns supreme on every valid top rappers list to land. What is it then that sets him so high above the thousands of other rappers to come out of the inner cities? What is it that keeps listeners of all race, background, and breed coming back time and time again to him? Here are the top 10 reasons that Biggie Smalls still holds up as one of the best to play the game.

He truly started from the bottom.

The Notorious B.I.G grew up in the streets of Brooklyn surrounded by drug culture. As President Ronald Raegan hit the ground running with the War on Drugs, inner cities like Compton, Chicago, Detroit, and Brooklyn were flooded with poverty. With systematic racism so prevalent as well, young men in the inner cities were forced to sell drugs to make money for their families. Growing up in this environment pushed Biggie to take part. He found relief through in his God-given skills of Hip Hop. Biggie Smalls stands out as the greatest out of Brooklyn, and the leap he made is from drugs to professional rapper is a worthy note toward his greatness. One can still watch videos of Notorious freestyling on the side of the streets of Brooklyn. Which brings us to our next point, his freestyling abilities!

He had unmatched freestyling skills.

There is only one man that comes to mind who may be held to the same standard of freestyle skill as Notorious, and that is Eminem. At only 17 years old, Biggie was demolishing competition in the streets with his freestyling abilities. His amazing gift of being able to tell full and detailed stories about life on the streets selling drugs off the top of the dome is unparalleled! And the fact that his flow and lyricism were not affected by this are only further proof of the King’s reign over Hip Hop!

He had deeper flow than oceans!

This is a very common realization about Biggie’s skills. His flow was absolutely unmatched by any coming out of Brooklyn (or Hip Hop in general) and has pretty much remained the same more than 20 years later! There are a lot of reasons for the indescribable flow from Biggie’s lungs. One of the greatest reasons for this is, unlike most other rappers, Biggie Smalls ended a bar of lyrics at the beginning of the following bar. So his rhyme scheme would end right before the beat of the bass of the next bar. This created less pause between lyrical lines, and building a flow that if truly unmatched! Biggie is also famous for switching up the flow so smoothly that the audience did not lose track of the vivid story he was telling. These things together, and more, land Biggie Smalls permanently on the ‘best ever’ list.

With two albums…two platinum’s achievements!!

Unfortunately, Notorious B.I.G’s career was cut short today, March 9th, 20 years ago. But with only two albums released as a signed artist, both sold enough copies to hit gold and platinum status. This is one of the greatest honors and achievements for any artist, especially one coming out of such poverty and facing such adversity. With his first album, Ready to Die, Biggie became one of the first rappers to go quadruple platinum! An off of a debut set? This is how much people loved the work of Biggie! Going two for two with Platinum hits is flat out not done by other artists. His 100 percent record on that list easily shows that Biggie Smalls deserves to be on top rappers to walk the earth list.

His storytelling is unparalleled.

Biggie Smalls could write a better story within his music than Lin-Manuel Miranda! Now I know that struck a cord with a lot of people, but bear with me! Many rappers have this ability, but none quite like Notorious. He could make tricky wordplay and detailed stories and make the audience unsure of their reality. Like a great movie encapsulates the attention of the viewer for two hours, Biggie took them out of reality for two minutes! His song, “Somebodies Got to Die,” for example is a very detailed account where he shares real thoughts of vengeance for the loss of his buddy. It is due to this amazing writing that Biggie Smalls still reigns as one of the greatest to play!

His humility!

To me, this is the most impressive thing about Notorious B.I.G’s music. He was able to do what most other artists are terrified of doing. Rather than constantly talking about drugs, alcohol, etc. Biggie would often rap about himself. Making light of his weight and looks were often a tag he would use in lyrics. Lines like, “Black and ugly as ever” stand out as humble lines among his music. This shows one thing about him…he has lots of fun with the art he created and didn’t care what his image was.

As we remember the Notorious B.I.G today, the 20th anniversary of his tragic death, let us remember what he did. He changed Hip Hop. I truly believe he is rolling in his grave for what has become of the music he loved so much! He would be ashamed of rappers making millions off of music that doesn’t make a statement or difference in culture. Biggie’s music stood for standing up by telling the truth of the messed up world we live in. So let us remember Christopher Wallace for who he was. A man who loved his wife, his kids, his city, and Hip Hop…In that order.

So what does Notorious B.I.G have to do with Apollo Music? We stand for music that acts as a catalyst for change, no matter what form it takes. Yes, we seek to promote Christian artists of all genres for the sake of the Kingdom of God. But any music that moves to make a difference in the culture around them has our stamp of approval! This is what Biggie Smalls stood for. No, it is not clear in every song he ever wrote, but the reality he speaks about in songs like “Suicidal Thoughts,” “I Got a Story to Tell,” “Warning,” and “10 Crack Commandments,” his message reigns.

My hope and prayer is that the Notorious B.I.G (Christopher Wallace) continues to Rest in Peace today. Thank you.

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