Today’s artist of the day is Christopher Wallace aka The Notorious B.I.G aka Biggie Smalls, a legend in Hip Hop/Rap history and the face of East Coast gangsta rap.
Characteristics
The first characteristic that i like about Biggie Smalls is his lyrical value and content. Biggie Smalls grew up in the tough streets of Brooklyn, New York becoming a drug dealer at a young age and reflected all of this in his lyrics. He would sing about his life in Brooklyn but would also deliver words of wisdom and uplifting messages in his song’s. He learned phrasing from a jazz saxophonist in his teens, a few good examples are “Sky’s The Limit,” “Big Poppa” and “Juicy.” He first started making music around the age of 17 and then joined a crew called “Old Gold Brothers,” after a while he began to build a reputation.
The second characteristic that i like about Biggie Smalls is mainly directed towards how Biggie’s music inspired many other musicians after him and how he put the east coast on the map. Biggie Smalls had a very unique way of rapping and making music, this inspired many artist such as 50 Cent, Lil’ Wayne, Jay-Z and many others. Future artist were inspired by Biggie’s emotion in his lyrics and the messages he delivered within his lyrics but were also inspired by his musical style, which was mainly the rap/hip hop feel of New York but he would also include other styles like blues and funk.
Impression
Like other artists i am also inspired by The Notorious B.I.G, i like both his lyrical and musical style. As a listener i love how Biggie’s music has a progressive but hard hitting feel to is and i also like how his lyrics flow perfectly with his music. As an industry professional i would of loved to work with him, i personally like to emulate Biggie’s musical style but throw my own twist on it to. He inspires me to make music that has an older feeling to it but also contains meaning and emotion.
Artist Comparison
The artist that i chose to compare to The Notorious B.I.G is oddly enough, Tupac Shakur. Even though these two artist were enemies and sadly were murdered because of rumors and the feud between them, both artist had a big influence on rap/hip hop and future artists and both became legends. Both artist came from a rough child hood and a tough street life and had a way of connecting with their audience. Musically they were both different from artists at the time and changed music for the east coast and the west coast. As far as lyrical content goes both artist not only rapped about their tough street life but would push political and influential messages.
My conclusion is that both artists became legends because of the way they rapped, what they rapped about and their musical style.
References
(n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2015, from http://www.biography.com/people/biggie-smalls-20866735
Biggie Smalls: The Voice That Influenced A Generation. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2015, from http://www.npr.org/2010/08/02/128916682/biggie-smalls-the-voice-that-influenced-a-generation
Shmoop Editorial Team. (2008, November 11). Notorious B.I.G. Influences. Retrieved October 22, 2015, from http://www.shmoop.com/notorious-big-juicy/influences.html
(n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2015, from http://www.biography.com/people/tupac-shakur-206528
THISSONGISSICK.COM | From Bangin to Chill. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2015, from http://thissongissick.com/blog/tag/biggie-smalls/#sthash.DEpHOIHi.dpbs
adrianastello 