I’m starting to think that Biggie was the last great pure emcee. That is, there are other rappers who have been succesful since Biggie died, most notably, Jay-Z, but there was a level of effortlessness that Biggie seemed to possess that nobody since him has had.

I ain’t gon’ front, though, during his heyday, I didn’t really appreciate Biggie as much as I do now, because I wasn’t feeling his subject matter. Nor was I crazy about the shiny suit era of which he seemed to be a vanguard. Even then, I felt that the simple pursuit of wealth was detrimental to hip-hop’s health, although the fact that Biggie was such a good emcee made that case somewhat difficult to argue. In that sense, Biggie was akin to Ice Cube in that he made it look so easy that his dozens of imitators copied the easy part, not realizing the true depth and complexity of what he was actually doing.

Simply put, Biggie could rhyme. Would I put him in that elite top 5? Probably not. But he’s the only person post-93 who might stand a real chance of making that league. Now to be fair, Hov might could make it, but off alternative criteria like longevity and stuff. He can rhyme too, but he don’t make purely off’a rhyme skills. Biggie was just better.

Top 10 Biggie Songs (in no particular order)

Dreams
Unbelievable
Hypnotize
I Got A Story To Tell
Ready To Die
Kick In The Door
Warning
Who Shot Ya
One More Chance (remix)

Well, almost in no particular order. I do have a number one Biggie Song. It’s actually the song that made me realize how complete a writer Biggie was. My favorite Biggie song is the ridiculously sublime, Niggas Bleed.

Happy Biggie Day.