Our love for The The Notorious B.I.G. will always be just that — big! Who would’ve thought that 25 years ago, a guy self-described as “Black and ugly as ever” would go on to become one of the most revered emcees to ever touch a mic by kicking off his career with a debut album we all know and love as Ready To Die. The LP was universally acclaimed from jump — we even had to bump it up from our original 4.5 rating in ’94 to a perfect Five Mics score back in ’02! — and the appreciation hasn’t faltered in the time since its release.
Now, Amazon Music is taking time to show Biggie’s arrival album its proper dues with a mini-doc that you can watch right now.
#TheBirthOfBiggie: 25 Years of #ReadyToDie minidoc follows the #NotoriousBIG at the crucial moment when he was transitioning from “unsigned hype” to rap superstar. Watch here: https://t.co/2O0RKAtbOY
Listen to #Biggie on Amazon Music ?: https://t.co/m5w7qypqEy pic.twitter.com/WpDfQ43jsW
— Amazon Music (@amazonmusic) September 12, 2019
The doc includes words and recollections from those who were there from the beginning, including Mister Cee who submitted BIG’s first mixtape to The Source‘s former “Unsigned Hype” editor Matty C. The rest is of course history, leading to a feature in our March 1992 publication (Issue #30) that would go on to officially put him on the rap map and, well, a legend was born!
The Birth of Biggie: 25 Years of Ready To Die is narrated in part by the slain rapper himself, and even comes with an extra Amazon Music component that you can activate by saying “Alexa, play ‘The Birth of Biggie.'” Technology, man!
Watch The Birth of Biggie: 25 Years of Ready To Die by Amazon Music above. R.I.P forever, B.I.G.!
