This is the best song in his repertoire, by far. He never sank to the depths of cheap insults found on tracks like “Hit ‘em up” (“Fuck Biggie, fuck Bad Boy.”) he simply brandished the sharpest edge of lyrical wordplay imaginable and let his skills do the talking. This is, in my mind, why Biggie ultimately came out on top. A contender for best rapper of all time and a gifted East Coast storyteller whose gritty, objective realism won him enormous respect and credibility. Raekwon and Ghostface are great examples of artists who took umbrage with “not rappers” making mad bank in an industry they felt that had mastered, and had been left behind in (and they’re not wrong).īiggie highlighted all of this in “Long Kiss”, being wary of his peers and those around him:Īgain, a lyrical masterclass who put many to shame. « Respect » Notorious Big Verse 1 Nineteen-seventy somethin’, nigga I don’t sweat the date My moms is late so I had to plan my escape out the skins, in this world of fly girls Tanqueray and Hennessy until I cold hurl Ten months in this gut, what the fuck I wish moms’d hurry up so I could get buck wild, juvenile rippin’ mics and shit New York New York, ready for the likes of this.
One need only go back through the annals of hip-hop, to the late 80’s and 90’s, looking at interviews with various east/west rappers, to hear the bitterness coursing through the industry.
Jealousy became a driving force for many rivalries in hip-hop who sells the most records, who has the most money, who has the best shit, etc. It’s crazy how fully aware Biggie is of the game that’s being played. Biggie fucking OWNS this verbal joust with crazy intelligence: Every line is giving you exactly what you want to hear, calling out the people you want to see called out, without ever saying a name or specifying anything. Imagine, in an era where rappers were taking the easiest cheap shots at each other, dropping the names of their adversaries ON RECORD (considered a death wish at the time), The Notorious BIG steps in and reveals himself as a class act, avoiding every landmine, playing verbal chess with his prey, slipping the knife quietly between the ribs instead of going straight for the jugular. I get chills thinking about how advanced the lyrical wit on display really is. The original cut from Life After Death is THE quintessential battle anthem.Įnter BIG’s STUNNING wordplay. Accept none of the re-releases that see the lyrics laced with a different beat (Diddy baffles me). An energy and hunger propels this beat in ways not even “Notorious Thugs” can touch. For me, the true highlight of Life After Death begins with an incredibly vicious track engineered by the RZA.