A big guy with an even bigger sense of humor, Biggie Smalls was truly a one-of-a-kind artist. While I love Tupac Shakur and nearly every song he's released, to me, the Notorious B.I.G. is clearly the superior rapper and lyricist of the two. Yes, Tupac had incredible flow, a knack for brilliantly mixing rap and poetry, and an expert vocabulary that shone through in his music, but Biggie had multiple flows, was an unrivaled storyteller, and appealed to a much wider audience without ever selling out.
Whether you're nodding your head in agreement or shaking it in disgust, hear me out. Biggie essentially paved the way for hip-hop as we know it. Not only did his work consistently smash the charts, it was always snazzy, stylish, and top-notch. Biggie Smalls proved that just because something is commercial doesn't mean it has to be low-quality, nor does it have to lose its street appeal. Biggie became quite a prolific ghostwriter in the hip-hop world, and gave female rappers like Lil' Kim a huge platform.
He was the king of New York and the king of rap. He helped make the genre cool and accessible to the general public (what '90s kid wasn't singing along to "Hypnotize?") but never lost sight of his artistry. Both he and Tupac are legends, but let's be real, Biggie will always be the best.
