Redman Talks About Hanging Out with Biggie at a Weed Spot Back in the Day

God bless his soul, The Notorious B.I.G, one of the greatest rappers of all time was a fun loving rapper, and was loved by all while he was alive. In a recent interview (Drink Champs with Nore and DJ EFN), legendary rapper, Redman narrated how he used to kick it with Biggie at a weed spot in New York called Branson, back in the 90s.


Read his words on this below...

"Me and Biggie definitely kicked it out there like plenty of times. Like Biggie used to be out there all the time and I used to know when he was out there cos if I pulled up and it was like champagne bottles lined up? Yea, he was up there."

Sauce Money Talks about Writing Puff Daddy's 'I'll Be Missing You' Hit Song

He was Puff Daddy, then he went on to be known as P Diddy, but I think he is back to being called Puff Daddy now...or just Puff. He started as an intern at Uptown Records, with Andre Harrell. He founded Bad Boy Records in 1993 when he got fired from Uptown Records by Harrell. His first artists were Craig Mack and Biggie. At some point, he started rapping, using ghost writers. His biggest hit till date was written by Sauce Money, a rapper from Marcy, New York that was bubbling in the underground back in the mid 90s. The name of that song is I'll Be Missing You, a tribute to Biggie, and it featured Faith Evans (Biggie's widow), and R&B group, 112...released in 1997.

In a recent interview on VLAD TV, Sauce Money talked about how he came about writing one of the biggest songs in rap history. Read his words on this below...

Clark Kent Speaks on How Jay Z and Biggie Met

I remember hearing a story back in the day that Jay Z and Biggie went to the same high school and had become close since then till they blew up on the hip hop scene. Even if they did attend school together, they probably weren't close, cos Jay Z was three years Biggie's senior. Back then, I believed this story, and I am sure a lot of rap music listeners also believe they were best of buddies because they made songs together, and did shows together. But after hearing Faith Evans say in recent interview that Jay Z and Biggie were not really close, I decided to do some research. I discovered that they always had a certain level of respect for each other, but never met till a mutual friend of their's, Clark Kent, introduced them at the recording session of Jay Z's Brooklyn's Finest song off Reasonable Doubt (1996), which featured Biggie.

Faith Evans Says Jay Z and Biggie Were Not Really Close Friends

Yesterday was Biggie's 20th death anniversary, so a lot of talk of one of the greatest rappers ever has been going on on the Internet. Yesterday, the Breakfast Club Crew (DJ Envy, and Charlamagne the god) interviewed Biggie's widow, singer Faith Evans, and she was asked whether Jay Z was really that close to Biggie back in the day, and she answered with...

Throwback Pic: Biggie and Lil Kim

Checkout this picture of mentor and protege, Biggie and Lil Kim from back in 1995. Rest in piece Biggie. 

Throwback Pic: Lil Cease, Jadakiss, Biggie, Sheek Louch, Mase, and Styles P

The Notorious B.I.G, one the greatest rappers ever died this day (March 9th) twenty years ago. Below is a picture of him, Lil Cease, Mase, and The LOX.

From left to right, you have Lil Cease, Jadakiss, Biggie, Sheek Louch, Mase, and Styles P. This was probably taken around 96-97, and they are all wearing Versace shirts...apart from Biggie. Nice.

Nas Names the Two Rappers He Wished He Had Worked With

Nas and NBA player, Kevin Durant were on the show, Any Given Wednesday yesterday, and the host (Bill Simmons) was throwing quick questions at them. One of the questions thrown at Nas was which rapper he wishes he had collaborated with, and he answered with...




"There's two. The ones I was naming in the whole show; Tupac and Biggie. Me and Biggie almost worked on his first record. And by the time he was working on the second album, our competition thing had grown so much that we just stayed away from each other. And with Tupac, right before he passed away, we talked about getting together and doing something. So, I wish...I wish it happened." 

Lil Kim Reveals One of Biggie's Biggest Dreams

One of the greatest rappers of all time, the late Notorious B.I.G (a.k.a Biggie) might have released two full length albums in his lifetime, but his face sure is on the Mount Rushmore of Hip Hop. Lil Kim, who was his lover, protege/sidekick back when he was alive recently revealed one of his biggest dreams. 



During her interview on Biggie's 19th year death anniversary (Biggie died on March 9th 1997) at Hot 97 FM radio with Funkmaster Flex, Lil Kim got talking about Biggie and some things we might not have known about him, then she got into the discussion of his second album, Life After Death. And from there, she revealed one of Biggie's biggest dreams. 

Lil Wayne List His Top 3 Rappers Of All Time

Lil Wayne was on ESPN a couple of days ago, and during the course of the interview, he was asked to list his top 3 favorite rappers of all time, and the usual suspects came up...

Is Eminem Better Than Biggie?

Is Eminem better than Biggie? Some would say this question is blasphemous, but some people do believe Eminem is lyrically better than the late Notorious B.I.G. Well, if it is based on just one aspect of their rapping skills, then I think we might have an interesting discussion here.

Female rapper from New Jersey, Lady Luck once said she believed Eminem is better than Biggie, and she was greatly criticized for that statement. In a recent Interview with DJ VLAD, she spoke on what she really meant.

Rare Hip Hop Photo: Jay Z and Biggie

Looking at this pic which must have been taken around 96/97, it is almost like Jay Z has not changed at all. It's good to see pics like this... Jay Z and Biggie on the same stage, live.

Mase Recalls One of His Favorite 'Biggie' Memories

If Biggie was still alive he would have been 42 years old a couple of days ago (on May 21). So, as a celebration of his life, a couple of people that were close to him while he was alive were interviewed, and asked to speak on some of their favorite memories with him. Mase was signed to Bad Boy Records a year before Biggie died, and he did some songs with the late Christopher Wallace, so it was legit to ask him about his memories...below is the story he shared. 

One time everybody was on the plane and the plane start shaking. It was everyone’s first time on a private jet. We all from the ghetto, we don’t know about no private jets. So we on a private jet and the joint just started shaking. Everybody getting scary, cause the the plane is shaking like it’s about to crash. Then Biggie puts his head down with his hoodie on and pulls out his CD….Ready To Die. [Laughs] Everybody started laughing and it just made the whole trip better. (Power 106 FM Interview)

Classic Hip Hop Video: One More Chance Remix (Notorious B.I.G feat. Faith Evans)

I put up a classic Hip Hop video every Friday, and the one for today is the remix of Biggie's One More Chance, which features Faith Evans...This was actually the first Biggie song I ever heard, and I knew from then on that the dude was a phenomenon.

Classic Hip Hop Video; Been Around The World (Puff Daddy feat. Mase and Biggie)

Diddy (Puff Daddy) made some of the best hip Hop videos of the 90s...this is one of my all time favorites from that era- Been Around The World, Puff Daddy feat. Mase and Biggie. It's a super creative, super colorful video. Most videos are all the same now; they are all shot in a club, or in a house with a party going on, or on the streets. This is...let me shot up and let you watch it...or watch it again if you already saw it back then.

Throwback Song: I Love The Dough (Biggie feat. Jay Z)

The throwback song of the day is I Love The Dough...Biggie feat. Jay Z. This is one of my favorite songs from Life After Death (disc 1; Notorious Thugs is my favorite from the second disc). Listen and download the song below.

Download here- I Love The Dough

Sheek Louch Speaks On Missy's Input in the Making of 'It's All About The Benjamins'

Probably my best rap song ever, 'It's All About The Benjamins' was released shortly after Biggie passed in 1997. And was part of the many hit songs that made it on Puffy's (P.Diddy) super successful first album, No Way Out. Read up what Sheek Louch (one third of The LOX) says about Missy's involvement in the making of the song.






“I remember we first got there with Puff. Me, Kiss, and Styles walked in the room and there was this girl in there and shit,” said Sheek. “And they was listening to that beat. At first I didn’t like it…She was talking to me like she knew me. ‘Yo, let me hear you rap to that.’ ‘First of all, who are you?’ She’s dancing and shit. She’s making beatboxing noises and shit while she like ‘Yo, let me hear you spit something to this.’ So, I said ‘alright’…So, I did my first verse—‘strictly tryna cop those’—it wasn’t even for that. I did it. Styles did something; she was like ‘meh.’ Jada did a verse to it. I swear to God, no diss to Styles. That’s my brother. Jada did his verse and shit she was like ‘Yo.’ He [Styles P] ain’t on the record and shit. And then she was like ‘You gon’ go here, you gon’ go here, y’all two, you and Kiss, gonna write Puff’s verse.’ Then she just walked off beatboxing. Later on that was Missy Elliott…But we didn’t know that was her. She put the whole ‘Benjamins’ together.”

Sheek said Styles was initially upset about not being included on the song and revealed that no one in the group had any idea how huge the record would later become.

“He was tight at first. We didn’t know that song was gonna take off like that. Before Big and Kim got on it…He don’t care. So, it is what it is,” he said. (hiphopdx.com)




I always wondered why Styles P wasn't on that track...Never would have thought that Missy had something to do with it. I swear, till this day, the song jams like crazy. The other day, my cousin and I were driving around his neighborhood, a day after he got married, with the song playing on full blast...on repeat, with the bottle of Jack Daniel on my lap. That is one song every hip hop fan should have on his ipod.

Retro News: Biggie and Nas Beef

The best of the best always clash, so it is not a surprise that Biggie and Nas had their feud back then. Every rapper believes he is or tries to be the best, so one way or the other, the rappers at the top would always bump heads...even if they are cool with each other, the ego always gets in the way. Nas and Biggie got into the game around the same time. Nas dropped his first verse on Main Source's Live At The Barbecue track in 1991, and the first mainstream verse from Biggie was on the remix of Mary J. Blige's Real Love single in 1992. They dropped their debut albums the same year (Illmatic and Ready To Die-1994), Biggie became a super success story with the help of Puffy, and Nas got tagged the second coming of Rakim...Hip Hop's messiah.

They were bought from New York, and at the time, the title of The King Of New York was very special. Nas had the crown for a while, but Biggie got it from him because he was more commercial successful, and more well known. Then in 1995, there was a Vibe magazine cover with biggie that read King Of New York. Nas felt slighted, and on a song off his second album in 1996 titled The Message, he had this lines- 'Now let me let y'all niggas know one thing/there's one life, one love, so there can only be one king.' Biggie got the subliminal message, and on a track (Kick in The Door) off his second album in 1997, he dropped this reply lines- 'Your reign on the top was short like leprechauns/As I crush so-called willies, thugs, and rapper-dons...This goes out for those that choose to use Disrespectful views on the King of NY...Ain't no other king in this rap thingThey siblings, nothing but my chil'ren'

Some really sick lines from Biggie right there. Big was a real wordsmith for real. It's so unfortunate that his life was caught short. Anyway, Nas spoke about the whole biggie war on 'Last Real Nigga Alive, off his Godson (2002) album. Check out some lines from the song...

"Y'all don't know about my Biggie wars
Who you thought 'Kick In The Door' was for?
But that's my heart, y'all still trippin of this Jigga shit
Real niggas listen up and I'mma tell you how the whole thing start"

50 Cent Names His Top 5 Favourite Rappers

During his interview with Larry King a couple of months ago, 50 Cent named his top 5 favourite rappers of all time. I was meant to have put this up months ago, but I must have forgotten. I just found it in my archives, saved as a draft. Anyway, check out 50 Cent's top 5 favourite rappers...a couple of surprises on the list.

"Top five favorite rappers, for me, would be artists like KRS-One, Rakim, Biggie, Tupac, one of my favorites too, Nas was one of my favorites early on. [Favorite childhood artist?] KRS-One because the aggression that he came with, with 'The Bridge Is Over.' Like, hip-hop's always been competitive so it's always been battling, it's been a part of the artform and he came in with the kind of energy that was necessary for you to make a statement." (Larry King Now)






I Remember 50 Cent dissed Nas on his Piggy Bank track off The Massacre album (2005), and they have not been on good terms since then. So, I was really surprised to see Nas's name on the list. Maybe that's why he said he was a Nas fan earlier on...like in the 90s.  A lot of people don't know this, but 50 Cent was actually considered for a part of Nas's The Firm rap clique (which had Foxy Brown, AZ, Cormega, and later Nature) back in the late 90s. 50 also featured Nas on two tracks (Too Hot & Who U Rep With) off his 'Guess Who's Back' underground album in 2002. He even went on Nas's Nastradamus tour with him back in 2000. So, you know they have a history together. I think it all went wrong when 50 Cent did a verse on the remix of J LO's hit, I'm Gonna Be Alright in 2001, but 50 got shot around the time, and a lot of music execs didn't want to do business with him. So, they took 50 off the song, put Nas on it, and shot a video for the song. 50 cent felt betrayed by Nas. When 50 finally blew up with Aftermath in 2003, he went at all his perceived enemies.

Uncle Murder Speaks On Nas Cosign

By the way, Uncle Murda has changed his name to UM. I think that was a good decision. Anyway, some months back, Nas gave Uncle Murda a cosign, saying he gives him the Biggie vibe.  UM has come forward to speak on that moment in his life-




"Nas had wrote on Twitter that I give him an ill Biggie vibe. And then when I had got the call like, 'Eh yo, go check Nas' Twitter. Nas just said that you remind him of Biggie.' So when I saw that, I retweeted that sh*t about 50 f*cking times. That was like an accomplishment for me. For Nas to even big me up like that or even comparing me to Big like that, that was ill. I felt good, that's why I said it in the 'New York City' record and that's why I retweeted the sh*t 50 times. I felt good about it. Nas is one of the best to ever do this sh*t and in a lot of people's eyes, the best to ever do this sh*t. It was a good feeling. It felt almost as good as doing a record with Jay Z. There's certain things that don't happen for everybody. Everybody don't get to do a record with Jay Z. Nas ain't saying everybody gives him a Biggie vibe. It's little sh*t like that that I accomplish and I'm thankful for and happy." (SOHH)







Hahaha! I laughed twice while reading his comment. I wont lie, I haven't heard much Uncle Murda music. I think I heard a couple of songs from him on mixtapes back in the mid 2000s, but wasn't really paying attention like that. I think I will try and listen to some of his newer stuff now.

Notorious B.I.G To Star As Ghost In "House Of Wallace"

House Of Wallace is a new cartoon on the way to TV, which stars the late Notorious B.I.G as a ghost, helping out his two kids, C.J and T'yanna Wallace through difficult times, as they work towards stopping Biggie's old studio from being turned into a 'cookie cutter' entertainment factory. Although it hasn't been picked up by any TV networks yet, word out is that a few networks have shown interest in the project.







C.J is currently 16 years old, and is the kid he had with R&B singer, Faith Evans; T'yanna is his 19 year old daughter that he had with his girlfriend back in 1993. I guess they are going to use some sort of technology like what was used for Tupac's Hologram at a concert last year; and the voicing...I don't know how they would do that, but I am sure technology can help with that too. Oh, what am I saying. It is going to be animated, so there is really no need for that.







Below is a statement from Biggie's kids concerning the project-

"It's been 16 years since our Dad was murdered and we miss him dearly. It is such an honor for us to be able to carry on his legacy, not only through his music but also by channeling him through our own creativity,” his children wrote in a statement. “This project, 'House Of Wallace,'  is a great opportunity for us to bridge the gap between our parents, who loved his music, and the kids and young adults our ages, that were not around to really appreciate it.”