Sometimes you know that an artist is special. It’s an intangible thing that isn’t always easy to put into words, but its something that I heard in the first few recordings by The Notorious B.I.G. The first time that I heard Biggie was in 1992 on the Hip Hop remix version of Mary J Blige’s “Real Love”. As soon as I heard his intro “Look up in the sky it’s a bird it’s a plane/nope its Mary J ain’t a damn thing changed/kickin’ ill flava wit’ the Teflon Don/wreckin’ shop gettin’ props/she got it goin’ on” I had to know who this MC was that the credits on the record referred to as Big E. Smalls. Every time that the radio played that remix, I turned his part up. I guessed from his cadence that he was a large cat. His voice had the same robust texture that big MC’s like Big Bank Hank of The Sugar Hill Gang and Kool Rock Ski of the Fat Boys had. B.I.G. almost sounded congested vocally, but it wasn’t a detriment to his flow. Quite the opposite, his vocal tone enhanced his flow greatly.

I never saw B.I.G. on a video and knew nothing about him, but I heard the voice again in ’92 on a song called “A Buncha Niggas” from Heavy D’s Blue Funk album. “A Buncha Niggas” was a posse cut featuring 3rd Eye, Guru of Gangstarr, Biggie Smalls, Rob-O, Heavy D and Busta Rhymes. It sounds crazy in 2022, but there was no way to research who this Biggie Smalls cat was. There’s no internet in 1992, so there’s no Google, YouTube or a way for me to check his social media, Sound Cloud or Band Camp page. My detective work led me to assume that he was affiliated with Uptown Records since he had appeared on a Mary J. Blige track and a Heavy D song - both Uptown artists. Once again Biggie was lyrically impressive and held his own against posse cut vets Heavy D, Guru and Busta Rhymes. Biggie spit: “I bring drama like ya’ spit on my momma/cannibalistic like that nigga Jeffrey Dahmer/I'ma head peeler, girl stealer/coffin sealer, ex-drug dealer.”

Less than a year passed and in 1993 Dancehall Reggae was extremely popular and many Dance Hall artists collaborated with Rap artists. Such was the case with the Bad Boy extended remix of “Dolly My Baby” by Super Cat feat Mary J Blige. The remix was based around a loop of “Watermelon Man” by Herbie Hancock, so it was already a winner. But there’s that voice again, preceded by Jesse West and some cat named Puff Daddy. “I love it when you call me Big Popp-a/the show stopp-a/the rhyme dropp-a” Biggie yelled. My detective work would again lead me to the Uptown connection because Jesse West was credited as a producer on “A Buncha Niggas”. But eventually I caught a video that confirmed my suspicions that Biggie was a large dude. I also noticed this Puff Daddy as a cat that was dancing in a Stacy Lattisaw video for a song called “What You Need” from 1989.

My wish that they would give this Biggie cat a solo song came in 1993 with the arrival of the soundtrack to Who’s The Man? “Party And Bullshit” was the culmination of the skills that I had heard on the previous three songs, but his verses ended too soon. B.I.G. sets it off: “I was a terror since the public school era/ bathroom passes, cutting classes, squeezing asses /smoking blunts was a daily routine since thirteen/ a chubby nigga on the scene/ I used to have the tre' duece and the duece duece/ in my bubble-goose now I got the mack in my knapsack/ loungin' black, smoking sacks up in Acs and Sidekicks with my sidekicks rocking fly kicks/ honeys want to chat but all we want to know is where the party at and can I bring my gat?"

B.I.G.'s first full solo outing didn't disappoint. The single was on Uptown Records and this time credited simply to BIG and produced by Easy Mo Bee. One year later in 1994 The Notorious B.I.G.'s full length album Ready To Die dropped and all questions were answered. The game would never be the same.