20-years ago today, we said goodbye to a legend. Christopher Wallace’s death not only impacted Hip Hop—the genre he molded in his powerful hands—his beloved New York home, or music at large—it shook up the world. Notorious B.I.G.’s untimely passing robbed Hip Hop’s prodigal son of flourishing, and realizing his limitless potential. His death is a quintessential tale of “what if”; we will never know what could have been, or, more appropriately, what should have been. But, we’ll take what we can get. What we’ve got is two classic albums from the coogie sweater wearing lyricist: Ready to Die and Life After Death.
Biggie’s skill and engulfing allure stem from his varied flows, incredible storytelling, larger than life personality, and most importantly, his palatability. It’s pretty incredible to think about how many times Big’s been reincarnated through remixes, mash-ups, and other posthumous releases. It’s a testament to his musical breadth and depth; it proves that Biggie stands the ultimate test of time. While you might be familiar with EDM remixes, or even the Star Wars - Biggie mash-up, I think his best posthumous work is the 2008-released Ready to Die remix, Ready to Die (The O.G. Edition), featuring a combination of original verses layered over new instrumentals, unreleased freestyles, and legendary DJ remixes of his classic tracks.
Stream Ready to Die (The O.G. Edition) below, and pay respect to one of Hip Hop’s brightest visionaries. R.I.P., Big.