cause the greatest rapper of all time died on march 9th

"cause the greatest rapper of all time died on march 9th
God bless his soul; rest in peace kid
it's because of him that i know what beef is"
- canibus

that line from canibus' "second round ko" (a great diss song pointed at ll cool j) will always be one i remember. i may not think big was the greatest ever, but he was definitely up there with the greats.

10 years ago today, the notorious big died, almost exactly 6 months after pac was killed. it's kinda surprising that it's already been 10 years. just like pac, big was killed at the pinnacle of his career. he had just released his sophomore album life after death, a double disc album filled with hits. he was already in the limelight before he died, and i feel just getting started.

on days like today, i wonder what woulda been if pac and big hadn't been killed when they were. pac woulda been on a fire, continuing his tirade against any and every one. big would have put out more music and probably kept puff in check. i don't people like 50 cent would have been able to emerge in the spotlight like they have. but with big and pac still alive, would the coastal beef continued ... probably. maybe they'd be able to squash it eventually. all i know is that it'd be good music. i can only imagine.

r.i.p.b.i.g.