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| 'Notorious' Inspires Our Fantasy Biggie Playlist: <i>Mixtape Monday</i> Posted: 05 Jan 2009 05:00 AM PST DJ Drama, DJ Khaled and more name their Frank White faves; Lil' Cease takes us back to B.I.G.'s beginning.
Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground OK, it's the first Mixtape Monday of 2009, and we're switching up our whole format — at least for this week. We do it big every week, but for this special edition, we went on a tour of Brooklyn with Lil' Cease and Jamal "Gravy" Woolard, who stars as the late, great Christopher Wallace in the Biggie biopic "Notorious." One of the stops that day was to Biggie's home in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn — it was a hip-hop pilgrimage, if you will. It's not officially recognized as a city landmark, but 226 St. James Place definitely sits on some sacred soil. For starters, it's the home where Wallace grew up to become the Notorious B.I.G. And to hear Cease explain it, there were some other icons who put in time on Voletta Wallace's stoop. "Nas and Big was cool," Cease told us while standing in front of Big's old building. "Nas would come right here, and we'd go out to Queensbridge." Biggie knew how to spread love the Brooklyn way, of course, but he also welcomed his fellow MCs, despite their locale. There was Nas, and then Cease said him and Big would go into Manhattan to catch Redman shows. "Big was a dude that listened to everybody," Cease said. "We didn't just vibe out only to his music and Junior M.A.F.I.A. That's how I know a real hip-hop artist: They listen. They listen and vibe to other people. You find your energy from listening to other people." The hip-hop gods didn't have it in the cards for Big and Nas to collaborate when God's Son visited BK, but there were some certified bangers created at 226. All Big needed was a beat tape and a pen — he was writing back in the beginning, Cease said — and it would be on. "Before I'd come up, Big used to throw me down $20," Cease said of the routine, motioning to the Wallaces' upper level. "From the third window right there. I'd go around the corner and get a bag of that brown, a couple Pepsis, some chips, some Dutches [cigars]. We'd go right in there. And I'd sit with him when he wrote the music. I was there when he wrote 'Warning' and 'Juicy.' " A Mixtape Monday Special Report We defy you to find an MC with a catalog as deep as Notorious B.I.G.'s in the short time frame he was making music. Last year, DJ Mister Cee, who is credited with discovering Big, dropped the definitive Frank White mixtape with his 10th-anniversary tribute tape. Cee put his weight on it and had all types of obscure gems and street classics on there. In honor of Biggie and his upcoming biopic, we decided to make our own fantasy mixtape. We reached out to several top party and mixtape DJs, asking them to pick one song to put on a Biggie mixtape. Obviously, all responses came back with more than one answer. " 'The Whut' had everyone around my way saying, 'F--- the world, don't ask me for sh--,' " DJ Green Lantern said. "It was Big and Meth rapping back and forth in the real EPMD way of finishing lines for each other. Sh--, that don't happen anymore. ... I liked early, hungry Biggie that rapped about struggle and hard times a little more than the champagne and name brands that popped up after he got paid. 'The Whut' was him in the hoodie tied tight. ... Black hoodie rap!" " 'Who Shot Ya' — huge record and was never originally on an album," DJ Drama chimed in. "That was a big song in the streets in '95. Huuuuuge!" " 'Victory,' because he gave it to n---as," DJ Khaled offered up. " 'What's Beef,' because it's so real. Straight up!" Well, all three DJs and their peers gave us more choices as we put together a track list for our own B.I.G. tribute tape. "Player's Anthem" "Mo Money, Mo Problems" "You'll See" "Can't You See" "You Can't Stop the Reign" "The Whut" "Real N---as" freestyle "Big Poppa" So So Def remix "N---as Bleed" "Warning" "Everyday Struggle" "One More Chance" remix "Unbelievable" "Think Big" For other artists featured in Mixtape Monday, check out Mixtape Mondays Headlines. Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
| Posted: 05 Jan 2009 05:00 AM PST Unusual Atlanta rapper doesn't fit in with any of the eclectic city's hip-hop subgenres, and that's just fine with him.
In 2009, we expect to hear big things from some new up-and-coming rappers in the game. Each day this week, we'll reveal a new artist that we think you should keep your eyes and ears open for in the coming year. Our first artist is a refreshingly different kind of Southern artist — so refreshing that he's also featured in this week's Mixtape Monday: B.o.B.
It's easy to say that B.o.B. is different, but who in the Atlanta rap scene isn't different? The city's roster of rappers includes ATLiens (Outkast), a snowman (Young Jeezy) and even a king (T.I.). And over the past year, Atlanta has had a string of distinctive hit records. From Rocko's "Umma Do Me" and Shawty Lo's "Dey Know" to Yung L.A.'s "Ain't I," the city's eclectic rap scene has developed specific subgenres, which also include crunk and snap. B.o.B. doesn't really fit in with any of those, however. "Being in Atlanta around that time period, watching all of the successful artists, naturally you are compelled to emulate that," B.o.B. said. "I felt the pressure to fit into this ... it's like an unspoken rule or something." And for a while he played along, even though he grew up listening to the O'Jays, Michael Jackson and Tina Turner; says he's influenced by artists ranging from Björk to the Beatles; and is also a huge Coldplay fan. Those artists didn't exactly fit into what was popular in Atlanta. "Throughout my whole life [I've never listened] to one genre of music," said B.o.B., "so I felt like I shouldn't just stick to one genre." He said his song "Cloud 9" garnered critical acclaim in the open-mic scene because of the song's uniqueness. As he traveled, the song's popularity grew, but he was reluctant to perform it on the club scene. "I was going to perform some other song," he said, something more appropriate for the clubs. But he was convinced by his manager, B. Rich, and mentor, Playboy Troy, to perform "Cloud 9." "I realized that, if I'm going to fail at doing music, then I'm not going to fail [by] doing what everybody else is doing," he said. By the end of that performance, he received a standing ovation. "Ever since then, I wasn't afraid to be different." This attitude eventually landed him on T.I.'s label, Grand Hustle, where, to his surprise, he found he fit right in. "I feel like I'm a breath of fresh air to Grand Hustle, but at the same time, it's all good," he said. "It's family." Despite signing with the label, he said he still has to hustle and wants to continue developing his sound, which he called universal and continuously changing. "By the end of next year, I'm going to sound like everything." More likely, everything's gonna sound like him. Maybe he's not so different after all ... Come back on Tuesday when we show some love to the not-so-well-kept-secret Wale. ... Related Videos |
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