#TBT: Beanie Sigel

Beanie Sigel became the unlikely centerpiece of Meek Mill's beef with The Game and in the process introduced himself to many young rap fans unfamiliar with his exploits in the early '00s as a member of the Roc-a-Fella family. Nicknamed the Broad Street Bully, Sigel was widely respected for his dusty, stubborn, and realist portraits of his formative years in South Philadelphia.

This article highlights some of the best songs from the most prosperous period of Sigel's career, from his initiation into the Roc in 1998 to the release of his third (and best) album The B. Coming in 2005.

Sigel signed to Roc-a-Fella Records in 1998, just in time to appear on Jay Z's third album Vol 2... Hard Knock Life. On "Reservoir Dogs" he raps the second of six verses. His line "Y'all niggas nuts, like testicles" is so horrendous that it's great, especially considering that he rhymes "testicles" with "vestibule."

"Remember Them Days" celebrates no longer living in the hood with nostalgia for days in the hood. In the video, Sigel flips through a photo album and screens footage of his old shenanigans, grateful for the trials that helped him grow to be a man.

On "What Ya Life Like," Sigel flaunts subhuman living conditions in jail ("You gotta wash out your drawers same water you shit / Brush, gargle, and spit same water you piss") and foreshadows regular run-ins with the law that would plague his career.

By the time Jay Z invited him to appear on The Familia, Sigel had already released his debut album The Truth, which firmly established him as the Philadelphia outpost of Roc-a-Fella. On his verse on "Stick 2 The Script" he asserts the "sturdiness" of his clique. You cannot faze this man, or the men surrounding him. They don't call him the Broad Street Bully for nothing.

Sigel doesn't actually go 1000 bars here, but it certainly feels like he could have if Memphis Bleek hadn't cut him off. 

Around 2000, Roc-A-Fella assembled an unprecedented bullpen of producers in Kanye West, Bink, The Neptunes, and Just Blaze. Although Just Blaze (and legendary Bay producer Rick Rock) produced the majority of The Reason, Kanye supplied the beat for the album's vigorous leadoff track "Nothing Like It."

In 2003, Sigel's State Property associate Freeway released his debut album Philadelphia Freeway. The best song on the album is "What We Do," an unforgettable affirmation for live in Freeway's native North Philly.

Widely regarded as Sigel's best album, The B. Coming was recorded in the weeks leading up to Sigel's year-and-a-day prison sentence for gun charges that must have seemed like small potatoes to the attempted murder trial that would follow. Indeed, "Look At Me Now" paints a portrait of a man standing his ground as the powers that be encroach on him from all sides.

"It's On" appeared on The B. Coming, which was released after Sigel left Roc-a-Fella. Jay Z had been a stabilizing force throughout Sigel's time on the Roc and he often implored Beans to stay true to himself while also not letting legal problems fuck up his career. On "Momma Loves Me" he rapped, “I ain’t tryna change you, just give you some game / To make the transition, from the street to the fame.”

"Feel It In the Air" is a song about Sigel's falling out with Roc-a-Fella. The lack of "sturdiness" in his Roc clique produced arguably the best track of his career. Indeed, as he has reminded us with his trio of Meek Mill diss tracks, Sigel seems to enjoy turmoil -- creatively, he feeds off of it.