Notorious B.I.G.: Master Storyteller

It's been 18 years since The Notorious B.I.G. was tragically taken from us, and hip-hop has missed him every single day. If there's ever been someone who was born to rap, it was Christopher Wallace. No man since has sounded more at home on the mic than Biggie Smalls. It's almost futile trying to list out all of Big's individual attributes, but when listening back, it's his stories that continue to blow us away. 

Big's stories are intricately detailed, but with his narrative flow, and his ability to play multiple characters within a single song, a Big record is like a movie you can't take you eyes off. Big delivers the suspense, the laughs, the love, and, sometimes, the nearly unlistenable darkness. On the 18th anniversary of Biggie's passing, we've taken the time to select our five favorite stories from rap's master storyteller. All of these stories come off his two records, Ready to Die and Life After Death, so today's as good a day as ever to go back and give those a spin.

Are there any other B.I.G. narratives you would've included in the list? Let us know in the comments.

The first is an obvious choice: Big's first hit single, which now stands as one of the most iconic hip-hop songs of all-time. It's easy to see "Juicy" as an effortlessly feel-good party anthem, but the lyrics, which you know by heart, tell one of the greatest rags-to-riches stories ever recorded. And the song functions as both the story of Christopher Wallace's come-up as well as the entire hip-hop genre's rise to mainstream popularity. "It was all a dream."

Big recounts images from his childhood that tell his story but are immediately relatable. Like any hip-hop fan growing up, it was "Every Saturday 'Rap Attack,' Mr. Magic, Marley Marl." He contrasts these memories with painful ones of "sardines for dinner." His childhood wasn't all bad. But now it's all good. And he doesn't regret a thing. 

Big's come-up was as unlikely to himself as it was for those around him already at the top. How'd this gang-banging high-school drop-out hit the jackpot? They could never understand why "Birthdays was the worst days." "Stereotypes of a black male misunderstood / But it's still all good." We've seen Biggie dish out hate, anger, and depression, but on "Juicy," his most universally-loved single, it's all love -- the Brooklyn way.

Every rapper can rap about selling drugs, but no one can make you feel the suspense involved with the occupation like Big. On "Niggas Bleed," he takes us through a drug deal turned robbery, and with every line, you feel like you're right there with him. 

"Today's agenda, got the suitcase up in the Sentra / Go to room 112 / Tell them Blanco sent ya." Immediately, we know what's going down, and we brace for the ride. There's no lock on this deal, but there's only two ways it can end: "Just bring back the coke or the cream / Or else, your life is on the shelf."

Big's being sent on a mission, but he's acting on his own volition. After the first verse, a man who we assume to be Big's boss offers him a warning: "Promise you won't rob 'em"; "I promise / But of course I had my fingers crossed." Biggie knows the stakes. He calls up his ol' pal Arizona Ron, and then its go-for-broke: "Nothing to lose ... Everything to gain / Embedded in his brain."

Now it's go time. Biggie goes to the hotel and sees the concierge -- coincidentally, a familiar face: "Gloria from Astoria." What's going on in room 112, Gloria? "A Jamaican, some bitches I swear, they look gay / If it's trouble let me know, I'll be on my way," she answers. Big and Ron proceed to light the hotel on fire, kill all of room 112's attendees right as they evacuate the room, and "Pop open the briefcases, nothing but Franklin faces." 

Time to dip. They run through the crowded hallway, and those boys who were waiting in the Range happen to walk right past them. As they make their escape, Big seems totally unfazed by what just went down: "The funny thing about it, through all the excitement / They Range got towed, they double parked by a hydrant / Stupid motherfuckers." How did he make this shit up? Maybe he didn't. 

You should know by the title to listen up here. He starts out "I Got a Story to Tell" with a salute to "all the niggas that be fuckin' mad bitches in other nigga's cribs." Big's been there, done that. 

There was a particular honey Big used to mess with, who, apparently, gets "dick from a player off the New York Knicks." Biggie was up in the guy's bed while he was playing against the Utah Jazz. But time flies when you're having fun, and the next thing you know: "Honey I'm home!"

His girl screams, "Honey bring me up somethin' to drink! He go back downstairs, more time to think." She's frantic, but Biggie decides it's time for him to take control. He proceeds to cover his face with the woman's scarf and then ties her up and gags her with a pillowcase. Enter Knicks man --"comin' off some love potion shit / Flash the heat on 'em, he stood emotionless."

Big sticks him up, stashes the cash in his (Prada) knapsack, and gets the hell on out. As he pulls out of the driveway, he calls up his homies: "Bring some weed, I got a story to tell." Indeed. 

As Biggie mentioned that this particular ballplayer was about 6'5" or so, speculation has led some to believe that he might have implicated former Knicks guard John Starks. Last year, Starks himself went on ESPN's "Highly Questionable" to clear up the situation. Starks said that it was not, in fact, him who got stuck up by Biggie Smalls, revealing that he's actually 6'2". He did, however, go on to say that he knows who the song was about, though he wasn't willing to share this information. Any guesses? 

Biggie’s “Warning” is one of the most detailed homicide narratives ever written into rap. And aside from the graphic content, it happens to be one of the most fun Biggie tracks to listen to on repeat. This is not only due to the bumping beat from Easy Mo Bee, but also to Big’s massively charismatic storytelling abilities.

On “Warning," he raps as two characters — himself, and “Pop” from the Barbershop. Why is Pop paging him at 5:46 AM? Well, their mutual friend, “Fame,” warned Pops to warn Big that some guys from way back when “heard you’re blowing up like nitro / And they wanna stick the knife through your windpipe slow.” 

Biggie knows it’s time to get prepared. He’s used to fake friends fiending for his cream: “What you think all the guns is for? All-purpose war, got the Rottweilers by the door”; “I’m not running / nigga I bust my gun and … [dogs barking] / Hold on, I hear somebody coming.” It ain’t the pizza man.

This is the last song on Ready to Die, on which, during the track's final moments, we hear Big kill himself. Biggie could do pop records, he could do party records, but he could also go darker than any artist in mainstream music. Somehow, four tracks after "Big Poppa" we get "Suicidal Thoughts," the finale on Ready to Die, which, unbelievably, is the last album Big would release in his lifetime. 

"Suicidal Thoughts" begins with Big punching in the numbers to Puffy's phone. After a few rings, Puff answers, and he know's something's wrong. Before he can ask what's up, the ominous production sets in, and we're taken to the darkest corners of Big's psyche. It's almost like Big's decision has been made when he starts rapping. He's now contemplating whether Heaven or Hell awaits him; he thinks the latter: "When I die, fuck it, I wanna go to Hell / Cuz I'm a piece of shit, it ain't hard to fucking tell." 

He then starts recounting all the hurt he's thrown upon those closest to him -- his mother, especially: "I wonder if I died, would tears come to her eyes?" Meanwhile, Puff gets in the car and frantically pleads with Big to slow down and wait for his arrival. He knows this train of thought doesn't end well. At this point, though, Big is too far gone: "I swear I feel like death is fucking calling me." He's reached his breaking point, and there's little life can offer him. Rapping is all he's got, and now he's sick of that. 

The track's last moments feel like a countdown. All of a sudden, we hear the pop. Pounding heartbeats slow to a dead silence. Eighteen years after his death, it remains the most bone-chilling hip-hop listen of all time.