If Biggie Smalls were still with us, today he would have been 43 years old. The influence of the rapper is still seen throughout rap to this day, and it's hard to imagine just what he could have accomplished if he hadn't met his senseless death back in 1997. Today, rather than revisiting something from the Brooklyn emcee's studied catlog, we've been treated to something almost new-- an alternate version of the classic Ready To Die tragedy, "Me & My Bitch".

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Today, May 21 is the day The Notorious B.I.G would have celebrated his 43rd birthday. Christopher Wallace was born on this day in 1972 in Brooklyn New York. His first album, “Ready to Die” was released in 1994. With over a million units sold, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it Platinum in May 1995.

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In life and death, Notorious B.I.G.’s rhymes remain a voice of a reason. On the rapper’s 43rd birthday, VIBE hits rewind on some of his most prominent lines that have become our words to live by.
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There are many things that have changed in hip-hop, but the game’s respect for what the Notorious B.I.G. accomplished in his short time on Earth will always remain. Today we celebrate Biggie’s 43rd birthday (May 21).

There’s barely a paean to write that hasn’t ...

The National Security Agency is a secretive government organization with a vast foreign and domestic surveillance apparatus, the boundaries of which, despite major leaks, are still perhaps not fully understood by the public.


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Mister Cee kicked off his career in music officially alongside Big Daddy Kane in the late 1980s. In 1991, just after his final tour with Kane, a persistent local deejay delivered a demo tape of a young The Notorious B.I.G. to Cee. Shortly after, Biggie was featured in The Source’s “Unsigned Hype” column, Puffy ...