Live Big: 10 Life Lessons We Learned From Notorious B.I.G.

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.

1. “Stay far from timid/ Only make moves when ya heart’s in it/ And live the phrase ‘sky’s the limit'”

2. “Excellence is my presence/ Never tense, never hesitant”

3. “Considered a fool ’cause I dropped out of high school/ Stereotypes of a black male misunderstood/ And it’s still all good”

4. “F-ck that beef sh-t, that sh-t is played out”

5. “But they don’t know about your stress-filled day/ Baby on the way, mad bills to pay/ That’s why you drink Tanqueray, so you can reminisce/ And wish you wasn’t living so devilish, sh-t”

6. “As I open my eyes and realizin’ I changed/ Not the same deranged child stuck up in the game/ And to my niggas livin’ street life/ Learn to treat life to the best, put stress to rest”

7. “Lyrically I’m supposed to represent/ I’m not only the client, I’m the player president”

8. “Recently n-ggas fronting ain’t saying nothing/ So I just speak my piece, keep my peace”

9. “Never let ’em know your next move/ Don’t you know Bad Boys move in silence and violence?/ Take it from your highness/ I done squeezed mad clips at these cats for their bricks and chips”

10. “The lesson from the Smith and Wesson is depressin’/ Niggas keep stressin’, the same motherf-ckin’ question/ How many shots does it take, to make my heart stop/ And my body start to shake, if I should die before I wake”