NotoriousOnline News / Updates

DJ Kay Slay, who served as a crucial bridge between hip-hop generations, developing from a teenage B-boy and graffiti writer into an innovative New York radio personality known for his pugnacious mixtapes that stoked rap beefs, broke artists and helped change the music business, died on Sunday in New York. He was 55.

Slay had faced “a four-month battle with Covid-19,” his family said in a statement confirming his death. ...

Jadakiss and The Notorious B.I.G.’s history runs decades deep, dating back to their classic Bad Boy collaborations, including “All About The Benjamins,” “Last Day” and “You’ll See.” Now the Yonkers native is making another collaboration happen, this time with the next generation of he and his late friend. ...

On Sunday night (April 3), JAY-Z earned a Grammy Award for “Best Rap Song.” The trophy came courtesy of his newsworthy appearance on Kanye West’s “Jail” last year. In the last 24 hours, Hov delivered another noteworthy feature verse care of Pusha-T’s “Neck & Wrist.” The latest look from Pusha’s Grammy-nominated DAYTONA follow-up has Jay spitting lucid lyrics about his status in the wake of his late friend and collaborator, Biggie Smalls. ...

The late great Notorious B.I.G.’s Fila A13s, a pair of Jordans signed by Spike Lee and platinum plaques for Jay-Z’s “American Gangster” and Run DMC’s “King of Rock” are among the treasures headed to town for this traveling exhibit at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center. The National Hip-Hop Museum, founded in 2019, boasts the largest collection of hip-hop memorabilia and artifacts around the world, and part of that collection is headed to Little Rock, with an opening launch party scheduled for 5 p.m., Thursday, April 7. ...

Sotheby’s Auction House has opened bidding on its latest Hip Hop collection. According to an Instagram post from the National Hip Hop Museum, the auction is part of Pop Culture Week. As the caption explains, “This March, Sotheby’s is thrilled to present its first ever Pop Culture Week featuring Hip Hop which celebrates the art and objects that have been inspired by and that have in turn inspired contemporary culture.” Some rare items include original watercolor illustration entitled "Biggie" by Dan Lish. Biggie Smalls in profile, 1997, silver gelatin print signed by Sue Kwon, Oversized chromogenic print of The Notorious B.I.G., Beverly Hills, California, April 1994, Signed artist's proof of Tobak's "Contact High: A Visual History of Hip Hop" by Vikki Tobak with custom 'Biggie Crown' photographer's loupe, Lil' Kim at The Strand concert poster, 1997 and many more. ...

Friday (March 25) marks the 25th anniversary of Life After Death, The Notorious B.I.G.‘s blockbuster sophomore album that arrived just days after his untimely death in 1997. To celebrate, Spotify is literally setting Biggie’s legacy in stone by engraving his lyrics onto stone tablets.

Dubbed “B.I.G. Life Lessons,” the 3-foot-tall stone tablets feature 10 of Biggie’s most iconic — and instructive — rhymes such as “Speak my piece, keep my peace” (“Hypnotize”), “Never let ’em know your next move, move in silence” (“Ten Crack Commandments”) and “Stay far from timid, only make moves when your heart’s in it” (“Sky’s the Limit”). ...