Last week, as the county of Kings welcomed back a proud son and the world wondered whether Jay-Z had proven to be the greatest story that hip-hop has ever written, I popped into a Forever 21 store looking for nothing in particular and stumbled on a T-shirt that spoke as much to Hov's journey as his Barclays Center triumph.

Faith Evans Explains The Notorious B.I.G.'s Lasting Legacy
On a rack sandwiched between peplum tops and horse-print pullovers, were a row of black tanks printed with the words The Notorious B.I.G. and a graphic of the late MC's iconic Ready to Die album cover. Beneath the image of the afro-sporting infant were the words "sky's the limit."

It feels almost unnecessary to drive home the point, but there was something moving about the fact that two of Brooklyn's finest — comrades who ...