Puff Daddy Posts Poignant Notorious B.I.G. Tribute

Puff Daddy posted a heartfelt video honoring Notorious B.I.G. on Thursday, marking the 20th anniversary of the rapper’s death. “This year is more of a sobering year,” Puff Daddy said. “For us, we lived 20 years of our lives without somebody that has been a big part of our lives, that has basically been responsible for the legend of our careers.”

Biggie’s 1994 debut album, Ready to Die, was notably the first album released on Puff Daddy’s Bad Boy Records and became a cornerstone of the label’s success. However, the rapper would not release another record in his lifetime, with his second LP, Life After Death, arriving just weeks after he was shot and killed in Los Angeles in 1997.

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In his video, Puff Daddy continued: “He’s fed a lot of families, made a lot of people dance, made a lot of people feel good. On this day, we’re gonna reflect on him because we miss him. Twenty years later, time heals all wounds, but this wound ain’t healed yet.”

In a separate video, Puff Daddy announced a new project to honor Notorious B.I.G, calling on fans to record themselves rapping their favorite Biggie verses and posting the clips online with the hashtag #WeMissYouBIG. “I’m going to chop it up, edit it up and everything,” he said. “And we’re going to put out something special with all the fans and friends and family involved in celebrating Notorious B.I.G.’s life.”

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Along with Puff Daddy’s project, the Notorious B.I.G.’s widow, Faith Evans, will release a posthumous collaborative album, The King & I, on May 19th. The 25-track LP features both well-known and unheard Biggie verses, as well as guest appearances from Lil Kim, the Lox, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Notorious star Jamal Woodard (who played Biggie in the movie) and the rapper’s mother Voletta Wallace.

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