VIBE’s Editor-In-Chief Remembers Biggie 25 Years After His Death
Biggie’s death date, March 9, 1997, always hits my heart like a ton of bricks. Over the last 25 years, I’ve celebrated and agonized over his existence. Speaking in documentaries and on panels; attending hood functions, galas, and showcases; even writing about his unfortunate demise and subsequent legend status—it’s been painful, but an honor.
Sh*t, back in VIBE’s print days, I was one of the few music journalists to write a reaction piece on our website to the news of his death when it happened. It was a devastating blow to our industry, but even more so to his family, friends, and loved ones. I’ve had the great fortune of seeing Big and Junior Mafia blow up first hand. Going to the same Brooklyn high school (Sarah J. Hale HS) with J.M. members was a sight to behold. The Bad Boy jackets, the video show appearances, and the around-the-way spottings were often inspiring for a block-hugging dude like me wanting to get in the entertainment industry.
Big showed me how any dream from any corner of the world is attainable. Yet, dreams come with a price, and sometimes that exchange can cost you your life. A few short months before Big’s murder, his one-time friend Tupac Shakur’s life was also cut short. The whirlwind conspiracies, beef rumors, and so-called government involvement smogged the already cloudy vision of an insider’s view and casual hip-hopper’s take on what was going on.
There weren’t and still aren’t any clear-cut answers. Only the timing of both artists’ death dates that hit painfully close every year. Lil Cease has to make his rounds, Lil Kim is asked a bunch of questions, Faith has to speak to outlets, Big’s children have to smile next to art pieces that bear his image. It’s hard yet routine now for so many in his circle to honor his legacy, but it shouldn’t be like this.
I just listened to Ready To Die straight through for the first time in a while and recognized how even more brilliant Big sounds after all these years. His debut album dropped in the early weeks of my freshman year of college. I saw him on Fulton Street often. Even partied with him, J.M., Mary J. Blige, Diddy and so many others at an NYC hot spot in 1995. Glorious times. Yet, I can’t get over the fact that as much as we love him, he’s not here to love on his children and now grandchild, as his daughter Tyanna is a new mother (Congrats!).
It’s that part that stings the most when you hear him rap about his daughter. That joy was evident and his focus was aimed at getting to the bag to provide a better life for his offspring. Amid all the morbidity suggested in the titles of Ready To Die and Life After Death, Big really wanted to see his kids live and thrive.
With the way things have turned out with Tyanna, a full-fledged clothing brand designer and businesswoman, and his son CJ, a cannabis business owner in his own right, Big’s true dream made it through his spirit’s ascension. Even through tragedy, his words came to fruition—it’s all good, baby-baby.
Rest in peace, forever, Big.
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