His flow is literally out of this world on this song it's incredible

Makes it sound so effortless too wtf

It's such a shame that he was fat...

Agreed, he was absolutely the f***ing GOAT & there’s a reason why Hov has paid so much homage to him over the years.

@op Pusha T did an incredibly nice write up about him, if you have time it’s def worth the read

I believe the Notorious B.I.G. was the greatest rapper who’s ever lived. I remember in ’94, when Ready to Die came out, I was in 11th grade, living in my mother’s house in Virginia. There was a frenzy at my high school, arguing and talking about that album. We used to spend hours in the car, reciting his raps, trying to figure out what in the hell made him veer off in this way or that way. Some rappers just say a punchline, and it’s like, “OK, we get it.” But Big delved deep. He was a master painter with words. And his flow was just so effortless. I mean, I think I’m an awesome writer, but my bars still sound like bars. Big had all these intricacies, all these colors, all these witty things – and it didn’t sound like a rap. It was a conversation.

When Ready to Die dropped, it was still a competitive race for Big. You could have arguments about who was better with the Wu-Tang fanatics or the Nas fans. But by the summer after that, he left the pack in the marathon. We all said, “No one’s better than Big.” It was a wrap. And when he brought the double album with Life After Death, it was solidified. Who’s made a better double album? Nobody, still. Until someone does, we have nothing to talk about. Big is the best.

My favorite Biggie verse is probably from “Young G’s,” which I first heard on a mixtape after he passed. It was such amazing storytelling: “And to my hit-ho’s, my murder mamis/I be smokin’ trees in Belize when they find me/While you still killin’ n-as with punanny/Like Connie and Cyrus up in Cypress/Fuck you raw on the floor with the virus.” Those are seamless raps, the way the couplets flow. Man, it’s too much. No one’s been that colorful since Big’s death.

His personality was all confidence. This guy’s 300-plus pounds with a f***ing lazy eye – and what woman did not love Biggie Smalls? You have to be damn near magical to do that. At the same time, I remember guys singing along when Big talked about being broke. Not a lot of rappers would tell you that they had to sew an alligator onto their shirt, wearing some fake s***, like he did on “Sky’s the Limit.” People related to that. Or the “One More Chance” remix: That record ended up being the quintessential club anthem – and in the middle of that, this guy called himself “black and ugly as ever.” The arrogance and the honesty at the same time were unmatched.

I bump all of Big’s music to this day. And I’ll tell you what – I wrote all of the Clipse’s 2006 LP Hell Hath No Fury trying to be Big. The whole thing, every line, every fluctuation in my voice, I was trying to sound like Big. On “Keys Open Doors,” when I say, “Make your skin crawl/Press one button, let the wind fall/Who gon’ stop us?/Fuck the coppers, the mind of a kilo shopper” – that’s all Big.

When he died, it really bothered me, man. I never understood how somebody could be that disrespectful to a whole culture. I loved what Pac was doing too – it wasn’t supposed to happen that way to either of them. It just really sucks. Can you imagine the bars that would have been in the imagination of this guy in 2015? It still hurts. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten over it.

I've come to the conclusion that it's either Big or Hov as the coolest rappers ever.

relistened to ready to die bout a week ago after not hearing it in full in ages and was instantly reminded why hes consistently on top 5 lists. guy had insane mic presence despite being like 300 pounds, legitimately one of the best storytellers in rap period, he could describe being broke in the most painstakingly accurate way ever and all the struggles that comes with that. not to mention the amount of hits he managed to churn out in such a short career

took out the game way too soon

tbh i hate the fact everybody i knew growing up didnt want to listen to biggie with me they would just say "cut off that fat guy bullshit" and i didnt understand what their problem was... so i ended up experiencing the music alone

Were they black?

Nah him being fat made him dope or at least was a big factor. If he was just a skinny black nigga rappin he would’ve still been nice but it wouldn’t have been the same

it still blows my mind this came from jhodi and is still quoted to this day lmao

his flow was incredible

There are few rappers who were gifted. Biggie was one of those

That Notorious Thugs verse has one of the best flows and opening bars OAT

There's gonna be a lot of slow singin and flower bringin if my burglar alarm starts ringin

Every single rap fan should go through a BIG and Pac phase at least once in their lives. Its mandatory. You will realize why they are held at the level they are and talked about like gods. They were not human. Biggie's flow combined with lyrics is a miracle. Nothing had or will ever sound like him. He's got the greatest flow of all time and it'll never be touched.

The things both of those guys accomplished in such a short time is unheard of.

I honestly always liked him more than Pac as a rapper

I've recently gotten into a big Jay phase myself---never been a huge Jay fan but coming around.

That said--the way BIG would come in effortlessly on all their features and just blast Jay off the face of the earth every time lets you know who was better imo

As someone who has Pac as his favorite rapper of all time, I always think about how much better that Pac and Biggie would have gotten if they were still alive. They're lyrics, flow, and delivery all would've improved as they gotten older.

• Think about how much better Pac would have been at 26 years old, 27 years old, 28, 29, etc....

• Think about how much better Biggie would have been at 25, 26, 27, 28, etc....

And they were already GREAT artists while they were alive, just think about what could've been......

Flow so ahead of its time it’s actually f***ing crazy