“Sky's the limit and you know that you can have, what you want, be what you want, have what you want, be what you want.” This lyric by Christopher Wallace simply states that if you want something that it is possible for you to achieve it with enough hard work. Christopher Wallace, known to the world as the Notorious BIG was a product of the streets growing up in the ghetto of Brooklyn in the 1990s. Christopher inspired many with his timeless lyrics reflecting the American dream from the perspective of the average poverty stricken youth. His rise to success gave hope to the masses that if a young kid from Brooklyn can make it big, that anyone can (Wilkins). His songs and image continue to impact the world today as he became of music`s largest pop icons. On May 21st 1972 Voletta Wallace gave birth to her son Christopher at St. Mary's Hospital in Brooklyn, New York (Itzkoff). At age two his father left the family and his mother worked two jobs from then on to support her son. At the age of 10 he was an excellent student during his middle school years and had gained the name Biggie due to his overweight stature. At age 12 Biggie started selling illegal drugs (Wilkins). At age 17 Christopher dropped out of high school. In 1989, he was arrested on weapons charges in Brooklyn and sentenced to five years' probation. In 1990, he was arrested on a violation of his probation. Only a year later, Wallace was arrested in North Carolina for dealing crack cocaine. He spent nine months in jail before making bail (Wilkins). During this time Christopher decided to focus on his budding rap career and try to move away from the crime scene. In 1992 he met Puffy who signed him to Uptown Records. By the end of 1992 Puffy and Biggie had both made t... ... middle of paper ... ...ife. The Notorious BIG changed the face of hip-hop forever and has deservingly became an iconic figure in today`s society. The sky's the limit and Biggie was truly living proof. Works Cited Dowd, Maureen. "The Rap On Rubio." New York Times 13 Feb. 2013: A27(L). Student Resources in Context. Web. 3 Dec. 2013. Itzkoff, Dave, and Laura Sinagra. "Smalls, Biggie: Biggie: Voletta Wallace Remembers Her Son." Biography 29.3 (2006): 540. Student Resources in Context. Web. 3 Dec. 2013. "Notorious B.I.G." UXL Biographies. Detroit: U*X*L, 2003. Student Resources in Context. Web. 3 Dec. 2013. Santora, Marc. "In Brooklyn, Objections to Naming Corner for Rapper." New York Times 20 Oct. 2013: A18(L). Student Resources in Context. Web. 3 Dec. 2013. Wilkins, David. "Notorious B.I.G." Newsmakers. Detroit: Gale, 1997. Student Resources in Context. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.
Throughout the years Tupac tended to participate in the arts, landing seven movie roles. While Shakur had been producing things professionally since 1987, his career hadn’t truly taken off until the early 90’s when he debuted in Digital Underground's "Same Song" from the soundtrack to the 1991 film “Nothing but Trouble.” Up until the day Tupac died, he was going head first into the game. Shakur was always working hard and doing what he loved. Biggie, on the other hand, was from the Clinton Hill section of the Brooklyn borough of New York City, New York. He was nicknamed “Big” because he was overweight from the time he was ten years old. Wallace had been rapping since his early teen years and continued his passion all throughout his life. While he was always excelled in school, he dropped out of school at the age of seventeen. Biggie started dealing drugs at the age of twelve and continued his criminal life until the end. The Notorious B.I.G. was arrested on several occasions. A few examples are that he was arrested in 1989 for weapons charges, 1990 for violation of probation, and in 1991 for dealing Crack Cocaine. On August
Chuck D, and Yusuf Jah. 1997. Fight the power: rap, race, and reality. New York, N.Y.: Delacorte Press.
“Damn right I love the life I live, cause I went from negative, to positive.” This is one of the most well-known quotes stated by The Notorious B.I.G. He was an extremely talented rapper and person. Christopher Wallace, AKA Biggie Smalls was one of the most respected and successful artists worldwide. Though his career was short, it was extremely successful.
Manheim, James M., and Carol Brennan. "Kanye West." Contemporary Black Biography. Ed. Margaret Mazurkiewicz. Vol. 93. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Biography in Context. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
George covers much familiar ground: how B-beats became hip hop; how technology changed popular music, which helped to create new technologies; how professional basketball was influenced by hip hop styles; how gangsta rap emerged out of the crack epidemic of the 1980s; how many elements of hip hop culture managed to celebrate, and/or condemn black-on-black violence; how that black-on-black violence was somewhat encouraged by white people scheming on black males to show their foolishness, which often created a huge mess; and finally, how hip hop used and continues to use its art to express black frustration and ambition to blacks while, at the same time, refering that frustration and ambition to millions of whites.
Dr. Dre (b. Andre Young, February 18, 1965) became involved in hip-hop during the early '80s, performing at house parties and clubs with the World Class Wreckin' Cru around South Central Los Angeles, and making a handful of recordings along the way. In 1986, he met Ice Cube, and the two rappers began writing songs for Ruthless Records, a label started by former drug pusher Eazy-E. Eazy tried to give one of the duo's songs, "Boyz N the Hood," to HBO, a group signed to Ruthless. When the group refused, Eazy formed N.W.A. -- an acronym for Niggaz With Attitude -- with Dre and Cube, releasing their first album in 1987. A year later, N.W.A. delivered Straight Outta Compton, a vicious hardcore record that became an underground hit with virtually no support from radio, the press or MTV. N.W.A. became notorious for their hardcore lyrics, especially those of "Fuck tha Police," which resulted in the FBI sending a warning letter to Ruthless and its parent company Priority, suggesting that the group should watch their step.
Rose, Tricia. The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk about When We Talk about Hip Hop - and Why
Negus, Keith. "The Business of Rap: Between the Street and the Executive Suite." Rpt. in That’s the Joint!: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader. Ed. Murray Forman and Mark Anthony Neal. New York, NY: Routledge, 2004. 525-540. Print.
Light, Alan. "About a Salary or Reality? – Rap’s Recurrent Conflict." Rpt. in That’s the Joint!: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader. Ed. Murray Forman and Mark Anthony Neal. New York, NY: Routledge, 2004. 137-146. Print.
In “Changes” he raps about how his community needs change and he is the one to address the problem. Tupac’s lyrics go as follows, “We gotta make a change… / It 's time for us as a people to start makin ' some changes. / Let 's change the way we eat, let 's change the way we live / and let 's change the way we treat each other” (Shakur). In these lines he sets out what needs to happen in Harlem to make it a better place to live. Older rappers and rap groups like as N.W.A, Tupac, and Biggie are leaders that started change for their cities. Biggie Smalls was an iconic figure of this era as well. The song, “Sky’s the Limit” shows that he is trying to send the message that even though he came from a family of poverty, he did not let that bring his life down. “Take a better stand/Put money in my moms hand/Get my daughter this college plan, so she don 't need no man/Stay far from timid/Only make moves when ya heart 's in it/And live the phrase Sky 's The Limit” (Notorious B.I.G.). “Sky’s the Limit” gives the audience the hope that if you are born at the bottom, you do not necessarily have to end up in the same place. The biggest thing the Biggie Smalls is trying to say is that you can always have what you want, but it only matters if you be what you want. Biggie Smalls is drawing attention to
4. Foreman, (2002). The Hood Comes First: Race, Space, and Place in Rap and Hip hop. Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press.
During this decade artist such as Tupac, Biggie Smalls, Shawn Carter (Jay-Z), Dr. Dre and Snoop Dog. Those are some of artist that revolutionized the rap industry, each artist made an impact to hip hop music. “Jay-Z has built a career on combining nimble, braggadocious and largely autobiographical rhymes with adventurous production that incorporates everything from snatches of classic R&B to Broadway show tunes and Eighties electropop.” (Rolling stone Magazine). Jay-Z has made himself a pioneer of the hip-hop world by show casing himself in his music. He created his own signature by using all kinds of musical influences in the production of his
Unlike most rap artist of the 90's Notorious B.I.G. is more then a thug rapping about killing cops and doing drugs. Sure he does have songs on this album that talks about drugs but isn't that what people expect when picking up his CD in a store? The REAL reason people actually buy the CD is because of the positive message he sends to everyone who thinks they have no hope in escaping the street life. He deliverers a clear message to everyone living in the slums everywhere to look up and fight and win what is rightfully theirs. This is why everyone still remembers Biggie. He gave everyone hope and when the death of his anniversary comes up, many people will blast his music and know everyone no matter their social or economic status has a chance to live a life full of happiness.
McWhorter, John. “Rap Music Harms the Black Community.”Popular Culture. Ed.
15 March 2014 Springer.com. Riley. Springer:’’ Rap and Hip-Hop Genre Today’’. April 2004 15 March 2014 Springer.com Ruiz, Jonathan. Cross-Cultural Rhetoric.