The Notorious B.I.G. Remains A Central Part of Hip-Hop

Empty Lighthouse is a reader-supported site. This article may contain affiliate links to Amazon and other sites. We earn a commission on purchases made through these links.

On March 9, 1997, hip-hop lost one of its most integral pieces. The Notorious B.I.G. or Christopher Wallace, was fatally shot as he left a Vibe magazine party.

His death 20 years ago was one of the hardest blows for the genre of hip-hop. However, Biggie still remains a central part of hip-hop today.

Ask anyone who their top five rappers are and anyone who grew up in the 90s and on will have Biggie somewhere in their top five easily.

He's still considered one of the greatest rappers and people still hold him as an example of the pure nature of the genre.

In today's age of what seems to be a changing and evolving craft, mention Biggie's name and the reactions from hip-hop historians will be filled with amazing remarks about how he carried the craft.

As Drake and his producer/friend Noah "40" Shebib has been on the record to say that Biggie has his favorite cadence in hip-hop. They added that Biggie also had a lot of melody in his music and his approach that he put to every track he was on was incredible.

His legacy of hits is one to be respected in the hip-hop community.

For more on his incredible life and the music he brought us, check out this amazing piece for Complex here.