'Live From Bedford-Stuyvesant...' - Chris 'Preach' Smith

Thirteen years.

Thirteen years ago, on a morning just like this where the
sun jumped around in the sky, I woke up to hear my man
DJ Stress bumping the Notorious B.I.G.’s ‘Unbelievable’ in
his room. We shared a dorm suite at that time. I walked
over and saw the look on his face, and heard the radio
tell me what it told him earlier.

Biggie was gone.

It’s amazing how the death of Biggie Smalls resonates
so much. That morning we were just building and hearing
Hot97 spinning nothing but Biggie, trying to talk away the
shock and the creeping feeling of hurt. You kind of felt like
Burgess Meredith in that ‘Twilight Zone’ episode where his
glasses cracked on him just as he had all the time to read
in his town ravaged by an A-Bomb. You felt as if it wasn’t
fair. There was so much music left. Life seemed as if it
would be different in some shape or form due to this tragedy.
Thirteen years later, the hip hop culture has evolved so
dramatically that you can’t help but wonder; if Big lived
would half of these cats who stake their claim to lyrical
greatness even be mentioned? And how would he have
fared in the era of downloads and viral videos?

So today, on a morning just like that one, I’m going to
honor the Notorious B.I.G listening to his music on loop
in my iPod stereo with a tequila sunrise in hand and
truly understand that the sky is the limit in this life and
the next. Rest In Power Christopher Wallace.