Yesterday marked what would have been the Notorious B.I.G.'s forty-seventh birthday, a reminder of his enduring legacy. While hip-hop took to social media to commemorate the iconic legend, many of his friends and former collaborators met to break bread at a celebratory dinner. The occasion marked the inaugural launch of the B.I.G birthday dinner, which brought many of the Notorious one's associates together. Some of said associates were Lil Kim and Lil Cease, who used to run together during Junior M.A.F.I.A's heydey. Unfortunately, the once steady friendship disintegrated after Cease testified against Lil Kim during her perjury trial in 2005; after spending a year in prison, Kim washed her hands of Cease.
Now, however, Lil Cease has decided to make things right to the best of his ability. During the dinner, Cease took the mic to address Kim directly. “I apologize for the things I have done that may have hurt you or affected you or made you feel bad," he begins, his voice thick with emotion. "I genuinely apologize, I love you from the bottom of my heart. You not my real sister, but you are my sister, I love you for life. I thank you for bringing this energy here." The words appear to move Lil Kim, who proceeds to pull Cease into an embrace. The onlookers applaud the reunion, as does the hip-hop community at large.
At the time of the trial, Lil Cease spoke with MTV about his rationale behind testifying, explaining that he felt like he didn't have a choice in the matter. "Me and Kim wasn’t on good terms for the moment, and she made it clear to the world that she didn’t want to have anything to do with me and my peoples. So she wasn’t trying to call us to her defense,” Cease explained, back in 2005. “Being that we was witnesses there, the U.S. government subpoenaed us. And there’s nothing you can do about that. When you’re subpoenaed, you either come or they take your ass to jail. It’s just that simple.”
Despite the rough history between both parties, it's great to seem them moving past it, and finding peace at B.I.G's birthday, of all places. Rest in peace to the Notorious B.I.G, and respect to Kim and Cease for keeping it real with one another.