Any excuse to highlight some music from the Notorious B.I.G is welcome, and what better occasion than the legendary rapper's 48th birthday? After all, there are several members of the HNHH community that appreciate these blasts from the past, reminders of the music that shaped the genre today. It's no secret that Biggie is regarded as one of the most influential figures, and though he only recorded two albums while living, the classics he left behind still resonate. "Last Day," his classic Life After Death Lox collaboration, stands tall among the highlights.
If the emcee pedigree wasn't enough to entice, consider that the track also happens to check off another birthday box -- that of Havoc, arguably one of the most underrated producers in the entire game. Here, he conjures up a minimalistic and cinematic mafioso boom-bap banger, the perfect backdrop for Sheek Luciano, Pinero, Kiss, and Big Poppa. It's even better knowing the dynamic between the Lox and Biggie, who was somewhat of a big homie to the young trifecta. You already know Biggie had to close out the track with a flourish -- and that he did, especially in the latter half of his verse.
Happy birthday to Biggie and Havoc!
QUOTABLE LYRICS
Our beef is my fiancé, about to marry it
Illegal transactions in Farragut with Arabics
Why not, they fit twelve up in the bedroom
Imagine what they stash is like, make you a classic like my first LP
Beef with me is unhealthy
Fuck around and get an ulcer, lose your pulse or
Collapsed lung, look how many gats I brung