Entertainment
Diddy leads tributes to Notorious BIG on 25th anniversary of legend’s death: ‘Greatest rapper of all time’
Diddy and Biggie, here with Lil Kim, were close friends (Picture: VCG via Getty Images)
Diddy has hailed the Notorious BIG as the ‘greatest rapper of all time’ to mark the 25th anniversary of the hip hop legend’s death.
Biggie Smalls, real name Christopher Wallace, was shot and killed on March 9, 1997 at the age of 24 during the east coast vs. west coast feud involving Tupac Shakur, who was also shot dead six months earlier.
Marking the sombre occasion, Diddy wrote on Instagram: ‘There will never be another. The greatest rapper of all time. Today we celebrate and honor you king. Love and miss you!!’
The hip hop mogul included a throwback video of Biggie encouraging youngsters to follow their dreams.
Speaking through microphone, the Juicy rapper said: ‘Don’t be the fool that just sits back and [does] it because somebody else doing it, because all you’re going to do is follow somebody else’s footsteps and you’ll just be a shadow. Who will be a shadow for the rest of their life?
‘If you’ve got a little something that you know how to do, progress that and keep trying. Only God knows what could happen, that’s what I did. Just kept on rapping and just happened to get to the right ears.’
Biggie died after being shot by an unidentified gunman when his vehicle stopped at traffic lights in Los Angeles.
His death remains unsolved but retired Los Angeles Police Department officer, Greg Kading, has widely publicised his theory that former Death Row Records boss Suge Knight orchestrated the murder as revenge for Tupac’s death in September 1996.
Knight has always denied the allegations.
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Despite his fame, Biggie surprisingly only released one album during his lifetime, 1994’s Ready To Die. However, it featured the classic hits Big Poppa and Juicy.
His posthumous album, Life After Death, was released less than two weeks after his death and featured the popular songs Hypnotize and Mo Money Mo Problems.
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