How Biggie Smalls got his first UK number one 9 years after he died
There are moments in music that feel like real turning points. Sometimes, this can be a song that is released or a sound achieved in a piece of music, but it’s often the result of something more sinister. In the world of hip-hop, two of the most significant incidents occurred within a year of one another: the deaths of 2Pac and Biggie.
2Pac was shot and killed on September 13th, 1996. His death was largely linked with Biggie, given the two’s ongoing rap beef. Biggie refuted these claims and spent the next year trying to squash the continuing feud between the East Coast and the West Coast, but to no avail.
He was killed after attending a party on the outskirts of Beverly Hills. He was in LA to record a music video for ‘Hypnotize’, and it became clear after attending the Soul Train Music Awards that the West Coast wasn’t ready to welcome the rapper. He was booed when he went on stage, and there was clear tension in the air.
Given that 2Pac and Biggie were two of the best gangster rappers to ever pick up a mic, it was devastating when news of their deaths broke. Because they died before their time, people have missed out on a lot of music; however, they continue to have an influence in the hip-hop game, with rappers from all over the world citing them as influences.
Posthumous albums were released to commemorate the rappers after their deaths. Biggie’s was called Life After Death and came out shortly after his death. One of the songs featured on the album was ‘Nasty Boy’, a good track that has Biggie’s iconic flow, wordplay, and vocal tone.
About nine years later, a remixed album called Duets: The Final Chapter was made, in which Biggie’s songs were changed to give them new life. This meant changing the structure of songs, the overall sound, and including features. A remix of ‘Nasty Boy’ was included in the album, which was called ‘Nasty Girl’.
The track was a complete shift from the original, with Biggie’s vocals the only original features remaining. Features were added from Diddy, Jagged Edge, Nelly, and Avery Storm. The track was incredibly successful and ended up winning the rapper his first UK number one nine years after his passing. Despite the changes, the track still went down as a Biggie number one, given that he is still credited as the main artist.
The fact that his music was still recognisable and had an audience waiting for it nine years after the rapper passed shows just how much of an impact his music had and how timeless of an artist he is. His premature death was truly a blow to the world of hip-hop, but his legacy lives on even decades later.