The way B.I.G. masters double-time flow for this Stevie J. and Puff Daddy produced track is astounding. No disrespect to his Cleveland counterparts, but Biggie out raps them at their own style. I recently saw Bone Thugs in concert and when this song came on, the place erupted. The entire audience knew Christopher Wallace’s lyrics verbatim. Another reason the record is so important is because for as conflicted as Hip-Hop was in ’97, the fact that Biggie worked with people from all over was a wonderful sign of unity and provided a much needed sense of optimism.

Track 12 on disc one of Life After Death is an excellent demonstration of Biggie’s ability to be a storyteller. Plus, how he raps what happens and then tells the whole thing again when he is talking to his cronies is something special. To this day, I’ve never come across anything else like that. I remember discussing B.I.G. and some of his more aggressive content with a friend one time, and he said, "his skills transcend his own negativity."  Amen. The Notorious B.I.G. is just that good.

Biggie Smalls is the illest. From the way DJ Premier’s signature boom-bap sound meshes with Biggie’s rapping to how the far less gritty sounding R. Kelly sample fits on top of the hard beat, “Unbelievable” is a song that lives up to its name. Everything aligns just right and the record comes out flawless as a result.

This song epitomizes B.I.G.'s first album better than any of the other 16 tracks. It vividly depicts the plight of a drug dealer and points out what that activity does to the community as well as a hustler's own mind. The level of despair is haunting, and the little success to be had is short-lived and comes at far too great an expense. To call it a cautionary tale is an understatement, it's more like an inevitable outcome for those who choose to go that route. And from an emcee standpoint, his bars are the best bar none. The rhymes about Two-Tec in the second verse especially stand out.

 “Juicy” is one of my favorite songs of all-time and was one of the first rap records I knew by heart. Not only is it a rags-to-riches tale about Biggie himself, but it’s also a metaphor for Hip-Hop as a whole.  The Notorious B.I.G. clearly delivered on the potential he showed on this lead single from his debut album, so it’s no surprise that even two decades after his murder he remains one of the most beloved emcees in Hip-Hop history. “You know very well, who you are / Don’t let ‘em hold you down, reach for the stars.”