RIP
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It has been 28 years since the Notorious B.I.G.’s life was tragically cut short at just 24 years old. Since then, and to many even before, the Brooklyn MC has been deemed the greatest rapper of all time, and the continued adulation of his music is a testament to that claim.
While Biggie Smalls masterfully commanded the streets and the clubs with his music, his chart topping singles like “Juicy,” “One More Chance (Stay with Me Remix)” and “Mo Money Mo Problems” cemented him as a mainstream success. But it’s a fair argument to say that it’s his album cuts, those records that buoy a project and are what’s needed to deem an album a classic that truly cemented his legacy.
No video or fancy marketing behind the record, just bars and beats. The stuff that had fans hitting the rewind button over and over and making an ugly face. You know the vibes.
So with the spirit of the Notorious B.I.G. in mind, here’s a list of his 9 best album cuts. A lot of these should have been singles, with videos and all that, if we keep it a bean.
1. “Who Shot Ya?”
This is the song many thought at Tupac after the infamous Quad Studios shooting, but BIG and Junior Mafia always insisted it was not. The sinister beat cooked up by Nashiem Myrick from David Porter’s “I’m Afraid the Masquerade Is Over” was the perfect backdrop for the menacing lyrics. Technically, it was an unreleased b-side to the “Big Poppa/Warning” single but was added to subsequent posthumous, “remastered” releases of Biggie’s Ready To Die debut.
2. Junior M.A.F.I.A. – “Realms of Junior M.A.F.I.A.” ft. Notorious B.I.G
The Notorious B.I.G. managed to put on his own Junior Mafia crew, and set them up with a record label, Undeas, via Atlantic Records. Biggie bats clean up on this song produced by the late, great DJ Clark Kent. Keep in mind that save for Jamal, it sounds like he wrote all the lyrics. Yes, he was that great. “Realms of Junior M.A.F.I.A.” is from the Conspiracy album that dropped in August 1995, a little less than year after B.I.G.’s own debut album.
3. “The What” ft. Method Man
Notorious BIG and Method Man was gold off the rip. And if you were in NYC when BIG debut dropped,this was the track you heard on the streets. Wu-Tang Clan was asserting themselves and insisted on keeping their ranks tights, but Method Man snuck out and dropped an absolute heater with the same guy Rae and Ghost would accuse of being a shark biter.
4. “Gimme The Loot”
If you don’t know, Easy Moe Bee produced this track along with a healthy chunk of Ready To Die. The Notorious BIG got his Slick Rick on by rapping with dual personalities and going as far saying he would even rob a pregnant woman. Yes, it was all just for the sake of rap and kind of heinous, but damn it was good.
5. “Kick In The Door”
Jeru The Damaja allegedly sent sublimals to the Notorious BIG. DJ Premier was good money with both men. But that didn’t stop Premo from producing “Kick In The Door” whose line, “Son, I’m surprised you run with themI think they got cum in them, ’cause they nothin’ but dicks,” was aimed at Jeru and Premier. Damn, son.
6. “Just Playing (Dreams)”
The story goes that “Just Playing (Dreams)” was a promo single that featured Biggie Smalls wittily (that’s a nice way to put it) rapping about bedding famed female R&B singers. He wanted it on his album, but word was Patti Labelle (who was on an affiliated label) was not happy, and that was that on that. Time must heal, because years later it made it only remastered albums.
7. “I Got A Story To Tell”
If someone asks you if Notorious BIG was a great storyteller, play this song. We got word years ago that it was allegedly Anthony Mason who got caught up in the real life caper, rest in peace. The flow, the groove (via Buckwild and Chucky Thompson), and comedy (a rained out basketball game?!), all flawless. What a time.
8. “Ten Crack Commandments”
The Notorious B.I.G. on the bars, DJ Premier on the beat and Chuck D (via a scratch vocal sample) on the hook. What’s not to like. You also have Biggie dropping bars that any illicit pharmaceutical distributor trying to not get caught up should live by. Biggie taught ya.
9. “Notorious Thugs”
There is a reason Bone Thugs-n-Harmony were so unique in their style—that cadence is difficult as hell. But Notorious B.I.G. was such a talented MC he managed to keep up, not an easy feat, and it managed to be one of the hardest records on Life After Death. Respect.
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The Jazz and Soul music giant Roy Ayers has passed away. He was 84.
Variety reports that the Jazz vibraphonist’s family confirmed that he passed away on Tuesday, March 4, after a “long illness.”
“It is with great sadness that the family of legendary vibraphonist, composer, and producer Roy Ayers announce his passing which occurred on March 4, 2025 in New York City after a long illness,” reads the Ayers family’s statement. “He lived a beautiful 84 years and will be sorely missed. A celebration of Roy’s life will be forthcoming.”
Ayers is perhaps best known for his song “Everybody Loves The Sunshine,” from his 1976 album of the same name, which has been sampled countless times by Hip-Hop and R&B musicians. Ayers often credited Mary J. Blige’s 1994 “My Life,” which liberally samples the aforementioned song, with reviving his career and enriching his bank account.
Also a composer and record producer, Ayers’ deep and rich catalog of music has long been mined for samples that got flipped into new beats that hipped a new generation of listeners to his grooves. Some of those recognizable songs include “We Live In Brooklyn, Baby,” “Searching,” and “Running Away,” where were in turn chopped and massaged into new works from the like of Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Mos Def, Kendrick Lamar. A Tribe Called Quest and many, many more. Also notable was Ayers’ crafting of the soundtrack to the Blaxploitation classic Coffy, which stars Pam Grier.
One of this writers favorites was Ayers connecting with The Roots on their “Proceed II.”
Rest in powerful peace Roy Ayers.
This story is developing.
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Angie Stone has passed away, she was only 63.
Details surrounding her death are still scarce, but celebrity gossip site TMZ received confirmation of her passing as the result of a horrific car crash that also involved nine other individuals from her rep Deborah R. Champagne.
Per TMZ:
The late star’s rep Deborah R. Champagne tells TMZ … Angie left a performance in Montgomery, Alabama early Saturday morning when she was killed in a car crash. No other details are known at this point.
Deborah tells us she just spoke to Angie last night … and the news has rocked and devastated friends and family.
Angie Stone, born Angela Laverne Brown on December 18, 1961, in Columbia, South Carolina, emerged onto the music scene as a member of The Sequence, the first all-female group signed to Sugar Hill Records. They would go on to release three albums from 1979 and 1985. Their song “Funk You Up” would go on to be sampled in numerous tracks, notably Dr Dre’s “Keep Their Heads Ringin” and Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk.”
Stone would take her act the solo route in the 90s, dropping her debut gold album Black Diamond. Two years later she would drop “Wish I Didn’t Miss You Anymore.”
Stone was also known for her contributions to D’Angelo’s albums Brown Sugar and Voodoo, they also share a 12-year-old son Michael. Stone also has a daughter named Diamond and two grandchildren.
Social Media Is Stunned
The three-time Grammy Award winner and a two-time Soul Train Lady of Soul Award recipient’s shocking death is sparking tributes all over social media.
“Rest in paradise Angie Stone. We are losing too many legends,” the caption for a post on X, formerly Twitter read featuring a clip of Stone sing in the film The Fighting Temptations.
“Damn. Life is so fragile man,” another user wrote.
Our condolences go out to Angie Stone’s family. You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
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Over the weekend the OG Hip-Hop world mourned together as word broke that legendary Hip-Hop artist TJ Swan passed away at the young age of 57.
Taking to instagram to announce the sad news, Roxanne Shanté shocked her followers when she revealed that her former Juice Crew comrade had returned to the essence with an IG post dedicated to TJ Swan with a caption that read “We are sad to Announce the passing of our Hip Hop Brother TJ Swan the original Bally Silk shirt King.”
Known for rocking shiny silk shirts and designer Bally shoes, TJ Swan made a name for himself as part of the legendary Juice Crew which gave us Hip-Hop icons such as Roxanne Shanté, Biz Markie and Big Daddy Kane amongst many others. Taking to his own IG page to pay homage to TJ Swan, Big Daddy Kane paid respect to his Hip-Hop brother-in-arms with a video tribute of his own writing, “Rest well my good Brother!!! Rocking at a party, Shocking everybody!”
Legendary Hip-Hop producer, DJ Premier too took the time to show love to Swan with a picture of TJ and Biz Markie and in the caption wrote “(R.I.P.)TJ Swan had a iLL style that was so Hip Hop but Soulful at the same time. A Juice Crew ICON. The Biz records and MC Shan records are all timeless and you made them complete when you were featured. I am a day 1 fan. R.I.P. To TJ Swan, Biz Markie, Mister Cee and DJ Polo.”
No cause of death as been revealed as of yet.
R.I.P, King.
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Actor David Harris, who famously portrayed Cochise in the cult classic film The Warriors, has passed away. He was 75.
According to the New York Times, Harris died in his home in New York City after a battle with cancer, per his daughter Davina Harris.
Harris appeared in films like A Soldier’s Story and Fatal Beauty, and television shows including NYPD Blue, In The Heat of the Night and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. But it was no doubt The Warriors, released in 1979, that still got him recognized wherever he went.
In The Warriors, a Hip-Hop movie through and through for those that know, the eponymously named gang has to make it all the way back to Coney Island after a big gang meeting in The Bronx goes left when Cyrus—who hoped to unite all the gangs—gets shot and killed after his epic “Can you dig it?!” speech. Keep in mind , there are no cell phones or Ubers, just NYC’s rapid transit and every other gang in the city out to stop them. It was Cochise who proved to be one of the more thorough members of the crew, showing deference to war chief Swan, finding time to party with girls on the way home and willingly throwing hands when it became necessary.
“I was the last Warrior cast,” Harris told The Five Count podcast during an interview. “Walter Hill saw like, I don’t, 300 or 400 actors for Cochise in The Warriors in New York, but he could find Cochise. I was in Minneapolis doing a play and I got back to New York and Walter was still trying to find Cochise. My agent said, Hey man there’s this movie in the city and there’s a part that they’re having a problem casting… I walk into the room, I had two scenes to read for Walter but he took one look at me [and] said, Go down to wardrobe. He found his Cochise.”
Rest in powerful peace David Harris.
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The cause of death of the celebrated actor John Amos has been revealed as his family members are clashing publicly.
Veteran actor John Amos’ cause of death was revealed as his family members and others continue to clash publicly over the situation. According to reports from People Magazine, Amos died of congestive heart failure at an Inglewood, California hospital at 5:18 P.M. on August 21. Further records show that Amos was cremated on August 30, nine days after his passing. His son, Kelly Christopher “K.C.” Amos, is listed as the informant on the death certificate by Los Angeles County. Records also show that there was no autopsy conducted.
John Amos’ death announcement, which occurred on October 1, has reignited a public feud between K.C. and his sister, Shannon Amos. In a post on Instagram, Shannon Amos wrote “We are devastated and left with many questions about how this happened 45 days ago, learning about it through the media like so many of you,” detailing that she was “struggling” to
comprehend the “uncertainties surrounding his passing.”
She would also be part of a statement from “collective family and close friends,” including Amos’ goddaughter Amy Goudy that was issued on Facebook on October 2. The statement questioned K.C. Amos’ treatment of their father in his final days and alleged that he failed to notify other family members of the circumstances, claiming “he was likely cremated to avoid any potential investigation into the conditions surrounding his final days.” Shannon and K.C. have clashed before, with Shannon claiming elder abuse was committed by K.C.
John Amos’ publicist, Belinda Foster, who was also named along with K.C. Amos in the statement, refuted those claims citing a 2023 no-contact court order in New Jersey that Shannon brought against K.C. “At the time of his death, John was concerned that Shannon might turn his death and interment into a circus as she had done with other aspects of his life.” Foster wrote, adding: “It was John who requested the delay in announcing his death to Shannon and the rest of the world.” The publicist (who would note that the 84-year-old Amos denied any elder abuse in the past) would conclude by saying, “For the sake of preserving John’s well-earned reputation as a superb actor and a community activist, we hope we can put to rest these nonsensical claims that Shannon is offering out of her own pain as a result of estrangement from her father.”
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John Amos, the actor famed for portraying James Evans on Good Times, amongst other roles, has passed away. He was 83.
Variety reports that Amos’ reps confirmed that he actually passed away over a month ago, on August 21, in Los Angeles from natural causes. It is unclear why it took so long for the public to become aware of his death.
“It is with heartfelt sadness that I share with you that my father has transitioned,” said Amos’ son, Kelly Christopher Amos, in a statement. “He was a man with the kindest heart and a heart of gold… and he was loved the world over. Many fans consider him their TV father. He lived a good life. His legacy will live on in his outstanding works in television and film as an actor. My father loved working as an actor throughout his entire life…. most recently in ‘Suits LA’ playing himself and our documentary about his life journey as an actor, ‘America’s Dad.’ He was my dad, my best friend, and my hero. Thank you for your prayers and support at this time.”
Born in Newark and raised in East Orange, New Jersey, Amos’ most popular role as an actor was easily as the middle-aged, blue collar father James Evans on Good Times. But it is worth noting that Amos was infamously fired after three seasons on the hit show due to disagreements with its writers. Apparently, Amos felt the scribes didn’t understand the Black people they were supposed to be writing about.
“The truth of it was when the show first started, we had no African-American writers on the show, and some of the attitudes they had written, as per my character and, frankly, for some of the other characters as well, caused me to say, ‘Uh uh, we can’t do this, we can’t do that.’ And they’d say, ‘What do you mean we can’t do this?’,” Amos told Sway In The Morning in 2017. “They’d go on about their credits and all the rest of that and I’d look at each and every one of them and say, ‘Well, how long have you been Black? That just doesn’t happen in the community. We don’t think that way. We don’t act that way. We don’t let our children do that. I was laying down what I thought were good rules to make the show stronger and better, they didn’t agree with me.’”
Other beloved characters in the late actor’s portfolio include Kansas City Mack in 1975’s Let’s Do It Again, Cleo McDowell in 1988’s Coming To America, and the adult Kunta Kinte in 1977’s miniseries Roots.
As soon as news of Amos’ passing start to spread, tributes to his greatness began pouring in over social media. We’ve compiled some of the more notable reactions below.
Rest in powerful peace John Amos.
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Dikembe Mutombo, the shot-blocking NBA legend and member of its Hall of Fame, has passed away. He was only 58.
NBA analyst Shams Charania reported that Mutombo passed away from brain cancer. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver released a statement announcing the eight-time NBA All-Star and philanthropist’s death.
“Dikembe Mutombo was simply larger than life. On the court, he was one of the greatest shot blockers and defensive players in the history of the NBA,” said Silver. “Off the floor, he poured his heart and soul into helping others.”
OG NBA fans remember Mount Mutombo blocking shots and famously waving his finger at anyone who tried him when he was protecting the rim.
Even before his playing days were over, Mutombo began helping the people of his native Democratic Republic of the Congo, a passion that saw him open a school and hospital via his charity. He also served as a Global Ambassador for the NBA.
As soon as news of his passing broke, Xitter began going up for Mutombo, saluting for his exploits on the court and a life well played. Rest in powerful peace Dikembe Mutombo.
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It’s been almost two weeks since beloved Hip-Hop radio personality turned star Fatman Scoop passed away at the young age of 53 . While there has been an outpouring of love and memories from his fans and peers since then, everyone will get one more chance to say goodbye to the man born Issac Freeman on Thursday, September 12 in Harlem.
On Tuesday (Sept. 10), the family of Fatman Scoop took to Instagram to announce that they would be holding a ceremony in remembrance of the legendary Hip-Hop personality at the iconic Apollo Theater on September 12 and invited all to take part in the celebration of his life and career.
“Please join the Freeman family in the celebration of Isaac “Fatman Scoop” Freeman at the Apollo this Thursday.”
Tickets for the event are available on the Apollo Theater website and will surely go fast as the man has endeared himself to countless people over his decades long career. The event will be held from 3:00pm to 5:00pm
Fatman Scoop was one of the few radio personalities that make the transition from on air radio show host to a featured hypeman on numerous music hits such as Missy Elliott’s “Lose Control,” The Beatnut’s “Let’s Git Doe,” and even Mariah Carey’s “It’s Like That.” The man was really blessed with the voice and energy to hype up the crowd and for that we’re forever thankful.
Unfortunately, the man’s life was cut way too short when he collapsed onstage during a performance in Hamden, Connecticut this past August 30. With hopes and prayers flooding the internet after word of his health scare hit the internet, everyone was devastated to learn that he had passed away shortly afterwards.
He will be missed.
Rest In Power, King.
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The iconic film legend James Earl Jones has passed. He was 93.