Biggie is the greatest rapper to ever live. Multiple flows? Check. Storyteller? Check. Sense of humor? Check. Ability to make hits? Check. Fashion sense? Check. Off-top freestyler? Check. Big left behind the treasure map to help underground rappers reach the promised land. He was able to capture the voice of the streets while also appealing to a wider audience with his singles. Puffy was without a doubt the mastermind, but Biggie was able to execute those ideas.
No 2Pac album is better than Ready to Die. Big's first album is right up there with Illmatic and Paid in Full for the "greatest rap album ever created" title. It had storytelling, top-notch production, it was street and commercial at the same time, and offered otherworldly wordplay. He set the tone for what was to come: commercial viability for hip-hop. Tracks like "Gimme the Loot," "Juicy," and "One More Chance" stood side-by-side without feeling disjointed. "Big Poppa" and "One More Chance (Remix)" shot Big into super stardom, and they laid the foundation for his sophomore effort.
Life After Death was the perfect sequel. No longer was he this hustler from the streets of Brooklyn, he was a boss now, the King of Rap. The "Hypnotize" video was big and grand like his personality, and forced other rappers to produce videos of the same scale.
He summed up why he was the best in the second verse:
"At last, a nigga rappin' bout blunts and broads/Tits and bras/Ménage à trois/Sex in expensive cars and still leave you on the pavement/Condo paid for, no car payment/At my arraignment, note for the plaintiff/Your daughter's tied up in a Brooklyn basement/Face it, not guilty, that's how I stay filthy/Richer than Richie, till you niggas come and get me."
That's his legacy in a nutshell: a commercially accepted gangter rapper. 2Pac might've had the hearts and minds of fans by the way he stood up for them on wax and while talking to the media, but the Notorious B.I.G. was an overall better artist by the way he constructed songs for himself and his crew.
Junior M.A.F.I.A. vs. the Outlawz is no contest. Lil' Kim was a star in her own right, and Lil Cease was a viable sidekick even though Big wrote most of his rhymes. The Outlawz on the other hand were never able to shake Pac's shadow, and consistently ruined the tracks they were featured on, except for "Hit 'Em Up." The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory would've been so much better without all those features. Big's albums, features, and remixes are far more superior musically to 2Pac's catalog, so much so that rappers still spit variations of Biggie's verses to this day.
