Life After Death: Biggie Smalls

Today marks 21 years since the passing of New York rapper Biggie Smalls, also known as The Notorious B.I.G. and Billboard's "greatest rapper of all time."

Biggie Smalls first stepped in the hip-hop industry with producer Sean "Diddy" Combs. He started off adding verses and remixing original hits such as Mary J. Blige's "Real Love," "What's the 411?" and "Flava in Ya Ear" featuring primetime New York rappers LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes. Biggie's solo rap career peaked with his debut hit "Juicy" in 1994 up until the drive by shooting that took his life on March 9, 1997.

Although his time in the rap game was short lived, Biggie is considered one of the greatest artists in the industry by many. Allmusic described him as "the savior of East coast hip-hop." While The Source magazine recognized Biggie in its 150th issue as the greatest rapper of all time. Additionally, MTV ranked the New York rapper no. 3 on their list of the greatest MCs of all time, calling him possibly "the most skillful ever on the mic."

21 years later, Biggie's music continues to hypnotize. Since his death, his lyrics has been sampled and quoted by several artists such as 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, JAY-Z, Usher, Lil Wayne, Nelly and more. Currently, USA TV network is airing a crime series based on the murder investigations of the honorable rapper entitled Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.