The value of a man's life is not measured in his deeds when he was alive only. It is measured by how the man is remembered as the years pass on when he is no longer walking among his people. On March 9th, 1997 The Notorious B.I.G. was assassinated in Los Angeles and the Hip-Hop community has been at a great loss since his untimely death. His death left a hole in the East Coast and bigger Hip-Hop community because blood was spilled and a life was taken unjustly by the hands of people that to this day have yet to be brought to justice to the dismay of the Hip-Hop community. Since Big has been gone Hip-Hop has gone through many changes. The biggest is that through its growth in technology more people have access to his music and the history of the work he has done to take Hip-Hop music and fashion to a higher level. The loss of this man has been put people in a state of creativity though as he lives on in many works in the world. I for one have Funko Pops of Big and people have seen statues and murals of Big around New York and overseas to cement his place in the culture but what about in the community he once walked in?
Yes there are mural of him there too as in Hip-Hop culture when a great or man of respect dies people will use graphic art, and graffiti to tag a building to show their undying love for their own. The Biggie Experience opened and the legacy of the notorious one raised the bar on how a man can be remembered by honoring his past. In Brooklyn today we have a museum dedicated to the life and legacy of an Icon that will forever live on in the heart of his hometown.
On March 9th 2024 T'yanna Wallace the daughter of The Notorious B.I.G opened The Biggie Experience a couple of steps down from The Barclays Arena in Brooklyn, NY at 503 Atlantic Ave. When I went to the venue and got in I was amazed to see the recreation of the legends bedroom. The television was playing the episode of Martin he was on, with a Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo in the room. If you are a fan the Juicy song comes to mind when you see this and you are taken to the place where Big was birthed into his love of music. Peter Tosh records and the West Indies are shown love as well as the Hip-Hop he displayed in his lyrics from Juicy. Posters of rappers and Rapping Duke was on the wall as well as pictures of the notorious king when he was an up and coming prince in his youth. The closet that holds his jersey's and boots are on display as well as the stereo system he listened to his music on. The next room was a journey from the block to the Billboard charts.
The next room had the bodega set up Big rapped in front of with a ready to die boom box playing the infamous freestyle from the video that showed the store and the freestyle. It had a park sign dedicated to Big with Party and Bullshit under a basketball hoop. A hologram of Big standing in the room. An exhibit was displayed with Big's music on the charts, and dedications to Life After Death, his last album, Junior Mafia and the video One More Chance. The crown and throne he sat in on the video sat are there for pictures as well. In the middle of the floor was a display case of his awards, music and special promos and collectibles of the great for all his fans to see and share in as well. The back wall is a mural or the Ready to Die album cover and on it's side is a mural of Big with the crown on. The very back room had more pictures and his jersey from the Juicy video and the young ladies that showed me around walked around to make sure all was good and merch was available if I wanted it.
When Jay-Z was honored at the Brooklyn Library it was for a limited time. The Biggie Experience will be around for the foreseeable future and I pray more is added to the space as there is so much more he has done that is not touched on in the venue. His daughter and all that are involved in creating this space has made Big's Legacy that much more appreciated from me as I got to see, live and feel apart of the life of one of the few artists that touched my desire to be greater and not to just exist.
Existing is fine but it is a slow journey into being forgotten. Your legacy is carried on by those that remember you and keep your words, lessons and contributions alive after you cease to travel on this side of life any longer. The Biggie Experience is the legacy of a man kept alive by his own legacy. T'yanna Wallace his oldest child and entrepreneur of this project keeps her father's legacy alive by her own work and this can live on after she passes as well. The Notorious B.I.G. will live on for others to see, know and understand his impact on the world the same as we have The Museum Of Natural History and The Museum Of Modern Art. The Notorious B.I.G has more to be remembered for than an East Coast - West Coast rivalry in Hip-Hop history. With The Biggie Experience we can peacefully enjoy the impact of one of musics greats and share his legacy with the generations to come. Every man's dream is to pass on his legacy and Christopher Wallace's legacy is not only one of a father, or music artist any longer. He is now just as his music, art to be forever appreciated.
