Deathdays aren’t usually cause for celebration, but in the case of Christopher Wallace– better known as Biggie Smalls– it only makes sense to organize an art show dedicated to the late rapper around the afterlife. Without it, 20 Big Years would have denied the necromancy that runs throughout the life work of Notorious B.I.G. (his mere two studio albums are a clear sign that his life was cut too short), and that has come to define his persona after death. Even if all these ghosts still give his fans the willies. As one visitor, pointing to an altered version of Barron Claiborne’s famous photo of Biggie wearing a crown, said to her friend: “That one with the skull–it’s so morbid, but so deep.” (The friend agreed.)
Biggie Smalls
They Named a Street After Biggie’s Record Store in Bed-Stuy
On the heels of the closure of Kim’s Video & Music, it was somewhat heartening, on Tuesday, to see another beloved vinyl shop being embraced by its community – albeit three years after it closed in Bed-Stuy.
Over 50 people gathered for the unveiling of the “Birdel’s Records Way” sign that now sits at Nostrand Avenue and Fulton Street. The block, stretching from that intersection to Atlantic Ave., was renamed to commemorate the neighborhood music store that Hardy “Joe” Long owned and operated for nearly 50 years.
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Rick Ross, Action Bronson and 10 Other Rap Royals, as Painted By a Dutch Master

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