Det har sedan länge stått klart att The Notorious B.I.G är den riktiga kungen av New York, men under helgen blev han också officiellt en del av Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. Efter att ha nominerats i oktober förra året stod det i januari 2020 klart att den legendariska rapparen skulle bli en av artisterna som fick äran.
Under induktionsceremonin, som sändes via HBO Max, hyllades han av sina kollegor och familj. Diddy var självklart en del av hyllningen, vid sidan av Jay-Z, Nas och Lin-Manuel Miranda.
“Big just wanted to be biggest, he wanted to be the best, he wanted to have influence and impact people in a positive way, and that clearly has been done all over the world. Nobody has come close to the way Biggie sounds, to the way he raps, to the frequency that he hits. Tonight we are inducting the greatest rapper of all time into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Notorious B.I.G. representing Brooklyn, New York, we up in here!”, sa Diddy till Pitchfork i samband med ceremonin.
Utöver arkivmaterial där Jay-Z jämför Biggie med Alfred Hitchcock spelades upp, hyllade också Nas sin kollega för att visa vägen för NY-rappare att nå kommersiell framgång.
“They were these tales that was disturbing, but they all had a purpose. The human side of him came through in his music, and I think it moved the molecules in the world. I know for a fact that he pointed me in a direction and I’m sure that’s happened to millions and millions of people worldwide.” – Jay-Z
“Rap music is all about who’s gonna be the king. The West Coast, they was sellin’ millions of records, and before Big, I felt like there was only so far New York rap could go as far as sales. Biggie changed all of that.” – Nas
Avslutningsvis sa också hans barn, CJ och T’yanna, samt hans mor Voletta Wallace ett par ord.
“I’m honored to share his name and his dedication to Black music, creativity, self-expression, and Black freedom. I love you, Meemaw. Thanks for teaching us who Christopher Wallace was as a son, friend, poet, artist, and father. We love you Meemaw. We love you dad. Brooklyn, we did it!”, sade CJ, som i somras släppte en remix av “Big Poppa”, i ett klipp.
Whitney Houston, the Doobie Brothers, Depeche Mode, T. Rex och Nine Inch Nails var några av de andra artisterna som valdes in.
Foto: Chi Modu
