вЂњSuicidal ThoughtsвЂќ is not only one of his most cathartic records, but a real, deep glimpse into what itвЂ™s like to be on the edge, ready to end it all when stress and anxiety builds up. BIGвЂ™s vulnerability and sense of humanity is what allows his music, especially Ready To Die, to resonate with music fans, even to this day.ДЄs VIBE commemorates the 20th anniversary of the untimely death of Biggie Smalls, we present to you nine of BiggieвЂ™s best records that showcase his strength, humanity, and vulnerability as a black man in America. The bulk of BiggieвЂ™s best tracks all dove deep into depression, suicide, paranoia, remorse, anxiety, compassion, and sensuality, all of these issues are often ignored issues in the lives of black men and hip-hop. While we praise his former friend turned rival, the late Tupac Shakur for his depth, fearlessness, and vulnerability, Biggie Smalls should be respected in that same fashion because even though both artists had very different contexts when it came to their records, what they both shared was their heavy handed honesty about who they are as black men from the hood - and how they felt in their hearts, good or bad. READ: Simple Versatility Makes Notoriouss Clothing вЂњSicker Than Your AverageвЂќД®ven though his follow-up Life After Death was a flashier and more commercialized package, the psychological aspect of his music never left as he continued to bring us into his mind state at the time with songs like вЂњYouвЂ™re Nobody Until Somebody Kills You.вЂќ

This is especially true with his debut album, Ready To Die where, unlike many rappers back then and now, showed fans the gritty nature of the drug game and poverty affects the lives of the innocent. ItвЂ™s the heartfelt stories he has told from his perspective as a black man who grew up in the rough streets of Bed Stuy, Brooklyn.ДЄlthough a large portion of his catalog is rife with gangsta tales full of machismo in a way that rivals New Jack City and Scarface - and flashy, glossy mainstream records like вЂњHypnotizeвЂќ and вЂњOne More Chance (remix)вЂќ - the totality of BiggieвЂ™s music is basically the autobiography of a young, black man who overcame the odds and survived to tell the story in rhymes form. But his contributions to rap run so much deeper than these artists. and two of the most powerful and influential men in the genre today, Jay-Z and Diddy). His monstrous impact still resonates to this day - especially within the school of artists that came under his tutelage (The LOX, Ma$e, CamвЂ™ron, Lil Kim, Junior M.A.F.I.A. The late, great Biggie Smalls, real name Christopher Wallace was and still is one of the most beloved and respected icons of hip-hop. READ: Who Shouted Ya? 50 Famous Namedrops From The Notorious B.I.G. Very few rappers could illustrate this life as vividly, candidly, and with such unflinching, unapologetic honesty and wit like The Notorious B.I.G. The fact of the matter is that there are overwhelming numbers of black youth (both men and women) trapped in the vicious cycles of poverty, hopeless, and crime. Life as a young black man in America can be one of the roughest experiences over any other group of people in this country.

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