WE'LL ALWAYS LOVE BIG POPPA- WE'LL ALWAYS LOVE YA BIG... 9 years later

Biggie Biggie Biggie can't you see

Sometimes your words just hypnotize me

And I just love your flashy ways

Guess that's why they broke, and you're so paid (uh)

Biggie Biggie Biggie (uh-huh) can't you see (uh)

Sometimes your words just hypnotize me (hypnotize)

And I just love your flashy ways (uh-huh)

Guess that's why they broke, and you're so paid (hah)

Anyone who knows me will tell you I'm the biggest B.I.G. fan. As an emcee I have always been a fan of and had great appreciated for flow and dude was the master of the Heow. he could say just about anything and make it sound so smooth for real. I can't believe today marks 9 years since dude was taken away from us. That would mean it will be 10 years since Pac's been gone later this year. I can't believe their murders are still unsolved to this day. I can still remember the morning of March 9th 1997, like it was yesterday.

I had a video show called Street Vibes in New York, that I wrote for, produced and co hosted with my man Naquan (who I managed as an artists at the time), and my man Steve Oakley. It was Soul Train Awards time (can you believe this is the 20th Soul Train Awards this year, I'll talk about that on another post). Anyway like I said it was the weekend of the Soul Train Awards and everybody was heading to L.A.

I decided to stay home and chill get some rest and chill with my girl at the time. My man Naquan went with his people. Im at my girls krib and my pager goes off at 5 something in the morning. Im singing the begininng of Biggie's joint Warning in my head,

Who the hell is this? Pagin' me at 5:46 in the mornin

crack a dawnin, now I'm yawnin,

wipe the cold out my eye

see who's this pagin me and why...

I see the words "Yo A, Hit me back with a number I can reach you at," across my screen, It was my man Naquan. So I page him back and my cell rings.

"Yo Dawg, they just shot Biggie,"

Now if it had been anybody else I would have hung up the phone on some yo stop playing tip. But this was my man, like my little brother. His family was the first family I met when I moved to Long Island. i was was 7 and he and my sister was 2, so we go back.

He says it again, "Yo you heard what I said."

Still in disbelief I asking for details, Naquan and his boy Mike was just kicking it with Big and Puff in the parking garage I believe he said. We were suppose to interview him for our video show that next week, when he got back from overseas. He wasnt even suppose to be still in LA but he wanted to chill a little longer for the Soul Train Awards.

I turn on Hot 97 and Busta Rhymes is just callin in telling Angie Martinez, what Naquan is telling me. Im fillin him in on what the radio is saying like what hospital he they took him to and Naquan is describing to me the atmostphere and how NY cats is bugging right now.

Naquan heads to the hospital but they wont let him go to the floor BIG is on, they got it on lockdown, Im still bugging, I pull out the advance joint, Keep Ya Hands High with Philly artist Tracey Lee which was comin out in another week or two and played it a few times I just wanted to hear some new Biggie lyrics and Puff wasn't tryna come up off of Life After Death advances for the press cause of all the bootlegging. Hypnotize video had just got shot in Los Angeles and I dont think it was done yet it I remember correctly.

Sometime later the announced he was dead. To be totally honest I don't remember much else. Everything was a blur. I remembering feeling like someone killed my brother or my cousin and I was mad. I wanted answers, I wanted someone to pay. I still can't believe it's been 9 years and writing this now I'm getting a little choke up like it was yesterday all over again.

Every step I take, every move I make

Every single day, every time I pray

I’ll be missing you

Thinkin of the day, when you went away

What a life to take, what a bond to break

I’ll be missing you

I miss you big

Speculations were flying around on who shot him. Retaliation for Pac's death was the biggest one most thrown around one. Most may not admit it now but New York artists and they labels were scrambling to get earlier flight back to the Big Apple fearing they may be next.

Man BIG I know you said you was Ready To Die but we I'll Be Missing You and...

We'll always love Big Poppa

We'll always love Big Poppa (We'll always love you Big)

We'll always love Big Poppa (Yeah)

We'll always love Big Poppa (We'll always love you Big)