On his blog, former Bad Boy A&R Geno Sims has released the orchestral version of The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Warning" that was performed during the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, which were hosted by Diddy.
In his post, Sims says that the music was orchestrated by violinist Miri Ben-Ari and producers Ryan Leslie, Jeffrey "J-Dub" Walker and Steven "Stevie J." Jordan and that the group, along with Diddy, were up 3 and a half days straight. Listen below.
Former Bad Boy A&R Geno Sims has released a track for free download on his blog that he says was one of the records created for consideration on Biggie's "Duets: The Final Chapter" album.
The song is "Suicidal Thoughts," which takes the Biggie vocals from the song of the same title on the "Life After Death" album. This reimagining of the song was produced by The Heatmakerz and features The Product G&B, best known for their contribution to Santana's "Maria Maria." Listen below.
As part of their efforts, the group responsible for the hack planted a fake and obviously dubious story alleging that The Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac are both alive, living in New Zealand. The story has since been removed and NewsHour has apologized via Twitter.
Highs and Lows (HAL) and Colab Eyewear have paired up to release a pair of sunglasses inspired by The Notorious B.I.G., aptly called "Biggie."
Here's how it is described on the Highs and Lows website:
After just 5 years in the game the little shop from the other windy city have already conquered collaborations with New Balance and Reebok, and now they have their sights set on their own Colab frame with an homage to the Notorious B.I.G. Drawing from the Coogi sweater, Versace shade era that Brooklyn’s Finest brought to the spotlight, The Biggie is a throwback to the unlikely union between the street urchins and high fashion houses that made the 90′s such a memorable time for hip-hop and fashion in general. One for the dice shakers and investment bankers alike.
They will be available internationally soon, with the retail price of $249.
The estate of The Notorious B.I.G., led by his mother, Voletta Wallace and widow Faith Evans, has signed a licensing deal with brand management and development form Brand Sense Partners (also known as bsp), under which the company will oversee licensing and merchandising for Biggie's name and likeness.
Specifically, the Biggie brand will be managed by Theresa Brown, which has represented the states of Albert Einstein and Steve McQueen and currently lead's the first celebrity and estate initiatives, including Sheryl Crow, Marlon Brando and Jimi Hendrix.
"Christopher Wallace was a pioneer in the hip-hop and rap music movement, paving the way for a countless number of today's talent and we are excited to leverage the untapped equity in his brand," bsp President and CEO, Ramez Toubassy said via press release.
"The family and I are excited to move forward with the exceptional team at bsp," said Wayne Barrow, formerly Biggie's manager who currently advices Ms. Wallace. "Their understanding of Christopher's cultural impact, as well as their vision for our brand mission made them the best partner possible for the task. We look forward to working hand in hand with them to build on Christopher's unique legacy."
FADER has a great pictorial taking you to various places that were significant in the life of The Notorious B.I.G., complete with quotes and stories from people like Andre Harrell, Mark Pitts, Matty C, Wayne Barrow, dream hampton, "Hypnotize" video director Paul Hunter and more. Check it out.
FADER founder Rob Stone, who previously worked at Arista Records and helped to promote The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Ready to Die" album recently penned a great article reminiscing about time spent with Biggie during the marketing of "Ready to Die." A worthy read.
Here's a small teaser:
We’d been running around all day like lunatics and back at the hotel, no one showed up for a midnight run to the radio station, except Big. So I went from miserable to HOLY S*** very quickly. It was pouring outside, so I ran to pull the car around and pick Big up in front—not that he requested it, but he had a way of making you want to do right by him. Because it was just us, we talked about a lot of things: our families, our moms, friends, girls, the business, Puff. He was curious about my life growing up in Long Island—how I’d gotten into hip-hop and proud to hear that I was born in Brooklyn and impressed that my dad went to Erasmus High School and still owned a trucking company in Brooklyn. He talked about recording his new album in the Caribbean, away from everyone. Things were getting complicated with way too many distractions. And he made a point to say, “I can’t front: Puff made Ready To Die great, and he’s gotta be there with me.” I asked how and he said Puff was the one who told him to paint the picture and tell stories. He’d designed tracks to fit Big’s style. It was pretty amazing to hear and to be let in on what felt like a secret.
In the article, Stone mentions that he was one of the few allowed to listen to "Ready to Die" early on and that he was trusted with an unmastered cassette tape of the album that featured "two dramatically different songs." On Twitter, I asked him what these records were and he was kind enough to respond. They were "Come On" and "Respect."
"We had to audition a bunch of kids for that part and he's kind of - he's the neighborhood kid who doesn't have anything to do and kind of befriends me, and he's - he's an excellent actor," Ferrell said of his co-star. "And did such a great job."
Global Grind and BET.com have new interviews with Wallace, covering familiar territory.
Rapper Yelawolf talked with FADER about The Notorious B.I.G. and how his loss is felt by different people. Brother Bear, who manages Yelawolf, was at one time Biggie's barber.
