A King and The Illest: Remembering Dr. King and The Notorious B.I.G.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and The Notorious B.I.G. are two of the biggest cultural figures in American history. Dr. King is renowned for his political, theological, and civic work. Biggie Smalls is celebrated for his exceptional musical ability as a rapper. And both men were vital in two of the 20th century’s greatest social, political, and cultural phenomenons: the Civil Rights Movement, and Hip-Hop.
Yet, we do not think of these men simultaneously. In fact, many might say it is blasphemous to even mention them in the same breath. But as we commemorate Dr. King’s birthday and holiday, and anticipate the release of Notorious (the first major studio film about the life of Biggie), we are afforded a unique opportunity: the chance to bridge generations by carefully looking at two icons. Looking at each man’s life allows us to revisit our relationship to them; and to critically think about their virtues and their flaws. Most important though is this question: can we find mutuality and commonality with B.I.G. and King?
Without doubt, the differences between King and Biggie are stark and vast. (Continue below)
Article By Michael Partis(Not Nigel D., Michael Partis will respond to thoughts on the article in the comments)
Before becoming B.I.G., Christopher Wallace was the son of immigrants and grew up in the urban metropolis of Brooklyn, NY. Thanks to the struggle of his single mother, he did not grow up in abject poverty. Still, Christopher deals with the United States’ harsh truth: educated, poor, affluent, determined, resistant, hard-working, or humble—no matter what your make-up, racism still negatively affects your life-choices. Confronted with this reality, Biggie does was many before, after, and in his generation do: he chooses a life of selling drugs, violence, and crime. It is a life-choice that blurs the line of survival and necessity; of desire and force; of good and bad. To many it is a destructive force that tears apart communities of color. But to Biggie, he was “just trying to make some money to feed my daughter.”
While Dr. King was not able to see the stress, strife, and trauma of the crack epidemic that molded Biggie and the members of his generation, he was intimately familiar with the anger, hostility, and frustration of many in the Black community.
1964-1968 is noted as one of the most tumultuous periods in United States history. While the Civil Rights Movement continued to press on with the hope that faith, civil disobedience, and fortitude would bring equality to America, the racism that produced poverty persisted. These conditions brought many Blacks to “a boiling point.” The frustration turned into two things: political organizing and violence. This was challenging for King and other Civil Rights leaders. They wrestled with how to address the poverty, how to channel the anger, and how to join these new political struggles.
While rebellions in cities emerged and violence ensued, King dedicated what would be the final years of his life to the issue that dogged so many Blacks: poverty. He also strove to understand the sentiment of deep anger in many Black young people; and tried to empathize with their hurt while re-orientating them away from violence. This would become the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. until the moment of his tragic passing.
The Notorious B.I.G. certainly did not engage in the same work that Dr. King did. He did not live in King’s time. He was no political leader, no community organizer. Yet what ties him to King is Biggie’s place in the historical progression of African-American life. Biggie is apart of Bakari Kitwana’s “Hip-Hop Generation:” the one’s who come after the Civil Rights/Black Power struggle and inherit the world those movements left behind. What Biggie becomes, is this generation’s artistic icon; he ascends into a cultural hero.
As King represents the best in humanity and the quintessential symbol for a generation, B.I.G. serves as one generation’s definition of what a rapper should be and its most poignant example of success. And like W.E.B DuBois is forever linked with Booker T. Washington, or Martin Luther King with Malcolm X, Biggie is forever tied with the other defining luminary of his time—Tupac Shakur.
B.I.G.’s discussion of urban narratives, his poetic creations of imagined situations, and his story’s unique ability to resonate with the sentiments and conditions of a time, mirrors what we love and adore with so many of our artistic figures: the Odetta’s, Bob Marleys, Chuck D’s, Richard Wright’s, and Zora Neale Hurston’s of our culture.
There is no doubt that many of the stories which come forth from Biggie are disturbing, horrifying, and troubling. The “bitches,” “hoes,” guns, robberies, “stick-up kids,” misogyny, crack sales, and patriarchy which these stories detail indeed are…difficult. Nor are the sentiments of “keeping it real,” “I write about what I see,” or “if she acts like a hoe then and Imma call her a hoe” valid—a culture that presents these explanations must be challenged, critiqued, and pushed.
But this is not the totality of Biggie’s work. The descriptions he provided indeed had truth in them. No doubt the behavior it associated with is problematic, but the presence of it is nothing new. No question violence, sexism, and drugs take a drastically different tone in present society. But pimping, hustling, and guns are not new. They certainly existed in Dr. King’s time. “Come on people,” they even existed in Bill Cosby movies. Wallace took the alias of “Biggie Smalls” from the name of a gangster/hustler in Cosby and Sidney Poitier’s 1975 movie Let’s Do It Again.
The brilliance of the Notorious B.I.G., and of the Hip-Hop culture, is the point of view it provides. As Biggie put it, “from a young G’s perspective.”
The fact that Biggie could turned this perspective into a tool which enables him to reach financial success, this is what stands out to the Hip-Hop culture. Yes, it is absolutely steeped in capitalism’s excess, exploitation, and materialism. But for many people of color, it speaks to a truth and a desire. The work of changing what we desire, what we value, and what we want certainly is needed. If “money, hoes, and clothes is all a nigga knows,” then we have to expose that view to other ideas.
But it does not change the fact that it speaks to a generation, to a culture. Biggie Smalls speaks to the generation which lived through the crack epidemic, and to Hip-Hop culture. And what makes him their symbol is that… he is from it.
That is why Dr. King and The Notorious B.I.G. are celebrated. They represent something. They are of and apart of a community. The tie people have to them is not just marketed or mass-produced; the ability, talent, and work of these men tie us to them.
Their failures, flaws, and downsides are plentiful. They are problematic and complex. But such is life.
Regardless, these are our heroes.
R.I.P.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Christopher Wallace
michaelpartis@gmail.com
www.michaelpartis.blogspot.com
http://my.rawkus.com/profile/ForeThought
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January 19th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
FUCK biggie smalls BIG that fat ugly motherfucker lazy had 2 albums which were okay he FUCKING PIG
January 19th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
fuck pig that lazy ugly motherfucker aint in american history fuck him
January 19th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
REALTALKNY.. UR SICK IN THE HEAD ..i SINCERLY suggest u get ur head examined(not dissin) just a sincere suggestion… How dare you put biggie in the same category as Martin Luther King…ur down right offensive..
biggie?????cmon man, with lyrics like
“Disrespect me – my potency is deadly
I’m shootin babies, no ifs ands or maybes
Hit mummy in the tummy if the hooker plays a dummy
Slit the wrist of little sis
After she sucked the dick, i stabbed her brother with the icepick
Because he wanted me to fuck him from the back
But smalls don’t get down like that
Got your father hidin in a room; fucked him with the broom
Slit him down the back and threw salt in the wound”
R U CRAZY ?? u must have completly lost ur mind.. i mean those lyrics are fine for hip hop and biggie was good rapper but that’s all he was he wasnt no cultural figure or an activist or someone u phrase with MLK.
If any rapper should ever even come close to being put in the same category as civil rights leaders it would be TUPAC SHAKUR, NOONE ELSE.
January 19th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Nigel, this is why you are definiety not black.
U should say in the sense that MLK was non-violent and the movie NOTORIOUS was non-violent. But these are TWO VERY different non-comparable ERA’s in the struggle – Big wasn’t trying to lead no people to freedom…he was just made great music. It’s not so much to say “american history” to compare shyit I WOULDN’T EVEN CALL IT BLACK HISTORY. This comparision is wack and insulting.
FUCK THE MEDIA!!!!!!!! What ya’ll do sucks for real. Try comparing NOTORIOUS to SCARFACE – these two people are two totally different people. I would be relcutant to call B.I.G. an activist. The dude was just an MC.
OH yeah, and compare MLK to Barrack Obama this piece is bullshit. PEACE
January 19th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
OH shit my bad Nigel…u didn’t write that, I’m gonna send an email to that dude who wrote it.
January 19th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
^^^^cosign truth, Biggie wasn’t no hero , influencial icon or role model he was just a very good rapper. only reason he’s remembered is cuz of Pac..if he didnt have that beef with pac he woulda just been like Jam master jay,big l, big pun or any other dead hiphop legend. There wuldnt be any movies or documentaries or none of that if it wasnt for the tupac beef. This article basicaly described the impact tupac and his music had on society but instead of using Pac’s name they used biggie and it’s sickening to read.
January 19th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
u r as stupid as fuck and i cant blame mouse patties, u r jst 22yrs old. How dare u compare P.I.G to MLK.Therez no comparison stupid and the NOTORIOUS movie was jst aight, nuttin special or inspiring.Eat a dick Mouse patties.
January 19th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
niggas cant even have a post mentioning biggie’s name without someone mentioning pac like hes where hip hop begins and ends. B.I.G. is the illest at the end of the day, but I wouldnt be doing the whole comparison with MLK.
January 19th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
BAD MOVE REALTALK HIPHOP ISN’T SHIT COMPARED TO CIVIL RIGHTS, IN FACT ITS THE EXACT OPPOSITE. DR.KING WOULDN’T HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT SORRY. THIS JUST MADE ME REALIZE CERTAIN THINGS BUT IM NOT ABOUT TO GO THERE WITH THIS COMMENT. LET FREEDOM FREEDOM RING, GOD BLESS, HAVE A GREAT MLK DAY AND A BLESSED INAGURATION DAY, PEACE.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
#Saye Hello
Michael Partis wrote this article and he sure is black. Anyway I see his point but I disagree with him. I don’t agree with everything he says but Partis always writes interesting articles though. I enjoyed reading this. Michael Partis is a cool brotha.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
DONT EVER PUT MARTIN LUTHER KING AND BIGGIE IN THE SAME SENTENCE LET ALONE SAME BLOG
i repeat…
DONT EVER PUT MARTIN LUTHER KING AND BIGGIE IN THE SAME SENTENCE
nuff said
January 19th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
o yea biggie was definently not a fuccin hero well not mines
January 19th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Fair enough it was wrong to put Biggie in the same category as Martin Luther King, but do people feel the need to disrespect Biggie like this ? @ 7 Biggie is very overrated he don’t even compare to 2 Pac, Biggie copied 2 Pac badly on Ready To Die.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
CALL me a “hater”,but don’t U EVER fucking mention MLK and ANY rapper in the same sentence!!!!
1st off MLK is a fucking ICON!!! Big is a rap LEGEND and that’s all he will ever be.
2ndly
2pac is a fucking ICON he TOUCHED THE WHOLE FUCKING WOOOOOORLD!!!!!
Big is good in the US and that’s all!
ps. I NEVER read any of your BLOGS thier pointless and my point was proven today,but still have a good MLK DAY!!!
January 19th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
@12
biggie overrated? he’s the first rap artist i know to not have to write his lyrics down, dude was a genius and ahead of his time. look how long it took pac to really blow up in comparison to biggie. big’s flow is undeniable and if pac and big had to rap on the same subject matter, big would out shine him because he was a true natural artist. big got hyped after hearing snoop’s first album not pacs, so why would he copy pac?
January 19th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
HAPPY MLK DAY YALL 2MORRO OBAMA WILL TAKE CONTROL OF THIS WHOLE NATION N IT COULDNT BE DONE WITOUT THA HELP OF BLACKS WHITES LATINOS N WHOEVER ELSE FINALLY REALIZED IT WAS TIME TO MAKE A CHANGE…I DO BELIEVE DR KING WOULD BE MIGHTY PROUD
R.I.P. DR MARTIN LUTHER KING
January 19th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Ummm, you should never mention The King and the other guy in this article in the same sentence. You should be ashamed of yourself.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Fisrt off don’t ever mention some alright rapper with MLK again. And secondly that men who wrote that article should be ashamed of himself.
January 19th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
MANE ALL OF A SUMTHIN EVERYBODY ALL ON BIGGIE NUT MANE FUCK DAT I RESPECT DUDE BUT DAT FUCKIN IS FAKE A GANG OF PART IN DAT MOVIE IS FAKE MANE DONT PART DUDE NEXT TO MLK HE REALLY AINT DO NUTHIN BUT DROP THREE ALBUMS WOW……BT NO DISRESPECT THO IM JUST STATIN THE FACTS
January 19th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
A few things:
Please feel free to continue to comment here, or email me if you want. I welcome and embrace it. Keep going.
1. This article readily acknowledges that Dr. King and Biggie have different backgrounds, and do extremely DIFFERENT types of work. Biggie’s a rapper; Dr. King’s a political figure, a church leader, and community organizer.
2. We all recognize Tupac’s prophetic, revolutionary voice. I have written about this before.
The 7 Day Theory: Remembering Why Tupac is Important
http://realtalkny.uproxx.com/2008/09/topic/topic/editorial/the-7-day-theory-remember-why-tupac-is-important/
First, I think we really need to put Tupac’s life in perspective. His music was impactful because of the forceful, poignant way he expressed and delivered social commentary—whether that be teenage mothers; politicians; Black power; structural racism, etc…his range and breathe is remarkable.
HOWEVER, he also wrote “I Get Around” and numbers of incredibly offensive songs. The point is we have to be very aware in our observations. Pac is complicated and problematic, just like Biggie, just like Dr. King, just like HUMAN BEINGS are.
Tupac never organized a march, a protest, or a demonstration. He didn’t go to the hoods across the country and organize people to fight over issues of education, poverty, gun control, police brutality. He made music and movies. We could speculate what he WOULD of done, but that’s all we can do. This is what he DID do. He was an entertainer…who was political in his music (sometimes), but extremely problematic in his music. We should be very clear about this.
3. Here’s a suggestion on some reading to know more about Dr. King’s life (beyond the “I Have Dream” speech, or iconic way he is often portrayed).
Taylor Branch writes a incredible trilogy about Dr. King’s life. Specifically, about how the Civil Rights Movement struggles to continue the movement in the later years of King’s life. And how King has to deal with the changing social dynamic the U.S. faces in the mid-1960’s. Anger, rebellion, and frustration enters Black communities and other communities of color.
Here’s more about the trilogy: http://www.taylorbranch.com/about/index.html
Dr. King tried to work in these communities to understand the source of their frustrations, anger, behavior, and world-view. But again, he worked in those communities.
These are the same communities where Hip-Hop came from. Do we really think Dr. King would have not worked in those communities? Do you think he would not of tried to reach and work with a brother like Biggie?
4. Lastly, I spent time in the townships of South Africa. Kliptown, Soweto, District 9, etc. One of the main things people would ask me is “What do you think of Bush?” and “Do you listen to Biggie and Tupac?” Hip-Hop is global, not just the Hip-Hop you like or the Hip-Hop you listen.
January 19th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
It’s definitely not a good look comparion’ Big to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
January 19th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
why the fuck would you even dare put this guy in the same post as MLK on HIS day. Who gives a fuck about BIG, he was a rapper, and violent and sick one at that. Yea he had flows, the fuck does that have to do with Civil Rights and MLK? This is the stupidest shit I’ve ever seen on this site. I’ve been looking on this blog for almost a year now and never felt compelled to leave a comment, this takes the cake for the most out of pocket thing I’ve seen on this site. Take this shit down.
January 19th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
@20Michael Partis
Thanks! Now I see what you mean
January 19th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
HEY NIGEL!! i think you need to review these articles before they get posted
January 19th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
LMAO bloggers hungry for content, smh
January 19th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
TO compare Biggie to Dr. Martin Luther King is pure comedy….
don’t get me wrong Biggie was a great rapper..but Dr. King was a voice of the civil rights movement.
January 19th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
WTF….COMPARIG MLK AND BIGGIE?
YOU SHOULD GET YOUR BLOGGER PASS REMOVED RTNY
WHAT A SHAME…….JUST WOW…
January 19th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
To #20.. Michael Partis
first you compare BIG to MLK now to make matters worse you try to say Tupac was just a rapper and that tupac never went to the hood or that tupac never spoke to the community. You’ve proven again that you managed to convince yourself that your dilusional opinions are somehow fatcs. I strongly suggest that you stay away from writing articles about people you eaither know nothing about or you fail to properly analyse.
A few facts
1.
go on you tube and just type Tupac speech… you’ll get evidence of tupac passionately
speaking directly to the public about racial and social issues . The malcom x grassroots movement even ivited tupac to speak to a huge audience about issues which directly affected black people . I can guaranty you that you don’t have to search much to find videos of tupac basically speaking for us in interviews and fighting for the youth..whether it be about police brutality, poverty, racism or any issue involving black people
2.Every tupac album with the exception of all eyez on me had political references or messages in them .
3. You can compare Tupac to biggie in the sense that they were both rappers…TRUE but that’s where the comparason ends don’t you dare come over and say u writing a peace about how biggie impacted society cause you already wrote about pac… UR INSANE so just cuz u wrote about pac now u gotta write about Big , just shows what kind of moron i’m dealing with here..like you think biggie and pac were the same kind of people and had the same impact. if u think biggie is in tupac’s leauge in terms of social impact or representing black youth you’ve lost ur mind and the comments on this page will reassure you ur crazy.. Tupac was hiphop’s one and only voice when it came to representing a whole generation and fighting for black people he always went all out. No offense to Biggie, he was an extremley good rapper but that’s all he was, no where near an activist like pac.
Anyways i honestly think you should get arrested for comparing biggie to MLK ur dispicable
January 19th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
why don’t yall read the dudes respone where he explains his thoughts? agree or disagree with him but he does make sense.
January 19th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
SORRY…I JUST SAW NIGEL DIDNT WRITE THIS.
ANYWAY THE GUY WHO WROTE THIS IS CRAZY…NUFF SAID!
January 19th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
okay now yall getttin carried away he has nothing to do with black history and in fact he is what has been the negative influene on the black community get outta thats ridiculous to even disrespect dr.king like the come on give it a break
January 19th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Hiphop music is black music, black music is part of black history. Biggie is a legend in hiphop so therefore he is PART of black history
January 19th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
^^^^^lol @32 funny really funny.i’ll correct ur statement if u may…
hiphop music is a part of black music….black music is a part of black history, Biggie is a legend in hiphop music therefore he is apart of HIP HOP HISTORY not black history
see that’s where ignorant niggaz get confused it’s hilarious and offensive at the same time.
Biggie is just a segment in hiphop music… he was an extremely talented musician and will be remembered for makin good music..Biggie deserves to be recognised as a part of hiphop history NOT BLACK HISTORY… Martin Luther King is black history, Malcom X IS black history, Obama, Mandela, Jesse Jackson, Al sharpton, Rosa Parks, and for many reasons i believe Tupac deserves to be right there in this list. Don’t get it twisted, just cus pac is somewhat on that level don’t mean Biggie’s there too.
January 19th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
“Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and The Notorious B.I.G. are two of the biggest cultural figures in American history.”
who ever wrote this article needs to issue out an apology i’m offended
January 19th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
OMFG IM SO FUCKING OFFENDED OMFGGGGGGGG
lol you niggers dont know shit about MLK ur all just lookin 4 attention
January 19th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
Hey Michael, you’re PART IS to shut the fuck up….how dare you? this is so disrespectful.
And Nigel you should be ashamed too for even posting this trash
January 19th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
I don’t know how many black artist of the new generation that have had a big impact on black history. You say 2Pac? I don’t know only time will tell. I can only think about the old school legendary singers like James Brown Miles Davis and Sam Cooke to name a few. Those guys had a huge impact on black history.
January 19th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
@31 What are you talking about. Any black person that does something historical is apart of black history. whether its politics, sports, entertainment, or educationlal. i wouldnt compare Big to MLK, that sounds crazy. but Big is apart of Black history not just hiphop history.
January 19th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
#Get Em
Exactly!
January 19th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Ha you can try to word it as best you want Micheal the fact is you F’d up buddy take the L. You should know better than that. But I dont blame you, for you have just been swept up along with all the other cocksuckers swinging on the nuts of anyone famous. The nerve of you to ever mention the two in the same breathe BiG was nothing more than an offensive rapper and do not attempt to bring Tupac down to justify your bullshit. You are a groupie that like to write nothing more than that buddy. Tupacs potential was far greater than biggies and yet I dont put him in the same catergory as Malcolm and Martin because he did not live to fullfill that. however the fact that he was a complex individual is not enough to validate your point. You made a stupid mistake tryna ride the whole obama hiphop biggie wave and your readers are calling you out for it.
January 19th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
Micheal might lose his job over this 1 lol
January 19th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
Big is not the greatest rapper of all time. let only you mention him in the same breadth as MLK. if you have nothing to write kill yourself rather than write this bullshit
January 20th, 2009 at 12:13 am
Thats was a great response I only have 1 correction. On the all eyes on me though it was not as political as the other albums he did have the song wonder why they call you bitch which addressed the issues of the way our black women carry themselves.
I love your response though and you are absoloutely correct. This dude is a kid Im 26 and he’s 22 but there is a great difference in the way these people think and carry themselves now. They get so caught up in hype and mainstream media that its all about sensationlalism now and not reality.
I dont want to continue to bash dude I believe the people have spoken I will just end with this. Martin, Malcolm, Marcus, Rosa, Harriet. These figures have done so much for us more than most of our simple minds will ever come to fathom. Please do not put the common selfish entertainers in thier catergory. Biggies died having made no selfless acts to show his love for humanity. Tupac risked his life and freedom to stop injustice by police offices on an unarmed man. Do your home work people dont just settle for what PDiddy and them say is truth. THINK.
January 20th, 2009 at 1:25 am
Dr. King should be our example of how to interact with one another. There were plenty of people MLK disagreed with. Mainly he disagreed with Malcolm X on many things. But Dr. King did not cast Malcolm as “worthless, not apart of Black history, and despicable.” MLK recognized Malcolm’s role, his importance to others, and his place in the community. Dr. King is our model for how to deal with others: to love them even in disagreement, to recognize their personhood demanded respect no matter our opinion on their views, and to respectfully disagree. For those who say King is important, I think that is something important to always remember.
I think its great that all the comments are from people who have gathered their own interpretation of what I wrote, and based on that disagree with me. We have to challenge each other, and call each other out. Difference of opinion to better understanding.
I love that people are standing up to say our political leaders have more importance than our musicians. Priorities are key. These comments (for the most part) prioritize politics over music. And we NEED to hold politics high on our list of priorities.
It is tremendous that there is such a protection over MLK. I understand why people are sensitive to the notion of comparing anybody to him. Again though, I am not saying Biggie is like King in political importance but in being a cultural icon. If any of you work/engage/or speak with young people between the ages of 15-23 you know there was an overwhelming majority of them who sought out the Biggie movie, and embraced it. These are folks who mostly were not even teenagers when Biggie was alive, almost an entirely different generation. Yet even at the theater I was at, they were cheering for him, singing his songs word for word, and damn near reliving his life.
My challenge is if you do not think that B.I.G. is culturally significant in any way, how do you work with a young person who thinks otherwise? How do you tell them biggie is “not apart of Black history, worthless” etc…
This article attempts to show that the content of our music is not removed from our political struggles, no matter how far-fetch it seems. Is Kid-N-Play or Soulja Boy’s dance music political…hell no. But do stories about the ghetto, hustling, violence… is that stuff social commentary…definitely. And our political struggles are directly tied to these political commentaries. Hip-Hop definitely should make us feel good, and dance and all that. But it has tremendous power to be politically potent…by telling us about the socio-economic conditions that exist. Malcolm X Grassroots Movement organizes Brooklyn communities around the conditions, behavior, and culture that Brooklyn rappers like Talib, Mos, and Hov talk about.
The idea of this article, is that the sick, troubling, disturbing shit B.I.G talk about and lived is the stuff that Dr. King would have been trying to understand and work around and against. MLK would of tried to help young men and women with the adverse affects of the crack epidemic, of Reaganonics, of social institutions like schools failing them; and he would have tried to show these young people that violence, drugs, and misogyny are not behavior to engage in or to condone.
Dr. King disagreed with Malcolm X and many other people on philosophy and political approach, but still respected them; he was willing to speak with them, to try to understand their perspective, and to find ways to work with them. He never wished ill-will on even the most violent racist. Indeed this is why he is greatly important.
Would he have cast aside Biggie, and render him non-important and useless? or recognize what he means to some people, and try to bridge that gap?
January 20th, 2009 at 2:51 am
To compare Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to a rapper in ANY way, shape, or form is downright offensive.
You need to apologize to people all over the world.
Thierry,
Paris, France
January 20th, 2009 at 6:59 am
I see blind ppl over here, you all like “Whoa My President Is Black” and some shit, but remember is just a politician, black or white, is still a politician. Does Obama will care our brothers in the street, poor, craked, and murdered by police ? America is White, it will still white. Don’t get me wrong, the rules will not change, the more poor ppl in the country will still Black. Even if it’s a good thing to have a black president, I still think our black president have to think and act like a Black. The image dont make the person. RIP 2pac, you’re dream come true.
January 20th, 2009 at 9:19 am
Dr. King should be our example of how to interact with one another. There were plenty of people MLK disagreed with. Mainly he disagreed with Malcolm X on many things. But Dr. King did not cast Malcolm as “worthless, not apart of Black history, and despicable.” MLK recognized Malcolm’s role, his importance to others, and his place in the community. Dr. King is our model for how to deal with others: to love them even in disagreement, to recognize their personhood demanded respect no matter our opinion on their views, and to respectfully disagree. For those who say King is important, I think that is something important to always remember.
I think its great that all the comments are from people who have gathered their own interpretation of what I wrote, and based on that disagree with me. We have to challenge each other, and call each other out. Difference of opinion to better understanding.
I love that people are standing up to say our political leaders have more importance than our musicians. Priorities are key. These comments (for the most part) prioritize politics over music. And we NEED to hold politics high on our list of priorities.
It is tremendous that there is such a protection over MLK. I understand why people are sensitive to the notion of comparing anybody to him. Again though, I am not saying Biggie is like King in political importance but in being a cultural icon. If any of you work/engage/or speak with young people between the ages of 15-23 you know there was an overwhelming majority of them who sought out the Biggie movie, and embraced it. These are folks who mostly were not even teenagers when Biggie was alive, almost an entirely different generation. Yet even at the theater I was at, they were cheering for him, singing his songs word for word, and damn near reliving his life.
My challenge is if you do not think that B.I.G. is culturally significant in any way, how do you work with a young person who thinks otherwise? How do you tell them biggie is “not apart of Black history, worthless” etc…
This article attempts to show that the content of our music is not removed from our political struggles, no matter how far-fetch it seems. Is Kid-N-Play or Soulja Boy’s dance music political…hell no. But do stories about the ghetto, hustling, violence… is that stuff social commentary…definitely. And our political struggles are directly tied to these political commentaries. Hip-Hop definitely should make us feel good, and dance and all that. But it has tremendous power to be politically potent…by telling us about the socio-economic conditions that exist. Malcolm X Grassroots Movement organizes Brooklyn communities around the conditions, behavior, and culture that Brooklyn rappers like Talib, Mos, and Hov talk about.
The idea of this article, is that the sick, troubling, disturbing shit B.I.G talk about and lived is the stuff that Dr. King would have been trying to understand and work around and against. MLK would of tried to help young men and women with the adverse affects of the crack epidemic, of Reaganonics, of social institutions like schools failing them; and he would have tried to show these young people that violence, drugs, and misogyny are not behavior to engage in or to condone.
Dr. King disagreed with Malcolm X and many other people on philosophy and political approach, but still respected them; he was willing to speak with them, to try to understand their perspective, and to find ways to work with them. He never wished ill-will on even the most violent racist. Indeed this is why he is greatly important.
Would he have cast aside Biggie, and render him non-important and useless? or recognize what he means to some people, and try to bridge that gap?
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Great post man, I’m feeling you on this one!! Keep up the good work
January 20th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Wow. This is some ignorant shit.
MLK = B.I.G.???
sooooo, by your logic…
Mother Teresa = Madonna
Malcolm X = Chuck D
Ghandi = Bono
Barack Obama = Jay-Z
Get a fuckin’ clue. This post is just offensive.
January 20th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
90% of yall bloggers are dumb… this dude just explained himself 2 times.. and people keep saying the same thing… “how u goin to compare biggie to mlk” yall people reach to far sometimes.. everybody and they mother no biggie is not on the same level as mlk… yall just want to argue about something.. this post was put to celebrate both black men.. not to put down one
January 20th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
and half these people on here dont know nothing about mlk… all yall know is he had a dream…yall know more about biggie, and yall on here frontin like u grew up on MLK…
January 20th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
yo i just want to defend BIG cuz some of yall going to hard.. naw i wouldnt compare the two but lets just leave it at that…BIG is the best rapper of all time… i know alot of yall love pac thats cool but yall be tryin to use pac for all the other shit that he did to make him better…when it comes down to straight up rappin and you got them two niggas there and all you wanna hear is a nigga sayin some shit that will have you makin faces and sayin dammnnn you gon chose BIG tell me im lying? Now if you wanna get inspired to help the community through the rap music platform or go ride on the niggas that just merked ya homeboy u might chose to listen to pac cuz he a say some shit like that…but thats all, if BIG had the same amount of material pac had im sure it would be better on those topics ( well at least the riding on nigga raps)…so point is naw BIG aint no MLK but when it comes to strictly RAPPING, BIG is that dude!!!
January 20th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
I am very impressed of how Michael Partis has responded to the “fuck yous” and “how dare yous” etc…
Your response has been truly in the spirit of MLK, explanation with compassion. Michael did not lower himself to the offensive langauge that many of MLK’s “admirerers” (quotations to express sarcasm some of ya need the explanation) did.
Listen up all of you who were quick to insult Michael, MLK would NEVER have slandered, discouraged and disillusioned a brother, he would have engaged him in intellectual discussion and have challanged his ideas not his person. Those of you who have reverted to cursing are the antithesis of what MLK wanted.
Yes, we know BIG is no MLK, if you payed attention that was part of the post. However most Black people in this world know those two names, what Michael was trying to get at is the why.
Read, think, and discuss before letting your anger defeat your argument.
January 21st, 2009 at 6:02 pm
I think Biggie is Ill on the mic..
but Martin L. King and Biggie?? nah its more lik MFK and Tupac Shakur
Pac did alot for the communities on the low
2pac – God Bless The Dead.mp3
forreall
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:18 am
Biggie movie was weak
his life is kinda boring compare to 2pac’s/./
they need to make a 2pac movie