On March 9, 1997, we lost a LEGEND…. The Notorious B.I.G was killed in Los Angeles , California–the case is still UNSOLVED. But TODAY we are REMEMBERING his LIFE and LEGACY that he left behind…

Considered one of the greatest rappers of all time, Wallace was described by AllMusic as “the savior of East Coast hip-hop”.  The Source magazine named him the greatest rapper of all time in its 150th issue in 2002.  In 2003, when XXL magazine asked several hip hop artists to list their five favorite MCs, Wallace appeared on more rappers’ lists than anyone else. In 2006, MTV ranked him at No. 3 on their list of The Greatest MCs of All Time, calling him possibly “the most skillful ever on the mic”.

Editors of About.com ranked him at No. 3 on their list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007).  In 2012, The Source ranked him No. 3 on their list of the Top 50 Lyrical Leaders of all time. Rolling Stone has referred to him as the “greatest rapper that ever lived”. In 2015, Billboard named Wallace as the greatest rapper of all time.

Wallace’s lyrics have been sampled and quoted by a variety of artists, including Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, Fat Joe, Nelly, Ja Rule, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Game, Clinton Sparks, Michael Jackson, and Usher. At the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, Combs and Snoop Dogg paid tribute to Wallace by hiring an orchestra to play while the vocals from “Juicy” and “Warning” played on the arena speakers.  At the 2005 VH1 Hip Hop Honors, a tribute to Wallace headlined the show.