Sean Combs's Emotional Masterstroke

Traditionally the ‘live fast, die young’ attitude has been synonymous with rock music. The glamour associated with bowing out early has always allured youth cultures and often dying early can add to the mythology and, importantly, the subsequent veneration of the dead hero’s talent. It seems that hip-hop, often a genre obsessed with its legends and, oddly, death itself (think Notorious B.I.G.’s Ready to Die album or 2Pac’s Machiavelli period) can now boast similar fast-living, early-dying credentials with the deaths of 2Pac, Biggie, Big Pun, Proof (of Detroit group D12), Jam Master Jay and others all taking place in the last 20 years.


Insert whatever he's calling himself at the time of reading here

In 1997 Puff Daddy, Faith Evans and 112 all came together to record I’ll Be Missing You. The song would become a huge seller which would go Number 1 across the World. Using a haunting sample from The Police’s generally haunting I’ll Be Watching You, Puff Daddy takes a retrospective lyrical look at his time spent with his (at the time) recently deceased friend and musical collaborator; Notorious B.I.G. (formerly Biggie Smalls, real name Christopher Wallace). Faith Evans (Biggie’s girlfriend) sings the chorus, which mimics Sting’s Police chorus melodically with a slight lyric change, while 112 chip in with the melancholic outro. The significance of this song as both a huge selling hip-hop single and, more importantly, the Biggie Smalls legend maker was huge.


Biggie and Tupac together

The shooting of Biggie’s rival emcee 2Pac (real name Tupac Shakur) the year before caused an outpouring of public grief, but with the release of I’ll Be Missing You, the legend of not only Biggie was made, but the legend of the story of Biggie and 2Pac’s rivalry was made. Beyond that the legend of the dead rapper was made. In 1996 and ’97 the two best rappers around (oft cited as the greatest ever rappers) were killed. Upon the release of Puff Daddy and co.’s emotional marketing masterpiece in ’97 the rap game would change forever. Suddenly it was as cool in hip-hop to be a dead hero as it had been in rock ‘n’ roll.


I'll Be Missing You

I'm not saying here that Puff Daddy (as he was then known) set out to make money and create a culture of 'it's cool to be dead' in rap, but I am saying that as a by-product of his ode to his friend, both happened.

1994 Shooting of 2Pac: Man Allegedly Confesses

According to Pitchfork Media this morning, a man has allegedly confessed to shooting 2Pac in 1994. The shooting, which led to the infamous bitter and public rivalry between Biggie and 2Pac (due to 2Pac accusing Notorious B.I.G. of being behind the act), was allegedly carried out by a man named Dexter Isaac on behalf of music Exec. (now manager of rapper The Game) James Rosemond.

In light of this it is possible that police could follow up leads and shed new light on both of the unsolved murders of Biggie and Tupac. Though in many quarters it is believed to have been Suge Knight (Death Row Records's boss) who was behind the murders of both men.


2Pac

Dexter Isaac has decided to confess due to the staute of limitations for an assault passing.

If all of this is believed to be true this could be a big revelation and a step forward in finding out what went on back in those heady East vs West Coast days in the '90s.