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Music

Listen to Kendrick Lamar Freestyle over Notorious B.I.G.'s "The What"

It's the 18th anniversary of Biggie's death, and this is the perfect tribute.

How awesome is Kendrick Lamar? He's, like, becoming one of the best rappers of all time. You know who else is one of the best rappers of all time? The Notorious B.I.G. Today marks the 18th anniversary of Biggie's death, and Kendrick Lamar just happened to stop by radio host Big Boy's new show on LA's Real 92.3 (Big Boy was previously at Power 106). What happened is the only thing that could happen, which was that Kendrick shared some bars over the beat for Biggie's "The What," and those bars were awesome.

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The sound quality of this recording, via Revolt, is a little rough, but it's clear enough to hear Kendrick let loose plenty of searing observations and images like "the project filled with cameras / the LAPD gambling / scrambling." I'd transcribe more, but Kendrick raps way faster than I could possibly type, so instead just imagine the rest of this post is a picture of a large fire, and you'll get the same general idea. If you want to commemorate Biggie's legacy, today would be a great day to play some of his music. But it's also a great day to play this and remember that hip-hop is still alive and as vibrant as it was two decades ago. Take time to look back, but don't be afraid to be excited about right now.