A& E is set to relaunch their popular “Biography” series and to get things started they are going with the late and still great iconic rapper The Notorious B.I.G. This past weekend A&E released a trailer featuring two living legends in hip-hop, Jay-Z and NAS spitting their favorite BIG lyrics.
“Biggie: The Life of Notorious B.I.G.” features exclusive interviews and never-before-seen footage of Biggie giving us an unprecedented look at the life of the hip-hop legend. ‘Biggie: The Life of Notorious B.I.G.’ debuts September 4th on A&E. Make sure you set your DVR’s or home when cause this is a moment no hip-hop head would want to miss.
Heading across the bridge to the borough of Brooklyn, Faith Evans takes a trip back down memory in the new visual for “Legacy” that also features classic bars from The Notorious B.I.G.
The video was directed by Rock Davis and Jay Rodriguez, which lands Evans over on St. James Place and Fulton St. right at the steps of the building where Biggie grew up. You can also catch appearances by Lil Cease along with a few old friends of Faith and Biggie Smalls paired with some vintage footage.
The song was birthed from the upcoming King & I album that is due out on May 19.
On Thursday March 9th, Brooklyn’s prestigious Borough Hall stood illuminated in a glow of purple, red, and green as various influencers and artists gathered to witness Icon Talks honor a true hip-hop legend: entertainment mogul and philanthropist John David Jackson, better known as F-A-B-O-L-O-U-S.
Taking place on the 20th Anniversary of The Notorious B.I.G.’s untimely death, a fitting tribute to a fellow Brooklyn emcee and as it was later revealed an intentional choice by Fab; the night perfectly embodied the style and essence we’ve come to expect from Jackson.
Sponsored by Porsche, the evening began with a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception in the historic landmarks grand rectangular rotunda beautifully anchored by marble staircases on opposite sides. Guests included Rotimi, Wale, Doug E. Fresh, Ryan Leslie, Lenny S, Tahiry Jose, DJ Vlad, DJ Clue, DJ Self, Rob Markman, Mysonne, Grady Spivey, and The Source Magazine’s Londell McMillan.
The second half of the night took place in the majestic Grand Courtroom. Leslie paid tribute to his longtime friend with a few words. Touching on Jackson’s ability to remain humble amidst all of his success and offering a brief reminder of Loso’s most recent musical hits, he went on to thank him for “allowing me to be part of the soundtrack of New York City.”
Surrounded by ornate gold and white details under a regal and magnificent white chandelier; the perfect backdrop for this intimate conversation, we get to know Jackson a man from humble beginnings and Fabolous the slick talker with a lucrative 16-year career. Led by Icon Talks co-founder John Burns, Fabolous provided a view into his life sharing the keys behind his success and philanthropic endeavours.
Born in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, Fab recalled growing up in the Breevort Houses looking at his environment and deciding that he wanted more for himself. With that mindset he went on to reach incredible heights of success, which he credits to making the most of the opportunities he was given.
On the differences between John and Fabolous
Fab is an alter ego of John. It’s like when Clark Kent goes in the booth and turns into Superman. Still the same guy just one has more flash.
On how to measure success:
Success can be measured in so many ways. You can achieve success within yourself. Success is anything you put forward to do and that you achieve. There’s different levels and different ways of achieving and acknowledging success. I was given opportunities and those opportunities are successes.
On the importance of empowering young people who might doubt their potential:
Stay determined. You may not get it the first shot. Everything is microwaved. There are those with overnight success; but for most, you will not be overnight successes. Stay determined. If it didn’t work this way let’s try another way. My plan B is another way to make my plan A work. We are going to get plan A.
On his foundation A Fabolous Way:
A Fabolous Way was created because I wanted to help inner city kids. I was once an inner city kid looking for things to do. It’s easy to find trouble. When you give [kids] the opportunity they can do so much more and keep away from trouble. Give them opportunities outside of just sitting around doing nothing or worse. Opportunity is golden. Someone gave you an opportunity to even be in this room today. There are a lot of talented people who don’t have the opportunity to show their talent. Kids come up to me and sometimes I may listen to them spit and that may inspire them. Giving kids opportunities are priceless.
On when he recognized his potential:
I thought I was pretty good. I can’t say I knew my full potential. When I went to meet DJ Clue I thought I was just going in to say what’s up. I wasn’t enthused but when I got there Clue says, “We gonna go on commercial break and when we get back my boy is going to rap for you”. I thought I was just going to shake his hand. Back to the idea of opportunities. I looked at it as I have to do the most with this and give it my all and whatever happens from there just leave it to God.
On what Biggie meant to him:
He’s our hero. We seen Biggie come up. It’s the story of where you see a guy come from the mud and become a star and it’s like you right there along with him. B.I.G. always represented Brooklyn and shared everything he ever achieved with Brooklyn. He was our hometown hero. Losing him so soon we didn’t see what he would have blossomed into, and that’s one of the most disappointing parts about losing him.
On what he hopes he’s best remembered for:
I hope [I’m remembered] as somebody who made the most of an opportunity. I was a kid who was observant and looked around to see what was in the world and my world was a 4 block radius in a housing project, but I knew there was more. I said I wanted to do more than this and when opportunities came to do that I took them. One opportunity can lead to the next one.
In the spirit of the evening three Brooklyn 12th graders who were identified by their teachers and community leaders as future icons of tomorrow were awarded the Icon Scholarship.
At the end of the talk Sharon Carpenter and fellow Icon Talks founder, John Hartsfield presented Jackson with the Icon Award.
The night culminated with Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams presenting Fabolous with the Key to Brooklyn and Proclamation for his contributions to the community.
The previous night at the Icon Talks dinner longtime friend and collaborator Swizz Beatz had this to say about the 39-year-old father,
“Congratulations to my brother Fab for being the secret weapon. I call him the secret weapon. He’s the secret weapon for fashion, the secret weapon for music, the secret weapon for creativity, he’s the secret weapon behind a lot of artists doing what they do today.”
Swizz concluded,
“We gotta get this new album out. No more mixtapes.”
Congratulations to Fabolous on receiving the Icon Award, Key to Brooklyn, and Proclamation. We salute you for your continued commitment to supporting underprivileged youth.
We’ll be on the lookout for the new album. In the meantime, take a peek at the Icon Talks Dinner held at Manhattan Motorcars.
About Icon Talks:
Icon Talks is an intimate discussion with icons from various walks of life, from music moguls to professional athletes, CEO’s, actors, and activists. The conversations will explore their path to success and provide a platform to engage, entertain and inspire.
Founded by John Burns and John Hartfield on the principle that an icon is someone who inspires not only through their innate talents, but someone who manifests their purpose and passion in how they live their life and touch the lives of others. With that mantra as our driving force, we identify and work with the icons who are not only celebrated in their own profession, but who are passionate about inspiring others through their triumph, determination, and good will.
Icon Talks directly funds and benefits nonprofit, Icon to Ican. Icon to Ican is a charitable organization offering a multitude of youth development programs for disadvantaged and/ or disabled children. Icon to Ican provides mentorship and developmental opportunities for kids from the distressed areas; offering inspiration that they CAN overcome barriers and also come become an ICON.
While Taylor J‘s much-anticipated joint mixtape release approaches with super producer Lex Luger he decides to let off a powerful new record titled “Notorious” to celebrate himself being verified on twitter this week.
Be on the lookout for Taylor and Luger’s new fly mixtape The 91 Family slated to drop next month.
Imagine you are a talented young musician working a nine-to-five to support your passion. After work, you walk the streets of New York City promoting your next show performance. Josh Jacobs’ newly release music video to his single “What Up” depicts the day-in-the-life of a true Hip-Hop artist on the grind.
The visual was directed by Gulab K. Singh, and features a cameo from producer Mira-Cal. Also featured, the famous Notorious B.I.G mural on Bedford Ave in Brooklyn and the Young Big Pun mural located on Rogers Place in the Bronx. Gulab K. Singh’s attention to detail and symbolism transforms the music video into an honest perspective of Hip-Hop.
Receiving rave reviews at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, KICKS will now be hitting theaters on September 9. The movie written by Justin Tipping and Joshua Beirne-Golden stars Notorious B.I.G. and Faith Evans‘ son, Christopher Jordan Wallace, Jahking Guillory, Christopher Meyer, Kofi Siriboe, and Mahershala Ali. The feature film was also the winner of the Film Festival for “Best Cinematography.”
David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter says:
“Rooted in an authentic sense of place….its silky blend of lyricism with urban grit marks it as a promising debut.”
About the film:
In Justin Tipping’s feature debut Kicks, nothing is as simple as it seems. Fifteen-year-old Brandon longs for a pair of the freshest sneakers that money can buy; assuming that merely having them on his feet will help him escape the reality of being poor, neglected by the opposite sex and picked on by everyone — even his best friends. Working hard to get them, he soon finds that the titular shoes have instead made him a target after they are promptly snatched by local hood, Flaco. Seemingly the embodiment of menace, Flaco harbors complexities of his own that will be revealed when Brandon goes on a mission to retrieve his stolen sneakers with his two best friends in tow.
Boasting a strong ensemble cast and featuring a memorable lead performance by newcomer Jahking Guillory, the film transcends a deceptively traditional hero’s journey to deliver an entertaining and sobering look at the realities of inner-city life, the concept of manhood and the fetishization of sneaker culture. Visually and thematically rich, with an amazing soundtrack of both hip-hop classics and Bay Area favorites, Kicks creates an authentic and original portrait of a young man drowning in the expectations of machismo.
Following the late 2015 release of his Zapp & Roger Troutman-inspired southern jam “Old Skoo,” the young Louisville, Kentucky-based multi-instrumentalist, producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter Sabatahj takes us back to the ’90s with “Crush Grooves.” Featuring vocals from Felly The Voice (who’s penned songs for J. Holiday, Dawn Richard, Keri Hilson, and more), the single puts a stamp on Tahj’s unique, sensual style of music, and opens a new chapter of the 502 Come Up.
“‘Crush Grooves’ is a style of music I’ve created using the influences of early ’90s Southern rap, mixed with sensual contemporary R&B. [It’s] a style of music based on my perception of sex and love.“ – Sabatahj
Check out the Notorious B.I.G.-inspired cut above.
MORE ABOUT SABATAHJ:
If imagination is the single most important component of creativity, then Sabatahj is at the pinnacle of what every artist aspires to be. As an adept multi-instrumentalist, producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter, Tahj’s extraordinary talents are all intrinsically intertwined in one imaginative love child of ’70s funk/soul and ’90s r&b/hip hop.
Early influences such as UGK, Outkast, Scarface, Nas, and DMX along with multitudes of funk and soul essentials such as Sade, George Clinton, and The Isley Brothersserve as critical building blocks to the artist Sabatahj is today. He began writing poetry at the age of 13. As he grew into himself as a musician, Tahj’s poetry inevitably evolved into songwriting. The son of a country singer, Tahj began carving his own lane when he started rapping in 2007. Singing only became a part of his arsenal by trial and error, when he attempted singing for the first time over T.I.‘s hit “ASAP” instead of rapping. What resulted has become Sabatahj’s unique blend of The Weekend’s spellbinding falsetto, The Dream‘s stark sensuality and melodic sensibility, and Curtis Mayfield‘s non-conformity and innovation.
Overall, Sabatahj is a character. An inner thought. An average, colorful guy whose songwriting is existential. The only male R&B artist on the 2G4TV label, Sabatahj assumes the alter ego “Mr. Nasty Time” on his cult-championed 2013 mixtape ‘Guilty Pleasures.‘ The project’s unpredictable, funky vibes, and sexually-charged tunes are the result of collaborations with co-producers such as Kountdown, Trixx Music, Johnny Juliano, West End Goldie, and Blake Anthony. After a nearly three year hiatus, Tahj is set to return with new music that is sure to guarantee his ascent to the top.
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