Verses To Live By: The Notorious B.I.G.'s 25 Greatest Lines

Today would have been the The Notorious B.I.G.’s 43rd birthday. Biggie, whose given name was Christopher Wallace, was only 24-years old at the time of his death in March of 1997 and despite a tragically abbreviated career he remains at the top of many hip-hop fans’ favorite rappers list. To honor one of the greatest hip-hop artists ever, here’s a look back at some of the best verses of Biggie’s career.

1. The Notorious B.I.G. – "Juicy"

“We used to fuss when the landlord dissed us / No heat, wonder why Christmas missed us / Birthdays was the worst days / Now we sip champagne when we thirsty.” – The Notorious B.I.G.

2. The Notorious B.I.G. – "Ready to Die"

“When I die, fuck it, I wanna go to hell / Cause I’m a piece of shit, it ain’t hard to fucking tell / It don’t make sense, going to heaven with the goodie-goodies / Dressed in white, I like black Timbs and black hoodies.” – The Notorious B.I.G.

3. Super Cat feat. The Notorious B.I.G. – "Dolly My Baby (Remix"

“I see you shivering / Check the flavor Biggie Smalls is delivering / Lyrical lyricist flowing lyrics out my larynx.” – The Notorious B.I.G.

4. The Notorious B.I.G. – "Big Poppa"

“I got more mack than Craig and in the bed / Believe me sweetie, I got enough to feed the needy / No need to be greedy, I got mad friends with Benzes.” – The Notorious B.I.G.

5. The Notorious B.I.G. – "Party & Bullshit"

“Lounging black, smoking sacks up in Ac’s and Sidekicks / With my sidekicks rocking fly kicks.” – The Notorious B.I.G.

6. Craig Mack feat. The Notorious B.I.G. & LL Cool J – "Flava In Ya Ear (Remix)"

“Disappear, vamoose, you’re wack to me / Take them rhymes back to the factory / I see the gimmicks, the wack lyrics, the shit is / Depressing, pathetic, please forget it.” – The Notorious B.I.G.

7. The Notorious B.I.G. feat. Eminem – "Dead Wrong"

“Tears don’t affect me, I hit ’em with the TEC / G’s disrespect me, my potency is deadly.” – The Notorious B.I.G.

8. The Notorious B.I.G. – "Who Shot Ya"

“Who shot ya? / Seperate the weak from the obsolete / Hard to creep them Brooklyn streets.” – The Notorious B.I.G.

9. Unbelievable – Biggie (Original Version)

“Live from Bedford Stuyvesant / The Livest one / Representing BK to the fullest / Gats I pull it bastards ducking when Big be bucking.” – The Notorious B.I.G.

10. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony feat. The Notorious B.I.G. – "Notorious Thugs"

“Armed and dangerous / Ain’t too many can bang with us / Straight up weed, no angel dust / Label us Notorious / Thug ass niggaz that love to bust, it’s strange to us.” – The Notorious B.I.G.

11. The Notoroius B.I.G. – "Sky's The Limit"

“Getting larger in waists and tastes / Ain’t no telling where this felon is heading, just in case / Keep a shell at the tip of your melon, clear the space / Your brain was a terrible thing to waste.” – The Notorious B.I.G.

12. The Notorious B.I.G. feat. 112 – "Miss U"

“We work all week, weekends we play the movies / We rock flatops, our girls rocked doobies / Made a killin’, even though the D’s knew me / Eventually, you know they try to do me.” – The Notorious B.I.G.

13. The Notorious B.I.G. – Freestyle At MSG

“I got 7 Mac-11’s / About eight 38s / Nine 9s, 10 Mac Tens / The shit never ends / You can’t touch my riches / Even if you had MC Hammer and them 357 bitches.” – The Notorious B.I.G.

14. The Notorious B.I.G – "Real Niggas Do Real Things" [Unreleased]

“After mad blunts and gin we had the plan made / I bought my wifey a crib, I bought the MAFIA an arcade / Mad games: pool tables and candy / A little extra chicken loot be comin in handy.” – The Notorious B.I.G.

15. The Notorious feat. Method Man – "The What"

“Excuse me, flows just grow through me / Like trees to branches, cliffs to avalanches / It’s the praying mantis, deep like the mind of Farrakhan.” – The Notorious B.I.G.

16. The Notorious B.I.G. – "Me & My Bitch"

“I never felt that way in my life / It didn’t take long before I made you my wife / Got no rings and shit, just my main squeeze / Comin’ to the crib, even had a set a keys.” – The Notorious B.I.G.

17. The Notorious B.I.G.

Here’s one of Biggies first ever recorded freestyles.

18. The Notorious B.I.G. – "Victory"

“Rhyme a few bars so I can buy a few cars / Then I kick a few flows so I can pimp a few hoes / Excellence is my presence never tense / Never hesitant leave a nigga bent real quick.” – The Notorious B.I.G.

19. The Notorious B.I.G. – "Kick In The Door"

“In fear you start to cry, ask why / Lyrically I’m worshiped, don’t front, the word sick / You cursed it, but rehearsed it / I drop unexpectedly like bird shit.” – The Notorious B.I.G.

20. The Notorious B.I.G. – "I Got A Story To Tell"

“Her brain racin, she’s tellin me to stay patient / She don’t know I’m, cool as a fan / Gat in hand, I don’t wanna blast her man / But I can and I will though / I probably chill though / Even though situation lookin kinda ill yo.” – The Notorious B.I.G.

Biggie's Best Verses