A new hip hop centric docuseries reaches back to one of the genre’s golden eras to tell behind-the-scenes stories about albums that defined a generation of music listeners. WMX’s Iconic Records premiered its first season on The Roku Channel, April 29, followed by a YouTube release on May 1.
The series kicks off with the episode titled “Who Shot Ya?” delving into the legendary making of the infamous Notorious B.I.G. single by the same name. The Brooklyn rapper’s star was on the rise in 1995 and the title of hip hop’s king of New York was a certain fate upon the release of the controversial single and a telling cover story in The Source, the No. 1 hip hop magazine at that time. Biggie was relishing in the success of his debut album, Ready To Die, and walking a thin line between infamous celebrity and catastrophe with a brewing beef stemming from a near fatal robbery that almost snuffed the life of Tupac Shakur.
Narrated by Angie Martinez, a longtime hip hop radio personality and journalist, the docuseries features sit-down interviews from industry guests and peers of Biggie Smalls. The first episode consists of Hip hop journalist Bonz Malone, who tells the story about almost signing Biggie and profiling the artist in a cover story for The Source nearly three decades ago. In his words, Malone describes listening to the Life After Death album as “spooky” because of Biggie’s narration.
Fat Joe, the former Terror Squad member and right-hand man of the late Big Pun, sat down with Martinez to speak on his friendship with the Notorious B.I.G. Music producer Nashiem Myrick, who was part of the Hitmen producing group at Bad Boy Records, recounts his time at the legendary hip hop label and his experience working with Biggie in the studio.
An exclusive interview with Junior M.A.F.I.A. rapper Klepto reveals a never-before-told story about the origins of “Who Shot Ya?” While the life-altering events of the public spat between Tupac and Biggie occurred so many years ago in the 1990s, the spectators of that time have been on a quest to tell and retell the story in an attempt to keep the two rappers’ memories alive. In that quest, some have taken it upon themselves to revise history, often imparting a animated villain persona on Tupac and his associated label Death Row, while painting a picture of sainthood for Biggie and Bad Boy Records.
The truth lies probably in the middle of these extreme renditions. Case in point, Klepto’s new story about the origins of “Who Shot Ya?” claim that LL Cool J was the target all the long.
“Big is the type of guy, he feeds off the energy of what other artists are doing and he feels like, ‘OK, I got to top that,’” Klepto says. “People never knew why LL [Cool J] made ‘I Shot Ya,’ it was from that day when Biggie made ‘Who Shot Ya?’”
Klepto claims LL Cool J took offense from Biggie’s lyrical fiery on the song as he sat in the studio with the Bad Boy clique. He later retaliated with his song “I Shot Ya.”
This piece of new information 20-plus years after the fact could infuriate fans who often wondered why Biggie would not be more vocal about Tupac not being the subject of the song during a time when Tupac had publicly inquired about Biggie’s involvement in the studio robbery that occurred in New York.
As the heat between the two rivalries began to escalate, those who allegedly witnessed the makings of “Who Shot Ya?” including Diddy, LL Cool J, and Klepto, also failed hip hop fans by not being more transparent about the origins of the song, especially since it unnecessarily added fuel to the fire and Biggie himself expressed regret for going along with a narrative that Bad Boy Records thought would capitalize off of Tupac’s trauma.
Judge for yourself. The Iconic Records television series can be viewed on The Notorious B.I.G. YouTube channel or below:
