I hold grudges, but I can’t hate nobody; that’s not my nature.
The Notorious B.I.G.
How real can your music be if you wake up in the morning hearing birds and crickets? I never hear birds when I wake up. Just a lot of construction work, the smell of Chinese takeout, children screaming, and everybody knocking a different track from ‘Ready to Die’ as they pass down the street.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Everything was happening on that strip of Fulton Street. And if I wanted Chinese food, if I wanted to play video games, if I wanted pizza, if I had to go to the corner story for a juice, I had to go on Fulton Street.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Every true hustler knows that you cannot hustle forever. You will go to jail eventually.
The Notorious B.I.G.
You gotta mature, you know.
The Notorious B.I.G.
I can’t never stop nobody, can’t knock nobody hustle.
The Notorious B.I.G.
I can’t even see me wasting my time or my talent to disrespect another black man.
The Notorious B.I.G.
The second time I went to jail, I was like, ‘Okay, this is not the move.’
The Notorious B.I.G.
I’m not a security-type person, I don’t want to have bodyguards around me. I’m not into all that. Now we just chill in the house. There are a lot of times when we want to go out, but we just don’t.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Back in third grade, they used to say, ‘Take whatever talent you have and think of something you can do with it.’ I liked to draw, but what could I do with it? Maybe I could be an art dealer – nah, can’t see myself doing that. Maybe I could do commercial arts?
The Notorious B.I.G.
If Fay has twins, she’ll probably have two pacs. Get it? Tu… Pac’s.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Please don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.
The Notorious B.I.G.
I grew up in some suburb, I’d come out with a song about potholes in my lawn.
The Notorious B.I.G.
I married her after knowing her eight days, and I was happy. That was my baby. At the same time, with us being so spontaneous, we did it backwards. Maybe she won’t admit it, but I will. We should have got to know each other and then got married. The relationship kind of dissolved, but we’re still going to be friends. I love her.
The Notorious B.I.G.
With big folks, either people think you look mean or it’s more of a jolly Santa Claus, ‘Oh, he’s just a pudgy little teddy bear pillow.’
The Notorious B.I.G.
’96 is the year of love. We all need to pull together.
The Notorious B.I.G.
I’m definitely a writer. I don’t even know how to freestyle.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Pac get busy. People can’t take nothing from him. On the lyrics, he get busy, straight up.
The Notorious B.I.G.
I definitely wouldn’t wish death on anyone.
The Notorious B.I.G.
My real life helped me sell a lot of records.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Naahhh… I don’t like KRS no more ’cause he just think he’s too dope.
The Notorious B.I.G.
I cleaned up my act, and I made this rap thing work for me. I thought people would respect me for that. But instead, it’s, ‘Oh, he’s sold all these records, and now he thinks he’s all that.’
The Notorious B.I.G.
Please, all you MCs out there, all you fans out there, don’t think Big gonna make a record dissing 2Pac or the West Coast because it’s not going down like that. I cant even see me wasting my time or my talent to disrespect another black man.
The Notorious B.I.G.
I’m basically different things to different people. If it’s a guy, I’m-a probably have my guard up because it’s a street rule that when men come around that I don’t know, I just immediately throw shade on them. But I don’t associate with fellas all that much; if it’s a girl – a beautiful girl – I be nice.
The Notorious B.I.G.
I can’t even say Puff and me are like brothers, ’cause we closer than that.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Basically, I wake up at nine o’clock in the morning, go to different record stores, go to the studio, think up different ideas for songs. Just workin’.
The Notorious B.I.G.
I’m making music for the people. If y’all love the music, y’all gonna buy the music.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Growing up in the streets of Bed-Stuy, it was hard, yo.
The Notorious B.I.G.
I’m not a security-type person: I don’t want to have bodyguards around me. I’m not into all that.
The Notorious B.I.G.
My mom is from Jamaica, and she was going to school in the morning, and in the evening she was working, and at night she would go to night school and then come in and go to sleep.
The Notorious B.I.G.
In South Africa, they think we’re pygmies!
The Notorious B.I.G.