Imagining if B.I.G. were alive today has to include multiple scenarios based on the lifestyle he lived as a hustler before he made it in the rap game. Here, I’ve dreamed up the scenario of Biggie calling in a verse from jail (a la Shyne) and leaving it as a message on my voicemail. The first two “saved” messages are from Mister Cee, Biggie’s original DJ, and Alicia Keys, who left one of the most spectacular messages on my voicemail when I was working on the Mary J. Blige mixtape.

I’m pretty sure this one needs no explanation. Works thematically, sounds dope!

Revisiting BIG’s famed “Juicy” verses is always tricky. Here, I tried to go polar opposite of the vibe of the original and create a laid-back “cool out” mix to vibe to. I produced this beat based on the classic Isley Brothers sample “For the Love of You”, which is also a sly reference to my own Isley Brothers remix work I’ve done.

My principle rule of remixing is: never flip a verse or track unless you can make it either as hot (or hotter!) than the original, or different enough that you don’t compare the two. BIG and Kim over the break from “Peter Piper”? Done deal. And I managed to find a quote with Biggie shouting out how Run DMC influenced him as a kid, bringing this remix full circle.

An extension of the same vibe, and a sly way of saying how different B.I.G. was from your average MC, and how much better than so many of today’s MC’s (no offense 2Chainz!).

Calling this track “One Last Chance” is a reference to the fact that I already used this “One More Chance” acapella once before on March 9 Vol. 2, but it sounded so slick over Tyga’s “Rack City” and Drake’s “The Motto,” that it deserved “One Last Chance.” Again, what if B.I.G….

This track opens with the tape’s interview excerpt, a quote from Puffy talking about what he learned from Biggie, and what he taught Biggie. It’s an honest and humble moment from the otherwise showy P. Diddy, and to me that’s what makes it dope. And don’t sleep on Lil Kim! People forget what a DOPE MC she was.

The first rule of any B.I.G. mixtape? Represent for Brooklyn! As soon as the epic first track has hit you in the head, it’s time to begin with our central question: what would BIG sound like if he were alive today? Here we test the theory over Fab’s “You Be Killin Em”.

Celebrating the legacy of one of the greatest requires an epic beginning. Here, I fuse the Orff’s original Carmina Burana with Nas & Puffy’s “Hate Me Now”, and add some original guitars from my man Yohimbe Sampson to give it an extra edge. For aspiring mixtape producers out there, remember: if the first song isn’t a banger, you’ve already lost em!

The classic of all classic hip hop protest songs, and the original. What Melle Mel spits on this song is one of the reasons hip hop took hold of my brain as a child and never let go. As a DJ, I’ve been fortunate to come up on the acapella for this song and one thing I’ll say is that even if you remove the beat and any trace of music, just listening to Melle Mel’s lyrics by themselves makes my head nod. That’s some next-level lyricism for real. Light years ahead of his time.