Lil Cease, rapper and longtime friend of the late Notorious B.I.G., spoke on the moment he first met the Brooklyn, New York lyricist and more, during a video segment with Vibe magazine. Filmed in honor of the 20th anniversary of Ready To Die, Cease revisited Biggie’s old home, his favorite Brooklyn spots, and more in the video.
The former Junior M.A.F.I.A. member detailed the moment he met Biggie at either six or seven-years-old. He recalled asking the rapper for money for candy while he was on his way to school.
“First time I met Big I was actually about six or seven,” Lil Cease said. “And I was on my way to school. I was going to public school. And he was right here on Fulton Street, which is the block over…And I was on my way to school. And I was like—I said ‘What’s up’ to him. And he was like ‘What you doing?’ I said ‘I’m on my way to school.’ I was like ‘Let me get a dollar or something. Get me some candy when I get to school.’ He gave me like two dollars. And that was like my first introduction of B.I.G.”
Lil Cease later spoke on the early stages of Big’s career, when the rapper was being vetted by artists like Jaz-O and Busta Rhymes.
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“He would just sit in there and write rhymes in there,” he said. “And that’s when everybody started to come around the way and start checking for him. Jaz-O, Busta. Everybody wanted to hear about this kid. This fat kid from St. James that be getting busy. Big was already creating a buzz, so everybody from all the neighborhoods was coming down here.”
Towards the end of his tour, which featured various locales in Brooklyn and Manhattan, Cease commented on Biggie’s desire to stay humble even when he became a star.
“He just wanted to be a humble dude,” Cease said. “He just liked to just—He never let the shit get to his head. He ain’t want that. He knew where he was at at a certain time when ‘Big Poppa’ came out. Like ‘Alright, I’m a star.’ He knew that, but I think he still just wanted to be cool and still maintain and be real with the people. Like ‘Alright, yeah I’m a star, but I ain’t too good to do this shit.’ Whenever we used to have problems sometimes or if something go wrong in the city. We used to have to go and get the guns and get shit like that. We used to have to get on the train. We’ll put ‘em in the shoebox. Put it in the sneaker box and sit right here. And we’ll go take that trip.”
Video of Lil Cease’s conversation with Vibe magazine can be found below.
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