Odd but true, every time the date has been spoken any day in March, my mind involuntarily echoes “March 9th. Is it March 9th?” There are times when I’m disinterested in other “significant” dates/deaths in Hip-Hop’s history but not March 9th. It will forever resonate. Perhaps it was the Canibus’ line that helped give weight to it. Or, it could be the somber realization that we really lost another one. While Pac seemed to embrace an early date with death, Biggie seemed to reference death for art’s sake once he started to see success. When he died, rap was momentarily left without a voice and it took time for the music to redefine itself. Whatever the case, this year the date seems to loom larger in my mind for reasons I can’t quite place.
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