12/05/2022
Last night Nathan and I experienced the Lincoln Center in a way I’m not sure many have who weren’t also at the Philharmonic’s tribute to Notorious B.I.G. It was magnificent, spectacular, wild, joyful and I think, important. The videos in this post show that by themselves. For me personally it was emotional in a way I hadn’t expected. I listened to a lot of Biggie as a teenager running around north and west London with a bunch of skinny Moschino jean-wearing boys who thought in some way they could identify with Christopher Wallace and his life in Brooklyn. Ready to Die but especially Life After Death accompanied me on so many tube rides across the city to sleepovers, garage raves and house parties. I kept him on all my playlists when I moved to NYC in my twenties, excited to be in the birthplace of hip hop, and later in my 30s as I moved right into his neighborhood. Of course, the closer I got, the further removed I was from his reality. The truth is that our worlds do not intersect at all, no matter how many of his lyrics I know. And yet, Notorious Thugs was my labor song for our first child, hoping unrealistically I’d remember any of it during contractions. His tunes show up in my daily run playlists sandwiched between those of his collaborators and other 90s hip hop classics. I still sometimes listen to Big and Bone Thugs on full blast in the car with my now 9 and 5yr olds. My kids stare at me- why the hell is mum shouting so fast and so loud and so out of breath? As I imagine it has for the hundreds of fans last night, his music has provided a soundtrack to my milestone moments and those in between. And last night I sat with the love of my life- the bravest man I know at a major moment in his own journey - and I reflected on my life, Biggie’s, and the way music and art can make improbable magical connections. I am so grateful to share an experience like that with everyone who went and celebrated. Thank you
