What made you want to explore Biggie's catalog in this way?
B.I.G. was, and still is, one of the most important artists of our lifetime. We’re all celebrating 50 years of Hip-Hop this year and the timing felt right to reflect and share stories on Life After Death, as it’s one of the most significant albums that’s shaped our culture. We wanted to delve deep into the album and show how it's changed the course of history through the experiences of people that were there and closer to it than anyone else.
This is one of the most comprehensive, in-depth looks at Biggie's music that's surfaced. Why was it so important for you to be thorough in your exploration of his music?
It was important to approach it from different perspectives to both ensure the show’s authenticity and to make it feel personal. His work has been examined and reviewed before, but some of the artists we talked to weren’t the traditional people we see or hear from. That was special since they had different viewpoints on him that offered the audience something actually new and unique.
What new stories did you learn?
We interviewed our guests over five days and there was a lot of overlap, literally! There were people walking in while others were walking out and this created a community-like environment dedicated to reminiscing about B.I.G. and the album. There are a handful of personal stories that I’d never heard before and it was exciting to talk to some of the producers and people who worked at Bad Boy who I never had a chance to talk to before this. For instance, it was great to have a moment with Clark Kent, who I’d never interviewed, but is a friend of mine and a beacon in the culture.
All of the interviews were compelling - how did you choose who would be featured?
We collaborated with WMX and the Biggie Estate to select the right guests to interview. We wanted every guest to be instrumental in the hip hop world, but it was also vitally important that each person we spoke to had a unique story to tell about B.I.G.’s impact on their careers or lives. In a lot of the conversations, we reminisced about the making of the album, and were able to pull back the curtain on B.I.G.'s influence even more and show how it impacted things like style and celebrity.
What do you want audiences to take away from the series?
B.I.G. influenced so much beyond just music. I think it’s important to remember him as a full person that existed somewhere between the good memories and the challenging ones. The idea of painting a perfect picture of him was never the point with this series – we wanted to be able to celebrate and honor his legacy as a real person and I’m glad that we could bring in as many people as we did who were with him from day one and could help tell this story.
What is next for you?
On Monday, June 19, I will host and executive produce ABC NEWS SPECIAL in conjunction with Juneteenth and Black music month called Hip-Hop @ 50: Rhythms, Rhymes & Reflections – A Soul of a Nation Presentation and will live on Hulu the following day. I will be coming out with new episodes of my podcast In Real Life later this summer and curating live celebration of women in Hip-Hop at Essence Festival.
