Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has encouraged fans to mark the 20th anniversary of The Notorious B.I.G.’s death with a touching social media campaign.
The rapper took to Instagram on Thursday morning to remind his followers that the music legend was shot and killed in Los Angeles 20 years ago, after attending a party to celebrate the Soul Train Music Awards.
Combs was also a guest at the event and to pay tribute to the late star, real name Christopher George Latore Wallace, the Bad Boy for Life hitmaker has requested his online followers join him in a unique project.
In a video posted on Instagram, beginning with footage of B.I.G., he tells the camera: “Hey what’s up everybody, today is March 9th. Twenty years ago today we lost the greatest rapper of all time, The Notorious B.I.G. Today we’re gonna celebrate his life through his music and through his legacy.
“So check this out, what I want you to do, I want you to rap your favourite Biggie verse and post it with the hashtag WeMissYouBIG, and I’m gonna chop it up, edit it up and everything and we’re gonna put out something special with all the fans and friends and family involved to celebrate Notorious B.I.G.’s life. Hashtag WeMissYouBIG, we definitely miss you.”
He ends the clip by kissing his finger and pointing it up to the sky, with the caption for the video giving similar instructions to followers.
Fans have already jumped on the bandwagon and thousands of Instagram users have recorded themselves reciting some of the rapper’s famous verses.
B.I.G.’s 1997 murder remains unsolved, though there have been countless theories surrounding his death, including the popular one linking it with Tupac Shakur’s killing six months later which happened in a similar way in Las Vegas.
B.I.G. was considered the most talented and influential rapper of his time, but only released his debut album Ready to Die before his untimely death aged 24. His second record, Life After Death, was released shortly after his passing and topped the Billboard 200 charts. Combs also featured on the track listing, collaborating on songs including Mo Money Mo Problems.
