In the early morning hours of March 9, 1997, Biggie Smalls was shot and killed while sitting in a car at a stoplight in Los Angeles. Despite a profusion of theories, his murder has never been officially solved. That's fucked up.

What would Biggie be doing today, had he not been murdered? He would only be 39 years old. Would he be a vastly influential businessman and pop icon, like Jay-Z? Would he have gone Hollywood, like Busta Rhymes? Would he be a TV show sidekick, like The Roots? Would he have pushed on to higher and more complex levels of artistry, like the guys from Outkast? Or soldiered on as a grimy superstar, like the guys from Mobb Deep?

Perhaps, any of the above, who knows. Or, hell, he could have died of natural causes. Heavy rappers seem to be an endangered species.

"My shit is deep, deeper than my grave G/ I'm ready to die, and nobody could save me."

[Photo: AP]