As the genre celebrates its 50th trip around the sun, the city where it all began is birthing a new renaissance of sorts, and Bigg Dogg is one of the forerunners laying the foundation for what’s to come for the next generation of artists. Growing from deep roots on the Upper West Side of New York City, the seasoned hip-hop veteran is centered on soundtracking the reality of his neighborhood, time-lapsing decades of work and progress into his confident, laid-back storytelling that’s on full display in his most recent release, Forbes List.
Bigg Dogg has been a student of the game since his introduction to the scene back in 2013, studying every detail of the greats and building a foundation of his own around that. The measured composition of his tracks across his discography speaks volumes to his encyclopedic knowledge of the game. From the jump, Bigg has made it his goal to articulate his reality of growing from the Upper West Side as few have, where the projects and million-dollar cribs are only separated by two-lane streets. This is a common reality today, but it’s always been that way on the UWS, even before gentrification exploded and began to perforate countless tight-knit communities city-wide. This jolting juxtaposition of lifestyles has fueled Bigg’s upbringing and driven him to accomplish more for himself and the community he grew from. Since 2013, Bigg has relentlessly been at it, from Boiler Room cyphers to working alongside some of the culture’s greats like Showbiz. Currently, Bigg is sitting on – from what I’ve heard – a mound of unreleased gold, and last night’s release is a testament to that speculation.
On this release, Bigg proves that he’s a hip-hop purist with the purest of delivery, rapping crafted hook to seamless verse, all atop minimalistic drums that leave room to frame his compelling story at the center of the mix. The aptly titled track narrates Bigg’s by any means drive to provide for him and his, over fittingly luxurious looping production brought to us by the uber-talented producer, JeDi P. His characteristically nonchalant delivery proudly paints a vivid picture of who he is and where he’s from, and with quality releases like this, it won’t be long before his story is known and understood beyond the city. Bigg Dogg delivered with this one, and it’s easily one of the smoothest cuts of the year, so tap in with, Forbes List using the links below!