The Notorious B.I.G. may have had a relatively brief career, but that has never obscured the fact that the Brooklyn emcee is one of the greatest to ever pick up a pen. You can't quibble about the brevity of a legend's catalog when the body of work is as uniformly strong as Biggie's. No, quite the opposite: it should bring the greatness into sharp relief.

So much of the legacy of Biggie Smalls spans two official studio albums over the course of two-and-a-half years, and in that regard, Biggie is like a Jimi Hendrix or Kurt Cobain. Neither of those rock legends had long careers, but the impact of their art was/is seismic. Biggie's brilliant lyricism is on full display across Ready To Die and Life After Death, a rapper capable of painting pictures with his words; blessed with a gift for the descriptive, as well as a macabre sense of humor that was always unique.

It's been decades since we lost Biggie, but his body of work is always here to remind us of his gifts. We had to pick the 25 Dopest Songs from The Notorious B.I.G. And it wasn't easy.