( CNN ) -- When I think of Brooklyn , I think of Christopher Wallace -- known to most as the Notorious B.I.G. , or Biggie Smalls -- the artist whose life was cut short 15 years ago on March 9 . For others , Brooklyn might call to mind the retro-cool style , hipness and youthful vibrancy that have become associated with the borough , an image that 's been aided by entertainment . Yet whatever cultural shifts the borough sees through time , its relevancy does n't waver . While there , you can still feel the presence of B.I.G . 's lyrics : `` ... spread love , it 's the Brooklyn way . '' I first met B.I.G . at a Clive Davis event at the Plaza hotel in June of 1994 . It was for Arista employees to welcome our new joint venture with Sean `` Puff Daddy '' ( as he was known back then ) Combs and his Bad Boy label . Puff introduced me to B.I.G . as the guy who was going to get his records played on radio . His words were few , but his presence and stature were massive . A head nod , a handshake and an acknowledgment conveying it was `` all good . '' He was the epitome of Brooklyn cool , but the world did n't know it yet . At the time , hip-hop was not getting played on mainstream radio -- my job was to get B.I.G . there . Over the next two years , I would travel the country , taking B.I.G . to radio stations , lunches and promotional shows , introducing him to new audiences . Crossing over into mainstream did n't apply to the then-22-year-old rapper in the way it does for many artists that do so today . Artists who made hip-hop were not invited to awards shows , fashion shows or the White House like they are now . In 1994 , America as a whole still seemed uneasy with the genre . But instead of conforming to appeal to the mainstream , B.I.G . creatively figured out ways to be authentic . That authenticity , combined with his talent , brought mass appeal . And when he did breakthrough , subsequently opening doors for other rappers to benefit from his success , he never compromised that authenticity . He was always proud of his hometown of Brooklyn , never forgetting where he came from as his success took him elsewhere . Even if the mainstream did n't know it yet at the time , Brooklyn for many years has been the breeding ground for many of today 's top lawyers , doctors , celebrities and athletes . B.I.G . was proud of where he came from , showed it in his music and found success through his embrace of his roots . Maybe the most poignant analogy that B.I.G . made in his music was a reference that he 's the `` rap Alfred Hitchcock . '' As Andrew Noz points out in our annual ICON issue of The FADER that was dedicated to the Notorious B.I.G . ( Issue No . 73 , April 2011 ) : `` The boast may have been a simple comment on how B.I.G . 's rotund figure projected a silhouette similar to the filmmaker , but there 's a deeper spiritual bond between the two -- the detail obsession of full-blown perfectionists . '' He goes on to highlight , `` Equally mind-blowing is how these skills came to be , borne practically from nothing . B.I.G . entered the game as a fully formed rapper , with seemingly no blemishes on his track record . '' It 's vital to point out that B.I.G . ascended from Brooklyn , and every experience in his life contributed to his outputs . Much like Hitchcock , B.I.G . was able to express his thoughts with objective and subjective points of view seemingly without effort . He expressed his views on what he saw , from the perils of the streets to `` eating shrimp a la carte , with some [ women ] from Brussels , eating clams or mussels [ from the track , 'My Downfall ' ] '' . Creating an audio road map complete with visuals , he rhymed in intricate detail about everything from elaborate heists , to taking revenge on enemies , to bank accounts in Brazil , all without letting go of the place that shaped him -- bringing it with him wherever he went . And the neighborhood loved him back . Following B.I.G . 's death at 24 on March 9 , 1997 , the man who proclaimed he was `` Ready to Die '' was mourned in Brooklyn as a funeral procession made its way through the streets of his youth . As I said in our FADER tribute to my friend , I 've often wondered what B.I.G . would think of all the coverage he has gotten over the years . I think he 'd appreciate the cultural impact he has had . He 'd want Brooklyn represented the right way , for his crew to be acknowledged and for the world to know that he was very aware , a stand-up guy , a jokester , a caring father and son , and extremely determined . With that in mind , we should celebrate his life -- and spread love the Brooklyn way .
Rob Stone on his friend Notorious B.I.G : `` I first met B.I.G . at a Clive Davis event '' Stone : `` I would travel the country , taking B.I.G . to radio stations , lunches '' Stone : `` B.I.G . was able to express his thoughts with objective , subjective points of view ''