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Hip-hop icon was fatally gunned down 15 years ago today at age 24. By Rob Markman Notorious B.I.G. Photo: Getty Images March 9, 1997: There was absolutely nothing that could have prepared hip-hop fans for the tragic event that took place on that grim day. Then again, there was not much warning when the Notorious B.I.G. entered the hip-hop world either. Sure, there were key cameos on records with Mary J. Blige and reggae star Super Cat, but when all was said and done and B.I.G. was gunned down 15 years ago today , it became clear that rap had lost one of the great ones — perhaps the greatest one of all time. In the beginning, Biggie Smalls wasn’t even the most prominent star on his label. That position was occupied by rapper Craig Mack, whose 1994 hit single “Flava in Ya Ear” initially set the mark of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ newly minted Bad Boy Records. B.I.G. was a respected lyricist, a raw rapper who at first seemed unlikely to make a mark on radio. In fact, one of his earliest singles, “Just Playing (Dreams),” poked fun at some of music’s biggest hitmakers like Mariah Carey and Patti LaBelle. Then, on September 13, 1994, things done changed. On his debut album, Ready to Die, Biggie would find an exceptional balance between the unapologetic street rhymes for which he was heralded and a newfound sense of the type of pop sensibility that radio programmers love. On “Gimme the Loot,” he threatened to rob a pregnant woman for her jewelry and then managed to sweet-talk the ladies on “Big Poppa.” On his “One More Chance” remix, Big described himself as “black and ugly as ever,” and though he didn’t possess the physique of an LL Cool J, Biggie’s charm made him an unlikely sex symbol. Ready to Die would go on to be certified platinum four times over by the RIAA, but between the bootleg copies and albums sold in largely unaccounted for mom-and-pop shops, its impact was much greater. Rappers like Jay-Z, Nas and Eminem readily admit the influence that Big’s opus had on their own art. Before dropping his second album, Biggie would branch out and start his own label with partner Lance “Un” Rivera and release an album from his group Junior M.A.F.I.A. in 1995. His sexy prot