Wax Poetics x Brooklyn Brewery

The planets aligned last September. As we released Issue 6 with a Notorious B.I.G. cover, Brooklyn Brewery planned production on a limited edition Notorious B.I.G. x Brooklyn Lager collection to pay homage to Notorious B.I.G.’s vibrant legacy. With our shared interest in honoring his legacy, we produced two nights of events in September.

Night one was a live discussion at Brooklyn Brewery with Ready To Die producer Easy Mo Bee that included the original floppy discs from the recording sessions being played on stage. Easy Mo Bee regaled us with stories from those sessions that included some mind-blowing "what ifs" like the fact that "Warning" was originally intended for Big Daddy Kane. After this discussion Mo Bee was eager to get on the turntables for a DJ set of beat-juggling classic breaks at rapid fire.

The second night was at BRIC in Downtown Brooklyn. Inside the ballroom rappers MIKE and Masta Ace took the stage, proving that hip-hop remains in great hands no matter the generation. MIKE gave attendees a first listen of songs from his recently released collaborative album with Wiki and The Alchemist; one fan went home with the unlabeled beat CD. While, Masta Ace proved he remains one of the best performers alive as his athletic performance spanned his early recordings and resurgence in the late Aughts.