Notorious Thugs

"Notorious Thugs" appears on Biggie's second and final album, released March 25, 1997 posthumously following his death on March 9, 1997, a fact reflected in the album's title. The album was originally supposed to be released on Halloween of 1996, but was pushed back to 1997. Two weeks prior to the album's release, The Notorious B.I.G. was shot four times in a drive-by shooting and pronounced dead at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. On this album we can observe how Biggie is further delving into the mafioso rap subgenre.

On this track, Biggie clearly refers to his relationship with Tupac in the line "so called beef with you-know-who", calling the feud between him and Tupac 'bullshit', while Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (who featured 2Pac on one of their songs the same year) throw jabs at Three 6 Mafia, Twista, Crucial Conflict and Do or Die.