The Notorious B.I.G.’s posthumous canon has a new addition: a 23-year-old freestyle that sang the praises of Pepsi that has been transformed into an advertisement by the soda giant itself.
To celebrate the late Brooklyn rapper’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Nov. 7, the soda brand worked with Biggie’s collaborators Cey Adams and DJ Enuff to remaster the unreleased track, which just so happened to feature Pepsi as the main focus.
“Nothing can beat the P-E-P-S-I drink it constantly / Something ’bout the taste feels great, less filling / Tell ’em Biggie said drink it all, don’t test me / Nothing else beats a Pepsi / If it is, let’s see/ I’m thirsty,” B.I.G. raps on the track.
The freestyle originally aired during a 1997 interview on radio station HOT97 with DJ Enuff. Along with the remastered track, Pepsi employed Antnamation to create a short video, which includes a slew of references to Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood, where Biggie was born and raised. A group of animated figures can be seen gathering in the streets of Brooklyn, listening to a boombox, break-dancing and of course, drinking ice-cold Pepsi.
B.I.G.’s posthumous induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame makes him only the second solo hip-hop artist to be given the honor. Other artists being inducted during this year’s virtual ceremony include Depeche Mode, the Doobie Brothers and T-Rex. They were voted into the prestigious hall by a group of over 1,000 artists, industry professionals, music historians and a fan vote that counts for a single ballot.
Listen to the freestyle and watch the animated clip below.