In 1994, Notorious B.I.G. would release his groundbreaking album, Ready to Die. The first single from the seminal hip-hop classic was “Juicy,” a Dickensian tale of a young black man’s ascension from having nothing to having everything, assuming, of course, that young black men can have Dickensian tales. The lyrics of B.I.G.’s first album have been combed over and dissected as if they were ancient etchings on Egyptian walls. I contend that the first line that B.I.G. rapped on his debut single from his first studio album might be its most important and the impetus for Milwaukee’s annual hip-hop week: