Listening to music is a personal activity. The action of listening activates every portion of the brain creating an emotional response. This is why fandom leads to extreme fanaticism. The listener feels connected to the artist. With this perceived connection arrives preconceived ideas of who an artist is. The listener assumes they understand the life of the person performing because the artist tells a story. The issue is art should be, looked at independent of the person creating because even when an artist crafts a narrative for the person consuming their art, who the artist actually is, is probably never truly placed out there.
I decided to look at All Up in the Biz because Biz has always been one of my favorite emcees. I’ve probably bought the tape Goin’ Off five times because I played it so much the sound would warble through the stereo and eventually get chewed up in my tape deck. Biz was foundational to my love of Hip-Hop. He dressed fly and as a guy who doesn’t have the perfect smile, seeing Biz do his thing made me more confident. When the song Vapors dropped, I would go to my homie Raymond’s crib (he had cable and he recorded Rap City when it came on) and we’d rewind the video over and over. It’s been 30 years and I still refer to the Vapors when I feel slighted, or I need to motivate myself.
When I initially sat down to watch this documentary, I did so to look for images of the fashion and sneakers worn during the time that Biz was dominating the airwaves. In almost every picture shown Biz was rocking New Balance sneakers, which immediately contributed to me thinking of Phife Dawg’s classic line, “I wear New Balance sneakers to avoid a narrow path.” I was jotting notes about the various sneakers showing up in the documentary. I even took a picture of the screen when Masta Ace showed up. He was rocking Tretorns.
This made me want to write something about New Balance doing an “homage to Biz” sneaker, or Tretorn actually working with Masta Ace on a limited drop (they did a bad job with Andre 3000, but that’s another story). I was running through ideas for this post until the director, Sacha Jenkins pulled together the real story of Biz leading up to how Biz died of a diabetic stroke (which unfortunately ties Biz to Phife in a more tragic manner). Jenkins along with Biz’s wife, Tara Davis, delivered insight that I only heard of via Questlove’s podcast. I knew about how Biz was a collector of albums, but as was disclosed in the film, he collected everything. There is a reason for this, and I won’t add spoilers, but it’s the reason I wrote that Biz was “once known as the Clown Prince”. Biz throughout his life was reduced to the comedic jester of the culture, but beneath the surface was a difficult life he attempted to avoid speaking of at any cost. Inside of his consumption and acquisition of things was the need to fill a void. I don’t think I’ll ever call Biz the Clown Prince anymore. After watching the film, it doesn’t fit. The documentary is beautifully done. Specifically, the moment when Masta Ace tells the story of his song “Me and the Biz“. It’s a touching moment and moves directly to the heart of the documentary. I never knew that Biz didn’t authorize the song. In the documentary parts of the film were given some levity via the use of a Biz puppet. Masta Ace almost comes to tears apologizing to the puppet for how the song went down. As the film begins to culminate this apology and the classic Pickin Boogers artwork by the Shirt Kingz are taken around and emcees take pictures with the art. It’s an uncomfortable image that gives some people pause and then laughter. I think it was perfectly executed because it plays on something I remember from the graphic novel The Watchmen when Rorshach says:
“Heard joke once: Man goes to doctor. Says he’s depressed. Says life seems harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone in a threatening world where what lies ahead is vague and uncertain. Doctor says, “Treatment is simple. Great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight. Go and see him. That should pick you up.” Man bursts into tears. Says, “But doctor…I am Pagliacci.” from Watchmen
Biz was not a Clown Prince. He was an emcee, dj, husband, friend and a connective tissue to major moments in Hip-Hop culture. You should watch the documentary.