Though their friendship and mutual appreciation is well documented, Jay-Z and the Notorious B.I.G.’s studio collabs were sadly limited to just a handful of tracks – “Brooklyn’s Finest,” “I Love The Dough,” and “Young G’s.” But prior to the release of Biggie’s Life After Death (Bad Boy, 1997), the wheels were actually in motion for a full-length Hov and Big collaborative project dubbed The Commission, with Big’s lady friend and rap upstart Charli Baltimore filling out group.
The plan for the Commission was hatched during the fall of 1996, while Big was recovering from a car accident on the New Jersey Turnpike and left him with multiple fractures in his left leg. The injury was so severe that Big had a steel plate inserted in his leg and spent two months in in-patient rehab. (Baltimore had also been in the car, as had Junior Mafia’s Lil Cease, who had been behind the wheel). The accident left Biggie with a permanent limp but also a new sense of creativity. While he and Baltimore recovered they began blueprinting The Commission as a high concept, multimedia mafia rap collaboration, featuring the three core MCs complemented by a rotating cast of guests, including Lance “Un” Rivera and Puff Daddy. Big’s murder on March 9, 1997, of course, put an end to these plans, but VIBE recently sat down with Chuck B to discuss this proposed dream team.
VIBE: How did the idea for The Commission develop?
Charlie Baltimore: It definitely was [around the time of Biggie’s] second album. I think it was when we were in the hospital during the car accident. Initially I didn't have a rap name and we were watching Long Kiss Goodnight and we came up with Charli Baltimore. And then he just started talking about The Commission, putting Puff and Jay-Z in sort of like a super group. He always thought I rapped really hard and initially his idea of marketing for me was that no one was gonna see what I looked like. He wanted me to wear a ski mask, and rap really hard. And then one day just bust out and show what I looked like. He had a whole weird plan going for it. It was different.
What made you guys think to bring in Jay?
Well, Big always respected Jay's music. Jay was the first person. Initially it was just gonna be me, Jay, and Big. Then you started to get into like Puff and Cease and… uh yeah I think it was just Puff and Cease. The main components of the group would've been me, Jay, and Big [with] Cease, Puff and, if I'm not mistaken, I believe Lance “Un” [Rivera] had a part in it. It would be key rappers and everybody else was gonna have like a role playing bit.
Un would've been rhyming on it?!
No, not at all. I think Un would've more so played the Consigliere. Big's Commission idea was like a hip hop Sopranos. It would've been [like a] very gangsta, very Italian movie. That's how he envisioned it. He also had strong ideas about how I'd be looked at as a female, and he wanted me to have this sort of rough image [to] throw people off and surprise them. He had some really good ideas. A lot of the concepts behind The Commission and songs and videos [would have been] more movie like. If you remember Jay-Z's video for “Can't Knock The Hustle?” [That] sort of thing.
On the duets album, there was a track with just Jay and Big that was titled, called “Whatchu Want (The Commission)”…
Oh really? I didn't know that. Wow. There's so many politics that go along with that…
Is there anything else you remember or want to add about the project?
Um. I just feel like there could be no Commission without Big. Even if I was approached on the level to do [it], I wouldn't want to, because it would never be the same.
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