’Microphone Check’ Celebrates The Notorious B.I.G. With Event On 9/14

Featuring Donald Harrison, Jr., dream hampton, Matty C & Special Guests;
NPR Co-Hosts Frannie Kelley & Ali Shaheed Muhammad

Turn your pages to 1994, when rapper Notorious B.I.G. dropped his debut album [i]Ready to Die. In the 20 years since its release, Biggie’s legend, true to his moniker, has become larger than life. NPR Music’s Microphone Check and BRIC commemorate Biggie’s legacy and the anniversary of Ready to Die by presenting “If You Don’t Know, Now You Know: The Stories of Biggie Smalls and Ready to Die,” a panel conversation with people instrumental in his life and work. The stories they have to tell go far beyond the headlines. The event takes place at the BRIC House in Brooklyn on Sunday, September 14, at 7PM ET. Free public tickets will be available starting tomorrow; details below.[/i]

Just blocks from where Biggie grew up, bagged groceries, hustled and freestyled on Fulton Street, NPR Music’s Microphone Check brings together music writer dream hampton; Matty C, influential 90s Source magazine columnist who first brought B.I.G. to Puff Daddy’s attention; and the jazz musician who was a music tutor to Biggie, Donald Harrison, Jr. Microphone Check co-hosts Frannie Kelley and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest) moderate the discussion as panelists share new and little known stories about the album, and offer their perspectives on New York City, hip-hop culture and the music industry in the early ’90s.

Public tickets to the event will be distributed exclusively through Microphone Check beginning tomorrow, September 4, on the program’s social media channels. Follow @NPRhiphop on Twitter and Instagram for RSVP information. The panel discussion on September 14 will be recorded for an upcoming episode of Microphone Check, and video from the evening will air on the BK Indie Music program on BRIC’s Brooklyn Independent Media public access station Wednesday, September, 17 at 8PM ET and Midnight (re-airing Saturday, September 20, at 8PM ET and Midnight). Viewing details available at http://bkindiemedia.bricartsmedia.org/.

About Microphone Check
NPR Music’s Microphone Check offers audiences commentary on hip-hop and interviews with its leading artists – Nas, Schoolboy Q, Marley Marl, E-40, Mannie Fresh and more – as well as a 24/7 music stream that plays the full breadth of rap music. NPR Music collaborates with NPR’s newsmagazines, public radio Member stations and the passionate NPR community to celebrate great music in every genre. Visit at www.npr.org/music and via NPR Music mobile apps.

About BRIC
In the 35 years since its founding as a not-for-profit organization in 1979, BRIC has been the driving force behind a number of Brooklyn’s most widely renowned and beloved arts and media programs. In the borough that is now this country’s foremost creative hotbed, BRIC is unparalleled in its combination of artistic excellence, programmatic breadth and genuine accessibility.

BRIC presents live music and performing arts (the Celebrate Brooklyn! Performing Arts Festival and BRIClab), contemporary art exhibitions and programs, and community media programs (Brooklyn Free Speech Television and Brooklyn Independent Media) that reflect Brooklyn’s creativity and diversity.

Emphasizing creative expression as varied and groundbreaking as the borough it serves, BRIC provides opportunities and platforms for Brooklyn artists and media makers to create and present new works. The organization champions the creativity of Brooklyn and work that expands the boundaries of artistic disciplines. BRIC’s highly accessible exhibitions, performances, television programs and educational programs serve more than one million Brooklyn residents, including some 4,000 school children, each year. Learn more at BRICartsmedia.org.

Note: A limited number of press seats available; please contact NPR media relations to reserve.

If You Don’t Know, Now You Know: The Stories of Biggie Smalls and Ready to Die

NPR Music “Microphone Check” co-hosts Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Frannie Kelley present an evening celebrating and exploring the hip-hop icon known as The Notorious B.I.G., as well as the 20th anniversary of his album “Ready To Die.”

Date: Sunday, September 14, 2014
Time: Doors at 6:30PM ET; Event at 7PM ET
Location: BRIC Arts Media House
647 Fulton Street
Brooklyn NY 11217
To Attend: Follow Microphone Check on Instagram & Twitter beginning tomorrow for details and availability of free tickets.