While America’s current political climate may be less than inspiring, there are still plenty of reasons why a career in government is a noble and fulfilling pursuit. You can stand up for the poor and the downtrodden or—given your proclivities—grind their cancer-ridden bones to make your bread. You can put on a suit and yell at other people in suits and they can’t do shit! And sometimes you can just stand there and rap Notorious B.I.G. songs and they have to enter it into the Congressional Record.
New York Representative Hakeem Jeffries took advantage of this under-utilized bylaw yesterday to pay tribute to the late Biggie Smalls on the 20th anniversary of his death. On the House floor, flanked by a blown-up picture of the rapper, Jeffries started off by reciting the opening lines to “Juicy” with a proud, stentorian delivery that emphasized their power—and, more importantly, ensured that future historians will know Word Up! Magazine.
Jeffries went on to proclaim Biggie’s “rags-to-riches life story”—from being dead broke and rapping on the corners of Jeffries’ Brooklyn district to having both a Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis—as “the embodiment of the American dream,” quoting “Juicy” again in noting that Biggie went from “a negative to a positive.” It was a moving tribute to a legendary artist that Jeffries concluded with a hearty, “Where Brooklyn at?” inside a room full of congressmen, thus realizing another American dream of sorts.
Anyway, after Jeffries had finished, the House resumed working on dismantling the Affordable Care Act, and it was all good, baby baby.