Big got his swag from the streets of Brooklyn as evidenced by the video of him rapping at 17. My boys used to throw parties in the Masonic Temple (this ain't no illuminati shit. Black Masons are known and respected for their knowledge in the streets of BK. We didn't follow it though.) on St. James and Big was riping the mic even then. He was hustling on those corners just like everybody else. Just cuz his moms was working don't mean Big got everything he wanted. Truth be told, selling drugs is about getting more money then you can count, not just getting by and living comfy. His ryhmes told you why he chose to drop out and deal drugs. The life is attractive. Big didn't need Tupac to live and speak on such a life.
Pac went at Big for not warning him about something he should have known about. Who invited Pac to the studio when he got shot the first time anyway? They got him soon as he entered the building, Big didn't even see dude. He was shot for trying to fight a dude with a gun during a robbery. How is that Big fault? Pac was rollin wit some grimey dudes who got him knocked arrested for rape. Then he gets shot by the same dudes and blames it on Big like Big could have done something about it. People warned him but he wanted to live the Thug life and he didn't pay dues when his new homies tried to extort him. This is why he got shot the first time. He wanted to continue living the thug life which is why they finally bodied him the second time.
Big was far more lyrical. He also had classics. He was a complete artist as much as Pac and talked about the grime in the streets in a similar way that Kool G Rap did it but he actually sold almost as much as pac wit 2 albums. Yall dudes suffering from a Messiah complex looking at Pac like he Jesus cuz he said a few things that we all be thinking anyway. This dude wasn't marching on Washington. He was busy tearing down his fellow black man because of his own bad decisions. Ya'll need to get a grip. He did make some great music though.