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TONIGHTS THE TRIBUTE TO MR. BIGG , ONE OF MY MOST FAVORITE RAPPERS , I LOVE HIS MUSIC AND WHAT HE STOOD FOR !! HE WILL ALWAYS BE REMEBERED .... R.I.P. Donald Maurice Pears -
In a 2010 Press-Register interview, Pears described his younger, wilder days by saying "I was a gangster. I was in the street." At 19 he had been charged with robbery and assault with a deadly weapon; another arrest in 1994, after a shootout and car chase, sent him to prison for almost five years. He used the time to hone his rapping skills, making music as best he could: "I'd tap out a rhythm on the wall with a toothbrush, while some of the other guys would hum a melody," he recounted.
A later drug arrest, which he disputed, inspired "Trial Time," one of his signature songs. The charges were eventually dropped.
In recent years, particularly after the apparently unprovoked shooting that cost him an eye in 2004, Pears had gained a more mature perspective that he tried to pass along, Toomer said: "He came through it ... he was working with kids, telling them to learn from his experience," he said.
"He was a legend here," said Toomer. "No matter what, he was a legend here."
