Suddenly, something's up. There's a rustle and a few whispers, before the 23-year-old Godfather issues an order to his mafiosi: "Be cool." Silence prevails. Then, in one of those surreal Hollywood moments, who walks in but Mr. "Tutti-Frutti" himself, Little Richard. He looks at us kind of strange, like he can't believe we're not looking at him. But the rock 'n' roll pioneer doesn't hold much weight with Big. "We never trip off nobody," Big explains later. "Even if he's the biggest star in the world. I guess bein' from the 'hood and havin' fucked-up lives, we figure, He ain't givin' me no money. Regardless who he is, his autograph ain't gonna get me paid."

True, to quote Big's favorite phrase from his No. 1 rap single "Big Poppa." Gettin' paid is what it's about. Back in Beverly Hills, at Big's room in Le Montrose Hotel, there are more blunts and war stories. "That's my little heart right there," says Biggie, nodding to his 17-year-old protégé, Little Caesar, who is passed out on the floor. "I was just lookin' at him, at how he was going about shit, and it was basically me in a nutshell. Kids can be so mean; they'll tease the shit out of you if your shit is anything less than what they got. You wanna be just as fly as the next motherfucker," he continues, sounding like an old sage. "He wasn't going to school, so I said, 'No sense in that, just fuck with me.' Now he got a $700 leather coat, diamond rings, and a record deal.

"That's the whole purpose of me gettin' on," says B.I.G., stretching out on the burgundy couch. "We was all doin' illegal shit, but one person out of the crew got in here, so that's my job now-to drag everybody in." The game may be different now, but true players never change: You look out for your own, no questions asked. "They my peeps," says B.I.G. "They rollin' with me." I guess that's why they call him Big Poppa.

Laura Jamison frequently writes about mack daddies for VIBE.