Writers keep returning to Biggie. We may know as much as we ever will.

“It Was All a Dream: Biggie and the World That Made Him” By Justin Tinsley Abrams. 420 pp. $28

••• Hip-hop has a fondness for venerating its heroes, especially those who die at the peak of their talent and influence. While some of these artists have only recently been given the biographical treatment - books on the late J Dilla, DJ Screw and Nipsey Hussle have been published in the last couple of years - others have been exhaustively documented, studied, debated and investigated, until it feels like nothing new about them can possibly be learned.

With his book on the Notorious B.I.G., “It Was All a Dream: Biggie and the World that Made Him,” author Justin Tinsley takes on the formidable challenge of telling the story of one of the most gifted, legendary and iconic rappers to ever hold a mic - and one who has, since his death a quarter-century ago, been the subject of at least seven books, one biopic, myriad podcasts and two documentaries, most recently the 2021 Netflix film, “Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell.” In the introduction to his book, Tinsley confesses that he was apprehensive when he was first approached to write a biography of one of the most biographed rappers.

“What the hell could I say about the Notorious B.I.G. that hadn’t already been said?” Tinsley recalls asking himself. “That people were willing to speak about?” Not much, it turns out. Anyone who considers himself or herself a fan of Biggie’s music must have some familiarity with his story. Born Christopher

Wallace in Brooklyn and raised by a single mother, Biggie dropped out of high school to become a full-time hustler, peddling crack cocaine on street corners and occasionally getting into trouble with the law. He was on his way to becoming yet another anonymous statistic, when he was discovered, almost by accident, to possess an extraordinary gift of lyricism and storytelling. He rocketed to hip-hop superstardom, dropping hit after hit, and was days away from releasing his highly anticipated sophomore album when he was killed, at age 24, during a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles in March 1997.

Published to coincide with what would’ve been Biggie’s 50th birthday, “It Was All a Dream” could’ve been an opportunity to reflect anew on his brief life and unparalleled talent, or to examine how his music is relevant to our current conversations on race and entertainment. Regrettably, readers looking for new insights or original appraisals will be disappointed.

Tinsley, a senior reporter with ESPN’s The Undefeated online platform (recently rebranded as Andscape), has covered the intersection of music, sports and race for nearly a decade, applying a journalist’s reportage and analysis to a hip-hop head’s passion. A young writer with extensive knowledge of sports and Black culture, Tinsley has established himself as a critical thinker on contemporary issues and a stalwart student of Black American history, one recognized for his original voice and sharpedged evaluation. “It Was All a Dream,” however, struggles to distinguish itself from earlier accounts - despite personal interviews with consequential figures from Biggie’s life, such as former Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Chico del Vec and popular Brooklyn DJ Mister Cee, who was among the first to support Biggie’s nascent rap career. Tinsley leans heavily on existing documentaries, previously published interviews, and biographies, particularly Cheo Hodari Coker’s 2003 book “Unbelievable” and the 2005 memoir by Biggie’s mother, Voletta Wallace.

Where “It Was All a Dream” seeks to set itself apart can be found in its subtitle: “Biggie and the World that Made Him.” Tinsley broadens his scope to observe what the country was going through while Biggie was growing up - the crack epidemic, a precipitous rise in violent crime, Reaganomics - and how these developments affected Black urban communities, most acutely in New York.