''Just Remembering Sh*t As It Was...''
4:00PM ET April 6th, 2011
Contributor : Stephen Willis

A personal recollection may have shed new light on the personality of one of hip hop's most famous legends; and may have resurrected long-standing questions regarding homophobia in hip hop culture. dream hampton's Twitter revelation about a conversation she had with the late, great Notorious B.I.G. has sparked a small firestorm among fans.

"One of my fave pics of Biggie; He's on Fulton & his longtime BFF, Mann [pictured], who is openly gay, looks on," dream tweeted. "I remember when we were in L.A., a cpl weeks before he died, & Big [told] me 'Yo, the ni**a Mann brought his boyfriend on the Ave.!" I asked...Big "How'd you take that?" Big said: "That's my ni**a. Whatever."

The post has made the rounds and, as expected, has sparked a variety of responses from fans. Everything from support for Biggie's alleged open-mindedness to gay-bashing to accusations of Illuminati ties.

"So what Big had a gay friend- who cares?" posted one reader. "ANY NI99A WITH GAY FRIENDS IS SUSPECT WHERE IM FROM!" added another, only for retorts to be fired. "Who the f**k cares who the f**k Biggie was friends with?" read one angry post.

The news comes on the heels of the highly-publicized arrest of Hot 97 DJ (and former Biggie manager) Mister Cee. Cee was busted for lewd conduct with a transvestite in New York City two days ago.

But dream was quick to remind the public that this was not an attempt to do anything other than share a little-known story about her fallen friend. "Not trying to hold Biggie up as some model example who wasn't homophobic (or even a "public misogynist"), just remembering sh*t as it was..."