You guys bring up a great point about "Ether" cause some of the hardest hits in the song was NaS throwing Biggie's Legacy back in Jay's face. Of course the "How Many Biggie Rhymes" jab ended hitting the hardest as Jay defended himself about it on "What more can I say".If Big's lived obviously NaS would of went a different route. Remember, Big was cool with CNN and Havoc did beats for him so he had some Queens connects. "Last Real N!gga Alive" acts as a prequel to "Ether" as he talks about Jay and Biggie's relationship.
Also Nas was said to be going to the same party as Big, a Steve Stoute party in LA the night Big passed. I think Big living also prevents the Lox from leaving Bad Boy and Puffy going 100% shiny suit. There's a lot of paradox's going on thinking if he survived that faithful day. But The Commission was obviously to compete with The Firm. But there was also rumors that Biggie and Jay Z were working on a joint Lil Kim and Foxy Brown album called "Thelma and Louise"
The "No One Else Remix" was suppose to spring board the album but then the girls got into a beef. Also during Foxy album you notice she released the Jay Z Collabo as a single. So though Foxy was cool with NaS and was in a group with him and released The Firm album, it seemed she was aligning herself more with Jay and Biggie at the time behind the scenes. I feel like NaS would not have beef with Big. We know Big jabbed NaS on "Kick in the Door" and "Victory". NaS hit at Big on "The Message" and "Affirmative Action Remix".
Their battle was competitive spirit and skill. They respected each other's presence in the game. Big even admitted "ILLmatic" should of won Lyricist of the Year at The Source Awards which was good for the historical record. So I agree, Big lives there probably isn't a "Ether". Big would of brought NaS and Jay together a long time ago. Till this day I feel NaS dropped the ball by not being in the "Dead Presidents" video. It's a Classic song with a Classic sample by you. You have Biggie, Jay, Junior Mafia and Rocafella's crew and AZ all at the table together. It was the perfect time to show unity.
With that said I'm happy "Ether" existed cause it humbled Jay. He wanted the throne too quickly after Big died. NaS was only defending himself against Jay. I feel Jay escalated the situation with Summer Jam. So Biggie was cool with NaS and Jay. This is technically Biggie and NaS's only collaborations:
The Notorious B.I.G. and NAS - The Goodfellas (LIVE)
tracks an album.
. At least Pac didn't have trannies in his music vids 
