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The Notorious B.I.G.

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"Biggie" and "Biggy" redirect here. For other uses, see Biggie (disambiguation) and Biggy (disambiguation).

Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), known professionally as the Notorious B.I.G., and also by the stage name Biggie Smalls,[1] or simply Biggie,[2] was an American rapper. Rooted in the New York rap scene and gangsta rap traditions, he is widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. Wallace became known for his distinctive, laidback lyrical delivery, offsetting his lyrics' often grim content. His music was usually semi-autobiographical, telling of hardship and criminality but also of debauchery and celebration.

The Notorious B.I.G.
Wallace wearing a red jacket
Wallace in 1997
Born
Christopher George Latore Wallace

(1972-05-21)May 21, 1972
Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
DiedMarch 9, 1997(1997-03-09) (aged 24)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of deathDrive-by homicide (gunshot wound)
Other names
  • Biggie Smalls
  • Biggie
  • Big
  • Frank White
  • Big Poppa
  • MC CWest
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • songwriter
Years active1992–1997
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1994; sep. 1996)​
Children2, including C. J.
AwardsFull list
Musical career
Genres
Labels

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, Wallace was the first artist to sign with Sean "Puffy" Combs's Bad Boy Records in 1993. That same year, he gained recognition for his guest appearances on several other artists' singles. His debut studio album, Ready to Die (1994), received widespread critical acclaim and included his signature tracks "Juicy" and "Big Poppa". This album made him the central figure in East Coast hip hop, helping to restore New York's prominence at a time when the West Coast was dominating the genre. In 1995, Wallace was named Rapper of the Year at the Billboard Music Awards. That same year, Wallace and his protégé group, Junior M.A.F.I.A.—which included longtime friends like Lil' Kim—released their debut album, Conspiracy (1995).

While working on his second album in 1996, he became embroiled in the growing East Coast–West Coast hip hop feud. After Tupac Shakur was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in September 1996, rumors circulated suggesting that criminal elements connected to the Bad Boy camp might have been involved, given Wallace's public feud with Shakur. On March 9, 1997, six months after Shakur's death, Wallace was also killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles by an unknown assailant. Two weeks later, his second album, Life After Death (1997), was issued as a posthumous double album; it debuted atop the Billboard 200, yielded two Billboard Hot 100-number one singles: "Hypnotize" and "Mo Money Mo Problems" (featuring Puff Daddy and Mase), and received diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

With two posthumous albums released, Wallace's certified U.S. sales exceed 28 million copies, including 21 million albums. Rolling Stone has called him the "greatest rapper that ever lived",[3] and, in 2015, Billboard named him the greatest rapper of all time.[4] The Source magazine named him the greatest rapper of all time in its 150th issue. In 2006, MTV ranked him at No. 3 on their list of The Greatest MCs of All Time, calling him possibly "the most skillful ever on the mic".[5] In 2020, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Life and career

1972–1991: Early life

Christopher George Latore Wallace[6] was born at the Cumberland Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, on May 21, 1972.[7] Wallace was the only child of Jamaican immigrant parents;[8][9] his mother, Voletta Wallace, was a preschool teacher,[10][11] while his father, Selwyn George Latore, was a welder and politician.[12][13] At two years and five months old, Wallace started nursery school, and by the age of five, he was attending preschool at Quincy-Lexington Open Door Day Care Center, where he was already bigger than most of the other children.[14] Three months before Wallace's third birthday, his father left the family, leaving his mother to raise him while working two jobs.[15] Wallace grew up at 226 St. James Place in Brooklyn's Clinton Hill,[16] near the border of Bedford-Stuyvesant.[17] As a child, Wallace spent most of his time in Fulton Avenue, where he was introduced to drug dealing, alcholics, and gambling.[18] Raised as a Jehovah's Witness,[19] Wallace attended St. Peter Claver Church in Brooklyn, graduating from the college in 1982.[20] He excelled in English at Queen of All Saints Middle School.[21] He later transferred to Westinghouse High School, a public school that was also attended by several future celebrities, including Jay-Z and Busta Rhymes.[22][23]

 
 
Growing up, Wallace listened to Black artists like Stevie Wonder (left) and Marvin Gaye (right).

While attending Westinghouse High School, Wallace weighed 91 kilograms (201 lb),[22] which earned him the nickname "Big".[24] During this period, his interest in drug dealing intensified, being influenced by the crack epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s.[25] A friend of his introduced him to buying and selling marijuana when he has around the age of twelve. Having grown up in a strict household, Wallace concealed the money he earned on the roof of his apartment.[25][26] At the time, his mother had no idea about this; she only discovered it when he was twenty years old.[26] Despite being an honor student, Wallace dropped out of school at the age of sixteen during his junior year due to his growing interest in drug dealing.[27] In 1989, he was arrested in Brooklyn on weapons charges and sentenced to five years of probation. The following year, he was arrested for violating that probation.[28][29] A year later, Wallace was arrested in North Carolina for dealing crack cocaine. He spent nine months in jail before making bail.[26]

In his early life, Wallace was influenced by Black artists like the Dramatics, Blue Magic, Teddy Pendergrass, Stevie Wonder, and Marvin Gaye. He was also well-acquainted with the vibrant performances of Parliament-Funkadelic, Earth, Wind & Fire, Kool & the Gang, and Chic. During visits to his parents' homeland of Jamaica, he was influenced by its prominent native genres, including jazz, reggae, soul, and mento.[30] As Wallace entered adolescence, he started listening to artists like Run-DMC and LL Cool J.[31] Wallace adopted with the stage name CWest and, along with two of his friends, Michael Bynum and Hubert Sams, he formed the Techniques. Wallace met Donald Harrison, a saxophonist from New Orleans. At Harrison's home studio, the Techniques worked on their first songs together.[32] As the trio grew older, their interests shifted; Sams became focused on high school football, while Bynum lost interest in the music industry.[33] Wallace adopted his second stage name, Biggie Smalls, from Calvin Lockhart's character in the 1975 film Let's Do It Again.[34]

1991–1994: Early career and first child

After his release from jail, with a disc jockey named 50 Grand, Wallace produced his first demo tape in 1991 called "Microphone Murderer".[35][36] Although Wallace reportedly had little ambition for the tape, local disc jockey Mister Cee, known for his work with Big Daddy Kane and the Juice Crew, discovered and promoted it.[37] Mister Cee sent the tape to Matteo Capoluongo, an editor at The Source magazine, who featured the track in the "Unsigned Hype" section in March 1992, a chart dedicated to showcasing promising rappers, including Wallace.[38][39] That year, Wallace started gaining exposure; after reading the "Unsigned Hype" section, Sean "Puffy" Combs reached out to and arranged to meet him.[40][41] Combs quickly connected Wallace to rhyme on the remix of Mary J. Blige's hit "Real Love".[42]

In 1992, Wallace's girlfriend, Jan Jackson,[43] became pregnant, and he was signed to Uptown Records in March by Combs.[44][45] Wallace's first chance to record a solo track for Uptown Records, rather than featuring on another artist's remix, came in 1993 when Combs was creating a song for the soundtrack of the hip hop comedy Who's the Man?. The song was "Party and Bullshit", produced by the Brooklyn-based Easy Mo Bee.[46] The song was heavily inspired by "Niggers Are Scared of Revolution" by the Last Poets, which uses sarcasm, frustration, and humor to critique young Black people's lack of seriousness in the struggle for equality. In the track, vocalist Umar Bin Hassan delivers lines like "niggas will party and bullshit, and party and bullshit".[47] Development on Wallace's first album began at Capoluongo's apartment in late 1992.[48] Wallace appeared on Heavy D & the Boyz's 1992 album Blue Funk, on the track "A Buncha Niggas".[49]

In July 1993—a month before Wallace's first child was born—Combs was fired from Uptown Records by his mentor Andre Harrell, resulting in the loss of access to the songs recorded at that time. Jan gave birth to T'yanna Dream Wallace on August 8, 1993.[50][51] Wallace promised his daughter "everything she wanted," believing that if he had experienced the same support in his own childhood, he would have graduated at the top of his class.[52] Soon after he was fired, Combs started his own record, Bad Boy Records, and took Wallace with him.[53] Although Wallace continued dealing drugs, Combs discovered this and insisted he stop. When Wallace had found out the name Biggie Smalls was already taken, he adopted a new moniker, settling on the Notorious B.I.G. permanently.[54] Wallace explained that the acronym "B.I.G." stood for "Business Instead of Game".[55] Combs and Clive Davis, then CEO of Arista Records, reached an agreement in which Davis provided Combs with a US$1.5 million advance and full creative control. Combs promptly used the money to repurchase the tracks recorded for Wallace's album from Harrell.[48]

The "Real Love" remix single was followed by another remix of a Mary J. Blige song, "What's the 411?".[56] Wallace's success continued, though to a lesser extent, with remixes of Neneh Cherry's "Buddy X" and reggae artist Super Cat's "Dolly My Baby" in 1993.[57] In July 1994, Wallace appeared alongside LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes on a remix of his labelmate Craig Mack's track "Flava in Ya Ear", which reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.[58] "Flava in Ya Ear" reached No. 1 on the rap chart for three consecutive weeks.[59]

1994: Ready to Die, marriage, and Junior M.A.F.I.A.

 
Faith Evans (pictured in 1998), whom Wallace married in 1994

On August 4, 1994, Wallace married R&B singer Faith Evans,[59][60] whom he first met in June of that year at a promotional photoshoot.[61] Wallace and Mo Bee originally wanted "Machine Gun Funk" as the upcoming album's first single due to its "funky, upbeat" sound, but Combs preferred a "smoother" sound for the release.[62] The upcoming album's first song to be released was the title track, "Ready to Die", followed shortly by "Gimme the Loot", "Things Done Changed", "Machine Gun Funk", and "Warning".[63][64] Five days after his marriage, Wallace had his first pop chart success as a solo artist with double A-side, "Juicy / Unbelievable",[65][66] which reached No. 27 as the lead single to his debut album.[67]

Recorded at the Hit Factory between 1993 and 1994, Wallace released his debut studio album, Ready to Die, on September 13, 1994.[68] Inspired by Snoop Dogg's bold, violent, and darkly humorous hit records, Wallace sought to create a similar style with Ready to Die, infused with an East Coast influence.[69] Wallace originally wanted to name the album The Teflon Don, drawing inspiration from John Gotti, who was then making headlines for his ability to avoid legal troubles. However, Combs disagreed, arguing that the title should make an impact but in a way that would "represent for the masses". Wallace ultimately agreed to follow Combs' decision, and the two conceived the name Ready to Die.[70]

Ready to Die reached No. 13 on the Billboard 200 chart,[71] sold 500,000 copies in its first week,[72] and was eventually certified four times platinum.[73] The album shifted attention back to East Coast hip hop at a time when West Coast hip hop dominated U.S. charts.[74][75] The album received positive reviews upon release and has been widely praised in retrospect.[76][77][78] In addition to "Juicy", the album produced two other hit singles: the platinum-selling "Big Poppa", which topped the U.S. rap chart[79] and "One More Chance", which sold one million copies in 1995 (the year of its release).[80] Busta Rhymes recalled seeing Wallace handing out copies of Ready to Die from his home, which the former saw as "his way of marketing himself".[81][82] In 1994, Wallace formed the hip hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A.,[83] which included many of his childhood friends, such as Lil' Kim and Lil' Cease.[84] The name is a backronym for "Masters at Finding Intelligent Attitudes".[85]

Around the time of the album's release, Wallace formed a friendship with fellow rapper Tupac Shakur in Los Angeles.[86][87] Lil' Cease remembered the two as being very close, often traveling together when they weren't working. He noted that Wallace frequently visited Shakur's home, and they spent time together whenever Shakur was in California or Washington, D.C.[88] Yukmouth, an Oakland emcee, stated that Wallace's style was influenced by Shakur.[89] Wallace also befriended basketball player Shaquille O'Neal. O'Neal said they were introduced during a listening session for "Gimme the Loot"; Wallace mentioned him in the lyrics and thereby attracted O'Neal to his music. O'Neal requested a collaboration with Wallace, which resulted in the song "You Can't Stop the Reign". According to Combs, Wallace would not collaborate with "anybody he didn't really respect" and that Wallace paid O'Neal his respect by "shouting him out". According to Combs, Wallace would only collaborate with those he truly respected, and by "shouting him out," he showed O'Neal that respect.[90] In 2015, Daz Dillinger, a frequent collaborator with Shakur, said that he and Wallace were "cool", with Wallace traveling to meet him to smoke cannabis and record two songs.[91]

1995: Conspiracy, collaboration with Michael Jackson, Junior M.A.F.I.A. success, and coastal feud ===

After forming the supergroup, Junior M.A.F.I.A. began working on their first album in 1994. On August 29, 1995, Junior M.A.F.I.A. released their debut studio album, Conspiracy, via Undeas Recordings,[84] which achieved gold certification[92] and sold over 500,000 copies.[93] The first single, "Player's Anthem", features Wallace, Lil' Kim, and Lil' Cease, and was produced by Clark Kent. "I Need You Tonight" features MC Klepto, Trife, Lil' Kim and Aaliyah, and was the only single that did not feature Wallace. The third single, "Get Money", a battle-of-the-sexes track featuring Wallace and Lil' Kim, became their most popular song. "Player's Anthem" and "Get Money" also earned gold and platinum status, respectively.[94] Wallace continued collaborating with R&B artists, working with groups like 112 on "Only You" and Total on "Can't You See",[95][96] both of which reached the top 20 on the Hot 100.[97][98] By the end of the year, Wallace had become the top-selling male solo artist and rapper on both the U.S. pop and R&B charts.[99] In July 1995, Wallace appeared on the cover of The Source with the caption "The King of New York Takes Over," a nod to his alias Frank White, inspired by the character from the 1990 film King of New York.[100][101] At The Source Awards in August 1995, he won Best New Artist, Lyricist of the Year, and Live Performer of the Year,[36][102] while his debut album was named Album of the Year.[103] He was also honored as Rap Artist of the Year at the Billboard Awards.[104]

In 1995, Wallace became embroiled in the East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry, which involved his now-former friend, Shakur.[105][106] In an April 1995 interview with Vibe while serving time in Clinton Correctional Facility, Shakur accused Harrell, Combs, and Wallace of having prior knowledge of the robbery on November 30, 1994, during which he was shot five times and lost thousands of dollars worth of jewelry.[107][108] They denied any involvement.[109] Wallace stated, "I had nothing to do with that, it just happened to be a coincidence that he was in the studio. He couldn't really say who really had something to do with it at the time, so he just kind of leaned the blame on me".[110] In 2012, Dexter Isaac, who was serving a life sentence for unrelated crimes, claimed responsibility for the attack on Shakur that night, stating that the robbery was orchestrated by entertainment executive and former drug trafficker James Rosemond.[111] After his release from prison, Shakur signed with Death Row Records in October 1995.[112] This made Bad Boy Records and Death Row business rivals, further escalating the conflict between Shakur and Wallace.[113][114]

In October 1995, Wallace revealed that he still had not received any earnings from Ready to Die, despite the album having sold two million copies at the time. With each CD priced at $15 (equivalent to $31 in 2023), the album should have generated approximately $30 million ($56 million in 2023) in revenue.[115] Amid the rivalry between Wallace and Shakur, many speculated that "Who Shot Ya?", released in late February 1995, as a secondary B-side to "Big Poppa", was intended to taunt Shakur.[116][117] However, according to Lil' Cease, the song was not intended to be a comment on the shooting, "He knew that song wasn’t about him [...] he was around at that time. He knew the shit was an intro for Mary's second album. But the shit was too hard, so Big kept it and said, 'I'm gonna put it out'".[118]

In June 1995, Wallace also worked with pop singer Michael Jackson on the album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I.[119] Lil' Cease later claimed that when Wallace met Michael Jackson, he was made to stay behind, with Wallace explaining that he didn’t "trust Michael with kids" due to the 1993 child sexual abuse allegations against Jackson.[120] However, the engineer John Van Nest remembered the encounter differently, recalling that Wallace was excited to meet Jackson and was nearly brought to tears when it happened.[121] Wallace began recording his second studio album in late 1995, working on it over the course of eighteen months in New York City, Trinidad, and Los Angeles. The recording process was disrupted by injuries, legal issues, and the publicized hip hop feud between Wallace and Shakur.[122]

1996: Accusations regarding Shakur's death and second child

In 1996, Wallace began an affair with Lil' Kim, during which she became pregnant but later decided to abort the child.[123][124] Wallace also started a relationship with Charli Baltimore (Tiffany Lane), a Philadelphia native who portrayed Faith in the "Get Money" music video. Although Wallace shared his plans to include her in a supergroup called the Commission, she was aware that she was not the only woman in his life.[123] On March 23, 1996, Wallace was arrested outside a Manhattan nightclub for chasing and threatening two fans who were asking for autographs, smashing the windows of their taxi, and punching one of them. He pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment and was sentenced to 100 hours of community service. Later that year, he was arrested at his home in Teaneck, New Jersey, on drug and weapons possession charges.[29][125]

At the Soul Train Music Awards in 1996, "One More Chance (Remix)" was nominated for Song of the Year. The song was also the recipient of the R&B/Soul or Rap Song of the Year award in the same year.[126] In June 1996, Shakur released "Hit 'Em Up". A diss track directed towards Wallace and other East Coast rappers, Shakur claimed to have had an affair with Evans, who was estranged from Wallace at the time, and accused Wallace of copying his style and image.[127][128][129] Described as "manic", "Hit 'Em Up" disses Wallace, Combs, and their associates, including Junior M.A.F.I.A., Evans, and Bad Boy Records.[130] In 1996, Wallace collaborated with rising rapper Jay-Z on his debut album, Reasonable Doubt, recording a duet titled "Brooklyn's Finest". The track used humor to address speculation surrounding Wallace and Shakur: "If Faith has twins, she'll probably have two Pacs. Get it? Tu ... Pac's."[131] According to Wallace, humor had always been his way of coping with hardship since elementary school, explaining, "I gotta make jokes about it [...] I can't be the [guy] running around all serious".[131]

I know so many niggas like him [...] so many rough, tough muthafuckas. When I heard he got shot, I was like, "He'll be out in the morning, smoking some weed, drinking Hennessy or whatever." You ain’t thinking he going to die.

Wallace on Shakur's death[132]

On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas and died six days later.[133][134][135] He was twenty-five years old.[136] Because of Shakur's accusations in his records, Wallace, along with other New York rappers like Mobb Deep, Capone, and Noreaga, became suspects in his murder.[136] In a 2002 Los Angeles Times series titled "Who Killed Tupac Shakur?", journalist Chuck Philips reported, based on police reports and multiple sources, that the shooting was carried out by the Southside Crips, a Compton gang, seeking revenge for a beating Shakur had allegedly inflicted earlier that day. The report also claimed that Wallace had financed the gun used in the shooting.[137][138] The night Shakur died, Wallace called Evans in tears; Evans recalled that "he was in shock [...] and it's fair to say he was probably afraid".[136] Wallace expressed regret over Shakur's death but declined to attend his funeral when asked by a friend. He explained his decision by saying, "[Shakur] made my life miserable [...] he told lies, fucked with my marriage, [and] turned [my] fans against me".[139][140] The Los Angeles Times editor Mark Duvoisin stated that "Philips' story has withstood all challenges to its accuracy, [...] [and] remains the definitive account of the Shakur slaying".[141] Wallace's family, however, denied the report, providing documents that claimed he was in New Jersey at the time of the incident.[142] However, The New York Times called the documents inconclusive, stating:[143][144]

The pages purport to be three computer printouts from Daddy's House, indicating that Wallace was in the studio recording a song called "Nasty Boy" on the night Shakur was shot. They indicate that Wallace "wrote half the session", was "in and out/sat around" and "laid down a ref", shorthand for a reference vocal, the equivalent of a first take. But nothing indicates when the documents were created. And Louis Alfred, the recording engineer listed on the sheets, said in an interview that he remembered recording the song with Wallace in a late-night session, not during the day. He could not recall the date of the session but said it was likely not the night Shakur was shot. "We would have heard about it", Mr. Alfred said.

Wayne Barrow, Wallace's co-manager at the time, stated that Wallace was recording the track "Nasty Girl" on the night Shakur was shot.[145] Shortly after Shakur's death, Wallace met with Snoop Dogg, who recalled that Wallace played him the song "Somebody's Gotta Die", which mentioned Snoop Dogg. During their meeting, Wallace expressed that he never hated Shakur.[146][147] During the recording of his second album, Life After Death, Wallace and Lil' Cease were arrested for public marijuana use, resulting in the repossession of their car. Wallace opted to rent a Chevrolet Lumina, despite Lil' Cease's concerns about its faulty brakes.[148] The car ultimately crashed into a rail, breaking Wallace's left leg and fracturing Lil' Cease's jaw.[149][150] Wallace spent months in the hospital, initially confined to a wheelchair,[151] later relying on a cane (which he used until his death), and undergoing therapy.[87] Despite his hospitalization, he continued working on the album, referencing the accident in "Long Kiss Goodnight" with the line, "Ya still tickle me, I used to be as strong as Ripple be / Til Lil' Cease crippled me".[150]

On October 29, 1996, Evans gave birth to Wallace's son, Christopher "C.J." Wallace Jr.[152][153] Around this time, Wallace began recording the songs for Life After Death.[154] The following month, Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Kim released her debut album Hard Core.[155] Lil' Kim described herself as Wallace's "biggest fan" and referred to herself as "his pride and joy".[156][157] In a 2012 interview, Lil' Kim revealed that Wallace had stopped her from recording a remix of Jodeci's single "Love U 4 Life" by locking her in a room. According to Kim, Wallace told her she was "not gonna go do no song with them", likely due to Jodeci's association with Shakur and Death Row Records.[158] While working on Life After Death, Wallace began to lose weight, shedding around 30 pounds (14 kg), according to his mother.[159]

1997: Life After Death

I called this album Life After Death because when I was writing things like "Fuck the world, fuck my mom, and my girl," There was nothing but anger coming out about everything: about having to go out to sell crack, to hustle for a living. Nothing but anger. But now I can't do that anymore

Wallace the album's title[160]

In January 1997, Wallace was ordered to pay US$41,000 in damages following an incident involving a friend of a concert promoter who claimed Wallace and his entourage beat him following a dispute in May 1995.[161] He faced criminal assault charges for the incident, which remains unresolved, but all robbery charges were dropped.[162] Following the events, Wallace spoke of a desire to focus on his "peace of mind" and his family and friends.[163]

The development of Life After Death concluded in January 1997 for a March 25 release.[164] In February 1997, Wallace traveled to California to promote Life After Death.[165] On the morning of February 15, Wallace began preparations for the day's work. He had arrived in Los Angeles two weeks before the Soul Train Music Awards to film the video for his album's lead single, "Hypnotize". The three-day shoot, with a budget of $700,000, was both a promotional effort and a statement of his return to the music scene.[166] "Hypnotize" was officially released on March 4, 1997,[167] debuting at the Billboard Hot 100 at number two, just behind Combs' "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", and later reached number one.[167]

After production of the video had ended, Wallace was to record his vocals for Combs' upcoming album, Hell Up in Harlem.[168] He was scheduled to feature on the tracks "Victory" and "It's All About the Benjamins", but later canceled.[169] However, around a few days before his death, Wallace later featured on the two songs.[170]

Murder

Main article: Murder of the Notorious B.I.G.
 
Wallace in the iconic King of New York photograph by Barron Claiborne, taken three days before his death in March 1997

On March 8, 1997, Wallace attended a Soul Train Awards after-party hosted by Vibe and Qwest Records at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California.[171][172][173] Guests included Evans, Aaliyah and members of the Bloods and Crips gangs.[174] With over 2,000 people overcrowding the venue, fire marshals shut it down at 12:35 a.m. on March 9.[175] After taking a few quick photos, Wallace and his crew headed downstairs to the Chevrolet Suburbans they had rented from Budget Rent a Car.[175] He traveled in the front passenger seat alongside associates Damion "D-Roc" Butler, Lil' Cease, and driver Gregory "G-Money" Young.[176] Combs traveled in the other Suburban with three bodyguards.[177] The two trucks were trailed by a Chevrolet Blazer carrying Bad Boy director of security Paul Offord.[178]

Soon after Wallace's Suburban stopped at the red light, a black Chevrolet Impala pulled up to the right side of the car Wallace was in.[179] The Impala's driver, described as an unidentified African-American man in a blue suit and bow tie, rolled down his window, drew a 9-millimetre (0.35 in) blue-steel pistol, and fired at Wallace's vehicle. Wallace was struck by four bullets. His entourage rushed him to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where an emergency thoracotomy was performed, but he was pronounced dead at 1:15 a.m.[180] He was twenty-four years old.[181][182] An autopsy report, released fifteen years after his death, revealed that only the final shot proved fatal. The bullet entered through his right hip, damaging his colon, liver, heart, and left lung before coming to rest in his left shoulder.[183][184]

Wallace's funeral was held at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel in Manhattan on March 18.[185][186] There were more than 350 mourners at the funeral,[187] including Lil' Cease, Queen Latifah, Flavor Flav, Mary J. Blige, Lil' Kim, Run-D.M.C., DJ Kool Herc, Busta Rhymes, Salt-N-Pepa, DJ Spinderella, Foxy Brown, and Sister Souljah.[188][189] David Dinkins and Clive Davis also attended the funeral.[185] After the funeral, his body was cremated at the Fresh Pond Crematory in Fresh Pond, Queens,[190][191] and the ashes were given to his family.[191]

Posthumous releases

Sixteen days after his death, Wallace's double-disc second album was released as planned with the shortened title of Life After Death and hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts, after making a premature appearance at No. 176 due to street-date violations. The record album featured a much wider range of guests and producers than its predecessor.[192] It gained strong reviews and in 2000 was certified diamond, the highest RIAA certification awarded to a solo hip hop album.

Its lead single, "Hypnotize", was the last music video recording in which Wallace would participate. His biggest chart success was with its follow-up "Mo Money Mo Problems", featuring Sean Combs (under the rap alias "Puff Daddy") and Mase. Both singles reached No. 1 on the Hot 100, making Wallace the first artist to achieve this feat posthumously.[193] The third single, "Sky's the Limit", featuring the band 112, was noted for its use of children in the music video, directed by Spike Jonze, who were used to portray Wallace and his contemporaries, including Combs, Lil' Kim, and Busta Rhymes. Wallace was named Artist of the Year and "Hypnotize" Single of the Year by Spin magazine in December 1997.[194]

In mid-1997, Combs released his debut album, No Way Out, which featured Wallace on five songs, notably on the third single "Victory". The most prominent single from the record album was "I'll Be Missing You", featuring Combs, Faith Evans and 112, which was dedicated to Wallace's memory. At the 1998 Grammy Awards, Life After Death and its first two singles received nominations in the rap category. The album award was won by Combs's No Way Out and "I'll Be Missing You" won the award in the category of Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in which "Mo Money Mo Problems" was nominated.[195]

In 1996, Wallace started putting together a hip hop supergroup, the Commission, which consisted of himself, Jay-Z, Lil' Cease, Combs, and Charli Baltimore. The Commission was mentioned by Wallace in the lyrics of "What's Beef" on Life After Death and "Victory" from No Way Out, but a Commission album was never completed. A track on Duets: The Final Chapter, "Whatchu Want (The Commission)", featuring Jay-Z, was based on the group.

In December 1999, Bad Boy released Born Again. The album consisted of previously unreleased material mixed with new guest appearances, including many artists Wallace had never collaborated with in his lifetime. It gained some positive reviews, but received criticism for its unlikely pairings; The Source describing it as "compiling some of the most awkward collaborations of his career".[196] Nevertheless, the album sold 2 million copies. Wallace appeared on Michael Jackson's 2001 album, Invincible. Over the course of time, his vocals were heard on hit songs such as "Foolish" and "Realest Niggas" by Ashanti in 2002, and the song "Runnin' (Dying to Live)" with Shakur the following year. In 2005, Duets: The Final Chapter continued the pattern started on Born Again, which was criticized for the lack of significant vocals by Wallace on some of its songs.[197][198] Its lead single "Nasty Girl" became Wallace's first UK No. 1 single. Combs and Voletta Wallace have stated the album will be the last release primarily featuring new material.[199]

A duet album, The King & I, featuring Evans and Notorious B.I.G., was released on May 19, 2017, which largely contained previously unreleased music.[200]

Musical style

Vocals

 
"Only You (Remix)"
Wallace, accompanied by ad libs from Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, uses onomatopoeic vocables and multi-syllabic rhymes on his 1995 collaboration with R&B group, 112.
"Niggas Bleed"
Wallace tells vivid stories about his everyday life as a criminal in Brooklyn (from Life After Death).
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Wallace mostly rapped in a deep tone described by Rolling Stone as a "thick, jaunty grumble",[201] which went even deeper on Life After Death.[202] He was often accompanied on songs with ad libs from Sean "Puffy" Combs. In The Source's "Unsigned Hype" column, his style was described as "cool, nasal, and filtered, to bless his own material".[203] AllMusic described Wallace as having "a talent for piling multiple rhymes on top of one another in quick succession".[204] Time magazine wrote that he rapped with an ability to "make multi-syllabic rhymes sound smooth",[205] while Krims described his rhythmic style as "effusive".[206] Before starting a verse, Wallace sometimes used onomatopoeic vocables to warm up his voice, for example "uhhh" at the beginning of "Hypnotize" and "Big Poppa", and "what" after certain rhymes in songs such as "My Downfall".[207]

Lateef of Latyrx notes that Wallace had "intense and complex flows".[208] Fredro Starr of Onyx said that he was "a master of the flow",[209] and Bishop Lamont stated that he mastered "all the hemispheres of the music".[210] Wallace also often used the single-line rhyme scheme to add variety and interest to his flow.[208] Big Daddy Kane suggested that Wallace did not need a large vocabulary to impress listeners, stating that he "just put his words together a slick way and it worked real good for him".[211] Wallace was known to compose lyrics in his head rather than write them down on paper, in a similar way to Jay-Z.[212][64] He would occasionally vary from his usual style. On "Playa Hater", he sang in a slow falsetto.[213] On "Notorious Thugs", his collaboration with Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, he modified his style to match the rapid rhyme flow of the group.

Themes and lyrics

Wallace's lyrical topics and themes included mafioso tales ("Niggas Bleed"), his drug-dealing past ("Ten Crack Commandments"), materialistic bragging ("Hypnotize"), humor ("Just Playing (Dreams)"),[214] and romance ("Me & My Bitch").[214] In 2004, Rolling Stone named him as "one of the few young male songwriters in any pop style writing credible love songs".[202] In the book How to Rap, rapper Guerilla Black described how Wallace was able to both "glorify the upper echelon"[215] and "[make] you feel his struggle".[216] According to The New York Times journalist Touré in 1994, Wallace's lyrics "[mixed] autobiographical details about crime and violence with emotional honesty".[217] Marriott of The New York Times wrote in 1997 that Wallace's lyrics were not strictly autobiographical and that he "had a knack for exaggeration that increased sales".[162] Wallace wrote that his debut album was "a big pie, with each slice indicating a different point in [his] life involving bitches and niggaz... from the beginning to the end".{sfn|Brown|2004|page=66}}

Rolling Stone described Ready to Die as a contrast of "bleak" street visions and being "full of high-spirited fun, bringing the pleasure principle back to hip-hop".[202] AllMusic write of "a sense of doom" in some of his songs, and the New York Times noted some songs being "laced with paranoia".[204][218] Wallace described himself as feeling "broke and depressed" when he made his debut.[218] The final song on Wallace's debut album, "Suicidal Thoughts", featured his "character" contemplating suicide and concluded with him doing it. On Life After Death, Wallace's lyrics went "deeper".[202] Krims explained how upbeat, dance-oriented tracks (which featured less heavily on his debut) alternate with "reality rap" songs on the record and suggested that he was "going pimp" through some of the lyrical topics of the former.[206] XXL magazine wrote that Wallace "revamped his image" through the portrayal of himself between the albums, going from "mid-level hustler" on his debut to "drug lord" on his second album.[219]

AllMusic wrote that the success of Ready to Die is "mostly due to Wallace's skill as a storyteller".[204] In 1994, Rolling Stone described his ability in this technique as painting "a sonic picture so vibrant that you're transported right to the scene".[220] On Life After Death, he notably demonstrated this skill on the song "I Got a Story to Tell", creating a story as a rap for the first half of the song and then retelling the same story "for his boys" in conversation form.[213]

Legacy

Graffiti of the Notorious B.I.G
 
Mural of the Notorious B.I.G at 5 Pointz
 
A mural in Brooklyn

Considered one of the greatest rappers of all time, Wallace was described by AllMusic as "the savior of East Coast hip-hop".[193] The Source magazine named him the greatest rapper of all time in its 150th issue in 2002.[221][222] In 2003, when XXL magazine asked several hip hop artists to list their five favorite MCs, Wallace appeared on more rappers' lists than anyone else. In 2006, MTV ranked him at No. 3 on their list of The Greatest MCs of All Time, calling him possibly "the most skillful ever on the mic".[5] Editors of About.com ranked him at No. 3 on their list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007).[223] In 2012, The Source ranked him No. 3 on their list of the Top 50 Lyrical Leaders of all time.[224] Rolling Stone has referred to him as the "greatest rapper that ever lived".[225] In 2015, Billboard named Wallace as the greatest rapper of all time.[226]

Wallace's lyrics have been sampled and quoted by a variety of artists, including Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, Fat Joe, Nelly, Ja Rule, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Game, Clinton Sparks, Michael Jackson, and Usher. At the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, Combs and Snoop Dogg paid tribute to Wallace by hiring an orchestra to play while the vocals from "Juicy" and "Warning" played on the arena speakers.[227] At the 2005 VH1 Hip Hop Honors, a tribute to Wallace headlined the show.[228]

Wallace had begun to promote a clothing line called Brooklyn Mint, which was to produce plus-sized clothing, but it fell dormant after he died. In 2004, his managers Mark Pitts and Wayne Barrow launched the clothing line with help from Jay-Z, selling T-shirts with images of Wallace on them. A portion of the proceeds go to the Christopher Wallace Foundation and to Jay-Z's Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation.[229] In 2005, Voletta Wallace hired branding and licensing agency Wicked Cow Entertainment to guide the estate's licensing efforts.[230] Wallace-branded products on the market include action figures, blankets, and cell phone content.[231]

The Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation holds an annual black-tie dinner ("B.I.G. Night Out") to raise funds for children's school equipment and to honor Wallace's memory. For this particular event, because it is a children's schools' charity, "B.I.G." is also said to stand for "Books Instead of Guns".[232]

There is a large portrait mural of Wallace as Mao Zedong on Fulton Street in Brooklyn a half-mile west from Wallace's old block.[233] A fan petitioned to have the corner of Fulton Street and St. James Place, near Wallace's childhood home renamed in his honor, garnering support from local businesses and attracting more than 560 signatures.[233]

A large portrait of Wallace features prominently in the Netflix series Luke Cage, due to the fact that he served as muse for the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of Marvel Comics character Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes.

In August 2020, Wallace's son, C.J., released a house remix of his father's hit "Big Poppa".[234]

A March 2021 Netflix documentary Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell, executive-produced by Voletta Wallace and Combs, focuses on B.I.G.'s life before he rose to fame as "The King of New York", and features "unprecedented access granted by the Wallace estate".[235]

Biopic

Notorious is a 2009 biographical film about Wallace and his life that stars rapper Jamal Woolard as Wallace. The film was directed by George Tillman Jr. and distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures. Producers included Sean Combs, Wallace's former managers Wayne Barrow and Mark Pitts, as well as Voletta Wallace.[236] On January 16, 2009, the movie's debut at the Grand 18 theater in Greensboro, North Carolina was postponed after a man was shot in the parking lot before the show.[237] The film received mixed reviews and grossed over $44 million worldwide.[238][239]

In early October 2007, open casting calls for the role of Wallace began.[240] Actors, rappers and unknowns all tried out. Beanie Sigel auditioned[241] for the role, but was not picked. Sean Kingston claimed that he would play the role of Wallace, but producers denied it.[242] Eventually, it was announced that rapper Jamal Woolard was chosen to play Wallace[243] while Wallace's son, Christopher Wallace Jr. was cast to play Wallace as a child.[244] Other cast members include Angela Bassett as Voletta Wallace, Derek Luke as Sean Combs, Antonique Smith as Faith Evans, Naturi Naughton as Lil' Kim, and Anthony Mackie as Tupac Shakur.[245] Bad Boy also released a soundtrack album to the film on January 13, 2009; it contains many of Wallace's hit singles, including "Hypnotize" and "Juicy", as well as rarities.[246]

Discography

Main article: The Notorious B.I.G. discography

Studio albums

Posthumous albums

Collaboration album

Posthumous collaboration album

Media

Filmography

  • The Show (1995) as himself
  • Rhyme & Reason (1997 documentary) as himself
  • Biggie & Tupac (2002 documentary) archive footage
  • Tupac Resurrection (2004 documentary) archive footage
  • Notorious B.I.G. Bigger Than Life (2007 documentary) archive footage
  • Notorious (2009) archive footage
  • All Eyez on Me (2017) archive footage
  • Quincy (2018 documentary) archive footage
  • Biggie: The Life of Notorious B.I.G. (2017 documentary) archive footage
  • Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell (2021 documentary) archive footage

Television appearances

  • New York Undercover (1995) as himself
  • Martin (1995) as himself
  • Who Shot Biggie & Tupac? (2017)
  • Unsolved (2018)

Awards and nominations

Award Year of ceremony Nominee/work Category Result
The Source Hip-Hop Music Awards[247] 1995 The Notorious B.I.G. New Artist of the Year, Solo Won
The Notorious B.I.G. Lyricist of the Year Won
The Notorious B.I.G. Live Performer of the Year Won
Ready To Die Album of the Year Won
Billboard Music Awards [1][2] 1995 The Notorious B.I.G. Rap Artist of the Year Won
"One More Chance/Stay with Me (Remix)" (with Faith Evans) Rap Single of the Year Won
1997 Life After Death R&B Album Won
Grammy Awards [3][4] 1996 "Big Poppa" Best Rap Solo Performance Nominated
1998 "Hypnotize" Best Rap Solo Performance Nominated
"Mo Money Mo Problems" (with Mase and Puff Daddy) Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group Nominated
Life After Death Best Rap Album Nominated
MTV Video Music Awards [5][6] 1997 "Hypnotize" Best Rap Video Won
1998 "Mo Money Mo Problems" (with Mase and Puff Daddy) Best Rap Video Nominated
Soul Train Music Awards [7][8] 1996 "One More Chance/Stay With Me (Remix)" (with Faith Evans) R&B/Soul or Rap Song of the Year Won
1998 Life After Death Best R&B/Soul Album - Male Won
Life After Death R&B/Soul or Rap Album of the Year Nominated
"Mo Money Mo Problems" (with Mase and Puff Daddy) Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video Nominated
Black Reel Awards [9] 2004 "Runnin' (Dying to Live)" (with Tupac Shakur) Best Original or Adapted Song Nominated
ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards[248][249][250] 2005 "Runnin' (Dying to Live)" (with Tupac Shakur) Top Soundtrack Song of the Year Won
2017 The Notorious B.I.G. ASCAP Founders Award Won
2020 "Sicko Mode" Winning Rap and R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Won
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame[251] 2020 The Notorious B.I.G. Performers Won

See also

References

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