Christopher Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), also known as Biggie Smalls (after a stylish gangster in 1975's Let's Do it Again) and Frank White (from King of New York), but best known as The Notorious B.I.G. (Business Instead of Game and, since his death, Books Instead of Guns), was a popular Brooklyn-born rapper of the mid-1990s. Following his untimely death in 1997, he has been immortalized as a hip hop legend.

Childhood and drug career

The 6'3", 300 pound (136 kg) rapper, was raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn in New York City. B.I.G.'s mother Voletta Wallace was a preschool teacher who claimed that Christopher lived a comfortable life. He would later profess otherwise on songs such as "Juicy". As an honor-roll student, he dropped out of school at 17 to work as a small-time crack cocaine dealer in his hometown. He would later traffic the drug into Virginia where it could be sold at a higher price. He rapped as a hobby and was soon discovered by DJ Mister Cee (Big Daddy Kane's former DJ), with whom he released his demo tape.

Rap career

Biggie first gained notice with his debut on Mary J. Blige's remix of "Real Love" in 1993. His first debut single was "Party and Bullshit" from the "Who's The Man?" soundtrack. He appeared on "One Million Strong" on a song called "RUNNIN'" with 2Pac & Dramacydal. He also made an appearance on a Trapp album called "Stop The Gunfight" on a track called "Be The Realist" with 2Pac & Trapp. This album also contained a remix of "RUNNIN'" called "Stop The Gunfight". In September 1994 he released Ready to Die, his debut album. Ready to Die is regarded as one of hip-hop's all-time classic albums. The album features one of rap's most famous "playa anthems", the song "Big Poppa", which samples R&B singers, the Isley Brothers. On the track "Everyday Struggle", Biggie's album drew critical acclaim for its vivid story-telling and razor-sharp lyricism, such as "They don't know about the stress filled day/Baby on the way, mad bills to pay/That's why you drink Tanqueray/So you can reminisce and wish/You wasn't living so devilish." Another standout track is "Warning," wherein Biggie once again displays his story-telling ability. The album is considered by many to be one of the best and most hardcore hip-hop albums of all time.

In 1995, Biggie's clique Junior M.A.F.I.A. (Junior Masters At Finding Intelligent Attitudes) released the album Conspiracy. That same year saw Biggie introduce his crewmates Lil' Kim and Lil' Caesar to the mainstream. Also that year, B.I.G.'s single "One More Chance" debuted at #5 on the Pop Charts, tying Scream/Childhood as the highest debut single in music history. "One More Chance," which sampled the R&B song "Stay With Me," was a remix of the song by the same name that originally appeared on Ready to Die.

East Coast/West Coast feud and death

Although Ready to Die brought massive fame to Biggie, he is most famed for his alleged involvement in rap's most infamous feud between the East and West Coast scenes. Before Ready To die was released, Biggie began to associate with rap superstar Tupac Shakur, a Bronx native who moved to California. The two recorded a number of songs together, and Biggie even performed alongside Tupac in a now-famous Madison Square Garden freestyle in 1994. However, their friendship ended when Shakur was shot in November of 1994 and suspected Biggie and Puff Daddy of culpability. Shakur subsequently joined Death Row Records after his release from prison in late 1995. Death Row Records and Bad Boy Entertainment were the two most successful labels of the 1990's, and with the two biggest stars in rap, it escalated more. When Tupac was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, where he had been watching a Mike Tyson boxing match, rumors of Biggie's possible involvement in the murder cropped up almost immediately. Biggie denied the allegations. Also around this time, Biggie was involved in a car accident that shattered his leg and would force him to use a cane for the rest of his life. On March 9, 1997, the events came full circle when Biggie was shot and killed in Los Angeles, where he had been attending a party by VIBE Magazine near the Peterson Automotive Museum.

Neither murder has been conclusively solved, though theories abound as to the motives and identities of the murderers. Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight and the Mob Piru Bloods gang with whom he associates are among the prime suspects for involvement. In his book, LAbyrinth, LAPD officer Randall Sullivan probes the circumstances and figures involved in the shootings. Additionally, Director Nick Broomfield has released an investigative documentary called Biggie & Tupac which implicates the LAPD and Suge Knight, and the Los Angeles Times ran an almost universally discredited article entitled "Who Shot Tupac Shakur?" by reporter Chuck Phillips, which concludes that Biggie Smalls was ultimately behind the Las Vegas shooting of Tupac. Evidence to the contrary, most notably a dated and timed excerpt from a recording that Biggie made in a studio in New York when he was supposedly providing the murder weapon to hitmen in Las Vegas has since surfaced. The fact that the article claims that Biggie checked in and out of a hotel without being noticed by a single individual, despite being a 6'3", 300 lbs national celebrity also damages the credibility of the article.

Posthumous career

Life After Death, Biggie's second album, debuted at #1 on the charts. The album was released only two weeks after Biggie's murder. Its lead single was "Hypnotize", which was also the last video Biggie would take part in. Life After Death hit number one on the Billboard charts and spawned several hit singles in the United States. The album sold 18 million copies (worldwide), and, as of 2005, is the best selling hip-hop album of all time although Tupac Shakurs "All Eyez on Me" is yet to be re-evalutated and may be the number one selling hip-hop album of all time. Biggie's biggest chart hit was with the song "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems," an upbeat number featuring rappers Mase and Puff Daddy, and sampling the disco song "I'm Coming Out" by Diana Ross for the beat. The video is noted for having started the "Shiny Suit" era in hip hop. The last video single from Life After Death was "Sky's The Limit" featuring 112. The video for this song, directed by Spike Jonze, was noted for the use of children portraying a day in the life of Biggie.

During the summer of 1997, Puff Daddy released his debut album "No Way Out," which featured Biggie on a number of songs, notably in the chorus of the single "Been Around the World" over David Bowie's sample ("Let's Dance"). However, the single that carried this album to the top was "I'll Be Missing You", a tribute and a massively successful single dedicated to Biggie. The song featured Puff Daddy, Wallace's widow Faith Evans and R&B group 112. The song sampled the melody of The Police's hit song "Every Breath You Take." All these artists performed the song with (former Police vocalist) Sting during the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards.

The year 1999 saw another release of a posthumous Notorious B.I.G. album. Puff Daddy released Biggie's third album, Born Again. It had two hit singles called "N.O.T.O.R.I.O.U.S." featuring Puff Daddy and Lil' Kim (interpolation to the Duran Duran's song of the same name), and "Dead Wrong" a single that later was remixed with a verse from Eminem. The video for "N.O.T.O.R.I.O.U.S." also featured appearances by 98 Degrees and Fat Joe, and is also the last Notorious B.I.G. solo video to date (as of 2005).

In 2002, Puff Daddy gave 50 Cent rights to sample Biggie's verses from "Niggas" (a song from the Born Again album) into a song called "The Realest Niggas". It got out as a single and hit New York radio stations as a big hit. Many have attributed that song as a major key to the rise of 50 Cent, who is now one of hip-hop's biggest superstars. The song (which also featured and was produced by Eminem) was later put on the soundtrack for the 2003 hit movie Bad Boys 2 with Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. Later on in 2003, Biggie appeared on "Runnin (Dying To Live)" along with 2Pac. The song was produced by Eminem.

On August 28, 2005, at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, Biggie was paid tribute to by host Diddy, and Snoop Dogg. The setup had an orchestra playing while the lyrics from "Juicy" and "Warning" played on the arena speakers. It was a well-received tribute for that evening. In September 2005, VH1 had its second annual hip hop honors, with a tribute to Biggie headlining the show. It was announced that the long awaited The Notorious B.I.G. Duets: The Final Chapter album would be relesed December 20, 2005.

Legacy

The Notorious B.I.G. has been celebrated as one of the greatest rappers of all time, and is the one of the most influential rappers of his era. His lyrics have been sampled by many of today's rappers, such as Jay-Z, Fat Joe, 50 Cent, Fabolous, Foxy Brown and Busta Rhymes. In 2001, hip hop magazine The Source crowned Biggie as the greatest MC of all time. In 2003, XXL Magazine asked many elite hip hop artists, including Nelly, 50 Cent, Memphis Bleek,Jadakiss and others, who they believed were 5 best rappers of all time, and Biggie's name appeared on more rappers' lists than any other MC. During Canibus's 1998 feud with LL Cool J, Canibus responded to LL Cool J's claim to be the greatest rapper of all time by saying "the greatest rapper of all time died on March 9th.", which was the day Biggie died.

Unlike Tupac Shakur, Biggie does not have a large collection of posthumous albums, as Born Again is the only release to date. Biggie's second posthumous album, The Notorious B.I.G. Duets: The Final Chapter, is set to be released on December 20, 2005. There have been sporadic appearances of Biggie's lyrics, mostly appearing on songs that have sampled a verse of his (such as Akon's "Ghetto", Jay-Z's "A Dream" and Ashanti's "Foolish"). Nowadays, a new, original Notorious B.I.G. song is rare, but his legacy as an all time great is cemented nonetheless.

Murder investigation

March 11, 2005, two days after the eighth anniversary of Biggie's killing, the Los Angeles Police Department concluded its investigation into the events of March 9, 1997. Biggie's mother has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the LAPD. In May of 2005, Ms. Wallace withdrew two of the major names listed as possible suspects, David Mack and Amir Muhammad. After being dragged out for nearly 2 months, the judge eventually declared a mistrial in Ms. Wallace's favor. The trial was noted for the many key witnessess, mostly jailhouse informants, claiming that Suge Knight was the mastermind of the murder. The upcoming re-trial threatens to re-open the infamous Rampart Scandal in Los Angeles.

Movie

There is a movie in the works about the life of The Notorious B.I.G. Antoine Fuqua, the director of Training Day, will direct the film. The film is being produced by Wallace's mother, Voletta Wallace, and by his former managers, Wayne Barrow and Mark Pitts.

The Final Chapter

A posthumous release has been stated for release on December 20, 2005. This album will be produced and will feature some of the biggest names in music. It already has two singles in rotation, called "Hold Ya Head" featuring Bob Marley, and "Whatchu Want" featuring Jay-Z.

Trivia

• Biggie was among the first rappers to ever be talented enough not to write his rhymes on paper. He instead heard a beat, and then wrote the song in his head. This method of rapping was later emulated by successful artists such as Jay-Z, Ja Rule, Kanye West, and Common.
• According to people close to him, Biggie had five songs worth of lyrics in his head around the time he was killed.
• Biggie is also one of the best (yet uncredited) scouters in rap. Among the people who he discovered, or in some way helped further their rap careers, were Jay-Z, Cam'ron, Jadakiss, Styles P, Sheek Louch, Lil Kim, Mase, and Charli Baltimore.

Discography

Albums

• Ready to Die (Bad Boy/Arista, 1994) #1 US; 500 Copies Sold 5X Platinum
• Life After Death (Bad Boy/Arista, 1997) #1 US (4 weeks), #23 UK; 1000 Copies Sold 10X Platinum
• Born Again (Released Posthumously, Bad Boy/Arista, 1999) #1 US (1 week); Platinum
• The Notorious B.I.G. Duets: The Final Chapter (Scheduled Release Posthumously, Bad Boy Records, December, 20, 2005)

Singles

• 1994 "Nobody Rides For Free" (Biggy Smallz)
• 1994 "Juicy/Unbelievable" #27 US, #72 UK (B-Side did not chart in the UK)
• 1995 "Big Poppa/Warning" #6 US, #63 UK (B-Side did not chart in the UK)
• 1995 "One More Chance (Remix)/ The What (with Method Man)" #2(3) US, #43 UK (B-Side did not chart in the UK)
• 1996 "Runnin'" [2Pac, Notorious BIG, Radio, Dramacydal & Stretch] #81 US
• 1997 "Hypnotize" #1(3) US, #10 UK
• 1997 "Stop The Gunfight" [Trapp, 2Pac & Notorious B.I.G.] #77 US
• 1997 "Mo Money Mo Problems (Ft. Puff Daddy & Mase)" #1(2) US, #6 UK
• 1997 "Be The Realist" [Trapp Ft. 2Pac & Notorious BIG]
• 1998 "Sky's The Limit" (featuring 112 (band)) #60 US, #35 UK
• 1998 "Going Back To Cali" #26 US
• 1998 "Runnin'" (with 2Pac) #15 UK
• 1999 "Dead Wrong (Remix featuring Eminem) #36 US
• 2000 "NOTORIOUS" (feat. P. Diddy and Lil Kim) #11 US
• 2003 "The Realest (featuring 50 Cent) #18 US (Radio)
• 2003 "Runnin' (Dying To Live)" (2Pac) #17 UK
• 2005 "Hold Your Head" (feat. Bob Marley)
• 2005 "Nasty Girl" (feat. Diddy, Nelly, Jagged Edge & Avery Storm) UK Release Date: 16/1/2006

See also

• Bad Boy Entertainment
• Sean Combs

External links

• N o t o r i o u s O n l i n e - B.I.G. home site
• Notorious BIG & Bad Boy Records fan site
• Diddy Bad Boy Fan Site - Unofficial Bad Boy site
• MTV Biography authored by Keenan Crane
• Biggie Smalls Freestylefilm clip from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, 1989de:The Notorious B.I.G.