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"Biggie" and "Biggy" redirect here. For other uses, see Biggie
(disambiguation) and Biggy (disambiguation).
The Notorious B.I.G.
Wallace in 1997
Born Christopher George Latore Wallace
Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better
known by his stage names The Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or
simply Biggie,[2] was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and
particularly gangsta rap, he is widely considered one of the greatest rappers
of all time. Wallace became known for his distinctive laid-back lyrical delivery,
offsetting the lyrics' often grim content.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, Wallace signed with Sean "Puffy"
Combs' label Bad Boy Records as it launched in 1993, and gained exposure
through features on several other artists' singles that year. His debut studio
album Ready to Die (1994) was met with widespread critical acclaim and
supported by his signature songs, "Juicy", "Big Poppa", and "One More
Chance". The album made him the central figure in East Coast hip hop, and
restored New York's visibility at a time when the West Coast hip hop scene
was dominating the genre.[3] "Big Poppa" earned a nomination for Best Solo
Rap Performance at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards, while Wallace himself
won Rap Artist of the Year at the 1995 Billboard Music Awards.[4] That same
year, he introduced and led his protégé group Junior M.A.F.I.A., which
included Lil' Kim, to chart success with executive production on their debut
album, Conspiracy (1995).
During 1995, while recording his second album, Wallace became ensnarled in
the escalating East Coast–West Coast hip hop feud. Following Tupac
Shakur's murder in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in September 1996,
speculations of involvement in Shakur's murder by criminal elements orbiting
the Bad Boy circle circulated as a result of Shakur's public feud with Wallace.
On March 9, 1997, six months after Shakur's murder, Wallace was
murdered by an unidentified assailant in a drive-by shooting while visiting Los
Angeles. Wallace's second album Life After Death, a double album, was
released two weeks later. 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).[5]
With two more posthumous albums released, Wallace has certified sales of
over 28 million copies in the United States,[6] including 21 million albums.
[7] Rolling Stone has called him the "greatest rapper that ever lived",
[8] and Billboard named him the greatest rapper of all time in 2016.[9] 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".[10] In 2020, he
was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Christopher George Latore Wallace was born at St. Mary's Hospital in the
New York City borough of Brooklyn on May 21, 1972, the only child of
Jamaican immigrant parents. His mother, Voletta Wallace, was a preschool
teacher, while his father, Selwyn George Latore, was a welder and politician.
[11][12] His father left the family when Wallace was two years old, and his
mother worked two jobs while raising him. Wallace grew up at 226 St. James
Place in Brooklyn's Clinton Hill,[13] near the border with Bedford-Stuyvesant.[11]
[14] Raised a Jehovah's Witness,[15][16] Wallace attended St Peter Claver
Church in the borough,[17] and excelled at Queen of All Saints Middle School,
winning several awards as an English student. He was nicknamed "Big"
because he was overweight by the age of 10.[18] During childhood, Wallace
struggled with depression, anxiety, and paranoia; such topics would become
subject matter discussed in his lyrical content.[19] Wallace claimed to have
begun dealing drugs at about age 12. His mother, often at work, first learned
of this during his adulthood.[20]
After release from jail, Wallace made a demo tape, Microphone Murderer,
while calling himself Biggie Smalls, alluding both to Calvin Lockhart's
character in the 1975 film Let's Do It Again and to his own stature and obesity,
6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) and 300 to 380 pounds (140 to 170 kg).[25] The tape
was produced by his first DJ Kevin “DJ 50 Grand” Griffin;[26][27] 50 Grand died
in 2022.[27][26] Although Wallace reportedly lacked real ambition for the tape,
local DJ Mister Cee, of Big Daddy Kane and Juice Crew association,
discovered and promoted it; thus, it was heard by The Source rap magazine's
editor in 1992.[24]
Around this time, Wallace became friends with fellow rapper Tupac
Shakur. Lil' Cease recalled the pair as close, often traveling together
whenever they were not working. According to him, Wallace was a frequent
guest at Shakur's home and they spent time together when Shakur was in
California or Washington, D.C.[36] Yukmouth, an Oakland emcee, claimed that
Wallace's style was inspired by Shakur.[37]
The "Real Love" remix single was followed by another remix of a Mary J. Blige
song, "What's the 411?". Wallace's successes continued, if to a lesser extent,
on remixes of Neneh Cherry's song "Buddy X" and of reggae artist Super
Cat's song "Dolly My Baby", also featuring Combs, all in 1993. In April,
Wallace's solo track "Party and Bullshit" was released on the Who's the
Man? soundtrack.[38] In July 1994, he appeared alongside LL Cool J and
Busta Rhymes on a remix of his own labelmate Craig Mack's "Flava in Ya
Ear", the remix reaching No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.[39]
On August 4, 1994, Wallace married R&B singer Faith Evans, whom he had
met eight days prior at a Bad Boy photoshoot.[40] Five days later, Wallace had
his first pop chart success as a solo artist with double A-side, "Juicy /
Unbelievable", which reached No. 27 as the lead single to his debut album.[41]
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".[50] Wallace later met with O'Neal on Sunset Boulevard in
1997.[51] In 2015, Daz Dillinger, a frequent Shakur collaborator, said that he
and Wallace were "cool", with Wallace traveling to meet him to
smoke cannabis and record two songs.[52]
Wallace worked with pop singer Michael Jackson on the song "This Time
Around", featured on Jackson's 1995 album HIStory: Past, Present and
Future, Book I.[53] Lil' Cease later claimed that while Wallace met Jackson, he
was forced to stay behind, with Wallace citing that he did not "trust Michael
with kids" following the 1993 child sexual abuse allegations against Jackson.
[54] Engineer John Van Nest and producer Dallas Austin recalled the sessions
differently, saying that Wallace was eager to meet Jackson and nearly burst
into tears upon doing so.[55]
In the summer, Wallace met Charli Baltimore and they became involved in a
romantic relationship.[56] Several months into their relationship, she left him a
voicemail of a rap verse that she had written and he began encouraging her to
pursue a career in rap music.[57]
Wallace was booked to perform in Sacramento. When his group arrived at the
venue there weren't many people there, and when they started performing
they were getting coins tossed at them. When they left they were held at
gunpoint in the venue's parking lot, allegedly set up by E-40's goons, who
were angry about an interview Wallace did with a Canadian magazine. When
asked to rank a handful of artists on a scale from one to 10, Wallace gave E-
40 a zero. One of Wallace's entourage said to get E-40 on the phone, Wallace
explained how they had "got him drunk" and had got him "to say anything", E-
40 told his men to stand down and safely escorted them to the airport. [58]
In August 1995, Wallace's protégé group, Junior M.A.F.I.A. ("Junior Masters
At Finding Intelligent Attitudes"), released their debut album Conspiracy. The
group consisted of his friends from childhood and included rappers such
as Lil' Kim and Lil' Cease, who went on to have solo careers.[59] The record
went gold and its singles, "Player's Anthem" and "Get Money", both featuring
Wallace, went gold and platinum. Wallace continued to work with R&B artists,
collaborating with R&B groups 112 (on "Only You") and Total (on "Can't You
See"), with both reaching the top 20 of the Hot 100. By the end of the year,
Wallace was the top-selling male solo artist and rapper on the U.S. pop and
R&B charts.[21] In July 1995, he appeared on the cover of The Source with the
caption "The King of New York Takes Over", a reference to his alias Frank
White, based on a character from the 1990 film King of New York.[60][61] At
the Source Awards in August 1995, he was named Best New Artist (Solo),
Lyricist of the Year, Live Performer of the Year, and his debut Album of the
Year.[62] At the Billboard Awards, he was Rap Artist of the Year.[24]
In his year of success, Wallace became involved in a rivalry between the East
and West Coast hip hop scenes with Shakur, now his former friend.[63] In an
interview with Vibe in April 1995, while serving time in Clinton Correctional
Facility, Shakur accused Uptown Records' founder Andre Harrell, Sean
Combs, and Wallace of having prior knowledge of a robbery that resulted in
him being shot five times and losing thousands of dollars worth of jewelry on
the night of November 30, 1994. Though Wallace and his entourage were in
the same Manhattan-based recording studio at the time of the shooting, they
denied the accusation.[64]
Later that year on October 4, 1995, Shakur signed to Death Row Records and
was released from prison a week later.[67] This made Bad Boy Records and
Death Row business rivals, and thus intensified the quarrel.[68]
1996: More arrests, accusations regarding Shakur's death, car accident and
second child
On March 23, 1996, Wallace was arrested outside a Manhattan nightclub for
chasing and threatening to kill two fans seeking autographs, smashing the
windows of their taxicab with a baseball bat, and punching one of them.[24] He
pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment and was sentenced to 100 hours
of community service. In mid-1996, he was arrested at his home in Teaneck,
New Jersey, for drug and weapons possession charges.[24]
During the recording for his second album, Wallace was confronted by Shakur
for the first time since "the rumors started" at the Soul Train Awards and a gun
was pulled.[69]
In June 1996, Shakur released "Hit 'Em Up", a diss track in which he claimed
to have had sex with Faith Evans, who was estranged from Wallace at the
time, and that Wallace had copied his style and image. Wallace referenced
the first claim on Jay-Z's "Brooklyn's Finest", in which he raps: "If Faye have
twins, she'd probably have two 'Pacs. Get it? 2Pac's?" However, he did not
directly respond to the track, stating in a 1997 radio interview that it was "not
[his] style" to respond.[65]
Los Angeles Times editor Mark Duvoisin wrote that "Philips' story has
withstood all challenges to its accuracy, ... [and] remains the definitive
account of the Shakur slaying."[72] Wallace's family denied the report,
[73] producing documents purporting to show that he was in New York and
New Jersey at the time. However, The New York Times called the documents
inconclusive, stating:
Evans remembered her husband calling her on the night of Shakur's death
and crying from shock. She said: "I think it's fair to say he was probably afraid,
given everything that was going on at that time and all the hype that was put
on this so-called beef that he didn't really have in his heart against anyone."
Wayne Barrow, Wallace's co-manager at the time, said Wallace was
recording the track "Nasty Boy" the night Shakur was shot.[75] Shortly after
Shakur's death, he met with Snoop Dogg, who claimed that Wallace declared
he never hated Shakur.[76]
Two days after the death of Shakur, Wallace and Lil' Cease were arrested for
smoking marijuana in public and had their car repossessed.[77] The next day,
the dealership chose a Chevrolet Lumina rental SUV for them as a substitute,
despite Lil' Cease's objections. The vehicle had brake problems but Wallace
dismissed them.[78] The car collided with a rail in New Jersey, shattering
Wallace's left leg, Lil' Cease's jaw and leaving Charli Baltimore with numerous
injuries.[79]
On October 29, 1996, Evans gave birth to Wallace's son, Christopher "C.J."
Wallace Jr.[32] The following month, Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil'
Kim released her debut album, Hard Core, under Wallace's direction while the
two were having a "love affair".[21] Lil' Kim recalled being Wallace's "biggest
fan" and "his pride and joy".[81] In a 2012 interview, Lil' Kim said Wallace had
prevented her from making a remix of the Jodeci single "Love U 4 Life" by
locking her in a room. According to her, Wallace said that she was not "gonna
go do no song with them",[82] likely because of the group's affiliation with
Tupac and Death Row Records.
Murder
Posthumous releases
Sixteen days after his death, Wallace's double-disc second album was
released as planned. Originally titled Life After Death...'Til Death Do Us
Part and later shortened to Life After Death,[92] the album 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.[93] It gained strong reviews and in
2000 was certified Diamond by the RIAA.
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.[21] 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.[94]
In mid-1997, Combs released his debut album, No Way Out, which featured
Wallace on five songs, notably on the fifth 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.[95]
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".[96] Nevertheless, the album sold 2 million copies. Wallace also
appeared on Michael Jackson's 2001 album, Invincible.[97][98]
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.[97][98] 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.[99]
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.[100]
Musical style
Vocals
Duration: 31 seconds.0:31
Wallace, accompanied by ad libs from Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, uses onomatopoeic vocables and
multi-syllabic rhymes on his 1996 collaboration with R&B group 112.
"Niggas Bleed"
Duration: 28 seconds.0:28
Wallace tells vivid stories about his everyday life as a criminal in Brooklyn (from Life After Death).
Problems playing these files? See media help.
Lateef of Latyrx notes that Wallace had "intense and complex flows".
[106] Fredro Starr of Onyx said that he was "a master of the flow",
[107] and Bishop Lamont stated that he mastered "all the hemispheres of the
music".[108] Wallace also often used the single-line rhyme scheme to add
variety and interest to his flow.[106] 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".[109]
Wallace was known to compose lyrics in his head rather than write them down
on paper, in a similar way to Jay-Z.[110][111] He would occasionally vary from
his usual style. On "Playa Hater", he sang in a slow falsetto.[112] On "Notorious
Thugs", his collaboration with Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, he modified his style
to match the rapid rhyme flow of the group.
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)"),[113] and romance ("Me & My
Bitch").[113] In 2004, Rolling Stone named him as "one of the few young male
songwriters in any pop style writing credible love songs".[102] In the book How
to Rap, rapper Guerilla Black described how Wallace was able to both "glorify
the upper echelon"[114] and "[make] you feel his struggle".[115]
The New York Times journalist Touré wrote in 1994 that Wallace's lyrics
"[mixed] autobiographical details about crime and violence with emotional
honesty".[20] 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".[24] 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".[116]
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".[102] AllMusic wrote of "a sense of doom" in some of his songs, and
the New York Times noted some songs being "laced with paranoia".[46]
[117] Wallace described himself as feeling "broke and depressed" when he
made his debut.[117] The final song on Wallace's debut album, "Suicidal
Thoughts", featured his "character" contemplating suicide and concluded with
him doing it.[102]
On Life After Death, Wallace's lyrics went "deeper".[102] 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.
[104] 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.[118]
AllMusic wrote that the success of Ready to Die is "mostly due to Wallace's
skill as a storyteller".[46] 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".[44] 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.[112]
Legacy
Considered one of the greatest rappers of all time, Wallace was described
by AllMusic as "the savior of East Coast hip-hop".[21] The Source magazine
named him the greatest rapper of all time in its 150th issue in 2002.[119][120] 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".[10]
Editors of About.com ranked him at No. 3 on their list of the Top 50 MCs of
Our Time (1987–2007).[121] In 2012, The Source ranked him No. 3 on their list
of the Top 50 Lyrical Leaders of all time.[122] Rolling Stone has referred to him
as the "greatest rapper that ever lived".[123] In 2015, Billboard named Wallace
as the greatest rapper of all time.[9]
In August 2020, Wallace's son, C.J., released a house remix of his father's hit
"Big Poppa".[132]
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.[134] 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.[135] The film received mixed reviews and
grossed over $44 million worldwide.[136][137]
In early October 2007, open casting calls for the role of Wallace began.
[138] Actors, rappers and unknowns all tried out. Beanie Sigel auditioned[139] for
the role, but was not picked. Sean Kingston claimed that he would play the
role of Wallace, but producers denied it.[140] Eventually, it was announced that
rapper Jamal Woolard was chosen to play Wallace[141] while Wallace's son,
Christopher Wallace Jr. was cast to play Wallace as a child.[142]
Discography
Studio albums
Collaboration album
Media
Filmography
Television appearances
See also
References
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Notes
Further reading
Coker, Cheo Hodari (2004). Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of
the Notorious B.I.G. New York: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0-609-80835-
1.
Tinsley, Justin (2022). It Was All a Dream: Biggie and the World That Made
Him. New York: Abrams Books. ISBN 9781419750311. OCLC 1262966009.
Wallace, Voletta; McKenzie, Tremell (2005). Biggie: Voletta Wallace
Remembers Her Son, Christopher Wallace, aka Notorious B.I.G. Foreword:
Faith Evans. New York: Atria. ISBN 978-0-7434-7020-9.
External links
JUNIOR M.A.F.I.A.
show
RAMPART SCANDAL
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Portals:
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Categories:
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