The Notorious B.I.G.

THE

B.I.G.

PREAMBLE What makes a rapper great? There are a number of differing definitions and philosophies. Rapper J. Cole cites consistency as the most important attribute, and says it‘s important to look both for the big humorous „punch“ lines as well as the underlying message of the rapper‘s songs. Nas focuses as well on the meaning of the songs, as well as the scale and ambition of the rapper‘s narratives and storytelling. He has also gone on the record as saying that there is no such thing as the „best rapper“ or „Greatest of All Time“ (often abbreviated as G.O.A.T.) Numerous different skills and attributes all must come together to make a truly legendary MC. Obviously, a rapper must display a sense of rhythm and an ability to compliment the beat in unpredictable and exciting ways. A gift for lyricism and vocabulary is similarly essential - you can have the flow of the century, but if the words don‘t come together to tell a compelling story or present a unique point of view, it‘s still not going to translate into a great hiphop song. But of course there‘s also an intangible element that elevates some rappers into the ranks of the greatest of all time.

1972 - 1991

Wallace was born at St. Mary‘s Hospital in the Brooklyn borough of New York City 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.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, near the border with Bedford-Stuyvesant. Wallace 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. Wallace claim to have begun dealing drugs at about age 12. His mother, often at work, first learned of this during his adulthood. He began rapping as a teenager, entertaining people on the streets, and performed with local

groups, the Old Gold Brothers as well as the Techniques. At his request, Wallace transferred from Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Fort Greene to George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School in Downtown Brooklyn, which future rappers DMX, Jay-Z, and Busta Rhymes were also attending. According to his mother, Wallace was still a good student but developed a „smart-ass“ attitude at the new school. At age 17, Wallace dropped out of school and became more involved in crime. In 1989, he was arrested on weapons charges in Brooklyn and sentenced to five years‘ probation. In 1990, he was arrested on a violation of his probation. A year later, Wallace was arrested in North Carolina for dealing crack cocaine.

He spent nine months in jail before making bail.

1991 - 1994

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 lb (140–170 kg).

Promptly signed to Uptown, Wallace appeared on labelmates Heavy D & the Boyz‘s 1993 song „A Buncha Niggas“. Mid-year, or a year after Wallace‘s signing, Uptown fired Combs, who, a week later, launched Bad Boy Records, instantly Wallace‘s new label.

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 extents, 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.

Although Wallace reportedly lacked real ambition for the tape, local DJ Mister Cee, of Big Daddy Kane and Juice Crew association, discovered and promited it, thus heard by The Source rap magazine‘s editor in 1992. In March, The Source column „Unsigned Hype,“ dedicated to airing promising rappers, featured Wallace. He then spun the attention into a recording.

On August 8, 1993, Wallace‘s longtime girlfriend gave birth to his first child, T‘yanna, although the couple had split by then. A high-school dropout, Wallace promised his daughter „everything she wanted“, in his reasoning that if he had had the same in childhood, he would have graduated at the top of his class. Although he continued dealing drugs, Combs discovered that and obliged him to quit.

In April, Wallace‘s solo track „Party and Bullshit“ was released on the Who‘s the Man? soundtrack. In July 1994, he appeared alongside LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes on a remix of hiw own labelmate Craig Mack‘s „Flava in Ya Ear“, the remix reaching No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In March, The Source column „Unsigned Hype,“ dedicated to airing promising rappers, featured Wallace. He then spun the attention into a recording. Upon hearing the demo tape, Sean „Puffy“ Combs, still with the A&R department of Uptown Records, arranged to meet Wallace

Later that year, Wallace gained exposure on a remix of Mary J. Blige‘s single „Real Love“. Having found his moniker Biggie Smalls already claimed, he took a new one, holding for good, The Notorious B.I.G.

On August 4, 1994, Wallace married R&B singer Faith Evans, whom he had met at a Bad Boy photoshoot. 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.

Ready to Die was released on September 13, 1994. It reached No. 13 on the Billboard 200 chart and was eventually certified four times Platinum. The album shifted attention back to East Coast hip hop at a time when West Coast hip hop dominated US charts. It gained strong reviews and has received much praise in retrospect. In addition to „ Juicy“, the record produced two hit singles: the Platinum-selling „Big Poppa“, which reached No. 1 on the U.S. rap chart, and „One More Chance“, which sold 1.1 million copies in 1995. Busta Rhymes claimed to have seen Wallace giving out free copies of Ready to Die from his home, which Rhymes reasoned as „his way of marketing himself“.Around the time of the album‘s release,

Wallace became friends with a fellow rapper named Tupac Shakur. Cousin 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. Yukmouth, an Oakland emcee, claimed that Wallace‘s style was inspired by Shakur. 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“. 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.

MURDER

THE

In February 1997, Wallace traveled to California to promote Life After Death and record a music video for its lead single, „Hypnotize“. On March 5, he gave a radio interview with The Dog House on KYLD in San Francisco. In the interview, he stated that he had hired a security detail since he feared for his safety, but that this was due to being a celebrity figure in general and not specifically because he was a rapper.

On March 8, Wallace presented an award to Toni Braxton at the 11th Annual Soul Train Music Awards in Los Angeles and was booed by some of the audience. He then attended an after-party hosted by Vibe and Qwest Records at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Guests included Evans, Aaliyah, Combs, and members of the Crips and Bloods gangs. The next day at 12:30 a.m. PST, after the fire department closed the party early due to overcrowding, Wallace left with his entourage in two GMC Suburbans to return to his hotel. He traveled in the front passenger seat alongside associates Damion „D-Roc“ Butler, Lil‘ Cease, and driver Gregory „G-Money“ Young. Combs traveled in the other vehicle with three bodyguards. The two trucks were trailed by a Chevrolet Blazer carrying Bad Boy director of security Paul Offord.

By 12:45 a.m., the streets were crowded with people leaving the party. Wallace‘s truck stopped at a red light 50 yards (46 m) from the Petersen Automotive Museum, and a black Chevy Impala pulled up alongside it. The Impala‘s driver, an unidentified African-American man dressed in a blue suit and bow tie, rolled down his window, drew a 9 mm blue-steel pistol, and fired at Wallace‘s car. Four bullets hit Wallace and his entourage subsequently rushed him to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where doctors performed an emergency thoracotomy, but he was pronounced dead at 1:15 a.m. He was 24 years old. His autopsy, which was released 15 years after his death, showed that only the final shot was fatal; it entered through his right hip and struck his colon, liver, heart, and left lung before stopping in his left shoulder.

Wallace‘s funeral was held at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel in Manhattan on March 18.

There were around 350 mourners at the funeral, including Lil‘ Cease, Queen Latifah, Flava Flav, Mary J. Blige, Lil‘ Kim, Run–D.M.C., DJ Kool Herc, Treach, Busta Rhymes, Salt-N-Pepa, DJ Spinderella, Foxy Brown, and Sister Souljah. After the funeral, his body was cremated and the ashes were given to his family.

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