Christopher George Latore Wallace[citation needed] † (May 21, 1972 - March 9, 1997 [aged 24])[citation needed], better known professionally by his stage names as The Notorious B.I.G.[citation needed], Biggie Smalls[citation needed], (or simply Biggie[citation needed]), Big Poppa[citation needed], and MC CWest[citation needed], was an American[citation needed] rapper, famously known in the East Coast hip-hop subgenre of laid-back lyricism.[1]
Personal life[]
Wallace was born on May 21, 1972, at St. Mary's Hospital in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States, as the only child of Jamaican immigrants. His mother Voletta Wallace was a preschool teacher, and his father Selwyn George Latore was a welder and politician. Wallace was raised a Catholic and attended Queen of All Saints Middle School and St. Peter Claver Church.[2]
Wallace was overweight by the age of 10, which earned him the nickname "Big". He struggled with depression, anxiety, and paranoia, and started doing drugs at 12 years old, later becoming topics he discussed in his lyrics. At age 17 in 1989, he dropped out of high school after transferring from Bishop Laughlin Memorial High School in Fort Greene, to George Westinghouse Career and Technical Educational High School in Downtown Brooklyn. Future fellow rappers JAY-Z, DMX, and Busta Rhymes also attended said school.[3]
Wallace's first arrest was in 1989. He was later arrested in the following years after a violation of his probation in crack cocaine, from which he spent 9 months in jail before being bailed out.[4]
Wallace married singer Faith Evans on August 4, 1994, whom he was married to until his death in 1997. His two children are T'yanna Wallace (born in 1993) and C.J. Wallace (born in 1996).[5]
Career[]
Wallace began rapping in his teenage years as a street entertainer and in local performance groups. His earliest stage name was MC CWest. On September 13, 1994, he released his first studio album Ready To Die through Bad Boy Records. The album contains his first hit single "Juicy" (1994), "Big Poppa" / "Warning" (1994), "One More Chance" (1995), and "Suicidal Thoughts" (1995). In 1995, he released "Who Shot Ya" with fellow rapper and Bad Boy Records affiliate Diddy, as a diss track to rapper 2Pac.[6]
Wallace's second studio album, Life After Death, was released on March 25, 1997, 16 days after he was murdered. This album contained more of Wallace's popular songs, including "Hypnotize" (1997), "Mo Money Mo Problems" (1997), and "Sky's The Limit" / "Going Back To Call" (1997).[7]
Death[]
On March 9, 1997, after attending the 1997 Soul Train Music Awards two days earlier, Wallace was shot in a drive-by shooting at approximately 12:45 A.M. local time, by an unknown assailant while riding with fellow rappers. He was quickly transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 1:15 A.M. from four bullet wounds he received.[8] An autopsy report which was released 15 years after his murder confirmed that only the final fourth shot was fatal, striking several of his vital organs before resting in his left shoulder.[9][10]
Wallace's death was mourned by funeral attendees and affiliates Lil' Cease, Queen Latifah, Diddy, Faith Evans, among many others.[11] Two months after his death, Diddt and Evans' track "I'll Be Missing You" (1997) was released in tribute to Wallace, which sampled The Police's "Every Breath You Take" (1983).[12]
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
- Ready To Die (1994)
- Life After Death (1997)
Collaborative albums[]
- Conspiracy (with Junior M.A.F.I.A.; 1995)
- The King & I (with Faith Evans; 2017)
References[]
- ↑ https://www.amny.com/entertainment/east-coast-vs-west-coast-rivalry-a-look-at-tupac-and-biggie-s-infamous-hip-hop-feud-1-13742586/
- ↑ https://www.siriusxm.com/blog/music-versary-notorious-b-i-g-was-born-on-may-21-1972
- ↑ https://www.capitalxtra.com/features/lists/notorious-big-facts/jay-z-busta-dmx-same-school/
- ↑ https://www.capitalxtra.com/features/lists/notorious-big-facts/arrests/
- ↑ https://people.com/notorious-big-kids-8639246
- ↑ https://www.capitalxtra.com/features/lists/complete-history-of-tupac-and-biggie-relationship/
- ↑ https://www.google.com/amp/s/genius.com/amp/albums/The-notorious-big/Life-after-death
- ↑ https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/crimefeed/murder/4-things-you-may-not-know-about-murder-of-biggie-smalls
- ↑ https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/536026-christopher-wallace-autopsy
- ↑ https://www.cnn.com/2012/12/07/showbiz/notorious-big-autopsy/index.html
- ↑ https://www.complex.com/music/a/furthermucker/remembering-the-notorious-big-funeral-procession
- ↑ https://www.whosampled.com/sample/111/Puff-Daddy-Faith-Evans-112-I%27ll-Be-Missing-You-The-Police-Every-Breath-You-Take/
