The Notorious B.I.G.

The Notorious B.I.G.
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
  • Frank White
  • Big
  • Big Poppa
  • MC CWest
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • songwriter
Years active1992–1997
Spouse
(m. 1994; sep. 1996)
[1]
PartnerCharli Baltimore (1995–1997)[a]
Children2, including C. J.
AwardsFull list
Musical career
Genres
Labels
Formerly ofThe Commission

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.

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.

  1. ^ "Rap's first lady". The Guardian. July 10, 2005.
  2. ^ "Notorious B.I.G: In His Own Words, and Those of His Friends". MTV.com. March 7, 2007. Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved March 11, 2007.
  3. ^ Huey, Steve. "Notorious B.I.G. > Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved October 7, 2006.
  4. ^ "Wallace, Christopher (1973–1997)", in Gerald D. Jaynes, ed., Encyclopedia of African American Society, Volume 1 (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2005), p 867.
  5. ^ "Top 100 Albums". RIAA.com. May 4, 2006. Archived from the original on December 21, 2006. Retrieved December 7, 2006.
  6. ^ "Top Selling Artists". RIAA.com. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  7. ^ "The Notorious B.I.G. Scores Fifth Million-Selling Album". Billboard. February 16, 2018.
  8. ^ "Notorious B.I.G., 'Juicy'". The 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time. Rolling Stone. December 5, 2012. Archived from the original on August 26, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  9. ^ "The 10 Greatest Rappers of All Time". Billboard. November 12, 2015. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference mtv greatest was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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