His platinum-selling album Ready To Die entered the mainstream public's eye in much the same way when he was murdered in March of 1997. Until his death, B.I.G., a.k.a. Biggie Smalls, né Christopher Wallace, was virtually unknown outside the world of hip-hop. But news of his death fueled intensive media coverage of an East Coast-West Coast rap war, rallied hip-hop artists from both coasts, and left two young children 
without a father.
The 6'3", 280-pound Wallace was only twenty-four years old. Raised in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant as the son of a pre-school teacher, young honor-roll student Wallace dropped out of high school at the age of seventeen to sell crack. Although his mother insists that "he didn't need to sell crack. He never went hungry," Wallace contended that "crack dealers were my role models." Whatever his reasons, dealing was a way for a young black man to make a living in the ghetto.
He borrowed a friend's four-track tape recorder and laid down some basic rap tracks in a basement. The tapes that he came up with were passed around until they landed in the hands of Andre Harrell, president of Uptown Records, who was impressed with what he heard. Also at Uptown at the time was the East Coast version of Death Row's Marion "Suge" Knight, Sean "Puffy" Combs. When he left Uptown to form Bad Boy Records
Your browser does not support inline frames or is currently configured not to display inline frames.
G>, B.I.G. went with him. B.I.G. first made a name for himself with a remix of Mary J. Blige's "What's the 411?" and a track on t
he Who's the Man? soundtrack. But it was the 1994 album Ready To Die, that pushed him to the forefront of the hip-hop scene. The record quickly went platinum, and the Notorious B.I.G. was named Rapper of the Year at the 1995 Billboard Awards. Rolling Stone called the record the best rap debut since Ice Cube's Amerikkka's Most Wanted.
Ready To Die differed from other gangsta rap efforts in its matter-of-fact storytelling of life on the street, with B.I.G. acting as a kind of omniscient narrator. The entire album was held together by his unique perspective; rather than glamorizing violence with the telltale first-person bravado of many rappers, B.I.G. sought to tell the truth, and his deep voice and deeper tales earned him the respect of his fellow artists. The single "Big Poppa" landed him another nickname, and "One More Chance" was named Billboard's Rap Single of the Year.
But despite his new reign as a successful rap artist, B.I.G. had not completely left his former life behind. Over the next few years, he had several run-ins with the law, on charges ranging from beatings to drugs to weapons. In 1994, he and Combs were accused of setting up the November robbery-shooting of Tupac Shakur, a charge both of them vehemently denied. (Shakur later mocked B.I.G. in a song, claiming to have slept with Faith Evans, the R&B singer B.I.G. m
arried shortly after the release of Ready To Die.)
He carried on a very public affairs with female rappers Lil Kim and Charlie Baltimore.
Biggie jump started Lil Kim's career by producing and writing her debut album Hardcore. He also appeared on R. Kelly's debut album and shared studio time with the King of Pop himself, appearing on Michael Jackson's HIStory. Along with Sticky Fingaz and M.C. Lyte, the portly rapper even played himself on an episode of the TV show New York Undercover. All that ended in March of 1997 in Los Angeles. B.I.G. was on the West Coast for several events, doing advance press for his next release, Life After Death . On March 9, he attended the Soul Train Music Awards and the party that followed. After the bash, B.I.G. was sitting in a G.M.C. Suburban on the street when he was shot several times by an unknown assailant. He died almost instantly.
Theories abound about B.I.G.'s death, the most popular being that the incident was part of the East Coast-West Coast feud between rappers, and that B.I.G.'s murder was payback for the September killing of Tupac Shakur. Another theory gaining prominence is that the murderer was part of a gang that B.I.G. had hired to protect him on his left-coast trip, and that the banger felt he'd be
en short-changed by the rapper on a past deal. Although the official report reads that the shooting was a drive-by, some accounts say that a man approached the car, talked with B.I.G., and then shot him as he rolled down the window.
Rappers from both coasts, including Snoop Dogg, Chuck D, and Doug E. Fresh attended a summit held by Louis Farrakhan in Chicago, pledging their support for a unity pact that would include a joint peace tour and an album.Puffy Combs put together a tribute album that included a single with both B.I.G. and Faith Evans.
On the day of his funeral...Biggie's hearse was driven around his Brooklyn neighborhood.Thousands flooded to catch a glimpse of his hearse, jumping on cars and clashed with police. Weeks later, the double-CD Life After Death hit the streets, landing at the top of the charts, where it remained for three weeks. It want on to sell 10 million copies ,no rap album has topped it since then. Two years later the Notorious B.I.G. was back at the top of the charts with Born Again, a motley collection of unreleased material.
Biggie will be sorely missed ..his charisma...his flows,his delivery and his famous grunt ..i just hope for Frank White there is Life after Death!
Biggie's killer has never been found..........
Credits:http://www.notoriousbig.4mg.com
Get the latest info related to
L.A.X
Raw Footage
