Christopher George Latore Wallace, better known by his stage names The Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta rap, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Wallace became known for his distinctive laid-back lyrical delivery, offsetting the lyrics' often grim content.
Marion Hugh "Suge" Knight Jr. is an American record executive and convicted felon who is the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Knight was a central figure in gangsta rap's commercial success in the 1990s. This feat is attributed to the record label's first two album releases: Dr. Dre's The Chronic in 1992 and Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle in 1993. Knight is currently serving a 28-year sentence in prison for a fatal hit-and-run in 2015.
Death Row Records is an American record label that was founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey. The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast-based artists such as Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, and 2Pac, during the 1990s. At its peak, Death Row was making over US $150 million a year.
Orlando Tive "Baby Lane" Anderson was an American gang member suspected in the murder of Tupac Shakur. Anderson belonged to the California-based gang known as the South Side Compton Crips. Detective Tim Brennan of the Compton Police Department filed an affidavit naming Anderson as a suspect; he denied involvement and was never charged. Anderson's uncle, Duane Keith Davis, was charged with Shakur's murder on September 29, 2023.
Biggie & Tupac is a 2002 feature-length documentary film about the murdered American rappers Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace and Tupac Shakur by Nick Broomfield.
Russell Wayne Poole was a Los Angeles Police Department detective who investigated the murder of the Notorious B.I.G., a rapper also known as Biggie Smalls. Poole also investigated the killing of LAPD Officer Kevin Gaines by LAPD Officer Frank Lyga on March 18, 1997. After retiring in 1999, he formed a private detective agency.
The East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry was a dispute between artists and fans of the East Coast hip hop and West Coast hip hop scenes in the United States, especially from the mid-1990s. A focal point of the rivalry was the feud between East Coast–based rapper the Notorious B.I.G. signed by Puff Daddy and their New York City–based label, Bad Boy Records, and West Coast–based rapper Tupac Shakur signed by Suge Knight and their Los Angeles–based label, Death Row Records. Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. were murdered in drive-by shootings within six months of each other, after which the feud soon ended with a "peace" summit in 1997 at the behest of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
"Who Shot Ya?" is a song by American rapper the Notorious B.I.G., backed by Sean Combs. Bad Boy Entertainment released it on February 21, 1995, on an alternate reissue of Wallace's single "Big Poppa/Warning". Its new B-side "Who Shot Ya", a revision of a track already issued earlier in 1995, was "controversial and hugely influential." Widely interpreted as a taunt at Tupac Shakur, the single provoked a "rap battle" between the two rappers, formerly friends.
David Anthony Mack is a former professional runner and Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer involved in the Rampart Division's Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) unit. He was one of the central figures in the LAPD Rampart police corruption scandal. Mack was arrested in December 1997 for robbery of $722,000 from a South Central Los Angeles branch of the Bank of America. He was sentenced to fourteen years and three months in federal prison. Mack has never revealed the whereabouts of the money.
The Killing of Tupac Shakur is a biographical, true crime account by American journalist and author Cathy Scott of the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. The book made news upon its September 1997 release, on the first anniversary of Shakur's death, because of an autopsy photo included in its pages. It was the first book to be released covering the rapper's death. The book was reprinted in the UK by Plexus Publishing and in Poland by Kagra. Coverage of the autopsy photo, taken of Shakur's body on a gurney in the coroner's examining room, catapulted the book onto the Los Angeles Times bestseller list. New editions of the book were released in 2002 and 2014.
The Murder of Biggie Smalls is a non-fiction true crime book by author and journalist Cathy Scott. Published in October 2000 by St. Martin's Press, it covers the March 9, 1997 murder of the Notorious B.I.G. in a drive-by shooting. A second updated edition of the book was released in September 2021.
Charles Alan Philips was an American writer and journalist. He was best known for his investigative reporting in the Los Angeles Times on the culture, corruption, and crime in the music industry during the 1990s and 2000s, which garnered both awards and controversy. In 1999, Philips won a Pulitzer Prize, with Michael A. Hiltzik, for their co-authored series exposing corruption in the entertainment industry.
The American rapper Christopher Wallace, better known as the Notorious B.I.G., was murdered in a drive-by shooting in the early hours of March 9, 1997 in Los Angeles, California. He was 24 years old. Prior to the event, Wallace promoted his second studio album Life After Death, and attended an after-party in Los Angeles instead of traveling to London.
Notorious is a 2009 American biographical drama film directed by George Tillman Jr. and written by Reggie Rock Bythewood and Cheo Hodari Coker. It is based on the life of Brooklyn-based hip-hop artist The Notorious B.I.G. Much of the film dramatizes key events in Biggie's life: his criminal lifestyle, arrest and release from prison, his relationships with Sean Combs, Tupac Shakur, Lil' Kim and Faith Evans, his involvement in the East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry and his drive-by-shooting murder on March 9, 1997. The film stars Jamal Woolard as Wallace, with Angela Bassett, Derek Luke, and Anthony Mackie in supporting roles. Biggie's mother, Voletta, served as a producer for the film, alongside his former managers Wayne Barrow and Mark Pitts.
All Eyez on Me is a 2017 American biographical drama film directed by Benny Boom. Titled after the 1996 studio album, as well as the song of the same name, it is based on the life and death of the titular American rapper Tupac Shakur. The film stars Demetrius Shipp Jr. as Tupac, with Kat Graham, Lauren Cohan, Hill Harper, and Danai Gurira. Jamal Woolard reprises his role as Christopher "Biggie Smalls" Wallace / The Notorious B.I.G. from Notorious (2009).
Unsolved is an American true crime drama anthology television miniseries. The miniseries is based on the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur and the 1997 murder of The Notorious B.I.G.. It premiered February 27, 2018 on USA Network. The 10-episode miniseries chronicles the dual police investigations of Detective Greg Kading and Detective Russell Poole into the controversial murders of two of the rap industry's most legendary players, Tupac and Biggie.
Duane Keith "Keefe D" Davis is an American gang member. He was charged with involvement in the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur.
The 1995 Source Awards were held at the Paramount Theater in New York City on August 3, 1995. The awards show was one of the most consequential and infamous events in the history of hip-hop. The show escalated tensions between the East and West Side hip-hop communities, thereby likely catalysing the murders of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls within the following two years. Televised nationally, the show also worsened America's moral panic about the influence of rap and hip-hop on its youth.
Wardell Fouse, also known by his aliases Darnell Bolton and Poochie, was a Bloods gang member who was implicated in the murder of the Notorious B.I.G. Since Fouse was deceased by the time his alleged involvement became known to the investigating police, no charges were filed against him.
On March 13, 1995, Kelly Jamerson, a member of the Rolling 60's Crips, was attending a private party hosted by Death Row Records, where he was severely beaten by a number of Bloods, following an argument. He subsequently died of his injuries the next day, at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
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