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.
Life After Death is the second and final studio album by American rapper the Notorious B.I.G., released on March 25, 1997, on Bad Boy Records and Arista Records. A double album, it was released sixteen days after his murder. It features collaborations with guest artists such as 112, Jay-Z, Lil' Kim, Mase, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Too $hort, Angela Winbush, D.M.C. of Run-D.M.C., R. Kelly, the Lox, and Puff Daddy. Life After Death exhibits the Notorious B.I.G. further delving into the mafioso rap subgenre. The album is a sequel to his first album, Ready to Die, and picks up where the last song, "Suicidal Thoughts", ends.
Bad Boy Entertainment, doing business as Bad Boy Records, is an American record label founded in 1993 by Sean "Puffy" Combs. During the mid 1990s, the label signed numerous artists including Craig Mack, The Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, Mase, 112, Total, The Lox, Shyne and Carl Thomas. At its 1997 peak, Bad Boy was worth an estimated US$100 million.
Moses Michael Levi Barrow is a Belizean rapper, politician and philanthropist. He is the Leader of the Opposition in the Belize House of Representatives, and the leader of the Belize United Democratic Party. Barrow was born in Belize but moved to Brooklyn in New York City as a child and began to rap as a teenager. He is perhaps best known for his 2000 singles "Bad Boyz" and "Bonnie & Shyne". He also wrote and performed on a number of multi-platinum albums, such as Usher's Confessions, Lil Wayne's Carter IV, Notorious B.I.G's Born Again, Mase's Double Up, and Puff Daddy's Forever among other top-selling albums during his tenures with his former labels, Bad Boy Records and Def Jam Recordings.
"Hit 'Em Up" is a diss track by American rapper 2Pac, featuring the Outlawz. It is the B-side to the single "How Do U Want It", released on June 4, 1996. The song's lyrics contain vicious insults to several East Coast rappers, chiefly Shakur's former friend turned rival, The Notorious B.I.G.. The song was recorded at Can Am Studios on April 19, 1996. A previous version of the song was recorded on October 31, 1995.
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.
Randy Walker, better known by his stage name Stretch, was an American rapper and record producer, working in Live Squad. In the early 1990s, he joined 2Pac's rap group Thug Life. The November 30, 1994, shooting of Shakur led to their split. On November 30, 1995, Walker was shot and killed at the age of 27.
Sharif "Reefa" Slater is a music producer who has produced for notable artists. He was raised in Brownsville, Brooklyn, and currently heads a production company for emerging artists and producers.
"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.
Calvin LeBrun, known professionally as Mister Cee or DJ Mister Cee, was an American DJ, broadcaster, record executive, and radio personality. Credited with the discovery of both rappers, he guest featured on Big Daddy Kane's 1988 debut album Long Live the Kane, and served as associate executive producer for the Notorious B.I.G.'s 1994 debut album, Ready to Die. Mister Cee is widely considered to be a pioneering figure in East Coast hip hop.
Shyne is the self-titled debut album by rapper Shyne. It was released by Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' Bad Boy Records on September 26, 2000. Shyne had been hyped prior to the album's release as similar in style and delivery to the deceased Notorious B.I.G. Shyne had also drawn unfavorable media attention for being convicted in June 2000 for his involvement in a nightclub shooting. Shyne was incarcerated at the time of this album's release. The album debuted and peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and sold just under 160,000 copies in its first week. It sold very well, eventually achieving Gold status. It contained fewer guest artists than most Bad Boy releases. The singles from the album, "Bad Boyz," "Bonnie & Shyne", and "That's Gangsta" were moderate hits.
"Party and Bullshit" is a song by the American hip hop artist The Notorious B.I.G., credited as BIG. Released on June 29, 1993, as the fourth single from the soundtrack to the film Who's the Man? (1993), "Party and Bullshit" was the rapper's debut single.
"Get Money" is a song by the American rap group Junior M.A.F.I.A., released as the third and final single from their debut album Conspiracy (1995). "Get Money," whose instrumental is fundamentally a sample of R&B singer Sylvia Striplin's 1981 song "You Can't Turn Me Away," was produced by EZ Elpee, rapped by the Notorious B.I.G. and Lil' Kim, and received a music video. B.I.G., formally, was featured, but at times was deemed, like Lil' Kim and Lil' Cease, a Junior M.A.F.I.A. member.
Tyler Mathew Carl Williams, professionally known as T-Minus, is a Canadian record producer. He has produced hit records and worked with many popular artists including Lil Wayne, Logic, Eminem, Drake, Nicki Minaj, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, Camila Cabello, Travis Scott, Justin Bieber, Belly, ASAP Rocky, Big Sean, DMX, DJ Khaled, 2 Chainz, Lana Del Rey, Sia, J. Cole, Nelly Furtado, and more. He is one of Drake's longest and most frequent collaborators, contributing to songs such as "HYFR", "The Motto", "Make Me Proud" and "Blem".
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.
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.
Mark Pitts is an American record producer, manager, and President of RCA Records and CEO of ByStorm Entertainment. He has managed a number of artists and produced musical tracks for performers including Notorious B.I.G, Faith Evans, Miguel, J. Cole, Jawan Harris, Kardinal Offishall, Ciara, Chris Brown, Usher, TLC, Anthony Hamilton, CeeLo Green and Ro James. Pitts executive produced the Netflix film, Biggie: I Got A Story To Tell, co-produced Notorious (2009), and Blue (2009).
Ready to Die is the debut studio album by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released on September 13, 1994, by Bad Boy Records and Arista Records. The album features productions by Bad Boy founder Sean "Puffy" Combs, Easy Mo Bee, Chucky Thompson, DJ Premier, and Lord Finesse, among others. It was recorded from 1993 to 1994 at The Hit Factory and D&D Studios in New York City. The partly autobiographical album tells the story of the rapper's experiences as a young criminal, and was the only studio album released during his lifetime, as he was murdered sixteen days before the release of his second album Life After Death in 1997. The album features a sole guest appearance from Wu-Tang Clan member Method Man.
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.
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.
