The Notorious BIG

This article is about the rapper. For the 2009 film of the same name by George Tillman Jr., see Notorious BIG (film) .

Graffiti of the rapper

The Notorious BIG (born May 21, 1972 in Brooklyn , New York City , † March 9, 1997 in Los Angeles , California ; real name is Christopher George Latore Wallace ), also known as Biggie , Biggie Smalls , Big Poppa , BIG and Frank White , was one of the most important American rappers of the 1990s. Wallace is regarded as the main character of hardcore rapand is one of the most successful rappers in terms of sales. Archive recordings also became sales successes after his death.

Live and act

Early life and first steps in the rap business

Christopher Wallace was born on May 21, 1972 to Jamaican parents at St. Mary's Hospital in the New York borough of Brooklyn and grew up in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. His mother Voletta Wallace worked as a preschool teacher, his father George Latore was a factory worker and briefly active as a politician. He left the family when Wallace was two years old. At the time, his mother had two jobs to support her child. Like his mother, Christopher Wallace grew up a devout Jehovah's Witness (also captured in his film Notorious BIG ). His mother found that her son, while extremely intelligent, was often rebellious out of boredom. At the age of ten, Wallace came to the Queen of All Saints Middle School , where he was often the best in class and won several prizes. Because of his excessive weight, Wallace was nicknamed Big at this school . At the age of twelve, Wallace started getting into the drug business through his good friend Damion Butler, better known as D-Roc . At 14, Wallace eventually entered Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School , where he continued to be a good student but rarely showed up due to his criminal activities and was expelled from school at seventeen. In 1990, at the age of 18, Wallace was jailed for nine months for cocaine trafficking, two months after his then-girlfriend Jane Jackson became pregnant with their daughter Tyanna.

Wallace started rapping at the age of 15. At first he made mainly by gains more Freestyle - Battles in the underground a name before 1991 he recorded a demo tape and distributed on the streets in Brooklyn. At this point he used only the stage name Biggie Smalls , an allusion to his then overweight of 350 pounds (around 160 kg) and his nickname, which he had since he was ten years old. The tape spread rapidly in the streets of Brooklyn, but outside of Brooklyn it received little attention. This changed suddenly in 1992 after the well-known rapper Big Daddy Kane heard the tape and forwarded it to the well-known hip-hop magazine The Source . Wallace presented this in detail in a report, whereupon the music producer Sean Combs, better known as Puff Daddy , listened to the tape and shortly afterwards signed Wallace to Uptown Records . At this time Wallace befriended Tupac Shakur , who was also making a name for himself through acting at the time. When Combs was fired from Uptown Records in mid-1992 , he, Craig Mack and Wallace founded the Bad Boy Records label in late 1992 , to which Wallace was under contract until his death.

Beginnings with Bad Boy Records and first solo album

Sean Combs, better known as Puff Daddy

After Wallace was signed to Bad Boy Records in 1992 , he gave up his name Biggie Smalls to avoid a possible lawsuit by director Sidney Poitier , who used the same name in his film Drehn wir noch'n Ding (Original title: Let's Do It Again ) and adopted the name The Notorious BIG instead . Wallace celebrated his first success at the end of 1992 with the remix of the single Flava in Ya Ear by label colleague Craig Mack , which reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 . Wallace had similar successes with the singles Real Love (7th place) and What's the 411 (12th place) (both as a guest appearance by Mary J. Blige ). He released his own first solo single in early 1993 under the name Party & Bullshit , which reached number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 . A video was also shot for the song, which, in addition to guest appearances by Tupac Shakur and Puff Daddy, also contained a guest appearance by the then unknown rapper Lil 'Kim , for whom Wallace later became a mentor and lover.

On August 4, 1994, Wallace married R&B singer Faith Evans after the two of them met a month earlier in a photo shoot. Just four days later Wallace was able to record his first major chart success with the single Juicy , which reached number 27 in the American and 72nd place in the British single charts. A little later Wallace released the two singles Big Poppa and One More Chance , which both reached the top of the US charts and were awarded a platinum record for each over a million units sold .

On September 13, 1994, Wallace's first solo album was released with great expectations under the name Ready to Die , which was awarded four times platinum for over four million units sold and made him known outside of America. The album was largely produced by Easy Mo Bee and DJ Premier and is still considered the most style-defining album of hardcore rap . It was received largely positively by various critics and voted 134th of the 500 best albums of all time by the influential music magazine Rolling Stone . It was also mentioned by journalist Robert Dimery in his bestselling book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . The album was re-released in 2004 in a " remastered version ".

Junior MAFIA, further successes and second solo album

Lil 'Kim (2008)

In late 1994, Wallace founded Lil 'Kim, his cousin Lil' Cease and several unknown rappers from Brooklyn, such as: B. MC Clepto and Nino Browne, the group Junior MAFIA The group released the album Conspiracy in 1995, which came eighth on the Billboard Top 200 and was awarded a gold record for over 500,000 units sold. The singles Players Anthem and Get Money , which were released for this, were also very successful commercially and both achieved platinum status. What was special about the album was that Bad Boy Records refrained from any promotion and only mentioned the sound carrier in passing in a few interviews. The album was Junior MAFIA's last release with Wallace, as he then focused more on his and especially Lil 'Kims career.

At least since the release of his first solo album, Wallace was considered one of the leading people in the rap business. After Snoop Doggy Dogg , Wallace had the most single sales and won the 1995 Source Awards for Best (New) Solo Artist , Lyricist of the Year , Live Performer of the Year and Best Album of the Year . In addition, Wallace worked increasingly with pop legend Michael Jackson in 1996 .

In the following period Wallace began to work on his second solo album, which was finally released in 1997 under the name Life After Death . After Tupac's All Eyez on Me album, the album was the second double album in the history of rap and its sales figures followed the first solo album. It ranked # 1 on the Billboard Top 200 and sold over five million copies in the United States alone, which is why it was awarded a diamond record. The album was able to sell over ten million times worldwide. The three singles Hypnotize (No. 1 in the USA), Mo Money Mo Problems (No. 1 in the USA) and Sky's the Limit ( No. 25 in the USA) were also very successful commercially. Hypnotize and Mo Money Mo Problems sold three million times while Sky's the Limit sold one million times. The album was the last that Wallace recorded himself.

East Coast vs. West coast

→ Main article : East Coast vs. West coast

In the mid-1990s, there was a conflict between rappers on the American east and west coasts . Tupac Shakur was bailed out of prison by Suge Knight and is now under contract with Knight's Death Row Records . Shakur and Wallace were good friends until a 1994 shooting in the lobby of Time Square's Quad Recording Studios by Bad Boy Records , founded by Puff Daddy , in which Tupac was shot five times. Shakur accused Wallace of being involved in the attack on him because he had an appointment with Wallace and Combs in the recording studio to record a new track.

On the west coast , 2Pac produced with Dr. Dre , Snoop Dogg , Daz Dillinger and others. a. Diss tracks against the colleagues at the time. This again gave rise to serious controversy. Many encounters between these hostile groups ended in fights or exchanges of fire. Snoop Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound recorded songs like New York, New York , while 2Pac set a high point of the beef with its East Coast disstrack hit 'Em Up , which was primarily aimed at Wallace . The albums All Eyez on Me and The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory from 2Pac and the album Life After Death from BIG also contain clear insults and threats against the other rapper.

assassination

The situation escalated on September 7, 1996 when Tupac Shakur was gunned down in the car and died six days later. Some suspected the perpetrator in Wallace's environment. On March 9, 1997, Wallace himself was the victim of a drive-by shoot after attending the Soul Train Music Awards in Los Angeles . A total of seven shots were fired at a red light from another car at the Chevrolet Suburban in which he was sitting in the passenger seat. He was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and died there at 1:15 a.m. The exact circumstances of both crimes and the identities of the perpetrators could not be determined. Years later, the police released the autopsy report. According to the report, Wallace was hit by four bullets. The shot that killed Wallace went through the hip, injured the colon, liver, heart, and got stuck in the shoulder. The report also noted that Wallace did not drink alcohol or use any other drugs. The family has since asked the police to release further details from the investigation files.

Publications posthumously

In 1999 several artists (including Puff Daddy , Lil 'Kim , Eminem , Method Man , Lil' Cease , Redman ) dedicated the album Born Again to Wallace .

Even years after Wallace's murder, pieces with his lyrics and those of other rap stars like u. a. 50 Cent ( Realest Niggas , Back Up ), Ashanti ( Foolish / One More Chance ) or Sean Combs, Nelly , Jagged Edge and Avery Storm ( Nasty Girl ).

With the album Duets: The Final Chapter , which was released in Germany on December 16, 2005, the producer Combs finished work on further tracks under his name and announced at the end of 2005 that this would be The Notorious BIG's last album.

In January 2009, the film Notorious BIG (original title: Notorious ) was released about Wallace's life. The role of the rapper is played by Jamal Gravy Woolard , who, like Wallace, comes from Brooklyn. Supporting actor is Angela Bassett as mother Voletta Wallace, Derek Luke as Sean Diddy Combs , Antonique Smith as Faith Evans and Anthony Mackie as Tupac Shakur . The soundtrack Notorious was also released for the film .

In the 2017 film All Eyez on Me about Tupac Shakur, the role of Biggie Smalls is played again by Jamal Woolard.

family

He had a daughter with his first girlfriend, Jane. His marriage to Faith Evans had a son.

influence

The Notorious BIG has made a huge impact in the hip-hop genre to this day, especially East Coast hip-hop . In terms of sales, he is considered the most successful rapper on the east coast , the most successful hardcore rapper and one of the most successful rappers in the entire world. Many later successful rappers such as B. Eminem , Big Punisher or Lil Wayne described Wallace and especially his debut album Ready to Die as a great influence on their own music. Eminem also honored Wallace in his film 8 Mile and the accompanying soundtrack by using several songs by Wallace in the film.

In 2015 Rolling Stone listed him as 52nd of the 100 best songwriters of all time .

Discography

→ Main article : The Notorious BIG / Discography

Studio albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1994	Ready to Die	-	-	-	UK- platinum UK	US15th × 6 Six-fold platinum (61 weeks)US	First published: September 13, 1994 Sales: + 6,300,000
1997	Life after death	DE63 (21 weeks) DE	-	-	UK23 platinum (26 weeks)UK	US1 Diamond + platinum (87 weeks)US	First published: March 25, 1997 Sales: + 6,000,000
Posthumously released studio albums
1999	Born again	DE47 (8 weeks) DE	-	-	UK70 gold (1 week)UK	US1 × 2 Double platinum (22 weeks)US	First published: December 7th, 1999 Sales: + 2,100,000
2005	Duets: The Final Chapter	DE55 (9 weeks) DE	-	CH29 (11 weeks) CH	UK13 gold (15 weeks)UK	US3 platinum (20 weeks)US	First published: December 20, 2005 Sales: + 1,100,000

literature

• Jake Brown: Ready to Die. The Story of Biggie Smalls, Notorious BIG, King of the World & New York City. Fast Money, Puff Daddy, Faith and Life After Death. The unauthorized biography . Colossus Books, Phoenix (Arizona / USA) 2004, ISBN 0-9749779-3-4 . (English; biography)
• Cheo Hodari Coker: Unbelievable. The Life, Death and Afterlife of The Notorious BIG Three Rivers Press, New York (USA) 2004, ISBN 0-609-80835-4 . (English; biography)
• Hal Marcovitz: Notorious BIG Mason Crest Publishers, Broomall (Pennsylvania / USA) 2007, ISBN 1-4222-0274-7 . (English; biography)
• Sebastian Leber: The East-West Dialogue . On the 15th anniversary of Notorious BIG's death In: Der Tagesspiegel, March 4, 2012.

Web links

Commons : The Notorious BIG  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• The Notorious BIG at laut.de
• The Notorious BIG at Allmusic (English)
• Autopsy report

swell

1. ↑ Christopher Wallace's childhood on theinsider.com ( Memento from February 12, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ Biography about Notorious BIG on vibe.com ( Memento from February 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
3. ↑ Biggie Smalls childhood facts on rollingstone.com ( April 29, 2009 memento in the Internet Archive )
4. ↑ Biggie Smalls biography on abc7.com
5. ↑ The rise and fall of a legend. The life of The Notorious BIG
6. ↑ Biggie Smalls biography on allmusic.com
7. ↑ New Facts from Biggie's Childhood
8. ↑ How Biggie Smalls came to Puff Daddy on nytimes.com
9. ↑ The development of the BadBoyRecords family business on xxlmag.com ( Memento of the original from August 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
10. ↑ sO ( Memento of the original dated August 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
11. ↑ Craig Mack on the Billboard Hot 100
12. ↑ Party & Bullshit. Chart placement and video on imdb.com
13. ↑ Christopher Wallace biography on imdb.com
14. ↑ Awards for Notorious BIG on allmusic.com
15. ↑ The origin and effect of ReadytoDie on billboard.com ( Memento from April 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
16. ↑ RollingStone's 500 best albums of all time list on rollingstone.com
17. ↑ 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ReadytoDie on discogs.com
18. ↑ Junior MAFIA biography on allmusic.com
19. ↑ Junior MAFIA chart placements on allmusic.com
20. ↑ Source Awards 1995
21. ↑ Origin and influence of Life After Death on xxlmag.com
22. ↑ About Life After Death on mtv.com
23. ↑ Hit 'Em Up by Tupac Shakur ( Memento from September 23, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
24. ↑ The 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. Rolling Stone , August 2015, accessed August 7, 2017 .