Notorious B.I.G.
by SimpleT on Jul.04, 2010, under Notorious B.I.G.
Christopher Wallace, better known as Biggie Smalls or The Notorious B.I.G., was an American rapper from New York City.
Born 21st May 1972, Wallace was a promising student and won several awards for English at school. However, he began selling drugs at the age of twelve and became involved in various criminal activities. After dropping out of school at seventeen, Wallace was arrested on weapons charges and for dealing crack cocaine, and ended up spending nine months behind bars.
Upon his release, Wallace made a rap demo tape that was heard by the editor of The Source magazine, who invited him to contribute to their Unsigned Hype column. He was subsequently signed up by producer Sean Combs (aka Puff Daddy, aka P. Diddy), and gained exposure after appearing on Mary J. Blige’s single Real Love – which reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 – and Craig Mack’s Flava in Ya Ear – another Top 10 hit.
Wallace released his debut solo album Ready to Die in September 1994. The hardcore hip hop album reached number thirteen on the Billboard 200 chart and is credited with revitalizing the East Coast hip hop scene. The record went on to sell over four million copies and produced the hit singles Juicy, One More Chance and Big Poppa – which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. Ready to Die is now generally regarded as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time.
After taking time out of his solo work to record and release an album with his side project Junior M.A.F.I.A., Wallace began work on his second album Life After Death. However, in March 1997 he was murdered in a drive-by shooting in California. The album was released less than three weeks after his death and reached number one on the Billboard 200, selling over ten million copies worldwide and earning three Grammy Award-nominations. It produced the hit singles Hypnotize, Mo Money Mo Problems and Sky’s the Limit.
