The Notorious B.I.G.

Christopher Wallace (May 21, 1972 - March 9, 1997), also known as Biggie Smalls but best known as The Notorious B.I.G., was a Brooklyn-born rapper in the mid 1990s.

He first gained notice for working with Mary J. Blige on What's the 411?, then released Ready to Die, his debut album, in 1995. The next year, One More Chance[?] debuted at #5 on the Pop Charts, tying Scream/Childhood[?] as the highest debut single in music history. Ready to Die brought massive fame to Biggie, and he soon became involved in a heated feud between East Coast and West Coast rappers. Specifically, Biggie was a rival of Tupac Shakur, a Los Angeles rapper. Tupac was murdered in Las Vegas while Biggie was working on his second album. Rumors of a possible Biggie involvement in the murder cropped up almost immediately. On March 9, 1997, Biggie was shot and killed in Los Angeles. Neither murder has ever been solved and at present no-one has ever been charged in connection to them. Life After Death, Biggie's second album, was released posthumously and debuted at #1 on the charts. Born Again[?] (1999) was also released posthumously. It had a hit single with "Notorious B.I.G." which was a tribute song to the slain rapper, featuring guest raps from Biggie's friends, Lil Kim and P. Diddy. The video for the song also featured appearances by 98 Degress[?] and Fat Joe.

Discography

• Ready to Die (Bad Boy Records, 1995)
• Life After Death (Bad Boy Records, 1997)
• Born Again (Bad Boy Records, 1999)