Pop Culture Retrospective # 31 - The Notorious BIG : the backstory behind one of the greatest hip-hop legends of all time.

If you’ve been listening to the show for a while or if you listened to the introductory episode of the PCRP, you may remember that my sister was a huge fan of the Notorious BIG, arguably one of the most significant hip hop artists of all time. It wasn’t unusual for Becky to bust out various lyrics to the popular song, “Juicy” at any given moment:

It was all a dream, I used to read Word Up! magazine

Salt-n-Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine

Hangin' pictures on my wall

Every Saturday Rap Attack, Mr. Magic, Marley Marl

Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis

When I was dead broke, man, I couldn't picture this

50-inch screen, money-green leather sofa

Got two rides, a limousine with a chauffeur

Phone bill about two G's flat

No need to worry, my accountant handles that

And my whole crew is loungin'

Celebratin' every day, no more public housin'

When Biggie was just 24 years old, he was shot to death as he was attempting to leave a party.  The world would again have to mourn the loss of one of the most gifted rappers to ever hold a microphone as just 6 months earlier, Tupac Shakur was also shot to death following a boxing match in Las Vegas.  It’s been almost 25 years since the passing of Biggie and thankfully his legacy and memory is carried on by those that loved and knew him, but also by those who were and are inspired by his music.  

With that being said, on today’s show we will be taking a detailed look at the life and legacy of the one and only Notorious BIG, otherwise known as Biggie, Biggie Smalls, Christopher Wallace, etc.  Do note that I will likely be referring to him by all of those names interchangeably, but it’s the same person.  So grab your tape player, your kangol hat and your charisma, here we go!

Hello and thank you so very much for tuning in to the Pop Culture Retrospective Podcast, a show inspired by, and in memory of, my big sister Rebecca and her love for all things pop-culture, especially the people, places and things of the 80s, 90s and early 00s.  My name is Amy Lewis and I am your captain aboard this pop culture time machine.  You are tuning in to Episode # 31, the Notorious BIG, one of the most well-known and successful hip hop artists of all time.  My sister was a huge fan of the Notorious BIG, well before he lost his life in a senseless act of violence and an artist that I too have been listening to for as long as I can remember.  Although his life was cut incredibly and painfully short, his stamp on the world of hip-hop is something that won’t soon be forgotten.  Let’s take a trip back to the early 1970s in New York.  Christopher Wallace was born on May 21, 1972 in Brooklyn, NY at St. Mary’s hospital.  His parents were both from Jamaica, his mother's name was Voletta and his father’s name was Selwyn.  His mother taught pre-school and his father worked as a welder and also worked in politics.  Sadly, his father abandoned Wallace and his family when he was just 2 years old.  Since Biggie’s mother had to take care of her family on her own and because she wanted to send her son to a good school, she ended up working 2 jobs to make ends meet. Somehow she was able to raise her son solo and also take him to Jamaica every summer to spend time with her side of the family. Wallace grew up in a tough part of Brooklyn so she worked incredibly hard so that he could attend private school.  This school, named Queen of All Saints, is where he attended middle school.  He excelled there, especially in English, and was the recipient of many academic awards. His grades were consistently straight-A’s.  By the time he was in middle school, Wallace was pretty well heavy-set and was given the nickname Big.  

Despite his mother’s sincere attempts to better the life of her son, by the time Wallace was about 12 years old, he started selling drugs and would soon have a pattern of police run-ins and arrests.  Also, by 13 years old, he was already 6 feet tall.  

One year for Christmas, Wallace was given a boombox and a few cassette tapes including those by the Fat Boys (who I also listened to growing up, they sampled the Beach Boy’s song wipe out which was pretty genius and also Run DMC).  Wallace apparently really admired Run DMC.  This began a life-long passion with hip-hop music.  One year, Wallace and his friends saved up their money so they could record music 

Eventually Wallace transferred to George Westinghouse High School per his request. This school actually has an impressive list of alumni and future stars including:  Jay Z, Busta Rhymes and DMX who recently passed away.  That’s pretty incredible. Often times when school got out, he would spent time with Donald Harrison Jr. who played the saxophone.  I was not familiar with Donald Harrision Jr as I’ve never been too much into jazz music, but Harrision is originally from New Orleans, he was born there on June 23, 1960. His family history is deeply rooted in music. In fact, his dad was a Mardi Gras Indian Big Chief. He attended the Berklee College of Music. Eventually he moved to New York.  He lived on the same block as Biggie and sort of served as a mentor to him. He’d take him to see a movie or to look at art. He was actually hoping to get Wallace to pursue music in some fashion as he was naturally gifted with music and rhythm, especially with drums.  He’s released dozens of albums and has played on many other musicians' records as well.  Back to Christopher Wallace though.  Following frequent absences, Wallace dropped out of high school when he was 17 years old.  Although he didn’t necessarily think he could make a living creating hip-hop music, he wanted to continue to hone his craft. He initially thought the only way he was going to be able to make a living was to sell drugs.  The appeal of drug dealing was hard to escape from.  Wallace and a friend of his were able to earn thousands of dollars per week selling drugs, certainly more than any other opportunity at that time.   

Despite a troubled adolescence, he loved music and performing music.  He would often perform in the streets of his neighborhood with local groups like the Techniques and the Old Gold Brothers.  Wallace really enjoyed entertaining the people of his community.  

Taking inspiration from a movie called “Let’s Do It Again,” Wallace created his first stage name, Biggie Smalls.  Due to some legality issues with the name Biggie Smalls, Wallace had to change his stage name and thus, the Notorious BIG was born.  

In 1989, Biggie was arrested for weapon’s charges which led to him being on probation for about 5 years.  Just a year later in 1990, Biggie was arrested in North Carolina for drug dealing, he went to jail for 9 months and eventually got bail.  When he was eventually released, Biggie borrowed a four track tape recorder and recorded some tracks in someone’s basement.  The tapes then made their way around and got some radio airplay on NY radio stations.  Source magazine somehow got a hold of his demo tape as well and featured him in their magazine in 1992.

In the early 1990s, Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs (now P. Diddy) heard Biggie’s music and signed him to Uptown records. His debut came on a Mary J. Blige song called “Who’s the Man.” In 1993, Combs was fired from Uptown Records and he formed his own label named Bad Boy which Biggie followed him to.  Also in 1993, on August 8th, Biggie became a father for the first time to a daughter named T’yanna.  He eventually broke up with his girlfriend, T’yanna’s mother.  Concerned about his daughter being able to afford getting an education, Biggie continued to sell drugs.  Once Puff Daddy heard about this, he allegedly made Biggie stop selling drugs immediately. 

The Notorious BIG was also responsible for the creation of the hip-hop group Junior MAFIA which included many of his friends and fellow rappers from Brooklyn.  The group also included Lil’ Kim. Biggie discovered Lil’ Kim during a rap battle on the streets in Brooklyn. Biggie would go on to date Lil’ Kim, he start seeing her while still with T’yanna’s mother.  Lil’ Kim reported that their relationship was incredibly tumultuous and very violent.  She has expressed that there was essentially a double standard in the industry- men could do whatever they want (i.e. have multiple lovers, have an aggressive side) and yet women can’t do anything like that without facing serious consequences.  That aside though, if you were a fan of hip-hop music in the mid-1990s, you likely know who Lil’ Kim is. She was certainly a force to be reckoned with back then and really pushed the boundaries when it came to being a female rapper.   

In 1994, Biggie first met fellow hip-hop artist, Faith Evans as they were both signed to Bad Boy Records.  They only knew each other for 8 days before tying the knot.  Evans said she was attracted to Biggie’s confidence. Biggie said he fell for Evans right away, but unfortunately he did not remain faithful.  He continued seeing Lil’ Kim while he was married to Evans as well as other women.  

Thankfully, Biggie’s first album release was incredibly successful so selling drugs was certainly something he didn’t need to keep doing.  Ready to Die was released on September 13, 1994 and eventually went platinum, selling over 1 million copies.  Apparently, Biggie worked hard to market his album, he invited people to his home in Brooklyn and would give them a copy of the album. He faced some legal challenges due to him using sampling on this album so those tracks didn’t make it to the final cut. The album featured classic songs like Juicy, Big Poppa and One More Chance.  Biggie’s lyrical ability was praised by critics and fans alike. One critic said:  “his lyrics are firmly rooted in reality, but play like a scene from a movie.”  Rollingstone said:  “Ready to Die” is the strongest solo rap debut since Ice Cube’s Amerikkka’s Most Wanted.  From the breathtakingly usual moments of his birth to his Cobainesque end in Suicidal Thoughts, BIG proves a captivating listen.  It’s difficult to get him out of your head once you sample what he has to offer.”  Source magazine has included “Ready to Die” as one of their 100 best rap albums of all-time list.  Rollingstone named it as the #22 on the 500 greatest albums of all-time and TIME magazine included it on it’s list of ALL-TIME 100 albums.  

And while we are on the topic of the fall of 1994, let us review some other popular music at the time which really reads like a who’s who of music that both me, my sister and I’m sure fans of this show remember fondly:

• I’ll Make Love to You - Boyz II Men
• I Swear - All 4 One
• Here comes to the Hotseppa - Ini Kamoze
• Back and Forth - Aaliyah
• Fantastic Voyage - Coolio
• I’ll Remember - Madonna
• Prayer for the Dying - Seal - I was obsessed with the song Prayer for the Dying for whatever reason.  So much so that I had it on a cassingle. That I bought at coconuts. It’s actually a really beautiful song, but why I was so touched by a song that allegedly was about Seal’s brushes with death and possibly intravenous drug use?  Nothing like being young and oblivious.  But seriously, I do secretly, or not so secretly love Seal and that song.  Here are a few of the lyrics:  “Crossing that bridge, with lessons I’ve learned, playing with fire and not getting burned.  I may not know what you’re going through, but time is the space between me and you.  Life carries on.” I couldn’t relate to that as an awkward middle school student, but I certainly can now.  

On November 30, 1994, Tupac Shakur was shot 5 times at a recording studio in Manhattan.  Coincidentally, Biggie was also there recording in another studio.  Tens of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry was also stolen from Tupac at the time.  Tupac claimed that Biggie knew the shooting was going to happen and didn’t warn him.  The East Coast/West Coast rivalry began during this time- which was Death Row Records vs. Bad Boy Records. Following his recovery, Tupac started to really go after Biggie, at least verbally.  Apparently though, Biggie never really reciprocated to return the threats.  He was allegedly scared for his life.  He was afraid to say or do the wrong thing so he did not engage with Tupac’s disses and threats.  Tupac would later admit that part of his motivation for essentially being so verbally disrespectful to Biggie was simply an attempt to sell more records.  At one time, Biggie was quoted as saying:  “Please, all you MCs out there, all you fans out there, don’t think Big gonna make a recording dissing Tupac or the West Coast because it’s not going down like that.  I can’t even see me wasting my time or talent dissing another black man.”  

What I learned during my research is that Tupac and Biggie were apparently relatively close friends prior to the whole East Coast/West Coast feud. They first met each other in LA at a party hosted by a drug dealer. Biggie actually opened a few times for Tupac during some early performances.  Tupac was incredibly impressed by Biggie’s talent.  Biggie would soon look to him for mentorship and one time even asked him to be his manager.  Tupac, however, encouraged him to stay on with Puff Daddy as he knew he’d become a star with Puffy’s support.  

In 1995, Biggie was awarded hip hop artist of the year by Billboard and by the end of that year Biggie was the highest selling male solo hip hop artist.  

On September 7, 1996, following his departure from a Mike Tyson fight in Las Vegas, Tupac Shakur was shot by an unknown person and died a few days later.  

The murder has never been solved and his unfortunate passing just added to the already deep divide between the West Coast & East Coast rap communities. 

In October of 1996, Biggie and his wife Faith Evans welcomed their second child together, a  boy named Christoper Wallace Jr.  They were able to briefly reconcile for the birth of their son, but unfortunately their reunion didn’t last forever.  

Just before the unfortunate ending of Biggie’s life, he had gone to California in part to try and end the East Coast/West Coast rivalry.   Later, on March 8, 1997, Biggie attended the Soul Train Awards.  He was sadly booed by the attendees who represented the West Coast.  He was so embarrassed that he walked off the stage and went to an after-party that was hosted by Qwest records and Vibe Magazine.  It was hosted at Peterson’s Automotive Museum in LA.  In the early hours of March 9th, Biggie was shot while sitting in an SUV at a stoplight by an unidentified individual who was driving a Chevy impala.  He was killed almost immediately.  When he died, he left behind not just his estranged wife, but 2 children, an already impressive music career and also a screenplay that he was apparently working on.  He also allegedly had plans to open a restaurant called “Big Poppa’s” which would be located in his old Brooklyn neighborhood and would serve the residents there 24 hours/day.  

A memorial was held for Biggie on March 18, 1997 in New York in Manhattan.  Thousands upon thousands of fans lined the streets in Brooklyn to watch the processional pass by. The highest concentration of people were standing near his former home.

Biggie’s Life After Death album was released March 25, 1997, just mere weeks after his passing. It has sold approximately 10 million copies.   This album was also incredibly well received, in fact many songs were nominated for grammys such as Hypnotize:  Poppa been smooth since days of Underoos

Never lose, never choose to, bruise crews who Do somethin' to us (come on), talk go through us (through us)  He was hoping to extend his reach with audiences with this album so he collaborated with artists like Lil’ Kim, Jay Z and Bone Thugs N’ Harmony.  Mo Money Mo Problems was also a huge hit and part of it’s appeal was because it mixed darker lyrics with more upbeat music, in this case, sampling Diana Ross’s classic song “Coming Out.”  Tunes such as these were played more frequently on the radio and appealed to a wider audience.  

Biggie was featured and referenced on several songs on Puff Daddy’s 1997 release - “No Way Out” including the classic song “I’ll be Missing You” which samples the timeless song by the Police - “Every breath you take.”  “I’ll be Missing You” won a grammy for best rap performance.  Coincidentally, “Mo Money, Mo Problems,” a song by Biggie was also nominated in this category.  My sister and I both graduated from a big high school outside of Chicago and we were required to have PE all 4 years of high school.  I was more than okay with this and my sister was pissed.  Anyhoo, one semester I got to take dance and we had to do a dance routine.  One of my classmates used Mo Money, Mo Problems to dance to and man that was an awesome song.  Still is.  

The Notorious BIG was truly larger than life and not just because he was over 6 feet tall and weighed over 400 pounds.  He had such a strong presence and had such unique and inspiring lyrics to his music. 

I am not even remotely an expert on hip hop or rap music, but as a pretty avid listener of this genre of music for the past 25 years or so, I think it’s hard to argue that Biggie’s lyrics were something that we had never heard before and will likely never hear ever again.  No one could write and perform quite like Biggie.  

I hope you have enjoyed this look back on the life, career and unfortunate passing of Christopher Wallace aka Biggie Smalls aka the Notorious BIG, one of the most admired and gifted rappers to ever create music.  In January of 2020 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and more recently, a documentary was released about his life on Netflix.  His gifts to the music world are thankfully still being celebrated. There is also an organization called the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation.  It’s focus is primarily on fundraising to help kids by acquiring educational materials like books and other learning equipment.  They organization has been working to rename a street in Brooklyn after Biggie. Also, Biggie’s son, Christopher Junior is also a rapper, like father, like son.  After the release of his two studio albums, Biggie has been featured on several compilation albums, a soundtrack, and 3 posthumous albums. For the past several years, May 21st has been dubbed “Big day” in Brooklyn, with fans coming out to celebrate the life and music of the Notorious BIG.  There is even a huge mural of him, I believe it’s about 3 stories high, located in Brooklyn on the corner of Bedford and Quincy streets.  It features Biggie with a serious look on his face, he is wearing a long gold chain and has a gold crown a top his head.

If you are enjoying the PCRP please rate the show on Apple Podcasts.  Please tell your family and friends about the show.  Find me on SM, instagram:  popcultureretrospective, TW@popcultureretro  I hope you will join me for my next show (not until May) where we will be discussing ____________________  Until then...be kind, be safe and hold on to your memories and I’ll leave you with a few more inspiring lines from Juicy:

You know very well

Who you are

Don't let 'em hold you down

Reach for the stars

You had a goal

But not that many

'Cause you're the only one

I'll give you good and plenty