Christopher George Latore Wallace, by the stage name of Notorious B.I.G or Biggie Smalls, was an American rapper. One of his most-known albums was “Life After Death,” which was released after his death. Biggie was indeed 24 years old when he was shot. But how? Where? When? By whom? There are several theories about the death of this young rapper. We will find out about the unexplained death of Notorious B.I.G.
Before going into the topic, we shall know a little about The Notorious B.I.G.
1. Christopher Wallace
1.1. His Early Life
Christopher George Latore Wallace, aka Biggie Smalls or notorious B.I.G, was born on the 21st of May 1972 and grew up near the poor Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. This soon-to-be rapper was born to Jamaican parents, Voletta Wallace and Selwyn George Latore. Biggie had been to many schools as a child and teenager. However, according to most of the sources, a major part of Biggie’s education was completed in Roman Catholic Schools. Even though Biggie excelled there, he induced his mother to send him to public school. But as time passed, Biggie dropped out of school and made money by selling cocaine.
1.2. Biggie’s Iconic Appearance
Notorious B.I.G. was known for his unique appearance. Despite being not so attractive, black-skinned, and having a crook in his eye, he had a charming persona. He weighed around 300 pounds and wore baggy clothes, which included an oversized t-shirt and jeans with his signature black leather jacket. He also wore flashy and expensive jewelry like large gold chains and diamond-stuffed watches.
Biggie also had a perceptible style for his hair and facial hair. He often had his hair in short twists and wore his beard and mustache neatly shortened.
Notorious B.I.G.’s appearance was a part of his endearing personality in the hip-hop culture.
1.3. The Young Rapper and His Career
Christopher Wallace started rapping when he was a teenager. He used to perform in the streets of his neighborhood called Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, for local crowds and also took part in rap battles.
Notorious B.I.G. is said to have had a rough childhood surrounded by drug dealers and addicts. As a result, Biggie was found selling drugs as a teenager. At the age of 17, Biggie was arrested for 9 months in the North Carolina Prison. After bailing out of jail, this young rapper started his journey in the hip-hop culture. He’s told to have performed with the crew, “Old Gold Brothers.”
Biggie made his debut with his new album “Ready To Die” in 1994, after Sean Combs, aka Puff Daddy, discovered this young rapper in 1992 and signed him to Combs’ newly formed label, “Bad Boy Records.” This new album was a commercial success and also helped popularize the hip-hop culture on the East Coast.
1.5. Biggie Smalls
The young rapper from Brooklyn had his stage name extracted from 2 sources. First, the word ‘Biggie’ came from his childhood nickname ‘Big,’ for being overweight while he was 10 years old, and the word ‘Smalls’ was a reference to a character called ‘Smalls’ in the movie ‘The Little Giants.’
But as time went by, Biggie learned that the name ‘Biggie Smalls’ was already being used by another artist. Therefore, to steer clear of any legal issues, he changed his name to The Notorious B.I.G, which stands for ‘Business Instead of Game.’
1.6. The Wallace Family
You might be wondering, Did Biggie Smalls have any wives? Did he have kids?
The answer is Yes. Biggie married an American singer, Faith Evans. It is said that on the eighth day of their meeting, they walked down the aisle. Then, in 1996, the couple had their first and only child together, Christopher Wallace Jr or Biggie Smalls Jr. Later, Biggie got to know about his other daughter, T’yanna Wallace, and Faith’s daughter, Chyna Tahjere Griffin, both from their previous relationships.
2. Tupac Shakur
2.1. Who Was Tupac Shakur?
Tupac Shakur, aka 2Pac, was an American rapper, actor, and activist born on the 16th of July, 1971. He rose to fame with his debut album, ‘2Pacalypse Now’. He was known for his socially oriented and powerful lyrics, which included topics like racism, violence, and poverty.
Tupac Shakur was one of the most famous and influential West Coast rappers despite being born in New York City and spending time on the East Coast. He was associated with the West Coast Rap collective Death Row Records.
He met Suge Knight, the co-founder of Death Row Records, while he was in prison and agreed to sign his label if Suge would post Shakur’s $1.3 million bail.
2.2. What was Tupac’s Relation with Notorious B.I.G?
As mentioned in The Rolling Stone podcast, Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G were so incredibly close that Tupac would have Biggie over at his house. 2Pac and Biggie both respected each other in their ways.
But their friendship started to deteriorate when Tupac was shot 3 times and robbed in 1994. He thought it was Biggie’s doing and highly accused him and his associates. With this, these two became the center of highly publicized rivalry, becoming entangled in violence.
2.3. Tupac’s Death
In 1995, Biggie released a diss track, ‘Who Shot Ya’, that had people in tension worldwide because the track was released just a few days after Tupac’s shootout incident took place. Eventually, Tupac thought the track was directed toward him, which raised the East Coast West Coast rivalry even more.
An unexpected incident threw Puff Daddy and Notorious B.I.G when 2Pac’s death was pronounced.
2.3.1. How Did He Die?
On 17th of September, 1996, at around 11 p.m. in Las Vegas, Shakur was shot four times, once in the arm and thigh and two times in the chest. At a red light, a white Cadillac pulled over beside Shakur’s car, shot him, and drove away. One of the bullets hit his right lung. Tupac was seated in the front passenger seat of his BMW Sedan. Suge Knight, the co-founder of Death Row Records, was with him during the incident. Suge was shot and injured as well.
2.3.2. When Did He Die?
Seeing Tupac’s limp body, Suge Knight drove him to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada. Shakur went into a coma and was put on life support. After 6 days of fighting for his life, Tupac was pronounced dead on the 13th of September, 1996, due to internal bleeding.
2.3.3. Who Killed Him?
Although there are no clear conclusions as to who killed Tupac, there are several theories.
A Former LAPD Detective, Greg Kading, investigated Tupac’s death through a special task force. After his 3 year analysis, it was said that Sean Combs hired members for $1 million to kill both Tupac and Suge Knight.
Even after all this, many believe that Tupac is still alive, and others believe that the government made a conspiracy to kill him.
3. Biggie’s Murder
Biggie was an American rapper who was killed in a Drive-by shooting in Los Angeles.
3.1. Where Did Biggie Die?
On the 9th of March, 1997, Biggie Smalls attended industry events and promoted his album in Los Angeles at the Petersen Automotive Museum. At 12:30 A.M., Wallace and his escort were leaving the ‘Vibe Magazine Party’ in three SUVs. Biggie stopped at the red light on Wilshire Boulevard. After 15 minutes, at Fairfax Avenue, A black Impala pulled up beside Biggie’s car, shot four bullets from the driver’s side window, and vanished into nowhere.
3.2. How Did Biggie Die?
That night in Los Angeles, Biggie and his entourage were at the after-party arranged by Quincy Jones and Vibe magazine at Petersen Automotive Museum in Miracle Mile. Combs admitted that he or his record label’s peers did not feel anything unusual around that area before Biggie Smalls’ murder took place.
After the party in Los Angeles, both Combs and Wallace traversed into 3 cars. The lead SUV was occupied by Puffy and his bodyguards while Biggie and his escorts took over the Suburban with securities provided in both. At the red light, Combs’ car went through, but Biggie’s car was stopped there, only for a Chevrolet Impala to pull up beside them, shooting four times, causing Biggie’s murder. Among the four people in the car, only Biggie was shot.
3.3. Who Killed Biggie? An Unsolved Mystery
According to several witnesses, the one who shot Biggie was a black male in a blue suit and a bowtie. After realizing it, Puffy ran across Wilshire Blvd to Wallace’s car and drove him to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. At around 01:15 A.M., Wallace’s death was proclaimed.
Therefore, an hour had passed into the 9th of March, and the death of The Notorious B.I.G was announced.
The former LAPD Lieutenant Sergio Robleto commented on how distant the robbery-homicide division of LAPD was in this case. He said that they were on the scene on that day, gone the next morning, and never showed up again. He mentioned that the robbery-homicide division had never acted this uninvolved in the past 30 years.
3.4. Russell Poole and His Investigation
The former LAPD Detective Russell Poole presented a theory through his investigation. He said that Suge Knight, the former CEO of West Coast record label Death Row Records, along with some corrupted LAPD cops, killed Biggie Smalls. It was suspected that Biggie’s death was a revenge killing of Suge Knight to avenge the murder of Death Row Records’ star artist, Tupac Shakur.
An earlier case led Russell Poole to the point that LAPD officers were on the payroll of the West Coast record label, Death Row Records, serving as security guards. David Mack was one of the LAPD officers who was on the payroll for Death Row Records. Suge Knight’s relation to David Mack is complex. This is because not only was the LAPD officer there that night at the party, but he also owned a Black Chevy Impala, identical to the one that was involved in the incident of Wallace’s death in Los Angeles.
David Mack was also known to be associated with a so-called hit man, Amir Muhammad, whom he knew back in college. Amir Muhammad happened to bizarrely match the description of Biggie’s shooter as well. This led Detective Poole to think that Suge Knight had hired Amir Muhammad to shoot The Notorious B.I.G.
But when LAPD Detective Russell Poole presented this case to his superiors, they weirdly denied all that, saying that they wouldn’t go that way.
3.5. Attempts of Biggie’s Mother, Voletta Wallace, for Justice of Her Son’s Death
IN 2002, Biggie’s mother, Voletta Wallace, filed a wrongful death lawsuit, which gave rise to future investigation.
Investigators asked witness Gene Deal, Puffy’s former bodyguard, who said that on the night of the incident, he saw a man lurking outside around Puffy. Deal said that after the party, the man started walking north, where the black Impala would appear that day. After looking at some photographs, Gene Deal identified the man he saw that day. That man was Amir Muhammad.
This investigation also revealed many blunders steps by the lead investigator, Steve Katz, including his failure to analytically check David Mack’s black impala and his not interviewing Amir Muhammad. Katz also forgot to turn in 200 pages of the document hidden in his drawers at work. Those documents had major evidence and key testimony of the involvement of another LAPD officer in the murder of Biggie in detail.
As a result of the hidden Documentation, the judge declared a mistrial of the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Biggie’s mother.
Later, in 2007, Biggie’s wrongful death lawsuit was re-filed by Biggie’s mother and his ex-wife, Faith Evans, along with his son, Christopher Wallace Jr, and daughters, T’yanna Wallace and Chyna Tahjere Griffin. They continued to accuse the LAPD of a conspiracy, but the lawsuit was dismissed. And it only got worse from here.
3.6. Reopening of Biggie’s Wrongful Death Lawsuit
The case was reopened in 2011 when the FBI’s film was released, and it uncovered that Biggie was shot with a Gecko nine-millimeter armor-piercing ammunition. This ammunition was so rare that there were only two distributors of it in the United States. And this 9mm armor-piercing ammunition was found in one and only David Mack’s home.
Unfortunately, in 2015, Russell Poole died from a heart attack. This incident prevented any arrests from being made in connection with the murder case of Biggie. There was more than enough evidence to track Biggie’s killer, but the case officially remains unsolved.
Even so, there are still people who think that Biggie is still alive. Others think that the FBI killed both Biggie and Tupac to put an end to the East Coast West Coast rivalry.
3.7. Another Prevailing Theory of Biggie’s Murder
Some believe that it was Sean Combs who had killed The Notorious B.I.G.
The reason behind this was that Puffy was supposedly aware that he would gain a little more profit on the release of Biggie’s songs posthumously under Combs’ record label, Bad Boy Records. But there were rumors that Biggie was planning to leave Bad Boy Records before his murder. And it seemed odd, how Puffy was connected to both of the murders.
It was also weird that Sean Combs was connected to both of the murder cases. As a result, many people suspected him of killing Biggie.
3.8. The Notorious B.I.G’s Songs and Albums
Throughout his life, Biggie made 2 studio albums under the record label Bad Boy Records. His debut album was ‘Ready To Die’, which was released in 1994 under Combs’ record label. As for his second album, ‘Life After Death,’ it was supposed to be released on the 25th of March, 1997. But, just before that could happen, Biggie was shot on the 9th of March, and hence, Christopher George Latore Wallace was claimed to be dead.
He also released many singles that were commercial successes. His debut single was ‘Party and Bulls**t’ for the movie ‘Who’s the Man?’, which was released in 1993. Another song that’s worth mentioning is ‘Big Poppa’. This song was released as the second single in his debut album, Ready To Die. This song is known as one of the greatest hip-hop songs since it has a catchy chorus.
After Biggie’s death, His second album, released on 25th March 1997, was one of the greatest hits of all time.
Three posthumous albums were released between 1999-2014. The first album was ‘Born Again’, released on the 7th of December 1999 under Bad Boy Records. The second album, ‘Duets: The Final Chapter’ was released on the 20th of December, 2005. The last one to date, ‘The King & I’ with Faith Evans, was released on the 19th of May 2017.
It should also be noted that his Life After Death album got a re-issue. It contained all the unreleased tracks, remixes, and some bonus tracks.
Another album released in 2007 contained all the greatest hits of the Notorious B.I.G. and was called ‘Greatest Hits’.
4. Conclusion
The Unexplained Death of Notorious B.I.G and Tupac remains unsolved to this day despite finding pieces of evidence and testimonies. There were several theories and claims as to who killed 2Pac and Biggie, but no definite being was charged for both incidents.
However, in the case of Biggie, the proofs were a big deal, and the killer could have been identified if the FBI had wanted to. When Russell Poole presented his investigation, his superiors oddly denied it and told him that they would not go that way. If it wasn’t for Detective Poole, Biggie’s case couldn’t have gone this far.
Many still believe that both Biggie and 2Pac are still alive, and maybe they are living peacefully, reuniting their friendship. But we will never know.
Wherever they both might be, their fans will always be cheering for them.
Last Updated on by Ananya_Sreen