The Real Story Behind Biggie Smalls aka Notorious BIG: From Brooklyn Streets to Hip-Hop Legend

Biggie Smalls accomplished something extraordinary in his brief 24 years of life. The Brooklyn-born rapper, Christopher George Latore Wallace, sold over 28 million records in the United States alone, despite his tragically short career.

His influence on hip-hop reached legendary status. Rolling Stone magazine named him the “greatest rapper that ever lived,” and Billboard crowned him the greatest rapper of all time in 2015. His debut album “Ready to Die” became the life-blood of East Coast hip-hop and achieved quadruple platinum status. His posthumously released “Life After Death” climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

This hip-hop legend’s story unfolds from the streets of Brooklyn through his meteoric rise to fame. His groundbreaking albums, complex relationship with Tupac Shakur, and the mysterious circumstances of his death continue to captivate fans decades later.

The Early Years: Christopher Wallace Before Biggie Smalls

Christopher Wallace was born on May 21, 1972 at Brooklyn’s Cumberland Hospital, long before the world would know him as Biggie Smalls. The future hip-hop revolutionary started his life in modest surroundings, and his story captures both the struggles and creative spirit of Brooklyn during the 1970s and 80s.

Born in Brooklyn: Family Background and Childhood

Jamaican immigrants’ only child, Christopher grew up with his mother, Voletta Wallace, who worked as a preschool teacher. His father, Selwyn George Latore, worked as a welder and small-time politician but left the family when Christopher was just two. This forced Voletta to take two jobs to raise her son.

Christopher’s first home was what he would later call a “one-room shack” in Clinton Hill near Bedford-Stuyvesant. His apartment at 226 St. James Place between Gates Avenue and Fulton Street became a hip-hop landmark years later.

Christopher stood out at Quincy-Lexington Open Door Day Care Center—not just because of his size (he towered over other kids his age), but because of his sharp mind. His teacher, Melvin Blackman, saw him as “a brilliant kid” who could already read and write. Blackman also noticed the boy’s natural charm: “He used to talk the other kids out of their stuff. It was like charismatic. And he always did it on the sly”.

Education and First Exposure to Music

Catholic education marked the start of Christopher’s academic life. He attended St. Peter Claver Church in Brooklyn and graduated from its parish elementary school in 1982. His talent shone at Queen of All Saints Middle School, especially in English, where he collected several writing awards.

Westinghouse High School became his next stop after his mother’s decision to transfer him. The school had an impressive roster of future hip-hop legends like Jay-Z and Busta Rhymes. Though bright, Christopher developed what his mother described as a “smart-ass attitude” during these years.

His musical foundation came from various sources:

• Black artists like Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye shaped his sound
• His Jamaica visits exposed him to jazz, reggae, soul, and mento
• His teenage years drew him to hip-hop pioneers like Run-DMC and LL Cool J

Around age 10-11, Christopher started rapping with friends Sam Hubert and Mike Bynum. They created a group called the Techniques, and he became MC CWest. His childhood friend Donnell White remembered seeing “pages filled with lyrics” in Wallace’s notebooks, showing his early passion for music.

The Lure of Street Life in 1980s Brooklyn

Brooklyn back then looked nothing like today’s upscale neighborhoods. The crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s left its mark on the community. A friend introduced 12-year-old Christopher to marijuana dealing—his first step into the drug trade.

People started calling him “Big” as he grew larger, and his involvement in street life grew deeper. He hid his drug money on his apartment’s roof, keeping it secret from his mother until he turned 20.

Despite his honor roll status, he quit school at 16. A weapons charge in 1989 landed him five years of probation. He violated that probation the next year. North Carolina police later arrested him for dealing crack cocaine, and he spent nine months behind bars before posting bail.

Blackman watched sadly as his gifted student started selling drugs at Fulton Street and St. James Place. All the same, Christopher kept his love for rap alive through these rough years—a talent that ended up transforming both his life and music history.

From Drug Dealer to Aspiring Rapper

Christopher Wallace stood at a crossroads after spending nine months in jail. He chose to focus on his rap passion instead of going back to dealing drugs. This decision ended up reshaping hip-hop history.

The Microphone Murderer Demo Tape

In 1991, Wallace created his first demo tape “Microphone Murderer” with local DJ 50 Grand right after leaving prison. He didn’t have big career plans back then. “It was fun just hearing myself on tape over beats,” he said later.

The tape made its way to DJ Mister Cee, who had worked with Big Daddy Kane and the Juice Crew. He quickly spotted Wallace’s raw talent. Mister Cee became one of Wallace’s earliest supporters and shared the tape throughout the industry.

Things picked up speed when Mister Cee sent the tape to Matteo Capoluongo, an editor at The Source magazine. The magazine featured Wallace in its “Unsigned Hype” column in March 1992 – a space that showcased promising new rappers. This exposure gave him his first big break in music.

Meeting Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs

Sean “Puffy” Combs noticed the “Unsigned Hype” feature while working as an A&R executive at Uptown Records. He liked what he heard and set up a meeting with Wallace.

Combs shared this memory in a 2017 interview: “The first time I met B.I.G., I brought him to a soul food restaurant called Sylvia’s, uptown in Harlem”. Wallace was so nervous he couldn’t eat. “I realized that’s how big this moment was for him. This was really his dream. He couldn’t even eat. He just wanted for this to really happen and it happened. It was all a dream,” Combs explained.

Wallace’s quiet nervousness that day stood in stark contrast to his powerful presence on the mic. Combs saw his incredible potential and signed him to Uptown Records right away in March 1992.

The Life-Changing Record Deal

Wallace got his first professional recording experience on Heavy D & the Boyz’s track “A Buncha Niggas” from their album Blue Funk. This late 1992 studio session taught him valuable lessons.

Everything changed in 1993 when Uptown Records fired Combs. He took Wallace with him to his new venture, Bad Boy Records. Combs pushed Wallace to quit dealing drugs and put all his energy into music.

Wallace’s solo career kicked off when Combs needed a song for the hip-hop comedy Who’s the Man?. Brooklyn producer Easy Mo Bee helped create “Party and Bullshit,” Wallace’s first official single.

Work on his breakthrough debut album started in late 1992 at Capoluongo’s apartment. Under Combs’ guidance at Bad Boy Records, Christopher Wallace transformed from a drug dealer to Biggie Smalls, and finally to The Notorious B.I.G. – the name he used for his 1994 debut album Ready to Die.

This journey from street hustler to signed artist completely transformed Wallace’s path, laying the groundwork for his lasting effect on hip-hop culture and music history.

“Biggie Smalls wasn’t just a rapper from Brooklyn—he was Brooklyn personified. His flow moved with the confidence of Atlantic Avenue, his lyrics painted Bed-Stuy in vivid strokes, and his voice carried the weight of New York City’s concrete dreams. When he spoke of ‘going from negative to positive,’ he wasn’t just telling his story; he was narrating the hustle etched into every borough. Even in death, his presence looms larger than life over hip-hop’s skyline, a testament that true kings don’t need crowns when their words become immortal.”

Ready to Die: Biggie’s Rise to Hip-Hop Stardom

Biggie Smalls stepped into the studio during late 1993 to create what would become a milestone in hip-hop history. The pressure was intense – his mentor Puffy Combs was building a new label, and they both needed a breakthrough.

Creating a Groundbreaking Debut Album

Ready to Die evolved through two distinct recording phases. Early sessions produced raw tracks that showcased a hungry, higher-pitched Biggie with paranoid narratives. The 1994 sessions revealed his smoother, more confident vocal style. This contrast became the album’s strength that balanced dark, nihilistic content with radio-friendly hits.

The album’s concept stood out with its unique autobiographical approach. It opened with Biggie’s birth sounds set to Curtis Mayfield’s “Superfly” and ended with his death on the haunting track “Suicidal Thoughts”. Between these moments, Biggie painted vivid stories about street life, ambition, and the constant pull between success and struggle.

The production team read like hip-hop’s finest: Bad Boy founder Sean “Puffy” Combs, Easy Mo Bee, Chucky Thompson, DJ Premier, and Lord Finesse. Their combined talents created a sound that went together with Biggie’s storytelling mastery.

Chart Success and Critical Acclaim

Ready to Die hit gold status within two months of its September 13, 1994 release and later reached six-times platinum. Three massive singles drove the album’s commercial success:

• “Juicy” – reached #27 on Billboard Hot 100 and #14 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks
• “Big Poppa” – climbed to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned a Grammy nomination
• “One More Chance” – reached #2 on the charts

Critics saw the album’s greatness right away. Rolling Stone compared it to Ice Cube’s AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, calling it “the strongest solo rap debut” since that release. The album now sits ranked 22nd on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Revitalizing East Coast Hip-Hop

Ready to Die arrived at the time when West Coast gangsta rap ruled the mainstream. Biggie stood out from other East Coast artists who focused only on hardcore credentials by finding the sweet spot between street credibility and commercial appeal.

His blueprint mixed gritty street narratives with sample-driven, radio-friendly singles – a formula East Coast rappers would follow for years. Ready to Die helped bring hip-hop’s center of gravity back to New York. AllMusic called Biggie “the savior of East Coast hip hop“.

Christopher Wallace achieved in two years what others took a decade to accomplish. This groundbreaking debut made him the undisputed king of rap’s capital and the driving force behind East Coast hip-hop’s renaissance.

The Notorious Feud: Biggie and Tupac’s Relationship

A genuine friendship between two talented artists turned into one of music history’s most tragic rivalries. Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur became close friends after meeting in 1993. Their bond grew so strong that Tupac let Biggie crash on his couch during California visits.

From Friendship to Rivalry

Their connection started with pure mutual respect. “It was an intense, personal and beautiful friendship,” said Justin Tinsley, Biggie’s biographer. The two friends played cops and robbers in Tupac’s backyard and spent time together on the “Poetic Justice” set.

Life changed drastically on November 30, 1994. Tupac took five bullets in a Manhattan recording studio lobby where Biggie and Sean “Puffy” Combs were present. They denied any role, but Tupac believed they arranged the attack.

Things got worse after Biggie the rapper dropped “Who Shot Ya?”. Whatever Biggie said about the song not targeting Tupac, the timing raised eyebrows.

The East Coast vs. West Coast Battle

The personal beef grew into a full coastal war after Tupac joined Death Row Records. The label’s owner Suge Knight publicly disrespected Combs at the 1995 Source Awards.

News outlets added fuel to fire by sensationalizing the rivalry. They called it the “East Coast-West Coast beef”. The tension peaked when Tupac dropped the aggressive diss track “Hit ‘Em Up”. He made explosive claims about sleeping with Biggie’s wife Faith Evans—claims she strongly denied.

Impact on Biggie’s Life and Career

The feud ended up having devastating results. Tupac’s murder in September 1996 hit Biggie Smalls hard. “Biggie cried,” Tinsley shared. “He was like, ‘I always thought we were going to have a chance to reconnect'”.

Biggie tried to stop the coastal rivalry. He said: “We two individual people, we waged a coastal beef…I’ve got to be the one to try to flip it”. The story ended tragically. Just six months after Tupac’s death, Biggie took fatal bullets in Los Angeles on March 9, 1997.

Their deaths, linked to the rivalry they sparked, broke the hip-hop world and closed what many call rap’s golden era.

When Did Biggie Die: The Tragic End and Unsolved Murder

March 8, 1997 changed hip-hop forever. Christopher Wallace—known to millions as Biggie Smalls—was just 24 years old when he became the subject of one of music’s most notorious unsolved murders.

The Fatal Night in Los Angeles

Biggie the rapper tried to calm the East Coast-West Coast tension that many believed led to Tupac’s murder six months earlier. He attended the Soul Train Music Awards on March 7, where the crowd booed him on stage. The next night proved fatal when he decided to attend an industry party at the Petersen Automotive Museum.

The party started with positive vibes. Biggie celebrated with his crew, drinking champagne as his new single “Hypnotize” played on repeat. The good times ended when fire marshals shut down the event around 12:30 a.m. due to overcrowding.

His entourage left in three GMC Suburbans. Their vehicle stopped at a red light at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. A dark Chevy Impala pulled up next to them. The African American driver, dressed in a blue suit and bowtie, locked eyes with Biggie before firing multiple shots. Doctors pronounced Notorious B.I.G. dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center at 1:15 a.m. on March 9, 1997.

Investigation Controversies

Controversy plagued the investigation from the start. A judge revealed in 2005 that the LAPD had hidden “a massive amount of evidence” that could link corrupt officers to the killing. Court records showed former LAPD officers David Mack and Rafael Perez might have had connections to Death Row Records and were possibly at the museum that night.

Theories and Unanswered Questions

Several theories emerged about who ordered the hit:

• Suge Knight might have orchestrated Biggie’s murder as revenge for Tupac’s death
• Corrupt LAPD officers with Death Row Records ties could have been involved
• The murder might have been another chapter in LA’s gang wars

The case remains unsolved despite FBI investigations and multiple reopenings. No one has ever been charged with Biggie’s murder—a tragic end to hip-hop’s golden era.

Conclusion

Biggie Smalls lived only 24 years, but his music still shapes hip-hop decades after his death. Raw talent and determination drove him from Brooklyn street hustler to one of music’s greatest storytellers. His first album “Ready to Die” brought commercial success and helped East Coast hip-hop regain its standing during West Coast’s peak years.

His life ended tragically during coastal rivalries, yet Biggie’s artistic legacy keeps molding hip-hop culture. His unique flow, vivid storytelling, and natural talent to connect street credibility with mainstream appeal created a path that today’s artists still follow.

His work showed how authentic storytelling and exceptional wordplay could reach audiences everywhere. Christopher Wallace’s career ended too soon with his unsolved murder, but his effect on music stands clear – proof of his rare talent and timeless music that still resonates today.

Street wisdom meets raw talent. Let these beats be your backbone through the grind — then make noise about what moved you.

FAQs

Q1. How did Christopher Wallace become Biggie Smalls? Christopher Wallace, born in Brooklyn, started as a drug dealer but transitioned to rap music. He created a demo tape that caught the attention of Sean “Puffy” Combs, leading to a record deal and his transformation into the iconic rapper Biggie Smalls.

Q2. What was Biggie’s impact on East Coast hip-hop? Biggie’s debut album “Ready to Die” revitalized East Coast hip-hop during a time of West Coast dominance. His unique blend of gritty street narratives and radio-friendly singles created a template that many East Coast rappers would follow, shifting the center of hip-hop back to New York.

Q3. How did Biggie’s relationship with Tupac Shakur evolve? Biggie and Tupac started as close friends, but their relationship deteriorated after Tupac was shot in 1994. This personal conflict escalated into the infamous East Coast-West Coast rivalry, tragically ending with both artists’ murders within six months of each other.

Q4. What happened on the night of Biggie’s death? On March 8, 1997, after attending an industry party in Los Angeles, Biggie was shot multiple times while sitting in a vehicle at a red light. He was pronounced dead early on March 9, 1997, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The case remains unsolved to this day.

Q5. Why is Biggie considered one of the greatest rappers of all time? Biggie’s exceptional storytelling ability, distinctive flow, and skill in balancing street credibility with mainstream appeal set him apart. Despite his short career, his influence on hip-hop culture has been long-lasting, with his work continuing to shape the genre decades after his death.