Christopher Wallace Popular Books

Christopher Wallace Biography & Facts

Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names The Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta rap, he is widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. Wallace became known for his distinctive laid-back lyrical delivery, offsetting the lyrics' often grim content. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, Wallace signed with Sean "Puffy" Combs' label Bad Boy Records as it launched in 1993, and gained exposure through features on several other artists' singles that year. His debut studio album Ready to Die (1994) was met with widespread critical acclaim and supported by his signature songs, "Juicy", "Big Poppa", and "One More Chance". The album made him the central figure in East Coast hip hop, and restored New York's visibility at a time when the West Coast hip hop scene was dominating the genre. "Big Poppa" earned a nomination for Best Solo Rap Performance at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards, while Wallace himself won Rap Artist of the Year at the 1995 Billboard Music Awards. That same year, he introduced and led his protégé group Junior M.A.F.I.A., which included Lil' Kim, to chart success with executive production on their debut album, Conspiracy (1995). During 1995, while recording his second album, Wallace became ensnarled in the escalating East Coast–West Coast hip hop feud. Following Tupac Shakur's murder in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in September 1996, speculations of involvement in Shakur's murder by criminal elements orbiting the Bad Boy circle circulated as a result of Shakur's public feud with Wallace. On March 9, 1997, six months after Shakur's murder, Wallace was murdered by an unidentified assailant in a drive-by shooting while visiting Los Angeles. Wallace's second album Life After Death, a double album, was released two weeks later. It debuted atop the Billboard 200, yielded two Billboard Hot 100-number one singles: "Hypnotize" and "Mo Money Mo Problems" (featuring Puff Daddy and Mase), and received diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). With two more posthumous albums released, Wallace has certified sales of over 28 million copies in the United States, including 21 million albums. Rolling Stone has called him the "greatest rapper that ever lived", and Billboard named him the greatest rapper of all time in 2016. The Source magazine named him the greatest rapper of all time in its 150th issue. In 2006, MTV ranked him at No. 3 on their list of The Greatest MCs of All Time, calling him possibly "the most skillful ever on the mic". In 2020, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Life and career 1972–1991: Early life Christopher George Latore Wallace was born at St. Mary's Hospital in the New York City borough of Brooklyn on May 21, 1972, the only child of Jamaican immigrant parents. His mother, Voletta Wallace, was a preschool teacher, while his father, Selwyn George Latore, was a welder and politician. His father left the family when Wallace was two years old, and his mother worked two jobs while raising him. Wallace grew up at 226 St. James Place in Brooklyn's Clinton Hill, near the border with Bedford-Stuyvesant. Raised a Jehovah's Witness, Wallace attended St Peter Claver Church in the borough, and excelled at Queen of All Saints Middle School, winning several awards as an English student. He was nicknamed "Big" because he was overweight by the age of 10. During childhood, Wallace struggled with depression, anxiety, and paranoia; such topics would become subject matter discussed in his lyrical content. Wallace claimed to have begun dealing drugs at about age 12. His mother, often at work, first learned of this during his adulthood. He began rapping as a teenager, entertaining people on the streets, and performed with local groups, the Old Gold Brothers as well as the Techniques. His earliest stage name was MC CWest. He also received tutelage in jazz from saxophonist Donald Harrison, who lived nearby. Wallace requested to transfer from Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Fort Greene to George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School in Downtown Brooklyn, which future rappers Jay-Z and Busta Rhymes were also attending. According to his mother, Wallace was still a good student but developed a "smart-ass" attitude at the new school. At age 17 in 1989, Wallace dropped out of high school and became more involved in crime. That same year in 1989, he was arrested on weapons charges in Brooklyn and sentenced to five years' probation. In 1990, he was arrested on a violation of his probation. A year later, Wallace was arrested in North Carolina for dealing crack cocaine. He spent nine months in jail before making bail. 1991–1994: Early career and first child After release from jail, Wallace made a demo tape, Microphone Murderer, while calling himself Biggie Smalls, alluding both to Calvin Lockhart's character in the 1975 film Let's Do It Again and to his own stature and obesity, 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) and 300 to 380 pounds (140 to 170 kg). The tape was produced by his first DJ Kevin “DJ 50 Grand” Griffin; 50 Grand died in 2022. Although Wallace reportedly lacked real ambition for the tape, local DJ Mister Cee, of Big Daddy Kane and Juice Crew association, discovered and promoted it; thus, it was heard by The Source rap magazine's editor in 1992. In March, The Source column "Unsigned Hype", dedicated to airing promising rappers, featured Wallace. He then spun the attention into a recording. Upon hearing the demo tape, Sean "Puffy" Combs, still with the A&R department of Uptown Records, arranged to meet Wallace. Promptly signed to Uptown on July 14, 1992, Wallace appeared on labelmates Heavy D & the Boyz's 1993 song "A Buncha Niggas". A year after Wallace's signing, Uptown fired Combs, who, a week later, launched Bad Boy Records. On August 8, 1993, Jan Jackson, Wallace's long-time girlfriend, gave birth to his first child, T'yanna, although the couple had parted by then. Himself a high-school dropout, Wallace promised his daughter "everything she wanted", reasoning that if only he had that in childhood, he would have graduated at the top of his class. Wallace continued dealing drugs, but Combs discovered this, and obliged him to stop. Later that year, Wallace gained exposure on a remix of Mary J. Blige's single "Real Love". Having found his moniker Biggie Smalls already claimed, he took a new one, holding for good, The Notorious B.I.G. Around this time, Wallace became friends with fellow rapper Tupac Shakur. Lil' Cease recalled the pair as close, often traveling together whenever they were not working. According to him, Wallace was a frequent guest at Shakur's home and they spent time together when Shakur was in California or Washington, D.C. Yukmouth, an Oakland emcee, claimed that Wallace's style was inspired by Shakur.... Discover the Christopher Wallace popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Christopher Wallace books.