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The Notorious B.I.G.

INTRODUCTION

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 and songwriter. Rooted in the New York rap scene and gangsta rap traditions, he is widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. During 1996, while recording his second album, Wallace became ensnarled in the escalating East Coast–West Coast hip hop feud. Following Tupac Shakur's death in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in September 1996, speculations of involvement by criminal elements orbiting the Bad Boy circle circulated. On March 9, 1997, while visiting Los Angeles, Wallace was murdered in a drive-by shooting. The assailant remains unidentified. Wallace's second album Life After Death, a double album, was released two weeks later, and reached number one on the Billboard 200. With two more posthumous albums released, Wallace has certified sales of over 28 million copies in the United States, including 21 million albums.

INDEX

Introduction

Index

Photo #1

Photo #2

Participant Account #1

Participant Account #2

Artifact #1

Artifact #2

Summary

PHOTO #1

Not long after Wallace’s death, The double album Life After Death was released March 25th. It sold 700,000 hard copies almost immediately, jumping from No. 176 to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in the space of a week. The album’s cover art featured the man formerly known as Biggie Smalls in a long black coat and black bowler. He stared us in the face while leaning against a hearse that bore the license plate “B.I.G.” There were no sunglasses to hide his lazy eye. He wore it full and proud, looking over his shoulder as if he already knew. He wasn’t smiling. But he wasn’t mad. He was just stating the facts from the other side of the grave.

Questions:

Do you think this album would have sold as many copies if he was still alive?

What do you think this album cover looked like before he died?

What do you think this album is about?

PHOTO #2

By 12:45 a.m., the streets were crowded with people leaving an after party. Wallace's truck stopped at a red light 50 yards (46 m) from the Petersen Automotive Museum, and a black Chevy Impala pulled up alongside it. The Impala's driver, an unidentified African-American man dressed in a blue suit and bow tie, rolled down his window, drew a 9 mm blue-steel pistol, and fired at Wallace's car. Four bullets hit Wallace and his entourage subsequently rushed him to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where doctors performed an emergency thoracotomy, but he was pronounced dead at 1:15 a.m.

Questions:

Do you think Christopher Wallace suspected someone coming after him?

What do you think the shooters reasoning for killing Christopher Wallace was?

What do you think Christopher Wallace’s last thoughts were?

Participant Account #1

Sullivan’s Dead Wrong: The Continuing Story of City of Lies, Corruption and Cover-Up in the Notorious B.I.G. Murder Investigation (Atlantic Monthly Press) was released, a new book charting the story of Wallace’s murder and the extreme lengths power brokers in the city of Los Angeles have gone to cover-up the full extent of the crime. Sullivan previously reported that former LAPD officer David Mack, working in connection with Death Row Records’ Suge Knight (rapper), was believed to be involved in arranging the murder of Christopher Wallace. The FBI’s investigation into David Mack’s involvement in the Biggie slaying was stymied by the fear potential cooperators had of Mack. Phil Carson visited Mack in federal prison and interviewed him in connection with the Wallace murder and its links to police corruption.

Questions:

Why do you think people were so afraid of David Mack?

Why do you think an LAPD officer would want to kill Christopher Wallace?

Do you think David Mack was involved with Christopher Wallace’s death?

Participant Account #2

Voletta Wallace is the mother of rap icon Christopher Wallace. Voletta Wallace, 64, told the Daily Mail she hurts ‘every single day’ knowing that she won’t see her son again and his murderer is still out there. She also says she, and the Los Angeles police detectives investigating his death, know who killed him, but a “conspiracy” is keeping the case from being solved.

Questions:

Who do you think Voletta is talking about in her statement?

Do you think Tupac’s and Christopher Wallace’s deaths had anything to do with each other?

What do you think this conspiracy involves?

Artifact #1

A plastic crown worn by the Notorious B.I.G. during the rapper’s “King of New York” photoshoot — originally purchased for $6 before the March 1997 photograph was taken — sold for $595,000 Tuesday night at Sotheby’s first-ever auction dedicated to hip-hop memorabilia.

Questions:

Do you think this crown would have sold for $595,000 if Christopher Wallace was still alive?

Who do you think would pay that much for a $6 crown?

What is this picture is supposed to depict?

Artifact #2

The 1997 Soul Train Music Awards was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on March 7, 1997. The show was hosted by Brandy, LL Cool J and Gladys Knight. It would be the final public appearance for The Notorious B.I.G., as he would be murdered two days after the ceremony.

Questions:

How do you think Christopher Wallace felt in this moment?

Where do you think his award is now?

What did Christopher Wallace win this award for?

Summary:

In conclusion, Two decades after his death at age 24, Notorious B.I.G.'s music continues to Hypnotize. Christopher Wallace will forever be remembered, in fact, A Netflix documentary Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell, executive-produced by Voletta Wallace and Combs, focuses on B.I.G.'s life before he rose to fame as "The King of New York," and features “unprecedented access granted by the Wallace estate.” has been released in his memory.

TEKS:

(8) Geography. The student understands how people adapt to and modify their environment. The student is expected to: (A) describe how and why people have adapted to and modified their environment in the United States such as the use of human resources to meet basic needs; and (B) analyze the positive and negative consequences of human modification of the environment in the United States.

(20) Culture. The student understands the relationship between the arts and the times during which they were created. The student is expected to: (B) explain how examples of art, music, and literature reflect the times during which they were created.

Sources:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/notorious-big-crown-auction-1060809/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Soul_Train_Music_Awards

https://theundefeated.com/features/notorious-big-life-after-death-album-cover/

https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/03/09/mom-of-notorious-b-i-g-says-she-knows-who-killed-her-son/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2017/03/09/tributes-to-notorious-big-biggie-smalls-20th-anniversary/98945220/

https://lithub.com/five-things-you-should-know-about-the-ongoing-investigation-into-biggie-smalls-murder/

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