<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Notorious B.I.G.</span>

The Notorious B.I.G.

<p><b>Christopher George Latore Wallace</b> (May 21, 1972<span>&nbsp;</span>– March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names <b>the Notorious B.I.G.</b>, <b>Biggie Smalls</b>, or simply <b>Biggie</b>,<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-3"><a href="#cite_note-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[2]</span></a></span> was an American rapper. Rooted in <a href="/en/East_Coast_hip_hop" title="East Coast hip hop" class="wl">East Coast hip hop</a> and particularly <a href="/en/Gangsta_rap" title="Gangsta rap" class="wl">gangsta rap</a>, he is cited in various media lists as being one of the greatest rappers of all time. Wallace became known for his distinctive laid-back lyrical delivery, offsetting the lyrics' often <a href="/en/Hardcore_hip_hop" title="Hardcore hip hop" class="wl">grim content</a>. His music was often semi-autobiographical, telling of hardship and criminality, but also of debauchery and celebration.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-allmusic-rtd2_4-0"><a href="#cite_note-allmusic-rtd2-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[3]</span></a></span></p>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">American rapper (1972–1997)</div>
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<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1066479718" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles mw:Transclusion">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}</style><div class='mobile-collapse'><header class="mobile-collapse-header mobile-collapse-btn"><b>Quick facts: The Notorious B.I.G., Born, Died, Cause&nbsp;...</b> <span class='arrow'>▼</span></header> <table class="infobox biography vcard mobile-collapse-element"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above" style="font-size:125%;"><div class="fn" style="display:inline">The Notorious B.I.G.</div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span><a href="/en/File:The_Notorious_B.I.G.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:The_Notorious_B.I.G.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/51/The_Notorious_B.I.G.jpg/252px-The_Notorious_B.I.G.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="350" data-file-height="278" data-file-type="bitmap" height="200" width="252" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/51/The_Notorious_B.I.G.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/51/The_Notorious_B.I.G.jpg 2x" alt="The_Notorious_B.I.G.jpg"></a></span><div class="infobox-caption">Wallace in 1997</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Born</th><td class="infobox-data"><div style="display:inline" class="nickname">Christopher George Latore Wallace</div><br><span style="display:none">(<span class="bday">1972-05-21</span>)</span>May 21, 1972<br><div style="display:inline" class="birthplace">New York City, U.S.</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Died</th><td class="infobox-data">March 9, 1997<span style="display:none">(1997-03-09)</span> (aged<span>&nbsp;</span>24)<br><div style="display:inline" class="deathplace">Los Angeles, California, U.S.</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Cause<span>&nbsp;</span>of death</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Murder_of_the_Notorious_B.I.G." title="Murder of the Notorious B.I.G." class="wl">Drive-by homicide (gunshot wound)</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Other<span>&nbsp;</span>names</th><td class="infobox-data nickname"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><div class="hlist"><ul><li>Biggie Smalls</li><li>Biggie</li><li>Frank White</li><li>Big</li><li>Big Poppa</li><li>MC CWest</li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Occupations</th><td class="infobox-data role"><div class="hlist"><ul><li>Rapper</li><li>songwriter</li><li>record producer</li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Years<span>&nbsp;</span>active</th><td class="infobox-data">1992–1997</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Spouse</th><td class="infobox-data"><div style="display:inline;white-space:nowrap;"><div style="display:inline-block;line-height:normal;margin-top:1px;white-space:normal;"><a href="/en/Faith_Evans" title="Faith Evans" class="wl">Faith Evans</a></div>
   <div style="line-height:0;margin-bottom:-2px;"><span>​</span></div><span> </span><div style="display:inline-block;margin-bottom:1px;"><span>​</span></div><span>(</span><abbr about="#mwt43" typeof="mw:ExpandedAttrs" data-mw="{&quot;attribs&quot;:[[{&quot;txt&quot;:&quot;title&quot;},{&quot;html&quot;:&quot;<span typeof=\&quot;mw:Nowiki\&quot; data-parsoid=\&quot;{}\&quot;>married</span>&quot;}]]}">m.</abbr><span>&nbsp;</span>1994<span>;</span><span> </span><abbr about="#mwt44" typeof="mw:ExpandedAttrs" data-mw="{&quot;attribs&quot;:[[{&quot;txt&quot;:&quot;title&quot;},{&quot;html&quot;:&quot;<span typeof=\&quot;mw:Nowiki\&quot; data-parsoid=\&quot;{}\&quot;>separated</span>&quot;}]]}">sep.</abbr><span>&nbsp;</span>1996<span>)</span><wbr><span>​</span></div><span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-1"><a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[1]</span></a></span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Partner</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Charli_Baltimore" title="Charli Baltimore" class="wl">Charli Baltimore</a> (1995–1997)<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-2"><a href="#cite_note-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;" data-mw-group="lower-alpha"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[lower-alpha 1]</span></a></span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Children</th><td class="infobox-data">2, including <a href="/en/C._J._Wallace_(actor)" title="C. J. Wallace (actor)" class="wl">C. J.</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Awards</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="#Awards_and_nominations" target="_blank">Full list</a></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><b>Musical career</b></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Genres</th><td class="infobox-data"><div class="hlist"><ul><li><a href="/en/Hip_hop_music" title="Hip hop music" class="wl">Hip hop</a></li><li><a href="/en/Gangsta_rap" title="Gangsta rap" class="wl">gangsta rap</a></li><li><a href="/en/East_Coast_hip_hop" title="East Coast hip hop" class="wl">East Coast hip hop</a></li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Labels</th><td class="infobox-data"><div class="hlist ">
<ul><li><a href="/en/Atlantic_Records_Group" title="Atlantic Records Group" class="wl">Atlantic</a></li>
<li><a href="/en/Arista_Records" title="Arista Records" class="wl">Arista</a></li>
<li><a href="/en/Bad_Boy_Entertainment" title="Bad Boy Entertainment" class="mw-redirect wl">Bad Boy</a></li>
<li><a href="/en/Uptown_Records" title="Uptown Records" class="wl">Uptown</a></li></ul>

</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Formerly of</th><td class="infobox-data"><div class="hlist"><ul><li>The Commission</li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2">
<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Musical artist</div></td></tr></tbody></table> <footer class='mobile-collapse-footer mobile-collapse-btn'><b>Close</b> <span class='arrow'>▲</span></footer></div>

<p>Born and raised in <a href="/en/Brooklyn" title="Brooklyn" class="wl">Brooklyn</a>, New York City, Wallace signed to <a href="/en/Sean_Combs" title="Sean Combs" class="wl">Sean "Puffy" Combs</a>' label <a href="/en/Bad_Boy_Records" title="Bad Boy Records" class="wl">Bad Boy Records</a> as it launched in 1993, and gained exposure through features on several other artists' singles that year. His debut album <i><a href="/en/Ready_to_Die" title="Ready to Die" class="wl">Ready to Die</a></i> (1994) was met with widespread critical acclaim, and included his signature songs "<a href="/en/Juicy_(The_Notorious_B.I.G._song)" title="Juicy (The Notorious B.I.G. song)" class="wl">Juicy</a>" and "<a href="/en/Big_Poppa" title="Big Poppa" class="wl">Big Poppa</a>". The album made him the central figure in East Coast hip hop, and restored New York's visibility at a time when the <a href="/en/West_Coast_hip_hop" title="West Coast hip hop" class="wl">West Coast hip hop</a> scene was dominating hip hop music.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-allmusic2_5-0"><a href="#cite_note-allmusic2-5" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[4]</span></a></span> Wallace was awarded the 1995 <a href="/en/Billboard_Music_Award" title="Billboard Music Award" class="mw-redirect wl"><i>Billboard</i> Music Awards</a>' Rapper of the Year.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-:3_6-0"><a href="#cite_note-:3-6" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 5;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[5]</span></a></span> The following year, he led his protégé group <a href="/en/Junior_M.A.F.I.A." title="Junior M.A.F.I.A." class="wl">Junior M.A.F.I.A.</a>, a team of himself and longtime friends, including <a href="/en/Lil'_Kim" title="Lil' Kim" class="wl">Lil' Kim</a>, to chart success.</p>

<p>During 1996, while recording his second album, Wallace became ensnarled in the escalating <a href="/en/East_Coast–West_Coast_hip_hop_rivalry" title="East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry" class="wl">East Coast–West Coast hip hop feud</a>. Following <a href="/en/Tupac_Shakur" title="Tupac Shakur" class="wl">Tupac Shakur's</a> <a href="/en/Murder_of_Tupac_Shakur" title="Murder of Tupac Shakur" class="wl">murder</a> in a <a href="/en/Drive-by_shooting" title="Drive-by shooting" class="wl">drive-by shooting</a> 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 Wallace's public feud with Shakur. On March 9, 1997, six months after Shakur's murder, <a href="/en/Murder_of_the_Notorious_B.I.G." title="Murder of the Notorious B.I.G." class="wl">Wallace was murdered</a> by an unidentified assailant in a drive-by shooting while visiting Los Angeles. Wallace's second album <i><a href="/en/Life_After_Death" title="Life After Death" class="wl">Life After Death</a></i>, a double album, was released two weeks later. It reached number one on the <a href="/en/Billboard_200" title="Billboard 200" class="wl"><i>Billboard</i> 200</a>, and eventually achieved a <a href="/en/RIAA_certification" title="RIAA certification" class="wl">diamond</a> certification in the United States.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-7"><a href="#cite_note-7" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 6;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[6]</span></a></span></p>

<p>With two more posthumous albums released, Wallace has certified sales of over 28<span>&nbsp;</span>million copies in the United States,<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-8"><a href="#cite_note-8" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 7;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[7]</span></a></span> including 21 million albums.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-9"><a href="#cite_note-9" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 8;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[8]</span></a></span> <i><a href="/en/Rolling_Stone" title="Rolling Stone" class="wl">Rolling Stone</a></i> has called him the "greatest rapper that ever lived",<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-:02_10-0"><a href="#cite_note-:02-10" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 9;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[9]</span></a></span> and <i><a href="/en/Billboard_(magazine)" title="Billboard (magazine)" class="wl">Billboard</a></i> named him the greatest rapper of all time.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-billboard2_11-0"><a href="#cite_note-billboard2-11" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 10;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[10]</span></a></span> <i><a href="/en/The_Source" title="The Source" class="wl">The Source</a></i> magazine named him the greatest rapper of all time in its 150th issue. In 2006, <a href="/en/MTV" title="MTV" class="wl">MTV</a> ranked him at No. 3 on their list of <i>The Greatest MCs of All Time</i>, calling him possibly "the most skillful ever on the mic".<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-mtv_greatest_12-0"><a href="#cite_note-mtv_greatest-12" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 11;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[11]</span></a></span> In 2020, he was inducted into the <a href="/en/Rock_and_Roll_Hall_of_Fame" title="Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" class="wl">Rock and Roll Hall of Fame</a>.</p>



Christopher George Latore Wallace , better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, 