The Notorious B.I.G.

**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, songwriter, and record producer. He is considered by many music enthusiasts to be one of the greatest rappers of all time.

Wallace became known for his distinctive laid-back lyrical delivery, offsetting the lyrics' often grim content. His music was often semi-autobiographical, telling of hardship and criminality, but also of debauchery and celebration. Both his death and the death of his friend/rival Tupac Shakur, who died in September 1996, are still unsolved.

The release of Wallace's first album Ready to Die in 1994 made him an East Coast hip hop icon. While recording his second album, Wallace was heavily involved in the East Coast/West Coast hip hop feud, through which record companies from both sides of the United States fostered a feud between New York-based and California-based artists.

He was killed by drive-by shooting in Los Angeles, California on March 9, 1997 at age 24.

## Early life

Christopher George Latore Wallace was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He was the only child of Jamaican parents Voletta Wallace (1947–2025)  and Selwyn George Latore (1933–1996). He excelled academically and received multiple awards in school for English.

He began selling drugs at the early age of 12. As a teenager, he began rhyming to entertain people on street corners and in neighborhood groups. He nicknamed himself "Biggie Smalls" after a gangster character in the 1975 crime comedy movie _Let's Do It Again_.

## Musical career

In 1991, he released a demo tape called _Microphone Murderer_. Sean Combs, a rapper and producer, heard Biggie's early songs. After Combs was fired from Uptown Records in 1993, he decided to sign Biggie to his record label, Bad Boy Records. In April 1993, his solo track, "Party and Bullshit", appeared on the soundtrack to the 1993 comedy movie Who's the Man?.

His first album _Ready to Die_ was released on September 13, 1994. It debuted at number 13 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum. The album featured 3 singles "Juicy", "Big Poppa", and "One More Chance". That same year, he was named "Best New Artist," "Best Live Performer" and "Lyricist of the Year_ by the Source. He won a Billboard Music Award for Rap Artist of the Year in 1995.

He rapped on Michael Jackson's 1995 single "This Time Around".

A few weeks after Wallace’s death, his second album, Life After Death, was released on March 25, 1997. It quickly rose to number one on the US album charts. The album featured 3 singles: "Hypnotize", "Mo Money Mo Problems", and "Sky’s the Limit." Wallace became the first artist to have two number-one hits after death (“Hypnotize” and “Mo Money Mo Problems”). Life After Death was nominated for 3 Grammy Awards in 1998.

His posthumous albums, Born Again (1999) and Duets (2005), became number one hits.

## Personal life

He was married to singer Faith Evans from 1994 until his assassination. He has two children T'yanna (born August 1993, from Jan Jackson) and Christopher George "C. J." Latore Wallace Jr. (born October 1996, from Evans).

## Killing

On March 7, 1997, Wallace attended the Soul Train Music Awards where he presented an award to singer Toni Braxton. The next day, he attended the after party for the Soul Train Music Awards at Petersen Automotive Museum. It was hosted by Qwest Records and Vibe magazine.

In the early hours of March 9, Wallace left the party to return to his hotel after the Los Angeles Fire Department closed the party early because of overcrowding. He was a passenger in a GMC Suburban, when at a traffic stop nearby, an unidentified black man in a 1994-96 Chevy Impala SS, stopped on the side of Wallace's SUV and fired four shots at the Suburban which hit Wallace's chest, killing him in an instant, although only one shot proved fatal.

As of 2026, his assassination remains unsolved.

### Studio albums

The Notorious B.I.G. released one studio album in his lifetime and three after his death:
|Year|Album|
| --- | --- |
|1994|_Ready to Die_|
|1997|_Life After Death_*|
|1999|_Born Again_*|
|2005|_Duets: The Final Chapter_*|

### Singles

|Year|Album|
| --- | --- |
|1994|_Juicy_|
|1995|_Big Poppa_|
|1995|_One More Chance (Stay with Me Remix)_|
|1997|_Hypnotize_|
|1997|_Mo Money Mo Problems_* <small>(feat. Puff Daddy & Mase)</small>|
|1997|_Sky's The Limit (song)_* <small>(feat. 112)</small>|
|1999|_Notorious B.I.G._* <small>(feat. Lil' Kim & Puff Daddy)</small>|
|2000|_Dead Wrong_* <small>(feat. Eminem)</small>|
|2005|_Nasty Girl_*|
|2006|_Spit Your Game_* <small>(feat. Twista, Krayzie Bone, Swizz Beatz, 8 Ball & MJG)</small>|

- (*) albums and songs were released posthumously (after death).

### Filmography

- _The Show_ (1995) as himself
- _Rhyme & Reason_ (1997 documentary) as himself
- _Biggie & Tupac_ (2002 documentary) archive footage
- _Tupac Resurrection_ (2004 documentary) archive footage
- _Notorious B.I.G. Bigger Than Life_ (2007 documentary) archive footage
- **'Notorious**' (2009) archive footage
- _All Eyez on Me_ (2017) archive footage
- _Quincy_ (2018 documentary) archive footage
- _Biggie: The Life of Notorious B.I.G._ (2017 documentary) archive footage
- _Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell_ (2021 documentary) archive footage

### Television appearances

- _New York Undercover_ (1995) as himself
- _Martin_ (1995) as himself
- _Who Shot Biggie & Tupac?_ (2017) archive footage
- _Unsolved'' (2018), played by Wavy Jones

## Awards and nominations

|scope="col"|Award|scope="col"|Year of ceremony|scope="col"|Nominee/work|scope="col"|Category|scope="col"|Result|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|rowspan="4"|The Source Hip-Hop Music Awards|1995|The Notorious B.I.G.|New Artist of the Year, Solo||||||
|The Notorious B.I.G.|Lyricist of the Year|||||||||
|The Notorious B.I.G.|Live Performer of the Year|||||||||
|_Ready To Die_|Album of the Year|||||||||
|rowspan="3"|_Billboard_ Music Awards https://www.billboardmusicawards.com/winners-database/?winnerKeyword=&winnerYear=1995&winnerCategory=(https://www.billboardmusicawards.com/winners-database/?winnerKeyword=&winnerYear=1995&winnerCategory=)https://www.billboardmusicawards.com/winners-database/?winnerKeyword=&winnerYear=1997&winnerCategory=(https://www.billboardmusicawards.com/winners-database/?winnerKeyword=&winnerYear=1997&winnerCategory=)|1995|The Notorious B.I.G.|Rap Artist of the Year||||||
|"One More Chance/Stay with Me (Remix)"|Rap Single of the Year|||||||||
|1997|_Life After Death_|R&B Album||||||||
|rowspan="4"|Grammy Awards http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1996/grammys.htm(http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1996/grammys.htm)http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1998/grammys.htm(http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1998/grammys.htm)|1996|"Big Poppa"|Best Rap Solo Performance||||||
|1998|"Hypnotize"|Best Rap Solo Performance||||||||
|"Mo Money Mo Problems"|Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group|||||||||
|_Life After Death_|Best Rap Album|||||||||
|rowspan="2"|MTV Video Music Awards http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1997/mtvvmas.htm(http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1997/mtvvmas.htm)http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1998/mtvvmas.htm(http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1998/mtvvmas.htm)|1997|"Hypnotize"|Best Rap Video||||||
|1998|"Mo Money Mo Problems"|Best Rap Video||||||||
|rowspan="4"|Soul Train Music Awards https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0005174/1996/1/(https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0005174/1996/1/)https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0005174/1998/1/(https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0005174/1998/1/)|1996|"One More Chance/Stay With Me (Remix)"|R&B/Soul or Rap Song of the Year||||||
|1998|_Life After Death_|Best R&B/Soul Album - Male||||||||
|_Life After Death_|R&B/Soul or Rap Album of the Year|||||||||
|"Mo Money Mo Problems"|Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video|||||||||
|rowspan="1"|Black Reel Awards https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000957/2004/1(https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000957/2004/1)|2004|"Runnin' (Dying to Live)" )|Best Original or Adapted Song||||||
|rowspan="3"|ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards|2005|"Runnin' (Dying to Live)" )|Top Soundtrack Song of the Year||||||
|2017|The Notorious B.I.G.|ASCAP Founders Award||||||||
|2020|"Sicko Mode"|Winning Rap and R&B/Hip-Hop Songs||||||||
|rowspan="1"|Rock and Roll Hall of Fame|2020|The Notorious B.I.G.|Performers||||||

## Other websites

- Notorious B.I.G at atlanticrecords.com

## Infobox (musical artist)

- **embed**: yes
- **past member of**: The Commission


## Infobox (person)

- **name**: The Notorious B.I.G.
- **image**: Bushwick Collective 01.jpg
- **birth name**: Christopher George Latore Wallace
- **birth place**: New York City, U.S.
- **death place**: Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- **death cause**: Murder by drive-by shooting
- **resting place**: Cremated, ashes given to family members
- **years active**: 1992–1997
- **partner**: Charli Baltimore (1995–1997)
- **children**: 2, including C. J. Wallace (actor), C. J.
- **awards**: #Awards and nominations, Full list