Christopher Wallace, better known as the Notorious B.I.G or “Biggie Smalls,” was on top of the rap game on the East Coast in the late 1990’s. Remember, Tupac Shakur was prince of the West Coast rap game at this time. The two were actually friends at one point, but we’ll get into that later.
Before he was “Biggie Smalls,” Christopher Wallace was referred to as “Big“ by his neighborhood, friends and family. ”Big“ was the street dealer who started selling drugs at age 12. He was the 17 year old who got arrested for a weapons possession charge that had him face five years of probation, who then violated that probation and served time in jail for it.
When “Big” got out of jail, he made his first demo and adopted the name “Biggie Smalls,” based on a gang leader in a movie from 1975 — not just a play on his childhood nickname. “The Source” magazine got a hold of that demo and put Biggie in their Unsigned Hype Column, ultimately starting the rapper’s career. After briefly trying out one record label, Biggie signed with Bad Boys Records and Sean “Diddy” Combs, putting him well on his way to the top.
Biggie and Tupac met at an L.A. house party. The two hit it off and participated in various activities together throughout the night. It’s said that Tupac, being already established in the rap game, gave Biggie a bottle of Hennessy that night as a gift, thus starting the two’s friendship. Although, some would argue that it was more of a mentorship — Biggie even asked Tupac to be his manager at one point, to which Pac declined and told Biggie to stay with Combs.
Neither rappers could have ever known that their paths crossing would end up in both of their deaths. In 1994, Tupac and Biggie were both scheduled to record with Little Shawn, another rapper, at Times Square’s Quad Recording Studios. But, while Tupac waited for the elevator with his team, the rapper was gunned down and shot five times. Tupac claimed Biggie had something to do with it, causing strife between the two. When Tupac joined Death Row Records and Suge Knight, the feud officially started.
Even though Biggie denied being a part of or even knowing about the shooting, he released a single called “Who Shot Ya?” a few months later. In response, Tupac released “Hit ‘Em Up.” The rappers went back and forth with digs at one another up until Tupac’s death, to which Biggie responded by wanting to end the coast-to-coast rap feud.
We know Tupac died in a drive by shooting in Las Vegas in September of 1996. Not even six months later, Biggie died from being shot at a red light. Weeks following his death, his album, ironically called “Life After Death” was released.
But here’s the catch, neither Tupac’s nor Biggie’s murder has been solved. Two public murders — of very famous individuals — are both unsolved. I’m not completely sure this is a coincidence.
We know at one point Tupac and Biggie were friends. If Tupac staged his death and is off in a foreign country, could Biggie be doing the same? I definitely think it could be possible. I feel as if the manner of both rappers deaths — a drive-by shooting — are too coincidental. But, Biggie would’ve had to have had a more complicated escape than Tupac. For one, when Biggie made it to the hospital after being shot four times, he was already in cardiac arrest. He reportedly died shortly after arriving.
So, if Biggie really did die that night, then who shot him? There are two popular theories, but both tie back to Tupac’s manager, Suge Knight. See, Knight was in the car the night Tupac was shot, leading to his death six days later. Knight was grazed with a bullet, but his injuries were not nearly as severe at Tupac’s. Some believe Knight shot Biggie as revenge.
Tupac believed Biggie tried to get him killed in Times Square. Wouldn’t it make sense that Biggie was behind the shooting that did take Tupac’s life? Maybe. Seemingly, this gave Knight a motive. The other theory is that Knight and Death Row Records hired a hitman to kill Biggie as, again, revenge.
Whether Knight could be proven guilty for Biggie’s death or not, he’s currently incarcerated for voluntary manslaughter in a hit and run from 2015.
Rumor has it … Suge Knight killed Biggie.
Lauren Reid is a senior at UT this year majoring in journalism. She can be reached at lreid9@vols.utk.edu.
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