The Notorius B.I.G. blasted his way onto the hip-hop scene with his platinum-selling album Ready To Die, and entered the mainstream public's eye in much the same way when he was murdered on the night of March 9, 1997 at twenty-four years of age. Until his death, B.I.G., (Christopher Wallace) was virtually unknown outside the world of hip-hop. But news of his death fueled intensive media coverage of an East Coast-West Coast rap war, rallied hip-hop artists from both coasts, and left two young children without a father.

Raised in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant as the son of a pre-school teacher, young honor-roll student Wallace dropped out of high school at the age of seventeen to sell crack. His career choice involved certain risks, not all of which paid off. One drug-exchange trip to North Carolina ended with him earning a nine-month stay behind bars.

After his release, Wallace borrowed a friend's four-track tape recorder and laid down some basic rap tracks in a basement. The tapes that he produced were passed around until they landed in the hands of Andre Harrell, president of Uptown Records, who was impressed with what he heard. Also at Uptown at the time was Sean Puffy Combs. When he left Uptown to form Bad Boy Records, B.I.G. went with him.Notorious BIG became the second artist to sign a contract with Bad Boy Records after which came Faith Evans (Biggie's wife), Total, 112 and Ma$e, The Lox and Black Rob and a few more upcoming hitmakers. B.I.G. first made a name for himself with a remix of Mary J. Blige's What's the 411? and a track on the Who's the Man? soundtrack.

It was Wallace's 1994 debut album Ready To Die that pushed him to the forefront of the hip-hop scene. The record quickly went platinum, and the Notorious B.I.G. was named Rapper of the Year at the 1995 Billboard Awards. Rolling Stone called the record the best rap debut since Ice Cube's Amerikkka's Most Wanted. The single Big Poppa landed him another nickname, and One More Chance was named Billboard's Rap Single of the Year.

B.I.G. kept extremely busy in the years between his two albums. He carried on a very public affair with Kim Jones, a.k.a. L'il Kim, and produced her debut album Hardcore. He also appeared on R. Kelly's debut album and shared studio time with the King of Pop himself, appearing on Michael Jackson's HIStory. Along with Sticky Fingers and M.C. Lyte, the portly rapper even played himself on an episode of the TV show New York Undercover.

All that ended in March of 1997 in Los Angeles. B.I.G. was on the West Coast for several events, doing advance press for his next release, Life After Death . . . 'Til Death Do Us Part. On March 9, he attended the Soul Train Music Awards and the party that followed. After the bash, B.I.G. was sitting in a G.M.C. Suburban on the street when he was shot several times by an unknown assailant. He died almost instantly.

There are many theories that are in the air about B.I.G.'s death. The most popular being that the incident was part of the East Coast-West Coast feud between rappers, and that B.I.G.'s murder was payback for the September killing of Tupac Shakur. There had been a buzz around L.A. that the local rap community was unhappy with the high-profile presence B.I.G. had taken on while on their turf, and that the Soul Train Awards appearance was the capper. Another theory gaining prominence is that the murderer was part of a gang that B.I.G. had hired to protect him on his West-coast trip, and that the banger felt he'd been short-changed by the rapper on a past deal. Although the official report reads that the shooting was a drive-by, some accounts say that a man approached the car, talked with B.I.G., and then shot him as he rolled down the window. To this point, no arrests have been made.

B.I.G.'s murder thrust the so-called "rap war" into the national spotlight and created a call for peace from all sides. Rappers from both coasts, including Snoop Doggy Dogg, Chuck D, and Doug E. Fresh attended a summit held by Louis Farrakhan in Chicago, pledging their support for a unity pact that would include a joint peace tour and an album. Puffy Combs was unable to attend but sent his support, as did Ice-T and Ice Cube. Cube also canceled two shows he had scheduled in L.A. out of respect for the slain rapper. "Stop the Gunfight," a single recorded several years ago that featured both Tupac and B.I.G. was released soon after, and Puffy Combs put together a tribute album that included a single with both B.I.G. and Faith Evans. May 14 was declared Notorious B.I.G. Day, with over two hundred radio stations nationwide playing the single, followed by a thirty-second moment of silence.

The Notorious B.I.G.'s public funeral, however, was anything but peaceful. Thousands flooded into his Brooklyn neighborhood to catch a glimpse of his hearse, jumping on cars and clashing with police; ten people were arrested. A private funeral held earlier was more cordial, with Queen Latifah and members of Public Enemy and Naughty by Nature in attendance. A week later, the double-CD Life After Death hit the streets, landing at the top of the charts, where it remained for three weeks.

Two years later in December 1999, Bad Boy CEO, Sean "Puffy" Combs released Notorious Big's second posthumous album Born Again. The Album consisted of some of the rapper's unreleased tracks with guest appearances from the likes of Redman, Method Man, Hot Boys, Nas, Black Rob, Ice Cube, K-ci and Jo-Jo and many others to mention. The Album features the hit singles Notorius B.I.G. and Dead Wrong. With this album Notorious BIG's legend lives on.