WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.379 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. We are here, as 00:00:02.379 --> 00:00:04.480 always, to take that stack of source material 00:00:04.480 --> 00:00:06.620 you've given us and really just break it all 00:00:06.620 --> 00:00:09.339 down into the most interesting, insightful, and 00:00:09.339 --> 00:00:12.439 just fascinating analysis we can. And today, 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:16.480 we are strapping in for a really deep descent 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:19.100 into the career of Christopher George Latour 00:00:19.100 --> 00:00:21.820 Wallace. A career that was, I mean, towering 00:00:21.820 --> 00:00:24.579 in its influence, but just so tragically short. 00:00:24.699 --> 00:00:27.940 And he's a figure known globally by, I mean... 00:00:28.379 --> 00:00:30.239 so many names, right? Biggie Smalls, Biggie. 00:00:30.460 --> 00:00:33.020 Fumitorius B -I -G, yeah. And then you have his 00:00:33.020 --> 00:00:35.960 aliases, Frank White, Big Papa. But to frame 00:00:35.960 --> 00:00:37.960 this deep dive correctly, you have to understand 00:00:37.960 --> 00:00:40.020 we're not just analyzing a rapper who is, you 00:00:40.020 --> 00:00:42.219 know, really successful. No, not at all. We're 00:00:42.219 --> 00:00:44.460 looking at a commercial and a cultural phenomenon. 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:47.259 A figure who, according to sources like Rolling 00:00:47.259 --> 00:00:49.840 Stone and Billboard, is often just crowned the 00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:51.979 greatest rapper of all time. And the staggering 00:00:51.979 --> 00:00:54.259 velocity of his success, that really defines 00:00:54.259 --> 00:00:56.039 the whole narrative we're about to unpack. We're 00:00:56.039 --> 00:00:58.640 talking about a core creative period. that spans, 00:00:58.659 --> 00:01:02.420 what, just five active years? Yeah. From 1992 00:01:02.420 --> 00:01:06.280 to 1997. It's an incredibly short window, and 00:01:06.280 --> 00:01:09.159 yet in that time, his certified U .S. sales go 00:01:09.159 --> 00:01:14.379 past 28 million copies. 28 million. With 21 million 00:01:14.379 --> 00:01:17.620 of those being just albums, that kind of commercial 00:01:17.620 --> 00:01:21.709 impact achieved so, so quickly. It's almost unprecedented. 00:01:22.170 --> 00:01:25.069 It really is. It speaks to the absolute vacuum 00:01:25.069 --> 00:01:27.530 he must have filled in the genre at that time 00:01:27.530 --> 00:01:30.549 and just the immediate magnetism of his storytelling. 00:01:30.849 --> 00:01:33.290 He's an enduring historical figure now, you know, 00:01:33.310 --> 00:01:36.409 officially cemented by his 2020 induction into 00:01:36.409 --> 00:01:39.349 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So our mission 00:01:39.349 --> 00:01:42.549 today is to trace the extreme, almost unbelievable 00:01:42.549 --> 00:01:45.890 contrasts in his journey. And there are so many. 00:01:45.989 --> 00:01:47.849 You have the honors student who becomes this 00:01:47.849 --> 00:01:50.170 hardened drug dealer. The artist who's credited 00:01:50.170 --> 00:01:52.849 with literally saving East Coast hip hop from 00:01:52.849 --> 00:01:54.849 becoming commercially irrelevant. And of course, 00:01:54.849 --> 00:01:56.930 the central figure in a feud that really defined 00:01:56.930 --> 00:01:59.930 and ultimately curtailed a whole generation of 00:01:59.930 --> 00:02:02.109 rap music. It's a journey that's just rooted 00:02:02.109 --> 00:02:04.189 in this idea of duality. And it starts right 00:02:04.189 --> 00:02:06.209 there in his childhood in Brooklyn. OK, let's 00:02:06.209 --> 00:02:09.199 unpack this. So, Christopher Wallace. He was 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:12.680 born on May 21st, 1972 in Brooklyn, New York 00:02:12.680 --> 00:02:15.460 City. His parents were Jamaican immigrants. His 00:02:15.460 --> 00:02:17.840 mother, Valetta Wallace, was a preschool teacher. 00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:21.020 Right. And his father, Selwyn George LaTorre, 00:02:21.180 --> 00:02:23.780 was a welder and, interestingly, a politician. 00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:26.939 But the critical piece here, and this shapes 00:02:26.939 --> 00:02:29.680 everything, is that his father left the family 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:31.919 when Wallace was barely three years old. And 00:02:31.919 --> 00:02:35.229 that absence meant his mother really became the 00:02:35.229 --> 00:02:37.669 defining, the stabilizing force in his life. 00:02:37.849 --> 00:02:40.650 She's raising him all alone, working two jobs 00:02:40.650 --> 00:02:42.509 to make it happen. And what's so striking when 00:02:42.509 --> 00:02:44.650 you look at the sources is this stark contrast. 00:02:45.330 --> 00:02:47.509 The contrast between the environment he's growing 00:02:47.509 --> 00:02:50.009 up in and the path he was, you know, intellectually 00:02:50.009 --> 00:02:52.270 prepared for. He was raised as a Jehovah's Witness. 00:02:52.509 --> 00:02:54.469 He went to St. Peter Claver Parish Elementary 00:02:54.469 --> 00:02:57.870 School, graduated in 1982, and he was genuinely 00:02:57.870 --> 00:03:00.800 good at school. He excelled. particularly in 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:02.800 English. It's so important to linger on that 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:05.099 fact. He excelled in English. He had this innate 00:03:05.099 --> 00:03:08.000 ability for language, for narrative, for structure. 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:10.280 The exact skills that would later define his 00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:13.969 mastery as an MC. Exactly. Yet this academic 00:03:13.969 --> 00:03:16.830 promise was in a constant battle with the realities 00:03:16.830 --> 00:03:19.490 of his environment. He grew up in Clinton Hill, 00:03:19.629 --> 00:03:21.750 right near the border of Bed Steedy. And the 00:03:21.750 --> 00:03:24.189 activities on Fulton Street back then, drug dealing, 00:03:24.509 --> 00:03:27.469 alcoholism, gambling, it was all just there. 00:03:27.689 --> 00:03:30.050 It was commonplace. It was visible. Right. If 00:03:30.050 --> 00:03:31.969 he had just followed that academic path, I mean, 00:03:31.990 --> 00:03:34.189 who knows what he might have become. But then 00:03:34.189 --> 00:03:37.229 the 1980s and early 90s, the crack epidemic. 00:03:38.219 --> 00:03:40.960 it provided a very different, a much faster and 00:03:40.960 --> 00:03:43.080 a much more lucrative path. And the sources confirm 00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:45.139 he started dealing marijuana when he was only 00:03:45.139 --> 00:03:48.120 around 12 years old. Twelve. That's just a devastating 00:03:48.120 --> 00:03:51.080 pivot point for a kid with so much academic potential. 00:03:51.419 --> 00:03:53.180 Well, it really speaks to the economics of the 00:03:53.180 --> 00:03:55.580 time, doesn't it? The street hustle offered a 00:03:55.580 --> 00:03:58.460 kind of stability, a kind of income stream that... 00:03:58.680 --> 00:04:00.759 you know, academic at that very moment just couldn't 00:04:00.759 --> 00:04:03.500 promise. And this leads us to the origin of his 00:04:03.500 --> 00:04:06.139 first and probably most enduring nickname. Yeah. 00:04:06.219 --> 00:04:09.180 He attended Westinghouse High School, which, 00:04:09.240 --> 00:04:11.680 incidentally, is the same school attended by 00:04:11.680 --> 00:04:14.879 other future legends. Jay -Z and Busta Rhymes 00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:18.019 were his classmates. Can you imagine? And because 00:04:18.019 --> 00:04:21.220 of his size, weighing about 91 kilograms or 201 00:04:21.220 --> 00:04:24.959 pounds, he was just big. That dual identity was 00:04:24.959 --> 00:04:27.240 just a constant part of his life. He's still 00:04:27.240 --> 00:04:29.959 living under his strict mother's roof, which 00:04:29.959 --> 00:04:33.040 forced him to engage in these elaborate ways 00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:35.360 to hide what he was doing. We know from the sources 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:37.800 that he hid the cash he earned from dealing on 00:04:37.800 --> 00:04:39.740 the roof of their apartment building. And she 00:04:39.740 --> 00:04:42.259 only found out about that, this massive secret, 00:04:42.420 --> 00:04:44.980 when he was 20 years old. That's the pressure 00:04:44.980 --> 00:04:47.319 cooker he was living in. The hustle demanded 00:04:47.319 --> 00:04:49.399 more and more of his time, more than school, 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:52.360 and that led him to drop out at 16 to deal full 00:04:52.360 --> 00:04:56.060 time. And that shift, well, it immediately introduced 00:04:56.060 --> 00:04:58.920 escalating legal stakes. Right. Let's detail 00:04:58.920 --> 00:05:00.959 that because it happened so fast. It started 00:05:00.959 --> 00:05:04.339 in 1989 with an arrest in Brooklyn on weapons 00:05:04.339 --> 00:05:06.779 charges. That got him five years of probation. 00:05:07.079 --> 00:05:09.199 Which is a pretty serious warning shot for a 00:05:09.199 --> 00:05:11.240 teenager. And he didn't listen to it. He violated 00:05:11.240 --> 00:05:13.680 that probation the very next year. And the real 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:17.019 consequence came in 1991. He was arrested in 00:05:17.019 --> 00:05:19.470 North Carolina for dealing crack cocaine. This 00:05:19.470 --> 00:05:21.389 wasn't a small thing. He served nine months in 00:05:21.389 --> 00:05:23.620 jail before he could even make bail. And the 00:05:23.620 --> 00:05:25.920 sources suggest that having served that time, 00:05:26.060 --> 00:05:28.600 the risk of going back to the street life just 00:05:28.600 --> 00:05:32.379 became too high. It added this genuine urgency 00:05:32.379 --> 00:05:35.759 to his pivot towards music. So just as the criminality 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:38.220 is peaking, his musical identity is starting 00:05:38.220 --> 00:05:40.480 to crystallize. What was he listening to? How 00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:42.740 did he even develop that voice? His foundation 00:05:42.740 --> 00:05:44.899 was incredibly broad. He was deeply influenced 00:05:44.899 --> 00:05:48.100 by soul and R &B, you know, Marvin Gaye, Stevie 00:05:48.100 --> 00:05:51.000 Wonder, Teddy Pendergrass. Which gave him a certain 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:52.879 sensitivity that I think sometimes... surprise 00:05:52.879 --> 00:05:55.800 people. It did. And he loved funk groups like 00:05:55.800 --> 00:05:58.560 Cool and the Gang, Parliament Funkadelic. Plus, 00:05:58.680 --> 00:06:01.019 his Jamaican heritage introduced him to jazz, 00:06:01.259 --> 00:06:03.860 reggae, mento. It was this perfect fusion of 00:06:03.860 --> 00:06:05.980 rhythm and lyrical introspection. He started 00:06:05.980 --> 00:06:08.720 rapping at first as MCC West in a group called 00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:11.139 The Techniques. He was working in the home studio 00:06:11.139 --> 00:06:13.769 of a saxophonist, Donald Harrison. But the more 00:06:13.769 --> 00:06:16.790 famous stage name he adopted was Biggie Smalls, 00:06:16.790 --> 00:06:18.970 which he borrowed from a character in that 1975 00:06:18.970 --> 00:06:22.129 film Let's Do It Again. So after he gets out 00:06:22.129 --> 00:06:25.269 of jail in 1991, he creates his first demo tape, 00:06:25.430 --> 00:06:28.670 Microphone Murderer, with DJ 50 Grand. And what's 00:06:28.670 --> 00:06:30.949 so fascinating is the sources tell us he had 00:06:30.949 --> 00:06:33.730 little ambition for this tape. He was still focused 00:06:33.730 --> 00:06:36.310 on the grind, maybe seeing rapping as just a 00:06:36.310 --> 00:06:39.149 side hustle. This tape wasn't his desperate bid 00:06:39.149 --> 00:06:42.050 for fame. It was just something he did. But sometimes 00:06:42.050 --> 00:06:45.170 that lack of desperation allows for pure authenticity. 00:06:45.970 --> 00:06:49.350 And here's where fate really steps in. A local 00:06:49.350 --> 00:06:52.389 DJ, Mr. C, gets a hold of the tape and starts 00:06:52.389 --> 00:06:54.629 promoting it heavily. This catches the eye of 00:06:54.629 --> 00:06:56.670 the Source magazine, which leads to him being 00:06:56.670 --> 00:06:58.889 featured in their prestigious unsigned hype section 00:06:58.889 --> 00:07:01.990 in March of 1992. And that Source feature was 00:07:01.990 --> 00:07:04.709 the literal launching pad. It was everything. 00:07:05.050 --> 00:07:08.069 Sean Combs, then a young A &R exec at Uptown 00:07:08.069 --> 00:07:10.230 Records, reads it and immediately arranges a 00:07:10.230 --> 00:07:13.149 meeting. Wallace signs with Uptown in March 1992. 00:07:13.610 --> 00:07:15.709 And that's the moment music becomes a legitimate, 00:07:15.810 --> 00:07:18.410 real business alternative to the streets. His 00:07:18.410 --> 00:07:20.589 initial exposure was so crucial for building 00:07:20.589 --> 00:07:23.379 credibility. He started doing these guest spots 00:07:23.379 --> 00:07:26.399 on remixes, most notably the remix of Mary J. 00:07:26.500 --> 00:07:28.639 Blige's Real Love. Which got him in front of 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:31.819 a huge established R &B audience. And then he 00:07:31.819 --> 00:07:34.439 landed his first solo track for Uptown in 1993, 00:07:35.060 --> 00:07:38.139 Party and Bullshit. And the sources referenced 00:07:38.139 --> 00:07:40.660 the influence of the last poets on that track. 00:07:40.839 --> 00:07:43.639 I think this is a crucial detail because it speaks 00:07:43.639 --> 00:07:45.939 to his lyrical sophistication. It really does. 00:07:46.040 --> 00:07:48.250 The last poets weren't... you know, your typical 00:07:48.250 --> 00:07:51.230 rap progenitors. They were a collective of poets 00:07:51.230 --> 00:07:54.029 and musicians from the late 60s who basically 00:07:54.029 --> 00:07:56.970 pioneered spoken word poetry over minimalist 00:07:56.970 --> 00:07:58.889 percussion. And they were focused so heavily 00:07:58.889 --> 00:08:01.350 on social commentary, black nationalism, revolutionary 00:08:01.350 --> 00:08:03.949 thought. So when Biggie says party and bullshit, 00:08:04.149 --> 00:08:07.170 it's not just a party track. He's filtering his 00:08:07.170 --> 00:08:09.269 narrative through this lens of profound social 00:08:09.269 --> 00:08:11.310 commentary that was established by that earlier 00:08:11.310 --> 00:08:14.029 movement. He's saying, I understand the historical 00:08:14.029 --> 00:08:16.149 weight of my voice. But his relationship with 00:08:16.149 --> 00:08:18.250 Uptown. gets violently interrupted, doesn't it? 00:08:18.310 --> 00:08:21.949 It does. In July 1993, Combs is famously fired 00:08:21.949 --> 00:08:25.189 by his mentor, Andre Harrell, from Uptown. This 00:08:25.189 --> 00:08:27.649 is completely chaotic moment because Combs lost 00:08:27.649 --> 00:08:29.709 access to all the debut tracks they had just 00:08:29.709 --> 00:08:31.850 recorded for Wallace. But Combs didn't miss a 00:08:31.850 --> 00:08:34.559 beat. He immediately launches Bad Boy Records, 00:08:34.759 --> 00:08:37.500 makes Wallace his flagship artist. And he had 00:08:37.500 --> 00:08:39.220 to be aggressive here, not just professionally, 00:08:39.259 --> 00:08:41.600 but personally, really pushing Wallace to permanently 00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:44.080 abandon the drug trade and trust the music career. 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:46.659 And this professional shift led to that final 00:08:46.659 --> 00:08:49.720 iconic name change. He couldn't keep using Biggie 00:08:49.720 --> 00:08:51.639 Smalls because the name was already taken legally. 00:08:51.899 --> 00:08:55.899 So he becomes the notorious B .I .G. And he defines 00:08:55.899 --> 00:09:00.230 B .I .G. as business. instead of game. That acronym 00:09:00.230 --> 00:09:02.870 is just incredibly loaded. It perfectly encapsulates 00:09:02.870 --> 00:09:05.029 his new worldview. It's not just some cool name. 00:09:05.149 --> 00:09:07.549 It's a mission statement. Right. It signifies 00:09:07.549 --> 00:09:10.610 leaving the emotional, the dangerous, the spontaneous 00:09:10.610 --> 00:09:14.190 street game for the calculated strategic world 00:09:14.190 --> 00:09:17.070 of major label business. And Combs had to prove 00:09:17.070 --> 00:09:19.870 that the business was serious. He struck a landmark 00:09:19.870 --> 00:09:22.789 deal with Clive Davis, the CEO of Arista Records, 00:09:23.049 --> 00:09:25.610 and secured a one and a half million dollar advance 00:09:25.610 --> 00:09:28.240 and creative control over his new label. And 00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:31.000 he then used that advance money to repurchase 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:33.279 all of Wallace's recorded masters from Harrell, 00:09:33.379 --> 00:09:35.639 which ensured the debut album could actually 00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:38.299 proceed. That one move cemented the partnership 00:09:38.299 --> 00:09:41.700 between the artist and the business mogul. But 00:09:41.700 --> 00:09:43.860 what's often overshadowed by all these professional 00:09:43.860 --> 00:09:47.120 fireworks is a personal anchor he gained right 00:09:47.120 --> 00:09:49.440 before this major transition. His daughter. The 00:09:49.440 --> 00:09:51.840 birth of his daughter, Tiana Dream Wallace, on 00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:54.840 August 8, 1993. And the sources reveal this was 00:09:54.840 --> 00:09:57.679 a completely transformative event. It links directly 00:09:57.679 --> 00:10:00.539 back to his earlier academic life. Wallace promised 00:10:00.539 --> 00:10:02.899 his daughter everything she wanted. He connected 00:10:02.899 --> 00:10:05.519 his drive for financial success to the unfulfilled 00:10:05.519 --> 00:10:07.539 potential he felt he'd wasted by dropping out 00:10:07.539 --> 00:10:09.480 of school. He didn't want Tiana to face that 00:10:09.480 --> 00:10:12.279 same lack of opportunity. And that pressure, 00:10:12.419 --> 00:10:15.139 that need to provide, it fueled the creation 00:10:15.139 --> 00:10:17.360 of one of the greatest debuts in hip -hop history. 00:10:17.710 --> 00:10:20.190 That immense pressure really culminated in the 00:10:20.190 --> 00:10:22.970 release of Ready to Die on September 13th, 1994. 00:10:23.590 --> 00:10:25.690 And to understand its impact, you really have 00:10:25.690 --> 00:10:28.529 to look at the landscape of 1994 hip hop. Absolutely. 00:10:28.789 --> 00:10:31.309 The genre had undergone this massive geographical 00:10:31.309 --> 00:10:35.730 shift. West Coast hip hop was just utterly dominating 00:10:35.730 --> 00:10:37.990 the U .S. charts. We're talking about the reign 00:10:37.990 --> 00:10:40.529 of death row records, the G -funk sound. It's 00:10:40.529 --> 00:10:42.970 characterized by those smooth, synthesized bass 00:10:42.970 --> 00:10:46.129 lines, P -funk samples and narratives often centered 00:10:46.129 --> 00:10:48.870 on California life, hedonism, gangsterism. And 00:10:48.870 --> 00:10:51.269 East Coast rap, particularly New York City sound, 00:10:51.549 --> 00:10:53.730 had become commercially muted in comparison. 00:10:54.009 --> 00:10:57.169 The sources explicitly credit Ready to Die as 00:10:57.169 --> 00:10:59.730 the force that restored East Coast hip hop's 00:10:59.730 --> 00:11:02.149 prominence. It was a declaration that New York 00:11:02.149 --> 00:11:04.549 still had the lyricists and the sound to compete. 00:11:05.019 --> 00:11:07.100 but the production itself was a calculated risk. 00:11:07.440 --> 00:11:10.100 Wallace wanted a sound that was bold, violent, 00:11:10.120 --> 00:11:12.460 and darkly humorous, a lot like the West Coast 00:11:12.460 --> 00:11:15.259 hits, but infused with a distinctly grittier, 00:11:15.279 --> 00:11:18.179 more complex East Coast lyrical approach. And 00:11:18.179 --> 00:11:20.659 you see the tension between the artistic vision 00:11:20.659 --> 00:11:22.940 and the business strategy playing out almost 00:11:22.940 --> 00:11:26.220 immediately. Wallace, for instance, he initially 00:11:26.220 --> 00:11:29.100 wanted to name the album The Teflon Dawn. Drawing 00:11:29.100 --> 00:11:32.279 inspiration from the mob boss, John Gotti. A 00:11:32.279 --> 00:11:34.980 title that emphasizes that calculated, untouchable 00:11:34.980 --> 00:11:37.840 nature of the hustler. Exactly. But Combs, ever 00:11:37.840 --> 00:11:41.179 the marketer, he vetoed it. He insisted on Ready 00:11:41.179 --> 00:11:43.980 to Die, a title designed for maximum emotional 00:11:43.980 --> 00:11:47.179 impact and, let's be honest, mass market shock 00:11:47.179 --> 00:11:50.200 value. And Wallace conceded. It highlights that 00:11:50.200 --> 00:11:52.639 early dynamic where the artistic vision was shaped, 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:55.779 but ultimately guided. by the commercial imperative 00:11:55.779 --> 00:11:58.039 of Bad Boy. And the disagreement over the lead 00:11:58.039 --> 00:12:00.399 single is equally telling. Wallace preferred 00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:03.000 the funky, upbeat track Machine Gun Funk. Which 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:05.179 really leans into that hard -edged persona. Right. 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:07.480 But Combs wanted something that would smoothly 00:12:07.480 --> 00:12:10.460 transition Biggie into that mainstream R &B audience 00:12:10.460 --> 00:12:12.639 that Uptown Records had already cultivated. And 00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:15.259 that strategic choice led to the release of that 00:12:15.259 --> 00:12:18.700 incredibly successful double A -side Juicy Unbelievable. 00:12:19.340 --> 00:12:21.860 Which Roof Combs was right. It hit number 27 00:12:21.860 --> 00:12:24.929 on the pop charts. Juicy. was the defining moment. 00:12:25.210 --> 00:12:28.629 It's this nostalgic, aspirational anthem that 00:12:28.629 --> 00:12:30.870 perfectly bridged the gap between the underground 00:12:30.870 --> 00:12:33.490 and the mainstream. That story of moving from 00:12:33.490 --> 00:12:36.169 welfare to private stock. The commercial triumph 00:12:36.169 --> 00:12:39.529 was just instantaneous and sustained. Ready to 00:12:39.529 --> 00:12:41.929 Die debuted strong, selling half a million copies 00:12:41.929 --> 00:12:44.250 in the first week. And it generated two other 00:12:44.250 --> 00:12:48.250 colossal singles. The platinum -selling, smoothness 00:12:48.250 --> 00:12:51.230 -defined Big Papa, which became a staple everywhere. 00:12:51.649 --> 00:12:54.779 And One More Chance. which sold a million copies 00:12:54.779 --> 00:12:58.200 in 1995 alone. The album eventually went four 00:12:58.200 --> 00:13:00.740 times platinum. So let's deepen the artistic 00:13:00.740 --> 00:13:03.220 analysis here. Wallace himself famously described 00:13:03.220 --> 00:13:06.139 the album as a big pie with each track representing 00:13:06.139 --> 00:13:08.539 a different slice of his life. And that concept 00:13:08.539 --> 00:13:10.419 allowed him to transition seamlessly between 00:13:10.419 --> 00:13:13.080 all these personas. the smooth player, the hard 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:16.240 hustler, the vulnerable man. Critics just devoured 00:13:16.240 --> 00:13:18.580 that duality. Rolling Stone praised the album 00:13:18.580 --> 00:13:20.759 for the contrast between its bleak street visions 00:13:20.759 --> 00:13:22.940 and these moments of high spirited fun. They 00:13:22.940 --> 00:13:25.179 argued it brought the pleasure principle back 00:13:25.179 --> 00:13:28.159 to hip hop. After years of really dense social 00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:31.419 commentary and abrasive sounds, Biggie made listening 00:13:31.419 --> 00:13:34.019 to rap fun again, even while talking about these 00:13:34.019 --> 00:13:36.679 grim realities. But the grim realities were always, 00:13:36.720 --> 00:13:39.379 always present. We know from the sources that 00:13:39.379 --> 00:13:42.019 Wallace admitted he felt broken depressed while 00:13:42.019 --> 00:13:44.440 making the album despite the massive advance 00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:46.919 and the ultimate display of his artistic honesty 00:13:46.919 --> 00:13:49.240 comes right at the very end of the record the 00:13:49.240 --> 00:13:53.240 closing track suicidal thoughts it's a devastating 00:13:53.240 --> 00:13:56.240 conclusion just a raw stripped down narrative 00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:58.980 that illustrates that threat of paranoia depression 00:13:58.980 --> 00:14:01.399 and self -destructive tendencies he admitted 00:14:01.399 --> 00:14:04.659 to feeling if the album's a pie That track is 00:14:04.659 --> 00:14:07.659 the sour aftertaste. It reminds you of the intense 00:14:07.659 --> 00:14:10.120 psychological cost of the life he was celebrating 00:14:10.120 --> 00:14:12.600 in the singles. It elevates the whole album from 00:14:12.600 --> 00:14:15.379 a commercial triumph to a complex tragedy. And 00:14:15.379 --> 00:14:18.019 concurrent with his explosive solo career, he 00:14:18.019 --> 00:14:20.460 immediately used his leverage to establish the 00:14:20.460 --> 00:14:23.740 group Junior M .A .F .I .A. in 1994. Which was 00:14:23.740 --> 00:14:25.600 made up of his childhood friends like Lil' Kim 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:28.120 and Lil' Cease. The name itself, it's a backronym 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:30.320 for Masters at Finding Intelligent Attitudes. 00:14:30.679 --> 00:14:34.039 It reflects that whole B .I .G. philosophy. The 00:14:34.039 --> 00:14:36.340 idea that the street crew was transitioning to 00:14:36.340 --> 00:14:38.960 a smart, savvy business operation. And their 00:14:38.960 --> 00:14:42.480 1995 debut album, Conspiracy, was a success. 00:14:42.779 --> 00:14:45.960 It went gold, and it spawned major hits like 00:14:45.960 --> 00:14:48.259 Players Anthem and the platinum -selling Get 00:14:48.259 --> 00:14:50.960 Money. Which became famous for its Battle of 00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:53.580 the Sexes dynamic, featuring Lil' Kim's breakout 00:14:53.580 --> 00:14:56.600 performance. So by the end of 1995, Wallace's 00:14:56.600 --> 00:14:59.960 dominance was just... He was the top -selling 00:14:59.960 --> 00:15:03.000 male solo artist and rapper on both the U .S. 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:06.200 pop and R &B charts. The level of crossover appeal 00:15:06.200 --> 00:15:08.820 was staggering. And the sources highlight his 00:15:08.820 --> 00:15:11.059 high -profile collaborations outside of hip -hop, 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:13.700 showing that his voice just transcended genre. 00:15:14.039 --> 00:15:16.220 The most surprising was his appearance on Michael 00:15:16.220 --> 00:15:19.200 Jackson's 1995 History Continues album. On the 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:21.259 song this time around. And this collaboration 00:15:21.259 --> 00:15:23.480 presents one of those genuinely complex historical 00:15:23.480 --> 00:15:25.659 nuggets that you have to look at closely. We 00:15:25.659 --> 00:15:27.559 have these conflicting recollections from that 00:15:27.559 --> 00:15:30.700 time. Lil Cease recalled that Wallace made him 00:15:30.700 --> 00:15:33.440 stay behind, saying he didn't trust Michael with 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:36.379 kids because of the serious 1993 allegations 00:15:36.379 --> 00:15:38.820 surrounding Jackson. Which sounds very much like 00:15:38.820 --> 00:15:41.279 a street -hardened, cynical perspective. But 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:44.539 then the recording engineer, John Van Nest, offered 00:15:44.539 --> 00:15:47.299 a radically different account. He recalled Wallace 00:15:47.299 --> 00:15:49.580 being so excited to meet Jackson that he was 00:15:49.580 --> 00:15:51.580 nearly brought to tears. So what does this conflict 00:15:51.580 --> 00:15:54.840 tell us? It reveals the complexity of his persona. 00:15:55.320 --> 00:15:57.799 He was operating in this intensely judgmental 00:15:57.799 --> 00:16:00.519 world, but also retained a fundamental awe for 00:16:00.519 --> 00:16:03.100 pop superstardom. He could project cynicism to 00:16:03.100 --> 00:16:05.700 his entourage while, you know. Maintaining this 00:16:05.700 --> 00:16:08.159 true reverence privately. It just underscores 00:16:08.159 --> 00:16:10.399 his status at that time. He was also collaborating 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:13.000 with Shaquille O 'Neal, R &B group's 112 total. 00:16:13.259 --> 00:16:15.460 The industry crowned him immediately. And it 00:16:15.460 --> 00:16:17.519 all culminated in a dominant performance at the 00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:21.000 1995 Source Awards. He just swept the major categories. 00:16:21.259 --> 00:16:24.220 Best New Artist, Lyricist of the Year, Live Performer, 00:16:24.220 --> 00:16:26.820 and Album of the Year. And that clean sweep was 00:16:26.820 --> 00:16:29.200 so crucial because the Source was the Bible of 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:31.779 hip -hop then. Its awards were a measure of critical 00:16:31.779 --> 00:16:35.309 street credibility, not just sales. So winning 00:16:35.309 --> 00:16:37.710 Lyricist of the Year proved his technical skill 00:16:37.710 --> 00:16:40.570 was recognized as the absolute best in the genre. 00:16:40.789 --> 00:16:43.590 He solidified his title as Rap Artist of the 00:16:43.590 --> 00:16:46.129 Year at the Billboard Awards as well. He was 00:16:46.129 --> 00:16:49.470 definitively the King of New York. And this meteoric 00:16:49.470 --> 00:16:52.049 rise immediately placed him at the center of 00:16:52.049 --> 00:16:54.490 the era's most tragic conflict. The foundation 00:16:54.490 --> 00:16:57.549 of the East Coast -West Coast rivalry was actually 00:16:57.549 --> 00:16:59.929 rooted in a very close friendship. Yes, between 00:16:59.929 --> 00:17:02.529 Wallace and Tupac Shakur. The sources confirmed 00:17:02.529 --> 00:17:05.609 they were very close around 93 and 94. They traveled 00:17:05.609 --> 00:17:07.829 together frequently. Lil' Cease's memories of 00:17:07.829 --> 00:17:09.869 their closeness are particularly vivid. There 00:17:09.869 --> 00:17:11.970 was genuine mutual respect there. Absolutely. 00:17:12.250 --> 00:17:15.430 Some people, like the Oakland MC Yuck Myth, believe 00:17:15.430 --> 00:17:18.210 Shakur even influenced Wallace's early lyrical 00:17:18.210 --> 00:17:20.950 style. They were two masters of narrative, and 00:17:20.950 --> 00:17:23.109 they initially bonded over their craft. That 00:17:23.109 --> 00:17:26.920 bond shattered in April 1995. While he was in 00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:29.759 prison, Tupac Shakur accused Combs, Harrell, 00:17:29.819 --> 00:17:32.039 and Wallace of having prior knowledge of that 00:17:32.039 --> 00:17:34.579 November 1994 robbery where he was shot five 00:17:34.579 --> 00:17:37.440 times. Right. In a recording studio lobby, he 00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:39.960 was robbed of thousands of dollars in jewelry. 00:17:40.359 --> 00:17:43.460 And Wallace vehemently denied this. He characterized 00:17:43.460 --> 00:17:46.279 his presence in the studio that night as just 00:17:46.279 --> 00:17:48.880 a coincidence. He felt betrayed that Shakur would 00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:52.779 so readily lean the blame on me. And this accusation, 00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:55.579 whether it was true or not, it turned a personal 00:17:55.579 --> 00:17:58.660 tragedy into a high stakes professional conflict 00:17:58.660 --> 00:18:01.440 that defined both of their final years. And what's 00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:03.299 fascinating and really important for the historical 00:18:03.299 --> 00:18:05.819 record is that the motive for that original robbery 00:18:05.819 --> 00:18:09.039 is still intensely debated. The sources mention 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:12.000 a 2012 confession by a convicted killer, Dexter 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:14.619 Isaac, who claimed the robbery was actually orchestrated 00:18:14.619 --> 00:18:17.140 by an executive, James Rosemont. Which adds so 00:18:17.140 --> 00:18:19.279 much complexity. It suggests the initial spark 00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:21.339 for the feud wasn't even a rivalry between the 00:18:21.339 --> 00:18:24.180 artists, but a separate, purely financial power 00:18:24.180 --> 00:18:26.640 play between executives. But that perception 00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:28.859 that Wallace was involved, it just persisted. 00:18:28.920 --> 00:18:31.059 So when Shakur was released and signed with Death 00:18:31.059 --> 00:18:34.299 Row Records in October 1995, Bad Boy and Death 00:18:34.299 --> 00:18:37.660 Row became direct, bitter business rivals. And 00:18:37.660 --> 00:18:39.420 it just dramatically raised the stakes of that 00:18:39.420 --> 00:18:41.640 geographical tension. The narrative around the 00:18:41.640 --> 00:18:44.059 shooting immediately focused on Wallace's music. 00:18:44.380 --> 00:18:47.240 His track, Who Shot Ya?, which was released in 00:18:47.240 --> 00:18:51.019 February 1995 as the B -side to Big Papa, was 00:18:51.019 --> 00:18:53.259 universally interpreted by the public and the 00:18:53.259 --> 00:18:56.359 media as a direct taunt towards Shakur. And this 00:18:56.359 --> 00:18:59.029 is where perception... Completely overrides whatever 00:18:59.029 --> 00:19:01.549 the intent was. Totally. Lil Cease maintained 00:19:01.549 --> 00:19:03.630 that the track was recorded before the shooting, 00:19:03.809 --> 00:19:06.410 that it was originally an intro for a Mary J. 00:19:06.490 --> 00:19:09.390 Blige album, but Wallace kept it because, quote, 00:19:09.569 --> 00:19:12.210 the shit was too hard. But in that escalating 00:19:12.210 --> 00:19:15.289 atmosphere of paranoia, that explanation just 00:19:15.289 --> 00:19:18.789 didn't matter. For Shakur and for the fans, the 00:19:18.789 --> 00:19:21.109 title was just too explicit to be a coincidence. 00:19:21.740 --> 00:19:24.200 The rivalry then peaked and became deeply personal 00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:27.619 in June 1996, when Shakur released the aggressively 00:19:27.619 --> 00:19:30.059 hostile diss track, Hit Em Up. And it didn't 00:19:30.059 --> 00:19:32.740 just target Wallace. It targeted Combs, junior 00:19:32.740 --> 00:19:35.819 MAFIA, and it specifically claimed he had an 00:19:35.819 --> 00:19:38.680 affair with Wallace's estranged wife, Faith Evans. 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:41.319 While also accusing Wallace of copying his entire 00:19:41.319 --> 00:19:43.319 style and image. It was a complete declaration 00:19:43.319 --> 00:19:47.160 of war. So faced with this highly public, deeply 00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:51.150 humiliating assault, what does Wallace do? He 00:19:51.150 --> 00:19:53.710 reverts to his core coping mechanism. He later 00:19:53.710 --> 00:19:55.650 explained that he always dealt with hardship, 00:19:55.769 --> 00:19:58.089 even back in elementary school, by using humor. 00:19:58.250 --> 00:20:00.650 He said, I got to make jokes about it. I can't 00:20:00.650 --> 00:20:02.970 be the guy running around all serious. Humor 00:20:02.970 --> 00:20:05.329 became his shield. And we see that play out lyrically 00:20:05.329 --> 00:20:08.529 on the Jay -Z duet Brooklyn's Finest. He drops 00:20:08.529 --> 00:20:11.670 that famous and highly technical line. If Faith 00:20:11.670 --> 00:20:13.869 has twins, she'll probably have two packs. Get 00:20:13.869 --> 00:20:16.609 it. Tupacs. It's an incredibly clever double 00:20:16.609 --> 00:20:19.450 entendre that acknowledges the accusation while 00:20:19.450 --> 00:20:22.210 just dismissing it through pure verbal dexterity. 00:20:22.250 --> 00:20:24.630 But while he was navigating this public firestorm, 00:20:24.849 --> 00:20:27.910 his personal life was in complete chaos. He had 00:20:27.910 --> 00:20:30.509 met and married the R &B singer Faith Evans very 00:20:30.509 --> 00:20:33.509 quickly back in August 1994 after only knowing 00:20:33.509 --> 00:20:35.289 her for two months. And they were separated by 00:20:35.289 --> 00:20:38.240 1996. During that separation, he had a high -profile 00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:40.680 affair with Lil' Kim, which resulted in a pregnancy 00:20:40.680 --> 00:20:43.619 and then an abortion. And he also began a relationship 00:20:43.619 --> 00:20:45.920 with Charlie Baltimore. The legal troubles also 00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:48.240 never really stopped, which just compounded the 00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:52.319 stress. In March 1996, he had a very public outburst, 00:20:52.500 --> 00:20:55.220 chasing and threatening two fans outside a Manhattan 00:20:55.220 --> 00:20:57.259 nightclub. Smashing the windows of their taxi. 00:20:57.630 --> 00:20:59.650 punching one of them. That incident resulted 00:20:59.650 --> 00:21:02.049 in him pleading guilty to second degree harassment 00:21:02.049 --> 00:21:05.029 and getting 100 hours of community service. And 00:21:05.029 --> 00:21:07.349 then later that same year, he's arrested again 00:21:07.349 --> 00:21:09.789 at his home in New Jersey on drug and weapons 00:21:09.789 --> 00:21:12.349 charges. He is constantly struggling with the 00:21:12.349 --> 00:21:15.190 remnants of his former life while trying to maintain 00:21:15.190 --> 00:21:18.509 this new superstardom. Then the ultimate tragedy 00:21:18.509 --> 00:21:21.029 struck. It solidified the deadly reputation of 00:21:21.029 --> 00:21:23.710 the feud. Tupac Shakur was shot on September 00:21:23.710 --> 00:21:28.029 7th, 1996, and he died six days later. And Wallace's 00:21:28.029 --> 00:21:30.529 reaction, according to Faith Evans, was immediate 00:21:30.529 --> 00:21:33.410 shock and intense fear. He called her genuinely 00:21:33.410 --> 00:21:35.670 distraught. He told her he never thought Shakur 00:21:35.670 --> 00:21:37.890 would actually die. He recalled saying he'll 00:21:37.890 --> 00:21:39.710 be out in the morning smoking some weed, drinking 00:21:39.710 --> 00:21:41.730 Hennessy or whatever. There was this deep -seated 00:21:41.730 --> 00:21:44.410 belief that they were both untouchable legends. 00:21:44.829 --> 00:21:48.269 But because of Shakur's public accusations, Wallace 00:21:48.269 --> 00:21:51.970 immediately fell under suspicion. This was heightened 00:21:51.970 --> 00:21:55.890 by a really controversial 2002 Los Angeles Times 00:21:55.890 --> 00:21:58.569 report that claimed Wallace had actually paid 00:21:58.569 --> 00:22:01.779 for the gun used in the shooting. And that specific 00:22:01.779 --> 00:22:04.859 claim created an intense backlash. The Wallace 00:22:04.859 --> 00:22:07.299 family quickly provided documents asserting what 00:22:07.299 --> 00:22:10.740 they said was an ironclad alibi that Wallace 00:22:10.740 --> 00:22:13.220 was recording the track Nasty Boy in New Jersey 00:22:13.220 --> 00:22:15.869 that night. But here's where that detail becomes 00:22:15.869 --> 00:22:18.690 inconclusive and just fuels more conspiracy theories. 00:22:18.869 --> 00:22:21.549 The New York Times later called those alibi documents 00:22:21.549 --> 00:22:24.450 inconclusive. Right. The recording engineer couldn't 00:22:24.450 --> 00:22:26.789 specifically recall the exact date of the session. 00:22:26.990 --> 00:22:28.849 He indicated that he probably would have heard 00:22:28.849 --> 00:22:30.549 about the shooting if it had happened that same 00:22:30.549 --> 00:22:32.890 night. So the key takeaway here isn't whether 00:22:32.890 --> 00:22:35.049 he was guilty or innocent. It's that the evidence 00:22:35.049 --> 00:22:37.549 surrounding his alibi was just ambiguous enough 00:22:37.549 --> 00:22:40.630 to fuel ongoing speculation. And that just increased 00:22:40.630 --> 00:22:43.700 his paranoia and public vulnerability. Amid all 00:22:43.700 --> 00:22:46.680 this psychological trauma and fear, he then suffers 00:22:46.680 --> 00:22:49.720 a severe physical injury. While recording his 00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:52.460 second album, Wallace and Lil Cease were arrested, 00:22:52.779 --> 00:22:55.400 which led to their car being repossessed. So 00:22:55.400 --> 00:22:58.700 they rented a Chevrolet Lumina SUV. Cease had 00:22:58.700 --> 00:23:01.299 warned Wallace about the faulty brakes, concerns 00:23:01.299 --> 00:23:03.440 that were validated when the car crashed heavily 00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:06.079 into a rail. That crash broke Wallace's left 00:23:06.079 --> 00:23:08.900 leg. He spent months in the hospital and was 00:23:08.900 --> 00:23:11.380 initially confined to a wheelchair. He had to 00:23:11.380 --> 00:23:13.640 rely on a cane for mobility right up until his 00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:16.039 death. But this life -altering trauma, though 00:23:16.039 --> 00:23:18.940 devastating, immediately became fodder for his 00:23:18.940 --> 00:23:21.740 art. Yes. He directly referenced the incident 00:23:21.740 --> 00:23:23.859 on the track Long Kiss Goodnight with the line, 00:23:24.019 --> 00:23:26.180 Y 'all still tickle me, I used to be as strong 00:23:26.180 --> 00:23:29.089 as Ripplebee till Lil Cease crippled me. It's 00:23:29.089 --> 00:23:31.950 a perfect example of his ability to just instantaneously 00:23:31.950 --> 00:23:35.230 internalize and then externalize profound personal 00:23:35.230 --> 00:23:38.009 suffering through these clever, complex lyrical 00:23:38.009 --> 00:23:39.970 structures. And despite the injuries and the 00:23:39.970 --> 00:23:42.650 chaos, his personal life did move forward. Faith 00:23:42.650 --> 00:23:44.769 Evans gave birth to their son, Christopher C 00:23:44.769 --> 00:23:48.630 .J. Wallace Jr., on October 29, 1996. Giving 00:23:48.630 --> 00:23:52.029 him one more major emotional anchor just months 00:23:52.029 --> 00:23:54.779 before his death. The 18 -month span recording 00:23:54.779 --> 00:23:57.819 What Would Become Life After Death really transformed 00:23:57.819 --> 00:24:01.039 Christopher Wallace as an artist. The title itself, 00:24:01.220 --> 00:24:04.680 it signals this massive thematic shift. He explained 00:24:04.680 --> 00:24:06.980 that he was moving away from the fuck the world, 00:24:07.079 --> 00:24:09.960 fuck my mom anger and frustration that characterized 00:24:09.960 --> 00:24:12.720 his debut. He claimed the new focus was on family 00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:15.559 and achieving peace of mind. But that thematic 00:24:15.559 --> 00:24:18.180 intention, it contrasts interestingly with the 00:24:18.180 --> 00:24:21.319 final product's presentation. Yeah, XXL Mag observed 00:24:21.319 --> 00:24:24.980 that he revamped his image. He transformed from 00:24:24.980 --> 00:24:27.039 the vulnerable, sometimes remorseful mid -level 00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:29.700 hustler of Ready to Die into a calculated, almost 00:24:29.700 --> 00:24:32.759 mythological drug lord figure on his second album. 00:24:32.900 --> 00:24:35.619 And that new, deeper persona, it matched his 00:24:35.619 --> 00:24:37.980 voice, which critics noted had become even lower 00:24:37.980 --> 00:24:40.619 and more commanding. His vocal mastery is something 00:24:40.619 --> 00:24:42.940 we really have to spend time on. He possessed 00:24:42.940 --> 00:24:45.460 this powerful baritone delivery, which Rolling 00:24:45.460 --> 00:24:48.319 Stone described as a thick jaunty grumble what 00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:50.980 made his delivery so singular was his incredible 00:24:50.980 --> 00:24:54.319 technical precision time magazine specifically 00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:57.940 highlighted his ability to smoothly deliver multi 00:24:57.940 --> 00:25:01.160 -syllabic rhymes a hallmark of complexity while 00:25:01.160 --> 00:25:03.900 maintaining a conversational fluid rhythm which 00:25:03.900 --> 00:25:05.559 is why his lyrics never sounded like he was just 00:25:05.559 --> 00:25:07.599 reading off a page and that's because he often 00:25:07.599 --> 00:25:10.500 wasn't the sources confirm he famously composed 00:25:10.500 --> 00:25:13.809 his lyrics almost entirely in his head He relied 00:25:13.809 --> 00:25:16.730 on intense concentration to craft complex rhyme 00:25:16.730 --> 00:25:18.970 schemes before ever committing them to paper. 00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:22.460 And that method lends his tracks a unique spontaneity 00:25:22.460 --> 00:25:26.180 and effortlessness. His sonic signatures were 00:25:26.180 --> 00:25:29.200 instantly recognizable, too. We know Sean Combs' 00:25:29.200 --> 00:25:31.759 enthusiastic ad -libs were frequently integrated 00:25:31.759 --> 00:25:34.339 into his tracks, but Wallace also employed his 00:25:34.339 --> 00:25:36.759 own distinctive vocal cues. That signature drawn 00:25:36.759 --> 00:25:39.579 out at the start of tracks like Hypnotize and 00:25:39.579 --> 00:25:41.680 Big Papa. Exactly. And those weren't just filler. 00:25:41.779 --> 00:25:43.660 They acted as a kind of musical punctuation, 00:25:43.720 --> 00:25:46.869 framing his verses. He was a true musical chameleon, 00:25:46.869 --> 00:25:49.670 adapting his flow to fit any production or collaborator. 00:25:49.930 --> 00:25:53.990 Big Daddy Kane, a lyricism titan himself, noted 00:25:53.990 --> 00:25:56.490 that Wallace didn't rely on an extensive vocabulary, 00:25:56.630 --> 00:25:59.430 but he just put his words together a slick way 00:25:59.430 --> 00:26:01.670 and it worked well for him. And you see that 00:26:01.670 --> 00:26:03.349 flexibility in his choice of collaborations, 00:26:03.589 --> 00:26:06.630 too. He famously used a slow falsetto on the 00:26:06.630 --> 00:26:09.599 track Playa Hater. showing melodic range. And 00:26:09.599 --> 00:26:12.859 then on Notorious Thugs, he successfully adopted 00:26:12.859 --> 00:26:16.119 that rapid fire, choppy, triple time rhyme flow 00:26:16.119 --> 00:26:18.880 of Bone Thugs in Harmony. Proving he could master 00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:21.339 any stylistic challenge presented to him. The 00:26:21.339 --> 00:26:23.619 album development finally concluded in January 00:26:23.619 --> 00:26:27.519 1997. It was scheduled for a major March 25 release. 00:26:27.839 --> 00:26:30.259 He headed to California in February for a crucial 00:26:30.259 --> 00:26:32.900 promotional push. The massive scale of his comeback 00:26:32.900 --> 00:26:35.619 was symbolized by that $700 ,000 video shoot 00:26:35.619 --> 00:26:38.019 for the lead single, Hypnotize, which came out 00:26:38.019 --> 00:26:41.140 on March 4, 1997. It was an extravagant, unambiguous 00:26:41.140 --> 00:26:43.500 statement that the king was back. He also recorded 00:26:43.500 --> 00:26:46.019 his final vocal appearances for Combe's upcoming 00:26:46.019 --> 00:26:49.180 album, which was initially titled Hell Up in 00:26:49.180 --> 00:26:52.720 Harlem. It was quickly retitled No Way Out after 00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:55.460 what happened next. Wallace was operating at 00:26:55.460 --> 00:26:58.359 the absolute peak of his global influence. And 00:26:58.359 --> 00:27:01.160 then... The music world received a devastating, 00:27:01.420 --> 00:27:04.000 shocking blow. The murder occurred late Sunday 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:07.359 night, March 9, 1997, in Los Angeles, California. 00:27:07.759 --> 00:27:10.539 Wallace was in town for the 11th Annual Soul 00:27:10.539 --> 00:27:13.119 Train Music Awards. And he was attending a high 00:27:13.119 --> 00:27:15.480 -profile after -party hosted by Vibe Magazine 00:27:15.480 --> 00:27:18.059 and Quest Records at the Peterson Automotive 00:27:18.059 --> 00:27:20.680 Museum. The sources detailed the chaos just before 00:27:20.680 --> 00:27:23.529 the event. The venue was massively overcrowded 00:27:23.529 --> 00:27:26.230 with over 2 ,000 guests, which forced the fire 00:27:26.230 --> 00:27:28.890 marshals to shut the party down at 12 .35 a .m. 00:27:28.970 --> 00:27:31.329 This spontaneous closure pushed a huge number 00:27:31.329 --> 00:27:33.630 of high -profile attendees, including Wallace, 00:27:33.829 --> 00:27:35.849 out onto the surrounding streets all at once. 00:27:35.990 --> 00:27:38.089 Wallace left the museum around 12 .40 a .m., 00:27:38.089 --> 00:27:40.190 traveling in the front passenger seat of a rented 00:27:40.190 --> 00:27:42.549 Chevrolet Suburban. He was with his associates 00:27:42.549 --> 00:27:45.369 Damien D. Rock Butler and Lil' Cease. Sean Combs 00:27:45.369 --> 00:27:47.029 was traveling in a separate Suburban ahead of 00:27:47.029 --> 00:27:49.230 them, guarded by two off -duty police officers. 00:27:49.690 --> 00:27:51.690 As Wallace's Suburban stopped at a red light 00:27:51.690 --> 00:27:55.470 less than 50 yards from the museum, a black 1994 00:27:55.470 --> 00:27:59.950 -96 Chevrolet Impala SS pulled up alongside his 00:27:59.950 --> 00:28:02.269 car. And the lack of witnesses who could identify 00:28:02.269 --> 00:28:04.210 the assailant is still central to the mystery. 00:28:04.470 --> 00:28:07.630 The sources describe the gunman only as an unidentified 00:28:07.630 --> 00:28:10.470 African -American man in a very specific outfit. 00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:14.099 A blue suit and a bow tie. The assailant rolled 00:28:14.099 --> 00:28:17.299 down his window, drew a 9mm blue steel pistol, 00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:21.039 and just fired into Wallace's vehicle. Wallace 00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:23.220 was struck by four bullets. His entourage rushed 00:28:23.220 --> 00:28:25.400 him immediately to Cedars -Sinai Medical Center. 00:28:25.519 --> 00:28:27.599 He was pronounced dead at 1 .15 a .m. He was 00:28:27.599 --> 00:28:29.759 just 24 years old. And for those interested in 00:28:29.759 --> 00:28:32.200 the painful details, the autopsy report, which 00:28:32.200 --> 00:28:34.900 was released 15 years later, it provided a crucial 00:28:34.900 --> 00:28:37.619 clarification. Only the final of the four shots 00:28:37.619 --> 00:28:40.059 was actually fatal. That bullet struck his right 00:28:40.059 --> 00:28:42.240 hip and caused just devastating internal injuries. 00:28:42.259 --> 00:28:44.279 It damaged his colon, his liver, his heart and 00:28:44.279 --> 00:28:45.960 his left lung before lodging in his shoulder. 00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:48.640 He died from massive internal hemorrhaging. The 00:28:48.640 --> 00:28:51.099 loss was just felt so deeply across the entire 00:28:51.099 --> 00:28:53.519 industry. His funeral was held in Manhattan on 00:28:53.519 --> 00:28:57.079 March 18, attended by over 350 mourners. Figures 00:28:57.079 --> 00:29:01.059 like Queen Latifah. Lil' Kim, Run DMC, Clive 00:29:01.059 --> 00:29:03.779 Davis. They were all there. After the ceremony, 00:29:04.039 --> 00:29:06.519 his body was cremated at the Fresh Pond Crematory 00:29:06.519 --> 00:29:09.160 in Queens. The reaction to his death transformed 00:29:09.160 --> 00:29:12.460 his final work, Life After Death, into this monumental 00:29:12.460 --> 00:29:16.079 cultural moment. It was released just 16 days 00:29:16.079 --> 00:29:20.299 after his murder on March 25, 1997. And it debuted 00:29:20.299 --> 00:29:23.009 at number one on the Billboard 200. This was 00:29:23.009 --> 00:29:25.650 just unprecedented success tied so tragically 00:29:25.650 --> 00:29:28.089 to his death. It quickly achieved four times 00:29:28.089 --> 00:29:30.750 platinum certification. And at the time, it tied 00:29:30.750 --> 00:29:34.009 with MC Hammer's 1990 smash Please Hammer Don't 00:29:34.009 --> 00:29:35.710 Hurt Him as one of the best selling rap albums 00:29:35.710 --> 00:29:38.069 ever. The public reaction was one of mourning 00:29:38.069 --> 00:29:40.490 combined with his intense cultural consumption. 00:29:40.730 --> 00:29:43.349 And his posthumous chart dominance was equally 00:29:43.349 --> 00:29:45.650 stunning. Wallace became the first artist in 00:29:45.650 --> 00:29:48.029 history to achieve two posthumous number one 00:29:48.029 --> 00:29:51.069 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Pivotize and 00:29:51.069 --> 00:29:53.849 Money Mo Prop. Which meant that even after his 00:29:53.849 --> 00:29:56.190 death, his music defined the sound of the summer 00:29:56.190 --> 00:29:59.369 of 1997. And Sean Combs made sure Wallace's memory 00:29:59.369 --> 00:30:02.430 was inescapable that year. Combs' album No Way 00:30:02.430 --> 00:30:04.730 Out was just saturated with Wallace's presence 00:30:04.730 --> 00:30:07.390 featuring him on five tracks. And it included 00:30:07.390 --> 00:30:10.390 that massive, globally successful chart topper 00:30:10.390 --> 00:30:13.309 I'll Be Missing You, which was dedicated directly 00:30:13.309 --> 00:30:16.299 to Wallace's memory. The Grammy Awards recognized 00:30:16.299 --> 00:30:19.640 this impact in 1998, with Life After Death and 00:30:19.640 --> 00:30:22.380 its major singles receiving multiple rap nominations. 00:30:22.900 --> 00:30:24.779 And the music machine just continued to roll 00:30:24.779 --> 00:30:27.660 out material for years. Subsequent posthumous 00:30:27.660 --> 00:30:30.380 albums followed, using new verses and unreleased 00:30:30.380 --> 00:30:33.440 recordings. Born Again arrived in 1999, which 00:30:33.440 --> 00:30:35.640 controversially featured new collaborators he 00:30:35.640 --> 00:30:37.519 had worked with in life, like Eminem and Missy 00:30:37.519 --> 00:30:40.259 Elliott, showcasing his adaptability across generations. 00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:44.970 Then came Duets, the final chapter in 2005. And 00:30:44.970 --> 00:30:47.509 Combs and Wallace's mother, Valetta, stated this 00:30:47.509 --> 00:30:49.509 would be the final album primarily featuring 00:30:49.509 --> 00:30:52.789 new, original, biggie material. They were trying 00:30:52.789 --> 00:30:54.710 to provide some closure to his official catalog. 00:30:55.210 --> 00:30:57.470 But the value of his unique voice ensured it 00:30:57.470 --> 00:31:00.490 kept surfacing in major releases. His vocals 00:31:00.490 --> 00:31:03.349 were featured on Michael Jackson's 2001 Invincible 00:31:03.349 --> 00:31:06.130 album, On the Track, Unbreakable. And in one 00:31:06.130 --> 00:31:07.930 of the ultimate ironies of hip -hop history, 00:31:08.130 --> 00:31:10.650 his voice was eventually paired with Tupac Shakur's 00:31:10.650 --> 00:31:13.369 On the Track, Runnin', Dying to Live, released 00:31:13.369 --> 00:31:16.309 in 2003. Finally uniting the feuding legends 00:31:16.309 --> 00:31:18.410 in a collaboration that neither of them lived 00:31:18.410 --> 00:31:21.410 to see. This ongoing influence just solidified 00:31:21.410 --> 00:31:24.369 his critical legacy. It led to that high praise 00:31:24.369 --> 00:31:26.529 we cited at the beginning of this deep dive. 00:31:26.730 --> 00:31:28.849 All music declared him nothing less than the 00:31:28.849 --> 00:31:32.269 savior of East Coast hip hop. And MTV in 2006 00:31:32.269 --> 00:31:34.809 ranked him number three on their list of the 00:31:34.809 --> 00:31:37.910 greatest emcees of all time, calling him possibly 00:31:37.910 --> 00:31:41.109 the most skillful ever on the mic. And that acclaim 00:31:41.109 --> 00:31:43.589 has only grown. Rolling Stone declared him the 00:31:43.589 --> 00:31:45.750 greatest rapper that ever lived. And Billboard 00:31:45.750 --> 00:31:47.670 named him the greatest rapper of all time in 00:31:47.670 --> 00:31:50.940 2015. His unique lyrical style, which blended 00:31:50.940 --> 00:31:53.680 that storytelling, technical complexity and humor, 00:31:53.819 --> 00:31:57.279 is now a foundational element of the genre. His 00:31:57.279 --> 00:31:59.559 rhymes and phrases are constantly sampled and 00:31:59.559 --> 00:32:03.059 quoted by modern giants. Jay -Z, 50 Cent, Eminem, 00:32:03.099 --> 00:32:06.440 Drake, Kendrick Lamar. The list goes on. And 00:32:06.440 --> 00:32:08.180 the tributes have been meaningful and centered 00:32:08.180 --> 00:32:10.579 on community impact, linking back to that idea 00:32:10.579 --> 00:32:12.599 of B .I .G. standing for more than just a name. 00:32:13.130 --> 00:32:15.250 His mother, Valetta Wallace, drives his legacy 00:32:15.250 --> 00:32:17.309 through the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation. 00:32:17.349 --> 00:32:20.029 Which hosts the B .I .G. Night Out charity event. 00:32:20.289 --> 00:32:23.250 And here, that iconic acronym is just beautifully 00:32:23.250 --> 00:32:26.690 repurposed to mean books instead of guns. It's 00:32:26.690 --> 00:32:29.029 an explicit acknowledgement of the violence that 00:32:29.029 --> 00:32:31.990 plagued his life and an attempt to use his name 00:32:31.990 --> 00:32:34.369 to steer young people toward education and away 00:32:34.369 --> 00:32:36.509 from the life he left behind. That community 00:32:36.509 --> 00:32:39.029 connection is also physically marked in his home 00:32:39.029 --> 00:32:42.430 borough. In 2019, the corner of Fulton Street 00:32:42.430 --> 00:32:44.630 and St. James Place, right near where he grew 00:32:44.630 --> 00:32:47.269 up, was officially renamed in his honor. And 00:32:47.269 --> 00:32:49.630 his narrative just continues to inspire visual 00:32:49.630 --> 00:32:51.869 media, confirming his place in American mythology. 00:32:52.269 --> 00:32:55.190 You have the 2009 biopic Notorious, which was 00:32:55.190 --> 00:32:57.750 produced by his mother and managers. And it featured 00:32:57.750 --> 00:33:00.569 that incredible moment where his own son, C .J. 00:33:00.609 --> 00:33:03.890 Wallace, played his father as a child. More recently, 00:33:04.049 --> 00:33:07.410 the 2021 Netflix documentary Biggie. I Got a 00:33:07.410 --> 00:33:09.410 Story to Tell provided these intimate insights 00:33:09.410 --> 00:33:11.789 that were approved by his estate. And as a final 00:33:11.789 --> 00:33:14.390 fun pop culture connection, his imposing figure 00:33:14.390 --> 00:33:17.150 and complex persona directly inspired the Marvel 00:33:17.150 --> 00:33:19.750 Cinematic Universe's portrayal of the villain, 00:33:19.869 --> 00:33:22.670 Cornell Cottonmouth Stokes, in the Netflix series 00:33:22.670 --> 00:33:25.789 Luke Cage. His shadow just crosses into all forms 00:33:25.789 --> 00:33:28.670 of modern storytelling. So we've traced the technical 00:33:28.670 --> 00:33:32.170 mastery, the profound geographical shift he orchestrated 00:33:32.170 --> 00:33:34.990 in hip -hop, and that incredible balancing act 00:33:34.990 --> 00:33:38.029 of turning grim, semi -autobiographical street 00:33:38.029 --> 00:33:41.589 content into colossal commercial appeal, all 00:33:41.589 --> 00:33:44.730 before the age of 25. He was, and he remains, 00:33:44.930 --> 00:33:47.809 an icon of duality. It's truly a monumental legacy 00:33:47.809 --> 00:33:50.630 carved out of just a few brief explosive years. 00:33:51.109 --> 00:33:53.309 But here's the final thought for you to consider, 00:33:53.410 --> 00:33:55.450 building on what we learned about his final year. 00:33:56.079 --> 00:33:58.440 Wallace explicitly stated in his last months 00:33:58.440 --> 00:34:00.680 that he wanted peace of mind and a focus on family, 00:34:00.819 --> 00:34:03.279 indicating a conscious shift away from the anger 00:34:03.279 --> 00:34:05.480 that fueled his earlier work. Right. So given 00:34:05.480 --> 00:34:07.859 the relentless pressure of the feuds, the constant 00:34:07.859 --> 00:34:09.679 legal harassment, the life -altering physical 00:34:09.679 --> 00:34:12.119 injury he sustained, and the psychological burden 00:34:12.119 --> 00:34:14.880 of being a figurehead in a deadly rivalry, what 00:34:14.880 --> 00:34:16.920 does his incredibly influential yet brutally 00:34:16.920 --> 00:34:19.780 short journey tell us about the actual authentic 00:34:19.780 --> 00:34:22.280 cost of fame? And what's the price one pays for 00:34:22.280 --> 00:34:24.260 retaining authenticity in the rap industry even 00:34:24.260 --> 00:34:27.420 decades after his death? Is business instead 00:34:27.420 --> 00:34:30.239 of game truly possible in that environment? An 00:34:30.239 --> 00:34:32.559 important question to ponder. Thank you for joining 00:34:32.559 --> 00:34:35.260 us on this deep dive into the life and legacy 00:34:35.260 --> 00:34:38.119 of the notorious BIG. We'll see you next time.