Today marks the 13th year anniversary of the death of the legendary Notorious B.I.G.
Born Christopher Wallace, May 21, 1972, The Notorious B.I.G. became a household name with the release of his debut album Ready to Die in 1994, at the age of 22. Ready To Die featured some of the most recognized tunes in hop history such as Juicy, Big Poppa and One More Chance. Ready to Die went on to sell over 4 million copies and was noted as one of the greatest albums of all-time by Time and the Rolling Stones Magazine. Biggie went on to win Billboard's Rap Artist and Rap Song of the Year award in 1995 for his efforts on Ready to Die.
After the release of Ready to Die, Biggie planned to release his follow-up album, Life after Death with the lead single, Hypnotize. Life after Death was scheduled to be released on March 25, 1997. On March 8, 1997, Biggie attended the Soul Train Music Awards in Los Angeles to present an award to Toni Braxton and was booed by many in the audience. After the ceremony, Biggie and his entourage attended a party hosted by VIBE Magazine and Quest Records, which was later closed down by the Fire Marshall due to overcrowding. Upon leaving the event, Biggie was shot four times and pronounced dead at 1:15 a.m. on March 9, 1997. Life After Death was released a few weeks later. Life After Death went on to receive three Grammy nominations including Best Rap Album, Best Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Performance by a duo or group . In 2000, Life After Death was certified Diamond (10,000,000) in sales by the RIAA.
With only two studio albums released Biggie went down in the history books as one of the greatest rappers of all-time. Today let's celebrate the life of this Hip Hop Icon.
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