The Notorious B.I.G.

Large in stature and blessed with equally generous reserves of talent, The Notorious B.I.G was once dubbed “the greatest rapper that ever lived” by Rolling Stone magazine, yet he lost the chance to fulfil his potential when he was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles in March 1997, aged just 24.

Nevertheless, this outsized talent had already bequeathed enough music to sustain a substantial legacy. Born Christopher Wallace, in Brooklyn, New York City, Biggie was signed to Sean Combs’ Bad Boy imprint in 1993 and quickly found fame when his debut album, Ready To Die, met with widespread acclaim. He scooped Rapper Of The Year at the 1995 Billboard Music Awards and was recognised as a mainstream star by the time his explosive, Grammy-winning hit Hypnotize was released, on 4 March 1997. Tragically, Biggie didn’t live long enough to reap the rewards, as he was killed less then a week later, leaving the mourning hip-hop community to wonder what might have been when his prophetically-titled second album, Life After Death, appeared posthumously, gaining a diamond certification and establishing The Notorious B.I.G. as one of the all-time greats.