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There are some facts even die-hard fans of the late rapper may not know about the artist who also went by “Biggie Smalls” and “Big Poppa” among other names, though no matter what, his legacy lives on as he continues to inspire and influence current and up-and-coming artists to this day.
On the anniversary of his death, March 9, 1997, here are a few things you may not have known about Christopher G. Wallace, aka the Notorious B.I.G. Most of these stories come from obscure interviews over the years, but if you’re a fan with deep knowledge of Biggie Smalls, at least here a few moments of his memory.
Readers may find some of the facts, quotes and lyrics mentioned in this article to be explicit.
1. The Notorious B.I.G. was a huge prankster. Because of this, there “was no sleeping around Big, period.”
In an interview with VladTV in 2014, Lil’ Cease, one of Biggie’s protégés, recalled how the rapper would target anybody who would nod off while hanging around the studio smoking weed.
Those who fell asleep around him could wake up to find Lil’ Kim’s wig on their head or one of the group’s “favorite joints” — getting burnt from a lit match placed in the sleeping person’s hand. Apparently, this tended to happen when smoking weed, as they’d roll up 10 blunts at a time. As Lil’ Cease further explained:
That was just everyday fun for us. We was just some kids. You know, you gotta think about it, Big was only 24 when he passed. But you know, we was all like 16 or 17 years old. We didn’t know how to act. They gave us a couple dollars.
2. He wrote many of Lil’ Kim’s lyrics, meaning recordings exist of him rapping lines such as, “got buffoons eating my pussy while I watch cartoons.”
According to NME, quite a few of Lil’ Kim’s rhymes were ghostwritten by her lover and mentor, the Notorious B.I.G.
Biggie actually did a reference track for the song “Queen Bitch” where a few of the lines seem particularly strange coming from his mouth:
3. Shaquille O’Neal and Big were close friends and even collaborated on a song together. The Notorious B.I.G. was on his way to hang out with Shaq on the night of his death.
Talking with the ESPN show “Outside the Lines,” Shaquille O’Neal revealed that he was actually supposed to hangout with the Biggie on the night the rap star was killed. O’Neal — who was dressed and ready to go — accidentally fell asleep. Looking back, he felt as if his presence could have saved Biggie’s life. As O’Neal told ESPN:
I just fell asleep. I woke up about 4 o’clock from a call from my mother. She said, “Did you go to the party?” I’m like, “No, what’re you talking about?” She said, “You know, your friend was shot and killed.” And I was like, “What?” So then I hung up with her and called some people and they told me what had happened.
Notorious took part in O’Neal’s song, “You Can’t Stop the Reign,” which was released in 1996:
BONUS: Here is the original MTV News coverage of the night the Notorious B.I.G. died.
What is your all-time favorite Notorious B.I.G. song? Vote in our poll below:
READ MORE: HuffingtonPost.com
Article Courtesy of The Huffington Post
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First and Second Video Courtesy of YouTube and The Huffington Post
Third Video Courtesy of MTV, YouTube, and The Huffington Post
