The Notorious B.I.G or commonly known as Biggie, is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential rappers to have graced the good earth. Both through life and death, Biggie has been an icon of underground music, commercial music, fashion and the wider hip hop lifestyle. He’s considered a true legend by us here at Rewired, which is why we decided Biggie would be the first icon in our Rewired Legends Collection, a series of quality streetwear garments dedicated to legends of the street.
Christopher Wallace, Chris to many was an american singer and rapper, his roots stem from the early New York rap scene, spawning during a time of musical uprising across America which created the birth of East side and West side rap. Biggie was most famous for his very laid back flow, his lyrics would not only be concise and easy to understand, but his voice was recognisable, silky and made an incredible impact when laid over a jazz tune or a breakbeat. Compared to other rappers of the era, Biggie took a very different approach to his music, an approach that has continued to inspire music creators for generations.
I Got a Story to Tell is a new documentary now available on Netflix which explores the life and death of Biggie, it features some in-depth interviews with members of his family, his friends and members of his Junior M.A.F.I.A. If you’ve not seen the documentary yet then make sure you do, trust us! It tells a gripping tale of a man just trying to make a living and expressing himself with a unique approach to music.
Though it can be argued that Biggie was a huge figure in the creation of the split between East coast and West coast rap, it is this divide that sadly led to his death in 1997, aged just 24. It was during the recording of his second album that tensions started to get serious in 1996, following the death of iconic rapper Tupac Shakur, Biggie was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. To date, a killer has never been named.