Biggie Tracks To Commemorate His 43rd Birthday

Christopher George Latore Wallace, otherwise known as The Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls, was born at St. Mary’s Hospital in Brooklyn on May 21, 1972. He grew up as an only child in the Clinton Hill area to his parents Voletta Wallace, a Jamaican preschool teacher, and George Latore, a welder and Jamaican politician. At age two his father left the family, and his mother was left working two jobs to support her son.

Christopher was given the nickname “Big” when he was 10 due to his large stature. In school he was an exceptional student and won several awards for English. By age 12 he was selling drugs without his mother’s knowledge. At age 17 Wallace dropped out of school and had many run-ins with the law, where he was put on probation and even spent time in jail in 1991 for selling crack cocaine.

Wallace started rapping in his teens performing on the city streets and with local groups the Old Gold Brothers and the Techniques. After being released from jail he created a demo tape under the moniker “Biggie Smalls” and it grabbed the attention of record producer Sean Combs, otherwise known as Diddy, and this was the start of his illustrious career.

We won't go on to give you a complete bio on who Biggie is-- we're sure you already know. Instead, we're looking at some of the most memorable records from his short but impactful career. R.I.P.

This is one of Biggie’s most popular jams among fans. The song's lyrics have the rapper reminiscing about his early years growing up poor, his time as a drug dealer, his dreams of wanting to become a rapper, and, of course, later fulfilling that dream. The track, which samples Mtume’s “Juicy Fruit” (the “Fruity Instrumental” version), appeared on his 1994 debut album, Ready To Die.

This track is the original bedroom banger. First off, the title of the song references one of Biggie’s many nicknames. The smooth track has the rapper boasting about why he has the most bragging rights on the mic and how this allows him to land any lady he wants. “Big Poppa” came off his 1994 album, Ready To Die, and was Grammy-nominated.

This is one of Biggie’s most popular tracks taken from his second and posthumous album, Life After Death. It was released as the album’s first single and is Grammy-nominated. Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs produced this song, sampling the beat from Herb Alpert’s 1979 hit “Rise.”

Rappers and artists today often refer to the saying, “Mo Money Mo Problems,” and why? Because, Biggie. This track was Biggie’s second posthumous #1 single, following “Hypnotize,” to come off of his album Life After Death. Guests on the song include Mase and Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs. Diana Ross’ “I’m Coming Out” is featured as a sample on the track. Kelly Price sings the refrain on the song.

Biggie released a few darker sounding tracks on his debut album, Ready To Die, which included “Things Done Changed” and “Gimme the Loot.” These tracks were harder hitting and less radio-friendly than the offiical singles he released. Songs such as these helped mold the rapper’s gangsta image.

This song is the final track on Biggie’s debut album, Ready To Die. The lyrics involve the rapper contemplating suicide, ending with a gunshot-- we'll let the listener decide what that means. In the song Biggie also talks about all the bad deeds his committed, such as dealing drugs and stealing money from his mom’s purse.

This track was featured on Biggie’s second and posthumous album, Life After Death. Several lines in the song are directed at various rappers, such as Nas, Jeru the Damaja, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah and even DJ Premier, the song’s producer. Some rap fans have complained about the over-a-minute length of the song’s intro, but once the beat drops it’s obvious it was worth sitting through, since this jam is one of Biggie’s most explosive.

The track serves as Biggie’s third single from his second and posthumous album, Life After Death. This song has a more subdued tone set by the track’s intro. Musical group 112 contributes guest vocals on the song, while Clark Kent takes care of production. The track contains a few samples, among them, “Is This Love” by Whitesnake, “My Flame” by Bobby Caldwell and “Keep On” by D. Train.

Sean “Puffy Daddy” Combs makes a cameo on this fun-loving record, which is known for its catchy hook and beat. A sample of the Zapp hit “More Bounce to the Ounce” is featured on the song. The track starts out with a phone conversation between the rapper and Puff Daddy, in which Puff is telling him to hop on a flight to L.A. Biggie touches on how he feels about the East Coast-West Coast rivalry in the song, saying he has nothing against Cali. 

Biggie released this track as the third single from his debut album. The song’s content involves Biggie talking to his friend Pop (voiced by Biggie), who tells the rapper people are plotting to kill him now that he’s blown up with fame...

This original version of the track was first released on Biggie’s debut album, Ready To Die. The remix of the song, which features additional vocals from Faith Evans and Mary J. Blige, dropped on May 9, 1995. This rendition of the song contains new lyrics, a new chorus and a different beat than the original. The music video for the track features cameos from Evans, Blige, Aaliyah and other artists.

This is one of Biggie’s lesser-known tracks. He raps about how once he made it big he was able to leave the street life alone, and enjoy the finer the things in life. The hook “I live for the funk, I’ll die for the funk,” is also super catchy.

This is Biggie’s debut single and was released as his fourth promotional single for the soundtrack to the 1993 film, "Who’s The Man?" The refrain “party and bullshit” was inspired by the song “When the Revolution Comes” from the spoken word artists The Last Poets. Sean “Puff Daddy” and Lil’ Kim appear in the music video for the track, which sees the rapper performing at a park in New York City.