The Hip-Hop community
will pay tribute to one of the most enduring rapper’s of all time, Christopher
"The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, who was gunned down 8-years ago today
(March 9) in 1997.
B.I.G.’s former
DJ, Mister Cee will host a tribute to his Brooklyn, New York alumni tonight
on Eminem’s Sirius satellite radio station, Shade 45, while terrestrial radio
will also celebrate in B.I.G.’s hometown of New York.
Rival stations
Hot 97 and Power 105 are both hosting tribute parties to honor Wallace, who
was killed when a gunman open fire on the vehicle Wallace was a passenger in.
Hot 97 will host
"The Official Tribute," with guests Junior M.A.F.I.A., Mr. Cheeks,
Clark Kent, Mobb Deep, Jadakiss and others.
Power 105 will
host their 3rd birthday party along with a tribute to B.I.G. that will feature
Faith Evans, 112, Keyshia Coles and an appearance by Sean "P. Diddy"
Combs.
"Notorious
B.I.G., Christopher Wallace was my friend and I love him," Combs said in
a statement. "I miss him so much. He was a lyrical genius, a literary giant,
a voice for people who aren’t often heard and one of the greatest rappers in
the history of hip hop. What people need to know about B.I.G. is that he was
compassionate, humorous and generous."
Big was gunned
down in Los Angeles, California after attending an after-party at the Vibe Awards.
His murder came
in the midst of a feud between Death Row Records and Bad Boy, which media outlets
dubbed an "East Coast/West Coast" hip-hop
war.
Shakur accused
Combs and his Bad Boy cohorts of setting him up to be shot 5 times in the lobby
of a New York recording studio in November of 1994 and robbing him of $40,000
worth of jewels.
Both Combs and
his one-time rival and Death Row CEO Suge Knight have vehemently denied any
involvement in the shootings and subsequent
murders of Shakur or Wallace.
"He [B.I.G.]
shared the same problems growing up as many Black youth in America who are raised
without fathers or understanding of what it means to become strong, productive
and responsible men. Notorious B.I.G. and I both had to teach ourselves to become
men."
The shootings touched
off speculation as to who may have orchestrated the murders of two of the most
well known hip-hop figures in the world.
Neither murders
have been solved, but reports suggested that the federal government was still
actively investigating the homicides, one which occurred on the Las Vegas, Nevada
strip, the other in Los Angeles in front of hundreds of on lookers who witnessed
the shooting.
In related news,
B.I.G.’s mother Voletta Wallace revealed that a movie about the life of B.I.G.
was in the works. No other details are available as of press time.
