Voletta Wallace gave birth to Christopher Wallace on May 21, 1972. The St. Mary’s Hospital-born Brooklynite grew up to become the Hip Hop legend better known as The Notorious B.I.G. aka Biggie Smalls.
Biggie’s hometown will celebrate the life of the late iconic emcee in several ways. On what would have been The Notorious B.I.G.’s 50th birthday, the Empire State Building will honor the rapper by changing the landmark’s lights to red and white with a crown spinning in its mast.
On May 20, the Empire State Building will also partner with Bad Boy Entertainment/Atlantic Records/Rhino Records to present a special ceremony commemorating Biggie. Family members Voletta Wallace, CJ Wallace, and Tyanna Wallace as well as Junior M.A.F.I.A. members Lil Cease and Lil Kim will be in attendance.
Additionally, Brooklyn’s Barclays Center will honor The Notorious B.I.G. by featuring a video montage of classic Biggie records on the oculus display above the arena’s entrance. That visual celebration will happen on May 21.
Music By The Notorious B.I.G. Is Headed To Manhattan’s Lincoln Center
Next month, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts will host an orchestral tribute to Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace. The Lincoln Center also partnered with Bad Boy/Atlantic/Rhino for the free black-tie affair on June 10 which will feature music arranged and conducted by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson.
Amazon Music will live stream the event exclusively on the company’s Twitch channel. Exclusive Biggie Smalls merchandise will also be available for pre-order at amazon.com/biggie and in the Amazon Music app.
A Special Edition Of Life After Death Is On The Way
June 10 will also see Bad Boy/Atlantic/Rhino release a vinyl version of Biggie’s diamond-certified Life After Death album. The Life After Death 25th Anniversary Super Deluxe box set consists of 8-LPs, a booklet with rare photos from the album cover shoot, liner notes by Sheldon Pearce, and exclusive reflections from members of the team who worked on the original album.
1997’s Life After Death debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The project earned a Grammy nomination in the Best Rap Album category. The RIAA awarded Diamond crtification to Life After Death for selling more than 5 million copies of the double-LP.