Wallace was born and raised in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. His debut album Ready to Die (1994) made him a central figure in East Coast hip hop and increased New York City's visibility in the genre at a time when West Coast hip hop dominated the mainstream. The following year, he led Junior M.A.F.I.A.—a protégé group composed of his childhood friends—to chart success. In 1996, while recording his second album, Wallace was heavily involved in the growing East Coast–West Coast hip hop feud. On March 9, 1997, he was murdered by an unknown assailant in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. His second album, Life After Death (1997), released two weeks later, rose to No. 1 on the U.S. album charts. In 2000, it became one of the few hip-hop albums to be certified Diamond.
Wallace was noted for his "loose, easy flow"; dark, semi-autobiographical lyrics; and storytelling abilities, which focused on crime and hardship. Three more albums have been released since his death, and he has certified sales of over 17 million records in the United States, including 13.4 million albums.
Wallace was born at St. Mary's Hospital in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on May 21, 1972, the only child of Jamaican immigrant parents. His mother, Voletta Wallace, was a preschool teacher, while his father, Selwyn George Latore, was a welder and politician. His father left the family when Wallace was two years old, and his mother worked two jobs while raising him. Wallace grew up at 226 St. James Place in Brooklyn's Clinton Hill, near the border with Bedford-Stuyvesant. Wallace excelled at Queen of All Saints Middle School winning several awards as an English student. He was nicknamed "Big" because he was overweight by the age of 10. Wallace said he started dealing drugs when he was around the age of 12. His mother, often away at work, did not know of his drug dealing until he was an adult. He began rapping as a teenager, entertaining people on the streets, and performed with local groups the Old Gold Brothers and the Techniques. At his request, Wallace transferred from Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School to George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School, where future rappers DMX, Jay-Z, and Busta Rhymes were also attending. According to his mother, Wallace was still a good student but developed a "smart-ass" attitude at the new school. At age 17, Wallace dropped out of school and became more involved in crime. In 1989, he was arrested on weapons charges in Brooklyn and sentenced to five years' probation. In 1990, he was arrested on a violation of his probation. A year later, Wallace was arrested in North Carolina for dealing crack cocaine. He spent nine months in jail before making bail.
Wallace's lyrical topics and themes included mafioso tales ("Niggas Bleed"), his drug-dealing past ("10 Crack Commandments"), materialistic bragging ("Hypnotize"), as well as humor ("Just Playing (Dreams)"), and romance ("Me & My Bitch"). Rolling Stone named Wallace in 2004 as "one of the few young male songwriters in any pop style writing credible love songs".
Guerilla Black, in the book How to Rap, describes how Wallace was able to both "glorify the upper echelon" and "[make] you feel his struggle". According to Touré of The New York Times in 1994, Wallace's lyrics " autobiographical details about crime and violence with emotional honesty". Marriott of The New York Times (in 1997) believed his lyrics were not strictly autobiographical and wrote he "had a knack for exaggeration that increased sales". Wallace described his debut as "a big pie, with each slice indicating a different point in my life involving bitches and niggaz... from the beginning to the end".
Ready to Die is described by Rolling Stone as a contrast of "bleak" street visions and being "full of high-spirited fun, bringing the pleasure principle back to hip-hop". AllMusic write of "a sense of doom" in some of his songs and the NY Times note some being "laced with paranoia"; Wallace described himself as feeling "broke and depressed" when he made his debut. The final song on the album, "Suicidal Thoughts", featured Wallace contemplating suicide and concluded with him committing the act.
On Life After Death, Wallace's lyrics went "deeper". Krims explains how upbeat, dance-oriented tracks (which featured less heavily on his debut) alternate with "reality rap" songs on the record and suggests that he was "going pimp" through some of the lyrical topics of the former. XXL magazine wrote that Wallace "revamped his image" through the portrayal of himself between the albums, going from "midlevel hustler" on his debut to "drug lord".
AllMusic wrote that the success of Ready to Die is "mostly due to Wallace's skill as a storyteller"; in 1994, Rolling Stone described Wallace's ability in this technique as painting "a sonic picture so vibrant that you're transported right to the scene". On Life After Death, Wallace notably demonstrated this skill on "I Got a Story to Tell", creating a story as a rap for the first half of the song and then retelling the same story "for his boys" in conversation form.
Considered one of the best rappers of all time, Wallace was described by AllMusic as "the savior of East Coast hip-hop". The Source magazine named Wallace the greatest rapper of all time in its 150th issue in 2002. In 2003, when XXL magazine asked several hip hop artists to list their five favorite MCs, Wallace's name appeared on more rappers' lists than anyone else. In 2006, MTV ranked him at No. 3 on their list of The Greatest MCs of All Time, calling him possibly "the most skillful ever on the mic". Editors of About.com ranked him No. 3 on their list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007). In 2012, The Source ranked him No. 3 on their list of the Top 50 Lyrical Leaders of all time. Rolling Stone has referred to him as the "greatest rapper that ever lived". In 2015, Billboard named Wallace as the greatest rapper of all time.
Since his death, Wallace's lyrics have been sampled and quoted by a variety of hip hop, R&B and pop artists including Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, Fat Joe, Nelly, Ja Rule, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Game, Clinton Sparks, Michael Jackson and Usher. On August 28, 2005, at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, Sean Combs (then using the rap alias "P. Diddy") and Snoop Dogg paid tribute to Wallace: an orchestra played while the vocals from "Juicy" and "Warning" played on the arena speakers. In September 2005, VH1 held its second annual "Hip Hop Honors", with a tribute to Wallace headlining the show.
Wallace had begun to promote a clothing line called Brooklyn Mint, which was to produce plus-sized clothing but fell dormant after he died. In 2004, his managers, Mark Pitts and Wayne Barrow, launched the clothing line, with help from Jay-Z, selling T-shirts with images of Wallace on them. A portion of the proceeds go to the Christopher Wallace Foundation and to Jay-Z's Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation. In 2005, Voletta Wallace hired branding and licensing agency Wicked Cow Entertainment to guide the estate's licensing efforts. Wallace-branded products on the market include action figures, blankets, and cell phone content.
The Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation holds an annual black-tie dinner ("B.I.G. Night Out") to raise funds for children's school equipment and to honor Wallace's memory. For this particular event, because it is a children's schools' charity, "B.I.G." is also said to stand for "Books Instead of Guns".
There is a large portrait mural of Wallace as Mao Zedong on Fulton Street in Brooklyn a half-mile west from Wallace's old block. A fan petitioned to have the corner of Fulton Street and St. James Place, near Wallace's childhood home renamed in his honor, garnering support from local businesses and attracting more than 560 signatures.
A large portrait of Wallace features prominently in the Netflix series Luke Cage, due to the fact that he served as muse for the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of Marvel Comics character Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes.
Everyday Struggle
The Notorious B.I.G. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't wanna live no mo'
Sometimes I hear death knockin at my front do'
I'm livin everyday like a hustle, another drug to juggle;
another day, another struggle
[Notorious B.I.G.]
Pockets broke as hell, another rock to sell
People look at you like youse the user
Selling drugs to all the losers, mad buddha abuser
But they don't know about your stress-filled day
Baby on the way mad bills to pay
That's why you drink Tanqueray; so you can reminisce
and wish, you wasn't livin so devilish, ssshit
I remember I was just like you
Smokin blunts with my crew, flippin over 62's
Cause G-E-D, wasn't B-I-G
I got P-A-I-D, that's why my moms hate me
She was forced to kick me out, no doubt
Then I figured out licks went for twenty down South
Packed up my tools for my raw power move
Glock nineteen for casket and flower moves
for chumps tryin to stop my flow
And what they don't know will show on the autopsy
Went to see Papi, to cop me a brick
Asked for some consignment and he wasn't tryin to hear it
Smoking mad Newports cause I'm due in court
for an assault, that I caught, in Bridgeport, New York
Catch me if you can like the Gingerbread Man
You better have your gat in hand, cause man
Chorus
[Notorious B.I.G.]
I had the master plan
I'm in the caravan on my way to Maryland
with my man Two-Tecs to take over this projects
They call him Two-Tecs, he tote two tecs
And when he start to bust he like to ask, "Who's next?"
I got my honey on the Amtrak
with the crack in the crack of her ass
Two pounds of hash in the stash
I wait for hon to make some quick cash
I told her she could be Lieutenant, bitch got gassed
At last, I'm literally loungin black
Sittin back, countin double digit thousand stacks
Had to re-up; see what's up with my peeps
Toyota Deal-a-Thon had it cheap on the Jeeps
See who got smoked, what rumors was spread
Last I heard I was dead with six to the head
Then I got the phone call, it couldn't hit me harder
We got infiltrated, like Nino at the Carter
Heard Tec got murdered in a town I never heard of
by some bitch named Alberta over nickel-plated burners
And my bitch swear to God she won't snitch
I told her when she hit the bricks I'll make the hooker rich
Conspiracy, she'll be home in three
Until then I looks out for the whole family
A true G, that's me, blowing like a bubble;
in the everyday struggle
Chorus
[Notorious B.I.G.]
I'm seeing body after body and our mayor Guiliani
ain't tryin to see no black man turn to John Gotti
My daughter use a potty so she's older now
Educated street knowledge I'ma mold 'er now
Trick a little dough buyin young girls fringes
Dealin with the dope fiend binges, seein syringes
in the veins; hard to explain, how I maintain
The crack smoke make my brain feel so strange
Breakin days on the set, no sweat
Drunk off Moet, can't bag yet because it's still wet
But when that dry, baggin five at a time
I can clock about nine on the check cashin line
I had the first and the third; rehearse that's my word
Thick in the game, D's knew my first name
Should I quit? Shit no! Even though they had me scared
Yo they got a eight, I gotta teck with air holes..
..and that's just how the shit go in the struggle motherfucker
[Puff] Hah.. c'mon.. what you say?
Chorus 2X
[Notorious B.I.G.]
Uhh, uhh
Junior M.A.F.I.A., right (yeah..)
(rock on..)
(WOO! .. Biggie Smalls .. right ..)
The Notorious B.I.G.'s song "Everyday Struggle" paints a picture of life on the streets and the daily toil that comes with it. The chorus declares the rapper's desire to escape the hardship and danger of his lifestyle, while the verses detail the experiences and struggles that he faces. Biggie describes the financial pressure that pushes people into the drug trade and the social stigma attached to it. He reflects on his own upbringing and the way that his criminal ventures have strained his relationship with his mother. The second verse tells of a larger-scale operation that Biggie is planning, involving his accomplice Two-Tecs, which ultimately leads to disaster.
The lyrics of "Everyday Struggle" offer a realistic and raw portrayal of the harsh realities of life on the streets. Biggie's use of vivid imagery and storytelling is masterful, and he successfully captures the complexities of life as a drug dealer. The overall message of the song is that in the world of hustling, every day brings a new struggle to overcome, but the temptation to persevere and succeed prevails.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't wanna live no mo'
Biggie feels that his life is not worth living anymore.
Sometimes I hear death knockin at my front do'
Biggie senses death coming to claim his life soon.
I'm livin everyday like a hustle, another drug to juggle;
Biggie compares his daily life to a hustle and compares each drug he deals with as another ball to juggle.
another day, another struggle
Biggie acknowledges every day as a new struggle.
I know how it feel to wake up fucked up
Biggie can relate to the feeling of waking up messed up in the morning.
Pockets broke as hell, another rock to sell
Biggie is financially broke and needs more drugs to sell.
People look at you like youse the user
Biggie is perceived as a drug user by most people.
Selling drugs to all the losers, mad buddha abuser
Biggie sells drugs to mostly losers and drug addicts.
But they don't know about your stress-filled day
People don't know the stress Biggie goes through every day.
Baby on the way mad bills to pay
Biggie has a baby on the way and a lot of bills to take care of.
That's why you drink Tanqueray; so you can reminisce
Biggie drinks Tanqueray so he can remember the past and wish he had a better life.
I remember I was just like you
Biggie remembers when he was in a similar situation.
Smokin blunts with my crew, flippin over 62's
Biggie used to smoke weed and ride lowrider cars with his friends.
Cause G-E-D, wasn't B-I-G
Since Biggie didn't have a high school degree, he chose to deal drugs to make it through life.
I got P-A-I-D, that's why my moms hate me
Biggie's mother hates him now that he is making a lot of money from selling drugs.
She was forced to kick me out, no doubt
Biggie's mother was forced to kick him out of their house.
Then I figured out licks went for twenty down South
Biggie discovered that he could make a lot of money by selling drugs in the southern states.
Packed up my tools for my raw power move
Biggie got ready to take another big step in his drug dealing business.
Glock nineteen for casket and flower moves
Biggie carried a Glock 19 pistol with him for his protection.
for chumps tryin to stop my flow
Biggie was always cautious of people who tried to stop him from selling drugs.
And what they don't know will show on the autopsy
Biggie warns that if someone tries to stop him, the outcome could lead to a deadly autopsy.
Went to see Papi, to cop me a brick
Biggie went to purchase a large quantity of drugs from his dealer, Papi.
Asked for some consignment and he wasn't tryin to hear it
Biggie tried to get some drugs on credit from Papi, but he refused.
Smoking mad Newports cause I'm due in court
Biggie smokes a lot of Newports cigarettes since he knows he will be facing trial soon.
for an assault, that I caught, in Bridgeport, New York
Biggie is going to court in Bridgeport, New York, for an assault charge against him.
Catch me if you can like the Gingerbread Man
Biggie is very fast and hard to catch, just like the Gingerbread Man from the popular children's story.
You better have your gat in hand, cause man
Biggie warns that people who try to catch him should have a gun ready.
I had the master plan
Biggie had a well-thought-out plan for his drug operation.
I'm in the caravan on my way to Maryland
Biggie is on the road to Maryland in his van.
with my man Two-Tecs to take over this projects
Biggie and Two-Tecs plan to take over the drug operations in the area.
They call him Two-Tecs, he tote two tecs
Two-Tecs always carries two pistols with him.
And when he start to bust he like to ask, "Who's next?"
When Two-Tecs starts firing his guns, he likes to ask who's going to be the next victim.
I got my honey on the Amtrak
Biggie's girlfriend is travelling on Amtrak.
with the crack in the crack of her ass
Biggie's girlfriend is carrying drugs in the crack of her buttocks.
Two pounds of hash in the stash
Biggie has two pounds of hashish in his stash.
I wait for hon to make some quick cash
Biggie is waiting for his girlfriend to sell the drugs and make some money quickly.
I told her she could be Lieutenant, bitch got gassed
Biggie tells his girlfriend that she could be her second-in-command to get her excited and motivated.
At last, I'm literally loungin black
Biggie is finally taking a break and relaxing.
Sittin back, countin double digit thousand stacks
Biggie is counting stacks of money amounting to thousands of dollars.
Had to re-up; see what's up with my peeps
Biggie has to replenish his drug supply and catch up with his friends.
Toyota Deal-a-Thon had it cheap on the Jeeps
Biggie got a great deal on Jeeps from the Toyota dealership.
See who got smoked, what rumors was spread
Biggie wants to know who has been killed recently and what rumors have been spread about him.
Last I heard I was dead with six to the head
Biggie heard rumors that someone had killed him by shooting him six times in the head.
Then I got the phone call, it couldn't hit me harder
Biggie receives a phone call that shocked him and scared him.
We got infiltrated, like Nino at the Carter
Someone infiltrated Biggie's drug operation, just like Nino's in a famous movie scene.
Heard Tec got murdered in a town I never heard of
Biggie heard that his friend, Tec, got killed in a town he didn't even know existed.
by some bitch named Alberta over nickel-plated burners
Tec got killed by a woman named Alberta using small guns (nickel-plated burners).
And my bitch swear to God she won't snitch
Biggie's girlfriend promises that she won't betray him or involve him in their criminal activities.
I told her when she hit the bricks I'll make the hooker rich
Biggie promises to reward his girlfriend if she leaves town and stays quiet for a while.
Conspiracy, she'll be home in three
Biggie assures his girlfriend that she'll be out of danger and back home in three years.
Until then I looks out for the whole family
Biggie promises to take care of his girlfriend's family during her absence.
A true G, that's me, blowing like a bubble;
Biggie considers himself to be a true gangster, moving through life without a care (like a bubble).
in the everyday struggle
Biggie continues to live his life in this daily struggle to survive.
I'm seeing body after body and our mayor Guiliani
Biggie observes and is saddened by the increasing rate of death in his community.
ain't tryin to see no black man turn to John Gotti
Biggie understands that people in power discriminate against black people and don't want them to become successful like John Gotti did.
My daughter use a potty so she's older now
Biggie's daughter is growing up and using a potty now.
Educated street knowledge I'ma mold 'er now
Biggie wants to educate his daughter with street knowledge so that she can take care of herself.
Trick a little dough buyin young girls fringes
Biggie sometimes spends money to entice young girls to sell drugs for him.
Dealin with the dope fiend binges, seein syringes
Biggie has to deal with drug addicts and sees syringes lying around.
in the veins; hard to explain, how I maintain
Biggie finds it hard to explain how he manages to continue his drug business when dealing with such unsavory situations.
The crack smoke make my brain feel so strange
Biggie is aware that smoking crack is affecting his mental faculties.
Breakin days on the set, no sweat
Biggie spends his days selling drugs without breaking a sweat.
Drunk off Moet, can't bag yet because it's still wet
Biggie is drunk and can't make drug deals yet since the drugs aren't dry yet.
But when that dry, baggin five at a time
Biggie tries to make up for lost time by bagging five packets of drugs at once when they are finally dry.
I can clock about nine on the check cashin line
Biggie earns around nine thousand dollars when he cashes his checks in the bank.
I had the first and the third; rehearse that's my word
Biggie has the first and third verses of a song while his friend has the second verse.
Thick in the game, D's knew my first name
Biggie has been involved with selling drugs for so long that police officers know him by his first name.
Should I quit? Shit no! Even though they had me scared
Biggie has no intention of quitting the drug business even though he's scared of getting caught.
Yo they got a eight, I gotta teck with air holes..
Biggie was tipped off that the police had found a cache of drugs, so he modified one of his guns to have air holes, giving it a higher rate of fire.
..and that's just how the shit go in the struggle motherfucker
Biggie resigns himself to accept that this situation is how things are in his life; it's just an everyday struggle.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@kevinalvarez5599
“I don’t wanna live no more,
sometimes I hear death knocking on my front door, 🚪
I’m living everyday like a hustle 🏃
another drug to juggle, another day another struggle 🗣️,
ik how it feels to wake up fucked up, pockets broke as hell, another rock to sell🗣️”
To be dead is so easy no worries, may god help us in this journey called life‼️✝️
@user-danieljazzn
I listen this song everytime when I feel my life is done.. and then, this song gave me the truth that i'm still alive. Thank God..
@onaivonaa
<3
@PINDA1999
Listen to gettho remix with Akon
@user-pb8ir1io4t
Me too. When ever I was struggling on my arse wi nuttin struggling thru another day I just listened to this. Now I’m doing well I love playin this reminds me of where I’ve been and where I am now. Absolute banger of a song. Long live the king of n.y
@markakablairranglyoshandol3452
Same when I’m having a bad day I crank this song. Even though they got me scared yo they got an eight I got a tech with air holes
@Jralls3
Wonderful.... That people are able to see beauty in darkness.... Even through a dark song. Amen🙏
@jking3684
I never realized til now but this might be my favourite biggie track of all time
@seal7216
real
@EricMorrisey
He's said this was one of his favorite songs, too. I love this song.
@no1special1983
yep, no club bs. no party bs. life rap