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.โa protรฉgรฉ group composed of his childhood friendsโto chart success. In 1996, while recording his second album, Wallace was heavily involved in the growing East CoastโWest 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 Tourรฉ 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 (1987โ2007). 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.
I Love the Dough
The Notorious B.I.G. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Through the city, play Monopoly with real cash
Me and Biggie and the models be, shaking they saditty ass
And Parada be, somethin' you cats got to see
And the watches be all types and shapes of stones
Bein' broke is childish and I'm quite grown
Run up in the club with the ice on, me and Paisan'
Scope the spot out, see somethin' nice and I'm gone
I'm in the fifteen hundred seats, watchin Ty-son
Same night, same fight
But one of us cats ain't playin' right, I let you tell it
People place yourselves in the shoes of two felons
And tell me you won't ball every chance you get
And any chance you hit, we live for the moment
Makes sense don't it? Now make dollars
Cats pop bottles bone chicks that favor Idalis
And rack up frequent flier mileage
Gotta let it show, I love the dough, hey
I love the dough, more than you know
Gotta let it show, I love the dough, hey
I'm poppin' Magnums while Jigga bag somethin'
Watch is platinum, got jet lag from
Flights back and forth, pop corks of the best grapes
Make the best CD's and the best tapes
Don't forget the vinyl, take girls break spinals
Biggie be Richie like Lionel, shit
You seen the Jesus, dipped in H classes
Ice project off lights, chick flashes
Blind your broke asses, even got rocks in big mustaches
Rock top fashions
Ain't shit changed, except the number after the dot
On the Range, way niggas look at me now, kinda strange
I hate y'all too
Rather be in Carribean sands with Rachael
It's unreal, out the blue Frank White got sex appeal
Bitches used to go, ewww
Still tote steel, tryin' to see five mil
Off the sin-gle, for real
You ain't fazin' the amazin'
While your gun's raisin', mine is blazin'
See you on see me all talkin' to sweetness
Take it for weakness and leave quick
Blocka, Roc-a-Fella, Bad Boy collabo
Two MC's with mad dough, you know
I love the dough, more than you know
Gotta let it show, I love the dough, hey
I love the dough, more than you know
Gotta let it show, I love the dough, hey
Miraculous, pockets stay full
Niggas skip the bull 'cause we matadors
Snatch the P89s that we pack in the drawers
And we clap the doors of your Acuras
Snap like cameras on amateurs
Make you all dance, hold a hammer to yours
Jig and Big rock ice, no cracks or flaws
Everybody got a part to play, back to yours
Run up in your crib now, crack your doors
Watch the real players live, it's a habit to floss
Play the charts like The Beatles, y'all adapt you lost
And toast Cristal on behalf of y'all
Too bad for y'all
Ain't too many as bad as yours truly
Do we, we laugh at y'all
Little bastards y'all
Uhh, uhh
We hit makers with acres
Roll shakers in Vegas, you can't break us
Lost chips on Lakers, gassed off Shaq
Country house, tennis courts on horseback
Ridin', decidin', cracked crab, or lobster
Who say mobsters don't prosper
Niggas is actors, niggas deserve Oscars
Me I'm, critically acclaimed, slug past your brain
Reminesce on dames who, coochie used to stink
When we rocked house pieces and puffy Gucci links
Now we buy homes in unfamiliar places
Tito smile everytime he see our faces
Cases catch more than outfield-ers
Half these rappin' cats, ain't seen war
Couldn't score if they had point game, they lame
Speak my name, I make 'em dash like Dame
I love the dough, more than you know
Gotta let it show, I love the dough, hey
I love the dough, more than you know
Gotta let it show, I love the dough, hey
I love the dough, more than you know
Gotta let it show, I love the dough, hey
In "I Love The Dough," The Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z describe their lavish lifestyle, accentuated by their wealth, fame and connections to beautiful models. The song begins with the rappers deeming themselves as the most successful members of society, driving expensive cars and relentlessly pursuing material possessions. The rappers talk about the way their wealth has brought them an enormous amount of advantages, allowing them to have the best of everything. They mention the expensive brands and fine jewelry they wear and boast about their luxurious houses in exotic locations.
The chorus, "I love the dough" emphasizes the main theme of the song - the love of money and the pleasure it brings. They want to make it clear that they love the lifestyle that money affords them and want to showcase their love of it. The lyrics reveal their ambition to acquire wealth, but also possibly hint at the superficiality of the rapper's lifestyles. With the mention of values like "real cash" and "frequent flier mileage", we sense a detachment from things of real substance, such as relationships or character. In simpler terms, the song is about showing off, slangin', and chasing women.
Line by Line Meaning
We push the hottest V's, peel fast
We drive the nicest cars, and we drive fast
Through the city, play Monopoly with real cash
We drive through the city and play Monopoly with real money
Me and Biggie and the models be, shaking they saditty ass
Biggie, the models and I are dancing provocatively
And Parada be, somethin' you cats got to see
Parada is a label that you must see
And the watches be all types and shapes of stones
Our watches are adorned with various types of precious stones
Bein' broke is childish and I'm quite grown
Being poor is immature and I am mature
Run up in the club with the ice on, me and Paisan'
I enter the club wearing expensive jewelry with my friend Paisan
Scope the spot out, see somethin' nice and I'm gone
I carefully observe the club, find something I like and then leave quickly
You cats is home, screamin' the fight's on
You people are at home screaming about the fight
I'm in the fifteen hundred seats, watchin Ty-son
I am watching the Tyson fight from my seat numbered 1500
Same night, same fight
The same night and fight that everyone is watching
But one of us cats ain't playin' right, I let you tell it
But one of us is not doing the right thing, I'll let you be the judge
People place yourselves in the shoes of two felons
Put yourself in the mindset of two criminals
And tell me you won't ball every chance you get
And tell me you wouldn't spend money whenever you had the chance
And any chance you hit, we live for the moment
And whenever we get that chance, we live in the moment
Makes sense don't it? Now make dollars
This makes sense, so now let's make some money
Cats pop bottles bone chicks that favor Idalis
We drink champagne and have sex with women who resemble Idalis
And rack up frequent flier mileage
We accumulate a lot of frequent flyer miles
Gotta let it show, I love the dough, hey
I must show it, I love money
I love the dough, more than you know
I love money more than you realize
I'm poppin' Magnums while Jigga bag somethin'
I am drinking Magnum champagne while Jigga is getting something
Watch is platinum, got jet lag from
My watch is made of platinum and I'm tired from traveling
Flights back and forth, pop corks of the best grapes
Back and forth flights, drinking the best wine
Make the best CD's and the best tapes
We make the best music CD's and tapes
Don't forget the vinyl, take girls break spinals
Plus we make records, and have sex with women so hard it damages their spines
Biggie be Richie like Lionel, shit
Biggie is as rich as Lionel Richie
You seen the Jesus, dipped in H classes
You see us dressed in expensive, fashionable clothes
Ice project off lights, chick flashes
Our expensive jewelry shines and attracts women
Blind your broke asses, even got rocks in big mustaches
Our richness blinds you, we even put diamonds in big mustaches
Rock top fashions
Wear the best clothes
Ain't shit changed, except the number after the dot
Nothing has changed except the amount of money has increased
On the Range, way niggas look at me now, kinda strange
Riding in the Range (car), people look at me differently now
I hate y'all too
I don't like you either
Rather be in Carribean sands with Rachael
I would rather be in the Caribbean with Rachael
It's unreal, out the blue Frank White got sex appeal
It's unbelievable that Frank White has become so sought after
Bitches used to go, ewww
Women used to find me unattractive
Still tote steel, tryin' to see five mil
Still carry guns, trying to earn $5 million
Off the sin-gle, for real
Making money from a single (music record)
You ain't fazin' the amazin'
You can't impress me
While your gun's raisin', mine is blazin'
While you're raising your gun, I'm already shooting mine
See you on see me all talkin' to sweetness
You see me and try to start a fight, but I just ignore it and talk to women
Take it for weakness and leave quick
You try to take advantage of my kindness, but I quickly leave
Blocka, Roc-a-Fella, Bad Boy collabo
Collaboration between three music labels (Blocka, Roc-a-Fella, Bad Boy)
Two MC's with mad dough, you know
Two rappers with a lot of money, you already know
Miraculous, pockets stay full
Miraculously, our pockets are always full
Niggas skip the bull 'cause we matadors
People avoid confrontation with us because we are fearless
Snatch the P89s that we pack in the drawers
We take out our guns (P89s) from our drawers quickly
And we clap the doors of your Acuras
We shut the doors of your Acura cars loudly
Snap like cameras on amateurs
We shoot guns quickly like a camera flashes
Make you all dance, hold a hammer to yours
We make you dance, while holding a gun up to your head
Jig and Big rock ice, no cracks or flaws
Jig and Big wear expensive jewelry, with no damage
Everybody got a part to play, back to yours
Everyone has a role to play, your turn now
Run up in your crib now, crack your doors
We invade your home and break down your doors
Watch the real players live, it's a habit to floss
We watch successful people spend extravagantly.. it's a habit
Play the charts like The Beatles, y'all adapt you lost
We dominate the music charts like The Beatles did, you are following us, so you've lost
And toast Cristal on behalf of y'all
We drink Cristal champagne on behalf of you
Too bad for y'all
Sorry, you are out of luck
Ain't too many as bad as yours truly
There aren't too many people as tough as me
Do we, we laugh at y'all
We laugh at you
Little bastards y'all
You are all little bastards
Uhh, uhh
Expression used to indicate agreement
We hit makers with acres
We make a lot of music hits (money) with our properties (acres)
Roll shakers in Vegas, you can't break us
We gamble in Las Vegas with high rollers and cannot be beaten
Lost chips on Lakers, gassed off Shaq
We lost money betting on the Lakers, but are still happy (gassed off) they have Shaq
Country house, tennis courts on horseback
We own a country house with tennis courts where we play while riding horses
Ridin', decidin', cracked crab, or lobster
Riding horses, and while deciding what to eat - crab or lobster
Who say mobsters don't prosper
Whoever said mobsters don't succeed was wrong
Niggas is actors, niggas deserve Oscars
Some people pretend to be tough, even deserve acting awards
Me I'm, critically acclaimed, slug past your brain
I am a highly praised rapper, with lyrics that hit you hard
Reminesce on dames who, coochie used to stink
I look back on women I slept with, who had unpleasant body odor
When we rocked house pieces and puffy Gucci links
When we wore large, flashy jewelry and Gucci links (fashion trend)
Now we buy homes in unfamiliar places
Now we buy homes in places we are not familiar with
Tito smile everytime he see our faces
Tito (our drug dealer) smiles every time he sees us because we make him so much money
Cases catch more than outfield-ers
We make so much money that we catch (hold) more suitcases than baseball outfielders catch balls
Half these rappin' cats, ain't seen war
Half of these rappers haven't been through what we have
Couldn't score if they had point game, they lame
They wouldn't be successful even if they tried, they are losers
Speak my name, I make 'em dash like Dame
When people speak my name, they run away quickly like the basketball player, Damian Lillard aka Dame
Lyrics ยฉ MUSIC & MEDIA INT'L, INC., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: SHAWN CARTER, SHAWN C CARTER, OSTEN HARVEY, RENE MOORE, HARVEY OSTEN, CHRISTOPHER WALLACE, ANGELA LISA WINBUSH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Destroyer-Grizzly-BIH
This song sounds like relief. Like getting out of work, money in your pocket and hitting the highway on a Friday.
@zackjl2777
Such a feel good song for anything tbh
@DoctorRico634
Yep! Super facts in the 90s espicialy
@kylehague9095
amen mang more lifeL
@alltimeklazzikz
nope rather sippin Bottles on your Yacht with a phat blunt in yo mouth on the Way to Acapulco LOL
@Moe29886
Vibes thank Allah the almighty
@juandiegovelasquez4758
This is a piece of timeless art, that last verse from biggie killed it, he really was special daamn! what an artist we lost ๐ข
@buffalosoldier4045
Facts
@natnaelkenaw6302
It turns out jayz wrote that biggie verse. I just read it online
@francischarlesworth
@@natnaelkenaw6302bullshit