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.
Just Playing
The Notorious B.I.G. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Think about the sexy sin'ers that I wanna sex
I'd probably go to jail for fuckin' Patti LaBelle
Ooh, Regina Belle, she'd probably do me swell
Jasmine Guy was fly, Mariah Carey's kinda scary
Wait a minute, what about my honey Mary?
Them jeans they fittin' like a glove
I had a crush on you since Real Love
Sex, I'm takin' no losses
Even groups like SWV and TLC
Can't see B.I.G. with telepathy
The recipe, a pinch of hardcore with a gun
Pimpin' ain't easy but it sure is fun
When I bust my nuts I bust 'em one by one
So what's the 4-1-1 hun?
Dreams of fuckin' an R&B bitch
I'm just playin', but I'm sayin'
Dreams of fuckin' an R&B bitch
I'm just playin', I'm sayin'
Dreams of fuckin' an R&B bitch
I'm just playin', but I'm sayin'
Dreams of fuckin' an R&B bitch
I'm just playin', I'm sayin'
I'll put Chanté Moore pussy in stitches
I'll fuck RuPaul before I fuck them ugly ass X-Scape bitches
You can 76 the 69, try 68
Make Raven-Symoné call date rape
Only 'cause I'm paid, I'm fuckin' all of Jade
And my DJ Zhane she likes it when they say
"Everybody move your body"
Got Whitney Houston boostin' from Bobby
As I bust the cherry of Monica and Terry
Backshots to Chaka, I know that pussy hairy
Sade, ooh, I know that pussy tight
Smack Tina Turner give her flashbacks of Ike
Smoke a stoge, fuckin' En Vogue because it's four of them
Jimmy hats for Patra, I'm usin' all of them
(What about Toni Braxton?)
If that bitch give me action, guaranteed satisfaction
Dreams of fuckin' an R&B bitch
I'm just playin', but I'm sayin'
Dreams of fuckin' an R&B bitch
I'm just playin', I'm sayin'
Dreams of fuckin' an R&B bitch
I'm just playin', but I'm sayin'
Dreams of fuckin' an R&B bitch
I'm just playin', but I'm sayin'
I'm just playin', but I'm sayin'
I'm just playin', but I'm sayin'
I'm just playin', but I'm sayin'
I'm just playin', I'm sayin'
The lyrics to The Notorious B.I.G.'s song "Just Playing" are quite explicit and leave little to the imagination. The song primarily revolves around Biggie's fantasy of being intimate with various R&B singers. The first verse begins with Biggie enjoying a moment of relaxation, smoking a blunt and sipping on a beer while his mind wanders to his sexual desires. He thinks about several sexy singers, but specifically mentions Patti LaBelle and Regina Belle. Jasmine Guy and Mariah Carey also catch his attention, but he ultimately thinks about his "honey Mary," referring to Mary J. Blige.
In the second verse, Biggie becomes even more explicit in his desires. He mentions several additional R&B singers, such as Chante Moore, RuPaul, X-Scape, Monica, and Terry. He even suggests date rape with Raven-Symoné, which is revolting. The lyrics continue with Biggie expressing his intentions to have sex with as many R&B singers as possible, including those in groups like En Vogue and Patra.
Overall, the song "Just Playing" is not meant to be taken seriously in terms of the lyrics, but it provides insight into Biggie's sexual fantasies and his love for R&B music. The song is not something that would be released in today's musical climate, as the lyrics are extremely graphic and inappropriate.
Line by Line Meaning
As I sit back relax, steam a blunt, sip a Becks
As I chill out and smoke some weed while drinking Beck's beer
Think about the sexy singers that I wanna sex
Thinking about the hot female singers I want to have sex with
I'd probably go to jail for fucking Patti LaBelle
If I had sex with Patti LaBelle, it would likely be illegal and I could go to jail
Ooh Regina Belle, she'd probably do me swell
Regina Belle is attractive and would likely be good in bed with me
Jasmine Guy was fly, Mariah Carey's kinda scary
Jasmine Guy is hot, but Mariah Carey is a little intimidating
Wait a minute, what about my honey Mary?
I shouldn't forget about my girl Mary, who I also find attractive
Them jeans they fitting like a glove
Your jeans fit perfectly and look great
I had a crush on you since Real Love
I've had a crush on you since the song Real Love
Hold your horses, I'ma show you who the boss of intercourse is
Wait a moment, I'll show you who's the best at sex
Sex, I'm taking no losses
I'm not losing at sex, I'm winning
Even groups like SWV and TLC
Even famous female singing groups like SWV and TLC
Can't see B.I.G. with telepathy
They can't read my mind to see my thoughts about them
The recipe, a pinch of hardcore with a gun
The perfect combination is a bit of aggression and a weapon
Pimping ain't easy but it sure is fun
Being a pimp is difficult, but it's also enjoyable
When I bust my nuts I bust 'em one by one
When I orgasm, it's intense and happens repeatedly
So what's the 4-1-1 hun?
So tell me, what's the information honey?
Dreams of fucking an R&B bitch
Fantasizing about having sex with a female R&B singer
I'll put Chante Moore pussy in stitches
Chante Moore will be very satisfied after we have sex
I'll fuck RuPaul before I fuck them ugly ass X-Scape bitches
I'd rather have sex with RuPaul than those unattractive X-Scape girls
You can 76 the 69, try 68
Let's switch things up and try a different sexual position
Make Raven-Symoné call date rape
I could have sex with Raven-Symoné even if she doesn't want to
Only 'cause I'm paid, I'm fucking all of Jade
I'm only able to have sex with all of the members of the group Jade because I'm wealthy
And my DJ Zhane she likes it when they say
My DJ Zhane enjoys it when people shout out her name
"Everybody move your body"
"Everyone, start dancing and moving your body"
Got Whitney Houston boosting from Bobby
Whitney Houston is influenced by Bobby Brown's behavior and choices
As I bust the cherry of Monica and Terry
I'll have sex with both Monica and Terry for the first time
Backshots to Chaka, I know that pussy hairy
I'll have sex with Chaka from behind, and I know she has pubic hair
Sade, ooh I know that pussy tight
Sade would be tight during sex
Smack Tina Turner give her flashbacks of Ike
If I hit Tina Turner during sex, it might remind her of her ex-husband Ike Turner
Smoke a stoge, fucking En Vogue because it's four of them
I'll smoke a cigarette and have sex with all four members of En Vogue
Jimmy hats for Patra, I'm using all of them
I'll use all of my condoms while having sex with Patra
(What about Toni Braxton?)
(What about Toni Braxton?)
If that bitch give me action, guaranteed satisfaction
If Toni Braxton has sex with me, she will definitely feel satisfied
I'm just playing, but I'm saying
I'm just kidding, but I mean what I say
I'm just playing, I'm saying
I'm joking, but I'm serious
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Christopher Wallace, Rashad Smith
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@madjack8560
R.I.P to B.I.G
Classic shit
@plugwalk0106
@mohamed elhouni wtf dude
@daryllledonio4158
Luisuicide its a lyric that Nicki wrote using this instrumental
@ahmedali-hy1qu
☹️😞
@biggiesmalls0043
Classic shit man
@quanbrooklynkid7776
@@plugwalk0106 haha
@avdeshkohli4930
This beat and lyrics are in my mind every week since 1994. 28 years! Thank you Biggie. RIP brother
@uglyhobo4602
We're getting old. Haha
@syzmiktv664
"Smack #TinaTurner give a flashback to Ike!" ? ?? What you think about that lyric?
@ant8834
@@syzmiktv664 *give her flashbacks of ike. That's what we think of it.