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.
last day
The Notorious B.I.G. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hittin' honies that be nasty
Gettin' money in the fast way
And I only care halfway
But I still can't let you pass me
Yo what's beef to you, three niggas with hoodies and bats
That ain't shit compared to one small cat with gats
Breathin', eatin', the whole situation
When we do our shit we do our shit for real
While you take your money for your deal and make your own beats
Compose your own sheets, that's aight but chill
I'ma spend that mil and cop only hot shit
Rock top shit, you know how The Lox get
Then you can see me flyin' in the Bentley cockpit
Lox and B-I, hold our cliqa down for years
Gang not, but we been had our black tears
Niggas under the stairs only understand what we got
Underground, all above must get shot
You couldn't book me Dano, see Luciano put the burners
To all y'all, what nigga bring it I'm callin' y'all
You already know what it's about when I run up in your house
Put the gun up in your mouth and get the money out the couch
Hearin' you out is senseless, perhaps for instance
I give this faggot a french kiss
Black gloves, no prints, dark tints
Word on the street they ain't heard from him since
You know about life after kicked the kid in
Since me and my mi-dan can flip seven gri-dams
Scri-dam the flow is forbidd-en
Either you ridin' or you dyin' cause we swingin' iron
Lox and Poppa, turning niggas into Jim Hoffa
Who gon stop us, your last joint double copper
You gettin' money or your runnin' from the Feds
Ain't nothin' over here but sixteen, with one in the head
And I solemnly swear
That all y'all niggaz out there got a problem this year
Can I live 'til my last day
Hittin' honies that be nasty
Gettin' money in the fast way
And I only care halfway
But I still can't let you pass me
Can I live 'til my last day
Hittin' honies that be nasty
Gettin' money in the fast way
And I only care halfway
But I still can't let you pass me
Before you think of keepin' me down, heatin' me down
The flow like water get deep and you drown
With no soul, many niggas roll with no gold
Even the small kind got a little black hole
Your destiny is somethin' you can never figure out
Niggas is never happy 'til there's blood up in your mouth
There's a lot of killers, but who the hell are you to blame?
There's a lot of dead, how the hell you take the pain?
Live with it, got money you better get with it
My man had the thug in him did his bid with it
Get married to the game but never have a kid with it
Advice from the wise, slice the pies
Too many schemes divides, when dreams collide
Teams provide, war for the street to absorb
Stashed in the ceiling and you slept on the floor
Only a blind dove'll fall in love with a whore
Uhh, uhh, uhh
Who the fuck wanna squeeze?
My Desert Ease make MC's freeze
You wakin up in cold sweats, they just dreams
You still apoligizin', analyzin', my size and your size and
Realizin', a fist fight would be asinine
You just pop wines, I must pop nines
Genuine steel piece, nozzle in your grill piece
You're shook up, two bricks, every cook up
We can hook up, all I see is the future
Disrespect, I shoot ya
By the way, them bricks, get flipped weekly
Sold by soldiers that mix weed with the leak leak
Die for a dollar nigga, life ain't sweet
Play for keeps wet shirts with experts on the creep
I be the mob fiance, about to marry it
Illegal transactions in Farragut with Arabics
Why not, they fit twelve up in the bedroom
Imagine what they stash is like, make you a classic like
My first LP, beef with me is unhealthy
Fuck around and get an ul-cer, loose your pulse or
Collapsed lung, look how many gats I brung
For them homos, still doin' promos
Break both your legs you're movin' slow-mo, got shined to glow mo'
Nine hundred and ninety six grams, you need for mo'
Can I live 'til my last day
Hittin' honies that be nasty
Gettin' money in the fast way
And I only care halfway
But I still can't let you pass me
Can I live 'til my last day
Hittin' honies that be nasty
Gettin' money in the fast way
And I only care halfway
But I still can't let you pass me
The Notorious B.I.G.'s song 'Last Day' is a testament to the rapper's life and the little time he had left, hence the title. The first verse speaks about living life to the fullest until it's time to leave. It talks about hitting on beautiful girls, earning quick money and being indifferent about things, but also not letting opportunities go by. The second verse talks about the beef and how it is meaningless when compared to gun violence. The verse is a response to Tupac Shakur's lyrics where he compared himself to Biggie and his friends as small fries in the beef game. It also talks about how they are cutting off their competition when they come around and how their style is real. In the third verse, the rapper talks about his violent tendencies and how they have come to define his person. He talks about how others are still apologizing to him even when he threatens them. The verse also features an exchange of the drug market in which the community lives, especially the type of drugs being sold (weed mixed with cocaine) being dangerous. The last part of the verse talks about his fame and how he can't be stopped, even while doing promotional work. The final conclusion speaks of living his days to the fullest until his last, as stated in the first verse.
Overall, the song depicts the hard life the rapper was living, how he saw the world around him, and his rise to fame. It is a melancholic song, seen from the way he reflects on life, death, and how fragile it could be.
Line by Line Meaning
Can I live 'til my last day
Can I survive until the very end?
Hittin' honies that be nasty
Having sexual relations with unattractive women
Gettin' money in the fast way
Making money quickly
And I only care halfway
Not fully invested
But I still can't let you pass me
Not letting anyone get ahead
Yo what's beef to you, three niggas with hoodies and bats
What is violence to you? Three men with weapons
That ain't shit compared to one small cat with gats
That is nothing compared to one individual with guns
When we came here we cut off all kind circulation
When we arrived, we took over completely
Breathin', eatin', the whole situation
Controlling every aspect of the situation
When we do our shit we do our shit for real
When we take action, we do so seriously
While you take your money for your deal and make your own beats
While others are busy producing their own music and earning money
Compose your own sheets, that's aight but chill
Creating music is fine, but be calm about it
I'ma spend that mil and cop only hot shit
I will spend millions of dollars only on quality items
Rock top shit, you know how The Lox get
We only wear the best clothes, and it's well-known
Then you can see me flyin' in the Bentley cockpit
I will be driving a luxurious Bentley
Lox and B-I, hold our cliqa down for years
The Lox and Biggie have been loyal friends for a long time
Gang not, but we been had our black tears
We may not be involved in gang activity, but we have seen our share of pain and suffering
Niggas under the stairs only understand what we got
Only those who are close to us understand our true situation
Underground, all above must get shot
Anyone who is not with us must be eliminated
You couldn't book me Dano, see Luciano put the burners
You cannot catch me, just like the famous gangster
To all y'all, what nigga bring it I'm callin' y'all
I am challenging anyone who wants to confront me
You already know what it's about when I run up in your house
You know what happens when I invade your home
Put the gun up in your mouth and get the money out the couch
I will put a gun in your mouth and steal the money from your couch
Hearin' you out is senseless, perhaps for instance
Listening to you is pointless, for example
I give this faggot a french kiss
I will show this person who is boss
Black gloves, no prints, dark tints
I wear gloves and have tinted windows to avoid leaving evidence
Word on the street they ain't heard from him since
People say they have not heard from him in a while
You know about life after kicked the kid in
You know what happens after someone dies
Since me and my mi-dan can flip seven gri-dams
My friend and I can make lots of money together
Scri-dam the flow is forbidd-en
The way I rap is unique and against the norm
Either you ridin' or you dyin' cause we swingin' iron
Either you are with us or against us, because we have guns ready
Lox and Poppa, turning niggas into Jim Hoffa
The Lox and Biggie can make people disappear, like the famous union leader
Who gon stop us, your last joint double copper
Who can stop us? Your last single did not sell well
You gettin' money or your runnin' from the Feds
Are you making money or trying to avoid getting caught by the authorities?
Ain't nothin' over here but sixteen, with one in the head
This is a dangerous area with many guns
And I solemnly swear
I make a serious promise
That all y'all niggaz out there got a problem this year
I guarantee that you will have a problem this year
Before you think of keepin' me down, heatin' me down
Before you try to stop me or hurt me
The flow like water get deep and you drown
My rapping skills are unbeatable and will overpower you
With no soul, many niggas roll with no gold
Many people are empty and carry nothing of value
Even the small kind got a little black hole
Even the smallest amount of something can be valuable
Your destiny is somethin' you can never figure out
You cannot predict what will happen to you in life
Niggas is never happy 'til there's blood up in your mouth
Some people are not satisfied until they have harmed you
There's a lot of killers, but who the hell are you to blame?
There are many dangerous people, but why are you blaming me?
There's a lot of dead, how the hell you take the pain?
There are many people who have died, how can you handle the suffering?
Live with it, got money you better get with it
Deal with your problems, if you have money, use it to your benefit
My man had the thug in him did his bid with it
My friend was tough and served time in prison
Get married to the game but never have a kid with it
Focus on the music industry, but do not get too involved
Advice from the wise, slice the pies
Advice from someone experienced, divide the money evenly
Too many schemes divides, when dreams collide
Too many plans will cause division, and competing dreams will cause conflict
Teams provide, war for the street to absorb
Working as a team to fight against the dangers of the streets
Stashed in the ceiling and you slept on the floor
I have hidden my riches, while you have nothing
Only a blind dove'll fall in love with a whore
Only a foolish person would fall in love with someone who is unfaithful
Uhh, uhh, uhh
Various interjections to express excitement or anger
Who the fuck wanna squeeze?
Who wants to face my gun?
My Desert Ease make MC's freeze
My gun will make other rappers hesitate
You wakin up in cold sweats, they just dreams
You are having nightmares, they are not real
You still apoligizin', analyzin', my size and your size and
You are still apologizing and comparing yourself to me
Realizin', a fist fight would be asinine
Acknowledging that a physical fight would be foolish
You just pop wines, I must pop nines
You drink wine, but I must use my gun
Genuine steel piece, nozzle in your grill piece
My gun is the real thing, and I will put it in your face
You're shook up, two bricks, every cook up
You are scared, but I have dealt drugs many times
We can hook up, all I see is the future
We can join forces, and I can see us being successful
Disrespect, I shoot ya
If you disrespect me, I will shoot you
By the way, them bricks, get flipped weekly
By the way, I sell drugs every week
Sold by soldiers that mix weed with the leak leak
Sold by drug dealers who mix marijuana with drugs like PCP
Die for a dollar nigga, life ain't sweet
Some people will kill for money, and life is not easy
Play for keeps wet shirts with experts on the creep
This is a serious game, and dangerous people are watching
I be the mob fiance, about to marry it
I am involved with the mob and about to become even more involved
Illegal transactions in Farragut with Arabics
I conduct illegal business with people from the Middle East
Why not, they fit twelve up in the bedroom
Why not do business with them? They live in tight quarters and are willing to take risks
Imagine what they stash is like, make you a classic like
Think about how much money they have hidden, it will make you rich like a classic song
My first LP, beef with me is unhealthy
My first album caused controversy and conflict with others
Fuck around and get an ul-cer, loose your pulse or
Mistakenly getting involved with me can cause health problems or even death
Collapsed lung, look how many gats I brung
I have brought many guns with me, and I am capable of causing serious harm
For them homos, still doin' promos
Even though other rappers are weak, I am still performing shows
Break both your legs you're movin' slow-mo, got shined to glow mo'
If I harm you, you will not be able to move quickly, and I will look good in comparison
Nine hundred and ninety six grams, you need for mo'
I have almost 1000 grams of drugs, and I will continue to make more money from them
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: SEAN JACOBS, SEAN D JACOBS, KEJUAN WALIEK MUCHITA, JASON PHILLIPS, JASON T PHILLIPS, DAVID STYLES, CHRISTOPHER WALLACE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@RayanOfficial1
[Chorus: Jadakiss]
Can I live 'til my last day?
Hittin' honies that be na-sty
Gettin' money in the fast way
And I only care halfway
But I still can't let you pass me
[Verse 1: Sheek Louch]
Yo what's beef to you, three niggas with hoodies and bats
That ain't shit compared to one small cat with gats
When we came here we cut off all kind circulation
Breathin', eatin', the whole situation
When we do our shit we do our shit for real
While you take your money for your deal and make your own beats
Compose your own sheets, that's aight but chill
I'ma spend that mil and cop only hot shit
Rock top shit you know how The LOX get
Then you can see me flyin' in the Bentley cockpit
LOX and B-I, hold our grica down for years
Gang not, but we been had our black tears
Niggas under the stairs only understand what we got
Underground, all above must get shot
You couldn't book me Dano, Sheek Luciano put the burners
To all y'all, what nigga bring it I'm callin' y'all
[Verse 2: Jadakiss]
You already know what it's about when I run up in your house
Put the gun up in your mouth and get the money out the couch
Hearin' you out is senseless, perhaps for instance
I give this faggot a french kiss
Black gloves, no prints, dark tints
Word on the street they ain't heard from him since
You know about life after kickin' the kid in
Since me and my mi-dan can flip seven gri-dams
Scri-dam, the flow is forbidden
Either you ridin' or you dyin' 'cause we swingin' iron
LOX and Poppa, turning niggas into Jim Hoffa
Who gon' stop us? Your last joint double copper
You gettin' money or you're runnin' from the Feds
Ain't nothin' over here but 16 with one in the head
And I solemnly swear
That all y'all niggas out there got a problem this year
[Chorus: Jadakiss]
Can I live 'til my last day?
Hittin' honies that be na-sty
Gettin' money in the fast way
And I only care halfway
But I still can't let you pass me
Can I live 'til my last day?
Hittin' honies that be na-sty
Gettin' money in the fast way
And I only care halfway
But I still can't let you pass me
[Verse 3: Styles P]
Before you think of keepin' me down, heatin' me down
The flow like water get deep and you drown
With no soul, many niggas roll with no goal
Even the small gun got a little black hole
Your destiny is something you can never figure out
Niggas is never happy 'til there's blood up in your mouth
There's a lot of killers, but who the hell are you to blame
There's a lot of dead, how the hell you take the pain?
Live with it got money you better give with it
My man had the thug in him did his bid with it
Get married to the game but never have a kid with it
Advice from the wise, slice the pies
Too many schemes devised when dreams collide
Teams provide war for the street to absorb
You stashed in the ceiling and you slept on the floor
Only a blind thug'll fall in love with a whore
[Break: The Notorious B.I.G.]
Uhh, uhh, uhh
[Verse 4: The Notorious B.I.G.]
Who the fuck wanna squeeze?
My Desert E's make MC's freeze
You wakin' up in cold sweats, they just dreams
You still apologizin'
Analyzin', my size and your size and
Realizin', a fist fight would be asinine
You just pop wines, I must pop nines
Genuine steel piece, nozzle in your grill piece
You're shook up, two bricks, every cook up
We can hook up, all I see is the future
Disrespect, I shoot ya
By the way, them bricks get flipped weekly
Sold by soldiers that mix weed with the leak leak
Die for a dollar, nigga, life ain't sweet
Play for keeps, wet shirts with experts on the creep
Our beef is my fiancé, about to marry it
Illegal transactions in Farragut with Arabics
Why not, they fit twelve up in the bedroom
Imagine what they stash is like, make you a classic like
My first LP, beef with me is unhealthy
Fuck around and get an ulcer, loose your pulse or
Collapsed lung, look how many gats I brung
For them homos, still doin' promos
Break both your legs you're movin' slow-mo
Got shine to glow mo'
Nine hundred and ninety six grams, you need four mo'
[Chorus: Jadakiss]
Can I live 'til my last day?
Hittin' honies that be na-sty
Gettin' money in the fast way
And I only care halfway
But I still can't let you pass me
Can I live 'til my last day?
Hittin' honies that be na-sty
Gettin' money in the fast way
And I only care halfway
But I still can't let you pass me
Can I live 'til my last day?
Hittin' honies that be na-sty
Gettin' money in the fast way
And I only care halfway
But I still can't let you pass me
@herlockholme7321
This hits different listening as an adult! Biggie's flow was ahead of his time! Timeless flow and skill!! 🔥
@kennyb1997
And realizing the lox and biggie could've been a dope ass album better it would've been better then junior Mafia
@ericalen4369
Grown up..😂 we are children of G ,so we laugh ,b easy e
@herlockholme7321
@@ericalen4369 huh? 🤔
@ericalen4369
@@herlockholme7321 sorry dude,I was intoxicated,,listen to jimi hendrix maybe ,be free.
@universalconquest4447
Biggie's Verse =🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Louch came hard too.
@NotoriousBIG
Join The Christopher Wallace Estate and Bad Boy / Atlantic / Rhino Records in celebrating 25 years of Life After Death and 50 Years of Christopher Wallace. The Super Deluxe 8-LP Box Set of The Notorious B.I.G.'s opus Life After Death will be available worldwide on June 10, 2022. Learn more about what’s in the release and pre-order yours now at https://Big.lnk.to/LADSDlx
@LegitSubbingToEveryoneWhoSubMe
I just love it when the notifications “someone liked your comment” or “you got a new subscribers” it makes me happy 🤗
@lofiorb8727
pin your comment please
@joanm.c.
Will never forget The Notorious B.I.G