Christopher Wallace, also known as The Notorious B.I.G., was one of the most influential rap artists of all time. He was a master craftsman of storytelling and was an iconic figure in the East Coast hip-hop scene. In this article, we will analyze the life of Christopher Wallace and explore the influence he has had on the rap industry. We will focus on the highs and lows of his career and the impact he continues to have on music today.
Table of Contents:
1.. Early Life
2. Music Career
3. Major Accomplishments
4. Legacy
5. The Notorious B.I.G.
- Early Life
Christopher Wallace was born on May 21, 1972, in Brooklyn, New York to parents Voletta and George Latore. He was raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn, which was a hotbed of crime and poverty. Despite the struggles he faced growing up, Wallace was an intelligent and hardworking student who excelled in school. As a child, he was a fan of both hip-hop music and basketball and developed a strong passion for the game. After leaving school, Wallace began selling drugs and soon became entrenched in New York’s criminal underworld.
- Music Career
Inspired by his love of hip-hop, Wallace began rapping in the late 1980s and quickly made a name for himself on the burgeoning rap scene. He released his first album, Ready to Die, in 1994 and it went on to become a hit, garnering both critical and commercial success. Wallace followed up this success with his second album, Life After Death, in 1996, which was even more successful than his debut. Wallace gained further fame and success with appearances on tracks by popular rappers such as Tupac, Jay-Z, and Lil’ Kim.
- Major Accomplishments
Throughout his career, Wallace was able to achieve a great deal of success. He was nominated for two Grammy awards, won an MTV Video Music Award, and received several posthumous awards. In 1997, he became the first solo artist to achieve a number-one album on both the Billboard 200 and R&B/hip hop albums chart. He was also featured in Vibe’s list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time” and Rolling Stone’s list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”.
- Legacy
The Notorious B.I.G.’s legacy has endured long after his untimely death. His music has had an immense influence on generations of rappers and he remains an iconic figure in the hip-hop world. His influence can be seen in the work of many popular rappers today, such as Drake, J. Cole, and Kendrick Lamar. He is still celebrated for his witty lyrical style and has gone down in hip-hop history as one of the all-time greats.
The Notorious B.I.G. Quotes
“Damn right I like the life I live because I went from negative to positive.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“If you feel like it’s something you don’t have to do, you really have to question it.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“If you hear something about somebody, don’t be so quick to be like, I don’t like him. Try to find out what’s going on.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“I’m living every day like a hustle.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“My real-life helped me sell a lot of records.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“You got to mature, you know.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“If the game shakes me or breaks me, I hope it makes me a better man.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“What happens on that corner happens on every corner.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“Sticks and stones may break bones, but the Gat will kill you quicker.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“Learn to treat life to the best, put stress to rest.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“I wonder if I died, would tears come to her eyes. Forgive me for my disrespect, forgive me for my lies.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“I would never wish death on nobody, ’cause there ain’t no coming back from that.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
13.“I don’t want to live anymore, sometimes I hear death knocking at my front door.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“You’re nobody ’til somebody kills you.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“Stay far from timid, only make moves when your heart’s in it, and live the phrase ‘sky’s the limit.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“Excellence is my presence, never tense, never hesitant.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“We aren’t trying to fail in this game. We are trying to succeed.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“Keep trying. Persistence and consistency is the best thing. As long as you keep it real, and you keep trying, keep banging that wall and it will fall.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“I found something I was good at, I’m just trying to flip it, and keep it going. I aren’t trying to slack off at all.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“Climb the ladder to success escalator style.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“And everything you get, you gotta work hard for it.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“Never let no one know how much dough you hold.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“It’s like the more money we come across / the more problems we see.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“I never thought it could happen, this rappin stuff.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“You know very well who you are, don’t let them hold you down, reach for the stars.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“Lyrically, I’m supposed to represent.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“I’m blowing up like you thought I would/Call the crib, same number, same hood, it’s all good.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“Never lose, never choose to.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“Spread love, it’s the Brooklyn way.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“This rule is so underrated: Keep your family and business completely separated.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“If you don’t love yourself, I’ll make you see your own heart.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“I’m trying to get other niggas off the streets.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“96 is the year of love. We all need to pull together.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“Get my daughter this college grant so she doesn’t need no man.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“We can’t change the world unless we change ourselves.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“Even when I was wrong, I got my point across.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“Catch me if you can like the gingerbread man.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“Every true hustler knows that you cannot hustle forever. You will go to jail eventually.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“If you didn’t know, now you know.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“I don’t chase them, I replace them.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“The second time I went to jail, I was like, ‘okay, this is not the move.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“Never let them know your next move.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“To all the teachers that told me I’d never amount to nothing.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“Considered a fool ’cause I dropped out of high school. Stereotypes of a black male misunderstood.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“I can’t even see me wasting my time or my talent to disrespect another black man.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“I’m living every day like a hustle, another drug to juggle. Another day, another struggle.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“If you got a little something you know how to do, progress at it, keep trying, you know God knows what could happen.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“I grew up in some suburb, I’d come out with a song about potholes in my lawn.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“I’m definitely a writer. I don’t even know how to freestyle.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
“I can’t stop nobody, can’t knock nobody hustle.” – The Notorious B.I.G.
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