Ready To Die

Notorious 'Christopher George Letore Wallace' B.I.G. (Business Instead of Game) was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY on May 21, 1972. During his life he moved many crowds with his conversational style in Hip Hop. Before his death in 1997, he released two studio albums both garnering critical and public acclaim: 'Ready To Die' and 'Life After Death'. The Notorious B.I.G., made his recording debut on a 1993 remix of Mary J. Blige's single "Real Love." He soon guested on another Blige remix, "What's the 411?," and contributed his first solo cut, "Party and Bullshit," to the soundtrack of the film Who's the Man?

Now with a considerable underground buzz behind him, The Notorious B.I.G. delivered his debut album, Ready to Die, in September 1994. Its lead single, "Juicy," went gold, and the follow-up smash, "Big Poppa," achieved platinum sales and went Top Ten on the pop and R&B charts. Biggie's third single, "One More Chance," tied Michael Jackson's "Scream" for the highest debut ever on the pop charts; it entered at number five en route to an eventual peak at number two, and went all the way to number one on the R&B side. By the time the dust settled, Ready to Die had sold over four million copies and turned the Notorious B.I.G. into a hip-hop sensation -- the first major star the East Coast had produced since the rise of Dr. Dre's West Coast G-funk.