Items related to The Murder of Biggie Smalls
The Notorious B.I.G. exploded onto the hip-hop scene with his platinum-selling album Ready to Die in 1995. The life of B.I.G. a.k.a. Biggie Smalls--born Christopher Wallace--had come a long way from the years spent in his Bed-Sty neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, where he dropped out of school at age seventeen to pursue the culture of the street and master his rapping style. It was on the street that Smalls began emceeing his original raps and was discovered by Sean "Puffy" Combs, who recognized Smalls's potential and took his gangsta image to the next level.
Within a few years he moved from the street to two successful rap albums, several million dollars in earnings, a Billboard Music Award in 1996 for Rapper of the Year, a marriage to R&B singer Faith Evans, a very public affair with L'il Kim, and hanging with Tupac Shakur, Marion "Surge" Knight, Puff Daddy, and Mary J. Blige. Despite becoming king of his world, Smalls didn't leave the life he rapped about behind. During his two-year rise up the charts he had several run-ins with the law, on charges ranging from assault to drugs and weapons possession. In 1994, both he and Combs were accused publicly by Suge Knight and Tupac's camp of setting up the shooting of Tupac Shakur, a charge they both vehemently denied.
The high life was brought to an end on March 9, 1997, after Biggie attended the Soul Train Awards in Los Angeles. Smalls was gunned down in his car much like friend-turned-enemy Shakur had been six months earlier.
Three years after Smalls's death, the police still have not made an arrest, and despite their early confidence that the case would be solved quickly, his murder continues to raise more questions than it answers.
Respected journalist Cathy Scott has traveled from Las Vegas to New York and Los Angeles, interviewing those involved with Smalls and reviewing court documents and police reports surrounding the case in order to tell the real story of the murder of Biggie Smalls.
The Murder of Biggie Smalls uncovers what those around Smalls and Shakur don't want to be revealed, including:
The possibility that Smalls may have owed a gang money and was killed to collect on the debt.
That Puffy Combs, Smalls's record producer, may have hired Crips members as bodyguards, who in turn killed Smalls over a financial beef.
That Combs may have been the intended victim instead of Smalls.
The investigation into Suge Knight, Tupac Shakur's record producer, and the suspicion that he may have masterminded Smalls's murder from his California prison cell.
Smalls's mother's belief that the federal government was involved in the mruder and that police have conspired not to solve the crime.
Why many surrounding Smalls feel the police have neglected the case to the point of letting the murderer get away--while being unwilling to offer any information themselves or assist the police in their efforts.
Within a few years he moved from the street to two successful rap albums, several million dollars in earnings, a Billboard Music Award in 1996 for Rapper of the Year, a marriage to R&B singer Faith Evans, a very public affair with L'il Kim, and hanging with Tupac Shakur, Marion "Surge" Knight, Puff Daddy, and Mary J. Blige. Despite becoming king of his world, Smalls didn't leave the life he rapped about behind. During his two-year rise up the charts he had several run-ins with the law, on charges ranging from assault to drugs and weapons possession. In 1994, both he and Combs were accused publicly by Suge Knight and Tupac's camp of setting up the shooting of Tupac Shakur, a charge they both vehemently denied.
The high life was brought to an end on March 9, 1997, after Biggie attended the Soul Train Awards in Los Angeles. Smalls was gunned down in his car much like friend-turned-enemy Shakur had been six months earlier.
Three years after Smalls's death, the police still have not made an arrest, and despite their early confidence that the case would be solved quickly, his murder continues to raise more questions than it answers.
Respected journalist Cathy Scott has traveled from Las Vegas to New York and Los Angeles, interviewing those involved with Smalls and reviewing court documents and police reports surrounding the case in order to tell the real story of the murder of Biggie Smalls.
The Murder of Biggie Smalls uncovers what those around Smalls and Shakur don't want to be revealed, including:
The possibility that Smalls may have owed a gang money and was killed to collect on the debt.
That Puffy Combs, Smalls's record producer, may have hired Crips members as bodyguards, who in turn killed Smalls over a financial beef.
That Combs may have been the intended victim instead of Smalls.
The investigation into Suge Knight, Tupac Shakur's record producer, and the suspicion that he may have masterminded Smalls's murder from his California prison cell.
Smalls's mother's belief that the federal government was involved in the mruder and that police have conspired not to solve the crime.
Why many surrounding Smalls feel the police have neglected the case to the point of letting the murderer get away--while being unwilling to offer any information themselves or assist the police in their efforts.
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About the Author:
Cathy Scott is a veteran crime writer, award-winning investigative journalist and Los Angeles Times bestselling author who has written 10 books. Best known for penning The Killing of Tupac Shakur and The Murder of Biggie Smalls, her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, New York Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, George magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, Las Vegas Sun and Reuters. Scott taught journalism at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for five years until she traveled to the Gulf region with a magazine in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and stayed four months, resulting in the book Pawprints of Katrina. Her latest books are Unconditional Honor (Lyons Press), The Millionaire's Wife (St. Martin's Press) and Murder in Beverly Hills (independent release), which was named 2013 Best True Crime Books of the Year (2nd place) by ForeWord magazine. She regularly speaks at book events, including Literary Orange, the National Book Festival, SDSU Writers' Conference, Vegas Valley Book Festival, and Flathead River Writers Conference. Her recent TV appearances include the Today Show, DatelineNBC, Vanity Fair, Investigation Discovery and A&E. Scott, who blogs about forensics and evidence for Psychology Today, is based in San Diego.
From Booklist:
According to Scott and Biggie Smalls' mom, Voletta Wallace, Biggie and Tupac Shakur once were friends. After Shakur's bloody demise in a hail of bullets, however, Smalls and his associates were perceived as the killers, and speculation ran rampant that deadly retribution would be visited upon them, as part of the East Coast-West Coast gangsta-rap feud. Now, as Paul Harvey might say, Scott brings inquiring minds the rest of the story. Tupac blamed Biggie, in part, for the 1994 ambush that gave Shakur five bullets ("including [one to] the head") and cost him "$35,000 worth of jewelry." Shakur thought Smalls and Sean "Puffy" Combs had known the attack was in the offing. Later, of course, Shakur and then Smalls died in other ambushes. Coincidence? Hardly. Scott takes readers through the complex story of Smalls' murder, which perforce entails telling the stories of Shakur, Combs, Death Row label head and alleged mobster Suge Knight, and the whole East Coast-West Coast contretemps. Whereas others who have dealt with this stuff have often neglected to humanize the principals involved, Scott points up biographical details that bring them into focus as human beings. For setting the record straight as well as for limning a major pop music star, this is a valuable book. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherHuntington Pr
- Publication date2000
- ISBN 10 092971234X
- ISBN 13 9780929712345
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages200
- Rating
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