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The Brooklyn-born rapper the Notorious B.I.G. (born Chris Wallace) first gained attention for his work on Mary J. Blige's What's the 411? When he delivered his debut album, Ready to Die, in 1994, it became one of the most popular Hip-Hop releases of the year. In june of 1995, his single one more chance debuted at #5 in the pop singles chart, tying Michael Jackson's scream/childhood as the highest debuting single of all time. Ready to Die continued to gain popularity throughout 1995, eventually selling two million copies. With its success, the Notorious B.I.G. became the most visible figure in East coast Hip-Hop, and he became a target in the heated feud between the two coasts; especially as he and Tupac Shakur, a former ally, became vicious rivals. As the Notorious B.I.G. was preparing his second album, Shakur was shot and killed in Las Vegas. Many in the media speculated that Biggie's camp was responsible for the shooting, accusations that he and his producer, Sean Puffy Combs, vehemently denied. However, the wheels had been set in motion for another tragedy. Early on the morning of March 9, the Notorious B.I.G. was returning to his hotel in Los Angeles after a soul train award party when another car pulled up aside his car and opened fire, killing him instantly. Shakur had been killed just six months earlier. The Notorious B.I.G.'s second album, the double-disc Life after Death, was released three weeks later, debuting at number one on the charts. His legend continued to grow in the years to follow thanks to subsequent posthumous releases, including 1999's Born again. He grew up in a rough neighborbhood and dropped out of high school to sell crack, later ending up in jail. After much soul searching, Wallace made adecision to turn his life around, deciding he'd rather be a rapper than a drug dealer. He recorded some demo tapes on a friend's four-track; one tape made its way to farmed rap impresario Sean Puffy Combs, who quickly signed Wallace to his Bad Boy Records label. After first gaining Notoriety for a guest appearance on a Mary J. Bilge remix, B.I.G. returned with an acclaimed 1994 debut, Ready to Die. The album quickly went platinum, and B.I.G. went on to win Billboard's Rapper of the year award. Over the years B.I.G. made appearances on albums by R. Kelly and Michael Jackson and played himself in a bit role on Tv's New York Undercover. His final album debuted at #1, and numerous rappers have paid tribute to B.I.G., who is survived by two children. He is also know as Big Poppa.
I may also use this page to talk about my personal feelings about this star's career. Do I think the star's early childhood history had an impact on the type of role this star took on later? Do I feel this star made some terrible career or life decisions?
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