Notorious B.I.G. news stories on Newser

Sean Combs Ordered Tupac Murder: LA Cop

Rob Quinn — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 11:10:05 CDT

Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls were murdered by the order of rival record company bosses, according to an LAPD detective who investigated Tupac's slaying in 1996. Gang informant Keffe Davis claims Sean Combs—then known as Puff Daddy—offered him $1 million to kill Tupac and Death Row records chief...

FBI Files May Reveal Notorious BIG's Murderer

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:59:08 CDT

The FBI has released a thick—albeit heavily redacted—file detailing its investigation into Christopher "Notorious BIG" Wallace's fatal 1997 shooting, and it provides at least one tantalizing clue. Wallace was killed with an extremely rare piece of ammunition, the Gecko 9mm, which is manufactured in Germany and available through...

13 Years Later, Notorious BIG Investigation Back On

Evann Gastaldo — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 07:45:44 CST

Thirteen years later, the murders of rappers Notorious BIG and Tupac Shakur remain two of the music industry’s highest-profile unsolved mysteries—but that could soon change. Police “reinvigorated” the Notorious BIG murder case months ago, sources tell CNN , and they are actively looking into leads and new information related to...

New Site Decodes Rap Lyrics

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:42:51 CST

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ song “Empire State of Mind” is everywhere, even at the World Series. But do you know what the lyrics mean? If not, Rap Genius (formerly Rap Exegesis) can clue you in the way it educated Nick Antosca of the Huffington Post. Some of the explanations the...

Brit's Dancers Fired for Drugs

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:01:55 CDT

Sean “Diddy” Combs tells the Huffington Post that, yes, that is the sound of the Notorious BIG receiving—ahem—oral sex during his Ready to Die track. “I think Big would be alright with it,” Combs said of his admission. Elsewhere: Britney Spears’ “beyond strict” handlers fired three of her...

Notorious Aims Too Small

Rob Quinn — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:33:44 CST

The Biggie Smalls biopic Notorious efficiently recaps the murdered rapper's short life, but it's not a movie significant enough for one of rap's greats, say critics. Brooklyn rapper Jamal Woodard turns in a convincing performance, Chris Richards writes in the Washington Post , but he's rapping to a script that seems...

Ringtones Killed NYC Hip-Hop

Victoria Floethe — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:53:10 CDT

Once the king-maker of neighborhood phenoms, New York no longer spawns hip-hop's best, and the rise of ringtones is the culprit, writes Matthew Mundy in the New York Press. Because Big Apple beats are less pop-friendly than their Southern counterparts, they're not making it to teenagers' cell phones. "Hip-hop is...

Diddy Denies Tupac Claim

Peter Fearon — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 07:15:40 CDT

Sean "Diddy" Combs has vehemently denied claims that he, the Notorious BIG, and other rap figures were involved in an attack on Tupac Shakur in 1994. Shakur was shot outside a New York recording studio, triggering the East Coast-West Coast rap wars in which Shakur and others were murdered. In...