 |
| Biggie smalls |
Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), best known as
The Notorious B.I.G., was an American rapper. He was also known as
Biggie Smalls (after a character in the 1975 film
Let’s Do It Again).
Wallace was raised in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. When Wallace released his debut album
Ready to Die in 1994, he became a central figure in the East Coast hip-hop scene and increased New York’s visibility at a time when
West Coast artists
were more common in the mainstream.The following year, Wallace led his
childhood friends to chart success through his protégé group, Junior
M.A.F.I.A. While recording his second album, Wallace was heavily
involved in the East Coast/West Coast hip-hop feud, dominating the scene
at the time.
On March 9, 1997, Wallace was killed by an unknown assailant in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. His double-disc set
Life After Death, released 15 days later, hit #1 on the U.S. album charts and was certified
Diamond in
2000 (one of the few hip hop albums to receive this
certification).Wallace was noted for his “loose, easy flow”,dark
semi-autobiographical lyrics and storytelling abilities. Since his
death, a further two albums have been released. MTV ranked him at #3 on
their list of
The Greatest MCs (Rappers) of All Time. He has certified sales of 17 million units in the United States.
Early life
Born in St. Mary’s Hospital, despite later claiming to be raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of
Brooklyn, Wallace grew up in neighboring Clinton Hill. Wallace was the only child of Voletta Wallace, a
Jamaican
preschool teacher, and George Latore, a welder and small-time Jamaican
politician.His father left the family when Wallace was two years old,
leaving his mother to work two jobs while raising him. At the Queen of
All Saints Middle School, Wallace excelled in class, winning several
awards as an
English student. He was nicknamed “Big” because of his size before he turned 10
Heavy D
 |
| Heavy D |
Dwight Arrington Myers (May 24, 1967 – November 8, 2011), better known as
Heavy D, was a Jamaican-born American rapper, record producer, singer, actor, and former leader of
Heavy D & the Boyz,
a hip hop group which included G-Whiz (Glen Parrish), “Trouble” T. Roy
(Troy Dixon), and Eddie F (born Edward Ferrell). The group maintained a
sizable audience in the United States through most of the 1990s. The
five albums the group released were produced by
Teddy Riley, Marley Marl, his cousin
Pete Rock and Eddie
Myers was born on May 24, 1967 in Mandeville, Jamaica, the son of
Eulahlee Lee, a nurse, and Clifford Vincent Myers, a machine technician.
His family moved to Mount Vernon, New York, in the early 1970s, where
he was raised.
Busta Rhymes
Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., (born May 20, 1972),better known by his stage name
Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, producer and
actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after
NFL wide
receiver George “Buster” Rhymes. Early in his career, he was known for
his wild style and fashion, and today is best known for his intricate
rapping technique, which involves rapping at a fast rate with lots of
internal rhyme and
half rhyme, and to date has received eleven
Grammy nominations for his musical work.
About.com
included him on its list of the 50 Greatest MCs of Our Time
(1987–2007),while Steve Huey of Allmusic called him one of the best and
most prolific rappers of the ’90s.
Busta was born in
Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York,
and grew up in Flatbush, Brooklyn, to Jamaican parents Geraldine Green
and Trevor Smith, Sr. in 1972. Smith attended George Westinghouse Career
and Technical Education High School, alongside
Jay-Z, DMX and
The Notorious B.I.G . He went to Uniondale High School on Long Island, graduating in 1990.
 |
| Bounty Killer left and Beanie man right |
