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A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song (the one that the record producer hopes will receive radio airplay and become a "hit"), while the B-side, or flipside, is a secondary song that often does not appear on the artist's LP.

History[link]

The earliest 10-inch, 78 rpm, shellac records were single sided. Double sided recordings, with one song on each side, were introduced in Europe by Columbia Records and by the late 1910s they had become the norm in both Europe and the USA. There were no record charts until the 1930s, and radio stations (by and large) did not play recorded music until the 1950s (when top 40 radio overtook full-service network radio). In this time, A-sides and B-sides existed, but neither side was considered more important; the "side" did not convey anything about the content of the record.

In 1948, Columbia Records introduced the ten- and twelve-inch long-playing (LP) vinyl record for commercial sales, and its rival RCA-Victor responded the next year with the seven-inch 45 rpm vinyl record, which would come to replace the 78 as the home of the single. The term "single" came into popular use with the advent of vinyl records in the early 1950s. At first, most record labels would randomly assign which song would be an A-side and which would be a B-side. (All phonograph (gramophone) records have specific identifiers for each side in addition to the catalog number for the record itself; the "A" side would typically be assigned a sequentially lower number.) Under this random system, many artists had so-called "double-sided hits", where both songs on a record made one of the national sales charts (in Billboard, Cashbox, or other magazines), or would be featured on jukeboxes in public places.

As time wore on, however, the convention for assigning songs to sides of the record changed. Very early into the decade^[which?], the song on the A-side was the song that the record company wanted radio stations to play, as 45 records (or '45s') dominated the market in terms of cash sales. It was not until 1968, for instance, that the total production of albums on a unit basis finally surpassed that of singles in the United Kingdom.^[1] By the early 1970s, double-sided hits had become rare. Album sales had increased, and B-sides had become the side of the record where non-album, non-radio-friendly, instrumental versions or simply inferior recordings were placed.

With the advent of cassette and compact disc singles in the late 1980s, the A-side/B-side differentiation became much less meaningful. At first, cassette singles would often have one song on each side of the cassette, matching the arrangement of vinyl records, but eventually, cassette maxi-singles, containing more than two songs, became more popular. With the decline of cassette singles in the 1990s, the A-side/B-side dichotomy became virtually extinct, as the remaining dominant medium, the compact disc, lacked an equivalent physical distinction. However, the term "B-side" is still used to refer to the "bonus" tracks or "coupling" tracks on a CD single.

With the advent of legal methods of downloading music via the Internet, sales of CD singles and other physical media have declined, and the term "B-side" is now less commonly used. Songs that were not part of an artist's collection of albums are made available through the same downloadable catalogs as tracks from their albums, and are usually referred to as "unreleased", "bonus", "non-album", "rare", "outtakes" or "exclusive" tracks, the latter in the case of a song being available solely from a certain provider of music.

Significance[link]

B-side songs may be released on the same record as a single to provide extra "value for money". There are several types of material commonly released in this way, including a different version (e.g., instrumental, a cappella, live, acoustic, remixed version or in another language/text), or, in a concept record, a song that does not fit into the story line.

Additionally, it was common in the 1960s and 1970s for longer songs by soul, funk or R&B acts to be broken into two parts for single release. Examples of this include the Isley Brothers "Shout" (Parts 1 and 2), and a number of records by James Brown, including "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" (Parts 1 & 2) and "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud (Parts 1 & 2). "Part 1" would be the chart hit, while "Part 2" would be a continuation of the same recording. A notable example of a non-R&B hit with parts 1 & 2 was the single release of Don McLean's "American Pie". With the advent of the 12" single in the late 1970s, the Part 1/Part 2 method of recording was largely abandoned.

Since both sides of a single received equal royalties, some composers deliberately arranged for their songs to be used as the B-sides of singles by popular artists. This became known as the "flipside racket".

On a few occasions, the B-side became the more popular song. This was usually because a DJ preferred the B-side to its A-side and played it instead. Examples include "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor (originally the B-side of "Substitute"), "I'll Be Around" by The Spinners (originally the B-side of "How Could I Let You Get Away"), "Maggie May" by Rod Stewart (originally the B-side of "Reason To Believe"), and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" by Beyoncé (originally the B-side of "If I Were a Boy"). More rarely, both sides of the single would become hits, such as Queen's "We Are the Champions" and "We Will Rock You".

The song "How Soon Is Now?" by The Smiths started out as the extra track on the 12" of "William, It Was Really Nothing" but later gained a separate release as an A-side in its own right, as did Oasis's "Acquiesce", which originally appeared as a B-side to "Some Might Say" in 1995, but gained subsequent release in 2006 as part of an EP to promote their forthcoming compilation album, Stop the Clocks. Feeder in 2001 and 2005 had the B-sides "Just a Day" from "Seven Days In The Sun", and "Shatter" from "Tumble and Fall" released as A-sides after fan petitions and official website and fansite message board hype, and both charted at #12 and #11 in the UK. In 1986, the first single from XTC's record Skylarking, "Grass", was eclipsed in the United States by its B-side, Dear God --- so much so that the record was almost immediately re-released with one song (Mermaid Smiled) removed and "Dear God" put in its place, becoming one of the band's better-known "hits".

On some reissued singles the A- and B-sides are by completely different artists, or two songs from different albums that would not normally have been released together. These were sometimes made for the jukebox, as one record with two popular songs on it would make more money, or to promote an artist to the fans of another. For example, in 1981, Kraftwerk released their new single "Computer Love", with the B side of "The Model" from their previous album. After "The Model" found popularity, the single was re-released with the sides reversed, and "The Model" hit the UK No. 1 spot, three years after its album release.

Double A-side[link]

A "double A-side" is a single which has two featured songs. This practice was introduced by The Beatles in 1965 for their single "Day Tripper", which appeared on the same single with "We Can Work It Out". The Beatles released a number of other double A-sided singles, namely "Yellow Submarine" backed with "Eleanor Rigby", "Strawberry Fields Forever" backed with "Penny Lane", and "Come Together" backed with "Something".

Some singles have also been designated double A-sides in retrospect, such as Elvis Presley's 1956 "Don't Be Cruel", which appeared on the same single with "Hound Dog"; this was done because both sides became chart hits independently of one another.

In the UK, the biggest-selling non-charity single of all time was a double A-side, Wings 1977 release "Mull of Kintyre"/"Girls' School", which sold over two million copies. It was also the UK Christmas No. 1 that year, the only occasion on which a double A-side has topped that chart.^[2]

Queen released their first double-A-side single "Killer Queen", backed with "Flick of the Wrist", in 1974. However, due to lack of promotion, only "Killer Queen" became a hit, whereas "Flick of the Wrist" was all but ignored. Three years later, they released "We Are the Champions" with "We Will Rock You" as a B-side. Both sides of the single received much radio airplay, which made them sometimes referred to as double A-side. In 1978 they released "Fat Bottomed Girls"/"Bicycle Race" as a double A-side; that time both sides of the single become hits.

Occasionally double-A-sided singles are released with each side targeting a different market. During the late 1970s, for example, Dolly Parton released a number of double-A-sided singles, in which one side was released to pop radio, and the other side to country, including "Two Doors Down"/"It's All Wrong but It's All Right" and "Baby I'm Burning"/"I Really Got the Feeling".

Oasis released "Little by Little"/"She Is Love" as a double A-side in 2002. Many artists continue to release double A-side singles outside of the US where it is seen as more popular. Examples of this include Bloc Party's "So Here We Are"/"Positive Tension" and Gorillaz's "El Mañana"/"Kids with Guns".

Artists having the most U.S. double-sided singles where each side charted in the US Hot 100, according to Billboard:^[3]

NOTE: Perry Como (12) and Nat King Cole (19) both had additional double-sided singles on Billboard's pre-1955 charts.^[4]

Artists having the most U.S. double-sided singles where each side reached the Billboard Top 40, according to Billboard:^[3]

Double B-side[link]

On vinyl, double A-side singles had one song on either side of the record, while double B-sides contain two songs on the same side (on the B-side; altogether giving 3 songs). When such singles were introduced in the 1970s, the popular term for them was "maxi single", though this term is now used more ambiguously for a variety of formats. These would not quite qualify as EP singles - as that is generally 4 songs on a single. The term is also sometimes used in a self-denigrating fashion for a release with no A-side at all, suggesting neither side is of high quality.

Examples include "Styrafoam" / "Texas Chainsaw Massacre Boogie" by The Tyla Gang Gang (1976), and "Jack Rabbit" / "Whenever You're Ready (We'll Go Steady Again)" by Elton John (1973).

Paul McCartney's 1980 single "Coming Up" had a studio version of the song on the A-side, while the B-side contained two songs, a live version of "Coming Up" and a studio instrumental called "Lunchbox/Odd Sox".

Humorous implementations[link]

The concept of the B-side has become so well known that many performers have released parody versions, including:

• The 1988 "Stutter Rap (No Sleep 'Til Bedtime)" by parody band Morris Minor and the Majors featured a B-side titled "Another Boring 'B'-side".
• Parody band Bad News recorded a video b-side to the VHS version of their single "Bohemian Rhapsody" titled "Every Mistake Imaginable" in which the band discusses that they have to record an extra three minutes of footage for the single to be chart eligible.
• Tracey Ullman's hit "They Don't Know" was backed by a song entitled "The B Side" and featured Ullman in a variety of comic monologues, many of which bemoaned the uselessness of B-Sides.
• Paul and Linda McCartney's B-side to Linda McCartney's "Seaside Woman" (released under the alias "Suzy and the Red Stripes") was a song called, "B-Side to Seaside."
• The single "O.K.?" based on the TV series "Rock Follies of '77" contained a song called "B-Side?" which featured Charlotte Cornwell tunelessly singing about the fact that she is not considered good enough to sing an A-Side.
• The B-side of the single "They're Coming to Take Me Away Ha-Haaa!" by Napoleon XIV was called "!aaaH-aH ,yawA eM ekaT oT gnimoC er'yehT" and the singer billed as "NOELOPAN VIX". It was the A-side played in reverse; in fact, most of the label affixed to that B-side was a mirror image of the front label (as opposed to being spelled backwards), including the letters in the "WB" shield logo.
• Blotto's 1981 single "When the Second Feature Starts" features "The B-Side," a song about how bad B-sides are compared to A-sides.
• Love and Rockets' novelty side project The Bubblemen released only one single in 1988, "The Bubblemen Are Coming" coupled with "The B-Side," which is a field recording of bees.
• The Wall of Voodoo 1982 12" EP Two Songs by Wall of Voodoo has the 10-minute joke track "There's Nothing On This Side" on the B-side.
• Metric released in 2008 single "Help, I'm Alive" with a b-side "Help, I'm a B-side".
• Three Dog Night's 1972 single "Shambala" featured "Our 'B' Side", about the group wishing it could be trusted to write their own songs for single release. It is most notable as the only TDN single written and produced by the whole group, and features family members on background vocals.
• Dickie Goodman's 1974 release, "Energy Crisis '74", featured "The Mistake" as the B-side. "The Mistake" is simply a false start of the A-side, with Goodman saying, "Hello, we're...", followed by two minutes of silence.
• The Pearl Harbor and the Explosions song, "You Got It," was backed by "Busy Little B Side," also found on the Warner Brothers 2-LP sampler, "Troublemakers."
• The B-Side of BA Robertson's 1979 single "Goosebumps" is entitled "The B-Side" and contains lyrics from the song's point of view. The lyrics describe the song as being "The back of a hit" and "Real popular after the war" which can be said to relate to the domaninance of the 45 RPM single after this time and the change of significance of the A-Side and the B-Side after this time. This track also opens side two of BA Robertson's album "Initial Success"

Additionally, Shonen Knife released an album called The Birds & the B-Sides in 1996. Later, Relient K released The Bird and the Bee Sides in 2008. Neither are related to one another, but both albums' names are a play on an idiom, "the birds and the bees", and the term B-Side. In fact, both recordings also include many B-Sides, as their respective name would suggest.

B/W[link]

The term "b/w", an abbreviation of "backed with" or occasionally "bundled with", is often used to refer to the B-side of a record. The term "c/w", for "combined with" or "coupled with", is used similarly.^[5]

B-side compilations[link]

References[link]

General

Specific

Shawntae Harris (born April 14, 1974), better known as Da Brat, is an American rapper and actress. Her debut album, Funkdafied, sold one million copies, making her the first female rapper to have a platinum-selling album.

Early life[link]

Harris was born and raised in Joliet, Illinois. Her parents were never married and Harris was subsequently raised in two different households.^[1] She lived part of the time with her mother and grandmother, and had attended a strict Pentecostal church four times a week, where she played drums and sang in the choir. She also lived with her father and his mother, where she had fewer restrictions. Harris attended Kenwood Academy from 88–89, where she ran track and played basketball, and she graduated from Academy of Scholastic Achievement in 1992.

Regarding her soon-to-be rap name, Harris told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she got the name because she is "a spoiled only child."^[1] Harris is the younger half-sister of actress LisaRaye McCoy.^[2]

Career[link]

1992–1995: Early success[link]

In 1992, Harris got a big break when she won the grand prize in a local rap contest sponsored by Yo! MTV Raps. For the prize, she got to meet Kris Kross, and they in turn introduced her to their producer, Jermaine Dupri, who signed her to his So So Def label. Dupri cultivated Da Brat's image as a "female Snoop Doggy Dogg", and she became one of the first female "reality-based" rappers.^[1]

Da Brat's debut album Funkdafied was released in 1994 and entered the rap albums chart at Number #1. The album went platinum, which made her the first female solo rapper to sell one million units. The single also entitled "Funkdafied" reached #1 on the rap singles chart and #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. She had a follow-up hit from the same album, "Give It 2 You", which reached #26 on the Hot 100.

1996–1999: Collaborations and film projects[link]

In 1996, Da Brat released her second full-length album, Anuthatantrum, which included the single "Ghetto Love" featuring T-Boz of TLC.

During the rest of the '90s, Da Brat came to be known more for her "featured" appearances on other rappers' and R&B singers' albums rather than for her own solo work. She contributed a rhyme to the hip hop remix of Mariah Carey's hit, "Always Be My Baby". She also made her feature film debut that year in Kazaam with Shaquille O'Neal. During the summer of 1997, Da Brat appeared along with Dupri on a remix of Carey's "Honey (So So Def mix)" and recorded the hit remix of "Ladies' Night (Not Tonight)" with Lil' Kim, Left-Eye of TLC, Angie Martinez and Missy Elliott. Da Brat was also featured with Kris Kross on their track "Da Bomb" on the album Da Bomb, as well as on their third album Young, Rich and Dangerous.

In 1997, she was featured on "Sock It 2 Me", a track on Missy Elliott's debut album, Supa Dupa Fly. In 1999, she appeared, alongside Krayzie Bone, on the remix to Mariah Carey's cover of Brenda K. Starr's "I Still Believe". She also appeared as a guest artist with Elliott on Carey's remix of "Heartbreaker", and on the remix of Brandy's "U Don't Know Me (Like U Used To)". That year, she was also featured on a remix of the Destiny's Child single "Jumpin', Jumpin'".

2000–2003: Return to solo work[link]

In early 2000, Da Brat released her third full-length album Unrestricted, which produced the moderately successful singles "That's What I'm Looking For" (U.S. #56) and "What Chu Like" (U.S. #26), featuring soul singer, Tyrese. The album was not well received compared to Brat's earlier work. However, the new album and new millennium did inspire an image makeover for Da Brat. Abandoning her "gangsta" persona, she decided to follow the trend in popular music and attempted to add to her sex appeal.

In 2001, Brat continued her trend of being featured on other artist's remixes, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles chart along with rapper Ludacris on the main remix of Mariah Carey's "Loverboy" and being featured artist on Destiny's Child's "Survivor" remix. Da Brat also appeared as Louise in Carey's 2001 movie Glitter. In 2003, Brat released her fourth album, titled Limelite, Luv & Niteclubz, and appeared on the 4th season of VH1's The Surreal Life.

2005–present: Current activities[link]

In 2005, she made a comeback of sorts when she was featured on the remix to the song "I Think They Like Me," by Dem Franchize Boyz, which also featured Bow Wow and Jermaine Dupri. The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles chart and #15 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 2006, she was an onstage guest on Mariah Carey's The Adventures of Mimi Tour in Atlanta, New York City, Long Island, Washington DC, Chicago, and Los Angeles performing her rap verses on the "Heartbreaker" and "Honey" remixes. She was also featured on Kelly Rowland's "Gotsta Go", a bonus track from her 2007 album Ms. Kelly and is also featured on a bonus track from Carey's E=MC² on a track entitled "4real4real". She also co-wrote a song with Mariah Carey called "O.O.C." which appears on E=MC² and contributes backing vocals on the track.

In 2007, she participated in the fifth season of the VH1 reality series Celebrity Fit Club.

In 2011, she did a remix with Kelly Rowland called "Motivation" featuring Lil Wayne.

Legal troubles, prison sentence, and controversy[link]

In 2001, Harris pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless conduct after she had beaten a woman with a gun during a dispute over VIP seating in a Buckhead, Georgia, nightclub in 2000. The victim in that incident received six stitches for a head wound. Harris ended up serving a year's probation, performed 80 hours of community service and paid a $1,000 fine.^[3]

On October 31, 2007, she was involved in the altercation that ended in assault at a Halloween party at Studio 72 nightclub in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris sparred verbally with a hostess, and later, when the hostess proceeded to talk to her manager, Harris attacked her from behind, striking her in the face with a rum bottle. Harris entered a guilty plea to aggravated assault charges. She was sentenced to three years in prison, seven years of probation, and 200 hours of community service.^[3] In May 2010, she was temporarily released from prison as part of a work-release program ^[4] after serving 21 months.

On February 28, 2011, Jermaine Dupri announced that Da Brat was officially released from prison, completing her sentence.^[5]

Discography[link]

• Funkdafied (1994)
• Anuthatantrum (1996)
• Unrestricted (2000)
• Limelite, Luv & Niteclubz (2003)

Awards and nominations[link]

Grammy Awards

Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards

BET Awards

Billboard Awards

Film and television credits[link]

Film

References[link]

External links[link]

• Da Brat at Allmusic
• Da Brat at MTV
• Da Brat at the Internet Movie Database

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.^[2] 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).^[3] Wallace was noted for his "loose, easy flow",^[4] 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 of All Time.^[5] He has certified sales of 17 million units in the United States.^[6]

Early life[link]

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.^[7] Wallace was the only child of Voletta Wallace, a Jamaican preschool teacher, and George Latore, a welder and small-time Jamaican politician.^[8] 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.^[9] At the age of 12, he began selling drugs. His mother, often away at work, did not know that her son was selling drugs until Wallace was an adult.^[10]

At his request, Wallace transferred out of the private Roman Catholic Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School to attend the state-funded George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School. Jay-Z and Busta Rhymes were also students at that school. According to his mother, Wallace was still a good student, but developed a "smart-ass" attitude at the new school.^[8] At seventeen, Wallace dropped out of high school and became further involved in crime. In 1989, he was arrested on weapons charges in Brooklyn and sentenced to five years' probation. In 1990, he was arrested on a violation of his probation.^[11] A year later, Wallace was arrested in North Carolina for dealing crack cocaine. He spent nine months behind bars until he made bail.^[10]

Rapping career[link]

Wallace began rapping when he was a teenager. He would entertain people on the streets as well as perform with local groups, the Old Gold Brothers and the Techniques.^[2] After being released from prison, Wallace made a demo tape under the name Biggie Smalls, a reference to his childhood nickname and to his stature; he stood at 6' 3" (1.91 m) and weighed as much as 300 to 380 pounds according to differing accounts.^[12] The tape was reportedly made with no serious intent of getting a recording deal, but was promoted by New York-based DJ Mister Cee, who had previously worked with Big Daddy Kane, and was heard by the editor of The Source.^[11]

In March 1992, Wallace featured in The Source's Unsigned Hype column, dedicated to aspiring rappers, and was invited to produce a recording with other unsigned artists in a move that was reportedly uncommon at the time.^[13] The demo tape was heard by Uptown Records A&R and record producer, Sean Combs, who arranged for a meeting with Wallace. He was signed to Uptown immediately and made an appearance on label mates, Heavy D & the Boyz' "A Buncha Niggas" (from the album Blue Funk).^[2][14] Soon after signing his recording contract, Combs was fired from Uptown and started a new label.^[15] Wallace followed and in mid-1992, signed to Combs' new imprint label, Bad Boy Records. On August 8, 1993, Wallace's longtime girlfriend gave birth to his first child, T'yanna.^[16] Wallace continued selling drugs after the birth to support his daughter financially. Once Combs discovered this, he was made to quit.^[2]

Wallace gained exposure later in the year on a remix to Mary J. Blige's single "Real Love", under the pseudonym The Notorious B.I.G., the name he would record under for the remainder of his career, after finding the original moniker "Biggie Smalls" was already in use.^[17] "Real Love" peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was followed by a remix of Blige's "What's the 411?". He continued this success, to a lesser extent, on remixes with Neneh Cherry ("Buddy X") and reggae artist Super Cat ("Dolly My Baby", also featuring Combs) in 1993. In April 1993, his solo track, "Party and Bullshit", appeared on the Who's the Man? soundtrack.^[16] In July 1994, he appeared alongside LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes on a remix to label mate Craig Mack's "Flava in Ya Ear", reaching #9 on the Hot 100.

[edit] Ready to Die and marriage

On August 4, 1994, Wallace married singer Faith Evans after they met at a Bad Boy photoshoot.^[16][18] Four days later, Wallace had his first pop chart success as a solo artist with double A-side, "Juicy/Unbelievable", which reached #27 as the lead single to his debut album.

Ready to Die was released on September 13, 1994, and reached #13 on the Billboard 200 chart,^[19] eventually being certified four times Platinum.^[20] The album, released at a time when West Coast hip hop was prominent in the U.S. charts, according to Rolling Stone, "almost single-handedly... shifted the focus back to East Coast rap".^[21] It gained strong reviews on release and has received much praise in retrospect.^[21][22] In addition to "Juicy", the record produced two hit singles; the Platinum-selling "Big Poppa", which reached #1 on the U.S. rap chart,^[4] and "One More Chance" featuring Faith Evans, a loosely related remix of an album track and its best selling single.

Junior M.A.F.I.A. and coastal feud[link]

In August 1995, Wallace's protegé group, Junior M.A.F.I.A. ("Junior Masters At Finding Intelligent Attitudes"), released their debut album Conspiracy. The group consisting of his friends from childhood and included rappers such as Lil' Kim and Lil' Cease, who went on to have solo careers.^[23] The record went Gold and its singles, "Player's Anthem" and "Get Money" both featuring Wallace, went Gold and Platinum. Wallace continued to work with R&B artists, collaborating with Bad Boy groups 112 (on "Only You") and Total (on "Can't You See"), with both reaching the top 20 of the Hot 100. By the end of the year, Wallace was the top-selling male solo artist and rapper on the U.S. pop and R&B charts.^[2] In July 1995, he appeared on the cover of The Source with the caption "The King of New York Takes Over". At the Source Awards in August 1995, he was named Best New Artist (Solo), Lyricist of the Year, Live Performer of the Year, and his debut Album of the Year.^[24] At the Billboard Awards, he was Rap Artist of the Year.^[11]

In his year of success, Wallace became involved in a rivalry between the East and West Coast hip-hop scenes with Tupac Shakur, his former associate. In an interview with Vibe in April 1995, while serving time in Clinton Correctional Facility, Shakur accused Uptown Records' founder Andre Harrell, Sean Combs, and Wallace of having prior knowledge of a robbery that resulted in him being shot repeatedly and losing thousands of dollars worth of jewelry on the night of November 30, 1994. Though Wallace and his entourage were in the same Manhattan-based recording studio at the time of the occurrence, they denied the accusation.^[25]

Following release from prison, Shakur signed to Death Row Records on October 15, 1995. Bad Boy Records and Death Row, now business rivals, became involved in an intense quarrel.^[27]

Arrests, Shakur's death and second child[link]

Wallace began recording his second record album in September 1995. The album, recorded in New York, Trinidad and Los Angeles, was interrupted during its 18 months of creation by injury, legal wranglings and the highly publicized hip hop dispute in which he was involved.^[28] During this time, he also worked with pop singer Michael Jackson for the HIStory album.^[29]

On March 23, 1996, Wallace was arrested outside a Manhattan nightclub for chasing and threatening to kill two autograph seekers, smashing the windows of their taxicab and then pulling one of the fans out and punching them.^[11] He pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment and was sentenced to 100 hours of community service. In mid-1996, he was arrested at his home in Teaneck, New Jersey, for drug and weapons possession charges.^[11]

In June 1996, Shakur released "Hit 'Em Up", a diss song in which he explicitly claimed to have had sex with Wallace's wife (at the time estranged) and that Wallace copied his style and image. Wallace referred to the first claim about his wife's pregnancy on Jay-Z's "Brooklyn's Finest" where he raps: "If Faye (Faith Evans, his wife at the time) have twins, she'd probably have two 'Pacs. Geddit? 2Pac's?". However, Wallace did not directly respond to the record during his lifetime, stating in a 1997 radio interview that it was "not [his] style" to respond.^[26]

Shakur was shot multiple times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on September 7, 1996, and died six days later of complications from the gunshot wounds. Rumors of Wallace's involvement with Shakur's murder were reported almost immediately, and later in a two-part article by investigative reporter Chuck Philips in the Los Angeles Times in September 2002.^[30] Wallace denied the allegation claiming he was in a New York recording studio at the time.^[25] The Los Angeles Times later determined the article written by Philips "relied heavily on information that The Times no longer believes to be credible", including false FBI reports, and the paper published a retraction.^[31] Following his death, an anti-violence hip hop summit was held.^[2]

On October 29, 1996, Faith Evans gave birth to Wallace's son, Christopher "C.J." Wallace, Jr.^[16] The following month Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Kim released her debut album, Hard Core, under Wallace's direction while the two were involved in an apparent love affair.^[2]

[edit] Life After Death and car accident

During the recording sessions for his second record, tentatively named "Life After Death... 'Til Death Do Us Part", later shortened to Life After Death, Wallace was involved in a car accident that shattered his left leg and confined him to a wheelchair.^[2] The injury forced him to use a cane.^[25]

In January 1997, Wallace was ordered to pay US$41,000 in damages following an incident involving a friend of a concert promoter who claimed Wallace and his entourage beat him up following a dispute in May 1995.^[32] He faced criminal assault charges for the incident which remain unresolved, but all robbery charges were dropped.^[11] Following the events of the previous year, Wallace spoke of a desire to focus on his "peace of mind". "My mom... my son... my daughter... my family... my friends are what matters to me now".^[33]

March 1997 shooting and death[link]

Wallace traveled to California in February 1997, to promote his upcoming album and record a music video for its lead single, "Hypnotize". On March 5, 1997, he gave a radio interview with The Dog House on KYLD in San Francisco. In the interview he stated that he had hired security since he feared for his safety; this was because he was a celebrity figure in general, not because he was a rapper.^[34] Life After Death was scheduled for release on March 25, 1997. On January 8, 1997, Biggie Smalls and Sean "Puffy" Combs made a video "What's Beef" which was directed by Dave Meyers. On March 8, 1997, he presented an award to Toni Braxton at the 11th Annual Soul Train Music Awards in Los Angeles and was booed by some of the audience.^[25] After the ceremony, Wallace attended an after party hosted by Vibe magazine and Qwest Records at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.^[25] Other guests included Faith Evans, Aaliyah, Sean Combs, and members of the Bloods and Crips gangs.^[9]

On March 9, 1997, at around 12:30 a.m., Wallace left with his entourage in two GMC Suburbans to return to his hotel after the Fire Department closed the party early because of overcrowding.^[35] Wallace traveled in the front passenger seat alongside his associates, Damion "D-Roc" Butler, Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Cease and driver, Gregory "G-Money" Young. Combs traveled in the other vehicle with three bodyguards. The two trucks were trailed by a Chevrolet Blazer carrying Bad Boy's director of security.^[9]

By 12:45 a.m., the streets were crowded with people leaving the event. Wallace's truck stopped at a red light 50 yards (46 m) from the museum. A black Chevrolet Impala SS pulled up alongside Wallace's truck. The driver of the Impala, an African American male dressed in a blue suit and bow tie, rolled down his window, drew a 9 mm blue-steel pistol and fired at the GMC Suburban; four bullets hit Wallace in the chest.^[9] Wallace's entourage rushed him to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, but he was pronounced dead at 1:15 a.m.

Murder case[link]

Wallace's murder remains unsolved and there are many theories regarding the identities and motives of the murderers. Immediately after the shooting, reports surfaced linking the Shakur and Wallace murders, because of the similarities in the drive-by shootings.^[36]

In 2002, Randall Sullivan released LAbyrinth, a book compiling information regarding the murders of Wallace and Shakur based on evidence provided by retired LAPD detective, Russell Poole.^[9][37] Sullivan accused Marion "Suge" Knight, co-founder of Death Row Records and an alleged Bloods affiliate, of conspiring with David Mack, an LAPD officer and alleged Death Row security employee, to kill Wallace and make Shakur and his death appear the result of a fictitious bi-coastal rap rivalry.^[38][39] Sullivan believed that one of Mack's associates, Amir Muhammad (also known as Harry Billups), was the hitman based on evidence provided by an informant, and due to his close resemblance to the facial composite.^[38][39] Filmmaker Nick Broomfield released an investigative documentary, Biggie & Tupac, based mainly on the evidence used in the book.^[37]

An article published in Rolling Stone by Sullivan in December 2005 accused the LAPD of not fully investigating links with Death Row Records based on evidence from Poole. Sullivan claimed that Sean Combs "failed to fully cooperate with the investigation" and according to Poole, encouraged Bad Boy staff to do the same.^[9] The accuracy of the article was later refuted in a letter by the Assistant Managing Editor of the LA Times accusing Sullivan of using "shoddy tactics." Sullivan, in response, quoted the lead attorney of the Wallace estate calling the newspaper "a co-conspirator in the cover-up."^[40]

The criminal investigation was re-opened in July 2006 in the hopes that new evidence might help the City defend the civil lawsuits brought by the Wallace family.^[41][42]

In January 2011, the case was reinvigorated as a result of new information reported by Anderson Cooper's AC360 "Cold Case" show and blog^[43] that it was being re-investigated by a law enforcement task force composed of the LAPD, the L.A. County District Attorney's Office, and the FBI.^[44] In April, the FBI released redacted documents about their investigation into the shooting, revealing that the bullets were rare 9mm Gecko ammunition manufactured in Germany. The documents reported that LAPD officers monitoring the party Wallace was attending were also employed as security personnel for Knight; the documents also speculated that the Genovese crime family was withholding evidence about Wallace's death.^[45]

Basketball player Shaquille O'Neal was a close friend of Wallace's and on the night of Wallace's death, he was supposed to meet him at an after party. O'Neal has reportedly struggled with guilt about Wallace's death since that night.^[46]

Lawsuits[link]

Wrongful death claim[link]

In March 2005, the relatives of Wallace filed a wrongful death claim against the city of Los Angeles based on the evidence championed by Russell Poole.^[39] They claimed the LAPD had sufficient evidence to arrest the assailant, but failed to use it. David Mack and Amir Muhammad (a.k.a. Harry Billups) were originally named as defendants in the civil suit, but were dropped shortly before the trial began after the LAPD and FBI dismissed them as suspects.^[39]

The case came for trial before a jury on June 21, 2005. Several days into the trial, the plaintiffs' attorney disclosed to the Court and opposing counsel that he had received a telephone call from someone claiming to be a LAPD officer and provided detailed information about the existence of evidence concerning the Wallace murder. The court directed the city to conduct a thorough investigation, which uncovered previously undisclosed evidence, much of which was in the desk or cabinet of Det. Steven Katz, the lead detective in the Wallace murder investigation. The documents centered around interviews by numerous police officers of an incarcerated informant, who had been Rafael Perez's cellmate for some extended period of time. He reported that Perez had told him about his and Mack's involvement with Death Row Records and their activities at the Peterson Automotive Museum the night of Wallace's murder. As a result of the newly discovered evidence, the judge declared a mistrial and awarded the Wallace family its attorneys' fees.^[47]

On April 16, 2007, relatives of Wallace filed a second wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles. The suit also named two LAPD officers in the center of the investigation into the Rampart scandal, Rafael Perez and Nino Durden. According to the claim, Perez, an alleged affiliate of Death Row Records, admitted to LAPD officials that he and Mack (who was not named in the lawsuit) "conspired to murder, and participated in the murder of Christopher Wallace". The Wallace family said the LAPD "consciously concealed Rafael Perez's involvement in the murder of ... Wallace".^[48]

United States District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper granted summary judgment to the city of Los Angeles on December 17, 2007, finding that the Wallace family had not complied with a California law that required the Wallace family to give notice of its claim to the State within six months of Wallace's death.^[49] The Wallace family refiled the suit, dropping the state law claims on May 27, 2008.^[50] The city never answered the amended complaint, and with the agreement of both sides, the suit was voluntarily dismissed on April 5, 2010 without prejudice.^[51]

Defamation[link]

On January 19, 2007, Tyruss Himes (better known as Big Syke), a friend of Shakur who was implicated in the murder by television channel KTTV and XXL magazine in 2005, had a defamation lawsuit regarding the accusations thrown out of court.^[52]

Posthumous career[link]

Fifteen days after his death, Wallace's double-disc second album was released as planned with the shortened title of Life After Death and hit #1 on the Billboard 200 charts, after making a premature appearance at #176 due to street-date violations. The record album featured a much wider range of guests and producers than its predecessor.^[53] It gained strong reviews and in 2000 was certified Diamond, the highest RIAA certification awarded to a solo hip hop album.

Its lead single, "Hypnotize", was the last music video recording in which Wallace would participate. His biggest chart success was with its follow-up "Mo Money Mo Problems", featuring Sean Combs (under the rap alias "Puff Daddy") and Mase. Both singles reached #1 in the Hot 100, making Wallace the first artist to achieve this feat posthumously.^[2] The third single, "Sky's The Limit", featuring the band 112, was noted for its use of children in the music video, directed by Spike Jonze, who were used to portray Wallace and his contemporaries, including Sean Combs, Lil' Kim, and Busta Rhymes. Wallace was named Artist of the Year and "Hypnotize" Single of the Year by Spin magazine in December 1997.^[54]

In mid-1997, Combs released his debut album, No Way Out, which featured Wallace on five songs, notably on the third single "Victory". The most prominent single from the record album was "I'll Be Missing You", featuring Combs, Faith Evans and 112, which was dedicated to Wallace's memory. At the 1998 Grammy Awards, Life After Death and its first two singles received nominations in the rap category. The album award was won by Combs' No Way Out and "I'll Be Missing You" won the award in the category of Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group in which "Mo Money Mo Problems" was nominated.^[55]

Wallace had founded a hip hop supergroup called The Commission, which consisted of Jay-Z, Lil' Cease, Combs, Charli Baltimore and himself. The Commission was mentioned by Wallace in the lyrics of "What's Beef" on Life After Death and "Victory" from No Way Out but never completed an album. A song on Duets: The Final Chapter titled "Whatchu Want (The Commission)" featuring Jay-Z was based on the group.

In December 1999, Bad Boy released Born Again. The record consisted of previously unreleased material mixed with guest appearances including many artists Wallace had never collaborated with in his lifetime. It gained some positive reviews but received criticism for its unlikely pairings; The Source describing it as "compiling some of the most awkward collaborations of his career".^[56] Nevertheless, the album sold 3 million copies. Over the course of time, Wallace's vocals would appear on hit songs such as "Foolish" by Ashanti and "Realest Niggas" in 2002, and the song "Runnin' (Dying to Live)" with Shakur the following year. He also appeared on Michael Jackson's 2001 album, Invincible. In 2005, Duets: The Final Chapter continued the pattern started on Born Again and was criticized for the lack of significant vocals by Wallace on some of its songs.^[57][58] Its lead single "Nasty Girl" became Wallace's first UK #1 single. Combs and Voletta Wallace have stated the album will be the last release primarily featuring new material.^[59]

Legacy[link]

Wallace is celebrated as one of the greatest rap artists and is described by Allmusic as "the savior of East Coast hip-hop".^[2] The Source and Blender named Wallace the greatest rapper of all time.^[60] In 2003, when XXL magazine asked several hip hop artists to list their five favorite MCs, Wallace's name appeared on more rappers' lists than anyone else. In 2006, he was ranked at #3 in MTV's The Greatest MC's of All Time.^[5]

Since his death, Wallace's lyrics have been sampled and quoted by a variety of hip hop, R&B and pop artists including Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, Fat Joe, Nelly, Ja Rule, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Game, Clinton Sparks, Michael Jackson and Usher. On August 28, 2005, at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, Sean Combs (then using the rap alias "P. Diddy") and Snoop Dogg paid tribute to Wallace: an orchestra played while the vocals from "Juicy" and "Warning" played on the arena speakers.^[61] In September 2005, VH1 had its second annual "Hip Hop Honors", with a tribute to Wallace headlining the show.^[62]

Wallace had begun to promote a clothing line called Brooklyn Mint, which was to produce plus-sized clothing but fell dormant after he died. In 2004, his managers, Mark Pitts and Wayne Barrow, launched the clothing line, with help from Jay-Z, selling T-shirts with images of Wallace on them. A portion of the proceeds go to the Christopher Wallace Foundation and to Jay-Z's Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation.^[63] In 2005, Voletta Wallace hired branding and licensing agency Wicked Cow Entertainment to guide the Estate's licensing efforts.^[64] Wallace-branded products on the market include action figures, blankets, and cell phone content.^[65]

The Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation holds an annual black-tie dinner ("B.I.G. Night Out") to raise funds for children's school equipment and supplies and to honor the memory of the late rapper. For this particular event, because it is a children's schools' charity, "B.I.G." is also said to stand for "Books Instead of Guns".^[66]

Style[link]

	"Only You (Remix)" noicon Wallace, accompanied by ad libs from Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, uses onomatopoeic vocables and multi-syllabic rhymes on his 1995 collaboration with R&B group, 112. "Niggas Bleed" noicon Wallace tells vivid stories about his everyday life as a criminal in Brooklyn (from Life After Death).
Problems listening to these files? See media help.

Wallace mostly rapped on his songs in a deep tone described by Rolling Stone as a "thick, jaunty grumble",^[67] which went deeper on Life After Death.^[68] He was often accompanied on songs with ad libs from Sean "Puffy" Combs. On The Source's Unsigned Hype, they described his style as "cool, nasal, and filtered, to bless his own material".

Allmusic describe Wallace as having "a loose, easy flow" with "a talent for piling multiple rhymes on top of one another in quick succession".^[4] Time magazine wrote Wallace rapped with an ability to "make multi-syllabic rhymes sound... smooth",^[22] while Krims describes Wallace's rhythmic style as "effusive".^[69] Before starting a verse, Wallace sometimes used onomatopoeic vocables to "warm up" (for example "uhhh" at the beginning of "Hypnotize" and "Big Poppa" and "whaat" after certain rhymes in songs such as "My Downfall").^[70]

Lateef of Latyrx notes that Wallace had, "intense and complex flows",^[71] Fredro Starr of Onyx says, "Biggie was a master of the flow",^[72] and Bishop Lamont states that Wallace mastered "all the hemispheres of the music".^[73] "Notorious B.I.G. also often used the single-line rhyme scheme to add variety and interest to his flow".^[71] Big Daddy Kane suggests that Wallace didn't need a large vocabulary to impress listeners – "he just put his words together a slick way and it worked real good for him".^[74] Wallace was known to compose lyrics in his head, rather than write them down on paper, in a similar way to Jay-Z.^[75][76]

Wallace would occasionally vary from his usual style. On "Playa Hater" from his second album, he sang in a slow-falsetto.^[77] On his collaboration with Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, "Notorious Thugs", he modified his style to match the rapid rhyme flow of the group.

Themes and lyrical content[link]

Wallace's lyrical topics and themes included mafioso tales ("Niggas Bleed"), his drug dealing past ("10 Crack Commandments"), materialistic bragging ("Hypnotize"), as well as humor ("Just Playing (Dreams)"),^[78] and romance ("Me & My Bitch").^[78] Rolling Stone named Wallace in 2004 as "one of the few young male songwriters in any pop style writing credible love songs".^[68]

Guerilla Black, in the book How to Rap, describes how Wallace was able to both "glorify the upper echelon"^[79] and "[make] you feel his struggle".^[80] According to Touré of The New York Times in 1994, Wallace's lyrics "[mixed] autobiographical details about crime and violence with emotional honesty".^[10] Marriott of The New York Times (in 1997) believed his lyrics were not strictly autobiographical and wrote he "had a knack for exaggeration that increased sales".^[11] Wallace described his debut as "a big pie, with each slice indicating a different point in my life involving bitches and niggaz... from the beginning to the end".^[81]

Ready to Die is described by Rolling Stone as a contrast of "bleak" street visions and being "full of high-spirited fun, bringing the pleasure principle back to hip-hop".^[68] Allmusic write of "a sense of doom" in some of his songs and the NY Times note some being "laced with paranoia";^[4][82] Wallace described himself as feeling "broke and depressed" when he made his debut.^[82] The final song on the album, "Suicidal Thoughts", featured Wallace contemplating suicide and concluded with him committing the act.

On Life After Death, Wallace's lyrics went "deeper".^[68] Krims explains how upbeat, dance-oriented tracks (which featured less heavily on his debut) alternate with "reality rap" songs on the record and suggests that he was "going pimp" through some of the lyrical topics of the former.^[69] XXL magazine wrote that Wallace "revamped his image" through the portrayal of himself between the albums, going from "midlevel hustler" on his debut to "drug lord".^[83]

Allmusic wrote that the success of Ready to Die is "mostly due to Wallace's skill as a storyteller";^[4] In 1994, Rolling Stone described Wallace's ability in this technique as painting "a sonic picture so vibrant that you're transported right to the scene".^[21] On Life After Death Wallace notably demonstrated this skill on "I Got a Story to Tell" telling a story as a rap for the first half of the song and then as a story "for his boys" in conversation form.^[77]

After the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Christopher began to see life more on the positive side rather than the negative when he realized that he could have died when the explosion occurred. Instead of dying, Christopher only suffered minor scratches when he was performing his own remix of the song "Real Love" a few blocks away on the street. Christopher also refers to this event in his song "Juicy" when he mentions blowing up like the world trade.^[84]

Biopic[link]

Notorious is a 2009 biographical film about Wallace and his life that starred rapper Jamal "Gravy" Woolard as Wallace. The film was directed by George Tillman, Jr. and distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures. Producers included Sean "Diddy" Combs, Wallace's former managers Wayne Barrow and Mark Pitts, as well as Voletta Wallace.^[76] On January 16, 2009, the movie's debut at the Grand 18 theater in Greensboro, North Carolina was postponed after a man was shot in the parking lot before the show.^[85] Ultimately, the film grossed over $43,000,000 worldwide.

In early October 2007, open casting calls for the role of Wallace began.^[86] Actors, rappers and unknowns all tried out. Beanie Sigel auditioned^[87] for the role, but was not picked. Sean Kingston claimed that he would play the role of Wallace, but producers denied he would be in the film.^[88] Eventually it was announced that rapper Jamal "Gravy" Woolard was cast as Wallace^[89] while Wallace's son, Christopher Wallace, Jr. was cast to play Wallace as a child.^[90] Other cast members include Angela Bassett as Voletta Wallace, Derek Luke as Sean Combs, Antonique Smith as Faith Evans, Naturi Naughton formerly of 3LW as Lil' Kim, and Anthony Mackie as Tupac Shakur.^[91] Bad Boy released a soundtrack album to the film on January 13, 2009; the album contains hit singles of B.I.G. such as "Hypnotize", "Juicy", and "Warning" as well as rarities.^[92]

Discography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

Wallace received two nominations from the Billboard Music Awards in 1995, including Rap Artist of the Year and Rap Single of the Year. The song "Mo Money Mo Problems" received several nominations in 1998, including Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the Grammy Awards; Best Rap Video at the MTV Video Music Awards; and Best R&B/Soul Album and Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video at the Soul Train Music Awards. Overall, Wallace has received four awards from eleven nominations; one award and six nominations were received posthumously.

Billboard Music Awards[link]

The Billboard Music Awards is sponsored by Billboard magazine and held annually in December.^[93][94]

Grammy Awards[link]

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States.^[93][95][96]

MTV Video Music Awards[link]

The MTV Video Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony established in 1984 by MTV.^[93][97][98]

Soul Train Music Awards[link]

The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual awards show that honors black musicians and entertainers.^[93][99]

The Source Awards[link]

The Source Awards were awarded by hip hop magazine The Source.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Coker, Cheo Hodari (2004). Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.. New York: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0-609-80835-4. 
• Wallace, Voletta; McKenzie, Tremell and Evans, Faith (foreword) (2005). Biggie: Voletta Wallace Remembers Her Son, Christopher Wallace, aka Notorious B.I.G.. Atria. ISBN 0-7434-7020-6. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Notorious B.I.G.

• Official website
• B.I.G. Action Figure Notorious B.I.G. official first ever action figure.
• Notorious Movie "Notorious" Movie Official Site
• biggiesmalls-rapphenomenon.com Biggie Smalls - Rap Phenomenon DVD documentary official site
• FBI file on Christopher Wallace
• NotoriousOnline.org – NotoriousOnline.org is a Non-profit website in memory of the late great Notorious BIG a.k.a. Biggie Smalls.
• The Notorious B.I.G. at MTV
• Christopher Wallace collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Christopher G. Wallace (Notorious B.I.G.) collected news and commentary at The New York Times