Conspiracy theories are the natural offshoots of unsolved mysteries. One of these mysteries is the identity of Christopher Wallace’s killer and the exact details of his death. Christopher Wallace, better known as The Notorious BIG or Biggie, was killed on the morning of March 9, 1997. The mystery, over two decades old, has yet to be officially solved by police, although it has raised many suspects and conspiracy theories.
The death of the famous rapper, considered one of the greatest rappers of all time, is nowadays often considered as one of the mysteries that can never be solved.
How did Biggie die?
The war between East Coast and West Coast hip-hop artists that had already led to the death of Tupac Shakur was good reason for Biggie to avoid a trip into the enemy camp, but confidence in his paid security team and the need for an important second album to promote caused Biggie to exert himself on the risk. He moved to Los Angeles in February 1997 and while in California he shot a music video for a single from his new album and did radio interviews.
He attended an awards ceremony the night before he was killed. After the event, he attended the after-party to give the impression that everything was fine. The party, held by Vibe Magazine and Quest Records at the Petersen Automotive Museum, ended a little early when police stopped it for overcrowding. He was shot dead en route back to his hotel with his entourage of security guards and label mates, which included Sean Diddy Combs.
His entourage had left the party at 12:30 p.m. on the morning of March 9, 1997 in two Suburban SUVs. About fifteen minutes after he left the party, a black car pulled up next to his car while he waited at a red light on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and South Fairfax Avenue. The car was driven by a black man in formal clothes (a detail that indicated the killer was present at the party), rolled down his window and started shooting at Biggie Smalls’ car.
Biggie Smalls caught four bullets from the rapid-traverse shot, which on examination determined to be a blue steel 9mm pistol. According to the autopsy following Wallace’s death, only one of the four bullets was fatal, while the other three contained no vital organ. The fatal bullet hit Wallace in his colon, heart, and liver. He was pronounced dead at 01:15.Although several witnesses were present at the shooting, police were unable to bring a single charge of murder against anyone. Because of Wallace’s profile, the murder drew media attention around the world and spawned several conspiracy theories about the shooter and his motives.
Several people claim to have figured out the killer, with most reports pointing to Suge Knight of Death Row Records as the mastermind behind the assassination. As a result of the theories and lack of conclusions from the police investigation, Christopher Wallace’s family filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles for failing to investigate and charge the alleged attacker. The case was dismissed twice by the court.
In December 2012, another attempt was made to solve the case, with police releasing the results of the autopsy on Wallace’s body in the hope that it might leave new leads, but break none of it. The case remains unsolved to this day.
What was his net worth?
Biggie Smalls was reportedly worth $20 million while his family estate is currently valued at over $160 million. The rise was due to the re-release of Biggie’s music and the posthumous release of his albums, including Afterlife, which hit shelves just 16 days after his assassination and is one of the few hip-hop albums to have been certified by the RIAA as Diamond awarded.
Here are facts you need to know
- Biggie was born on May 21, 1972. He was 24 years old when he was murdered.
- Biggie has two children, T’yanna and Christopher Wallace Jr. The two children are from different mothers. T’yanna was born to his longtime girlfriend and CJ was born to his wife, Faith Evans.
- He has four albums to his name. Ready to Die was his first album, released in 1994, and he was done with Life After Death, due out a few days after his death. His family estate has released two posthumous albums, Born Again in 1999 and Duets: The Final Chapter in 2005.
