THE BIG SLEEP: This is the headline of the Daily News edition of March 19, 1997to announce to the world the murder of Notoriously BIG.
But let's take a step back in time to relive the tragic events that took away one of hip-hop's greatest legends ever.
The evening of the murder of Notorious BIG
AND Saturday, March 8, 1997, When Annual Soul Train Awards In Los Angeles, Biggie Smalls takes the stage to present an award. We understand right from the start that the atmosphere is tense as a choir rises from the crowd to praise this west coast. Just for the more distracted: let's remember this Tupac he had been killed just a few months earlier.
This episode is not relevant in itself, but it is useful to report on it in order to focus on the climate that prevailed in the environment during this time.
The day after the awards ceremony, Biggie changes his plans that would have seen him in London and stays in California, also under persuasion puffparticipate in party From Mood, hip-hop magazine. The party would happen Petersen Automobile Museumwhere Biggie actually shows up shortly after 9 p.m.
In the evening and a few hours before the tragic murder of Notorious, personalities from the music scene met at the place, They approach Puff Daddy, none other than Duane Keith David, better known in the news as Keefe D and his nephew, Orlando Andersonboth characters we got to knowTupac's murder.
Meanwhile, too many people in the bar interrupt the firefighters to break up the party. Biggie and Puff wait to go out until people have already left the club and then decide to go back to the hotel they were staying at. Biggie gets into his car with his bodyguard and driver, his stylist and his friend on the passenger side Damien D. Roc Butler and the rapper Lil' Stop it.
The car is parked between two others with Puff, Bad Boy's security manager, on board the rest of the entourage. The vehicles are moving toward Wilshire Boulevard when a The car causes chaos as a second one joins the one Biggie was in.
7 fatal shots
The driver, identified as a young black man, opens fire about Biggie.
The rapper will be the only one hurt and follows well 7 shots.
Puff gets out of the vehicle he was in to immediately get to Biggie, who almost immediately loses consciousness as the killer's car runs away. The dramatic rush to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center will be futile. Biggie has already passed away when we arrive on site and that desperate attempt to revive him that lasts longer 20 minutes has no positive feedback.
But why had the events of that night occurred? And especially, who he had killed materially The Notorious BIG?
Suspicions and suspects
The only people who saw the attacker well enough to be able to make a more or less accurate image of him are Damien And small' Stop but the climate of the investigations is that of Loss in total.
One of the police's first suspects, Profiles of people you already know appear Keefe D and Orlando Anderson, in turn, without finding any actual confirmation.
There was another suspect at the time Sue Knight, also involved in the investigation into Tupac's murder, but was behind bars when Biggie was killed. The hypothesis that he was involved was so urgent that a search was also carried out among his employees and, despite potentially interesting clues from this point of view, nothing concrete was found.
The investigation eventually brought the name to light Amir Mohammed which, secondly a former FBI agent, was allegedly paid by Suge to shoot the rapper.
Despite the former agent's certainty, the man is still at large.
A stalemate for this track too.
The background to the investigation and other theories behind the murder of Notorious BIG
What is relevant, however, is the fact that the investigation into Biggie's death also brought various situations to light corruption between the bodies of policewith accusations of belonging to corridor of bloodbut nothing could be done about the murder of Notorious BIG: the perpetrator was never identified.
Another important consideration, even if it is an unfounded hypothesis, for many is the spark that set off the events that led to the death of Biggie Smalls, which was what happened with a radio message shortly before the tragic events. Notorious, at one of the last appearances in radioWith “Long Kiss Goodnight,” he thought he was giving a spoiler to a track on the album that contained more than one reference to Tupac.
Considering what happened to Tupac himself just a few months earlier, it cannot be ruled out that this may have been the straw that broke the camel's back, although, as with all of the theories and research mentioned above, the veracity of it What was said is not known to be true.
The killing of Biggie therefore remains Secret even today, despite the various suspects over time and the most varied theories, which, however, have never led to well-founded hypotheses or which, based on certain evidence, have actually made it possible to frame anyone.
Biggie is coming buried March 18 on the Upper East Sidein Manhattan and his coffin then marches through the streets of Bedford Stuyvesant, where Biggie grew up.
Alone 24 YearsBiggie earned the title King of New York The proof of this were the numerous fans and illustrious guests who celebrated him during his funeral.
Searchor was real crime, The infamous BIG Legends never really die.
