In death, the man also known as Biggie Smalls became a symbol of the senseless violence that plagued inner-city America in the waning years of the 20th century. His all-too-brief odyssey almost immediately took on mythic proportions, especially since his murder followed the shooting of rival 2Pac Shakur by only six months. went from a Brooklyn street hustler to the savior of East Coast hip-hop to a tragic victim of the culture of violence he depicted so realistically on his records. Hip-hop's self-image would never be quite the same without the Notorious B.I.G.ī.I.G.
