After a Brooklyn street was named after him this past May, Biggie’s legacy continues to grow. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced that Christopher Wallace (aka The Notorious B.I.G. aka Biggie Smalls) has been inducted into the Class of 2020.
Along with the Brooklyn rap god, the Class of 2020 also includes Whitney Houston, Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, The Doobie Brothers and T. Rex. They’ll be honoured this coming May inside Cleveland’s Public Auditorium.
Biggie’s music career initially skyrocketed after the release of his 1994 critically acclaimed debut, Ready to Die. He spent the next few years solidifying his position as one of the top artists in the rap game before a tragic night in Los Angeles would bring it all to an abrupt end. After leaving a party around 12:45 a.m. on March 9, 1997, Biggie was shot four times and passed away half an hour later at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Biggie’s second and final studio album, Life After Death, was released just 16 days later.
With the news of Biggie’s induction, Billboard Magazine reached out to his mother Voletta Wallace for her reaction to the news:
“Today, I’m feeling great. As a mother, I’m extremely proud of his accomplishments. You know, I still see such a young man at a young age, and sadly, he’s not here to witness all this. But it’s an astute honor, and as a mother, I’m just elated for that.”
Biggie is the seventh rapper to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, joining Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Run-DMC, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, N.W.A., and Biggie’s former friend and rival, Tupac Shakur.
For more information visit the official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame website, RockHall.com.
You can follow @RockHall on Instagram.
