He lived and died in the world of gangsta rap, and the identity of his killer remains one of the most enduring and bloody mysteries in the music industry.
The Notorious BIG was gunned down at traffic lights in Los Angeles, and since then theories about who pulled the trigger and why have tormented his family.
Rival gangs, tit-for-tat shootings, allegedly corrupt and incompetent police officers have all featured. In an effort to find out once and for all, relatives of the rapper have taken the case to court.
But their multimillion-dollar law suit, which continued in Los Angeles on Friday, may end by raising more questions than it answers.
The death of Christopher Wallace — aka rapper Notorious BIG, aka Biggie Smalls — is the stuff of legend. One of the biggest stars of Puff Daddy’s New-York-based Bad Boy Entertainment record company, he was killed on March 9 1997 as his sport utility vehicle idled at a red light moments after he had left a music industry party.
A lone shooter in a passing car fired several bullets from a 9mm handgun through the passenger-side door, hitting the 24-year-old rapper. He died on his way to hospital.
The murder came six months after the almost identical killing of BIG’s arch rival, Tupac Shakur, biggest star of the Los-Angeles-based Death Row Records, led by the fearsome Marion ”Suge” Knight. Shakur was shot while driving down the strip in Las Vegas after watching a Mike Tyson fight. He died in hospital five days later at the age of 25.
Both men lived opulent lifestyles but were obsessed with death. Shakur flaunted bullet wounds and rapped of dying young, BIG’s 1994 debut was titled Ready To Die and he posed for the cover of his posthumously released second album, Life After Death, leaning on a hearse dressed for his own funeral.
The two men and their respective record companies had also been engaged in a long-running feud which at one point saw the two sides face off, guns drawn, backstage at the Soul Train awards.
Not surprisingly, the murders have gone down in rap and criminal folklore, creating their own cottage industry in conspiracy theories of tit-for- tat killings, rival gangs and — if BIG’s family are to be believed — crooked LA police officers who carried out and then covered up the killing of the rap star on the orders of Suge Knight.
The $100-million wrongful-death lawsuit, which BIG’s mother, Voletta Wallace, has been instrumental in bringing against the city of Los Angeles and its police department, charges that the LAPD ”intentionally, wilfully, and recklessly delayed and stopped the investigation into Wallace’s death as soon as it became apparent officers employed by the [LAPD] were involved in the murder.”
The allegations stem from the findings of Russell Poole, a decorated LA police detective who once led the department’s investigation into Small’s murder. Poole resigned in October 1999, alleging that police officials had sabotaged his investigation.
He is expected to testify that a then LAPD officer, David Mack, who is serving a 14-year prison sentence for an unrelated bank robbery, arranged for a former college classmate, Amir Muhammad, to carry out the killing on behalf of Suge Knight in retaliation for Shakur’s death.
Both men have vigorously denied involvement and in January the FBI shut down an 18-month investigation into Poole’s allegations after finding insufficient evidence to prosecute anyone.
During opening arguments on Wednesday, Robert Flack, a lawyer for the family, described Mack as a ”gang-member cop associated with Death Row.”
The lawsuit claims LAPD officials covered up Mack’s involvement in the murder and ignored systematic moonlighting by officers who provided security for Death Row Records.
But with the trial less than a week old, the family’s case al ready appears to be on shaky ground. Both Mack and the alleged shooter, Amir Muhammad, were dropped from the family’s lawsuit months ago and have never been named as criminal suspects.
Knight, who has served various jail sentences including nine years for serious assault, is another figure not named in the suit, despite his alleged central role in the conspiracy.
Kevin Hackie, a bodyguard for Shakur turned FBI informant and key witness for the claimants, told the jury that Death Row security chief, Reginald Wright, had told him he had wanted to retaliate against BIG following the slaying of the label’s star. But he failed to link either the alleged threat against BIG or his murder to Mack. He further damaged his credibility when he told the Los Angeles Times he suffers from memory lapses resulting from medication for a stress condition.
The hearing continues. – Guardian Unlimited Â