Thug Life Army

On November 30th, 1994 at 12:20 a.m., west coast rap icon Tupac Shakur was shot at the Quad Recording Studios in Times Square in New York; this started a ‘feud’ between two of hip-hop’s biggest artists of the time.

Tupac (2Pac) had blamed New York hip-hop legend Notorious B.I.G. for having some connection to his shooting in New York and the battle on wax was on.

September 13^th, 1996 things changed when rap icon Tupac Shakur was murdered in Las Vegas; shot while riding in a car with his friend and Death Row Records CEO Marion ‘Suge’ Knight.

Fans of Tupac had many theories and of course Notorious B.I.G. and Puffy from Bad Boy Records were part of the theories and things ‘snowballed’ from there.

Then on March 9^th, 1997 Notorious B.I.G. was murdered in Los Angeles and the mainstream media and fans took the so called west coast / east coast feud to a higher level. Twisting, and without evidence just pointing fingers, and not really looking at the MEN they were pointing at. Many ‘twisted’ views and probably uncalled for hate festered for years in some fans, to where they don’t really understand why they may not like Biggie they have just come to except the mainstream ‘hype’ and feel they need to dis-like him because at the time Pac and Big had a ‘feud’ on wax.

I would like all to just put that all away for a minute and realize that Ms. Voletta Wallace and Afeni Shakur Davis have met and are on friendly terms, and if they can sit together as ‘friends’ we should take another look at our beliefs and unjustified feelings and read this book with an open mind and comprehend who Christopher Wallace aka Notorious B.I.G. really was.

I will call this a review but really it was a wonderful learning experience. I learned about ‘love’, caring and emotion.

The book Biggie: Voletta Wallace Remembers Her Son, Christopher Wallace, aka Notorious B.I.G. is an insight to not only the hip-hop / rap legend Notorious B.I.G. but a look at ‘Christopher’ the man through the eyes of his mother.

Really I thought that it would be a ‘hype’ book of sorts, with little to offer; and since we run a Tupac Shakur based site, I found out I was the one with ‘twisted views’ of Ms. Wallace and possibly of the hip-hop / rap legend Notorious B.I.G..

Maybe the ‘feud’ between Tupac and Biggie caused those feelings I had, but after reading this book I have much love, admiration and respect for Ms. Voletta Wallace.

The book spans the life, shortly, of Ms. Wallace, from Jamaica to New York and builds to the era of Biggie and we are exposed to things that at first seem like a mothers view but as you read things become clearer.

We do not tell our parents ‘everything’ and at first I believed that maybe Ms. Wallace was ‘in the dark’ about some things. But as I read, it was apparent I was the one in the ‘dark’.

The love between Biggie and his mother is something, I feel, not many experience in their relationships with their parents. They talked and talked openly and shared their feelings with each other.

We learn about when Ms. Wallace changed religions and the talk that she and ‘Christopher’ had about it. We hear about when Tupac Shakur, ’Duke’ as Biggie called him, was shot in Las Vegas and how Ms. Wallace thought that her son was in denial about the death of Tupac.

The interesting part is near the end of the book. We hear views on Lil Kim, Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs and Lil Cease. Along the way there were others who let Ms. Wallace down also. So along with the tragedy of losing a child, we learn that the ‘road’ since has been filled with deceit and the ‘true colors’ of many of Biggies ‘friends’ coming out.

One thing I learned is that when Big signed to Bad Boy he only received 25,000 dollars. A lot of money for a kid from the ghetto who never seen that much cash before, but really not that much when you are talking the hip-hop and rap game.

We can read how Ms. Wallace is loyal, as her son was, to those who she feels responsible to and for.

Her grandchildren are one of the most important things in her life and her relationships with many, including Biggie’s widow and hip-hop / R&B star Faith Evans, is explained in detail.

We can feel for Ms. Wallace, as we find out about health problems that have accrued with her, on top of everything else.

I can not say it was a good feeling to see Ms. Wallace speak out about Lil Kim and Puffy, as those are things I always expected and she just put it in prospective, but to read about the love for her grandchildren and for Faith, and her personal health problems I really feel respect for Ms. Wallace. She is a very strong willed woman, totally devoted to her son and his legacy.

Faith Evans wrote the forward and really shows that she has love for Ms. Wallace and that is great to see.

With Ms. Wallace’ faith and love for her family, I guess those were the things that helped her get through the loss of ‘Christopher’.

This book is really a good read. Ms. Wallace, being a school teacher, had a way of grabbing your attention and keeping you wanting to know about her and her son rap legend Notorious B.I.G..

Although the ‘feud’ of the two legendary rap artists Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. will always be a part of hip-hop cultures history, it has been 10 years since both of these hip-hop legends have passed, and this book shows that it is time to put all the dissing to rest.

We have no idea where ‘Christopher’ and the ‘Duke’ would stand with each other today. At that time there were many ‘beefs’. Tupac (2Pac) fell out with Dre, Nas and a few others. So we cannot tell where this would have ended, but if ‘Christopher’ was instilled with the values that Ms. Wallace portrays in this book, it very well may have worked itself out in time.

After reading this book I truly feel that Biggie was; like Pac; a lot deeper person than we heard on wax or is portrayed in the mainstream press. Personally I am not a big fan of Notorious B.I.G. but I do recognize his lyrical talent and must show respect and give him his props.

Ms. Wallace with this book, did something that I am not sure was her intention; she showed us that ‘Christopher’ was a man. Not this vision of a rapper who is stuck in the minds of many. Yes that was his profession and his talent but he was first a man. A loyal, loving and understanding man and this book helps you see that.

Hopefully Ms. Wallace will release another book on her son ‘Christopher’ so that many of the untruths and misleading information out there will be corrected.

This is truly a good read no matter what coast you represent. Check it out.

So many in and out of the hip-hop community continue to work with Ms. Wallace in support of the Christopher Wallace Foundation, an organization dedicated to the well-being and education of inner-city youth.

Voletta Wallace and Faith Evans continue the struggle to keep open the investigation of her son's murder and see that justice is done.