Biography of The Notorious B.I.G.

The Brooklyn-born rapper the Notorious B.I.G. (born Chris Wallace) first gained attention for his work on Mary J. Blige's "What's the 411?" When he delivered his debut album, Ready to Die, in 1994, it became one of the most popular hip-hop releases of the year. In June of 1995, his single "One More Chance" debuted at number five in the pop singles chart, tying Michael Jackson's "Scream/Childhood" as the highest debuting single of all time. Ready to Die continued to gain popularity throughout 1995, eventually selling two million copies. With its success, the Notorious B.I.G. became the most visible figure in East Coast hip-hop, and he became a target in the heated feud between the two coasts; especially as he and Tupac Shakur, a former ally, became vicious rivals.As the Notorious B.I.G. was preparing his second album, Shakur was shot and killed in Las Vegas. Many in the media speculated that Biggie's camp was responsible for the shooting, accusations that he and his producer, Sean "Puffy" Combs, vehemently denied. However, the wheels had been set in motion for another tragedy. Early on the morning of March 9, the Notorious B.I.G. was returning to his hotel in Los Angeles after a Soul Train Award party when another car pulled up aside his car and opened fire, killing him instantly. Shakur had been killed just six months earlier.The Notorious B.I.G.'s second album, the double-disc Life After Death, was released three weeks later, debuting at number one on the charts. His legend continued to grow in the years to follow thanks to subsequent posthumous releases, including 1999's Born Again. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Biography of The Notorious B.I.G.

The Brooklyn-born rapper the Notorious B.I.G. (born Chris Wallace) first gained attention for his work on Mary J. Blige's "What's the 411?" When he delivered his debut album, Ready to Die, in 1994, it became one of the most popular hip-hop releases of the year. In June of 1995, his single "One More Chance" debuted at number five in the pop singles chart, tying Michael Jackson's "Scream/Childhood" as the highest debuting single of all time. Ready to Die continued to gain popularity throughout 1995, eventually selling two million copies. With its success, the Notorious B.I.G. became the most visible figure in East Coast hip-hop, and he became a target in the heated feud between the two coasts; especially as he and Tupac Shakur, a former ally, became vicious rivals.As the Notorious B.I.G. was preparing his second album, Shakur was shot and killed in Las Vegas. Many in the media speculated that Biggie's camp was responsible for the shooting, accusations that he and his producer, Sean "Puffy" Combs, vehemently denied. However, the wheels had been set in motion for another tragedy. Early on the morning of March 9, the Notorious B.I.G. was returning to his hotel in Los Angeles after a Soul Train Award party when another car pulled up aside his car and opened fire, killing him instantly. Shakur had been killed just six months earlier.The Notorious B.I.G.'s second album, the double-disc Life After Death, was released three weeks later, debuting at number one on the charts. His legend continued to grow in the years to follow thanks to subsequent posthumous releases, including 1999's Born Again. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Biography of Clipse

Hailing from Virginia, Clipse -- brothers Pusha T and Malice -- were one of the rare first artists to associate with the Neptunes. The Neptunes' Pharrell Williams first met the duo in the early '90s, was very impressed by their talents, and decided to help them get a gig. Hooking them up with the Elektra label, an early single flopped and the group seemed done, even though an album's worth of material had been recorded. Williams was not discouraged and continued to hype the group until Arista finally intervened in 2001. Williams and partner Chad Hugo stepped behind the boards and produced Lord Willin', Clipse's 2002 full-length debut, released through Star Trak/Arista. On the strength of "Grindin'," the album hit the Top Ten of the R&B/Hip-Hop and Billboard 200 charts and eventually went gold. The Sony-BMG merger threw the follow-up into limbo and sparked a long bout of legal snags between Clipse and their new parent label, Jive. While the delay was going on, Clipse issued a series of mixtapes and set up their Re-Up label. The label disputes were eventually cleared up, and Hell Hath No Fury was finally released on November 28, 2006. ~ Bradley Torreano & Andy Kellman

Biography of Clipse

Hailing from Virginia, Clipse -- brothers Pusha T and Malice -- were one of the rare first artists to associate with the Neptunes. The Neptunes' Pharrell Williams first met the duo in the early '90s, was very impressed by their talents, and decided to help them get a gig. Hooking them up with the Elektra label, an early single flopped and the group seemed done, even though an album's worth of material had been recorded. Williams was not discouraged and continued to hype the group until Arista finally intervened in 2001. Williams and partner Chad Hugo stepped behind the boards and produced Lord Willin', Clipse's 2002 full-length debut, released through Star Trak/Arista. On the strength of "Grindin'," the album hit the Top Ten of the R&B/Hip-Hop and Billboard 200 charts and eventually went gold. The Sony-BMG merger threw the follow-up into limbo and sparked a long bout of legal snags between Clipse and their new parent label, Jive. While the delay was going on, Clipse issued a series of mixtapes and set up their Re-Up label. The label disputes were eventually cleared up, and Hell Hath No Fury was finally released on November 28, 2006. ~ Bradley Torreano & Andy Kellman