With the East Coast/West Coast hip-hop rivalry in mid swing during the 1990’s, tempers flaring on both sides eventually led to the death of West Coast legend
Tupac Shakur in a Las Vegas drive-by shooting in late 1996. Some months later, The Notorious B.I.G. was killed in a similar fashion in March 1997 when a gunman opened fire on his ride in California, killing the rapper. Both killings remain unsolved mysteries today; neither Tupac’s nor Biggie’s shooter have been identified, and a number of conspiracy theories concerning their deaths have surfaced in the years since.
The Notorious B.I.G.’s second album - ironically titled
Life After Death - was released posthumously, just two weeks after his death. The critically acclaimed double-length (two CD) album sold over 5 million copies, earning the
RIAA’s coveted Diamond certification. Featuring singles
"Hypnotize" and
"Sky’s The Limit", Biggie’s album certainly granted the rapper life after death in the hearts and minds of rap aficionados worldwide. Bad Boy Records has since released two more records after the rapper’s death -
Born Again in 1999 and
Duets: The Final Chapter in 2005 - both of which make use of living artists rapping alongside Biggie's unused and unreleased material. Hits from these albums include
"Spit Ya Game",
"Nasty Girl", and
"Hold Ya Head".