Turns out the Notorious B.I.G. might just be a little too notorious. A Community Board for the Brooklyn neighbourhood of Clinton Hill have canned a proposal to name a street “Christopher Wallace Way” in memory of the rapper Biggie Smalls (using his real name), citing his history of violence, his criminal convictions, his use of derogatory names for women and even his portly physique as evidence for why such a memorial would be inappropriate. Mo weapons charges, mo problems.
Lucy Koteen (who is almost certainly an old white lady) did some research and told the board “He started selling drugs at 12, he was a school dropout at 17, he was arrested for drugs and weapons charge, he was arrested for parole violations, he was arrested in North Carolina for crack cocaine, in 1996 he was again arrested for assault, he had a violent death, and physically the man is not exactly a role model for youth… I don’t see how this guy was a role model, and frankly it offends me.”
LeRoy McCarthy, the Brooklyn resident who started a Change.org petition in support of the idea, defended Smalls, saying “There are many artists that share stories in a vernacular that their audiences understand. Biggie used the language from the streets he grew up in to convey what he wanted to say… board members should not hold Wallace’s physical appearance nor how he died against him.” Biggie was killed in a drive-by shooting in 1997, and the mystery who who pulled the trigger remains unsolved.
The proposal’s success rests on a letter of support from councilwoman Letitia James, so unless she gets on board, we won’t be seeing a Biggie Boulevard or a Big Poppa Place in Brooklyn anytime soon.
Via Billboard
