Biggie & Puffy's Iconic Walk & That CRAZY Weed Story!
- Teo Drinkovic
- Jul 4
- 2 min read
Biggie, Puffy, and the Larger-Than-Life Presence That Defined an Era
For anyone who grew up around New York hip-hop in the 1990s, The Notorious B.I.G. was more than a rapper. Christopher Wallace, born in Brooklyn in 1972, became one of the most important voices in hip-hop history, turning the streets, struggles, and ambitions of New York into unforgettable rhymes.
Biggie began building his reputation through Brooklyn’s underground rap scene and freestyle performances before his demo reached Sean “Puffy” Combs. Combs, then an ambitious music executive, recognized something special immediately. He signed Wallace to Bad Boy Records, and the partnership helped launch one of the most remarkable careers hip-hop had ever seen.
Biggie’s 1994 debut album, Ready to Die, established him as a superstar. Tracks such as “Juicy,” “Big Poppa,” and “One More Chance” became classics, while his storytelling, deep voice, and effortless flow made him instantly recognizable. His second album, Life After Death, released shortly after his death, became an enormous commercial and cultural success and cemented his status as a hip-hop legend.
The friendship and professional relationship between Biggie and Puffy became central to the Bad Boy era. Together, they created a distinctive New York sound and image, one built around confidence, luxury, street credibility and larger-than-life personalities. The video featured in this article captures that side of the story, as two participants remember Biggie and Puffy pushing through crowds with an almost unstoppable swagger and charisma.
And then there was the smell of weed!
The participants also recall Biggie’s unmistakable weed scent, describing it as something that seemed to arrive with him.
His presence was apparently impossible to ignore, not simply because of his size, but because of his personality. Biggie had an enormous physical and cultural presence.
Behind the success, however, hip-hop was becoming increasingly divided. The rivalry between New York’s Bad Boy Records and Los Angeles-based Death Row Records intensified the broader East Coast–West Coast conflict. Biggie’s former friendship with Tupac Shakur deteriorated dramatically, and the two became symbols of opposing sides of the feud.
Tupac was murdered in Las Vegas in September 1996. Six months later, on March 9, 1997, Biggie was shot while sitting in an SUV after a music-industry party in Los Angeles.
He was only 24. The FBI later investigated the killing, but the case was closed without charges, and Biggie’s murder remains officially unsolved.
Today, Biggie is gone, but Brooklyn has never forgotten him. His music remains deeply embedded in New York hip-hop culture, and his influence can still be heard in rappers' music generations after his death.
For many fans, Biggie was not simply The Notorious B.I.G.
He was Brooklyn!
Feel free to comment! 😎