Who Killed the Notorious B.I.G.? Inside the Rapper’s Murder 28 Years Ago

The Notorious B.I.G. was killed when he was 24 years old, but he had already become known as one of the greatest rappers of all time.

The musician — born Christopher George Latore Wallace on May 21, 1972, in Brooklyn, N.Y. and also known as Biggie Smalls — released his debut album Ready to Die in 1994 and posthumously released Life After Death in 1997. The latter is one of the only hip-hop albums to reach diamond status, selling 10 million copies.

On March 9, 1997, Biggie was leaving a Soul Train Awards afterparty when he was shot and killed by an assailant in a black Chevy Impala. Biggie’s murder is closely linked to the killing of fellow ‘90s hip-hop superstar Tupac Shakur, as the two were involved in a feud that saw Biggie represent the East Coast and Tupac the West.

After Tupac was murdered in Las Vegas in 1996, it has been widely speculated that Biggie’s shooting was a form of retaliation, but no conclusive evidence has been brought forward.

No arrests have been made in Biggie’s murder, authorities are still searching for his killers today and the rapper’s death remains one of the most infamous unsolved murders in music history.

Here is everything to know about the shocking murder of the Notorious B.I.G., as well as the legacy he left behind.

How did the Notorious B.I.G. die?

After attending a star-studded Soul Train Awards party on March 9, 1997, Biggie and Sean “Diddy” Combs left in separate cars at approximately 12:30 a.m, according to the 2003 book Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

While Diddy’s car was up ahead, Biggie’s vehicle was stopped at a red light as a black Chevrolet Impala drove up. An assailant then fired four shots at the rapper from the driver’s side window.

All four shots hit Biggie but it was revealed in a 2012 autopsy that only one of the bullets was fatal, going up through his thigh and chest and piercing vital organs.

Biggie was immediately rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where an emergency thoracotomy — a surgical procedure to gain access to vital organs in the chest region — was performed before he was pronounced dead at roughly 1:15 a.m., per Rolling Stone.

Where did the Notorious B.I.G. die?

Biggie was shot at the intersection of Fairfax and Wilshire in Los Angeles while at a red light.

He was pronounced dead at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center roughly 30 minutes later.

What happened in the feud prior to the Notorious B.I.G.’s death?

Biggie and Tupac were initially friends, respecting each other’s journeys from poverty to becoming successful rappers who were the faces of East Coast and West Coast hip-hop. While Tupac originally respected Biggie, it was recently revealed in a 2024 Rolling Stone investigation related to the litany of sexual abuse allegations against Diddy that Tupac did not respect the Bad Boy founder.

Biggie and Tupac allegedly fell out in 1994 when the latter was shot and robbed at Quad Studios in Times Square, per The New York Times. As Biggie and the group he created, Junior M.A.F.I.A., came down to see Tupac getting stretchered out after the shooting, the injured rapper reportedly gave his former friend the finger, according to Slate.

When Biggie released the song “Who Shot Ya?” Tupac allegedly interpreted it as a diss track. The rapper then retaliated with the diss track “Hit Em’ Up” — generally referred to as one of the greatest diss tracks in hip-hop history — calling out Biggie by name.

After the diss tracks, Tupac signed with Death Row Records and developed a relationship with the label’s CEO Suge Knight. Shortly after their feud began, Tupac was murdered in Las Vegas and six months following his death, Biggie was shot and killed. Knight has denied killing Tupac and even claimed (presumably jokingly) to TMZ in 2014 that the rapper is, in fact, still alive.

Has anyone been charged in Biggie’s murder?

According to Rolling Stone, the person who shot Biggie was a Black male in a blue tuxedo with a bowtie, but no one has ever been arrested or charged for the rapper’s killing.

However, Biggie’s family has filed two wrongful death lawsuits, one in 2002 and the other in 2007, alleging that the LAPD did not do enough to protect their loved one and claiming that corrupt LAPD officers were involved in his murder. The first ended in a mistrial and the second was dismissed, per The New York Times.

One of the most prominent theories about Biggie’s murder involves an allegation that Knight orchestrated the killing with the assistance of the LAPD. According to Buzzfeed, LAPD Lieutenant Sergio Robleto said it was suspicious that the robbery-homicide division was allegedly uninvolved in the case.

“They were there that first night but they were gone by the next morning and didn’t come back to the case until an entire month had passed,” Robleto claimed. “I had never seen that: A murder case involving a major celebrity that wasn’t taken over by robbery-homicide right out of the gate.”

Retired LAPD detective Greg Kading — who worked on a gang task force that included Biggie’s case and was a large part of the 2023 arrest of Duane “Keefe D” Davis for the murder of Tupac — claimed to Fox 11 Los Angeles that the case is “solved, but not prosecuted.”

“At the time that Biggie Smalls was killed, Suge Knight was in the county jail,” Kading said. “So, in order for him to communicate with somebody on the street, he had to go through an intermediary, which was this female that was visiting him in jail.”

In his book Murder Rap, Kading said that the LAPD and the FBI took that woman’s statement in 2009 on the condition of keeping her identity private. Kading claimed that the woman said she would visit Knight under the false pretense of being a legal assistant, which allowed her to have unmonitored visits.

The woman allegedly claimed that Knight had instructed her to help him coordinate Biggie’s murder. Accordingt to Kading, she confessed to being an intermediary communicating with Wardell “Poochie” Fouse — who died in 2003 — to kill Biggie for an undisclosed sum on behalf of Knight. He has not commented on the allegations.

“I certainly think it is a closed case and they ought to satisfy history by saying this is the facts and this is why we can’t prosecute it, but it is solved,” Kading claimed.

What was the public’s reaction to the Notorious B.I.G.’s death?

The public reacted to Biggie’s death with an outpouring of grief, shock and confusion, while celebrating his talent.

As the limos drove Biggie’s casket through the streets with family and friends, thousands of New Yorkers and fans flooded the streets.

“When I hit Saint James Place and I saw the crowd [dancing, I thought] Oh my God, this kid was well-loved. That’s when I saw the love,” Biggie’s mother, Voletta Wallace, said in the 2021 Netflix documentary Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell.

When he was killed just six months after Tupac, it not only represented the death of two industry titans, but many felt it signified a bigger cultural moment. In 2014, Illmatic rapper Nas told Zane Lowe, “When those two guys passed away, I thought it was the end of rap.”

What is the Notorious B.I.G.’s legacy?

The Notorious B.I.G.’s legacy has only grown since his death, including a 2020 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The rapper has influenced many artists with his melodic flow, lyrical dexterity, intelligent wordplay and vivid storytelling including Eminem, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Lil’ Wayne and Alicia Keys. There have been many posthumous releases of Biggie’s music including a 2005 album called Duets that saw Biggie’s verses mashed with new verses from modern artists.

His songs are still a part of the cultural lexicon too, featuring in TV shows as recently as when his song “Going Back to Cali” was played in the 2024 Netflix series Receiver.

Biggie’s life was portrayed in the 2009 biopic Notorious, which saw Jamal Woolard as the rapper, Angela Bassett as his mother Voletta and Anthony Mackie as Tupac. Biggie’s son CJ Wallace — whom he shared with fellow musician Faith Evans — also starred in the opening scene of the movie as a young Biggie. The rapper also had a daughter, T’yanna, with his high school sweetheart Jan Jackson.

In 2022, around the time of the 25th anniversary of Biggie’s death, CJ spoke with PEOPLE about his father’s lasting impact.

“He had a global legacy. My dad reached across every corner of this world,” he said. “I see the reaction that I get when people recognize me, and the DMs I get on Instagram and on Twitter show me that even people younger than me have been inspired by my dad. It’s crazy.”