According to DNAInfo, some Brooklyn community board members think the late rapper Biggie Smalls was nothing but a criminal, a misogynist, and apparently was too overweight to receive a street named in his honor.
Lucy Koteen, a CB2 member, did some independent research on the rap legend and claims the man born Christopher Wallace isn’t worthy of having any association with his native New York borough.
“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,” Koteen said in board meeting this past Tuesday. “I don’t see how this guy was a role model and frankly it offends me.”
The Notorious B.I.G.’s criminal past well is known within hip-hop and music circles and was the inspiration to a good portion of his music. An abbreviated version of his life was addressed in the 2009 biopic Notorious.
theGrio’s 15 favorite Notorious B.I.G. songs
Fellow board member Ken Lowy echoed Koteen’s statements and argued Biggie’s music was too disrespectful towards women.
The proposed placement of “Christopher Wallace Way” would be at the corner of Fulton Street and St. James Place in Brooklyn, and LeRoy McCarthy, the man behind the Biggie petition, expressed his dissatisfaction after the meeting, believing the Notorious B.I.G., having been murdered in a drive-by shooting in 1997, was unable to properly defend himself.
“There are many artists that share stories in a vernacular that their audiences understand,” said McCarthy. “Biggie used the language from the streets he grew up in to convey what he wanted to say.”
Do you believe The Notorious B.I.G. deserves his own street named after him in Brooklyn? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
You can check out Kyle’s musical coverage on theGrio music page, and follow Kyle on Twitter at@HarveyWins.