Brooklyn naming basketball courts after Notorious B.I.G.

Brooklyn City Councilman Robert E. Cornegy Jr. has fulfilled his promise to Notorious B.I.G.’s Mother, Voletta Wallace, by having basketball courts at a Brooklyn playground named in memory of her son. Cornegy lived in the same Brooklyn building as Biggie’s Mother and after his passing, promised her that her son’s name would be honored.

Residents opposed efforts by Cornegy in the past to honor the rapper’s name due to his violent lyrics and criminal history, but now, twenty years after Biggie’s death, it is finally going to happen.

Councilman Cornegy will be joined by members of Biggie’s family at a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Crispus Attucks Playground on Fulton St. and Classon Ave. in Bedford Stuyvesant where Biggie often played himself. The ceremony will take place on August 1st or 2nd, prior to the Christopher Wallace Foundation Memorial Basketball Tournament on August 5th.

USA Network orders Tupac, Nororious BIG murder drama

For fans and invited guests, there will be a reception following the ribbon cutting ceremony at Selena Rosa Cafe in Manhattan.

Last month, ASCAP honored Wallace with the ASCAP Founders Award during the 30th Annual Rhythm & Soul Music Awards in Los Angeles. The Notorious B.I.G.’s legacy continues to survive and inspire countless other artists who have sampled his music. On May 19th, two days before what would have been his 45th birthday, Faith Evans released a tribute album titled, The King And I, featuring duets between her and her husband.

In May, USA Network announced it has ordered Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. pilot to series with the first season focusing on the rappers’ unsolved murders during the infamous East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry of the 1990s. The scripted true-crime drama chronicles the two major police investigations, headed by former LAPD Detective Greg Kading, into the murders of the rap icons. Kading, who wrote the book “Murder Rap: The Untold Story of Biggie Smalls & Tupac Shakur,” will serve as executive producer and was a consultant on the pilot script. Josh Duhamel, newcomer Wavyy Jonez and Marcc Rose are attached to star.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com