This Saturday, May 21 is what would have been The Notorious B.I.G.‘s 50th birthday, and to celebrate, his hometown, New York City will honor him by lighting up the Empire State Building with a crown on its mast. The day before, the Empire State Building will also hold a ceremony to honor him including Biggie’s mother, Voletta Wallace, his children, CJ and Tyanna Wallace, and close friends and collaborators such as Lil Cease and Lil Kim.
Other celebrations will include the Barclays Center playing a video montage of classic Biggie records on its display above the entrance, while the MTA will offer special edition MetroCards at three subway stations near his old home: Lafayette Avenue, Clinton – Washington Ave., and Atlantic Ave. – Barclays Center. Meanwhile, the Clinton – Washington station will also host a takeover by Amazon Music, where fans will be able to scan a QR code to access an exclusive Instagram filter. Elsewhere in the city, Amazon will debut new murals of Biggie in each borough.
Next month, on June 10, the festivities will continue with an orchestral tribute to Biggie at the Lincoln Center which will live stream via Twitch; the same day, Bad Boy, Atlantic, and Rhino Records are re-releasing Life After Death on vinyl with a super deluxe boxed set 25th-anniversary edition full of rare photos, revamped liner notes, and some of Biggie’s hit singles from the album, such as “Hypnotize,” “Mo Money Mo Problems,” and “Sky’s the Limit.”
The Notorious B.I.G. is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
