The murder of rapper Christopher Wallace, aka the Notorious B.I.G., may soon be solved. After 13 years, new evidence has come to light about the events surrounding the murder of one of rap's most beloved figures. Wallace, 24, was shot and killed while riding in a Suburban that was driving away from a music-industry party at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles on March 9, 1997.
According to CNN, Los Angeles police said that a lone gunman in a Chevy Impala pulled alongside the Suburban and opened fire on Wallace, who was in the passenger seat. Witnesses described the suspect as being an African-American man wearing a suit and bow tie.
Many have speculated that the Biggie Smalls murder was retribution for the murder of rapper-actor Tupac Shakur, since both had been engaged in an East Coast-West Coast label "rap war" that was played out in, and some would say orchestrated by, the media. Although the reasons for opening the case have been kept confidential, many believe it has to do with corruption in the Los Angeles Police Department. Los Angeles City Councilman and former police Chief Bernard Parks told CNN that accusations about a police cover-up are "absurd."
What do you expect from the man who was chief of police during the corruption scandal of the Rampart Division and the investigation of the murder of the Notorious B.I.G.? It has already been determined that three of the police officers involved in the C.R.A.S.H. Anti-Gang Rampart Division scandal were on the payroll of Death Row Records president and convicted felon Suge Knight. Former LAPD cops Nino Durden, Raphael Perez and David Mack have admitted as much, along with their role in other corruption activities.
Perhaps it was the wrongful-death suit filed in 2007 against Durden, Perez and Mack that has helped shed light on new evidence? Perez's rap sheet alone is enough to make you go hmmmm. Whatever the case, we've had enough of the unsolved murders of two of hip-hop culture's most high-profile and iconic rappers. Hopefully Los Angeles' finest will pierce their blue veil and find out who murdered the Notorious B.I.G.
Read more and watch video about the case at Slate.com.
In other news: Baltimore Ravens' Ed Reed Gets Emotional Over Missing Brother During Postgame Speech.