NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) – The Notorious B.I.G. (Biggie Smalls / Christopher Wallace) will be honored as the “King of New York” on Saturday (May 21) in a series of tributes taking place across his home city. May 21st would have marked Biggie’s 50th birthday.
The Empire State Building will be colored in red and white in honor of the late rapper. His trademark crown will spin around the skyscraper’s mast, serving as a reminder of his “king” status.
The celebration kicked off Friday (May 20), with several friends and family members attending a ceremony at the Empire State Building. Attendees include his mother, children, rappers, Lil Cease, and past lover Lil’ Kim.
In Brooklyn, the Barclays Center will project a video montage of some of Biggie’s songs onto a massive display above the entrance to the arena. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will have special edition metro cards, which will be available at subway stations near his old Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.
Amazon Music and [RE]DISCOVER will display artwork based on Biggie’s iconic “King of New York” crown photo at the Clinton-Washington Avenue station.
Biggie’s 25th-anniversary box set of his final album, Life After Death, arrives on June 10 and will feature eight vinyl LPs and a booklet containing photos from the album’s photoshoot 25 years ago.
Biggie was murdered at the young age of 24 while leaving the Soul Train Awards afterparty in Los Angeles. He was shot in a drive-by when an assailant pulled up beside his limo and shot the rap icon numerous times. To this day, his murder has not been solved.
