How Biggie Smalls Got His Name
Biggie Smalls, a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G., remains a legendary rapper and a revered figure in hip-hop a quarter century after his death. His name lives on as a testament to his personality in his music and on stage, filled with Brooklyn braggadocio.
Biggie Smalls got his name from the movie ‘Let’s Do It Again’
Before he took rapping seriously, Christopher Wallace worked as a crack dealer on the streets of Brooklyn. At the same time, he became known as a talented rapper who could freestyle over any beat played at the local block parties. He first earned the nickname Big around the neighborhood before settling on Biggie as his rap name.
In the early 1990s, Biggie decided to take his job across state lines: he frequently traveled down south to North Carolina to sell crack with other dealers. One of the people he met and befriended was Robert Cagle, also known as Zauqael.
Justin Tinsley’s 2022 book It Was All a Dream: Biggie and the World That Made Him detailed Biggie’s road to stardom from his humble beginnings. In one part, Zauqael reflected on watching the 1975 film Let’s Do It Again one night with Biggie. The movie starred Bill Cosby, Sidney Poitier, Ossie Davis, John Amos, Calvin Lockhart, Jimmie Walker, and more.
“One of the characters [Lockhart] was named Biggie Smalls,” Zauqael remembered. “I said, ‘Listen, ain’t you say your rap name is Biggie?’ I said, ‘No, listen. That’s a better name for you right there.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I like that.’ Because it was gangster, plus it was funny. But I told him if you’re gonna be named that, I hope your MC game is nice.”
Another rapper named Biggy Smallz called out Biggie
Christopher Wallace wasn’t the only burgeoning rapper to take his name from Let’s Do It Again. In the early ’90s, a young West Coast rapper by the name of Biggy Smallz started recording music when he was just 12 years old. At the time, West Coast rappers were gaining greater clout in the world of hip-hop, following the success of N.W.A. and rappers like Tupac Shakur and Ice Cube.
Biggy Smallz only came out with three songs, all of which were released before The Notorious B.I.G.’s breakout in 1994 with his debut album Ready to Die: “Save Mr. Perkins,” “Cruisin’,” and “Nobody Rides For Free.”
He started going by The Notorious B.I.G. as a result
Biggie Smalls in Brooklyn had no idea about Biggy Smallz across the country. So when Brooklyn Biggie began rising to prominence in the lead-up to his debut album’s release, he had to change his name to avoid legal trouble.
The 2021 Netflix documentary Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell explored how Biggie came to be The Notorious B.I.G.
“I got some papers in the mail,” the rapper said frankly in a clip. “The original Biggy Smallz said he’s going to sue me for everything I got if I use his name again. So please, if you see me, my name is The Notorious B.I.G. You can call me ‘Big,’ ‘Notorious Big,’ whatever.”
“No more Biggie Smalls,” he added. “That is dead; whacked.”
In 1994, rapper Funk Flex asked B.I.G. about the name change, and he explained how the young rapper basically forced the change.
“On the [Ready to Die album] cover, it will say ‘The Notorious B.I.G.’ because some lame little 14-year-old ‘Cruisin’’ calling himself Biggy Smallz,” B.I.G. said. “He don’t know the true meaning, but it’s all good — we trying to make some paper.”
