Remembering rapper Biggie Smalls 20 years after death

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - Twenty years after he was gunned down in a still unsolved murder in Los Angeles, Brooklyn rapper Christopher 'Biggie Smalls' Wallace is being remembered at a special tribute Thursday afternoon.

The legendary rapper who created mega-hits like 'It Was All A Dream,' 'Mo Money Mo Problems' and 'Hypnotize' with its catchy riff "sicker than your average," was only 24-years-old when he was killed while stopped at a red light in a drive-by shooting.

A tribute to the entertainer considered one of the most influential artists and rappers of all time will be held at Soujourn restaurant at 244 E. 79th St. in Manhattan at 3:30 p.m. Admission is free but donations will be accepted for the Dream Big Basketball tournament.

Sojourn restaurant will be dedicating a wall to The Notorious B.I.G., as he was also referred to, where fans can leave notes in his memory.

Looking back at his life, death and legacy, fans can remember the thousands of people including Mayor David Dinkins who lined the streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant for Biggie's funeral.

Friends including fellow rapper Little Cease, who was in the vehicle when Biggie was shot, recalls a very funny man.

"We would be on the road cracking jokes, pranking each other," Cease told FOX 5 News reporter Lisa Evers. "He had a real sense of humor."

"The Notorious B.I.G. was a rap phenomenon," said hip-hop journalist Miranda Johnson. "He literally taught people how to take the everyday life in the hood and make it luxury. He introduced them to a bunch of brands they didn't know. He made the everyday hood individual want more and aspire to more."

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