The Notorious B.I.G - Life after death

Two and a half years before the album's release, the Notorious B.I.G., who had married Faith Evans, became East Coast's icon in the East Coast–West Coast rivalry and made guest appearances on albums by Michael Jackson and many others.

Biggie traveled to the West Coast in February 1997 to promote the album, and shoot the video for the lead single, "Hypnotize." Two weeks before its release, on March 9, the Notorious B.I.G. was shot four times in a drive-by shooting and was later pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles.