Hip-Hop Community Honors B.I.G.

The Hip-Hop community will pay tribute to one of the most enduring rapper’s of all time, Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, who was gunned down 8-years ago today (March 9) in 1997. B.I.G.’s former DJ, Mister Cee will host a tribute to his Brooklyn, New York alumni tonight on Eminem’s Sirius satellite radio station, Shade […]

The Hip-Hop community

will pay tribute to one of the most enduring rapper’s of all time, Christopher

"The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, who was gunned down 8-years ago today

(March 9) in 1997.

B.I.G.’s former

DJ, Mister Cee will host a tribute to his Brooklyn, New York alumni tonight

on Eminem’s Sirius satellite radio station, Shade 45, while terrestrial radio

will also celebrate in B.I.G.’s hometown of New York.

Rival stations

Hot 97 and Power 105 are both hosting tribute parties to honor Wallace, who

was killed when a gunman open fire on the vehicle Wallace was a passenger in.

Hot 97 will host

"The Official Tribute," with guests Junior M.A.F.I.A., Mr. Cheeks,

Clark Kent, Mobb Deep, Jadakiss and others.

Power 105 will

host their 3rd birthday party along with a tribute to B.I.G. that will feature

Faith Evans, 112, Keyshia Coles and an appearance by Sean "P. Diddy"

Combs.

"Notorious

B.I.G., Christopher Wallace was my friend and I love him," Combs said in

a statement. "I miss him so much. He was a lyrical genius, a literary giant,

a voice for people who aren’t often heard and one of the greatest rappers in

the history of hip hop. What people need to know about B.I.G. is that he was

compassionate, humorous and generous."

Big was gunned

down in Los Angeles, California after attending an after-party at the Vibe Awards.

His murder came

in the midst of a feud between Death Row Records and Bad Boy, which media outlets

dubbed an "East Coast/West Coast" hip-hop

war.

Shakur accused

Combs and his Bad Boy cohorts of setting him up to be shot 5 times in the lobby

of a New York recording studio in November of 1994 and robbing him of $40,000

worth of jewels.

Both Combs and

his one-time rival and Death Row CEO Suge Knight have vehemently denied any

involvement in the shootings and subsequent

murders of Shakur or Wallace.

"He [B.I.G.]

shared the same problems growing up as many Black youth in America who are raised

without fathers or understanding of what it means to become strong, productive

and responsible men. Notorious B.I.G. and I both had to teach ourselves to become

men."

The shootings touched

off speculation as to who may have orchestrated the murders of two of the most

well known hip-hop figures in the world.

Neither murders

have been solved, but reports suggested that the federal government was still

actively investigating the homicides, one which occurred on the Las Vegas, Nevada

strip, the other in Los Angeles in front of hundreds of on lookers who witnessed

the shooting.

In related news,

B.I.G.’s mother Voletta Wallace revealed that a movie about the life of B.I.G.

was in the works. No other details are available as of press time.