Growing up in Brooklyn, Christopher Wallace was a bright young man who dreamed of becoming a rap artist. When rap music producer Sean 'Puffy' Combs heard one of Wallace's demo tapes in 1992, he signed the young man to his new label, Bad Boy Records. Soon Wallace became known as Biggie Smalls, although he recorded under the name Notorious B.I.G.Most of Biggie's lyrics were about the hard life on the streets of America's inner cities. His first album, 1994's "Ready to Die", is considered a classic of the gangsta rap genre. Eventually, Biggie was drawn into the 'East Coast-West Coast Rap War,' a feud between rival rappers that would turn violent and end in tragedy. Since his murder in March 1997, Notorious B.I.G. has been acknowledged as one of the most talented and influential rap artists of all time.