The heartfelt tattoo Biggie Smalls got days before his death
The late Biggie Smalls died as one of the most powerful rappers in the world and he had packed a lot into his 24 years on earth. From selling drugs on a Brooklyn street corner to breaking records as a recording artist, the Ready To Die creator achieved a lot. However, one thing he had never done was consider getting a tattoo.
Understandably, as a superstar known worldwide, it wasn’t a priority or even necessary, but having experienced so much in his life, one would have thought that the emcee had at least considered getting a profound, inspiring message emblazoned on his body.
Still, he hadn’t until the last six months of his life when he began to embrace his spirituality. In 1996, the Brooklyn icon experienced extreme highs and tragic lows. From a near-fatal car accident and the death of his old friend Tupac Shakur to the upcoming release of his highly-anticipated sophomore album Life After Death, there were a lot of emotions.
In fact, it was the car crash that made Biggie reassess his life and embrace God. The 1996 collision left his leg broken in three places and relegated him to using a cane for the rest of his life. Following the incident, the ‘Who Shot Ya’ rhymer spent time in a rehab center in New Jersey, where he began speaking to God more and discovering a deeper faith.
That said, even when he was discharged from the facility he continued to a build relationship with God and the following year, as he was preparing for the last show of his life the 24-year-old rapper decided to get his first tattoo.
The show, in Los Angeles, was for the legendary Soul Train Music Awards, and Biggie flew out days before to soak up the sun and enjoy the city he loved, despite him not being wanted there by many people following Tupac Shakur‘s death.
Only days before the award show, Biggie sat down for an interviw with the Los Angeles Times where he reflected on his journey from backstreet drug dealer to hip-hop superstar. He also opened up aout the tattoo he had got in LA that week.
Inked on his right arm, Biggie had decided to embrace his spirituality with a Psalm from the Bible, reading, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the truth of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even my enemies and foes, came upon me to bite my flesh, they stumbled and fell.”
Telling the LA Times about what the tattoo meant to him, Biggie expressed, “This is to reassure myself that whatever goes wrong, no matter how bad things seem, God is right there for you, you know? As long as you believe in him and his strength — all these jealous people, all these sharks…He’ll stop all of that. He’s going to find the road for me to take to avoid all of those obstacles and take me where I’m going.”
The tattoo was something the emcee got only days before he died and on March 9th 1997, Biggie Smalls was gunned down on South Fairfax Avenue outside the LA County Museum of Art.