Credit: Alamy

Biggie Smalls was an impactful figure during the 1990s and was undeniably one of the most prominent artists of the era alongside his foe 2Pac and figures such as Snoop Dogg and Nas. However, although he received some awards during his lifetime, he never really got to see through his career and create a legacy akin to someone like 50 Cent or Dr Dre.

Irrespective of this, in 2020, the late star was rightly inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and, to accept his award via Zoom, his son CJ and daughter T’yanna gave a lengthy acceptance speech during which his daughter unveiled who her father would have thanked had he lived long enough to reap the rewards of his musical works.

Biggie’s children didn’t know him very well as they were young when he was famous and spent most of their lives without him. However, both of his kids still have an enormous amount of pride in their dad and weren’t afraid to show it during their remote appearance at the induction ceremony.

During her speech, the emcee’s daughter, T’yanna, insisted that her father wasn’t just the King of New York but insisted he was “the king of the culture” — a claim that would no doubt be argued by those more pedantic hip-hop historians.

Following this bold claim, T’yanna then proceeded to reveal who her father would have thanked, stating, “I know if my dad was here, he’d want to thank his mom [Meemaw Wallace] … Gigi, Uncle Dave, my mom Jan, Faith [Evans], Todd, Puffy, Wayne [Barrow], Mark [Pitts], the Junior M.A.F.I.A. family, everyone that helped bring his music to life, and of course, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for this tremendous honour.”

It is well-known in hip-hop that Faith Evans meant a lot to Biggie Smalls, so much so that he made her his wife and the mother of his son CJ Puffy, now known as Diddy, was the industry figure who, for better or for worse, made Biggie the star he became through his label Bad Boy Entertainment. 

Wayne Barrow, a name unknown to many, was, in fact, critical to Biggie and played the role of his manager during the height of his career, and Mark Pitts (alongside Diddy) was one of the leading producers who crafted the Brooklyn icon’s albums.

CJ honoured his father as well, but in a different way, opening, “Our father was one of the founding fathers of hip-hop.” he continued, “He helped revolutionize what was a young art form for the Black community and the world. I’m honoured to share his name and his dedication to Black music, creativity, self-expression, and Black freedom.”

CJ then humbly thanked his family members, including his grandmother Voletta Wallace, declaring,  “I love you, Meemaw. Thanks for teaching us who Christopher Wallace was as a son, friend, poet, artist, and father. We love you, Meemaw. We love you, dad. Brooklyn, we did it!”