Way back in the day, I heard rapper extraordinaire, the late Notorious B.I.G., stopped using the name Biggie Smalls because another rapper was using the name. The now-more-famous, but-then-newer Biggie (aka Christopher Wallace) only had a demo, a few freestyles, and the "Party & Bullshit" song to his name. He changed his name to Notorious B.I.G., dropped a few hip-hop classics, and the rest was history.
But who was the first Biggie?
Thank goodness for the internet. What was a 20 year mystery for me was solved in 10 minutes thanks to this great article on The Boom Box.com entitled "Notorious BIG vs Biggy Smallz: This or That?". According to writer Max Weinstein, the first Biggy (notice the spelling) was a white rapper from LA. He dropped two songs in 1991 then two more in 1993, both before the bigger Biggie released "Ready to Die". So the name was already taken and songs copywritten under the moniker.
Although he could never make a comeback with the same name, the first Biggy Smallz may have been ahead of his time. This song, from his first single, has a total "Uptown Funk" vibe at the 3:14 mark. Unfortunately, his rhyme style, flow, and cadence scream Kris Kross-era teen rap, which might work if he worked under the Disney umbrella.
In 1994, Biggy Smallz released "Cruisin'", along a video for the song. This song was released on Bellmark Records, an Los Angeles offshoot of Stax Records and was produced by Johnny J, who later worked with Tupac Shakur. With that credibility, there is no doubt was legit and Biggy had the name first.
In Crusin', Biggy Smallz not only sounds like Kris Kross, he even looks like a white kid trying to hard to be urban - not even hood, just urban. I knew kids kinda like this, sorta beach bummer, sorta wannabe gangsta, sorta Zack Morris preppy. It is very early 90s and Biggy rocked it well.
This is teen version of Vanilla Ice. And his presence in the hip-hop world made one of the most well-known MCs ever change his name. Not quite the same as a The Quarrymen and The Beatles, but an interesting footnote in music history.
Biggy Smallz other songs were:
