Cheo Hodari Coker Unbelievable

Annotation

In this riveting account of Biggies remarkable life, hip hop journalist Cheo Hodari Coker tells the story youve never heard about the dramatic, tension-filled world of Biggie, Tupac, Puff Daddy, and Suge Knight, tracing their friendships and feuds from the beginning to the bitter end. Despite the clash of personalities and styles, all four were key players in a volatile and creative era of hip hop, a time when gangsta rap became popular music.Before he rocketed to fame as Biggie, Christopher Wallace was a young black man growing up in Brooklyn with a loving single mother. An honors student who dropped out of school to sell drugs, Biggie soon discovered that he had a gift for rocking the mike. Cokers narrative is based on exclusive interviews with Biggies family and friends, some of whom have never spoken publicly about Biggie before.Compellingly written and brilliantly illustrated, with rare color and black-and-white photographs from VIBEs archives and Biggies family, this is an in-depth look at the life and afterlife of an icon whose music is as powerful and prevalent as ever. A virtuoso of flow as well as a master storyteller, Biggie was arguably the greatest rapper of all time. Weve heard a lot of speculation about Biggies death. Now its time to remember his life and celebrate his work.