Notorious BIG was only 24 years old when he died from gunshots from an unknown assailant in 1998.

The Brooklyn representative recorded an incredible amount of classic music, and launched the careers of many other artists in his short time on earth, after overcoming childhood troubles and time spent on the wrong path, in the streets. His life was chronicled, albeit through somewhat rose-colored glassed, in the hit movie Notorious last year. Along with Tupac Shakur, he is known as one of the two most tragic losses in hip-hop history, of stars lost right at the height of their success.

Notorious BIG allbums continue to sell consistently years after his death, especially the classics Ready to Die and Life Affter Death.