No city loves Biggie like Brooklyn. The legendary emcee, formally known as The Notorious B.I.G., who has already received a street in his honor, is being recognized in a unique way with an interactive installation entitled “Sky’s the Limit in the County of Kings.”
The nine-foot-tall statue, which features the late “Big Poppa” emcee wearing his popular gold crown, was erected in the famed city earlier this month and is located at the entrance of the famous Brooklyn Bridge on Clumber Corner in the downtown area of Dumbo.
Caribbean-born artist Sherwin Banfield is behind the new project described as “sustainable sonic,” created using “bronze, resin, stainless steel, winterstone, wood,” according to StreetArt Utopia. It also features an audio component that plays a medley of Biggie’s classic records and a lighting and solar power system. The statue shows the “Juicy” rapper’s hands stretched outward, holding a microphone in one hand and his heart in another. The artist was murdered in a still-unsolved drive-by shooting on March 9, 1997.
Banfield explained the significance behind the sonic sculpture’s creation and ultimate destination, telling ArtNet News, “The location had a profound impact on the work.” He continued, “It’s on a hill, and I wanted viewers to ascend towards a regal monument and be welcomed with open arms and two essential human qualities: the voice through a microphone and love via a heart.”
This isn’t the first time Biggie was honored in his hometown. In 2019, the Brooklynite, born Christopher George Latore Wallace, was given a street after the corner of Fulton Street and St. James Place in Clinton Hill was named “Christopher ‘Notorious B.I.G.’ Wallace Way.”
The rapper’s family and friends, including his mother, Voletta Wallace, and fellow rapper and ex-girlfriend Lil Kim, spoke on behalf of the rapper’s legacy. “This street is going to be a love street. People are going to come here and they’re going to know that a young man, my son, was living here,” Biggie’s mother said at the time, while Kim noted that she “always knew this day was gonna come.”
Fans of the late emcee will be able to view “Sky’s the Limit in the County of Kings” until October 2023.
