The Notorious B.I.G. died on March 9, 1997 at the ripe age of 24, leaving two children, his wife Faith Evans and a lucrative career behind. But now his son Christopher Jordan “CJ” Wallace is stepping into his own as a recording artist.
On Monday (August 10), Wallace released a remix of the Biggie classic “Big Poppa” simply titled “Big Poppa (House Mix).” Produced by Jonathan Hay, Sarah Rush, Wallace and Willie Mack, the track borrows elements of Biggie’s original and combines it with an uptempo dance beat.
The song comes from the upcoming collection Ready To Dance (a play on Biggie’s Ready To Die album), which was co-produced by Wallace himself. The project strips Big’s voice from several of his songs to give birth to dance renditions of each Hip Hop classic.
“It’s almost as though I can feel the spirit of Biggie through CJ,” Hay tells HipHopDX. “It’s been such an honor to work with him and Willie Mack of Think BIG so closely. As CJ openly states, his musical taste is definitely influenced by his father, which has given so much to the single ‘Big Poppa’ and the Ready to Dance album. We couldn’t have gotten any closer to Biggie while working with his music than collaborating with his own son.”
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Hay — who’s a creative force behind the Follow The Leader (Jazz ) album — also credits Rakim’s longtime manager Matthew Kemp, Eric. B and Rakim for giving him his start in the production world. “None of this would be happening without them and their co-sign for Follow The Leader (Jazz),” he says.
Ready to Dance is being released in conjunction with a new lifestyle brand dubbed Frank White — a Biggie alias borrowed from the drug kingpin in the 1990 film King of New York.
Until the album’s arrival, check out the “Big Poppa (House Mix)” below.