Culture Report
Twenty-nine years ago today, Christopher Wallace was killed in Los Angeles. He was 24. He had released one album.
What came after says everything.
This week's newsletter is the full March 9 tribute: the pre-deal tapes, the Stretch and Bobbito sessions, the Brooklyn murals that are still standing, J. Period's full tribute series (free on Bandcamp), and the books and films worth your time today. Everything is in the piece.
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Visual Influence
The Corner That Started Everything
The 1989 corner freestyle. Bedford Ave between Quincy St and Lexington Ave in Bed-Stuy. A 17-year-old Christopher Wallace, a crowd that already knew, and footage that somehow survived.
That same corner is where the King of New York mural stands today, 38 feet tall, painted by Scoot Zimmerman and Maoufal Alaoui. The community fought to keep it when a landlord tried to remove it in 2017.
The photo in this week's article is by Scott Beale of Laughing Squid, published under Creative Commons. See it here.
To see more of the murals across Brooklyn (the Comandante piece in Fort Greene by Cern One and Lee Quiñones, the glass mosaic outside Key Food on Fulton) follow @spreadartnyc and @barronclaiborne.
The Tape That Holds Up Every Year
J. Period's March 9 series is three volumes and over 80 tracks of exclusive remixes and unreleased material. He has been putting it out for the culture on Bandcamp since 2020. All three volumes are free to stream.
Put one of these on today and let it run.
One More Thing: Christopher Wallace Way
Fulton St at St. James Place, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. Co-named in June 2019. His daughter T'yanna Wallace runs Notoriouss Clothing at 503 Atlantic Avenue, a few blocks away, with limited editions dropping every year on his birthday.
Twenty-nine years. The borough still holds it.
Experience the culture at mixtapekings.com
— Diony C.