The spirit of the late great Notorious Big was very much alive in Brooklyn in BedStuy as the Crispus Attuks Playground was officially renamed the Christopher “Biggie” Wallace Courts. Biggie’s mother Voletta Wallace along with his children Tyanna and CJ Wallace and Lil Cease were present for the ribbon cutting on Wednesday.
A couple of blocks from where Biggie grew up, fans, family and local government officials including Councilman Robert Cornegy who grew with Biggie and was a vital part of the renaming project, attended the ceremony. Cornegy who had made a promise to Voletta Wallace 20 years ago that her son’s presence would forever be apart of the neighborhood, smiled as he watched his vision come to light.
There were some people in the neighborhood that opposed the name changing to that of the late rapper. They argued that Biggie’s drug dealing past and lyrics about women made him an “unfit” role model. However the board passed the proposal stating that he was major contributor to Hip Hop. Shirley Mcrae, a board member stated “You may not like the man or what you assume he stood for, but he set the stage for another generation of musicians”.
As children played in the newly renovated park, Biggie could be heard blasting in the background. It is said that the park renovation project was part of the 2.5 million dollar playground renovation project by New York Parks Department.
