1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,280 Speaker 1: All right, guys, welcome into part two of our Notorious 2 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:06,040 Speaker 1: Big rewind story. Here in Disgraceland, are we ever going 3 00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:11,080 Speaker 1: to find out who murdered the Notorious Big? Is fifty cent? Correct? 4 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 1: I'm not exactly sure he is. I like my theory. However, 5 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:16,640 Speaker 1: my theory is just a theory and there's not a 6 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:19,800 Speaker 1: lot of hard evidence behind it. So what I'm giving 7 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:23,079 Speaker 1: you here in this episode is the evidence, and I'm 8 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:26,560 Speaker 1: inviting you in to read between the lines. Okay, It's 9 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 1: all going to come together in the end. 10 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:28,720 Speaker 2: Here you go. 11 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:43,760 Speaker 1: Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis, the story about 12 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:47,839 Speaker 1: the Notorious Big, his background, his beginning days is a 13 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:50,440 Speaker 1: crack dealer and an artist, and his path as a 14 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:53,320 Speaker 1: man and a musician, not to mention his beef with 15 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 1: friend Tupac Shakur's so complex that two episodes were needed 16 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,800 Speaker 1: to properly tell this story. If you're just getting hip 17 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 1: to this now, I suggest you hit pause and go 18 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:07,679 Speaker 1: back to the last episode of Disgraceland, Part one of 19 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: the Notorious Big story, or if you're looking exclusively for 20 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:15,160 Speaker 1: a deep dive into the East Coast West Coast beef 21 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:19,119 Speaker 1: between Biggie and Tupac. Check out the entire episode dedicated 22 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:22,920 Speaker 1: to this subject in season one of Disgraceland. You'll also 23 00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:25,479 Speaker 1: want to check out the two part episode dedicated entirely 24 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: to Tupac Shakur, his career and his artistry that is 25 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:32,959 Speaker 1: available earlier in season seven of Disgraceland. Here we get 26 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:35,760 Speaker 1: into the famous rivalry, but we also get into the 27 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:40,679 Speaker 1: Notorious BIG's life after Tupac, his inspiration as an artist, 28 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:45,119 Speaker 1: and the mystery behind his still unsolved murder. We also, 29 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:48,000 Speaker 1: of course, get into the great music that the Notorious 30 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:52,040 Speaker 1: Big made, Unlike that music I played for you at 31 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 1: the top of the show. That wasn't great music. That 32 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 1: was a preset loop for my melotron called Gangster White 33 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 1: Walls m K. I played you that loop because I 34 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 1: can't afford the rights to want to be by the 35 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: Spice Girls. And why would I play you that specific 36 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:11,799 Speaker 1: slice of greasy girl power cheese? 37 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:12,880 Speaker 2: Could I afford it? 38 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 1: Because that was the number one song in America on 39 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 1: March ninth, nineteen ninety seven, And that was the day 40 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:24,640 Speaker 1: the Notorious Big was shot and killed, kicking off one 41 00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:27,840 Speaker 1: of the most mysterious music industry murderers of all time. 42 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:34,000 Speaker 1: On this episode, a dead rivalry, new inspiration, a mysterious 43 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: murder in the Notorious Big. I'm Jake Brennan and this 44 00:02:40,560 --> 00:03:10,520 Speaker 1: this Disgraceland. The Notorious Big was laid up in the 45 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 1: hospital with a shattered leg, a result of the car 46 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: accident that had occurred the night before and would keep 47 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:20,960 Speaker 1: him in the hospital for three months. His head was 48 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: full of confusion, his big belly filled with fear. His 49 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:27,399 Speaker 1: boys had come by to visit, brought him a boombox 50 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:29,600 Speaker 1: and some of his old mixtapes to help them pass 51 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:30,160 Speaker 1: the time. 52 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 2: Who Shot You? 53 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 1: At the B side from his hit single Big Popa 54 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 1: came on and immediately began to irritate him. This was 55 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 1: the song Tupac used against him, the song Poc claimed 56 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:46,000 Speaker 1: Big had written about him, the song that supposedly proved 57 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 1: Tupac's insane theory that Big and Puff were behind Tupac 58 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: shooting at Quad's studios that night. The song was instrumental 59 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 1: in the beef narrative between the two men. Despite the 60 00:03:57,040 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: fact that Big and Puff had recorded Who Shot You 61 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,320 Speaker 1: before Tupac was shot, it made no sense. 62 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:05,880 Speaker 2: A lot of things about. 63 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 1: Tupac Shakur made no sense for all his paranoia, fear, 64 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 1: and public fretting about dying young, he liberally insulted some 65 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 1: of the most dangerous gangsters on both coasts, and for 66 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 1: someone who frequently rapped about equality and oppression and individual freedom, 67 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:24,960 Speaker 1: Tupac had no problem aligning himself with a man who 68 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:28,320 Speaker 1: was seen as one of the most violent oppressive forces. 69 00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 2: In the music industry. 70 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:33,600 Speaker 1: Shook Knight, owner and label boss at Death Row Records. 71 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:37,600 Speaker 1: Unable to move from the bed, Big grabbed an open 72 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 1: can of pepsi from his bedside table and launched it 73 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 1: at the boombox in hopes of nailing the stop button. 74 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 1: He missed, laid his head back on his pillow, let 75 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:50,280 Speaker 1: the painkillers do their thing, closed his eyes. 76 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 2: And passed out. The song played on. 77 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:59,600 Speaker 1: The Mitsubishi Montero wasn't known as a gangster's whip, which 78 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:03,040 Speaker 1: suited did its owner just fine. From the outside, it 79 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 1: looked like any other modern day suv tooling down ventur 80 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:08,320 Speaker 1: Or Boulevard in Los Angeles. 81 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:10,400 Speaker 2: Practical but popular. 82 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:14,560 Speaker 1: Overbuilt by its Japanese makers with more horsepower than needed, 83 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:18,799 Speaker 1: the Montero was a sneaky monster, just like its driver. 84 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 1: Inside the suv was tricked out with a television set 85 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 1: and vcr ridiculous indulgences for the interior of a mid 86 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:32,800 Speaker 1: market automobile, especially back in the nineteen nineties. Now the 87 00:05:32,839 --> 00:05:35,880 Speaker 1: eighties era blockponk wired to the massive subwiffer in the 88 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:39,159 Speaker 1: back of the suv that was a necessity for any player, 89 00:05:39,279 --> 00:05:42,039 Speaker 1: low key or not. A man's car stereo was his 90 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: calling card on the block. Without that base rolling out 91 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:48,520 Speaker 1: of your ride's windows at nausea inducing volume in Middle Earth, 92 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:51,680 Speaker 1: rattling low frequencies, well, let's face it, you were just 93 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:55,279 Speaker 1: another geek on the street, much like the geek and 94 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:55,919 Speaker 1: the LTD. 95 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:57,560 Speaker 2: He just pulled up next to him. 96 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:00,560 Speaker 1: What the fuck was he yelling about, stupid motherfucker with 97 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:03,080 Speaker 1: his men's warehouse shirt and tie telling him to turn 98 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:03,800 Speaker 1: down his shit. 99 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:05,159 Speaker 2: Fuck you, motherfucker. 100 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:08,520 Speaker 1: The driver the montero ignored the driver in the Ford 101 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:11,240 Speaker 1: LTD and then decided that he wasn't not only going 102 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:13,400 Speaker 1: to turn down his music, he was going to turn 103 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:17,400 Speaker 1: it up. He cranked the stereo the sub raged. The 104 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: driver of the LTD, white, middle aged, was beyond offended. 105 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:25,159 Speaker 1: It didn't help matters that he hated rap music, the 106 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:29,160 Speaker 1: same type of music that was inconsiderably blasting from the Montero, 107 00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:34,800 Speaker 1: whose driver was black, so mister LTD began shouting out 108 00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:38,600 Speaker 1: of his window even more furiously. Mister Montero shouted right 109 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:41,720 Speaker 1: back and was animated, now in fact, more angry than 110 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: the originally agreed man in the LTD who started this 111 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:47,240 Speaker 1: whole mess by telling him to turn it down in 112 00:06:47,279 --> 00:06:50,919 Speaker 1: the first place. Of course, mister LTD would claim that 113 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:53,680 Speaker 1: mister Montero started the mess when he had the disrespect 114 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:56,480 Speaker 1: to blast his rap music at ear splitting volumes in 115 00:06:56,520 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 1: the middle of the day on a public street, no 116 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: less was offensive. The shouting continued until mister Montero killed 117 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:08,760 Speaker 1: the volume so that mister LTD could hear clearly. 118 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:11,680 Speaker 2: What he was about to say next. 119 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:14,760 Speaker 1: And what he said was this, you better shut the 120 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:17,360 Speaker 1: fuck up, white boy, or I'm gonna put a cap. 121 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:20,320 Speaker 2: In your ass. With that, he drew his peace. 122 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:23,960 Speaker 1: The light then turned green and mister LTD blasted through 123 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:30,080 Speaker 1: the intersection. Something clicked in mister Montero and he instinctively 124 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:33,280 Speaker 1: gunned it in hot pursuit of the LTD, and the 125 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:36,880 Speaker 1: chase was short lived. At the next stalled intersection with 126 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:40,400 Speaker 1: mister Montero once again pulled up alongside his forward. Mister 127 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:43,440 Speaker 1: LTD wasted no time and drew his own gun, and 128 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: before mister Montero knew what was what, mister LTD, in 129 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:50,480 Speaker 1: a tragic case of reverse road range, aimed, fired, and 130 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:59,000 Speaker 1: very efficiently shot and killed mister Montero. Mister LTD, the 131 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:03,720 Speaker 1: shooter turned was a white LAPD undercover narcotics officer named 132 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:08,320 Speaker 1: Frank Laiga. Perhaps more shocking, however, was that mister Montero, 133 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,640 Speaker 1: the dead black dude who brandished his piece first, was 134 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 1: a seven year veteran of LAPD's Pacific Patrol, another cop 135 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:20,280 Speaker 1: named Kevin Gaines. And perhaps most interesting about this entire 136 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 1: fiasco was that the green Mitsubishi Montero with the tricked 137 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:27,400 Speaker 1: out block punk the car Officer Kevin Gaines was driving. 138 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:27,960 Speaker 2: Again. 139 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:34,800 Speaker 1: Officer Kevin Gaines was registered to death Row Records. Officer 140 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:37,520 Speaker 1: Gaines was driving to death Row Montero because he was 141 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:42,400 Speaker 1: on sug Knight's payroll as paid security. Many LAPD officers 142 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:45,400 Speaker 1: moonlighted as security detail, and many of them were gainfully 143 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:48,679 Speaker 1: employed by Shuge Knight and death Row Records because having 144 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:52,640 Speaker 1: cops on your payroll was smart for many reasons number one, 145 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:55,560 Speaker 1: people didn't fuck with cops and number two when they did, 146 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:57,240 Speaker 1: and shit hit the fan, and you and your gang 147 00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:00,080 Speaker 1: banging buddies found yourself in trouble with other cops. O 148 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:02,960 Speaker 1: cops tended to believe other cops, as in the one 149 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:05,480 Speaker 1: Sugar paid to protect him slash pull him out of 150 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:09,280 Speaker 1: the fans spitting shit when he needed them to. Further 151 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:12,320 Speaker 1: connecting Officer Kevin Gaines to death Row was the fact 152 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:15,280 Speaker 1: that he was dating Sharitha knit Shug Knights soon to 153 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: be ex wife and Snoop Dogg's ex manager. Anyway you 154 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:23,600 Speaker 1: cut it, Officer Gaines was down with death Row, so 155 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:27,959 Speaker 1: believed another officer, the decorated Detective Russell Poole, who was 156 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:30,480 Speaker 1: assigned to the case to figure out why one white 157 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:34,280 Speaker 1: LA cop, mister Ltd shot and killed another black LA cop, 158 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:38,880 Speaker 1: mister Montero, also known as Officer Kevin Gaines. The press 159 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 1: was gunning for the easy narrative of undercover racist white 160 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:45,320 Speaker 1: cop kills defenseless soft duty black cop, but the facts 161 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,800 Speaker 1: uncovered by Detective Pool led him into an entirely different 162 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:53,320 Speaker 1: investigative direction, one that involved a different murder. Entirely the 163 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:58,280 Speaker 1: murder of the notorious BIG's friend in rival Tupac Secure, 164 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:22,480 Speaker 1: Tupac's death, the car accident that shattered his leg and 165 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:25,640 Speaker 1: felt like a near death experience, and the painful recovery 166 00:10:25,679 --> 00:10:28,920 Speaker 1: time alone in the hospital. It all gave Biggie Smalls 167 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:33,600 Speaker 1: a newfound sense of creative urgency and purpose. He set 168 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:36,320 Speaker 1: out to not only finish his next record, entitled Life 169 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:38,760 Speaker 1: After Death, but to make it a better and more 170 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:42,720 Speaker 1: impactful album than his highly successful debut, Ready to Die 171 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:47,480 Speaker 1: with Tupac Dead with Shoog Knight, now in jail sentenced 172 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:50,120 Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety six for an attack on a Crips 173 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:53,800 Speaker 1: gang member. In serving a nine year prison sentence, with 174 00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:56,960 Speaker 1: Doctor Dre and Snoop Dogg making noise about leaving death 175 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:00,199 Speaker 1: row records, the white hot flames of the East Coast 176 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:03,760 Speaker 1: West Coast Beef from the previous year had been reduced 177 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:07,560 Speaker 1: to flickering embers. Big saw it as his duty to 178 00:11:07,679 --> 00:11:11,120 Speaker 1: use his platform to use the deeper success and brighter 179 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:14,400 Speaker 1: spotlight that his new album would bring to do something 180 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:18,000 Speaker 1: more than rep the aspirational hip hop high life blunts 181 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:22,360 Speaker 1: BRA's expensive cars. He wanted to unite the coasts, bring 182 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:25,360 Speaker 1: the West Coast rap family peacefully into the fold with 183 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:29,280 Speaker 1: his beloved East Coast. Perhaps it was hubris, but for 184 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:32,679 Speaker 1: whatever reason, Biggie believed he could do this, and so 185 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:35,760 Speaker 1: too did Sean Puffy Combs, if for no other reason 186 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:39,640 Speaker 1: than the financial windfall a bicoastal audience would bring to 187 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:43,880 Speaker 1: bad Boy Entertainment, which was in part why they were 188 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:46,400 Speaker 1: both currently out on the West Coast. In February of 189 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:53,960 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety seven. With Sugar in prison, La was wide open. 190 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:57,880 Speaker 1: No more beef or so, Big and Puffy thought. The 191 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:00,000 Speaker 1: two and their entourage were able to come and go 192 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:03,160 Speaker 1: as they pleased. During the day, they set up bigs 193 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:06,600 Speaker 1: new record, video shoots, interviews, that sort of thing, and 194 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:09,360 Speaker 1: at night they freely bounced from this club to that 195 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:12,240 Speaker 1: club without fear of any sort of beef. But old 196 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:15,520 Speaker 1: wounds cut deep, and Biggie was still paranoid enough to 197 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:18,080 Speaker 1: wish that on that night, as he and Puff and 198 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:20,600 Speaker 1: their entourage made their way through the streets of Los 199 00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:24,440 Speaker 1: Angeles and their fleet of rented gmc Chevy suburbans that 200 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:28,160 Speaker 1: they'd opted for the bulletproof armored siding they'd scoped earlier 201 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:31,280 Speaker 1: in the week at Beverly Hills, motoring nothing he can 202 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:35,000 Speaker 1: do about it now. To ease his anxiety, he let 203 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:38,400 Speaker 1: his head sink back into the suburban's leather headrest and 204 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:40,200 Speaker 1: allowed the music to wash over. 205 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:45,959 Speaker 2: The bass boomed. Everyone get on the ground. This is 206 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:47,360 Speaker 2: a fucking robbery. 207 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:52,040 Speaker 1: The police issued MD four stun grenade did the trick. 208 00:12:52,679 --> 00:12:55,480 Speaker 1: Non lethal. Sure it didn't kill anyone, but it scared 209 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:58,520 Speaker 1: the fuck out of everyone inside the Bank of America 210 00:12:58,679 --> 00:13:02,120 Speaker 1: on South Hoover on that day in Los Angeles, a 211 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:06,800 Speaker 1: flash grenade of thunderous proportions. Immediately upon its detonation, pants 212 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:10,240 Speaker 1: were pissed. The taste of copper crept into everyone's mouths. 213 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:13,920 Speaker 1: Customers and bank workers alike instantly feared for their lives. 214 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:18,000 Speaker 1: It was sudden chaos, and despite there being only one assailant, 215 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:22,120 Speaker 1: the situation was immediately well within his hands, with one 216 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:25,679 Speaker 1: gun drawn, the infamous Tech nine semi automatic, a gun 217 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:28,400 Speaker 1: that it seemed was designed for one purpose and one 218 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:32,520 Speaker 1: purpose only, the quick massacre of scores of people in seconds, 219 00:13:32,840 --> 00:13:35,240 Speaker 1: a fact not lost on anyone within the confines of 220 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:38,000 Speaker 1: the bank that day. The bank robber blined it to 221 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:41,160 Speaker 1: the pretty assistant branch manager behind the desk. One of 222 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:43,320 Speaker 1: the only people in the bank not rendered into a 223 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:46,800 Speaker 1: useless puddle of fear. She loaded two bags with more 224 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 1: than seven hundred grand in cash and calmly handed them 225 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:54,880 Speaker 1: to the bank ropper, who instantly fled the scene. Brazen, bold, stupid. 226 00:13:56,760 --> 00:14:00,439 Speaker 1: The pretty assistant branch manager, it was later discovered, ordered 227 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:03,200 Speaker 1: twice as much cash from the Brinks truck on that day. 228 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:06,679 Speaker 1: Why When her cool demeanor at the scene was revealed 229 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:10,560 Speaker 1: to investigators, she immediately fell under suspicion as being an 230 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:14,360 Speaker 1: accomplice in the bank robbery, a suspicion later confirmed when 231 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:18,640 Speaker 1: the pretty assistant branch manager cracked under questioning and admitted that, yes, 232 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:22,600 Speaker 1: she was indeed in on the robbery. Her boyfriend was 233 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:25,760 Speaker 1: the robber, but it wasn't her idea, It was all 234 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:31,760 Speaker 1: his and his name was Was you guessed it? Another 235 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:36,120 Speaker 1: LAPD officer who grew up in Compton, a childhood friend 236 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:42,200 Speaker 1: of Shug Knight, was arrested, tried for the bank robbery, convicted, 237 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:46,960 Speaker 1: and sentenced to fourteen years in prison. Legal documents revealed 238 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 1: in a twenty seventeen documentary that a quote unquote reliable 239 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:55,360 Speaker 1: jailhouse informant went on record to say that needed the 240 00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:58,280 Speaker 1: money from the bank robbery to pay off a contract killer, 241 00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:02,480 Speaker 1: a killer who went by the street name AMR. 242 00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:10,120 Speaker 2: We'll be right back after this word word word. 243 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:14,880 Speaker 1: It wasn't known whether Grogner was at the party that night, 244 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:19,120 Speaker 1: but lots of sug Knight's other friends sure were. Sug 245 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:21,560 Speaker 1: may have been locked up, but this was still La, 246 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 1: still his town. As for any quote unquote a Merr character, 247 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:28,480 Speaker 1: if he wasn't at the party, he was at least 248 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:31,760 Speaker 1: aware of one member of the party's Megawak guest list. 249 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:36,320 Speaker 1: Nineteen ninety seven Soul Trained Music Awards after party was 250 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:38,920 Speaker 1: officially the hottest ticket in town on the night of 251 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:42,800 Speaker 1: March eighth, which is saying something considering that this was Hollywood, 252 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:45,840 Speaker 1: where a list movie and music stars get after it 253 00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:50,200 Speaker 1: in public on any given night. Even still, this party 254 00:15:50,280 --> 00:15:54,640 Speaker 1: was different, especially for Big and Puff. The industry was 255 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:58,760 Speaker 1: fully aware that the Notorious BIG's much anticipated follow up 256 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:01,000 Speaker 1: album was about to draw at the end of the month, 257 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:05,120 Speaker 1: so this party, though not directly thrown by Viggian Puff, 258 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:08,600 Speaker 1: did serve as a celebration of sorts for them, a 259 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:11,520 Speaker 1: sort of unofficial record release party. Given the mailstream of 260 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:15,680 Speaker 1: industry hype surrounding life after death. At that moment, bad 261 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:19,000 Speaker 1: Boy Entertainment was in full flex out on the West Coast. 262 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:21,880 Speaker 1: If anyone in the history of the music industry was 263 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:26,080 Speaker 1: ever serious about manifest destiny, it was the supremely ambitious 264 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:30,320 Speaker 1: Sean Puffy Comb's Conquering the West was high on his agenda, 265 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:34,920 Speaker 1: So on that night, Bad Boy rolled deep. The party 266 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:38,480 Speaker 1: was held at the Peterson Automotive Museum on Fairfax and Wilshire. 267 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:41,320 Speaker 1: If you've been in Los Angeles any time during the 268 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:45,320 Speaker 1: past few decades, you've probably seen this building. It's the massive, 269 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:48,800 Speaker 1: amorphous candy stripe blob of architecture that looks like something 270 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:51,800 Speaker 1: out of one of Jack White's nightmares, which is to say, 271 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:55,080 Speaker 1: it's a cool looking building. And on this night it 272 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:57,600 Speaker 1: was packed with some of the coolest looking people. And 273 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:01,080 Speaker 1: when I say packed, I mean way pack, like, way 274 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:05,560 Speaker 1: past whatever the fire code allowed for Shaquille O'Neill, Chris Tucker, 275 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:09,119 Speaker 1: Wesley Snipes, Whitney Houston, Bobby Brown, Missy Elliott, Genuine and 276 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:12,600 Speaker 1: too many other celebrities to mention crammed into the venue, 277 00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:17,320 Speaker 1: which was also stacked with models wannabe starlets in industry suits, 278 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:21,800 Speaker 1: all there to celebrate. Biggie's new single, Hypnotized came on 279 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:23,840 Speaker 1: and the place went nuts. 280 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:26,320 Speaker 2: Big and Puff sat back in their booth and took 281 00:17:26,320 --> 00:17:26,800 Speaker 2: it all in. 282 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:30,639 Speaker 1: It was the success they long hoped for, playing out 283 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:33,359 Speaker 1: right in front of their eyes, being celebrated out on 284 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:36,639 Speaker 1: the West coast like this. It was special, something that 285 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:40,760 Speaker 1: a year ago was unimaginable. Nineteen ninety seven was going 286 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:44,840 Speaker 1: to be their year, the year of bad boy. But 287 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:48,399 Speaker 1: real bad boys were also in attendance. A mix of 288 00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:51,879 Speaker 1: bloods and crips. Gang members circulated throughout the crowd and 289 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:57,000 Speaker 1: their respective reds and blues innominous presence, But on this night, 290 00:17:57,359 --> 00:18:01,119 Speaker 1: so far anyway, there was no static, no gang signs 291 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:04,680 Speaker 1: being thrown, no flexing of any sort. Who was that 292 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:08,040 Speaker 1: kind of party? People just wanted to get down, celebrate, 293 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:11,520 Speaker 1: blow off steam until the cops showed up with the 294 00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:14,879 Speaker 1: fire department to shut the whole event down. The place 295 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:18,240 Speaker 1: was packed to dangerous proportions, with thousands of people jammed 296 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:21,080 Speaker 1: inside and hundreds more outside still waiting to get in. 297 00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:26,520 Speaker 1: At well past midnight, Biggie Puff in their entourage hung 298 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:29,240 Speaker 1: back a bit while most everyone else made for the exits. 299 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:32,359 Speaker 1: They took photos with fans, enjoyed the last SIPs of 300 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:36,000 Speaker 1: their drinks, took it all in, savoring it, and when 301 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:38,400 Speaker 1: they finally got to their cars, they broke out from 302 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:42,600 Speaker 1: the Peterson Automotive Museum and a five car entourage. Puff 303 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:45,960 Speaker 1: was being driven in the lead suburban, big chauffeur behind 304 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:49,000 Speaker 1: him in a green suburban behind him, some friends and 305 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:52,320 Speaker 1: a Chevy Blazer, an off duty cop they'd hired for 306 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:55,960 Speaker 1: extra security, trailed that vehicle and bringing up the rears. 307 00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:59,040 Speaker 1: Some more friends in a white limousine, and they were 308 00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:02,920 Speaker 1: of course headed to the after party, but not if 309 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:05,119 Speaker 1: the man in the black Chevy and Paula had. 310 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:06,280 Speaker 2: Anything to say about it. 311 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:14,440 Speaker 1: The sixty four in Paula, particularly the lowrider model from 312 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:18,760 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty four, is the gangster whip, especially for West 313 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:22,879 Speaker 1: Coast gangbangers. In the nineties, Easye had both a sixty 314 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:25,320 Speaker 1: four in Paula and a sixty three model. 315 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:27,000 Speaker 2: Dre featured the car and. 316 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:29,480 Speaker 1: His videos for Enough but a g Thing Let Me Ride. 317 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:33,440 Speaker 1: In still Dre videos, Ice Cube, not to be outdone 318 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:36,600 Speaker 1: by his former bandmates, shows off the sixty four Gangs 319 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:39,640 Speaker 1: to Paula and his iconic tribute to south Central La 320 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:43,040 Speaker 1: in the video for it was a Good Day and 321 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:43,640 Speaker 1: That's just. 322 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:45,800 Speaker 2: The former members of Nwa. 323 00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:48,919 Speaker 1: Ski Loo did the same and is hysterical I wish video, 324 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:51,520 Speaker 1: as did countless other hip hop stars. 325 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:54,600 Speaker 2: You didn't need a fancy, tricked. 326 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:57,200 Speaker 1: Out Cadillac provided you whip around in a sixty four 327 00:19:57,240 --> 00:20:00,240 Speaker 1: in Paula, or so went the thinking of gangs. There's 328 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:03,760 Speaker 1: real players in West Coast car aficionados in the nineties. 329 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:08,360 Speaker 1: The ninety five Impola was not gangster, but its gangster 330 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:12,199 Speaker 1: lineage would have been impossible to overlook. In fact, for 331 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:16,120 Speaker 1: the criminal minded, the sixty four IMPALA's gangster appeal would 332 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 1: have most certainly given the special shine to its late 333 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:22,760 Speaker 1: model offspring. Owning a ninety five Chevy and Pala SS 334 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:24,919 Speaker 1: back in the day was kind of like owning a 335 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:28,320 Speaker 1: Mini Cooper. Now lame as those cars are, if you 336 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:31,520 Speaker 1: own one, you're at least signaling an understanding of something 337 00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:35,080 Speaker 1: cool from the past, I guess. Except to understand the 338 00:20:35,119 --> 00:20:38,040 Speaker 1: IMPALA's past coolness, you need to be aware of a 339 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:41,639 Speaker 1: gangster life and by extension, the criminality that a companies 340 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:46,120 Speaker 1: gang life. But again, the ninety five Impola was not gangster. 341 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:47,400 Speaker 2: It was a cop car. 342 00:20:48,119 --> 00:20:50,480 Speaker 1: Gangsters could give a shit about the ninety five im Paula, 343 00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:55,280 Speaker 1: but wanna be gangsters and cops, well, that was a 344 00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:59,840 Speaker 1: different story. The ninety five Impola was a low key muscle, 345 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:02,880 Speaker 1: which was rare in the nineties and was why cops 346 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:06,320 Speaker 1: loved them. Different departments used them all over the country. 347 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:09,399 Speaker 1: The seventh generation in Paula had a big va and 348 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:12,840 Speaker 1: was built like a tank, but still in comparison to 349 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:15,480 Speaker 1: the sixty four, the ninety five was pretty lame. 350 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:17,560 Speaker 2: Even the SS model, even in. 351 00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:23,720 Speaker 1: Black and especially on that night, contrast against the glittery 352 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:28,800 Speaker 1: beamers bends his limos in suv caravans. The suv at 353 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:31,280 Speaker 1: the head of the bad Boy caravan, the one with 354 00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:33,760 Speaker 1: Puffy in it, made it through the light at Fairfax 355 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:37,800 Speaker 1: in Wiltshire. Biggie's SUV just behind Puss didn't make the 356 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:40,600 Speaker 1: light and rolled to a stop in the left hand. 357 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:41,960 Speaker 2: Turn lane at the intersection. 358 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:46,240 Speaker 1: As it stopped, a black ninety five Chevy and Pala 359 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:51,359 Speaker 1: SS rolled up quietly next to it. The driver of 360 00:21:51,359 --> 00:21:53,520 Speaker 1: the ninety five and Paula did not take his eyes 361 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:56,360 Speaker 1: off the road ahead, despite the fact that it would 362 00:21:56,359 --> 00:21:58,320 Speaker 1: have been pretty clear to anyone with a sense of 363 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:01,280 Speaker 1: Hollywood that there was more than likely a famous person 364 00:22:01,359 --> 00:22:03,800 Speaker 1: sitting just feet from him in the passenger seat of 365 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:06,920 Speaker 1: the car next to him, And there was music blaring 366 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:09,879 Speaker 1: from the suv that was obviously part of a fleet 367 00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:13,080 Speaker 1: of SUVs, and they were so close in proximity to 368 00:22:13,119 --> 00:22:16,359 Speaker 1: the Peterson Automotive Museum that was at the very moment 369 00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:20,160 Speaker 1: surrounded by beautiful people exiting into the night. And given 370 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:23,000 Speaker 1: the glitz and hubbub, it was beyond odd that the 371 00:22:23,119 --> 00:22:25,919 Speaker 1: driver of the Impala didn't turn to his left to 372 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:28,640 Speaker 1: sneak a look at who the famous person riding next. 373 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:29,159 Speaker 2: To him might be. 374 00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:33,600 Speaker 1: It was like he already knew who it was, like 375 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:36,360 Speaker 1: he was the one trying to go unnoticed, rather than 376 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:39,680 Speaker 1: the celebrity next to him, Lil Cease in the back 377 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:43,840 Speaker 1: seat behind Biggie Street Smart that he was immediately grew suspicious. 378 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:46,919 Speaker 1: The man behind the wheel of the Impala was dressed 379 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:49,359 Speaker 1: in a sharp white shirt with a bow tie. He 380 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:52,160 Speaker 1: was black, wore black glasses, kind of had a Nation 381 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:56,119 Speaker 1: of Islam look. Cese noted that he had his left 382 00:22:56,119 --> 00:22:58,920 Speaker 1: hand on the wheel, his other hand in his lap, 383 00:22:59,359 --> 00:23:00,879 Speaker 1: and then he saw it. 384 00:23:01,359 --> 00:23:03,679 Speaker 2: The gun a forty caliber automatic. 385 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:07,600 Speaker 1: It appeared in a flash and immediately started blasting seven 386 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:11,000 Speaker 1: quick shots at close range, direct into the passenger side 387 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:13,560 Speaker 1: window and door of the suv parked next to him. 388 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:15,920 Speaker 2: Five of the shots hit the notorious Big. 389 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:18,359 Speaker 1: The man of the Impala, slammed his foot on the 390 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:21,080 Speaker 1: gas and took off into the night. The shots rang 391 00:23:21,119 --> 00:23:24,720 Speaker 1: out loud up ahead the Puffy's suv slammed on the brakes. 392 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,560 Speaker 1: Puff immediately sensed what had happened and bounded out of 393 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:30,600 Speaker 1: the truck, and an instant began sprinting back toward the intersection, 394 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:34,480 Speaker 1: and there was chaos all around him. The partygoers outside 395 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:37,560 Speaker 1: Peterson immediately picked up what had happened. They were shouting, 396 00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:40,760 Speaker 1: they just shot Big, They just shot Big, screamed, Squealing 397 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:43,160 Speaker 1: tires and the final barrows of going back to calis 398 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:44,639 Speaker 1: still bumping from BIG's truck. 399 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:46,400 Speaker 2: With the track's author bleeding out in the. 400 00:23:46,359 --> 00:23:49,360 Speaker 1: Passenger seat, A little sea screwed out from behind Big 401 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:51,159 Speaker 1: in the back and started pointing in the direction of 402 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:54,200 Speaker 1: the escaping impala. Puff made it back to Big Suburban 403 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:56,320 Speaker 1: in what seemed like an eternity but was really no 404 00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:59,800 Speaker 1: time at all. His own driver arrived on foot behind him, 405 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:02,480 Speaker 1: and they both jumped into the suburban. Puff began to 406 00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:04,520 Speaker 1: comfort Big, who, by the looks of it, was in 407 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:07,280 Speaker 1: bad shape. Puff's driver put the truck and gear and 408 00:24:07,359 --> 00:24:10,840 Speaker 1: flooreded in the direction of nearby Cedar Sinai Hospital. They 409 00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:13,560 Speaker 1: ran every red light along the way, but it didn't matter. 410 00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:20,159 Speaker 1: Despite arriving in minutes, the damage was done. Biggie was 411 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:22,440 Speaker 1: hauled out of the truck and into the emergency room, 412 00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:26,119 Speaker 1: unconscious and barely alive, and the doctors did their best, 413 00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:28,680 Speaker 1: but the five bullets to the chest and abdomen did 414 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:30,800 Speaker 1: more damage to the Big Man than they could handle. 415 00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:36,960 Speaker 1: Twenty minutes later, Christopher Wallace, Biggie Small's aka thean Notorious Big, 416 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:39,280 Speaker 1: was pronounced dead. 417 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:08,040 Speaker 3: Twenty four Notorious Pig also told those pretty ss gunned 418 00:25:08,119 --> 00:25:11,280 Speaker 3: down in a drive by shooting outside of music industry work, 419 00:25:14,520 --> 00:25:17,680 Speaker 3: I'm gonna tame you if you were to your job. 420 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:21,000 Speaker 3: The bob and weak you know what I'm saying, or shot. 421 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:27,720 Speaker 1: He was iciculate, His raps were very descriptive, and he 422 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:32,400 Speaker 1: proved to be a very philosophical presence. These death comes 423 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:35,919 Speaker 1: almost exactly six months after the drive by slaying of 424 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:38,520 Speaker 1: his art rival California. 425 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:40,200 Speaker 3: Or AUNTU function fur from Las Vegas. 426 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:45,280 Speaker 1: A federal law enforcement task force currently is investigating the 427 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:46,760 Speaker 1: rap music industry and. 428 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:50,800 Speaker 3: Possible links to drogue and gun violations and over cards. 429 00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:00,960 Speaker 1: It didn't take long for Detective Rustle Pool's phone to 430 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:04,280 Speaker 1: start ringing. He was a detective in a city full 431 00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:07,960 Speaker 1: of rats, rats now emboldened by the white hot light 432 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:11,560 Speaker 1: of celebrity and the opportunity to alter music industry mythology 433 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:15,399 Speaker 1: in real time. As far as informants connected to gang 434 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:17,880 Speaker 1: in hip hop culture in Los Angeles in the mid 435 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:21,360 Speaker 1: to late nineties went, the death of the Notorious Big 436 00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:24,719 Speaker 1: was like that light that shines suddenly in a dirty 437 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:29,280 Speaker 1: apartment with an army of scurrying cockroaches. One of the 438 00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:33,000 Speaker 1: detective Pool's first tips indicated that Officer gains He of 439 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:36,199 Speaker 1: the Mitsubishi Montero, the dead Man, and the cop on 440 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:40,040 Speaker 1: cop murder. He was investigating the security guard for death 441 00:26:40,119 --> 00:26:44,280 Speaker 1: row records. That guy, the tipster, told Pool that Gaines 442 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:47,720 Speaker 1: had something to do with Biggie's murder. Pool chased it 443 00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:51,280 Speaker 1: down but came up empty. But more tips followed, and 444 00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:54,879 Speaker 1: despite coming up with anything immediately tangible, it was clear 445 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:57,879 Speaker 1: to Detective Pool that the streets certainly thought that the 446 00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:01,160 Speaker 1: dead officer he was investigating, the one with the Shug 447 00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:04,320 Speaker 1: Night connection, had something to do with the murder of 448 00:27:04,359 --> 00:27:09,320 Speaker 1: the notorious Big Other tips also indicated that Biggie's murder 449 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:13,160 Speaker 1: was connected to Tupac's murder six months prior, though Detective 450 00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:16,680 Speaker 1: Pool could find no hard evidence directly connecting the two killings. 451 00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:20,000 Speaker 1: In fact, his gut initially told him that the two 452 00:27:20,119 --> 00:27:23,959 Speaker 1: murders were pretty different. Tupac was murdered just after a 453 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:27,720 Speaker 1: massive melee in a Las Vegas casino, with gunmen frantically 454 00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:31,800 Speaker 1: shooting at Tupac Gangland style sprang bullets from the back 455 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:35,639 Speaker 1: of a flashy Cadillac. Tupac would hang on for days 456 00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:40,480 Speaker 1: before succumbing completely to his gunshot wounds. Biggie's murder was 457 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:45,320 Speaker 1: almost surgical by comparison, A clearly disciplined shooter using patients 458 00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:49,480 Speaker 1: cunning and quiet, used an unassuming car favored by police 459 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:52,840 Speaker 1: to get up close to the target, avoid eye contact, 460 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:56,320 Speaker 1: and then at the last minute point aim and shoot 461 00:27:56,320 --> 00:27:59,560 Speaker 1: off seven shots, connecting with five of them and killing 462 00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:03,280 Speaker 1: his target it almost instantly. This isn't to say that 463 00:28:03,359 --> 00:28:08,080 Speaker 1: Detective Pool didn't chase down tips with better results he did. Pool, 464 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:11,480 Speaker 1: after some time, became convinced that the two murders had 465 00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:15,280 Speaker 1: some connection. It wasn't long before we figured out that 466 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:19,760 Speaker 1: his former fellow LAPD officer remember him the dude who 467 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:22,600 Speaker 1: robbed the bank, using his pretty girlfriend as an inside 468 00:28:22,640 --> 00:28:25,600 Speaker 1: mold to help him make off with seven hundred large Yes, 469 00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:29,720 Speaker 1: that dude who is now sitting behind bars, Detective Pool learned, 470 00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:33,200 Speaker 1: was also, like Officer Gaines, connected to Suge Knight. 471 00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:35,280 Speaker 2: Robert grew up in. 472 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:38,760 Speaker 1: Compton, a childhood friend of Shude Knight, and it was learned, 473 00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:43,160 Speaker 1: as we mentioned previously, supposedly robbed the bank to pay 474 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:45,680 Speaker 1: off a contract killer who went by the street name 475 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:50,320 Speaker 1: of A Mirror. Through his investigation, Detective Pool learned that 476 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:53,239 Speaker 1: the name given by one of his first visitors at 477 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:57,000 Speaker 1: his new digs in Federal prison was a Mer and 478 00:28:57,080 --> 00:28:59,640 Speaker 1: the photo taken of this so called a Mer upon 479 00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:02,720 Speaker 1: end during the prison looked eerily similar to the description 480 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:04,640 Speaker 1: of the shooter that was given on the night the 481 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:08,400 Speaker 1: notorious Big was shot. The description of the man and 482 00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:13,000 Speaker 1: the bow tie with the receding hairline. Detective Pool gathered 483 00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:15,480 Speaker 1: his evidence and handed it over to the brass at 484 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:19,640 Speaker 1: LAPD in hopes of pouring gasoline on the investigative flames 485 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:23,959 Speaker 1: he'd stoked and to smoke out the killers. Instead, the 486 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:29,200 Speaker 1: brass shut him down without any real investigation. Supposedly, the 487 00:29:29,280 --> 00:29:32,000 Speaker 1: FBI was on the case, it was no longer part 488 00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:36,840 Speaker 1: of the department's purview. Detective Pool, an LAPD veteran with 489 00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:39,800 Speaker 1: a decorated past, the son of an LA County sheriff, 490 00:29:40,040 --> 00:29:43,800 Speaker 1: a man with policing in his DNA, retired in protest. 491 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,640 Speaker 1: He then dedicated his life to solving the murder of 492 00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:52,200 Speaker 1: the Notorious Big. Detective Russell Poole died in twenty fifteen 493 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:56,880 Speaker 1: of a brain aneurysm. There are many theories about who 494 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:01,280 Speaker 1: killed Biggie Small's, some less far fetched than others, but 495 00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:05,040 Speaker 1: in almost all of them, certain names continue to pop up. 496 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:10,040 Speaker 1: Big died on March ninth, nineteen ninety seven. Eight days later, 497 00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:15,520 Speaker 1: Officer Kevin Gainsted, the mysterious emirs in the wind Shug Knight, 498 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:18,880 Speaker 1: is back in jail. He swears Tupac is still alive. 499 00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:22,880 Speaker 1: Who stood to gain from the death of the Notoriousbig. 500 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:26,280 Speaker 1: It's just another question from a murder mystery that is 501 00:30:26,320 --> 00:30:30,680 Speaker 1: short on answers, short on facts, but there are facts 502 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:32,200 Speaker 1: there out in the open. 503 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:34,200 Speaker 2: Detective Pool found them. 504 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:37,560 Speaker 1: You can't too like the fact that, after his arrest 505 00:30:37,640 --> 00:30:41,040 Speaker 1: for bank robbery's. 506 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:40,720 Speaker 2: House was searched. 507 00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:45,240 Speaker 1: Among the items found the very rare police issued Gecko 508 00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:49,240 Speaker 1: nine millimeter armor piercing bullets, the same bullets used to 509 00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:55,400 Speaker 1: kill Biggie Smalls, and perhaps most illuminating Invok's garage, a 510 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:59,600 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety five black Chevy Impala SS. 511 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:03,320 Speaker 2: Behind it on the garage wall was what was described as. 512 00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:07,720 Speaker 1: A quote unquote shrine to Tubac Shakur, with numerous posters 513 00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:16,520 Speaker 1: of the slain hip hop star, an icon like his 514 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:21,440 Speaker 1: friend and rival, the slain Notorious Big, who it turns out, 515 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:26,240 Speaker 1: is more than notorious. He's immoral, having achieved life after 516 00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:30,280 Speaker 1: death forever in the hearts and minds of hip hop 517 00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:36,280 Speaker 1: fans everywhere, despite his killer's disgraceful motives. I'm Jake Brennan 518 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:53,160 Speaker 1: and this his disgrace Sland. Disgraceland was created by Yours 519 00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:56,560 Speaker 1: Truly and is produced in partnership with Double Elvis. Credits 520 00:31:56,600 --> 00:31:59,080 Speaker 1: for this episode can be found on the show notes page. 521 00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:00,560 Speaker 2: A disgracelamb. 522 00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:04,440 Speaker 1: If you're listening as a disgracelan All Access member. 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Who do you think is behind the murder? 535 00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:55,440 Speaker 1: Let us know six one seven nine oh six six 536 00:32:55,560 --> 00:32:59,240 Speaker 1: six three eight, voicemail and text at Disgrace lampod on 537 00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:02,600 Speaker 1: the Socials Discretion sampod at gmail dot com if you 538 00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:05,240 Speaker 1: want to email me. Coming up next in Disgraceland our 539 00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:08,400 Speaker 1: very new episode on Dolly Parton, Don't Go Anywhere