It Was All a Dream: Biggie and the World That Made Him

by Justin Tinsley

Culture journalist Justin Tinsley’s It Was All a Dream is “a deeply reported saga of the ephemeral, yet colorful, life of The Notorious B.I.G.” (USA Today). The Notorious B.I.G. was one of the most charismatic and talented artists of the 1990s. Born Christopher Wallace and raised in Clinton Hill/Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, Biggie lived an almost archetypal rap young trouble, drug dealing, guns, prison, a giant hit record, the wealth and international superstardom that came with it, then an early violent death. Biggie released his first record, Ready to Die, in 1994, when he was only 22. Less than three years later, he was killed just days before the planned release of his second record, Life After Death. A fresh, insightful telling of the life beyond the legend, It Was All a Dream is based on extensive interviews with those who knew and loved Biggie, including neighbors, friends, DJs, party promoters, and journalists. And it places Biggie’s life in context, both within the history of rap but also the wider cultural and political forces that shaped him, including Caribbean immigration, the Reagan-era disinvestment in public education, street life, the war on drugs, mass incarceration, and the booming, creative, and influential 1990s music industry. Justin Tinsley’s biography is the story of where Biggie came from, the forces that shaped him, and the legacy he has left behind.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Hip Hop, History, Biography Memoir

420 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 10, 2022

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top 5 Biggie Songs

1. Mo Money Mo Problems
2. Big Papa
3. 10 Crack Commandments
4. Sky is the Limit
5. Juicy

There is another song I love but I no longer listen to it because of who sings the hook...That man has ruined so many songs for me.

Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G" Wallace aka Biggie was 24 year old when he was murdered in March of 1997. He's been dead for longer than he was alive. His career only lasted 3 years and yet nearly 30 years after his debut album was released his music still goes hard. My little cousin is 12 years old and the last time I talked to him he was telling me about this rapper he discovered on Tik Tok....it was Biggie. He seemed surprised that I an old person knew Biggie. Now if that ain't legendary I don't know what is.

Unfortunately I wasn't a fan of Biggie when he was alive. I was 11 years old he died and I didn't listen to rap music. I had obviously heard his songs on the radio and seen his videos but my mom wasn't into his music so I wasn't either. My mom was listening to 2 Live Crew, Outcast, and Tupac, while I was more into Backstreet Boys. It wasn't until I saw the outpouring of grief after Biggie died that I started getting into rap.....and even then I wasn't into him. I was listening to Master P and Jay Z. I didn't fully enter my Biggie phase until high school and it was through my obsession with Tupac. Biggie may have only released 2 albums but those albums are masterpieces. There isn't one track that I don't love on either of those albums. Biggie was ahead of his time, I still don't think rap is on Biggie's level.

It Was All A Dream will one day be considered a classic Hip Hop history text. You don't need to know anything about Biggie before opening this book, Justin Tinsley introduces you not only to Biggie but to the New York that raised him and the America that both abused him and made his rise possible. A Biggie superfan will also enjoy it. I felt like I got to know Christopher or Fat Chris as he was known to his friends. I was enjoying this book so much that I was shocked when we arrived at his final week alive. I obviously know he died young but I was so wrapped up in his story that I was almost thinking we would get a happy ending. I feel the same way everytime I watch the movie Selena. When we arrived at his final weekend in LA I was gutted.

It's still hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that he was only 24 when he died. Since I was a kid when he died, he's always much older in my head....and yet I also don't see him as being the same age as Jay Z. He lives in a weird in between place in my head. Biggie wasn't perfect but he was also a kid. At 24 I was a crazy person but got to grow up and become a semi functional adult. He never did. The wasted potential is so enormous. In some ways Jay Z is living the life Biggie had been planning in his final months. Biggie was planning to be more than just a rapper, he had a fashion line in the works, a liquor brand, he wanted to start his own label and he wanted to be thought of as a business man.

This book might be my favorite book of the year. I just want everyone I know to read it. I've been bugging my dad to read it and he doesn't read and he doesn't like rap.

I highly recommend you both read this book and listen to some Biggie.

Spread Love It's The Brooklyn Way.

[Traci Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how much context Tinsley puts in this book. Biggie is more than just his life, he’s a product of a certain time and place. Tinsley made that make sense. Crucial in finding the nuance of BIG’s story. I had questions about the authors bias to be enamored with Biggie and to be less critical than I was as a reader. It’s also a tad too long.

[Roy Lotz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cannot truthfully call myself a hip hop fan, and do not often listen to rap; but the first time I heard Ready to Die I was convinced that it was a top-notch album. Yet I was also attracted to this book because I wished to learn more about the history of New York and the history of music during Biggie’s brief life. This was a propitious choice, as Tinsley’s new biography ably integrates Christopher Wallace’s private life with the wider historical moment.

In its general outline, Biggie’s life is like a Shakespearean tragedy. First, there is his meteoric rise to fame—from bright student, to high school drop-out, to drug dealer, to rap superstar in just a few years. Add to this the feud with Tupac Shakur and their mysterious, violent deaths, and you have quite a tale. Though the circumstances surroundings Wallace’s murder have attracted widespread speculation, Tinsley wisely steers clear from that rabbit hole and instead focuses on how Wallace lived his life.

Certainly, this is not a flawless biography. Some material felt redundant, while I wished he had gone into greater detail analyzing Biggie’s recordings. But the book is written with an endearing admiration for its subject, and succeeds in painting a vivid portrait of the life and times of the Notorious B.I.G.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bittersweet memories.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

*2.5*
I really wanted to love this book. It digs deep into Big’s life but not without some bias and glossing over of his faults.
(This is not to say that I don’t like Justin Tinsley as an author because I definitely do.)

Pros: I found the historical themes and details of Brooklyn and New York as a whole, very interesting and crucial to Biggie’s story. Tinsley did a great job of setting the stage of the world Biggie grew up in- The social turmoil and racial issues are paramount to knowing who Big was and why. The friends, family and enemies surrounding him were an essential part of the story. The way Tupac’s life was intertwined with Biggie’s was fascinating (It will make you want to read about Tupac next!).

Cons: I would have liked a more objective look at Biggie’s life. Tinsley did some side stepping when it came to some of Big’s lifestyle- like selling drugs, objectifying women and publicly humiliating Faith with his cheating. It’s normal and to be expected that Biggie did things in his life that were wrong and it’s ok for us to point out that he was not perfect. Big seems to me like a man who, given the chance, would eventually have taken responsibility for his actions.

Overall, I like the story that I came away with. My mind is still reeling with all of the dark, fascinating and tragic details of not just Big’s life, but of the tumultuous rap era of the 1990’s.

[Conner Kerrigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A talented writer tells a vivid story of the life of someone who had a massive impact on American culture. The author needed a better editor, but it is still a great read.

[britt_brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

B.I.G. = “Business Instead of Game.” Never knew that. I had to keep rolling after the Tupac bio. More incredible writing / storytelling. From Bed-Stuy drug dealer to entertainer, Biggie kind of came out of nowhere with his presence and smooth flow. I got more info than needed on Puffy, but he’s integral to the whole. I also didn’t remember all the drama with BIG and the ladies. Another artist gone too soon.

[Court · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this an incredibly compelling work of non-fiction about, of course, Christopher Wallace (The Notorious B.I.G.) but also the 90s and the time that shaped him and his music.

This introspective gave a great deal of the backstory of Wallace’s pre-fame life, including his family, as well as the people he surrounded himself with in the music industry. As a kid of the 90s who absolutely loved Biggie, I knew so much of this but still learned a great deal. Tim’s let clearly did a tremendous amount of research and was deeply thorough. The people he quoted are some of the VIPs of that era.

Beyond just the knowledge of who Biggie was, Tinsley painted a portrait of political unrest, culture, and music history that shaped the music and ultimate ending to the historic “East-West” feud.

If you like biopics or are a music historian, you will love this. If you’re a product of the 90s or love 90s rap, you will love this. I absolutely enjoyed every page. It’s a dense read, but compelling and moves along quickly.

This one drops Tuesday so be sure to check it out. Thank you to @netgalley, @abramsbooks, and @justintinsley for this early review copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Jen Rozon-man · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really thought this was going to be an interesting read - I still think it could have been a great book. The main problem was the author's bias. Clearly he was a HUGE Biggie fan and he was definitely wearing his rose-coloured glasses when he wrote this biography.
I wouldn't say that I love rap music, but Biggie's "Hypnotize" and "Mo Money, Mo Problems" are on my Playlist, so I appreciate his talent.
That being said, Biggie was a drug dealer and a wife beater and associated with other criminals during his short life. His treatment of women was deplorable and his music supported misogynistic views. Yet the author sugar coated all of these faults and constantly made excuses for his bad behaviour and poor choices.
I would've appreciated a more subjective view of Biggie's life. Nobody is perfect. Biggie was definitely talented, however that doesn't mean we ignore his faults or make excuses for him.
If zero stars were an option, that's what I would have given this book.

[Alicia Monroe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot about Brooklyn in the 1980s and 90s and so so so much about the hip hop and rap scene. I loved and still love Biggie’s music. My 3 ⭐️ rating comes from 2 things: 1) the book was too long. It could have easily been about 50-75 pages shorter and 2) the author was so enamored with Biggie that there was a lack of critical analysis. It felt too much “Biggie was SO wonderful all the time.”

[Brett buckner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heart-breaking look at what was and what should have been.

[Bean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a total hip-hop head and have been listening to Biggie for my entire life. My dad played his cassette tapes in the car when I was a baby in the mid 90s.

I enjoyed this book and the portrait it paints of the era. The reason it wasn't a 5 star from me was that the chapters about the West Coast are not something I was here for or interested in. Tupac and the East Coast vs. West Coast War are obviously a part of Big's story, but this book needed some heavy editing in that regard. Similarly, I think there was more of a deep dive into Puffy, Suge Knight, and Tupac's lives than was necessary.

[George Kasnic · Rating 2 out of 5]

An incredibly disappointing book, with so much promise and potential. I wanted to know more about Chris Wallace, but knew nothing more about the person, their thoughts, their motivations, their inner conflicts than when I started 300 pages ago. The author drops names constantly, but fails to weave together the relationships. The book careens from the tragedies the “War on Drugs” inflicted on neighborhoods of color in a shallow manner without using this opportunity to connect it with the story. You end up knowing more about Sean Combs and Tupac than Biggie. You get detailed accounting of when and who met, but no insightful comments.

The N-word is sprinkled throughout both in quotations and in the author’s vernacular, but to no real purpose or effect that is apparent to me. The writing style is conversational but without being personal, an ineffectual presentation. The author tries too hard, falling back on idioms and profanity in what is an ineffective descriptive device, rather than taking on the hard work of descriptive writing, sounding like he is trying too hard to be Street or hip or whatever the author is going for. Even the idioms misfire, the editors allowing “through the ringer” through, rather than “through the wringer…”. In the end I felt like I was chasing Biggie, but never ended up in the same place with him, which is what I actually expect from a biography.

It is not a horrible book, but lacks direction - it is just chronological - and mores the pity, it lacks a coherent theme. Another in credible and glaring oversight is the lack of linkage between Biggie’s lyrics and his life, direct and explicit examples from his art paired clearly with his actuality are missing in a biography of a master lyricist, go figure.

Another miss in the book is the lack of directly addressing the pervasive misogyny which while presented as accepted in the industry, is rationalized. This destroys the author’s credibility and hen they address the socio-economic challenges faced by the protagonist. The further acceptance and elevation of materialism of the hip-hop culture by the author’s presentation ignores how such rampant capitalism is representative of the underlying problems faced by the communities presented. From red-lining to the War in Drugs, to the school to prison pipeline, to chattel slavery, capitalism lies at the root of it all. Yet the author seems to willingly ignore this, unable to come to terms with how the pursuit of material goods represents worship at the same altar of capitalism which caused multigenerational poverty to the protagonists.

I am sorry to say, it was not worth the time necessary to read it. I wanted it to be and wish it had been.

[Jason Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Really good book about the life and death of The Notorious B.I.G.
The author takes a deep dive and gives a really good account of everything Big.
A must read for any Biggie fan!

[Justin Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Justin did a great job by speaking to so many folks and has some really powerful quotes. Would read again.

[Trevor Seigler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good biographies introduce you to someone that you thought you knew, while great biographies make you care about that person even more than you thought you did already. Justin Tinsley's book about Christopher Wallace, aka "The Notorious B.I.G.," is a great biography.

"It Was All a Dream" will likely go down as the definitive biography of Biggie Smalls, the crack dealer turned rap artist who blazed like a comet so spectacularly through the 1990's that he's still revered today in the music world, despite his brief career and small output. I was a teen when Biggie and Tupac were killed within months of each other, and I wasn't really a fan of either man's music. But their early deaths, under suspicious circumstances, were hard to ignore, and as time has worn on, I've grown to appreciate just how devastating their deaths were.

Tinsley incorporates not just Biggie's history but the history of America, and of Black America, from roughly the 1960's to the present day. You can't talk about American history without talking about racism, not if you're going to be honest about it, and Tinsley is very honest about the social and economic forces that conspired to make dealing look like a better way of life than staying in school to an impressionable Christopher Wallace coming of age in the 1980's. As he found his way into the recording studio and gradually realized how rap music could be his gateway out of the dealing life, Wallace found collaborators who would help him realize his greatness (chief among them Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs). He also connected with another rising star, Tupac Shakur, and their friendship would eventually turn into a rivalry because of perceived slights and even the suggestion that Wallace had something to do with the 1994 shooting that left Tupac in a wheelchair for a time.

Incorporating the histories of many individuals associated with Biggie into the mix, Tinsley gives us a sense of Biggie's place in the world and how he affected those around him, both positively and negatively. Chris Wallace wasn't a saint, but he was more than just a sinner. I think it's fair to say that of all of us, but those in the public spotlight are often subject to having their worst days blown up into tabloid headlines. Through it all, Tinsley is careful to show that Christopher Wallace made the decisions that he made because he thought those were the only choices open to him. And when he took his last ride in Los Angeles in March of 1997, he had a different perspective on and appreciation for life as a father to two children and an artist whose career was only going to get bigger.

This is not a "who killed Biggie/Tupac?" kind of book, though that does inevitably crop up. It's more concerned with the life of Christopher Wallace, a man who had only a short time on this planet to make the kind of impact that he did. Even if you don't like rap music or don't listen to it regularly, you'll appreciate what Tinsley does here in breaking down Biggie's life and what it means in the wider context of Black America and Brooklyn. Big Poppa may be gone (indeed, he's been gone far longer than he was here), but he will not be forgotten.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the greatest rappers of all time. Fascinating read.

A few clips:
Just beyond Chris's Brooklyn stoop raged a war that didn't just appear randomly. The roots of it dated back at least a generation, even before Chris was born. What young Christopher never realized was that the world he was inching closer and closer toward was a byproduct of years of discrimination, legislation, and overpolicing. Nothing ever really happens by coincidence in America, especially not when it involves racism. And in America, it's possible to trace nearly every societal discussion back to race.

At its core, Ready to Die was a product of crack-era NYC and the policies that helped involuntarily morph Black kids into criminals because of their skin tone and the environment they were raised in.

Both [2pac and Biggie] oozed an elixir of charisma, wisdom, and at times recklessness.

Big had plans for him and Jay-Z that he couldn't stop talking about - which had been the case every day since the first studio meeting DJ Clark Kent set up. Big was excited to Life After Death, but he was geeked about the group he wanted to form with Jay called the Commission. He wanted the two of them to buy homes in Atlanta and live right beside each other.

[Maureen Sepulveda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tour de force! A comprehensive and detailed accounting of Notorious B.I.G-Christopher Wallace’s short yet dynamic life. Biggie was born to a single mother, a Jamaican immigrant in Brooklyn. He dropped out of high school to sell drugs and eventually his incredible music gift of rapping got noticed by Sean Combs and he became one of, if not, the greatest rapper of all times. I enjoyed how the author weaved in the bigger picture of social and political issues that affected Biggie’s life such as crack epidemic, police brutality, racism, mass incarceration and gun violence. I also found it poignant at the end when the author interviewed Biggie’s son with Faith Evan’s, CJ, who was only a few months old when his father died. A lot of what the author wrote about Biggie and Tupac’s friendship and then falling out and ultimately, both their murders six months apart, I had already read and/or seen in documentaries. However, it was obvious the author did a lot of personal interviews with people who really knew Biggie well and the author really worked hard to tell his story in a well written and honest way.

[Ashley Peacock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this, especially the first few chapters, which talk about the politics of 80s and 90s that shock me every time, even though I know the story.

Interesting how the nuance may change on this story now that Combs crimes are more visible. And funny to realize that this Snoop Dogg is the one that became America’s grandpa.

Parts of this were hard me to follow since I know nothing about rap and hip hop - so many new names and nicknames to keep track of. I think if you knew the scene at all, it would be an easier read.

[Dennis rdam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in style/honor the culture; Brooklyn, Hip-Hop, Biggie.

It read vivid and the metaphors used from his lyrics made me smile and chuckle time and time again.

Rest in power, the music lives on.

[McKay Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not always one for biographies, but this was so good. The historical context setting was concise, interesting, and fruitful. Writing was crisp and utterly readable. All around, a really great portrait of Biggie's life, legacy, and origin story.

[Tony Tian-Ren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insights not only into the socio-historical context but also the relationships that made Biggie who he was.

[Chrissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book does a good job of revealing the environment of the US and how it shaped Biggie’s life and young death. It shows how systemic racism led to the terrible crack epidemic and exploited young Black people in Brooklyn, including Biggie. It gives a lot of details of the rap industry in the 90s, along with the drug game, and how events unfolded that led to Biggie and Tupac’s murders. 3 stars because there were quite a few missing words and incomplete sentences. Plus the way women are used and exploited is just so disgusting and depressing. What women were forced to do to survive in this environment is hard to stomach but I appreciate the author’s candor and commitment to tell the whole story despite that.

[Shannon Czarnik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just a story of Biggies life but also the world around him. This author is amazing at setting the scene of what was going on in the world at the time which makes this story super easy to follow. This is a well researched and heartfelt telling of a prodigy’s life that ended too soon

[Kailee · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[John Ronzino · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book immensely. I don’t know much about hip hop and rap but it was interesting picking up names of other performers that were connected to Biggie. So sad that it ended so soon.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always take longer when reading books about the lives of absolute angels such as Biggie; really taking my time with all the information provided. This book so super in-depth and I thoroughly enjoyed how they included so much information about his loved ones, his life before fame, and so on. This man is truly an angel. Amazing job Justin Tinsley. RIP to an amazing legend ❤️

[Alexandra Coello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating in a tragic way.

[MookNana · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This is a very respectful portrait of a complicated man and a detailed retelling of a complicated story. It's also an interesting picture of the 90s, the political climate that fostered art like Biggie's, and the music industry. The treatment of his final days, murder, and the aftermath is thoughtful and compassionate, but the overall focus of the book stays rightfully on the man while he was living and creating. Music historians and rap fans will find this a compelling and worthwhile read!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

[Juliana Borges · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. This was an incredibly interesting read and I learned a lot - as a 90s baby who was too young to remember the impact of Biggie and Tupac’s deaths but who listened to their music growing up, I thoroughly enjoyed Tinsley’s effort at describing the artists in context. He is talented at connecting the political and socioeconomic landscape of the 80s and 90s to Biggie’s reality, and I appreciated learning about the distinction many draw between Biggie and Christopher Wallace. I agree with other reviewers that Tinsley’s adoration clearly shines through, but I didn’t think it really took away from the book. I felt Tinsley did acknowledge Biggie’s (and the industry’s) misogyny and emphasized imperfection and complexity of character throughout the book. A big part of the tragedy of it all is that Biggie and Tupac never got to grow to their full potential and grow to reflect on some of their inexcusable behavior. Tinsley comments repeatedly on them being at an “inflection point” in their lives when they died. There are interviews of Tupac toward the end of his life in which he calls himself a “male chauvinist pig” and seems to clearly recognize he has to grow and change.

The book seemed well-researched and thorough, but could have benefited from a better editor: typos throughout the book became distracting, it lacked any citations for the historical context described, and I found myself wishing Tinsley included more lyrics rather than just alluding to them. While I’m familiar with Biggie’s music I by no means have his lyrics memorized, so I ended up going back and forth from the book to listening to his songs - which maybe was the point? Tinsley also quotes many, many different people and figures in Biggie’s life, and without being an expert in 90s music industry names it became hard to track. At times it felt like it could be structured and organized better.

Nonetheless, it was a very enjoyable read. I dog-eared many pages to go back to and which referenced other documentaries and books that I’d like to see and read. Overall, I’d recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the hip hop music industry and/or Black history.