Notes 1997

 

1.    President: Bill Clinton

 

2.    Feb -A Santa Monica jury finds former football legend O.J. Simpson is liable for the deaths of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.

 

3.    Feb - North Hollywood shootout: Two heavily armed bank robbers conflict with officers from the Los Angeles Police Department in a mass shootout.

 

4.    Feb - Miss Evers' Boys airs on HBO. It is a made-for-TV adaptation of David Feldshuh's eponymous 1992 stage play, and was nominated for eleven Emmy Awards and won four, Outstanding Made for Television Movie / Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie – Alfre Woodard / Editing / Cinematography

 

5.    Mar - Brooklyn rapper The Notorious B.I.G. is killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles at age 24 before the release of his second album Life After Death. The album was released on March 25.

 

6.    Mar - In San Diego, California, 39 members of  Heaven's Gate, a UFO religious cult, commit mass suicide.

 

7.    Apr - The Ellen episode, "The Puppy Episode" is broadcast on ABC, showing for the first time the revelation of a main character as a homosexual.

 

8.    May - U.S. President Bill Clinton issues a formal apology to the surviving victims of the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male and their families.

 

9.    Jun - During the Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II boxing match in Las Vegas, Mike Tyson bites off part of Evander Holyfield's ear.

 

10.    Jun - The base version of the standard WiFi was released

 

11.    Aug - Diana, Princess of Wales died in hospital after being injured in a motor vehicle accident in a road tunnel in Paris.

 

12.    Sep - www.google.com is registered by Google.

 

13.    Nov - Mary Kay Letourneau is sentenced to six months imprisonment in Washington after pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree child rape. Letourneau gave birth to her victims' child and the leniency of her sentence was widely criticized.[3]

 

14.    Nov - The Emergency Broadcast System is replaced by the Emergency Alert System and it continues to this day. - "This is a test. This station is conducting a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. This is only a test."

 

15.    Open Comments:

 

16.    Top 3 Pop Songs

 

17.    #1-"Something About the Way You Look Tonight" / "Candle in the Wind 1997", Elton John

 

18.    #2-"Foolish Games" / "You Were Meant for Me", Jewel

 

19.    #3-"I'll Be Missing You", Puff Daddy featuring Faith Evans and 112

 

20.    Record Of The Year, Sunny Came Home - Shawn Colvin

 

21.    Album Of The Year, Time Out Of Mind - Bob Dylan

 

22.    Song Of The Year, Sunny Came Home - Shawn Colvin Colvin)

 

23.    Best New Artist, Paula Cole

 

24.    Best Female R&B, On & On - Erykah Badu

 

25.    Best Male R&B, I Believe I Can Fly - R. Kelly

 

26.    Best R&B Duo Or Group, No Diggity - Blackstreet

 

27.    Best R&B Song, I Believe I Can Fly - R. Kelly

 

28.    Best R&B Album, Baduizm - Erykah Badu

 

29.    Best Rap Solo, Men In Black - Will Smith

 

30.    Best Rap Duo Or Group, I'll Be Missing You - Puff Daddy & Faith Evans Featuring 112

 

31.    Best Rap Album, No Way Out - Puff Daddy & The Family

 

32.    Top 3 Movies

 

33.    #1-Titanic

 

34.    #2-The Lost World: Jurassic Park

 

35.    #3-Men in Black

 

36.    Notables: Rhyme & Reason, Gridlock'd, Rosewood, Good Burger, Def Jam's How to Be a Player, Hoodlum, Kiss the Girls, Gang Related, Boogie Nights, The Devil's Advocate, Good Will Hunting, Jackie Brown, Love Jones, B*A*P*S, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Booty Call, Donnie Brasco, Soul Food, Gang Related,

 

37.    Open Comments:

 

38.    Top TV Shows

 

39.    #1-Seinfeld

 

40.    #2-ER

 

41.    #3-Veronica's Closet

 

42.    Debuts, The Chris Rock Show

 

43.    Open Comments:

 

44.    Economic Snapshots

 

45.    Income = 37.5 (Previously 36.3K)

 

46.    House = 124k (118.2)

 

47.    Car = 17k (16.3)

 

48.    Rent = 576 (554)

 

49.    Harvard = 28.9 (27.5)

 

50.    Movie = 4.59 (4.42)

 

51.    Gas = 1.22 (-)

 

52.    Stamp = .32 (-)

 

53.    Social Scene: Death of Christopher George Latore Wallace, aka ‘Biggie Smalls,’ ‘The Notorious B.I.G,’ or ‘Biggie,’

 

54.    Childhood & Early Life: Born on May 21, 1972 in Brooklyn, New York, to Voletta Wallace and Selwyn George Latore. His mother was a Jamaican preschool teacher and his father was a politician and welder. His father left the family when he was two years old. He attended the ‘Queen of All Saints Middle School’ where he excelled in English, won many awards,  and was given the nickname ‘Big.’ because of his weight, around the age of 10 (1982).  He started dealing drugs as early as 12 while his mother went out for work, and she says he adapted a ‘smart-ass’ attitude, while attending high school, but he was still a good student. He dropped out of school at 17 (1989) and gradually got involved in criminal activities. Shortly after dropping out, he was arrested on weapon charges and was sentenced for probation of five years. He was again arrested in 1990 for violating his probation and again a year later for drug dealing in North Carolina. He stayed in jail for nine months.

 

55.    Career: As a teen, he began exploring music and performed with local groups, such as ‘Techniques’ and ‘Old Gold Brothers.’ He made a casual demo tape titled ‘Microphone Murder’ under the name ‘Biggie Smalls.’ The name was inspired from his own stature as well as from a character of a 1975 film ‘Let’s Do it Again.’ The tape was promoted by Mister Cee, a New York based DJ and was heard by the editor of ‘The Source.’ In March 1992 (@19), he was featured in the ‘Unsigned Hype’ column of ‘The Source,’ magazine. Shortly thereafter, he was signed by ‘Uptown Records’. In 1993, when Sean 'Puffy' Combs, a producer/A&R with ‘Uptown Records’ was fired, Biggie Smalls signed with Combs’ ‘Bad Boy Records.’ In August, 1993 (@21), he had his first child T’yanna.  To financially support his daughter, he continued to deal drugs. Also in 1993, he worked on the remix of Mary J. Blige’s ‘Real Love.’ While working for ‘Real Love,’ he used the pseudonym ‘The Notorious B.I.G.,’ the name he used for the rest of his career. He followed up with another remix of Blige's ‘What’s the 411’. He debuted as a solo artist in the 1993 film ‘Who’s the Man?’ with the single ‘Party and Bullshit.’

 

56.    As a solo artist he hit the pop chart in August 1994 (@22) with ‘Juicy/Unbelievable.’ His debut album ‘Ready to Die’ was released in September, 1994, peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200 and was subject to critical acclaim and soon a commercial success. Three singles were released from the album: "Juicy", "Big Poppa", "One More Chance". "Big Poppa" was a hit on multiple charts, peaking at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and also being nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 1996 Grammy Awards.  At a time when West Coast hip hop was dominating the mainstream, this album became a huge success, making him a prominent figure in the East Coast hip hop scene. [Side Note: 2 months later in November, Tupac was shot five times in a NYC recording studio].  In July 1995 (@23), the cover of ‘The Source’ magazine featured him along with the caption ‘The King of New York Takes Over.’

 

57.    Recording of his second album, ‘Life After Death,’  began in September 1995 but was interrupted due to injuries, hip hop disputes, and legal squabbles (much like his friend Tupac). He was in a car accident which hospitalized him for three months. H