Biggie Mural Defaced in Brooklyn

A mural honoring the late rapper The Notorious B.IG. was vandalized in Brooklyn, N.Y.

According to a CBS New York report, published on Friday (Aug. 26), police are looking for the vandal(s) responsible for defacing the Biggie mural located on the corner of St. James Place and Fulton Street in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn, N.Y. The wall painting of The Notorious B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace, was tagged with “East Coast” in red spray paint and a darker red paint was splattered across Biggie’s face.

Surveillance video captured someone with a dog by the mural early Friday morning. Although it’s difficult to see, it appears the person was using his cell phone and was taking a picture or video in selfie mode.

Artist Vincent Ballentine, who spent two days creating the mural in 2019, told CBS New York that he plans to repaint it to its original glory.

“I think the neighborhood really saw it as he was one of ours, and he made it out and he made something of himself. That’s the story people hold on to,” he said.

LeRoy McCarthy, a Clinton Hill resident who helped get the street name changed to Christopher Wallace Way, concurs and said the mural has attracted people from all over the world.

“This is unfortunate. A lot of hard work went into putting the artwork up by the artist and also the business owners and the neighborhood really appreciated it,” he told the news outlet. “People come from all over the world to come take a picture in front of this mural.”

“He’s a part of the fabric of Brooklyn,” he added. “We celebrate hip-hop’s anniversary and we celebrate Biggie. Biggie is a main part of why New York and hip-hop is what it is today.”

According to NY1 News, New York Mayor Eric Adams called the vandalism “unacceptable.”

“Biggie is a hero to our community, and that’s darn sure not how you spread love the Brooklyn way, as Biggie would say,” he told reporters at an event. “We’re going to look into that and make sure that mural is cleaned up and repaired because this has a place there and it remains there, and we want to find the person responsible.”

According to CBS New York, police have no suspect(s) or motive behind the vandalism.

Watch CBS New York’s Report on The Notorious B.I.G.’s Mural Being Vandalized

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