March 10 [Updated 10:00 EST] -- East coast rapper Notorious B.I.G. fell victim to a drive-by shooting in the early morning hours on Sunday, and died a short time later at Los Angeles' Cedars Sinai Medical Center.
The 24-year-old Brooklyn rapper, whose real name was Christopher Wallace, had attended the annual Soul Train music awards and was sitting in his GMC Suburban after leaving a post-ceremony party thrown by Vibe Magazine at L.A.'s Petersen Automotive Museum. Police say an unidentified gunman riddled the vehicle with bullets, and Wallace was then rushed to Cedars Sinai, where he was pronounced dead.
Wallace is survived by his estranged wife, Faith Evans, and his five-month-old son, Christopher Wallace Jr.
The slaying marks the second of a high-profile rap star in the last six months, the first coming with the shooting death of Tupac Shakur [See also the MTV News Gallery] in Las Vegas last September.
In a brief statement issued Sunday, Wallace's record label, Bad Boy Entertainment said, "We are overwhelmed with grief by the death of a great artist, a family member and our friend, the Notorious B.I.G."
Despite the fact that the shooting occurred outside a party that reportedly boasted 1,000 guests, police told reporters they have few leads in the case.
Notorious B.I.G., who also went by the name Biggie Smalls, recently delivered his new single, "Hypnotized," to radio, and was set to release a new album, prophetically titled "Life After Death ... 'Til Death Do Us Part," in a few weeks.
Smalls gained a harsh education as a crack dealer on the streets of Brooklyn before his foray into rap.
He soon turned his attention to music, and after gaining recognition for a track on a "Source" magazine compilation and his work with Mary J. Blige, released his debut album, "Ready To Die," in 1994. He saw his fanbase swell with the hit single "Big Poppa," and watched the album eventually attain platinum sales status.
Smalls was a central figure in the alleged on-going feud between the East coast and West coast rap camps, and particularly between Bad Boy Entertainment and Suge Knight's Death Row Records.
Despite the fact that Bad Boy head Sean "Puffy" Combs and Death Row rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg made a very public statement recently announcing that there is no feud, Smalls' death lead many to speculate that the shooting could have been related to the perceived ill-will between East coast and West coast rappers. However, sources close to Bad Boy and Death Row quickly dismissed the speculation in a "Los Angeles Times" report.
While sources downplay the feud, Smalls felt the risk.
"I think about that every day. Every day, it's real. That's how real it is. I think somebody's tryin' to kill me. I be wakin' up paranoid, I be really scared," he said to MTV News.
"When I was in the hood, and, like, I'm hustlin' and a car pull up, you know what I'm sayin'? Starin', I'll probably grip up on my joint, you know what I'm sayin'? Not knowin' what's the deal, you know. But now, me being a rapper, there a car pull up it could be a fan, you know, they could want an autograph, you know. It's kind of sickee but its cool,"