It’s no longer the “same number, same hood” for The Notorious B.I.G’s childhood home. The “one-room shack” referenced in the late rapper’s debut single, “Juicy,” has been refurbished and is currently available for rent in the since gentrified middle- to upper-middle class neighborhood of Clinton Hill.
In the biography Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G., written by Cheo Hadari Coker in 2003, Biggie’s childhood apartment was described as “a spacious apartment, with a large living room, a dining area, a study, and three bedrooms. The one opposite the kitchen on the far end of the hall was Christopher’s.”
He lived in apartment 3L with his mother for 20 years.
The 972-square-foot apartment at 226 St. James Place has upgraded from the time young Christopher Wallace was growing up in the 70s and 80s. It has been renovated with new wood floors, granite countertops, and stainless steel appliances. The den/office space and separate windowed dining area remain, however now the apartment is part of an 8-unit condominium building neighboring Bedford-Stuyvesant and offers on-site laundry, bike storage, a shared garden with plantings and barbecue area, and is conveniently located one block away from the subway and various shops.
Biggie’s Brooklyn apartment was purchased in 2013 for $825,000. The owner is now renting it out for $4,000 a month. You can find the building between Gates Avenue and Fulton Street, which was renamed Christopher ‘Notorious B.I.G.’ Wallace Way earlier this month.
