34 The Biggie mural: Brooklyn, New York, USA
-
Natasha Pope
Abstract
Venturing to Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, avid hip hop fans worldwide seek to capture glimpses and take photographs of the mural dedicated to the late King of New York; Christopher Wallace, aka Biggie Smalls or the Notorious B.I.G. Listed as being number 54 of things to do while visiting Brooklyn by Tripadvisor (2022), the ‘King of New York mural’ appeared in 2015, designed by artists Scoot Zimmerman and Maoufal Alaoui (George, 2019). Reaching an impressive 38ft, the imposing mural showcases an image of Biggie wearing a crown alongside verses from his first demo record, ‘Microphone Murder’ (George, 2019). More than 20 years after his untimely death, some may wonder why this mural is of importance to tourists visiting Brooklyn, and the answer lies not only in the accomplishments of Biggie, but in everything his life and death reflects and symbolises.
The murder of then twenty-four-year-old Biggie in March 1997 (CNN Wire Staff, 2011), in a manner reminiscent to that of a Shakespearian novel; the result of a feud between two coasts turned deadly, left a lasting impression on the wider Brooklyn community that exists to this present day. Such is his legacy that not only are there other murals dedicated to Biggie and walking tours around Bed-Stuy (Do N.Y.C, 2022), but the flat in which he lived as a child is now available to rent (Weiser, 2019) and a basketball court in Brooklyn has been named after him (Remnick, 2017).
Brooklyn was once an area representing diversity (Sherman, 2016).
Abstract
Venturing to Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, avid hip hop fans worldwide seek to capture glimpses and take photographs of the mural dedicated to the late King of New York; Christopher Wallace, aka Biggie Smalls or the Notorious B.I.G. Listed as being number 54 of things to do while visiting Brooklyn by Tripadvisor (2022), the ‘King of New York mural’ appeared in 2015, designed by artists Scoot Zimmerman and Maoufal Alaoui (George, 2019). Reaching an impressive 38ft, the imposing mural showcases an image of Biggie wearing a crown alongside verses from his first demo record, ‘Microphone Murder’ (George, 2019). More than 20 years after his untimely death, some may wonder why this mural is of importance to tourists visiting Brooklyn, and the answer lies not only in the accomplishments of Biggie, but in everything his life and death reflects and symbolises.
The murder of then twenty-four-year-old Biggie in March 1997 (CNN Wire Staff, 2011), in a manner reminiscent to that of a Shakespearian novel; the result of a feud between two coasts turned deadly, left a lasting impression on the wider Brooklyn community that exists to this present day. Such is his legacy that not only are there other murals dedicated to Biggie and walking tours around Bed-Stuy (Do N.Y.C, 2022), but the flat in which he lived as a child is now available to rent (Weiser, 2019) and a basketball court in Brooklyn has been named after him (Remnick, 2017).
Brooklyn was once an area representing diversity (Sherman, 2016).
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures x
- About the editors xi
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Introduction 1
- Cocaine Bear: Fun Mall, Lexington, Kentucky, USA 9
- Whitney Plantation: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA 14
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution: Washington, DC, USA 24
- From Newgate Prison to Tyburn Tree: the Old Bailey, London, UK 29
- Jack the Ripper tour: Whitechapel, London, UK 35
- The Alcatraz East Crime Museum: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, USA 41
- The Museum of Death: Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA 50
- The Royal Armouries Museum: Leeds, UK 55
- The Black Dahlia tour: Los Angeles, California, USA 59
- The ‘Execution Dock’: Wapping, East London, UK 65
- Auschwitz: Oświęcim, Poland 71
- Jeju 4:3 memorial: Jeju Island, South Korea 80
- Museum Dr. Guislain: Ghent, Belgium 88
- Karosta Prison Hotel: Liepāja, Latvia 92
- The Clink prison-based restaurant: Brixton, London, UK 98
- The 9/11 memorial and museum: New York, New York, USA 104
- The Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocidal Crimes: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 107
- Choeung Ek killing field: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 116
- Blue lights in the Red Light District: Amsterdam, the Netherlands 122
- Trophy hunting: sub-Saharan Africa 128
- ‘The ugly side to the beautiful game’: Qatar 135
- Burning Man festival: Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA 140
- Magaluf: Majorca 147
- ‘Holiday Hooters’: Hong Kong 153
- Scilla: Calabria, Italy 159
- The Kray twins tours: London, UK 165
- Backpacking in the outback: Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia 171
- The hippie trail: Nepal, South Asia 177
- The Museum of Confiscated Art: Brest, Belarus 182
- Steroid holidays: Sharm El Sheikh, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt 187
- The souks: Tunis, Tunisia 194
- Mezhyhirya Residence Museum: Novi Petrivtsi, Ukraine 200
- The great British seaside: various locations, UK 207
- The Biggie mural: Brooklyn, New York, USA 213
- The Rebus guided tour: Edinburgh, UK 217
- Volunteer tourism – ‘doing it for the ’gram’: Cambodia, Southeast Asia 223
- The staycation: home 230
- The ‘suicide forest’: Aokigahara, Japan 235
- Pitcairn Island: Pitcairn Islands, Pacific Ocean 245
- Favela tours: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 251
- Skid Row walking tours: Los Angeles, California, USA 258
- The 2019–20 anti-extradition protests: Hong Kong 264
- The Maldives: Republic of Maldives, Indian Ocean 271
- Death Road: La Paz to Coroico, Bolivia 276
- Vulture brains and muthi markets: Johannesburg, South Africa 282
- Dark tourism, ecocide and Alpine ski resorts: the Alps, Europe 288
- Boho Zone: Middlesbrough, UK 293
- One Hyde Park: London, UK 299
- Amazon warehouse tours: Rugeley, UK or virtual tour 305
- Disney World: Orlando, Florida, USA 315
- Conclusion 322
- References 325
- Index 394
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures x
- About the editors xi
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Introduction 1
- Cocaine Bear: Fun Mall, Lexington, Kentucky, USA 9
- Whitney Plantation: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA 14
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution: Washington, DC, USA 24
- From Newgate Prison to Tyburn Tree: the Old Bailey, London, UK 29
- Jack the Ripper tour: Whitechapel, London, UK 35
- The Alcatraz East Crime Museum: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, USA 41
- The Museum of Death: Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA 50
- The Royal Armouries Museum: Leeds, UK 55
- The Black Dahlia tour: Los Angeles, California, USA 59
- The ‘Execution Dock’: Wapping, East London, UK 65
- Auschwitz: Oświęcim, Poland 71
- Jeju 4:3 memorial: Jeju Island, South Korea 80
- Museum Dr. Guislain: Ghent, Belgium 88
- Karosta Prison Hotel: Liepāja, Latvia 92
- The Clink prison-based restaurant: Brixton, London, UK 98
- The 9/11 memorial and museum: New York, New York, USA 104
- The Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocidal Crimes: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 107
- Choeung Ek killing field: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 116
- Blue lights in the Red Light District: Amsterdam, the Netherlands 122
- Trophy hunting: sub-Saharan Africa 128
- ‘The ugly side to the beautiful game’: Qatar 135
- Burning Man festival: Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA 140
- Magaluf: Majorca 147
- ‘Holiday Hooters’: Hong Kong 153
- Scilla: Calabria, Italy 159
- The Kray twins tours: London, UK 165
- Backpacking in the outback: Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia 171
- The hippie trail: Nepal, South Asia 177
- The Museum of Confiscated Art: Brest, Belarus 182
- Steroid holidays: Sharm El Sheikh, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt 187
- The souks: Tunis, Tunisia 194
- Mezhyhirya Residence Museum: Novi Petrivtsi, Ukraine 200
- The great British seaside: various locations, UK 207
- The Biggie mural: Brooklyn, New York, USA 213
- The Rebus guided tour: Edinburgh, UK 217
- Volunteer tourism – ‘doing it for the ’gram’: Cambodia, Southeast Asia 223
- The staycation: home 230
- The ‘suicide forest’: Aokigahara, Japan 235
- Pitcairn Island: Pitcairn Islands, Pacific Ocean 245
- Favela tours: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 251
- Skid Row walking tours: Los Angeles, California, USA 258
- The 2019–20 anti-extradition protests: Hong Kong 264
- The Maldives: Republic of Maldives, Indian Ocean 271
- Death Road: La Paz to Coroico, Bolivia 276
- Vulture brains and muthi markets: Johannesburg, South Africa 282
- Dark tourism, ecocide and Alpine ski resorts: the Alps, Europe 288
- Boho Zone: Middlesbrough, UK 293
- One Hyde Park: London, UK 299
- Amazon warehouse tours: Rugeley, UK or virtual tour 305
- Disney World: Orlando, Florida, USA 315
- Conclusion 322
- References 325
- Index 394