Wallace started
rapping when he was a teenager. He would entertain people on the streets with his rapping as well as perform with local groups, the Old Gold Brothers and the Techniques.
[2] After being released from prison, Wallace made a
demo tape under the name Biggie Smalls, a reference to his childhood
nickname and to his stature; he stood at 6'3" (1.90 m) and weighed as much as 300 to 380 pounds according to differing accounts.
[11] The tape was reportedly made with no serious intent of getting a recording deal, but was promoted by
New York-based DJ
Mister Cee, who had previously worked with
Big Daddy Kane, and was heard by the editor of
The Source magazine.
[10]
In
March 1992, Wallace featured in
The Source's
Unsigned Hype column, dedicated to aspiring rappers and was invited to produce a recording with other unsigned artists, in a move that was reportedly uncommon at the time.
[12] The demo tape was heard by
Uptown Records A&R and
record producer,
Sean "Puffy" Combs, who arranged for a meeting with Wallace. He was signed to Uptown immediately and made an appearance on label mates,
Heavy D & the Boyz' "A Buncha ******" (from
Blue Funk).
[2][13]
Soon after signing his recording contract, Combs was fired from Uptown and started a new label.
[14] Wallace followed and in mid-1992, signed to Combs' new imprint label,
Bad Boy Records. On August 8, 1993, Wallace's long-term partner gave birth to his first child, T'yanna.
[15] Wallace continued selling drugs after the birth to support his daughter financially. Once this was discovered by Combs, he was made to quit.
[2]