From a talented young journalist on the rise, a deeply reported, timely new biography of the Notorious B.I.G., publishing for what would have been his 50th birthday.

Journalist Justin Tinsley's It Was All a Dream delves into the life of Notorious B.I.G., one of rap's most iconic and talented figures of the 1990s. Born Christopher Wallace and raised in Brooklyn, Biggie's life encompassed young trouble, drugs, guns, prison, massive success, and an early, violent death. Ready to Die, his first album, dropped in 1994 when he was 22. Less than three years later he was gone, just days before the planned release of his second record, Life After Death. The work explores the places, people, and politics that shaped Biggie, from Caribbean immigration and Reagan-era disinvestment to drug wars and mass incarceration. Expertly weaved, this is a story of Biggie's roots, his influences, and the legacy he left behind.