After the shocking murder of the Notorious B.I.G. in March 1997, Sean Combs planned a send-off fit for a king. But once he learned of the steep cost, Combs decided to bill the entire cost of Biggie’s funeral back to his estate, the label’s co-founder alleged in a new Netflix documentary.
Meanwhile, Combs pretended he was personally paying for the extravagant funeral, Kirk Burrowes said in Sean Combs: The Reckoning, which premiered Tuesday. “He was gonna make the funeral be a recoupable charge to Biggie in death,” Burrowes said. “Sean, doing a big show looks good on him. But he’s not gonna tell the world that Biggie was gonna pay for it.”
The Notorious B.I.G (real name Christopher Wallace), was shot to death in Los Angeles on March 9, 1997 — just six months after his West Coast friend-turned-rival Tupac Shakur was similarly gunned down in Las Vegas. (Wallace’s murder remains unsolved, while known L.A. gang leader Duane “Keefe D” Davis is set to stand trial next year for his alleged role in Shakur’s death. He has pleaded not guilty.)
On March 18, 1997, thousands of fans packed the streets to pay their respects to the Brooklyn rapper, as a hearse with his coffin inside rolled through the borough. The entire Bad Boy family, including Wallace’s wife Faith Evans, and his group Junior M.A.F.I.A., were in attendance at the star-studded funeral at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel on the Upper East Side.
Passing off the cost of the funeral was not the only shady move Combs pulled after Wallace’s death, Burrowes claimed. Combs allegedly tried to change some of the terms of Wallace’s recording contract posthumously.
“Sean wanted me to change the agreement to more favorable terms for Bad Boy, and [Wallace’s] family and mother would not know,” Burrowes said. “And since [Wallace] had signed the agreement, [Combs] wanted those changes to come from out of the center of the agreement and have those pages replaced with the other terms. I said, ‘That’s not right. I’m not doing it.’” A few months later, Burrowes was fired.
And when it came to a Rolling Stone cover opportunity in 1997, Combs advocated for himself while Burrowes pushed for Wallace. “I was telling Sean, ‘Let’s make it Biggie. You still have a chance [for a cover in the future],” Burrowes previously told Rolling Stone. “He’s like ‘No, he’s dead. I’m putting out [Combs’ debut album, No Way Out] in July. I need to be on the cover of Rolling Stone.”
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