The son of Brooklyn rapper The Notorious B.I.G. believes his father would have been “honored to share the ‘Notorious’ title” with the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“Brooklyn, New York represents no fear, confidence and speaking your truth, and my dad and Justice Ginsburg lived those words,” C.J. Wallace told “TODAY.” “I think he would be honored to share the ‘Notorious’ title with her, and it’s up to us to honor their legacies by continuing to fight for equality and justice for all by voting and getting into good trouble.”
“For it still to relate so much 20 plus years later, it’s just insane,” he continued.
Ginsburg was jokingly referred to as the Notorious R.B.G., a nickname that has stuck with her even in her absence. In 2015, an image of her wearing a gold crown — a nod to the iconic “King of New York” photoshoot — was used as the cover for the book “Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg” by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik, the creator of the nickname.
Ginsburg was aware that her nickname was a play on the “Juicy” rapper’s moniker and noticed they actually had some similarities.
“I think about how this Notorious R.B.G. was created,” she said. “People ask me, don’t you feel uncomfortable with a name like the Notorious B.I.G.? Why should I feel uncomfortable? We have a lot in common, and first and foremost, we were both born and bred in Brooklyn, New York.”
Biggie was killed in a drive-by shooting back in 1997, and more recently, Ginsburg died after losing her battle to metastatic pancreatic cancer, but both of their names continue to live on.
Recently, Biggie’s crown was sold for $600,000 at a hip hop auction. As for Ginsburg, she became the first woman to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol.