“Biggie’s Crown”

Original 36”x36” acrylic on canvas. Portrait of Notorious BIG also know as "The King of New York". 
this piece is made with acrylic paint, rhinestones embellishments and black foil. All used to add texture and bring the piece to life. It pays homage to the original picture and the crown. 

The $6 Crown that Became Royalty.

In 1997, photographer Barron Claiborne crowned Biggie Smalls with a $6 plastic toy prop — and unknowingly created one of the most iconic portraits in music history. That same crown sold decades later for over $594,000, a price tag that proves what hip-hop always knew: greatness doesn’t come from gold, it comes from grit.

This image has been called “the Mona Lisa of hip-hop” — a symbol of duality: power and pain, rise and reflection. His gaze carries the weight of a man who conquered his world but still carried the stories of the streets within his eyes.

This painting reimagines that moment — not as a photograph, but as a modern relic of culture, struggle, and legacy.