Notorious B.I.G. and the Wu-Tang Clan are steps closer to becoming a permanent part of New York City, their hometown and one of the birthplaces of hip-hop.
The New York City council has unanimously voted to have a Booklyn street become Christopher Wallace Way (after Biggie) and a Staten Island street become Wu-Tang Clan District. The measures are still pending Mayor Bill de Blasio's signature.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The street Notorious B.I.G. grew up will be co-named "Christopher Wallace Way." There will also be a "Wu-Tang Clan District" in Staten Island. <a href="https://t.co/CTpLIM36jp">pic.twitter.com/CTpLIM36jp</a></p>— Nigel D. (@NigelDPresents) <a href="https://twitter.com/NigelDPresents/status/1077250777578721280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
"As soon as you put a name on a street sign, you say something about the public importance of that individual," University of Tenn. Geography Professor Derek Alderman told NPR. "Hip-hop deserves that respect."
Brooklyn Community Board 2 first approved the re-naming petition 33-1 in November.
NYC resident LeRoy McCarthy, who led the naming initiatives for both streets, thinks naming a street after Biggie symbolizes something greater than the rapper. "It symbolizes a culture. It symbolizes a borough. It symbolizes a people, and hip-hop is worldwide,” he told Rolling Stone.
The council also voted to name a street after Woody Guthrie in Coney Island, where the iconic folk singer lived in the 1940s.
<iframe width="620" height="349" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ALUKDkOxVPo" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The block expected to become Christopher Wallace Way is on St. James Place between Fulton Street and Gates Avenue where B.I.G. actually grew up. Wu-Tang Clan District will be centered on the intersection of Vanderbilt Avenue and Targee Street, the location of Sobel Court Park, according to Rolling Stone.
The news of the council passing the measures came shortly after Chuck D was announced as chairman of the celebrity board for the Universal Hip-Hop Museum to open in Brooklyn in 2022.
Universal Hip-Hop Museum Names Chuck D Celebrity Board Chair
