Rapper Notorious BIG’s mural vandalized in New York

A mural honoring legendary rapper Notorious BIG was vandalized in Brooklyn overnight Friday, according to local reports.

Police are searching for the vandal responsible for the heinous act that took place at the corner of St. James Place and Fulton Street in Clinton Hill, the neighborhood where the rapper, real name Christopher Wallace, grew up.

The artist’s ‘Hypnotize’ mural was tagged with dark red spray paint with ‘East Coast’ on Wallace’s face.

Artist Vincent Ballentine created the 2019 artwork and hangs on the wall of a Beauty World salon where Biggie spent much of his youth, according to Complex.

« Oh the disrespect, » Ballentine posted on Instagram, showing the destruction. « The disrespect is real. Damn shame. Why did they do that? »

Ballentine told CBS News that he pledged to repair the mural he originally did to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the East Coast rapper’s death.

« So for that to happen, people come in saying ‘Damn, they did it dirty. It’s bigger than me. It’s a great time, I don’t know what else to say,” Ballentine told the outlet.

Notorious BIG died on March 9, 1997 when he was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. He was 24 years old.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams condemned the vandalism in an interview with NY1 News, saying the artwork would be « cleaned up and repaired ».

« Biggie is a hero to our community, and that’s definitely not how you spread love the Brooklyn way, as Biggie would say, » Adams said. « We’re going to look into that and make sure that mural gets cleaned up and fixed because it belongs there and it stays there, and we want to find the person responsible. »