Fans Lament Star’s Death, Violence as ‘Madness’

At the site of the murder, in record stores and over the airwaves, fans expressed shock Sunday over the shooting death of rap artist Notorious B.I.G., and called for a halt to the violence that has killed the music’s stars in circumstances where life has too closely imitated their art.

The New York musician’s death follows that of West Coast rapper Tupac Shakur, who was shot and killed on a public street six months ago.

Fans called B.I.G.’s first album, the double-platinum “Ready to Die,” a stirring premonition, and said his upcoming release, “Life After Death . . . ‘Til Death Do Us Part,” couldn’t be more aptly titled.

Hip-hop stations Power 106 in Los Angeles and Hot 97 in New York broadcast an impromptu, simultaneous bicoastal tribute and discussion Sunday afternoon, with rap artists playing down perceptions of the sometimes brutal edge of their music.

“We need to talk about this intelligently and tell people there is no rivalry,” said rapper Dr. Dre, taking a step back from rappers’ aggressive public image.

Artist Q-Tip of the group A Tribe Called Quest called too, saying, “I’m tired of this [expletive].” He warned that the message of rap can become self-fulfilling: “We need to wake up. If we say we’re ready to die, then we are going to die.”

At the site of the slaying, on Los Angeles’ Museum Row, those who came to connect with the spirit of the 24-year-old rapper seemed to hear the message.

“The bottom line is these guys [Shakur and B.I.G] were multitalented, as writers and producers, and it’s madness that their lives have ended,” said longtime rap fan Alex Williams, 30, who was in the mid-Wilshire area to shop and was drawn to the scene by radio reports.

Frank Zulli, 24, a fan who lives two blocks away, picked up souvenirs among the burned-out police flares, yellow police tape and promotional fliers for various rap artists that had been handed out the night before. The items were still scattered near where the shooting took place, on the Fairfax Avenue side of the Petersen Automotive Museum.

“It’s just a bad case of sensationalism” by rap artists and the media who cover them, he said, holding a trampled flier in his hands. “He didn’t need to die.”

At VIP Records, a popular rap and R&B; outlet in Long Beach, small clusters of fans gathered throughout the day, scouring the record bins for releases by Notorious B.I.G., and shaking their heads over the violent deaths.

“They are asking when it’s going to stop and saying it’s a shame that all of our best and highly rated rappers are meeting this kind of fate,” said owner Kelvin Anderson, who met the rapper years ago during one of his first promotional tours on the West Coast.

And while the shock was evident here, it was stronger on the East Coast, those inside the rap world said.

“People are devastated in New York. He was the biggest rapper in New York City--literally and figuratively,” said Dimitry Leger, an author who has written extensively about hip-hop and now works at MTV News.

Leger said Shakur’s slaying last year stung the entire city of New York, but the death of Notorious B.I.G.--whom many say put East Coast rap back on the map after West Coast performers had gained popularity and record sales--hurt even more.

Back in Los Angeles, Mike Williams, 25, working behind the counter at Tempo records on Crenshaw Boulevard, said that already Sunday morning, several customers had asked him when the store would be receiving the new double album due in record stores March 25.

“I feel for B.I.G.’s family,” he said. He called the artist’s music a voice for thousands of young men who endure the problems of the inner city, not a spark for violence.

“Sure, music influenced people in both good and bad ways,” he said. “Some people fall in love to Marvin Gaye just like some think rap is telling them to commit crime.

“But most people just let the music help them cope.”

Times staff writer Carla Rivera contributed to this story.