GANGSTA RAPPER KILLED IN APPARENT DRIVE-BY SHOOTING.

Byline: Stacy Finz Daily News Staff Writer

Notorious B.I.G., a well-known gangsta rapper whose hip-hop rhymes told about his own past in the mean streets of Brooklyn, was killed early Sunday in Los Angeles in an apparent drive-by shooting.

He was the second famous gangsta rap artist to be gunned down in the last six months. His debut album, ironically titled ``Ready to Die,'' sold 1 million copies.

The singer, whose real name was Christopher Wallace, was shot at 12:35 a.m., while sitting in the passenger seat of a dark green Chevrolet Suburban, according to police. He had just left a party at the Petersen Automotive Museum in the Miracle Mile section of Wilshire Boulevard, said Detective Raymond Futami, the lead investigator on the case.

Wallace, 24, was attending the function at the museum in celebration of Friday's 11th annual Soul Train Music Awards. Los Angeles Fire Department personnel were in the process of shutting down the party because of crowding when the shots were fired.

Witness Kevin Kim told the Associated Press that ``someone just rolled by and started shooting.'' Wallace's estranged wife, Faith Evans, also saw the shooting, the AP reported.

The suspects, riding in what was possibly a white car, drove alongside Wallace's truck and fired multiple shots at the rapper, according to police. Futami said Wallace was hit more than once.

``It appears that he was the target,'' said Jason Lee, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department. ``At this time, we don't have any motive for the shooting and are not ruling out anything yet.''

``We're still trying to interview witnesses and sort through all the information we're getting,'' Futami said.

Wallace, whose 6-foot frame carried nearly 300 pounds, was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was rushed from the scene by a person whose name was not disclosed.

The killing comes six months and two days after rapper Tupac Shakur was gunned down during a drive-by attack in Las Vegas. He was riding with Marion ``Suge'' Knight, the president of his label, Death Row Records.

Shakur and Wallace are said to have been rivals.

In 1994 Shakur accused Wallace of involvement in a robbery in which the Death Row rapper survived five gunshot wounds and lost $40,000 in jewelry.

Shakur told Rolling Stone magazine that year that he believed Wallace and Sean ``Puffy'' Combs, the head of the rapper's record label, Bad Boy Entertainment, knew the triggerman. Both Wallace and Combs were in the building where Shakur was shot.

Some in the music industry speculate that Shakur's death was somehow related to the simmering feud between East Coast and West Coast rap artists. Death Row, which is based in Los Angeles, has been at odds with Wallace's East Coast label.

``We're looking at all the options in this case,'' Futami said. ``But at this point we don't have anything that would connect (rivalry between the labels) to our murder case.''

Combs and Wallace, who also goes by the name Biggie Smalls, denied any involvement in Shakur's 1994 shooting or the Sept. 7 shooting, which ultimately led to the rapper dying six days later.

Combs could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Wallace, originally from the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, had lived in Teanec, N.J.

He first entertained small crowds with his hip-hop autobiographical lyrics of life in the ghetto as a crack dealer.

But his musical achievements came into the mainstream spotlight in 1995, when he was honored as rap artist of the year at the Billboard Awards. His single, ``One more Chance/Stay With Me,'' was named the best rap single after debuting at No. 5, tying Michael Jackson's ``Scream/Childhood'' as the highest debuting single ever. His debut album, ``Ready to Die,'' went platinum, selling more than 1 million copies.

``We are overwhelmed with grief by the death of a great artist, a family member and our friend, the Notorious B.I.G.,'' read a statement issued by Bad Boy Entertainment.

In addition to building a name for himself in the music industry, Wallace was gaining a reputation with law enforcement.

He was arrested in July on suspicion of having illegal weapons and for marijuana possession. After searching his home, police found numerous weapons, hollow-point bullets and a small quantity of marijuana, according to news reports.

In 1995 he was arrested on suspicion of beating and robbing a man in Camden, N.J.

Nathaniel Banks, 31, accused Wallace and his entourage of breaking his jaw when the musician tried to collect the balance of a $7,500 performance fee.

Wallace was cleared of the robbery allegation, but a civil jury ordered the rap singer to pay damages to Banks.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, box

PHOTO (1) Notorious B.I.G., left, leaves the party at the Petersen Automotive Museum with producer Sean ``Puffy'' Combs before the shooting.

Associated Press

(2 -- color) Notorious B.I.G.

Killed outside L.A. party

Box: A short, violent life