Lil’ Shawn
This is the guy who 2Pac was going to record with the night that he was shot at Quad Studios in New York City in 1994. Some of you may have heard his name before, but not really known anything about him. Shawn had recorded an album in 1986 and in 1992 but following that, he was a free agent without a deal. Pen had recorded a song and video for a track titled “Dom Perignon” that featured Biggie on the chorus. That song was recorded for the New York Undercover soundtrack, and even after the success of the track, Pen still didn’t have a major deal. Biggie felt Shawn was super talented (an accurate assessment) and was determined to get him on his label. As with many people on this list, his murder to a put a stop to all of his business plans that he had for the future of the record label.
Charli Baltimore
You may have already known that Charli Baltimore was planned to be a part of the famed group “The Commision” which included Biggie and Jay-Z, but were you aware that Biggie and Lance Un Riveria were trying to sign her to a solo deal while Biggie was still alive? The story goes that Charli had left a voicemail on Biggie’s cell phone of her rapping, and he instantly knew that she had a spot in the music business. After Biggie’s death in 1997, Charli was still able to release her solo debut “Cold As Ice” but it was a full two years after Biggie had passed. Biggie’s original plans for her were to record for the Commision album, and then develop her as a solo artist. Biggie was planning to executive produce her debut album.
Genovese
We know that there are a lot of you reading this who would have never ever heard of this guy. Genovese (real name Joseph Genovese) was a Yonkers rapper in the mid-1990s. Genovese had hooked up with the Lox as a teenager and even had Styles P on his first mixtape track. The Lox had brought Genovese to the studio during a lot of Bad Boy recordings at Daddy’s House, and Biggie’s interest was piqued by the white rapper. Biggie jokingly mentioned to the rapper that with the name Genovese he was bound to make a lot of dough in the music industry. Biggie was so interested in signing him, that had set up a meeting with him after he returned from Los Angeles in March of 1997. Unfortunately, that meeting never occurred.
Cam’ron
Camron’s debut album “Confessions of Fire” was eventually released on Untertainment Records, which Biggie co-owned with his friend Lane Un Riveria. That record deal, and subsequent album, occurred after Biggie was killed in Los Angeles. Did you know though, that Biggie had tried signing him before his murder? Mase had brought Cam’ron to see Biggie, which is interesting in itself as Mase wanted Biggie to sign Cam’ron instead of the label he was on at the time Bad Boy Records. Mase felt that Biggie would be the boss that stood by his boss’s side (insinuating that Diddy was not). The story goes that Camron rapped for Biggie for a full twenty minutes before Biggie told him to stop and said that he was interested in him. It’s interesting to note that had the deal been signed while Biggie was alive, Biggie also would have executive produced the album.
Kleptomaniac/MC Kelpto
After Biggie had signed Lil’ Kim and Lil’ Cease to solo deals following the first Junior Mafia album, the next Junior Mafia member that he had his sights on was Kleptomaniac. Biggie felt that he was one of the most talented artists in the group and had planned to set up Klepto with a solo artist deal in 1997. Unfortunately, Biggie was killed before all of that could happen, and Klepto only appeared on limited records following his death.
Foxy Brown
And speaking about members of Junior Mafia, did you know that Biggie tried to get Foxy Brown to join the the group? Foxy was the same area of Brooklyn, and even as an early teenager was impressing people in the music business with her rhymes. Prior to Foxy Brown signing to Def Jam records (which was after a major bidding war in 1996), Biggie had actually wanted her to join the group when she was just 15-year-old. All of this was before any of the beefs that her and Lil’ Kim had. Can you imagine what Foxy Brown and Lil Kim would have sounded together on those early Junior Mafia tracks?