Biggie was held in jail for three days before being released; he then turned himself in to Camden police. His trial date has yet to be set. "Somebody told me I should just give duke [Banks] some money," he says. "Whatever, man. I'll see that nigga in court."

The whole ordeal, however, put a temporary strain on Big's relationship with his mom, a Jehovah's Witness. "That shit made her think of the old Christopher, like I was still on the same bullshit," Biggie says. "I'm telling her that I didn't hit him, I didn't rob him, and she looking at me, like, Whatever. I mean, that's my ol' MO, you know what I'm saying?"

"Things done changed," raps Biggie on his debut album, and that song has since taken on a multitude of meanings. Yes, he went from negative to positive, but nothing's ever all good. A few years ago the possibility of prison was an occupational hazard, but at least he knew the risks. Now that he's turned his life around, he's got a whole new set of problems to worry about.

Biggie says he's "the same ol' nigga-maybe a little bit more bossy." The letters of his stage name used to just mean "big." Now he likes to say they stand for "Business Instead of Game." And if he was Ready to Die two years ago, now he's got everything to live for. He knows it too: He's already decided on a title for his next album. It will be called Life After Death.