A Biggie Smalls mural located in Brooklyn was defaced on Thursday night, August 25. The vandals splattered red paint on the mural and wrote the words “East Coast” under it.
The mural is located on the corner of Saint James Place and Fulton Street in Clinton Hill next to a Beauty salon. What’s particularly special about the mural is that its located in the same neighborhood where Biggie grew up.
Vincent Ballentine, the artist who spent 2 days creating the mural, was disheartened by the vandals actions. “I woke up to this,” Ballentine said to CBS News. “I think the neighborhood really saw it as he was one of ours, and he made it out and he made something of himself. That’s the story people hold on to,” he added.
Johnny Famous from Hush Hip Hop Tours said, “This is his stomping ground, everything. Biggie means a lot to the whole world, so for somebody to do this, it’s ridiculous. “I know there’s a million cameras out here. Somebody saw something.”
“This is unfortunate. A lot of hard work went into putting the artwork up by the artist and also the business owners and the neighborhood really appreciated it. People come from all over the world to come take a picture in front of this mural,” said LeRoy McCarthy, a Clinton Hill resident.
People also took to Twitter where they voiced their anger at whoever vandalized the mural.
