CHARLIE BALTIMORE TALKS ABOUT BIGGIE, ETC.

Those who have seen the Notorious biopic will question the absence of one key figure in the life of the Notorious B.I.G. shortly before he died: Miss Charli Baltimore. Tiffany Lane aka Charli Baltimore broke out on the scene following the death Christopher Wallace. Her breed of raw rap—comparable to Lil’ Kim in her explicit style, though not quite as suggestive—brought Charli to the spotlight without a constant cosign as a former love of Biggie.


The Philly native’s place in the Commission was sealed, but sadly that project never came to fruition. Here, Miss Baltimore discusses in depth some aspects of Notorious that hid the truth and how she feels the world is handling Biggie’s posthumous presence.





AllHipHop.com: First off, have you seen Notorious?



Charli Baltimore: No, and I don’t really want to see it either. I feel as though it’s not—it wasn’t portrayed realistically.



AllHipHop.com: People have been questioning why you were left out of the film.



Charli Baltimore: From what I’m understanding, the one particular scene which I guess bothered me more than anything was that me and B.I.G. were in a really, really, traumatic car accident. I almost died in that car accident and for them to downplay it—and again I didn’t see the movie so I don’t know how much it’s downplayed or not—but for them to downplay it the way that it was, the way that it occurred…it bothered me. That’s what probably bothers me more so than anything. I don’t usually do too many interviews regarding Big.



Stand Up (Featuring Ghostface Killah) - Charli Baltimore


AllHipHop.com: The scene is where they show the car accident, there is a girl in the backseat who I assume is you and then the accident just kind of happens…



Charli Baltimore: I went through the windshield. I was in the backseat, that’s true. Cease lost all of his teeth… every last one of his teeth got knocked out. He was the driver. From what I understand it’s portrayed in the movie like it was really lightweight, and it had a lot of bearing on Big’s album. And again, everybody in that car almost lost their life. So I don’t play that, it’s not cool at all.



Big had to have the Jaws of Life remove him, and that was a really pivotal moment in his career because that’s what caused him to do the double album for Life After Death. So, you know, the movie is his mother’s story, which is how I’m getting it, but again she wasn’t there and I had 22 stitches under my hairline that…I was the first person that was taken out of the scene of the accident because any sort of head injuries they take you first.



That was a really serious accident. It wasn’t a fender bender. It was an accident where we went over the divider and were on to the other side of the oncoming traffic going the opposite direction and almost went over an embankment. So for them to downplay that particular event was a little shocking to me the way that I got it. Like I said, I didn’t see it so I don’t know but I know that I still got plenty of stitches and plenty of sometimes ailments to prove that the accident was no joke. Big had a metal rod that had to be inserted into his leg and it had a lot to do with him having a life changing experience that in all actuality Big was not supposed to walk again. Because of his weight, he had sleep apnea, he was told that he would probably always have a wheelchair or possibly even a walker and he kind of defied all odds. We sat in the hospital and he had to go through therapy and he had to basically learn how to walk again.



[Big] was in a rehabilitation facility for three months because he had to learn how to walk, and he was determined to do that. Not to mention he still had a deadline to do this album. You gotta remember when this happened that Big’s album was almost done. When we got in the hospital and all this craziness happened, he said, “You know what ma, I’m going to do a double album.” I’m like, “Get the hell out of here.” People weren’t really doing that kind of stuff back then. So he really sat and he like…he did it. It was very inspiring to watch someone do that under the circumstances that he was under, which was craziness. People telling him that you might never walk again properly, you may be in a wheelchair, he wasn’t trying to hear any of that sh*t. He was like, “Hey, I’ma walk again. I’ma be fine.”



AllHipHop.com: Are you angry about your absence in the movie?



Charli Baltimore: Well you know, if anybody has a right to be mad about the movie it should be maybe Un or D-Roc. I think that a lot of people who are portraying themselves in this movie have no idea what type of person that Big was and one of the funniest things I could recall is that…I was thinking about something Big used to do everyday at a certain time. I can’t remember the exact time, but I remember everyday at a certain time Big would have at least a 45-minute to an hour conversation with Lance “Un” Rivera, his business partner. And from what I understand, he’s barely in the movie. That was one of Big’s closest confidants. I feel as though if anyone should be mad really…I’ll even go so far as to say let’s skip Un, I would say D-Roc. I know how much Big loved D-Roc, and I know that that was unconditional love. That was real just brotherly just, straight out I’ll do anything for this dude, and vice versa.



AllHipHop.com: D-Roc isn’t portrayed much in the movie either following his prison term.



Charli Baltimore: I don’t understand any of that. I really don’t. I mean, D-Roc lived with Big. Big loved D-Roc, that was his brother you might as well say….brother from another mother. So if anybody should be telling Big’s story…I’m not mad about the movie…but if anybody should be telling Big’s story, it should either be D-Roc or Un because these are the people that Big confided in the most. Not Puff, not these other people or whoever claimed to be a part of this film. I remember these everyday phone calls [between Big and Un]. It didn’t matter what the situation was, what country we were in, Lance and Big had this conversation every day.



Like I said I’m not bitter about the film because for me, I always felt like my relationship really was nobody’s business. I know what I had with Big; I didn’t really need to explain it to anyone. But I also…you know Big confided in me as a boyfriend would confide in a girlfriend. So I know a lot of things about Big that I would never discuss with anyone.



AllHipHop.com: What about you in this equation? You were with Big when he passed; you were a very important part of his life.



Charli Baltimore: I had just left L.A. when he died. I had left I think two days prior. I had some personal things I had to take care of, and I had actually just lost one of my best friends on Valentine’s Day; they had just gotten killed. That was one of the main reasons Big wanted me to come to L.A., just so I could take my mind off that. Actually me and Big had a lot of drama in L.A. What was funny was the homicide police came to my house after Big died, which was kind of weird to me but they were just going in all angles. But yeah I was with Big two days before he died and the funny thing was, he was loving Cali, and he was so happy that he kind of defied all the odds and was able to walk.



If you notice in the “Hypnotize” video he just has the cane…he defied all of the things with the walker, with the wheelchair…he was in the hospital for three months undergoing intensive therapy. So that particular moment in time was what lead to Life After Death. That’s why that album was called that. Big was just determined to make it the best that he could make it. I don’t think that people realize that. I think that if they were going to make a movie about Big’s life, it should have concentrated more on his music. His personal life was really honestly nobody’s business, and if he was alive I don’t think he would have wanted that.



I mean if someone was going to make a movie about Big’s personal life then it should have been Faith, not Ms. Wallace. I mean come on; we’re all adults. As an adult, your mother doesn’t know every waking detail of your personal life. That’s just not realistic. Not to say anything bad about [Ms. Wallace], but you know I had a relationship with her as well and I have no idea what she was thinking when she made that movie and kind of just left out that whole portion of Big’s life that I was there. I was very young when I was dealing with Big so that was a huge life experience for me, as far as experiencing death. I had actually experienced a lot of death at one time…my father died, my best friend died and Big died, all within an eight month period. I had never experienced anything like that so that was a lot for me to deal with.



Maybe it made [Voletta Wallace] feel better [to leave Charli Baltimore out of the film], I don’t know. Maybe it made for juicier story lines to just use Kim and Faith, I have no clue. It really doesn’t bother me, I really don’t care. I just don’t like the simple fact that…the one thing that really bothered me was the car accident thing because again, I have two daughters and I could have lost my life in that accident and Big also was very hurt in that accident.



Down Ass Chick - Ja Rule ft Charli Baltimore



AllHipHop.com: After Ms. Wallace saw the movie and saw the sides of Big that she didn’t get to see as a mother, she said that it made her not like that side of Big very much. She said the person that she saw on the screen was a monster at times.



Charli Baltimore: I mean if that’s the case, everybody’s a monster sometimes. That’s human nature. I just don’t feel as though if someone was going to tell Big’s story it should have been his mother, unless he was a child. Christopher had already become Biggie and he loved his mother to death, but at the end of the day she can’t tell the accurate story of where Big was in that place in his life. The only person that could do that were the people that lived in his crib and were with him everyday and she was not one of those people.



She’s saying she saw something on screen she didn’t like; of course you’re going to see something on screen you don’t like. I’m pretty sure if anybody made a movie about anybody’s grown child, they’re going to see things they don’t like about their child. Like I said if somebody was going to do a movie about Big, it should have been Damien…D-Roc. I would continue to say that over and over again, I wouldn’t care if me and Damien hated each other. It’s the truth.



Big was one of those people that he’ll tell you what he wants you to know, but he’s not going to confide in you every little waking detail of his life. When Damien lived right up the hall from Big, he knew every intimate detail about Big. Damien’s kind of like me in a sense like he doesn’t speak out too much about it. He lets people say whatever it is they’re going to say. Everyone benefited from the Big situation but to me, Damien didn’t benefit from it. You know what I’m saying? Again, I just feel like the things that Big is legendary for didn’t have anything to do with his relationships. It should all have to do with the music because that’s what Big is known for.



AllHipHop.com: Were you asked at all to have any input in this movie?



Charli Baltimore: I was never asked to have any input in this movie and I do know the person that was putting this movie together and actually me and him were tight, so I have a little issue with that. That person also, he knew Big but he didn’t know Big like that. It’s funny to me, the people that put this movie together, it’s almost like they were picking and gathering information and like sticking it together and it’s not accurate. I don’t need to see the movie to know that it’s not accurate so, it is what it is.

PART 2


AllHipHop.com: They show in Notorious Biggie building the character of Lil’ Kim. How instrumental was Biggie in the building of Charli Baltimore?



Charli Baltimore: I’ve always been me. My style is my style. I guess that’s why Big liked me. Big would come to me for advice about Kim. He was building an artist. As far as I was concerned, I never really had the chance because Big passed before we were able to capitalize or move forward with The Commission, which was our group. As far as [Kim’s] style is concerned, I don’t think you can make somebody an anything. He definitely asked me my advice like what do you think about Kim and how should I approach this and that. I always offered my input. At the end of the day, she still came out the way she came out.



AllHipHop.com: The VIBE article that recently came out talks about how Kim had a problem with this film; she didn’t like how she was portrayed. In the film, she’s a really sympathetic character because she’s getting thrown around the soundbooth by Big, and she’s crying like, “Why doesn’t he love me?” Another thing that she had a problem with was Naturi Naughton being too dark and how she wanted Christina Milian to portray her because she felt it was more accurate.



Charli Baltimore: Wanted Christina Milian to portray her as Lil’ Kim? I wasn’t aware they were the same complexion [laughs]. Again I didn’t see the movie but last I checked, well I don’t know what color she is right now, but she was brown-skinned. Maybe she’s light-skinned now. I don’t know. People change skin tones in this day and age. I can’t see Christina Milian portraying Lil Kim. That’s not…that seems really weird to me, but you know, to each his own.


Junior M.A.F.I.A. f/ The Notorious B.I.G. "Get Money" Video





AllHipHop.com: They showed some violent scenes between Lil’ Kim and Big. Did you witness any of that?



Charli Baltimore: The only violence I ever saw was a situation where Big and I were together on the bus and my clothes were strewn all over the bus and I couldn’t figure out why…I didn’t know what was going on at the time. I said, “Why are my clothes all over the bus like this? They were folded up nice and neat.” We were in the back of the bus and I walked off the bus and when I was coming back on…Kim was getting kicked off the bus…foot to her butt, onto the ground. She had rummaged through my clothing, Big was upset about it and he kicked her on the butt off the bus. That was the only violence I’ve ever seen between them.



I mean he’s never touched me on a physical level of any sort, so I don’t know. But like I said, it was a while before I knew they had a personal relationship. We were in videos and everything together, Kim and I. We spoke, we had conversations and everything. Things got a little out of hand towards the end, but it was never anything physical, nah. Not with me and her anyway. I’ve never seen Big strike her. I’ve overheard conversations…later, not during that time…when I came into the industry where it was a weird conversation I overheard that said when you have a female artist, there’s always someone that needs to have sex with that person to gain control over the female.



I felt like that was the most ignorant thing I’ve ever heard and it was a conversation actually between Un and Big. So I guess they were debating who should have sexual control over the situation to garner control of the project, because towards the end of Kim’s project there were a lot of problems. So I would say other than that, no I’ve never seen anything.



AllHipHop.com: You and Kim were in the “Get Money” video together…you play Faith.



Charli Baltimore: That’s another thing I’d love to clear up, please, if we can. I’ve said this a zillion times and for some reason people just never listen…I was not playing Faith in that video. I’m a Philly girl. They dye their hair all different colors. I actually had blonde short hair at the time, and I’m a teenager. I’m a teenager, never been in a video…I’m not thinking if I have blonde hair I’m going to be perceived as Faith. That was not the intention. I would never as a woman, a self-respecting woman, portray another woman in a video. Unless we’re doing a movie and we’re doing some sort of biopic, I’d never portray Faith in a video.



I was portraying the person that Big was talking about in the song. It wasn’t Faith either, it was just a record. It was never directed towards Faith. If I had brown hair, they would have never said anything of the sort. Just to clarify that, Big told me, “Yo, before we do this video ma, please dye you hair back brown.” I’m a Philly girl, at the time I’m wearing weave, I’m like, “No n***a I done dyed my hair blonde, I’m not dying it back brown. I’m standing my ground with the blonde hair.”



If I would have known the repercussions that came behind me having this hair, and people saying I was dissing Faith or portraying her in any sense, I would have never done it. Big did definitely asked me to change my hair color. So no, as a self-respecting female, I would never portray another woman, especially someone’s wife in a video. I would never do that so I’d like to clear that up. That was never the case. I just so happened to coincidentally have blonde hair and that’s that.



AllHipHop.com: Ok, thanks for clearing that up. It sounds like there’s no animosity between you and Faith. Was it always cool with you guys or is it just that you’re so far past it now that it’s just like kind of whatever?



Charli Baltimore: We had our bad moments, but at the end of the day once her and Big were completely separated, she was quite respectful towards me and vice versa. I mean we’ve had slight disagreements. Nothing ever physical, not to that extent. We’ve had conversations about Big just like any other women do. They weren’t together. People make it seem like mistress, blah blah blah…they weren’t together. Faith had moved on with her life. You know and soon after Big died she was married. I don’t know how long after he died but she remarried so, you know.



AllHipHop.com: You had been living with Big around the time of his passing. Is that correct?



Charli Baltimore: I had my own place. I stayed with Big from time to time…I had keys. I wasn’t living there per se but I would stay there from time to time. Big had n****s that lived in that house. If I’ma live with somebody it needs to be just be me and that person.



AllHipHop.com: So Kim obviously knew that you were with Biggie?



Charli Baltimore: Umm-hmm. She saw us together many times, I guess she was just not allowed to speak on it. I don’t know. I have no idea. I don’t know how that situation goes, because if I’m with somebody and I’m their girlfriend and there’s somebody else involved, I’m going to speak on it. I’ve been in the studio with Kim, I’ve been in Kim’s company, she’s seen all types of jewelery and cars and everything else Big bought me and never had much to say so I don’t understand where the girlfriend thing comes in at.



AllHipHop.com: When you learned that something was still going on between the two of them, was this when Big was still alive or you found out after the fact?



Charli Baltimore: I knew towards the end, me and Kim had an argument. Me and Kim had a pretty heated argument where…oh yea that turned into a little violent incident [between Big and Kim] from what I understand. I didn’t witness, it but I heard about it.



AllHipHop.com: Oh between him and her?



Charli Baltimore: Between Big and her for her disclosing information to me that I guess she wasn’t supposed to disclose.



AllHipHop.com: Did you know Big the longest out of you, Faith, and Kim?



Charli Baltimore: No I didn’t actually. They knew him way before I did. From what I understand Kim was Big’s babysitter or something to that effect. I came in during the whole separation period. Big had his own place, Faith had her own place and I don’t know where Kim lived. I only saw her in the studio and on the road.



AllHipHop.com: Any final thoughts that you wanted to clear up regarding you and Biggie?



Charli Baltimore: Well anybody that knows Big, or D-Roc or Cease or any person that lived in Big’s house…even Ms. Wallace whether she wants to believe it or not, knows that I was Big’s girl. I don’t need to say it every five minutes, I don’t need to throw Big a dinner every year on his birthday and sit his picture there and pray all praises be to Big. I know what I had with Big, and I don’t need to explain it to everyone.



The only reason I’m really speaking out on it at this point is because something got misconstrued over something else that went on. This really has nothing to do with the movie. This has something to do with an interview I did that got totally misconstrued last year before the movie was even popular and getting ready to come out. Honestly, I wasn’t even going to do any sort of interview or anything about this, but my best friend sort of made me do it and I did it on the strength of let’s just clarify this right fast. Because there are some things, there are some facts that are totally wrong and it’s not cool.



As far as the movie’s concerned, I could care less because it doesn’t really make me a difference. I know what I had with Big and I don’t feel as though I need to constantly go over it and explain it to anyone. Big would turn over in his grave if he saw the circus that was made of his life. I think the people should focus on his music and leave his personal life where it is. He has a son and a daughter and that’s great. It’s a shame he’s not here to see his son and his daughter grow up, and I think that’s what people should think about. Not about who Big was banging. It was a long time ago. I’m sure every woman in this world has someone in their past that they’re like geez and I was dealing with this person, why?



At the end of the day, I was young. People learn from their mistakes. We all were young at the time. I’m not sitting here saying that anything anyone was doing was the right thing. The only person that had any legal obligations to Big was his wife. I’m not going to disrespect anyone in this conversation, because I don’t know what Big was saying to anybody. Big I’m sure was saying one thing to Kim, one thing to Faith and another whole thing to me. I was a teenager so that was one of my first real relationships that I was a part of. I had never vibed with someone that was separated from a wife. So I don’t know the ins and outs of how that goes, so you know I learned as I went along.