Just like the Nirvana “Nevermind” baby or the little girls on the cover of The Smashing Pumpkins “Siamese Dream“, The Notorious BIG classic debut album “Ready To Die” also featured a child on the cover.
As opposed to the Nas’ “Illmatic” album, which was released 6 months before and featured an actual baby photo of Nas, the baby on the “Ready To Die” album is not Cristopher Wallace. According to Sean “Puffy” Combs the kid on the album cover was “just some baby we found”. They wanted a baby that resembled Biggie along with the album’s concept of the artist’s life from birth to his death.
The baby is now a 19 year old New Jersey basketball player named Keithroy Yearwood. He made only $150 for the two-hour modeling shoot in his diapers that would end up gracing one of Raps biggest albums of all-time.
Yearwood said,
“It’s an honor to be on this album… I was chosen out of a lot of kids… I guess it’s the afro.”
How’s that for a pick-up line??? “I am the kid on the cover of Biggie Smalls album “Ready To Die”.