Wavyy Jonez

Aspiring rapper Wavyy Jonez experienced overnight stardom, albeit in an entirely different medium: he was cast as rapper the Notorious B.I.G. in the USA Network's scripted crime serial "Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G." (2018- ). Born DaShaun Jones on July 17, 1994 in Long Island, New York, he endured a difficult childhood spent living in shelters after his parents' separation. At the age of five, he discovered reading and poetry while attending daycare, which would inform his interest in music and in particular, hip-hop. After moving to North Carolina, Jones - who adopted the moniker Wavyy Jonez - released his first mixtape, "R.E.D. D.O.P.E." (Real Everyday Drama Doing Over People's Expectation) in 2014. However, his big break came as an actor: after submitting a video audition to producers of "Unsolved," he was cast as Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. Biggie Smalls and the Notorious B.I.G., the influential East Coast hip-hop artist whose 1997 murder remains one of the music industry's most enduring mysteries.