In the mid-90s, while Bad Boy and Death Row were dominating headlines, another label was quietly shaping the next wave of East Coast rap. Undeas Entertainment, founded by Lance “Un” Rivera with The Notorious B.I.G. as a creative force, never reached the same commercial heights—but its impact? Still echoing. For a few years, it gave us raw talent, messy drama, and some of the most iconic debuts in rap. Then it vanished.

Undeas was Big’s way of controlling the narrative—his people, his pen, his vision. The label’s first success was Conspiracy (1995) from Junior M.A.F.I.A., a group made up of Biggie’s Bed-Stuy circle. Big wrote or ghostwrote most of it. “Player’s Anthem” and “Get Money” were hits. The group had a moment—but one voice stood out above the rest: Lil’ Kim.

Kim was more than a protégé—she and Big were in a turbulent, on-again-off-again relationship. In 1996, she became pregnant with his child but chose to have an abortion. Their love life bled into the music—volatile, passionate, and unforgettable. Kim’s debut Hard Core, released that same year, was a cultural earthquake. With Big shaping the bars and Rivera working the business side, Kim’s sexually charged persona became a brand. The album went double platinum. Undeas had a star.

But Kim wasn’t the only one tied to Big personally and musically. Around 1995, Big met Philly native Charli Baltimore. She left a verse on his voicemail—and Big encouraged her to pursue rap. The two became romantically involved, and Charli even appeared in the “Get Money” video as a Faith Evans stand-in. Big wanted her in the next wave of Undeas talent and planned to feature her in The Commission—a supergroup he envisioned that would’ve included Jay-Z, Charli, himself, and potentially others. It was meant to be a bossed-up version of Junior M.A.F.I.A., a formal dynasty that stretched beyond one label. But after Big’s death, Charli’s debut was shelved. She later signed with Murder Inc., but the original vision never came to life.

Then there was Cam’ron. On a recent episode of Talk With Flee, Cam recalled the day Mase brought him to Biggie’s home. Big was laid up in bed with a girl, and Cam rapped nonstop for 10–15 minutes. “Any beat he threw on, I just rapped to it,” he said. “I used to have rhymes folded up in my pocket—like 15 pages.” It wasn’t a demo—it was a real audition. Gene Deal later confirmed Big was impressed and had serious plans for Cam, even mentioning him as a possible piece of The Commission puzzle. The group was never finalized, but the vision was there: a power circle of elite MCs, handpicked by Big.

That deal never materialized. Cam didn’t connect with Un Rivera until after Biggie’s death, during the filming of the “Missing You” video. “I’m the one Big wanted to sign,” he told Un, who remembered the conversation. Cam eventually dropped Confessions of Fire on Rivera’s Untertainment label in 1998, followed by S.D.E. in 2000—but creative tensions stalled both releases. Things fell apart for good after the now-infamous incident where Rivera was reportedly stabbed in a Manhattan movie theater, a story later immortalized in a Jay-Z lyric.

By the early 2000s, Undeas had completely unraveled. Charli Baltimore’s album never dropped. Cam’ron walked. Junior M.A.F.I.A. split. Lil’ Kim left. And Rivera—embroiled in beef and behind-the-scenes politics—faded from the music industry, and transitioned to film and media. The label that once had Biggie’s full weight behind it was gone.

Still, the legacy is undeniable. Biggie wasn’t just a generational talent—he had an eye for stars. He discovered Kim, Charli, and Cam long before the industry took notice. He helped shape personas, pen classics, and open doors. And with The Commission, he was aiming beyond co-signs and side hustles—he was architecting a real empire. His vision for Undeas and beyond hinted at mogul-level potential that was never fully realized. Without him, the structure collapsed—but not before changing the course of rap history.

The house Biggie built didn’t stand long. But its blueprint still runs deep.