Keithroy Yearwood The Baby On The ‘Ready To Die’ Album Was Not Notorious B.I.G., Was Only Paid $150

One of the most recognizable album covers in Hip Hop history features a baby sitting against a plain white background, sporting an unmistakable Afro and staring directly into the camera. For more than three decades, the artwork for The Notorious B.I.G.’s 1994 debut album, Ready to Die, has remained synonymous with the Brooklyn MC’s legacy. However, contrary to what some fans have believed over the years, the child pictured on the cover wasn’t a young Christopher Wallace. His name is Keithroy Yearwood, and his contribution to the legendary album reportedly earned him just $150. Yearwood, who was born in the Bronx to Jamaican parents, was reportedly discovered through a modeling agency when he was an infant. At approximately 18 months old, he participated in a photo shoot that would eventually produce the cover image for Biggie’s groundbreaking debut. The session reportedly lasted about two hours, with Yearwood’s family receiving $150 for his appearance, unaware that the photograph would become one of the most recognizable images in music history. For years, speculation surrounded the identity of the child, with some fans assuming the photograph was an actual baby picture of Biggie. Others believed the infant was the rapper’s daughter, T’yanna Wallace, or another child connected to the Bad Boy Records family. The mystery persisted until Yearwood publicly identified himself as the baby on the cover, confirming that he had no personal connection to the late Brooklyn rapper when the photograph was taken. The album eventually achieved multi-platinum status and is widely regarded as one of the greatest Hip Hop debuts ever recorded. Its cover became nearly as celebrated as the music itself, appearing on merchandise, posters, documentaries and countless retrospectives honoring Biggie’s influence. Despite his image being attached to such an important cultural artifact, Yearwood did not receive royalties from the album’s commercial success. His family’s reported $150 payment covered the original modeling session, long before anyone could have predicted the project’s lasting cultural impact. Yearwood has since spoken publicly about his unexpected place in Hip Hop history, explaining that he didn’t fully understand the significance of the photograph until he grew older and began recognizing his childhood image in record stores and throughout popular culture. His connection to the album has remained a unique part of his identity, even though he never pursued the same level of celebrity as the artist whose debut he helped visually define. The story also highlights an often-overlooked reality of the entertainment industry: some of its most iconic images involve people who receive relatively modest compensation for work that eventually becomes enormously valuable. While the photograph helped establish the visual identity of one of Hip Hop’s most influential albums, Yearwood’s involvement was originally nothing more than a routine childhood modeling assignment. More than 30 years after Ready to Die first hit shelves, the album remains essential listening for Hip Hop fans, and its artwork continues to represent the beginning of Biggie’s extraordinary recording career. Although Christopher Wallace’s life was tragically cut short in March 1997, his music and imagery have remained central to the culture’s history.

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