Biggie Smalls fans filled Brooklyn subway stations on Saturday to score commemorative MetroCards in honor of the late hip-hop rapper’s 50th birthday.
Around 50,000 cards were packed into MetroCard machines at four Brooklyn stations, which housed Biggie, aka “Notorious BIG”
People lined up about 100 at a time, waiting for hours at the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center station to try and buy some of the cards, which featured a portrait of the late rapper.
Many said it was worth it.
“It was a long, hot two hours,” said Melissa Pajuelo, 30, of Brighton Beach, after buying five MetroCards. “Two are for me. Two more are for my boyfriend, and one is for my homeboy.
“It’s Biggie Smalls. He’s an icon,” she added. “Who’s not going to want that, being born and raised in Brooklyn?”
“I’m not even going to use the card,” said Carmen Torres, 62, wearing a Biggie T-shirt. “I’ll just put it somewhere safe.”
Cameron McGinn, 27, of Manhattan, said the MTA’s commemorative MetroCards were a smart business move.
“I’ve always been a huge Biggie fan,” he said. “It’s a cool way and a unique item to get and show some real fandom.”
“Obviously people are in,” he added. “I would come back for another one.”
An enterprising man tried to make big bucks by scalping commemorative cards from people looking to avoid the long wait.
“Forty dollars! Who wants it? He shouted.
MetroCards are one of many ways the Big Apple is celebrating the 50th birthday of the late rap star, who was infamously shot and murdered in 1997 after leaving a Vibe party in Los Angeles. He was 24 years old. The case has still not been resolved.
Biggie, real name Christopher Wallace, signed to Sean Combs’ Bad Boy label when it launched in 1993. His debut album “Ready to Die” was released a year later to worldwide acclaim, and spawned hit singles such as “Big Poppa” and “Juicy.”