After 17 years of mystery, the baby from the cover of the Notorious B.I.G.'s 1994 debut 'Ready to Die' has been found. Eighteen-year-old Keithroy Yearwood, who currently resides in the Bronx, realized that he was the afro-sporting tyke when he was about eight years old, though has only come forward now after the hip-hop community tried to get the story behind the iconic photo.

"It's an honor to be on this album. I was chosen out of all of these kids. I guess it was the afro," he explained. "This album here is one of the best rap albums to ever come out."

Yearwood, who only made $150 for the two-hour shoot as a kid, remembered when he saw his picture looming over New York City's busiest section. "The first time I saw my picture somewhere was Times Square, in the big area where the big pictures go," he recalled. "To this day, I don't know why they picked me. I still think it's the afro."

Back in September 2010, hip-hop blog RapRadar.com asked Sean 'Diddy' Combs if he knew the identity of the child. "That's a baby we just found, you know what I'm saying?" he said. "We did casting for somebody who looked like Big. That's how he was found."



Watch the Notorious B.I.G.'s 'Big Poppa'

More From TheBoombox