Notorious

Welcome to another episode of The "D" List

Today's review is Notorious directed by George Tillman Jr. and written by Reggie Rock Bythewood (yes that's his name) and Cheo Hodari Coker.

This film is the autobiography of who many consider (myself included) one of the greatest rappers who put pen to paper. He is none other than Christopher Wallace but known to us as The Notorious B.I.G or Biggie Smalls.

The film details his rise from a chubby, fatherless kid growing up in Brooklyn to a legend in the hip hop world whose career was cut short by senseless violence that was created by a mostly media driven feud between Biggie played by newcomer Jamal Woolard and his former friend turned enemy Tupac Shakur.

The story begins the night of his death and flashes back to when he was a kid dreaming of making it in the rap game. You see a little Biggie (no pun intended) played by the real Biggie's son Christopher Jordan Wallace writing rhymes about his absent father and as he gets older his lyrics progress and mature to a more serious tone. He quits school and starts hustling on the street selling crack while at the same time making a name for himself as a freestyle rhymer. His life as a dealer however, doesn't last long. Biggie and his friend get pinched for dealing and weapons possession.

Realizing that Biggie has a future in the rap game takes the heat for both of them clearing Biggie of all charges and sending him back into the world to "make it." It's here where Biggie's world changes. He meets up with Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs played by Derek Luke of Uptown Records. After hearing an underground demo, Puffy's impressed with Biggie's skills and signs him to a deal.

Puffy gets fired from Uptown and starts his own label, Bad Boy Records. He makes Biggie the driving force behind the label and the move pays off as Biggie's rep in the rap game begins to take shape and get some serious notoriety. His 1st album drops "Ready to Die" and is a huge success making Biggie a mega star in the hip hop world.

Biggie meets Tupac and initially each artist is respected by the other until an incident at Puffy's studio turns things upside down. While visiting Puffy and Biggie in NY, Tupac is robbed and shot in the lobby of Puffy's studio. Tupac claims that Bad Boy was responsible which sets off a massive feud between Bad Boy and Tupac's label Death Row Records headed by Suge Knight, Hip Hop's resident gangster.

This feud escalates further when Tupac is once again attacked in LA and once again Biggie and Bad Boy are accused of masterminding the assault. Biggie tries to defend himself claiming his innocence but it falls on deaf ears which frustrates Biggie to no end. Eventually the media takes hold of this rivalry and a full blown coast vs coast war is born. Fans of both Tupac and Biggie take sides and escalate the situation which ultimately leads to Biggie's untimely death on March 8th 1997 at the age of 24. 

Notorious also establishes Biggie's home life and his relationship with his mother Voletta Wallace and the several women he hooks up with. In addition, the film touches on his constant changing relationship with Kimberly Jones also known as Lil Kim and his wife Faith Evans.

Notorious was a tough film for me to grasp. I found it very entertaining but since I'm not a Biggie historian it was tough to tell the difference between Hip Hop and Hollywood. Despite that the film itself was a very interesting and well paced. Being a fan of his music, hearing it throughout the movie was also a treat. The performance of Woolard as Biggie was pretty impressive in my opinion. He isn't a physical clone facially but if you closed your eyes and just listened to him speak you can't tell the difference.

The only major flaw of Notorious would be in it's structure. It tries to tell several stories that relate to Biggie's life. Like the creation of Junior Mafia and his discovery and mentoring of Lil Kim for instance but those stories lose steam then just disappear. They felt like script cuts which in the film play like teases and for me it made the film somewhat incomplete and rushed.

Aside from the criticism, Notorious is an entertaining film that for Biggie fans should enjoy. What saddens me was the reason this film had to be made in the 1st place. Biggie along with Tupac revolutionized the world of Hip Hop and because of a misunderstanding and bulging ego's, 2 AMAZING and might I add IRREPLACEABLE talents are no longer with us.

On the 5 star scale Notorious gets 3 stars and a "Go See It" recommendation for you Biggie fans.

Unfortunately it's not playing in full release anymore so unless it's available in your neck of the woods you'll have to wait for the DvD. I think the fact that this film was made 12 years after his death also hurt it's release and popularity. As much as this pains me to say this, it's very possible that while Biggie hasn't been forgotten, the people have moved on.

Until Next Episode....I'll Save You a Seat.