012009 I Love It When You Call Me Big Papa

My favorite hip-hop artist of all time has finally had a biopic made of him, not to mention the first hip-hop biopic in film history; Notorious (not to me muddled with Alfred Hitchcock's 1964 film Notorious).  Since I saw the trailer a couple of months ago, I was instantly enlivened to see this film being an avid Notorious BIG fan growing up which inevitably makes it difficult for me to escape the bias when watching, analyzing and critiquing this film. 

The story and short life of rapper Christopher Wallace, also known as Biggie Smalls but better known as The Notorious BIG was brought to life by a first acting gig, unemployed and expectant father, Jamal Woolard who did an impressive job of capturing the voice and talent of Wallace himself; again, this being his first acting job ever. Director George Tillman Jr. did an excellent job capturing the city and souls of Brooklyn of the 90's it was damn near palpable. The film is a strong biopic because of its strong validity; involving his relationship with West Coast rapper Tupac Shakur and the birth of a coast to coast feud as well as the relationship of female rapper Lil' Kim or as I like to refer to her, Slut Mobile. I was skeptical about actor Derek Luke playing Sean "Puffy" Combs, but I realized this was a younger Sean Combs in a different era of hip-hop almost 10 years ago and I honestly was surprised by his performance; it wasn't Oscar worthy but it was good nonetheless. 

Though dead narratives always leave me baffled, it seemed to work coherently well for this biopic and didn't necessarily bother me too much. Tillman took an idea out of Gus Van Sant's Milk and blended stock footage and film together for that more genuine "based on a true story/life" feel/vibe. 

As a fan, I know BIG only as an artist. Though it's just a "movie" (yet a biopic), it allowed me to recognize him as Christopher Wallace; a humbled and harmless, flawed individual who loves and cares for the people close to him. 

If you're not a BIG fan nor a fan of hip-hop I still recommend seeing this movie due to it's candidness and accuracy of the lives and struggles of lower city persons such as Brooklyn, how successful a talented young drug dealer such as Wallace can become which allows us to recognize how much we can pursue with the abilities we have at our current situation of "survival".

cheers.