BIG Screen

I'm always so late when it comes to blogging, but what else is new. I saw Notorious last week. What kind of hip-hop fan would I be if I didn't see a film based on the life of one of the most iconic figures in hip-hop culture?



The hype surrounding the movie was everywhere and I couldn't deny the bait. The TV commercials, articles and interviews I read combined with curiosity drew me in. But what sparked real interest is how much attention was made to the movie. It wasn't just some sloppy attempt to tell the Notorious B.I.G's story without the real input from those who were closest to him.

Any movie, no matter how much it's based on someone's life is going to cut corners and glamorize or exaggerate certain situations to make it appeal to a movie-going audience and Notorious really didn't differ much in that aspect. I liked the movie and I think that it showed different aspects of his life from being the artist we all know and loved, but it also captured some vulnerabilities in his life such as his relationship with his mother and children, and romantic relationships. It was very nostalgic if you were around at the time or just remember the music scene during the mid-late 90s'. Yes, I was a youngin', but I always had a predisposition for good music.

The character choice was good in my opinion, even though I'm still not sold though on Derek Luke as Diddy. But Lil' Kim's reaction to the film I didn't quite get until I saw it. Despite her somewhat delusional preferences of who would play her (Christina Milian to or as I've heard also, an Asian), she did have a point as to how she was portrayed.

Obviously, Faith Evans was Big's wife. Although they had a rocky relationship at some points it's always been an understanding of their relationship as husband and wife. Whereas, Lil' Kim's relationship with Biggie has always been kind of reduced to her being the mistress/sidepiece. Of course, no one ever truly knows or can comprehend the relationship between two people except for those involved, so I'm sure there's lots we don't know.

Naturi Naughton, (as Lil Kim) did a phenomenal job of the role as the rough street girl with raw talent we saw when Kim first emerged on the scene. However, in the movie she gets naked more than once in some pretty racy scenes. Now, the first time she's au natural is the scene where her and Big flirt for awhile and he invites her to eat and the next scene is them having sex. I was like what? Already? Not sure if that' s fact or fiction. Lil' Kim's always been known for brash sexual lyrics and for dressing scantily, so they got that right. But what struck me as odd she was the only character to bare anything in the film. There are no shots of any groupies or anyone else showing off body parts. Just Lil' Kim.


On another note, I'm glad they portrayed Tupac in Notorious. Of course I am a Tupac fan until the end. I like Bigge's music and understand his influence and legacy, but I always felt I connected more with Tupac, musically. Anthony Mackie was a nice fit for the role. I think he channeled the charisma, spontaneous, and overall appeal Tupac had in the few scenes he was in. I realize the film was about Biggie and Tupac did play a small role in his early career at some point but the complexity of him was not really touched on except for one scene where Biggie talks about the different sides of Tupac. Again, understood. This was not a biopic of Tupac's life (although I'd be interested to see a film of it, no offense to Tupac Ressurection, but a non-documentary would be interesting as well.)

All in all, it's what I expected and I think most people who like it, unless they're bent on being super critical about the specifics. On another note, if Lil' Kim really does want to release some tell all book to set her record straight as is rumored, I'd be interested to see her side of the story. I'm also interested to see where this exposure takes Jamal "Gravy" Woolard in his future.