As a young lad, I witnessed the battle brewing between East Coast and West Coast hip-hop. I never truly understood the rivalry, assuming it was simply a territorial thing. As I grew up, I lost sight of the war, for that was the birth of "Gangsta" rap. The final outcome was shown in this film, concreting the struggle between zip codes. And while I enjoyed some of the artists emerging from that scene, (Snoop, Dre, Cube), I longed for the smooth grooves, silky lyrics and fun hooks that Bad Boy records were producing. I compare it to the turn of events from hair metal to grunge. The fun tone of living life to excess, had become something to mock, rather than revere. But music, as all things, must evolve, or it becomes stagnant and stale and therefore, unappealing. And so I evolved as well.
Notorious is the true story of the rise and fall of the unstoppable hip-hop artist Chris Wallace, a.k.a.- Notorious B.I.G., or Biggie Smalls. His journey begins in Brooklyn in the 80's as a young heavy-set, glasses-wearing boy, surrounded by life on the streets. Quickly realizing he could make a fortune dealing drugs, he dabbles in impressing his friends by spitting a rhyme here and there. After landing in and out of jail, he is introduced to his lifetime friend and future business partner, Sean "Puffy" Combs. Puffy shows him the way by telling him to stop making, "That quick paper", and puts him in a studio to let him loose. As you can imagine, Biggie takes to the mike like a fish to water and launches not only he and Puff's careers, but an entire new sound to the hip-hop scene. Going from rags to riches, Bad Boy Records is born. Releasing artists such as Lil Kim and Faith Evans, the two main women in Biggie's life, the label took the world by storm. And with mo' money, comes mo' problems. He then befriends a budding superstar named Tupac Shakur. Pac and Biggie see eye to eye on taking over the world. But a misunderstanding of a fateful night, sparks the battle between East-Biggie and West-Tupac in making the coasts choose sides in the hip-hop community.
Jamal Woolard plays the lead in this incredible story. After seeing interviews with him and learning a bit more about this actor, it's obvious he was born to play this role. He captured Biggie's rhyming style so eloquently, Sean Combs has been said ,"It made me miss my friend. I always had fun making music with Biggie. He knew how to light up a room with his vibe. Jamal reminded me of his presence so much, it brought tears to my eyes". Going from a "nobody" to a "somebody" is always challenging for most actors. They usually perform one better than the other. Jamal succeeded in every aspect. From the young, unsure-of-himself adolescent, to the smooth-talking player Biggie became, I thoroughly enjoyed watching this transformation.
The women who portrayed Biggie's loves, did an amazing job. Lil' Kim was spot on, with the exception of the director choosing to ignore her lifestyle of prostitution before becoming a rap star. And Faith Evans was a spitting image of the beautiful crooner herself.
My only complaints about the entire movie were the poor casting choices of Puffy and Tupac. These guys gave such poor performances, it was distracting. Tupac really tried to find the essence of this complex man, but instead found a mediocre-at-best delivery. Puffy did more of the same. I really couldn't see that he would be the leader of his, if any, empire and become the successful business mogul Sean Combs is today.
RATING: A-
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