Yes! It is to be said that I did go and check out Hollywood’s first Hip Hop biopic Notorious! It is the story of the life, and short career, of Christopher “Biggie Smalls aka The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace. Now in my opinion, as far as biopics go, this movie is a lil’ less than average.
The main character was portrayed to be the typical ex-drug dealing rapper from New York who has risen from the gutter into fame and fortune. However, what I was truly expecting to see was the artist and the depth of his lyrical gift. What I mean by that is the movie showed his lyrics touched many people but failed miserably to show why and how. The movie also flowed too quick as if the making of it had one month to live. Some scenes were in the final cut without explanation, and it seemed that the screenwriters didn’t do enough homework to make it meaningful. In my opinion the movie failed to justify why it should’ve been made.
Notorious Soundtrack
So, are you trying to tell me THAT is what made him one of the greatest Hip Hop lyricists of all times?
Well, me, myself and I are not going for it! The man was not a rapper, he was a rap artist! Again in my opinion, the movie did not treat him as such. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a Biggie Smalls fan, but without doubt I do respect how he lyrically represented the Hip Hop culture.
The movie told me what I’d already believed about the so-called East Coast vs West Coast feud which is that the news media promoted the ignorance of it all, and it’s what brought his fatal demise. If we who love and respect his lyrical contribution to the art of rap, and want his death to never be in vain, we all MUST learn to suppress this type of ignorance of competition and never allow the news media to treat us this way again. Keep in mind the East Coast / West Coast feud was simply a competition in Hip Hop culture which would have created greater standards of excellence without the news media’s manipulation.
I walked out of the movie theatre disappointed because who I expected to see was the artist and not just the man.
