Notorious

Jamal Woolard is not someone anyknows. He performed pretty well as Notorious BIG. This movie will draw the inner city and mainly black audience. I found it interesting since I am from the west coast and I like Ice Cube. I grew up listening to him and I had little clue who Notorious BIG was. Never heard of this person really until he was murdered.

I am not sure why, after Tupac was shot, he would be driving around, late at night, without any body guards. But it does show how callous ghetto people are, shooting each other, stealing the car, not caring about anything but themselves. But that is the world Notorious lived in and exploited. Live by the talk, die by the talk. Promote that world, die by that same world.

Derek Luke, I like him. Denzel helped him establish his career with the decent movie called Antwone Fisher. He plays Sean Combs in this was the agent that brought us Biggie Smalls. I think he makes the movie, I like the way he talks and walks. His demeanor is funny when it wants to be and his countenance is serious when has to be.

This movie was not an epic by any means, it was not spectacular, and it there was anything memorable with this movie. It probably will not last longer than 1 weekend in the theatre. Regardless, it's purpose is fulfilled: to share the story of this talented but violent and over weight rapper. Do I think he had the talent or lyrics as an Ice Cube? Not even close. The movie stated this point, there was not anyone else, so anyone with halfway talent could make stardom and give some east coast rap some respect.

The fat rapper's mother is Angela Bassett and she is still wonderfully appealing.

The story of Notorious is similiar to many other rappers. He was a successful drug dealer who started from the bottom. How he became to run corners and not someone else, I am not sure. Did he work harder, remain more focused, and/or have superior sale's skills, could be all of them. He rapped on the side and finally someone told him to put a song on record. Some people liked it, so spoke with Sean Combs and they pumped out an album. This was successful. But Notorious did not wise up, was involved in some sort of car wreck, had or already had two children, so he decided to drop another album on the public at large. When promoting this album in LA, after Tupac was shot, him and his friends were shot by some gangsters that approached them on the other side of the car while they flirted with some ugly whores standing on the sidewalk. Typical. Brain dead.

I am glad Ice Cube has been smarter to either remain above this fray or avoid this type of behavior. I mean driving around at 0200 and talking to some useless and tore up woman while being in the wrong neighborhood. Perhaps Ice Cube never visited an east coast city, along with Dr. Dre. Regardless, they remain alive.

I like Ice Cube's lyrics in his 2006 Album, "I never got jacked, never got got in a parking lot." Something like that, that is even better than me.

Good to see Eminem come along and blow the rap world apart with an entire new set or lyrics and different style. His politics and jacked up but aren't they all? Even Ice Cube is radically against responsibility and still blames the white man for mythically holding down the black man. Comical. Excuses, and it only diverts the real reasons many black people can not figure it out. Bill Cosby is right. Shameful the mainstream media allows inner city blacks to blame the white man. Do Japanese and Koreans make the same complaint? Do they have race baters like Al Sharpton representing them? Hell no.

I would never spend any money on this movie but it was worth watching for free. Derek Luke is a good actor, too bad he has not taken off but he is not unemployed. Not by a long shot.

I allocate this movie two stars.**