Notorious: Don't Believe the Hype

This video is wrong from beginning to end and it's a mere illustration of ignorant folk falling for their own hype.

Notorious B.I.G. - The Cast of Notorious
Video Codes at www.blastro.com

con - tro - ver - sy
/ˈkɒntrəˌvɜrsi; Brit. also kənˈtrɒvərsi/ Show Spelled Pronunciation

[kon-truh-vur-see; Brit. also kuhn-trov-er-see] Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -sies.

1.	a prolonged public dispute, debate, or contention; disputation concerning a matter of opinion.

2.	contention, strife, or argument.

The faux Biggie Smalls contends that people were "making controversy" by alleging that Tupac Shakur was from the West Coast. The fact that Tupac was born on the East Coast shouldn't be isn't news to anyone. However, Tupac chose to represent the West Coast, because that was where he felt at home - musically. Jamal "I just came on the scene and landed this break-out role that will hopefully launch my career because I happen to be fat & dark skinned" Woolard - do not presume to know the history of Bigge & Tupac any more than someone else. The fact is NO ONE - not Faith (especially not Faith), not Ms. Wallace, not P. Diddy, not Kim - will know the depth and reality of their relationship but them. And unfortunately for us, they took that lil bitty to the grave. That is actually the PRIMARY flaw of this movie - it's conception. SMH.


"...mind frame don't know structure" - what does this even mean, especially related to who the best MC is? Throwing together a string of "big" words does not suddenly qualify you as smart in ANY way, because if the sentence makes no sense, then you're still an idiot. And to contend that it's your "job" to teach kids today where rappers such as 50 Cent & Jadakiss "got their style" is a bit conceited to say the least. This is the same man who just called Biggie & Tupac "where it came from ... the nucleus."



nu - cle - us

/ˈnukliəs, ˈnyu-/ Show Spelled Pronunciation

[noo-klee-uhs, nyoo-] Show IPA Pronunciation

–noun, plural -cle⋅i  /-kliˌaɪ/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [-klee-ahy] Show IPA Pronunciation , -cle⋅us⋅es.

1.	a central part about which other parts are grouped or gathered; core: A few faithful friends formed the nucleus of the club.

I am not, nor will I ever pretend be, a connoisseur on all that is hip-hop; however I am fairly certain that neither Biggie nor Tupac are the forefathers of hip-hip or rap, let alone the "nucleus". But I digress; let's move on.

Anthony Mackie. There's a reason he got ripped in the 8 Mile battle with Eminem - because he's NOT a rapper. But suddenly a slight resemblance in the dark when we're all intoxicated warrants him to capable of portraying Tupac Shakur. OK.

This man JUST turned 30 back in September and is already classifying himself as an "elder" ... but then, he goes on to imply that an elder is really someone who is 45, 50 years old.

His monologue re: elders who aren't "teaching" and "giving back", but instead are holding on to their own youth because "they aint neva had nothin" just seems like the ramblings of someone who is speaking from experience.



Subject-Tense agreement is a critical part of the English language; and seems to be something that has escaped ALL 3 of these actors.

"Like war. If you don't settle the beef on the playground you will take it out to war."

Really though? What does this even mean?!

The "Swinging" Sixties was a very tumultuous time in American history - John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Medgar Evers, and Martin Luther King were all assassinated during this decade; the Civil Rights & Feminist Movements were well under way; and there was massive opposition to the Vietnam War.

What happened in the Nineties that parallel ANY of this? Are we REALLY REALLY going to compare the murder of two rappers to the assassination of a president and a civil rights leader? Can the East Coast-West Coast beef honestly hold a torch to the Vietnam War?

Now, don't get it into your minds that I dislike Biggie, Tupac, or any of these actors; BUT for someone to say, with a straight face, that "[Biggie] created the game ... created the structure of everything that we have as a culture today" is just ludicrous at best. These men were not revolutionaries; they were not civil rights leaders; they were RAPPERS. They had very creative and (dare I say) inspiring lyrics, however at the end of the day - they were entertainers. Granted they were a WAY better breed than the like of what we have today to listen to; however what about DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Grand Master Flash - the true originators of hip-hop. If you were to listen to this video, without actually seeing who/what it's in reference to, you would think that Biggie was some sort of innovator or God send for the African American community. I think not!

With that said, I must ask the question - why was his life turned into a movie? WHO said that this was a good investment? There are documentaries made for everyone from Tupac to Lil Wayne, so why wouldn't a documentary suffice for Biggie Smalls? We all know how the story ends, so there's no real plot. But he didn't change history; he's barely history himself - This March will mark the 12 year anniversary of his death. Where's the MLK movie? Not documentary - MOVIE. Paying $12.50 to watch the life and times of someone who wrote the "Ten Crack Commandments" doesn't seem like a sound investment during a recession.

But what do I know. I'm just an Uppity Negro.