Late rapper B.I.G. was larger than life

By RAFER GUZMAN

NEW YORK — Soul music has “Ray,” the Oscar-winning film about the legendary Ray Charles, and country music has “Walk the Line,” about Johnny Cash. Punk rock got the biopic treatment in “Sid and Nancy.” Even the minor subgenre of post-punk spurred “Control,” about the cult figure Ian Curtis.

Yet hip-hop, one of the most influential and far-reaching musical idioms in the world, has been overlooked — until now.

“Notorious,” scheduled for release by Fox Searchlight Pictures on Friday, marks the first studio-produced, wide-release biopic of a hip-hop artist — in this case, Christopher Wallace, known in the 1990s as The Notorious B.I.G. or, more affectionately, Biggie Smalls. The film, co-produced by his mother, Voletta Wallace, traces Biggie’s life from his drug-dealing days in Bedford-Stuyvesant to his sudden fame, and ends with the bicoastal rap feud that seemingly led to his 1997 murder at age 24.

Known for his unapologetically violent and hedonistic lyrics, Biggie was as controversial as he was popular. Many, but not all, members of his inner circle were closely involved in the making of “Notorious.” His childhood friend Lil’ Cease (later part of the rap group Junior M.A.F.I.A.) served as a sort of consultant to the filmmakers. Biggie’s widow, singer Faith Evans, provided an advance copy of her memoir to her on-screen portrayer, Antonique Smith. The man who first signed Biggie to a record deal, Sean Combs (played by Derek Luke), is the film’s executive producer.

The filmmakers did not speak at length to Afeni Shakur, the mother of Tupac Shakur, the slain rapper whose legend will be forever intertwined with Biggie’s. Tupac and Biggie were gunned down within months of each other. Both crimes remain unsolved.