When Jamal Woolard was cast as Biggie Smalls in Notorious, the upcoming biopic about one of the all-time great rappers, it was obvious that he had the look down. Now there’s a picture of Woolard in costume and it’s fucking uncanny how right he looks. Woolard, like Biggie, is from Brooklyn and apparently a rapper as well. There’s no questioning that the kid looks the part – but how will he be as an actor? I’m excited to find out.
I’m excited about the film in general, even though the fact that it’s officially sanctioned means that it’ll likely be a little bit cleaned up. No matter how the movie turns out, it’s the discussion surrounding it that should be incredibly interesting – thirty years after the birth of hip hop there are still people out there who dismiss it as a musical form, including people who were born after it was created. There’s going to be a lot of racist bullshit flying around, a lot of it hidden under arguments that movies shouldn’t be glorifying criminals like crack dealer Christopher Wallace. Possibly coming from the same people who loved movies like The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford, just to name the most recent prestigious film glorifying a criminal (and murderer).
This photo has inspired me to throw on Ready to Die (hey, I’d be listening to the Pogues today but all of their CDs are packed away from the move still). I suggest you do the same.