The dramatic retelling of the life, remarkable rise, and violent fall of rapper christopher wallace aka the notorious b.i.g., notorious plays like a star is born set to a rattling gangsta snare'. '.strtoupper('w')ith crisp direction by george tillman jr., producer of the barbershop series, the film is briskly paced and strikes a worthy balance between sensationalized celebrity biopic and behind the scenes drama'. '.strtoupper('a')ngela bassett anchors the latter with a nuanced performance as voletta, wallace's long suffering single mother who attempts to shelter him from the mean streets of bed stuy.with deep involvement by those who knew him best the real voletta wallace and sean 'puff daddy' combs played dynamically by derek luke co produced the film nonetheless unflinchingly portrays biggie's troubled history as a teenage crack dealer, his chronic infidelity and poor fathering skills, and his own role in stoking the ludicrous coastal rivalry that claimed both his and tupac shakur's lives'. '.strtoupper('n')otorious delivers an impactful tribute to its subject's genius revealing to fans and neophytes alike the microphone skills, narrative chops, and fresh vision that made wallace one of hip hop's greatest all time mcs'. '.strtoupper('l')argely, this is due to the ace performance by jamal woolard, an amateur rapper who packed on 50 pounds to play the hulking gangsta.