By now, everybody has been bombarded with the news of Lil’ Kim being pissed over her portrayal in Notorious to the point where people are wishing she was never in his life in the first place. After seeing the biopic last week and sifting back through Kim’s, Ms. Wallace and Faith’s rebuttals, and [now] Charli BMore’s catty confessions, I can attest to an actual fact.

Kim is full of shit.

It would be one thing if Naturi Naughton, the former 3LW member (she’s not little anymore; go see the movie) was parodying a generic rapper chick with faux-machoism to steal attention from Big Poppa’s limelight, but that’s far from the case here. In all actuality, she added some depth and complimentary substance to the supporting character. Because, well. That’s what Lil’ Kim is in Notorious. A supporting character. Yeah, she’s on some Carly Simon “betcha-think-this-is-about-you-ish.” Pretty asinine for someone collecting a check from the whole ordeal.

Maybe it’s because there wasn’t any “getting caught with ki’s, sippin’ espressos and cappuccinos with Nino, or dudes down for the licky-licky every night” type ghostwritten garbitch that had Kimberly in a tizzy. Don’t worry though…I’m sure those pussy pack scenes with make the deleted scenes menu when the DVD drops.

As far as the movie goes, well…I’ve been tight-lipped about talking about it more so because of the minimal impact it left on me opposed to the majority of people having not seeing it yet. Don’t get me wrong: it’s worth the movie ticket. In this digital age, it’s easy to lose track of your visual memories associated with the rise of Bad Boy Records and some of the movie’s highlights, including the ascension scenes mixed with those early Easy Mo Bee classics. Those moments alone will take you back to ‘what youuuu were doing when Ready To Die dropped’. The entire movie captivates you to the point where you’re anticipating every scene — when you know what’s coming next and at times, giving you a sense of false hope that somehow the film will have an entirely different ending.

Here’s where this writeup gets tricky, though. While Kim deserves the Tigallo Gas Face from all parties, there’s plenty of truth to accompany her outbursts. Notorious is probably one of the best BET Blockbusters you’ll ever see, but it lacks that integral essence which is vital to telling B.I.G.’s story opposed to telling a story about B.I.G. A missing Easy Mo Bee, DJ Premier or off camera situations are only minor blows when you analyze everything Fox Searchlight omitted to process Christopher Wallace’s life into a 120 minute bologna-esque movie reel. Economized and commercialized for mass consumption, the hood was most notably stripped from the screenplay, depicting B.I.G. as the hero’s advocate, oblivious to the extent of 2Pac’s scorn against him or even spending too much time on the West Coast feud all together. Speaking of 2Pac, Anthony Mackie tackled the impossible role with commendable admiration, but it takes a little more fire than flair to successfully pull off perfecting the Pac (as if any performance would garner universal satisfaction.)

From an insider’s perspective (Kim’s in this case) you can see the grounds for scrutiny, chiefly because in just under four years, The Notorious B.I.G. managed to go from ashy to classy to iconic status — while he was still alive. You can’t argue that sensationalism deters from the man’s story when there’s plenty of details to be ironed out besides the typical documentary drama.

But at the end of the day, all the nitpicking is merely water under the Brooklyn Bridge. Friends, family and in most cases, fans know the bulk of the details from the man – who managed to do more for Hip-Hop culture a month after his death than most rappers do in a lengthy career. Regardless of pinpoint accuracy or mirroring timelines, this was a project that needed to be made if only to edutain those who were never “Hypnotized” in the first place.

We’ll always love Big Poppa, but grow up bitch*.

*She gave me permission.

Previously Posted – “Beyond Belief…” | Jadakiss Feat. Faith Evans – “Letter To B.I.G.” | “Representin’ BK To Tha Fullest…”

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