“The What” - Juelz Santana & Jim Jones Treat The Hood To “Notorious”

Many writers get into the journalism game to win Pulitzer Prizes or change the literary world for the better. Me? I’m in it for the free shit. Open bars, T-shirts, calendars of Ice-T’s wife, CoCo. If it ain’t on my dime, I’ll take it. If there’s time between bong hits and negotiating some trim, maybe I’ll throw an actual story together. And this is one of those special moments.

Pics By Dirty Angel

Last Friday night, at the AMC Loews Orpheum on the Upper East Side, Juelz Santana and Jim Jones treated a bunch of friends and media members to a late-night screening of Notorious. Amongst the large crowd were Hot-97 FM’s DJ Enuff (Biggie’s real-life tour DJ, who also appears in the flick), Maino, Freekey Zeekey, Skull Gang and Byrd Gang. How did a bum like me infiltrate this jump-off? Riq Rose, my favorite Skull Gang rapper, brought me along as a guest which was a good look. Notorious is a pretty decent flick and Gravy did his thing as Christopher Wallace. In the role of Lil’ Kim, former 3LW-member Naturi Naughton shed her pristine image along with her bra and panties. But that’s enough about the flick; I won’t spoil the ending of the film for anyone.

I must admit, Juelz and company did things right. They provided crates of Moet Rose Imperial, Patron and Grey Goose. Everybody in the theater had a bottle of red Mo & corks were poppin’ throughout the entire flick. Usually you have to smuggle booze into the movies and keep it on the low but on this night, there was no need to hide. The flick was supposed to start at 9:45pm. Since this was a Black function, it didn’t start until an hour later than scheduled. In the meantime, folks trickled in until the place was packed. Skull Gang’s resident R&B siren, the shapely Star, showed up with a crew of hot homegirls. Juelz Santana’s mom, draped in an elegant black mink, was present and even she was rollin’ kind of deep. I pity the PETA fanatic who tries to dump paint on Mama Santana’s fur; they’d get mashed the fuck out. Riq introduced me to fellow Skull Gang members Un Kasa, Tobb Cobain and John Depp, all of whom got amped when the video for their latest joint, “Body Like a Mazerati,” got burn on the silver screen.

Minutes before Notorious started, Jim Jones strolled in with a nation of millions at his back, like the Test Man from the Verizon commercials (“Can you hear me now?”). Freekey Zeekey was among Jim’s entourage and you could definitely hear him. Once Jim and his cronies found their reserved seats, the lights dimmed and the movie finally began. It wasn’t long before a sweet, familiar smell hit my nostrils: burning weed. It was a throwback to the movie theaters on Forty-Duece back in the day. My eyes misted-up. Not from nostalgia, but from the contact high.

There was plenty of crowd participation during the screening (“Hit that shit, B.I.G.!” “Whoop her ass, Faith!”), so I didn’t catch all of the flick’s dialogue. That’s cool though, because I’ll be seeing it two more times: Once with the missus and once with the mistress. Creepin’ in New York City is costly, son. But this evening at the AMC with Dipset and their extended family was literally priceless. Much props to my ninja Riq Rose for the hook-up; keep an ear to the concrete and listen out for his street-certified single, “Digital Boy,” and album, The Wholesale District.

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