The mother of late hip hop legend The Notorious B.I.G is collaborating with filmmakers on a documentary about her son’s life.
The influential musician, real name Christopher George Latore Wallace, hit the big time in the early 1990s as a key member of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ record label Bad Boy Records roster, but was shot dead aged just 24 in March 1997.
According to editors at Variety magazine, the Hypnotize rapper, also known as Biggie Smalls, is to be the subject of an authorised documentary exploring his life, music and death.
The movie, to be directed by sibling filmmaking team Emmett and Brendan Malloy, has the blessing of the managers of his estate and his mother Voletta Wallace.
“It brings so much joy to my heart that my son Christopher’s music has made such an impact on the music community and his stories have positively inspired so many young men and women over the years, and still influencing the youth all over the world today,” Wallace told the magazine.
Expressing his excitement at the prospect of making the film Emmett added, “The challenge of making a film about one of the most influential artists of my generation is what I live for as a filmmaker.”
Biggie’s murder remains unsolved and is the subject of fevered speculation linking his death to the fatal shooting of rival rapper Tupac Shakur the previous year (96).
Just months before his death in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, Tupac released Hit ‘Em Up, an explicit diss track slamming Biggie.
The Brooklyn born rapper has already been the subject of an authorised biopic, 2009’s Notorious, while British filmmaker Nick Broomfield’s 2002 documentary Biggie & Tupac saw him attempt to discover who was behind the feuding rappers’ murders.
Tupac is himself getting the biopic treatment as All Eyez on Me, starring Demetrius Shipp Jr.. as the late musician, is set for release in June (17). Jamal Woolard, who played Biggie in Notorious, will reprise his role in All Eyez on Me.
