A Notoriously B.I.G. Movie

Newsweak published some shoddy articles on hip hop back in the day, as did many mainstream publications, and they've had to work hard to earn my trust. I stumbled across the first review I've seen of "Notorious,' the bio pic on the late Notorious B.I.G, at the doctor's office and since I had already perused last month's Family Circle, I dove in.

The write-up, written by veteran journalist Allison Samuels, is generally positive, which was a relief as I have been bracing myself for an exploitative take on the last years of hip-hop's golden era. Samuels didn't see it that way: "NOTORIOUS... managed to stun, unsettle and move me. It's been 11 years since the still-unsolved murder of the hip-hop icon, and the film does a wonderful job of revisiting that dangerous yet creatively rich time in music history. For a hip-hop fiend like me, it's a bittersweet journey to the days when the Cristal was overflowing, the bling was blinding and the performers burned brightly — but briefly."

You can read the whole thing here.