Playing the Notorious B.I.G. in a feature film based on the late rapperâs life is a daunting task. This is especially daunting for an actor from Brooklyn. But, Jamal âGravyâ Woolard is not backing down from the challenge.
âHeâs still living, through me. Iâm going to let yâall know: Iâm not going to let yâall down. Put it down for the borough. This is for the borough. BK, stand up,â he recently said, while filming the LP.
Woolard also gave some insight to how he is going about the portrayal.
âWeâre targeting every corner of it â from Christopher to Biggie Smalls to Notorious B.I.G,â he said. âHeâs a funny dude. Thatâs the part in the film that youâll see. Heâs a comedian all the time.â
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Derek Luke, who plays Diddy in the film, also spoke on the movie.
âWhat kind of criticism [did] Puffy give me? Oh, man, I tried to stay away from him,â he said of Diddyâs praise [click to read]. âYou know, âcause I just wanted to get a heart. I was inspired by who he is today but mostly how he started. But to be honest ⊠man. He just looked at me, and he was like, âYo, you do something wrong, trust me, Iâll let you know.â So, I believe, that was good.â
âThe preparation I took to play Puff was I was going to talk to Puffâs mom,âLuke told MTV. âPuff opened the office to me, but I was like, âMan, if I get to [meet] his mom, itâs all good.â I went to his mom, and she kinda set me into the right place about who he was, how he started out as a child, who he is today.â
Lilâ Kim also appears in the film, played by Naturi Naughton, who fans may know from her stint as a former member of 3LW.
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âWell, people have been critical. A lot of people donât expect me to be able to fill these shoes and play the role thatâs so different than what theyâve seen, because people know me. They think, âOh, sheâs sweet. Sheâs little. Sheâs a little girl from 3LW.â Iâm a grown woman now, OK? Things have changed. Itâs a little challenging, but Iâm willing to take this challenge and prove everybody wrong. All the naysayers, all the haters, Iâm going to show them what Iâm made of.â
Apart from DJ Enuff, Mister Cee, D. Dot and a few others, Lilâ Cease is on board to assist others with their acting.
âIâve had to show him how to roll blunts. Thatâs important to the story,â he said. âYou got a lot of 16-, 17-year-olds who probably hear their mother or siblings or something play Biggie all day and donât have background on him. This movie, you get to see his background. Itâs bigger than music. You see his personality. You get to see how he treated his kids, how he bonded with his moms, how he treated Junior M.A.F.I.A. Itâs something special, something good.â
âThe reason why I think this story is important to be told is because this is a story about two dreamers, and I love the fact that one is from Harlem, one is from Brooklyn, and [they] came in this world with nothing â only but a dream. So what I got from this story is that if you got a dream, youâre rich. Thatâs enough.â
This only builds anticipation for a film that has already generated serious buzz.