Notorious

Aroview: Surprisingly credible biopic of Christopher 'Notorious B.I.G.' Wallace, whose rise to the throne of East Coast rap – and inexplicable murder via alleged gang-related shooting – mythologises the hip-hop lifestyle depicted in many a rap lyric.

Dodging the tabloid revelations scrounged for in Nick Broomfield’s BIGGIE AND TUPAC doco, this instead focuses on cementing the rags-to-riches legend of its subject, from ghetto to wealth. The familiar against-odds trajectory may sound clichéd and done-to-death, but it works within the context of the rap world, and is supporting by a trio of wildly convincing impersonations: Jamal Wollard as Biggie, Anthony Mackie as Tupac, and Derek Luke as Puff Daddy, aka Sean Combs.