Notorious

I had a chance to meet the cast of "Notorious" over the weekend and all I can say is wow . . .
You had to be living under a rock not to have felt the impact of Biggie, Bad Boy and Tupac during the 90s. So preparing for the release of the biopic tale of Biggie's life and death is a monumental event. Derek Luke plays Diddy (still Puff while Biggie was alive), Angela Bassett plays the mother of a generation, Ms. Voletta Wallace, Anthony Mackie is Tupac, Naturi from 3LW is Lil Kim and newcomer Antonique plays Faith Evans. And they all worked it! It is a project like few others we've seen where each of the characters are folks we already know and have our opinions of. I found myself starring at Jamal Woolard who plays Biggie himself in the film. The mannerisms and facial expressions are eerie. And sitting talking to Ms. Wallace about the disappointment of seeing a side of her son she never met humbled me big time. Checked me on every critique I've had of stars because this story is a true reminder that fame doesn't change the fact we're all human with real feelings and real hearts that get broken and get us to hurting other people.

And I was sure to ask them all what their favorite Biggie song is. "One More Chance" got the most votes, which is hands down the best song of the 1990s. And watching the movie and seeing Faith and Biggie's relationship the song takes a deeper meaning.

Shoot, the older I get the notion of One More Chance becomes more real. I blasted all the songs and made my way around the skating rink with Tupac and Biggie playing, but I was still a youngin when these young lives were taken too soon. Tupac only 25 and Biggie only 24. It was so sad to relive their deaths but also sobering to see how much they had achieved so young.

Check out some hot photos our photo editor took while talking to the cast