Urban Thought Collective

Last month, I went on a press trip to New York to see a screening of the biopic “Notorious,” chronicling the life of Christopher “the Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace. While in the Big Apple I had the privilege of riding on a tour of Brooklyn hosted by Ms. Voletta Wallace, Big’s mom, and his co-manager Wayne Barrow. They took us to see the Brooklyn that created the man who became New York’s champion and brought the focus of rap music back to the east.

Here’s a video of Wayne talking about who discovered Big and his mother talking about how she found about him getting married:

Occasionally, we’d stop and get off the bus as they described Big’s relationship to that block. At one particular stop we found ourselves in front of a local Jamaican spot, not too far from a storefront Big used to sell drugs. Ms. Wallace got off the bus and listened to Wayne explain her son’s activities, saying that this project has taught her so much about Christopher (as she calls him). That’s when I saw people’s reaction to her. Once they realized that was Big’s mom on the street, traffic stopped, people were hanging out of their windows and creeping up on her with great respect, hoping to get a picture with her. It blew my mind. It was as if the Queen, or better yet, Michelle Obama (smile), was gracing us with her presence. It’s been over 10 years! But it made me understand that a decade-plus is a short time to open such a huge wound in hip hop history. Yes, the movie made me remember the music I loved,

the fashion, and the culture:

But listening to Ms. Wallace talk about her son made it real! That wasn’t a movie. It was real life. She lost her son.

I thought the movie was great. The performances were outstanding, especially Jamal Woolard, who brought Big back to life. I haven’t seen it again with a public crowd, but all throughout the press screening we were cracking up practically every time Derek Luke, who plays Sean “Diddy” Combs, was on screen. Those dances!!!! How can we forget those dances??? Man, it was hilarious… and so realistic! Remember? It brought back a lot of memories, but again, I didn’t live it. I guess that’s why I feel Lil Kim being upset about the project.

The movie is based on the book, “Unbelievable: The Life, Death and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.” by Cheo Hodari Coker in which she was interviewed. During the press interviews former 3LW member Naturi Naughton, who played Lil Kim in the movie, said she reached out to her, hoping to get her input, but never heard back from her. Director George Tillman said he wanted her more involved because he wanted the performance to be authentic. So, from what everyone is saying, she had a few opportunities to give her two cents.

But I can’t help but to think that she might not want to revisit that part in her life yet. And this is just me saying this, because I’ve never interviewed or even met Lil Kim. But who wants to see on the big screen that the love of their life didn’t reciprocate their feelings? Who wants to see their volatile relationship (read abuse) on the big screen, knowing everybody else is watching?

Watching the movie made it clear, as well as reading Faith’s book, “Keep the Faith: A Memoir,” where she talked about Big’s relationship with Tiffany “Charli Baltimore” Lane. I believe he was with her for two years. Who wants to relive the person their madly in love with passing them over and marrying a woman he knew for two months (as Faith states in her book, not nine days), and once that relationship is over, pass you over again to live with his lover who happens to be his new protégé? That has got to hurt! I’m sure at some point she asked herself, “Why wasn’t I good enough?” I read how Kim stated she thought Naturi was too dark to play her. Wow! But can we be surprised with how she’s indulged in plastic surgery? I look back at Kim’s older pictures and see the videos and think she was so cute. I wonder what she saw.

I think Ms. Wallace has every right to tell her son’s story. I guess I’d like people to have a little more compassion when it comes to Kim. After all, she was 19 when she hooked up with Big. How many of us want our relationships in our teens or early twenties in the public eye? And imagine being in your thirties and the mother and friend of that person decide, a decade later, to do a movie that will have parts of the courtship in it? That’s a lot to deal with!

Telling our stories is such a touchy subject because we all have the right to it, but we can’t do it without including those in our lives. Where do you draw the line?

Have any of you experience someone telling a past story that included you and you weren’t too happy with?
Let me know.

Peace.

UTC readers: In all that we seek to be or do or have, we humbly realize that in the Presence is our power to think, our very thought of aspiration, our will to commence, our strength to keep on, our power to achieve, and the glory of all our accomplishments. This is the Truth and it is now done. ~ A prayer from “Discover the Power Within You”

Envisioning you with much love, light and fulfillment. See you next week.

Yaminah Ahmad is editor-in-chief of The Atlanta Voice and contributing editor to Collective Voices, a newspaper published by the non-profit, SisterSong: Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective. More information on the group can be found at www.sistersong.net. Ahmad can be reached at missyaminah@gmail.com.