I have heard podcasts cover the intricacies of his life, ones that spent four or five hours doing so, and they never came across as dragging the story out. Knowing what I learned there, this documentary felt rushed. Yes, the interviews with people he knew was refreshing. But as young as Biggie was, there was a lot to him and what he was involved in. His relationship with Tupac was far more significant than the 10-15 minutes they gave. There was a much wider conspiracy to his death than just revenge (though revenge honestly had much less to do with him, and more to do with settling scores with a much larger faction). It's not a waste of time per se, but it's not the boon of information documentary fiends will find wholly satisfying either.
27 Reviews
A Documentary about Christopher Wallace. Not Biggie.
mchertov2 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This documentary does not tell the story of one of the greatest rappers alive. It tells the story of a young kid in Brooklyn who goes the wrong way, only to come back and make something of his life. The interviews are with mainly his mother and childhood friends, although his manager, a producer, and Sean Combs (Diddy, Puff, etc.) also make appearances. And they are all talking about Christopher, not Biggie.
My one big qualm with this strategy is that his music and influence becomes almost not important. There is some analysis of his music, but only in the context of him "trying to better himself." There is almost no mention of how much he influenced the hip-hop industry, or some deeper analysis of his lyrics. Ready To Die is probably one of the greatest rap albums ever written, but we only get a small taste of what it was. His influence was without question, and yet we are not exposed to how influential he really was.
Overall, it's an interesting documentary. But viewers are getting the story of Christopher Wallace, not Biggie. And left me wanting something more. If you are a fan of hip-hop and want a documentary about Biggie's lyrics and influence, look elsewhere. But if you don't mind understanding the man himself, watch it.
My one big qualm with this strategy is that his music and influence becomes almost not important. There is some analysis of his music, but only in the context of him "trying to better himself." There is almost no mention of how much he influenced the hip-hop industry, or some deeper analysis of his lyrics. Ready To Die is probably one of the greatest rap albums ever written, but we only get a small taste of what it was. His influence was without question, and yet we are not exposed to how influential he really was.
Overall, it's an interesting documentary. But viewers are getting the story of Christopher Wallace, not Biggie. And left me wanting something more. If you are a fan of hip-hop and want a documentary about Biggie's lyrics and influence, look elsewhere. But if you don't mind understanding the man himself, watch it.
New stuff? Not really. Good stuff? Hell ya
nicktatta5 March 2021
The interviews are great and you realize he is still the goat after all these years. That era was gritty and angry and honest and it was refreshing. Rap now is very commercialized in general...kinda made me realize how much rap helped form who I am today...the confidence rubbed off and of that I'm grateful. Honestly this is more than worth a watch....the interviews and backstory is pretty illuminating
It's alright
PennyForMyThoughts4 March 2021
It was kind of cool to see some more of the backstory and get to know the young Christopher Wallace before the fame. There is some interesting footage from when he was on his way up, but nothing really groundbreaking or surprising.
If you are a fan of B.I.G. you'll probably know most of the story already, but it was put together pretty well and from a bit earlier perspective than a lot of the other stories about him.
If you are a fan of B.I.G. you'll probably know most of the story already, but it was put together pretty well and from a bit earlier perspective than a lot of the other stories about him.
Decent
TreeFiddy537 March 2021
This shares some never-before-seen footage, from his younger days, much before he became famous. If you know about Biggie, you pretty much know everything but just that this was told from a different perspective.
I didn't know know that he had his roots from Jamaica.
There's not much about 'pac so you won't enjoy this if that's what you're expecting. Worth a watch, only about 1.5 hours.
Learn more about Christopher Wallace the man
cmporkchop-965662 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
As a huge fan of 90's hip hop music one of the biggest stars was the Notorious BIG.... BABY BABYYYYY. This documentary tells the story of Christopher Wallace from his Jamaican roots as a child, how he started his musical career learning from a Jazz musician in his neighborhood of Brooklyn New York, to a life in crime that friends and family feared for Christopher, to becoming one of the biggest names in the history of music by his tragic death at the age of 24. At first, you will say " Another Biggie film, didn't they already make a movie about him called Notorious"? Yes, but this documentary is told by not childhood friends, family, Junior Mafia ( A group Biggie started that features Lil Kim), Sean Pufffy Combs, Ms. Wallace (Biggie Mother), and Biggie's 97 year old Grandmother. This documentary is okay for 90 minutes so I'll give it 7 Porkchops out of 10.
Overall a Solid Doc
Pyro_Pizza21 June 2021
Overall I got a story to tell is a fairly solid doc that shows the real man, family, and friends behind Biggie. At times the shots can jump over the place and sometimes the story doesn't flow the best, but the story has a lot of heart to it, and it a good watch for any fan of 90s rap.
Party and BS
nogodnomasters28 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This documentary tells the story of Christopher Wallace from childhood to his death . It uses amateur footage interlaced with old interviews. The worst interviews are of BIG as he sits in a chair and has trouble completing a sentence without taking a large breath. Not the guy you see jumping and singing on stage.
The east-west coast conflict comes into the story at about an hour. I thought "Notorious" from 2009 to be more entertaining.
Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.
The east-west coast conflict comes into the story at about an hour. I thought "Notorious" from 2009 to be more entertaining.
Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.
Some slight propoganda
ajk-757555 March 2021
Lack of balance. But especially didnt like the glamorous light this posed of Pudd Daddy/ P diddy. The man known to be behind certain nefarious crimes and both suspects and witnesses have claimed was behind the murder of Tupac.
Must-see for hip-hop fans
itzgasparpt2 March 2021
A well put together walkthrough of Biggie's life and career, displaying his journey from the struggle and life of crime to one of the most influential artists in hip-hop and in the music scene on the 20th century. A story of ambition, struggle, family, loyalty and belief.
Definitely a must-see. 8/10.
Nothing new
mrsnancyfitz4 March 2021
Another fast food documentary from Netflix
osvaldoantunes3 March 2021
The documentary is not up to the level of the artist. Interviews are disconnected, each one probably recorded on a single day shot. There's no new footage presented, neither a deeper investigation over the artist's lyrics or a thorough production. It's just Netflix once again wasting out an icon's history.
Talented artist but also a great human being
mps-099772 March 2021
I'm not an expert on the genre, but imo, Biggie Smalls is the most talented rapper every.
The documentary was good. Nostalgic for me.
A lot of video that I've never seen.
But I just want to mention something else and you can read it if you want or skip it.
When I was young the two best rappers were Biggie and 2 Pac.
2 Pac was also massively talented, too. However, Biggie was also a good person and 2 Pac wasn't.
Biggie actually lived the life of a street hustler, but when he made it big he wanted to leave that nonsense behind, and not only that, he also took all his friends with him. Got all them off of the street too. Just a great human being. The world is a worse place without him.
Now, 2 Pac didn't really live that life before he started making money. When he made it big the only thing he wanted to do was try to become a gangster. And he more or less accomplished it by hooking up with some of the biggest scumbags he could find and becoming the worst possible person he could be.
When he was in NYC he tried connecting with criminals and rolled around the city like he was a gangster but he wasn't. So, some real gangsters decided to rob him and his I guess his pride got hurt. So, he ran to the West like a little girl and started all that dumb East vs West nonsense that he made up.
You could say it sold more records but I don't think so. The records would have sold anyway because the music was good.
In summary, Biggie was an actual hustler that made it big and got out of the life because he was a good person and actually knew what it was like to have nothing and to have to hustle to eat. He knew how horrible that life can be.
2 Pac was a wannabe gangster and a scumbag.
The documentary was good. Nostalgic for me.
A lot of video that I've never seen.
But I just want to mention something else and you can read it if you want or skip it.
When I was young the two best rappers were Biggie and 2 Pac.
2 Pac was also massively talented, too. However, Biggie was also a good person and 2 Pac wasn't.
Biggie actually lived the life of a street hustler, but when he made it big he wanted to leave that nonsense behind, and not only that, he also took all his friends with him. Got all them off of the street too. Just a great human being. The world is a worse place without him.
Now, 2 Pac didn't really live that life before he started making money. When he made it big the only thing he wanted to do was try to become a gangster. And he more or less accomplished it by hooking up with some of the biggest scumbags he could find and becoming the worst possible person he could be.
When he was in NYC he tried connecting with criminals and rolled around the city like he was a gangster but he wasn't. So, some real gangsters decided to rob him and his I guess his pride got hurt. So, he ran to the West like a little girl and started all that dumb East vs West nonsense that he made up.
You could say it sold more records but I don't think so. The records would have sold anyway because the music was good.
In summary, Biggie was an actual hustler that made it big and got out of the life because he was a good person and actually knew what it was like to have nothing and to have to hustle to eat. He knew how horrible that life can be.
2 Pac was a wannabe gangster and a scumbag.
Trip down memory lane
fajarsantoso14 March 2021
I grew up in a small town north of Amsterdam, the Netherlands and we even listened to the album Ready to Die and his music back in the early 90s . Biggie's music was far reaching, even to small hoods around the world. As a fan and not from the US, seeing the raw footage of him and how he came to be was just eye-opening!
So, if you grew up in the 90s and listened to his music, this docu about Biggie is a MUST see!
So, if you grew up in the 90s and listened to his music, this docu about Biggie is a MUST see!
Better to listen to Ready to Die
pauliina1585 March 2021
Man on the documentary says they recorded everything. Everything. So what is this nonsense they put together on fast forward from Netflix? Not insightful. Didn't like how he was portrayed. Neither Tupac. Waste of time. Better to listen to the original music than waste your time on this.Interviews are mostly terrible. Only thing I was thinking was did they take care of his moms cause it sure don't look like they did. So much money made from the music. Who pocketed it all? Questions not asked in this "documentary". Just a shot of table full of weed... Shame. Certainly could've come up with something better to respect The Man B.I.G.
He is just Goat up there with pac
vidgorjup-167571 March 2021
Great documentary of his life
albertoruggieri2 March 2021
Nothing new here...
bhh-3195516 March 2021
Great insight on B.I.G
mbroek5 March 2021
Wow
mikeiskorn12 October 2021
How is this documentary getting such low ratings? It's absolutely fascinating to watch. With wonderful interviews with people that knew him, his mother and his grandmother. He's together with old news footage and old footage of him this is a documentary worth watching so ignore some of these other low rating reviews.
Very interesting
zathan-328482 March 2021
Accompany or a company
kosmasp21 April 2021
If you know too much this may feel like nothing new, if you know too little this may feel like too light on the subject matter. But overall I'd say, if anyone is a fan of Biggie and his music, they will find quite a lot here. And that is not just the disclaimed "rare footage", but also all the interviews. This does concentrate more on his life and the people surrounding him.
Yes later in life that was also Tupac, but this is only a small part of the documentary. So this is ... more like life before Death. Huh ... that would have made a good summary line too ... anyway moving on. You can see, hear and feel how special to music in general and Hip Hop in particular Biggie was ...
Yes later in life that was also Tupac, but this is only a small part of the documentary. So this is ... more like life before Death. Huh ... that would have made a good summary line too ... anyway moving on. You can see, hear and feel how special to music in general and Hip Hop in particular Biggie was ...
Amazing
rjwfbft11 March 2021
As great documentary movie talking about the LIFE of Christopher Wallace.
You see all the movies talked about Biggie smalls and the death of biggie smalls. In this movie they talked and focused more about his life not his death. And they focused about Christopher Wallace. Not biggie smalls.
You see all the movies talked about Biggie smalls and the death of biggie smalls. In this movie they talked and focused more about his life not his death. And they focused about Christopher Wallace. Not biggie smalls.
weak documentary...
mih_ita5 March 2021
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