“Rapper Jamal Woolard (a.k.a. Gravy, pictured) has landed the lead in the biopic Notorious, based on the life of rapper Notorious B.I.G., killed in 1997. Woolard won the role after a nationwide search that began online in August, and stars Angela Bassett, who plays Biggie’s mom, Voletta Wallace; Anthony Mackie (We Are Marshall), who’s been cast as Wallace’s rival Tupac Shakur; and Derek Luke (Antwone Fisher) as Sean Combs. George Tillman Jr. (Men of Honor) will direct the Fox Searchlight film, which begins shooting March 24 in New York City.”
“Like Biggie, Woolard was a drug dealer before he became a rapper. He had released a number of albums on indie labels in the 1990s before being signed by Warner Bros.”