Netflix has released the first trailer for Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell, the first-ever estate-authorized documentary on the late rap legend, The Notorious B.I.G. The new film, set to debut on the streaming platform on March 1st, takes its title from a track of the same name off Biggie’s posthumously-released Life After Death album, highlighting the storytelling theme at the core of the rapper’s body of work.
The project has been in the works since 2017, when it was announced with the working title One More Chance, another reference to the lyrical work of the rapper born Christopher George Latore Wallace. While various documentaries have been produced about the iconic New York rapper since he was gunned down in 1997, Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell marks the first to be officially sanctioned by his estate. As such, it features exclusive interviews with those closest to the artist including Voletta Wallace, his mother, and Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs, the Bad Boy records exec and collaborator with whom Biggie took over the airwaves and pop culture at large in the early ’90s.
Notorious B.I.G. estate manager Wayne Barrow, who served as the film’s executive producer, told Rolling Stone, “Mama Wallace and I had a conversation about creating the first Estate sanctioned documentary about BIG’s life and the initial thought was to have the story told from the perspective of his fans globally and how they were inspired by him and his music.”
Rolling Stone also reports that much of the video footage used in Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell comes from the personal home videos of childhood friend Damian “D Roc” Butler. “There will never be such a crazy time in Brooklyn as the 80’s and 90’s, out of great struggle, comes great art and music,” Butler said. “The Brooklyn kid rapping today won’t have the same stories to tell.”
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In the trailer for the film, released on Monday, we get our first look at the documentary due out in March. A mix of concert footage, backstage clips, iconic images, and voiceovers from family and friends frame the film as a legend’s “origin story.” Check it out below.
Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell – Official Trailer
[Video: Netflix]
Watch Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell on Netflix here starting on Monday, March 1st.
[H/T Rolling Stone]