The queen bee of hip hop had nothing to do with the upcoming film about her former flame, Christopher (The Notorious B.I.G.) Wallace, despite being a main character in the biopic about the slain Brooklyn rapper.
Naturi Naughton, who plays Kim in “Notorious,” didn’t even meet her subject before delving into the role.
“I had the guys from Junior Mafia [Biggie’s entourage and labelmates on Bad Boy records] help me out a lot,” Jersey native Naughton told us at the film’s Lincoln Center premiere Wednesday.
“I really just researched on my own. I studied videos and spent time in Brooklyn to get an idea of the mentality.”
When pressed about whether Kim wanted to be involved, Naughton cryptically offered, “I don’t know. I tried to reach out to her. I think there was some conflict. I’m not sure.”
Faith Evans, who was married to Biggie, told us, “I don’t know what [Kim] wanted. But we all signed the same agreement to be portrayed in the movie.”
Whatever the sour grapes, Lil’ Kim missed a helluva movie.
“I couldn’t even watch the trailer without crying,” Evans told us. “I’m going to have to peel off my fake eyelashes!”
Angela Bassett, who plays Biggie’s mom, Voletta Wallace, was also emotional, telling us her biggest challenge was “getting involved in a story where such potential was needlessly cut short.”
Meanwhile, Anthony Mackie, who portrays Biggie’s rival Tupac Shakur, said delving into Pac’s world of hustling and hardship was a challenge.
“Street intelligence is as hard to learn as book intelligence. You have a lot of people with book smarts that are very dumb, like our President,” Mackie said.
Biggie himself is played by Jamal (Gravy) Woolard, who says he definitely felt the pressure of stepping into shoes that were so, well, big.
“I had to make sure I perfected [his mannerisms],” the Brooklyn-born rapper/actor told us.
“I went to Biggie boot camp. I gained weight Marlon Brando-style, and I studied at Juilliard to get the voice just right.”
So what would Biggie think of his silver-screen tribute —and the legacy he left behind?
Rapper Fabolous offered, “He’d love that dorky white guys are rapping his songs at bars. We come from a world where we don’t know their lifestyles, and they don’t know ours. To see those kids singing your songs, it shows they have respect for you.”
So the next time you’re at karaoke, throw on a little “Big Poppa.”
Fabolous says it’s cool.
