It was all a scene

by MORGAN STEIKER

Hip hop feeds on mythology. It’s all in the storytelling. You got one hook, three minutes and 48 bars to make a movie. Some did it better than others. Biggie did it better than anybody else before, during or after his death. The mythology that surrounds Big, aside from the obvious rags-to-riches story of a fat, black, lazy-eyed poor kid from Bed-Stuy who turns into a rap star and sex symbol is so strong that making a movie about his life can only narrow down the behemoth of an artist that he was and the impact he had on the culture.

With that in mind, I took my ass to the AMC just a week into my unsuccessful boycott of the movie. I had to. All my fears were confirmed. Verdict: wack. Aside from the actual music and the found footage of his funeral march in Bed-Stuy, the only two authentic elements of the movie, the rest is just one big bubblegum narrative. It’s biopic 101. There’s nothing original about the script or film. The dialogue is one cliché after the other (“You can’t change the world, but you can change yourself”). The cast is weak. Dude playing Tupac just doesn’t have that energy. Angela Basset, as Biggie’s mom, delivers the worst Jamaican accent I’ve ever heard. I salute that dude Gravy for doing his best to portray Big but it’s not even close. Forgive your boy for the stereotype but I was so pissed that I was getting shushed by the brothers next to me. Call me a cynic but if you want a Biggie movie, all you need is shit like this: “I was a terror since the public school era/bathroom passes, cuttin’ class, squeezing asses/smokin’ blunts was a daily routine/since 13, a chubby nigga on the scene.” And on and on…

Friday is gonna be heavy at Coda with an unmatched line-up. Roots drummer and living musical encyclopedia ?uestlove will educate the dancefloor with an expected three-hour set while the other part of our psyche will be catered to by Montreal’s own big homie P-Thugg, one half of Chromeo—the bearded, funky, synthesized half. It will also be the Montreal premiere of the Frank 151 book, with 100 giveaways at the beginning of the night, so get there early. You can thank Simahlak and his monthly Gumbo for the best combination since PB and J. Yeah, das right. Friday, Jan. 30 at Coda.

Saturday night, you can catch me at Petit Campus peepin’ A.O.T.’s new makeover, which now includes seasoned musicians Jordan Peters and Sarah MK in addition to the usual suspects Dali, Mr. Konz and Black Russian. Extra funk, soul and deep house on the menu. They’ll be sharing the bill with organic hip hop collective Typecast and Lennie Moreno. Petit Campus, Saturday, Jan. 31.

Same venue is hosting the album listening party for Papaz’s third opus, entitled 3, on Tuesday, Feb. 3. One of the torchbearers of Quebec hip hop still going hard and doing his thing. Big up!

Omnikrom dropped a new single for their upcoming album, Comme à la television. It goes by the same name and the beat is dope.

MACHINEGUN FUNK…DABEATSEEKER@GMAIL.COM