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Film

Toronto Rapper Gets Notorious?

Posted by Sameer / October 11, 2007

Biggie Smalls from Toronto?
The late, great rapper The Notorious B.I.G., from Toronto? Well, depending on the casting director from Fox Searchlight Pictures, that vision may just come true in the next few months.

As many of you are aware, the movie studio is holding open casting to find someone to fill the role of Biggie Smalls in the new biopic entitled Notorious, and has been soliciting auditions online as well as in special casting sessions in New York. This special New York Times video features interviews of some with the hopefuls that drove down to NYC in order to have their shot at fame, including one Jeffrey Kyei of Toronto, who is already one of the front-runners for the part.

Kyei may be a little small for the part, but his lyrical flow and swagger seem to hit the mark, according to a recent handicapping of the the hopefuls by New York Magazine's Vulture blog, who gives him the highest grade of all the would-be Biggies.

Kyei is a local musician and producer from Toronto who drove to New York with his manager in order for his shot to play B.I.G. in the upcoming biopic, and who chose to impress the casting director with his attitude rather than his physical resemblance.

We won't know if the movie version of Biggie will be from Toronto or not for another few months, but in the meantime, I found a bookie that's willing to put 15-2 odds on Kyei. Sounds like a pretty good bet to me.

(Photo: Biggie by Josh Gross.)

Discussion

4 Comments

Ry C / October 11, 2007 at 11:03 am
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Hey kids, if you grow up on the streets and turn to a life of dealing crack, you'll eventually become a famous rapper who gets murdered, long remembered to be way better than he actually was as a result! Win-win!
Chris Orbz / October 11, 2007 at 02:20 pm
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One of the worst rappers to ever get signed, honestly. I'm not exactly an indie scenester, I grew up on hip hop and love it, and seriously... Biggie was terrible. What's his most famous soundbyte, that "Biggie Biggie Biggie, Can't You See?" bit he stole straight off Slick Rick? That clumsily-assembled verse everyone's always quoting about him blowing up like the World Trade?

If you're going to idolize a criminal who promotes gang violence, c'mon, pick one with talent. Why are people still talking about this guy so long after his uninteresting life and career ended? I'd rather see a P Diddy movie.
Gregg / October 12, 2007 at 11:29 am
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"I'd rather see a P Diddy movie."
^^^ hahaha .. BIG had way more talent .. so how about giving credit where it is due and getting away from that terrible song. Every artist has to make $ with a sell-out track, but BIG wrote some real gems .. sorry you don't see it that way (perhaps you're a Pac fan !?)
jon / October 27, 2007 at 04:02 am
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Ready to Die is recognized by many as the best rap album ever. Biggies only weakness is he didn't produce much. Life After Death was so-so, but his skills are undeniable. But even his he only produced that one album he'd have to go down as one of the best ever. His music still gets played today and still sounds fresh

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