First Look: Notorious

There's a teaser trailer for the Notorious B.I.G. biopic making the rounds lately, and I kinda like it. The music is great, there's a grandly dramatic, dangerous tone to the whole thing, appropriately. It starts out soft and low and builds to a flashy finish.

After an exhaustive search, the filmmakers and Biggie's mother Voletta Wallace cast Brooklyn rapper Jamal "Gravy" Woolard for the title role last March. Other cast members include Angela Bassett as Biggie's mother, Derek Luke as Sean Combs, and Anthony Mackie as Tupac Shakur. Notorious opens Jan. 16, 2009. To check out the teaser, read more.