Biggie & Tupac

Filmmaker Nick Broomfield decides to take up the investigation into the murders of Biggie and Tupac in 1996/97. Taking his starting point to be an officer who claims he was discouraged from his investigation and forced off the job due to the involvement of other officers. His investigation leads him to uncover links to the FBI and fingers of suspicion that point all the way to the imprisoned head of Death Row Records, Suge Knight himself.

Broomfield has had good documentaries and bad documentaries, this is one of his best efforts and is actually very good work and may help the actual investigation. The basic story sees Broomfield stumbling into various interviews as a sort of wide-eyed innocent. His style can be a little annoying at times and also his voice is quite monotonous but his material is griping.

From the one officer that starts his trail, Broomfield uncovers lot of insightful stuff that shows a much bigger picture that has not been publically seen before. For example the FBI were trailing Biggie and Puffy hours before they got killed and had been for quite some time – so where were they when they got shot? Asks Lil' Caese – why didn't they at least catch the gunman? The conspiracy Broomfield puts forward is quite extreme but the evidence and the witnesses are there at every stage to back it up. By the time Knight is interviewed the case is pretty much made.

The film makes very good use of old footage including the East/West kick-off at an awards ceremony and old footage of Tupac in the studio and Biggie rapping live at outdoor shows. The atcual interviews are all good and mostly very illuminating. Knight is quite intimidating but is clearly putting on a face. Lil' Caese is helpful as are many of the bodyguards and cops but the best interviews are with Biggie's mum – she doesn't have many facts but she really helps Biggie be a real person rather than just a larger than life rapper. The gaps are as prominent as the people – why no Puffy, why no Snoop, why no Faith Evans etc. However those that are involved all provide a lot of information.

The music is good throughout (if you're into hip-hop) but can someone tell me why Gangstarr were used several times in favour of the artist's own stuff?

Overall this is a must see for all hip-hop fans, but it is also a good view for those who like conspiracy theories. Broomfield's style is a little annoying but the pace and depth of the material is gripping and makes for very, very interesting viewing.

If the revolutionary music of rap icons Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace and Tupac Shakur was the only thing to discuss about them, there would still be a plethora of documentaries just concerning that subject alone. Not only is their music open to interpretation, analysis, and limitless discussion, but their deaths are also some of the most highly-questionable slayings in the history of the music. Wallace and Shakur have endured a great deal of posthumous popularity, and it's only fair that a documentary like Biggie & Tupac exists, which looks to put their music, their relationship, their upbringings, their success, and, most importantly in this film's case, their deaths under an analytical microscope.

Documentarian Nick Broomfield is a one-man crew with this film, lugging around microphone, which is attached to a lengthy boom, as well as strapping himself of several recorders and mixers in order to capture and record audio, as well as his camera to document all the impromptu interviews he is obtaining with this project. He tirelessly works to interview people who knew Wallace and Shakur personally, as well as their family members, and even those attached to Bad Boy Records and Death Row Records, which were Wallace and Shakur's affiliated record companies, respectively. Broomfield tries to piece together a plausible thesis for who killed the men, which requires illustrating the popular East Coast/West Coast rivalry that took place in the 1990's and shocked the hip-hop/rap world raw, as well as illustrating the numerous South Central Los Angeles gangs such as the Crips, the Bloods, and the Pirus.

We learn that both Wallace and Shakur had incredibly different upbringings from not only each other, but the personas they adopted in their music. For example, Wallace was a well-off young black kid, who grew up on the good side of the neighborhood, as opposed to the bad side. He worked as a bagger in a grocery store for his teenage years, and made solid money doing it, all the while coming home to a loving mother by the name of Voletta Wallace, who he kept close to her until his death. Voletta states that, contrary to his son's lyrics that stated "there wasn't food on the table," "there was not one second where the wasn't food on the table (in my house)." Shakur's lifestyle was violent and unpredictable, with a crack-addicted mother he still lovingly cared for, and an unstable home that changed every few months. However, Shakur had clearly notable talents, which consisted of acting and impersonating to being able to rap tricky verses at impossible speeds. Both traits would lead to his success as a performer and an artist.

Broomfield relies on one key person to formulate his ideas about who killed Wallace and Shakur and that person is ex-LAPD officer Russell Poole, who has analyzed both cases for years and pieces together an interesting theory as to why the killers of the men had to be LAPD officers themselves. For one, Poole states that if the shootings were just basic gang violence, there's no way they'd still be unsolved today; they had to be clearly-orchestrated, well-planned shootings that could only be covered up by people in power. Another theory is that Death Row Records CEO Suge (pronounced "Shug") Knight had ordered Shakur killed because he was looking at other labels and also owed him $10 million in royalties.

Biggie & Tupac makes a compelling case for Knight and the LAPD's involvement in both murders, especially by detailing Knight's known history of manipulating and humiliating artists as well as the frightening aura Knight bears. When this film was made, Knight was serving prison time for probation violation, and even as he walks with a cane in a baby-blue prison jumpsuit, Knight is a frightening presence, not just because of the way he has been built up in this film before the interview is conducted, but just because of the way he seems to bleed authority, with his swagger and thick cigar. Even Broomfield's cameraman can barely keep the camera still when he sees him, fearing for what he may do - and he's in prison, I'll just remind you.

Biggie & Tupac is an intriguing, if admittedly speculative, documentary concerning two of the music industry's most intriguing icons and their untimely and extremely questionable deaths. Broomfield is a fine documentarian, conducting amateur, investigative journalism in a very do-it-yourself manner, which gives the film the idea of citizen action. Throw in an inherently interesting murder mystery about two already charismatic icons and you have a memorable music documentary where the music isn't the most entertaining part.

Directed by: Nick Broomfield.

Having read numerous books on Tupac, from Kathy Scott's first book, to the Vibe Hardback interviews and Frank Alexander's accounts, I thought there wouldn't be much more this docu-film could tell me about the murders of Christopher Wallace (aka The Notorious B.I.G.) and Tupac Shakur. I was wrong. Nick Broomfield is endlessly persistent in his attempts to interview all the leading figures to do with the case. The main coups are the two former cops who he interviews. One, a former member of the FBI undoubtadely puts his own life at risk as he talks about Documents that could prove the guilt of certain members of the LAPD involved in the Biggie murder, as well as the inevitable storm it would cause and the demand from the public for a full internal investigation. Not to mention completely stripping the LAPD, Las Vegas Inforcement and FBI of their credibility. He mentions being offered $250,000 for the documents, but as Broomfield cleverly fires the questions in, each recepient keeps their cards close to their chest and each take care in their answers. None more so than the guy in the Prison (forgot his name!) who is incarcerated for impersonating a Lawyer, and was involved in transferring funds from Phoenix for Suge Knight and various members of LAPD who worked "off duty" for the Death Row Records CEO. He is interview in his cell, with his lawyer present and is constantly reminded that he only has constitutional immunity, but not state. Even still he admits to carrying the "blood money". Both murders were well planned hits, orchestrated by Suge Knight. The motive? Money. Suge owed Tupac $10 million in record sales. Suge was a gangster in real terms, not just his media persona (drug trafficking, crooked cops and FBI, you name it). He panicked when he found out Tupac wanted to Audit Death Row for the money, and that Tupac wanted out of Death Row and had other offers. Cops killed Tupac in Las Vegas on Sept 7th 1996 in a smooth professional style hit organised by Knight. To take the heat off, he then organised the Biggie hit 6 months later. It was simply a smokescreen, and capitalised on a feud orchestrated by Knight some 12 months prior at a Music Awards Ceremony. Tupac had been convinced (wrongly) in Jail that Biggie had set up the hit in 1994 on Tupac. In fact, Tupac, while in Jail after the first attempt on his life, had been set up by undercover FBI agents in Jail, who filled his head with nonsense about Bad Boy. Biggie, in contrast was mild mannered. As was Puffy. They are not gangsters. They never will be, they never have been. Biggie's rapping about hardship when growing up was his media image, in fact it was rather more middle class, as described by his mother Valetta Wallace, who was interviewed on numerous occasions during the film. I really could go on, but if you watch the film then you'll find out. There is some good rare footage of Pac in his prime. He still remains to me one of the all time talented people ever to walk the planet (actor, rapper, poet), and Biggie was just a good guy who made some excellent music. If you know Pac's lyrics, you'll know they are quite brilliant even when "riding on his enemies". His public image was of a ghetto thug, and his upbringing certainly should have moulded him that way. But in actual fact he was articulate, hugely talented and sensitive. Something you just don't see. So go see the film, and the very interesting visit to Yule Creek Pen to see Suge (how they managed it I'll never know!) Nick Broomfield is excellent, although you wonder how he gets so much info for a little white British guy doing his own film, particularly when lives could be at stake. One other good moment is when he visits Biggie's bodyguard (who is about 6ft 7) and he identifies the murderer. And yes I will stop now. GO SEE!

I saw Nick Broomfield's documentary of 2pac and Biggie after seeing 'Kurt and Courtney'and i loved that and just the whole style of Broomfields movies.Also already being a huge Tupac and Biggie fan anyway i was really exited about this film and i must say i was not disappointed whatsoever.The film is told in such a unique style and was amazing to me the things that Broomfield and us as an audience find out on his journey to find out more about the Biggie/Tupac murders. The people he interviews such as a confined prisoner who was believed to have helped Suge Knight organise the Biggie murder,ex-police officer Russel Poole who was investigating the Biggie murder and the corruption on his own police force surrounding it and even a prison interview with Death Row records producer and friend of Tupac, Suge Knight. The information they all nervously give Broomfield and his crew make it a very astonishing film and one to really listen to.This film should not go missed. 10 out of 10.

Growing up in New York exposed me to Tupac and BIG's music at a young age. Hip Hop started in NY and so it is deeply rooted in the culture since it began. I watched this film three or four times this week. It definitely brings up some very important, overlooked information. Both murders were very poorly investigated, if at all. There was obviously a lot of misinformation going on and internal corruption within certain police forces and government officials. What a surprise. It reminds me of the 9/11 investigation and how awful it was. Some people, even who have seen and reviewed this film on this site need to watch this film and recognize how well it was done.