Biggie and Tupac

Biggie and Tupac DVD

In this probing documentary from director Nick Broomfield the notoriously abrasive Englishman conducts his own investigation of two separate drive-by shootings that took the lives of rappers Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur in the late 1990s. Starting with the original police investigations Broomfield attempts to knit together pieces of information while establishing the framework of the Los Angeles gangsta rap scene. He also presents home video footage of the rappers before they became household names. But it's when Broomfield tracks down former LAPD officer Russell Poole that the conspiracy theory begins to emerge. Poole has been working incessantly to expose corruption within the Los Angeles Police Department collecting evidence that connects off-duty police officers to the murders of both rappers. Also targeted is Death Row Records head honcho Marion "Suge" Knight whose well-documented criminal tactics lead Broomfield to implicate Knight as a key figure in both murders. A brief interview with Knight in prison proves futile leaving Broomfield with an endless supply of questions but no concrete answers. In true Broomfield fashion BIGGIE AND TUPAC comes off more as an entertaining shockumentary than a serious work of cinematic journalism but it is this tone that makes it virtually impossible to dismiss.

Biggie & 2pac [VHS]

It would be an exaggeration to say that Nick Broomfield solved the murders of Biggie and Tupac. Nonetheless, he makes a convincing case as to who the perpetrators were and why they weren't brought to justice. Broomfield (Kurt and Courtney), who narrates and appears on camera, comes across like a scruffy Robin Leach, but he's done his homework and sniffs out the clues with the tenacity of a bloodhound. Time and again, he refuses to be intimidated-- even when his life appears to be at stake. Fortunately, he was able to convince Voletta Wallace, beloved mother of Biggie Smalls (a.k.a. the Notorious B.I.G.), to cooperate, and that opened many doors. Unfortunately, Afeni Shakur, Tupac's mother, refused to participate or to allow access to his music. She had nothing to fear. Broomfield is fair to both rappers, although the soundtrack is all-Biggie. Easily one of the most fascinating documentaries of 2002. --Kathleen C. Fennessy