It has been nearly two and half decades since beloved rapper Notorious B.I.G. was murdered while riding in a car in Los Angeles. Since then, police have investigated the crime, and numerous theories have emerged, but no concrete evidence has been found regarding those who may have perpetrated the killing. Now, a brand new documentary focusing on his tragic death claims that the crime might be solved.
The film is titled Last Man Standing: Suge Knight and the Murders of Biggie & Tupac, and it is directed by filmmaker Nick Broomfield. The filmmaker recently spoke to The Daily Mail, and explained that he feels all the information he’s collected points at two rogue LAPD officers that were hired by Knight — the CEO of Death Row Records — to kill Biggie, real name Christopher Wallace. According to witness claims, Knight allegedly hired L.A.P.D. officers Rafael Perez and David Mack to kill Biggie as retaliation for the unsolved murder of Tupac Shakur, one of Knight’s Death Row recording artists. “I think the connection between Knight and the rogue officers who were working off-duty for Death Row is undoubtedly completely established,” Broomfield said.
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Broomfield later added, “It’s just an example of how far the LAPD have gone to salvage their reputation rather than dealing with what happened and seeing justice done.” Notably, there is no evidence to suggest that Biggie had any involvement with Tupac’s death. The theory that Smalls was murdered by rogue LAPD officers was first proposed by now-retired LAPD detective Russell Poole. His theory was ultimately discredited by his superiors but has long been upheld by many who’ve researched the case.
Interestingly, Last Man Standing is not the only film project about Smalls’ death to surface this year. In April, City of Lies was released, a dramatic film that tells the story of Poole’s Investigation into Small’s death. Poole, played by Johnny Depp, was the first detective assigned to work the drive-by shooting death of Smalls. Forest Whitaker also stars, playing a journalist named Jackson who teams with Poole almost 20 years later to further investigate the shooting. Whitaker’s role was inspired by journalist and author Randall Sullivan, who wrote the book that the film is based on, LAbyrinth.
There have been a number of film and TV projects focusing on Smalls’ murder, and City of Lies is one that landed the seal of approval from Smalls’ mother, Voletta Wallace. In a past Facebook message, she expressed her support for the film and encouraged Smalls’ fans to seek it out. She also thanked the filmmakers for taking on the story and delivering what she felt was an honest portrayal of the investigation around her son’s death.
“I would like to present to you a film I’m happy to be a part of, City Of Lies featuring Johnny Depp and Forest Whitaker detailing the investigation into my son’s murder based on LAPD Detective Poole’s tireless efforts to solve the case,” Wallace wrote. “Thank you to Director Brad Furman and Johnny Depp for including me and my appreciation to the Poole family for sharing his story.” City of Lies is currently available to stream through the Starz app, for subscribers of the network, and Last Man Standing is now playing in select theaters.
