• The first black member of the Chicago Board of Rabbis is looking to bridge the race-religion gap. And succeeding, it looks like. [NYT]

• Notorious, the film about Biggie's life, begins shooting in Brooklyn next week. Too bad it still has an open ending. [NYT]

• Aww, isn't Finland sweet. [YLE]

• Now chancellors at South African colleges are having a hard time admitting that racism exists on campus. Umm… [Times]

• Sinbad reveals Hillary Clinton's dirty little Bosnia secret. [WP]

• Remy Ma's probably hoping her attorney has some tricks up his sleeve. [AHH]

• The Biggie movie gets a Faith Evans and a Lil Kim — the booted chick from 3LW! [BV]

• Nia Long has a young boyfriend. Or something. [Bossip]

• TMZ paid $165,000 for the tape of OJ's robbery. I don't even think the stuff he was robbing was worth that much. [TSG]

Jamal Woolard, a little-known Brooklyn based rapper also known as Gravy, has been picked from hundreds of hopefuls to star as late, great rapper the Notorious BIG (né Christopher Wallace) in the upcoming biopic Notorious.

Along with being an emcee himself and fulfilling the hefty requisite size requirement ("They don't call me Big for nothin'"), Woolard is experienced in yet another way that will surely offer authenticity to his role: he was once a victim of a shooting. In fact, The Hollywood Reporter considers that his most famous achievement to date: "…he's perhaps best known for being shot before a radio appearance outside the New York hip-hop station Hot 97 two years ago, after which he proceeded with the interview and became a part of hip-hop lore." Oh, he's also tough as shit.

• Beyonce's going on the Tyra show again. I expect misbehavior from the host. [PR]

• Mike Jones? All I can say is that he definitely has an ego. [HC]

• New evidence has emerged in the Biggie murder case, and a federal judge is allowing his family to add Suge Knight and some law enforcement officials to their wrongful death suit against the City of Los Angeles. [SS]

• Black female poets are getting much-deserved attention. [NPR]

It's the week of Thanksgiving, and I thought it would be nice to show you all a few things (that fit into the realm of the Rewound, of course) that I am thankful for. First up, the remix of Craig Mack's "Flava in Your Ear." I'm thankful for Biggie's verse, but, generally speaking, I'm also quite thankful for mid-90s Bad Boy remixes. The end.

Madame Tussaud's Presents: Christopher Wallace, as close to alive as we'll ever see him again.

They did a pretty good job. I actually think they shaved off a few pounds — either out of respect for the dead or to cut costs. You can never tell.

[Image Source: C&D]

In just two days, Madame Tussaud's will unveil its new, life-sized wax statue of Notorious B.I.G., with photo ops for fans, high tech light beams, and a performance from the Brooklyn High School for the Arts choir.

The Biggie likeness will be sporting a white three-piece suite, white hat and white shoes and a gold and wood cane. Considering the outfit, it seems like the statue is depicting the incredibly rotund, Life After Death Biggie, as opposed to a smaller Ready to Die Biggie. That's a lot of wax.

[AHH]

• Here's Lisa from America's Next Top Model 5 proving that modeling isn't the only thing she sucks at. [EBG]

• If Al Sharpton's not your leader and you have been thinking for yourself your whole life, stand up! [WP]

• Biggies, Biggies everywhere! I bet the guy who pulled up in the Escalade gets the part. He's already got the swagger down. [NYT]

• Oh, if only I was the type of person to get up early and wait in line for Roberto Cavalli's H&M line. [BV]

• Shaunie wants Shaq back? Either she doesn't stand to get very much money in the divorce or this is bizarro world. [Bossip]

How is Beanie Sigel going to remember his lines in Notorious — that is, if his destiny to portray Biggie onscreen is fulfilled — if he can't remember to turn in his rental car? A warrant is out for the rapper's arrest after a Philly rental car company called Payless complained that a car that was rented to him had not been returned for month. Beanie Sigel is clearly no stranger to warrants, but damn. He's messing up his film career!

[AP]

Nothing says "rapper" like the unabashed overestimation of one's creative talents. Take Beanie Sigel, for instance, who tried out for the role as Biggie in the biopic, Notorious, which has been plagued with casting issues.

"Yeah," Beanie smiled, while sitting in the Def Jam offices on Tuesday, describing what inspired him to go out for the part. "The fact that I'm a huge Big fan from the gate is why I did it.

"Then taking myself outside of myself and looking back, who else better to play that role, man?" he added. "That's not me being biased or tooting my own horn. I'm not comparing myself to Biggie career-wise or lyrically, but to pull that off, and have people believing that, I don't think nobody else could play that role better than I could. I know how much passion I'd put into it. I know how far I would go. I would treat that like Jamie [Foxx] did 'Ray.' "

I'm nearly positive there is someone out there who could do Biggie justice. And I'm even more positive that person is not Beanie Sigel.

[MTV]

• Is that really you, Percy Miller? [Politico]

• Ten years later, Biggie's murder case gets a shaken up, but is still no closer to being solved. [MTV]

• How we've missed you, Q-Tip. [BS]

• Don't worry, says Bill Clinton, we've got black voters in the bag. [USNWR]

• It's certainly true in South Carolina. [LAT]

The fact that there was no mention of it in the trade mags might have been a clue that Sean Kingston might not really be the chosen one for the Biggie biopic. But I assumed that MTV (granted, it was MTVUK) would be a reliable source for information like this.

While Kingston is being considered to play B.I.G. on the screen, producer Wayne Barrow denied that Kingston landed the starring role in the film.

"As producers of the biopic Notorious, we felt compelled to quell the various false media reports indicating Sean Kingston has landed the coveted role of portraying 'The Notorious B.I.G' in the upcoming film," Wayne Barrow told AllHipHop.com. "The role for B.I.G is 100% open and we are diligently searching for the individual to seize the moment and fill those giant shoes of greatness, everyone is being considered, including Sean Kingston but no one has been chosen."

Translation: Sean Kingston is a last resort. Portly, deep-voiced, wonky-eyed black men, call us!

[AHH]

Is the "Search for the next Biggie" officially over? Producers of the upcoming B.I.G. biopic, including Diddy and the late rapper's mom, Voletta Wallace, have said they want to find an unknown actor to play the larger-than-life role. Instead, they found a moderately know reggae/pop singer, Sean Kingston, the young Jamaican responsible for "Beautiful Girls." I guess the kid has approximately the right look, but can he act? Sorry, I can't judge by his performance in the the video.

[MTVUK]

• For anyone who has been waiting impatiently to buy up the entire new line of Todd Smith gear… [SS]

• Fox Searchlight Pictures is conducting an open casting call to find the rotund man perfect for the leading role in a dreaded (for me, at least) Notorious B.I.G. biopic in the works. Are they really going to find someone to do Biggie justice? [HR]

• The NAACP calls for a probe into the death of a boy at a Baltimore-area juvenile detention center. [BS]

• As more and more people move to NYC, more and more black people move out. [G-ist]

• A British acting troupe can't legally put on a show of The Full Monty, because local papers won't let them advertise for a black actor to fill the role of a black character. [DM]

Biggie's former best friend and former lover have decided to let bygones be bygones for due to their long history together and the financial benefit of a reunion. I'm just guessing, here. Anyway, the duo debuted their 2.0 friendship at Mark Ecko's party last week, according to Page Six. They plan to release a remix of Diddy's hit with Keyshia Cole, "Last Night."

In the meantime, Diddy's telling anyone who will listen about his new scent, Unforgivable Multi-Platinum. A mouthful (and a nostril-ful) that he is referring to as "luxury juice." Because nothing says opulence and class like a perfume with "luxury juice" as a nickname.

[NYP, CF]