New York based rapper Gravy has officially been chosen to play the late rapper Notorious B.I.G in his first ever biopic titled Notorious.

It has taken over an year for Fox Searchlight Pictures and B.I.G.'s  mother, Voletta Wallace, to pick someone to portray the legendary Brooklyn rapper.

The Notorious biopic will center on B.I.G.'s  early life and his ascension to a superstar rapper.

According to Daily Variety, Derek Luke will play Bad Boy mogul Sean 'Diddy ' Combs and Anthony Mackie will portray Biggie’s  friend turned rival, Tupac Shakur.

The remaining cast includes Angela Bassett, Antonique Smith, Naturi Naughton and Julia Pace Mitchell.  Their roles were not specieified.

Notorious, which is expected to hit theatres on January 16 2009, will be produced by Diddy, Wayne Barrow, Mark Pitts, Bob Teitel and Trish Hofman.

B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace, was shot and killed on March 9, 1997 after a party at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.  His murder is still unsolved.