

A drug kingpin's rise and tragic fall is witnessed vicariously by a reporter who uses the criminal's diary as the basis for his new book.
Acting
DMX's raw, wounded charisma carries every flashback.
Direction
Dickerson's music video energy meets tragic structure.
Writing
Donald Goines adaptation honors pulp poetry.

Director
Ernest R. Dickerson
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Adapted from Donald Goines' 1974 novel, the godfather of Black pulp fiction whose own life mirrored his characters' destruction.
DMX insisted on performing his own death scene multiple times, reportedly staying in the coffin between takes.