DaShaun Jones, 22, who goes by the nickname Wavyy Jonz, has landed a role as rapper Biggie Smalls in a show about the murder of Smalls and fellow rapper Tupac Shakur.







SPRING LAKE — DaShaun Jones wasn't exactly flattered when his friends at school would say he looked like rapper Biggie Smalls.

"Being a little fat kid, they get on you so bad — 'You look like Biggie, you look like Biggie,'" Jones said. "I did not want to hear that. That was like an insult to me."

But that resemblance — which he now happily acknowledges — paid off for Jones, now 22.

The former Pine Forest High School student and Spring Lake resident was cast as Smalls in a USA Network show called "Unsolved: The Murders of Biggie and Tupac." He has filmed the show's pilot and will return to Los Angeles soon for more episodes. The series is expected to air early next year.

The role marks an unexpected turn for Jones, who raps under the name Wavyy Jonz. He said he never saw acting in his future.

"I just wanted to rap, that's what I wanted to do," Jones said. "God had a different plan."

Jones is originally from New York. He moved to Spring Lake during his high school years to be near his mom, Bernadette Carter.

Jones said he started posting some of his raps on YouTube. He recorded a couple for Teens Do Care, a Spring Lake nonprofit food bank and clothing closet run by Jackie Jackson.

The videos quickly attracted attention.

"Some guy hit me up and say, 'You remind me of Biggie,'" Jones said. "I said, 'Get out of here.'"

Jones said he learned about a casting call for the "Unsolved" project and submitted a video. He thought nothing more of it until he got a call from the show's producers offering to fly him to L.A. for an audition.

There, Jones went up against a slew of other hopefuls vying for a part in the show.

"There was a bunch of Biggies in the room," he said. "There was a bunch of Tupacs in the room."

Later, Jones was notified that he had won the role. After he got over his initial disbelief, he focused on trying to capture Smalls' style.

Jones said he was helped greatly by the show's producers, director and cast. He particularly bonded with Marcc Rose, who plays Tupac Shakur and also played the rapper in the movie "Straight Outta Compton."

"He said, I know you're just coming into this. Let me be a shoulder for you to lean on," Jones said. "Everybody was just very humble."

A scripted drama, "Unsolved" recreates the lives and unsolved murders of Shakur and Smalls, who also rapped under the name Notorious B.I.G. The pilot was directed by Emmy winner Anthony Hemingway, who also directed episodes of "American Crime Story" and many other shows.

Although the rappers started as friends, their relationship deteriorated and they began sniping at each other in their raps and public comments. Shakur was associated with the West Coast rap scene while Smalls was based in New York.

Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting in September 1996. Smalls, who was born Christopher George Latore Wallace, was shot and killed in March of the following year.

Theories have abounded for years about who was responsible for the killings, but no one has ever been charged. The popularity of both rappers soared after their deaths.

Jones said "Unsolved" comes to its own conclusions, but he said he didn't want to discuss them before the show airs.

Bernadette Carter, Jones' mother, said she thought her son might be destined for success. Even through the family's tough times, she said, Dashaun always stayed positive.

"We've come a long way, we've been homeless, we've been in shelters," Carter said. "He's kept on a positive streak."

Jackie Jackson agreed. She said Jones has been volunteering at Teens Do Care since he was 15.

Jones said he intends to stay positive and focused, even as he stars in a show about one of rap's greatest tragedies.

"I'm just glad I've been given this platform," he said. "I can come back to the neighborhood and give back. That's what it takes — a desire to inspire."

Staff writer Rodger Mullen can be reached at rmullen@fayobserver.com or 486-3561.