 Mekhi Phifer, Alpo Martinez Actor Mekhi Phifer is breaking his silent on the death of Alpo Martinez. As previously reported, early Halloween morning (Oct. 31) ex-drug dealer Alpo Martinez was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting on a Harlem street corner. Reportedly, the 55-year-old New York native was struck multiple times in the chest in a hail of bullets fired from a passing vehicle. In addition to his previous drug activities, many knew Alpo Martinez as being a huge inspiration for the 2002 fictional crime film Paid In Full. Mekhi Phifer’s character, Mitch, is based on Alpo Martinez’s real-life business partner/ fellow drug dealer Rich Porter, who, unfortunately, died in 1990. Mekhi Phifer, 46, recently took to his Instagram account to reflect on Martinez’s tragic death and the work he did on Paid In Full with co-star Cam’ron, 45. He uploaded a couple of throwback photos of himself alongside Cam’ron, who played Alpo Martinez, on the set of the film. Mekhi Phifer captioned the post,
He continued,
He added,
Cam’ron commented under the heartfelt post and wrote,
What are your thoughts on what Mekhi Phifer shared? Tell us in the comments! News that former drug lord Alberto “Alpo” Martinez was fatally gunned down prompted actor Mekhi Phifer to reminisce about his experience making the 2002 classic film Paid in Full that was inspired by the kingpin’s life. Police found Martinez, 55, behind the steering wheel of his Dodge Ram truck gasping for air after a drive-by shooting on Oct. 31 in Harlem. Medics rushed Martinez, who once sat on top of a cocaine empire in the 1990s that stretched from New York to Washington, D.C., to Harlem Hospital but were unable to save him. Paid in Full features rapper Cam’ron as Martinez and Phifer in the role of Martinez’s business partner Rich Porter. “We had an obligation to do these brothers justice! I'm just happy we were able to have the honor of doing so,” Phifer wrote in an Instagram post, adding that he and Cam’ron attended Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics in Harlem at the same time. The actor said he never met Porter but “grew up knowing the legend of these Kats and had to represent the humanity in the choices they made.” Martinez was arrested in 1991 by the FBI and D.C. police as he drove his truck in Southeast Washington, The Washington Post reported. He was wanted for drug trafficking and drug-related killings. Ultimately, Martinez confessed to 14 murders but became a government witness who testified against his underlings. One of the murder victims was his longtime friend and partner in crime Porter, who Martinez believed was cutting in on drug deals. One of Martinez’s associates shot Porter for the crime bosses. When Porter didn’t immediately die, Martinez confessed that he “shot him in the head,” The New York Times reported. “Hopefully lessons were learned and not glorified in any way,” Phifer’s post continued. “Hopefully we were able to capture their motivation and mannerisms. RIP to both these brothers. Much love!” Paid in Full is a 2002 American crime drama film directed by Charles Stone III. The characters Ace (Wood Harris), Mitch (Mekhi Phifer), and Rico (Cam'ron), are fictionally based on the 1980s Harlem drug dealers Azie "AZ" Faison, Rich Porter, and Alpo Martinez. The title of the film is borrowed from the 1987 album and song by Eric B. & Rakim.
Theatrical release poster Production Roc-A-Fella Films Release date Running time Ace is a young man living with his mom and sister in the Harlem ghetto working a dead-end job at a dry cleaning shop. His sister's boyfriend, Calvin, is a successful cocaine dealer while Ace's close friend Mitch is a flashy, popular drug dealer. Despite both of them promising a life of easy money, expensive cars and women, Ace decides to live a law-abiding life. While at work, Ace finds some cocaine in one of his customers’ pants. The customer, Lulu, is a cocaine supplier who lets Ace keep the drug. When Calvin gets arrested on drug charges, Ace runs into one of his customers and easily sells him the cocaine for $100. Impressed, Ace goes back to Lulu for more cocaine to sell.
Lulu has a top-quality supply of cocaine which Ace sells on the street at a cheap price, quickly luring away customers from other drug dealers. Ace starts wholesaling his product to other dealers in the neighborhood, believing everyone can make money and be happy. Meanwhile, Mitch is arrested for killing a stickup man who robbed one of his workers. When a fight breaks out between Mitch and another inmate, Mitch is aided by East Harlem inmate Rico who impresses Mitch by his ferocity and show of support. Mitch is able to beat his murder charge and both him and Rico join Ace's drug empire when released from prison. The trio become wealthy, buying foreign cars, jewelry and expensive champagne. Ace maintains a low profile, Mitch returns to his life as the popular hustler while Rico is a ruthless enforcer who worries Ace with his overzealous, high-profile behavior.
When Calvin is released from prison, Ace agrees to give him product to sell in his old drug spot, but Calvin quickly becomes dissatisfied with what he feels is a marginal position. When Ace refuses to let Calvin run his old block, Calvin retaliates by attempting to rob Ace at his Aunt June's apartment, holding June and Dora hostage. When Ace is unable to open the safe, June and Dora are executed by Calvin as another associate shoots Ace in the head, leaving him for dead. Despite his wounds, Ace survives as baby is born the same night. Feeling the physical and psychological effects of the shooting, Ace decides to quit the drug trade.
Rico tries to assuage Ace's concerns by revealing that he killed Calvin to show potential enemies that the organization is strong. Ace strongly disagrees with Rico's initiative and remains steadfast in his position to retire. Mitch understands Ace's perspective that the drug game does not reciprocate any love or generosity. Mitch decides to stay in the drug game because he loves the hustle, comparing himself to professional basketball players that continue to chase glory despite having enough money to retire. Ace decides to let Mitch and Rico take over, vowing to introduce Mitch to his drug supplier. While Ace is recovering, Mitch's kid brother Sonny is kidnapped for ransom. Mitch reaches out to Ace who provides him with enough cocaine to pay Sonny's ransom and allow Mitch and Rico to resume business. Mitch enlists Rico to help sell the cocaine to pay the ransom, but Rico instead kills Mitch and steals the cocaine. Suspicious, Ace questions Rico who claims he had not seen Mitch the day he was killed. Ace knows he's lying and settles the issue by giving him the contact to a pair of undercover FBI agents he had spoken to and avoided previously. Rico is arrested and is last seen in custody giving up information on his drug connections in Washington D.C. in order to avoid a 25-to-life sentence. He refuses to inform on anyone in Harlem, intending on reclaiming his position when he is eventually released from prison. Sonny's kidnapping and subsequent murder were orchestrated by his own uncle who resented Mitch for not providing him with money and for kicking him out of his family's apartment. Ace retreats from the criminal underworld and makes a new life for himself and his family using diamonds that he previously found in Lulu's apartment.
The film received generally mixed reviews from critics, gaining a 53% (rotten) rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 43 reviews[2] and a score of 49% on Metacritic based on 16 reviews.[3] However, it has gained a strong cult following amongst hip-hop fans over the years. The Paid in Full (soundtrack), containing hip hop and R&B music, was released on November 26, 2002 by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. It peaked at 53 on the Billboard 200 and 10 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
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Who played alpo in paid in full
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