The newest inductee on the Hollywood Walk of Fame will make her production debut alongside the Roc Nation artist.
The newest inductee on the Hollywood Walk of Fame will make her production debut alongside the Roc Nation artist.
Coming 2 America and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever costume designer Ruth E. Carter will make her production debut with African/American, a hip-hop biopic based on the true story of Syd Money and his collaboration with South African hip-hop pioneer Linda Mkhize (aka ProKid).
Set during the post-apartheid Renaissance period in South Africa, Howard University alumni Sydney Hall, who will be played by Roc Nation artist and activist Vic Mensa, and ProKid helped to popularize a style of rapping that mixed both English and Kasi rap (IsiZulu and South African township slang) to become one of the most prolific producers to this day.
Together, they created a paradigm shift within South African hip-hop, and their projects—Heads & Tales, DNA and Dankie San—are considered indelible classics within the culture there.
“I am excited to tell this dynamic story about survival and cultural identities,” Carter said in an exclusive to BlackFilmAndTV.com. “‘African/American’ ignites the sense of right place, right time in a way that makes you believe that you can do anything you set your mind to.”
Thabang Moloba, who stars in Netflix’s Blood & Water, is in talks to play ProKid alongside Mensa, who is currently recurring on Season 4 of Showtime’s The Chi and appears in Saul Williams’ TIFF-debuted Akilla’s Escape. In addition to Carter and Mensa’s contributions, writer-director Skye Dennis (Myra’s Angel) will direct a script written by actor Jamie Burton-Oare (Soulful Steps).
