Rapper Mos Def – also known by the spiritual name Yasiin Bey – has been cast in the new film Thelonious, telling the life story of the jazz icon Thelonious Monk.
Thelonious is set to begin filming in 2022, and it is written and produced by Peter Lord Morgan.
“Yasiin lives his life with a vibe not easily found in Hollywood, because he’s not Hollywood, point blank,” the producer told Rolling Stone of his leading man. “His values and moral compass are intentional and focused on what really matters. Everyone who knows his body of work has seen him boldly transform himself from his music to the Broadway stage, the silver screen and beyond. When he looked at me and said, ‘I am Thelonious,’ I knew we had found him.”
However, not everyone is thrilled with the project, namely, T.S. Monk, the son of the late, great musician.
“This project and its announcement are totally unauthorized!” the second-generation Monk told Pitchfork. “I hate the script and I control the music in Thelonious’ catalog. There is no involvement by anyone in the Monk family with this project, and we actually condemn the effort.”
This story is still developing…
2 Comments comments associated with this post
dubs
July 22, 2021 at 2:08 pmFIWTO hits this nail squarely, on its head.
No disrespect to Mos Def, but this is the product of a culture of instant everything and easy money.
file it with the others
July 22, 2021 at 1:39 pmfile it with the other silly biopics. Don Cheadle as Miles, Denzel as Coltrane. Each one more useless than the last.
Not sure why our culture insists on doing this, but we do it over and over. Life is not a movie. Everything you need to know about these revolutionary artists is recorded in their music.