Photos of Andre 3000 As Jimi Hendrix For Rocker’s Biopic Surface

Seems like Three Stacks will play Jimi Hendrix after all…

When the initial news broke that Andre 3000 would be playing Jimi Hendrix in an upcoming biopic called All Is By My Side, fans and critics alike were skeptical of the outcome.

The most noted backlash came from The Experience Hendrix, LLC, otherwise known as the Jimi Hendrix estate, which oversees the deceased rock star’s music and publishing. While the statement from the family-owned estate, clarified that a film comprised of original music and imagery of Jimi Hendrix can’t occur without its full-on participation, it appears the production has started to take place.

A series of photos, featuring an afro-donning Andre 3000, recently surfaced online. Captured in the town of Bray, Ireland, the photos further assure the film’s formation, as the plot explores Jimi Hendrix’s early career, including his time spent in England throughout 1966 to 1967 during the construction of his seminal debut Are You Experienced.

While it’s still too early to assume how well the six-week-long shoot would paint a proper portrait of the legendary musician’s legacy on the big screen, the uncanny resemblance between Andre 3000 and Jimi Hendrix is sure to catch the attention of moviegoers and fans.

Although his music has been on a standstill since the release of his group Outkast’s sixth studio album Idelwild, Andre 3000, also known as Andre Benjamin, has diversified his acting chops, starring in films such as Familes, The Shield, Be Cool, Revolver, Semi-Pro, Four Brothers, andIdelwild.

Neither tentative release date nor co-starring roles, who’ll partake in the film alongside Andre 3000, have been affirmed as of press time for All Is By My Side.

Andre 3000 Confirmed to Play Jimi Hendrix in Biopic

The OutKast member will portray the rock legend in All Is By My Side, which begins filming later this month…


Andre 3000 is set to star as Jimi Hendrix in All Is By My Side, a new biopic movie about the rock legend.

According to The Irish Film & Television Network, the movie will focus on Hendrix’s period in England from 1966-1967, as he created his debut album, Are You Experienced. The IFTN also reports that the film will be directed by John Ridley (Three Kings, U-Turn) and is currently in pre-production in Wicklow, Ireland with shooting set to begin in three weeks in both Wicklow and Dublin. The entire film is expected to be shot in six weeks.

A segment of the movie will reportedly have Hendrix discovered in a New York club by Rolling Stone guitarist Keith Richard’s then-girlfriend, Linda Keith.

3000, real name Andre Benjamin, has appeared in a number of television shows and films, such as Families, The Shield, Be Cool, Revolver, Semi-Pro and Four Brothers.

However, his portrayal in OutKast’s 2006 musical film, Idlewild, was received with mixed reviews.

On a smaller scale and more current, 3000 can be seen as a pitchman for Gillette’s Master of Style campaign, alongside actors Adrien Brody and Gael Garcia Bernal.

As for the music side of things, the masterful lyricist told GQ back in February that he plans on dropping a solo album later this year.

“This year I think I’m planning to do a solo project,” he told the men’s magazine. “I don’t know when it will come out, but hopefully it’ll come out this year. As far as OutKast, I really don’t know if or when that will happen.”

2Pac’s Greatest Hits LP Enters Billboard Top 200 Thanks to Hologram

The 2Pac hologram paves the way for ‘Pac’s Greatest Hits album to land back on the charts for the first time since 2000…

There’s definitely power and lasting impact behind the 2Pac hologram at the Coachella music festival on Sunday (April 15).

That’s because Billboard Biz is reporting that 2Pac’s Greatest Hits album has re-entered the Billboard 200 chart for the first time since 2000, as it moved to No. 129 with 4,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That’s a gain of a whopping 571% over the previous week. The legendary MC, who was tragically murdered back in 1996, also saw gains on classic albums like All Eyez On Me (2,000; up 95%) and Me Against the World (1,000; up 53%). The boost in album sales even had a trickle down effect on songs like “California Love,” and “2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted,” which both seen gains in sales as well.

There’s no doubting the fanfare that the 2Pac hologram received a few weeks back, appearing on stage alongside Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. The virtual ’Pac’s popularity even sparked net rumors of Dre, Snoop and the 2Pac hologram heading out on tour.

However, Dre strongly refuted any such idea, commenting that the virtual ’Pac was only for Coachella.

“As you know, we had a hologram of Tupac Shakur show up as a part of our show, and I want to thank a couple of companies out there that made my idea come to life,” the West Coast pioneer began in a message to his fans, posted on the YouTube page of Interscope Records, where he is signed. “I wanna say what’s up to AV Concepts, who actually projected the hologram; I wanna say what’s up to Digital Domain for actually putting the image together—they did an incredible job and everybody out there loved it.

“It was strictly for Coachella—get it right,” Dre added. “I wanna get rid of all the rumors out there…this was not done for a tour. If a tour happens? We’ll see. This was done strictly for Coachella 2012, baby. Just for you.”

 

Dr. Dre and Snoop to beam in dead stars (2Pac and Nate Dogg) at Coachella

Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg are headliners at the 2012 Coachella Music Festival. They will be using holographic technology to beam in for the performance both Nate Dogg and Tupac -- neither of whom is alive.

Barack Obama Calls Kanye West a Jackass Again

The Commander-in-Chief dubs ‘Ye, a fellow Chi-town native, a donkey for the second time in less than three years…

President Obama still thinks Kanye West is a jackass.

When writer David Samuels of The Atlanticrecently asked Obama about who he prefers, Jay-Z or Kanye West, the Commander-in-Chief gave the nod to Hova, before referring to ’Ye as a donkey once again.

“Although I like Kanye,” Obama told Samuels. “He’s a Chicago guy. Smart. He’s very talented.”

“Even though you called him a jackass?,” Samuels shot back, referring to 2009 interview footage, in which Obama originally called Yeezy a jackass.

“He is a jackass,” Obama said with a wink. “But he’s talented.”The comment marked the second time in less than three years that Obama has called Kanye, his fellow Chi-town native, a “jackass.” The first occasion came shortly after West’s meltdown during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at which Yeezy infamously interrupted country pop princess Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video to proclaim that the Moonman should have went to Beyoncé.

“Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy for you, I’ma let you finish,” Yeezy said. “But Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time,” he shrieked, even visibly horrifying Beyoncé herself who was seated in the front rows. “One of the best videos of all time.”

Although Obama may have been having fun with the comment, there are those who Kanye has seriously drawn the ire of. Last week, PETA (People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals) and Theraflu took exception to West’s new record, “Theraflu.”

G. Dep’s Murder Trial Begins With Opening Statements

G. Dep’s lawyer says there’s just too much inconsistencies to convict his client, while the Manhattan Assistant DA believes Dep’s startling confession to a murder more than 17 years ago is enough to book him…

Opening statements were delivered in the murder trial for rapper G. Dep in a New York court on Tuesday (April 10), his wife, Crystal Sutton.

Dep’s lawyer suggested Tuesday that there were too many inconsistencies to convict his client G. Dep, born Trevell Coleman, 37, according to the Associated Press.

The AP also reported that Manhattan Assistant District Attorney David Drucker countered by saying that the key evidence came from the “most reliable” source: the rapper himself.

In December 2010, Coleman walked into the New York Police Department’s 25^th Precinct in Harlem to make the startling confession that he shot and killed John Henkel in a botched robbery attempt back in 1993.

When asked why he confessed after 17 years in an exclusive interview conducted on Rikers Island last spring, Coleman said:

“I didn’t feel like I could keep going on, living my life—indulging in life and feeling the highs and lows and just basking in what I thought was a good life—knowing what I did affected someone else’s life.”

“It was the fact that I had children that I thought about stuff like that,” he continued in the interview. “I didn’t feel it was fair. I just wanted to take care of that, and have some resolve for the situation. I didn’t know what was going to be the outcome, but that was the only way I knew to deal with it.”

G. Dep released his debut album, Child of the Ghetto, back in November 2001, while being a signed artist for Bad Boy Records. The LP spawned hits such as “Special Delivery” and “Let’s Get It,” which features Diddy and helped spawn the Harlem Shake dance craze.

Warren G Preps Release For EP With Nate Dogg, First Single Features Game

The LBC rhymeslinger is readying a five-song EP with the late Nate Dogg’s music and says he has about 30 other songs featuring Nate in the stash…




Thursday (March 15) marked the one-year anniversary of singer Nate Dogg’s death and Warren G, Nate’s longtime partner-in-rhyme and friend, wants people to know that as long as he’s here, he’s going to keep the G-Funk doctor’s memory alive; the Long Beach, California rap veteran plans on doing just that by dropping a Nate Dogg and Warren G EP titled No One Could Do It Better, as soon as next month.

“It’s pretty much done,” Warren G told “I might drop it April 17 right after our first Coachella show. If not, by mid-May or June. Shit…I might decide to go hard virally with it.”

Whenever fans do get their hands on it, Warren promises a full blast of G-Funk.

“It’s that genuine G-Funk sound that we’re missing,” Warren said. “I just to give people that real music again and tell people that ain’t nothing changed. Nate is still here. I got to keep my boy alive.”

The five-song EP’s first single is called “A Party We Will Throw Now,” which pairs Warren with Game and has Nate blessing the hook, as he’s done on so many choruses throughout his career till his untimely death due to complications of multiple strokes last year.

“As I travel this lonely gangsta road, just me and my negro, we still got bomb hydro,” sang Warren, doing his best Nate Dogg impersonation of the song’s hook. “We just stumbling in the nightfall, that’s when young girls go home, big girls put on small clothes/A party we will throw…a party we will throw now!

“I can’t really sing like Nate,” Warren said laughing. “The record is a really dope record.”

Warren, who estimates to have about “25-30” recorded songs with Nate Dogg in the stash, plans on dropping his own Regulate the G-Funk Era EP in mid-July. He says that EP too will have two Nate Dogg features, with the single of that project entitled “I’m Still In Love With You.”

The laid-back LBC rhymeslinger has also been keeping busy producing, as he crafted Young Jeezy’s current single, “Leave You Alone,” off the Snowman’s Thug Motivation 103: Hustlerz Ambition album.

“A bunch of muthafuckas passed on that song,” Warren revealed. “[Jeezy] heard it and said, ‘G give me two weeks.’ He then called me back and said, ‘Take this off the market. We got one, OG! It made me feel good to see two young cats like [Jeezy and Ne-Yo] recognize and love and create a classic off something I did. So, that’s for the haters.”