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T.I. Says He is a Combination of JAY-Z, 2Pac, and Two More Hip-Hop Icons

T.I. Recalls On Set Advice from Denzel Washington During 'American Gangster' Rehearsals

T.I. is undoubtedly the King of the South and a Hip-Hop legend. If you were to ask him who he is a combination of, his answer would be four titans of our genre: JAY-Z, 2Pac, Diddy and Snoop Dogg.

During an appearance on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast, T.I. revealed that he sees his legends in his composition.

“I see myself as a hybrid kind of between, I guess, Jay, ‘Pac, Puff and like a Snoop, you know what I’m saying?” T.I. said. “I kind of hop in and out and take pages out of the book of legends, and I’ve been fortunate enough and blessed enough to be able to have these relationships where I could sit and engage and soak up game.”

T.I. would give more love to people like E-40, Master P, Jay Prince, and more in the conversation.

In the same conversation, T.I. recalled the year 2007, when he found himself alongside Denzel Washington in the film classic American Gangster.

T.I. played the nephew of Washington’s character, Frank Lucas, who was ditching a promising baseball future aside to join the family drug business.

T.I. recalls the moment Washington coached him through a scene and helped him combat his nerves.

“As we’re rehearsing I’m pacing back and forth,” T.I. said. “And he said, ‘What’s up, n-gga, You nervous?’ I’m like, ‘Man, I’m just making sure I don’t mess it up.’

“He said, ‘Here man, listen. They could have had anybody in here doing what you’re doing right now. They could have anybody in the world, they could have called anybody right here to do what you’re doing.’”

You can check out the full conversation below.

Flash forward to today, T.I. is still in his acting bag. Hitting theaters this weekend, T.I. will star alongside Power’s Joseph Sikora in the psychological horror film, Fear.

This psychological horror film follows a group of friends who gather for that typical friends weekend getaway at a remote and historic hotel. Their celebration takes a terrifying quick and sudden turn as each one of the guests has to face their own worst fear one by one thanks to a powerful force inside the hotel. The trailer shows the group sharing their biggest fears—some of which we can all relate to.

You can see the trailer below.

via

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[WATCH] T.I. Recalls On Set Advice from Denzel Washington During ‘American Gangster’ Rehearsals

T.I. Recalls On Set Advice from Denzel Washington During 'American Gangster' Rehearsals

T.I. has done a bit of everything in his storied career. In 2007, he found himself alongside Denzel Washington in the film classic American Gangster.

T.I. played the nephew of Washington’s character, Frank Lucas, who was ditching a promising baseball future aside to join the family drug business.

Appearing on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast, T.I. recalls the moment Washington coached him through a scene and helped him combat his nerves.

“As we’re rehearsing I’m pacing back and forth,” T.I. said. “And he said, ‘What’s up, n-gga, You nervous?’ I’m like, ‘Man, I’m just making sure I don’t mess it up.’

“He said, ‘Here man, listen. They could have had anybody in here doing what you’re doing right now. They could have anybody in the world, they could have called anybody right here to do what you’re doing.’”

Flash forward to today, T.I. is still in his acting bag. Hitting theaters this weekend, T.I. will star alongside Power’s Joseph Sikora in the psychological horror film, Fear.

This psychological horror film follows a group of friends who gather for that typical friends weekend getaway at a remote and historic hotel. Their celebration takes a terrifying quick and sudden turn as each one of the guests has to face their own worst fear one by one thanks to a powerful force inside the hotel. The trailer shows the group sharing their biggest fears—some of which we can all relate to.

You can see the trailer below.

The post [WATCH] T.I. Recalls On Set Advice from Denzel Washington During ‘American Gangster’ Rehearsals appeared first on The Source.

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Idris Elba Shares How Got To Be Featured On Jay-Z’s “American Gangster” Album

Idris Elba Tapped To Portray Knuckles In 'Sonic The Hedgehog 2'

Idris Elba is well known for his role in the 2007 film American Gangster starring Denzel Washington. The British actor was also featured on the intro track of the Jay-Z 2007 album of the same name. During a recent interview on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Elba spoke about how he “hustled” his way onto the album

“So I was in American Gangster and at the time I heard Jay was about to do an album associated with the film and I was like, ‘I need to get on that.’ As you do. No idea why JAY-Z would be like, ‘Yeah, sure! Do it,” Elba said.

The actor added, “So Lenny S., who works with Jay, was a good friend of Oronde [Garrett, Elba’s manager]. I wrote this long poem [with] a friend of mine, we put it to a beat — actually it was a rap, but it didn’t sound good as a rap, so I said, ‘Maybe I should speak this.’ ‘Cause Jay might be a little more accommodating to my speaking voice.”

Elba then said that he sent it to Jay-Z who texted him back “I don’t love this. I f*cking love it.”

You can check out the clip below as well as the song.

The post Idris Elba Shares How Got To Be Featured On Jay-Z’s “American Gangster” Album appeared first on The Source.

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Today in Hip-Hop History: Larry Davis Was Killed in Shawangunk Prison 12 Years Ago

Some say he was 50 Cent before 50 Cent. Some called him “the Robin Hood of The Ghetto”, while the establishment dubbed him “the crack city terminator.” In the hood, his solution is considered the only possible answer to a continuous epidemic of police brutality. Some of your favorite rappers from French Montana to Lloyd Banks to Jay-Z have name-dropped him on their tracks and BET felt he was so important to American culture that their American Gangster series had to open with him, but only an educated few know why the name Larry Davis continues to ring bells more than three decades after that fateful night in November of ’86.

On February 20, 2008, Adam Abdul Hakeem aka Larry Davis, was stabbed to death in Shawangunk State Prison in New York by a fellow inmate after serving 23 years for an illegal weapons charge. Most would say that people die in American prisons daily, so what’s the big deal about another dead prisoner? Well, it must first be explained why Mr. Davis was in prison for so long on a mere gun charge in the first place.

As he said on camera after his capture in 1986, “the police gave me the guns!”, that Davis was finally charged with after being acquitted for shooting 6 NYPD officers. The then 21-year-old BX native’s defense was that he shot the officers in self-defense. Davis exposed that he sold drugs for these Bronx precinct officers, claiming that they wanted to kill him because of what he knew about the drug operation within the department and a Bronx jury believed him. This case was the first and very possibly the only time in American history that a civilian was cleared of all charges in the shooting of a police officer.

The NYPD and then-Mayor Edward Koch were outraged at the outcome. After Larry’s death, the former Mayor Koch was quoted as saying, “The prison system did what the criminal justice system could not.” It’s safe to say that with the endless accusations against the NYPD and other police departments around the country for brutality against Black and brown people, the sentiment of sympathy for Larry Davis has been met with fierce opposition.

With the recent killings of Black youth by police and civilians becoming the norm, the question in the urban community is whether or not Larry Davis’ solution to police brutality is the only option left. With normal citizens being given the option to shoot first and ask questions later when it comes to Black youth and the prison industrial complex as the penalty for defending yourself, the bare truth is that it has become the only option to some. With landmark cases from Emmitt Till to Botham Jean, history reveals that people such as Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey, and even Larry Davis will always be heroes. We’ve heard Larry’s name come from the mouths of everyone from ATCQ to Jay-Z.

Check out Larry’s story on Troy Reed’s Street Stories Larry Davis: A Routine Typical Hit, BET’s American Gangster series and is also rumored to be in the hands of several filmmakers, which could possibly spawn the story on the silver screen.

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