Epix has recently announced that next Spring will bring in the sophomore season of Godfather Of Harlem.
Inspired by the life of 1950s Harlem crime boss Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson, who is played by Forest Whitaker, shows Johnson’s return to the streets in the 60s after a stint in prison to find chaos and confusion in Harlem.
With a young muslim preacher named Malcolm X as an ally, Bumpy takes on the Genovese crime family, who controls the NYC underworld in the 60s. Social unrest and organized crime unintentionally meet in the Godfather Of Harlem’s second season.
Epix has recently announced that next Spring will bring in the sophomore season of Godfather Of Harlem.
Inspired by the life of 1950s Harlem crime boss Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson, who is played by Forest Whitaker, shows Johnson’s return to the streets in the 60s after a stint in prison to find chaos and confusion in Harlem.
With a young muslim preacher named Malcolm X as an ally, Bumpy takes on the Genovese crime family, who controls the NYC underworld in the 60s. Social unrest and organized crime unintentionally meet in the Godfather Of Harlem’s second season.
Epix has recently announced that next Spring will bring in the sophomore season of Godfather Of Harlem.
Inspired by the life of 1950s Harlem crime boss Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson, who is played by Forest Whitaker, shows Johnson’s return to the streets in the 60s after a stint in prison to find chaos and confusion in Harlem.
With a young muslim preacher named Malcolm X as an ally, Bumpy takes on the Genovese crime family, who controls the NYC underworld in the 60s. Social unrest and organized crime unintentionally meet in the Godfather Of Harlem’s second season.
Legendary thespian Forest Whitaker has given fans a glimpse of his musical tastes when he revealed that he’s a fan of the Migos’ 2015 song aptly titled after him.
During a recent interview with MSNBC, host Ari Melber asked Whitaker if he heard the song, the actor replied that his daughter first brought it to his attention and he thought it was “pretty brilliant.”
“I listened to it and it’s really pretty brilliant,” Whitaker said. “The way they took all these different films and things I’ve done and put them together in this amazing song. It was quite surprising actually.”
Whitaker, who is promoting his latest project, Epix’s Godfather of Harlem, which he executive produced and stars in also explained why he tapped Swizz Beatz to be the show’s executive music producer.
“[Swizz Beatz] brought in all these different musicians and artists,” Whitaker explained. “And I have great respect for what they do.”
Swizz reportedly brought in a lot of talent to create original songs for the series, which follows the life and career of Harlem crime boss Bumpy Johnson. The first song featured in the original series, “Just in Case,” features Swizz Beatz, Rick Ross and DMX, dropped in September along with a music video that starred Forest Whitaker himself.
In regards to his portrayal of the notorious Harlem legend, Whitaker said that he tried to remain as accurate as possible with not only telling Bumpy Johnson’s story but also the rift created between the crime world and the civil rights movement.
”When I was working on this role, I made sure to go over everything possible,” Whittaker continued. “I studied his criminal records, poetry and things from that era to tell the story as accurately as possible because this film kind of marries the criminal world, the civil rights movement and the political culture at the time.”
Check out the interview and video for “Just In Case” below.
Atlanta rapper Offset knows he’s part of a winning team. The hip-hop veteran has reacted to Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker shouting out the Migos and reacting to their tribute-driven “Forest Whitaker” anthem. Watch and comment below!
For decades Forest Whitaker has been one of Hollywood’s most underrated actors and though his work has gotten him all kinds of awards throughout his illustrious career, his soft-spoken demeanor and nonchalant attitude often causes fans to overlook his excellent body of work.
Now with his latest project Godfather of Harlem having debuted on Epix, the OG actor took to The Breakfast Club to talk about the series and the road he took to get there. Revealing interesting facts such as the length of time the series had been in development to his original role in the project, Forest Whitaker’s latest passion project might prove to be his favorite. That’s saying something.
Here are the 7 things we learned from Forest Whitaker on The Breakfast Club.
To prepare for the role of Bumpy Johnson in the Godfather of Harlem series, Forest says that aside from reading up on the street legend, he also got in touch with mobsters who worked with Bumpy back in the day.
When he was first approached to get involved in a series about Bumpy Johnson, Mr. Whitaker says that he originally only planned on producing it and said “I may not act in it.” But once he began reading the scripts he began warming up to the idea of being in it before eventually locking down the title role and according to him it was 18 years in the making.
Epix is set to bring the story of Bumpy Johnson to your screens with the release of Godfather of Harlem. Hip-Hop artists, Rick Ross, Swizz Beatz, and DMX have joined forces for the music video for “Just in Case,” which is apart of the show’s soundtrack.
The video emerges viewers into the world of the show, bringing Whitaker and Swizz to the screen and bringing in Ross to be the hitter Whitaker needs and DMX bringing the heat and his trademark bark.
The Original Series Soundtrack is curated by Swizz Beatz.
You can view the video below and if you want to get a further taste of the soundtrack you can hear “Business Is Business” by Dave East and A$AP Ferg and “Saints and Shadows” by Emeli Sandé and Swizz Beatz below.
Swizz Beatz also serves as the shows Executive Music Producer.
Godfather of Harlem tells the true story of infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson (Whitaker), who in the early 1960s returned from eleven years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles. With the streets controlled by the Italian mob, Bumpy must take on the Genovese crime family to regain control. During the brutal battle, he forms an alliance with radical preacher Malcolm X (Nigél Thatch) – catching Malcolm’s political rise in the crosshairs of social upheaval and a mob war that threatens to tear the city apart.Godfather of Harlem is a collision of the criminal underworld and the civil rights movement during one of the most tumultuous times in American history.
September 29 can’t come soon enough. In anticipation for a full-fledged fall run, EPIX has released an extended trailer for its upcoming Forest Whitaker-starring “Godfather of Harlem” series.
Premium network EPIX released a new teaser trailer for the highly anticipated new series, GODFATHER OF HARLEM. The 10-episode, hour-long drama series is inspired by the story of infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson (Forest Whitaker), who in the early 1960s returned from ten years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles. With the streets controlled by the Italian mob, Bumpy must take on the Genovese crime family to regain control. During the brutal battle, he forms an alliance with radical preacher Malcolm X (Nigél Thatch) – catching Malcolm’s political rise in the crosshairs of social upheaval and a mob war that threatens to tear the city apart. GODFATHER OF HARLEM is a collision of the criminal underworld and the civil rights movement during one of the most tumultuous times in American history.
In addition to Oscar winner Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) as star and executive producer, cast members include and Vincent D’Onofrio (Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Daredevil), lfenesh Hadera (She’s Gotta Have It, Baywatch), Nigél Thatch (Selma, American Dreams), Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas), Chazz Palminteri (A Bronx Tale, Modern Family), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul), Lucy Fry (Bright, Vampire Academy), Kelvin Harrison Jr. (It Comes at Night, Mudbound) and Antoinette Crowe-Legacy.
Produced by ABC Signature Studios, the series is co-created and executive produced by Chris Brancato and Paul Eckstein (Narcos). Forest Whitaker and Nina Yang Bongiovi, along with James Acheson and Markuann Smith, serve as executive producers. Chris Brancato serves as showrunner.
GODFATHER OF HARLEM was shot on location in New York City.
New York rapper DMX, Swizz Beatz and Forest Whitaker did more than just take a dope in-studio shot together. The trio are all connected to an upcoming EPIX TV show called “Godfather of Harlem.”
Swizzy hit up Instagram Thursday to announce he’s role as the show’s executive music producer and X getting featured on its official theme song.
Oscar winner Forest Whitaker continues to rub elbows with the biggest names in rap. The former “Empire” star low-key pulled through this week for a studio session with hip-hop artist Dave East.
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