Freddie Gibbs has an outsized charm that matches his formidable rapping talents, and now the Grammy Awards-nominated lyricist will grace the screen in his first major film role. Gibbs is the main character in the upcoming film Down With The King, which examines the journey of a superstar who hopes to escape the trappings and pressure of his fame.
Complex exclusively reports that Gibbs will star as Mercury Maxwell, who goes by the stage name Money Merc who has had enough of the Hip-Hop world and wants to leave the game behind.
Directed by Diego Ongaro (Bob and the Trees), the film’s plot centers on Money Merc being sent by his manager to record an album in the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts. While there, Money Merc becomes friends with his farmer neighbor and finds a new passion to pursue instead of music. However, as farming takes precedence over music, the manager is fighting to get his artist back to business.
Ongaro also wrote the film, which stars Jamie Neumann, David Krumholtz, Sharon Washington, and Bob Tarasuk. The film just recently wrapped and a release date is pending. Gibbs also wrote and recorded new music for the film and presumably an accompanying soundtrack to boot.
“My primary desire with Down with the King is to collide two unlikely worlds: rap and farming, and to share the improbable story of a rap star who falls in love with the countryside and the refuge that it offers him from his own reality and fame,” Ongaro says of the film. “Many films that feature the hip-hop community tell underdog ‘success stories,’ whereas Down with the King does the contrary. Mercury is at the top of the hip-hop world but desperately seeks a simpler life.”
The premise alone has our interest and we look forward to seeing Freddie Gibbs on the big screen.
— Big 🐰 (@FreddieGibbs) March 25, 2021
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Photo: Getty
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