This summer sees rapper Freddie Gibbs make his film debut, with a starring role in the forthcoming Down With The King.
The movie sees Gibbs star as Mercury “Money Merc” Maxwell, a superstar rapper who is sent by his manager to a farm in the countryside in order to escape the pressures of fame in the city.
The first full-length trailer arrived yesterday (May 23), and sees a glimpse of Maxwell’s high-profile celebrity life before cutting away to a plaintive look at his time in the countryside.
Initially there on a creative retreat, the trailer shows Maxwell bonding with the local community, working on the farm, and eventually becoming conflicted when it comes to returning to his old life.
The film is directed by Diego Ongaro and also stars Bob Tarasuk, Sharon Washington, and Jamie Neumann. Gibbs is also executive producer.
The film, which received its Cannes debut as part of the ACID (Association for Independent Cinema and its Distribution) lineup, was also awarded the Grand Prize at the Deauville American Film Festival. A digital release date has been announced for June 28.
On the musical front, Gibbs’ latest release was ‘Ice Cream’, a collaborative single with Rick Ross last month.
The track was produced by Kenny Beats, and is built around a sample used by Wu-Tang Clan‘s RZA and Raekwon for the latter’s 1995 single, also titled ‘Ice Cream’, which appeared on his ‘Only Built 4 Cubin Linx’ LP.
Gibbs and Ross pay homage to Raekwon’s ‘Ice Cream’ throughout their cut, notably in the accompanying music video. In it, we see Gibbs riding around in an ice cream van, mirroring footage from Raekwon’s ’90s clip. The women in Gibbs and Ross’ video also sport similar t-shirts to those in Raekwon’s, emblazoned with ice cream flavours such as chocolate, vanilla and butter pecan.