Wyclef Jean‘s childhood in Haiti is to be the focus of new Netflix CGI feature film, capturing the journey he made at age 9 to Brooklyn.
The Fugees rapper will produce the as-yet untitled film, with the script written by Justin Marks, whose credits include The Jungle Book, its sequel, and Top Gun: Maverick.
The feature film will follow the three time Grammy Award-winning musician’s childhood in Haiti and the beginnings of his career in music.
“I grew up in extreme poverty but I was rich with imagination,” Jean said. “Now to see that imagination turn into reality with Netflix and my producing partners makes me want to tell the kids from the slums around the world to never stop dreaming.”
There is currently no release date for the film.
Jean has had an eventful last decade that could well be the focus for another, quite different, film. He ran for the Haitian presidency in 2010, then was forced to withdraw obver residency issues. He also faced a $2million (£1.5million) lawsuit for allegedly ripping off a ’90s rap group.
In 2016, Jean was forced to defend his Yele Haiti Foundation charity after claims that only $5.1 million (£3.28 million) of the total $16 million (£10.29 million) it raised went to help the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake.
That same year, the rapper claimed he was shot in Haiti and said he received treatment for a gunshot wound to the hand, but a policeman later claimed this was incorrect and that he merely cut himself.
More recently, Jean claimed to be the victim of racial profiling in LA when police confused him for an armed robbery suspect with Jean documenting his side of events on social media.