Rapper/producer
David Banner is taking a step from behind the microphone and mixing board to
make his acting debut along side Samuel L. Jackson in the Craig Brewer directed
film “Black Snake Moan.”
The movie is a
tale about a white woman who is a nymphomaniac and must be cured of her disorder
by a black bluesman.
"I’m really
happy with the role," David Banner told AllHipHop.com. "I feel blessed
that my debut role is a major one, starring beside someone as great as Samuel
L. Jackson."
“Black Snake
Moan” is slated to start shooting in October and also stars Christina
Ricci and Justin Timberlake. Brewer directed the critically acclaimed movie
“Hustle & Flow.”
"My character
is one of the few people in the town besides Lazarus [played by Samuel L. Jackson]
that really understands this woman," Banner said of his role, "He’s
a hustler but No one else believes in her and they all kind of get down on her.
It’s a real cool movie"
Although the plot may seem simple, the actual story behind it is much more complex,
according to director Craig Brewer.
"This is a
movie where we are taking some of the most sexual and racially charged imagery
where you look deeper and you find that these are human beings, but it is also
a movie that deals this wave of sexual addiction;" director Craig Brewer
told blackfilm.com in
a recent interview about the movie. "It shows that there are so many things
that have collided but that is ultimately what makes us all family. It makes
us connected to each other where normally we wouldn’t be connected."
Banner has also been tapped by Cartoon Network to create an untitled cartoon
that will appear in the Adult Swim block next season.
"The cartoon
is going to be really funny," Banner told AllHipHop.com. "It’s really
going to push the envelope as far as the topics we are touching on."
The cartoon will
not only feature David Banner, but fellow southern producers Jazzy Pha and Mannie
Fresh.
"It’s about
a white family and a black family living in modern day North Mississippi but
the white family’s mind set is that of 1869 and no matter what you do it won’t
change, they still think and talk the way they would in 1869, so it’s really
pushing it," Banner said. "My character is a member of black rock
band who works at Sonic, but he is moving upward and is in direct conflict with
the white family. I think that it’s really going to push the envelope and address
the issue of race relations in America, even if we don’t want to."
With his new upcoming acting projects, Banner says he is taking a break from
music to focus on his craft and to get some much needed rest.
"Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a workaholic," Banner said.
"I am just going to use this time while I am shooting the film to really
rest. I am totally focused on acting because that has always been my dream.
After we are done shooting, I am planning on starting the European tour to promote
Certified and dive back into the swing of things with music."
David Banner’s Certified hits stores September 20 on Universal.