Wiz Khalifa is what people call an entertainment “multi-hyphenate” and triple threat. He can rap, he is a producer and now he can add actor to his repertoire.
The rapper will soon be showcasing his acting skills in a movie that deep dives into the life of Neil Bogart, the founder of Casablanca Records.
The Pittsburg emcee will play the role of George Clinton, the Parliament leader that took funk music to the next level, in a new film called Spinning Gold.
Wiz isn’t the only one set to star as an iconic musician in this production. The sultry Soul and R&B singer Ledisi will play Gladys Knight and Tayla Parx will play Donna Summers.
The feature film will be a biopic about Bogart’s life. In addition to the aforementioned superstars, his roster at Casablanca Records during the 1960s and 1970s included names like KISS, Parliament, Village People, while his time heading up Buddah Records churned out hits for The Isley Brothers, The Edwin Hawkins Singers, and Bill Withers.
Comedian Jay Pharoah and singer Jason Derulo have been tapped to be in the cast, but no word on who they will be playing. What has been reported is that this will truly be a music movie, with new renditions of some of Casablanca Records’ biggest hits.
According to Deadline, these are the songs that will be redone by the current cast: Donna Summers’ “Last Dance” and “Love to Love You Baby”; Parliament’s “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)”; the Isley Brothers’ “Fight the Power” and “It’s Your Thing”; Gladys Knight’s “Midnight Train to Georgia”; Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me” and “Ain’t No Sunshine” Kiss’ “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “Shout it Out Loud”, Village People’s “YMCA”; and “Oh Happy Day” by the Edwin Hawkins Singers.
