Our list of films that we are eagerly anticipating includes the story of the rise of one of the pioneering female MCs of Hip-Hop, Roxanne Shante gets the big screen treatment in the upcoming Michael Larnell biopic, Roxanne Roxanne.
The biopic portrays the story of Queensbridge native and Hip Hop legend Lolita “Roxanne Shanté” Gooden. Shanté rose to prominence as a teenager partly due to the 1980’s “Roxanne Wars” rivalry between the Juice Crew member and The Real Roxanne.
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This is Larnell’s second film to premiere at Sundance, he brought Cronies to the festival in 2014. Roxanne Roxanne will compete in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section of the festival and there is a lot of interest if Larnell’s story can capture the attention of distributors looking for content for their studios.
This film continues the festival’s ties with the hip-hop community. Last year, Nas traveled to Sundance as a producer for The Land” and his friend, Jay Z will also be in Park City this year with his film, Time: The Kalief Browder Story.
Roxanne Roxanne stars Chanté Adams (in her film debut), Mahershala Ali, Nia Long, Elvis Nolasco, Kevin Phillips, and Shenell Edmonds. Gooden, Pharrell Williams, Forest Whitaker, and Ralph McDaniels will produce.