The moment we’ve all been waiting for.
Talk of André 3000‘s portrayal of Jimi Hendrix was initially met with excitement as the Outkast emcee has already proved his acting prowess, as well as his natural resemblance to the rock god. This excitement began to dwindle however, as updates on the production’s progress lessened, and even more so when, due to issues with Hendrix’s estate over the rights to the artist’s catalog, the filmmakers were denied the right to feature any of his music within the biopic.
Production on the film continued, featuring covers by André as well as music written by Muddy Waters, The Beatles, The Troggs, and several relevant artists of the era, to compensate for the lack of Hendrix vocals and guitar rifts. Additionally, the film will focus extensively on Hendrix’s early days, during 1966-’67, depicting his romantic relationships with Linda Keith (played by Imogen Poots) and Kathy Etchingham (played by Hayley Atwell) as well as his professional relationship with manager Chas Chandler (played by Andrew Buckley) during his psychedelic ascension to legendary status.
Now we get our first look at the film to be, and if there were ever any doubts they can be completely be casted aside. From the trailer we see that, Dré not only embodied Hendrix’s aesthetic, but he ditched his iconic southern drawl that we know and love, for an impeccably spot-on Hendrix impression, that’s truly phenomenal.
Enjoy the trailer, and catch Andre 3000 as Jimi Hendrix in Jimi: All Is By My Side when it his on the big screen on September 26.
Khari Clarke is on Twitter (@KINGCLARKEIII)
