Kendrick Lamar
Courtesy PhotoKendrick Lamar and Dave Free are teaming up with South Park co-creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker to produce a comedy film for Paramount Pictures.
The yet-untitled, live-action comedy, written by Vernon Chatman, will “depict the past and present coming to a head when a young Black man, who is interning as a slave re-enactor at a living history museum, discovers that his white girlfriend’s ancestors once owned his,” according to a press statement.
The movie marks the first feature produced under Lamar and Free’s pgLang company, which they announced in 2020. They launched pgLang as a multilingual, artist-friendly service company that’s a record label, movie studio and publishing house combined. Lamar’s younger cousin and rapper Baby Keem became the first artist signed to the pgLang label service. Stone and Parker will be producing for their Park County banner.
Production is slated to kick off this spring. A director has not yet been attached to the film. Paramount Pictures will be responsible for theatrical distribution, home entertainment and television licensing rights on the project, and Paramount Plus will acquire the streaming rights.
“On behalf of Paramount Pictures and the wider ViacomCBS family, we look forward to ushering in the first theatrical collaboration from these creative visionaries, and galvanizing audiences worldwide around a powerful storytelling experience,” said Paramount Pictures president and CEO Brian Robbins in a statement.
The 13-time Grammy-winning MC announced this past summer that he will be leaving his longtime label Top Dawg Entertainment after 17 years and that he was working on his “final TDE album.” His last solo album, the critically acclaimed DAMN from 2017, topped the Billboard 200 with 603,000 album-equivalent units in its opening week. It also won five Grammys and earned him the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in Music. He curated Black Panther: The Album in 2018, which nabbed eight nominations at the Grammy Awards the following year, including best rap performance winner “King’s Dead.” Lamar gave a career-spanning live performance, his first in over two years, at the 2021 Day N Vegas music festival.
NBA YoungBoy has faced several hardships in recent years. Along with serving time behind bars, the rapper has also dealt with mental health challenges linked to the painful experiences in his life.
His music has often given listeners insight into that pain. During a recent appearance with Funny Marco on Open Thoughts, YoungBoy opened up even further about what he has been going through.
During the conversation, YoungBoy revealed that he no longer plans to live in the United States. He confirmed that he currently resides in South Korea. Although he did not share why he chose that country, his comments suggest he is ready to leave his life in America behind.
Funny Marco asked YoungBoy whether he might ever move back to the United States. The rapper responded with “never in life,” though he admitted that he could return for a visit someday.
Before relocating, YoungBoy lived on a ranch in Utah, where local residents had gradually started becoming more comfortable with him. His new home in South Korea now places him in a completely different cultural environment.
Adjusting to such a major change may not be easy, but YoungBoy has shown his strength and appears confident about where he wants to live. After experiencing so much pain in the United States, he seemingly feels more comfortable keeping his distance.
The move also comes as he deals with serious health concerns involving his heart. The condition remains an ongoing concern, and we hope the artist receives the support he needs as he continues facing this difficult medical situation.