Freddie Gibbs Reflects On Playing A Rapper In His Film Debut

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Freddie Gibbs film debut in "Down With The King" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this past weekend.

Freddie Gibbs has been on an impeccable music run but he's always expressed his desire to get into acting. The Gary, Indiana rapper's recent debut in Down With The King at the Cannes Film Festival, much like everything else he's done, has been met with critical praise across the board. It's a promising sign of what's to come from the SSS rapper in the near future.

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Following the film's premiere, Freddie Gibbs sat alongside director Diego Ongaro and his co-star Jamie Neumann to discuss the film's inception. Diego explained that he was inspired by a story of a French rapper who was admittedly feeling the pressure on his sophomore album. The rapper was openly discussing his depression which Ongaro said stuck in his head. After wrapping up his first film, he dove into this story of a rapper who is having crisis in his career. 

Gibbs explained that he approached the role with real-life experiences but he admitted that he needed to do some work to reach his character Mercury's mental space.

"Being in the rap game and having that experience that can definitely be tiring. I can’t say I was in the same mental space as Mercury was in the movie, but I had to get there to play the role," Gibbs explained.

Mind you, this is Gibbs first time in front of a screen in a full-length feature film. Though he's shown off his acting chops in the past, or at least his comedic sensibilities, he gave credit to Ongaro for his patience. "That’s all a tribute to Diego,” he continued. “He really babied me, you know. This is my first thing, so he taught me how to crawl, then walk. He made it easy for me."

Freddie Gibbs recently announced that his forthcoming album title SSS stands for Soul Sold Separately and is expected to be released this year. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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