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THE FILM STRIP: Artists in 'Cadillac Records' are superheroes say Jeffrey Wright & Mos Def
Also: Def talks about upcoming projects and ‘Cadillac’ star Adrien Brody says hip hop is the first music that spoke to him.
“They were extraordinary characters and extraordinary artists. If artists are heroes then these guys were it. I discovered in the process of doing this thing how much I deeply, deeply love these guys and the music that they created and the culture that they represent.
“Muddy, Howlin’ and Chuck reshaped popular music around the world. I did research on all the lawsuits that had to be filed including those on Led Zeppelin, the Beach Boys and Elvis Pressley. Muddy Waters’ lyrics and riffs were constantly being stolen. I hear so many Muddy Waters references now in music that I hadn’t noticed before. It’s unbelievable.”
Wright goes on to say how important this music is and how it has played a part in international liberation. “It has not only redefined freedom in this country, but elsewhere. When you look at the fall of the Berlin wall, it happened with rock ‘n roll blaring through loudspeakers overhead. The desire for freedom that was being expressed is representative of American western longing for freedom. The songs of economic and personal freedom that related to slavery in this country and post slave dynamics were embodied in the lyrics.”
“So it’s not by accident that this music had that type of accessibility and availability of people around the world. It’s such a direct, honest expression of the human condition. Folks were not in those [cotton] fields putting on airs, pretending to be something that they were not. The music and the art that they created comes from a very specific personal, emotionally, psychologically and intellectual reservoir. That was all that they had. So the music is powerful and pure. The music wasn’t by mistake. It wasn’t by accident. It came about because of the humanity of these people and their talent for expressing that.”
Wright and Josh Brolin were arrested in Louisiana this past summer after a “W” wrap party. The Film Strip asked Wright to bright readers up to date on that issue.
“I can’t really talk about it yet,” he said, “but when the time comes, I will shed light on it. A lot of what’s been written about in the newspapers has obscured the truth. I hope to clarify matters and convert it into a positive for myself and some other folks.”
Mos Def is most definitely psyched about “Cadillac Records” and his role as Chuck Berry. “The aspect of his music is very unique and distinct,” he commented. “He’s such a large, enigmatic, mercurial magical figure. I hope I did him justice.” There is no hesitation on Def’s part, however, when he praises the film for doing justice to those the movie’s artists who were the forerunners of blues and rock ‘n roll:
“The thing that struck me most is that this film is not just for amusement. These men and women were using their music to create concepts for themselves personally, and socially—in another type of political, social and economic context. They played a tremendous role in shaping the identity of what we know as America today. It’s pretty phenomenal. When I read that quote of John Lennon that said, rock ‘n roll had another name and it may be Chuck Berry, I sit and wonder did he [Berry] know what he was doing. Was he so involved in the process, as well as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and the rest of them, that they were unaware of how significant their contributions would be?
“The establishing of America in not only in military might but also being a leader in imagination, thought and style. These men and women are nothing short of heroic heads of state, ambassadors, dignitaries and all that. I knew about the music and appreciated the music but after this movie I stepped away with a renewed appreciation and respect for all those folks.”
The corruption in the music biz back then was pervasive so I asked Mos if some of those unscrupulous practices were still going on? “I always make this analogy in relation to the rest of the business world,” he explained. “The entertainment world is a bit like the red light district of the business world. So there’s always some sort of dubious activities or malfeasants going on. But what I think has happened in the last generation and now is that we’re starting to see that information has become more lateral because of the Internet.
“A lot of corruption in the business has been curbed because no longer do a small group of people control information. Now with the information just being out and being airborne, people are a lot more savvy these days than they were in those. And hopefully with the advent of this new administration, you will begin to see some changes of how things are legislated and how people should conduct themselves in relation to sharing equitably with the artists.
“This is a long held argument from a lot of artists in that they get the least out of the revenue they generate, although they are at the center of the entire process. So it goes on but I think that these are changing times that we’re living in. I think we’re going to see a lot of positive changes. I’m hopeful about that.”
Mos Def is not only charged up about “Cadillac Records,” but his upcoming album.
“The new single came out on election day and I have a new one coming out every month until the album is released, which should be sometime next year,” he enthused. “I’m really excited about it. It’s really good. I’m very happy about the album and the film component. There’s a lot attached to this new record, just the way that we’re rolling it out and so I’m looking forward to it.”
Def Poetry is also on the agenda.
“My ambition is to do one final season this year. I would love to do it either from Washington but preferably New Orleans and the Ninth Ward. I think we not only owe it to the people that supported us throughout the years, but with the advent of the new Obama administration, there’s so much that I know the people wanted to say and have to say. So those are my plans for Def Poetry 09, to do one final season in New Orleans or the nation’s capitol and really just let people go.”
Other projects include films of course.
“What really sparks my interest in the coming years,” he says, “is producing films of my own and writing. That’s where my focus is at, being more behind the scenes. I had a good time producing Def Poetry over the years and I’d like to extend that into some other dramatic projects, and just do good work…”
Academy Award winner Adrien Brody, who locked lips with The Fugees Lauren Hill in the 1998 movie “Restaurant” and Halle Berry at the 2004 Oscars, locks lips again with a sister in “Cadillac Records.” His character Leonard Chess falls in love with Etta James (Beyonce). The real life Chess was born in Poland and immigrated to Chicago after World War II. During the 1950s and 1960s, Chess Records (and their subsidiary labels) was the home of blues. Unlike his character, Brody says he was unaware of blues while growing up in Queens, New York,
“It was unfortunate that I lacked that exposure,” Brody bemoaned, “but after I discovered the blues through a musician friend of mine, I gained a tremendous appreciation for it.”
“I love music in general, but hip hop is the first music that spoke to me. I kind of went from Pink Floyd on an 8-track to KRS-One, but that was a long time ago. Hip hop and rap, like the blues is a worldwide phenomenon.”
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