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.