Hip-Hop & Movies: Baltimore Ravens’ Terrell Suggs

You might know Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs as a force to be reckoned with on the field. A proven component on the defensive line, the three-time Pro Bowler, has amassed 212 solo tackles, and 45 sacks since being selected tenth in the first round of the 2003 NFL draft. As a naturally gifted […]

You might know Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs as a force to be reckoned with on the field. A proven component on the defensive line, the three-time Pro Bowler, has amassed 212 solo tackles, and 45 sacks since being selected tenth in the first round of the 2003 NFL draft. As a naturally gifted and skilled athlete on the field, Suggs other love has surprisingly been in another arena- music and movies. On any given Sunday the determination behind his force on the field can be attributed to one of his favorite rappers providing the soundtrack to his motivation. For as much as his talent and his skill lie on the field, his passion is more cinematic. An avid movie lover, Suggs dissects movies to the point of breaking down the thought process of the music supervisor scoring a particular scene in a particular movie to fully bring the story to life.

This passion for music and movies has manifested itself into the NFL star creating his own movies. Recently launching his own movie production company, 1080 Productions, Terrell is making plays off the field and on the big screen as a scriptwriter, and is currently reading scripts to produce. The luxury lifestyle guru has also tipped his hat at providing superstar treatment by way of his own entertainment company Team Sizzle Worldwide which hosts events such as fight parties, red carpets, birthday parties, celebrities events, etc. Having lived the life off a superstar athlete he understands the keys to the lavish lifestyle and wants to parlay his career into an opportunity to give others the chance to experience the same luxury through his various endeavors. Shuggs took time out of his schedule to give us a play by play on his plans for living his dreams.

AllHipHop.com: Thanks for taking the time out to talk to music with us, as a Hip-Hop lover do you have specific songs that you play before you play specific teams to get you in a particular mind-state?

Terrell Suggs: I have a set of songs that I play before every game. 50 Cent’s “I Get Money,” Beanie Sigel’s “Feel It In The Air”, and Jay-Z’s “Watcher 2” just to name a few.

AllHipHop.com: I hear 50 Cent’s “If I Can’t” is the theme song to your life, tell me something in your life that you’ve done that even you yourself may have questioned your capacity to do?

Terrell Suggs: The fact that I made it to the NFL! My story isn’t much different from everybody else in the league – 90% came from the slums, came from nothing. So the fact that my parents or my children don’t have to deal with most of the worries of the world just blows me away!

Summary:

Terrell Suggs Favorite Hip-Hop Albums:

Get Rich or Die Tryin– 50 Cent.

It’s Dark and Hell is Hot-DMX

The Blueprint – Jay-Z.

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill– Lauryn Hill

All Eyez On Me -2pac.

AllHipHop.com: What are your top five favorite Hip-Hop albums and why?

Terrell Suggs: Get Rich or Die Tryin– 50 Cent. It’s a classic album because he was hungry, and you can feel his hunger in his voice and his songs. It’s Dark and Hell is Hot-DMX. At a time when the Hip-Hop culture was about bling-bling, X brought the game back to the street, back to the people. A true Hip-Hop fan will never forget this album. The Blueprint – Jay-Z. In my opinion, this album is when he became king. This album put him over the top. Now he will be mentioned with the gods of Hip-Hop . the Biggies, and the Pac’s ! The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill– Lauryn Hill. I’m not sure if this classifies as a Hip-Hop album, but she put her soul into this album. That’s what Hip-Hop is supposed to be- a reflection of self! All Eyez On Me -2pac. This album was the first of its kind, and it put him over the top. It also was the first Hip-Hop LP to have double disc. It was a great album!

AllHipHop.com: A lot of athlete’s start record labels but you chose a film company why and when did you know you wanted to produce movies?

Terrell Suggs: I’ve know since I was little. I’ve always loved movies! I always wanted to be apart of them in some way. I just got tired of seeing movies being put out with no effort put into them., so I decided to get organized and start my own production company. Instead of buying $100,000 cars and jewelry, I invest in my company.

Summary:

Terrell Suggs Favorite Movies:

“300,”

“The Show,”

“8 Mile,”

“Menace to Society”

“Set it Off”

AllHipHop.com: What does the name 1080 in your company name represent?

Terrell Suggs: I can’t tell you that.! It’s like the #1 rule in fight club! There is no fight club.

AllHipHop.com: LOL. That’s funny ok we’ll give you a pass on that one. I was told you like to dissect movies, what types of things do you look for?

Terrell Suggs: If a film is missing something or it’s too predictive then it takes away from the how much I enjoy it, so I just say what a film should and shouldn’t have. I’m looking at it from a fan or an avid movie goer’s perspective.

AllHipHop.com: How important is the soundtrack to the movie for you?

Terrell Suggs: Very Important! A great soundtrack helps tell and sell your story. It draws people in. In my films music scores, and soundtracks will be a major part in my budget!

AllHipHop.com: What are your top 5 movie soundtracks?

Terrell Suggs: “300,” “The Show,” “8 Mile,” “Menace to Society,” “Set it Off”

AllHipHop.com: What types of movies do you want to produce?

Terrell Suggs: All kinds. I don’t want my films to have boundaries. I want to make movies that everybody can relate to. Romantic comedies, Drama, Action, Horror, hell I even want to try sci-fi. But I want to stay away from hood gangsta stories. I want to break the black filmmaker stereotype that that’s the only kind of movie we can make!

Summary:

Terrell Suggs’ Favorite Sports-oriented Movies:

“The Program” (Football)

“He Got Game” (Basketball)

“Any Given Sunday” (Football)

“Miracle” (Hockey)

”Varsity Blues” (Football)

AllHipHop.com: Will you personally be doing any directing and/or scriptwriting?

Terrell Suggs: Yes, I’m writing scripts now, but for the first couple of projects I would like for some else to direct just so I can learn the ropes. Then I’ll get my feet wet a little bit!

Alllhiphop.com– What are your favorite types of movies to watch?

Terrell Suggs: I don’t have a favorite. I love them all. I just really enjoy a good movie!

AllHipHop.com: Did you ever have dreams of acting or just producing?

Terrell Suggs: Yeah but only as a co-star. I’ll let someone else have the pressure of being the main character. I’d rather stay in the gray area, so to say.

AllHipHop.com: Are you looking to work with up and coming writers/directors?

Terrell Suggs: Absolutely. I would love to work wit anybody who loves film. I’m not that worried about the other benefits that come with big names.

AllHipHop.com: Do you have any movies in production right now?

Terrell Suggs: I have a few in pre-production. Anything that I put my name on has to be perfect or damn near it, so once it meets my approval then I’ll introduce it to the world.

Summary:

Top People Terrell Suggs Would Cast In A Movie:

Dwayne Johnson

Derek Luke,

Mos Def, Common

Alicia Keys

Rob Brown

Channing Tatum

Zoe Kravitz

AllHipHop.com: Will you do movies about Hip-Hop ? If so who’s life would you like to see on the big screen?

Terrell Suggs: Yes I will, but in good time. I’d love to see Tupac Shakur’s life on the big screen. “Notorious” just came out and it was a good movie, but it makes 2pac out to be a buffoon. I’d just like to see a movie about his life and his side of the story. I also wouldn’t mind a Jay-Z film.

AllHipHop.com: What are your top five movies? Sports movies?

Terrell Suggs: “The Program, He Got Game, Any Given Sunday, Miracle, Varsity Blues

AllHipHop.com: How real was Any Given Sunday and if you could relate to any character in that movie who would it be?

Terrell Suggs: It was very real, so real that the actors got into a fight on the set! I couldn’t really relate to any one character because they didn’t have a young LB/DE at the top of his game who was also trying to make movies. But as a whole I did relate.

AllHipHop.com: What made you want to start Team Sizzle?

Terrell Suggs: I really wanted to get great films out there. I’m tired of people just putting anything on film and calling it a movie. I want show how much I appreciate great quality work, and the best way to do that is to create some of my own.

AllHipHop.com: God forbid any injuries, how long do you see yourself playing football?

Terrell Suggs: I don’t know. I’ve been in the league for seven years now, and I haven’t really been hurt, so I guess we’ll see. I’d love to play for 15 years though. If I have to walk away before that time, then I’ll bite the bullet.

AllHipHop.com: Would you walk away from it all to pursue your passion for you movie company?

Terrell Suggs: No. I love football just as much as I love movies. If I cant have them both, then I’ll choose neither.

AllHipHop.com: If you were going to cast a Hip-Hop action movie who would you cast?

Terrell Suggs: Dwayne Johnson, Derek Luke, Mos Def, Common, Alicia Keys, Rob Brown, Channing Tatum, or Zoe Kravitz.

AllHipHop.com: When do you plan to release your first movie?

Terrell Suggs: Either this fall or at the Sundance Film Festival.

AllHipHop.com: Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions can’t wait to see your first release.

Terrell Suggs: Thanks.