By Roman Wolfe and Jigsaw
Rap star/mogul Jay-Z is planning to release a movie based around his upcoming conceptual album American Gangster.
The album contains all-new original material from Jay-Z and is his lyrical interpretation of the movie American Gangster, which stars Denzel Washington as 1970's heroin kingpin Frank Lucas.
“What I really plan to do is shoot [American Gangster, the album] as a movie. Like a better Streets is Watching.” Jay-Z told AllHipHop.com during a recent interview. “Doing it like a musical. Real stories and get somebody in there that’s [going do to]…real writing. Someone to shoot it like ‘Godfather.’ I know that’s a little ungracious, but that’s how you gotta place it..."
Jay-Z's American Gangster features guest appearances by Beanie Sigel, Nas and Bilal and production from Jermaine Dupri, The Neptunes, Just Blaze, DJ Toomp, Sean "Diddy" Combs and others.
Jay-Z, who also plans to star in the movie version of his album, is also in the process of selecting a band for an upcoming tour.
“I really look forward to touring, because of the music…the musicality of it all," Jay-Z said. "I’m looking at a band right now. I’m looking to tour this summer. With all that instrumentation that’s in that album [American Gangster], forget about it."
For the full feature with Jay-Z, click here.