Antwan “Big Boi” Patton is not a stranger to on-screen productions. The legendary OutKast member starred in films like ATL and Superfly as well as television shows like Star and Creepshow.
Big Boi is now partnering with DCR Finance Corp and 850 Entertainment to produce the upcoming crime dramedy Government Records. The series will be shot entirely in Big Boi’s hometown of Atlanta, Georgia.
“I’ve teamed up with Chris DeBlasio at 850 Entertainment on a project called Government Records, it’s going to be big! Can’t wait to get things moving,” said Big Boi in a press release.
Government Records centers around two ATF agents that work with the Atlanta Police Department and the FBI to pose as music moguls in order to infiltrate the local Hip Hop scene. The investigation’s goal is to bring down a crime ring that is run by a 1990s-era recording artist named Sugar Key.
“I’ve been looking for a project that would both highlight the city of Atlanta and bring recurring work to the area,” said DeBlasio. “When the script first came to me it was actually being developed as a feature film, but the characters and material were so rich that I immediately decided that it needed to be a series, to fully cover the scope of the story.”
Some of the names that are being considered for roles on Government Records include DMX, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Pepa from Salt-N-Pepa, Doug E. Fresh, Grand Master Flash, Rob Base, Montell Jordan, and Treach from Naughty by Nature. Plus, Big Boi will appear on the show in the first season.
“It’s sort of an Empire meets Get Shorty hybrid,” says series creator and head writer Terron R. Parsons. “But, this story, although it does fit into the genres of other successful shows, is unique in the way that it brings the worlds of law enforcement, crime, and the music industry together – with the task force creating a music studio, building this undercover operation just to bring down one guy. It’s essentially a heist movie, except the federal agents are the ones pulling the job. I don’t think we’ve really seen anything from that perspective before on TV.”
DCR Finance Corp’s Adi Cohen and Jordi Rediu, Go Media’s Len Gibson and Wayne Overstreet, 850 Entertainment’s Chris DeBlasio, Jonathan Kelly, and Terron R. Parsons, and Antwan “Big Boi” Patton will all serve as executive producers for Government Records. Kristopher Drees is credited as a producer.