ASAP Rocky will be making his film debut later this week at the Sundance Film Festival. The Harlemnite is playing a supporting role in the film, Dope, which shows how a group of nerdy teens survive during a bad day in The Bottoms, a rough area of Inglewood, CA. After helping his then girlfriend Chanel Iman practice for her part, Pretty Flacko asked for an audition and was added to the cast. The film’s director Rick Famuyiwa said he liked Rocky’s “natural charisma and ability.”
The film’s main character is a 90’s hip-hop geek named Malcolm who travels a different path than others his age in his crime and gang infested neighborhood.
“He isn’t a drug dealer or a gang banger,” Famuyiwa told Entertainment Weekly. “He’s into all types of music, and video games and computers. We’ve seen a lot of films about everything else in these neighborhoods—the crime, the athletes, the gangs—but you don’t see films about the regular kids who have to survive in these streets.”
Pharrell also put his two cents into the film by writing three songs for the garage band that Malcolm is a part of in the film. Skateboard P also produced the film along with Diddy and Forest Whitaker. Tyga, Vince Staples and Casey Veggies also make appearances in the film.
Dope will be shown from Jan. 22nd to Feb. 1st.
Watch the trailer below.