It has been a pretty eventful month for A$AP Rocky, to say the least. After getting a “not guilty” verdict in his felony assault trial, the rapper has hit the ground running. When he’s not flexing fits, wearing Armani to court, or teasing music that maybe will drop sometime this decade, Rocky’s been flexing his acting chops.
He made his acting debut in 2015’s Dope as the drug dealer Dom. He then took the comedy route and made an appearance in Ben Stiller’s Zoolander 2 a year later. Of course, he had to support his girl Rihanna in her 2024 short film for Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin.
Now, Rocky is about to star in some of the most anticipated indie projects set to be released this year. He has a guest role in what’s expected to be a certified hit at the Sundance Film Festival. The film titled If I Had Legs I’d Kick You focuses on a therapist having the worst week ever.
In bigger news, he’s stepping into a lead role in Spike Lee’s next big project (the director behind classics like 1988’s School Daze and 2018’s BlacKkKlansman) alongside Denzel Washington. No big deal — just a legendary director and a major motion picture to add to his rapidly growing résumé.
What is Spike Lee’s ‘Highest 2 Lowest’ about?
Highest 2 Lowest, Lee’s first film in five years (2020’s Da Five Bloods included the late Chadwick Boseman), is a reinterpretation of another classic movie. High to Low was released in 1963, and its Japanese director, Akira Kurosawa, has been a major source of inspiration for Lee for years now.
In Kurosawa’s original film, “an executive of a Yokohama shoe company becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur’s son is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom.” Just a casual accident anyone could make.
While Lee has kept major details about the film on the down-low, we do know that Rocky will be playing the character “Yung Felon.” Denzel Washington (AKA your mom’s GOAT actor) is also a part of the cast and will be working on his fifth film with Lee. Ice Spice will be making her acting debut in the film, which is a pretty sweet first job.
After Rocky’s not guilty verdict, Spike Lee shared a first look at him in the film, ironically showing him fitted in an orange prisoner jumpsuit. Let’s hope that what the character names lack in creativity (a felon named “Yung Felon”? Groundbreaking), Lee makes up for in cinematography.
An official premiere date is still MIA. However, Lee has already shown the film to one of the greats, Martin Scorsese, who gave the project tens across the board, according to an Instagram post from Lee.
The project will be an Apple Original Film released in partnership with A24, the studio behind some of the most bizarre films ever made (looking at you, Hereditary). The film is also dropping under Lee’s production company 40 Acres and a Mule — which might sound familiar after K. Dot’s shoutout at the Super Bowl.
Along with his new position at Ray-Ban and potentially owning sports teams, A$AP Rocky has been making moves since receiving his “not guilty” verdict. His role as “Yung Felon” is only the beginning of what could be an epic rise to even more door-opening greatness.
