Azealia Banks To Star As An Aspiring Rapper In A Musical Drama Directed By RZA

Her costars will include Common and Jill Scott.

May 27, 2015

Update, 5/27/2015, 4:15 PM: According to Pitchfork, the project's name is actually Coco, and it will be a musical drama.

Back when she was a student at the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts in Manhattan, Azealia Banks tried her hand at an acting career without much luck. Now, however, the roles are coming to her—well, at least one has. Banks will star in an upcoming film directed by RZA called It Doesn't Have to Rhyme. Painted as "similar in tone to 8 Mile," according to The Hollywood Reporter, the production follows Banks' character, an aspiring rapper, as she starts a college poetry class and turns to slam poetry. Banks will be joined in the movie by her mentor Common, her professor Jill Scott, who thinks that rap and slam poetry are at odds, and Lorraine Toussaint (Orange Is the New Black) playing the role of her mother. The film does not yet have a release date.

Lead photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Azealia Banks To Star As An Aspiring Rapper In A Musical Drama Directed By RZA