WATCH: First Teaser of Queen Latifah as Bisexual Blues Singer Bessie Smith The HBO film premieres on May 16. BY: TRACY E. GILCHRIST MARCH 17 2015 7:54 PM 44
The first teaser is out for HBO Dee Rees’ (Pariah) Bessie Smith biopic, aptly named Bessie, which stars Queen Latifah as the ahead-of-her-time queer chanteuse, and it looks and sounds amazing.
Smith, born in 1912, in Chattanooga, Tenn., is widely credited with introducing the blues into popular American music. She kicked off her career performing with Ma Rainey (played by Mo’Nique in the film) enjoyed a solid career, becoming the highest paid African American performer of the ‘20s. Her career began to wane during the Great Depression, when the recording industry was in decline, according to the University of Illinois website. A pioneer on many fronts, Smith sang songs with explicit lesbian lyrics, including “It’s Dirty But Good.” A married woman, Smith was said to keep many female lovers.
Latifah played lesbian in the '90s heist movie Set it Off, and her Mama Morton in Chicago was arguably Sapphic. We’re confident this third time will definitely charm.
-- Sometimes you have to look reality in the face and say 'No!' -Ben (Reaper)
========================================= I'm an advocate for working smarter, not harder. If you just focus on working hard you end up making someone else rich and not having much to show for it. (c) mad
~~~~ When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries. ~~~~ You cannot hate people for their own good.
Printer-friendly copy 
Email this topic to a friend
General Discussion
