MOS DEF TO PLAY CHUCK BERRY

The Hollywood Reporter has been reporting (and it's been repeated all over the web) that Mos Def has been cast as Chuck Berry in the upcoming film about Chess Records. I think that's a great bit of casting. I got to interview Mos once, and he loves all kinds of music, including early rock and roll, which he celebrates in "Rock and Roll," off of his 1999 classic solo debut, Black On Both Sides. In it, he sang "Elvis Presley ain't got no soul/Chuck Berry is rock and roll/You may dig on The Rolling Stones/but they ain't come up with that shit on they own." Beyonce is playing Etta James (a bit of casting I'm less down with). But anything that turns younger people on to the awesome music from Chess Records is cool with me. If Mos and Beyonce bring more people to the party, then great. In another cool bit of casting, Jeffrey Wright is playing Muddy Waters. Mos and Wright co-starred in the awesome Broadway production Top Dog/Underdog. I'm looking forward to seeing this movie, big time.