The Chi has added two Grammy-nominated Chicago rappers to its star-studded cast: Da Brat and Vic Mensa.
According to Deadline, Da Brat will join the Showtime series as LaPortia, “a truck driver who’s just as comfortable passing through beds as she is through state lines.”
The “Funkdafied” rapper joins The Chi cast members Curtiss Cook, Jacob Latimore, Grammy-nominated singer Luke James, and Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Kandi Burruss, who joined last season.
Da Brat previously starred on other television series, including Empire, The Parent Hood, and is currently on the reality series Growing Up Hip Hop: Atlanta.
Vic Mensa, meanwhile, will star in The Chi as as Jamal, “a passionate but high-strung man who is fighting to get help for his girlfriend and younger sister.”
Showtime is also developing another drama series from the one and only Tyler Perry, reports Deadline. The series, Mabel, is based on Madea Simmons, the famous character Perry created and performed in stage plays and films such as Diary of a Mad Black Woman and Madea’s Family Reunion.
“Every great story has to start somewhere and every legend has a beginning,” a description of the film notes. “Long before she was the force of nature known as Madea she was a smart, fierce, irresistible, dangerous, crazy 20-something black woman named…Mabel Simmons. When she moved to Atlanta in 1972 she set the city and the world — on fire!”
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