Tuesday Tea ☕
Casting news just landed, and it's a big one.
Rapper Kid Cudi announced this week that he's making JEAN, a biopic of Jean-Michel Basquiat. He's writing it, directing it, and playing Basquiat himself, with production set to start next year. He calls it a "love letter" to Jean, the 80s, and New York City, and says he's put in a lot of research, reading books and talking with people who knew the artist.
It's also not Cudi's first step into the art world. He paints under the name Scotty Ramon, debuted his work at Art Cologne in 2025, and had his first solo show in Paris this January.
Some will say a fellow artist who grew up inspired by Basquiat is exactly who should tell this story. Others will say a legacy this big deserves a different kind of voice behind the camera.
Should a Basquiat biopic be told by someone like Cudi, or is this one too big a role to take on?
Let Kid Cudi take on such a momentous challenge to 'be Basquiat'. Larger than life artists are difficult portrayals regardless and a chance to match talents with talents is worth an attempt if so inclined to pursue and deliver it.