The past 24 hours has been quite the whirlwind for Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def. First, the announcement was made that he was be portraying jazz legend Thelonious Monk in an upcoming biopic, slated to begin production in 2022.
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Yet, due to a new revelation from Monk's estate, Bey will be stepping down from the role. The rapper explained how everyone was so excited about the project, but the one person who didn't share that sentiment was Monk's son, T.S. Monk. He told Pitchfork, “This project and its announcement are totally unauthorized! I hate the script and I control the music in Thelonious’ catalog. There is no involvement by anyone in the Monk family with this project, and we actually condemn the effort.” T.S. Monk is also the chairman and co-founder of Rhythm-A-Ning Entertainment, which is the official company of the Thelonious Monk Estate.
According to a press release, Thelonious was set to revolve around the jazz icon's "struggles for musical success, mental illness, and the spiritual love triangle between his wife Nellie and one of the world’s richest women Nica Rothschild."
Bey took to Instagram with the devastating yet respectable update. He expressed, "Let me be clear, if the Monk Estate is not happy with it, if Mr. Monk III is not happy with it, then neither am I. To be clear, I was given every indication by the production company that the family was on board. It was one of my primary questions [...] I took them at their word and clearly, that wasn't the case."
Bey did admit that he's still "super excited if there's an opportunity to tell this story in the right way, only with the estate's approval, involvement and full acceptance." He continued to explain his love for Thelonious Monk and his work, so we hope things can work out in the future. Check out Bey's full explanation above.
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