American recording artist Jennifer Hudson stars as the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, in the new coming of age biopic premiering in theaters August 13, 2021.

The trailer showcases some of Aretha’s most well known classics that will be in the film such as “Respect,” “A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel),” and “Think.” The cast includes big names in entertainment such as Oscar winning actor Forest Whitaker, comedian Marlon Wayans, and Mary J. Blige.

Jennifer Hudson expresses her gratitude for being hand-picked by Aretha herself to play this role saying “For her to choose me, I can’t even put it into words. I do not take it lightly. I just think it’s like a dream come true” in an interview with Good Morning America.

The film goes through Aretha’s life from childhood, singing in the church, to adulthood as a successful as a soul singer. Hudson went through much studying (from knowing Aretha Franklin herself) and training for this role. She learned how to play the piano, copied Aretha’s personality and mannerisms, but did not want to imitate Ms. Franklin’s singing voice, rather sing the songs in her own way.

The biopic has not yet been confirmed to be released on any streaming platforms.

Emmy-nominated actress Issa Rae (HBO’s Insecure) is set to produce and potentially star in a new version of the 1996 film “Set It Off” at New Line Cinema. She will be taking on the project along with her Issa Rae Productions partner Montrel McKay. Syreeta Singleton and Nina Gloster are the scriptwriters.

This Netflix original is one you are sure to fall in love with. The teenage prodigy beat maker named August Monroe, will have you nodding your head to his high energetic beats and also will put you in awe of his perseverance as he navigates through life after losing a close family member.

Majority of this film was shot in the south side of Chicago, and was directed by Chris Robinson. The cast was very talented and sought out well. To name a few members lets start with the young Chicago native Khalil Everage who played the role of August Monroe. His over protective mother at times in the movie was played by the two-time Emmy Award winner Uzo Aduba, and leading the pack we have two-time NAACP award winner, Anthony Anderson who played the role as Romelo Reese, the legendary music manager.

This film is special in so many ways, because it captivates real life issues in Chicago, the triumph to success in the music industry, and the severe harsh reality of mental health issues. In our busy day to day and social media heavy lifestyles we seem to over look our own personal mental health. Nothing is wrong with admitting you have a problem or a few short comings, it’s simply a part of being human. Some of us just need more help than others and that is when we have to make the move to seek professional help from a therapist.  Dami Lovato, quotes in an elite daily article on mental health. “I think it’s important that people no longer look at mental illness as something taboo to talk about. It’s something that’s extremely common, one in five adults has a mental illness, so basically everyone is essentially connected to this problem and this epidemic.”

Beats will take you through so many emotions and will challenge you to dig deeper into your personal dreams and goals. If you want to know more about this movie you can watch the short trailer below.

Watch Trailer Here :