Comedy icon and movie star Eddie Murphy is poised to star in Soul Soul Soul: The Murray Murray Story, a mockumentary about music sampling. According to Deadline, Netflix is currently negotiating an original release of the film. Written by Chris Case, the film shares the narrative of fictional 1960s soul singer Murray Murray, played by Murphy. In the comedy, Murray discovers that a successful rapper sampled his hit 1962 song and he decides to get his band back together to hit the road in search of vengeance and success.
While Murphy’s reception with Black moviegoers has been rather lukewarm as of late — how many Black people actually went to see his last two releases A Thousand Words and Mr. Church? — this one may do well. It presents a story that’s familiar to Black music lovers of both old and new generations.
Sampling, which became popularized by hip-hop artists, includes mixing classic and often unknown old records with new beats and placing them beneath tracks. Artists like A Tribe Called Quest and Sean “Diddy” Combs are known as masters in the field, often mixing beats beyond recognition and introducing old sounds to new audiences. While some fans love the mix, others claim sampling lacks originality and true musicianship. Many older musicians, whom Murray will no doubt represent, feel sampling is like stealing — especially when older artists aren’t given their props and money following the new release. This has led to finger-pointing and many court battles where newer artists claim there is artistry in the sampling.
Soul Soul Soul will unite Murphy with director Brett Ratner, whom he worked with for 2011’s Tower Heist. Reportedly, the two are waiting to see Case’s script for the fake documentary before they sign on the dotted line.
So, what say you, rolling out readers: are we going to support Soul Soul Soul?
