Love Jones the movie is nearing its 20 year anniversary and in commemoration of the romantic comedy’s milestone, the critically acclaimed film has now been adapted for the stage, in Love Jones the Musical. The stage adaptation of the film takes the essence of the film and tells its story through music. The musical is scheduled to tour nationally this Fall/ Winter, with a stop in Detroit on Oct. 7 and 8.
The musical’s production will boast an all-star cast of R&B music’s biggest names, including Chrisette Michelle, Musiq Soulchild, Marsha Ambrosius, Raheem Devaughn, Dave Hollister and MC Lyte, who were all carefully selected to star in the must-see musical event of the year. Fusing chart-topping hits and fan favorite songs from the artists themselves, along with mixing in a few original songs created specifically for the musical, this production will be a transformative experience for the audience.
Rolling out caught up MC Lyte, one of the first female rap pioneers, and also one of the most well-known celebrities in the musical, to discuss her role and thoughts. Read below to find out what she had to say about the star-studded musical.
Love Jones the movie was one of the most iconic love stories from the ’90s with a lot of memorable characters. Tell us what role you play.
I am MC Lyte in the musical. I’m actually the club owner, so I am the owner of the Sanctuary. And the club has been there for years. In the beginning, it wasn’t going so well, but once we added an open mic night she was able to be extremely successful with the club. Really, it’s all about my character providing a platform for a multitude of personalities to come and express themselves through poetry, through songs, and through networking.
Will this be both an acting and singing role for you? Will you be performing any of your original songs in the musical?
Yes, I’ll be performing. Definitely performing. It’s a musical. So, I should say there’s no dialog from the movie, there’s no poetry from the movie. It’s strictly inspired by the movie. It is definitely a musical with over 27 songs that are being sung in the play.
How did you get involved in the musical?
Well, they called me and asked me for my participation. And of course, like many people of my generation loved the movie, they loved the narrative of the characters involved, and I thought it would be a great opportunity to be involved in a project that was inspired by it.
Being one of the most well-respected female rap pioneers you created real music. Music back then was sensible, authentic and fun. I’m sure we’re going to hear some of that essence in the musical. But tell us what you think about today’s generation of rap music.
Because I have the knowledge of different genres of music, during different eras, everything is OK because I’ll just pick up what I want to listen to. And I think that’s what the problem is today, people are reaching for what it is that makes them happy. I think it’s up to us, the folk who are knowledgeable about music to just impart what it is that we know upon young folk who may not have as deep of a knowledge of music and where it stems from. So, I think it’s all about each one teach one. And do I think that the content of hip-hop lyrics that are promoted on mainstream media airwaves could be better? Absolutely. But I also know that there are a lot of MCs out there and singers, who are ready to talk about something different, outside of drugs, alcohol and women. And we get a little bit of that from a Kendrick, from a J. Cole, from a Kanye, from a Macklemore. You know, there are artists that go deeper. But I’m not upset with today’s music; I’m actually disappointed in the lyrical content.
