Starz’s hit crime drama BMFhas done what no other scripted TV series has been able to do. It brought together Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, his musical mentor Eminem and rap legend Snoop Dogg.
Jackson, who executive-produces the show, directed Sunday’s Episode 7, titled “All In the Family.” Meanwhile, Snoop Dogg costarred as Pastor Swift, and Detroit native Eminem made a brief cameo as “White Boy” Rick Wershe.
The installment also featured Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory Jr., who raps in real life and stars as his father Big Meech on BMF. Detroit rapper Kash Doll, who costars as Monique, completed the package as the on-again-off-again love interest of Big Meech and his rival Lamar.
“That’s the power of hip-hop,” showrunner Randy Huggins excitedly tells TVLine. “Tell me when five hip-hop stars have been on one episodic drama? You can’t, because it’s never been done. The fact that we had 50 Cent directing? Come on. That’s huge. And he used his connections to pull in his boy Eminem. We’re making history here.”
Eric Kofi-Abrefa, who costars as Lamar, says having 50 Cent as a director heightened his already edifying experience on BMF. In one action-packed scene from Episode 7, the British actor’s character is shot and nearly killed by drug-dealing competitors. (Lamar is a character amalgamation loosely based on a real Detroit gangster named Layton Simon.)
For Huggins, BMF, which tells the story of Detroit kingpins the Flenory brothers, is an opportunity to tell a gangster story from a Black perspective set in a very Black city.
“Movies like The Godfather and Goodfellas romanticize crime and gangsters all the time,” Huggins surmises. “The Black community has its own gangsters, and BMF tells the story of two of them and what that looked like and where it all began.”
What did you think of BMF Episode 7 and Eminem’s guest-starring turn? Are you hoping 50 Cent will direct more TV installments? Drop your thoughts in the comments.