Netflix has released a second trailer for the highly anticipated original series, The Get Down. The series is set in the 1970’s South Bronx where disco thrived and hip hop was born.
Grandmaster Flash and Nas helped director Baz Luhrmann build a score that stayed true to the times.
“I don't know if I'm an expert, but I'm just a super fan of the old school and the golden era, and so it just felt like I couldn't have asked for a better project to be involved with,” Nas told Rolling Stone.
The main character, Ezekiel "Books" Figuero (played by Justice Smith) is a talented young artist. Rolling Stone reports Nas “ wrote every rap on this show that comes out of Ezekiel's mouth.” Nas explains how he was able to put himself in Ezekiel’s shoes.
“I said to myself, "If it was you, if Ezekiel was you, you'd be telling your story. I made myself Ezekiel. I said, "Yo, Nas, what's your story growing up in hip-hop? How do you feel by making it to become a voice in the Nineties, because you remember all the hard times, you remember Mayor Dinkins being elected, you remember New York City when the streets were flooded with crack, and crime was everywhere." So I am Ezekiel. Ezekiel is older than me, but I am that,” Nas said.
The Get Down ’s cast is full of young, rising stars. Aside from Justice Smith who you may remember from Paper Towns, expect to see Shameik Moore (Dope), Skylan Brooks (Southpaw), Jaden Smith, and tons of brand new faces like Mamoudou Athie, Herizen Guardiola, Y ahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Tremaine Brown Jr.
The Get Down Part. 1 arrives on Netflix Aug. 12. Check out the first trailer and synopsis below.
The Get Down is a mythic saga of how New York at the brink of bankruptcy gave birth to a new art form. Set in New York in 1977, this music-driven drama series chronicles the rise of hip-hop and the last days of disco -– told through the lives, music, art and dance of the South Bronx kids who would change the world forever.
