Jay Z’s streaming service Tidal – which has come under a bit of fire since its launch – may be on the road to redemption with this newest endeavor. On Thursday it was revealed that Tidal will be producing an original boxing film starring recent Academy Award winners Mahershala Ali (Moonlight) and Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave). That’s a power move.
Mysterious ads popped up online and all around New York City’s Time Square with just “4:44” on them, spurring rumors that Jay Z was about to drop a new album. As it turns out, the banners were references the exclusive upcoming film, Tidal’s first piece of original cinematic content.
Joining Ali and Nyong’o is Lethal Weapon legend Danny Glover.
A black-and-white trailer for the film showed Ali as a boxer, flinching in the light, as a soulful electronic score played. A trainer was seen in the background and the film’s impressive cast was listed at the end.
Tidal is keeping a tight lid on the movie as all we know about it is that it will be rated NC-17. The trailer dropped Wednesday during the NBA Finals.
HOV purchased Tidal in 2014 and though it has produced some interesting exclusive content, it has yet to really make a dent in Spotify’s market share. At $19.99, Tidal is nearly twice as expensive as most streaming service’s and has yet to really get off the ground with Jay Z at the helm. But original content is key these days and nabbing two Oscar winners to help breakthrough to the mainstream is a strong statement. It also shows how versatile Tidal hopes to be.
Gotta say, 4:44 does look pretty dope.
