B Y K I L L I A N W R I G H T- J A C K S O N PHOTOGR APHY BY T YREE HARRIS
Murder to Excellence Jermaine Fowler takes on disparate roles, tackles a range of Black narratives and learns lessons in quarantine.
LAST YEAR, DAYS AFTER COMPLETING Coming 2 America, Fowler was on a plane to Cleveland for a role in Judas and the Black Messiah. It was like hopping through a portal. In the former, an opulent comedy, he stars as the heir to an African dynasty. In the latter, he is Black Panther Mark Clark, witness to the short life and legacy of Fred Hampton. Like the transition in Kanye & Jay-Z’s “Murder to Excellence,” this dizzying shift from a violent presentpast into a gilded future mirrors the ongoing contradictions of a reality where Black creatives and businesspeople are rising and profiting and yet Black people are still being policed and murdered and fighting for a modicum of dignity.
70 culturedmag.com