Hold up – he’s a rapper?
Mahershala Ali is a man of many talents. Not only has he been an American actor for over 15 years and, as of yesterday, undertaken a new career as a Calvin Klein model, but he’s also a rapper under the moniker Prince Ali. Check out the prince’s verses in the video below, complete with 00s lo-fi graphics.
Who knows what could’ve happened if Prince Ali hadn’t given up his music career?
The American actor won Best Supporting Actor for Moonlight at the Oscars this week (26 February) and the film won the coveted Best Picture award. Ali is also the first Muslim actor to win an academy award at the prestigious ceremony. It was a triumph for the Moonlight cast as the Barry Jenkins-directed film explores black masculinity and queerness – topics that aren’t often explored in mainstream cinema.
Last year, Spike Lee, Jada Pinkett Smith and husband Will Smith boycotted the Oscars 2016 ceremony due to its lack of diversity. 40 white actors had been nominated in two years (2015-2016) and no black actors had been chosen at all.
Yesterday (27 February), Calvin Klein revealed its SS17 men’s campaign – lensed by Willy Vandeperre – featuring black-and-white photos of Moonlight actors Mahershala Ali, Ashton Sanders and Trevonte Rhodes in underwear.
(via FADER)