John Legend to Play Musician Harry Belafonte in Bill Condon's Apartheid-Era Drama THE ROAD HOME

EGOT-winner John Legend is set to star in The Road Home, a film about South African jazz legends Hugh Masekela and Miriam “Mama Africa” Makeba, and their Apartheid-era Graceland tour with Paul Simon. Legend will portray American singer, actor and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte.

The Road Home follows as renowned trumpeter Masekela (award-winning South African star Thabo Rametsi) is pulled between two worlds.

In the late 1980s, the anti-Apartheid Movement, led by his mentor, fierce anti-Apartheid advocate Archbishop Trevor Huddleston (Oscar nominee Guy Pearce), launches a boycott against Hugh’s friend Paul Simon (South African-born actor-musician Johnny Flynn), over his township music-inspired album Graceland, accusing Simon of violating the United Nations’ Cultural Boycott.

Emmy, Grammy and Tony winner and Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo portrays powerhouse vocalist Makeba as she joins forces with Masekela — who sees music as a mighty weapon in the struggle — to create the Graceland band, a supergroup designed to bring South Africa’s voice to the world.

“I was honored to know Mr. Belafonte as my friend, mentor and collaborator in the struggle for justice,” Legend said. “He was an incredible human being who lived a monumental, revolutionary life. He was the epitome of an artist and activist who set a standard for me and so many others who stand on his shoulders. I count it a privilege to be entrusted with the role of Harry Belafonte in this special film.”

Principal photography on the movie, directed by Oscar winner Bill Condon, is underway in South Africa.

via: Variety