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T La Rock's story is coming to the silver screen Def Jam founder Russell Simmons is bringing Def Jam's first artist T La Rock life story to the silver screen. The rights to the film have been sold to 20th Century Fox, which based on an article that appeared in GQ magazine written by Joshuah Bearman titled "The Man Who Forgot He Was a Rap Legend." The publication is about him being a rap pioneer and his rise fame and him suffering a serious brain injury that left him in a coma and him recovering in a nursing home. The film will be produced by Russell Simmons along with Jake Stein under DEF pictures, and Mike Medavoy, who produced Black Swan & Shutter Island. “T La Rock has always been an inspiration to me and many in the hip hop community,” said Simmons. “This is a man who was literally beaten to within an inch of his life at the height of his fame. How he regained his memory and recovered from his coma while being cared for and surrounded by the most unlikely group of therapists and friends is the kind of hope-filled and hopeful true story that will appeal to everyone, whether you love rap music or not.” RECOMMENDED: THE MAN WHO FORGOT HE WAS A RAP LEGEND Medavoy gave his reasoning on doing the film “When I first read the story of T La Rock’s life, it really moved me that the first Def Jam artist, with such a promising future, ended up like a fish out of water in a Jewish nursing home surrounded by elderly patients, some of whom were Holocaust survivors," added Medavoy. "Through the help and kindness of these people, and the persistence of his mother visiting every day to try to restore his lost memories, he was able to have the rare chance to take stock of his life and determine a different path as he went out into the world. A chance to live a better life." T La Rock's "It's Yours" was the first official single released on Def Jam Recordings back in 1984 followed by lL Cool J's "I Need A Beat" a couple of months later. T La Rock recovered from his brain injury and has started back recording and touring as well.

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Russell Simmons To Produce Film On Def Jam’s First Artist T La Rock

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