Demetrius Flenory Jr. and Da'Vinchi as Demetrius Flenory and Terry Flenory - Courtesy of Starz
Big Meech's story is coming to Starz in the new 50 Cent-produced crime drama, "Black Mafia Family", detailing Demetrius "Big Meech" Flenory and his brother Terry "Southwest T" Flenory's vision beyond the drug trade and into the world of hip hop would render the brothers iconic on a global level. Big Meech's son, Demetrius Flenory Jr., leads the series playing his father with Da'Vinchi as Terry Flenory. The cast is rounded out with a star-studded cast with Michole Briana White, Russell Hornsby, Kash Doll, Lala Anthony, Snoop Dogg, and recently announced Eminem set to star.
Your Voice Media Correspondent, Ty Cole, spoke to Flenory, Da'Vinchi, and executive producer Randy Huggins about why they decided to attach their name to the project and why this show is needed for the culture.
Cole: Why did you decide to attach yourself to the project?
Huggins: As a Detroiter like Meech and Flenory, it was a great opportunity to spend the last three years researching their story and to tell their story on screen. I grew up in the 80s and Meech wanted to really delve into their origin story and why they made the choices they made. Their story resonated with my story growing up as well.
Cole: How much of Little Meech will we see in the show in Big Meech?
Flenory: You'll mostly see a lot of me within my character portraying my father because I could only be myself and not be my father - I can only put myself in his show and grab my real emotion. We had an amazing cast and Da'Vinchi and I was able to learn from a lot of legends like Wood Harris. It helped me grow as an actor.
Cole: Why do you think this show is needed for the culture and what can they learn from it?
Da'Vinchi: The culture needs a show like this because we needed to understand the why? There's always a reason a person becomes who they are. People see the last few years and judge people off of that instead of understanding where they come from, which results in who they are as people now. Look at the founding fathers of the country that we're in, they've done some gangsta sh*t, and in this country. While the gangstas get rewarded, there are consequences as well.
See the decisions Meech and Southwest made that ultimately catapulted the brothers into the legends they are today in "Black Mafia Family" on September 26th on STARZ and internationally on STARZPLAY.