Four decades after his death, Jimi Hendrix is still considered by many to be the best and most influential electric guitar player of all time. Though he was only well known for about three years before his untimely death in 1970, his music went on to influence countless successful musicians in the preceding decades. Guitarists from many genres including- blues, rock, heavy metal, funk, etc- cite Hendrix as an influence.
In the new movie titled All Is By My Side, Hendrix is portrayed by Andre 3000. Besides being an actor Andre has had a successful career in music, most notably as a rapper in the popular hip hop duo known as Outkast. The film was written and directed by John Ridley, who also wrote the award winning 12 Years A Slave. The movie tells the story of Jimi Hendrix as he was gaining fame and notoriety, up until he played at the Monterrey pop festival in 1967 which sent him into the mainstream. The movie was not approved by the Jimi Hendrix estate (which is controlled by his family), so unfortunately it wont feature any of his music. The film debut last year at the Toronto international film festival; it will soon be screened in the South by southwest film festival held in Austin, Texas. The movie will be released to the the general public later this year and for now there is only a short trailer. On top of resembling Jimi Hendrix physically, Andre seems to nail Jimi’s personality, at least compared to interviews of him i’ve seen. The film looks to be a great insight into who Jimi Hendrix, the icon, was as a person.