Lisa Simone Kelly has criticised the biopic based on her mother Nina Simone, revealing its “tainted” nature. At the same time, she defended the star of the biotopic Zoe Saldana. The trailer for Nina was released on Wednesday.

“The project has been tainted from the very beginning. Clearly, it is not the truth about my mother’s life and everyone now knows that. This is not how you want your loved ones remembered,” Kelly told Time.

She slammed the depicted relationship between her mother and her manager Clifton Henderson. “The movie is about a relationship between my mother and Clifton which never took place. They never had an amorous relationship.”

She also mentioned Saldana, who had been criticised by many due to her appearance. Someone on Simone’s official Twitter account, responded coldly to the actress after she recently tweeted a quote from Simone.

Saldana was cast as the singer back in 2012. Back then, Kelly took to The New York Times to agree that she was not the best choice for the role. “My mother was raised at a time when she was told her nose was too wide, her skin was too dark. Appearance-wise this is not the best choice.”

Now four years later, she thought it was “unfortunate that Zoe Saldana is being attacked so viciously when she is someone who is part of a larger picture.”

But she maintains her views from 2012. “There are many superb actresses of color who could more adequately represent my mother and could bring her to the screen with the proper script, the proper team and a sense of wanting to bring the truth of my mother’s journey to the masses,” she said. “And Nina, in my opinion, doesn’t do any of that,” she continued.

Kelly also says she was unaware of the tweet sent to Saldana via her mother’s account.

She and her family are far happier with the documentary What happened to Miss Simone?, which has been authorised and accepted as “more accurate”. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature. It was beat by Amy, based on the life of Amy Winehouse, at the ceremony last week.

“I don’t have to justify, define or educate anybody about my mother anymore. It’s a wonderful feeling. I’m free in a way that I have never been before.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3EWygLE_No

Image: Vulture

After quite some wait, the highly anticipated biopic trailer which follows the singer, songwriter and political activist Nina Simone and the relationship between her and her assistant turned manager Clifton Henderson has now been released.

Nina stars Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Guardians of the Galaxy) as Simone and David Oyelowo (Selma) as Henderson, which has been cause for controversy since 2010 due to the dissimilarity between her and the late singer. Now with this trailer, viewers have criticised her further for wearing dark makeup and a prosthetic nose, as it extends discrimination based on colour and goes against the themes in Simone’s music.

In 2010, singer Mary J. Blige was set to play the singer but was unable to due to scheduling conflicts. Nina Simone’s daughter, Lisa Simone (executive producer on the Oscar nominated Netflix documentary What Happened, Miss Simone) has already voiced concerns with this casting choice saying, “My mother was raised at a time when she was told her nose was too wide, her skin was too dark. Appearance-wise this is not the best choice.”

She later went on to say that the tone of the script was also a problem, as it seems to give Henderson credit for Simone’s achievements in her later life.

Nina is set to be released on the 22nd of April, the day after the anniversary of the singer’s death.

Image via Today

As part of a tribute album featuring huge names like Common and Mary J. Blige, Lauryn Hill has recorded her own version of a pair of classic songs by the late, great Nina Simone. She tackles the old standard Feeling Good, a song you’ll know even if you haven’t heard the Simone original (or Michael Bublé‘s soulless hatchet job of a cover); Jay-Z and Kanye West sampled it brilliantly on New Day from Watch The Throne.

Wow. Holy shit actually. Nobody will ever match the raw sultriness of Simone’s original rendition, but Lauryn Hill comes damn close. Her voice, absolutely smoky, never falters once, the a capella introduction giving me absolute chills. I love that song but pretty much all of the covers up until this point have missed the mark pretty wide (looking at you, Muse). Lauryn Hill has absolutely nailed it here though. Damn.

The tribute album comes out on July 10, and will follow on from a new documentary about Nine Simone, which premieres on Netflix this June 26.

On top of that, she released a snippet of another song to feature on that album today finding her rapping over the top of a sample of Simone’s 1968 single Ain’t Got No, I Got Life.

The lyrics are politically-charged and deeply reflective, Hill flowing ‘Watch the words, how they twist them/Two-thirds of the world turned victim/Subtle energy that capture and block chi/The unseen violence behind a democracy/Some call it hypocrisy’.

Coming just days after the travesty in Charleston, there is so much extra meaning behind these lyrics and it’s beyond powerful. Many artists have responded in their own ways to the tragic events, and one would have to wonder what Simone, a noted civil rights activist in her time, would have made of the current state of racial equality in the United States.

Hill was only slated to work on two tracks on the tribute album, but will now appear on a further four. If they’re anywhere near as good as the first two, I can’t wait.

Lauryn Hill’s Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is probably one of the greatest neo-soul albums of all time – we documented our love for it in a recent edition of Flashback Friday. She will also be appearing at this year’s Soulfest, along with Miguel, Mary J Blige, Black Star and more. Full details here.

 

One of the greatest voices in musical history, Nina Simone, is about to be re-immortalised in a new Netflix documentary called What Happened Miss Simone?

The highly anticipated documentary is said to show the life and times of the beloved singer and activist. It’s also said to include some never-before-seen footage, as well as interviews with Simone’s daughter and much more. It’s the first time that a documentary on the late singer has featured her daughter.

The documentary just screened at the Sundance Film Festival, and will premiere on Netflix on June 26. To get you in the mood, the new two-minute trailer has just been unveiled, detailing an insightful, captivating look at the late singer, her life and her legacy.

Simone was one of those particularly fascinating artists who only had one single in the top 40 (I Love You, Porgy in 1949) but her personality, music and political beliefs have stood the test of time, and the immense legacy she’s left on the world is a clear testament to the fact.