'On the Come Up' Trailer Showcases Sanaa Lathan's Hip-Hop Directorial Debut

Sanaa Lathan, the actress known for Love & Basketball, Alien vs. Predator and her Emmy-nominated work on Succession, is making her feature directorial debut with On the Come Up, a coming-of-age story set in the world of battle rap.

"Once upon a time, there was a girl named Bri — that's me," the movie's 16-year-old protagonist (played by newcomer Jamila C. Gray) narrates the first trailer. "In this fairy tale, my father was once a king, now I'm chasing his dream: The greatest rapper Garden Heights had ever seen."

Bri enters the local rap scene hoping to continue the legacy of her late father, a rising hip-hop legend killed by gang violence. When her first song goes viral, she has to decide what she wants her own legacy to be. Lathan co-stars as Bri's mother, with a cast that also includes Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Lil Yachty, Mike Epps and Cliff "Method Man" Smith.

Lathan directs from a script by Kay Oyegun, based on the novel of the same name by best-selling author Angie Thomas (The Hate U Give). On the Come Up with premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival before streaming on Paramount+ on September 23.

Watch the trailer below.

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