"Drumline," the 2002 film that features a struggling percussion student trying to make it in the college band, has officially returned as a sequel for TV. VH1 presents "Drumline: A New Beat," which will be focusing on a female lead as she makes a name for herself in the fictitious Atlanta A&T, the Associated Press reported.
Actress Alexandra Shipp plays upper class Brooklyn girl Danielle "Dani" Raymond, who will try to outshine the rest of the band, including rival Jayven (Jordan Calloway). LeToya Luckett plays Nia Phillips, while original actor Sean Taylor (Leonard Roberts) plays the band's new leader. But where is Nick Cannon?
Flavorwire said that Cannon, who is known nowadays for his purported troubled marriage with wife Mariah Carey, has been advocating for the film's sequel for quite some time. In "A New Beat" Cannon has been given the opportunity to appear as Devon, albeit somewhat of a mentor-life role. Cannon is also the producer of the made-for-TV film.
In the actors' interview with The Source, Luckett refuses to see "A New Beat" as a sequel. She explained, "This is just something totally different, it's fresh, it's new, a whole new storyline, new characters and I think it's exciting. I think more attention needs to be brought to these campuses. We need to get more attention to the HBCUs (Historically black colleges and universities). We need to let them know that ‘hey we need higher education'. We need to fund these these bands and you guys need to experience more of this."
Susan Levison, head of programming at VH1, told AP why they decided to go with a female lead instead of focusing on Cannon's character after that cult-favorite epic drum battle. She said, "Our focus is on stories that have twist and turns, telling a story we've never heard of before. Involving music is important to our brand. We feel 'Drumline' can help that cause."
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