First Look At Andre 3000 As Jimi Hendrix

The new Jimi Hendrix biopic got off to a rough start with issues stemming from Hendrix's estate, but in a new clip from All Is By My Side with Andre 3000 in character as Jimi Hendrix, it looks like the film at least got something right. In the newly released one-minute clip, Outkast's Andre 3000, who goes by his real name Andre Benjamin for the film, nails Hendrix's unique speaking voice.

All Is By My Side is not able to use Hendrix's music because Experience Hendrix LLC, which is helmed by Hendrix's sister Janie, holds the rights to his music and will not give permission to any biopic unless they are included "from the inception of any such film project." The film's director and writer, John Ridley (who just won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for 12 Years a Slave,) decided to continue with the film anyway, so having a spot-on Hendrix was of the utmost importance.

And it looks like Andre 3000 was the right choice. Ridley previously stated that Andre 3000 was the only actor he considered for the role. All Is By My Side follows Hendrix from his start of his music career until his performance at the Monterrey Pop Festival in 1967. This was partially done as a way around needing much of Hendrix's music. In the clip, Andre 3000 talks to Linda Keith (Imogen Poots) about his budding career, playing alongside Simon and Garfunkel and Otis Reeding, and tells her he wrote a song for her. Linda, who also dated Keith Richards, tells Hendrix, "Keith wrote 'Ruby Tuesday' for me when we broke it off" and then gives him a talking to about how rock stars can handle crowds of thousands, but not relationships with one person.

While it appears that Andre 3000 will be great as Hendrix, it is still going to be hard to get around the fact that a biopic about a musical legend will use covers and songs by other artists instead of Hendrix's real music. Use of the actual music would lend a lot of power to certain scenes and without it, it will be hard for the movie to feel complete. It's a big hurdle to overcome, but maybe Andre 3000 and John Ridley can make it happen.

All Is By My Side will have its U.S. premiere during the South By Southwest film festival which runs March 7 through 16.