John Legend will play singer, actor and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte in the apartheid-era film The Road Home.
The singer, 47, will star in the film alongside Thabo Rametsi, Cynthia Erivo, Guy Pearce and Johnny Flynn.
Directed by Academy Award winner Bill Condon, the film follows South African jazz musicians Hugh Masekela and Miriam “Mama Africa” Makeba, and their apartheid-era Graceland tour with Paul Simon.
The synopsis for the film reads: “Exiled from his native South Africa, trumpeter Hugh Masekela (Rametsi) is pulled between two worlds when the Anti-Apartheid Movement, led by his mentor, fierce anti-apartheid advocate Archbishop Trevor Huddleston (Pearce), launches a boycott against Hugh’s friend Paul Simon (Flynn), over his township music-inspired album Graceland, accusing Simon of violating the United Nations’ cultural boycott.
“Splitting from his mentor, Masekela, who sees music as a powerful weapon in the struggle, he joins forces with fellow exile and lifelong collaborator, powerhouse vocalist Miriam ‘Mama Africa’ Makeba (Erivo), to create the Graceland band – a supergroup designed to bring South Africa’s voice to the world.
“Featuring the exhilarating music of Masekela, Makeba and Paul Simon, this is a story of defiance, sacrifice and the resilience of the human spirit.”
Filming is currently under way in South Africa.
Legend said he was “honoured to know him (Belafonte) as a friend, mentor and collaborator in the struggle for justice”.
“He was an incredible human being who lived a monumental, revolutionary life. He was the epitome of an artist and activist who set a standard for me and so many others who stand on his shoulders.
“I count it a privilege to be entrusted with the role of Harry Belafonte in this special film.”
The script was written by Michael Bronner, who was approached by the Hugh Masekela Heritage Foundation to write the project, alongside South African writer Zakes Mda.
Music producer Hilton Rosenthal is a co-producer and will be producing new recordings from Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba’s catalogue of songs for the film’s soundtrack.
Masekela, who was described as the “father of South African jazz”, was known for writing anti-apartheid songs such as Soweto Blues and Bring Him Back Home.
He was forced into exile following the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre, being accepted into London’s Guildhall School of Music that same year.
He later visited the United States, where he met and became friends with Belafonte, himself a civil rights activist who was a close confidant of Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela.
One of the few performers to have received an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (Egot), Belafonte died aged 96 in 2023.
A fellow Egot recipient, Legend has won 13 Grammys, an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a Tony award throughout his career.
He appeared in La La Land, Underground and American Dreams.
