Musicians who try their hand at acting often get a bad rap. But, in the new trailer for Jimi: All is By My Side, André Benjamin, a.k.a. André 3000, seems to rise above this, nailing his performance as the psychedelic rock god Jimi Hendrix. The film was written and directed by 12 Years a Slave scribe John Ridley, but was met with mixed reviews when it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall. Most of the gripes stemmed from the glaring lack of any actual Hendrix songs, as the artist's estate refused to grant the production permission to use them. Instead, the film will feature Benjamin covering Hendrix covers. That doesn't mean the 39-year-old rapper's performance is any less immersive, as Benjamin learned to play the guitar left handed with a right-hand guitar strung upside down, Hendrix style. He also looks to have mastered Hendrix's unique cadence in a way that can only be described as uncanny.
Imogen Poots and Hayley Atwell also star. Jimi: All is By My Side hits theaters on September 26.