Förra veckan hade den nya serien “Mo” premiär på Netflix. Serien är skapad av komikern Mo Amer och komedidramat beskrivs som en delvis biografisk historia baserad på hans familjs flykt från Kuwait till Houston, Texas. Familjen är palestinier och det som utspelar sig i serien är motgångarna och omständigheterna som omgärdat deras 22 år i USA, hela tiden mellan att bli deporterade och få amerikanska medborgarskap.

I seriens första säsong, som består av åtta avsnitt, syns Amer själv som Mo Najjar. Men även Bun B och Tobe Nwigwe kan glimtas i trailern som börjar med Paul Wall-låten “Sittin’ Sidewayz”. I en intervju med Complex berättar Amer mer om samarbetet med rapparna:

“When I was describing to our directors of photography how I wanted the show visually to look, I described it as an urban Western, something that’s bright and show the richness of the clouds from the Gulf, and to have it as a character in the show. So absolutely that was all deliberate and meaningful. The fact that Paul Wall is a dear friend of mine now, or Bun B, these guys that I looked up to as a kid, now calling them my friends and my brothers and collaborators, was just incredible. I wanted them to be in the show in a meaningful way as well. I didn’t want them to just be like, “Hey, here comes a Paul Wall cameo, here comes a Bun B cameo”, säger han och fortsätter:

“I never wanted that. That’s why it was hard to put all the hip-hop artists in there. It was just really hard. I wish I could have everyone in the show from Slim Thug to Trae tha Truth to Z-Ro, but the best I could do is get their music in the world. So hopefully in Season 2, we’ll be able to have them come to life more and more. But I definitely didn’t want it to be a hokey cameo, ever. This is a really serious show, serious topics. It’s funny, yes, but I wanted everything to be grounded and real at the same time.”

På frågan om sin relation till Tobe Nwigwe, Houston-rapparen som på senare tid börjat göra rejält väsen ifrån sig, svarar han:

“That’s my brother, I love this man so much. We became really close in a very short period of time. We’ve known each other for almost five years now. I knew him when he was just first starting to make videos. I always joke around with him like I made his career. I introduced him to [Dave] Chappelle, and then Chappelle introduced him to [Erykah] Badu, and he made a song about Badu. I FaceTimed him when I was backstage at The Tonight Show and introduced him to Black Thought, and they went on to make a song together. It was just real love, right out of the gate. And an appreciation and understanding for what he was creating and what he was putting together. It was really similar to what I was doing and planning. So it was just this incredible relationship that ensued after that.”

Den första säsongen av “Mo” går att se via Netflix nu. Se trailern nedan!

Foto: Netflix