THR reports that actor Benicio Del Toro is set to narrate an upcoming documentary on Jamaican reggae legend Lee “Scratch” Perry by Ethan Higbee and Adam Bhala Lough which will premiere in Los Angeles on March 25th.
Both helmers have musical docs under their belts with Lough behind the 2009 Lil Wayne study “The Carter” while Higbee is in the midst of “Basedworld” about up-and-coming rapper Lil B. The duo followed their respective docs with this look at the life of Perry, with Lough noting that “what hooked me was that through his life, you can really chart the birth and growth of reggae.”
The involvement of Del Toro is an interesting one and stems from Higbee’s days as a driver on set of Paul Haggis‘ “Crash” where their shared musical taste became a topic of conversation with Ryan Phillipe. Years later, Higbee took the opportunity to bring Del Toro on board with the actor “a big fan and supporter. We’re actuallly going to do some screenings and Q&As with him.”
“Lee is just real,” Higbee added. “He loved looking at old footage of himself. We played him 50 of his greatest songs and he remembered who played drums on what track, who was in the studio, what was going on in Jamaica at the time… I felt really lucky to get to spend this time with Lee and learn about what a great, hilarious, spiritual dude he really is.”
A major influence on artists such as Bob Marley, The Clash and the Beastie Boys, Perry is probably best known for the creation of dub from mixing board experiments as well as the Black Ark era, named after a studio built in his backyard which housed artists such as Bob Marley & The Wailers, Junior Byles, Junior Murvin and Max Romeo. He has released in excess of 60 studio albums throughout his career which began with The Upsetter, and he can next be seen at 2011’s All Tomorrow’s Parties for which he was handpicked by curators Animal Collective to perform.
Wondering if the doc will be traveling to a city near you? Check out dates and destinations here.