Red Carpet Fab: Benji premiere at the TriBeca Film Festival

Quick- what do Mos Def, Erykah Badu and Kanye West all have in common? If you guessed creating dope music then you are half way correct- the iconic musicians have all worked with Chicago born music video directors Coodie and Chike.

Martellus Bennett of the NY Giants posed with his girlfriend

This past Friday I attended the red carpet premiere of Coodie and Chike’s first big screen directorial debut “Benji” at the TriBeca Film Festival. The red carpet had plenty of star power from today’s football and basketball stars including Lamar Odom-Khloe Kardashian’s hubby. Lamar told me exclusively why he came out to the premiere “I love Benji, I love the story. I was the number one player in the country myself and just to think anything could have happened to me at that time is unfathomable”

Coodie and Chike’s heart wrenching story about 1970’s basketball star Benjamin (Benji) Wilson was poignant, brilliant and inspiring. If you are like me, and not really into sports- chances are you haven’t heard about Benji until now. The movie transcended just sports and offered a peak into the short life of Benji in a respectful and insightful way. To put this in context Benji Wilson was the most highly recruited high school player in1984, the very same year that another Chicago basketball star Michael Jordan signed his multi-million dollar deal with the Chicago Bulls. Benji was poised for super stardom when his light was dimmed in a tragic accident in a senseless shooting prior to Benjy’s senior year.

The film featured appearances from R.Kelly (who once played with Benji in a Chicago basketball court) rapper Common, Benji’s family and a slew of basketball players including Tim Hardaway.

I also got a chance to get a quick glimpse of Robert DeNiro, one of the founders of the TribeCa Film Festival.He made a quick dash past me on the red carpet but I have to tell you, Mr. DeNiro has so much swag y’all, that man was dripping swagu.

The film will be broadcast on EPSN in October and available for purchase on Amazon later this year, don’t miss it!