Area ‘Wire’ actor eyes a rap career
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Posted By: Jon C. on August 26, 2008 Andy Vineburg Bucks County Courier-Times Brandon Young's face will be familiar to a lot more TV viewers starting today. But it's his voice that he hopes will ultimately earn him mass recognition. Young, a 1999 Neshaminy High School graduate now living in Los Angeles, had a small but significant part in the fifth and final season of HBO's acclaimed drama “The Wire,” which comes out on DVD today. He appeared in nine of the season's 10 episodes as Baltimore Sun reporter Mike Fletcher, playing a key role in one of the major character's storylines. Young is pursuing other acting jobs and has a handful of projects lined up. But he's focusing much of his attention right now on a rap music career. “I was an MC before I started studying acting,” said Young, who recorded an EP in 2005 with his brother Kevin and childhood friend Chuck Neal as the group True & Livin'. “My mind is wrapped around music right now.” B Young (his rap persona) is working on an album with producer Tha S Ence, one half of the respected Philly hip-hop duo Hustle Simmons. “Doing "The Wire' opened doors for me in the music community,” Young said in a recent telephone interview. “I'd be at hip-hop events, and people would recognize me from the show. They wanted to see what I could bring to the table. I shared that with my music friends back home, and Tha S Ence said we should do a project together. “He's been e-mailing me beats pretty frequently, and I've been writing lyrics to go with them. I've got a job temping as a file clerk at a pharmaceutical company, and during my down time I'll be there with a pen and headphones getting my ideas out. So far it's been pretty productive.” Young already has two songs up on his myspace site (www.myspace.com/youngbemcee) and has been recording at a studio in Hollywood on Sunday nights. He plans to fly east and record in Philadelphia starting Monday. In the meantime, he hasn't given up acting. He recently completed work in Ohio on a short indie film, “Round on Both Sides,” in which he plays a pool shark. At the end of the month, he leaves for Minneapolis to star in the multi-media interactive production “Freedom Rising,” a show he originally did at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Of course, it's doubtful any future acting projects Young gets will be as rewarding as “The Wire,” one of the most critically hailed TV dramas in history (although you wouldn't know it from the Emmy voters, who recognized the show with just one nomination this year and only two total, both for writing). “I don't expect any work I get in the future to be as rich as the scripts I was reading for "The Wire,' ” said Young, whose parents Raymond and Carol still live in Langhorne. “It's something I learned from my castmates on the show. They worked on other dramas that weren't as thorough as what Ed (Burns) and David (Simon) were giving us. Which is to be expected. “But I'm not going to approach any work like, I can't do this. I'm open to anything. Now that "The Wire' is no longer in production, I have to move on.” Not that Young is completely giving up on future-“Wire” work. “I think there will be a film version,” he said. “(Actors) Wendell (Pierce) and Sonja (Sohn) have talked about getting it in production. Right now, it's just talk. But I don't think Ed and David are done with the story. “I have clear visions for my character. I don't think his story is over.” But for now, and maybe forever, Young and other “Wire” fans are limited to reliving the old episodes on DVD. The fifth season focused largely on the struggles of a major metropolitan newspaper while continuing the show's ongoing themes of corruption within the police department, school system and political arena. And the drug war and inner-city dramas remained central to the plot, resulting in three truly gut-wrenching murder scenes this season. “It's been like a victory lap,” Young said of his time on “The Wire.” “I'm so elated to have been a part of history in this way. Every now and then when I get down or don't execute an audition as well as I should have, I just have to remind myself that this is the family I was a part of.” “The Wire” occasionally included rap music in its soundtrack. But Young never asked series creator David Simon if he could record a song for the show. “I was just happy to be Fletcher,” he said. “I wasn't trying to push beyond that.” If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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Jon C.
Benefits Management Analyst, State of Ohio Hampton University class of 2004 Member Since July 2003 |
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