Courtesy of VH1
The breakout star of the rapper's latest music video will recur on the drama series.
Teyana Taylor, the breakout star of Kanye West's latest music video "Fade," is showing no signs of slowing down.
The actress-singer has booked stints on VH1's hip-hop drama The Breaks and the cable network's game show Hip Hop Squares, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Inspired by Dan Charnas' best-selling book The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop, The Breaks centers on three friends trying to fulfill their hip-hop drams in New York City in 1990. Following the TV movie that aired in VH1 in January, the series continues to explore their triumphs and heartbreaks as they attempt to make their mark in a new and complex hip-hop culture.
Taylor will recur as a rapper discovered by Nikki (Afton Williamson) who is one of the first artists signed to the label that Barry Fouray (Wood Harris) is launching. She joins a cast that also includes Mack Wilds (90210), Antoine Harris (Ballers), David Call (The Magicians), Evan Handler (Sex and the City), Melonie Diaz (Fruitvale Station), Sinqua Walls (Power) and Ali Ahn (Billions).
Charnas, Seith Mann, John J. Strauss, Bill Flanagan and Darren Goldberg exec produce the series, along with Maggie Malina, Chris McCarthy and Amy Doyle for VH1. The series is set to bow in 2017.
In addition, Taylor will also appear on the network's upcoming Hip Hop Squares. Based on the long-running game show Hollywood Squares, the update hails from Ice Cube and features celebrity contestants testing their wits and pop culture knowledge with the superstar squares, featuring the famous faces from hip-hop, comedy and entertainment.
The series, which is produced by Cube Vision, Jesse Collins Entertainment, Jeff Kwatinetz’s The Firm and CBS Television Distribution, is expected to launch this fall.
The two gigs bring Taylor back to VH1, where she caught the eye of network executives in July thanks to her Lil Kim tribute at the Viacom-owned cable network's Hip Hop Honors. However, it was her starring role (and dance moves!) in West's seemingly Flashdance-inspired music video, that has pushed her further into the spotlight. The rapper unveiled the video at Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards, and it is currently available on Tidal.
Her other acting credits include Stomp the Yard 2, Madea's Big Happy Family and MTV’s My Super Sweet Sixteen. A G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam Recordings artist, Taylor also released 2014's VIIand sang backup vocals on West's "Dark Fantasy" and "Hell of a Life." She is repped by ICM.
VH1
