“Street Dreams,” the title of Nas’ 1996 classic, is also the name of a project based on the Queensbridge legend’s life. Deadline reports that BET has greenlit an hourlong pilot for the series. Nas has signed on as executive producer and Jonathan Levine (50/50) will direct the pilot.
The project finding a home at BET isn’t that much of a surprise after the success of The New Edition Story, the three-part series aired by the network last week. The biopic earned a fair amount of acclaim despite the intrusive commercials and drew the channel’s highest ratings in five years.
Street Dreams is set to focus on Nas’ rough upbringing in the Queensbridge projects and his path to becoming one of rap’s great griots. Its announcement comes three years after the excellent documentary Nas: Time Is Illmatic, which tells the story behind his epochal debut album. There’s no word on if Jungle—Nas’ brother, whose commentary delivered the documentary’s funnier and heartbreaking moments—will appear on the BET project.
