Singing competitions are all the rage. From the early days of American Idol to the recent success of the Masked Singer, society loves watching other people perform. While these shows give great opportunities to many aspiring singers, there still seems to be a missing space for rappers. Aside from Netflix’s Rhythm + Flow hip hop competition, there is no space for America’s most popular music genre. Hip hop icon Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson is looking to change that.
Curtis Jackson has announced he is producing a new rap battle competition series, Unrapped. The unscripted show is currently in development over at ABC with Jackson’s media company, G-Unit Film & Television. G-Unit Film & Television is producing with SFO Entertainment and Jackson will exec produce with Antonio Collier, Jon Sheinberg, Susie Ursitti Sheinberg, Gwen Osborne, and Matt Feige.
Unrapped will bring celebrity constants to center stage to battle rap against each other while being judged by some of hip hop’s greatest idols. Things are still being kept under wraps as casting and scouting are currently underway. With the backing of ABC and its track record for reality singing shows, it should be a mega-hit.
This isn’t Curtis Jackson’s first time teaming up with ABC. Just recently, Jackson created the ABC drama, Based on a true story, it followed Isaac Wright Jr., a prisoner who becomes a lawyer, litigating cases for other inmates while fighting to overturn his own life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. The show is currently looking for another home after being canceled after two seasons.
“I am excited to expand my relationship with ABC,” said Jackson. “Unrapped brings G-Unit Film and Television’s ability to put incredible music and musical talent on the screen to the competition space.”
Curtis Jackson’s first run with reality television was back in 2013 with Dream School. A SundanceTV based show that centered around high school dropouts being tutored by celebrities.
Curtis Jackson continues to make the smooth transition from rapper to media mogul. Jackson built a universe around the successful Starz network show, Power. In addition to Power and Black Mafia Family, Jackson is currently developing Let Me Hear a Rhyme, based on the novel by Tiffany Jackson, for Peacock; and has a straight-to-series order for true crime anthology series Confessions of a Crime Queen for Discovery+.
