G-Funk director Karam Gill takes on Tekashi 6ix9ine in new docu-series
Twenty-six-year-old Karam Gill is the director of the new three part docu-series Supervillain: The Making of Tekashi 6ix9ine – premiering February 21st on Showtime, produced by Imagine Documentaries, Rolling Stone and Lightbox. Featured as one of Variety’s 10 Documentary Filmmakers To Watch when his 2017 film G-Funk – the previously untold story of Warren G, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg and the rise of hip-hop’s most iconic sub-genre – premiered at SXSW, Gill’s provocative look at the convicted criminal, controversial rapper and viral internet celebrity known as Tekashi 6ix9ine, is now available for advance screening.
Gill recently spoke about the Tekashi 6ix9ine saga saying: “We live in an attention economy — a digital culture that can empower people with no talent or morals to become famous. This series is bigger than 6ix9ine. It’s a cautionary tale about manufactured celebrity and how, when our society allows ‘supervillains’ to rise, the collateral damage can be massive. In the era of Trump and the January 6th insurrection, understanding and analyzing these stories is extremely important.”
Supervillain was produced by Imagine Documentaries, Rolling Stone and Lightbox. The Supervillain docu-series creative team includes:
Karam Gill – Director
Brian Grazer, Justin Wilkes & Sara Bernstein – Executive Producers, Imagine Documentaries
Gus Wenner – Executive Producer, Rolling Stone
Jonathan Chinn & Simon Chinn – Executive Producers, Lightbox
Stephen Witt – Executive Producer, author of Rolling Stone feature “Tekashi 6ix9ine: The Rise and Fall of a Hip-Hop Supervillain”
Peter J. Scalettar – Executive Producer
Giancarlo Esposito – Narrator
SUPERVILLAIN: THE MAKING OF TEKASHI 6IX9INE, profiling hip-hop artist Tekashi 6ix9ine’s epic rise to notoriety and spectacular fall to convicted criminal, will premiere on Sunday, February 21 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. New episodes will debut on-air every Sunday through March 7, while the entire series will release for on-demand streaming or download on SHOWTIME and across all SHOWTIME partner platforms on February 21.
In the three-part series, director Karam Gill (Ice Cold, G-Funk) examines manufactured celebrity through the lens of 6ix9ine’s controversial artistry, personal demons and mastery of social media, as a reflection of our times and the complicity of culture today. The series is narrated by Giancarlo Esposito (Better Call Saul, The Mandalorian). SUPERVILLAIN is produced by Imagine Documentaries, Rolling Stone and Lightbox. Brian Grazer executive produces with Justin Wilkes and Sara Bernstein of Imagine Documentaries, Gus Wenner of Rolling Stone, Jonathan Chinn and Simon Chinn of Lightbox, journalist Stephen Witt and Peter J. Scalettar.
SUPERVILLAIN will trace how New York City deli clerk Daniel Hernandez manufactured himself into viral hip hop sensation Tekashi 6ix9ine, the ruthless, tattooed face of Gen Z and hip hop’s prince of trolls. Based on Witt’s Rolling Stone feature, “Tekashi 6ix9ine: The Rise and Fall of a Hip-Hop Supervillain,” the series features an exclusive post-prison interview with 6ix9ine following his release last year. Through the narrative spine of Tekashi 6ix9ine’s controversial artistry and personal demons, this bizarre and complicated story is in many ways the truest reflection of current times as it unpacks the life-shattering results of influence, impact of social media and the disturbing possibilities of a deeply connected world.
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