A US film set to premiere later this year will feature a track from long-time Trinidadian rapper/ musician/producer Make It Hapn.
The film is Fade Away, a gritty urban drama about a young pro-basketball prospect who sees his dreams dashed, forcing him to give into the lure of the streets. It will be director Antwan Smith's fourth feature film. Among the cast are Antwon Tanner of TV's One Tree Hill, whose film credits include Coach Carter with Samuel L Jackson and the DMX-led Never Die Alone; Omar Gooding, Cuba's brother, who's probably best known for the sitcoms Smart Guy and Hangin with Mr Cooper; and Clifton Powell, who had roles in Ray and Norbit.
The song is Ghetto Child, a jazz-influenced look at the hardship of growing up amidst poverty and crime. It's the title track of Make It Hapn's first album, released in 2007, which after seven more albums remains his most popular, he said. Make It Hapn's raps are distinguished by a distinctly Trinidadian accent and vocabulary.
Copies of his albums–in true underground fashion–are made and sold by Make It Hapn (real name Rayon Bernardo) himself.
Make it Hapn has worked with Machel Montano, joining the soca star on the track Pray, off his 2009 album Heavenly Drum. He's working on a soon-to-be-released collaboration with Bunji Garlin. And he's produced music and directed videos for other artists.
But he remains very much an underground artist and experiences the struggle that comes with that. He's recently had to–not for the first time–sell equipment to pay bills.
He welcomes the opportunity Fade Away will give to earn money and, more important, get his work to a larger audience.
"Putting my song onto a CD wouldn't have the same far-reaching results of putting it in a movie," he said. "Because people will bootleg the movie all the way in China and Africa, and the song will get out there."
He hopes his experience will also benefit T&T as a whole.
"I feel like I representing for Trinidad and getting it on the map," he said. "I want to send the message out to people in Trinidad that it have things going on outside of Trinidad. People willing to hear your music and to use it."
Independent movies and black films in particular are possible means of getting local artists' music to audiences, he said.
The opportunity with Fade Away came about through Make It Hapn's mom, Sharon "Shazz" Browne. Based in Miami, she offers hair, make-up and other ancillary services to movie makers, including Smith.
"I have placed Make's CDs in the hands of dozens of industry players," said Browne.
Smith, she said, "was one of many who really dug the entire Ghetto Child album. So I was not too surprised that he presented the title track to the director of music–Fentz Louis–to be used in Fade Away."
Make It Hapn updated and re-recorded the song for the film.
Smith said of the track: "I instantly fell in love with it because it captured the soul of the film."
Fade Away, which is currently in post-production, is due to premiere in the fall, he said. Ghetto Child accompanies the final scene of the film.