After crashing and burning with costars Claire Danes and Giovanni Ribisi in the 1999 megaflop The Mod Squad, Omar Epps would have had every right to despair that he'd just blown the career momentum started back in 1992 with his star-making turn in Juice.
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But Epps has a will of iron and enough confidence for two careers--literally. With his movie career back on track after the well-received Love and Basketball (in which he starred with now-girlfriend Sanaa Lathan), he turned up the volume on his musical persona. Epps's rap group, Society X, will release its debut disc on Priority Records this summer. "In a couple of years, I'm hoping to have both industries by the balls," he jokes but adds, "I'm not some muthafucka who picked up a mike yesterday. Hip-hop is part of my culture and music is something I've done for a long time. When you hear the album, that's undeniable." While the rapper Epps is on the air, the actor Epps will be onscreen in Brother, a film about the Japanese mob directed by cult favorite Takeshi Kitano. Then he'll be playing an FBI agent in the fall alongside Rene Russo in Barry Sonnenfeld's comedy Big Trouble, as well as taking on the fashion industry in the upcoming Perfume. Epps credits his mother, an elementary school principal, for his ability to apply will and energy to the task of overcoming the inevitable difficulties of an entertainment career. "She's a strong, colorful woman who gave me love and encouragement," he beams. "However," he laughs, "she wasn't too happy when I told her I wanted to act instead of going to college. We had a beef the summer I filmed Juice, right up until the premiere." Obviously, Epps prevailed. "She sat next to Diana Ross at the premiere. Afterward, she said, 'Well, you can always go to school, baby. Do what you have to.'"
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Michael Moses