Erykah Badu Drops 'They Die By Dawn,' An "All-Star Cast Black Western," On Jay Z's TIDAL [TRAILER]

Since its launch last month, artists including Beyoncé and Rihanna have used Jay Z's new streaming service, TIDAL, to drop exclusive material. Now Erykah Badu has debuted new content in the form of a short Western film. Titled They Die By Dawn, the film is a "black western" with an "all-star cast" that includes Badu, Michael K. Williams, Rosario Dawson, Jesse Williams, Isaiah Washington, Giancarlo Esposito, Nate Parker, Bokeem Woodbine and Karry Lennix. Directed by The Bullitts' Jeymes Samuels, the 50-minute film explores the different types of characters that existed in the first Black settlements post-slavery.

"In a town with no rules, four outlaws play a deadly game. Murder and mayhem ensue, TheyDieByDawn," Badu wrote on her Facebook wall.

Speaking to Life + Times in 2013, Samuels said he had been frustrated with the way Black people were portrayed in classic films, especially Westerns.

"It would irritate me that you'd see the misappropriation and misrepresentation of our history; not just me as a Black person, but as a human being. History is for everyone. I love Westerns and every time I saw a Black person there was a reason for them being there, so for me, I wanted to change that," he said.

"I was like, "Ok, look. I'm gonna shoot this [film], I'm gonna write this story, and I'm gonna assemble almost every single real character thats that existed and I'm assemble them like the Avengers and put them in one place at one time - in one of the first Black settlements post-slavery, 1890 in Langston, Oklahoma. We got Black Wall Street. All of these places that are criminally unsung," he continued.

"So I set this story in 1890 and I threw everyone in it: Ben Hodges, Rufus Buck, Nat Love, Bill Picket, Stagecoach Larry, Jordan Anderson, etc. So, after I put all of these people in the story in my head, I cast a dream team of actors."

Check out the trailer for the film below, and let us know what you think of it and the TIDAL streaming service in the comments section!

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Erykah Badu, Tidal
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