American rapper Kid Cudi took to Instagram this week to announce his hand in writing, directing, and starring in the forthcoming project JEAN, a biopic of late contemporary artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Cudi called the film a “love letter to Jean, the 80s and NY city,” and said that production is set to begin next year.
Cudi added that he will portray Basquiat, stating that the late artist has served as an inspiration to his career throughout, and that it'll be the “biggest honor to tell his story in a way we haven't seen before.”
“This one im so proud of and excited about,” Cudi wrote in the caption accompanying the mockup promotional poster and several black-and-white photos of him as Basquiat in a large studio. “To write a film about someone who existed was a challenge, but it was a welcomed one. A lot of research, books, talks with people that knew him.”
The announcement of JEAN comes after Cudi publicized his own foray into visual art in recent months. The multi-hyphenate artist debuted his painting practice under the name Scotty Ramon in a group presentation at Art Cologne 2025, and held his inaugural solo exhibition, Echoes of the Past, at the Paris location of Ruttkowski;68 this January.
