March 29th is a special day in Black history. It’s the day we were introduced to the fictional R&B group The Five Heartbeats 25 years ago. Written by Keenen Ivory Wayans and Robert Townsend, the film told the story of the rise and fall of a ‘60s R&B quintet. The film won audiences over with its realistic portrayal of the racial discrimination that ran rampant in the music industry. It also gave us a visual account of just how severe industry rule # 4080 was and still is. Leon’s comment about black artists having to struggle to crossover while white artists exercise the privilege to not have to even think about crossing over to urban audiences still rings true. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the film’s catchphrases and heart, take a look at what the cast is doing these days. Robert Townsend as Duck Matthews Since co-writing, directing, and starring as nerdy, but talented songwriter Duck Matthews, Robert Townsend has had a successful writing and directing career in Hollywood. He’s also been behind a wide range of films and TV shows as a producer. However, the same man who brought many millennial men’s first crush in Reagan Gomez-Preston as Zaria Peterson ...
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