A 麻豆直播 professor wrote the biography of Rudy Ray Moore, whose life is portrayed by Eddie Murphy in Netflix鈥檚 鈥淒olemite Is My Name,鈥� nearly 24 years before the big budget film.
Dr. David Shabazz, associate professor of journalism, and his brother, Julian, wrote the biography and David was recently quoted in USA Today regarding the accuracy of the film portrayal.
鈥淭he story is authentic,鈥� Shabazz said of the film鈥檚 portrayal of Moore鈥檚 life.
Shabazz said he first heard about the film six months ago.
鈥淚 was thrilled to see the movie finally come to fruition, but also nervous,鈥� Shabazz said. 鈥淚 never thought this film would be made. I certainly didn鈥檛 expect a big budget film.鈥�
Shabazz said it took a long time for the movie to be made because Dolemite was essentially persona non grata.
鈥淩udy knew back then that it would take someone of Eddie Murphy鈥檚 stature to 鈥榣egitimize鈥� what he was doing,鈥� Shabazz said. 鈥淎 lot of people just hear the language, see the album covers and distance themselves from it.鈥�
Shabazz said the film surpassed Moore鈥檚 wildest dreams, who passed away in 2008.
鈥淲hen we spoke in the early 1990s, Rudy wanted Eddie Murphy to put him in one of his films,鈥� Shabazz said. 鈥淓ddie made movies like 鈥楬arlem Nights,鈥� where he paid homage to comedians Red Foxx and Richard Pryor. That鈥檚 what he really wanted.鈥�
Rudy Ray Moore was a household name in the Black community, Shabazz said, but he was mostly kept underground.
鈥淭o see a mainstream biopic movie about Rudy Ray Moore and the character Dolemite nearly 24 years after our book was published is gratifying,鈥� Shabazz said. 鈥淭his is much better than Rudy just being a character in one of Eddie Murphy鈥檚 movies. God has a better plan than ours if we are patient.鈥�
Shabazz said the biography is a result of his brother, Julian, attending one of Moore鈥檚 shows in the early 1990s and asking if he could write a book on Moore.
At the time, Shabazz was a newspaper reporter and grad student finishing his master鈥檚 degree on the rap group Public Enemy.
鈥淢y research on the origins of rap led me to several popular people like H. 鈥楻ap鈥� Brown, Muhammad Ali and African American poets Nikki Giovanni and Haki Madhubuti,鈥� Shabazz said.
Shabazz said he discovered Henry Louis Gates, Donald Bogle, Bruce Jackson, J.L. Dillard and other scholars of classic African American literature and folklore.
鈥淭hey helped me understand the significance of Rudy Ray Moore鈥檚 comedy,鈥� Shabazz said.
Moore agreed to the biography and provided source material along the way.
鈥淔or almost two years, we mostly talked on the phone,鈥� Shabazz said. 鈥淗e was always on the road because the bulk of his money came from concerts and live events.鈥�
But, whenever Moore was near enough to hang out, they would.
鈥淗e was a complete riot to be around,鈥� Shabazz said. 鈥淗e wore African attire always. He would still go to Kinko鈥檚 and make his own flyers. He loved interacting with people.鈥�
Though books don鈥檛 normally come with parental advisory warnings, Shabazz said the biography is for adults only.
鈥淗e wanted us to not only tell the Dolemite story but to also document his version of classic folklore tales,鈥� Shabazz said. 鈥淗e was very pleased. The book was his way of solidifying himself as the toastmaster of classic Black folklore.鈥�
Seeing the movie was surreal, Shabazz said.
鈥淲e were fans and eventually became friends,鈥� Shabazz said. 鈥淲e hung out whenever we could, so this is something special.鈥�