"It was, truly, one of the most incredible evenings I've ever spent in my entire life." "He said, 'Boy don't you square up on me,'" Fenty says, using a slang term for acting too straitlaced, which eventually wound up in the film. And then a friend brought a drug dealer to Fenty's home in New York, with a warning. He saw a 1971 cover story in New York magazine about a rising Black drug dealer called The Man With the Golden Nose. Since then, the movie's gritty, authentic depiction of street life and its flamboyant lead character – a sharp dressing, karate-kicking drug dealer looking for one last, big score before leaving the game – helped create archetypes that have inspired legions of future storytellers and musicians. The soundtrack helped turn the film into one of the most profitable movies of its time, earning millions while briefly dethroning The Godfather as the top film of 1972. "Maybe it still reflects what some of our communities are dealing with."Įven people who haven't seen Super Fly recognize its theme song: A grooving, funky hit written by R&B star Curtis Mayfield, which became one of the most successful movie themes of the blaxploitation era. "It does surprise me that it's been 50 years and people are still talking about it," says Frazier, who initially took the job thinking it would be great to act in a movie with Ron O'Neal, who played Priest. It has been 50 years since Sheila Frazier made her big-screen debut as Georgia, girlfriend to wily drug dealer Youngblood Priest, in the blaxploitation film classic Super Fly.Īnd Frazier estimates there hasn't been a week in her life that has passed since the premiere without someone mentioning the movie. Track listingĪll songs arranged, performed and composed by Osibisa.Super Fly, lobbycard, from left: Sheila Frazier, Ron O'Neal, 1972. The soundtrack was done by Ghanaian band Osibisa and charted at #159 on the Billboard charts and #41 on R&B albums. He returns to Rome and to Georgia as they embrace and walk away together in arms. Priest has now fulfilled a certain sense of personal responsibility, and seems to be absolved from his past life. Beaten and exhausted, he exits the dark room similar to a slave dungeon while entering the daylight of outside as the Muslim call to prayer echoes all around. Priest cleverly rigs an electric light switch in the room to kill one of the officials who guard him and ambushes a second to escape capture. They question Priest on the whereabouts of the guns without getting answers, which leads them to beat and lock him in a dark room. The officials suspect gun smuggling, but do not find any evidence when searching the wooden crates delivered. While arriving in the small fictional African nation, Priest is captured and detained by a few European officials representing the government. Sonko needs him to get the guns into his country without detection, which Priest agrees to do. ![]() He is able to acquire the guns needed by winning at cards against a regular associate. Returning to Rome from his visit, he decides to assist Dr. Having time to think and perhaps feeling a sense of guilt for his cocaine hustling days, Priest decides to visit Africa to see things for himself against the wishes of Georgia. Sonko, having learned some things of his background, presses upon him he has an obligation to help African people. Priest is not interested at first but Dr. Sonko is a revolutionary living in Rome also and would like Priest to assist him with supplying guns for his fellow countrymen to defeat colonialism in his country. Lamine Sonko (Browne) a native of a small African country. Through a mutual associate with whom he plays cards, he comes into contact with Dr. Priest (O'Neal) has retired from his former life as a cocaine hustler back in the streets of New York and now living comfortably in Rome, Italy with his lover Georgia (Frazier).
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