Kanye West to Star in Upcoming Spike Lee Musical Comedy, ‘Chiraq’

Director Spike Lee is getting ready to unveil Chiraq, his latest movie that's about a woman's quest to end gang warfare in Chicago. The movie has an impressive cast attached to it: Jennifer Hudson, Samuel L. Jackson, John Cusack ... yes, and Kanye West.

The film, which is supposed to be Lee's interpretation of the ancient Greek comedy Lysistrata, is expected to be officially announced at Cannes Film Festival, which runs from May 13-24. Kanye was first attached to the film in April when it was reported that he was in talks to appear in the movie, and all that was known of it was that "Chiraq," a portmanteau of "Chicago" and "Iraq," is a nickname given to the city due to its recent high violent crime rate.

Although this appears to be Kanye's first go at a major role in a film, it's not his first time on screen: Aside from epic videos for tracks like Runaway, he has appeared in Entourage, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, and will also film a cameo for Zoolander 2.

Another interesting note: Amazon Original Studios, the new filmmaking division of Amazon, will be handling the movie's U.S. theater release. While we wait to see how Chiraq pans out, check out Kanye's acting chops in his brief Anchorman 2 cameo below: