Irv Gotti Tackles Police Brutality in 'Tales' First Episode: 'I Wanted to Do Something Interesting'

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Music industry veteran Irv Gotti is turning classic hip-hop lyrics into television narratives for his BET scripted anthology, Tales.

With the debut episode, Gotti saw an "opportunity" to put a different spin on the 1988 N.W.A track, "F**k the Police."

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"I'm not the politically guy, but I did see an opportunity to touch on the subjects that are going on today," he explained following a screening of the episode in Los Angeles, California, on Monday.

"When I chose, 'F**k the Police,' I didn't want to do the normal 'white cops killing black people,' we see that enough in movies, T.V., and [social media]," Gotti continued. "I wanted to do something interesting."

In Tales first episode, the Murder Inc. Records founder flips the racial narrative that inspired the politically-charged song to tackle police brutality from a different perspective. In this case, two black cops are at the center of a racially-divided murder trial for gunning down an unarmed white child inside of a housing project.

The episode, which takes place in an alternate America where white people are the oppressed minority, features Tom Hanks' son, Chet.

The 26-year-old actor stars as the brother of a man who witnessed the police shooting. But the socially conscious theme gets lost at times, as the episode struggles to find a balance between satire and reality (one particularly odd choice was the use of D'Angelo's sensual ballad, "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" to signify the end of the police trial).

Each episode will chronicle a new story based on a hip-hop song, including The Notorious B.I.G.'.s "I Got a Story to Tell," Meek Mill's "Cold Hearted," and Fetty Wap's "Trap Queen."

The show's cast also includes Woody McClain, Keith Powers, Jennifer Freeman, Elise Neal, MC Lyte, Boris Kodjoe, Lance Gross, Matthew Noszka, and Clifton Powell.

Tales premiers on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on BET.

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