Denzel Washington and A$AP Rocky had a rap battle. One is claiming victory
Midway through Spike Lee's 'Highest 2 Lowest,' a New York riff on Akira Kurosawa's 'High to Low,' wealthy music executive David King (Washington) has cornered aspiring rapper Yung Felon (Rocky) after he tried to kidnap King's son. They meet in a music studio. A rap battle ensues.
While the scene was scripted, much of what Washington freestyled — mixing in lines from Nas, Tupac, DMX and others — startled his professional rapper co-star.
'I'm like: How does this man know who Moneybagg Yo is?' Rocky says, sitting alongside Washington.
'And I'm 70,' Washington says with a grin.
'Highest 2 Lowest,' which A24 releases in theaters Friday, two weeks before it lands on Apple TV+, is a heist thriller that hits hardest when Washington and Rocky are going at it. Washington, o ne of the mightiest of living actors, is, of course, an imposing presence. Even though Rocky might usually have the upper hand in the studio, he's just beginning to prove himself as an actor.
'Denzel is such a powerful force. Not a derogatory term, but he's a beast,' Lee said. 'Rocky is from Harlem, uptown. So I knew that he's not going to punk out. He's going to stand there, feet planted to the ground, as a heavyweight fight, blow to blow to blow. If you got somebody who don't got it, Denzel is going to slaughter them. SLAUGHTER.'
But in 'Highest 2 Lowest,' Rocky proves that he can go toe-to-toe with a titan like Washington. In the annals of movie face-offs between the veteran and the up-and-comer, the scene is a riveting showdown. Not that Rocky is claiming victory.
'I had to go with the flow with him,' Rocky says. 'You've got to realize this guy's a pro. He's a wordsmith for real. It's not a joke. So when he went, I caught his drift. But I lost a rap battle to this man. And I'm a professional f------ rapper.'
With that Washington roars and slams the table. 'But I'm using other people's material,' he adds. 'And I've been practicing.'
'It doesn't matter,' replies Rocky. 'I lost, man. It's unfortunate that that's my profession in real life.'
Washington's rapping skills
But as he showed in a recent interview, Washington's envy for his co-star's day job is more than for show. Washington's hip-hop affection runs deep. Asked how he approached the big scene with Rocky, Washington takes out his phone and begins playing Nas' 'N.Y. State of Mind' and raps along: 'I keep some E&J, sittin' bent up in the stairway.'
'All right, would you ever in a million years expect the Denzel Washington to be able to recite classic quotes and lines from hip-hop?' exclaims Rocky.
But Washington was just getting started. He grandly spat a verse of DMX ('Lucky that you breathing, but you dead from the waist down'), a few bars of Outkast ('Yes, we done come along way like them slim-ass cigarettes') and cackled joyfully at a line from Samara Cyn and Smino's 'Brand New Teeth': 'Spent my rent money on these brand-new teeth.'
'For me on the outside looking in, it was like this guy was Method acting,' Rocky says. 'He was just being himself. He should have been a rapper.'
Washington shakes his head. 'No, I play one on TV.'
Yet Washington has as much facility with Wizkid as he does Shakespeare or August Wilson. Pushed to explain his mentality going into the scene, Washington still demurs.
'I can't, man. I don't have one,' he says. 'I just flow. I can't tell you what I'm going to do, because I don't know. I never know how it's going to go. I don't plan. But I have been practicing for a long time, and nobody knew! I never had the platform.'
'I'm still on top'
In 'Highest 2 Lowest,' Lee — in his fifth film with Washington — surveys a changing entertainment industry. Washington's once supreme music executive is losing his grip on what sells — and what sells matters less than how many followers someone has. The movie weaves in some of Lee's other obsessions — the New York Yankees; New York, itself — but it casts the moral questions of Kurosawa's classic against a media landscape where authenticity can be hard to find.
Asked if he identified with his character's quandary, Washington pauses to consider the question.
'If I had an ego, I'd say no, because I'm still on top,' says Washington. 'And I'm getting better.'
Rocky, though, sees some of himself in Yung Felon. It's a moniker Rocky, himself, suggested replace the scripted name, MC Microphone Checka. Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, shot 'Highest 2 Lowest' in the run-up to his recent trial over a 2021 incident in which Rocky was accused of firing a gun at Terell Ephron, a former friend and collaborator known as A$AP Relli. Rocky was found not guilty in February on two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.
The verdict gave Rocky a new lease on life just as his film career might be taking off. He also co-stars in the upcoming 'If I Had Legs I'd Kick You,' a hit at Sundance. Meanwhile, he's preparing his long-awaited fourth album, 'Don't Be Dumb.'
Who are 'the new rappers'?
For Rocky, the music industry backdrop of 'Highest 2 Lowest' rings true. Music sales, he notes, are way down. Artificial intelligence is taking over.
'They've got to figure out how to regulate it,' Rocky says. 'People in music are already doing it. Not to put nobody on the spot, there are people with No. 1 records and it's not even them. It's not even their voice on the track.'
'This is a smart kid here,' says Washington.
But Washington is resistant. 'People trying to sound like me don't sound like me, to me,' he says, doubting artificial intelligence's potential. He peppers Rocky with questions. Rocky, 36, already sounds like an old-timer.
'The kids, they don't want to be rappers anymore,' Rocky says. 'They don't want to be ballers. They want to be streamers. It's basically another word for 'YouTuber.' They all want to be YouTubers, I promise you.'
Washington: 'How will they make money doing that?'
Rocky: 'They make all the money now.'
Washington: 'From what? What do they do? Without the talent, without the thing to go see…'
Rocky: 'What's the substance? That's what I'm saying is the big question. The performers are obsolete. Nobody's watching. Nobody cares. They'd rather watch an 18-year-old with millions of viewers open up a bag of chips and tell you how good it is. These guys are the new rappers.'
But for now, at least in 'Highest 2 Lowest,' Rocky and Washington are still the performers. They're the rappers, even the two-time Oscar winner. Rocky, who grew up watching Washington in 'Malcolm X,' can hardly believe it.
'He gives you that confidence he walks around with,' Rocky says. 'A lot of times, people tell me that I embody this self-confidence — I see it all in him. Just him embracing me, them embracing me, it was so chill. I waited my whole life for this.'
'Me too!' bellows Washington, with a laugh. 'And that's the truth! I've been a closet rapper for 40 years. Finally I get the chance.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
15 minutes ago
- Forbes
‘Highest 2 Lowest': Are Rotten Tomatoes Reviews High On Denzel Washington Film?
Highest 2 Lowest —Denzel Washington's latest film with director Spike Lee — is new in theaters this weekend. How are Rotten Tomatoes critics reacting to crime drama? Rated R, Highest 2 Lowest opens in limited release on Friday. The official summary for the film reads, 'When a titan music mogul (Denzel Washington), widely known as having the 'best ears in the business'' is targeted with a ransom plot, he is jammed up in a life-or-death moral dilemma. 'Brothers Denzel Washington and Spike Lee reunite for the 5th in their long working relationship for a reinterpretation of the great filmmaker Akira Kurosawa's crime thriller High and Low, now played out on the mean streets of modern day New York City.' Highest 2 Lowest, which staged its world premiere at the 2025 Cannes International Film Festival in May, also stars Jeffrey Wright, A$AP Rocky, Ilfenesh Hadera and Wendell Pierce. As of Thursday, Rotten Tomatoes critics have collectively given Highest 2 Lowest a 92% 'fresh' rating based on 92 reviews. The RT Critics Consensus for the film reads, 'Spike Lee and Denzel Washington remix a classic with vibrantly contemporary results in Highest 2 Lowest, a swaggering thriller that lovingly showcases New York City.' The RT audience summary and Popcornmeter score based on verified user ratings is still pending. What Are Individual Critics Saying About 'Highest 2 Lowest'? Steve Pond of The Wrap is among the top critics on RT who gives Highest 2 Lowest a 'fresh' review on RT, writing, 'Highest 2 Lowest is a mixture of gleaming, professional filmmaking and curious choices. It's a showcase for a classic powerhouse, [Denzel] Washington, and an upstart one, A$AP Rocky.' Robert Daniels of is also high on Highest 2 Lowest, writing in his 'fresh' RT review summary, 'Unabashedly epic, fearlessly funny, and proudly Black, Highest 2 Lowest might derive from a Japanese filmmaker. But its soul clearly resides in [Spike] Lee." Also alluding to Spike Lee's direction of Highest 2 Lowest in his RT review summary is David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter, who writes, 'The director is in the role of the flashy, panache-y showman here, and he plays it to perfection, delivering a big, highly polished chunk of movie that's pure enjoyment.' Lindsey Bahr of The Associated Press also gives the film a 'fresh' review on RT, but has some reservations, writing, 'Highest 2 Lowest may not reach the heights of some of Lee's best films, but it's the kind film that makes you hope Lee and Washington have more to make together.' John Bleasdale of Time Out is one of the two top critics on RT who have given Highest 2 Lowest a 'rotten' rating to date, writing, '[Spike] Lee has made stunningly good crime thrillers – Clockers and 25th Hour – but like his protagonist, here he appears to be struggling to stay relevant and still use his own unique voice.' Tim Grierson of Screen International is the other top critic on RT who gives Highest 2 Lowest a 'rotten' rating, writing, 'Ultimately, the picture's energetic swirl comes across as slightly hollow, its barrage of themes and impulses never finding harmony.' Highest 2 Lowest opens in limited release in theaters on Friday.
San Francisco Chronicle
16 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Bob Odenkirk isn't an action newbie anymore
NEW YORK (AP) — Bob Odenkirk ducks into a West Village coffee shop wearing sunglasses and a Chicago Cubs cap. Some degree of subterfuge might have been necessary for Odenkirk years ago. Surely fans of 'Mr. Show' or 'The Larry Sanders Show' might have recognized him. But with time, Odenkirk has traveled from the fringes of pop culture to the mainstream. He's well-known now, but for what is a moving target. At 62, Odenkirk is not only a comic icon, he's a six-time Emmy-nominated actor, for 'Better Call Saul,' a Tony-nominated Broadway star, for 'Glengarry Glen Ross,' and, most surprisingly, an action star. He's not even a newbie, either. With 'Nobody 2,' the sequel to the 2021 pandemic hit original, Odenkirk's butt-kicking bona fides are more or less established. In the sequel, which opened in theaters Thursday, he returns as Hutch Mansell, the suburban dad with latent powers of destruction. This time, he and his family go on vacation to Wisconsin Dells, where they run into trouble. 'My goal is Jackie Chan's 'Police Story,'' Odenkirk says, sipping an iced tea before a day of promotion obligations. 'It exists to be funny. The disconnect is the lack of irony. Hutch has to mean it.' Odenkirk's unlikely but sincere turn into Keanu Reeves territory has, in a way, only illuminated the rage that bubbled throughout his comedy. Chatting casually but intensely, Odenkirk explained how all of these iterations of him make sense — and how 'Nobody' might have even saved his life. AP: Your friends in comedy, have they been funny about you as an action hero? ODENKIRK: The whole time I was training I was thinking: They're not going to make this movie, and I'm getting free exercise training. The second thing I was thinking: If they make this movie, David Cross, Conan O'Brien, Adam Sandler, David Spade, these people are going to see me do this thing and go, 'Really?' It's just so fundamentally discordant. I could have asked for more comedy in the first one. And I didn't want that. I wanted to either make a real action movie — which would blow my friends' minds — or don't do it at all. If you're just going to ridicule the form, don't do it. Or just do 'Naked Gun,' which is super fun, too. I thought the funnier thing — what I did — was to do it. That's a joke on a cosmic scale. I'm literally pranking the universe. I am, right? That's the big joke. Now, what do I do with it? That's the question. AP: With the 'Nobody' movies and your recent Broadway experience, you've set a high bar for surprising people with what you're capable of. ODENKIRK: I thought about the character of Saul. He never quits. He gets pushed around. He's clever. He's in a spot and he has to think of a way out. That's an action character. While it's true that it feels like, 'Oh, boy, you went so far away.' I didn't really go that far away. It's one step. It's a big step. Everything else is in Saul. I did think that for people who know my comedy, this is going to be a hard sell. But that's not that many people. That's a cult group. AP: And it might not be that hard of a sell to your comedy fans, either. The lie detector 'Mr. Show' sketch, in which you calmly confess to outlandish things, has a similar what's-under-the-surface quality like the 'Nobody' movies. ODENKIRK: (Laughs) Yeah, yes. AP: Maybe the most relevant sketch, though, is the one where you and David Cross play tough guys who bump into each other in a bar and then remained locked in mutual animosity through their lives, even through marriage. 'Nobody 2' kicks off with a similar encounter. ODENKIRK: It's a tap on the shoulder that sets this whole thing off. He agrees to leave. Then this little tap happens. Then he leaves. He's outside. He can keep walking, which is what you would do. You'd get home and tell your wife, 'That guy tapped her on the back of the head.' It would just sit with you forever. The whole thing could have been avoided if it wasn't for who Hutch is, which is a person who allows himself to go crazy. AP: Allowing yourself to go crazy isn't a radically different impulse in comedy. Did you always feel like rage or anger was fueling some of the funniest things you did? ODENKIRK: For sure. I remember sitting with David Cross in the morning. We would start our time at 'Mr. Show' trying to generate ideas, sitting around with the paper. Oftentimes, it was: 'This really pisses me off,' or 'Look at this stupid thing.' So, yeah, frustration, anger, those are the very raw materials of comedy. AP: You're just funneling that rage into a different place. ODENKIRK: Life conjures up this rage in you, but there is no place that deserves it. In the first film, the first place he goes to exact revenge, he realizes all these people have nothing, they don't deserve it. In the second film, he goes after this guy and he's like, 'I'm under her thumb.' It's really not something you're supposed to do in an action movie, and I love that. You don't just get to find a bad guy around the corner. You've got to go looking. AP: You've said you'd like to do a third one that ends with Hutch having nothing. ODENKIRK: Yeah, the moral would be that everything he loves is gone. He burned everything he loved. We let him get away with it because the movie is an entertainment and it's meant to tell you: Yes, you can let go of your rage in this magical world. But in the end, I would think that it's an addiction. And he does want to do it. He does want to have a go, and so does every guy. That's why we have movies. And that's why we have boxing matches. AP: How much credit do you give these movies for saving your life? After you had a heart attack in 2021 on the set of 'Better Call Saul,' you attributed your narrow survival to your 'Nobody' training. ODENKIRK: When I had my EKG, where you can see the heart, the doctor explained that I had almost no scarring from that incident. And that's kind of weird because of how long that incident went on and how drastic it was. They were like: 'This should all be scar tissue, and there's none.' They said that's because these other veins are bigger than we're used to seeing, and that's from all the exercise you've been doing. And, dude, I did a lot. I went from a comedy writer who exercised just by riding a bike three or four times a week to the action I did in those movies. AP: You told Marc Maron you saw no white light and tongue-in-cheek advised him to 'go for the money.' ODENKIRK: Well, I got nothing. Nothing. I did talk to my family the next day. I woke up the next day around 1:30 and talked to my wife and kids. I was talking to people for the next week, and I don't remember any of it, or the day that it happened. AP: But did the experience change you? ODENKIRK: (Long pause) It's a big component of my thinking about who I am and what I want to do with myself and my time. The thing that's driven me the most in my life is a sense of responsibility. Not just like, 'Oh, I have kids. I have to make money and take care of them.' But, like, responsibility to the universe. 'Oh, they'll let you do this action movie.' Well, then you better do a f------ great job. 'They want you do 'Better Call Saul.'' Well, let's go. The universe is saying: You can do this. And you owe that opportunity that's so unjustified and magical. I just feel responsibility almost too readily. But the heart attack, however you want to feel about everybody's expectations of you, I mean, you're going to be gone. The world's going to go on without you, just fine. So I don't know, man. Yeah, you've got to come through for people. But you've also got a lot of freedom to invite who you want to be.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Highest 2 Lowest Reviews Lead To Stellar Rotten Tomatoes Score
Following early reactions, Highest 2 Lowest has premiered to largely positive reviews from critics. It debuted with a Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. Spike Lee's latest thriller reunites him with Denzel Washington in a modern reimagining that explores power, legacy, and moral conflict in New York City. Critics are in love with Highest 2 Lowest in reviews Lindsey Bahr (AP News) wrote, 'Highest 2 Lowest may not reach the heights of some of Lee's best films, but it's the kind of film that makes you hope Lee and Washington have more to make together.' Barry Hertz (Globe and Mail) stated, 'When Lee puts Washington in just the right scene, with just the right power dynamics and just the right nerve-rattling dialogue, the result is a thing of high art.' Brian Truitt (USA Today) said, 'While Highest 2 Lowest makes for an intensely watchable reunion of a couple of icons, Lee makes sure to do right by the kids, too.' Nick Schager (The Daily Beast) remarked, 'Confirms that Washington is rarely more alive than when in front of Lee's lens.' Odie Henderson (Boston Globe) described the film as 'a love letter to a trifecta of things its director adores: New York City, director Akira Kurosawa, and Denzel Washington.' Peter Debruge (Variety) concluded, 'In the end, Lee has taken High and Low to new highs, delivering a soul-searching genre movie that entertains while also sounding the alarm about where the culture could be headed.' David Rooney (The Hollywood Reporter) noted, 'The director is in the role of the flashy, panache-y showman here, and he plays it to perfection, delivering a big, highly polished chunk of movie that's pure enjoyment.' Martin Tsai (Critic's Notebook) gave it a negative review, writing, 'It's evident that 'Highest 2 Lowest' is more concerned with fan service than basic storytelling.' Another unfavorable review came from Alex Billington ( who said, 'At best it's a Saturday Night TV movie – not meant for the big screen in any way.' What is Highest 2 Lowest's Rotten Tomatoes score? Highest 2 Lowest has a Certified Fresh score of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes from 65 critic reviews. The film's Metascore is 75, based on 25 reviews, including 20 positive and 5 mixed. There are no user scores yet. The film releases on August 15, 2025. It stars Denzel Washington, Jeffrey Wright, and A$AP Rocky. Spike Lee directs, with writing credits to Evan Hunter, Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, and Ryûzô Kikushima. The movie runs for 2 hours and 13 minutes. The post Highest 2 Lowest Reviews Lead To Stellar Rotten Tomatoes Score appeared first on - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. Solve the daily Crossword
