The documentary promises to focus on Simone as musician, activist and mother. It combines archival footage, with interviews with the star and recordings of her music.
“My mother was one of the greatest entertainers of all time. When she was performing she was an anomaly. She was brilliant, she was loved. People think that when she came on stage she became Nina Simone. My mother was Nina Simone 24/7. And that’s when it become a problem,” recalls her daughter Lisa Simone in the trailer for the documentary.
Lisa – Simone’s only child, features extensively throughout the film and on the soundtrack – covering Simone’s much loved I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl.
Over the years, Lisa has spoken openly about her mother’s struggle with depression and alcoholism, and their tortured relationship.
“My mother could be a monster. I was not a happy child when I was alone with her. My mum shot me down a lot, attacked me in public. It is easy to attack children, they are small and depend on you,” Lisa told Daily Mail last year.
At one point the mother and daughter became estranged to the extent that Simone cut Lisa out of her will. But they reconciled a few years before Simone’s death from breast cancer.
In her latest project, Lauryn Hill leads a pack of music superstars including Usher, Mary J Blige, Common and Jazmine Sullivan, as they lend their voices to a full-length tribute album to Simone entitled: Nina Revisited: A Tribute to Nina Simone.
The 16-track album was created to accompany What Happened, Miss Simone? a documentary film on the life of the legendary singer – set for release on internet streaming channel Netflix on 26 June.
It features contributions from Ms. Lauryn Hill, Usher, Jazmine Sullivan, Common, and more. In addition to her stirring cover of ” Feeling Good”, Ms. Hill debuts “Black Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair,” her second of six covers, which she produced and performed for the compilation.
Usher channels the late legend on his bluesy rendition of “My Baby Just Cares For Me,” and Jazmine Sullivan brings down the house with her reggae-inspired cover of “Baltimore.”