Watch: Queen Latifah Rise as “Empress of Blues” in Official Trailer for HBO’s ‘Bessie’

After teasing us last month , HBO has unveiled an official first trailer for its forthcoming biopic on “Empress of Blues” Bessie Smith !

Directed by Pariah ‘s Dee Rees , Bessie intimately captures the life, rise to international fame, and personal heartbreaks of the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s.

In the trailer above, we see a glimpse of Bessie (played by Queen Latifah ) meeting her mentor and rival, blues legend Ma Rainey ( Mo’Nique ), career troubles, the tension between Bessie and her older sister Viola ( Khandi Alexander , and the strained relationship with her husband Jack Gee ( Michael K. Williams ).

The cast is rounded out by Mike Epps as Richard, a bootlegger and romantic interest; Tika Sumpter as Lucille, a performer and romantic interest; Tory Kittles as Bessie’s older brother, Clarence; Oliver Platt as famed photographer and writer Carl Van Vechten ; Bryan Greenberg as renowned record producer and music critic John Hammond and Charles S. Dutton as Ma Rainey’s husband, William “Pa” Rainey .

Queen Latifah as Bessie Smith in ‘Bessie’ (2015)

The story was written by Horton Foote and Rees, with screenplay penned by Rees, Christopher Cleveland and Bettina Gilois .

Produced by Ron Schmidt , the film is executive produced by Latifah, Shakim Compere , Lili Fini Zanuck , Richard D. Zanuck , Shelby Stone and Randi Michel .

Bessie airs on Saturday, May 16, 2015 at 8:00 pm on HBO.

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