Local Rap Star IshDARR To Act In "White Boy Rick"

MILWAUKEE - Local rapper IshDARR is heading to the big screen in a new film. “White Boy Rick,” starring Richie Merritt as Richard Wershe, Jr., and Matthew McConaughey as his father, tells the true story of Wershe as an FBI informant and crack dealer in 1980’s Detroit.

IshDARR, whose real name is Ishmael Ali, is cast to play “Freaky Steve” Roussell, who was allegedly Wershe’s right-hand man and was killed in a 1987 shooting. He has gained immense support as a rapper over the past several years in the Milwaukee area.

According to the Detroit News, Wershe, who will be portrayed by 15-year-old up-and-coming actor Richie Merritt, supports the release of the film in hopes that it will dispel thoughts of him as a drug kingpin.

According to a Detroit News article on releasing the movie, Wershe was forced into the drug world and, subsequently into being an informant for the FBI for several years of his teens. He was then arrested in 1988 and remains incarcerated. In the arrest, Wershe was found with almost 20 pounds of cocaine and $30,000.

IshDARR’s character, Steve Roussell, was allegedly killed by Wershe’s other right-hand man Reggie Brown over a dispute about a woman in 1987.

Article photo by Calvin Mattheis via the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal