Queen Latifah channels Bessie Smith in HBO biopic

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Queen Latifah as Bessie Smith in the HBO biopic (left). Right: The real Bessie Smith in New York City circa 1925.

Here’s a sneak-peek at Queen Latifah as Bessie Smith, the “Empress of the Blues,” in HBO’s upcoming biopic “Bessie.”

Smith blasted out of Chattanooga, Tenn., to have one of the most distinctive singing careers of her day. 

Born in 1894, she got her start busking with her brother Andrew in front of the White Elephant saloon in her hometown, before moving to vaudeville and signing with Columbia Records in 1923 — a historic advance for an African-American female recording artist.

Smith eventually became the highest-paid black entertainer of her day, but died tragically young at the age of 43 in a car crash.

Latifah plays the bisexual Smith with co-stars including Michael Kenneth Williams (Chalky White, “Boardwalk Empire”) as Smith’s first husband, Jack Gee; Khandi Alexander (“Scandal) as Smith’s sister Viola; and Mo’Nique as blues legend Ma Rainey, a seminal influence on Smith’s career.

“Bessie,” which captures the singer’s meteoric rise and commercial slumps, was 22 years in the making — with a story co-developed by the late Horton Foote. (The screenplay was co-written by Dee Rees, who also directs the movie.)