Rahsheeda Ali | September 26, 2014 2:30 pm

Andre Benjamin returns to the big screen in Jimi: All Is By My Side, one of this fall’s most buzzworthy films. The movie explores Jimi Hendrix’s life between 1966 and 1967, culminating with the legend preparing to take the U.S. by storm at the Monterey Global Pop Festival. Along the way, Hendrix goes from a struggling New York blues guitarist to the cusp of rock stardom in London.

So what should you expect from the film as you indulge in Hendrix nostalgia? Read our list on the most significant points to keep in mind as you hit the theater.

Fans won’t hear Hendrix’s signature songs, but the composition will still blow away viewers.

Don’t head to Jimi: All is by My Side expecting to rock out to “Purple Haze.” The late singer’s estate refused to license his songs to the filmmakers. That doesn’t mean you’ll be disappointed. The movie has brilliant covers of other ’60s classics, including a Hendrix-style rendition of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Andre 3000 didn’t use backing tracks during performance scenes, meaning you’ll hear him singing and playing guitar.

The movie was directed by John Ridley, who won an Oscar for 12 Years A Slave.

Andre 3000 isn’t this film’s only foremost player. Director and writer John Ridley helmed Jimi: All is by My Side, inspired to write a script after finding a long lost Hendrix track. “Sending My Like To Linda” sent Ridley on a quest to find the song’s namesake and led to him to make a movie about the rock star.

Just before the film debuted in the U.S. at March’s SXSW Festival, Ridley took won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for 12 Years A Slave, the critically acclaimed tale of slavery’s brutality. There’s no doubt Ridley can tackle compelling concepts and extract nuance from actors. And according to Andre 3000, Ridley’s the one who chose him as the film’s star.

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Tags: Jimi Hendrix, Andre 3000, Jimi: All Is By My Side