Thanks to the success of Empire, hip-hop-inspired dramas are being developed for television at a rapid pace. One of the most anticipated TV movies based on the rap industry is VH1’s The Breaks. The network just unveiled a new teaser to give viewers a little more insight on the feature-length film.

The teaser features singer-actor Mack Wilds, who recently played Adele's love interest in the "Hello" video. The flick details the story of three friends, DeeVee (Wilds), Nikki (Afton Williamson) and David (David Call), as they try to escape the mean streets of 1990s New York to make their mark in the rap game. In one scene, we see DeeVee, an aspiring DJ-producer, attempt to convince a street toughie to record a rap song with him.

We also get the feel of authenticity in the movie as Eric B & Rakim’s classic 1987 song “Paid in Full” plays in the background and images of Adidas Top 10 kicks, rappers in the studio, DJs mixing and the dark side of the street life flash across the screen.

Actor Wood Harris, who ironically appears in the Roc-A-Fella Films-produced movie Paid in Full, delivers the memorable line in the teaser, “It’s a job, a job. Not a hook-up.”

The Breaks is based on Dan Charkas' phenomenal book, The Big Payback, which chronicles the history of the hip-hop music business. Filmmaker Seith Man, who has worked on two of television’s most iconic dramas, The Wire and The Walking Dead, co-wrote the script with Charnas, as well as directed and executive produced the movie.

According to reports, if the film does well with ratings, it would eventually evolve into a weekly, episodic series.

The Breaks will premiere on VH1 on Jan. 4 at 9 p.m. ET. Watch the teaser above.

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