Gun violence is, unfortunately, an issue that Jennifer Hudson knows all too well.
The singer and actress - who stars in the new film Chi-raq , which is about gang violence in Chicago - recently opened up to W magazine about working on a movie with a subject that hits close to home: The Chicago native's mother, brother and nephew were shot and killed in 2008 .
A part of my life," Hudson, 34, said, adding that when director Spike Lee asked her to join the cast "I definitely had that moment of like, 'Are you serious?' "
The film is especially important, she says, in light of the recent rash of gun violence that has spread throughout the U.S.

"If we didn't have these issues, I don't think a movie like that would have needed to be made.