September 11, 2025 • 40 mins
Deniese Davis has always been ahead of her time. From producing The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl alongside Issa Rae, to co-founding ColorCreative, to building Reform Media Group with an exclusive deal at Tyler Perry Studios, she has dedicated her career to amplifying authentic stories that shape culture.
In this episode of Culture Raises Us, host Astor Chambers dives deep with Deniese about her journey from Las Vegas to Brooklyn College to Hollywood, and the pivotal moments that shifted her path. From the life-changing exposure of a trip to New York as a teenager, to stepping away from basketball and finding her voice in video production, Deniese shares how mentorship, risk-taking, and resilience propelled her forward.
This conversation explores:
- Why exposure and mentorship are critical for the next generation
- Lessons learned from producing Awkward Black Girl and working alongside Issa Rae
- The power of authenticity and originality in storytelling
- How sports shaped her leadership style as a producer
- The seven-year journey of making One of Them Days with Keke Palmer and SZA
- Why she believes ownership and building your own table are the future of culture
- Her three seeds for the next generation: innovation, resourcefulness, and amplification
Deniese reminds us that culture doesn’t wait for permission — it is created by those willing to take risks, disrupt systems, and tell stories no one else is telling. Her journey is proof that with passion, vision, and authenticity, you can change the game and inspire the world.
🎧 Listen now for an unfiltered look at one of the most important producers shaping the culture today.
Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction & Opening Reflections
00:23 – Building Your Own Table: Deniese Davis’ Mission
01:12 – Defining Culture as a Way of Life
02:12 – Early Inspirations: From Las Vegas to New York
03:30 – Exposure to Fashion, Music & Basketball Greats
05:05 – Identity Shift: From Basketball Player to Video Producer
07:18 – Discovering Storytelling in High School
08:59 – The Power of Exposure and Access
11:17 – Content as Culture: From Carmen Hip Hopera to Awkward Black Girl
13:55 – Meeting Issa Rae & Producing Early Web Series
17:25 – Authenticity & Originality as Non-Negotiables
19:30 – Partnership with Issa Rae & ColorCreative
21:31 – Sports, Leadership & Producing as a Point Guard
24:01 – Collaboration Behind One of Them Days with Keke Palmer & SZA
28:06 – Creating Culture Without Asking for Permission
30:22 – Mentorship, Validation & Supporting the Next Generation
31:58 – Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Beyond Corporations
33:26 – Why Ownership & Building Our Own Tables Matters
36:04 – The Role of Allyship & Generational Shifts Ahead
38:03 – Deniese’s Three Seeds: Innovation, Resourcefulness & Amplification
39:56 – Closing Reflections & Gratitude
#DenieseDavis #CultureRaisesUs #IssaRae #AwkwardBlackGirl #ColorCreative #AuthenticStorytelling #BlackWomenInFilm #OwnershipMatters #InnovationInFilm #OneOfThemDays #TylerPerryStudios #WomenProducers #MentorshipMatters #CulturalLeadership #ResilientCreatives
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
To who much is given, much is required. Part of
that requirement is sharing. Culture is the heartbeat within our
lives and it's at the core of so many things.
While we live in a time when we are starving
for wisdom, I welcome you to your wisdom retreat. That
culture raises us.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Authenticity and originality are like two four pieces you can't remove.
I'm not talking about pulling the seat up to the table.
I'm to build your own table.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Denise Davis is a four time Emmy nominated producer and
founder CEO of Reform Media Group, which recently into exclusive
development deal with Tyler Perry Studios. She began her career
producing music videos, short films and digital content, and concluding
Ray's award winning web series and Misadventures of Alfred Black Girl.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
You're not going to be able to fully change these
company policies. Why continue to be disappointed and expect them
to change for us when we have the power. One
of the biggest droles with THEO beyond the obvious of
just her genius and what she was doing from I'm
a storytelling love or at the time, she is continuing
this notion that you can just be a good person
(01:04):
in this business.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
And still win.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
I believe wholeheartedly the answer to ownership.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
When you hear culture, what does that mean to you?
Speaker 3 (01:15):
A way of life? Right?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
I think it's you know, you can say trendsetting, but
culture can be about community. But I actually think it's
really about establishing a way of life, in a way
of defining life and people in certain decades, years, generations, ethnicities, right,
because I think oftentimes culture is defaulted to Black culture,
(01:41):
but that's because we're the best at it. But at
the same time, I think you have to remember that
culture is a lot of things.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
It's all encompassing, and so what does it really mean.
I think it means it's a way of how we
live our lives.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
You know, I've known you for years and I have
to get the story on how you got into producing,
because you know, I remember meeting you in New York
when you came to see your aunt who worked at
Jordan at the same time that I was at Nike
in Lashonda, who we love. It is a great spirit
(02:16):
walk us through. How did you get here?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Oh man? I'll give you the short spill.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
So I am born and raised in Las Vegas, my
aunt Lashanda, and my mom have been best friends since
middle school, which has been a beautiful thing. And you know,
La Shonda left Vegas and went to New York and
pursued a career in fashion. And when I was fourteen
years old and a freshman in high school, one of
the things I wanted to do was visiting in New York.
(02:41):
I was like, I want to go see this place.
And you know Vegas. Growing up there, I liken it
to kind of a black hole of sorts because you're
not around other major cities and so you're kind of
in your own bubble. And I'd been to a lave
with like family road trips, but I was like, I
want to see what New York looks like. And so
for my fourteenth birthday, my mom surprised me with a
plane ticket to go visit Leshonda for spring break freshman
(03:05):
year in high school, and that was when we met
and I got to spend an incredible week with her
and her sister Tina, and as a young small girl
from from Vegas, like it changed my whole perspective, and
two things really stood out to me. One was being
able to see my aunt in these settings and in
a career that I didn't know anyone who.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Did that, did you even know what existed?
Speaker 3 (03:28):
No, I'm in Vegas. What that's not.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
That's not really I don't want to say it's not
an option, but it's just not what you're around really
in that way to know that it can exist. And
so I'm watching her, you know, I'm going to the
offices seeing what she's doing. And then one of the
things she told me when I got there was like, hey,
you know, I took this week off from work, but
my boss asked me to like do this one thing
that came up, and I told him we were here,
(03:51):
and he said, well, you know, just take her. And
it was she had a style the halftime game for
the Jordan Capitol Classic High School and and she was
like you know, and I was like what, So what
are we going to Washington? She was like, yeah, but
you get to come with me. And so I got
to go with her for that weekend and we went
to DC and she was styling Ludacris and bow Wow,
(04:13):
and you know, fourteen year old Denise was like bow wow.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Yeah, I love the fourteen year old bowow.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
I mean he was like fifteen at the time.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
So I was like what and I got to see
what she did and just saw the inner workings of
that entire tournament, and I mean I went back to
Vegas and everything looked different, Everything looked different, and I
just remember telling people like, yo, there's a whole world
out there, like do you understand that? Like there's like
so many things we can do. And coincidentally, actually hadn't
(04:45):
gotten in video production yet. That didn't happen until I
was sixteen. And so when until sixteen, well, I mean
it's it's important because you should know.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
So I grew up playing basketball. I was a point guard.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
That was like I had hoop dreams, and so of course,
like even getting to go to the Jordan Capitol Classic,
it was like amazing. One of the best things that
I like to tell people. I'm like, do you know
who the two biggest seniors were that year? And they're like, ooh,
I was like Lebron jameson Ca, Marlan Anthony.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
That was a huge one. It was a huge, huge yea.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
And so I'm like with these players and hanging out
and you know, seeing all of this and seeing the
media frenzy and obviously you see what they I mean,
we always knew what they were going to become but
just see them now, it's like, oh man, that's crazy
fourteen year old and me saw that early on, and
so anyways, all of this stuck with me, and I
ended up quitting basketball after sixteen, mainly because I saw
(05:33):
the path in which it was going and decided that
I love the game, but I wasn't in love within
enough to double down on what it was going to take.
And I realized I was like, oh, I just love
to play it, but I don't know if if it's
if I'm that serious about it as a career.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
And so I never went back out for the team.
I didn't quit. I just never went back out. And
it was a huge.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Identity crisis of sorts because I had been playing, so
that was seven That's what everyone knew me as as
this young basketball player, and that was my identity. And
I spent a few months in school just being like, well,
now what. And I ended up being in an elective
that was doing video production and the daily school announcements
for the first time, and I got to see what
(06:16):
they were doing similar to this couple cameras and was
setting up kids with a desk and a green screen
and they were recording it in first period and it
was airing in fourth period throughout the school, and I
was like, Yo, this is dope. And that teacher kind
of took an infinity in my interests and taught me
how to edit. Let me take the camera home from
school and shoot videos with my sister and just figure
(06:39):
that out. And he eventually came back and was like,
I'm doing this class again, but I'm calling it part
two and you should do it. And by my senior
year in high school, I was producing and editing and
directing our daily video announcements and my new identity was
now I'm the video girl. I was doing videos for
the high school counselors. They needed like registration videos to
(06:59):
show the eighth who were coming into the school, so
I would like do that with them, or shoot a
commercial for the dance team because they wanted to sell
tickets to the recital. So I do a little commercial
and drop it into the announcements.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
And so I'm having a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
But to be honest, I didn't have a context yet
or any context yet about what do I do with this.
I just found a new passion and was like I
love it and leaned into it and leaned into it
and to go back to New York. My only goal
from freshman year to senior year was I don't know
what it is but what I'm going to do, but
I'm going to move to New York. And Lashanda and
(07:33):
her aunt was like her sister Tina was like that's cute, baby,
you know, like fuck supported me. But we always laugh
that like when the time came for college, I ended
up applying and getting into Brooklyn College for film and
I came home that summer from visiting New York as
a graduation present, had my acceptance letter, packed up and
(07:54):
moved in with Lashonda.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
My freshman year in high school.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Because she was like, come on, baby, you made it,
and you know, seeing how my career has taken me
this far, we always laugh and joke was just like
you were really serious. I met Bebby Smith when I
was and so when Bevy and I cross paths now,
she's always like, my little Lamb, you just to say
you was gonna do it, and you just did it.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
No, And I mean, and I have that feeling when
when I see you, when I reconnected with you, when
we were at dinner and you told me all the
amazing things you were doing. It blew my mind. But
it also just took me back to the power of exposure.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
M h.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
The power of exposure is so critical and tapping into
your village who are giving you access, access and exposure,
can do so much. And I look at your journey
just to date and how impactful that has become, because
this journey probably would not have happened had you not
(08:53):
taken that trip, had your aunts in play who were
giving you line of sight things that you didn't even
know existed. I mean, I'm even know my job existed, No, I.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Mean I was.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
You know, I grew up in a city too where
most people don't go to college, and they go and
make six figures, you know, serving cocktails.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
And that's fine, that's nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
But I do think that when you're in an environment
where you're not shown other avenues and means of success,
especially if you're an artist, especially if you're creative, and
you realize there's something more that you want to tap into,
I think not being exposed to what those opportunities could
look like, it makes it harder to be inspired and
believe that you can do it right. And so I
(09:33):
think being just in I mean, there's nothing like New York, right,
Like do you just be in that city with that
propulsiveness and that energy and you just really believe, like, oh, anything.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
Could happen here.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
And I'm always actually grateful that I did go to
college there for four years first and didn't come to
LA first, because I felt like it really gave me
just such a great foundation for who I was becoming
and really helped me be like even more independent and
just kind of learning how to kind of form a
more of a rock shell of sorts, because like you know,
(10:05):
New York, you got to kind of like be a
little bit tougher than another place just to survive and
get through. And I really do think instilled so much
in me as my journey just continued to evolve. But man,
exposure is key, and even now with my change and
my identity in high school, I'm a huge believer in
supporter and mentoring and supporting programs with youth around the arts,
(10:28):
because it's just like no, if you don't expose that
to them sooner, sometimes it's too late.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
In college.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
I meet so many people in this business who went
to school for something else, mainly because they didn't even
get to be exposed to it until they were on
a campus where they're majoring in science and they're like, oh, man, but.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
I never thought about being a writer because I didn't
even realize like that was the thing.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
And then they sometimes feel like they're down a path
and it's too late, you know.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
So yeah, and you know, as you talk about your
journey and the moments and the access that you given
to get here, now I look at now that you're
on this path of creative building content creating content, what
was the moment where you realize just how instrumental and
(11:13):
influential content was to shaping our overall culture. Right, we
talked about your journey, but now when did you have
that aha moment? Like, wait a minute. Content really moves
things in an impactful way, and it could be black
culture or black content however, but I'd love to get
from you what was that particular moment that you can
reflect on.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
I'm laughing because I'm like, Oh, which one do I
want to share?
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Yeah, I'm gonna share a part one and a part
two because it's a little bit more personal, Okay, but
part one is I'm just laughing because I'm not about
to pull people all the way back. The very defining
moment and even in my childhood that I just distinctly
will never forget is when MTV Films put out Karmen
and Hip Hopera.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Who what? Anybody else in this room?
Speaker 2 (12:00):
What?
Speaker 3 (12:01):
Carmen a hip opera? Most death Beyonce Bowow.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
I mean, oh, we gotta find this on YouTube.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
I mean, here's the thing that film.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
It's funny because I actually went to a rooftop screen
and we saw it for the first time.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
In years, like a year ago, and it still holds up.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
First of all, I was still singing and dance so long,
but I just remember it being such an eventized moment, right.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
It was like just all this caliber of black talent
of that time.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
And the most incredible original kind of play off of
the Carmen Opera play I think Robert Townsend directed, and
it was Beyonce in her first started.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
I do remember this, yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
And it stayed with me four years afterwards.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
I mean, this came out maybe when I was twelve eleven,
twelve years old, but it was such a cultural moment,
and now I realize when I look back at like
why like it wasn't just the cast and like, you know,
the entertainment value and the music, but part of it
also was when you think about the year two thousand,
you're like.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
What else did we really have back then too?
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Write to be able to even make something that was
so original in its form and to be able to
be kind of put out on a big platform because
I the TV put a lot of marketing into it.
I never really looked up people was consider a success
for them, but I like to think it was. But
it also I think it was like if you were there,
you knew, you know. And I think now when I say,
(13:30):
people are like, oh yeah, like because it actually doesn't
even have replay value.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
It's not something you can go find on streaming right now.
So it's like.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Wow, truly a cultural moment where you're like, oh no,
that was a moment that you yeah, and just you know,
as someone who's a storyteller, I think too, so the
idea of like, oh we could do that at that
time was just really powerful.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
So that's part one.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Yes, Part two is one of the first times I
met Lisa, and so I was getting ready to come
out of grad school, was applying to freelance producing jobs.
A friend of mine sent me one and I sent
my resume to It was for a web series looking
for a line producer. And you know, we haven't really
dived into my story, but of course I went to
(14:12):
Brooklyn College for Film for four years, very diverse, very
much a school of local New Yorkers, first gen immigrants
and people who just were like nonprivileged and just wanted
to tell stories, very different than like some of these
other film schools.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
And then I went to.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Grad school at AFI here in LA and did my
two years and got my MFA in producing. And you know,
I was the only act, only black female in my
producing class of twenty eight, you know, and there wasn't
a lot of people of color. And I tell you
this context because I applied to this job for a
web series looking for a producer, and I had a
lot of producing experience. And I get an email back
(14:50):
from me so that was like, Hey, I got your
resume for this.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Can you meet tomorrow morning for an interview?
Speaker 2 (14:55):
And I was like absolutely, and so we set it
up and I remember being like, well, she still tell
me what it is for.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
I don't know none about who who who is emailing me?
So what do you do? You copy and paste and
you google.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
And what I found was the first season of Awkward
Black Girl and also a lot of the other YouTube contents.
That was actually her third web series, and so I
watched her other two and like read up on everything today,
And that moment changed so much for me, mainly because
talking about these film school settings, you know, unfortunately a
(15:27):
lot of the content and the things that I was
around and helping with wasn't with us in it. Right
when I look back, even my thesis films, sometimes I'm like,
to black people in my thesis film. But you you
you realize that you are in these settings and these
traditional structures that unfortunately is not designed to be supported
(15:50):
and have us in it. So like it. You know,
I can't really beat myself up to be like, how
did you not think about that? It was Yeah, I
mean I'm like, well, all the directors I had the
chance to work but there wasn't there wasn't any ones
of color.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
So you know, that's kind of where it starts into
some degree.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
So yeah, watching Easta's web series was a huge watershed,
light bulb moment for me because it was that moment
where I was like oh, we could do this right,
and then kind of reading up on the press about
season one and seeing how big of a success it
was becoming and I had already started to become. It
just it was very, very defining and from that point forward,
(16:29):
I just remember showing up to that meeting, but I
was like, this is the stuff I want to be
a part of. This is what I want to be
able to do, Like I have all this knowledge and
skill sets and talent and hadn't figured out like where
do I want to apply it?
Speaker 3 (16:42):
And that that was huge, huge for the culture.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
You know, I come from a time in an industry
where it was very much built on we'd say product
is king, and now I think we've obviously shifted into
this era of where content is definitely king, and you
are right in the middle. I think of this major influence,
(17:07):
as I call it, what are some of the non
negotiables that you look to identify for projects and opportunities
kind of in this space given them?
Speaker 2 (17:19):
I mean, I think for me, just on a personal level,
I am always looking at stories that I just feel
like haven't been unearthed yet.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
I think it's so important to.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Really try to find things that are bold and one
might call risky mainly because you're like, well, I don't
have anything to compare it to. And to me, that's
actually like the secret sauce, because I do believe in
originality being able to find success if you do it
right and you do it for the right reasons, mainly
because I think audiences like new things as we know,
(17:51):
and yes they like things that you know, our sequels
and maybe formulaic. But I do believe in authenticity and
original or like two core pieces you can't remove. And
you know, the way I find authenticity in a script
or in a story is depending on who wrote it
or where it came from. I always like to question, like, look,
if I can take you as the writer out of
(18:13):
this thing and have someone else write.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
It, it's not authentic enough.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
This needs to come from a place that's personal to
you or that is connected to you in some capacity
that it is.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
It can be duplicated, and it.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Is only like you are the only person who could
have generated this. And to me that stands out and
stands a testa time, because when you look at some
of the great projects that are huge in our legacy
and in our libraries, like it is usually the ones
that you're like, I had never seen anything like that before, right,
And that, honestly, I think that can apply to almost
(18:47):
any creative medium, even if it's books, if it's sometimes podcasts,
you know, it's like, oh, you're touching on the subject
that everyone's interested in, but no one sat down to
talk about.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
Right.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
So that's those are like some of the things that
I'm always like seeking out. And it's never really like
genre or it's never like, oh, I like to focus
on these type of stories. I'm just like, no, is
it authentic? Is it original? And if it's familiar, how
is it still different? Because it could still be nostalgic,
it could still remind you of things. That's okay, But
(19:18):
aside from that, then how does it stand out? How
is it not like those things?
Speaker 1 (19:23):
And I think as I'm listening to it makes all
the more sense. As I know you obviously have a
deep relationship with Ray right and having worked on Insecure
and co founder with her on Color Creative in the
recent movie which we'll talk about one of them days,
to name a few, what was the draw I would
say in working with a creative like this and kind
(19:44):
of where do you see the biggest opportunity for you
both to now go in general with pushing content.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
Yeah, I mean, you know, early on one of the
biggest draws with the Issa was beyond the obvious of
just her genius and what she was doing from on
a storytelling level at the time that way met. But
more importantly, she is one of the most down earth
humans I've ever met and is tried and true in
continuing this this notion that you can just be a
good person in this business and still win.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
And you know, and that's how I am.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
But it's so nice when you meet someone else who
believes in that and moves with that and all that
they do. And then you know, the other thing is that, look,
I'm I have no ambitions to write, I don't want to.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
Direct, I don't act. People ask all the time do
you write it or you want tom Like, no, I
just produce.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
And with that in mind, her and I made such
a great team early on because it was like, I
want to support your stories, your vision, your creative know how,
and execute and elevate it to the highest level. And
so it really was such a great pairing because that's
kind of where I came at it from, which is like,
you know, I have a creative wherewithal and I can
(20:51):
help with that to some degree, But ultimately it was
so great to find someone who would be like, oh,
I want to do these sketches and like, you know,
do you we can make them for this cost and
this is like our early web series days and be
like yeah, and you know, and figure out how to
make that happen, right, to kind of be someone who
can come in and just be like, I'm going to
help you figure this out so you don't have to
do it alone and kind of plugging the producing logistic budget,
(21:17):
just all those things that shocks would be like, I.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Don't want to how do I just yea? How do
I just create?
Speaker 2 (21:26):
You know?
Speaker 3 (21:27):
So?
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Yeah, So that's that's really what was such a great
draw towards each other in those initial years.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Is there any correlation? And I think I'm answering the
question because I feel like there is to your sport background,
allowing you look at the smile, look at that smile,
allowing you to be this way. And when I say
allow you to be this way, there's such transferable principles
when talking team sports and basketball in general, and you
being a player.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
One thousand percent. I definitely have thought about this, so
that's why I'm smiling. So I'm like, yeah, I do
believe that there. Undoubtedly some of the things that make
me a great producer really were instilled in me early
on from basketball. I was a point guard, sometimes play
the two, but I always played the one, always bring
the ball of court. And I ended up being a
(22:15):
captain co captain of most of the teams I played with.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
And so you already innately.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Have this leadership skill set that comes from sports that
more importantly, I think from a level of film and television,
collaboration is so key. You do not do any project
in this industry alone period.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
I don't care what anyone says. It is not a
one man show.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
And so one of the biggest challenges I think most
people face is really figuring out how to collaborate and
work with the larger.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Team to execute that singular vision.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
And it is not easy because you could be on
a film set where you have hundreds of people, thousands
of people who are all there aligning around one singular
creative vision, right, and so how do you, as a
producer coral this The entire group were all there for
all the right reasons and make sure we all stay
on track and do our jobs to do that to
(23:06):
the highest level. And in some ways it's like a
point guard, right, like how do you keep your team
motivated and and and watching the cord and knowing you
know where the ball should move and what plays run
and and you know, being a captain of a team
is also no small fee because it's it's kind of
bestowed on you to be a leader.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
For your team, to set an example.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
And so I think all of that from my from
my childhood. Absolutely. I don't think I realized it till
more recently, but it made me a better producer because
I just am like, oh, I'm the captain.
Speaker 3 (23:39):
You know.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
See that one and you use the word collaboration within that,
and I would love to hear how did you know
one of them days come together? Because I'm a huge
fan Scis obviously and of the project, and my girls
are as well. Love and it's great to see her
kind of in this space since stretching her creative prowess.
(24:01):
How did that come about? When you talk about collaboration.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
No, I mean this one was a huge collaboration.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
So this was initially set up in twenty eighteen with
myself and Lisa and our company Colored Creative, we did
like a writer's lab with Columbia the studio, the original
studio within Sony and the lab at the time was
designed to give four emerging writers a chance to develop
and write an original feature script at a studio for
(24:30):
the first time. And the idea was to really break
barriers to you know, kind of help get their foot
in the door, because it is hard for a young
writer to have a studio by their script, and so
to kind of usher that in.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
With the intention of it being an original idea.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
And so we got to do that with four writers
back in twenty eighteen and Srita Singleton, who wrote one
of them days this was initially one of her projects.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
So this has been a long road to making it as.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Just sharing that as well because people think these things are.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
O seven years and within those seven years, you know,
we spent the first few years getting the outline, getting
the script right, and then who came first. I actually
think Keiki Palmer was the first attachment and this was
a few years ago, and Kiki came on board and
loved the script, and then shortly thereafter we got Lawrence Lamont,
the director on board, and then the sizz A piece
(25:21):
kind of was the final piece, and you know, next
thing we know this time last year.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
We were like, oh, way we're making this.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
Because you know it was I like to say, it's
always one of those projects that postwriters striked. I remember
being like, I don't know how they're going to make this,
Like it had everything about it that you are told.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
That Hollywood just doesn't make it anymore. Right. It was
an original comedy movie.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Right. It's starring black female talents, and black female talent that,
as much as we know and love them, hadn't yet
really proven themselves to be leads in a studio theatrical film, right,
which is risky for at least from the studio's perspectives.
And we had Lawrence, who's incredible and had directed with
(26:06):
us on Rap Shit, the television show, but Lawrence had never.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
Done a movie. Wow. So you have all these pieces.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
And an original you know, screenplay by Serena And.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
When they were like, yeah, how about this summer, it
was like are we for real?
Speaker 2 (26:22):
And I just always joked that there was a point
where I was like, well, no, let's just keep every
day let's just keep moving it forward until they decide
they change their mind. How far we get and yeah,
and it just turned out to be such a wonderful experience.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
And I think the.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Most rewarding thing was to see the success and the
feedback of the film once it got put out there,
mainly because it kind of, I think is going to
continue to be used as a test case and as
a great example of like, yeah, if you kind of
what we were talking about earlier, like, if it exists, it
can succeed, But if no one gives it a chance,
(26:55):
then how are you to know whether or not it's
going to actually, you know, change the conversation. And I
think the most rewarding part has been people who have
mentioned to me that they are just so grateful and
inspired that it exists, because it's kind of insilled hope
that like, look, this genre can stay alive and that
(27:16):
movies that are for our culture can continue to thrive
and actually still be successful in a theatrical setting, because
you know, these are the ones we need. This is
what we need to in order to show up and
prove to them that like, hey, there's an audience for this,
And the minute that you know, they can point to
too many failures than the minute that they're not going
to give us any more chances.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
That's right, right, that's right. It all plays back to
the points that you mentioned from the beginning, when you
talked about making sure we're filling the space with things
that are truly authentic, taking a risk, betting on ourselves.
It all aligns. And as I look at given the
state of things where we are today, I look at,
(27:58):
what are the things you're specifically doing to ensure that
the cultures and the spaces that you frequent are kind
of being nurtured supported properly, And what would you recommend
other creatives and consumers to do in alignment with that,
Because we're at a critical point.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
We really are. But I think the most important thing is.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
By showing up to do the thing right and kind
of what we talked about earlier, not asking for permission.
I think a lot of people want to be motivated
to do more things within our culture, to create new spaces,
to innovate, and part of that is always usually something
that's stopping them from seeing it through all the way,
whether it's funding, whether it's support, whether it's resources. And
(28:44):
I'm a huge believer in being like, yo, anything is possible. Anything,
anything is possible. You just have to sit down and
be strategic and say, well, what's the bare minimum that
I need and just for it to exist. Because you know, culture,
it shapes so much in our lives so much, and
I think so much of what we touch is as
Black culture goes, is truly like a leader and defining
(29:07):
a lot of different areas. But what I always love
when I peel those layers back is that it's usually
things that are very innovative, and so it's like a
reminder that it's like, yo, it's okay to take that
risk if you're just like, I'm scared because I don't
see nobody else doing this, and I know it sounds crazy.
It's like, do it anyways, because it's usually going to
be the thing that now everyone is going to look
(29:28):
to as a model, right like you will be the
leading example, good or bad, but in a way that
I think will inspire others to do the same.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
So that's one thing.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
And then one thing I do personally in addition to
that is just you know, I'm mentor a lot. I
always trying to make sure I make time and space
to make myself available.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
To other people.
Speaker 3 (29:48):
Generation Yeah, I mean it's just.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
Look, I came up so aggressively and just being headstrong
and honestly sometimes look back and say, some of my
best mentors were my peers. It's not necessarily people who
had done it before me, even though it's what I
would have liked. I did seek out mentors and try
to find people, but I think at the time there
was this well it felt like this true barrier, but
(30:13):
generationally speaking, right of like these people felt so out
of reach but also so kind of disconnected from what
I was coming out of in terms of the digital
space and the content I was doing at the time,
And so yeah, I just make it a really good
point just to even even if it's ten minutes, to
get on the phone with someone and answer their questions
because I recognize one how much. Sometimes it just instills
(30:35):
validation and whatever it is that they're doing because I
took the time out to even just like notice them
and listen to them. And then the second part is
just like, well, I hope it helps a little bit, right,
And I tell people like, I can't get you that job,
I can't really see things through all the way I'm
not like a magician out here.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
It's like you have.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
But what I can do is at least share or
in part whatever wisdom or knowledge that I've learned and
hopes that maybe it helps you maybe not make the
same mistakes, but also helps you really figure out what
your next moves are or how to do the thing
that you're working on, just because you want to bounce
it off to somebody else and get their feedback.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
Yeah, even in you answering that, you know, there's this
notion of supporting diversity in a way with pouring into
the different types of people to take up space. And
obviously you know D and I has been a buzz
(31:35):
term recently in conversation. And when we look at D
and I and how it ended up really helping white
women more than any other group, what are the things
we need to do now to ensure that diversity, full
diversity is reflected in the spaces where we've made so
much impact culturally, you know, over the last couple of decades.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
I mean, this is the topic we can talk about
for a long.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
Time, I know, for we've got to plant these seats.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
We do, and I think what's so important is that
you know, I think systemically unfortunately so many of where
we are seeing just so much of I think the
hurd and anger and just the disbelief in is this
idea that I think we put too much faith in corporations.
I think we put too much faith in, you know,
(32:28):
and forgetting that a lot of these companies are truly
honestly not ran or owned by us first and foremost
they are operated by the wheels of Wall Street, and
some are private, privately held, but for the most part
they answer to these shareholders. And so if these shareholders
and everyone is looking at this climate and saying, you know,
(32:51):
if we continue on this DII route right now, it's
going to hurt our pockets. So let's let's just tighten
up and let's let let's not deal with that right now.
It's too too sensitive, right And it's not because they
don't necessarily want to support.
Speaker 3 (33:05):
It's really about the money. As we know, everything's about
the money. So what I see.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
And what we can be doing or what needs to
happen is, you know, I'm just I'm a reformist, So
I'm always just like, why are y'all trying to change
the system when the system continues to show us that
it is not for us. So why aren't we building
our own tables? Like I'm not talking about pulling the
seat up to the table. I'm just like, build your
own table, build your own table, find ways to compete
(33:34):
and make others feel threatened, mainly because you have able
to build something that is similar, but that can compete
at a high level, but that also was built very differently.
And I'm always looking at so many of our institutions
that we put so much faith in. I'm like, guys,
these have been around for decades, right, decades right?
Speaker 3 (33:54):
But you know what I also know is that it
is time.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
What I believe in various sectors, it's like they're so
ripe and vulnerable for people to come in and really
kind of think of new ecosystems that could work better.
I mean, we are living in this moment of you know,
technology and social media and videography and AI and just
like so many tools that unfortunately aren't even necessarily being
(34:21):
utilized the right way or incorporated fully at a lot
of these legacy companies. So what are we doing as
a next generation and the ones behind them to really
try to be smarter than the ones that are before us,
because I'm always like, look, you're not going to change
the way people think. You're not going to be able
to fully change these company policies unless you're dragging the court,
(34:43):
and nobody.
Speaker 3 (34:43):
Got time or money for that all the time.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
So why continue to be disappointed and expect them to
change for us when we have the power to create
change ourselves.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
Be the change maker, Be the change, the change you
want to see.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
And I'm sure everyone's like, oh that sounds so easy.
It's like, yeah, well have you tried, right?
Speaker 1 (35:01):
Have we really? Have we really tried?
Speaker 2 (35:03):
You know, I believe wholeheartedly the answer to so many
things is always ownership, and I think we are usually
subjected to not be a part of that.
Speaker 3 (35:11):
I mean I always look.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
At through some degree, like even what what Jay and
his team did with like rock Nation, I'm just like,
I don't think people talk about that enough, right, like
talk about building a table. So it's just like, what disruptive, disruptivetive?
What are we doing in our respective industries and the
things that we work within to to create our own lanes?
Speaker 1 (35:31):
Yeah, the example you just used, and you know, talking
about not pulling a chair up, but actually creating our
own table, I think is going to be significant. I
think is significant, and the more we can rally around that,
as I don't want to say, as easy as it sounds,
but as difficult as it is, just because of all
(35:52):
the years we've had of this programming of thinking we
need to do it a certain way. But it takes
risk takers step out, and it.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Takes the people with the pockets, the deeply lined pockets
to believe in that too.
Speaker 3 (36:06):
You know, I think there's some.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
Great allies out there that would absolutely support it if
it if it.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
Exists, yep, right, yep. Building is big for you.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
Allyships is huge because you know, as much as I
always believe like we got to support our own I
also think there's enough people who, especially in today's age
or today's world, are willing to kind of excuse me,
hold their hands across the table and help others build
and support because they know and I often think generationally speaking,
we are a really interesting inflection point.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
Mm hmm, I mean political and otherwise.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
And I'm just like, I don't know if anyone's aware that,
like so much of this country and.
Speaker 3 (36:42):
Our world and the way we live our lives, you
can just culturally to go back to culture.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
So much of it is going to continue to evolve
very rapidly, really only in the next ten years. And
one of the reasons why is if you think of,
you know, the powers that be, the leaders that be
where a lot of the money is. Don't know, if
you've been reading about the generational wealth transfer that's going
to happen from one generation to the next over the
next ten to fifteen years.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
They are are they looking at it being down?
Speaker 2 (37:08):
Well, no, it's just really because a lot of I
think it's the baby boomer generation. They're dying off, they're
in their eighties, and so people aren't paying attention to
how we are at this inflection point in this country
and really in the world where a different generation is
moving on and the younger generations are moving up. And
so truly, what does that look like when the younger folks,
(37:32):
relatively speaking, are able to start being in more positions
of power, are able to receive that wealth that their
great grandfather built for them. And I'd like to believe
in some cases that again from an alloship perspective, I'm
like there's people from all types of walks of life
who want to see and create real change.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
That's right, That's right.
Speaker 3 (37:53):
You know.
Speaker 1 (37:54):
We always end these with, you know, asking the question
of what three seeds would you want to leave with
the stewards of culture moving forward? And I think, I mean,
you've dropped some really great ones already, but even the
scenario you just walk through of the generation evolution of
(38:16):
generations and the removal of some and the increase of
others was even for me like a light bulb. Wow,
great point. What would three seeds be for you?
Speaker 2 (38:30):
Well, I mean a little bit of the recap from today,
I would say number one innovation.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
Innovation.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Number one is innovation.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
Be different, not just for different purposes, but just be different,
be different, think differently, think differently.
Speaker 3 (38:43):
Number two would be.
Speaker 2 (38:47):
Sorry I'm laughing, but within that resourcefulness, I think for culture,
so much of it usually starts small and is usually
resourceful by all means, no matter which way you look
at it, I always think it's something that's not talked
about a lot, but be resourceful. And then the last
one I think is that sounds so cliche, But the
(39:12):
war that comes to mind is like amplification. And the
reason why is that I think culture needs to be
heard and to be seen and needs to be felt.
And in order to do any of those things, you
do need to amplify the work that you're doing and
whatever it is that you're you know, seeking out to
do setting out to do well.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
I can't thank you enough for not only this conversation,
but obviously your evolution, your ability to take on the
necessary risks to push the envelope and create new spaces
or enlighten and expose people to spaces. That work is
(39:53):
going to be so needed for all of us to
move forward in a collective betterment standpoint and way. And
I'm I'm just super proud to see you in this
space and support you moving forward. And that's why I
wanted you in this space to kind of be heard
and seeing, because there's so many amazing individuals like yourself
who a number of people don't even know this type
(40:15):
of great work is being done by these type of
people who had these type of journeys to get here.
So a sincere thank you, and you always have a
supporter here.
Speaker 3 (40:23):
Thank you, asir. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
I'm honored to be here, truly, was honored to be
asked to be here. And you know, someone like me.
I'm just I just do the work and half the
time I forget people are watching.
Speaker 3 (40:34):
So I appreciate you for seeing me, for having me pleasure.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (40:39):
We truly appreciate your support because it helps us fulfill
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our mission
To who much is given, much is required. Part of
that requirement is sharing. Culture is the heartbeat within our
lives and it's at the core of so many things.
While we live in a time when we are starving
for wisdom, I welcome you to your wisdom retreat. That
culture raises us.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Authenticity and originality are like two four pieces you can't remove.
I'm not talking about pulling the seat up to the table.
I'm to build your own table.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Denise Davis is a four time Emmy nominated producer and
founder CEO of Reform Media Group, which recently into exclusive
development deal with Tyler Perry Studios. She began her career
producing music videos, short films and digital content, and concluding
Ray's award winning web series and Misadventures of Alfred Black Girl.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
You're not going to be able to fully change these
company policies. Why continue to be disappointed and expect them
to change for us when we have the power. One
of the biggest droles with THEO beyond the obvious of
just her genius and what she was doing from I'm
a storytelling love or at the time, she is continuing
this notion that you can just be a good person
(01:04):
in this business.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
And still win.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
I believe wholeheartedly the answer to ownership.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
When you hear culture, what does that mean to you?
Speaker 3 (01:15):
A way of life? Right?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
I think it's you know, you can say trendsetting, but
culture can be about community. But I actually think it's
really about establishing a way of life, in a way
of defining life and people in certain decades, years, generations, ethnicities, right,
because I think oftentimes culture is defaulted to Black culture,
(01:41):
but that's because we're the best at it. But at
the same time, I think you have to remember that
culture is a lot of things.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
It's all encompassing, and so what does it really mean.
I think it means it's a way of how we
live our lives.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
You know, I've known you for years and I have
to get the story on how you got into producing,
because you know, I remember meeting you in New York
when you came to see your aunt who worked at
Jordan at the same time that I was at Nike
in Lashonda, who we love. It is a great spirit
(02:16):
walk us through. How did you get here?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Oh man? I'll give you the short spill.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
So I am born and raised in Las Vegas, my
aunt Lashanda, and my mom have been best friends since
middle school, which has been a beautiful thing. And you know,
La Shonda left Vegas and went to New York and
pursued a career in fashion. And when I was fourteen
years old and a freshman in high school, one of
the things I wanted to do was visiting in New York.
(02:41):
I was like, I want to go see this place.
And you know Vegas. Growing up there, I liken it
to kind of a black hole of sorts because you're
not around other major cities and so you're kind of
in your own bubble. And I'd been to a lave
with like family road trips, but I was like, I
want to see what New York looks like. And so
for my fourteenth birthday, my mom surprised me with a
plane ticket to go visit Leshonda for spring break freshman
(03:05):
year in high school, and that was when we met
and I got to spend an incredible week with her
and her sister Tina, and as a young small girl
from from Vegas, like it changed my whole perspective, and
two things really stood out to me. One was being
able to see my aunt in these settings and in
a career that I didn't know anyone who.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Did that, did you even know what existed?
Speaker 3 (03:28):
No, I'm in Vegas. What that's not.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
That's not really I don't want to say it's not
an option, but it's just not what you're around really
in that way to know that it can exist. And
so I'm watching her, you know, I'm going to the
offices seeing what she's doing. And then one of the
things she told me when I got there was like, hey,
you know, I took this week off from work, but
my boss asked me to like do this one thing
that came up, and I told him we were here,
(03:51):
and he said, well, you know, just take her. And
it was she had a style the halftime game for
the Jordan Capitol Classic High School and and she was
like you know, and I was like what, So what
are we going to Washington? She was like, yeah, but
you get to come with me. And so I got
to go with her for that weekend and we went
to DC and she was styling Ludacris and bow Wow,
(04:13):
and you know, fourteen year old Denise was like bow wow.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Yeah, I love the fourteen year old bowow.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
I mean he was like fifteen at the time.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
So I was like what and I got to see
what she did and just saw the inner workings of
that entire tournament, and I mean I went back to
Vegas and everything looked different, Everything looked different, and I
just remember telling people like, yo, there's a whole world
out there, like do you understand that? Like there's like
so many things we can do. And coincidentally, actually hadn't
(04:45):
gotten in video production yet. That didn't happen until I
was sixteen. And so when until sixteen, well, I mean
it's it's important because you should know.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
So I grew up playing basketball. I was a point guard.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
That was like I had hoop dreams, and so of course,
like even getting to go to the Jordan Capitol Classic,
it was like amazing. One of the best things that
I like to tell people. I'm like, do you know
who the two biggest seniors were that year? And they're like, ooh,
I was like Lebron jameson Ca, Marlan Anthony.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
That was a huge one. It was a huge, huge yea.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
And so I'm like with these players and hanging out
and you know, seeing all of this and seeing the
media frenzy and obviously you see what they I mean,
we always knew what they were going to become but
just see them now, it's like, oh man, that's crazy
fourteen year old and me saw that early on, and
so anyways, all of this stuck with me, and I
ended up quitting basketball after sixteen, mainly because I saw
(05:33):
the path in which it was going and decided that
I love the game, but I wasn't in love within
enough to double down on what it was going to take.
And I realized I was like, oh, I just love
to play it, but I don't know if if it's
if I'm that serious about it as a career.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
And so I never went back out for the team.
I didn't quit. I just never went back out. And
it was a huge.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Identity crisis of sorts because I had been playing, so
that was seven That's what everyone knew me as as
this young basketball player, and that was my identity. And
I spent a few months in school just being like, well,
now what. And I ended up being in an elective
that was doing video production and the daily school announcements
for the first time, and I got to see what
(06:16):
they were doing similar to this couple cameras and was
setting up kids with a desk and a green screen
and they were recording it in first period and it
was airing in fourth period throughout the school, and I
was like, Yo, this is dope. And that teacher kind
of took an infinity in my interests and taught me
how to edit. Let me take the camera home from
school and shoot videos with my sister and just figure
(06:39):
that out. And he eventually came back and was like,
I'm doing this class again, but I'm calling it part
two and you should do it. And by my senior
year in high school, I was producing and editing and
directing our daily video announcements and my new identity was
now I'm the video girl. I was doing videos for
the high school counselors. They needed like registration videos to
(06:59):
show the eighth who were coming into the school, so
I would like do that with them, or shoot a
commercial for the dance team because they wanted to sell
tickets to the recital. So I do a little commercial
and drop it into the announcements.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
And so I'm having a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
But to be honest, I didn't have a context yet
or any context yet about what do I do with this.
I just found a new passion and was like I
love it and leaned into it and leaned into it
and to go back to New York. My only goal
from freshman year to senior year was I don't know
what it is but what I'm going to do, but
I'm going to move to New York. And Lashanda and
(07:33):
her aunt was like her sister Tina was like that's cute, baby,
you know, like fuck supported me. But we always laugh
that like when the time came for college, I ended
up applying and getting into Brooklyn College for film and
I came home that summer from visiting New York as
a graduation present, had my acceptance letter, packed up and
(07:54):
moved in with Lashonda.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
My freshman year in high school.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Because she was like, come on, baby, you made it,
and you know, seeing how my career has taken me
this far, we always laugh and joke was just like
you were really serious. I met Bebby Smith when I
was and so when Bevy and I cross paths now,
she's always like, my little Lamb, you just to say
you was gonna do it, and you just did it.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
No, And I mean, and I have that feeling when
when I see you, when I reconnected with you, when
we were at dinner and you told me all the
amazing things you were doing. It blew my mind. But
it also just took me back to the power of exposure.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
M h.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
The power of exposure is so critical and tapping into
your village who are giving you access, access and exposure,
can do so much. And I look at your journey
just to date and how impactful that has become, because
this journey probably would not have happened had you not
(08:53):
taken that trip, had your aunts in play who were
giving you line of sight things that you didn't even
know existed. I mean, I'm even know my job existed, No, I.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Mean I was.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
You know, I grew up in a city too where
most people don't go to college, and they go and
make six figures, you know, serving cocktails.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
And that's fine, that's nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
But I do think that when you're in an environment
where you're not shown other avenues and means of success,
especially if you're an artist, especially if you're creative, and
you realize there's something more that you want to tap into,
I think not being exposed to what those opportunities could
look like, it makes it harder to be inspired and
believe that you can do it right. And so I
(09:33):
think being just in I mean, there's nothing like New York, right,
Like do you just be in that city with that
propulsiveness and that energy and you just really believe, like, oh, anything.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
Could happen here.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
And I'm always actually grateful that I did go to
college there for four years first and didn't come to
LA first, because I felt like it really gave me
just such a great foundation for who I was becoming
and really helped me be like even more independent and
just kind of learning how to kind of form a
more of a rock shell of sorts, because like you know,
(10:05):
New York, you got to kind of like be a
little bit tougher than another place just to survive and
get through. And I really do think instilled so much
in me as my journey just continued to evolve. But man,
exposure is key, and even now with my change and
my identity in high school, I'm a huge believer in
supporter and mentoring and supporting programs with youth around the arts,
(10:28):
because it's just like no, if you don't expose that
to them sooner, sometimes it's too late.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
In college.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
I meet so many people in this business who went
to school for something else, mainly because they didn't even
get to be exposed to it until they were on
a campus where they're majoring in science and they're like, oh, man, but.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
I never thought about being a writer because I didn't
even realize like that was the thing.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
And then they sometimes feel like they're down a path
and it's too late, you know.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
So yeah, and you know, as you talk about your
journey and the moments and the access that you given
to get here, now I look at now that you're
on this path of creative building content creating content, what
was the moment where you realize just how instrumental and
(11:13):
influential content was to shaping our overall culture. Right, we
talked about your journey, but now when did you have
that aha moment? Like, wait a minute. Content really moves
things in an impactful way, and it could be black
culture or black content however, but I'd love to get
from you what was that particular moment that you can
reflect on.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
I'm laughing because I'm like, Oh, which one do I
want to share?
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Yeah, I'm gonna share a part one and a part
two because it's a little bit more personal, Okay, but
part one is I'm just laughing because I'm not about
to pull people all the way back. The very defining
moment and even in my childhood that I just distinctly
will never forget is when MTV Films put out Karmen
and Hip Hopera.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Who what? Anybody else in this room?
Speaker 2 (12:00):
What?
Speaker 3 (12:01):
Carmen a hip opera? Most death Beyonce Bowow.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
I mean, oh, we gotta find this on YouTube.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
I mean, here's the thing that film.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
It's funny because I actually went to a rooftop screen
and we saw it for the first time.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
In years, like a year ago, and it still holds up.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
First of all, I was still singing and dance so long,
but I just remember it being such an eventized moment, right.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
It was like just all this caliber of black talent
of that time.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
And the most incredible original kind of play off of
the Carmen Opera play I think Robert Townsend directed, and
it was Beyonce in her first started.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
I do remember this, yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
And it stayed with me four years afterwards.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
I mean, this came out maybe when I was twelve eleven,
twelve years old, but it was such a cultural moment,
and now I realize when I look back at like
why like it wasn't just the cast and like, you know,
the entertainment value and the music, but part of it
also was when you think about the year two thousand,
you're like.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
What else did we really have back then too?
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Write to be able to even make something that was
so original in its form and to be able to
be kind of put out on a big platform because
I the TV put a lot of marketing into it.
I never really looked up people was consider a success
for them, but I like to think it was. But
it also I think it was like if you were there,
you knew, you know. And I think now when I say,
(13:30):
people are like, oh yeah, like because it actually doesn't
even have replay value.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
It's not something you can go find on streaming right now.
So it's like.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Wow, truly a cultural moment where you're like, oh no,
that was a moment that you yeah, and just you know,
as someone who's a storyteller, I think too, so the
idea of like, oh we could do that at that
time was just really powerful.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
So that's part one.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Yes, Part two is one of the first times I
met Lisa, and so I was getting ready to come
out of grad school, was applying to freelance producing jobs.
A friend of mine sent me one and I sent
my resume to It was for a web series looking
for a line producer. And you know, we haven't really
dived into my story, but of course I went to
(14:12):
Brooklyn College for Film for four years, very diverse, very
much a school of local New Yorkers, first gen immigrants
and people who just were like nonprivileged and just wanted
to tell stories, very different than like some of these
other film schools.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
And then I went to.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Grad school at AFI here in LA and did my
two years and got my MFA in producing. And you know,
I was the only act, only black female in my
producing class of twenty eight, you know, and there wasn't
a lot of people of color. And I tell you
this context because I applied to this job for a
web series looking for a producer, and I had a
lot of producing experience. And I get an email back
(14:50):
from me so that was like, Hey, I got your
resume for this.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Can you meet tomorrow morning for an interview?
Speaker 2 (14:55):
And I was like absolutely, and so we set it
up and I remember being like, well, she still tell
me what it is for.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
I don't know none about who who who is emailing me?
So what do you do? You copy and paste and
you google.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
And what I found was the first season of Awkward
Black Girl and also a lot of the other YouTube contents.
That was actually her third web series, and so I
watched her other two and like read up on everything today,
And that moment changed so much for me, mainly because
talking about these film school settings, you know, unfortunately a
(15:27):
lot of the content and the things that I was
around and helping with wasn't with us in it. Right
when I look back, even my thesis films, sometimes I'm like,
to black people in my thesis film. But you you
you realize that you are in these settings and these
traditional structures that unfortunately is not designed to be supported
(15:50):
and have us in it. So like it. You know,
I can't really beat myself up to be like, how
did you not think about that? It was Yeah, I
mean I'm like, well, all the directors I had the
chance to work but there wasn't there wasn't any ones
of color.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
So you know, that's kind of where it starts into
some degree.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
So yeah, watching Easta's web series was a huge watershed,
light bulb moment for me because it was that moment
where I was like oh, we could do this right,
and then kind of reading up on the press about
season one and seeing how big of a success it
was becoming and I had already started to become. It
just it was very, very defining and from that point forward,
(16:29):
I just remember showing up to that meeting, but I
was like, this is the stuff I want to be
a part of. This is what I want to be
able to do, Like I have all this knowledge and
skill sets and talent and hadn't figured out like where
do I want to apply it?
Speaker 3 (16:42):
And that that was huge, huge for the culture.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
You know, I come from a time in an industry
where it was very much built on we'd say product
is king, and now I think we've obviously shifted into
this era of where content is definitely king, and you
are right in the middle. I think of this major influence,
(17:07):
as I call it, what are some of the non
negotiables that you look to identify for projects and opportunities
kind of in this space given them?
Speaker 2 (17:19):
I mean, I think for me, just on a personal level,
I am always looking at stories that I just feel
like haven't been unearthed yet.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
I think it's so important to.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Really try to find things that are bold and one
might call risky mainly because you're like, well, I don't
have anything to compare it to. And to me, that's
actually like the secret sauce, because I do believe in
originality being able to find success if you do it
right and you do it for the right reasons, mainly
because I think audiences like new things as we know,
(17:51):
and yes they like things that you know, our sequels
and maybe formulaic. But I do believe in authenticity and
original or like two core pieces you can't remove. And
you know, the way I find authenticity in a script
or in a story is depending on who wrote it
or where it came from. I always like to question, like, look,
if I can take you as the writer out of
(18:13):
this thing and have someone else write.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
It, it's not authentic enough.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
This needs to come from a place that's personal to
you or that is connected to you in some capacity
that it is.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
It can be duplicated, and it.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Is only like you are the only person who could
have generated this. And to me that stands out and
stands a testa time, because when you look at some
of the great projects that are huge in our legacy
and in our libraries, like it is usually the ones
that you're like, I had never seen anything like that before, right,
And that, honestly, I think that can apply to almost
(18:47):
any creative medium, even if it's books, if it's sometimes podcasts,
you know, it's like, oh, you're touching on the subject
that everyone's interested in, but no one sat down to
talk about.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
Right.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
So that's those are like some of the things that
I'm always like seeking out. And it's never really like
genre or it's never like, oh, I like to focus
on these type of stories. I'm just like, no, is
it authentic? Is it original? And if it's familiar, how
is it still different? Because it could still be nostalgic,
it could still remind you of things. That's okay, But
(19:18):
aside from that, then how does it stand out? How
is it not like those things?
Speaker 1 (19:23):
And I think as I'm listening to it makes all
the more sense. As I know you obviously have a
deep relationship with Ray right and having worked on Insecure
and co founder with her on Color Creative in the
recent movie which we'll talk about one of them days,
to name a few, what was the draw I would
say in working with a creative like this and kind
(19:44):
of where do you see the biggest opportunity for you
both to now go in general with pushing content.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
Yeah, I mean, you know, early on one of the
biggest draws with the Issa was beyond the obvious of
just her genius and what she was doing from on
a storytelling level at the time that way met. But
more importantly, she is one of the most down earth
humans I've ever met and is tried and true in
continuing this this notion that you can just be a
good person in this business and still win.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
And you know, and that's how I am.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
But it's so nice when you meet someone else who
believes in that and moves with that and all that
they do. And then you know, the other thing is that, look,
I'm I have no ambitions to write, I don't want to.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
Direct, I don't act. People ask all the time do
you write it or you want tom Like, no, I
just produce.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
And with that in mind, her and I made such
a great team early on because it was like, I
want to support your stories, your vision, your creative know how,
and execute and elevate it to the highest level. And
so it really was such a great pairing because that's
kind of where I came at it from, which is like,
you know, I have a creative wherewithal and I can
(20:51):
help with that to some degree, But ultimately it was
so great to find someone who would be like, oh,
I want to do these sketches and like, you know,
do you we can make them for this cost and
this is like our early web series days and be
like yeah, and you know, and figure out how to
make that happen, right, to kind of be someone who
can come in and just be like, I'm going to
help you figure this out so you don't have to
do it alone and kind of plugging the producing logistic budget,
(21:17):
just all those things that shocks would be like, I.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Don't want to how do I just yea? How do
I just create?
Speaker 2 (21:26):
You know?
Speaker 3 (21:27):
So?
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Yeah, So that's that's really what was such a great
draw towards each other in those initial years.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Is there any correlation? And I think I'm answering the
question because I feel like there is to your sport background,
allowing you look at the smile, look at that smile,
allowing you to be this way. And when I say
allow you to be this way, there's such transferable principles
when talking team sports and basketball in general, and you
being a player.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
One thousand percent. I definitely have thought about this, so
that's why I'm smiling. So I'm like, yeah, I do
believe that there. Undoubtedly some of the things that make
me a great producer really were instilled in me early
on from basketball. I was a point guard, sometimes play
the two, but I always played the one, always bring
the ball of court. And I ended up being a
(22:15):
captain co captain of most of the teams I played with.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
And so you already innately.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Have this leadership skill set that comes from sports that
more importantly, I think from a level of film and television,
collaboration is so key. You do not do any project
in this industry alone period.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
I don't care what anyone says. It is not a
one man show.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
And so one of the biggest challenges I think most
people face is really figuring out how to collaborate and
work with the larger.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Team to execute that singular vision.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
And it is not easy because you could be on
a film set where you have hundreds of people, thousands
of people who are all there aligning around one singular
creative vision, right, and so how do you, as a
producer coral this The entire group were all there for
all the right reasons and make sure we all stay
on track and do our jobs to do that to
(23:06):
the highest level. And in some ways it's like a
point guard, right, like how do you keep your team
motivated and and and watching the cord and knowing you
know where the ball should move and what plays run
and and you know, being a captain of a team
is also no small fee because it's it's kind of
bestowed on you to be a leader.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
For your team, to set an example.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
And so I think all of that from my from
my childhood. Absolutely. I don't think I realized it till
more recently, but it made me a better producer because
I just am like, oh, I'm the captain.
Speaker 3 (23:39):
You know.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
See that one and you use the word collaboration within that,
and I would love to hear how did you know
one of them days come together? Because I'm a huge
fan Scis obviously and of the project, and my girls
are as well. Love and it's great to see her
kind of in this space since stretching her creative prowess.
(24:01):
How did that come about? When you talk about collaboration.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
No, I mean this one was a huge collaboration.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
So this was initially set up in twenty eighteen with
myself and Lisa and our company Colored Creative, we did
like a writer's lab with Columbia the studio, the original
studio within Sony and the lab at the time was
designed to give four emerging writers a chance to develop
and write an original feature script at a studio for
(24:30):
the first time. And the idea was to really break
barriers to you know, kind of help get their foot
in the door, because it is hard for a young
writer to have a studio by their script, and so
to kind of usher that in.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
With the intention of it being an original idea.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
And so we got to do that with four writers
back in twenty eighteen and Srita Singleton, who wrote one
of them days this was initially one of her projects.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
So this has been a long road to making it as.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Just sharing that as well because people think these things are.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
O seven years and within those seven years, you know,
we spent the first few years getting the outline, getting
the script right, and then who came first. I actually
think Keiki Palmer was the first attachment and this was
a few years ago, and Kiki came on board and
loved the script, and then shortly thereafter we got Lawrence Lamont,
the director on board, and then the sizz A piece
(25:21):
kind of was the final piece, and you know, next
thing we know this time last year.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
We were like, oh, way we're making this.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
Because you know it was I like to say, it's
always one of those projects that postwriters striked. I remember
being like, I don't know how they're going to make this,
Like it had everything about it that you are told.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
That Hollywood just doesn't make it anymore. Right. It was
an original comedy movie.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Right. It's starring black female talents, and black female talent that,
as much as we know and love them, hadn't yet
really proven themselves to be leads in a studio theatrical film, right,
which is risky for at least from the studio's perspectives.
And we had Lawrence, who's incredible and had directed with
(26:06):
us on Rap Shit, the television show, but Lawrence had never.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
Done a movie. Wow. So you have all these pieces.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
And an original you know, screenplay by Serena And.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
When they were like, yeah, how about this summer, it
was like are we for real?
Speaker 2 (26:22):
And I just always joked that there was a point
where I was like, well, no, let's just keep every
day let's just keep moving it forward until they decide
they change their mind. How far we get and yeah,
and it just turned out to be such a wonderful experience.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
And I think the.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Most rewarding thing was to see the success and the
feedback of the film once it got put out there,
mainly because it kind of, I think is going to
continue to be used as a test case and as
a great example of like, yeah, if you kind of
what we were talking about earlier, like, if it exists, it
can succeed, But if no one gives it a chance,
(26:55):
then how are you to know whether or not it's
going to actually, you know, change the conversation. And I
think the most rewarding part has been people who have
mentioned to me that they are just so grateful and
inspired that it exists, because it's kind of insilled hope
that like, look, this genre can stay alive and that
(27:16):
movies that are for our culture can continue to thrive
and actually still be successful in a theatrical setting, because
you know, these are the ones we need. This is
what we need to in order to show up and
prove to them that like, hey, there's an audience for this,
And the minute that you know, they can point to
too many failures than the minute that they're not going
to give us any more chances.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
That's right, right, that's right. It all plays back to
the points that you mentioned from the beginning, when you
talked about making sure we're filling the space with things
that are truly authentic, taking a risk, betting on ourselves.
It all aligns. And as I look at given the
state of things where we are today, I look at,
(27:58):
what are the things you're specifically doing to ensure that
the cultures and the spaces that you frequent are kind
of being nurtured supported properly, And what would you recommend
other creatives and consumers to do in alignment with that,
Because we're at a critical point.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
We really are. But I think the most important thing is.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
By showing up to do the thing right and kind
of what we talked about earlier, not asking for permission.
I think a lot of people want to be motivated
to do more things within our culture, to create new spaces,
to innovate, and part of that is always usually something
that's stopping them from seeing it through all the way,
whether it's funding, whether it's support, whether it's resources. And
(28:44):
I'm a huge believer in being like, yo, anything is possible. Anything,
anything is possible. You just have to sit down and
be strategic and say, well, what's the bare minimum that
I need and just for it to exist. Because you know, culture,
it shapes so much in our lives so much, and
I think so much of what we touch is as
Black culture goes, is truly like a leader and defining
(29:07):
a lot of different areas. But what I always love
when I peel those layers back is that it's usually
things that are very innovative, and so it's like a
reminder that it's like, yo, it's okay to take that
risk if you're just like, I'm scared because I don't
see nobody else doing this, and I know it sounds crazy.
It's like, do it anyways, because it's usually going to
be the thing that now everyone is going to look
(29:28):
to as a model, right like you will be the
leading example, good or bad, but in a way that
I think will inspire others to do the same.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
So that's one thing.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
And then one thing I do personally in addition to
that is just you know, I'm mentor a lot. I
always trying to make sure I make time and space
to make myself available.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
To other people.
Speaker 3 (29:48):
Generation Yeah, I mean it's just.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
Look, I came up so aggressively and just being headstrong
and honestly sometimes look back and say, some of my
best mentors were my peers. It's not necessarily people who
had done it before me, even though it's what I
would have liked. I did seek out mentors and try
to find people, but I think at the time there
was this well it felt like this true barrier, but
(30:13):
generationally speaking, right of like these people felt so out
of reach but also so kind of disconnected from what
I was coming out of in terms of the digital
space and the content I was doing at the time,
And so yeah, I just make it a really good
point just to even even if it's ten minutes, to
get on the phone with someone and answer their questions
because I recognize one how much. Sometimes it just instills
(30:35):
validation and whatever it is that they're doing because I
took the time out to even just like notice them
and listen to them. And then the second part is
just like, well, I hope it helps a little bit, right,
And I tell people like, I can't get you that job,
I can't really see things through all the way I'm
not like a magician out here.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
It's like you have.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
But what I can do is at least share or
in part whatever wisdom or knowledge that I've learned and
hopes that maybe it helps you maybe not make the
same mistakes, but also helps you really figure out what
your next moves are or how to do the thing
that you're working on, just because you want to bounce
it off to somebody else and get their feedback.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
Yeah, even in you answering that, you know, there's this
notion of supporting diversity in a way with pouring into
the different types of people to take up space. And
obviously you know D and I has been a buzz
(31:35):
term recently in conversation. And when we look at D
and I and how it ended up really helping white
women more than any other group, what are the things
we need to do now to ensure that diversity, full
diversity is reflected in the spaces where we've made so
much impact culturally, you know, over the last couple of decades.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
I mean, this is the topic we can talk about
for a long.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
Time, I know, for we've got to plant these seats.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
We do, and I think what's so important is that
you know, I think systemically unfortunately so many of where
we are seeing just so much of I think the
hurd and anger and just the disbelief in is this
idea that I think we put too much faith in corporations.
I think we put too much faith in, you know,
(32:28):
and forgetting that a lot of these companies are truly
honestly not ran or owned by us first and foremost
they are operated by the wheels of Wall Street, and
some are private, privately held, but for the most part
they answer to these shareholders. And so if these shareholders
and everyone is looking at this climate and saying, you know,
(32:51):
if we continue on this DII route right now, it's
going to hurt our pockets. So let's let's just tighten
up and let's let let's not deal with that right now.
It's too too sensitive, right And it's not because they
don't necessarily want to support.
Speaker 3 (33:05):
It's really about the money. As we know, everything's about
the money. So what I see.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
And what we can be doing or what needs to
happen is, you know, I'm just I'm a reformist, So
I'm always just like, why are y'all trying to change
the system when the system continues to show us that
it is not for us. So why aren't we building
our own tables? Like I'm not talking about pulling the
seat up to the table. I'm just like, build your
own table, build your own table, find ways to compete
(33:34):
and make others feel threatened, mainly because you have able
to build something that is similar, but that can compete
at a high level, but that also was built very differently.
And I'm always looking at so many of our institutions
that we put so much faith in. I'm like, guys,
these have been around for decades, right, decades right?
Speaker 3 (33:54):
But you know what I also know is that it
is time.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
What I believe in various sectors, it's like they're so
ripe and vulnerable for people to come in and really
kind of think of new ecosystems that could work better.
I mean, we are living in this moment of you know,
technology and social media and videography and AI and just
like so many tools that unfortunately aren't even necessarily being
(34:21):
utilized the right way or incorporated fully at a lot
of these legacy companies. So what are we doing as
a next generation and the ones behind them to really
try to be smarter than the ones that are before us,
because I'm always like, look, you're not going to change
the way people think. You're not going to be able
to fully change these company policies unless you're dragging the court,
(34:43):
and nobody.
Speaker 3 (34:43):
Got time or money for that all the time.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
So why continue to be disappointed and expect them to
change for us when we have the power to create
change ourselves.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
Be the change maker, Be the change, the change you
want to see.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
And I'm sure everyone's like, oh that sounds so easy.
It's like, yeah, well have you tried, right?
Speaker 1 (35:01):
Have we really? Have we really tried?
Speaker 2 (35:03):
You know, I believe wholeheartedly the answer to so many
things is always ownership, and I think we are usually
subjected to not be a part of that.
Speaker 3 (35:11):
I mean I always look.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
At through some degree, like even what what Jay and
his team did with like rock Nation, I'm just like,
I don't think people talk about that enough, right, like
talk about building a table. So it's just like, what disruptive, disruptivetive?
What are we doing in our respective industries and the
things that we work within to to create our own lanes?
Speaker 1 (35:31):
Yeah, the example you just used, and you know, talking
about not pulling a chair up, but actually creating our
own table, I think is going to be significant. I
think is significant, and the more we can rally around that,
as I don't want to say, as easy as it sounds,
but as difficult as it is, just because of all
(35:52):
the years we've had of this programming of thinking we
need to do it a certain way. But it takes
risk takers step out, and it.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Takes the people with the pockets, the deeply lined pockets
to believe in that too.
Speaker 3 (36:06):
You know, I think there's some.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
Great allies out there that would absolutely support it if
it if it.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
Exists, yep, right, yep. Building is big for you.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
Allyships is huge because you know, as much as I
always believe like we got to support our own I
also think there's enough people who, especially in today's age
or today's world, are willing to kind of excuse me,
hold their hands across the table and help others build
and support because they know and I often think generationally speaking,
we are a really interesting inflection point.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
Mm hmm, I mean political and otherwise.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
And I'm just like, I don't know if anyone's aware that,
like so much of this country and.
Speaker 3 (36:42):
Our world and the way we live our lives, you
can just culturally to go back to culture.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
So much of it is going to continue to evolve
very rapidly, really only in the next ten years. And
one of the reasons why is if you think of,
you know, the powers that be, the leaders that be
where a lot of the money is. Don't know, if
you've been reading about the generational wealth transfer that's going
to happen from one generation to the next over the
next ten to fifteen years.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
They are are they looking at it being down?
Speaker 2 (37:08):
Well, no, it's just really because a lot of I
think it's the baby boomer generation. They're dying off, they're
in their eighties, and so people aren't paying attention to
how we are at this inflection point in this country
and really in the world where a different generation is
moving on and the younger generations are moving up. And
so truly, what does that look like when the younger folks,
(37:32):
relatively speaking, are able to start being in more positions
of power, are able to receive that wealth that their
great grandfather built for them. And I'd like to believe
in some cases that again from an alloship perspective, I'm
like there's people from all types of walks of life
who want to see and create real change.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
That's right, That's right.
Speaker 3 (37:53):
You know.
Speaker 1 (37:54):
We always end these with, you know, asking the question
of what three seeds would you want to leave with
the stewards of culture moving forward? And I think, I mean,
you've dropped some really great ones already, but even the
scenario you just walk through of the generation evolution of
(38:16):
generations and the removal of some and the increase of
others was even for me like a light bulb. Wow,
great point. What would three seeds be for you?
Speaker 2 (38:30):
Well, I mean a little bit of the recap from today,
I would say number one innovation.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
Innovation.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Number one is innovation.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
Be different, not just for different purposes, but just be different,
be different, think differently, think differently.
Speaker 3 (38:43):
Number two would be.
Speaker 2 (38:47):
Sorry I'm laughing, but within that resourcefulness, I think for culture,
so much of it usually starts small and is usually
resourceful by all means, no matter which way you look
at it, I always think it's something that's not talked
about a lot, but be resourceful. And then the last
one I think is that sounds so cliche, But the
(39:12):
war that comes to mind is like amplification. And the
reason why is that I think culture needs to be
heard and to be seen and needs to be felt.
And in order to do any of those things, you
do need to amplify the work that you're doing and
whatever it is that you're you know, seeking out to
do setting out to do well.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
I can't thank you enough for not only this conversation,
but obviously your evolution, your ability to take on the
necessary risks to push the envelope and create new spaces
or enlighten and expose people to spaces. That work is
(39:53):
going to be so needed for all of us to
move forward in a collective betterment standpoint and way. And
I'm I'm just super proud to see you in this
space and support you moving forward. And that's why I
wanted you in this space to kind of be heard
and seeing, because there's so many amazing individuals like yourself
who a number of people don't even know this type
(40:15):
of great work is being done by these type of
people who had these type of journeys to get here.
So a sincere thank you, and you always have a
supporter here.
Speaker 3 (40:23):
Thank you, asir. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
I'm honored to be here, truly, was honored to be
asked to be here. And you know, someone like me.
I'm just I just do the work and half the
time I forget people are watching.
Speaker 3 (40:34):
So I appreciate you for seeing me, for having me pleasure.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (40:39):
We truly appreciate your support because it helps us fulfill
our mission of promoting cultural awareness and personal development. Please
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our mission
Host
Astor Chamber
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