Flex Alexander, Treach and Omar Gooding joins the show to discuss New Jack City Live!

Flex Alexander, Treach and Omar Gooding joins us to discuss New Jack City Live stageplay. Find out about the first time they saw the movie in 1991 and how they were able to joing the cast of this amazing project.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
It's Mike Evans and the Memphis MorningShow your double e Ena Esco here.
This is a special edition of PopTalk as we have the cast of New
Jack City live in the building.Hello, fellas, what's up? I
mean? I got a lot ofEast Coast wag. It's some West Coast

(00:21):
over here to my right. Wehave Omar Gooding, we have Flex over
here to my left, and wehave my boy s Trench that naughty by
nature. You guys are amazing.You do know that, all of you
in your own right. Thank you? Yes? Is this your first time
in Memphis? Omar? I think, I know, I know, I

(00:44):
know it's early in the morning.But Trench, I've seen you here.
Flex, I know you've been here. Chuckles. Yeah, yeah, what
you know about those Memphis vibes?Listen, Memphis is number love. Man.
I had a great time down hereperforming at chuckles. The people came
out of the food people. Thisheat, though, is something different.
Oh yeah, he waved this weekend, A little different from the West Coast,

(01:06):
a little different humidity. It's thathumidity. They feel like somebody on
your back breathing on you type ofheat. Yeah. Yeah, and you've
been here performing huh quite a fewtimes. Yes, you know all about
the Memphis vibes that part. Allright, this is what I want to
know. You guys are here forthe big stage play New Jack City Live,
presented by Karius Johnson, and wetalked with him actually two weeks ago.

(01:30):
He couldn't wait for you guys tocome here and interview. I want
to know back in nineteen ninety onewhen New Jack City came out, what
was your relationship with the movie whereyou guys attending the movie? I don't
like this. I stopped. Thefunny thing is OK? The funny thing

(01:56):
for me? I actually was anextra in the movie. I was dancing.
Back then you did have the dance. I was dancing. So I
was an extra in the movie.And in the scene where uh Nino first
walks into the club and Iced Teais there and everybody's like, oh yo,
what's up? You know, AndI was supposed to just come in

(02:17):
and we're supposed to be like,oh, you know, it's a big
deal. But I knew Wesley.I didn't know anything about acting. I
didn't know anything about you know,I ain't supposed to speak and none cameras
block cameras. They came in andI'm like, yo, what a West.
I didn't know nothing about this character. My people's gut put his ass

(02:39):
in the back and they pushed meway to the back. And when I
look at the movie now, thekids they pushed in my place. You
know, he gets to walk byand go. You know, that would
have been a nice shot for me. So my time, you know,
it was what an off camera?What about ninety one? That was the

(03:00):
first year opp came out. Ohyeah, I remember that. Who didn't
know about Oh yeah, so Ihad to. I had to make sure
I've seen it wherever we was atat the time, because we was on
that road smoking. Yeah. Yeah, good times in ninety one? Good
time. Did you see the movieNew Jack City? Yeah? Of course.
Okay, what did you think backthen? Man? I thought this

(03:21):
was our scarface, this was ourgodfather. It's like, this is really
a movie of the hood that Iknow, you know what I mean.
We was from Jersey, but uptownHarlem that was right there. So that
was just just it was like itbought it all into you know, the
culture. Yes, sir, couldclassic what about you? Oh? Mark
Gooding nineteen ninety one by I wasstill in high school. Ok, still

(03:45):
the freshman I was doing. Iwas doing it. Yeah yeah, hang
with mister Cooper at the time,bumping opp Yeah. It was my mom's
single lyrics. I don't really knowwhat they mean, So calm that down,
daddy's property. Yeah, but youdid see New Jack City, of

(04:05):
course I did. Yes, Whatwere you thinking back then in ninety one?
I was thinking, uh uh,Pooky was a bad Manmagemma. I
said, this is a funny dude, and now he's transforming over to some
serious acting. Oh yeah, youknow what I'm saying. Chris Rock was
like one of the first to dothat, you know what I mean?
So you know, seeing what flexdo it with it now is really something

(04:25):
that I've been excited for everybody tosee on stage. He takes his comedic
time and his dancing skills and reallybrings it the life and adds another dimension
to it. And this man Trenchright here, he make you watch it
and say, Wesley, who that'sjust my He's gonna say it, So
I'm gonna say, I learned,I learned it, I learned put it
down, Like you have really developedinto this amazing actor. Do you study.

(04:50):
I mean, like, how doyou develop your craft? I mean
I learned from the game. Myfirst movie I ever was in Shout Out
to my homie Tupac, you know, was Juice and I had no line,
so I couldn't mess nothing up atall. And I was rolling with
the Puerto Rican gang. But sinceit was uptown, they said, how

(05:11):
you the only dark skin humming inthe Puerto Rican? I said, I
was from watching the Heights. Wow. So I want all of you to
tell me about your role in NewJack City Live. Who do you play
and how did you prepare for therole? Tretch, I played Nino Brown,
m Kingpin C M B had leadergangster doing that. You feel what

(05:36):
I'm saying? It was I reallyI didn't have to do too much study.
And like I said, we allseen the movie. It was a
cult classic, so me just watchingit over and over and over for the
majority of the stuff that I hadto say, I knew the lines anyway,
So it was just a beautiful thing. Through Alan Payne hooking me up

(05:57):
saying I would be great for thepart they believe than me to come.
I did a couple of things theater, but nothing on this scale of traveling
play. But I was ready,you know what I mean. So as
soon as, like I said,from Juice, I got the acting bug
and I was like everything I didafter that was just learning and being a
sponge, like I wouldn't just domy part, go back to the trail.

(06:18):
I'm watching everybody. And then Istarted looking at movies different when I
started acting, cause that was metraining and looking at timing and boom and
how boom and you know in TupacShout, he taught me a lot.
He was like, Yo, dothis just go down, feel like this,
say the lines, know the linesone hundred percent, but then saying

(06:42):
like you really talking doing it?So yeah, wow, what about you?
What about you? Flex? Forme, I played the role of
Pooky Chris Rockahoogy Chris Rock. Imean, I obviously not gonna do what
Chris Rock did. He put astamp on that this forever myself. I
just try to take, as Omarwas saying earlier, I try to add

(07:06):
a little bit of everything I do, comedy, dancing, you know,
the dramatic side. I took justjust pieces of things I've experienced coming up.
You know, I had two brothersthat did for crack addiction and mom
and cocaine, So being able tosee that up close, go when they

(07:26):
were fighting to get clean, goingto the meetings with them and everything,
and they's still finding the funny sideof it, you know what I mean.
So I just try to take allof it together. Because when they
first called me to do it,I didn't want to do it. I
wanted to do I was like,I want a more serious role called my
boy. He was like, man, he'd be a go ahead and play
Pooky. And I'm glad I did. I'm glad I did because I get
to, really, I think Ihave a little more freedom than the fellas,

(07:48):
you know what I mean. TheyI get to just kind of play
with lines and stuff, you knowwhat I mean, and just watching everyone
and what they put into it.And Gary her Dan too. We can't
forget Gary uh and Alan obviously,I mean, what they bring to it.
And once we all get together,like I'm telling you, it's it's
some magic. So so y'all infor a treat? Yes, and for

(08:11):
a treat on Saturday? Omar,who are you playing? And how do
you prepare? I gotta say,first of all, you know this is
you Curius Johnson Conduction. And thisis the second time I've been a part
of one of his productions. Thefirst one was with The Redemption of a
Dog, which was the story ofSnoop Dogg. So then I got to
realize what or really a play reallyis all about. And then what he

(08:35):
does, what he brings to itis phenomenal. I mean, from the
writing, the singing, and themusic cues. I mean, you're gonna
laugh, you may cry. Youmay cry laughing, you may want to
scream out and talk to us.Please don't do that and interrupt as we
stand, but you're really gonna feelinvolved. We're gonna make two and a
half hours feel like about two hoursand ten minutes. I mean, it's
one of them things that you reallyhave to really see and experience. And

(08:58):
I've been I've been the guy thatlike, if you got an just call
me if you need somebody. See. When they started this play, they
had Big Daddy Kane playing Stone,which was the originally portrayed by Mario van
Peebles. So they called me Januarysecond and put me on the play January
fourth. Step right in let meit's on the plane step right. I

(09:22):
learned these lines and get caught upand brought up speed, and I'm like,
you know, I'm finding out who'spart of the cast, like on
the plane, you know. AndI'm like, all right, let me
see these cats. I saw onerehearsal. I said, Okay, ain't
gonna be no sleep for me.I gotta get I gotta step right up
because they bringing it, bringing it, bringing it. And we had a
couple of memorial remember, yeah,like that's the story. I want to

(09:46):
know, a memory of home live. I don't get nervous. I'm forty
seven years old. I was aboutnine years old. But I was like,
wait a minute, Yeah, mytongue betrayed me once. It was
something that we all knew. Everybodygot. Oh yeah we wobody got everybody

(10:09):
back. Yeah, we hold eachother down. It was one show where
I just I looked at Gary andI just went blank. You know,
it was you. We were onthe line and I look. I just
was like, and they're looking atme like something about him doing that.
It just snapped me back. Isaid, okay, yeah it's in me.

(10:30):
You know. My start would standup. So I love that live
energy. I love you know,I'm going from a hip hop dancer and
then to stand up. It's nothinglike the feedback man. And then when
we you know, we all rockingtogether and everybody's locked in, so we
just we just piggyback. You know, somebody's like I'm stuck, and we
say a line to make you remember. Then you go okay, cool,
and that's that's that's how it shouldbe, because I've been part of things

(10:54):
where you know, they just CATCHUleave you hang it. Yeah, I'm
sure you know. Super excited thatyou guys are here. We have some
legendary artists in the building with ustoday that will be rapping for New Jack
City Live this Saturday at the Orphiumfor two shows. Listen, you want

(11:15):
something to do for Father's Day,bring a father to let him dress up
like Nino any of his favor orPooky put a little doughnut hot on.
They might not let you, especiallyand bring them to the show early.
Please don't early. He's going torelive his youth through this play and watching

(11:39):
everybody do what they do. It'snothing like you are going to expect.
Problem. Don't say I've seen themovie, so watch that. I see
the play different. It's stuff that'sgiving you the history on why certain people
the way they are, what theyupcoming was, and so it gives you
it's really a show. Gotcha.Well we are excited. Thank you,

(12:01):
gentlemen. I want to say HappyFather's Day to all of you that well
it looks like you will be hereon Sunday. You may be back home
by then. Yeah, yeah,I'll be bad, yeah early yeah,
yeah, but thank you gentlemen.You know, Father's Day get you know,
we get we get you, youknow the short end. Always you
see a Mother's Day commercial, Inthe Father's Day commercial, Mother's Day,

(12:22):
it's like, please take your motherto dinner, take her here. Father's
Day be like Dad, I gottawatch you know it's it's it may be
a watch all the social media Father'sbunch, you know what? While you
right, we need a Father's Daybrunch and then all the hits on the
posts and anything else. We liketo thank all the mothers who fathers.

(12:45):
Yeah, it's like why serious,Yes, that's time. We don't have
no song like boys said and Mama, we don't have father. We need
to get Patty LaBelle to do it. I'm a I'm pat I'm gonna I'm

(13:11):
o my God. Alexander Trench andOh Margot is here in the city for
New Jack City Live. Thank youguys so much a wonderful, amazing two
shows. You You're welcome.