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Acting/Directing Success
150 Plays4 years ago
Recommended
Transcript
Reunion and Reminiscence
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Speaker
Whoa!
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Speaker
There he is!
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Speaker
What's up, baby?
00:00:06
Speaker
What's going on?
00:00:08
Speaker
Can't call it.
00:00:10
Speaker
Hey, man.
00:00:11
Speaker
Good to see you, man.
00:00:12
Speaker
Can't call it.
00:00:13
Speaker
How you doing, dawg?
00:00:15
Speaker
Man, I can't complain, man.
00:00:16
Speaker
Breathing air, man.
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Speaker
Attitude of gratitude, man.
00:00:19
Speaker
How you feeling?
00:00:21
Speaker
I'm feeling great, bro.
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Speaker
It's been a busy day, but I'm glad it's almost, it's almost come to an end and I get to end it with my nigga E bigger.
00:00:29
Speaker
Hey man, you know, what's funny about that moment?
00:00:43
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uh uh maxwell put me in a a skit as if i was acting i knew how to act i didn't even know what i was doing bro that was my first time ever acting that was perfect and it worked perfectly yeah it worked perfectly especially for like the bit that we were doing it would work perfectly and then you had like everybody asking if this is a real movie and i'm going to return to a real movie that was the best that was the highlight for me of the whole situation yeah you know what i'm saying
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Speaker
Yeah, man.
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Speaker
That was perfect.
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Speaker
Those are good memories because it was like, damn.
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So when I see you now on the TV screen, I'm like, I know him.
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Speaker
That's my God.
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Speaker
That's my God.
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Speaker
It's like, it's so many memories in that moment because I'm like, damn, look at life.
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You know, look how life transforms for people who don't give up, who don't quit.
00:01:36
Speaker
So the people who are on this live right now who don't know,
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Speaker
The guy he's on right now, John.
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I know him as Gene.
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Speaker
I don't know if I ever told you that.
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Speaker
I used to call you Gene, but John, Ellie is a good friend of mine.
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We did a few skits together years ago.
00:01:51
Speaker
I think it was for like Funny or Die.
00:01:54
Speaker
Funny or Die, yep.
00:01:56
Speaker
You know, with a good friend of ours, Maxwell Towson, shout out to Maxwell.
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Speaker
Yeah, man, I haven't seen Max in a minute, bro.
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Speaker
I actually tried to hit his line the other day and it was called, he was probably busy, but like, I was like, yo, I wanted to tap in with him because I haven't heard from him in a long
Balancing Act: Career and Life
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Speaker
time.
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Speaker
The last time I spoke to him, he had this podcast he was doing where he's like interviewing people and everything like that, people from his life that he worked with in the past.
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And from what I hear, he was doing really well, you know what I'm saying?
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So shout out to Max.
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And he's a mess.
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Speaker
20 max.
00:02:29
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Yeah, man.
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So like I said, man, thank you for being here on this Friday.
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Speaker
I know you're busy.
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You got a lot going on.
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We just going to discuss, you know, acting, directing.
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Speaker
I almost fucked up the time frame.
00:02:40
Speaker
I was dropping off merch in Burbank to run back home.
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Burbank is how they're at.
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Speaker
Yeah, I was in Burbank just a little while, just like 20 minutes ago.
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Speaker
It's like 30 minutes ago.
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Speaker
I'm lying.
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Speaker
I got to buy something from you, man.
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When we get off here, I'm going to get some stuff.
00:02:53
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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Speaker
Link up, link up.
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But yeah, man, so, you know, we gonna talk, like I said, acting, directing, your career, success, establishing it, maintaining it.
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Speaker
But I got some questions for you.
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Speaker
But the way these questions work, this is kind of like a rapid fire, which you only can have one word answers.
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All right, we just gonna break the ice with it.
00:03:16
Speaker
So you actually shooting it right now?
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I mean, I'm just, you know, I gotta, you know, I gotta, I gotta, I gotta put my boy in the, hold on, it's retreating.
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Speaker
Can you see me fine?
00:03:28
Speaker
Should I get inside of you more light?
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Speaker
I mean, if you can get more light would be great.
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If not, I can still see you.
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Hold on, I got you.
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I got you.
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I got you.
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I got you.
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My man Joe, Ellie, baby, straight out of Massachusetts, baby.
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It's like, you know, we be on the camera a lot.
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We be trying to get that best light.
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I got you, baby.
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You got a ring light though, right?
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Nah, I ain't got no ring light.
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I got basically, I got a softbox light.
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Yeah, that's beneficial.
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Yeah, for the audition tapes and stuff like that.
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Like I just had to do one this morning.
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Oh, okay.
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Hey man, I'm gonna just put it out there because this is what I was watching some of your stuff on YouTube and I'm just put it out there because this is what I feel for you.
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I see you in a big movie soon, like a Black Panther 2.
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I see you in something like the movie that just came out, Black Judas.
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Judas and the Black Messiah.
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Yeah, I see you in that.
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I see you on another hit TV show.
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You know, I saw you had like a one minute reel on YouTube.
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I'm like, man, bro, really got it.
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You know how some people just,
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You just got that look, you know what I mean?
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Like you got that look that's an actor on that's on TV, like you can play multiple roles.
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So I'm gonna just put that out just so you can get it out of my spirit and my subconscious just to let you know, like I see you, I see that for you.
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I foresee it, you know?
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I'm receiving, receiving all the energy and love that you're handing out right now.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Sorry.
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What's up Brianna?
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I see you Lucy.
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I see you Jasmine.
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These are all my IG Live movie night family.
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Alameda, I see you.
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One Leaf, I see you.
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Yeah, so with these questions, like I said, it's gonna be quick, but it's only one word answers, right?
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That one word is, just say it.
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It's just whatever comes to your mind.
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All right, so the first question is, why acting and entertaining?
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Why not?
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Are you more on-camera talent as you are behind-the-scenes talent?
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Yes.
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What does Brothers Keeper mean to you?
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Family.
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What does Insecure mean to you?
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Me.
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What does Fear mean to Gene?
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Go time.
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What brought you to LA?
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Hope.
Loss and Motivation
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it there we go now we go now we in it now we in it yeah so basically i just wanted to kind of like break the ice um you know i i want to i want to kind of like get a little deep in the beginning not as deep but i remember we was up in the hills one night or one one evening man for an event and you told me we was on it was somewhere it was during the day and you told me about your brother bro and for me at the time
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It shook me up because that was the last thing I would expect to tell him.
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Not that it was bad or good, it just was like your personality, your persona, how you came off as an individual, you being authentic, you being genuine.
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It made me really think like, man, buddy really out here trying to make it happen, man.
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He just had something happen to him that could leave him
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You know, so if you can take me back, not to the moment or like the turning point of that moment of getting that information or what it did to your spirit to push you where you are today.
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It was like, damn, you really want to go deep.
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It was like pulling my safety net from under me.
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You know what I'm saying?
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losing someone like someone that that impactful on my life was like pulling my safety net from under me like this is a person that taught me everything and everything i do in my life he's the person i emulated he's the person i looked after looked up to um he's the person i could come to for anything he's the person he was my superhero so when your superhero when when all the heroes are gone it's and it's just you it's now you have to figure out what it is that you're doing
00:07:55
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what was your motivation what moved you what got you to where you're going you know i'm saying so i was a lost boy who found his way you feel me so through through that situation i was able to find myself and find the things i like to do for me while also giving shouting out my big bro and all the things i do you know i'm saying so he's he's a part of every journey every
00:08:21
Speaker
every part of me and also allowed me to grow and also allowed me to see through situations that are just not for me and i'm saying like it allowed me to understand the type of people i have around me because you learn very quickly how people move when you lose someone that close to you and and also allowed me to see
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The people who are always in your ear talking about, yo, I'm here for you, I'm your man, dah, dah, dah.
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But they're not really that.
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A lot of people are not really that.
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They're there for the moment.
00:09:00
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Or they're there, they're telling you, putting battery in your back and telling you things you think you need to know.
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I've learned all that through that.
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And I learned not to take things too seriously.
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I learned that life is short, you know what I'm saying?
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And enjoy the people that you have around you to the fullest.
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And then also don't hold people.
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You can hold people accountable, but you also don't put too much stock in things because at some point in time, the disappointment is going to happen and you have to be able to maneuver around the disappointment.
00:09:33
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and not and understanding like that was where that person was or that was where you were in that moment and you have to just move past it because you can't sit there and look at a glass hat as half full you know what I'm saying like you just got to keep the pushing forward you feel me man that's big I feel like you know not to be so spiritual man I feel like your big bro is like talking through you right now you sound like a big brother bro
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brother like really trying to give him advice about life like don't put too much stock in a person you said something that really stuck with me just now you said um you was a lost boy that found his way i don't know if that's like a slogan you use or something you just said it right now that's powerful bro you should keep that that's kind of like that's a statement that's like slogan or like a lost boy who found his way and i believe you did find your way so
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To the people who know, like, what brought you to L.A.?
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How long have you been here?
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And what was the inspiration behind it?
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Well, it was after my brother passed away.
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That was like, I'd rather him.
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He and I was the only person that spoke about what I was doing.
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Like, the acting was on a side tip in Broughton and Boston.
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And he said, you know what?
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He's like, I fuck with you.
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Whatever you're going to do, it's going to win.
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Whatever you put your head in, you're going to win.
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I said, cool, Emily passed away.
00:10:56
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It was, do I stay home and try and still try here?
00:11:00
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Or do I leave and keep and move on, move on and try to make a way for myself for real?
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Because there's no time waits for nobody.
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And tomorrow's not promised for me.
00:11:10
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So I need to like really make a move ASAP.
00:11:13
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I consulted with my cousin who lives in New York.
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And he said, if you're gonna do it, you gotta do it for real.
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You gotta either move to New York or you gotta be in LA.
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So I made the choice to move to LA because one, it was furthest away from my family so I can really focus.
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And I didn't have, I don't have that comfort level of having to be, having like, oh, I can stay at my mom's crib.
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I could do this, I could do that, or stay at my cousin's crib in New York.
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I could just, you know what I'm saying?
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And move around and being pulled into family stuff.
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So I had to like really,
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move on and really make something happen for myself.
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And I called the only person I knew in LA at the time.
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And he said, yo, you can come live with me.
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And by the time I flew out here, quit my job and moved to LA, home.
00:12:00
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This was 2009.
00:12:01
Speaker
Oh, wow.
00:12:04
Speaker
Okay.
00:12:05
Speaker
2009, April.
00:12:06
Speaker
So my 11th year anniversary, no 12th year anniversary is coming up.
00:12:10
Speaker
No 11th year anniversary is coming up this year.
00:12:14
Speaker
Okay.
00:12:15
Speaker
Wow.
New Beginnings in LA
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So I move here and at the airport, homie bails on me at the airport, told me I can't stay with him.
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So I'm like, shit.
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You know what it was?
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He thought you was bluffing.
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He thought he wasn't going to come.
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Speaker
He probably thought it was BSing.
00:12:32
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Yeah.
00:12:33
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So I was like, look, if I'm going to do, I'm here.
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And I wish you told me this before I left Boston.
00:12:39
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So there's this guy at Baggage Claim that I was with him.
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And I asked this dude I met at Baggage Claim if I could live with him.
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And he said, yeah, sure.
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It allowed me to stay at his crib for like the first four months until I found my crib in Bassett House.
00:12:57
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on basset house on basher street in van oz and i lived there with a bunch of creators who were running and gunning and waiting to make trying to make it happen for themselves and they all found their way too you know wow that's a blessing i mean that that that intro that that first part of that story sounds like a tv show or movie
00:13:17
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Yeah, it's crazy, man.
00:13:19
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It's crazy because you show up thinking that, all right, cool.
00:13:23
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I have a place to stay.
00:13:23
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I got a place to rest my head.
00:13:26
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And the person who's supposed to hold you down told you you can't live with them.
00:13:31
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Like you can crash at this spot for a night or two, and that's it.
00:13:35
Speaker
So I'm like, damn, I got to buy a ticket home.
00:13:38
Speaker
Or I could ask this person, take a chance and ask this man that I just met at baggage claim if I could live with him.
00:13:45
Speaker
And he said, yeah.
00:13:49
Speaker
He said, yeah.
00:13:49
Speaker
So I had no choice but to get it at this point.
00:13:53
Speaker
A complete stranger met me and said yes to me.
00:13:56
Speaker
So I gotta say yes to myself too and really get it.
00:13:59
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So therefore I'm not letting him down who took a chance on somebody he just met at the airport.
00:14:03
Speaker
So I got up every morning at 6am.
00:14:06
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I made sure I wasn't in the house and I was back when he wasn't at when he was at work.
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I was out of the house when he came back.
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I was back in the crib.
00:14:13
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You know what I'm saying?
00:14:14
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Like you gotta keep it moving.
00:14:16
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You know what I'm saying?
00:14:17
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So.
00:14:17
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Absolutely.
00:14:18
Speaker
You know, before we talk about acting, I feel like, you know,
00:14:21
Speaker
for you now i'm thinking and listen i feel like acting found you but i felt like acting found you with the spirit of your brother like you gotta you gotta get him in this industry like you know what i'm saying like his spirit of acting kind of like found you right but can you kind of tell the people can you tell me like what were you passionate about before you started acting or doing theatrical work bro
00:14:46
Speaker
passionate bro i had all i was passionate about was hustle that's it yeah it was about the hustle for me so before acting became my thing i was i was working for sprint i had like i was a district manager for like three key mall kiosks um i had a nightclub promotion business i was uh going to new york buying bundles a crates for like air force ones georgas and nikes and selling them at school
00:15:13
Speaker
I was selling them at school.
00:15:15
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I was good with the computer, so I knew how to do ringtones and everything like that for your Nextels and all your Blackberries and stuff like that.
00:15:21
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I was setting that up.
00:15:23
Speaker
I was in the merch gang because I was doing silk screen tees, like iron-on tees and stuff like that, and had that going.
00:15:30
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So I had a bunch of my hands and a lot of pots.
00:15:33
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So my goal was simple before acting.
00:15:36
Speaker
It was, I'm going to own a nightclub.
00:15:39
Speaker
I'm going to own a barbershop.
00:15:41
Speaker
And I'm going to have three sprint stores and I'm done.
00:15:44
Speaker
And I'll be cool on that.
00:15:46
Speaker
And then my acting.
00:15:47
Speaker
So your videos, you're going to have your own promotion company, right?
00:15:50
Speaker
Yeah, I'm having my own.
00:15:52
Speaker
Right now, it's all about Basset House, Basset House merchandise, and creating and developing new content with up and coming filmmakers, you know what I'm saying?
00:16:01
Speaker
And giving them the key and bridging the gap between their...
00:16:06
Speaker
with the knowledge they know, with the knowledge they, with the people they work there around to work and make their own content happy.
00:16:12
Speaker
You know what I'm saying?
00:16:13
Speaker
Like that's the vibe, that's the goal.
00:16:15
Speaker
You kind of feed off of my question because I was, like I said, I did some research.
00:16:20
Speaker
So I was going to ask you now that you're older and you got more insight and experience in life, did you own some stock in Sprint?
00:16:30
Speaker
those barber shops and yeah those stills your ideas yeah i still those still ideas like i still want stock and merch and stuff like i now i'm investing in other things now uh i definitely the barbershop still always gonna happen i'm always gonna get the barbershop like i have to get the barbershop because that was my first goal and i'm gonna have a nightclub of course because that's just i just have to have it and then um
00:16:56
Speaker
I'm going to continue to diversify my portfolio as far as like, but the first step right now is grow Bassett House to the biggest it can be and get to where it
Creative Ventures and Opportunities
00:17:07
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needs to be.
00:17:07
Speaker
Can you elaborate what that is?
00:17:11
Speaker
Basset House.
00:17:11
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So Basset House is a culturally driven production company powered by filmmakers, you know what I'm saying?
00:17:17
Speaker
By BIPOC filmmakers who like to create their own content, who say yes to themselves, who are investing themselves with the people that sitting next to them that are not waiting for someone to give them an opportunity, but kind of like booking themselves and like making their own opportunities happen for themselves.
00:17:36
Speaker
And that's a shout out to the Basset House, the house I live on, Basset Street.
00:17:41
Speaker
where everybody in that house was a creative working together and supporting one another's craft and building each other up to
00:17:50
Speaker
eventually graduate into the industry and get themselves in the industry themselves.
00:17:54
Speaker
By the time I left Bassett House, everybody had their own career.
00:17:59
Speaker
Andre Hatt became a series regular.
00:18:01
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Another roommate became, he creates video games for, and there's another roommate who's a celebrity hairstylist.
00:18:10
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Another roommate, she started her own management firm.
00:18:14
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Another roommate became a series regular on American Crime.
00:18:18
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Like everybody who lived in that career kind of graduated out of that house and created their own career.
00:18:23
Speaker
So Bassett House Pictures is gonna be an incubator for up and coming filmmakers where they could create their own stuff.
00:18:30
Speaker
And by the time they're done, they're gonna have a project they could take to market
00:18:35
Speaker
and going to theaters or going to film festivals or sell to a TV show.
00:18:39
Speaker
You know what I'm saying?
00:18:40
Speaker
Like that's the goal for Basset House and for everybody.
00:18:43
Speaker
And I wanna call everybody, like we called at that house, wombies.
00:18:47
Speaker
So everybody who was a roommate was a wombie who supported one another and they helped each other get their things to go, you know?
00:18:54
Speaker
I mean, you sound like you got a plan, you got a real vision.
00:18:57
Speaker
Oh yeah, the vision is there.
00:18:59
Speaker
Yeah, I want to bring up the Allen and Chickmonks because I'm listening to you talk.
00:19:03
Speaker
And the first thing that came up, I was like, because I didn't know you had a voiceover in that movie.
00:19:10
Speaker
Yeah.
00:19:11
Speaker
And Chickmonk, so when you're talking now, I'm thinking about the Soul movie.
00:19:16
Speaker
Because when you said barbershop, I thought about the guy in the barbershop who was cutting the guy's hair.
00:19:22
Speaker
Oh, you talking?
00:19:23
Speaker
I'm like, yo, I think they need to hire my boy for the next Soul movie.
00:19:27
Speaker
You know what I mean?
00:19:30
Speaker
You know what I'm saying?
00:19:31
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:19:32
Speaker
I hear you.
00:19:34
Speaker
Full circle.
00:19:35
Speaker
Yo, bro, like Basset House was literally, when I say like working with someone next to you, like working with the people next to you, that's exactly how Alvin and Chipmunks happened.
00:19:47
Speaker
I'm literally in acting class working on my craft and a student in the acting class said, hey, can you do an audio recording of this?
00:20:01
Speaker
I said, cool.
00:20:03
Speaker
I do the audio recording and my boy owns a studio.
00:20:06
Speaker
So I went to his house and said, can you record this for me?
00:20:09
Speaker
He said, cool, you record it with me.
00:20:10
Speaker
We sent it and dude was like, yo, my dad wants to meet you.
00:20:15
Speaker
I said, all right, cool.
00:20:16
Speaker
Show up to show up to the crib.
00:20:19
Speaker
And I'm like, this is a big ass gate.
00:20:22
Speaker
to go to, you know what I'm saying?
00:20:23
Speaker
Like, to go into this problem, this is a big ass gate.
00:20:27
Speaker
And he opens it, he takes like a little while to come down.
00:20:31
Speaker
And he said, hey man, yeah, this is my, this is where I live, man.
00:20:35
Speaker
It's embarrassing.
00:20:37
Speaker
I said, it's embarrassing.
00:20:38
Speaker
This dude literally had a whole compound that he lived in, bro.
00:20:42
Speaker
His family owns, then he was like, oh yeah, my family owns Alvin and Chipmunks.
00:20:47
Speaker
I said, what?
00:20:50
Speaker
You talk about vibration manifestation, you was attracted to money, buddy.
00:20:54
Speaker
Yo, he sent my family on Alvin and Chipmunks and I was in there like, mind blown.
00:21:01
Speaker
And all I was doing was just in my class doing what I do.
00:21:06
Speaker
And the person sitting next to me was like, yo, let's build.
00:21:09
Speaker
And he went and he got me a job on Alvin and Chipmunks.
00:21:13
Speaker
You know what I'm saying?
00:21:15
Speaker
that's why i'd be like when people say yo i want to work with ava i want to wear this one that's great want to work with them but there's always the person that's sitting next to you that's doing it too like you really got to move with the person next to you because you're graduating together at the same time you know i'm saying like i view ho i view hollywood like high school
00:21:37
Speaker
So you got freshman year, sophomore year, junior year.
00:21:41
Speaker
Now you're in your senior year, you gotta get your electives right.
00:21:43
Speaker
That should be a book, bro.
00:21:45
Speaker
How do you go?
00:21:48
Speaker
That should be a book.
00:21:49
Speaker
That's wild.
00:21:50
Speaker
Yeah, man.
00:21:51
Speaker
And that's how things just started going from there, bro.
00:21:55
Speaker
I'm big on manifesting.
00:21:57
Speaker
And I'm big on writing goals out and plans out.
00:22:00
Speaker
And shit just moves that way.
00:22:02
Speaker
And not taking no for an answer.
00:22:04
Speaker
You know what I'm saying?
00:22:06
Speaker
So let me say, let me ask you a question.
00:22:07
Speaker
So when you say manifest, are you like, you write things down?
00:22:11
Speaker
Are you doing affirmations?
00:22:12
Speaker
Are you meditating?
00:22:13
Speaker
Are you setting intentions?
00:22:15
Speaker
Are you, you know, in line with the moon?
00:22:17
Speaker
Like how do you manifest?
00:22:18
Speaker
Did you speak it and you believe it?
00:22:21
Speaker
I speak it.
00:22:22
Speaker
I write it down.
00:22:24
Speaker
Okay.
00:22:25
Speaker
I create vision boards.
00:22:29
Speaker
Yeah, man.
00:22:29
Speaker
Like those are what, that's really what it is.
00:22:32
Speaker
And I walk in it.
00:22:34
Speaker
You know what I'm saying?
00:22:35
Speaker
I walk into whatever it is I'm doing.
00:22:38
Speaker
I walk into it with the understanding and fully scared of everything I'm doing, but also fully ready for every single step I'm going to take because anything can happen at any moment.
00:22:52
Speaker
And I'm constantly trying to learn
00:22:56
Speaker
everybody else's job too and learn what everybody else is doing too when it comes to like the work.
00:23:02
Speaker
So I'm never out here asked out.
00:23:04
Speaker
I don't really know what's happening.
00:23:05
Speaker
I'm kind of trying, I'm always working on it.
00:23:09
Speaker
Yeah.
00:23:10
Speaker
I see you got your hands in everything.
00:23:11
Speaker
So yeah, good.
00:23:13
Speaker
And like I manifested man, like for instance, uh, insecure.
00:23:21
Speaker
Let me give me insecure.
00:23:22
Speaker
Right.
00:23:24
Speaker
in 2015 no 2013 i have a short film that i'm like i've been sitting on someone's hard drive for like i want to say three years oh wow someone's hard drive because they were waiting for the life rights to make it into a feature and i said bro i put in some good work in this i can't be sitting in your hard drive
00:23:50
Speaker
So I said, let me take the project on and allow me to become a producer and get it seen and get it where it needs to be.
00:23:58
Speaker
I created an event where I brought friends, family, some executives to come see the short film.
00:24:06
Speaker
They said they liked it, they watched it.
00:24:07
Speaker
Then I submitted to this
00:24:16
Speaker
weekly film festival where Robbie Reed got to see it and she said, I fuck with it.
00:24:23
Speaker
She likes it.
00:24:25
Speaker
And then I said, all right, cool.
00:24:27
Speaker
Let's take a step further.
00:24:28
Speaker
Let's start submitting to film festivals.
00:24:29
Speaker
So I started submitting to film festivals and I got to Urban World Film Festival in 2015.
00:24:34
Speaker
This is the same time Insecure is about to come out too.
00:24:39
Speaker
So Insecure is doing their run at the same time.
00:24:41
Speaker
So
00:24:46
Speaker
A Gentleman Always preview premiered in Times Square.
00:24:51
Speaker
The same time Insecure premiered in Times Square, right?
00:24:57
Speaker
At this Urban World Film Festival.
00:24:59
Speaker
I'm watching Insecure from the audience, a pilot episode from the audience, and I'm watching this thing happen.
00:25:05
Speaker
I'm like, this is a dope show.
00:25:08
Speaker
yeah and since my my shorts there everybody is interviewing and asking people questions and asking me questions and they say hey can you see yourself on insecure i say yeah i can see myself on the show wow a year later like six months later i get an audition to go for insecure
00:25:30
Speaker
And I'm scared to go in, you know, I'm like, oh, this is crazy.
00:25:37
Speaker
I don't know if I could do this.
00:25:39
Speaker
Yeah.
00:25:40
Speaker
So I'm like, okay, let me and I asked a couple people, they say, well, all the worst they could do is say no, right?
00:25:48
Speaker
I said, cool, whatever.
00:25:49
Speaker
So I go in with that worst they could do is say no, I give my tape.
00:25:56
Speaker
A couple of weeks later, I hear they want me to play Amon.
00:25:59
Speaker
I'm like, I literally said this a year ago on Beyond.
00:26:04
Speaker
I could see myself on the show.
00:26:06
Speaker
And now I'm on the show, not as a regular character, as Issa's brother.
00:26:12
Speaker
And I freaking love playing that character.
00:26:15
Speaker
And I was scared to play that character at first, but I freaking love playing that character.
00:26:19
Speaker
Because I was... Yeah, he dropped one of the characters because I didn't even know the character was what it was until I read some interviews about it.
00:26:26
Speaker
Yeah.
00:26:28
Speaker
And that's what I was scared.
00:26:29
Speaker
And the thing is, I was scared to play Amon because I was thinking about his sexuality versus who he was as an individual first.
00:26:36
Speaker
That's deep.
00:26:38
Speaker
And it's not about your sexuality, it's about who you are as an individual.
00:26:41
Speaker
It's about who he is.
00:26:43
Speaker
And a lot of people, a lot of people see his sexuality before they see who he was as an individual.
00:26:50
Speaker
And that was, and who he was in his essence, I'm like, yo, that's my guy.
00:26:54
Speaker
I am him.
00:26:56
Speaker
Right.
00:26:57
Speaker
So I was, as the years go on, I'm like, I'm getting my bag with them all.
00:27:03
Speaker
I'm like, all right, cool.
00:27:04
Speaker
Yeah.
00:27:06
Speaker
And the more research I'm doing, the more
00:27:09
Speaker
exposure to another side of the world like culture i'm being exposed to i'm able to really just live live in the mall and who and his skin i'm like this is this guy my guy i love this character yeah you know what i'm saying like that's the way you move and it's it's i think a lot of actors or young actors they're scared to play a character like a mom because they're thinking about sexuality versus who he is at first you know what i'm saying he's a person before anything
00:27:39
Speaker
You know what I'm saying?
00:27:41
Speaker
So, yeah.
00:27:41
Speaker
That's powerful.
00:27:42
Speaker
And it's interesting because I can look at things and say, yup.
00:27:46
Speaker
So when I see you on Insecure, I didn't even know that was his character.
00:27:49
Speaker
When I see you, I'm like, oh yeah, he belongs there.
00:27:52
Speaker
And I'm also like, is him and Issa related?
00:27:56
Speaker
Because I feel like maybe you two were cousins or sisters and brothers in the past life.
00:28:03
Speaker
Because y'all so...
00:28:05
Speaker
your synergy together, it just goes.
00:28:07
Speaker
It just works.
00:28:08
Speaker
It's like, yeah, you're like, whatever, bro.
00:28:10
Speaker
Like, yeah, whatever.
00:28:10
Speaker
What you think?
00:28:11
Speaker
Like, you know, it's like you know her.
00:28:14
Speaker
She knows you.
00:28:15
Speaker
Like, it's not even a thought.
00:28:16
Speaker
It's just a vibe, and it just works.
00:28:18
Speaker
You know?
00:28:19
Speaker
It's literally the vibe.
00:28:20
Speaker
It's literally
On-Set Experiences and Growth
00:28:21
Speaker
the vibe.
00:28:21
Speaker
Like, everybody on there is so cool to play with.
00:28:25
Speaker
Like, everybody has a childlike mentality when it comes to playing, and you're joking around the whole day.
00:28:32
Speaker
Yeah.
00:28:32
Speaker
Joke around the whole day on set, whether it's on camera or off camera.
00:28:35
Speaker
Everybody has that playful vibe.
00:28:37
Speaker
And they work to get that happen by, like, people hanging out with one another.
00:28:42
Speaker
You know what I'm saying?
00:28:44
Speaker
Like, during, they host events together.
00:28:46
Speaker
They do all these things where people could just kick it and just catch a vibe off of one another.
00:28:51
Speaker
And you could just chill.
00:28:52
Speaker
So you can really get the energy off of one another.
00:28:55
Speaker
Yeah, you can.
00:28:57
Speaker
So what season is this for you?
00:28:59
Speaker
This is your third season you're on?
00:29:01
Speaker
This is my fourth season.
00:29:03
Speaker
It's the last season.
00:29:05
Speaker
Last season?
00:29:06
Speaker
Tell me there's going to be another show.
00:29:09
Speaker
Tell me you're working on another show or something.
00:29:16
Speaker
Here's the thing, man.
00:29:18
Speaker
And I'll be frank.
00:29:19
Speaker
I think as a black actor and man, you know, in the world,
00:29:24
Speaker
you know, I have nephews now, right?
00:29:26
Speaker
They're younger.
00:29:27
Speaker
So they need to see more black men in a role that you're in, like on TV.
00:29:32
Speaker
So like if I show reality hosting game show, whatever I'm doing commercial, I'm always thinking about my nephews, right?
00:29:39
Speaker
Because it's like, what is their blueprint?
00:29:41
Speaker
What do they look forward to?
00:29:42
Speaker
What do they look up to?
00:29:44
Speaker
So the more they see guys like ourselves,
00:29:47
Speaker
on TV, not playing basketball, not rapping, you know, but kind of, you know, acting or speaking or motivate, whatever that's, that's influential or positive.
00:29:59
Speaker
I think it, uh, it does something to that psyche.
00:30:02
Speaker
Yeah.
00:30:03
Speaker
Right.
00:30:03
Speaker
It's more, it's more about them trying to be like us to do what we do.
00:30:07
Speaker
It's like, what does it do to their mind when they're six, seven, eight, nine, how they thinking about themselves?
00:30:13
Speaker
Where I was at in Baltimore, it was either sell drugs or play ball.
00:30:17
Speaker
I'm like, oh, you know what I'm saying?
00:30:19
Speaker
And ball was the way to get where you wanted to go.
00:30:21
Speaker
At least you thought and then ball didn't work out.
00:30:23
Speaker
So I'm like, well, I didn't go pro in ball.
00:30:26
Speaker
So I must go pro in life.
00:30:28
Speaker
And I think it's important for young black men to establish themselves
00:30:33
Speaker
without athletics and without being cool and having swag, maybe potential young black men writers, you know, actors, you know, and it's more than just being, it's about the perception that's given off.
00:30:48
Speaker
You know, I think every
00:30:50
Speaker
race and culture has a perception and a stereotype.
00:30:53
Speaker
That's not always true and it's not fair because then you can't label before the label is, you know, it's taken off, you know, the top is taken off.
00:31:01
Speaker
You know what I'm saying?
00:31:02
Speaker
You can't.
00:31:03
Speaker
I just think
00:31:04
Speaker
Like I said, man, like you on that show, you just look like you belong.
00:31:08
Speaker
And that's why I see big movies for you, big TV shows and things of that nature coming because I receive it.
00:31:15
Speaker
I receive it.
00:31:15
Speaker
It's natural, you know, but I can't explain.
00:31:18
Speaker
It's just like, oh, yeah, that's, you know how you can see someone like, oh, yeah, he must be a model.
00:31:21
Speaker
Yeah, he must be a hooper.
00:31:22
Speaker
Like, you ain't got a question that you just know.
00:31:25
Speaker
Even when we were like doing our gig, I skipped probably seven years ago.
00:31:29
Speaker
When I watched it, I'm like, you was so in your character that you helped me
00:31:34
Speaker
be me because you didn't make me feel like it was acting and i think that's your presence i think your presence helped people feel like they can just be a person in that character yeah you know how you would talk to me your mannerisms just i remember one time i don't remember the line but we were doing something and he was kind of like coaching me without coaching me
00:31:57
Speaker
oh you're talking about when you were doing the raking scene like yeah we were talking yeah yeah yeah but that was that character's vibe you know what i'm saying i was like that character's vibe and you were you were looking for something so i try to get to the more the most human possible way of having a conversation with somebody when i'm doing something like i try to i put myself in it i put myself in a situation i put myself in
00:32:25
Speaker
the circumstance that we're that we're speaking to you know what I'm saying like as much as pop as much as me as possible you know what I'm saying yeah and you know it was just but but yeah just to get back insecure um you guys did it man it killed this is the last season unfortunately hopefully there's um maybe a new living living in color or I don't know uh first prince of bel-air martins that's already happening
00:32:50
Speaker
that swag you know that energy like nothing is fun no more you know at least for our folks that's like yeah i can't remember you know like you just know cole you knew tommy and you knew little carlton and you knew the but like you just you just you grew up with these people so it's like when you if you if i saw cole and tommy in real life i would think they're co and tommy yeah you know what i'm saying like i think that's how your role is on insecure like i
00:33:18
Speaker
And I think that's what we got to get back to, at least from my perspective, from the TV world is that... Wayne's Brothers, yeah, Wayne's Brothers is another good one.
00:33:25
Speaker
Yeah, Wayne's Brothers.
00:33:27
Speaker
So, you know, man, it's just...
00:33:29
Speaker
Man, man, I'm proud of you, man.
00:33:31
Speaker
Like, you just, you keep on and it's amazing.
00:33:36
Speaker
But I do have some other questions.
00:33:37
Speaker
So let's talk about, you know, we talked a little bit about insecurity.
00:33:41
Speaker
Let's talk about directing.
00:33:42
Speaker
Like, how did you get into like directing films and having that mindset and intentions to do that?
00:33:46
Speaker
Like, where did that motivation come from?
00:33:49
Speaker
That motivation came out of the whole, they're not booking me, so I got to start creating my own stuff.
00:33:56
Speaker
So I started learning that.
00:33:59
Speaker
So I took on an internship with the Eric Andre show and I started learning everything behind the scenes.
00:34:06
Speaker
And then, um, Vine became big at this time.
00:34:09
Speaker
So everybody's doing the Vine stuff.
00:34:12
Speaker
And I had a friend, Les, shout out to Les, who was like, yo,
00:34:17
Speaker
Um, you should meet my friends who do Vine.
00:34:19
Speaker
They do Vine.
00:34:20
Speaker
And his friends were like D Storm, King Badge, Lee-Ann V, all these heavy hitters like Javon Watts, Jahan Jones.
00:34:32
Speaker
And these are all dudes who are crushing it on doing short sketches.
00:34:37
Speaker
So I said, all right, let me go learn from these guys while I'm working on the production side.
00:34:46
Speaker
they showed me how to shoot this thing.
00:34:48
Speaker
I'm shooting my sketches and putting things together.
00:34:50
Speaker
I'm putting projects together.
00:34:51
Speaker
And then a friend of mine, Nicky, reached out to me and said, hey, there's a musician, there's a group that wants a music video and I don't have the bandwidth to make the music video.
00:35:03
Speaker
I said, fuck that.
00:35:05
Speaker
oh i don't know they said can you direct it for them i said look i don't need to shoot my little sketches i don't know if i could do someone else like you're doing great like you your angles your shot work your thing i'm cool directing myself but directing other people i'm not sure of i'm not sure i can do that she said think about it come up with an idea
00:35:30
Speaker
pitch to me.
00:35:31
Speaker
If it's good, I'll send it over to the guys and we'll go from there.
00:35:33
Speaker
And I'm asking all my director friends, hey, do you think I should do this?
00:35:37
Speaker
They said, what's the worst that can happen?
00:35:40
Speaker
You can fail and you don't do it again.
00:35:42
Speaker
Or you can fail like it and do it again.
00:35:45
Speaker
Or you can do well and love it.
00:35:48
Speaker
I said, all right, cool.
00:35:51
Speaker
We'll see.
00:35:51
Speaker
But I don't know how to explain shots because I didn't go to film school.
00:35:54
Speaker
I didn't know how to explain what I need.
00:35:57
Speaker
Right?
00:35:58
Speaker
So
00:36:00
Speaker
What I knew was movies and I knew shots that I like, I knew all those things.
00:36:04
Speaker
So I took their song, laid it on the final, final, final pro, final pro 10, final draft, what up?
00:36:13
Speaker
Final cut, final cut 10.
00:36:15
Speaker
I laid it, I laid the song out and I started splicing videos and songs and everything, scenes I like, and I played the music over it and I said, this is what I want to shoot.
00:36:27
Speaker
And I sent that over to them
00:36:29
Speaker
And they said, this is dope, let's do it.
00:36:32
Speaker
And they said, this is the budget.
00:36:34
Speaker
I said, cool, let's make it happen.
00:36:35
Speaker
And my homegirl who directed before said, I'll be along with you the whole way.
00:36:42
Speaker
And I'll watch the money, I'll help you get to what you need to be.
00:36:44
Speaker
I said, cool.
00:36:46
Speaker
And we shot a music video and that music video,
00:36:52
Speaker
was got shelved so i did all this and it got shelved because the artist didn't they the band broke up so they want to put the music video out so i took that music video and my boy uh artist named brandon tory had just moved down from boston from atlanta to la and i showed it to him he's like this is dope um listen to this song tell me what you think i listen to the song i said this song is cool
00:37:20
Speaker
And I started seeing visuals of how the song could look, music video wise.
00:37:25
Speaker
I said, I want to pair this with ballerina dancers and you playing the guitar.
00:37:30
Speaker
This is a real soulful thing.
00:37:32
Speaker
You have the ballerinas dancing against each other.
00:37:36
Speaker
They're the two different women in your life.
00:37:40
Speaker
He came up with a budget, shot it.
00:37:45
Speaker
Microsoft saw the video because he won a contest, saw the video, and then they put all that music video in all the Yoda Pro laptops as the placement video for his music, for his artists, and he got picked up.
00:38:00
Speaker
They used the music video and everything.
00:38:03
Speaker
So then that just started spiraling more work.
00:38:06
Speaker
More work started coming off that.
00:38:09
Speaker
of that just from that one chance I took on myself.
00:38:12
Speaker
Stories you've been sharing, I feel like you always kept it 100 with yourself.
00:38:15
Speaker
You always ask questions like, what do you guys think?
00:38:19
Speaker
What do you guys think?
00:38:20
Speaker
I was reading a Forbes magazine probably like three years ago and it had like the top 100 quotes from like the richest people in the world.
00:38:26
Speaker
And one stood out to me said, the best advice you can ask for anyone in business is what do you think?
00:38:34
Speaker
I already know what I think.
00:38:37
Speaker
Yeah.
00:38:38
Speaker
to see oh you know what i didn't even think about it like that i like that you know what i mean so as you're talking you know like i just feel like you just got a gift you know you just got like a gift with tv entertainment visuals but i want to know because i feel like like you said you was hustling you had to make a dollar like you wasn't getting booked so your intention was to create something to make it make a living and also to book myself yeah who taught you how to learn who taught me how to learn
00:39:08
Speaker
Yeah, like what do you get like?
00:39:10
Speaker
What do you mean?
00:39:11
Speaker
Like so I know the question is kind of complex.
00:39:13
Speaker
I've probably never asked that question before.
00:39:16
Speaker
You know, my analytical mind thinks about, you know, people learn different ways.
00:39:20
Speaker
You got auditory, you got visual, kinesthetic, like touch, like people can see colors, they can see.
00:39:27
Speaker
But like, you know how you can watch something like for me, people always want my feedback, which is great.
00:39:34
Speaker
It's like I want their feedback because I didn't get nothing growing up, right?
00:39:37
Speaker
So I'm good at it.
00:39:38
Speaker
I talk a lot but I'm good at listening so I know how to take direction because I didn't get it growing up.
00:39:44
Speaker
You see what I'm saying?
00:39:45
Speaker
So for you, dad, your mom, your brother or whoever like, I feel like you know how to figure things out in your unique way and then
00:39:55
Speaker
establish your own like a character and put your own twist on it like you directed the music video and you edited and cut it your way but it's like how do you what was your process to doing all that like how did you go about learning how to shoot videos and angles like where did that come from you think it was natural from doing it from doing like i was doing i was doing things so i have to be in the process of doing things so for directing i had to i was directing i didn't know that making my little vine videos was me directing myself
00:40:25
Speaker
Oh, and I'm learning how to move the camera around how I want it shot.
00:40:31
Speaker
I started with this little phone in my hand, you know what I'm saying?
00:40:35
Speaker
And from visual standpoint, I know what I like to see, what looks good to me.
00:40:41
Speaker
Because as a kid, before junior high, I wasn't talking a lot.
00:40:48
Speaker
I watched people.
00:40:50
Speaker
I was, I like to watch people.
00:40:52
Speaker
I like to see how people move.
00:40:53
Speaker
I like to see how people do things.
00:40:55
Speaker
I like to see how people do certain things.
00:40:58
Speaker
Like I, at one point in time as a kid, I thought I was going to be a scientist.
00:41:02
Speaker
That's what I wanted to do.
00:41:03
Speaker
I wanted to be a scientist.
00:41:06
Speaker
I wanted to be an artist who drew, you know what I'm saying?
00:41:08
Speaker
That's it.
00:41:09
Speaker
That's all as a child.
00:41:12
Speaker
Huh?
00:41:12
Speaker
Why a scientist?
00:41:13
Speaker
What came up with that?
00:41:14
Speaker
Dexford's Laboratory.
00:41:16
Speaker
Got it.
00:41:17
Speaker
That dude was doing whatever he wanted.
00:41:19
Speaker
I was like, yo, he was making things happen for himself.
00:41:22
Speaker
I love Bill Nye the Science Guy.
00:41:24
Speaker
And then you watch your parents, you watch your parents like my dad,
00:41:29
Speaker
he was a taxi driver he owned his own taxi business my mom was a nurse she worked several jobs so she was hard working woman my dad worked for himself you know what i'm saying my brother showed me life you know what i'm saying so i was i watched everybody you wouldn't watch it but you had the blueprint of self self-efficient self-doing yeah doing be being efficient and yet going out there and trying things
00:41:58
Speaker
you know because look i'm a first generation haitian american bro yeah my parents took a shot on themselves and leaving haiti and moving to massachusetts you feel me and they made it work with five kids so
Cultural Influence and Personal Drive
00:42:15
Speaker
so it's like they took a chance on themselves for for us to have a better opportunity now is my time to what you'll call take a chance on myself
00:42:24
Speaker
for every and show there's a different way of doing things is a different possibility.
00:42:29
Speaker
You feel me?
00:42:30
Speaker
Because for my parents, the only way was to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, you know what I'm saying?
00:42:36
Speaker
Or any handyman.
00:42:39
Speaker
But I had different visions for myself and I went and went and did that thing.
00:42:42
Speaker
You know what I'm saying?
00:42:45
Speaker
Though my parents really tried to push me into that, this is where I went to because one, I liked it.
00:42:51
Speaker
I enjoyed it.
00:42:52
Speaker
Two, my brother supported it.
00:42:54
Speaker
And I knew that I always had him.
00:42:59
Speaker
God rest his soul, he ended up passing away before we got to this point, but he's still on this journey with me.
00:43:02
Speaker
You feel me?
00:43:03
Speaker
So it's like having to figure things out myself now and stepping into new roles, but
00:43:14
Speaker
watching other people is what got me to show me how to show me how to self-start and get things going by myself you feel me yeah and i think watching being curious and just you just adore bro i just feel like you just do it um it's it's it's great because i always tell people they would you know because people might say they're like who does your instagram or how do you speak so well and like you answer some of my questions that i already knew but you kind of like amplified like
00:43:42
Speaker
experience, bro.
00:43:43
Speaker
I used to do so many speaking videos and whatever.
00:43:46
Speaker
Like it was repetition.
00:43:48
Speaker
All of this other skill.
00:43:50
Speaker
And also use a quote that says, it's not what we get out of life is what we become.
00:43:55
Speaker
So that first video, they shelved it.
00:43:57
Speaker
Right.
00:43:58
Speaker
But it wasn't what you got out of what you became.
00:44:01
Speaker
You became better than you did another video.
00:44:04
Speaker
You know, it is, I just think, man, when we, as people believe in ourselves first and go after what we believe, like we should do things appear, you manifest things.
00:44:14
Speaker
You always want it.
00:44:14
Speaker
And people come to help you because they can feel your energy.
00:44:18
Speaker
Yeah.
00:44:18
Speaker
Cause they seeing you push, they see you push the car already.
00:44:21
Speaker
You're pushing the whip.
00:44:22
Speaker
So if you're already pushing a whip, people are like, damn, all right, cool.
00:44:25
Speaker
Let me help them push the whip a little further.
00:44:27
Speaker
Let me help you get to the next spot.
00:44:28
Speaker
The thing I be telling people when people say, yo, I'm scared, no one believes in me, no one this, no one that.
00:44:35
Speaker
I say, look, bro, you got to be the first person to your party.
00:44:40
Speaker
When the door's open, you better be there.
00:44:43
Speaker
You can't wait for someone else to walk through your door first.
00:44:46
Speaker
You got to show up first.
00:44:48
Speaker
You got to set up the lights.
00:44:49
Speaker
You got to make sure everything is set up right.
00:44:52
Speaker
You got to make sure the food, you got to make sure everything is accounted for.
00:44:56
Speaker
And that because you're going to be the first person and you better enjoy your party because you do it.
00:45:01
Speaker
Even if you're there by yourself.
00:45:02
Speaker
If you're even there by yourself, you better enjoy your party because if you're not enjoying your party, no one else is going to enjoy it.
00:45:09
Speaker
Right.
00:45:10
Speaker
You know what I'm saying?
00:45:13
Speaker
It's your party.
00:45:14
Speaker
You got to enjoy creating what you think you should have, you know?
00:45:19
Speaker
Yeah, be the lead of your story.
00:45:20
Speaker
Be the lead.
00:45:22
Speaker
You know what I'm saying?
00:45:23
Speaker
so you know if you haven't i felt like even before you've done tv and all these amazing things you always have internal success right so you establish you know public success right on a platform how do you go about it what's your mindset to maintain that success i'm not even success momentum it's momentum really how do you how do you go about it how do you think about it i don't i don't um think too much about it i don't even find myself successful yet
00:45:53
Speaker
I'm still working.
00:45:54
Speaker
You know what I'm saying?
00:45:55
Speaker
Like I'm still working.
00:45:56
Speaker
I haven't been able, when I take a trip, that's when I get to sit back and say, oh, all right, cool, I did some things.
00:46:04
Speaker
But I'm still working through a lot of things.
00:46:07
Speaker
I'm still learning a lot of things.
00:46:08
Speaker
I'm still figuring a lot of things out.
00:46:11
Speaker
And that's why when people ask me advice, I don't want to speak to my experience and things I've done.
00:46:16
Speaker
and me saying how i keep saying yes to myself and yes to a situation um but yeah like the way i continue and keep pushing forward is through doing and constantly doing constantly expanding my knowledge on the things i'm doing as far as like i'm working on and the things i have my hands in you know and also surrounding myself with people who are doing better
Projects and Future Aspirations
00:46:39
Speaker
so i can watch them
00:46:41
Speaker
and see how they do it.
00:46:43
Speaker
You know what I'm saying?
00:46:43
Speaker
So I learned, I learned, but I'm still continuing that same process as a kid.
00:46:47
Speaker
Like I'm learning from the people who was doing it before me.
00:46:50
Speaker
I think that's the biggest asset to anything is the relationships you have and you, you build rapport with the people.
00:46:57
Speaker
and learning like really you become your surroundings you know the more you become especially if people are better or that you aspire to be or do it's really simple i just think you said like i feel like you take massive action and you just you follow your gut you go after what you believe in
00:47:14
Speaker
You believe in yourself and you manifest.
00:47:17
Speaker
It's like, this is what I do.
00:47:18
Speaker
Like you said, like, you don't feel like you have success.
00:47:21
Speaker
You just you just move in your journey, trying to get where you want to go.
00:47:24
Speaker
I think that's also a very important, you know, thing to point out is that honestly, when you're not thinking about it like that, that's actually how you get more of it.
00:47:35
Speaker
know even though we all you know at some point want to be reflective and effective and think about our lives and what we've done but it keeps you humble but at the same time it keeps you going because you're like i ain't done anything what have i done but you know a lot of what they see and not what they know and they think everything they see is like the big grand slam but to them it is because you got fans that really love you and you probably inspiring a kid out there that doesn't feel comfortable you know in their skin based on their
00:48:03
Speaker
So it's just big, man.
00:48:05
Speaker
I want to talk about this movie.
00:48:06
Speaker
I didn't even know you did this movie.
00:48:09
Speaker
The Throwback Holiday.
00:48:13
Speaker
Like, they say that it was a fun movie.
00:48:15
Speaker
How did that come out?
00:48:15
Speaker
It was fun, bro.
00:48:17
Speaker
I had a blast.
00:48:17
Speaker
I had a blast on that, man.
00:48:19
Speaker
When it came through, my reps were like, yo, this is a movie.
00:48:24
Speaker
They want you to be in it.
00:48:25
Speaker
They want you to be in the lead.
00:48:26
Speaker
You're going to be in the lead.
00:48:26
Speaker
And I was like, all right, cool.
00:48:28
Speaker
I read the script.
00:48:28
Speaker
I was like, oh, this is fun.
00:48:30
Speaker
This is really, really cool.
00:48:32
Speaker
The thing I was scared of is cutting my beard off because I feel like I look like a baby or a very, very old, old man without my beard, right?
00:48:42
Speaker
So it was funny because like watching it, I was looking at the movie, I was like, oh man, I was like, when I had the beard, I looked like a baby.
00:48:49
Speaker
When I don't have the beard, I look like an adult.
00:48:51
Speaker
And I'm like, this is funny.
00:48:54
Speaker
It's a funny take, but I enjoyed it because it just meant like just taking a chance on yourself.
00:49:01
Speaker
What I liked about the movie is like,
00:49:02
Speaker
taking a chance and don't live without regrets.
00:49:05
Speaker
You feel me?
00:49:06
Speaker
And she had some big regrets that she felt like she didn't move on or things that she didn't do.
00:49:13
Speaker
And she went back in time to try to fix it and try to figure it out.
00:49:16
Speaker
And I was like, this is a really cool, great holiday movie for people.
00:49:21
Speaker
If you feel like you couldn't do something, you had a chance to go back, what would you do different?
00:49:25
Speaker
So it was dope.
00:49:28
Speaker
It was dope.
00:49:28
Speaker
It talked to people on a lot of levels.
00:49:32
Speaker
That's why I liked it a lot.
00:49:33
Speaker
I liked that movie.
00:49:34
Speaker
I had fun on that.
00:49:35
Speaker
Especially when everybody involved.
00:49:37
Speaker
I can see things like, I can see him doing a movie like that.
00:49:40
Speaker
So what's next for you, man?
00:49:41
Speaker
Like what you got going on?
00:49:43
Speaker
What's the future look like?
00:49:46
Speaker
What's tomorrow look like?
00:49:47
Speaker
You know, like what's... Future's looking bright.
00:49:48
Speaker
Tonight it's all about video games.
00:49:50
Speaker
I'm gonna go play Last of Us.
00:49:53
Speaker
that's that's that's what my nights has um future we're looking at series that i have in various stages in development uh most importantly send help that's the one that's gonna really be out there very soon uh huh what's the name send help the project's called send help then help okay so that's the that's the one i have like the teasers and trailers that everything that's out there right now that's on my page
00:50:23
Speaker
And we got some good news coming soon for that.
00:50:26
Speaker
Can't really say nothing.
00:50:29
Speaker
And Basset House Productions, working on that.
00:50:33
Speaker
We're curating a bunch of short films from up-and-coming filmmakers right now.
00:50:38
Speaker
We're focused, we're really focused on BIPOC filmmakers.
00:50:42
Speaker
We're developing merch.
00:50:44
Speaker
We're creating a new launch for the Basset House Apparel.
00:50:47
Speaker
I'm wearing one of the hoodies right now.
00:50:51
Speaker
we were doing a new photo shoot coming up soon um the womby collection and it's all about everybody who was a part of the brand before the brand became a brand um and we got a collection dropping soon soon so stay tuned with that and then revamping and just a rebranding uh basset house apparels and basset house pictures you know that's what we're doing right now so you working on work you working on
00:51:19
Speaker
We're working on work and then we got Insecure and that's coming back soon so we doing all that stuff.
00:51:26
Speaker
Are you still filming Insecure for the last season?
00:51:28
Speaker
Yeah, that's still filming.
00:51:30
Speaker
That's still filming.
00:51:31
Speaker
And I got another project too.
00:51:33
Speaker
Can't really talk about it.
00:51:34
Speaker
It was gonna be on Netflix.
00:51:35
Speaker
It was gonna be lit.
00:51:37
Speaker
I can't really say that.
00:51:39
Speaker
I almost want to show y'all the script because
00:51:42
Speaker
You guys can't see, but like I do, what I do is when I work on a project and I work with people that I love and admire, I get the people to sign my script.
00:51:53
Speaker
So everybody on the job, they sign my script on the job.
00:51:56
Speaker
Like all the little milestones I have like they're around my crib, post up all over the place.
00:52:03
Speaker
You know what I'm saying?
00:52:05
Speaker
That's amazing.
00:52:06
Speaker
Hey, man.
00:52:07
Speaker
Well, look, man, this is beautiful, man.
00:52:09
Speaker
I appreciate your authenticity tonight.
00:52:12
Speaker
And man, much more success.
00:52:15
Speaker
If you could just leave the people with some words of motivation or inspiration to anybody out there that might be going through tough
Final Thoughts and Inspiration
00:52:22
Speaker
times.
00:52:22
Speaker
Some of them might have lost someone recently.
00:52:25
Speaker
We got our people in Texas that's going through some things.
00:52:27
Speaker
Like anybody that's suffering from anxiety, depression, or just adversity or challenges,
00:52:34
Speaker
from John, from you, what would you, what would be your advice for them to keep going and stay strong as much as they can?
00:52:41
Speaker
Don't stop, it's only temporary.
00:52:44
Speaker
It's don't stop, only temporary.
00:52:46
Speaker
That's what I say.
00:52:47
Speaker
Don't stop.
00:52:49
Speaker
I put these on the hoodies, man.
00:52:50
Speaker
What's going on, man?
00:52:52
Speaker
Don't stop, it's temporary.
00:52:53
Speaker
You're like, come on, man.
00:52:55
Speaker
Yeah, like, it's temporary, man.
00:52:57
Speaker
It's temporary, man.
00:53:01
Speaker
No, that's up, bro.
00:53:03
Speaker
Man, much less.
00:53:05
Speaker
By the way, where can people find you?
00:53:07
Speaker
Let's make sure we get that out.
00:53:08
Speaker
You can find me same name, different app, Jean-Elli.
00:53:12
Speaker
And then if you want to reach Bassett House, you just Bassett House Pick.
00:53:15
Speaker
You know what I'm saying?
00:53:16
Speaker
So you can find it on there.
00:53:17
Speaker
You can find it on my bio.
00:53:20
Speaker
You click the link.
00:53:21
Speaker
The link tree will show you right where it's at.
00:53:24
Speaker
You can reach out to me on there.
00:53:26
Speaker
DM me.
00:53:26
Speaker
I'm here.
00:53:27
Speaker
I'm available.
00:53:28
Speaker
You on Twitter as well?
00:53:29
Speaker
Are you on Twitter?
00:53:30
Speaker
Yeah, Twitter everything.
00:53:31
Speaker
I'm on Twitter.
00:53:32
Speaker
So everything is Jean-Eli across the board.
00:53:35
Speaker
So Jean-Eli, same name, all the same, all different apps.
00:53:39
Speaker
You know what I'm saying?
00:53:40
Speaker
If you want to be from Basset House, it's Basset House Pick on all apps.
00:53:43
Speaker
You know what I'm saying?
00:53:44
Speaker
All apps.
00:53:45
Speaker
All facts, all facts, all facts.
00:53:53
Speaker
Hey, by the way, for the merch, man, I don't know if you got the same number, but
00:53:58
Speaker
I'm going to get some like right now as soon as we get off.
00:54:00
Speaker
Okay.
00:54:01
Speaker
Yeah, yeah.
00:54:02
Speaker
Definitely.
00:54:02
Speaker
Yeah.
00:54:02
Speaker
Hit me.
00:54:02
Speaker
Hit my line.
00:54:03
Speaker
Same number.
00:54:04
Speaker
Same number.
00:54:04
Speaker
What part are you in by the way?
00:54:06
Speaker
I'm in downtown.
00:54:07
Speaker
Okay.
00:54:08
Speaker
Bet.
00:54:08
Speaker
All right.
00:54:09
Speaker
Man, it can catch up.
00:54:11
Speaker
I mean, it's good catching up on you here and man, keep winning, keep living, keep earning, keep giving, keep being brother.
00:54:17
Speaker
It's beautiful.
00:54:18
Speaker
Same for you, my nigga.
00:54:19
Speaker
Same for you, bro.
00:54:20
Speaker
I'm so proud of your growth and how you've grown like dog.
00:54:25
Speaker
yeah you're amazing man yeah look at you shiny skin floss what's your skincare routine what's your skincare routine that's wrong regis man i can't do my skin like once a month man i really take care of it so i appreciate it i see that look good yeah you know when you're on me man it's a whole different vibe you know so i'm trying to stay on
00:54:48
Speaker
Much love, man.
00:54:49
Speaker
Thank you.
00:54:50
Speaker
But yeah, let's get up soon.
00:54:51
Speaker
I'm going to hit your phone.
00:54:53
Speaker
I'm going to DM you.
00:54:54
Speaker
Yeah, hit me.
00:54:55
Speaker
Hit me.
00:54:56
Speaker
You got the same number.
00:54:57
Speaker
Same number.
00:54:58
Speaker
I ain't changing.
00:54:59
Speaker
Same number.
00:54:59
Speaker
Hit me.
00:55:01
Speaker
All right, bro.
00:55:02
Speaker
All right.
00:55:03
Speaker
My God.
00:55:03
Speaker
We got one.
00:55:05
Speaker
That was good.
00:55:06
Speaker
That was good.
00:55:07
Speaker
See, that's the guy that put in a word that didn't cry.
00:55:11
Speaker
Now he's on Insecure, one of the biggest TV shows out there.
00:55:15
Speaker
And he's doing his thing.
00:55:16
Speaker
You know, he was coming up and saying a lot together, you know, basically when we first moved to LA.
00:55:22
Speaker
So, yeah.
00:55:25
Speaker
Guys, this was a good talk, good chat with John.
00:55:29
Speaker
John, thank you once again.
00:55:31
Speaker
This will go up on my page.
00:55:34
Speaker
Don't give up, don't stop because the struggle is only temporary.
00:55:36
Speaker
You heard it from the man.
00:55:38
Speaker
You know, he said it.
00:55:40
Speaker
I'm just going to repeat it.
00:55:41
Speaker
It's a miracle season.
00:55:42
Speaker
Be great.
00:55:43
Speaker
Love yourself.
00:55:43
Speaker
Be good to yourself.
00:55:45
Speaker
And don't give up.
00:55:47
Speaker
Peace, love, and gratitude.
00:55:48
Speaker
I'm out.
00:55:49
Speaker
See you guys soon.