Latest / Mind Over Mountain / You May Also Like: High Level Conversations: Okema T. Moore and Nicole "Sassy" Harrison

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You May Also Like: High Level Conversations: Okema T. Moore and Nicole "Sassy" Harrison · Mind Over Mountain

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Levels to This is an iHeart Women's Sports production in
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: us on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: you get your podcasts.
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: Hey, what's going on, everybody? This your girl, Tariqa Foster-Brasby.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: What's up, y'all? It's your girl, Cheryl Swoop.
• 0:22
  Speaker 3: Oops.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: And this is the Levels to This.
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  Speaker 3: This is the show where we talk about all the
• 0:28
  Speaker 3: levels to the shit.
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: That women go through.
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  Speaker 3: We have some really fun special guests that are joining
• 0:35
  Speaker 3: us today. Black women have amazing things going on in
• 0:40
  Speaker 3: our soul. So, of course, we're going to have a
• 0:42
  Speaker 3: good time.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: Okay. But first.
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: Sure, I'm really in a.
• 0:47
  Speaker 3: Mood today because I know that it... Don't start that either.
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: I have to.
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: I have to because today, as of this recording, is
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: the last day that the Connecticut Sun will be playing
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: their final game. So we're recording ahead of that game.
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: And I always... Prep my stories, reports, all of those things. Like,
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: even if I don't know exactly, like, what the quote
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: is going to be or whatever. But, like, you know,
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: I'm one of, like, a real reporter. So I, like,
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: go in already with questions that I'm going to ask.
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: I know what I'm talking about. I say very much.
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: Emphasis on real. Emphasis on real. So I'm always usually
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: pretty prepared. And so yesterday. Bet you are. I started.
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: I do my best. And then I couldn't.
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: Like, there's not a single, when I say I am
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: hours away from game time and I don't have a
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: single anything. Because I just don't even know where to start. Like,
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: clearly it's not going to be about basketball. I mean,
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: the Sun are playing the tempo. Ain't neither of these
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: teams in the postseason. All of the quote-unquote stars are injured.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: Marina ain't playing. BG ain't playing.
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: Ain't none of these people playing. So it wasn't going
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: to be about basketball in no damn way.
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: That makes it easy.
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: It should make it easy, but it makes it harder
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: because it makes it more sentimental.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: So, since you said that, let me just give you
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: your flowers for a minute. Because just because you ain't
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: going to be sidelined for Connecticut Sun don't mean you
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: can't come to Houston to be sidelined for the Houston Comets.
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: Listen here, ma'am. I don't need you putting this book
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: out in these streets.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: So, then let me just give you your flowers because
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: you're always giving me mine.
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: You just listen to them. And you do too.
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: First of all, and I'm not just telling you this
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: because you're my sister, my for real sister, my soror,
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: all the things. I'm telling you this because it's real
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: and you need to hear it. One of the best
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: that's ever walked that sideline doing.
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: What you do.
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: And I need you to hear me and listen to
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: what I'm about to tell you. Because to me, what
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: makes you so good, so great at what you do
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: on the sideline is because you're you.
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: You're very authentic. Your stories that you tell are really good.
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: You're relatable.
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: Your interaction with the players is always very good. Like,
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: I always learn something different about you and about players
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: when you're on the sideline talking about them. So the
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: reason why I'm saying this to you is because I
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: know it ain't gonna be about basketball.
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: I just need you to be you.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: I need you to talk about what this moment, all
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: the years, how many years you covered the sun?
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: Five years. The five years that you've covered the sun,
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: what was the best part about it? What are you
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: going to miss the.
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: Most about it? And I know you can get emotional.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: You won't, but you can get emotional because it means
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: that much to you.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: Yes, it does.
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  Speaker 1: People want to, they're going to tune in because they
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: want to hear from you. And all the different things
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: you're going to talk about and say on the sideline.
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  Speaker 2: That's what makes you so great.
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  Speaker 3: At what you do. And you always look good.
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: Yeah, right. I was like, dang, I got to make
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: sure that I have my last show outfit. So I
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: got it. I got it. You got it. At last show,
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: I'll be tuning in to make sure you got it.
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  Speaker 2: So check your phone at one point because I'm going
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: to be like, yes, ma'am. Killed it. Killed it. Thank you.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you for that. That means a lot.
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  Speaker 3: I know it's a bittersweet moment.
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: It is because I'm so happy.
• 4:32
  Speaker 4: Like, I'm not even going to go there and try
• 4:35
  Speaker 4: to be funny.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah. But I meant, I really meant what I said
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: about one of the best that's ever covered the game and, and,
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: especially on the sidelines, because you understand, not only do
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: you understand basketball, you understand people.
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: Do you know what I mean? I do.
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  Speaker 3: So yeah, I'd love to see you come to Houston
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  Speaker 3: and be the sideline reporter.
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: Or play, or color, whatever it is you want to do.
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  Speaker 1: And just because Connecticut doesn't have a team, it doesn't
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  Speaker 1: mean that you shouldn't be doing that.
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  Speaker 2: That is so fair.
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: I honestly thought about how do I keep professional basketball
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: alive in Connecticut because there is no need to even
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: pretend like women's basketball is going anywhere. I'm 45 minutes
• 5:21
  Speaker 3: from stores, honey. It ain't going nowhere as long as
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: UConn is down the street. But I don't want people
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: to lose or forget how much or what women's or
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: what professional women's basketball is. The liberty is not far.
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: I know people could say that, but.
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: This is Connecticut. This is New England. Contrary to popular belief.
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: New England ain't warning. To New York.
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: Like, not the way people think, right? When it comes
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: to sports, there's real beef here, guys.
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: So....
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: But that's kind of where my mind been over the
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: last 24 hours.
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  Speaker 2: And I really appreciate that. That really does mean a
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: lot to me.
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: Because the whole time that I've been thinking of how
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: to approach this game, I've been thinking about the fans.
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: Like, how can I highlight the fans? How can I
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: talk about the fans?
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: Like, talking about me or my experience hasn't even crossed
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: my mind. Because I'm just like, how do I make
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: sure the fans feel loved and appreciated and understand how
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: much they mean to what we do and.
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: all that good stuff. So, I always figure it out.
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: And that's a big part of it, right?
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  Speaker 5: Right.
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: Is you just talk about that part, how loyal the
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: fans have been.
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: You know what?
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: Through good, bad, and everything in between.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: Like, The Sun was not a very good team this year,
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: but the fans continue to show up and support.
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: I think you can talk about that.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: Whole experience of what it's like being in the arena
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: when things are going good, when things aren't going bad.
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  Speaker 2: They're so amazing. That's why I've been a pro. You
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: got this. I know.
• 6:53
  Speaker 3: I just got to get my feelings out of it
• 6:54
  Speaker 3: because I had time to sit with.
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: This for months. So I'm like, I'm good. I'm over it.
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: I had my moment and I'm and I got it.
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  Speaker 3: And that's how I was. Honestly, like, that's honestly how
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  Speaker 3: I felt. And then literally 12 a.m.
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  Speaker 2: Hit. And I was like, oh, like, it makes it right.
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  Speaker 2: The reality of this is really it.
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  Speaker 3: The audacity of it actually being the 24th.
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  Speaker 2: That's crazy. But other than that.
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  Speaker 4: Hmm.
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  Speaker 3: Very excited about the end of the season. The playoffs
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: are shaking up. They're going to be amazing. I know
• 7:26
  Speaker 3: that you and I are probably going to have an
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: episode where we dig deep into postseason basketball.
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: Facts. But today.
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: But can I dig not so deep real quick?
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: Yes, please.
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: Because I'm going to need Minnesota.
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: To be better. Honey, I don't know what they got
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: going on up there. I don't know. I'm going to
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: need New York to be better. Well, I don't know
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: how much better New York going to be without Steve.
• 7:53
  Speaker 3: I don't either, but my goodness.
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: Ugh. Yuck. Yeah. Because Atlanta is saying.
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: We are ready for the playoffs, honey.
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: Baby, Atlanta. We're ready. Washington.
• 8:04
  Speaker 5: Ooh. Oh.
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: Come on, Young House. Okay, listen, everything is so funny.
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: So I'm calling a game. I'm calling a game on Tuesday.
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: And Tuesday, on Tuesday, and Brendan and I, for those
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: who don't know, Brendan is my partner.
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: He's my guy. And Brendan says, well, you know, they
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: call themselves the Young.
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: And I was like, well, we can't say that on
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  Speaker 3: the broadcast.
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: So we spent the entire broadcast.
• 8:32
  Speaker 6: Ha, ha, ha, ha.
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: Right now, other H words that we could replace hoes with.
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: And what did you come up with?
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: We came up with young and hungry. We came up
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: with young and happy. We came up with, what else
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: did we come up with? Um, We came up with
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: young and hopeful. But I was like, we can't call
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: them the young hoes, even though we know that's what
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: they are.
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: We just came right here. But no, we can't. We cannot.
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: And I'm looking at Brendan like, you definitely cannot. You
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: better not. You better not. So it was the funniest thing.
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: It was a running joke.
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: Listen, I am, but whatever, young and whatever you want
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: them to be, they are showing out right now.
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: Shakira Austin, sis. Yes. My goodness. Yes.
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: Did we talk about Shakira Austin as most improved?
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: Well, I don't think we did. I don't think we did.
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: I think we might have mentioned her in the conversation,
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: but she should be. She should be in the conversation.
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: Without a doubt. Without a doubt. All defensive teams, she
• 9:40
  Speaker 3: should be considered.
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: All of that. All of that. The whole, yeah. Yeah.
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: Filling the mystics right now.
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I'm, I'm ready for Sunday playoffs. Yeah, I know.
• 9:52
  Speaker 6: Same.
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: I'm ready for Sunday to playoffs are going to be good.
• 9:55
  Speaker 3: And, and, um, I'm still trying to figure out as,
• 10:00
  Speaker 3: you know, as of this recording, there's still some seating
• 10:04
  Speaker 3: has been determined, but like two and three have not.
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: So Vegas and golden state, either one of those five
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: has not been decided. Two and three has not been decided. Um,
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: I don't even think four technically has been decided.
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: Have they? I think Atlanta may have wrapped up. Atlanta.
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: But did they just secure a top four seed or
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: did they secure the four seed is what I need
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: to see. I have to remember off the top. I
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: have to remember. I know they secured a top four seed,
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: but I can't remember if it is the actual four seed.
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: Because I'm kind.
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: Of wanting four or five.
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: Oh, they did. They did. They clinched the number four seed.
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: They did. I just double checked. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So, yeah,
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: still a few more scenarios left in play.
• 10:53
  Speaker 3: And I'm sure by the end of this week, well,
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: not week, by the end of the show, they'll probably
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: have come out with what needs to happen.
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: But, yeah, I'm excited. Playoffs are going to be good.
• 11:04
  Speaker 3: I think that 1-8 Minnesota-New York matchup is going to
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: be interesting.
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: I actually think that that's probably.
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: the least favorable matchup for Minnesota given the way that
• 11:14
  Speaker 3: they've been playing and given the way that New York
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: is 2-1 on them this season.
• 11:19
  Speaker 4: Well, I do want to say, you know, while we're
• 11:21
  Speaker 4: talking about Minnesota, and if people wonder why, I'll speak
• 11:26
  Speaker 4: for myself and I think you too, why we have
• 11:29
  Speaker 4: Olivia Miles in the MVP conversation.
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: It's because She's that good. She makes that much of
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: a difference for the Minnesota team when she's not on
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: the floor.
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: And so I.
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: Pray that her injury, whatever it is, is not that serious.
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: And she's able to play in.
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: The playoffs, first of all, for selfish reasons, because I
• 11:55
  Speaker 3: need to see her.
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: I need to see her. Yes.
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: I need to see her.
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: And secondly, Minnesota needs to have her.
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: Yes. So she needs to be on the floor without
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: a shadow of a doubt. Yes. Without a shadow of
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: a doubt.
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: And so this is also the exact same reason why
• 12:13
  Speaker 3: I said that despite New York not having a good record,
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: still we need to continue to be in the MVP
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: top part of that conversation, too, because New York look
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: crazy without her.
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: Look crazy. Look crazy.
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: Without her.
• 12:30
  Speaker 3: So I'm going to need y'all to put some respect
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: on Breanna Stewart's name because clearly she knows how that
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: New York team goes and they didn't go far without her. Period.
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: So there's that. New York goes and Stewie goes. Absolutely.
• 12:46
  Speaker 3: I mean, we still know Asia Wilson going to win,
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: but that's not the point. We're just saying that there
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: needs to be... Who should be in the conversation. Who
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: should be in the conversation. Asia Wilson will have her fist.
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: Asia will have her fist. How crazy is that?
• 12:58
  Speaker 6: You know what's scary, though, is she's still young enough, T,
• 13:08
  Speaker 6: that she could win a couple more MVP.
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: She could. When it's all said and done. And a
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: few more championships. She could.
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah, but, I mean, she could easily have, like, seven MVP.
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: She could. She's just, like, just in her prime. That's unreal. What?
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: And the thing is, it's not like it reminds me
• 13:27
  Speaker 3: of and I probably have said this before, but when
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: there were players that you were like, oh, my God,
• 13:33
  Speaker 3: you were so good. It just so happened that you
• 13:36
  Speaker 3: played at the same time as Kobe.
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: It's like, it just.
• 13:41
  Speaker 3: So happened that you played at the same time as LeBron. Like,
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: it's really not about you. It was just unfortunate that
• 13:49
  Speaker 3: you had to share.
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: Is that good?
• 13:52
  Speaker 3: And there are so many other players that are fantastic.
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: And you just had the fortune and unfortunate of playing
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: in the same era as Asia Wilson.
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 14:07
  Speaker 3: Damn it ain't nothing against you it ain't nothing against
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: you it really ain't it really.
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: Ain't she's just her she's just her.
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: It just she's just her yeah so with that being
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: said guys we will be looking forward to playing in
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: the post uh look playing i ain't playing no god
• 14:23
  Speaker 3: ain't no damn don't put my name in it we
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: will be looking forward to watching postseason basketball but before
• 14:32
  Speaker 3: we go to the next level let's take it to
• 14:35
  Speaker 3: the streets.
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: All right. So I'm scrolling on. Yeah. I'm scrolling. Where
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: are you scrolling? I'm scrolling on Instagram.
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: Okay. And because my husband is a chef, I have
• 14:58
  Speaker 3: found myself often where my algorithm will show me like
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: food videos.
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah.
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: And I came across this one video maybe about three
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: days ago. I saved it. But I came across this
• 15:10
  Speaker 3: one video three days ago. And first of all, it
• 15:13
  Speaker 3: made me order a crab boil. But secondly, who is attacking? Sure,
• 15:20
  Speaker 3: when I say if I was in this line, I'll
• 15:22
  Speaker 3: be ready to whoop everybody ass off of this.
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: Look at this shit here.
• 15:27
  Speaker 3: The caption says, the buffet I went to.
• 15:32
  Speaker 6: Uh-huh.
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: I'm going to push play.
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 15:35
  Speaker 3: And I'm going to let you see exactly what's about
• 15:37
  Speaker 3: to happen. And then I'll describe it for those listening.
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: First of all, let's see. This is why I don't
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: do buffet. But go ahead. Look at this shit here. Huh? Wow.
• 15:52
  Speaker 6: Okay.
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: So for those listening. Wow.
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: And there's a video of everybody at a buffet line
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: and the person just walks over with a fresh thing
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: of crab.
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: And before he could even finish- Crab legs.
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: Crab legs. Crab legs. Not real crabs. Crab legs. Like
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: real crab legs, but crab legs.
• 16:12
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: And before he.
• 16:13
  Speaker 3: Can even- finish filling the whole, like, the new buffet
• 16:19
  Speaker 3: with the crab legs, they have literally come over there
• 16:22
  Speaker 3: with all their little utensils and snatched up every crab
• 16:26
  Speaker 3: leg in the container in, like, two seconds. The video
• 16:30
  Speaker 3: ain't but, like, six seconds long. Because that's how long,
• 16:33
  Speaker 3: that's how quick. And in my head, I was like, damn,
• 16:36
  Speaker 3: I'll be fighting all y'all if y'all came at my
• 16:38
  Speaker 3: damn crab legs.
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: Like, the person was in the front of the line.
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: They didn't just, you see their arms just all over.
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: First of all, it wasn't that many in there. But again, that,
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: along with other reasons, is why I don't do buffets.
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: And I'm surprised they actually grabbed the tongs to get
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: them out. Because I was waiting on somebody to just
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: put the hands in there and.
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: I am tripping because I have not had that happen
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: to me before, but I have absolutely had somebody cut
• 17:08
  Speaker 3: me off in a buffet line and I was triggered
• 17:10
  Speaker 3: because I was like, friend, first of all, get your
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: ass in the back. Second of all, second of all,
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: even if I don't want this particular item, could you
• 17:20
  Speaker 3: at least come and ask me, could you get in
• 17:23
  Speaker 3: front of me for this item? Don't just bring your
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: ass in front of me in the damn buffet line.
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: You know how hungry I am. Get your ass to
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: the back. First of all, I don't know if I've seen.
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: Very many buffets that had actual crab legs.
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: I bet you it's a Chinese buffet.
• 17:37
  Speaker 3: They have all types of shit on their damn buffet.
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: I bet you it's a Chinese buffet.
• 17:41
  Speaker 3: You just gave me another reason to stay away from buffets.
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: Oh, somebody did. Wait, somebody did grab their hand. Wait,
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: look again, Cheryl. Definitely use their hand. Wait a minute.
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: Wait a minute. Let me think. No. And grabbed like
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: the last five of them. So did. He or she.
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: I don't know.
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: He or she said, echo tongs.
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: I'm about to go in with my hand.
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: Grabbed all of them. And then they walking away laughing. Wow. Crazy. Crazy. Yeah. Crazy.
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: But I did order a crab boil after I seen that.
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: I was like, damn. I bet you did. With like
• 18:20
  Speaker 2: some crab and some butter sauce. Oh, my gosh.
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: Okay, well, I don't know if this is going to
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: top that.
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: So I think I told you, I'm a big game shower.
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: I love all the games. Pressure Luck, Family Feud, Price
• 18:37
  Speaker 3: is Right.
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: Any game show, I'm there. I love Pressure Blood. So,
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: I really like Family Feud with Steve Harvey.
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: So, I'm scrolling, and I always go and look for, like,
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: the best.
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: Of Family Feud. Okay.
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: But I didn't look for this one, but I found it. So,
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: I'm going to turn the volume up so y'all can
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: hear it. But you have to listen to this.
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: I don't even want to talk. I just want you
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: to listen. Okay.
• 19:05
  Speaker 5: Fill in the blank with one word.
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: Blank nuts. Bees.
• 19:17
  Speaker 3: Sweetheart you could have said brazilian nuts you could have
• 19:21
  Speaker 3: said you could have said chestnuts peanuts coconut coconuts like
• 19:30
  Speaker 3: any kind you could have said and you said.
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: These and not and not Not these, T-H-E-S-E.
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: These. These. D-E-E-Z.
• 19:42
  Speaker 3: And here's what I think makes it even funnier.
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: Because y'all can't see the video, but hopefully you will
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: be able to.
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: To hear it, see it. It's an older white lady.
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: So is. Say it. And with a straight face. And
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: with a straight face. Harvey said, fill in the blank.
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: Blank. D's.
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: She said, D's. Blank. Wink.
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: Wink.
• 20:14
  Speaker 3: Yo, ma'am, I want you to know the type of
• 20:17
  Speaker 3: people that they are surveying for these answers. None of
• 20:20
  Speaker 3: them are going to answer the question with D's.
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: Wait, because people might learn how to get any point.
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: Let's see. Fill in the blank with one word. Blank nuts.
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: You said D's.
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: D's.
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: D's.
• 20:39
  Speaker 3: It's even better in print.
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: She got five. Three. I think it's three. Three people
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: agreed with her.
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: Them are the three 14-year-olds that they surveyed for this
• 20:50
  Speaker 3: particular answer.
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: Girl, that was so funny to me.
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: I wasn't expecting it.
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: I just, I wasn't expecting it. That lady is a teacher.
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: She has heard that in her classroom, and that is
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: why she.
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: It was like this other one before we move on. Like, again,
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: I love famous dudes. I don't know if you saw this,
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: but it was like the other one he had where
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: he going, you know, to the family on that side.
• 21:12
  Speaker 3: He said, name a word that starts with pork.
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: Oh, and somebody said you pie. Q pie. Q pie.
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: Q pie. He looked at it upside his head like, what?
• 21:26
  Speaker 2: He said Q pie. You had pork and beans. You
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: had pork chops.
• 21:31
  Speaker 3: Pork chops. You had pork rinds. You had pork belly.
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: You went pork Q pie. You went Q pie.
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: Q pie. Yeah. It ain't even spelled B-R-R-K. Is that okay, Annie? Oh,
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: my gosh. You know what? I need a good laugh.
• 21:50
  Speaker 3: I can always count on deep heart. I'm telling you,
• 21:54
  Speaker 3: that is funny. Diznuth is crazy. When I was in
• 21:58
  Speaker 3: high school, I studied French. And the word for 19
• 22:01
  Speaker 3: is diznuth.
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: And so it's dix-neuf. That's 19 in French. Dix-neuf.
• 22:10
  Speaker 3: Uh-huh.
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: And you know what we say because we childish. Uh-huh. Yeah.
• 22:15
  Speaker 3: So every time we were counting and we would get
• 22:18
  Speaker 3: to like 18 is dix-hui.
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: And then 19, we'd be like, dix-nuts.
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: Because we're childish. I know you did. Because we're childish.
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: I know it.
• 22:29
  Speaker 3: And then here goes this old white lady talking about
• 22:31
  Speaker 3: dix-nuts on my family.
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: Lord have mercy. Girl, that was funny to me. We
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: ain't got no damn sense. Oh my God.
• 22:39
  Speaker 3: Y'all, well, we can always find some bullshit in the
• 22:43
  Speaker 3: streets of social media, that is for sure. But now
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: let's go ahead and take it to the next level. Everybody,
• 23:02
  Speaker 3: we have such a great show lined up for you today.
• 23:06
  Speaker 3: And honestly, I know I say that every week. And
• 23:08
  Speaker 3: I say that, that I say that every week.
• 23:10
  Speaker 2: But I don't give a damn.
• 23:11
  Speaker 3: I'm going to say that every week because every week
• 23:12
  Speaker 3: is true because I ain't lying to the American people.
• 23:16
  Speaker 3: But we really do have two amazing guests on our
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: show today. And I say guests very, very... very lightly
• 23:24
  Speaker 3: because to me, they are way more than guests.
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: They are sisters. They are sorors. They are my girls,
• 23:30
  Speaker 2: like love them down.
• 23:32
  Speaker 3: And so I am so happy to bring with us today, Cheryl,
• 23:37
  Speaker 3: the director and producer extraordinaire, literally award-winning director, Akima Timur
• 23:44
  Speaker 3: and award-winning producer, Nicole Sassy Harrison.
• 23:47
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much.
• 23:48
  Speaker 3: For the purposes of this conversation, she will be sassy.
• 23:50
  Speaker 3: For the purposes of every conversation that I have, she
• 23:53
  Speaker 3: will be sassy.
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: Right?
• 24:00
  Speaker 5: For the purposes of her having breath in her body,
• 24:02
  Speaker 5: she is sassy.
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: I live up to the name. She is sassy. Live
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: up to the name. Okay, Leos is the sassy.
• 24:07
  Speaker 3: Anyway, thank you so much for being here, both of you.
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: Thank you for having us.
• 24:12
  Speaker 5: Thank you for having us.
• 24:14
  Speaker 3: So Cheryl and I were talking about how we want
• 24:18
  Speaker 3: to do an even bigger job of elevating and giving
• 24:23
  Speaker 3: people in our space, specifically Black women, platforms and more
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: platforms to really showcase what they're doing and how amazing
• 24:30
  Speaker 3: they are in the first two names that came to
• 24:32
  Speaker 3: my mind.
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: Was Akima and Sassy.
• 24:35
  Speaker 3: So most recently, you two have literally been on the
• 24:41
  Speaker 3: forefront of every festival that I've seen come across my
• 24:44
  Speaker 3: Instagram because Love Zuri has been amazing. And I have
• 24:49
  Speaker 3: loved seeing the love that you all have received. And
• 24:53
  Speaker 3: I want to get into how you guys got together,
• 24:56
  Speaker 3: how y'all know each other, how we all know each other.
• 24:58
  Speaker 3: You know we're going to get there. But first, I
• 25:01
  Speaker 3: certainly want to start with Love, Zuri. It's been selected
• 25:04
  Speaker 3: for multiple festivals. It's been winning multiple festivals. Just tell
• 25:08
  Speaker 3: us about the film. I'm going to start with you, Akima.
• 25:12
  Speaker 3: But tell us about the film and how Sassy came
• 25:15
  Speaker 3: a part of the project.
• 25:16
  Speaker 5: And let's just kick it.
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: Sure.
• 25:20
  Speaker 5: So 2024, I had produced a film called Chocolate with Sprinkles.
• 25:25
  Speaker 5: with director Haria Mohammed. If you fly American Airlines, it's
• 25:29
  Speaker 5: a part of their in-flight entertainment. Check it out. It's
• 25:32
  Speaker 5: a beautiful film. We won the largest award at the
• 25:36
  Speaker 5: American Black Film Festival that year, which was the HBO
• 25:39
  Speaker 5: Shorts Award, which made us Oscar qualified. It was amazing. 2025,
• 25:43
  Speaker 5: I went back and the film that I directed, Laundry,
• 25:48
  Speaker 5: won the Director's Showcase at ABSF. So that year, I
• 25:54
  Speaker 5: go into the lobby and there's this big chocolate African man.
• 25:58
  Speaker 5: And he's like, I love what you're doing and we
• 26:00
  Speaker 5: should talk. And I was like, who this man? Oh,
• 26:03
  Speaker 5: he got on the ring.
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 26:04
  Speaker 5: What you want to talk about?
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: Because I'm like, what you mean this chocolate man, girl?
• 26:10
  Speaker 5: Well, also, you know that I don't know if you know,
• 26:12
  Speaker 5: but I like the ladies, not the fellas, but you know,
• 26:14
  Speaker 5: whatever you like. But I can still appreciate a beautiful man,
• 26:18
  Speaker 5: even if I don't want him. And so.
• 26:22
  Speaker 5: So he was like, no, sis, I really like what
• 26:24
  Speaker 5: you're doing. I see you've won ABFF twice. I was like,
• 26:27
  Speaker 5: not to toot my own horn, but actually I've won
• 26:29
  Speaker 5: three times. I won in 2019 as well. Girl, you
• 26:33
  Speaker 5: better toot your horn. And so he was like, you know,
• 26:37
  Speaker 5: Laundrie was about a father and his grief with his child.
• 26:39
  Speaker 5: And he was like, well, I have an autistic daughter.
• 26:43
  Speaker 5: She was nonverbal. And as an African, you know, I
• 26:46
  Speaker 5: didn't accept any of that. And so I want to
• 26:48
  Speaker 5: tell our story. And I saw what you did for
• 26:51
  Speaker 5: this gentleman, but his story, would you want to do
• 26:53
  Speaker 5: it with me? And I was like, listen, let's talk.
• 26:57
  Speaker 5: And so that was how I met Muhammad. It was
• 26:59
  Speaker 5: literally last summer at ABSF in the lobby of my screening.
• 27:05
  Speaker 5: Fast forward to, I want to say October, November, I
• 27:09
  Speaker 5: met Love Nafi, who is the writer of Love Zuri
• 27:12
  Speaker 5: and one of the producers. And I was like, okay,
• 27:15
  Speaker 5: I live in Brooklyn. They're in the DMV. I need...
• 27:19
  Speaker 5: a producer on the ground. I didn't know Nafi yet.
• 27:23
  Speaker 5: I didn't know Mo really either. And I was like,
• 27:25
  Speaker 5: I need somebody I know I can trust because I
• 27:28
  Speaker 5: don't know these people and God bless them. But also
• 27:31
  Speaker 5: we weren't a team yet. And I said, I know somebody.
• 27:36
  Speaker 5: I said, let me ask her. I met Sassy at
• 27:39
  Speaker 5: Boulay the year before because I'm also a co-producer, the
• 27:42
  Speaker 5: consulting producer for the SGO documentary. I am who took
• 27:48
  Speaker 5: the documentary on the film festival circuit. We won a
• 27:50
  Speaker 5: bunch of awards, tellies, et cetera. There is a surprise
• 27:54
  Speaker 5: coming for 2027. I can't tell yet, but it's coming.
• 27:57
  Speaker 5: So I met Sassy at Boulet when somebody said something
• 28:00
  Speaker 5: to my friend that I didn't like. She wasn't my
• 28:02
  Speaker 5: friend yet, but I saw her in the back crying
• 28:03
  Speaker 5: and I was like, who did it? I fight strangers.
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: Guess who's table?
• 28:07
  Speaker 3: I was sitting at Tarika's table at that moment.
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: When Okeema came up to me, I was sitting at
• 28:13
  Speaker 2: your table.
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 28:14
  Speaker 5: It was when you were, it was when you were running.
• 28:17
  Speaker 5: I was running for national office. I went over there too.
• 28:19
  Speaker 5: Cause you know, by then we had known each other
• 28:21
  Speaker 5: cause I hosted just continue.
• 28:24
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 28:24
  Speaker 5: So I walked over, I was going to like sign
• 28:26
  Speaker 5: my stuff and I was like, what's the matter?
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: Who did it?
• 28:29
  Speaker 5: I fight strangers, sober or not. And we started talking.
• 28:32
  Speaker 5: That's literally how we met. And we connected from that moment.
• 28:38
  Speaker 5: And I was like, I didn't make you, but I
• 28:39
  Speaker 5: can see your heart and you will be my spesh.
• 28:42
  Speaker 5: And because I came into the 90s, I just take
• 28:44
  Speaker 5: the deference to say I can say that no way.
• 28:47
  Speaker 5: And so we stayed in touch. I was watching how
• 28:51
  Speaker 5: she was moving through these SG Road streets. And like,
• 28:54
  Speaker 5: if you don't know, in Sigma Gamma Road world, Sassy
• 28:57
  Speaker 5: is who pretty much literally cultivates and curates these conferences,
• 29:02
  Speaker 5: these activations. This is her world. I was like, oh,
• 29:05
  Speaker 5: she's a producer. She just doesn't know it yet. And
• 29:08
  Speaker 5: I was like, listen, I need a producer on the
• 29:10
  Speaker 5: ground in the DMV. You want to make a movie?
• 29:12
  Speaker 5: She was like, I never made a movie. I said,
• 29:13
  Speaker 5: that doesn't mean you can't. And so do you want
• 29:15
  Speaker 5: to do this? And I literally didn't know if she
• 29:17
  Speaker 5: could or couldn't, but I was like, I see what
• 29:20
  Speaker 5: she does for the organization and I see her heart
• 29:23
  Speaker 5: and I'm here for any underdog. So- She thought I
• 29:27
  Speaker 5: was just bringing her on to help on a film,
• 29:29
  Speaker 5: which I did. But now, if you look at it,
• 29:32
  Speaker 5: Sassy has a full IMDb. And because of her work
• 29:36
  Speaker 5: as her own Sassy Frizzle brand for graphic design and
• 29:41
  Speaker 5: graphic intelligence, I was like, oh, then you can do VFX.
• 29:45
  Speaker 5: And she was like, what? I was like, I need
• 29:46
  Speaker 5: VFX for this next film. And since you're on it
• 29:49
  Speaker 5: and you're my creative director, don't you want to just
• 29:50
  Speaker 5: build the environments for like the AI thing? Because I
• 29:53
  Speaker 5: don't want to use AI. We have an AI character
• 29:55
  Speaker 5: in our film, but I refused to use AI to
• 29:58
  Speaker 5: make her. So I shot an actual actress acting as
• 30:02
  Speaker 5: an AI person and then had Sass build the environment
• 30:06
  Speaker 5: she sits in because I refuse to use AI for
• 30:09
  Speaker 5: it to show that you can use human capital and
• 30:13
  Speaker 5: AI as a tool for that capital, but you don't
• 30:15
  Speaker 5: have to use AI to use the human part of it.
• 30:18
  Speaker 5: So Sass is now a VFX supervisor too.
• 30:21
  Speaker 2: Thank you for that. I mean, girl, girl. Wow.
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: Okay, T, before we move on to Sassy letting you
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: toot your own horn too, Akima, I have a question
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: for you. Not just for me, but for the people,
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: because I need to know where can I molest them
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: for you? Because I need to go watch.
• 30:45
  Speaker 5: I need to know where. They're all on the festival
• 30:48
  Speaker 5: circuit in the moment, but there are places to find them.
• 30:52
  Speaker 5: So if you go to loveseriefilm.com Then you'll see where
• 30:58
  Speaker 5: we are screening because we do have some virtual screenings
• 31:01
  Speaker 5: coming up where people can watch it online as a
• 31:04
  Speaker 5: part of the film festivals we're in. If you go
• 31:07
  Speaker 5: to lovesongfilm.com, you can see that that is our romantic pilot,
• 31:14
  Speaker 5: our dramatic pilot, written and directed by Love Nafi, starring
• 31:18
  Speaker 5: Mo and myself, which was hilarious.
• 31:21
  Speaker 3: I was about to say, the leading lady in that
• 31:24
  Speaker 3: film is who? Yes, the leading lady. Because I've seen
• 31:28
  Speaker 3: the trailer and I saw you in the music store
• 31:30
  Speaker 3: or in the studio.
• 31:31
  Speaker 2: And I was like, first of all, where'd she get
• 31:33
  Speaker 2: all that ass from? Not my mama.
• 31:36
  Speaker 5: My daddy's side, actually. As my ex would call me,
• 31:41
  Speaker 5: I'm double Caribbean. I'm Guyanese and Bajan. It came with
• 31:44
  Speaker 5: the territory. But I get to sing in that one.
• 31:48
  Speaker 5: And so that was what made Love Song release special.
• 31:51
  Speaker 5: Because I haven't, I used to do a lot of,
• 31:53
  Speaker 5: my first musical was Dreamgirls. So like I, I get
• 31:57
  Speaker 5: to sing in that one, which was cool. Um, and
• 32:00
  Speaker 5: then for the shower, they can just follow us, but
• 32:03
  Speaker 5: I'll send you guys trailers for all of the, I
• 32:05
  Speaker 5: mean the screeners for these, but the shower is also
• 32:07
  Speaker 5: on the circuit. Um, we have a very big festival announcement.
• 32:11
  Speaker 5: Our biggest for that film, um, coming up. I'm super
• 32:14
  Speaker 5: excited about that. Um, it'll be in New York. That's
• 32:16
  Speaker 5: all I can say for now. Um, and then, um,
• 32:21
  Speaker 5: What Kim Saw, which is a vertical psychological thriller. I
• 32:27
  Speaker 5: was very adamant to make sure that our lead for
• 32:30
  Speaker 5: that was a curvy sister giving her best Jill Scott,
• 32:33
  Speaker 5: but Black Kathy Bates performance because it deals with mental health,
• 32:40
  Speaker 5: human trafficking.
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 32:42
  Speaker 5: Missing black girls but it's a vertical so it's still
• 32:45
  Speaker 5: juicy and mo is wow mo is the lead in
• 32:48
  Speaker 5: that as well because i went i go by the
• 32:50
  Speaker 5: spike lee model right yeah you know when spike came
• 32:53
  Speaker 5: out he used the same crew and the same actors
• 32:56
  Speaker 5: yeah over and over so i bring in fresh faces
• 32:59
  Speaker 5: but you're gonna see montana monroe jenkins the baby supermodel
• 33:01
  Speaker 5: you're gonna see isabel pierre amazing amazing curvy black girl
• 33:06
  Speaker 5: actress natural and she's in her natural hair every time
• 33:09
  Speaker 5: i have her on screen giving Jill Scott realness.
• 33:15
  Speaker 2: I love that. I love that.
• 33:16
  Speaker 5: We don't see it. We don't see chocolate.
• 33:18
  Speaker 2: We don't.
• 33:19
  Speaker 5: And if you see one chocolate person, the other person
• 33:20
  Speaker 5: has to be light skin for some reason. And then
• 33:22
  Speaker 5: they have these ethnically ambiguous babies. Where do kids come from?
• 33:25
  Speaker 2: It's true. Right. Hello. Come on out. No.
• 33:29
  Speaker 4: And they're not.
• 33:29
  Speaker 5: Usually very curvy.
• 33:31
  Speaker 4: No.
• 33:32
  Speaker 5: Isabel is gorgeous. And in this film, like in the shower,
• 33:37
  Speaker 5: she plays this nutty lady who, um, can't have, she
• 33:41
  Speaker 5: miscarries and she loses it. And I won't give it away,
• 33:45
  Speaker 5: but in her losing it, she feels like it's God's
• 33:49
  Speaker 5: order for her to decide who is worthy of being
• 33:52
  Speaker 5: a mother and.
• 33:52
  Speaker 2: Who is not.
• 33:56
  Speaker 5: But in What Kim Saw, she plays an agoraphobic woman.
• 34:00
  Speaker 5: So she never goes outside, but then she meets this
• 34:02
  Speaker 5: handsome cop who's trying to help her solve this case.
• 34:06
  Speaker 5: And you get to literally see her go from like,
• 34:08
  Speaker 5: inside playing Jane to, oh, he's coming over. Maybe it's
• 34:11
  Speaker 5: a lip. Maybe it's top. So baby, she done done.
• 34:17
  Speaker 5: And we don't get to watch our own evolution in
• 34:20
  Speaker 5: media as everyday, not a size two women. And Isabelle
• 34:26
  Speaker 5: is a phenomenal actor, a beautiful woman. Mo is a
• 34:29
  Speaker 5: beautiful chocolate man. He's an upcoming actor. Montana Monroe Jenkins, beautiful,
• 34:35
  Speaker 5: talented little baby. All of these actors and actresses, you know,
• 34:39
  Speaker 5: and then I get to act in quite a few
• 34:41
  Speaker 5: of my own projects, too, because if I don't give
• 34:44
  Speaker 5: myself a leading lady job, I feel like even in
• 34:47
  Speaker 5: my own people's world, I do not give leading lady
• 34:50
  Speaker 5: energy to them. So unless I show them that I
• 34:52
  Speaker 5: can do it, I will never be.
• 34:54
  Speaker 2: Yes. Yes.
• 34:55
  Speaker 3: Girl, first of all, anybody who knows me can tell
• 34:59
  Speaker 3: you that the one thing that I love is a
• 35:00
  Speaker 3: good ass vertical short.
• 35:02
  Speaker 2: But listen, I don't play no games. Addicted. It's stupid.
• 35:05
  Speaker 2: It's stupid. I'm sick of giving these people my money. Listen,
• 35:07
  Speaker 2: because you got to find out. I'm sick. Because I refuse.
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: I know.
• 35:10
  Speaker 3: I know.
• 35:10
  Speaker 2: Because I need it. Because I'm watching. I'm pregnant by
• 35:13
  Speaker 2: the liking king right now. Because what is we doing? Right.
• 35:16
  Speaker 2: That's what I got.
• 35:16
  Speaker 5: But our verticals are for us. Because we have another
• 35:21
  Speaker 5: one coming.
• 35:22
  Speaker 3: And that's what I love. And when I first saw
• 35:25
  Speaker 3: the trailer for what Kim saw, I was like, bitch.
• 35:29
  Speaker 3: Now y'all know I'm going to be the first one.
• 35:30
  Speaker 3: And I pay for them. So I'm not the cheap
• 35:33
  Speaker 3: one that's trying to go get them off Dailymotion. I'm
• 35:35
  Speaker 3: the one that's actually paying the money.
• 35:38
  Speaker 2: It's me. I'm the one keeping people in business. It's me.
• 35:41
  Speaker 2: I'm addicted.
• 35:42
  Speaker 5: But I can't wait to see it. But what can
• 35:43
  Speaker 5: stop is special because Juicy Shorts is a Black woman-owned platform,
• 35:49
  Speaker 5: vertical platform that's launching this fall. The founder, Markel Young,
• 35:55
  Speaker 5: has made hundreds of them for the Asian market. But
• 35:58
  Speaker 5: then people kept telling her no Black people. Or for
• 36:00
  Speaker 5: the Black people, they were going to use AI, not people.
• 36:04
  Speaker 5: So she quit working with them, came back to the States,
• 36:08
  Speaker 5: and made her own cohort And instead, because she didn't
• 36:12
  Speaker 5: have the funds to make, you know, 15 different verticals
• 36:15
  Speaker 5: to start her platform, she decided to trade her knowledge, equity,
• 36:19
  Speaker 5: and how to make a vertical with us filmmakers for
• 36:22
  Speaker 5: the exchange of us going out and making them.
• 36:24
  Speaker 2: And putting them on her platform.
• 36:27
  Speaker 5: And then we have a 50-50 rev share.
• 36:30
  Speaker 2: I love us. I just love us. Black people say never.
• 36:33
  Speaker 2: Say never. I love it. I love it.
• 36:35
  Speaker 3: I would be a, I would be a black woman
• 36:37
  Speaker 3: in every lifetime. Every single one.
• 36:42
  Speaker 5: If I had to come back and something different, make
• 36:43
  Speaker 5: me the dog of a black woman. Cause y'all don't
• 36:46
  Speaker 5: be playing about these animals.
• 36:50
  Speaker 2: As Cheryl over there talking to her pets, right? I
• 36:52
  Speaker 2: talk about mama's at work. Did you hear me?
• 36:54
  Speaker 5: He right here too, girl.
• 36:56
  Speaker 2: He right here.
• 36:56
  Speaker 3: I was like, mama got to work.
• 36:58
  Speaker 5: I did not hear you, but I know that black
• 37:00
  Speaker 5: women don't play about. So if I have to come
• 37:03
  Speaker 5: back as anything other than a black woman, just make
• 37:05
  Speaker 5: me the pet of the dog. Make me a teacup
• 37:09
  Speaker 5: animal to a black woman.
• 37:11
  Speaker 2: Because she is so serious.
• 37:13
  Speaker 5: That was hilarious, but you're right.
• 37:15
  Speaker 2: She do not play about the dogs over there, okay? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 37:19
  Speaker 3: No, that's my baby.
• 37:20
  Speaker 2: Hi, stinky boy.
• 37:22
  Speaker 3: It looks like that about my bird. So just saying.
• 37:25
  Speaker 2: Right. And my fish, because I don't play with my fish.
• 37:30
  Speaker 3: Now, Sassy, I'm going to act like I don't know
• 37:33
  Speaker 3: you because I know you and love you down, but
• 37:35
  Speaker 3: I'm going to act like I don't.
• 37:37
  Speaker 2: And I'm also going to act.
• 37:39
  Speaker 3: Like I did not know when you were like, bitch,
• 37:42
  Speaker 3: I'm finna be making this movie.
• 37:45
  Speaker 2: And I was so... thrilled for you.
• 37:47
  Speaker 3: But as someone who has various different talents, and I'm
• 37:53
  Speaker 3: going to speak as a Leo here, somebody who has
• 37:56
  Speaker 3: a bunch of different things going on, and we sometimes
• 37:58
  Speaker 3: have the ability to multitask and have 50 different things
• 38:02
  Speaker 3: going on in our head and get sidetracked where it's like,
• 38:05
  Speaker 3: I want to do this, but I also want to
• 38:07
  Speaker 3: do this. And then, ooh, I also need to do this.
• 38:09
  Speaker 3: And then, ooh, I also need to do this. And
• 38:11
  Speaker 3: it could be our ADHD, but usually it's because we
• 38:13
  Speaker 3: have so much energy and so much talent and that
• 38:16
  Speaker 3: we aren't sure where to place it. So my question
• 38:19
  Speaker 3: is for you to have so many tricks up your sleeve,
• 38:23
  Speaker 3: so many things in your bag. What was it about
• 38:26
  Speaker 3: this opportunity that came from Okima that you were like, damn,
• 38:30
  Speaker 3: you know what? I ain't never made a film before,
• 38:32
  Speaker 3: but I'm about to do it and I'm about to
• 38:33
  Speaker 3: be the shit at it. And like, what was it
• 38:36
  Speaker 3: about this opportunity and what compelled you to say, I
• 38:39
  Speaker 3: absolutely need to be a part of this? So, For starters,
• 38:43
  Speaker 3: I didn't even know that I wanted to be a filmmaker.
• 38:46
  Speaker 3: I wanted to eat Okima coffee. That's what I asked
• 38:48
  Speaker 3: to do. I was like, do you need somebody to
• 38:50
  Speaker 3: get some coffee for you?
• 38:51
  Speaker 2: I got you. I'm your girl. I just want to
• 38:54
  Speaker 2: be in the room.
• 38:54
  Speaker 3: I was fascinated by the whole process. And she was like,
• 38:57
  Speaker 3: I'll do you one better. I'll make you a producer.
• 38:58
  Speaker 3: And I was like, okay, girl, whatever. You know what
• 39:01
  Speaker 3: I'm saying? So what Okima doesn't know is I hit
• 39:05
  Speaker 3: Tariqa light. let me tell you what I'm about to
• 39:08
  Speaker 3: be doing. And it was on 9-11-2025. So one year
• 39:14
  Speaker 3: to the day that we're having this conversation is when
• 39:18
  Speaker 3: I was like, I mean, and then after we had
• 39:22
  Speaker 3: our first table read, I was like, oh my God,
• 39:24
  Speaker 3: I love this.
• 39:25
  Speaker 2: Like I got the bug.
• 39:26
  Speaker 3: And for me being a multi-hyphen which is what Okina
• 39:30
  Speaker 3: has taught me to call myself, filmmaking is a culmination
• 39:34
  Speaker 3: of all of the things that go on in my
• 39:36
  Speaker 3: head anyway.
• 39:37
  Speaker 5: Right.
• 39:37
  Speaker 3: So like if I visualize something, we can make that
• 39:40
  Speaker 3: happen on set, on screen.
• 39:41
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 39:42
  Speaker 3: If I think about a story I want to tell,
• 39:43
  Speaker 3: I can write it down and find a group of
• 39:45
  Speaker 3: people to make it come out on set, on screen.
• 39:48
  Speaker 3: So like all these different things, artistry, graphic design, VFX,
• 39:53
  Speaker 3: which I didn't know I could do until it's like, OK,
• 39:55
  Speaker 3: try this. And so filmmaking is literally like this melting
• 39:59
  Speaker 3: pot of all of these voices in my head. So
• 40:01
  Speaker 3: now all these things are now connected to that. And
• 40:04
  Speaker 3: I mean, that's really how I got here. I never
• 40:07
  Speaker 3: knew that I would be good at this. Although the
• 40:10
  Speaker 3: Leo in me tells me that the only thing that
• 40:11
  Speaker 3: I cannot do is quit. There are still some things
• 40:14
  Speaker 3: that I'm good at or some things that I'm more
• 40:16
  Speaker 3: good at than others. And I love it here.
• 40:19
  Speaker 2: I like it here a lot.
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: I love that.
• 40:23
  Speaker 5: She showed up and showed out.
• 40:25
  Speaker 2: I love the story.
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: You know, I love the, I love the message behind it, right? Like,
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: We talk about this a lot of times on this show,
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: like Akima, you seeing something in Sassy that maybe she
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: didn't even see in herself.
• 40:40
  Speaker 3: And so, so many times, like, you know, Tia and
• 40:43
  Speaker 3: I have.
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: That conversation where it's like lots of times it's about
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: that other person, like seeing you, hearing you and, you know,
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: giving you an opportunity to, That even maybe you yourself.
• 40:57
  Speaker 3: Didn't know you needed or wanted.
• 41:00
  Speaker 5: Black people are always talked to about y'all need a mentor.
• 41:03
  Speaker 5: You need a mentor. And that's great. But what we
• 41:05
  Speaker 5: don't get part of my neurodivergent. I'm very nervous all
• 41:09
  Speaker 5: the time when I do these things. But what we
• 41:14
  Speaker 5: don't often get is told that we also need sponsorship
• 41:18
  Speaker 5: and sponsorship doesn't just mean economical sponsorship. Sponsorship is somebody
• 41:21
  Speaker 5: putting your name in the room when you're not there.
• 41:24
  Speaker 5: Sponsorship is somebody preferring your name even to themselves at
• 41:28
  Speaker 5: times because they know that you need the shot or
• 41:30
  Speaker 5: the opportunity.
• 41:32
  Speaker 2: Mentorship versus sponsorship. That is so huge.
• 41:37
  Speaker 3: And the thing about it is, is when you are willing,
• 41:40
  Speaker 3: there has to be something about you that makes you
• 41:43
  Speaker 3: willing to put your name on the line.
• 41:46
  Speaker 2: It takes years to build a reputation. It takes minutes
• 41:49
  Speaker 2: to destroy it.
• 41:50
  Speaker 3: And you have had a lot of years in this
• 41:54
  Speaker 3: business to where you really had to see something and
• 41:57
  Speaker 3: trust something in Sassy that she would be willing to
• 41:59
  Speaker 3: put your name.
• 42:00
  Speaker 2: And your reputation on the line for her, which.
• 42:04
  Speaker 3: Is something that Sassy and I have separately spoken about
• 42:07
  Speaker 3: in various different occasions. Even, you know, when it comes
• 42:10
  Speaker 3: to the sisterhood, you have these wonderful young women and
• 42:14
  Speaker 3: young ladies who want to join and be a part
• 42:15
  Speaker 3: of Sigma Gamma Rho. And they reach out and say, hey,
• 42:17
  Speaker 3: would you write me a recommendation later? And you'd be like, whoa, sis,
• 42:20
  Speaker 3: I don't know.
• 42:20
  Speaker 2: You like that. I don't know. I don't know you
• 42:25
  Speaker 2: well enough. So, you know what I mean? And I mean,
• 42:28
  Speaker 2: we have those same conversations in sports.
• 42:30
  Speaker 3: Those are people who want to go for coaching positions,
• 42:33
  Speaker 3: who want to go for what we do as analysts.
• 42:36
  Speaker 3: And perfect example, we were before the season. We were
• 42:41
  Speaker 3: talking and I was having conversations with USA and I.
• 42:44
  Speaker 2: Said, y'all need a who? Why y'all ain't talked to
• 42:46
  Speaker 2: Cheryl yet?
• 42:47
  Speaker 3: And then of course, later on, Cheryl's ended up doing
• 42:49
  Speaker 3: a game with us for Dallas. But the whole point
• 42:51
  Speaker 3: is you have to be willing to build that trust
• 42:55
  Speaker 3: and have that trust. to be able to put your
• 42:58
  Speaker 3: name and your reputation on the line for someone who
• 43:00
  Speaker 3: you truly believe in. And I just think that that's
• 43:02
  Speaker 3: a special connection. And for you, Sassy, to know that
• 43:06
  Speaker 3: she trusts you and saw something and you fast forward
• 43:11
  Speaker 3: a year later, how has that working relationship been? How
• 43:17
  Speaker 3: have you felt more comfortable and more confident in what
• 43:20
  Speaker 3: it is that you are being requested and required to
• 43:23
  Speaker 3: do Okay, so in full transparency, I'm not there yet.
• 43:27
  Speaker 2: Right?
• 43:27
  Speaker 3: Like, there are days I wake up and I'm on
• 43:29
  Speaker 3: top of the world and I'm doing this and I'm
• 43:31
  Speaker 3: looking at awards and like all these. And then there
• 43:33
  Speaker 3: are days I wake up and I'm like, I am
• 43:35
  Speaker 3: not supposed to be here because imposter syndrome is a bitch. Right?
• 43:39
  Speaker 2: It's like, I.
• 43:40
  Speaker 5: But the imposters don't never have no syndrome.
• 43:42
  Speaker 3: And see, this is what I mean when she be
• 43:44
  Speaker 3: getting me together because I really can't say that in
• 43:46
  Speaker 3: her presence. I can't even think it in a text
• 43:48
  Speaker 3: message because she'll gather me. Which, Tarika, you've known me
• 43:53
  Speaker 3: Through all of the things that I've had to overcome.
• 43:56
  Speaker 3: And so the mere fact that I'm able to walk
• 43:59
  Speaker 3: into a room full of people who, for me, have
• 44:04
  Speaker 3: either perfected or on their way to perfecting their craft.
• 44:07
  Speaker 2: And they're like, come on, girl, you're a part of us.
• 44:09
  Speaker 2: And I'm like, oh, really? Word? Talk about me. You
• 44:13
  Speaker 2: know what I'm saying?
• 44:14
  Speaker 3: And so it's like having Okima is like having your
• 44:17
  Speaker 3: own personal Dalai Lama experience. whatever the thing is that
• 44:21
  Speaker 3: you can tap into, because even when you don't want
• 44:24
  Speaker 3: to be encouraged, you have no choice. Even when you
• 44:28
  Speaker 3: don't want to be the best of the best, you
• 44:30
  Speaker 3: cannot be mediocre around. It's just not something you can do.
• 44:33
  Speaker 3: And it's not even because, you know, she hammers anything
• 44:36
  Speaker 3: into you. It's just who she is. And for me,
• 44:40
  Speaker 3: and I've said this to her before, I don't ever
• 44:43
  Speaker 3: want to do, say, be anything that makes people look
• 44:46
  Speaker 3: at Okina T in a different way. If they look
• 44:49
  Speaker 3: at her any differently, it's because they're like, damn, she
• 44:51
  Speaker 3: chose a good one and she represents her well. That's
• 44:53
  Speaker 3: so important to me. I've even said that about Tariqa. Like,
• 44:56
  Speaker 3: Tariqa is my girl. But I can't be online popping
• 45:00
  Speaker 3: off and doing all kinds of craziness knowing that she's
• 45:02
  Speaker 3: elevating herself and she associates herself with me.
• 45:05
  Speaker 2: I'm always really careful about that. I mean... No, it's
• 45:08
  Speaker 2: too late.
• 45:09
  Speaker 3: Because Tariqa be doing all the popping off her damn self.
• 45:13
  Speaker 2: That was in the beginning.
• 45:14
  Speaker 1: I need y'all.
• 45:15
  Speaker 6: I need y'all.
• 45:15
  Speaker 2: In the beginning.
• 45:16
  Speaker 3: You, Sassy, Cheryl, y'all be gathering me. Because Cheryl will
• 45:20
  Speaker 3: text me and be like, sis, don't even say it.
• 45:22
  Speaker 3: It's not even, don't even do it.
• 45:24
  Speaker 2: I know. I'll be like, don't do it. Because I
• 45:27
  Speaker 2: already know you about.
• 45:28
  Speaker 1: To hit post.
• 45:28
  Speaker 2: You about to hit.
• 45:29
  Speaker 3: Sassy will be like, girl, just text me.
• 45:32
  Speaker 2: Don't do it. Don't press in. Because it's not worth it.
• 45:35
  Speaker 5: And see, for all that Dolly Lama talk, I'll be
• 45:38
  Speaker 5: under Tarika Post like, girl, right?
• 45:41
  Speaker 2: Right? Right.
• 45:48
  Speaker 1: I mean, cause there are some times though, where when
• 45:51
  Speaker 1: she posts something, I got to respond to cause I'm
• 45:53
  Speaker 1: like facts, word, say it.
• 45:56
  Speaker 3: Louder again for the people in the back.
• 45:59
  Speaker 2: Be careful.
• 46:00
  Speaker 1: Cause sometimes I do, but, but you're so, but you're
• 46:05
  Speaker 1: so right that it, you have to have that person
• 46:07
  Speaker 1: in your corner.
• 46:08
  Speaker 3: To amp you up, but you also got to be,
• 46:10
  Speaker 3: have that person in your corner to be like, sis,
• 46:12
  Speaker 3: you work way too hard to get where you are.
• 46:15
  Speaker 5: But she does it for me too. Like I've dealt with,
• 46:21
  Speaker 5: I've cried to sassy many a day. You know what
• 46:23
  Speaker 5: I mean? Like for all of the, I have a
• 46:25
  Speaker 5: togetherness that people think they see. I tell people all
• 46:28
  Speaker 5: the time, like, it's like that meme says, my ducks
• 46:32
  Speaker 5: are not in a row. One of them might be
• 46:34
  Speaker 5: a pigeon. Like it's, it is what it is, right? Like,
• 46:38
  Speaker 5: But I have, I've worked too hard. Like I left
• 46:44
  Speaker 5: my six figure job on wall street at 36 to
• 46:46
  Speaker 5: chase this dream for $ 10 an hour.
• 46:50
  Speaker 3: Wow.
• 46:50
  Speaker 5: At that time, that was 12 years ago. So like
• 46:54
  Speaker 5: at this point, not achieving what I want to achieve
• 46:58
  Speaker 5: is not an option. And after the strike, I went
• 47:02
  Speaker 5: from making clearing two and change a year to maybe
• 47:06
  Speaker 5: 50 grand a year after. I've still not recovered. In
• 47:10
  Speaker 5: full transparency, I'm about to do like the white people
• 47:13
  Speaker 5: and file bankruptcy so that when I make new money,
• 47:15
  Speaker 5: I ain't got to spend old money on old debt.
• 47:17
  Speaker 2: Money on new debt, right. Well, come on. Come on.
• 47:21
  Speaker 5: Teach us.
• 47:22
  Speaker 2: Teach us.
• 47:23
  Speaker 5: So I tell people, but I'm also very transparent about
• 47:26
  Speaker 5: my journey, the good and the bad and the ugly
• 47:28
  Speaker 5: because people don't tell black women the truth in this
• 47:31
  Speaker 5: business and in this space. Everybody, they like, y'all work
• 47:35
  Speaker 5: in sports. You can't take somebody's highlight reel and compare
• 47:39
  Speaker 5: that to your worst game day. Like it doesn't, it's
• 47:41
  Speaker 5: not fair. It's not fair.
• 47:45
  Speaker 2: Girl, we ain't even going to talk about the.
• 47:50
  Speaker 3: Inequities that black women deal with.
• 47:54
  Speaker 5: With that being the case, I'm compelled and I know
• 47:59
  Speaker 5: that it is part of my ministry in this business
• 48:02
  Speaker 5: to be both transparent and have grace and space for
• 48:05
  Speaker 5: the people that I am a champion for, for them
• 48:08
  Speaker 5: to have days that aren't great or that don't represent
• 48:11
  Speaker 5: them the best in the moment, to be kind in adjusting,
• 48:15
  Speaker 5: to be soft, a soft place for them to land
• 48:18
  Speaker 5: when this shit gets hard. Because outside of us, everybody's
• 48:23
  Speaker 5: answer is no and you're not enough. It can't be me.
• 48:27
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. 100%.
• 48:47
  Speaker 3: If I can shift gears just a little bit, and Cheryl,
• 48:49
  Speaker 3: I don't want to shift before I give you an
• 48:50
  Speaker 3: opportunity to get in here if you have something, but
• 48:53
  Speaker 3: I want to shift a little bit because I think
• 48:55
  Speaker 3: we may also have some audience members who may not
• 48:59
  Speaker 3: know exactly what What a director does versus what a
• 49:03
  Speaker 3: producer does.
• 49:04
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 49:05
  Speaker 3: So, Okima, please, you know, start. What is your day
• 49:09
  Speaker 3: to day on set look like for you? And then Sassy,
• 49:12
  Speaker 3: what does that look like for you?
• 49:13
  Speaker 5: So it really can vary. As a director, my work
• 49:17
  Speaker 5: starts in prep. But part of that prep is combining.
• 49:20
  Speaker 5: the four, you know, like I'm old school, right? So
• 49:23
  Speaker 5: it's the Voltron of it all. What are the pieces
• 49:25
  Speaker 5: that come together to make this big machine that makes
• 49:27
  Speaker 5: this thing happen? So hiring the Sassy's and the Moe's
• 49:30
  Speaker 5: and the And understanding that though I'm the director, I
• 49:34
  Speaker 5: am no dictator. This is a collaborative sport. Never is
• 49:38
  Speaker 5: it only about me and my voice. Now, there is
• 49:41
  Speaker 5: a hierarchy on set of information flow to just keep
• 49:45
  Speaker 5: everything going. Like, I don't allow my actors to direct
• 49:49
  Speaker 5: each other. That's not your job. I need you to
• 49:51
  Speaker 5: come and know your character, do your job. I got
• 49:54
  Speaker 5: you on notes. But listen, in the Bible, they was
• 49:58
  Speaker 5: listening to burning bushes and talking goats. A good idea
• 50:01
  Speaker 5: could come from anybody. So if the PA sees something
• 50:05
  Speaker 5: that we could be doing better, as long as they
• 50:07
  Speaker 5: use the pipeline properly of how to get that to me,
• 50:09
  Speaker 5: I'll listen to it if it makes sense. So for
• 50:12
  Speaker 5: me as a director, my prep is how it starts.
• 50:14
  Speaker 5: And when I get to set, I am who everyone
• 50:17
  Speaker 5: is looking to. But I am not the person they
• 50:20
  Speaker 5: bring everything to. I only deal with my assistant director
• 50:24
  Speaker 5: and my cinematographer and my lighting folks, my genie, Gripping Electric.
• 50:29
  Speaker 5: As the producer, now there are various types of producers,
• 50:32
  Speaker 5: but we do independent films. So you're going to be
• 50:34
  Speaker 5: the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker.
• 50:36
  Speaker 2: Right, right, right.
• 50:37
  Speaker 5: So as the producer, any problems, questions, inquiries that don't
• 50:41
  Speaker 5: have to deal with the creative, meaning the actors, their performance,
• 50:44
  Speaker 5: and the visual will go to a sassy on down.
• 50:48
  Speaker 5: So sassy will be there to everything from directing traffic
• 50:53
  Speaker 5: away from me so that I can focus. So sometimes
• 50:56
  Speaker 5: there'll be a lead producer on something and then there'll
• 50:59
  Speaker 5: be co-producers. Sometimes there'll just be a group of producers
• 51:03
  Speaker 5: that all share the credit of producer. It can vary.
• 51:07
  Speaker 5: But for the most part, they are literally the we
• 51:11
  Speaker 5: are the even as the director, we are still the
• 51:14
  Speaker 5: widgets that are in the machine and they ensure that
• 51:18
  Speaker 5: it turns.
• 51:20
  Speaker 2: Got you. Got you. So Sassy, what does that look
• 51:23
  Speaker 2: like for you or have it looks like for you?
• 51:25
  Speaker 2: It can get quite chaotic. And you've seen me at conference.
• 51:29
  Speaker 3: So think about me at conference tasks like 30 for
• 51:32
  Speaker 3: three or four days straight.
• 51:34
  Speaker 2: Like it just never ends.
• 51:36
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 51:36
  Speaker 2: And that's a chore. So we're only filming.
• 51:38
  Speaker 3: For three, four days and for literally 16 hours a day.
• 51:42
  Speaker 2: Going, going, going, going, going. We have to be able
• 51:44
  Speaker 2: to pivot immediately, right?
• 51:46
  Speaker 3: It may be one ear I hear Okima and I
• 51:49
  Speaker 3: don't play about her just obviously, right? So in one
• 51:51
  Speaker 3: ear I hear Okima may be in some kind of distress.
• 51:53
  Speaker 3: Maybe she's thirsty.
• 51:54
  Speaker 2: I don't know what it is.
• 51:56
  Speaker 3: But then I have somebody over here that is missing
• 51:59
  Speaker 3: an earring and their scene isn't next, right? So you
• 52:01
  Speaker 3: have to be able to handle all of these things
• 52:03
  Speaker 3: at once. And it doesn't start on day one of
• 52:06
  Speaker 3: being on set, right? So the same way the director
• 52:08
  Speaker 3: is working months in advance, production is already produced on
• 52:11
  Speaker 3: the exact same. So, but yeah, it's chaotic, but I
• 52:15
  Speaker 3: loved it, right? Because my mind is going 15 different
• 52:20
  Speaker 3: locations at once.
• 52:21
  Speaker 2: And I actually had somewhere to put all of that energy.
• 52:24
  Speaker 2: So it works for me.
• 52:26
  Speaker 5: Film is the perfect place for neurodivergent people. I say
• 52:29
  Speaker 5: it all the time. Film is whatever neuro-spicy you are.
• 52:34
  Speaker 5: there is a space for you in film. Like for me,
• 52:36
  Speaker 5: I am ADHD. I have friends that are all ADHD, right?
• 52:42
  Speaker 5: And they are wonderful filmmakers. I have friends that are,
• 52:46
  Speaker 5: whatever their proclivities of neurodivergence is, because literally there's always
• 52:52
  Speaker 5: apps running in the back, right? Like on your phone.
• 52:56
  Speaker 5: And what's important is the crew that you choose because you,
• 53:01
  Speaker 5: When I see that she is overwhelmed or overstimulated, I'll
• 53:05
  Speaker 5: see it and be like, why don't you go do
• 53:08
  Speaker 5: whatever offset activity needs to happen and let X, Y,
• 53:13
  Speaker 5: Z pick up.
• 53:14
  Speaker 2: And she's really good about that. Really, really good about that.
• 53:18
  Speaker 5: Have you had water? Did you? Oh, you have a headache.
• 53:22
  Speaker 5: Did you take something? oh, we have lunch today, but
• 53:25
  Speaker 5: I know you don't eat X, Y, Z. So we
• 53:27
  Speaker 5: ordered you this. That's not my business, but it's my
• 53:30
  Speaker 5: business because fish stinks from the head, right? And so
• 53:34
  Speaker 5: if I'm not, when I'm able to keeping an eye
• 53:37
  Speaker 5: on all the things and just checking on the people
• 53:39
  Speaker 5: that are propping me up, then what are we going
• 53:42
  Speaker 5: to do if we all crash?
• 53:44
  Speaker 6: Right, right, right.
• 53:46
  Speaker 5: So your team, you got to curate your team like
• 53:49
  Speaker 5: you do your timeline. You know how you take that
• 53:51
  Speaker 5: selfie 10 times for it's the one you post? That's
• 53:54
  Speaker 5: exactly what you're doing with your team. Who are the
• 53:57
  Speaker 5: people that will be there? And sometimes somebody looks like
• 54:00
  Speaker 5: they're a team player in the beginning and then you
• 54:02
  Speaker 5: get in the mix and you realize that they have found,
• 54:05
  Speaker 5: there's no I in team, but they have found the
• 54:07
  Speaker 5: M and the E so fast.
• 54:09
  Speaker 2: So yeah.
• 54:11
  Speaker 5: And so you have to then mitigate that too. But
• 54:14
  Speaker 5: also as black people in a game that was never
• 54:17
  Speaker 5: designed for us, have grace and space for the people
• 54:21
  Speaker 5: that are trying to find their voice in a in
• 54:23
  Speaker 5: a world that tells them they have none. Some people
• 54:26
  Speaker 5: can do that smoother than others. So it's also discernment.
• 54:31
  Speaker 5: I run a lot of my life through divinity. What
• 54:34
  Speaker 5: is the discerning spirit telling me? Is this person trying
• 54:37
  Speaker 5: to be malicious? Are they just hurt and broken from
• 54:39
  Speaker 5: something that happened to them? And their behavior is a
• 54:42
  Speaker 5: reflection of that rupture, of that not knowing or being
• 54:47
  Speaker 5: aware of things. Am I triggered? So I'm taking something
• 54:51
  Speaker 5: in a way that it wasn't meant.
• 54:53
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 54:54
  Speaker 5: All of that is necessary because truly when you are
• 54:57
  Speaker 5: telling someone, because a lot of times, you know, it's fiction,
• 55:00
  Speaker 5: but it's based on somebody's story.
• 55:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah, man. All fiction comes from some truth. I strongly
• 55:05
  Speaker 2: believe that wholeheartedly.
• 55:07
  Speaker 5: And so if you're telling someone's truth on this medium,
• 55:10
  Speaker 5: you have to be very, very cognizant. to be mindful
• 55:15
  Speaker 5: that your fiction is someone's truth. And are you doing
• 55:18
  Speaker 5: it with the right heart, with the right spirit? Because
• 55:21
  Speaker 5: all that reflects, if there's no unity and love and
• 55:26
  Speaker 5: spiritual sanctimony off camera, it's not really going to be
• 55:30
  Speaker 5: much on screen. And so you got to be dedicated
• 55:35
  Speaker 5: to the fact that you're telling a story with an intention.
• 55:38
  Speaker 5: And why are you here? Are you here to be famous?
• 55:40
  Speaker 5: It's indie film. Ain't no money here. So you're not
• 55:42
  Speaker 5: here for the money.
• 55:43
  Speaker 2: You ain't here to get paid.
• 55:45
  Speaker 5: These short films are my calling card to get the
• 55:49
  Speaker 5: features that pay me more. I ultimately want to direct
• 55:52
  Speaker 5: episodic television. That's where the bread is. But trying to
• 55:55
  Speaker 5: get in there is hard for us. I didn't go
• 55:58
  Speaker 5: to film school. My degrees are investment bank. I was
• 56:01
  Speaker 5: an investment banker. I worked on Wall Street. So I
• 56:04
  Speaker 5: self-taught every workshop, every shadow, every. You know what I mean?
• 56:10
  Speaker 5: Like Sassy. Sassy is now being self-taught and being taught
• 56:13
  Speaker 5: by shadowing and learning from other people. We didn't go
• 56:16
  Speaker 5: to film school.
• 56:18
  Speaker 1: That's so interesting, Akima, to go from being an investment
• 56:23
  Speaker 1: banker on Wall Street to filmmaking.
• 56:27
  Speaker 5: What what was it?
• 56:29
  Speaker 1: About filmmaking?
• 56:31
  Speaker 5: I know you said you left your job, your story you.
• 56:33
  Speaker 1: Told, but what was it about filmmaking that made you say,
• 56:36
  Speaker 1: all right, enough of me.
• 56:38
  Speaker 2: Making these six figures.
• 56:40
  Speaker 1: I'm ready to go do something different.
• 56:43
  Speaker 5: Well, I started on Sesame Street at six. It was
• 56:47
  Speaker 5: at 84. I was a grouch couture for about a
• 56:50
  Speaker 5: year and change.
• 56:52
  Speaker 2: That's interesting.
• 56:54
  Speaker 5: And so I went from that to music. So I
• 56:57
  Speaker 5: was in a group for... five years or so, we
• 57:01
  Speaker 5: toured with everyone. We were with the Black Expo. So
• 57:04
  Speaker 5: we opened from everybody from, like, my first vocal coach
• 57:07
  Speaker 5: was Malaira. We toured with SWV, Intro, Joe's first album. Like,
• 57:12
  Speaker 5: we toured with every 90s group from 90 to 95s.
• 57:18
  Speaker 5: We were on tour. Like, we were at Jack the
• 57:21
  Speaker 5: Rapper 93 performing with Pac and Big at the same time.
• 57:24
  Speaker 2: Like, that era.
• 57:26
  Speaker 5: So I come from so many different facets. But when
• 57:29
  Speaker 5: I went into investment banking, it's not because I wanted
• 57:31
  Speaker 5: to do it. I'm Caribbean. And my mother was like, Okima,
• 57:33
  Speaker 5: what are you interested in is a hobby and real jobs.
• 57:37
  Speaker 5: So it is going to get a real job.
• 57:39
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 57:40
  Speaker 5: So I did it because I was made to do it.
• 57:42
  Speaker 5: This is what I was expected to do. And I
• 57:44
  Speaker 5: knew I didn't want to go to law school and
• 57:45
  Speaker 5: I thought I wanted to be a doctor. And then
• 57:47
  Speaker 5: I was like, I don't like blood. So that wasn't
• 57:48
  Speaker 5: going to work.
• 57:50
  Speaker 2: That ain't gonna work out.
• 57:50
  Speaker 5: And so I went into finance. But what I did
• 57:53
  Speaker 5: was I got my licenses, but I never was a
• 57:58
  Speaker 5: practicing banker because I knew that I wouldn't be able
• 58:01
  Speaker 5: to have nights and weekends to chase these dreams. So literally,
• 58:05
  Speaker 5: I remember it was probably about 2007. Erica from Mary
• 58:10
  Speaker 5: Mary had done a, she had written the music for
• 58:13
  Speaker 5: a play, a stage play in LA. She couldn't make
• 58:15
  Speaker 5: New York. I booked her role in New York. but
• 58:19
  Speaker 5: I'm still working at the hedge fund, right? So I'm
• 58:22
  Speaker 5: literally getting in the office at 5.30 a.m. to talk
• 58:26
  Speaker 5: to Turkey and London, do all my stuff. I'm out
• 58:29
  Speaker 5: the office by 5.30. I am in hair and makeup
• 58:32
  Speaker 5: by six and on stage by eight. I did that
• 58:34
  Speaker 5: for four months. Mind you, I was not paid for
• 58:38
  Speaker 5: this thing. There was no pay. I was the lead.
• 58:43
  Speaker 5: There were 12 songs. None of them I did solo
• 58:45
  Speaker 5: or had a solo in. It was bananas. There were
• 58:49
  Speaker 5: nights we played to one night.
• 58:50
  Speaker 2: It was a blizzard.
• 58:51
  Speaker 5: We played to one person. But we still had to
• 58:55
  Speaker 5: run the full show because there was somebody that paid
• 58:57
  Speaker 5: to be in the audience.
• 58:58
  Speaker 2: They paid to be there.
• 59:00
  Speaker 3: Wow.
• 59:01
  Speaker 5: So when you scrapping like that, by the time 2015
• 59:05
  Speaker 5: came around, I was because there was also no DEI.
• 59:08
  Speaker 5: I was only black.
• 59:09
  Speaker 2: I was the only.
• 59:10
  Speaker 6: Woman.
• 59:10
  Speaker 5: I wasn't out yet. So but unbeknownst to them and
• 59:13
  Speaker 5: kind of to me, I was the only queer person.
• 59:16
  Speaker 5: So I was crying real tears every morning getting ready
• 59:22
  Speaker 5: for work. I'm having panic attacks in the bathroom. I
• 59:24
  Speaker 5: don't want to be here. I don't want to do this.
• 59:26
  Speaker 5: These people don't respect me. They don't see me as
• 59:29
  Speaker 5: a human. I'm functional at best. I am resource and utility.
• 59:34
  Speaker 5: I am not a person. They don't respect my intellect.
• 59:37
  Speaker 5: They don't respect what I bring.
• 59:39
  Speaker 2: Why am I here?
• 59:40
  Speaker 5: Yes, the money's good, but all good money ain't good money.
• 59:44
  Speaker 5: And so I was like, I've been here long enough.
• 59:47
  Speaker 5: My 401k is vested. I'm going to take these people
• 59:49
  Speaker 5: money and roll out and I'm going to live off this.
• 59:51
  Speaker 5: And we're going to do tuna and cereal for a
• 59:52
  Speaker 5: while and figure it out.
• 59:54
  Speaker 2: I know that's right. I know that's right.
• 59:56
  Speaker 5: So there was, you know, there was no, it went
• 59:59
  Speaker 5: from no boo to no boo. Like it was like, yeah.
• 1:00:03
  Speaker 2: Yes. Yes.
• 1:00:04
  Speaker 6: Yes.
• 1:00:05
  Speaker 3: No, I, girl, when I tell you, if nobody else
• 1:00:07
  Speaker 3: understands that shit, I understand that shit. When I walked
• 1:00:12
  Speaker 3: out them doors at ESPN for the last time, I
• 1:00:14
  Speaker 3: was like, Ooh, this is going to be interesting.
• 1:00:18
  Speaker 2: But, but we go, but we going to do it though.
• 1:00:21
  Speaker 2: And we going to see what happens. We're going to
• 1:00:23
  Speaker 2: do it and see what happens.
• 1:00:24
  Speaker 3: And for you, Sassy, as being somebody who I know
• 1:00:29
  Speaker 3: comes from an entertainment background, who has had that experience
• 1:00:33
  Speaker 3: in this industry, What is it about? I don't want
• 1:00:37
  Speaker 3: to say bringing you back because I guess this world
• 1:00:40
  Speaker 3: as a producer and being in the filmmaking industry is
• 1:00:43
  Speaker 3: a little different than what you were doing previously and
• 1:00:46
  Speaker 3: like PR and marketing and that kind of thing.
• 1:00:49
  Speaker 2: But maybe not. Right.
• 1:00:51
  Speaker 3: Because I'm going to tell you when I was I
• 1:00:53
  Speaker 3: want to say growing up, but like. I used to work,
• 1:00:56
  Speaker 3: so funny story, I used to work at the movies
• 1:00:57
  Speaker 3: for like six years, right?
• 1:00:59
  Speaker 2: I was a projectionist, right? So it was my job
• 1:01:01
  Speaker 2: to set up the.
• 1:01:03
  Speaker 1: I did, I did.
• 1:01:03
  Speaker 2: I started off as an usher and then concession.
• 1:01:06
  Speaker 3: And then I got really good and started to be
• 1:01:09
  Speaker 3: the person that was literally feeding the film. Because this
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 3: is when you have to actually feed the films, like
• 1:01:14
  Speaker 3: through the projection, which is why you became a projectionist.
• 1:01:18
  Speaker 3: Now everything's digital, so you don't do that shit no more.
• 1:01:20
  Speaker 3: But we used to have to act.
• 1:01:21
  Speaker 2: Anyway, anyway.
• 1:01:23
  Speaker 3: And questioning like we would do like film screenings and,
• 1:01:27
  Speaker 3: you know, the producer would be at those screenings. And
• 1:01:31
  Speaker 3: it was always an assumption that as a producer, your
• 1:01:34
  Speaker 3: job is to market the film. The director is directing
• 1:01:38
  Speaker 3: the film. The producer is the one that makes sure
• 1:01:40
  Speaker 3: everybody's putting butts in the seats and will come and
• 1:01:42
  Speaker 3: see the film. All of the other things that a
• 1:01:45
  Speaker 3: producer does was not something that was known to at
• 1:01:48
  Speaker 3: least not something that was known to like to us
• 1:01:51
  Speaker 3: or to to someone like me who had an interest.
• 1:01:54
  Speaker 2: But that's what it was.
• 1:01:56
  Speaker 3: And so I say all that to bring it full
• 1:01:58
  Speaker 3: circle as to say, like, given that you were once
• 1:02:01
  Speaker 3: in the entertainment industry. has since started your own business,
• 1:02:06
  Speaker 3: several of them, and now you're back. What was it,
• 1:02:09
  Speaker 3: do you think, that spiritually, outside of Okima asking you
• 1:02:13
  Speaker 3: in the relationship that you had with her, because she
• 1:02:15
  Speaker 3: could ask you all you want. You could have said no, right?
• 1:02:17
  Speaker 2: But you didn't.
• 1:02:18
  Speaker 3: So what was it that led you back to this
• 1:02:21
  Speaker 3: industry in this capacity? So, not to get deep, right?
• 1:02:24
  Speaker 3: But for a period of my life, I.
• 1:02:27
  Speaker 2: Was- You can get deep. Okay.
• 1:02:28
  Speaker 5: Okay.
• 1:02:29
  Speaker 3: So for a period of my life, I was trying
• 1:02:31
  Speaker 3: to fit in this cranny little box. Like I knew
• 1:02:35
  Speaker 3: that I had to be ABCXYZ to be accepted by
• 1:02:39
  Speaker 3: society and accepted by society.
• 1:02:41
  Speaker 2: All over again.
• 1:02:42
  Speaker 3: And it got to a point where I felt fake
• 1:02:47
  Speaker 3: and phony everywhere I showed up. And I was like,
• 1:02:50
  Speaker 3: I don't like it here. I don't love it here
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 3: at all. And then COVID happened and it gave me
• 1:02:54
  Speaker 3: just the biggest runway to go and be exactly who
• 1:02:57
  Speaker 3: I am and do exactly what it is that I
• 1:02:59
  Speaker 3: want to do. And I feel like in spirit, I
• 1:03:02
  Speaker 3: never really left entertainment, right? I just didn't know. I
• 1:03:08
  Speaker 3: didn't know that I could be exactly who the fuck
• 1:03:11
  Speaker 3: I am and it'd be okay.
• 1:03:13
  Speaker 2: And so filmmaking was never something that I would go after, right?
• 1:03:17
  Speaker 3: Because I had to be this polished, you know, person
• 1:03:20
  Speaker 3: in this box. And like I said, with all the
• 1:03:24
  Speaker 3: things that go on in my mind, being on set
• 1:03:27
  Speaker 3: or being a part of filmmaking, period, just gives me
• 1:03:29
  Speaker 3: an outlet that I never really thought that I needed.
• 1:03:33
  Speaker 3: But I knew that I had a book for it
• 1:03:34
  Speaker 3: because I worked in the entertainment industry, specifically touring. Right.
• 1:03:38
  Speaker 2: So it was showmaking.
• 1:03:39
  Speaker 3: I just didn't realize I could take that same skill
• 1:03:42
  Speaker 3: set and find the same level of enjoyment. And shout
• 1:03:46
  Speaker 3: out to COVID, although it wasn't the best thing to
• 1:03:48
  Speaker 3: ever happen to most people, it was one of the
• 1:03:50
  Speaker 3: best things to happen to me.
• 1:03:54
  Speaker 2: I feel that.
• 1:03:55
  Speaker 5: Maybe I made the most money in entertainment I've ever
• 1:03:57
  Speaker 5: made in my life between 2021 and 2023. Wow.
• 1:04:01
  Speaker 3: Listen, I wouldn't be sitting here right now if it
• 1:04:05
  Speaker 3: wasn't for that white guilt that came along in 2020. Because, honey,
• 1:04:08
  Speaker 3: my people was mad. They was mad. And they said,
• 1:04:13
  Speaker 3: you know what, Tarika, we've been playing in your face.
• 1:04:15
  Speaker 3: Let me, I feel bad. DEI, yes, let's do it. Now,
• 1:04:19
  Speaker 3: you know, now they hate us, but it's cool. I
• 1:04:21
  Speaker 3: took advantage at the right time.
• 1:04:23
  Speaker 5: We still benefit in some ways. And like I tell
• 1:04:29
  Speaker 5: people all the time, they are not a sponsor of
• 1:04:31
  Speaker 5: this podcast yet, but shout out to Yeti because I
• 1:04:33
  Speaker 5: use that to collect the white tears that I sip
• 1:04:35
  Speaker 5: on and keep them covered.
• 1:04:36
  Speaker 2: I know that's right. I know that's right. I know
• 1:04:40
  Speaker 2: that's right. You heard her say yet.
• 1:04:44
  Speaker 1: So Akima, I have a question for you that it
• 1:04:47
  Speaker 1: has nothing to do with, well, I guess maybe in
• 1:04:51
  Speaker 1: a way it does. have something to do with this
• 1:04:53
  Speaker 1: conversation because you've mentioned it a couple of times.
• 1:04:56
  Speaker 3: So you talked about.
• 1:05:00
  Speaker 2: Being the.
• 1:05:03
  Speaker 3: Only Black woman, the.
• 1:05:07
  Speaker 1: Only queer woman that you thought. My question is, was
• 1:05:13
  Speaker 1: there ever a moment in your transition from Wall Street
• 1:05:18
  Speaker 1: to filmmaking that you were like, I can't come out
• 1:05:24
  Speaker 1: because of what people might think they might say, especially
• 1:05:29
  Speaker 1: in this industry. I don't know, because I think there
• 1:05:32
  Speaker 1: are people out there who are struggling with that as
• 1:05:37
  Speaker 1: whether that's a teenager, a young adult, even an older adult.
• 1:05:40
  Speaker 1: That's like, I can't live my true life. I can't
• 1:05:44
  Speaker 1: live my truth because of repercussions or what people may think.
• 1:05:49
  Speaker 1: So like, What got you through that where you were like,
• 1:05:53
  Speaker 1: fuck it, I'm going to be me and live my life?
• 1:05:56
  Speaker 2: I want to say because you are who you are.
• 1:05:57
  Speaker 1: Just having this conversation, but it couldn't have been.
• 1:06:01
  Speaker 2: Easy, right? It wasn't.
• 1:06:04
  Speaker 5: Let me tell you. So first of all, I never
• 1:06:07
  Speaker 5: came out because I was like, I'm almost 50. Really?
• 1:06:09
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 1:06:11
  Speaker 5: So I never really came out. I think I've always
• 1:06:14
  Speaker 5: been attracted to women. I was indoctrinated into the white
• 1:06:18
  Speaker 5: Jesus of it all. So I was like, God won't
• 1:06:20
  Speaker 5: love me. I'm going to go to hell. I had
• 1:06:22
  Speaker 5: all these thoughts because of the indoctrination religious wise that
• 1:06:25
  Speaker 5: I was a part of. I also am, you know, I,
• 1:06:31
  Speaker 5: I'm not a, I guess in some ways I'm a
• 1:06:34
  Speaker 5: public figure in of sorts. And so I never really
• 1:06:38
  Speaker 5: cared about what the world would think. It was the
• 1:06:41
  Speaker 5: church and my mama, right? And so those were my
• 1:06:45
  Speaker 5: biggest fears. But I also recognized as I... I guess
• 1:06:52
  Speaker 5: the last straw was in 2023, I was engaged to
• 1:06:54
  Speaker 5: a man. I was supposed to get married. Maybe two
• 1:06:58
  Speaker 5: months before I do, I said I don't because I
• 1:07:00
  Speaker 5: knew I didn't.
• 1:07:02
  Speaker 2: I like that. I like that.
• 1:07:04
  Speaker 5: I was like, yes. This ain't gonna work. This ain't
• 1:07:08
  Speaker 5: gonna work.
• 1:07:08
  Speaker 2: I love that. I said I don't because I knew
• 1:07:12
  Speaker 2: I didn't.
• 1:07:12
  Speaker 5: Forever would have been way too long. And so I
• 1:07:16
  Speaker 5: was like, no. But when I got with that man,
• 1:07:19
  Speaker 5: I was very clear about the fact that I was queer,
• 1:07:22
  Speaker 5: but never did that mean threesomes for everybody. And oh,
• 1:07:25
  Speaker 5: it was just, it was, if I'm with a human,
• 1:07:27
  Speaker 5: I was.
• 1:07:29
  Speaker 2: You were clear with him.
• 1:07:30
  Speaker 5: Because his twin sister had a whole life. So I
• 1:07:32
  Speaker 5: knew he would get it.
• 1:07:34
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 1:07:35
  Speaker 5: And so but what I had to learn was there
• 1:07:38
  Speaker 5: was a reason why from the time I started having
• 1:07:43
  Speaker 5: intimate relations with men to that point. it was cool,
• 1:07:47
  Speaker 5: but it was never like mind blowing. It was never like,
• 1:07:50
  Speaker 5: it was, it felt more obligation. It felt more like
• 1:07:54
  Speaker 5: I was more into the connection of me and the
• 1:07:56
  Speaker 5: human than the intimacy part. And then I just got
• 1:07:58
  Speaker 5: to a place where I was like, no, you're not weird.
• 1:08:03
  Speaker 5: She's fine. No, it's not a phase. You want to
• 1:08:09
  Speaker 5: put that lady through the mattress. And so I was like, okay.
• 1:08:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 1:08:14
  Speaker 5: Okay, so, like, I'm, okay, I'm biased.
• 1:08:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 1:08:18
  Speaker 5: Then I got a girlfriend and was like, no, ma'am,
• 1:08:20
  Speaker 5: you're gay. It's fine.
• 1:08:21
  Speaker 2: You're gay.
• 1:08:22
  Speaker 3: It's okay.
• 1:08:22
  Speaker 2: You're not, you're not bi.
• 1:08:25
  Speaker 5: You're not queer. I mean, I say queer because it's just,
• 1:08:27
  Speaker 5: I feel like it just more encompasses things, but like,
• 1:08:29
  Speaker 5: it's like, no, you're gay. It's fine. And the thing is,
• 1:08:32
  Speaker 5: my girlfriend used to be like, you're so gay. How
• 1:08:34
  Speaker 5: did you last in this hetero world so long? You're
• 1:08:37
  Speaker 5: so gay.
• 1:08:38
  Speaker 2: Like, I know. Yeah.
• 1:08:41
  Speaker 5: But it was, it was, but what, to answer your
• 1:08:44
  Speaker 5: question directly is, In 2024, I applied for my first
• 1:08:51
  Speaker 5: queer creative program. And I was like, well, I've been
• 1:08:56
  Speaker 5: I had been breadcrumbing to my friends like, yes, I
• 1:08:59
  Speaker 5: like women. and you know, I've been flirting with people,
• 1:09:02
  Speaker 5: but I hadn't had, I didn't get my first like
• 1:09:04
  Speaker 5: actual girlfriend till last year.
• 1:09:06
  Speaker 2: Wow. Really?
• 1:09:11
  Speaker 5: We broke up. Wish that lady the best.
• 1:09:13
  Speaker 2: I don't, but whatever.
• 1:09:18
  Speaker 5: But no but what I will say is she that
• 1:09:21
  Speaker 5: relationship taught me that I can proudly love a woman
• 1:09:24
  Speaker 5: fully out loud and it's okay yes um but when
• 1:09:28
  Speaker 5: I pressed send on that application I was like now
• 1:09:32
  Speaker 5: you know if you get in the press release gonna
• 1:09:34
  Speaker 5: release yeah And so that was kind of my thing.
• 1:09:40
  Speaker 5: And I didn't get into that program, but I wound
• 1:09:43
  Speaker 5: up being, I was one of the producers. I developed
• 1:09:46
  Speaker 5: the docu-series Down in the Valley with Nico Anand for S.T.A.R.S.
• 1:09:51
  Speaker 5: And when we were making Down in the Valley, there
• 1:09:52
  Speaker 5: was so much queerness about our docu-series because there's so
• 1:09:56
  Speaker 5: much queerness in the show that I really was in
• 1:10:00
  Speaker 5: the room watching the freedom of these individuals, how free,
• 1:10:07
  Speaker 5: How they didn't give a damn. And I was like,
• 1:10:10
  Speaker 5: you know what? People don't hate gay people.
• 1:10:13
  Speaker 2: They hate our freedom.
• 1:10:15
  Speaker 5: They hate the fact that we said society, screw you.
• 1:10:18
  Speaker 5: I'm going to love who I want to love, adopt
• 1:10:20
  Speaker 5: whatever identity my spirit tells me it owns. And I
• 1:10:23
  Speaker 5: don't care if you like it, don't like it, want
• 1:10:25
  Speaker 5: to fight it, don't want me on your sports team,
• 1:10:27
  Speaker 5: don't want me on your court, don't want me in
• 1:10:30
  Speaker 5: your film or whatever. It is the freedom and the un-
• 1:10:35
  Speaker 5: abridged and unedited fuck you that we possess to live
• 1:10:41
  Speaker 5: a life that is societally abominable that makes people mad
• 1:10:46
  Speaker 5: but being in that space i was like i want
• 1:10:48
  Speaker 5: that i'm tired of editing my wants desires and truth
• 1:10:53
  Speaker 5: for society's idea of who i'm supposed to be especially
• 1:10:56
  Speaker 5: because i'm Very feminine. So nobody would, I literally was
• 1:11:01
  Speaker 5: at a queer auntie's party last week and this girl
• 1:11:02
  Speaker 5: was like, you are so pretty. Are you straight? I
• 1:11:04
  Speaker 5: promise I'm always told I look straight, right? And so
• 1:11:08
  Speaker 5: because I look like straight, Gay girls don't talk to you. Literally,
• 1:11:13
  Speaker 5: my friend was like, you need a tattoo or a
• 1:11:15
  Speaker 5: chain or something so people know that you with us
• 1:11:17
  Speaker 5: because you just present so straight.
• 1:11:20
  Speaker 2: Put your forehead, sis. Put something on your forehead. Just
• 1:11:23
  Speaker 2: stamp it right there. Stamp a rainbow right there.
• 1:11:26
  Speaker 5: I'm an ambivert. I'm not used to having to be
• 1:11:29
  Speaker 5: the aggressor, but in gay spaces, I have to be
• 1:11:33
  Speaker 5: the person to approach a person I'm attracted to because
• 1:11:35
  Speaker 5: they don't know if I'm straight or not. But that also,
• 1:11:39
  Speaker 5: that passability also means I have to be a mouthpiece
• 1:11:43
  Speaker 5: for my sisters and brothers, whether gay, straight, trans, non-binary,
• 1:11:47
  Speaker 5: that can't pass visibly. So I'm going to say out loud,
• 1:11:52
  Speaker 5: I'm queer. I'm going to say out loud, if I
• 1:11:54
  Speaker 5: never have to say it.
• 1:11:56
  Speaker 2: Oh, Lord.
• 1:11:59
  Speaker 5: If I never have to again, it won't be too soon.
• 1:12:03
  Speaker 5: God bless everybody that enjoys that.
• 1:12:05
  Speaker 1: I'm good.
• 1:12:06
  Speaker 3: Listen, I was about to say, Okima, speak for yourself
• 1:12:08
  Speaker 3: because I'm about to go jump on one soon.
• 1:12:10
  Speaker 5: And I love that for you. And I love that
• 1:12:13
  Speaker 5: for you. But how they say in the gangsta songs,
• 1:12:17
  Speaker 5: get the strap.
• 1:12:18
  Speaker 2: Oh, okay. You're kidding me.
• 1:12:19
  Speaker 3: So mind you, I've never heard this side of her,
• 1:12:21
  Speaker 3: so I don't even know what to do with myself.
• 1:12:25
  Speaker 5: Entertainment is a space where I really can be my
• 1:12:27
  Speaker 5: full unadulterated self. And I can laugh and joke like this,
• 1:12:31
  Speaker 5: but I honestly have never in my life been more
• 1:12:35
  Speaker 5: comfortable in my skin than I am today. I've never
• 1:12:39
  Speaker 5: felt more beautiful. I've never felt more desirable. I've never
• 1:12:42
  Speaker 5: felt more seen. And being a part of GLAAD's Black
• 1:12:45
  Speaker 5: Queer Creative Cohort last year was when I put it
• 1:12:49
  Speaker 5: on my screen and on my grid on Instagram, I
• 1:12:54
  Speaker 5: guess some people thought I was just an ally. It's like, well,
• 1:12:56
  Speaker 5: do you think GLAAD gonna fly me out and put
• 1:12:58
  Speaker 5: me up for allyship? I think not. I'm gay, y'all.
• 1:13:02
  Speaker 5: It's fine. It's okay. And even with my own mother,
• 1:13:06
  Speaker 5: I never came out. I literally just started inviting her
• 1:13:11
  Speaker 5: and my girlfriend to the same events. And I never
• 1:13:14
  Speaker 5: had any friends that my girlfriend was mass presenting. I
• 1:13:17
  Speaker 5: never had friends that looked like her. So my mama
• 1:13:20
  Speaker 5: ain't stupid. My mother worked for the FBI. My mama
• 1:13:23
  Speaker 5: worked for the FBI. My father worked for the Secret Service.
• 1:13:26
  Speaker 5: Neither of them are dumb. So when they saw this
• 1:13:29
  Speaker 5: masked woman who would come with me in the evening
• 1:13:32
  Speaker 5: to pick up the car and be with me in
• 1:13:34
  Speaker 5: the morning to bring it back, like, duh. Whoa. But
• 1:13:40
  Speaker 5: I am, and I get, you know, I get hate
• 1:13:44
  Speaker 5: about it. I have friends who are very, you know, Jesus-like.
• 1:13:48
  Speaker 5: don't hate, you know, and God bless you.
• 1:13:51
  Speaker 2: Of course. And God bless those.
• 1:13:52
  Speaker 5: People that don't know that homosexual wasn't even in the
• 1:13:54
  Speaker 5: Bible before 1946, because the intention was actually pedophilia, not
• 1:13:58
  Speaker 5: same gender love, but pedophilia was so rampant in the
• 1:14:01
  Speaker 5: church that they made it homosexual so that they could
• 1:14:03
  Speaker 5: deflect from the pedophilia of her.
• 1:14:06
  Speaker 2: Girl, you better teach him about the Bible though. You
• 1:14:09
  Speaker 2: better teach him about the Bible.
• 1:14:10
  Speaker 5: If you want to say that I'm going to hell,
• 1:14:11
  Speaker 5: that's between my God and me because who you screw
• 1:14:13
  Speaker 5: don't make me happy.
• 1:14:15
  Speaker 2: Right. Yeah.
• 1:14:16
  Speaker 5: So, But it's also the unequivocal way that people immediately
• 1:14:21
  Speaker 5: associate sexual preference with sex. Why are y'all so concerned
• 1:14:26
  Speaker 5: with the sex we have? Just because I like women
• 1:14:30
  Speaker 5: does not mean my entire existence when it comes to
• 1:14:32
  Speaker 5: women is what I'm doing with them. The sex we
• 1:14:35
  Speaker 5: have is not even... And please know that I have
• 1:14:38
  Speaker 5: gay friends who've been married to their wives and husbands
• 1:14:40
  Speaker 5: for 20 plus years. They too aren't 50 every day.
• 1:14:43
  Speaker 2: Just like heterosexuals. Just like heterosexuals.
• 1:14:48
  Speaker 3: And can I also add, and can I also add,
• 1:14:52
  Speaker 3: that's a hundred percent. Can I also add that as
• 1:14:56
  Speaker 3: a heterosexual woman, I am not attracted to every man
• 1:14:59
  Speaker 3: that I see. I don't want to borrow every man.
• 1:15:02
  Speaker 3: So please understand that every gay person who comes around
• 1:15:04
  Speaker 3: you is not.
• 1:15:05
  Speaker 5: Trying to fuck with you.
• 1:15:07
  Speaker 2: I promise.
• 1:15:08
  Speaker 5: And not just because you straight.
• 1:15:10
  Speaker 2: I promise. I promise.
• 1:15:12
  Speaker 5: And I just said you straight. I promise you straight.
• 1:15:15
  Speaker 2: It's your safe. Believe me, you are safe.
• 1:15:19
  Speaker 5: You're safe. Chocolate master center woman any day who also
• 1:15:24
  Speaker 5: knows she's a woman. Baby, listen.
• 1:15:26
  Speaker 2: Yes. I... I love y'all down. Do you hear me?
• 1:15:35
  Speaker 2: I know. Okay.
• 1:15:36
  Speaker 3: So I know Cheryl was going to ask this question.
• 1:15:40
  Speaker 2: I'm definitely going to ask this question.
• 1:15:42
  Speaker 3: I look in the back, Okima, and I see a
• 1:15:44
  Speaker 3: bunch of awards and that's amazing. I look at Sassy
• 1:15:47
  Speaker 3: and I know that she's being recognized. as DC's top 100.
• 1:15:51
  Speaker 3: Come on now, got the tellies. We not playing out here, okay?
• 1:15:56
  Speaker 3: And I know that you're also being recognized as one
• 1:15:58
  Speaker 3: of the 100 Black women of excellence in the DC,
• 1:16:01
  Speaker 3: which is amazing.
• 1:16:02
  Speaker 2: Yes, come on. Come through.
• 1:16:04
  Speaker 3: For those who will look at your films, who will
• 1:16:07
  Speaker 3: look at your IMBDs, who will look at what you're
• 1:16:09
  Speaker 3: doing and say, I know that our roads and our
• 1:16:12
  Speaker 3: paths might be different, but I want to end up
• 1:16:15
  Speaker 3: in this lane.
• 1:16:16
  Speaker 2: I want to end up in this place. What piece
• 1:16:19
  Speaker 2: of advice, if.
• 1:16:20
  Speaker 3: You can share briefly, would you give to that young
• 1:16:24
  Speaker 3: girl or even that young boy? Because I love when
• 1:16:26
  Speaker 3: black little boys look up to what black women are doing.
• 1:16:29
  Speaker 2: It's amazing to me. It helps to me. It helps.
• 1:16:32
  Speaker 3: Them to understand and love and learn to appreciate what
• 1:16:35
  Speaker 3: Black women do and contribute to society. So it's not
• 1:16:38
  Speaker 3: just what little girls, but what just people look up
• 1:16:41
  Speaker 3: to you both and see. What advice would you give
• 1:16:45
  Speaker 3: to them? Sassy, we'll start with you. Akima will end.
• 1:16:48
  Speaker 3: So for the people, the little Black girls, the little
• 1:16:51
  Speaker 3: Black boys, the big Black girls, the big Black boys,
• 1:16:57
  Speaker 3: understand that the belief that you can is more than
• 1:17:01
  Speaker 3: pass the battle, right?
• 1:17:04
  Speaker 2: 99% of it will be.
• 1:17:05
  Speaker 3: Because if you want an opportunity, you have to look
• 1:17:09
  Speaker 3: like you're able to handle that opportunity. And believe in
• 1:17:12
  Speaker 3: that you deserve it, which is something that I am
• 1:17:14
  Speaker 3: working on actively every single day. And believe in that
• 1:17:17
  Speaker 3: you're capable by the magnets that bring people to you
• 1:17:20
  Speaker 3: to want to give you opportunities. Shout out to Oki Mateen.
• 1:17:23
  Speaker 3: When I be here, it's for her. It's not for her.
• 1:17:26
  Speaker 3: And she has given me the ability and authority to
• 1:17:31
  Speaker 3: believe in me so that I can walk into those rooms.
• 1:17:34
  Speaker 2: And they'd be like, oh, yeah, let me give her
• 1:17:35
  Speaker 2: an opportunity to write. So full circle.
• 1:17:38
  Speaker 5: OK, I have two pieces of advice. One is for everyone, right?
• 1:17:45
  Speaker 5: There are so many no's out there waiting for you.
• 1:17:47
  Speaker 5: Don't let you be the first one of them. You
• 1:17:52
  Speaker 5: should never be your first no. Because there's so many
• 1:17:55
  Speaker 5: waiting for you. Why start the game?
• 1:17:57
  Speaker 2: Why start it?
• 1:17:58
  Speaker 5: The second is for my folks over 40. At 36,
• 1:18:03
  Speaker 5: I traded in having an assistant to being an assistant, right?
• 1:18:09
  Speaker 5: Death to your ego is the birth of your destiny, period.
• 1:18:14
  Speaker 5: But bigger than that, doesn't matter if you are late
• 1:18:18
  Speaker 5: to the party as long as you come to motherfucking dance.
• 1:18:23
  Speaker 5: Nobody can tell you that you don't belong somewhere. Nobody
• 1:18:27
  Speaker 5: can tell you that you can't do it. Nobody can
• 1:18:30
  Speaker 5: tell you that you can't learn the thing. I don't
• 1:18:32
  Speaker 5: care how old you are. If you want to do something,
• 1:18:35
  Speaker 5: this is the age of information. Too much most times.
• 1:18:38
  Speaker 5: So there is no way, reason, or purpose for you
• 1:18:40
  Speaker 5: to not achieve or at least try the thing you
• 1:18:44
  Speaker 5: think you want to do. The crazier it sounds, the
• 1:18:47
  Speaker 5: more you're supposed to do it. The more it scares you,
• 1:18:50
  Speaker 5: the more you need to chase it. The more you cannot, like,
• 1:18:54
  Speaker 5: it's not about not doing the things you can do.
• 1:18:57
  Speaker 5: It's about doing the thing you can't stop thinking about doing.
• 1:19:01
  Speaker 5: There is something on your list that you've been thinking
• 1:19:04
  Speaker 5: about and percolating on forever. That is the thing that
• 1:19:08
  Speaker 5: literally is calling to you. And while I do talk
• 1:19:13
  Speaker 5: about people and they look like Jesus, I believe in
• 1:19:17
  Speaker 5: God wholeheartedly. I take some African spiritualism on the side
• 1:19:20
  Speaker 5: of my Jesus, but I do believe it when the
• 1:19:23
  Speaker 5: Bible says your purpose will make room for you.
• 1:19:25
  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
• 1:19:26
  Speaker 5: That thing you can't stop thinking about.
• 1:19:27
  Speaker 2: Yes, it will.
• 1:19:28
  Speaker 5: That thing you can't stop thinking about. That is your
• 1:19:30
  Speaker 5: purpose calling you. When you decide to answer the phone,
• 1:19:35
  Speaker 5: I promise it will make room for you in one.
• 1:19:38
  Speaker 2: Way, shape, or another. I love that.
• 1:19:41
  Speaker 5: Don't be your no, and don't believe it is ever
• 1:19:46
  Speaker 5: too late. Until you die, no breath means you can't
• 1:19:52
  Speaker 5: do it. If you have breath in your body, it
• 1:19:55
  Speaker 5: is achievable in some way, shape, or form, but be flexible.
• 1:20:01
  Speaker 5: Because oftentimes the way you dreamt it ain't the way
• 1:20:04
  Speaker 5: it's going to come.
• 1:20:05
  Speaker 2: Ain't the way it's going to happen. I know that's right.
• 1:20:08
  Speaker 3: And can I add this to what Akima said? Because
• 1:20:12
  Speaker 3: there's one thing that I feel like the whole world
• 1:20:14
  Speaker 3: needs to hear that she told me.
• 1:20:16
  Speaker 2: It's two o'clock in the morning in Miami. We have sleep.
• 1:20:20
  Speaker 2: I'm rolled over.
• 1:20:21
  Speaker 3: And she said, anybody that's sleeping on you, it is
• 1:20:24
  Speaker 3: not your responsibility to wake them up. When I say
• 1:20:26
  Speaker 3: I sat up in the bed, got out my pen
• 1:20:29
  Speaker 3: and my pad, and I was like, okay. And I
• 1:20:31
  Speaker 3: repeat that to myself all of the time. Because people
• 1:20:35
  Speaker 3: will sleep on you, including cells, right? But I hear
• 1:20:37
  Speaker 3: Okema in the back of my mind saying, it's not
• 1:20:39
  Speaker 3: your responsibility to wake them up. Just do you and
• 1:20:41
  Speaker 3: be you for you. And so I just wanted to
• 1:20:44
  Speaker 3: add that.
• 1:20:45
  Speaker 5: Yeah, because once you count me out, all that tells
• 1:20:47
  Speaker 5: me is you can't count.
• 1:20:48
  Speaker 2: Okay. Period. I know that's right.
• 1:20:50
  Speaker 3: Well, listen, first and foremost, thank you both so, so
• 1:20:56
  Speaker 3: much for making the time to spend with us. Secondly,
• 1:21:00
  Speaker 3: I'm not going to tell myself no. I am 100%
• 1:21:02
  Speaker 3: one of those bet on yourself individuals.
• 1:21:05
  Speaker 2: It ain't nothing you can tell the goat up here.
• 1:21:07
  Speaker 5: Listen, Cheryl, can I just quickly give you your flowers?
• 1:21:11
  Speaker 5: As a girly who grew up not into sports necessarily,
• 1:21:16
  Speaker 5: but into history, I have always been fascinated with women
• 1:21:20
  Speaker 5: who make history, with women who break ceilings and don't
• 1:21:23
  Speaker 5: give a damn about how much the glass from the
• 1:21:25
  Speaker 5: ceiling they broke will cut their foot. They will still
• 1:21:28
  Speaker 5: break that ceiling and walk over glass for the next
• 1:21:30
  Speaker 5: chick behind them. Please let me give you your flowers
• 1:21:33
  Speaker 5: for all that you have done for sports.
• 1:21:36
  Speaker 2: Don't do it.
• 1:21:38
  Speaker 5: Don't do it to me.
• 1:21:38
  Speaker 2: For women, for business.
• 1:21:45
  Speaker 5: For what you all lent to create what we now
• 1:21:49
  Speaker 5: know as the WNBA, when people swore wasn't nobody going
• 1:21:51
  Speaker 5: to watch. When the boys made fun of the league,
• 1:21:56
  Speaker 5: now them niggas be in the front row talking about
• 1:21:59
  Speaker 5: who got the best who.
• 1:22:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 1:22:02
  Speaker 3: Right? Yeah.
• 1:22:03
  Speaker 5: For the little girls who wanted to play but were
• 1:22:06
  Speaker 5: afraid of the stigma that came with being a female
• 1:22:09
  Speaker 5: basketball player. Because now, whether you like Brad or Brenda,
• 1:22:13
  Speaker 5: everybody want to be y'all.
• 1:22:15
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 1:22:16
  Speaker 5: And it doesn't keep you out of anything. So for you,
• 1:22:20
  Speaker 5: I just want to say as a woman, when they
• 1:22:23
  Speaker 5: told me that you were inducted, when I saw that
• 1:22:25
  Speaker 5: you were a part of our new class, one, I
• 1:22:28
  Speaker 5: knew it was because of the relationship you have with Terri,
• 1:22:30
  Speaker 5: but I also understood that we may mistake and mistake
• 1:22:35
  Speaker 5: a lot in the administration of the SG, but you
• 1:22:40
  Speaker 5: were no one's mistake. You are an intentional part of
• 1:22:44
  Speaker 5: what our honorary classes are supposed to be, which is
• 1:22:47
  Speaker 5: a woman making history and space. You can make history,
• 1:22:51
  Speaker 5: but you also made space. That is the difference. And
• 1:22:57
  Speaker 5: Miss Ma'am. Tell her.
• 1:22:59
  Speaker 2: Tell her.
• 1:23:00
  Speaker 5: But you too. When I met you, I didn't know
• 1:23:02
  Speaker 5: who you were.
• 1:23:03
  Speaker 1: Yes, ma'am.
• 1:23:04
  Speaker 5: I just knew you were the basilisk of that chapter
• 1:23:07
  Speaker 5: in Connecticut that somehow found me and asked me to come.
• 1:23:10
  Speaker 2: And host Centennial.
• 1:23:12
  Speaker 5: Didn't have a clue how y'all found me. Didn't have
• 1:23:14
  Speaker 5: a clue on what was what. But my sword was
• 1:23:17
  Speaker 5: called and I answered. And that night, we got cool.
• 1:23:21
  Speaker 5: And from there, I watched your career. And literally, the
• 1:23:25
  Speaker 5: upward trajectory that happened from then to now is insane.
• 1:23:31
  Speaker 2: Crazy.
• 1:23:31
  Speaker 5: And I want you to know that we see you.
• 1:23:34
  Speaker 5: We are you. We support you.
• 1:23:37
  Speaker 3: Aww.
• 1:23:38
  Speaker 5: What you ladies are doing is amazing. And it helps
• 1:23:42
  Speaker 5: us do what we do.
• 1:23:45
  Speaker 2: Thank you. We appreciate you. I appreciate you.
• 1:23:49
  Speaker 3: Definitely appreciate you guys being here and the kind words.
• 1:23:54
  Speaker 3: Cheryl gonna cry. You see she can cry a few
• 1:23:56
  Speaker 3: times already. But she needs to hear it.
• 1:24:01
  Speaker 1: First of all, I've enjoyed everything about this conversation. And
• 1:24:05
  Speaker 1: I know we gotta go because we could sit here
• 1:24:07
  Speaker 1: and talk forever. I just, I love watching women just
• 1:24:13
  Speaker 1: be great in everything that they do. And the both
• 1:24:17
  Speaker 1: of you, Sassy, Akima, y'all both are amazing.
• 1:24:23
  Speaker 2: Like incredible.
• 1:24:24
  Speaker 1: I cannot wait to watch the films. I'm going to
• 1:24:27
  Speaker 1: put them everywhere. Tell everybody about it.
• 1:24:31
  Speaker 2: Akima, your story just, my God, it's so powerful.
• 1:24:37
  Speaker 1: It's And I know there's someone out there that, that,
• 1:24:41
  Speaker 1: that needed to hear this conversation today. And I just,
• 1:24:46
  Speaker 1: from the bottom of my heart, I thank you for sharing.
• 1:24:48
  Speaker 1: I thank you for being open. I thank you for
• 1:24:50
  Speaker 1: being vulnerable and, and I thank you for giving me
• 1:24:53
  Speaker 1: my flowers. So it's, it's, truly been an incredible.
• 1:24:58
  Speaker 3: Conversation for sure for sure I echo I echo Cheryl's
• 1:25:01
  Speaker 3: sentiment thank you both um we first of all please
• 1:25:06
  Speaker 3: share with our audience your social media information where they
• 1:25:09
  Speaker 3: can follow you yeah and they can also keep up
• 1:25:12
  Speaker 3: with um with the films and the upcoming projects that you.
• 1:25:15
  Speaker 5: Both have everything for me is my name at okima
• 1:25:17
  Speaker 5: t moore On all socials, threads, which is the new
• 1:25:22
  Speaker 5: black Twitter. I love that.
• 1:25:23
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 1:25:23
  Speaker 2: Love threads. Okay.
• 1:25:25
  Speaker 5: Threads, Instagram. I don't really be on that bird. Or
• 1:25:29
  Speaker 5: the former bird. And Facebook is the same thing. Akima.t.more.
• 1:25:36
  Speaker 5: If you follow me, then you'll see all of our
• 1:25:37
  Speaker 5: film information there. so that you can follow the films.
• 1:25:41
  Speaker 5: But we have a lot coming up as far as festivals.
• 1:25:45
  Speaker 5: And a lot of the festivals now do visual, I mean,
• 1:25:47
  Speaker 5: do virtual runs. So if you can't make it to
• 1:25:50
  Speaker 5: that city, you can still see the project.
• 1:25:53
  Speaker 2: Nice. Okay, Sassy, where you at?
• 1:25:55
  Speaker 3: Producer Sass, I have to plug, at lovesoryfilm and at
• 1:26:00
  Speaker 3: lovesongfilm underscore. Those two are on Instagram. I am Sassy Frizzle.
• 1:26:05
  Speaker 3: Everywhere you can find anybody, it is Sassy Frizzle. at
• 1:26:09
  Speaker 3: Sassy Frizzle because I am a brand. Shout out to
• 1:26:12
  Speaker 3: person Brandy. But yeah, Instagram, Facebook.
• 1:26:15
  Speaker 2: Come on now.
• 1:26:17
  Speaker 3: Threads, which I happen to love as well. TikTok, all
• 1:26:20
  Speaker 3: the places. You'll find me at Sassy Frizzle.
• 1:26:22
  Speaker 5: Oh yeah, I don't take or talk. So don't look
• 1:26:24
  Speaker 5: for me there. I don't have a TikTok.
• 1:26:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah, she doesn't. I don't. I don't have a TikTok.
• 1:26:29
  Speaker 2: She does. She does Instagram real though. I love that.
• 1:26:32
  Speaker 2: She makes sure to send us a reel. Yes. Oh
• 1:26:35
  Speaker 2: my gosh. I love that. I love that. Girl, the line.
• 1:26:40
  Speaker 5: I'm sorry.
• 1:26:41
  Speaker 2: This is going to be my new line. What was it?
• 1:26:43
  Speaker 2: Two months before us.
• 1:26:45
  Speaker 5: Oh, two months before I was saying I do. I
• 1:26:47
  Speaker 5: said I don't because I did.
• 1:26:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 1:26:49
  Speaker 2: And I don't tick or talk. Wow.
• 1:26:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 1:26:54
  Speaker 2: I'm going to use that.
• 1:26:56
  Speaker 1: Oh my.
• 1:27:08
  Speaker 3: Big, big, big ups to Okima and Sassy for joining
• 1:27:14
  Speaker 3: us on the show today.
• 1:27:15
  Speaker 2: Those are my girls.
• 1:27:18
  Speaker 3: Listen, when I tell you that I am going to
• 1:27:21
  Speaker 3: be the first one watching them vertical shorts, because I'm
• 1:27:24
  Speaker 3: telling you, that's why my phone halfway dead now, because
• 1:27:26
  Speaker 3: I forgot to charge it last night because I fell
• 1:27:29
  Speaker 3: asleep watching them damn vertical shorts on my phone. And
• 1:27:33
  Speaker 3: they get me every time. They get me every time.
• 1:27:35
  Speaker 3: They're going to show me the first 10 episodes on Facebook.
• 1:27:38
  Speaker 3: Now I'm hooked.
• 1:27:39
  Speaker 2: And now the order for me to watch the rest,
• 1:27:41
  Speaker 2: y'all want me to go and download.
• 1:27:42
  Speaker 3: These apps and give y'all $ 19.
• 1:27:46
  Speaker 2: 99. And you're going to do it. And I've done
• 1:27:48
  Speaker 2: it like a dummy.
• 1:27:51
  Speaker 3: No you're supporting no you're supporting but I will I
• 1:27:53
  Speaker 3: will absolutely be supporting my sorors um so yeah big
• 1:27:57
  Speaker 3: ups to them love that that that these two black
• 1:28:00
  Speaker 3: women are like just killing it.
• 1:28:01
  Speaker 2: In this space and they're just doing it I really
• 1:28:03
  Speaker 2: hope they are.
• 1:28:04
  Speaker 1: They're doing it they are I just you know well
• 1:28:09
  Speaker 1: they're they're my sorors but yes but they're gonna be
• 1:28:12
  Speaker 1: they my sister period yeah they my sister I love
• 1:28:15
  Speaker 1: I love the story I love the journey I just
• 1:28:19
  Speaker 1: just a great Real authentic conversation.
• 1:28:22
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 1:28:22
  Speaker 1: And I hope there's something that our listeners will take
• 1:28:26
  Speaker 1: away from what they both had to say because they
• 1:28:30
  Speaker 1: dropped a lot of gems.
• 1:28:31
  Speaker 2: They did. They did.
• 1:28:33
  Speaker 3: It was it was really really good um so with
• 1:28:36
  Speaker 3: that let um to keep the momentum going uh we
• 1:28:39
  Speaker 3: always close out the show with one of our um
• 1:28:45
  Speaker 3: levels of of levels of affirmation our words of positivity
• 1:28:50
  Speaker 3: or words of wisdom but we are level we are
• 1:28:54
  Speaker 3: leveled out by Cheryl every week so what you got
• 1:28:56
  Speaker 3: for us today um.
• 1:28:59
  Speaker 2: You know, T, you know how.
• 1:29:00
  Speaker 1: We're always talking about stuff that's happened in the past and,
• 1:29:07
  Speaker 1: you know, if we could change it, what we have
• 1:29:09
  Speaker 1: done differently. But anyway, I just think this is a
• 1:29:13
  Speaker 1: great quote for today.
• 1:29:14
  Speaker 2: And it just.
• 1:29:16
  Speaker 3: Says, it's real simple. Your past doesn't need you anymore.
• 1:29:21
  Speaker 2: Your future does. Yeah.
• 1:29:27
  Speaker 1: So instead of living in the past and, you know,
• 1:29:30
  Speaker 1: thinking about the things that we did or didn't do,
• 1:29:33
  Speaker 1: let's just focus on the future. Focus on the present
• 1:29:38
  Speaker 1: and the future. I'm talking to myself right now. But
• 1:29:42
  Speaker 1: if anybody out there is like, yes, that's me. then
• 1:29:46
  Speaker 1: your past doesn't need you anymore or your future does.
• 1:29:49
  Speaker 2: That definitely is. That definitely is.
• 1:29:51
  Speaker 3: And I know we're leveling out, so I'm not going
• 1:29:54
  Speaker 3: to make this long, but it just reminds me of.
• 1:29:58
  Speaker 2: When people are like, oh, I know you or like,
• 1:30:02
  Speaker 2: I know.
• 1:30:03
  Speaker 3: How this person is or this person does whatever, whatever.
• 1:30:06
  Speaker 3: And I'm like, girl, the last time we kicked it
• 1:30:08
  Speaker 3: was like 2004. It's 2026. Right.
• 1:30:12
  Speaker 2: Like, I'm not the same person that I was.
• 1:30:15
  Speaker 3: Really don't like you have a version of me from
• 1:30:19
  Speaker 3: the past, but I'm not focused there anymore.
• 1:30:22
  Speaker 2: I'm not there anymore. Like that. There are some attributes
• 1:30:25
  Speaker 2: of me that will always be me.
• 1:30:27
  Speaker 3: But the mistakes that I might have made, the things
• 1:30:30
  Speaker 3: that I might have said, the things that I might
• 1:30:32
  Speaker 3: have done. That was 2020. That was 2004, baby. We
• 1:30:36
  Speaker 3: are 22 years past that. Like, why are we still there?
• 1:30:39
  Speaker 3: So you make a ton of sense. That's like you
• 1:30:41
  Speaker 3: can't you can't change. You can't go back. You've got
• 1:30:44
  Speaker 3: to focus on what's ahead of you. I needed that,
• 1:30:48
  Speaker 3: if you can't tell.
• 1:30:48
  Speaker 2: That's it. I needed that, if you can't tell.
• 1:30:51
  Speaker 3: But thank you for always coming through with some great
• 1:30:55
  Speaker 3: encouragement and things that we need to hear. More than anything,
• 1:30:57
  Speaker 3: Cheryl always brings us what we need to hear. Whether
• 1:30:59
  Speaker 3: we want to hear it or not is what we
• 1:31:01
  Speaker 3: need to hear.
• 1:31:02
  Speaker 2: And I do that to myself.
• 1:31:04
  Speaker 3: I'm telling you, because we got to hear it. We
• 1:31:08
  Speaker 3: also need to hear back from our fans. And so
• 1:31:10
  Speaker 3: we appreciate you guys tuning in. And the way that
• 1:31:13
  Speaker 3: we hear back from you is through your interactions with
• 1:31:17
  Speaker 3: us at our different channels that you can get with us.
• 1:31:19
  Speaker 3: So make sure you're following us on Instagram at LTT pod.
• 1:31:23
  Speaker 3: Make sure that you are hitting us up on Gmail
• 1:31:25
  Speaker 3: at levels to this podcast at gmail.com and make sure
• 1:31:28
  Speaker 3: you're leaving comments in Apple podcast. So we can see
• 1:31:31
  Speaker 3: what you think about the episode, what you think about
• 1:31:33
  Speaker 3: the show, all that good stuff.
• 1:31:34
  Speaker 2: So yeah.
• 1:31:35
  Speaker 3: Um, It's great to be able to bring you another episode.
• 1:31:40
  Speaker 3: We will be back next week. And until then, keep
• 1:31:44
  Speaker 3: your mentals ground levels and we will see you then.
• 1:31:47
  Speaker 2: Happy playoffs.
• 1:31:50
  Speaker 1: Listen to Levels to This on America's number one podcast network, iHeart.
• 1:31:55
  Speaker 1: Open your free iHeart app and search Levels to This
• 1:31:58
  Speaker 1: with Cheryl Swoops and Tarika Foster-Brasby and start listening.