Latest / Born To The Game Podcast / Iyana Halley & Manny Halley Jr. on Legacy, Grief, and Growing Up in Entertainment | Born To The Game Podcast

Transcript

Iyana Halley & Manny Halley Jr. on Legacy, Grief, and Growing Up in Entertainment | Born To The Game Podcast · Born To The Game Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I sat onto my hotel. He calls me.
• 0:03
  Speaker 2: I'm like, yeah, you know, I'm ready to rock tomorrow,
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: Like I'm gonna show out.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: He's like, yo, many like who's your fair rapper?
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: Like you know my favorite rap? My fair rapper is Fab.
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: Fab was on the phone.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: My pop sent me up. But I passed the test
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: and passed because I couldn't said anybody.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: I said my Fab was on it. He's like, yo,
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: rock out. I'm gonna follow on Instagram.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Keep going. I'm tuned in. I cried. That was my
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: only time.
• 0:28
  Speaker 3: I ever gone.
• 0:30
  Speaker 4: This is gone till the game.
• 0:34
  Speaker 3: In the Great Meeting rhyme, the pig running out us
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: and this time last time to the game, carrying and
• 0:45
  Speaker 3: the plane. He goes the past, but it's a donay.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: Proclaim.
• 0:52
  Speaker 5: It's gone to the game.
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: Welcome to Born to the Game. Produced by Archimedia Group
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: in collaboration with Inflection Network and distributed through iHeartMedia. This
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: is a space where the children and families of iconic athletes, entertainers,
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: and cultural figures share the truth behind legacy, not just
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: what their families did, but who they were and how
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: that legacy continues. Today's guests are Iyana Haley and Manny
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: Haley Junior, the children of talent manager and TV producer
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: Manny Haley and the late Yolanda Haley.
• 1:32
  Speaker 4: Raised in a tight knit family at the center of
• 1:34
  Speaker 4: music and entertainment, their upbringing was shaped by both creativity
• 1:39
  Speaker 4: and connection. Ayana has spoilt a name for herself as
• 1:42
  Speaker 4: an actress and is now stepping into a new chapter
• 1:45
  Speaker 4: as a mother, while Manny is carving out his own
• 1:48
  Speaker 4: lane across acting and music. Today, they open up about family, grief, growth,
• 1:54
  Speaker 4: and what it means to carry forward a legacy while
• 1:56
  Speaker 4: creating one of their own.
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: Please welcome to the show, a.
• 2:01
  Speaker 4: Ya and Nanny.
• 2:05
  Speaker 5: Yes intro.
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: Oh God, Okay.
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: We're doing good. We're doing good. You know, I've been
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: trying to get y'all on here since the beginning when
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: I when this idea finally came to life. So I'm
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: so thankful that you guys just are able to sit
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: down with us and share your story.
• 2:28
  Speaker 5: So everything worked out, timing everything, and first off, I'm
• 2:31
  Speaker 5: so proud of you, Like this is so dope. Co Yeah,
• 2:34
  Speaker 5: So I'm glad that we are here and excited to
• 2:37
  Speaker 5: have a little chitty chat.
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: Yes, well, before we start the chitty chitty chat chat.
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: The viewers need to know that we go back. Yes,
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: we go way back, and we're very close.
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: Very very close.
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: Like literally our houses are right next.
• 2:53
  Speaker 5: Door, and it's funny people like, oh, yeah, she's my name. No,
• 2:55
  Speaker 5: she's actually.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: Literally the house.
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: Yeah. Literally, we grew up together and we have stories
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: and I just I'm so proud of the both of you.
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: Like when I look at you, I'm like I was
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: telling Manny before, I'm thinking he's ten years younger than me.
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: The last time I saw him, I felt like you
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: were a baby. And now uncle, you're an uncle, you're
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: a mother. Just so beautiful and I so many memories.
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: But let's dive into who y'all are, what y'all are doing?
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: Te Are you ready ready?
• 3:31
  Speaker 4: Freddy, he is not physically.
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: Here because she's getting married in less than a weekraulations.
• 3:38
  Speaker 5: That is so beautiful.
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: Goals, goals, goals, goals. Oh, we're gonna get into that
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: too many. We're going to get into that, But first
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: I have to ask you. So, your dad is was
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: a talentmanager, he's a TV producer, He's done so much
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: in the entertainment world. What was it like having a
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: dad so deeply involved in the music industry.
• 4:04
  Speaker 5: Well, for me, I feel like it was cool at first.
• 4:07
  Speaker 5: I don't think I knew exactly like how powerful or
• 4:11
  Speaker 5: impactful I guess he was until other people made it
• 4:14
  Speaker 5: a thing. I think other people are like, oh, like
• 4:16
  Speaker 5: you're around this person and that person. I'm like, oh, oh,
• 4:18
  Speaker 5: this is just yeah normal, this is just a regular person.
• 4:22
  Speaker 5: And it's like, no, like this is shy because it
• 4:24
  Speaker 5: started off with Shine before Kishako, but most people know
• 4:28
  Speaker 5: him for working with Kishako, but it really started off
• 4:30
  Speaker 5: with Shine and he'd come to the house and everything.
• 4:31
  Speaker 5: People like, oh my god, like that's Shine, Like that's
• 4:33
  Speaker 5: so cool. I'm like, oh, like it is. And then
• 4:35
  Speaker 5: once we moved to Atlanta and Keisha was like this
• 4:39
  Speaker 5: big superstar because again he was managing her before she
• 4:42
  Speaker 5: really got yeah blew all the way up or whatever,
• 4:46
  Speaker 5: I'm like, oh, this is he's actually really cool, Like
• 4:49
  Speaker 5: this is a cool job, you know what I mean. So, yeah,
• 4:52
  Speaker 5: at first I didn't realize about you.
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: I'll say, when I've seen the respect he gets from
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: other people in this field, you know what I'm saying, Like,
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: especially with music, everybody knows the rappers, everybody knows the singers,
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: the producers, but it's still managers, business, managers and respect.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: He gets official.
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: All right, So you were born and raised in New
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: York until you were in Brooklyn until y'all were the age.
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: Of a teenager, like thirteen.
• 5:21
  Speaker 5: I was like fourteen, he was a couple years later.
• 5:23
  Speaker 3: Okay, So middle school, y'all come to Atlanta and y'all
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: go to Westlake.
• 5:28
  Speaker 5: Yeah, which I didn't know.
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: So I was supposed to go to Westlake, should have,
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: which is crazy. So we moved to Atlanta as well.
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: I'm older than Ayana and Mailey, but I came around
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: high school and so my dad called Westlake. Westlake. If
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: you're watching, we tried to go there. Dad called Westlake.
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: They didn't call him back. So I ended up googling
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: places that had good volleyball programs. And that's how I
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: got to Woodward because I was like, oh, Woodward just
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: one the state championship. So that's how we ended up there.
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: We would have been going to school together, and look,
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: I love Westlake.
• 6:06
  Speaker 5: I'm not gonna lie then I goes to But I
• 6:08
  Speaker 5: actually really loved my high school, okay, and just being there,
• 6:11
  Speaker 5: I feel like it was so black and beautiful in
• 6:15
  Speaker 5: a way.
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: I feel like everybody something.
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a lot of great alumni that comes from Westlake.
• 6:21
  Speaker 4: So what was the what was the best? I want
• 6:24
  Speaker 4: to know the difference between like your what you would
• 6:27
  Speaker 4: think the experience would have been in New York versus
• 6:30
  Speaker 4: Atlanta when you got to high school, because high school
• 6:32
  Speaker 4: is a hard move. That's a hard time to move
• 6:34
  Speaker 4: to start you know over and have you know, new
• 6:36
  Speaker 4: friends and stuff.
• 6:37
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean it for me personally because I started
• 6:40
  Speaker 5: at high school, it definitely was a new experience because
• 6:42
  Speaker 5: and it was different too because in New York we
• 6:44
  Speaker 5: only went to private schools, right, So when we went
• 6:47
  Speaker 5: to Atlanta, me personally, I was like, I want to
• 6:48
  Speaker 5: go to public school because Woodward was in I think soccer.
• 6:51
  Speaker 5: Those were like two choices and it was another private
• 6:53
  Speaker 5: Catholic school. And I was like, like, let's find a
• 6:55
  Speaker 5: public school. I just want to, I don't know, get
• 6:57
  Speaker 5: a change or whatever.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: And even we had grew up in a small house.
• 7:04
  Speaker 5: Until I was in high school, so.
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: I remember we were so excited, like we have our
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: own room, Like was excited about a little This is
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: the whole new experience.
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: So Atlanta just shifted everything for you guys, ever.
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: Seem like, okay, because we're moving, We're gonna move out
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: of Brooklyn. We either going to go to New Jersey
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: or Atlanta. Okay, So we actually was looking at houses
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: in Jersey literally remember that. But then because she was
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: managing Keisha Cole, he Shad Cole had a public relationship
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: with Jeezi, so she.
• 7:30
  Speaker 5: Went to so that Atlanta exactly That's how and that's
• 7:34
  Speaker 5: how we ended up in Atlanta.
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: I never knew that. So as kids watching the just
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: Keisha's career take off, watching your dad manage her career,
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: You're in Atlanta, You're immersed in the black culture. How
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: was that experience? Like, if you can describe that experience
• 7:51
  Speaker 3: and one word, what would that be when you're watching
• 7:57
  Speaker 3: your father produce and man inspiring? Inspiring?
• 8:01
  Speaker 5: Okay, because we got to see like all of his
• 8:05
  Speaker 5: hard work and stuff like that, the sacrifices I feel
• 8:07
  Speaker 5: like he made just for the family in itself, and
• 8:09
  Speaker 5: just I don't know, seeing everything coming to fruition, I
• 8:13
  Speaker 5: don't know, and even seeing her career skyrocket the way
• 8:15
  Speaker 5: that it did and seeing him like play a huge
• 8:18
  Speaker 5: part in it. Behind the scene, a lot of people,
• 8:20
  Speaker 5: you know, they well, I guess if you watched the show,
• 8:22
  Speaker 5: you start like what he did. But I think it
• 8:23
  Speaker 5: was just like wow, like hard work really does pay
• 8:26
  Speaker 5: off and inspired me both of us for sure.
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: Yeah did you were you guys able to get close
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: with Keisha and her family?
• 8:33
  Speaker 4: Absolutely like going, Yeah.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: I have to tell you this.
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: So Keisha Koch, she went on the tour. She actually
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: had me opening up for her back when I was
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: Wow eighteen nineteen. So I went on the tour five thousand,
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: six thousand seat arenas with the.
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: House of Blue. So yeah, I was, yeah, shout out
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: to Kisha.
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: Oh so your first time? Was that your first time
• 8:54
  Speaker 3: getting on stage?
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: No, No, that was my first time going on a tour.
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: Okay.
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: I had to you know, local shows, little high school shows, whatever.
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: The case, little performances.
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: But then She's just like, maybe I want to you know,
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: she liked my music, okay, and you know, just to
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: kind of pay back all week pouring to her to
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: let me pour back into you, and she put me
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: onto her and I worked very hard and it was
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: a dope experience.
• 9:15
  Speaker 5: I love that.
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: So, I know, being in Atlanta, you rub elbows with
• 9:18
  Speaker 3: a lot of celebrities besides Keisha, Is there anybody else
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: that you guys spent time.
• 9:25
  Speaker 5: With or in Atlanta specific or just anybody, I.
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: Guess even in the music industry, entertainment.
• 9:31
  Speaker 5: I want to go to the acting industry because I
• 9:33
  Speaker 5: feel like that's where, like I want to say that
• 9:37
  Speaker 5: the coolest celebrity is it just can I can?
• 9:39
  Speaker 3: I say him, yes, you can, yes, you can.
• 9:46
  Speaker 5: So many dope people, but it's so sweet.
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: Like the coolest celebrity I met was fabulous.
• 9:52
  Speaker 5: He's been a huge fabulous.
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: I have a cool stir for y'all whenever y'all to
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: hear about.
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: Look, I'm sad, tell us.
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: All right, So are you familiar with south By Southwest.
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: It's a it's a it's a Texas. It's in Texas,
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: it's in Austin, Texas. It's pretty much like a festival
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: for newer artists. So they go out there. They have
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: different stages you can perform. So I booked some stages
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: in south By Southwest. So I got my manager at
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: the time, my DJ, we headed out to Texas. We're
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: driving out there super geeked, like yo. We got four
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: or five stages to perform. So as I settle into
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: my hotel. My pop's nose. I sat into my hotel.
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: He calls me.
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: So I'm like, yeah, you know, I'm ready to rock tomorrow,
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: like I'm gonna show out. He's like, yo, Mannie, Like,
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: who's your fair rapper? Like, you know my favorite rapper,
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: my fair rapp is Fab. Fab was on their phone.
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: He's like, my pop sent me up.
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: But I passed the text and passed because I could
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: have said anybody. I said Fab was on it. He's like, Yo,
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: rock out. I'm a following on Instagram.
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: Keep going, I'm tuned in. I cried. That was my
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: only time I ever cried.
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: I love I feel like they don't like artists nowadays.
• 11:03
  Speaker 5: You know.
• 11:04
  Speaker 3: I just I love the nostalgic aspect of just Fab
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: and the New York and that's where he's from, right,
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: New York. Yeah, I who else was he with? It
• 11:14
  Speaker 3: was Fab and Fat Joe. What was that era? Yeah,
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: he's from East New York.
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: He's not from New York. Yeah, that was That was
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: like a moment for me.
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: And now it's like, now that I'm older, it's like
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: I can't react like that.
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: Now because now you know what I'm saying.
• 11:32
  Speaker 3: So now they still have a fan a fan boy.
• 11:35
  Speaker 3: We typically say fangirl, but you don't have a fanboy moment.
• 11:38
  Speaker 3: There's nothing wrong with that.
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: I feel like that's my only fan boy moment. What
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: about you? You had any fa girl moments?
• 11:44
  Speaker 5: I mean all of these actors and stuff like that,
• 11:47
  Speaker 5: but I just try to like keep it like, oh yeah,
• 11:50
  Speaker 5: that nice to meet you. My god, this is that
• 11:53
  Speaker 5: person I used to watch. I have the moment like
• 11:56
  Speaker 5: when I get to the car, what about you?
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: We have a fan girl? Oh.
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: I have a similar experience with the dad's calling. So
• 12:05
  Speaker 3: I always had a crush on Mellow when I was
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: when I was in middle school, when I was in
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: middle school and dad was coaching him when he was
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: with the Knicks, and so again the crush was a
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: very elementary, middle school type of crush, not high school. Okay,
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: so he calls me and was like, guess who I'm
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: sitting here with. Guess who I'm sitting here with. I
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: was like, I don't know. He goes Carmelo and puts
• 12:31
  Speaker 3: me on the phone with him, and I'm like, Dad,
• 12:34
  Speaker 3: this is embarrassing. I was in college. Thank god, no,
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: because oh my god, but I'm like, this is not appropriate, dad,
• 12:44
  Speaker 3: I'm in college. That was middle school. Why are you
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: Why are you telling him that? So I'm like, so
• 12:51
  Speaker 3: I had an opposite reaction.
• 12:56
  Speaker 4: Oh my gosh. So I recently met Cynthia Arrivo and
• 13:00
  Speaker 4: at the na A c P. And I literally couldn't move.
• 13:03
  Speaker 4: And Leon was there and he was like, go meet her.
• 13:07
  Speaker 5: I can't.
• 13:08
  Speaker 4: I think I can't. So he literally would open to her.
• 13:11
  Speaker 4: He goes, excuse me, Cynthia, can you please meet this
• 13:14
  Speaker 4: beautiful young and I was like a picture. I did,
• 13:20
  Speaker 4: took a picture of her. Oh my god, you know
• 13:21
  Speaker 4: we're the same sorority. So like I was just like,
• 13:23
  Speaker 4: oh my gosh, I was. I was literally I couldn't
• 13:26
  Speaker 4: do it. I was like, the one and only.
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: She said, the one and only.
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: Yes, I don't want.
• 13:34
  Speaker 4: To He's very smart. You're very very smart. I'm a
• 13:39
  Speaker 4: proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
• 13:41
  Speaker 5: Period.
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: I did the AK.
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: So what was that experience?
• 13:48
  Speaker 5: Hope?
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: Hopefully good.
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: It's it's a difference. At this point.
• 13:51
  Speaker 3: I can't tell a k A.
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: I can't tell.
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: You can have so right now I am in a
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: relationship and I'm with the Reds.
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: I'm with adulta right now.
• 14:06
  Speaker 3: Face.
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: But that's what I'm saying.
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: We're gonna have to stop before you when you get home.
• 14:14
  Speaker 4: But here's but here's the thing. The love runs deep.
• 14:17
  Speaker 4: The best people I know, some of my friends, my
• 14:20
  Speaker 4: longtime friends of our delta, so adultas have loved for
• 14:24
  Speaker 4: me all the time. So you know, if it's not
• 14:26
  Speaker 4: gonna be us, it has to be a red. I
• 14:29
  Speaker 4: will say that he said, there we go, But it's
• 14:32
  Speaker 4: all love. Did I love? Did I love?
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: Do you love it? What is one thing people misunderstand
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: or simply don't know about growing up in the entertainment world.
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: I think that is I think people don't understand that
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: we're normal. We're normal people. Also, you know, I feel
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: like they think that we're immune to certain things, like
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: we cry, we get our heart broken, you know, we
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: go through we feel all emotions. And I think that sometimes,
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: like even when you look at how fans talk about celebrities.
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: It's like they're humans, Yeah, regular people just like us.
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: Sometimes they eat and they don't want to take photose
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: and I just feel like they feel like we're objects
• 15:13
  Speaker 2: or things.
• 15:14
  Speaker 5: It's like, you know, we're people, Yeah, cool, And I
• 15:16
  Speaker 5: feel like another like a challenging part about being a
• 15:19
  Speaker 5: quote unquote industry here and entertainment kid is like knowing
• 15:23
  Speaker 5: how to tell if somebody wants to be your friend
• 15:25
  Speaker 5: because they actually like you're because they're trying to like
• 15:28
  Speaker 5: want as you to get to you know, your dad
• 15:30
  Speaker 5: or your mom, whatever the case might be. I feel
• 15:32
  Speaker 5: like that has been like a big thing, like, oh,
• 15:33
  Speaker 5: let's hang out, but what you know, like you know
• 15:35
  Speaker 5: I'm an active too, right, yeah, Like, oh you know
• 15:36
  Speaker 5: I actually do music, Like.
• 15:37
  Speaker 3: I'm like, oh, I thought, yeah, okay, since you experienced
• 15:42
  Speaker 3: that a lot in Atlanta, the both of you, Yeah, absolutely, yeah.
• 15:46
  Speaker 5: But and I feel like that's just why I stay
• 15:48
  Speaker 5: to myself for the most part. And I feel like
• 15:49
  Speaker 5: when it comes to like my real genuine friends, even
• 15:51
  Speaker 5: to this day, I only have like a handful. Yeah,
• 15:54
  Speaker 5: so that's all you need?
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: And yeah I would have each other.
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I love that. So describe your family dynamic and
• 16:04
  Speaker 3: one word. You guys are such a tight knit family
• 16:08
  Speaker 3: and on the outside looking in beautiful. I've always known
• 16:11
  Speaker 3: you guys to be extremely close. So if you could
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: describe y'all's dynamic and one word, what would you say?
• 16:20
  Speaker 5: Can I say close?
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: Yes, I would say united.
• 16:25
  Speaker 5: To know even one of us is to know like
• 16:28
  Speaker 5: the whole family. Like it's like even when it's events
• 16:32
  Speaker 5: or things like you always see.
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: Ye now right now coming.
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: So your mom has been a central part of your foundation.
• 16:46
  Speaker 3: How would you describe her and how what does she
• 16:49
  Speaker 3: bring into your lives that grounded the family? Because she
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: was the.
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: Rock as for you guys, Yeah, repeat the question.
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: Your mom was such a central part of your family's foundation.
• 17:10
  Speaker 3: She was y'all's rock. So how would you describe your
• 17:12
  Speaker 3: mom and what did she bring into your lives that
• 17:15
  Speaker 3: grounded you guys as a family.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: I would say, I need a moment.
• 17:25
  Speaker 5: It's okay, it's okay, it's okay.
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: So for those who don't know, whatever case, my mother
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: recently passed away, I would say that just growing up,
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: just all the love lessons she poured into us, I
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: feel like at the time I didn't I didn't get it.
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: And now that now that I'm older, now that i'm
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: a man, I'm like my.
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: Mother is undefeated.
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: Like every single thing everything I know, it comes right
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: back into play. And I feel like we are who
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: we are because of my mother. She She's a she's
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: a very strong woman, and I feel like we're we
• 18:03
  Speaker 2: represent her so anytime, like yo, y'all such good kids
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: is from you know, from my parents and.
• 18:11
  Speaker 5: An emphasis on her being like the rock of the family.
• 18:15
  Speaker 5: And I feel like I've learned so much just from
• 18:17
  Speaker 5: like simply being her daughter. Even I feel like I
• 18:20
  Speaker 5: have a lot of her ways.
• 18:23
  Speaker 3: You do.
• 18:24
  Speaker 5: I have a lot of her ways, and I just
• 18:27
  Speaker 5: feel like that's the best thing to me. Every time
• 18:29
  Speaker 5: somebody's like, oh, your mommy, of your mom or you
• 18:31
  Speaker 5: look like your mom or whatever, I'm just like, thank God.
• 18:34
  Speaker 5: She truly was the most strong the strongest woman that
• 18:38
  Speaker 5: I know to this day. And she always just held
• 18:42
  Speaker 5: it together no matter what she was going through. And
• 18:45
  Speaker 5: she's been through a lot even like cancer aside and
• 18:48
  Speaker 5: stuff like that. She's just, I don't know, no matter what,
• 18:51
  Speaker 5: just positive, patty like in every way and always helping people.
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: And yeah, she she really taught me what unconditional love.
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: What if it was like you know, like as a man,
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: I feel like a lot of people, like she was
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: talking about friends, I feel like a lot of things
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: are conditional. It's like, hey, let's be with Manny because
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: he can do this, he can provide this. He has
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: access to this, but it's like what if I didn't.
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: What if I didn't have access to these things? What
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: if I lost it all? And I just feel like
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: my mother, I know she's with me, right or wrong,
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: right or wrong, Richard poor tolet short, she's with me.
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: And I felt that with.
• 19:25
  Speaker 3: Her, Yes, and even those of us who are outside
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: looking in, we still felt that when we were around
• 19:32
  Speaker 3: your mom.
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: He's telling me a cool story.
• 19:34
  Speaker 5: Oh my good.
• 19:34
  Speaker 3: So I have a couple of funny stories or just
• 19:37
  Speaker 3: stories that just represent who she is. So I believe
• 19:42
  Speaker 3: I was going to Atlantic Station with you, or maybe
• 19:45
  Speaker 3: I'm just going with your mom by myself. I think
• 19:46
  Speaker 3: we were together, think I was. I think you were there, Manny,
• 19:51
  Speaker 3: you weren't there.
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: I was familiar with the story.
• 19:52
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you definitely weren't there. But we were going. And
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: then we were coming back to the car, and I
• 19:57
  Speaker 3: think I was maybe fifteen or sixteen.
• 20:00
  Speaker 5: It was around like your high school is It could
• 20:02
  Speaker 5: have been.
• 20:03
  Speaker 3: I was in high school, so I was maybe like
• 20:04
  Speaker 3: fifteen sixteen. This guy approaches me and he's trying to
• 20:07
  Speaker 3: talk to me, and your mother stepped in. She said,
• 20:11
  Speaker 3: I don't think so she said you need to back up.
• 20:14
  Speaker 3: She said, she is under age, Do not talk to her.
• 20:19
  Speaker 3: Are we going to have a problem? And I sat there,
• 20:22
  Speaker 3: I said, and I loved it.
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: I'm watching it, and.
• 20:25
  Speaker 3: Visually you have to understand your mom like Ayana petite,
• 20:30
  Speaker 3: very petite. You know, she looked like she was twenty.
• 20:34
  Speaker 3: You know, she didn't age. I mean the children haven't aged.
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: But you just can imagine this, you know, petit, feisty woman.
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: And this guy was big, he was old, and she
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: was like, are we going to have a problem.
• 20:48
  Speaker 5: Oh my god, did you hear what I said? Plays
• 20:51
  Speaker 5: no games?
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: And I was okay. And the point of it is
• 20:57
  Speaker 3: I wasn't someone that she gave birth to, but in
• 21:00
  Speaker 3: that moment she went into protective mode over me. That's
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: who she is. I didn't have a prom date my
• 21:08
  Speaker 3: senior year of high school, and so I think her
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: and my mom were talking about it, and I think
• 21:13
  Speaker 3: my mom just haphazardly was like, yeah, we're trying to
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: find mariah prom date. She my mom said that. Your
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: mom was like, oh, give me thirty minutes, and she
• 21:23
  Speaker 3: hung up the phone. Thirty minutes later, was like, I
• 21:27
  Speaker 3: have somebody who's going to take her to Prom and
• 21:29
  Speaker 3: his name is Christian and he played He was the
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: Monica and Keisha's video yeah, which.
• 21:39
  Speaker 5: Is my song.
• 21:41
  Speaker 3: Yes, So hey Christian, if you're watching this. I had
• 21:44
  Speaker 3: a great time at prom. It was but just the
• 21:46
  Speaker 3: way that she came through even for me, you know,
• 21:49
  Speaker 3: so that just and that's something that that memory and
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: those moments will live with me forever. So oh my gosh.
• 21:57
  Speaker 5: And even going to her home going service or whatever,
• 22:01
  Speaker 5: it was so many people that came up and spoke
• 22:03
  Speaker 5: and like there's stories about what my mom, like, the
• 22:06
  Speaker 5: way she impacted their lives and the things that she's
• 22:08
  Speaker 5: I was like, it just warmed my heart because I'm like,
• 22:11
  Speaker 5: oh my god. I knew. I know obviously, I know
• 22:13
  Speaker 5: Mom is such an amazing good person, but I'm like,
• 22:16
  Speaker 5: oh you feel this people, Yeah, some people felt that way,
• 22:20
  Speaker 5: and it just it warms my heart, you know.
• 22:23
  Speaker 3: So now now you are, yeah, go ahead, Tea.
• 22:25
  Speaker 4: I just I want to just know, like just the
• 22:28
  Speaker 4: one thing. I mean, I know there are so many
• 22:30
  Speaker 4: and this is a hard question, but like just one
• 22:33
  Speaker 4: thing that you will always hold or do that she
• 22:38
  Speaker 4: either asked you or told you to do. Just one
• 22:40
  Speaker 4: thing that you will just continue forever.
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: For me, I think it's just love. I think it's
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: wait when you're in when you're in these positions, you
• 22:51
  Speaker 2: have to spread love. You have to show love. You
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: can't be so quick to judge. And I feel like
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: just with her battle, when you know she had health complications,
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: no one knew what she was.
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: Going through because she kept it together.
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: I remember times, you know, I was in the hospital
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: with her, you know, holding her down, making sure she's good,
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: and I'll be in a little cheer on the.
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: Side and it's like, world, like you need a blanket.
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: I'm like about you, like I'm here for you.
• 23:17
  Speaker 2: It's not about me, but just just more so impacting
• 23:22
  Speaker 2: other people and anything I could do to support and
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: help people.
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: I'll do it.
• 23:27
  Speaker 5: And I think for me, she was just telling me
• 23:30
  Speaker 5: to keep going. And I mean, I know that sounds cliche,
• 23:33
  Speaker 5: I guess, but like the way my mom kept.
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: Going going, I mean like yeah, fighter.
• 23:40
  Speaker 5: Fighter to And sometimes I'm like I'm doing something like
• 23:42
  Speaker 5: oh this is too hard. I want to get and
• 23:44
  Speaker 5: I'm like, oh no, I think my mom, like I
• 23:46
  Speaker 5: can do this. I'm strong, like just literally keep going.
• 23:50
  Speaker 5: I mean I have so many like I just hear
• 23:52
  Speaker 5: my mom in my head all over the time, just
• 23:54
  Speaker 5: telling me, Ayana, you got this.
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: This going, and now that you're a mom, how do
• 24:01
  Speaker 3: you view motherhood?
• 24:02
  Speaker 4: Here It's okay, okay, we can stop, you guys. We
• 24:09
  Speaker 4: can stop for a moment if you need it.
• 24:12
  Speaker 3: Okay, I can't even get these shoes.
• 24:13
  Speaker 6: I'm likes this is the look they gave you.
• 24:30
  Speaker 5: I'll just keep it in my pocket for now. You guys,
• 24:34
  Speaker 5: what was the motherhood questions?
• 24:35
  Speaker 3: I can so now you are mom, a beautiful baby girl,
• 24:40
  Speaker 3: and demmy, hey girl, how is becoming a mom changed
• 24:44
  Speaker 3: the way that you see your mom?
• 24:48
  Speaker 5: Oh my god?
• 24:49
  Speaker 4: And how you mother?
• 24:51
  Speaker 3: And how you mother?
• 24:51
  Speaker 5: Yeah? Yeah again. My mom and I have always been extremely, extremely,
• 24:55
  Speaker 5: extremely close. But I feel like being a mom on
• 24:57
  Speaker 5: my own is like I realized how much more like
• 25:02
  Speaker 5: she loved me in a way because you're so I
• 25:04
  Speaker 5: don't know, I feel like it's hard to explain. It's
• 25:06
  Speaker 5: like I know what I'm saying in my head, but
• 25:08
  Speaker 5: it's just like you're so patient and being a mom
• 25:12
  Speaker 5: requires so much like I guess, grace and all of that,
• 25:14
  Speaker 5: and I'm like, oh my god, like my mom was
• 25:16
  Speaker 5: a young mom, mom so I'm like, Wow, she had
• 25:19
  Speaker 5: to go through a lot to be such an amazing mom,
• 25:23
  Speaker 5: and I don't know how she did it at that
• 25:25
  Speaker 5: age because I am super grown and it's like it
• 25:29
  Speaker 5: has its challenging moments for me, and it just makes
• 25:31
  Speaker 5: me look at my mom even like wow, like a
• 25:34
  Speaker 5: super mom, a superhero, like moms are. Oh my god,
• 25:38
  Speaker 5: I got so much love. But yes, yeah, it just
• 25:42
  Speaker 5: makes me look at my mom and an even better light,
• 25:47
  Speaker 5: if that makes sense. And again, she's already everything and
• 25:49
  Speaker 5: more to me.
• 25:50
  Speaker 3: Yes, yeah, Well she set the foundation for you too, absolutely,
• 25:55
  Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, you guys are living up to it though.
• 25:58
  Speaker 5: I think she would definitely be. Can I also mention something? So?
• 26:02
  Speaker 5: Of course? My mom passed away January twenty twenty five.
• 26:04
  Speaker 5: I found out I was pregnant the week of her
• 26:06
  Speaker 5: birthday last year. Wow, And on her birthday I want
• 26:09
  Speaker 5: to take a test, but I was like, I'll just
• 26:10
  Speaker 5: wait like two days. I feel like my baby her
• 26:12
  Speaker 5: name is Demi Yolanda. Of course that her middle name
• 26:14
  Speaker 5: is from my mom. That was her blessing for sure.
• 26:18
  Speaker 5: And if you really look at pictures of my baby,
• 26:20
  Speaker 5: she looks just like looks like.
• 26:23
  Speaker 3: Well you look just like your mother as well, which
• 26:25
  Speaker 3: is scary. Yeah, are twins, So.
• 26:29
  Speaker 5: My baby is a mini yo yo for sure.
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: Definitely a gift from my mother from heaven. Said, I
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: don't know why.
• 26:36
  Speaker 2: She wasted her time with a jennerary feel she was
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: trying to I don't know she knew, she was trying
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: to keep.
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: It a secret.
• 26:42
  Speaker 3: You knew, Manny, he knew.
• 26:43
  Speaker 5: Of course, he really did.
• 26:45
  Speaker 2: Said, if she has anything other than the girl, I'm
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: a jump in this pool.
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: I do anything. I know she's having a girl. We
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: go to the beach. She does a generary reveal.
• 26:53
  Speaker 5: Who that's my mom's like baby that she said, And
• 26:59
  Speaker 5: it's oh.
• 27:02
  Speaker 3: Down, yeah for sure, now that I think about it,
• 27:04
  Speaker 3: I don't know if I can vision you with the boy.
• 27:07
  Speaker 5: I don't know what I would have done. I would
• 27:08
  Speaker 5: have made it work, but like.
• 27:10
  Speaker 3: I would have made it work, I.
• 27:11
  Speaker 5: Would have loved.
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: My niece has four outfit changes, four outfit change, plays
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: dress up pictures all day.
• 27:22
  Speaker 3: But the crazy thing is when she gets older, you're
• 27:26
  Speaker 3: gonna be worse. You're gonna be even more protective. Oh
• 27:30
  Speaker 3: my gosh, like you're gonna think mom is bad. You're
• 27:33
  Speaker 3: gonna spoil her and Papa.
• 27:35
  Speaker 5: You know, it's her grandpa. Oh my god, it's over.
• 27:38
  Speaker 5: It's over, and it's the side of him that I
• 27:42
  Speaker 5: I don't think I've ever seen. So I love to
• 27:44
  Speaker 5: see it because he's so good with her. Yeah, Oh,
• 27:47
  Speaker 5: that's gonna be a girl.
• 27:48
  Speaker 3: Not saying that you're you know, you will always be
• 27:50
  Speaker 3: his baby, But having grand babies just does something different
• 27:53
  Speaker 3: to the parents.
• 27:54
  Speaker 5: Yes, it really does, and I love to see it.
• 27:56
  Speaker 5: I wish my mom could.
• 27:57
  Speaker 3: Have but she's everything and you have her through your
• 28:01
  Speaker 3: grand baby too, well through my baby through her grand baby.
• 28:04
  Speaker 2: So I'm like, dem, he's gonna teach me a lot
• 28:07
  Speaker 2: for fatherhood too, because even I have to learn how
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: to hold her.
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: She's so tiny.
• 28:11
  Speaker 5: He was so scared, like too much.
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: I don't want to drop her, Like.
• 28:15
  Speaker 3: You just gotta make sure as long as the head
• 28:16
  Speaker 3: is good, that's.
• 28:17
  Speaker 5: It support, you know, And they're very kept trying to
• 28:24
  Speaker 5: you don't hold them.
• 28:26
  Speaker 3: I'm like, trying not to drop your child.
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: They hold her like a football, like a football. Watch ahead.
• 28:35
  Speaker 3: So we want to get into y'all's brotherly sisterly dynamic.
• 28:40
  Speaker 4: Yeah yeah, because you guys are so much fun. Yeah,
• 28:43
  Speaker 4: already so we would love to hear about how you
• 28:46
  Speaker 4: guys were just growing up in Brooklyn and running around
• 28:48
  Speaker 4: and your personalities and who was the mischievous one and
• 28:52
  Speaker 4: who was who told on who.
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: So growing up in Brooklyn with Diana, I feel like
• 28:58
  Speaker 2: we were each other's first best friend.
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: You know, like our parents are still in us.
• 29:02
  Speaker 2: Hey, I know, watch after your brother, man, you watch
• 29:05
  Speaker 2: after your sister.
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: So you know, we had bikes, we rode around. We'll
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: be looking for the cool kids.
• 29:10
  Speaker 5: On the block. We had all of the toys, and we.
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: Had a basketball hoop outside. Yeah, we had a gate.
• 29:16
  Speaker 2: Outside, so you know, we're still kind of sheltered, but
• 29:20
  Speaker 2: we were still outside, okay, And I feel like we
• 29:23
  Speaker 2: just kicked it together.
• 29:25
  Speaker 5: And I mean even with us just living in Brooklyn,
• 29:27
  Speaker 5: we did share a room, so we had like these
• 29:28
  Speaker 5: bunk beds. I feel like in the night time, like
• 29:30
  Speaker 5: after school. Again, he's a couple of grades younger, but
• 29:32
  Speaker 5: we'd have like talk. You remember talking It's like, well
• 29:35
  Speaker 5: this I like this person. We were just wow, yeah
• 29:44
  Speaker 5: and this is all because like my mom kind of
• 29:45
  Speaker 5: like just taught us to be this close and all
• 29:48
  Speaker 5: of that stuff. So we have talk nights and like
• 29:52
  Speaker 5: trying to stay up late, like okay, it's eight o'clock
• 29:54
  Speaker 5: time for bed the lights of White. Okay, Well did
• 29:59
  Speaker 5: we were? We just play together and just do everything.
• 30:02
  Speaker 5: Like he said, we were each other's first best friend.
• 30:04
  Speaker 5: So when we did make the move to Atlanta and
• 30:06
  Speaker 5: we had like separate rooms, it was kind of like
• 30:09
  Speaker 5: it was weird, like heysie, but it's like, okay, we
• 30:12
  Speaker 5: got to figure out, like, like, but did y'all miss
• 30:14
  Speaker 5: each other?
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: We did? We did.
• 30:16
  Speaker 2: I feel like she started, you know, having her friends
• 30:19
  Speaker 2: and doing her things the same with me. But it
• 30:21
  Speaker 2: was so cool my freshman year at west Lake. I
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: was in ninth grade. She was in twelfth grade. So
• 30:26
  Speaker 2: I felt so cool coming in as a freshmen.
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: I'm like, I know the senior year, it's cool. So
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: I feel like we reunited in high school for a year.
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: That's cool. Yeah, that's pretty cool.
• 30:37
  Speaker 4: So were you guys like artistic then, Like did you
• 30:40
  Speaker 4: know that you wanted to do music and do you
• 30:42
  Speaker 4: know you wanted to be an actor? Were you involved
• 30:45
  Speaker 4: in school and were you those kids or did you
• 30:48
  Speaker 4: kind of discovered later on a.
• 30:51
  Speaker 5: Little bit of both. For me, I feel like my
• 30:52
  Speaker 5: school like made us do like the little school plays
• 30:54
  Speaker 5: and stuff like that. I don't think it was nuttil
• 30:57
  Speaker 5: like later in high school that I really started it
• 31:00
  Speaker 5: thinking like, oh, I can actually make it in the
• 31:02
  Speaker 5: entertainment industry, in the acting world. I knew from a
• 31:04
  Speaker 5: kid that I like, I'd watch shows and I'd be like, okay,
• 31:07
  Speaker 5: like I want to do this, but I didn't fully
• 31:10
  Speaker 5: pursue it. I just didn't think it was like possible
• 31:14
  Speaker 5: in a way. It's like I can't be on TV.
• 31:17
  Speaker 5: And and then again eventually, like once my dad started
• 31:21
  Speaker 5: like doing it and I'm like, oh, I'll figure it out.
• 31:24
  Speaker 5: It was in my head, and then I started to
• 31:25
  Speaker 5: really pursue it, like later on my later team.
• 31:30
  Speaker 2: And for me, I always wanted to do music. I
• 31:32
  Speaker 2: had raps when I was eight years old, nine years old.
• 31:35
  Speaker 5: I remember something with Naley I had and he was
• 31:42
  Speaker 5: so young, like he'd always like be writing raps. I
• 31:45
  Speaker 5: feel like when he was.
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: Looking at Queens facts.
• 31:47
  Speaker 2: From early, I know I wanted to do music, but
• 31:50
  Speaker 2: I also, you know, I try sports.
• 31:52
  Speaker 3: Okay, what sport?
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: I played football. I played Brooklyn Panthers in Brooklyn. I
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: played football. I was a wide receiver Okay, And then
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: we moved to Atlanta and I tried football in the South.
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: It is a big difference between.
• 32:06
  Speaker 3: Much bigger. But I don't know what they feed the
• 32:12
  Speaker 3: guys in the South.
• 32:14
  Speaker 4: Well, they're bread, They're bread to play.
• 32:16
  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, okay, okay, that's how that went.
• 32:21
  Speaker 4: I love that. So now that sorry Aa has moved
• 32:27
  Speaker 4: into motherhood many how does that make you feel? Like
• 32:31
  Speaker 4: watching her go from your bff to now she's a
• 32:35
  Speaker 4: mommy home.
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: Its beautiful to see, especially just I feel like I
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: see everything come full circle, you know, like she's not.
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: A little girl anymore. She's a grown woman.
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: She has, you know, a family now, she created a
• 32:49
  Speaker 2: beautiful family.
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: I give my stample approval to Demi's.
• 32:53
  Speaker 2: Father dress, and I feel like it's so cool, Like
• 32:56
  Speaker 2: he has the same birthday as my birthdays, June thirteen,
• 32:59
  Speaker 2: his birthday Jun thirteen, the gym, and then and then
• 33:07
  Speaker 2: just even like you know what you're saying, like you
• 33:09
  Speaker 2: know when you're young, what you're cooking today. Now she's
• 33:13
  Speaker 2: waking up early and cooking breakfast and she's doing launch
• 33:16
  Speaker 2: and she's being responsible, and it's like, you know, like
• 33:20
  Speaker 2: I see so much of my mom in her, and
• 33:24
  Speaker 2: you know, that's that's the honest truth.
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm proud of your girls. Honestly, she's dope.
• 33:31
  Speaker 3: Just watching y'all. Sorry, go ahead.
• 33:34
  Speaker 4: So who's the most protective of the two of you?
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: I feel like we're both protective of each other, just
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: in different ways. It just looks different.
• 33:42
  Speaker 5: Yeah, so that's my Yeah, that's a good answer.
• 33:45
  Speaker 4: So when it came to dating, Okay, that's good segu.
• 33:50
  Speaker 3: When it came to dating, who was more protective?
• 33:52
  Speaker 5: I would say him? Yeah, yeah, absolutely, he's my little brother.
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: But I also feel like I'm her younger brother, but
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: I'm her big.
• 33:59
  Speaker 5: Brother mm hmm, whatever way he wants to be.
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: I'm just younger. Yeah.
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: So okay, Okay, whoever she date has to have my approval.
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: I have to approve.
• 34:11
  Speaker 3: Has that always been the case? Nons, Are you telling
• 34:17
  Speaker 3: me something I didn't know? Ayanna?
• 34:20
  Speaker 5: I mean, yeah, okay, well just keep it at that.
• 34:23
  Speaker 5: I'll just keep it at that.
• 34:25
  Speaker 3: But he stamps. He he gave you the stamp of
• 34:27
  Speaker 3: approval for Demmy's father.
• 34:30
  Speaker 5: My boyfriend is absolutely amazing. Yeah, he's an amazing dad, person,
• 34:37
  Speaker 5: just everything. Geminiah. He he loves this birthday twin thing.
• 34:41
  Speaker 5: But I think I definitely did very well. You did.
• 34:45
  Speaker 5: Dad approves. I'm assuming, yes, my dad loves him. And
• 34:49
  Speaker 5: this is I'll make a long story short. He actually
• 34:52
  Speaker 5: met my mom, which was so special. He came to
• 34:54
  Speaker 5: spend Thanksgiving with us, the things, even before she passed away,
• 34:59
  Speaker 5: and it was rare him. I don't know, he was
• 35:00
  Speaker 5: really gonna come and he got to spend some time
• 35:02
  Speaker 5: with her and all of that, and that means like
• 35:05
  Speaker 5: the world to me.
• 35:06
  Speaker 3: So yeah, very good, very good.
• 35:10
  Speaker 4: So who got the most trouble growing up?
• 35:12
  Speaker 5: Do we even have the access this little boy over
• 35:16
  Speaker 5: here absolutely staking out the house?
• 35:19
  Speaker 3: I give us one thing you were doing, I feel
• 35:24
  Speaker 3: like you were taking it.
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: I want to be keeping Pg. Thirteen.
• 35:27
  Speaker 4: I'll want me to this is this is your story.
• 35:29
  Speaker 4: You say what you want.
• 35:32
  Speaker 2: Oh, I'm trying to keep it.
• 35:36
  Speaker 4: He said.
• 35:39
  Speaker 5: A lot.
• 35:40
  Speaker 4: You don't have to tell all your bab I.
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: Keep one cool. No, that's appropriate. Yeah, let's give that.
• 35:50
  Speaker 4: It was like that.
• 35:51
  Speaker 5: It was like that.
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: It was definitely like that.
• 35:55
  Speaker 3: Shake her head because she no, that's okay.
• 35:57
  Speaker 4: But I said, you made it out all right, we
• 36:01
  Speaker 4: got together, okay out.
• 36:04
  Speaker 3: We're young and that time called for young and silly behavior.
• 36:08
  Speaker 4: So that's absolutely period. But you're really really you're so mature.
• 36:12
  Speaker 4: It's such a great guy now, so that's all that
• 36:14
  Speaker 4: matters than you period, just cutting up, just cutting up.
• 36:21
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 36:22
  Speaker 4: Yeah, we can move into the next one.
• 36:23
  Speaker 3: We want to move into games, well I do. Before
• 36:25
  Speaker 3: we move into the game, I do want to ask
• 36:27
  Speaker 3: one question. What have you learned from each other? One
• 36:35
  Speaker 3: thing that you learned from each other.
• 36:36
  Speaker 4: That's a good one.
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: Let me go first.
• 36:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, what I learned is it's okay, okay, So
• 36:48
  Speaker 2: we do two different things. So I'm into music. I'm
• 36:52
  Speaker 2: an artist, so when it comes to me rapping, I'm
• 36:54
  Speaker 2: very competitive. If I do a song with somebody, I
• 36:57
  Speaker 2: want to have the best verse. I have my jurey,
• 37:00
  Speaker 2: I only have the biggest change is driven by ego,
• 37:04
  Speaker 2: and I got the baddest chick you know. And I
• 37:07
  Speaker 2: just feel like, you know, for for that craft, it
• 37:10
  Speaker 2: helped me, you know what I'm saying. But when I'm
• 37:13
  Speaker 2: not doing music, that's not really a good mentality sometimes.
• 37:18
  Speaker 2: So she showed me just when she's an actress, like
• 37:20
  Speaker 2: if she if she's going out for a role, if
• 37:22
  Speaker 2: her and somebody's going out for a role, and not
• 37:24
  Speaker 2: saying she's not competitive, but when she goes up for
• 37:26
  Speaker 2: a role and she doesn't get it, her perspective is
• 37:29
  Speaker 2: different than mine. She'll say, you know what, God has
• 37:31
  Speaker 2: something better for me, has something different from me. And
• 37:35
  Speaker 2: I was like, okay, yeah, so I just feel like
• 37:39
  Speaker 2: and that changed me as a person.
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, Like, if I don't get something,
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: I'm not mad at what. I'm better than him, what
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: I've wrapped Hardy who Fir's better.
• 37:46
  Speaker 2: It's more so like, yo, you know what, something is
• 37:48
  Speaker 2: bigger and better for me that was for him. I
• 37:50
  Speaker 2: have a bigger blessing coming, and that's what I want
• 37:52
  Speaker 2: from her.
• 37:52
  Speaker 5: You have total especially in this competitive world, like you
• 37:57
  Speaker 5: literally have to wow.
• 38:00
  Speaker 3: So you both are each other's calm. Yes, yes, I wow.
• 38:06
  Speaker 3: That's so beautiful just to watch and to hear these stories,
• 38:09
  Speaker 3: and it's like I've I've always known of y'all's dynamic,
• 38:12
  Speaker 3: but to see you guys here interacting and to hear this,
• 38:15
  Speaker 3: it's very refreshing, and I can't wait for the audience
• 38:18
  Speaker 3: to just see and hear y'all's dynamic because it's so
• 38:22
  Speaker 3: beautiful and what you guys have truly a special, and
• 38:25
  Speaker 3: I hope that you both understand that it truly is
• 38:28
  Speaker 3: special and really inspiring to me. So just wow, wow, what.
• 38:33
  Speaker 4: About you, Ayana.
• 38:36
  Speaker 5: I think one of the biggest things I've learned from
• 38:39
  Speaker 5: him is to not be so selfish because I am
• 38:43
  Speaker 5: a very selfish person. He's very selfless, selfless, selfish and selfless.
• 38:48
  Speaker 5: So it's like, I feel like he'd give the shirt
• 38:51
  Speaker 5: off of his back if like I needed it, where
• 38:53
  Speaker 5: I'd be like, you know, then I'm like, Okay, let
• 38:56
  Speaker 5: me think about what my brother would do. So he's
• 38:57
  Speaker 5: definitely taught me that. And he's so kind even even
• 39:02
  Speaker 5: when I'm not. I don't say I'm not deserving, but again,
• 39:04
  Speaker 5: sometimes I can be a little mean at times, I guess,
• 39:08
  Speaker 5: and he's always not me, but he's always just like
• 39:14
  Speaker 5: so kind, and I'm like, okay, Ayanna, it's okay to
• 39:18
  Speaker 5: like share, and it's okay to like you know, just
• 39:22
  Speaker 5: you feel that way too.
• 39:23
  Speaker 4: That's like, does not like to share.
• 39:26
  Speaker 3: I'm a work in progress.
• 39:27
  Speaker 5: That's the same, look the same, and she can't have it.
• 39:32
  Speaker 5: That's what I'm learning. I'm like, I have to be
• 39:34
  Speaker 5: moreless because sometimes it is me me, me, me me,
• 39:38
  Speaker 5: and again, he's the opposite of that. So I love
• 39:40
  Speaker 5: to like see it that.
• 39:43
  Speaker 2: I agree, Yeah, wow, beautiful you we love you guys.
• 39:48
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's beautiful. I think that perfectly segues into some games,
• 39:53
  Speaker 3: some similar competition. All right, Tamara, you have the game.
• 39:59
  Speaker 3: So I think it's what that's or that.
• 40:01
  Speaker 4: This or that, and then the last one is who's
• 40:04
  Speaker 4: most likely to Okay, perfect.
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: It's like we played that with my mother.
• 40:08
  Speaker 2: She has a TikTok and my mother is in the
• 40:10
  Speaker 2: middle of us, like which one is more likely to
• 40:13
  Speaker 2: have a child? And surprisingly my mother called it, she
• 40:16
  Speaker 2: said you and wow.
• 40:19
  Speaker 4: Okay, do you want to do all three of them?
• 40:20
  Speaker 4: Or rather, there's two truths and a lie as well,
• 40:22
  Speaker 4: So do you want to do two out of three?
• 40:24
  Speaker 3: Or let's do I say, let's do two evans giving
• 40:28
  Speaker 3: me the two fingers too.
• 40:30
  Speaker 4: Okay, so we can do it this or that and
• 40:32
  Speaker 4: then twos in a lie?
• 40:34
  Speaker 3: Or no, let's let's give two truths in a lie.
• 40:37
  Speaker 4: We'll do We'll do this or that and then who's
• 40:40
  Speaker 4: most likely?
• 40:40
  Speaker 5: Perfect?
• 40:41
  Speaker 4: Okay, let me know when you're already.
• 40:43
  Speaker 3: I think we're ready.
• 40:44
  Speaker 4: All right, here we go. And also, is this or
• 40:47
  Speaker 4: that don't start like you know, saying it's one of
• 40:51
  Speaker 4: the okay bay away exactly. All right, here we go.
• 40:57
  Speaker 4: Fame or privacy, privacy, acting your music? Oh sorry, that's
• 41:03
  Speaker 4: for everybody. Fame of privacy, I said, I need a
• 41:09
  Speaker 4: buzz We need a buzzer, right, are you sure? Privacy okay,
• 41:19
  Speaker 4: Privacy okay, acting your music, acting music, city life or
• 41:27
  Speaker 4: low key living.
• 41:29
  Speaker 5: City life city low key?
• 41:33
  Speaker 3: Uh?
• 41:35
  Speaker 4: Borrow clothes or ask first?
• 41:38
  Speaker 5: Ask?
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: Wait what first?
• 41:41
  Speaker 3: Like borrow or I guess?
• 41:43
  Speaker 4: I think it's like I guess, like taking it without
• 41:47
  Speaker 4: asking borrow ask.
• 41:50
  Speaker 3: First and you definitely, yeah, that's you for I have
• 41:52
  Speaker 3: a funny story. So I used to do that with
• 41:54
  Speaker 3: Lexi first, so no, no, no, So I would go into
• 41:57
  Speaker 3: her closet and just take clothes and I wouldn't tell
• 42:00
  Speaker 3: we're the same size, I mean, and we have very
• 42:02
  Speaker 3: similar fashion taste. So I would go into her closet
• 42:05
  Speaker 3: and just take whatever and I would return it. And
• 42:08
  Speaker 3: I was getting dressed for a game and she had
• 42:10
  Speaker 3: already left, and so I go into her room. Her
• 42:13
  Speaker 3: her closet is shed, and there was a big sign
• 42:15
  Speaker 3: that says, Mariah, into my closet, and the whole time.
• 42:21
  Speaker 3: I had no idea that she knew that I was
• 42:23
  Speaker 3: going into her closet and her stuff, and she left
• 42:26
  Speaker 3: me that note, and I'm like, girl, did anybody anyway
• 42:32
  Speaker 3: Let me get my sweater and go about my business.
• 42:36
  Speaker 5: See, luckily he's a boy. But I feel like if
• 42:39
  Speaker 5: we were, like we're in the same clothes, you would
• 42:41
  Speaker 5: definitely take it first. And that would be pissed of course.
• 42:43
  Speaker 5: So it's kind of but you need to ask.
• 42:47
  Speaker 2: It's like it's like a car has a teslag.
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: I got access to it.
• 42:54
  Speaker 3: Gas is highland. That's why I removed his access.
• 42:57
  Speaker 5: But anywhoy they go into the whole other story.
• 43:00
  Speaker 3: Lord, okay, sorry, go ahead, so funny snitch.
• 43:04
  Speaker 4: Or stay loyal?
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: WHOA Let you change this answer real quick?
• 43:11
  Speaker 3: Let me changes.
• 43:13
  Speaker 5: Again.
• 43:15
  Speaker 1: Okay, okay, but this is the one time.
• 43:17
  Speaker 4: Okay, snitch or stay loyal.
• 43:22
  Speaker 5: Stay loyal.
• 43:23
  Speaker 3: Okay, I'm gonna stay loyal, all right, talk every day
• 43:30
  Speaker 3: or pick off or pick up where we left off.
• 43:34
  Speaker 1: It depends.
• 43:35
  Speaker 4: It depends with each other, or journal with each other
• 43:39
  Speaker 4: with each other, or no, do each other with each other?
• 43:43
  Speaker 3: Okay, yeah, for the second time.
• 43:45
  Speaker 5: It could pick up where we left off, pick up.
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: Where we left off. Definitely at this point, it's where
• 43:51
  Speaker 1: we left off. I know you're good. I trust everything
• 43:53
  Speaker 1: you got going on.
• 43:54
  Speaker 5: And if something really comes and it's supposed to be
• 43:56
  Speaker 5: black and white and we.
• 43:58
  Speaker 3: We're coloring it, coloring it, Okay, what's next to you?
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: Take where we left?
• 44:06
  Speaker 4: Let's see.
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: These would I get it? I get it.
• 44:14
  Speaker 4: We'll do We're gonna collaborate, he said, what compete or collaborate?
• 44:20
  Speaker 5: Collaborate?
• 44:21
  Speaker 1: Se you're going to pay compete.
• 44:23
  Speaker 3: He's definitely compete.
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: I just gave a whole segment about that.
• 44:27
  Speaker 5: But okay, yeah, collaborate At this point.
• 44:31
  Speaker 1: Damn, I can't explain.
• 44:32
  Speaker 3: No, go ahead and explain.
• 44:35
  Speaker 2: I think it goes back to the competitiveness with the music.
• 44:39
  Speaker 2: But now it's like, hey, we both have good verses.
• 44:41
  Speaker 2: So I've learned to collaborate because of her.
• 44:45
  Speaker 5: Very good.
• 44:46
  Speaker 3: You did say that, very good, Very good.
• 44:48
  Speaker 1: What's your answer?
• 44:49
  Speaker 3: Mine would be to collaborate because now I have a mindset.
• 44:54
  Speaker 3: I like to think you you play sports, very much,
• 44:57
  Speaker 3: played sports, and so I'm naturally competitive. But right now
• 45:00
  Speaker 3: that I'm older and I'm not playing competitively anymore, I
• 45:03
  Speaker 3: like to have the I like to see the bigger
• 45:07
  Speaker 3: picture and know that if something isn't aligned with me
• 45:11
  Speaker 3: or for me right now, that means God is setting
• 45:14
  Speaker 3: me up to enter another door down the road. There's
• 45:18
  Speaker 3: always a bigger picture in it. So now I'm not like, oh,
• 45:20
  Speaker 3: well I need to get this. No, that may not
• 45:22
  Speaker 3: be where God wants me to be right now.
• 45:24
  Speaker 2: So I have a question. Do you think that you
• 45:26
  Speaker 2: can still have that mindset why you were competing?
• 45:28
  Speaker 3: Absolutely, I think two things can coexist.
• 45:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, because you don't feel like that competitiveness is
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: what made you a great player.
• 45:36
  Speaker 3: The competitive the competitiveness did make me a great player,
• 45:41
  Speaker 3: but also when I was playing, I was high school, college,
• 45:44
  Speaker 3: so there were still opportunities that I didn't get while
• 45:48
  Speaker 3: I was being competitive, while I was playing competitively, and
• 45:51
  Speaker 3: my attitude reflected that. So my attitude ended up hurting
• 45:57
  Speaker 3: my competitiveness because I wasn't able to see the bigger
• 46:01
  Speaker 3: picture right. So again, at the end of the day,
• 46:04
  Speaker 3: it still falls back to what Ayana was saying. You
• 46:07
  Speaker 3: can still be competitive, but understand that if something doesn't
• 46:10
  Speaker 3: go your way, having a bad attitude can sometimes set
• 46:14
  Speaker 3: you back ten steps, you know. So that's something, but
• 46:18
  Speaker 3: that's something that you learn as you get older and
• 46:20
  Speaker 3: you make mistakes and then you realize, oh I because
• 46:23
  Speaker 3: I didn't see that bigger picture. That's why I got stuck.
• 46:27
  Speaker 4: Attitude is every Attitude is everything. Oh yeah, it's everything.
• 46:30
  Speaker 3: Oh yeah, but you you're good because you understand it.
• 46:34
  Speaker 3: So keep that competitiveness, but just understand that when you
• 46:40
  Speaker 3: need it, when you.
• 46:40
  Speaker 5: Exactly you don't have to be competitive because of the
• 46:43
  Speaker 5: world that yeah you're in or whatever. But it's still
• 46:46
  Speaker 5: like again the mindset. Yeah, I know if.
• 46:50
  Speaker 4: What's for you? Yeah, what's for you?
• 46:52
  Speaker 1: When I have my child? Oh I need to drop
• 46:55
  Speaker 1: in forty.
• 47:00
  Speaker 4: Okay, she said, you know, back to the game.
• 47:04
  Speaker 3: Let's let's do that. Who was who did this? The
• 47:08
  Speaker 3: one who was most like most likely?
• 47:10
  Speaker 4: There you go, okay, here we go cry first.
• 47:14
  Speaker 5: Absolutely m.
• 47:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah I knew the answer.
• 47:23
  Speaker 3: But let this is gonna be just with them too.
• 47:26
  Speaker 4: Yeah, okay, here we go. Be late him.
• 47:30
  Speaker 1: You could be late if you work the way. Yea.
• 47:33
  Speaker 2: I take that with you today about any him. It
• 47:37
  Speaker 2: should be late if you work the way. But that's
• 47:40
  Speaker 2: not superstar.
• 47:42
  Speaker 4: She said, that's.
• 47:46
  Speaker 5: Y'all.
• 47:46
  Speaker 1: Are you learn that they can wait for you?
• 47:48
  Speaker 2: And that goes back to entertainment. You're part of the
• 47:51
  Speaker 2: acting world. So the acting world, superstar, it's like production. Yes,
• 47:55
  Speaker 2: everything needs to be tight.
• 47:57
  Speaker 1: In the music world. Whenever they pull up, that's when
• 48:00
  Speaker 1: it's time to go.
• 48:01
  Speaker 5: Okay, I'll just say okay, cool.
• 48:04
  Speaker 4: What's the next one t start a business?
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: Both of us, both of us.
• 48:12
  Speaker 4: Okay, okay, move overseas mm hmm.
• 48:18
  Speaker 1: My nickname is world, So I'm gonna just save me.
• 48:21
  Speaker 4: Okay. Fall in love first me? Okay, do you agree?
• 48:31
  Speaker 5: Man? In love?
• 48:33
  Speaker 1: Yes? In love or in lust?
• 48:38
  Speaker 5: Love?
• 48:39
  Speaker 3: Love.
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna give it a time. It could be loved
• 48:44
  Speaker 1: at first sight. I can need somebody. It would be like, damn,
• 48:47
  Speaker 1: my lady.
• 48:48
  Speaker 5: Oh my god, that's how you people that are cool.
• 48:51
  Speaker 4: But like you actually said love.
• 48:53
  Speaker 1: Or less, I feel like I love them at the moment.
• 48:56
  Speaker 4: Okay, at least you're honest. He's been honest and I
• 48:59
  Speaker 4: appreciate that.
• 49:01
  Speaker 1: Thank you.
• 49:02
  Speaker 4: You're welcome. You're welcome.
• 49:07
  Speaker 3: Oh my goodness. What's another one to you?
• 49:09
  Speaker 5: Give?
• 49:09
  Speaker 4: The best advice? Definitely, keep mom's traditions alive.
• 49:16
  Speaker 1: Both of us, the whole unit.
• 49:18
  Speaker 5: Yeah, but I feel like I try a little harder.
• 49:21
  Speaker 1: Okay, Sure, I'm gonna let her have that. Like, I'm
• 49:25
  Speaker 1: gonna let her have that.
• 49:27
  Speaker 4: I think.
• 49:28
  Speaker 1: I think.
• 49:30
  Speaker 2: You're very detailed when it comes to for example, if
• 49:33
  Speaker 2: we go to events, I'm near at the event, I'm
• 49:36
  Speaker 2: having the time. But Iana knows to take the pictures
• 49:39
  Speaker 2: and the videos. So when months and years go by
• 49:41
  Speaker 2: and she brings it up, and it's like, oh, it's
• 49:44
  Speaker 2: like damning in the moment, I'm living in the environment.
• 49:46
  Speaker 1: Okay, So okay, like and even.
• 49:50
  Speaker 2: Like with this, I feel like you you do a
• 49:52
  Speaker 2: lot of cool things to keep traditions, and you'll force
• 49:56
  Speaker 2: everybody like, actually, what's the day the twenty fifth?
• 50:00
  Speaker 1: I don't want to time standard? Is that cool?
• 50:01
  Speaker 4: Yeah?
• 50:01
  Speaker 1: I know you're good, Okay cool.
• 50:02
  Speaker 2: My mother's birthday was three days three days ago, so
• 50:05
  Speaker 2: she made sure my mother was a vegan.
• 50:07
  Speaker 1: Hey y'all, we're all gonna et vegan food. Hey y'all,
• 50:09
  Speaker 1: we're all going to do this. So she does.
• 50:11
  Speaker 2: She is intentionally with keeping the traditions alive. I love
• 50:14
  Speaker 2: running the program.
• 50:16
  Speaker 5: That's what I like to do.
• 50:17
  Speaker 3: Very good.
• 50:18
  Speaker 4: That's really cool. Her program is strict too, and I
• 50:21
  Speaker 4: love it, thank you, and I love it.
• 50:23
  Speaker 2: And she had us early here that mean, we got
• 50:27
  Speaker 2: to leave the house.
• 50:29
  Speaker 1: I'm like, it's cool.
• 50:30
  Speaker 5: I even texting me. I'm like, look, can we come
• 50:32
  Speaker 5: at this time? She's like, just take your time.
• 50:34
  Speaker 2: But I like to respat people's time, you know, And
• 50:38
  Speaker 2: that's why you have the success you have because you're
• 50:40
  Speaker 2: very professional.
• 50:41
  Speaker 1: You think everybody. So yeah, I love that.
• 50:45
  Speaker 3: Y'all are a great deal. So it works.
• 50:47
  Speaker 4: Absolutely, we will have a few more, so might as
• 50:49
  Speaker 4: well go ahead and finish up. Be the favorite child.
• 50:54
  Speaker 2: I'm I'm my mother's favorite son and she's my mother's
• 50:57
  Speaker 2: favorite daughter.
• 50:58
  Speaker 4: That's beautifully, Yes, amazing, amazing. Apologize first, it's okay, okay, okay, that's.
• 51:09
  Speaker 3: The last one.
• 51:12
  Speaker 4: Got the most traumatic, dramatic, traumatic, most dramatic, Oh me,
• 51:19
  Speaker 4: for sure.
• 51:19
  Speaker 1: Definitely it's a girl thing.
• 51:20
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean I'm actress too, that's true. Yeah, you
• 51:24
  Speaker 4: get paid to be dramatic.
• 51:26
  Speaker 1: And you know what.
• 51:27
  Speaker 3: That perfectly segues into us talking about your career and
• 51:31
  Speaker 3: what you're carving on your own. So, Ayana, how did
• 51:36
  Speaker 3: you get into acting?
• 51:38
  Speaker 5: Got into it years ago just from seeing my parents
• 51:40
  Speaker 5: in the industry and I wanted to do it. I
• 51:42
  Speaker 5: would take acting classes in La here and there, like
• 51:45
  Speaker 5: when I still lived in New York over the summer,
• 51:47
  Speaker 5: and then I don't know, some point, like in my
• 51:50
  Speaker 5: college years, I came out to LA again. Oh, my
• 51:53
  Speaker 5: dad was filming True to Game. I think that was
• 51:54
  Speaker 5: the first thing. He put me in it, and I
• 51:56
  Speaker 5: was like, oh my god, I really like love this
• 51:58
  Speaker 5: or whatever. I ended up figuring out how to get
• 52:00
  Speaker 5: an agent and all of that. Then I started doing commercials.
• 52:02
  Speaker 5: Started with McDonald's. I've done a ton since, and.
• 52:05
  Speaker 3: I think I remember the McDonald's.
• 52:07
  Speaker 5: I was the cashier.
• 52:08
  Speaker 3: Yes, wasn't that super Bowl or I did a Super
• 52:13
  Speaker 3: Bowl McDonald's commercials, But that was another one.
• 52:15
  Speaker 5: I've done a few. You just do one other day,
• 52:18
  Speaker 5: you just actually just I just booked the commercial yesterday. Yes,
• 52:23
  Speaker 5: he helped me. Yeah, I've always like wanted to dibble
• 52:26
  Speaker 5: and dabble, and then I actually like fell in love
• 52:28
  Speaker 5: with it truly in the craft. I fell in love
• 52:30
  Speaker 5: with like going to acting classes and just the whole
• 52:33
  Speaker 5: shebang and auditioning and all of that. So yeah, that's
• 52:36
  Speaker 5: kind of like.
• 52:38
  Speaker 3: So your very first time like dibbling in the entertainment
• 52:42
  Speaker 3: industry was when you went on with your dad.
• 52:45
  Speaker 5: Yes, And my first movie was shooated a game which
• 52:48
  Speaker 5: is my dad's movie.
• 52:49
  Speaker 3: Wow. So before then you didn't have any passion for
• 52:54
  Speaker 3: it or you didn't know that you were good at it.
• 52:56
  Speaker 5: I didn't know I was good at it. I had
• 52:58
  Speaker 5: the idea, I think in my head, but again I
• 53:00
  Speaker 5: didn't know like I could really do this. Okay, So
• 53:04
  Speaker 5: shout out to my parents, because once I saw them
• 53:07
  Speaker 5: doing it, I was like, okay, I want to like
• 53:09
  Speaker 5: I don't know, like have a try.
• 53:11
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I take this more seriously.
• 53:13
  Speaker 5: And then that's what I did, take it more serious
• 53:14
  Speaker 5: and I made sure to work on the craft itself.
• 53:17
  Speaker 3: So how has your dad helped you as you navigate
• 53:19
  Speaker 3: through your career.
• 53:21
  Speaker 5: Oh my god, he's helped me so much for when
• 53:23
  Speaker 5: he puts me in like everything that he does. Even
• 53:26
  Speaker 5: before my career started to take off, both my parents
• 53:28
  Speaker 5: they would like help me out financially, just in terms
• 53:30
  Speaker 5: of like acting classes, what do you want to do?
• 53:32
  Speaker 5: You want to do this? Let me take you here
• 53:35
  Speaker 5: and I'll you know, whatever the case might be. Like
• 53:39
  Speaker 5: they played the biggest part in my career. Like I'm
• 53:42
  Speaker 5: faver grateful Wow my parents for the support in itself.
• 53:45
  Speaker 3: And you've been part of some notable movies.
• 53:48
  Speaker 1: Yeah about it.
• 53:50
  Speaker 3: Some a show in particular Abbot Elementary. My husband make
• 53:56
  Speaker 3: sure that he tunes in weekly to watch Abbot. So
• 54:01
  Speaker 3: of course we saw all the episodes you were on.
• 54:03
  Speaker 3: So tell us how you got into Abbot, What it
• 54:06
  Speaker 3: was like working with Quinta Brunson, Cheryl Lee, Ralph Lee,
• 54:11
  Speaker 3: and Walter who I remember from Parent Trap.
• 54:16
  Speaker 5: Yes, let me tell you.
• 54:17
  Speaker 4: Oh my god, Okay, we.
• 54:21
  Speaker 5: Weren't obsessed with that movie obsessed. So my first day
• 54:24
  Speaker 5: on Abbot, I'm like, this lady looks so familiar talking
• 54:26
  Speaker 5: about I didn't like put tune two together. Then when
• 54:28
  Speaker 5: I went home, I'm like, oh my god, that's her
• 54:30
  Speaker 5: from the Parent Trap. I was fangirling internally, but for
• 54:36
  Speaker 5: that it was just like a regular audition process. I
• 54:38
  Speaker 5: did a self tape for it and then they told
• 54:41
  Speaker 5: me I booked it. At the time, the show was
• 54:43
  Speaker 5: not out. It was still just basically being in the work,
• 54:46
  Speaker 5: so I didn't know how big it was gonna be.
• 54:49
  Speaker 5: I just knew I'd be playing Shirley Ralf's daughter, who
• 54:51
  Speaker 5: I love. Of course, yes, I get on set and
• 54:55
  Speaker 5: it was such an amazing experience. There were so hell
• 55:00
  Speaker 5: hopeful because I'm not like, I'm still new to the
• 55:02
  Speaker 5: comedy world, and that is the comedy show, even though
• 55:04
  Speaker 5: it's kind of like I guess dry comedy. I guess
• 55:06
  Speaker 5: you'd say. Everyone was just so nice and sweet and
• 55:10
  Speaker 5: I love my character on the show. Got to do
• 55:13
  Speaker 5: a few episodes more to come and.
• 55:16
  Speaker 1: Cool, and she's actually pregnant on it.
• 55:19
  Speaker 5: I don't want to Yeah, hopefully you guys watched the show.
• 55:21
  Speaker 5: But I'm pregnant.
• 55:23
  Speaker 1: I had the baby.
• 55:23
  Speaker 3: Now. I remember your mother, Cherylie Ross telling everyone that
• 55:29
  Speaker 3: her daughter was pregnant and you were pregnant in real life,
• 55:31
  Speaker 3: and I looked at Garious and I was like, she's pregnant.
• 55:34
  Speaker 5: The funny thing is when we shot that, I wasn't
• 55:36
  Speaker 5: pregnant in real life, and then once it like came,
• 55:39
  Speaker 5: I think that I was. And I'm just like, look
• 55:41
  Speaker 5: at how.
• 55:41
  Speaker 2: This like.
• 55:46
  Speaker 5: Isn't that crazy? So yeah, so I love even my character. Sorry,
• 55:52
  Speaker 5: the show is great, like went to everybody.
• 55:54
  Speaker 4: I'm so grateful the writing. So it's just the writing
• 55:59
  Speaker 4: is amazing.
• 56:00
  Speaker 3: So where do you see yourself with the next five years,
• 56:02
  Speaker 3: ten years? Any projects? You did say that you book
• 56:05
  Speaker 3: something today, But just where do you see yourself.
• 56:09
  Speaker 5: I see myself working. Maybe it's a series regular on
• 56:13
  Speaker 5: like a really dope show, but I want to, like, yeah,
• 56:15
  Speaker 5: I want to like have really great balance. Like I
• 56:18
  Speaker 5: want to do a show for a couple of months. Right,
• 56:20
  Speaker 5: it's so big that I can take the time off,
• 56:22
  Speaker 5: spend the time being like a mom, and then come back.
• 56:25
  Speaker 5: So I really just want, I think, the flexibility. I
• 56:30
  Speaker 5: want to do so many movies. I love film. I
• 56:33
  Speaker 5: love film. I love what do you call it? Time pieces?
• 56:35
  Speaker 5: Period pieces? They think it's so like kula wigs and
• 56:39
  Speaker 5: the costume and everything. Yeah, so I have so much
• 56:43
  Speaker 5: I want to do, and I want to get into
• 56:44
  Speaker 5: producing as well. I plan to do that a little
• 56:47
  Speaker 5: bit with my dad and of course you know he's
• 56:51
  Speaker 5: a pod he could help me out too.
• 56:53
  Speaker 3: Very good. Okay, well, we wish you the best. You see,
• 56:58
  Speaker 3: when it comes to your career, you and I are
• 57:00
  Speaker 3: about speaking everything into existence here absolutely and just vocalizing
• 57:05
  Speaker 3: it so I know whatever your heart desires, it's going
• 57:08
  Speaker 3: to happen. Absolutely. Are praying much success. Thank you over
• 57:11
  Speaker 3: your career. Girlfriend, You've you've been killing it, so we're proud.
• 57:14
  Speaker 3: You're making me proud. Like every time I see you,
• 57:17
  Speaker 3: I take a picture and I'm like, there's a Yana
• 57:20
  Speaker 3: on my screen every time I see you. So I am,
• 57:23
  Speaker 3: I am super fangirling over you.
• 57:26
  Speaker 5: And it's it's not an easy industry, but like I
• 57:29
  Speaker 5: love it so much.
• 57:30
  Speaker 1: Have a good mindset. Yeah, and you work hard.
• 57:34
  Speaker 3: Yes, very good. So that perfectly segues into brother and
• 57:40
  Speaker 3: what you got going on Superstar.
• 57:42
  Speaker 1: Okay, so got a couple of things going on.
• 57:45
  Speaker 4: Just a couple couple of things. But what what sparked it?
• 57:48
  Speaker 4: What inspired you to step into acting, music and producing?
• 57:54
  Speaker 2: What inspired it was? I would say my father. I
• 57:57
  Speaker 2: think my father does so much. You know, he's im mused,
• 58:00
  Speaker 2: a manager, he's a film producer. So it kind of
• 58:05
  Speaker 2: showed me that I can do more. Like, yes, I
• 58:07
  Speaker 2: do music, I wrap, but I also can be a writer,
• 58:10
  Speaker 2: I can produce, I can act, I can start a business.
• 58:14
  Speaker 1: I can open up a car wash.
• 58:16
  Speaker 2: Because especially you know, as you get older, you know,
• 58:18
  Speaker 2: you you got to make some income.
• 58:20
  Speaker 1: You got to make your own money.
• 58:21
  Speaker 2: Now we all are adults here, so you know, I'm
• 58:25
  Speaker 2: just having fun with just opening different businesses and learning
• 58:28
  Speaker 2: about stocks and just learning about different things.
• 58:30
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 58:31
  Speaker 3: So very good. Yeah, very good.
• 58:33
  Speaker 4: Cool. So were there any pressures or challenges that you
• 58:36
  Speaker 4: faced in your journey moving through each you know, each pathway?
• 58:44
  Speaker 1: I wouldn't. I wouldn't.
• 58:45
  Speaker 2: I would say that everybody feels pressure, you know, like
• 58:49
  Speaker 2: some people, you know, they feel like they back is
• 58:51
  Speaker 2: against the wall they have, you know, some people have
• 58:54
  Speaker 2: something to lose and people have something to prove. So
• 58:57
  Speaker 2: I feel like everyone does. A pressure is just more
• 59:00
  Speaker 2: so about you know, your perspective on it, you know
• 59:03
  Speaker 2: what I'm saying, and not overwhelming yourself or folding under
• 59:06
  Speaker 2: that pressure. Like they say, pressure can make dominds, pressure
• 59:09
  Speaker 2: can bust pipes, you know what I'm saying.
• 59:10
  Speaker 1: So I feel like.
• 59:11
  Speaker 2: Once you have a good outlook and you know, you
• 59:14
  Speaker 2: change the perspective and your mindset, I think that you'll
• 59:17
  Speaker 2: see the success and it will reflect that.
• 59:18
  Speaker 3: Very good, yeah answer, yeah, very good.
• 59:21
  Speaker 4: Yeah. So you have your dad there who's been in
• 59:25
  Speaker 4: the industry for a long time. When do you reach
• 59:29
  Speaker 4: out to him for advice? Like how how long in
• 59:33
  Speaker 4: the pathway or in a project do you get where
• 59:35
  Speaker 4: you're like, I need some advice, any help, like how
• 59:38
  Speaker 4: long with me?
• 59:38
  Speaker 2: And need with me and my sister we reach out
• 59:41
  Speaker 2: to him for no pops, I'm frying his stick.
• 59:46
  Speaker 1: Nothing to do with anything.
• 59:48
  Speaker 4: I love it all. I love it.
• 59:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so that's how I call him for just dad stuff.
• 59:53
  Speaker 4: I love it.
• 59:55
  Speaker 3: I love that. That's and that's what that's what he's
• 59:58
  Speaker 3: there for.
• 59:59
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I don't you probably yea love it.
• 1:00:01
  Speaker 5: You love that.
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 4: You guys depend on him. So do you have any
• 1:00:06
  Speaker 4: projects that you can talk about that you are excited
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 4: about that are currently coming up?
• 1:00:13
  Speaker 5: Both of us?
• 1:00:14
  Speaker 4: Yeah, this is a manning section, but you guys can
• 1:00:17
  Speaker 4: both speak.
• 1:00:18
  Speaker 1: Well.
• 1:00:18
  Speaker 2: I'm producing a TV series a lot of patrol. We
• 1:00:21
  Speaker 2: just got to deal with BT.
• 1:00:23
  Speaker 1: So I'm excited about that. We have, you know, we
• 1:00:27
  Speaker 1: got some people on there.
• 1:00:28
  Speaker 2: I just dropped the d Ray Davis and a couple
• 1:00:30
  Speaker 2: of other dope characters in the TV series.
• 1:00:35
  Speaker 1: Yeah, excited about that.
• 1:00:37
  Speaker 3: A family affair.
• 1:00:38
  Speaker 5: I love it.
• 1:00:40
  Speaker 4: I love it. Put each other on. I love it.
• 1:00:42
  Speaker 5: And you're about to start feeling like you're.
• 1:00:44
  Speaker 2: Saying, oh yeah, and I'm okay, let me let it
• 1:00:47
  Speaker 2: out the bag, so plug everything, all right? So I
• 1:00:51
  Speaker 2: have I have a project that I'm about to shoot
• 1:00:53
  Speaker 2: May tenth with the director Benny Boom. It's called We
• 1:00:57
  Speaker 2: Have the rapper d smoke attack to it. We have
• 1:01:01
  Speaker 2: the game attached to it. This kid named the thing
• 1:01:04
  Speaker 2: you that We're that We're He's our lead, he's playing
• 1:01:07
  Speaker 2: our main.
• 1:01:08
  Speaker 1: So I'm excited about that.
• 1:01:13
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 1:01:15
  Speaker 2: And I've been doing Bennie since he was doing videos
• 1:01:17
  Speaker 2: for Keisha, So now it's just a full circle moment
• 1:01:20
  Speaker 2: when I was just the sun around and now it's
• 1:01:23
  Speaker 2: we had these conversations. Hey, Benny, how do you feel
• 1:01:25
  Speaker 2: about this? Hey, let's go in this direction.
• 1:01:27
  Speaker 4: So super dope, manny, do you have do you have one?
• 1:01:33
  Speaker 5: Like?
• 1:01:33
  Speaker 4: So you're doing, you know, multiple things, but is there one,
• 1:01:38
  Speaker 4: like one industry that you just want to get into,
• 1:01:41
  Speaker 4: like that you that you kind of have your eye on.
• 1:01:43
  Speaker 4: You're not you haven't quite you know, started yet, but
• 1:01:46
  Speaker 4: you want to start. Does that make sense?
• 1:01:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah?
• 1:01:51
  Speaker 4: You seem like you have something else in your back pocket.
• 1:01:58
  Speaker 1: You're reading me very well over this skin.
• 1:02:03
  Speaker 2: Okay, I'm gonna shifted to saying something that I am doing,
• 1:02:07
  Speaker 2: which is music. I feel like I need to lock
• 1:02:10
  Speaker 2: in a little bit more with my music and not
• 1:02:12
  Speaker 2: even just just really for myself because it is therapeutic
• 1:02:15
  Speaker 2: for me to express myself and you know, let out
• 1:02:18
  Speaker 2: my emotions and things that I'm just not open with
• 1:02:20
  Speaker 2: sharing just in conversations. I would feel open just over
• 1:02:24
  Speaker 2: a beat and doing it in a creative way. So
• 1:02:26
  Speaker 2: I do feel like a lot of my music, whether
• 1:02:29
  Speaker 2: it's going through a heartbreak or whatever I'm going through,
• 1:02:31
  Speaker 2: me losing my mom, you know, I feel like it
• 1:02:33
  Speaker 2: is very important those real raw emotions to record it
• 1:02:37
  Speaker 2: because I can help somebody else out you.
• 1:02:39
  Speaker 1: Know what I'm saying. I have been through it, and
• 1:02:41
  Speaker 1: you know.
• 1:02:41
  Speaker 2: I could be very descriptive with my music, and I
• 1:02:44
  Speaker 2: feel like when somebody's hearing it, they'll be like, oh no,
• 1:02:46
  Speaker 2: he really lived that is this is helping me get
• 1:02:48
  Speaker 2: through it. So I definitely want to like back in
• 1:02:50
  Speaker 2: with my music because I do have a message and
• 1:02:52
  Speaker 2: I have been through a lot, and I would just
• 1:02:53
  Speaker 2: want to lay it all out.
• 1:02:54
  Speaker 4: Wow, that's good, very cool, very cool.
• 1:02:57
  Speaker 1: I can Yeah, I love.
• 1:02:59
  Speaker 4: That was a moment when you felt like you were
• 1:03:01
  Speaker 4: stepping into your own identity and not just your family's identity.
• 1:03:07
  Speaker 4: What was that moment like and what was the moment.
• 1:03:12
  Speaker 1: I feel like you want to go? You want me go? Okay? Cool?
• 1:03:16
  Speaker 2: Well, to be honest, I don't I don't just wear that,
• 1:03:19
  Speaker 2: you know, like I am my own man.
• 1:03:22
  Speaker 1: You get what I'm saying.
• 1:03:22
  Speaker 2: So, like I am reserved when it comes to like
• 1:03:25
  Speaker 2: who my appearance is. I don't just lead with that.
• 1:03:28
  Speaker 2: Some people lead with it. Yeah, oh pop, I'm not that.
• 1:03:32
  Speaker 2: I actually get upset sometimes when people would know I'm.
• 1:03:35
  Speaker 1: Like because and that's why I go by nicknames and
• 1:03:39
  Speaker 1: things like that.
• 1:03:40
  Speaker 2: I might be playing around in the streets giving them nicknames,
• 1:03:43
  Speaker 2: my name is World or whatever, trying to throw them
• 1:03:45
  Speaker 2: off the many.
• 1:03:45
  Speaker 1: But you know, just because, like what I got to
• 1:03:47
  Speaker 1: said earlier, a lot of people not genuine.
• 1:03:49
  Speaker 2: Yes, So when they you know, when they figure out
• 1:03:51
  Speaker 2: all I have and who I'm connected with, who my
• 1:03:53
  Speaker 2: father is, I feel like a lot of stuff is
• 1:03:56
  Speaker 2: no longer genuine. They have motives. So I am reserved
• 1:04:00
  Speaker 2: on broadcasting you know, who my parents is and things
• 1:04:03
  Speaker 2: like that.
• 1:04:04
  Speaker 3: What about you, Ayana?
• 1:04:06
  Speaker 5: What's the question again?
• 1:04:08
  Speaker 3: Well this is still manning segment, right.
• 1:04:11
  Speaker 4: I mean it is, but it's okay, okay, oh yeah,
• 1:04:15
  Speaker 4: what's the question. Just the moment you felt like you were.
• 1:04:19
  Speaker 2: Just just yeah, so my bad. So just to give
• 1:04:24
  Speaker 2: you a more direct answer, I'm already to work in
• 1:04:26
  Speaker 2: my own path because I'm my own man period.
• 1:04:29
  Speaker 5: Bo I would say kind of like pretty much a
• 1:04:33
  Speaker 5: similar response. I've always wanted to create my own path,
• 1:04:37
  Speaker 5: and that's why I think I started to take the
• 1:04:38
  Speaker 5: acting more serious and get into the classes and stuff.
• 1:04:41
  Speaker 5: So it's not just like, oh, that's the girl who's
• 1:04:43
  Speaker 5: only in her dad's projects. It's like, no, I'm actually
• 1:04:45
  Speaker 5: auditioning and I'm booking these roles with x y Z
• 1:04:48
  Speaker 5: Casting direct. I feel like that helped me create my
• 1:04:51
  Speaker 5: own laying my own path, my own identity, just by
• 1:04:55
  Speaker 5: like showing people how serious dedicated you are, serious and
• 1:04:58
  Speaker 5: dedicated that like.
• 1:04:59
  Speaker 2: Actually we am and then and even with that, like
• 1:05:01
  Speaker 2: with our relationships, whether it's your father, your brother, your sister,
• 1:05:04
  Speaker 2: your cousin, your friend, I do believe that they can
• 1:05:07
  Speaker 2: open the door for you, but your hard working dedication
• 1:05:10
  Speaker 2: keeps you.
• 1:05:10
  Speaker 5: On that part.
• 1:05:11
  Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying.
• 1:05:11
  Speaker 2: Because I could give somebody a shot, like oh you cool,
• 1:05:14
  Speaker 2: let me give you a shot, but their working dedication
• 1:05:16
  Speaker 2: keeps them in that absolutely.
• 1:05:18
  Speaker 5: You know, we don't want to meet both of us,
• 1:05:19
  Speaker 5: we don't want to be like boxed in just to
• 1:05:21
  Speaker 5: like being our parents' kids. Like I don't want people
• 1:05:24
  Speaker 5: to like know us as you know, that's an important part.
• 1:05:27
  Speaker 1: We love them, we love them.
• 1:05:29
  Speaker 5: Yeah, but we are our own individual absolutely.
• 1:05:35
  Speaker 3: So you both are doing incredible things, incredible things, and
• 1:05:39
  Speaker 3: you are doing it while also caring loss in your journey.
• 1:05:45
  Speaker 3: So what has that journey of grief looked like for.
• 1:05:50
  Speaker 5: The each of you?
• 1:05:53
  Speaker 3: Mmm?
• 1:05:55
  Speaker 5: I would say the journey of grief. I just feel
• 1:05:59
  Speaker 5: like it's my world has changed so much. But it's
• 1:06:04
  Speaker 5: like when people say life goes on, I feel like
• 1:06:07
  Speaker 5: I don't like when people say that, but in actuality,
• 1:06:09
  Speaker 5: it really does go on. So it's like with everything
• 1:06:11
  Speaker 5: that I do since losing my mom, I just try
• 1:06:15
  Speaker 5: to like keep her in everything that I do. Hopefully
• 1:06:17
  Speaker 5: that makes sense. It's like even when I'm like auditioning,
• 1:06:20
  Speaker 5: for example, I'll just use that as an example. I'm like, okay, cool,
• 1:06:24
  Speaker 5: Like I want to book this and I want to
• 1:06:26
  Speaker 5: like do what I need to do, and I know
• 1:06:27
  Speaker 5: my mom is going to be like proud of me
• 1:06:29
  Speaker 5: and happy either way it goes. I'm just constantly like
• 1:06:32
  Speaker 5: keeping her her spirit alive. Yes you know what I mean, Like,
• 1:06:37
  Speaker 5: and I see her in everything that I do. It's
• 1:06:41
  Speaker 5: so crazy. Yeah, So just carrying her with me. She
• 1:06:45
  Speaker 5: may not be here physically, but she's.
• 1:06:47
  Speaker 3: Always He is always around. He's here right now, you know,
• 1:06:52
  Speaker 3: so when you feel like, oh sorry, go ahead many.
• 1:06:55
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, so you know grief can For me, it
• 1:07:00
  Speaker 2: looked a lot different than for my sister. You know,
• 1:07:03
  Speaker 2: like I said, she she does have a positive outlook
• 1:07:06
  Speaker 2: on life. I took it the opposite. You know, like
• 1:07:09
  Speaker 2: I was very angry. You know, I was replaying a
• 1:07:12
  Speaker 2: lot of different scenarios in my head. You know, I
• 1:07:17
  Speaker 2: was grief spending. I was just in a I was
• 1:07:22
  Speaker 2: just not very I wasn't taking it well, you know
• 1:07:24
  Speaker 2: what I'm saying. And you know, like I was in
• 1:07:27
  Speaker 2: Atlanta by myself and I had I died of my hair.
• 1:07:30
  Speaker 2: I was just doing just a whole bunch of just
• 1:07:34
  Speaker 2: things out of grief, you know. And you know, my sister,
• 1:07:38
  Speaker 2: she actually she sent me a book of you remember
• 1:07:40
  Speaker 2: the book you sent me how to how to deal
• 1:07:43
  Speaker 2: with how to deal with grief, how to deal.
• 1:07:45
  Speaker 5: With death if I remember the name of it.
• 1:07:47
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 1:07:48
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so she yeah, so she she she, you know,
• 1:07:49
  Speaker 2: she she was trying to help, you know, she was
• 1:07:51
  Speaker 2: sending me books to read. But you know, everybody trying
• 1:07:55
  Speaker 2: to be supportive and uplift you, you know, but you
• 1:07:57
  Speaker 2: know your whole world is snatched from you. Like the
• 1:08:01
  Speaker 2: one person who has my back, who just loves me right.
• 1:08:04
  Speaker 1: Or wrong, is gone.
• 1:08:04
  Speaker 2: I call my mom for any and everything. So, like
• 1:08:07
  Speaker 2: I said, you know, I took it. I took it
• 1:08:08
  Speaker 2: very hard. And then I just kind of feel like,
• 1:08:11
  Speaker 2: you know what, she's still here with us, She's she's
• 1:08:13
  Speaker 2: still watching over me.
• 1:08:14
  Speaker 3: You know.
• 1:08:15
  Speaker 2: I have to make her proud. You know, I have
• 1:08:16
  Speaker 2: to be strong. I can't be a loser. I can't
• 1:08:18
  Speaker 2: let myself go. I can't do dumb things like I
• 1:08:22
  Speaker 2: have to and not have somebody watching over me and
• 1:08:24
  Speaker 2: guiding me. So I just kind of changed my outlook
• 1:08:27
  Speaker 2: on it. And you know, like I seen it, like
• 1:08:29
  Speaker 2: my mother is in a better place. She's watching over us.
• 1:08:32
  Speaker 2: She still lives with us, you know what I'm saying,
• 1:08:34
  Speaker 2: within us. So, you know, grief definitely, and it has
• 1:08:39
  Speaker 2: no timestamp. Yeah, it can't be like, oh, your mom
• 1:08:41
  Speaker 2: passed away such and such, you should be better now.
• 1:08:44
  Speaker 1: No, it'd be random moments. I might just start crying.
• 1:08:47
  Speaker 5: You hear a song, you see.
• 1:08:49
  Speaker 1: Something, it triggers you.
• 1:08:50
  Speaker 5: Yeah, and grief is not linear. I mean some days
• 1:08:52
  Speaker 5: it's like okay, cool, and it's like, oh my god,
• 1:08:54
  Speaker 5: I'm having the hardest time.
• 1:08:55
  Speaker 3: They say it comes in waves, absolutely, so when that
• 1:08:59
  Speaker 3: wave hits to you, how do you both cope?
• 1:09:03
  Speaker 5: I let my emotions out. I feel I'm not scared
• 1:09:06
  Speaker 5: to like feel, I'm not scared to like be out
• 1:09:08
  Speaker 5: in public and like drop a tear. I was at
• 1:09:10
  Speaker 5: the mall at some point this was I'm just like, yeah,
• 1:09:15
  Speaker 5: I feel.
• 1:09:17
  Speaker 1: I struggled with that, and I think I get that
• 1:09:20
  Speaker 1: from my father. Was just.
• 1:09:24
  Speaker 2: Showing my emotion, like my I remember when we were
• 1:09:28
  Speaker 2: in the hospital the day the day my mother passed
• 1:09:31
  Speaker 2: and we're in the hospital. I remember me and my
• 1:09:33
  Speaker 2: father and we was in the car and this is
• 1:09:36
  Speaker 2: like one of the first times I've ever seen my
• 1:09:38
  Speaker 2: father cry, and you know, we devastated. My mother literally
• 1:09:42
  Speaker 2: just passed away, and it's just me and him in
• 1:09:44
  Speaker 2: the car and he's sobbing crying, sobbing crying. I'm sobbing crying,
• 1:09:48
  Speaker 2: and he's like, yo, like we gotta stay strong, like
• 1:09:50
  Speaker 2: we gotta get it together.
• 1:09:51
  Speaker 1: When I got to see his cry, and that just
• 1:09:54
  Speaker 1: kind of.
• 1:09:56
  Speaker 2: It stuck with me because it's like we have to
• 1:09:58
  Speaker 2: be strong for Jana, where men, you get what I'm
• 1:10:00
  Speaker 2: saying that we can feel we can't be hurt, but
• 1:10:03
  Speaker 2: we have to hold it together and we have to
• 1:10:04
  Speaker 2: give her strength.
• 1:10:05
  Speaker 1: You get what I'm saying. So we got we cried,
• 1:10:07
  Speaker 1: we're blown out crying, We got.
• 1:10:08
  Speaker 2: Our teas together, We did what we had to do,
• 1:10:11
  Speaker 2: and we was you know, we were there if you
• 1:10:13
  Speaker 2: need to lean on us or whatever.
• 1:10:14
  Speaker 1: And we all went through that together.
• 1:10:16
  Speaker 5: And I'm an emotional person, right, We're.
• 1:10:18
  Speaker 1: An emotional wreck.
• 1:10:19
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 1:10:20
  Speaker 2: Really, when she's an emotional wreck, I can't be an
• 1:10:22
  Speaker 2: emotional wreck. My pasts can't be in an emotional wreck.
• 1:10:26
  Speaker 2: When when everybody's scared, someone has to be brave. We're
• 1:10:29
  Speaker 2: scared too, but we have to be brave.
• 1:10:31
  Speaker 5: And I mean that's a that's a I feel like
• 1:10:34
  Speaker 5: for men in itself. I mean that's kind of tricky
• 1:10:36
  Speaker 5: because I feel like people should be able to explode, release,
• 1:10:40
  Speaker 5: express and all that stuff, because otherwise you're just like
• 1:10:42
  Speaker 5: holding it in and then you can explode. And I
• 1:10:44
  Speaker 5: feel like sometimes that's what happens with him, that's true,
• 1:10:47
  Speaker 5: but again for me, I just allow myself to feel
• 1:10:51
  Speaker 5: A journal sometimes and I talked to my mom, like
• 1:10:55
  Speaker 5: I see her in like beautiful things all over and
• 1:10:57
  Speaker 5: I'm like, look that little but she loves butterflies on
• 1:10:59
  Speaker 5: nice Come mom me right there?
• 1:11:01
  Speaker 3: You know what about grief counseling. Have you both done that?
• 1:11:06
  Speaker 5: Yeah? I did, and I haven't. I had a therapist
• 1:11:10
  Speaker 5: as well for a little point. I told him to
• 1:11:12
  Speaker 5: whatever happened, I don't even know.
• 1:11:15
  Speaker 3: Okay, yeah, it's not for everybody. Okay, you know they say,
• 1:11:20
  Speaker 3: what's the what's the quote? Uh, where there's.
• 1:11:24
  Speaker 4: Love that has no where to go or something.
• 1:11:29
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's grief, or you're feeling pain, it's because you
• 1:11:34
  Speaker 3: were loved where there was love there. I don't know
• 1:11:37
  Speaker 3: the exact quote, but something along the lines of the
• 1:11:39
  Speaker 3: pain that you're feeling and the grief that you're bearing
• 1:11:42
  Speaker 3: is because you were loved, loved so deeply. So that's
• 1:11:46
  Speaker 3: when you know that you were loved the way.
• 1:11:48
  Speaker 5: That you both were. And we truly love power mom
• 1:11:52
  Speaker 5: again the rock of the family.
• 1:11:53
  Speaker 2: And I think that's what made this loss a little
• 1:11:57
  Speaker 2: bit easier for us because we know we was there
• 1:11:59
  Speaker 2: with her every step out of the way, Like it's
• 1:12:02
  Speaker 2: not like we was focused and we know, we was
• 1:12:04
  Speaker 2: there every appointment, everything, And.
• 1:12:07
  Speaker 5: When you have a parent who's like going through something
• 1:12:09
  Speaker 5: like cancer, it's like you see you see them change
• 1:12:14
  Speaker 5: in like physically and all of that stuff too. So
• 1:12:15
  Speaker 5: it's like sometimes when they do transition, it's the hardest
• 1:12:18
  Speaker 5: thing in the world.
• 1:12:18
  Speaker 1: But it's also like they're no longer stuff around.
• 1:12:21
  Speaker 5: You're not in pain anymore. So peace.
• 1:12:25
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 1:12:26
  Speaker 4: Yeah. So what has grief taught you just as a person?
• 1:12:30
  Speaker 5: Mmm? So many things. I mean in a positive light,
• 1:12:35
  Speaker 5: I would say that grief and joy can co exist.
• 1:12:39
  Speaker 5: Like I feel like at first, I was like, should
• 1:12:42
  Speaker 5: I still like we were still traveling. I feel like,
• 1:12:44
  Speaker 5: right after my mom passed, we had a trip to
• 1:12:45
  Speaker 5: Mexico and the friends, and I'm like, people are gonna
• 1:12:48
  Speaker 5: think that I'm not like grieving because I'm out enjoying myself.
• 1:12:51
  Speaker 5: But in actuality, my mom when I were so close
• 1:12:53
  Speaker 5: that she would I know what she would want, and
• 1:12:55
  Speaker 5: I'm like, I can be happy and still miss and
• 1:12:58
  Speaker 5: wish my mom was actually but it's like I have
• 1:13:01
  Speaker 5: to go on with my life and I want to
• 1:13:03
  Speaker 5: do it in like the most happiest way that I can. Again,
• 1:13:10
  Speaker 5: some days it looks different, but you can still be happy.
• 1:13:13
  Speaker 2: That was your best answer this whole That was because
• 1:13:16
  Speaker 2: I resonate with that.
• 1:13:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know what I'm saying. It's like, we're heartbroken.
• 1:13:19
  Speaker 1: I'm heartbroken right now.
• 1:13:21
  Speaker 2: Every day, all day, every day, not a second goes by,
• 1:13:23
  Speaker 2: I don't think about my mother. So it's like, but
• 1:13:26
  Speaker 2: when I'm outside and enjoying myself and I know my
• 1:13:28
  Speaker 2: mother want me to be happy and have fun and
• 1:13:30
  Speaker 2: hang out, people probably looking at yo, bro, I'm sorry
• 1:13:33
  Speaker 2: about you.
• 1:13:34
  Speaker 1: I'm trying to be happy right now. I'm trying to
• 1:13:35
  Speaker 1: you know, so you never did with that.
• 1:13:37
  Speaker 3: As beautifully said, if there's any what advice would you
• 1:13:41
  Speaker 3: give to someone who is carrying grief but also trying
• 1:13:46
  Speaker 3: to journey throughout life and tackle careers and be moms
• 1:13:50
  Speaker 3: and just continuing, yeah, continuing with life while also carrying grief.
• 1:13:58
  Speaker 3: What advice would you give to someone.
• 1:14:04
  Speaker 5: Release feel and keep it going in the best way
• 1:14:11
  Speaker 5: you can. And that looks different for everyone. So if
• 1:14:14
  Speaker 5: you are angry at first, that's completely normal, you know,
• 1:14:18
  Speaker 5: and fine and stuff like that, but understand like your
• 1:14:21
  Speaker 5: person nine times out of ten would want you to
• 1:14:23
  Speaker 5: actually like be happy, so you can miss them, but
• 1:14:27
  Speaker 5: you still have to like, keep it, keep it going,
• 1:14:30
  Speaker 5: keep it moving. Life does not stop just because this
• 1:14:33
  Speaker 5: person lost this person, you know it really I wish
• 1:14:36
  Speaker 5: it did. I mean, you know, but welcome to the
• 1:14:39
  Speaker 5: real world.
• 1:14:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I feel like, just keep going, you know,
• 1:14:48
  Speaker 2: if you need a moment, take a moment. Yeah, you know,
• 1:14:50
  Speaker 2: Like I know, it's tough. We're kind of fortunate because
• 1:14:53
  Speaker 2: we are entertainment, so it's not like we had to
• 1:14:55
  Speaker 2: still go to work. I couldn't imagine that that would
• 1:14:57
  Speaker 2: have been very tough. If I'm dealing with all of this
• 1:15:00
  Speaker 2: and I gotta flip some burgers, they deal with a customer,
• 1:15:04
  Speaker 2: the customer may get it because I'm just pissed off.
• 1:15:06
  Speaker 1: So we were all blessed that, you know, I was able.
• 1:15:09
  Speaker 2: To just kind of shut down, get my head in
• 1:15:12
  Speaker 2: the right headspace, give myself in the right headspace.
• 1:15:14
  Speaker 1: And I needed it.
• 1:15:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, But like I said, I would just say to
• 1:15:19
  Speaker 2: you know, if you need a moment, you know, talk
• 1:15:21
  Speaker 2: to your boss or whatever.
• 1:15:22
  Speaker 1: Hey, I just took a loss. I'm sorry.
• 1:15:26
  Speaker 2: I'm not mad at anybody here. I'm dealing with stuff
• 1:15:27
  Speaker 2: and people understand, you know what I'm saying, and.
• 1:15:30
  Speaker 5: Don't be scared to ask for help, whether it is
• 1:15:32
  Speaker 5: for the therapist or your sister, brother, your mother, da da.
• 1:15:35
  Speaker 5: I feel like that is so important. I feel like
• 1:15:36
  Speaker 5: my boyfriend he supported me like so much just throughout
• 1:15:41
  Speaker 5: this whole thing, still does Again, I have my moments
• 1:15:43
  Speaker 5: sometimes and I'm not scared to, like, you know, lean
• 1:15:47
  Speaker 5: on somebody.
• 1:15:48
  Speaker 3: So very good, yeah beautifully said you guys. I know
• 1:15:52
  Speaker 3: Mama yo Yo is proud.
• 1:15:53
  Speaker 5: Yes, I truly believe that we are watching. She's smiling
• 1:15:59
  Speaker 5: right now.
• 1:16:00
  Speaker 3: Absolutely, we love you yo yo. Yes, always always.
• 1:16:05
  Speaker 4: So There's not one road to the entertainment industry, you know,
• 1:16:08
  Speaker 4: there's all kinds of ways to go. Everybody has a
• 1:16:11
  Speaker 4: different story of how they ended up there. So if
• 1:16:14
  Speaker 4: there's a younger person that is looking up to you,
• 1:16:18
  Speaker 4: all what you do. What is a piece of advice
• 1:16:21
  Speaker 4: that you would give them as they start their journey
• 1:16:25
  Speaker 4: into the entertainment business.
• 1:16:26
  Speaker 2: So if I had to give some advice, I would
• 1:16:30
  Speaker 2: say to be very optimistic, you know, be positive, have
• 1:16:35
  Speaker 2: a good attitude.
• 1:16:37
  Speaker 1: Little things matter.
• 1:16:38
  Speaker 2: You know, like you greeting everybody, you thinking everybody. You know,
• 1:16:42
  Speaker 2: you're showing up on time, like Ayana said, you know,
• 1:16:44
  Speaker 2: like in certain in certain industries and fields. That type
• 1:16:48
  Speaker 2: of stuff matters, you know. And and you say younger people,
• 1:16:52
  Speaker 2: it's also older people who's now starting a new career.
• 1:16:55
  Speaker 2: So I also want people to know that just because
• 1:16:57
  Speaker 2: you hit a certain age, it doesn't mean it's over.
• 1:17:00
  Speaker 2: Like you can be an artist in your thirties and
• 1:17:02
  Speaker 2: your forties.
• 1:17:03
  Speaker 1: Look at two chains, you know.
• 1:17:04
  Speaker 2: So even actors, it's older actors. So don't feel like, damn,
• 1:17:08
  Speaker 2: I missed my window.
• 1:17:09
  Speaker 1: I'm older now.
• 1:17:10
  Speaker 2: And if you do feel that way, there's also other
• 1:17:12
  Speaker 2: roles in it. You know, there's you can still be
• 1:17:15
  Speaker 2: a director, You could be a producer. If you don't
• 1:17:17
  Speaker 2: make it to the league, can still be a coach,
• 1:17:19
  Speaker 2: you know. So just I would say that, don't fight time,
• 1:17:24
  Speaker 2: don't fight aging, you know, just more so focused on
• 1:17:28
  Speaker 2: experience and learning. And you know, like some people, you
• 1:17:33
  Speaker 2: know make it young, you know, some people make it older.
• 1:17:36
  Speaker 1: It's a timeless thing.
• 1:17:38
  Speaker 2: I feel like, you know, there's there's vets, you know,
• 1:17:40
  Speaker 2: like when you finally hit your prime, like even right now,
• 1:17:43
  Speaker 2: like I'm you know, I'm getting up during.
• 1:17:46
  Speaker 1: Age, but I'm still you yeah, you know, yeah, I'm
• 1:17:51
  Speaker 1: on now.
• 1:17:51
  Speaker 2: It's crazy to me, I was so scared of thirty, Yeah,
• 1:17:54
  Speaker 2: because I was coming from that. Damn, Like, I can't
• 1:17:57
  Speaker 2: be no thirty yeld rap, I can't be having these
• 1:18:00
  Speaker 2: haldly doing these things at thirty. I'm old now, but
• 1:18:03
  Speaker 2: it's like, no, I'm young, It's just I'm now getting
• 1:18:06
  Speaker 2: started for them.
• 1:18:08
  Speaker 4: I love that.
• 1:18:09
  Speaker 5: I love that.
• 1:18:10
  Speaker 4: I love that attitude.
• 1:18:11
  Speaker 5: Yes, and everything he just said is my response, but
• 1:18:15
  Speaker 5: also adding like we keep talking about your mindset too.
• 1:18:17
  Speaker 5: You have to go into this world, in this industry
• 1:18:20
  Speaker 5: knowing that it is a very competitive like field craft
• 1:18:24
  Speaker 5: whatever we terminize. So it's like keep going. You didn't
• 1:18:27
  Speaker 5: get this job or you didn't you know whatever, don't
• 1:18:30
  Speaker 5: give up like it going. Know that what is for
• 1:18:34
  Speaker 5: you is always going to be for you. Yeah. Literally,
• 1:18:38
  Speaker 5: And that's probably my biggest like takeaway, Beau, And that's like,
• 1:18:43
  Speaker 5: that's why I, I don't know, I had to grow too.
• 1:18:46
  Speaker 2: You gotta know how to deal with rejection, know how
• 1:18:49
  Speaker 2: to keep your confidence.
• 1:18:50
  Speaker 1: Hey, I'm playing this song. Someone doesn't like it. It's cool.
• 1:18:52
  Speaker 1: Let me keep going, let me play with somebody else.
• 1:18:54
  Speaker 1: Don't let that break your.
• 1:18:55
  Speaker 5: Discourage and be open to constructive criticism.
• 1:18:58
  Speaker 1: Exactly exactly.
• 1:18:59
  Speaker 5: That's important as well.
• 1:19:00
  Speaker 3: So you open so when people speak your names years
• 1:19:04
  Speaker 3: from now, which they will be, what do you hope
• 1:19:10
  Speaker 3: your legacy is.
• 1:19:13
  Speaker 1: A legendary trail blazing.
• 1:19:18
  Speaker 5: Yes, keep going, Yeah, all that stuff. I just want
• 1:19:24
  Speaker 5: people are to know like she overcame and still killed
• 1:19:29
  Speaker 5: the game. She's been through it has different hurdles, different things,
• 1:19:33
  Speaker 5: and she's still.
• 1:19:37
  Speaker 3: Made it.
• 1:19:37
  Speaker 5: Yeah, ultimately, Like.
• 1:19:40
  Speaker 1: That's what it's not.
• 1:19:41
  Speaker 2: It just because like just because you have parents or
• 1:19:46
  Speaker 2: family in a certain industry, of feel still a tough path.
• 1:19:50
  Speaker 1: It's still a tough journey.
• 1:19:52
  Speaker 5: And I think people don't realize that. They're like, oh,
• 1:19:54
  Speaker 5: they have parents in the industry, your dad's they got it.
• 1:19:59
  Speaker 5: It's like yes, they hope hopefully if you have supportive here,
• 1:20:01
  Speaker 5: like yes they were helpful, but it's like it's hard
• 1:20:04
  Speaker 5: out here, like especially when you're really trying to like
• 1:20:06
  Speaker 5: lock in and do it, like it is hard. So
• 1:20:10
  Speaker 5: just you kept it going. OK.
• 1:20:13
  Speaker 3: Good. I had a moment where I was about to
• 1:20:16
  Speaker 3: boo hoo because I'm like watching y'all. H m hm,
• 1:20:26
  Speaker 3: I'm so proud of y'all. Make me cry.
• 1:20:30
  Speaker 5: Thanks.
• 1:20:34
  Speaker 1: It was it was very tough, like we're smiling and
• 1:20:37
  Speaker 1: were chilling now, but it was very.
• 1:20:39
  Speaker 3: So you guys are incredible. I'm so proud of y'all,
• 1:20:43
  Speaker 3: and I know that your mother is too. I'm so sorry.
• 1:20:48
  Speaker 3: I was not expecting to cry.
• 1:20:51
  Speaker 5: Well, I honest said, let it out. I know.
• 1:20:54
  Speaker 3: I'm like, but I'm like, wow.
• 1:21:01
  Speaker 5: And I love that, like you have such positive.
• 1:21:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I know, we just because I remember it.
• 1:21:13
  Speaker 3: Just you know, y'all are to me still babies, even
• 1:21:17
  Speaker 3: though we're so close in age. But just to see
• 1:21:21
  Speaker 3: who you both are becoming, it's so special and so
• 1:21:24
  Speaker 3: beautiful and I'm just an awe and thank you both
• 1:21:27
  Speaker 3: just for even taking the time.
• 1:21:29
  Speaker 1: Thank you for having yes.
• 1:21:33
  Speaker 3: And we're going to hang us and we're going to
• 1:21:36
  Speaker 3: give this bar. Oh my gosh, yes, I know my
• 1:21:41
  Speaker 3: mom brought something. She was like, I'm getting something for
• 1:21:44
  Speaker 3: the kids. I think she got you guys, some pillows
• 1:21:47
  Speaker 3: or something. Thank you, Oh my gosh. Yes, we just
• 1:21:52
  Speaker 3: this is family. So this goes beyond the couch. I
• 1:21:56
  Speaker 3: could have dropped it off next day literally even thank
• 1:22:01
  Speaker 3: what what does she does she explain to you what
• 1:22:03
  Speaker 3: it was, Evan, okay, because I don't know. She she
• 1:22:07
  Speaker 3: said something about whenever you feel like you need a
• 1:22:10
  Speaker 3: hug from your mom, hug this pillow, and I don't
• 1:22:14
  Speaker 3: know the pillow represents what. Okay, uh huh wow, Okay,
• 1:22:25
  Speaker 3: she loves you both so much and she's back, I
• 1:22:28
  Speaker 3: think at the hotel with my baby. But she wanted
• 1:22:32
  Speaker 3: to say she loves you both and she's so proud.
• 1:22:36
  Speaker 3: So I'm not gonna boo who again. I'll once the
• 1:22:40
  Speaker 3: camera stopped, but again, thank you both. This was fun.
• 1:22:44
  Speaker 5: We had such a fun times a place for I
• 1:22:51
  Speaker 5: didn't this is our first time, I think, like talking
• 1:22:53
  Speaker 5: about all moms, you know, in a public space, I
• 1:22:55
  Speaker 5: guess you'd say, but this was felt really good.
• 1:22:59
  Speaker 1: And this might be.
• 1:23:02
  Speaker 2: First second interview ever, so I'm a little rough around
• 1:23:05
  Speaker 2: the edges.
• 1:23:05
  Speaker 3: No, Manny at the beginning was like, I've never done
• 1:23:10
  Speaker 3: an interview before, you know, I don't know how. Yes, fantastic.
• 1:23:16
  Speaker 3: Y'all are both very charismatic and beautiful storytellers. So you're
• 1:23:21
  Speaker 3: definitely a great Yeah. Thank y'all. Thank you, thank you.
• 1:23:27
  Speaker 3: So I think we're good to wrap all right, I'll
• 1:23:30
  Speaker 3: close this out. Thank you guys for tuning in to
• 1:23:33
  Speaker 3: today's episode. I'm your host.
• 1:23:34
  Speaker 4: Mariah and I'm Tamara, and we'll.
• 1:23:37
  Speaker 3: See you next time. Make sure to like, follow, subscribe,
• 1:23:40
  Speaker 3: share
• 1:23:40
  Speaker 4: With your mama, my mineam, Thank you, Bye later