Issa Rae Says Leaving Your Comfort Zone Is Key To Securing A Bag
It feels like a whole ass decade since the cast of Insecure pulled up to our living rooms and given us the dose of both humor and reality we didn't know we needed, but if you were wondering what Issa Rae was doing during her time off, it certainly wasn't… taking time off.
In the last 12 months, Issa invested in both a coffee shop and streaming analytics business, launched a record label, announced her leading role in not one, but two major motion pictures, and dropped the premiere date of Season 4 of Insecure and we're pretty sure that sis isn't human.
While it may seem like there's a lot on Issa's plate, that only proves that this 35-year-old Inglewood-based entrepreneur is ready to eat. Having multiple streams of income always pays off, and in a recent interview with Who What Wear, Issa broke down why not getting caught in your comfort zone is the key to securing a bag. According to Issa, while she found success as a screenwriter and actress, she's on a mission to make use of her other gifts, too. She told the publication:
"I want to try different things and see what I can do. I don't want to just play myself, so I want to be able to experiment. Some of the things that I have on the slate to actually act in are very different. I don't want to get caught in a comfort zone. I don't want anybody to be able to put me in a box."
Living up to the expectations of others can be exhausting and Issa says she's dead ass tired of it. In her latest role in the romantic drama, The Photograph, Issa says that she was intentional about pushing her boundaries and offering fans a side of her that we wouldn't normally expect:
"I think people are just expecting me to be funny, and the character just lost her mom, so she's going through it. Obviously, there are elements of humor within the movie, but that's not the driving part of the character, which is new for me because I do lean on humor. It's been a defense mechanism for a lot of my life. That's my go-to, I guess, because my comfort zone is humor. So to not be able to lean on that in this film was interesting."
The present is a present and no one can truly be sure of what the future holds, but Issa knows that her ability to leverage her talents is a gift in and of itself. In the feature, Issa emphasized the importance of keeping your options (and your opportunities) open.
"This year will determine whether or not I have longevity on a particular side. If these movies do well, then I'll have more opportunities. If they don't, I might not. But I'm not a person who puts all my eggs in one basket. I have too many baskets."
You won't be good at everything, and it's a leader's job to hire people that are the best at what they do. Along with constantly seeking new opportunities, Issa says delegation has been essential to making her multi-hyphenate hustle a success:
"There's a lot that I love to do. So I love being behind the scenes. I love producing. I love writing. I love business. We have a new record label, and even there, crafting other artists in an area where I'm weak—I can't sing. I'm not a rapper. I'm not an artist, but to be able to work with people who have that talent and to lend what I know to help their careers is very exciting."
To read the full interview, click here!
Featured image by Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com
Taylor "Pretty" Honore is a spiritually centered and equally provocative rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana with a love for people and storytelling. You can probably find me planting herbs in your local community garden, blasting "Back That Thang Up" from my mini speaker. Let's get to know each other: @prettyhonore.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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You've Never Seen Luke James In A Role Quite Like This
Over the years, we've watched Luke James play countless characters we'd deem sex symbols, movie stars, and even his complicated character in Lena Waithe's The Chi. For the first time in his career, the New Orleans-born actor has taken on a role where his signature good looks take a backseat as he transforms into Edmund in Them: The Scare—a mentally deranged character in the second installment of the horror anthology series that you won't be able to take your eyes off.
Trust us, Edmund will literally make you do a double take.
xoNecole sat down with Luke James to talk about his latest series and all the complexity surrounding it—from the challenges taking on this out-of-the-box role to the show's depiction of the perplexing history of the relationship between Black Americans and police. When describing the opportunity to bring Edmund's character to life, Luke was overjoyed to show the audience yet another level of his masterful acting talents.
"It was like bathing in the sun," he said. "I was like, thank you! Another opportunity for me to be great—for me to expand my territory. I'm just elated to be a part of it and to see myself in a different light, something I didn't think I could do." He continued, "There are parts of you that says, 'Go for it because this is what you do.' But then also that's why it's a challenge because you're like, 'um, I don't know if I'm as free as I need to be to be able to do this.' Little Marvin just created such a safe space for me to be able to do this, and I'm grateful for everything I've been able to do to lead to this."
Courtesy
Them: The Scare, like the first season, shines a light on the plight of Black Americans in the United States. This time, the story is taking place in the 1990s, at the height of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. While the series presents many underlying themes, one that stands out is Black people and the complicated relationship with the police. "For the audience, I think it sets the tone for the era that we're in and the amount of chaos that's in the air in Los Angeles and around the country from this heinous incident. And I say it just sets the tone of the anxiety and anxiousness that everybody is feeling in their own households."
James has been a longtime advocate against police brutality himself. He has even featured Elijah McClain, the 23-year-old Colorado man who died after being forcibly detained by officers, as his Instagram avatar for the past five years. So, as you can imagine, this script was close to his heart. "Elijah was a soft-loving oddball. Different than anyone but loving and a musical genius. He was just open and wanted to be loved and seen."
Getty Images
Luke continued, "His life was taken from him. I resonate with his spirit and his words...through all the struggle and the pain he still found it in him to say, 'I love you and I forgive you.' And that's who we are as people—to our own detriment sometimes. He's someone I don't want people to forget. I have yet to remove his face from my world because I have yet to let go of his voice, let go of that being [because] there's so many people we have lost in our history that so often get forgotten."
He concluded, "I think that's the importance of such artwork that moves us to think and talk about it. Yes, it's entertaining. We get to come together and be spooked together. But then we come together and we think, 'Damn, Edmund needed someone to talk to. Edmund needed help... a lot [of] things could have been different. Edmund could have been saved.'
Check out the full interview below.
Luke James Talks Ditching Sex Symbol Status For "Them: The Scare", Elijah McClain, & Morewww.youtube.com
Featured image by Getty Images