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Her captivating command of the pole left many of us intrigued, perhaps even tempted, to explore pole dancing ourselves after witnessing the mesmerizing performances at Mercedes Sunday. But it wasn’t just her physical prowess that kept us hooked. Mercedes is a character of depth—empowering, complex, relatable, and deeply human.
These are qualities that Brandee embodies both on and off the screen.
(L-R) Marque Richardson and Brandee Evans on 'UnPrisoned' Season 2
Courtesy: Hulu
A Memphis native, Brandee is no stranger to dance. She boasts an impressive career as a choreographer, having worked with renowned artists like Katy Perry, Monica, Ke$ha, and Ledisi. But while it has been a significant part of her journey, Brandee has her sights set on more—expanding her acting career beyond dance-inclusive roles. This ambition nearly led her to pass on the opportunity to appear alongside Kerry Washington in Hulu’s UnPrisoned, where she plays Ava, Mal's (Marque Richardson) new girlfriend.
“When Kerry Washington slid into my DMs, I nearly said no,” Brandee revealed with a laugh. “She mentioned pole dancing, and I told myself and my team that once I was done with Mercedes, I wasn’t going to do that again.” Fortunately, Washington assured her that the role would be vastly different, leading to what Brandee described as an invaluable masterclass in comedy under the guidance of Washington herself.
“Kerry is a force of nature,” Brandee reflected. “She’s everything you’d hope she’d be—strong, compassionate, and incredibly talented. Working with her was like a masterclass in acting.” This opportunity was no mere stroke of luck; it was something Brandee had manifested years earlier. But make no mistake–she credits her faith and praying hands for her success. “I’m praying, you know what I mean? I’m asking God for what I want and working for it too,” she said.
"When Kerry Washington slid into my DMs, I nearly said no."
(L-R) Brandee Evans, Kerry Washington, and Marque Richardson on 'UnPrisoned' Season 2
Courtesy: Hulu
This role marked Brandee’s first foray into comedy, and while she was eager to embrace the challenge, she found herself in the hands of an incredible mentor. “Kerry was always so kind in her critiques,” Brandee noted. “She’s not a diva by any means. She knows exactly what she wants, but she’s gentle and encouraging in bringing it out of you. That’s something I’ve taken with me to other sets—I want to lead with the same kindness and openness that Kerry showed me. It’s a lesson I’ll carry for the rest of my life.”
Brandee speaks with profound respect and gratitude for her peers and fellow actresses as many have shown her genuine sisterhood and support in an industry often notorious for its competitiveness. “Danielle Brooks sent me a prayer the other day, and I was just so touched. Those are the moments that people don’t see,” she shared. “I call Sheryll Lee Ralph my fairy godmother, and Loretta Devine is like my auntie. Being able to pick up the phone and seek advice from these incredible women is a true blessing.”
And she pays it forward.
Brandee Evans
Courtesy: Hulu
But her commitment to supporting others extends far beyond her career. As an advocate for health and wellness, she empowers women to prioritize their well-being. “Azaria [Carter], who plays my daughter on P-Valley, mentioned wanting to start a weight loss journey and get more fit. I told her, ‘Well, let’s work out together,’” Brandee recounted. But her dedication to healthy living goes beyond physical fitness, encompassing a holistic approach to wellness. “When she came to my house and tried to microwave something in plastic, I said, ‘Let’s use glass instead. At 20, I wasn’t thinking about that, but let me share some tips now so you’re not battling fibroids in your 30s.’”
Because she was.
While filming the first season of P-Valley, Brandee faced enormous stress—not only as a caregiver for her mother, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but also due to the physical demands of the role. Yet the impact on her body was far greater than she expected. “I was literally on my cycle every day while playing a stripper, which is far from ideal,” Brandee revealed. It was Harriet D. Foy, who plays her mother, who urged her to get checked for fibroids.
"I was literally on my cycle every day while playing a stripper, which is far from ideal."
Brandee Evans graces the 2024 ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards Ceremony.
Arnold Turner/Getty Images for ESSENCE
The statistics are staggering—80% of Black women develop abnormal uterine growths by age 50, making them more likely to suffer from fibroids than any other racial group. But like many, Brandee was initially unaware of these growths and their debilitating effects, and the prospect of surgery was daunting. “I was scheduled to have a myomectomy on my birthday, but I thought about what it would mean for my career. How am I going to climb the pole? The healing process is similar to a C-section.” Determined to avoid surgery, she committed to healing herself naturally.
After a deep dive, she sought treatment at The Herb Shop of Vinings in Atlanta, which ultimately led to a remarkable recovery. “This man saves lives. His name is Jeff, and I call him my doctor.” Brandee shared. “I started detoxing my body with herbs and following his program. During my follow-up with the gynecologist, they said, ‘We don’t know what you’re doing, but your fibroids are shrinking.’”
Emerging on the other side of this journey not only fibroid-free but with a regulated cycle and a renewed outlook on life, Brandee is now focused on sharing her story and advocating for women’s health. “I know y’all want to hear about P-Valley, but I want to talk about regulating your period,” she said with a laugh.
Of course, she didn’t leave fans hanging when it came to what to expect in the upcoming season. “It is worth the wait. The world is about to go crazy. Oh, the world is about to lose it,” Brandee teased. “Y’all might be mad at us right now, but baby, it’s going to be worth it.”
All episodes of Season 2 of UnPrisoned are now streaming on Hulu.
Featured image courtesy of Hulu
Growing up playing sports, it wasn’t until high school that Sierra began to develop a love for music. Befriending local artists and musicians, she leaned into her curiosity of showcasing musical talent. “Seeing them perform and the magical moments they had together, whether it was at church or community events, was so powerful, and I started to fall in love with talent and bringing people together,” Sierra shared. “There are a lot of creatives [in Portland]. With artists, there has been a struggle getting their music beyond the Pacific Northwest and promoting it. You get conscious rap, R&B, soul, and jazz, it's a beautiful city to attach music to.”
At just 17 years old, she hit the ground running. Without experiencing many concerts at her age, her love grew from seeing artists she knew come together and make music.
“I started to create opportunities in the city of Portland. I would book out nightclubs and throw parties.” She explained, “I would book 21-and-up clubs and ask for a Thursday night out of the week because it was too expensive to book a Friday or Saturday. They made an exception on Thursday nights to do 17-and-up events. I would throw parties but in between have three to four acts from my hometown perform during the 11:00 p.m. to 1 a.m. time period in between the DJ set.”
With the support of her mother, she solidified her confidence in bringing Portland’s music scene to her peers at such a young age. "I would go inside [the venue], and she would wait at the bar until the party was over," she said.
After high school, Sierra attended college to cement her knowledge, leaning into her experience as a student-athlete. “I didn’t know this would be my career. I was going to school at Oregon State University studying media and communications really trying to figure it out. I studied TV production and I was working in sports." She added, "Music was my plan B. It was something that I wasn't sure how to get [into] being from a small town and a small city, but I knew sports. My plan A was to work in sports—whether that was working for a team or live venues like Crypto.com or Madison Square Garden—do marketing, and eventually become a general manager."
"Music was my plan B. It was something that I wasn't sure how to get [into] being from a small town and a small city, but I knew sports. My plan A was to work in sports—whether that was working for a team or live venues like Crypto.com or Madison Square Garden—do marketing, and eventually become a general manager."
"I thought I would go into sports because I knew it, I was an athlete growing up. I was more connected in that space," she continued. "I was into music, but I couldn’t work with [artists] in an extended way because I was so far away. Most artists were in Atlanta, New York, and Los Angeles. This was before the ability to really connect on social media. I was still in the community, but I didn't know where my place was. I was balancing both.”
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While pursuing television production and working in sports, Sierra spent a great deal of her time on campus still pursuing her musical endeavors. “I was doing a lot at the time on campus doing shows, being the festival organizer at Oregon State, and linking up with friends that did concerts outside of the school. Some of the artists I worked with then were Big K.R.I.T., Too Short, Rapsody, 9th Wonder, and then I brought the first hip-hop artist to Oregon State's campus,” Sierra added.
Managing a heavy load, she was still able to break barriers at her alma mater by booking Macklemore and Ryan Lewis as the first headlining hip-hop act in the university's history during their meteoric rise of “Thrift Shop."
“They never had hip-hop on their campus prior. It was important for me in that position to say that I see the value. I see how important hip-hop is. I know students, I’m one of these students, and it would be a miss for us to not have hip-hop representation in our annual Oregon State Festival. I was able to convince the school to go ahead with an artist from the Pacific Northwest, he’s local, he's relatable, he’s hip-hop, and I was able to diversify the [line up] around that headlining act.”
As Sierra continued on to her master’s degree at Syracuse University, she was still leaning onto what she knew best, but this time, she finally took a chance on what she desired most. “I was doing this, not knowing exactly what a role in music could look like. I was finding out that I enjoy the marketing, but I also like radio promotion to call stations to see how much ads cost. I started to see all these different aspects in music, and I was meeting managers and artists and seeing how fans were connecting.”
“I was doing this, not knowing exactly what a role in music could look like. I was finding out that I enjoy the marketing, but I also like radio promotion to call stations to see how much ads cost. I started to see all these different aspects in music, and I was meeting managers and artists and seeing how fans were connecting.”
While Sierra was studying sports and event management, she continued to learn multiple aspects of the music industry. “I was still working on campus doing music events, building stages for the festivals, literally building with the team from the ground up. I was doing both simultaneously, and at a point, I decided this is my opportunity to take a chance. I was at Syracuse studying sports, but I was telling people I wanted to work for the Recording Academy and that I wanted to work in music,” she recalled.
After not getting an internship while at Oregon State, Sierra got creative and decided to reach out to a member of The Recording Academy directly. “There was a second chance, [I] saw another opportunity, and instead of applying for all of the chapters, I applied to LA because that's where I wanted to move, and I'd be at the headquarters. I was doing my plan A, which was sports, but behind the scenes [I was] trying to figure out where I could fit in and get into music, which was my plan B.” She continued, “I applied to the LA chapter and reached out to the director. I found her on Tumblr.”
Taking her shot, Sierra figured, either she still works at The Recording Academy or she’d get a bounce back if she’s no longer there anymore. “Or maybe she works in a different department and can lead me the right way, but I’m going to try regardless.”
Sierra sent in her application and narrative essay not realizing it was GRAMMY week. To her surprise, the director responded, and after an interview via Skype, Sierra was on a flight heading to Los Angeles to officially begin her career in the music industry. “That was my first entry into music, and it finally felt like I figured it out. I landed my internship, moved to LA and that's when music started to flourish and take off from there.”
Courtesy
After a decade of experience, Sierra has held positions at Sony Music, Universal Music Group, The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA PHIL) Symphony Orchestra, along with various roles at The Recording Academy.
Sierra’s perseverance has led her to the career she’s always wanted, leading a team and inspiring others who are just as passionate about their love of music. “It’s important to understand as much as you can when working with others because you have to know what you do impacts how other people are able to work and be successful in their jobs.”
"The more you know, the better you're going to be as a leader and as a teammate. I've been able to take every step, from an assistant role to a coordinator role to a manager [role] to a director, to now being able to lead a team. It's very important to be aware of what others are doing and how your work impacts their work."
“The more you know, the better you're going to be as a leader and as a teammate. I’ve been able to take every step from an assistant role to a coordinator role to a manager to a director to now being able to lead a team. It's very important to be aware of what others are doing and how your work impacts their work.”
Now, as the head of the hip hop and R&B division at Amazon Music, Sierra continues to set the bar high and break barriers when connecting artists and fans.
Recently, Amazon music had hip-hop fans on the edge of their seats as Kendrick Lamar and other heavy-hitting LA artists presented a concert on Juneteenth live-streamed from Inglewood, California. She shared, “When we are bringing these live streams to the world, we want people to feel like they are there. The quality of our production was A1 and to be able to share those moments is just super powerful. The Ken and Friends livestream broke Amazon Music streaming records and earned the most minutes watched of any Amazon Music production. Those are the cultural moments we want to allow others around the world to experience. The livestream was able to bring it from LA to the world.”
"The Ken and Friends livestream broke Amazon Music streaming records and earned the most minutes watched of any Amazon Music production. Those are the cultural moments we want to allow others around the world to experience. The livestream was able to bring it from LA to the world."
Spearheading Amazon’s June campaign of Black Music Month, the Juneteenth livestream was a part of an initiative honoring the contributions of Black artists, composers, and songwriters who have defined culture. “Our campaign messaging was forever the influence. When Kendrick’s team and Free Lunch agency came to us about the event and wanting to work with Amazon Music to livestream it, we were excited. We’re really proud of what we were able to do together, providing the livestream and supporting the presentation of artists that were on that stage.”
From booking shows at Portland nightclubs as a teen to leading at Amazon Music, Sierra’s mission remains the same. “Wherever hip hop and R&B fans want to be, that’s where we want to be, too—support artists and amplify music to connect with people,” she concludes.
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Featured image: Courtesy