Black is Beautiful

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Speaker 1: My mother taught me that if you're going to lend money, never expect it back.
00:00:04
Speaker 2: Oh, okay. Well, then you're the one to call when the rent is due.
00:00:07
Speaker 1: Hello, Kim. I wouldn't say all that because I really do get my money back.
00:00:13
Speaker 3: Oh.
00:00:14
Speaker 1: Oh, except when I loaned it to boyfriends, ex-boyfriends. Yeah. Then it would just vanish, poof, gone.
00:00:20
Speaker 2: Well, that's not a loan. That's a life lesson.
00:00:21
Speaker 1: You ain't never lie.
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Speaker 4: I mean, were you loaning the money or were you footing the bill like a modern madam?
00:00:27
Speaker 3: Well.
00:00:28
Speaker 2: You're paying for the privilege.
00:00:29
Speaker 1: Well, a little bit of both.
00:00:32
Speaker 3: Okay.
00:00:33
Speaker 1: Listen, I dated a lot of lovable losers back in my day.
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Speaker 2: Okay. We listen and we don't judge. But okay. Well, seriously, can I borrow a little something, something?
00:00:45
Speaker 3: Oh.
00:00:45
Speaker 2: You know, just till Friday. I can't. Look, I don't have no pockets. Okay. Okay. Well, I do.
00:00:50
Speaker 1: Let me see.
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Speaker 2: Is that a pocket?
00:00:51
Speaker 1: Hold on just a second. There's something in here.
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Speaker 2: That's a crevice.
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Speaker 1: You're reaching into your bosom.
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Speaker 2: No, there's money in here.
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Speaker 1: There you go.
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Speaker 2: My pleasure. Oh, and a money clip.
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Speaker 1: Yes. Classy like that.
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Speaker 3: Hey.
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Speaker 2: In 20s. We got 100 in there?
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Speaker 3: Yeah.
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Speaker 2: Oh, you all right?
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Speaker 1: This will do. Am I going to get that back though? Here, let me give it. I'm going to get that back.
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Speaker 2: There's a one. Go on.
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Speaker 1: Go with God. Okay.
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Speaker 3: Okay.
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Speaker 2: All right.
00:01:15
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:01:16
Speaker 2: Drinks on me, kids.
00:01:17
Speaker 1: Maybe we need to write a promissory note or something. Come on, Amber, Kenny.
00:01:21
Speaker 2: Y'all love us. Oh, they love me. I'm their favorite.
00:01:45
Speaker 1: Welcome back to Reliving Single, the official, unofficial Living Single Rewatch Podcast. Boom. Happy to be here.
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Speaker 2: Bravo.
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Speaker 4: Okay, so this week's episode is very interesting. I mean, I kind of like it because the Maxine Shaw character gets paired up with Khadija.
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Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:02:01
Speaker 4: And we start to see that dynamic build. And that's really cool. I mean, because people should know, I mean, we didn't know each other at the time.
00:02:07
Speaker 1: Still getting to know each other.
00:02:08
Speaker 2: Still getting to know each other. And I admired Latifah. I love Latifah. We're both tomboys.
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Speaker 4: She's a different type of tomboy in a way that she's city and I'm country.
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Speaker 2: I'm Arizona. She's coming from Jersey. You know, Jersey.
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Speaker 4: And I think we bonded a bit because we both didn't like too much hair and makeup.
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Speaker 2: For that reason, it was kind of cool being paired up with her.
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Speaker 1: What's fun about the two of you is that you say that you all don't like the hair and makeup and then you all get done. I've seen you on red carpets and you blow everybody else out of the water. She does too. When she's done, she's like, oh, va, va, va, boom. So you don't like it, but you wear it well.
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Speaker 2: Oh, thank you. Yeah, you do. Thank you. You clean up well.
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Speaker 1: We're seeing them together. We know that they've been friends since college. And so there's a special bond that's there and we're seeing that. And then Latifah and I, I tell the story about how we met backstage at some award show, but we had actually met again On the set of Essence Magazine, they were doing a shoot with, you know, various celebs and their moms. And so I met Queen Latifah and her mother and my mother on the shoot of Essence Magazine.
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Speaker 2: That's nice.
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Speaker 1: It was really nice. And they were both teachers and there was a lovely vibe.
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Speaker 2: That's nice.
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Speaker 4: I mean, and that's how we were too. It's very slow and easy, very, you know, respectful, that type of thing. So, you know, in the same way we regarded Kim Fields as somebody we had watched, I had You know, love.
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Speaker 2: Love. Queen. And what she represented.
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Speaker 1: Please. Power.
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Speaker 4: You know, and that vibe of like respect and the way she carried herself.
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Speaker 2: Please. Her shoulders set back, that type of thing.
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Speaker 1: Unapologetic.
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Speaker 2: Dana is what you see.
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Speaker 1: What you see is what you get.
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Speaker 2: What you see is what you get. And it's not fake.
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Speaker 1: No, and I related to her because Jersey girls and girls from Brooklyn, you know, there's this thing where, you know, Manhattan is considered, you know, I think like the Wizard of Oz, like Oz, like, you know, Oz. There's this energy of expecting that we're going to make it in the big city, but not understanding that where you're from is just as important, just as powerful, and she represents Newark well.
00:04:09
Speaker 2: Gone.
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Speaker 1: There we go.
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Speaker 2: All right, so let's get into it.
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Speaker 3: Oh. Ooh.
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Speaker 1: It's time for The Rewind, where we watch and relive Living Single with you.
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Speaker 4: Okay, so it's Living Single Season 1, Episode 5. In the Black is Beautiful. And in this, we have Khadijah. She's borrowing money from Max. She's trying to keep Flavor Magazine in business, but it might ruin their friendship. Meanwhile, Kyle and Overton... They are having financial challenges of their own.
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Speaker 2: Right.
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Speaker 1: And I love the way that they put the two stories together. It was really, really lovely, as you all will soon see again.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, and move it together. And we got some great guest stars.
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Speaker 1: We do.
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Speaker 2: Steve White.
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Speaker 1: We had the great Steve White. I love Steve White. We used to do stand-up together in New York playing Elmo. You know, this skeevy guy who's got an ad for malt liquor. And Khadijah gets to decide whether or not she wants this ad in Flava magazine.
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Speaker 4: And we also got Cassie Davis now. That's a wonderful actress. She's known for being in Tyler Perry's, a lot of his work.
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Speaker 1: Right.
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Speaker 2: Frankly, their secret weapon. Yes. Yeah. Love her.
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Speaker 1: And love her especially because she was, you know, hanging out with us during those times.
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Speaker 3: Come on.
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Speaker 2: Tell the truth. Before that ever happened, she was ours.
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Speaker 1: So she had been directed or had done a play with Chip Fields or I think Chip. Fields Hurd and Kim at the time.
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Speaker 4: Yes.
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Speaker 1: But she was there and they were roommates. Kim and Cassie were roommates. So she was part of the family.
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Speaker 2: That's amazing.
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Speaker 4: People need to know how, you know, interwoven we are, but all how easy it was. And it didn't feel like, you know, we know these people now. They're fantastic stars, amazing, have always had the talent. But to know that we grew up together and when we see each other, it's a different kind of, I don't know, simpatico when you go on the red carpet and see people that you admire, that you love, that you say, but we remember when.
00:06:00
Speaker 2: Right. Yeah, so we gonna get with it.
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Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
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Speaker 2: Talk about money.
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Speaker 5: But I named my magazine Flavor because we have.
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Speaker 1: Taste, okay?
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Speaker 3: You and me, in a case of our brew, spending the evening in a tub of suds, would that make the ad a little more tasteful?
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Speaker 1: Let me make it plain.
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Speaker 5: I'm taking a class in kickboxing. Do you want to be my final examiner? I've seen a suit like that since JJ went to the prom.
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Speaker 1: Come on.
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Speaker 2: Come on now. You had to miss JJ there.
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Speaker 1: Some love for JJ and his suit.
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Speaker 2: But that suit was all silvery and slippery. It was. Like an eel. And look at them big old teeth that Steve had. Like pow.
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Speaker 1: Big smile.
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Speaker 3: Pow.
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Speaker 2: That's his secret weapon you talk about. Bam.
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Speaker 1: He understands the rhythm of what to do. And he was selling it. He was selling his product to her so that she would put it in her magazine.
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Speaker 3: Yeah.
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Speaker 1: And selling himself too. Oops.
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Speaker 4: A little bit hard. I mean, you know, that's interesting because what... he wants to do is put an ad for malt liquor in Flavor Magazine.
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Speaker 3: Right.
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Speaker 4: And for some people, and for black people, that's tricky. We've always had a tricky conversation around alcohol, especially back in the day.
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Speaker 3: Right.
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Speaker 2: And, you know, she kicks them out.
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Speaker 3: Right.
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Speaker 4: I mean, do you ever feel like you have sold out or were sell out at any point in your career?
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Speaker 3: Um....
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Speaker 2: Um.
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Speaker 1: It's a conversation for another day. Wait, wait, wait.
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Speaker 2: I feel like I'm... What is that?
00:07:30
Speaker 1: It's a conversation. You know, you have decisions to make and when you need money, and that's what we're talking about in this episode, when you need money, sometimes you make choices and you have to make those choices.
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Speaker 2: Yeah.
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Speaker 3: So.
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Speaker 2: Are you going to tell us a little bit more about your choice?
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Speaker 1: It's... It's something I don't like talking about.
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Speaker 2: Okay. I'll leave it alone for now. Yeah. For now.
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Speaker 1: Or forever. So the great thing about Steve White there is he's just bringing his A game. And, you know, I'll give you a little behind the scenes to see if you remember this. He would ad-lib the name Khadijah in a thousand ways other than Khadijah. So he said, hey, Caligula. Hey, Camptown Races. Hey, Carrots and Apples.
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Speaker 2: Everything but Khadijah.
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Speaker 1: Everything but Khadijah. And we as the cast, we thought it was hysterical.
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Speaker 2: We were egging him on. It was killing- But then when they came down, when.
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Speaker 1: The network came down, they didn't like it. And the thought was, we're still learning about Khadijah and learning who she is. This is episode five. We don't want to hear a name other than Khadijah. And as a cast member, I was mad because he was killing it. Yeah, we're all mad.
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Speaker 2: The truth is, you're right.
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Speaker 4: They spend an inordinate amount of time saying our names over and over again. I used to hate that to have to say, well, hi, you know, Khadija or Khadija. We always start with the name, but they're also teaching the audience.
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Speaker 2: Who's who and what's what.
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Speaker 1: And who we are.
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Speaker 4: So we're often retreading over information like our names or where we're from over and over again because we are teaching them the rules of living single and who we are.
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Speaker 3: Dang, we owe $ 2, 000. Yeah.
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Speaker 5: Well, I ain't too proud to beg.
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Speaker 1: Give me the print on the.
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Speaker 3: Phone.
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Speaker 5: Hello, Roger.
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Speaker 1: Yes, I know, I know, but you'll get paid. We got the money.
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Speaker 5: Do you need a Q-tip?
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Speaker 2: I said we got the money.
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Speaker 1: We ain't got the money.
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Speaker 2: So, you know, there he is after the ad man leaves.
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Speaker 4: We got Sinclair who tells Khadija, wait a minute now. You maybe shouldn't have You said no, because Flava needs to pay the printer.
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Speaker 1: And she has a decision to make that we'll soon see. And how are we going to pay this printer?
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Speaker 2: Because $ 2, 000, what's that, Amber? $ 4, 400. $ 4, 400? Wow. Wow. Okay, that's a lot of money.
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Speaker 1: That would hurt if you don't have it.
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Speaker 2: Yeah.
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Speaker 1: And if you're running a business and you don't know how you're going to get it. Also, there's some magic happening. There's some comedy magic happening in this moment. And it's the rule of threes.
00:10:00
Speaker 2: The rule of threes.
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Speaker 1: And so, hello, Roger. Yes, I know. You'll get paid. We got the money. We got the money.
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Speaker 2: Do you need a Q-tip?
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Speaker 1: We got the money. we ain't got the money. So it's like threes and then that extra zing at the end is just beautifully done.
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Speaker 4: You know, people don't understand that that's, you know, again, interwoven into the DNA of comedy.
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Speaker 2: For some reason, the rule of threes works.
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Speaker 1: I'm going to be really inception-y here. At the top of the show, I took three things out of my bosom. I took out Compact. I took out some keys. And then I took out the money. Three. You're welcome.
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Speaker 2: Hey! You're welcome. Y'all seeing genius in action.
00:10:36
Speaker 1: Come on now.
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Speaker 3: Listen.
00:10:38
Speaker 1: Come on now.
00:10:38
Speaker 2: You don't need to charge for this. Can we charge for this podcast?
00:10:41
Speaker 1: Can we charge?
00:10:41
Speaker 2: For the side, you know, the side master class.
00:10:45
Speaker 1: Listen, maybe we'll put a little tip jar. Yeah.
00:10:48
Speaker 2: Hey! Can we do that, y'all? Add a tip jar to the YouTube? Come on.
00:10:53
Speaker 1: They can. Oh, yeah. Like, people can subscribe.
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Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:10:56
Speaker 1: And then maybe we'll give it to charity.
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Speaker 2: Absolutely. Then I don't have to borrow your money.
00:10:59
Speaker 1: Or maybe, you know, I can buy some more hair.
00:11:01
Speaker 2: Okay. So, yeah. All right. Well, let's see the next clip.
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Speaker 1: Next clip.
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Speaker 2: Where's Khadija? In a funk.
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Speaker 1: Something is up with her, but Sinclair won't tell me what it is. Khadija owes $ 2, 000 to the printer.
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Speaker 2: He's threatening to cancel the next issue of our magazine. Good to thank.
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Speaker 3: You. Oh, no.
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Speaker 1: There's a lot of information in that right there. So you see that Sinclair tells Max and Regine that Khadijah is in debt and in danger of losing the magazine, despite the fact that Khadijah told me not to tell. Now, I am a tattletale.
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Speaker 2: Okay, you are a tattletale.
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Speaker 4: That's what we find out in this, that Sinclair can't keep a secret for nothing.
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Speaker 2: Is that her childlike wonder you keep talking about?
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Speaker 6: It is.
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Speaker 4: Because to me, that sounds like she got a big old mouth and she's, Sell you down the river.
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Speaker 1: No, she's an honest person. She has integrity. And although her cousin has said, don't tell, she knows that if somebody's going to be like, what's going on, what's going on, she's going to tell. And do you see the amount of relief that she has when she doesn't get it off her chest?
00:12:03
Speaker 3: You're right.
00:12:04
Speaker 2: Unless you know what?
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Speaker 1: That's her job.
00:12:05
Speaker 2: Right. I mean, she can't pay the rent.
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Speaker 6: Right.
00:12:08
Speaker 2: If they lose the magazine.
00:12:09
Speaker 1: That's right. Maybe we should bring in the village. But here's the funny moment that I'm noticing now. while we're watching this, is that I had to stay in the moment of not talking and you come in the room and I can't talk and I'm twiddling and looking at my nails and trying to find something to do to try to hold it in, but I want to share. I can't not tell.
00:12:27
Speaker 4: The anticipation is building and you're playing the anticipation beautifully, by the way. We always give ourselves props. I want to give myself some props. Give yourself some props.
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Speaker 2: I walk into the room, slick and beautiful, and I sit on the couch.
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Speaker 1: You perch.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, I was looking at it and I saw myself sort of float in the room. It's funny because when you have an aggressive sort of personality in a character, you can kind of just do too much of that.
00:12:51
Speaker 2: I actually made her movements fluid.
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Speaker 4: So when I sit down, yes, and I do my leg, and that plays against some of that. You know, when I say, you know, whatever, and then I slowly bring it back in because that also grounds the character and the audience back to the plot to just always sort of center it again And sort of the humanness and the drama of it.
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Speaker 1: This is the first.
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Speaker 2: Time she's got her own story. Khadija.
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Speaker 6: Right.
00:13:20
Speaker 2: Dana.
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Speaker 1: Dana gets her A story. Her A story.
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Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:13:24
Speaker 2: Why is that important?
00:13:25
Speaker 1: Well, it's important because we know that she's driven. We know that she's built this. I don't think we say it on the episode, but you get that this is something that she's built. She believes in. And we're learning about her level of integrity. And we're learning about what happens when it's not going well. the way she wants it to go. And as the episode unfolds, you'll see that, you know, yes, she's stubborn and yes, she doesn't want to take the help and how important this is to her.
00:13:51
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:13:51
Speaker 4: But then also as an actor, you know, she's a lead, but this is more her A story. And I also think that, you know, I don't know this, I don't know this, that it gave her a few episodes to connect.
00:14:05
Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
00:14:06
Speaker 4: Into the space because her natural space is the stage, but it's a different stage.
00:14:11
Speaker 2: She's a hip hop star.
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Speaker 1: She's the queen. When she shows up is when everything begins.
00:14:14
Speaker 2: Right. But I think that in here, it gave her time to become an actor. And become part of an ensemble. And become a sitcom actor and have Kim.
00:14:20
Speaker 4: Kim, I think, has carried, Kim Fields has carried the A storyline twice.
00:14:25
Speaker 2: Certainly Max has. Right.
00:14:27
Speaker 1: I think I got one.
00:14:28
Speaker 2: You got one. And then now. So I think they gave the queen a little bit of room to breathe.
00:14:32
Speaker 4: And I think that was, whether it was intentional or not, was smart.
00:14:35
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:14:37
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:14:37
Speaker 1: And give her a chance to get used to being in an ensemble in that way. Now it's a place where we have to decide how we're going to help Khadijah. I love that Regine says, Max, loan her the money. Like, who are you to tell her to give you the money?
00:14:52
Speaker 2: She does. But Max has it.
00:14:53
Speaker 1: Max has it.
00:14:54
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:14:55
Speaker 1: But we know that she's like, no, that's a dangerous road to go down. So I'm not going to do that. And I love that we come up with the idea of doing a lingerie party or Regine, because she works at a boutique and she can get it wholesale. And she knows that if we have this lingerie party, they can keep the extra money and give it. So that is the decision. That's how we're going to save.
00:15:11
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:15:11
Speaker 2: They're going to raise the funds. Right. Like an Avon party. You know what I'm saying?
00:15:15
Speaker 1: But with, you know, crotchless panties.
00:15:18
Speaker 2: And G-strings.
00:15:19
Speaker 1: Remember G-strings?
00:15:20
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:15:20
Speaker 2: What's the devil?
00:15:21
Speaker 1: They hurt so bad.
00:15:22
Speaker 3: My God.
00:15:23
Speaker 1: They hurt so. I used to think that like, and certain booties can take a G-string and certain booties cannot.
00:15:31
Speaker 3: Right.
00:15:32
Speaker 2: Yeah. African-American booties swallow them things up.
00:15:34
Speaker 1: Right.
00:15:35
Speaker 2: Right.
00:15:35
Speaker 4: You're pulling out G-strings for days. Whoever came up with that.
00:15:38
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:15:39
Speaker 4: It's like some sort of torture device. And what was it supposed to catch down there?
00:15:45
Speaker 1: What's that supposed to catch? It's just supposed to make it so that all you see are butt cheeks.
00:15:48
Speaker 2: Oh, your silhouette. Right.
00:15:49
Speaker 1: Just all butt cheeks. It's all butt cheeks and no panties in the way.
00:15:52
Speaker 2: Yeah. Right. Some dude came up with that.
00:15:54
Speaker 1: No doubt.
00:15:54
Speaker 2: Yeah. Let's make men wear that. That's like them wearing those.
00:16:01
Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
00:16:02
Speaker 1: Now, this is pretty, but it looks a little uncomfortable.
00:16:06
Speaker 5: Girl, if you are in that more than five minutes, you're doing something wrong.
00:16:11
Speaker 1: Well, at this price, I'm leaving it on. He's just going to have to work around it.
00:16:17
Speaker 5: What the hell is going on in here?
00:16:20
Speaker 1: Uh, is this the broke chick we're supposed to be helping out? All right, that's it.
00:16:24
Speaker 2: Be up out of.
00:16:24
Speaker 1: Here right now.
00:16:25
Speaker 2: Get up out my house. Be done. Bye-bye.
00:16:29
Speaker 1: Okay, let's talk about the magic and all the magic that was in that scene.
00:16:33
Speaker 2: Yes, the stakes are raised.
00:16:34
Speaker 3: Right.
00:16:35
Speaker 1: Because the printer has called. So she's like, okay, I'm going to do what I got to do. But let's go back and let's break this down. So I would like to say for the record that he's just going to have to work around it. came out of my act. That's something I used to say, put on your lingerie. It's like, you know, men, it's like, take that off. You don't have to work around this. So I love that Cassie is delivering this beautifully. And we see the little G string. It's like, it looks a little uncomfortable.
00:17:01
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:17:03
Speaker 1: Then there's the magic of John Hinton coming out. And I don't, y'all see all the dancing.
00:17:08
Speaker 2: So caramel.
00:17:09
Speaker 1: So caramel. So delicious. You're like, you don't look half bad.
00:17:12
Speaker 2: Yeah. You got a, what is it? This baseball cap. Right. boxer shorts, and a tool belt. That's what's up.
00:17:19
Speaker 1: And if you notice, he's doing- A dance. Not only do the dance and working with his nipples, but he's doing the Batman dance. And I know how much he loves Batman. So he does- The Batusi.
00:17:30
Speaker 3: Right.
00:17:30
Speaker 2: With the thing, yeah.
00:17:30
Speaker 1: Out of the original Batman episode. So if you look, you'll see him doing his little, adding that.
00:17:37
Speaker 4: Yeah, but you know, let's go back to them nipples because he's circling his nipples.
00:17:40
Speaker 3: Oh.
00:17:41
Speaker 2: Very suggestively as he dances. And you know, that's really cool. And I'm like, it's hilarious.
00:17:45
Speaker 4: But by the way, I have my own nipple gate and I'm upset. Because they bound my nipples because they kept popping.
00:17:54
Speaker 2: Out on the set.
00:17:55
Speaker 1: You were always so cold.
00:17:56
Speaker 4: And yet he comes out and he's stroking his nipples hardcore and doing all that.
00:18:00
Speaker 2: I mean, Nipplegate is real.
00:18:01
Speaker 4: They got me bound like the Handmaid's Tale. And he's out there doing all sorts.
00:18:05
Speaker 1: Of- Saying enjoy the nipple. Now we learned something about Jonathan.
00:18:08
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a double standard.
00:18:10
Speaker 1: It's a little freaky sneaky.
00:18:11
Speaker 2: It's a double standard. But don't worry, y'all. My nipples will make an appearance very soon.
00:18:15
Speaker 4: Despite what they try to bring.
00:18:18
Speaker 2: They will not be brought down.
00:18:19
Speaker 1: They will not be brought down.
00:18:20
Speaker 2: Yes. Back to see.
00:18:23
Speaker 1: So let's talk about, so Cassie's in that scene and we had another guest star that we need to call out. Oh, come on.
00:18:28
Speaker 2: Mimi D'Souza.
00:18:29
Speaker 1: Melissa D'Souza. Melissa D'Souza.
00:18:30
Speaker 6: Yes.
00:18:31
Speaker 1: Who, best man. Yes. What else? Lots of things.
00:18:35
Speaker 2: Lots of things. I did 30 years of life with her.
00:18:37
Speaker 1: Oh, you did?
00:18:38
Speaker 2: Yeah, lifetime ago.
00:18:38
Speaker 5: That's right.
00:18:39
Speaker 2: I love her.
00:18:40
Speaker 4: I'm the only one who calls her Mimi D'Souza.
00:18:42
Speaker 2: Y'all can, I guess, if she'll let you.
00:18:44
Speaker 1: But that's another example of folks that we've gotten a chance to play with who've gone and done their thing.
00:18:49
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah.
00:18:50
Speaker 2: You know, and you know what? That's the thing.
00:18:52
Speaker 4: And Yvette Lee Bowser, you know, props to her because this show created a lot of runway for people who launched their careers, but also put money in their pockets and give them their SAG card.
00:19:05
Speaker 6: Right.
00:19:05
Speaker 2: You know, you couldn't work in this town without a SAG card.
00:19:07
Speaker 5: That's right.
00:19:08
Speaker 4: And sometimes you would be elevated through doing extra work, but if you got a featured part. that meant that you could get into SAG. And getting into the union meant that you could go up for union jobs. And so thanks, Yvette Lee Bowser. And, you know, as a producer, there's a lot of people who have their careers and launched their careers off of this show.
00:19:26
Speaker 1: You got a chance to come and play with us.
00:19:27
Speaker 2: Love it, love it. I don't need your damn handouts.
00:19:31
Speaker 3: Hello?
00:19:33
Speaker 5: This is probably a bad time to bring this up, but the printer called and he said he can see to it that Flavor Magazine is never printed again. Enough is enough. Khadija, it's time to push your ego aside and accept some help. I'm writing you out a check right now. All right, now just hold it.
00:19:53
Speaker 1: All right, go ahead.
00:19:56
Speaker 4: Max, again, is able to write her own check. It goes again to who Max is. You know, she may be a nuisance to y'all, but she wrote that check and she didn't blink.
00:20:05
Speaker 1: She tossed that thing and made a scarf out of it, which was a great moment. Like, here, let me come in. It was very cavalier. Let me, my briefcase, my checkbook is right here. Let's go.
00:20:15
Speaker 2: Made a scarf out of a chiffon nightgown. Right. And then wrote that check.
00:20:21
Speaker 1: Wrote that check.
00:20:22
Speaker 2: So then, you know, now Khadija has to deal with that. She got the money.
00:20:27
Speaker 4: She got the money.
00:20:27
Speaker 2: Let's see how she feel about it.
00:20:28
Speaker 1: Let's see how she feels.
00:20:30
Speaker 5: I didn't bail you out to make you crazy.
00:20:32
Speaker 2: No, see, you don't have to bail me nothing. You tapped Edson on my last nerve.
00:20:37
Speaker 5: Now, maybe it'd be best for everybody if you'd just give me my money back.
00:20:42
Speaker 2: How would you like it in nickels and a sock? You didn't have to go there. But since you did, I will too. I want my ducats by Monday. No, no, no, you have your grip by Friday.
00:20:55
Speaker 1: Okay, there's so much going on. There's a lot going on. Let's break it down.
00:20:59
Speaker 4: Well, you know, Khadija, she's more uptight.
00:21:01
Speaker 2: Uptight. Everything ain't all right. Nothing's all right.
00:21:05
Speaker 4: No, because now that she owes Max the money, Max and Khadija get into a fight.
00:21:10
Speaker 1: It's their first fight, too. Yeah, it's their first fight.
00:21:13
Speaker 4: And they're going to have to give what? Khadija wants to give.
00:21:18
Speaker 2: Max her money back. Right.
00:21:19
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:21:19
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:21:20
Speaker 4: But you also have a B story that's been building too. What's been happening in the meantime that you may haven't seen is that Kyle and Overton have been fighting about a $ 24 bowling hangout.
00:21:34
Speaker 1: Bowling and beer.
00:21:35
Speaker 4: That Overton paid. and that he wants his money back. So they've been having a little tiff.
00:21:39
Speaker 1: Right, and I guess Kyle just never acknowledged it or whatever. So it was almost like, well, wait a minute, we have money problems too. And I love that Kyle's like, not in front of the ladies, man. We're not going to do this in front of the ladies in Overton. No, I want my money back. And so you have this fight that's also building at the same time.
00:21:55
Speaker 2: For one thing, Kyle was also bragging that men weren't like that with money.
00:21:58
Speaker 4: They were much more intrepid, all this other stuff. But when it came down to it, he said, wait a minute now. You owe me some money.
00:22:05
Speaker 2: But here, Khadija is now flipping out.
00:22:08
Speaker 1: What happened here is that Yvette Lee Bowser built in this contrast between the men and the women, how the men handle this issue and how the women handle this issue. And there's a contrast, but there's something that's still so similar. And the way the women are dealing with it is so aggressive. And the men realize quickly that it's not worth fighting anymore. And so we see two men have this moment that you think women would easily do. Like, girl, I'm sorry. There's that sweet moment that these two men, as masculine as they are, can still go, oh, I'm sorry, bro. I'm sorry. You know, it's sweet that this other way of looking at it.
00:22:45
Speaker 2: Yeah, but maybe what's real is that that's both a myth.
00:22:48
Speaker 4: When it comes to money, humans fight about money more than anything else.
00:22:51
Speaker 2: Let's just be real.
00:22:52
Speaker 3: It's true.
00:22:52
Speaker 2: I mean, we have toppled nations over the moolah.
00:22:55
Speaker 1: We have. And couples fight over money.
00:22:57
Speaker 2: Yes. Yes.
00:22:58
Speaker 4: So how this kind of works out is sweet because it does show that the men make up more quickly, especially once they see how the women are losing their friendship over it.
00:23:08
Speaker 2: Right. Right. And they don't want to lose that.
00:23:10
Speaker 3: Right.
00:23:11
Speaker 2: But it doesn't help Khadija.
00:23:12
Speaker 3: No.
00:23:13
Speaker 2: No. Because she really is having a hard time.
00:23:15
Speaker 1: She is. You know what, though?
00:23:16
Speaker 3: What?
00:23:17
Speaker 4: We always thought that Kyle had more money, but he's kind of not just cheap.
00:23:24
Speaker 2: You know, he don't want to give this money back.
00:23:26
Speaker 1: Of course he has the money. Maybe the thing is that it's like, you know, I'm going to give it to you. You know, when you're friends with somebody, it's like, I'll give it back to you. I'll give it back. Don't worry about it. Let's keep watching the play, what's happening between the women. Like, I'm going to give it back to you. But there became a principle that he was asking for it in front of the women.
00:23:42
Speaker 2: Yeah. The bottom line is Overton got got. You hear it? He got got.
00:23:47
Speaker 1: He got got.
00:23:48
Speaker 2: Yeah. And so he was fighting for respect and sort of giving my money back. Right. So, you know, but we all battling over friendship. We battling over money. This whole crew is kind of undone by that.
00:23:58
Speaker 4: And that's why I think ultimately Khadija does not want to owe you anything.
00:24:02
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:24:03
Speaker 4: She's afraid that anybody could have the power to tear down what she's worked so hard to build. And so it's a funny way to talk about this. But if you're an entrepreneur at any point, you are desperately in need.
00:24:14
Speaker 2: Of capital.
00:24:14
Speaker 1: Capital all the time.
00:24:16
Speaker 2: All the time.
00:24:16
Speaker 1: To be poured into your business. And who do you ask?
00:24:18
Speaker 2: Your friends. And if you do, then that's on the line too.
00:24:22
Speaker 1: Right. And also, what does it say about you that you, maybe part of her problem is, what does it say about me that I lost sight of the fact that I owed this man $ 2, 000? Or does it mean that my business is not doing well? Does it mean that it's going to fail all the way? It's just a lot going on.
00:24:37
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:24:37
Speaker 4: That's this feeling of self-esteem and worth and humiliation. The feeling, again, like, did I... If people will see me as somebody who needs something, nobody wants to be seen like that.
00:24:46
Speaker 2: It's hard to ask for help.
00:24:47
Speaker 6: Wow.
00:24:48
Speaker 1: Can I get my money back that you borrowed at the top of the show?
00:24:51
Speaker 3: No.
00:24:51
Speaker 1: Glad to be in business with you, Khadijah. What the hell are you doing?
00:24:57
Speaker 5: I just wanted you to have a picture of the moment you sold out.
00:25:02
Speaker 1: I can't do it. My magazine and your product don't mix.
00:25:06
Speaker 3: You know, I really respect your strength and integrity, and I've got to say it makes my nature rise.
00:25:15
Speaker 1: All right, that's it.
00:25:16
Speaker 2: I tried to be nice to you. Now, if you don't get your sorry sleazy behind out of my office.
00:25:25
Speaker 1: The great Steve White makes my nature rock.
00:25:29
Speaker 2: That's awesome.
00:25:30
Speaker 1: So Khadijah decides to invite the slimy malt liquor guy back.
00:25:35
Speaker 3: Back.
00:25:36
Speaker 1: And ultimately she refuses him out of integrity, right?
00:25:41
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:25:41
Speaker 1: With the help of Sinclair.
00:25:42
Speaker 2: Absolutely.
00:25:43
Speaker 1: I love that, you know, I take this picture of her just, I want to take a picture of the moment that you decided to sell all the way out. It's hilarious.
00:25:50
Speaker 2: The way you pull up your pants. I mean, Kim does, you know, do amazing physical.
00:25:55
Speaker 1: It's from watching all that, all the great comedians of the 70s and 80s, 60s and yeah.
00:26:00
Speaker 4: Well, you know, I mean, listen, our survival depends on making sure that our choices do the least amount of harm to our people and our communities.
00:26:07
Speaker 2: That's tough.
00:26:08
Speaker 1: And it's kind of difficult because, you know, a few monopolies just own everything.
00:26:11
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:26:12
Speaker 2: Yeah. They do. Want to elaborate?
00:26:14
Speaker 3: Huh?
00:26:15
Speaker 2: You keep hinting at something.
00:26:16
Speaker 6: Huh?
00:26:17
Speaker 2: No, no. You got something you want to get off your chest.
00:26:19
Speaker 1: No, I have nothing I want to get off my chest. It's not for here. It's not for here. Well, you know what?
00:26:22
Speaker 2: Listen, that's also bravo to Sinclair's integrity. Yes. You know? She represents the moral... a value center of the show.
00:26:32
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:26:32
Speaker 4: Because when she does things, she does them out of love, not out of ignorance or bumbling.
00:26:37
Speaker 2: She does them.
00:26:38
Speaker 1: Just pure, sort of grounded and sort of like, this is the way it should be. This is the way it should be. Protection.
00:26:43
Speaker 2: Right.
00:26:43
Speaker 1: Yeah. And even when she, you know, spills the beans about Khadijah's thing, it's because it's, she has integrity and honesty.
00:26:50
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:26:51
Speaker 2: And that's how she gives support, which is worth more than money.
00:26:54
Speaker 1: Oh, yeah.
00:26:54
Speaker 2: Oh, wow.
00:26:55
Speaker 1: It is.
00:26:56
Speaker 2: Jim, Jim drop.
00:26:59
Speaker 1: Jim drop. Gym drop.
00:27:00
Speaker 3: Ding.
00:27:00
Speaker 2: Ding.
00:27:01
Speaker 3: Okay.
00:27:02
Speaker 5: I called this meeting to apologize. You were wrong for telling my business. You were wrong for getting in my business. And you were wrong for getting into business with me.
00:27:15
Speaker 1: All right, now maybe I could have handled this whole thing better.
00:27:17
Speaker 2: Can I get an amen?
00:27:19
Speaker 1: You said it, sister. Yay.
00:27:22
Speaker 4: You know, hey, and Khadijah is apologizing to all the women in her own way, and she also lets them know that accepting help is hard for her. And they know that she doesn't always have to be the strong friend and that she can lean on them for support.
00:27:39
Speaker 2: And that's what she's learned.
00:27:40
Speaker 1: Right. And beautifully, we all kind of come. I love the apology. And then we rehearse it. And then the timing is beautiful, even to the point where if you if you all see there's a point where she says, I'd like to apologize. And then she moves into position to deliver.
00:27:56
Speaker 2: Like she's like the principal.
00:27:58
Speaker 1: Right.
00:27:58
Speaker 2: Holding us in her apology. Right. And then, of course, the great fields goes. Thank you. You're such a gracious lady.
00:28:08
Speaker 1: I'm not done yet. We have to receive that from her and love her enough to know that this was tough for her. The apology was tough for her. And the moment is okay. It's all going to be well.
00:28:19
Speaker 2: It's all going to be well. I love it. You know, lean on me.
00:28:22
Speaker 1: When you're not strong, and I'll be your friend. You're better at harmonizing than I am. I'll help you carry on.
00:28:32
Speaker 2: Come on. What? Come on now.
00:28:36
Speaker 1: Come on.
00:28:37
Speaker 2: Somebody need to give me a deal. You... Somebody... So, but anyway, no.
00:28:41
Speaker 1: Okay, moving on.
00:28:42
Speaker 2: Let's get back to you.
00:28:43
Speaker 1: Okay, let's get back to me. So, but let's look at the friendship. So, we have... You helped. The support is there.
00:28:52
Speaker 2: Yeah, they are her rock.
00:28:53
Speaker 4: Right.
00:28:54
Speaker 1: And you helped with the money.
00:28:55
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:28:55
Speaker 1: And Regine did her part with the fundraising with the lingerie show. Yeah, that's right. I helped by, you know, holding.
00:29:02
Speaker 2: Sort of a moral line. Yeah, we're all there. I mean, so that's her foundation. That's her foundation.
00:29:07
Speaker 4: She's going to always be okay.
00:29:09
Speaker 1: That's right.
00:29:09
Speaker 2: Always.
00:29:10
Speaker 1: I love it.
00:29:10
Speaker 2: I love it.
00:29:11
Speaker 5: All right.
00:29:11
Speaker 1: Five seasons worth. So that's In the Black is Beautiful.
00:29:16
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:29:16
Speaker 1: I really hope that people fall in love with and really appreciate the titles of the shows, too. Because we're telling you in the title what's going to happen. It's in the black, meaning, you know, that's the term for accounting that when you're in the black, it's beautiful.
00:29:29
Speaker 2: Or as opposed to the red.
00:29:30
Speaker 1: Right. And in the black as in black sisterhood.
00:29:33
Speaker 2: Black sisterhood. Yes, absolutely. You know, in money, that's deep stuff.
00:29:37
Speaker 1: Deep stuff.
00:29:38
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:29:38
Speaker 4: I mean, we got to talk about it.
00:29:41
Speaker 1: All right. We got the reverb.
00:29:42
Speaker 2: You going to tell us your story? Maybe.
00:29:44
Speaker 1: Here comes the reverb. This is The Reverb. Our time to reflect on the episode's themes and how they still echo throughout the culture. So as we see, you know, this whole episode is about this fictional conflict about Latifah's character, Khadijah, choosing not to take the money that would compromise her magazine's reputation, which is huge, right? But in real life, I think it's a little bit more nuanced than that.
00:30:11
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:30:12
Speaker 2: Do tell.
00:30:13
Speaker 3: Tell.
00:30:14
Speaker 2: Tell. Tell.
00:30:15
Speaker 3: Tell.
00:30:16
Speaker 1: Tell what?
00:30:18
Speaker 2: I listen and I don't judge. I'm lying. I judge. We all judge. Come on, girl. Tell it.
00:30:24
Speaker 3: Tell it.
00:30:25
Speaker 1: Maybe you won't judge. I'll just tell the story. So early in my career, I was given the opportunity to do a series of commercials, radio spots for a malt liquor company. And by the time we're shooting this episode, I had already had this experience. So this was art imitating life more than you know. So I've never talked about this. It was champagne. Is champagne even still around?
00:30:53
Speaker 2: Champagne.
00:30:54
Speaker 1: There was pink champagne, golden champagne. And I was called in to do these 10 radio spots, I think 30 seconds each for champagne. And it was $ 10, 000.
00:31:04
Speaker 3: Wow.
00:31:04
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:31:07
Speaker 2: That's not a shabby sum.
00:31:08
Speaker 1: Not a shabby sum. Do 10 spots and you just shoot them all in one day.
00:31:12
Speaker 4: Because we know from the 2000 that we can just double that. That's like $ 20, 000 in today's moolah.
00:31:15
Speaker 3: Right.
00:31:16
Speaker 2: Oops.
00:31:17
Speaker 1: And I needed the money. I mean, I was new at comedy. And so I remember going in to do the spots and- you know, trying to read the lines, you know, really, the copy really bright. Like, hey, girlfriend, next time you're in the club and you want something, whatever it was. And they were like, okay, stop, stop. Kim, that was great. Can you do it again one more time and just add a little bit more oomph? And I was like, oh, okay. Hey, girlfriend, next time you're in the club, stop, stop. And this went on for like the first, like, you know, hour or so. And at some point, someone took a piece of paper, like a, you know, and wrote something in a Sharpie, be blacker and taped it to the inside of the booth so that I could see be blacker. So what ended up happening is I would read the copy like this. Hey, girlfriend, when you at the club, don't forget when you thirsty, you got to get your drink on. And my soul was Kept leaving my body.
00:32:18
Speaker 3: Your body.
00:32:20
Speaker 1: What does be blacker even mean? Like, this is a big conversation. What does it mean to be blacker? But I knew what they meant. And when I did that, they're like, yes, we got it. Move on to the next one. So they were happy. It was. Oh, God. Yeah. Ten commercials. And I'm trying to keep it because black is many, many things. But that's.
00:32:39
Speaker 2: That day you were black enough for the assignment.
00:32:43
Speaker 1: I wasn't black enough.
00:32:44
Speaker 2: And that right there.
00:32:46
Speaker 1: Wow.
00:32:48
Speaker 2: I think my soul just left my body.
00:32:49
Speaker 1: My soul was leaving because I knew that now I was, these spots were going out to a very specific audience. And if you think about it, ads for malt liquor are not up in Beverly Hills.
00:33:03
Speaker 2: No.
00:33:03
Speaker 1: Or in Connecticut, some of your parts of Connecticut. This was a very specific audience that they were speaking to and a very specific audience they were selling this product to. And I vowed I would never do something like that ever again. So for me, doing ads for alcohol are no, because I know that they're, and there's nothing wrong with having a little cocktail here and there, but this was.
00:33:24
Speaker 2: Very- But there was no sophistication to the way you were being presented.
00:33:27
Speaker 3: None.
00:33:28
Speaker 4: Now, who put up that sign, black or white person? Was it a black ad agency?
00:33:32
Speaker 1: It was a black ad agency. And listen, they weren't making the product. They were being called in to represent and do these ads. And they had been paid to do that. And they needed the person they'd hired to do the jokes, to do the copy. And I still have that piece of paper. I stuck it. I took it down. And now the tape has yellowed from where they taped it to the inside of the booth. I still have that. I never framed it because I couldn't quite put that up on a wall. But I remember the moment that I had to decide.
00:34:03
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah.
00:34:04
Speaker 2: You know what?
00:34:04
Speaker 4: That's a piece of black memorabilia as important as a picture of somebody in blackface.
00:34:10
Speaker 2: What they were asking you to do was blackface. I understand that now. And it's important, I think. Thank you. You know, we listen and we don't judge.
00:34:19
Speaker 1: Thank you for not judging.
00:34:20
Speaker 4: But it's funny that they asked you to do that because they probably saw some of that in your act and they thought you would do a character. The problem is you showed up as Kim Coles and that wasn't black enough. It's like they revoked your black card that you weren't black enough. But me coming from Arizona, I faced that all the time. For many years, I didn't get roles because a lot of them wanted you to come in.
00:34:37
Speaker 2: And be like, hey, girl. Oh, really? Oh, he crazy. Hey, you know what?
00:34:43
Speaker 4: And I didn't know how to be inauthentic in that way because I didn't think it was character based.
00:34:48
Speaker 2: I thought it was front loaded with.
00:34:49
Speaker 1: A bunch of pathology.
00:34:51
Speaker 4: And I was like, you ain't going to get me out there. And after a while, your bank account goes low and you're finding out you're getting the eviction notices and everything else.
00:35:00
Speaker 2: And people think.
00:35:01
Speaker 4: That we, these overbearing, spoiled people that get paid a lot and we've got tons of residuals coming in. The artist's life, being a comedian, actors, as we are, you get paid for that week and And you might get a little bit on the back end as things come in, as negotiated with the contract.
00:35:21
Speaker 2: But most of the time you spend most of your life unemployed. Of course.
00:35:24
Speaker 4: And so I see why you might have been in that position and taken that.
00:35:27
Speaker 2: Right.
00:35:28
Speaker 1: And it was early, like I said, it was early in my career. And to get a commercial, a radio spot, it was 10 spots. Why wouldn't I say yes to it until I got in the room and I realized what was required? And I could have in that moment said, I got to go, guys.
00:35:42
Speaker 4: But you would have done that because your work ethic.
00:35:45
Speaker 2: Right. There's a whole room of people waiting for you.
00:35:47
Speaker 1: There's a whole other thing going on.
00:35:48
Speaker 2: And you also probably felt like you were letting them down.
00:35:49
Speaker 3: Of course.
00:35:49
Speaker 2: If it's an hour and they're still asking for something, you're like, what's going on? I was like, what do you mean?
00:35:53
Speaker 1: What do you mean? I am black. I am being sassy. I found my way to add my own kick on it that I thought would be acceptable. And they were like, no, we need you to go all the way someplace else.
00:36:03
Speaker 2: I understand why.
00:36:04
Speaker 4: But there's a lot of people who took the money and never thought about how it impacted the community.
00:36:09
Speaker 1: I took the money and I understood how it impacted the community. I took that money.
00:36:13
Speaker 2: I did. So there's a special place in hell for you.
00:36:16
Speaker 1: But I promise I never would again.
00:36:18
Speaker 2: You know I'm going to get you out of here. You know I'm going to, on your behalf, I will. I will ask.
00:36:26
Speaker 1: You'll ask for what?
00:36:27
Speaker 2: I will go in and treat you.
00:36:29
Speaker 4: The great ahs when I get up there and say, you know, Kim didn't really mean to do that to us.
00:36:32
Speaker 1: God knows my heart. I've been making up for it ever since by being excellent in everything that I do.
00:36:37
Speaker 2: Always.
00:36:38
Speaker 1: And you were excellent that day.
00:36:39
Speaker 2: And saying no.
00:36:40
Speaker 1: I was being excellent. I made a decision. And also choosing. There's a lot of stuff I've said no to. There's people who can do that so much better.
00:36:48
Speaker 2: But you know what?
00:36:48
Speaker 4: A lot of people just didn't even, they didn't even come to me. Like people are like, oh, did you get that audition? No, I think the sniff, I didn't.
00:36:55
Speaker 2: Pass the sniff test. They were like, Erica is not the one.
00:36:58
Speaker 1: Are you grateful that you didn't pass that sniff test?
00:37:00
Speaker 2: Thank you, Lord. Because you know what?
00:37:02
Speaker 4: Who knows if I had done well in something and ended up being in that position to say, should I?
00:37:08
Speaker 2: There's a part of us that wants the people please. In the real sense. Everybody's coming. I'm a people pleaser. I'm a people. And then they don't please anybody but themselves.
00:37:16
Speaker 4: It's a selfish sort of motivational thing they've got from their therapy.
00:37:19
Speaker 1: And they don't even please themselves because they know that they're not being authentic. But then there's that.
00:37:22
Speaker 2: But a lot of actors are people pleasers.
00:37:24
Speaker 3: Of course.
00:37:24
Speaker 2: Because it's been your whole time saying, is this what you want? Is this what you want? Oh, that's what you want? You want me? And then suddenly you're going to say no to that? It's a tough gig.
00:37:32
Speaker 3: It is.
00:37:33
Speaker 1: Woo.
00:37:34
Speaker 2: My gosh. I mean, thank you. I mean, that's real life. Thank you. I love these conversations.
00:37:38
Speaker 1: That was actually worse.
00:37:39
Speaker 2: Thank you for saying that here, too.
00:37:41
Speaker 4: I mean, but you know, this is fictional. And here, Khadija Latifah is the strong woman.
00:37:48
Speaker 2: She's a strong.
00:37:48
Speaker 4: Woman and heavy as the head that wears the crown. You know what I'm saying? I mean, it's difficult for all of us. I mean, we've all sometime had early success and it's difficult to have that identity.
00:38:02
Speaker 2: And, you know, the burden that comes with it.
00:38:04
Speaker 1: Of the strong woman. And I can do it all myself.
00:38:07
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:38:07
Speaker 1: You know, this identity, especially as black women, this identity that we feel, and this is a long conversation to have, that we put on is that I have to be a strong woman. I have to be the strong one. And I love that she is the strong one and we are each strong in our own way. And then we lift each other up and we hold each other.
00:38:26
Speaker 4: Yeah, but you know, family and friends and all these sorts of things kind of can distort the type of, you know, you're trying to be successful, but suddenly there's jealousy, there's anger, there's generational trauma.
00:38:38
Speaker 2: That we're dealing with.
00:38:38
Speaker 4: There's the idea that we're particularly vulnerable because so many people did their best to put us in that position.
00:38:49
Speaker 1: There's that.
00:38:50
Speaker 4: And yet, you know, if you're the first in your family to succeed, you can often be the target of a lot of scorn. And people don't even realize if the person who was pushed forward was successful, everybody being held back and like, well, why them? And You know, all the sort of weird feelings that it brings.
00:39:07
Speaker 1: Up for us. And can you bring me along and will I get my chance? There's a lot.
00:39:11
Speaker 4: There's a movement right now for rest and relaxation. People getting out and camping now. There's like a turn for us. You know, say, let's get away from this. We don't have to always hold up the world.
00:39:22
Speaker 2: We can frolic. You seen them black men frolicking?
00:39:24
Speaker 1: Oh, I love when they have black boy joy and black boys frolicking. There's a beautiful one. with these brothers riding a bike and singing their song. And there's a guy skipping. It's so wonderful.
00:39:37
Speaker 2: And traveling, getting their passports and saying, hey, you know, this is.
00:39:40
Speaker 4: an act of protest and resistance to say, we're not bound by borders.
00:39:46
Speaker 2: And the first border is getting past the ones in your mind.
00:39:51
Speaker 1: And napping as a resistance, about the nap ministry and rest as resistance. And it's okay to lay it down for a minute so that you can rejuvenate yourself and be stronger than ever. And then there's the conversations of the stories that we tell ourselves and You know, people talk about it as a woo-woo, and not woo-woo-woo, but a woo-woo perspective. But the universe really does give us the opportunities to live the identity and create yourself anew anytime you choose.
00:40:16
Speaker 2: And grow.
00:40:17
Speaker 4: And so Living Single does its best to push against that by offering a conversation around you can be strong, Latifah, as Khadija, but you have friends and foundation that you can relax in.
00:40:30
Speaker 2: We have your back.
00:40:31
Speaker 1: Absolutely.
00:40:32
Speaker 4: That's the real thing, is to show how to be that foundation in a healthy way.
00:40:38
Speaker 1: You know, we're showing it on a fictional show. If you don't have it in your life, know that it's possible and you can go seek that out.
00:40:45
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:40:46
Speaker 1: Yeah. You can have that.
00:40:47
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:40:48
Speaker 2: So, I mean, you don't have to always do it on your own.
00:40:50
Speaker 6: No.
00:40:50
Speaker 2: Frankly, you know what? You can't do it on your own. You can't. You're stronger together. Stronger together.
00:40:56
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:40:57
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:40:57
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's real.
00:40:58
Speaker 1: It takes a village, isn't that? All these phrases that we forget.
00:41:00
Speaker 2: If that comes from Africa, it takes a village. Right.
00:41:04
Speaker 1: Find your tribe and talk about it. I think this whole strong thing where we say in our silos, and I don't want anybody to know, and just like Khadijah didn't want anybody to know, don't tell Sinclair, don't tell. But when you open that up, you open up the opportunity for someone to resonate and relate to you and help you in that way. And then you help each other.
00:41:24
Speaker 2: Kim, that was a real... Crazy story.
00:41:26
Speaker 4: And I appreciate you saying it, but you know, we got to replace that bad ad with a good ad.
00:41:30
Speaker 1: You think we could do it?
00:41:31
Speaker 2: Yeah, we can do it.
00:41:32
Speaker 1: Okay, let's do it.
00:41:33
Speaker 2: I'm ready. Ready. Okay.
00:41:36
Speaker 1: If you're a black woman, ask someone for help. If you aren't a black woman, help at least three black women in your life.
00:41:44
Speaker 4: If for some reason you're listening to this podcast and don't know three black women, make sure to share this show with 10 friends.
00:41:52
Speaker 2: You'll be helping at least two black women. Now blacker.
00:41:59
Speaker 3: Oh, God.
00:42:01
Speaker 2: The fuck?
00:42:08
Speaker 1: It's time for True Blue, where we hear from our friends, and that's a cross between friends and fans. Amber, who do we have?
00:42:16
Speaker 6: So I was actually a late adapter to this amazing show that you guys were both on. And I want to know, like, why do you guys think it's still relevant now? Why do you guys think it's so necessary to have these conversations.
00:42:28
Speaker 1: About, you know, Black wealth, generational wealth, generational.
00:42:32
Speaker 6: Trauma, relationships between, you know, different types of Black individuals and personalities?
00:42:38
Speaker 1: And my name is Skye.
00:42:39
Speaker 3: Yay, Skye!
00:42:44
Speaker 1: You were live with Sky.
00:42:46
Speaker 2: I was live with Sky at the Farmer's Market.
00:42:48
Speaker 1: Wow.
00:42:48
Speaker 2: Yes, she's wonderful.
00:42:50
Speaker 1: Nice, nice.
00:42:51
Speaker 4: Yes, set designer and that type of thing. Sky asked a great question. Why is it important? She's new to the show, but why is it important that her generation talk about what we were talking about now here in this episode?
00:43:03
Speaker 1: I think it still tracks. It still matters. I love when people say that the show still... It's still relevant. And so that proves that these are conversations that we were having then, that were being had before we even started doing a show like this, and that it still tracks and still matters, and that these conversations and these relationships still matter. And so I just think it's still relevant.
00:43:31
Speaker 2: But it's also still happening. Let's be clear.
00:43:34
Speaker 4: Black women are the most entrepreneurial community in America. They're also, as in their population, their population side, the most educated and successful inside of that, despite having the least amount of venture capital.
00:43:54
Speaker 2: This is the resources.
00:43:55
Speaker 4: If we say that there's a big pool of venture capital going around supporting and or investing in businesses, what's the percentage you think goes to black women?
00:44:06
Speaker 2: Tell me your guesstimate.
00:44:09
Speaker 1: So the resources that are out there and the resources that go to black women?
00:44:12
Speaker 2: Yeah, the percentage. If there's 100%, how much of that do you think we're getting?
00:44:16
Speaker 1: 2%.
00:44:17
Speaker 2: Okay, good guess.
00:44:19
Speaker 4: Women overall get about 2%. Black women get about 0.5%, not even a full percent, maybe 0.6%. We get 0.6%, and we're the most entrepreneur and also educating degrees overall, working our butts off.
00:44:35
Speaker 2: And no one will invest an hour.
00:44:39
Speaker 4: Ideas and our, you know, businesses and our lives, that right there is a class action shoot as far as I'm concerned.
00:44:47
Speaker 2: Power to the people, baby.
00:44:49
Speaker 4: That's why you need to have these conversations so you know what you're up against.
00:44:53
Speaker 2: You can succeed, but not if you don't know the score.
00:44:56
Speaker 1: And do you think that if there's more education and more information and more of us who have, you know, maybe achieved another, a particular level of make sure that we go back and educate, make sure that we go back and share, make sure that we know that there are resources available because the resources are there. I think part of it is that we don't know that we can go and ask. We don't know how to, sometimes we don't learn how to set up our businesses in a way so that they can receive those extra funds, those extra things, and create more of a community, more of a conversation there. So that people know that those resources are indeed there.
00:45:35
Speaker 4: But their resources are there, but they're not coming from the wider world. Ooh, that was no pun intended.
00:45:41
Speaker 6: No.
00:45:42
Speaker 1: Got it.
00:45:42
Speaker 2: That's real. We are not alone.
00:45:45
Speaker 4: There are the Latino and the Asian and all that. But if we are pit against each other and work at things that don't matter, we don't do the fusion politics that Martin Luther King talked about. Martin Luther King talked about that when he created the Poor People's Campaign. Because he thought, if we come together- We're not poor at all.
00:46:03
Speaker 2: These various diverse communities.
00:46:05
Speaker 4: We are powerhouse. And we need to get to that source of, that resource is the source.
00:46:13
Speaker 1: That unity, that extra unity.
00:46:14
Speaker 2: That unity.
00:46:15
Speaker 4: But that comes from education and also not seeing ourselves as going after too little.
00:46:21
Speaker 2: There's a lot there. But it starts with, again, the mindset.
00:46:26
Speaker 1: Education.
00:46:26
Speaker 2: I hope the gems were dropping.
00:46:28
Speaker 1: Did we drop a gem? Thank you, friends.
00:46:32
Speaker 2: Appreciate it. Like that word.
00:46:34
Speaker 4: Don't forget to send your question and comments to relivingsinglepodcastathartbeat.com.
00:46:41
Speaker 1: Well, that's a good show. It was a great show.
00:46:44
Speaker 2: That was a chunky show.
00:46:45
Speaker 1: Chunky and fabulous. Thank everybody for listening and watching and continue to listen and watch and follow us on all the socials at Reliving Single Podcast on YouTube and Spotify and Apple Podcasts and really all the places where you get your podcasts. Yes, please.
00:47:01
Speaker 4: And friends, help us build the Reliving Single community by having watch parties and posting Living Single memorabilia and telling your stories on social media.
00:47:10
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:47:11
Speaker 1: And we want you to be true blue ambassadors. Keep sending in your questions and comments and all that and We'll see you next week. How about that?
00:47:18
Speaker 4: Ciao.
00:47:19
Speaker 1: We love you. Reliving Single is hosted by Erica Alexander and me, Kim Coles. Reliving Single is a production of Heartbeat in association with Color Farm Media. Executive produced by Kevin Hart, Jeff Clannigan, Eric Eddings, Leslie Guam, Erica Alexander, and Ben Arnon. This show is produced by Kim Coles. Amber Watson is our senior producer. Our associate producer is Kenny Jackson. Our sound engineers are Eric Hicks and Cedric Wilson. Production supervision by Razak Boykin. Additional production support from Alex Atkins and Z Taylor. And a special thanks to Dr. EJ Johnson.