On this episode, we start by checking in on what happened in the month that we've been on our lil' hiatus. And since most of that time was spent with Jazmine Sullivan's “Heaux Tales” on repeat, we just had to get into our favorite tracks! Then, we chat with our favorite Gen Z superstar, Zendaya, about her upcoming Netflix film, “Malcolm & Marie”. She talks about how the film came to be, her evolution from teen star to grown ass woman, and her honest take on how to handle growing up in the public eye. Finally, we end the episode by celebrating some of our Unsung Black Heroes in honor of Black History Month. It's a very serious list, y'all.
Okay, Now Listen Season 2 Episode 1 Transcript
[Music In]
Scottie: You're listening to Okay, Now Listen, a biweekly show where we chat about what's on our minds, what we're bingeing and what's blowing up our timelines. I'm Scottie Beam, a media personality, content creator, music enthusiast and a wing connoisseur.
Sylvia: And I'm Sylvia Obell. I'm a culture writer, host, producer and lover of Beyoncé.
Scottie: Sylvia, season two. We did it! We did it, yo!
[Music Out]
Sylvia: [crosstalk] What?!
Scottie: [crosstalk] We did it.
Sylvia: I'm so happy to be back in the digital booth, the virtual booth with you, sis. It's been -- it's back in my happy place. I'm happy to be here. I'm happy to be back for our listeners. We miss y'all.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Yes.
Sylvia: Thank you so much for holding us down, binging us in our absence, tweeted us, at-ing us, threatening us, threatening us Netflix. We heard you. We're here.
Scottie: I love the threats. Keep the threats coming. Please.
Sylvia: [laughs] You all can stand down til season three.
Scottie: Right. [laughs]
Sylvia: [laughs] In the meantime, we appreciate the heat was coming though.
Scottie: Yeah. I'm so excited for what's to come. But please tell me, Sylvia, what's been going on with you the past -- what is it, a month we've been apart?
Sylvia: You know, I really locked down, locked down. The numbers got crazy over the holidays. I spent, you know, Christmas alone, New Year's alone in my apartment. But I also enjoy my own company. So it wasn't even really like a sad thing. Like, I actually genuinely enjoyed not having the pressure to do anything on New Year's Eve. I FaceTimed all my friends, including yourself. So I didn't even really feel like I was alone. And January I just been like resting, reading and just gearing up for all the things and coming, you know, into this Black ass February, my favorite month of the year.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Of course it is.
Sylvia: Not because it's Black History Month, but that gives it the edge. [laughter]That gives it the little razzle dazzle. But it's also my birthday month.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Raat, raat.
Sylvia: I am turning a whole 31 on Saturday, February 6th. I really can't believe I'm like in my thirties for real, like we have a full ge -- a full foot in that thing. And I guess -- yeah, it's been, it's been interesting. Cus half the time I kind of feel like damn did I get robbed of 30? Like that's such a fun year and I feel like I didn't, you know, I spent so much of it in the house but I had to check myself because I'm like, but look at how much you did change. Like for your birthday this last year versus this year, you were in a whole different city. You launched a whole podcast. You -- you know what I mean? I done -- I did more cover stories than I had done in any other year, you know? I mean, look, I did cool interviews. Like I really -- like I made myself see how much I was able to make happen for myself in the worst of times. And for that reason, I won't allow myself to turn thirty again this go around.
Sylvia: But it is my first pandemic birthday. I really thought, like most Aquariuses, that was going to get away with this. Like I really thought, like, I would like y'all, y'alls fall and winter babies thought it was a goin circle back? We really thought it wasn't goin -- we wasn't going to lap ourselves for a full year. So here we are.
Scottie: Also, this is the anniversary of the last time I've been outside. So it's been a whole year.
Sylvia: [laughs] My birthday? [laughs].
Scottie: It's been a while one year since I've been outside, which is nuts to me. Out of this world. And, you know, what's crazy? The funniest shit is Sylvia's birthday, we were all at her apartment and there was one guy in particular that was talking about Coronavirus. [laughter] And literally me and a few other people, I won't name names, because like shut your ass up! You're taking this too seriously. You need to shut up. You are just dumbing the party down.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] Everybody -- we were trying to have a good time! Shut up!
Scottie: Right. You're just setting the mood and this is horrible.
Sylvia: Conspiracy theories. [laughs] Booo.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Right. And we just like, turn that music up and shut your ass up. So to him, I apologize.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] We apologize. [laughs].
Scottie: Because --.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] He was right.
Scottie: [crosstalk] I can't believe -- he really was going on and on. And I was --.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] He was right.
Scottie: Sitting here talking about you are -- you don't know anything. Just shut up. This man knew everything. We were all looking at him so crazy.
Sylvia: It was really the beginning of the end. We couldn't see it. We did not know. But I mean, I'm just happy there were pictures and things like that. But I consider myself blessed to have had a 2020 birthday because only about January and February birthdays can say that they did that without having to worry about masks and stuff. Some of you all did that anyway. But that's a whole different story. I am going to take my L gracefully and safely like everybody should be. And if all -- the rest of y'all do the same, maybe we can get out of this by 2022.
Sylvia: Can I have a 32nd birthday please, y'all?
Scottie: Jesus.
Sylvia: Stay in the house? Thanks.
Scottie: Yeah.
Sylvia: But that's been, that's mostly been me. Just you know gearing up to be -- my big personal new year always starts on my birthday because it's close enough to the new year that it feels like okay, I -- January was just a warm up. I don't really subscribe to dry January, especially in the year of a coupe inauguration vote, take over. Like --.
Scottie: Oh yeah, that was a mess. January was a mess.
Sylvia: It was -- January was wild, okay? It was a wild, wild west and I'm just happy to be here. How about you? Anything new?
Scottie: You know, me? I was just trying to rest, child. I've been resting. Wanted to rest, just chill for a little bit. Also, I really love reading. I love reading. So I wanted to try to catch up on some books. Tried audio books, not for me because I don't have the attention span. I need the book physically in my hand in order for me to really feel like, you know, I'm doing the work because me just listening, I'll jump in and out. So I think audio books are not for me. Just realized that during this month. [laughter] But other than that, you know, I just really been chillin. You know, you know me. I love me to chill. And yeah, I just hope niggas get they life together and stay inside and keep it together so that at least by October, guys, can we just please. I want a birthday. I haven't -- I mean, I had a good birthday last year. I cannot even say anything. It was beautiful, but I would just like one without masks. So please. But other than that, you know, just been chillin.
Sylvia: Okay.
Scottie: But one thing I've been all about and I'm still about is this goddamn Jazmine Sullivan EP Heaux Tales. Let me tell you something, Sylvio.
Sylvia: Li -- Okay, now listen!
Scottie: Okay.
Sylvia: You talking about okay, now listen. That EP spoke to me, Scottie. It spoke to me.
Scottie: Well let's talk about it then.
[Music In]
Sylvia: Let's do it. Let's get into this. So, yes, this Jazmine Sullivan EP Heaux Tales, and that's heaux spelled the classy way.
[Music Out]
Sylvia: Yes, this is a classy heaux. This is like a, you know, the Creole heaux, the New Orleans heaux, with a U-X at the end of it. [laughs].
Scottie: Put some gumbo on the side.
Sylvia: But I have like -- we both grew up close enough to Philly to understand that music city and that culture and Jazmine has been one of the Philly's own brightest stars since we were in -- back in school. So I was so excited for our queen to come back and grace us with new music because she'd been gone too long for my liking. So I was really ready to take whatever she had to give. But then she was coming with these singles and that was like "Lost One" and then "Pick Up Your Feelings." And I was like, oh, Jazmine's about to the -- like, fuck us up. But I didn't see coming was the whole concept album. And I live for this concept in the interludes within the album because it really just speaks to all the different ways in which and nuances in which black women have are able to feel about owning their sexuality or how it pertains to relationships. And, you know, the whole thing.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Yeah.
Sylvia: And I think there's a track on there for everybody. And for me personally, "Girl Like Me"" with her and H.E.R. [laughs]
Scottie: Why is that? Yeah, explain -- explain what "Girl Like Me" is about and why you relate to it?
Sylvia: Like so "Girl Like Me" -- and I know it's got a bit of a, it -- I remember there was a bit of a dialog about like, what kind of heaux are they talking about? Because essentially the song is like, you go -- like it's basically them singing to a guy about how like he's going to make her act like a heaux if you keep behaving in this manner because she just feels like there's no hope for a girl like her. That's why it's called "Girl Like Me".
Scottie: [crosstalk] Right.
Sylvia: Like, you know, like there's no hope for a girl like me. These heauxs be winning.And not in this sense of like hatin, you know, what I mean. That's not how I took it. I interpreted it as like, these sexually liberated women who are not letting men like, you know, impact how they choose or, you know, where they -- you know, where they put down their pussy at night. You know what I mean, like, they are winning. And here I am being -- letting you own my sexuality in a dumb way. Or letting you have possession of that power for me. And I need to like -- and that's not, that's not it. And I think for me also, there's the whole point of like, I feel like there's a bit of regret when they're singing like, that when they say these heauxs be winning because I do think that for me, I know I've had times in my life where I wish I was -- got to be more of a heaux, you know what I mean? Where I'm like, I feel like "Girl Like Me" is really for those girls who are just naturally like I -- that's not who I am as a person. Like, I'm not very aggressive sexually at all. And I've never really been taught to, like, harness or own that power. Like I -- like, I have conversations with my friends about like when we were all in college. And like, sometimes --I have friends that -- and I consider you one of these friends, Scottie -- where it's like, you guys can walk into a room, see a man and be like, I'm gonna get that nigga. You know what I mean? There's like a confidence -- and you can get him. And even if you only want him for the night or that moment or just to know you had that --.
Scottie: [crosstalk] I could get him. Absolutely.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] Ability that can do it. There's a power in that. And it's like, that's the kind of girl that is winning. And girls like me, where it's like us who are maybe shy or have, you know, or haven't been able to shed ourselves of respectability politics or all these other things. Like we just don't feel like that's attractive as the same way. Or like that we're winning because like here we are letting a boy or a man like just you know, hurt us or cry over and that, you know, whatever. So for me, I really think "Girl Like Me"-- that's why I loved and related to this song, because I, I just think that we should be putting pleasure first and shattering lies of how --.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Yeah.
Sylvia: You get chose. Like that whole Joan Clayton theory. I'm not with that, you know what I mean. Like the 90 day, 30 day rule, whatever the 90 day rule --.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Yeah, whatever Steve Harvey had said. All those books --
Sylvia: [crosstalk] All those things that makes you feel like you, you could be in a-- like if you behave this way, you'll get the man you deserve, type rhetoric, right? If you don't give the milk for free. And it's like, no.
Scottie: It's the baby boomer shit that they've been selling for years and years where it's like, so I'm not the, I guess, the heaux. I'm the girl that -- I was the tease, right. I guess I'll say, I'm a teaser kind of girl. I like to waste your time. [laughter] And, and there -- there really is like this whole stigma about the body count, right. We talk about, you know, I let guys tell me, you don't want a high body count. You want to stay on this hand. And tell me, what -- tell me exactly how to like work and how to function, like as a woman. We kept the same tox -- toxic men in our lives because we didn't want to caught -- you know, get on the other hand.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] Yeah.
Scottie: We didn't want that finger to go up. You know what I'm saying?
Sylvia: [crosstalk] You got a body count.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Once you make it to six, you a heaux, automatically. [laughter] Then men look down on you. So I was big on, you know, luckily I had a mom -- I have a mom who didn't really judge at all and wanted me to have as much fun as possible because she had fun.
Sylvia: Mmm.
Scottie: And whatever that looked like to me, she didn't really want to build that out, you know what I'm saying? She didn't want to build it for me. She just was like, whatever is fun, do it. And I think wh -- that's why I, I didn't -- I lost my virginity at a really late age because I -- it wasn't, I was never pressured to do it.
Sylvia: Yeah, cus I don't think that that whole ment -- like that whole thing, it's not really even about being sexually promiscuous. I think, like, we can own the word and how we want it to be.
Scottie: Right.
Sylvia: I honestly feel like, you know, like the crux of it really is just not living your life trying to be chosen by a man. But like realizing that, like, I'm the prize. And like --.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Right.
Sylvia: I'm going to live my life the way I want to. And if you can get with it, then cool. But I'm not going to put on this good girl, you know, like the pick-mes. You know, like we joke on twitter about the pick-me, pick-me, pick-me.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Pick-mes.
Sylvia: So when in the song, when she's talking about how the guy just -- she just wants him to choose her. And like, why, you know, like that pressure, like, I can, I can relate to that and like --
Scottie: Cus we all want that attention. Like we can't -- I don't care what people say. I don't need no man's attention or no woman's attention or whatever it is. [laughter] Girl. Okay. But I know at some point you do want to be recognized. You do want to, you know, to be fawned over and desired. Everybody wants to be desired.
Sylvia: And you ha --and I feel like every good girl has that moment where they're like, am I being too plain? Am I being too nice? Like, am I not being sexy enough to get your attention? So I'm going --.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Right. And you're going to make me -- you're going to make me want to be a heaux. Like you're going to make me want to do this.
Sylvia: I, I truly just related to the whole thing of like the struggle of being a good girl and wanting or wishing that I was empowered more to just have fun.
Scottie: Yeah.
Sylvia: Me and my first relationship. Like we we were both virgins. So it didn't feel like one way. It definitely was like a mutual, like we're both trying to save ourselves for each other. And I definitely think that's why I made it out of high school without having sex. You know, I didn't have sex until I was an adult. And part of me is kind of like -- but it was very like only within that sense of relationships. And a lot of times I think to myself, like, how much more fun could have been had out there in the streets?
Scottie: [crosstalk] Oh, yeah, the streets was fun. Shout out to the streets. We, we --
Sylvia: [crosstalk] I mean, it was a little fun. And I mean like, I mean in a safe way because I'm not over here, you know, promoting, like, putting yourself in danger and stuff.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Yeah.
Sylvia: I just mean that, like, there's a happy medium there. And I think that, like, that song just makes me think about that to an extent. So, yeah.
Scottie: Yeah.
Sylvia: That's my take on it. So which of which of -- which one is your favorite? Which was a favorite on this album for you? Cus I feel like everybody has at least a tale, an interlude, a song, something that takes them back.
Scottie: So Jazmine got this song. I think Sylvia speaks about not being in the streets enough."Lost One" is me being in the streets too much. Mmkay? Now let me just say this. I don't regret nothing I done did. I done did it and I'd do it again.
Sylvia: [laughs] [sings] Done-da-da-dah, done-da-da-dah! [laughs]
Scottie: [crosstalk] I done-da-da-done-done did it. I'll do it again.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] And I'd do it again!
Scottie: But I will say is I didn't leave room for people's feelings. "Last One" is definitely about girl who had a girlfriend and she was with her. And then I guess with -- she went out with her girlfriend's best friend and slept with the girlfriend's best friend. And they- -- I mean, she cheated, but I didn't do that far. I didn't go that far. That's crazy. So, you know, there was one guy in particular that took me way more seriously than I took him. And I didn't see any of those hints. I didn't take anything seriously. And I hurt him badly. I had chose somebody over him. I dropped him. I ghosted him. I never spoke to him.
Sylvia: Damn.
Scottie: And again, I regret nothing, but I do, I do feel bad for not thinking of his feelings and taking into consideration that there might have been people who actually put their heart first and then led with their heart. You know, I don't do that. I didn't do that. So he had expressed to me years later that I had hurt him to the core to where it made him really insecure with dating. And so we had to have a come to Jesus moment where I just was like, none of the things that I was doing was a reflection on you. It was all of a reflection on me and what I was going through. And after that one heartbreak I had, I just knew I was never going to take a nigga seriously. That was not going to happen.
Sylvia: It was like a defense mechanism, yeah.
Scottie: Right.
Sylvia: That's because somebody had hurt you. And so it's like --.
Scottie: Right.
Sylvia: So he was behaving --.
Scottie: [crosstalk] It's a cycle. Yes.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] It's a cycle. And then he was like, so you were the girl when girls are like, who hurt you? It was you.
Sylvia: And I was that girl.
Sylvia: [laughs] You were the girl. Yeah.
Scottie: Yes. So, you know, he had questions. He asked me and I could just hear it in his voice that he wasn't over it. I'm sure he was over us, but he was over -- he wasn't over the pain. And so I had to apologize. And I think that will probably stick with me forever.
Sylvia: It's a lesson.
Scottie: Because I think when I hear pain and in the voice, stuff like that, that I will probably will never forget. And so, yeah. It was -- I felt really bad. I felt really bad. And I think that's, that's what I heard with "Lost One."
Sylvia: But I love that you fixed -- I love that you apologized. And I'm glad that he got that closure. Like you probably did him wonders, you know what I mean, like --.
Scottie: Thankfully.
Sylvia: I mean, we all wish we could get that apology from the first guy, like the first person who hurt you in that way. And it was great that you were able to circle back and give him that.
Scottie: Yeah.
Sylvia: Cus Lord knows a lot of us will never get that apology.
Scottie: Well, thank God for growth. You know, I needed to do all those things, too. I needed to to hurt me, hurt myself, hurt others. I had to do all of that in order to see, like, really sit down and take apart the layers and why I wanted to function this way and what was keeping me from feeling, actually loving people. Hurting him, I truly, I apologize for it and --
Sylvia: [sings] You know, when you lost one. [laughs].
Scottie: Yeah. Well, I mean, you know --.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] I mean, I think it -- I think the bridge is the apology. Like, you know what she's like: and if it's too late to understand. I understand. Sometimes it's too late to make amends.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Yeah. It's too late.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] But just hear me out. Like I'm sorry, you know what I mean?
Scottie: I'm so sorry.
Sylvia: I, I think that's important. And I love the vulnerability there because it is. Like we all have hurt somebody in our lives. And I think it's so much easier to think about the times you've been hurt than take accountability for the times where you were the one who did it. So I love that the album shows like all of this range. And it's just like a sexy album. Because to your point, like the whole -- I feel like from start to bottom, it's like these are the experiences that make you a woman. These are the things that are the lessons in the tales and stuff you have to go through to grow and be like -- and own your sexuality and your life and your, you know, take ownership of that narrative. And that's why I really love it. And I also just think that, like, we -- I just love when we get sexy songs. Like a sexy R&B song, it just really always does it for me. And I love "On It" for that reason.
Scottie: [crosstalk] "On it". I knew you was going to bring it right in.
Sylvia: Cus "On It", while "Girl Like Me" is the one where I be singing some lyrics like, whew! I -- it's like they took a page out of my diary. "On It" is when I'm like, b -- did they really rhyme, sit on it and spit on it? Shakespeare could never. [laughs] And I know --.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Shut up, please.
Sylvia: I know -- and I know that with Ari, I know that with Ari in my heart. I said, did these girls, Ari and Jazmine really get on here and say, sit on it and then said, spit on it?
Sylvia: And I said, wow, Shakespeare, what? A.P Lit., where are you? These lyrics, like, [laughter] it was like, just the right amount of sexy for me, you know what I mean? And I, I love it. It was just like, I ran it back six times before I got through the rest of the album. That is on Mary and her little lamb.
Scottie: That was me. That was me and "Bodies."
Sylvia: [crosstalk] "Bodies" That is --.
Scottie: "Bodies," I like, [sings] gotta stop getting fucked up. I don't -- [laughter] Yo, I was thinking --
Sylvia: [crosstalk] I don't want -- that could have been an alarm clock at college, child. [laughs]
Scottie: I had, I had tweeted -- I tweeted that I wish this came out when I was in my mid twenties.
Sylvia: Whew!
Scottie: Because let me tell you something, that first [sings] gotta stop getting fucked up --
Sylvia: But how she kept repeating it.
Scottie: Yo.
Sylvia: She's like, bitch. Get it together bitch. You don't know who --.
Scottie: Who --.
Sylvia: Who you went home again?
Scottie: [crosstalk] [sings] Who you when home with! [laughter] That's exactly what be happening.
Sylvia: Who again -- [sings] I keep on falling on bodes, on bodies, on bodies.
Scottie: [crosstalk] [sings] Bodies, on bodies, on bodies. You get to --
Sylvia: [crosstalk] [sings] You got to stop it cus -- it's like, it's like a talking to yourself. Like a chant. I know like, it's like whew! It's a --.
Scottie: I don't know where I roll with that.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] You have -- there's a, there's a come to Jesus moment where some girls you got to have that conversation with yourself. And it's like, I want to be happy, I want to be liberated but in a way that's healthy, mentally, emotionally.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Yeah, you're wilin'.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] Like, you wilin' right now, sis.
Scottie: [crosstalk] You have moments where you go into the bathroom, you look in the mirror, you say, yo, you are wilin'. You gotta stop.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] What are you doing here? What are you doing here?
Scottie: [crosstalk] What are you doing here?
Sylvia: [crosstalk] Go home. [laughs]
Scottie: [crosstalk] Take yo ass home. Yes.
Go home. [laughs]
Scottie: And I -- listen. I usually I listen to all my go homes.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] You gotta listen to that voice. Listen -- to our twenty-somethings listening. Listening -- listen to that voice when you hear her.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Listen to that voice. Please.
Sylvia: I don't care if you but as naked put your clothes back on and go home if you feel that in your heart.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Mhmm. And go home. It ain't --.
Sylvia: It's -- it is ok. You will not regret it. I promise you.
Scottie: If you don't feel like doing -- get your ass up and go home.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] And even if it's the one that Ari's talking about her interlude, the kind of dick that just is like, I'm sorry.
Scottie: Oh, that's the one that you run from, nigga. Don't you dare.
Sylvia: When you -- when a man made you feel the way Ari Lenno was talking about how that dick spoke to her, that's when you run. When she's over here saying, I -- it's just -- this is just my truth. This is just my truth over and over again. Run! Run for the hills cus that dick is dangerous.
Scottie: [crosstalk] It's like from -- I was like from Love Jones. Like, what’d it say? Cus --
Sylvia: I feel like that interlude is like a personification of that scene. It's like what the dick say?
Scottie: [crosstalk] What'd it say?
Sylvia: Because she was like, if you all knew who it was, y'all would be like Ari, did -- have you read Go -- do you know what Google says? And she's like, I do. But I also know what that dick said. [laughs].
Scottie: [crosstalk] Child.
Sylvia: She said, it spoke life. She said it sowed turmoil. [laughs] That's when I was like, run Ari!
Scottie: [crosstalk] Girl, get out.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] You are in danger. Whew!
Scottie: In danger girl.
Sylvia: But yeah, so.
Scottie: Please.
Sylvia: Love -- I'm so grateful for Heaux Tales. I stan a woman that is just unapologetically herself and isn't afraid to give multiple narratives that don't necessarily apply to her. Like what I love most about this album that feels like it's a collective. It feels like Jazmine made a point to speak to different kinds of women. We contain multitudes. And I think this album goes through a lot of those. And I really appreciate her for that and this dialog. And I really hope her and Issa make a little mini movie they was talking about doing on Twitter. Because I would love to see it. So.
Scottie: Yes.
Sylvia: Get on that, kids.
[Music In]
Scottie: 100 percent behind it. 100 percent behind it. Love it.
Scottie: The first episode of season two, Sylvia. And we are coming in hot, you hear me? We have a legend in the making, a GenZ queen, the magazine cover Slayer herself, Emmy Award winner, and most importantly, the reason why, okay, [laughter] my brother keeps calling me all morning. All -- like we got Zendaya in a building. Zendaya -- Please, can you please tell my brother to stop calling? Like it is insane? He's insane.
Zendaya: I'm so sorry.
Scottie: How are you, Mama? How are you feeling?
Zendaya: I'm feeling good. Thank you guys so much for having me.
Sylvia: Yay!
Zendaya: I am a fan of both of you. I remember when Sylvia and I first got to talk and that was such a beautiful moment. And and I love that interview. It brought me, it brought me a lot of joy. Like we were talking about in the interview. So that was really special. And now I've gotten to meet you as well and follow you and see all the amazing things you're doing, Scottie. So this is so cool. And I, and I'm just so grateful for your support of me and what I'm doing. And I'm glad that you both were able to see the film and enjoyed it. And yeah. It's -- I mean, this is like it's a nerve wracking experience. You know, it's my first time producing something and putting my own shit out there. So it's -- it can be scary but that support means a lot. So thank you.
Scottie: Oh. We always got support, baby girl. 100 percent.
Zendaya: Thank you.
Scottie: We got to be behind you. Go ahead.
Sylvia: Yes, absolutely. And, you know, like Scottie said, we're always gonna support because the talent is there. Listen, the material is there.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Look at the material.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] You're not making it hard for us. Look at the material.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Just look at the material!
Sylvia: [crosstalk] It's like we have chosen to stan on forever because why not?
Zendaya: [crosstalk] Thank you, thank you.
Sylvia: Because we -- because we have taste.
Zendaya: Listen, vice versa. Vice versa.
Sylvia: [laughs] And speaking of taste, we absolutely, like it can't be emphasized enough how much we love Malcolm and Marie. It is such a raw and honest look at relationships and love and the toxicity that can exist there. And isn't always a sweet like roses, but it shouldn't be super negative and violent. This movie does a great job in offering the nuance of what lives in between love and hate. How did Sam Levinson and you land on this idea and what excited you about it?
Zendaya: Right. Well, I was, you know, in quarantine like everyone else. And I was trying to find ways to stay creative. I would like, try things for a little bit. I did a lot of painting for a little bit. I did a lot of this for a little bit, you know. And I was -- and it was interesting because I had gone in to the headspace of of going into a second season of Euphoria. We -- because they we shut down production maybe, I want to say, like a day before we were supposed to start shooting the second season. So my head was like, I'm ready to go into this dark place. Like I'm ready to like, I was prepared to be Rue again. And when that kind of was gone, you know, I talked to Sam and we have such a close relationship and I'm so grateful for that. And we've had so many, you know, deep discussions just as human beings because of, I think, what our, what our job entails. So we -- I talked to him about everything. And when we were in quarantine, he kind of served also as a creative lighthouse for me. So I'd call him, we'd call it shooting the shit and we're just talk about any and everything. And a lot of those conversations had to do with Euphoria and what we were going to do with that. And when it looked like that wasn't going to happen, I kind of shifted my idea more towards is, there something we can do in the house? You know, so I was like, maybe you, Marcel, our cinematographer, we would just do something in my house. Right. And he came up with a few strange ideas. Some had like very psychological thriller vibes happening, which ironically somehow bled into Malcolm and Marie as well. [laughs] But, but there was this one idea about like me having, you know, this mental breakdown cus I think I'm still on Disney Channel. And I was like, you know what, maybe we should wait till I'm little bit older to do that one because I think it could actually be [laughter] -- you know.
Sylvia: Too soon, Sam.
Zendaya: Yeah, it could actually be interesting. Just give me some more time. So we had, you know, we had these these different discussions and and he finally, he hit me up. He was like, yo Z. I think I got one. I was like, OK. He's like, what if it's just like two people? One house, shoot in black and white and it's, you know, a filmmaker. He's coming home. You're his girlfriend and he's forgotten to thank you. And essentially, you guys just like argue the whole night and deal with your relationship. And then we like, I don't know if someone turns off the light and goes to sleep and we don't really know the fate of their relationship. I was like, I love this idea. Start writing. [laughter].
Sylvia: And he was like, yes, that one.
Zendaya: Yes, that's the one. So he started writing, literally. And he would write, you know, 10 pages at a time. He'd call me and we just -- he'd read them out loud. And we discuss it for, like, hours on end. Like five hours of just like, well, I think she said this and I think this. And I think that, you know. And talking about our discussions that we've had and how -- where that plays in and where I think the character should go, where I think Malcolm should say. Like we -- I was put myself in all these different areas, you know what I'm saying?
Sylvia: Right.
Zendaya: And he would leave me on a cliffhanger, you know. And I'd be like, well, how is she supposed to come back from that, you know? And that it was like that was the fun, was -- was like Sam digging these characters into a hole and seeing how he could dig them back out again. That became the challenge. And so really, that's just the process of it. And he knew immediately when he started writing the character of Malcolm, he was just like John David. Like that was the voice that he heard. That was the person that he heard as he started writing. So he wrote it for us. And called John David, I think maybe the second day he was writing. So he didn't have more than 10 pages.
Sylvia: Wow.
Zendaya: And he read them aloud to him. And apparently, he said John David didn't really give him a full yes because I was like, yo, did he say yes or not? Like, let me know. Because, you know, I'm nervous and I'm waiting to hear back and, and he was already starting to ask questions that I hadn't even thought of, you know, about their relationship, about where they live, like small details or about the relationship that Sam and I st -- hadn't even thought about because we hadn't even gotten that far. We're only on page like 15, you know. So he was already kind of informing where the characters were going to go, asking these questions and really acting as a producer before he even said a full yes. But it really that's -- that was kind of how the inception of the idea happened. And then came a lot of work to be able to do it safely and actually get it to a place where we could physically get everyone together.
Scottie: Yes, child. You had a lot of side eyes in the living rooms because, you know, I was arguing my boyfriend actually that day.
Zendaya: Oooh. [laughter]
Scottie: It was a lot of mmms, a lot of hmms. Well, doesn't this sound familiar?
Scottie: Yes. The neck was turned. So, you know, but Marie is a great character. Like she's me. She's tough but like super fragile and vulnerable. Throughout the film, you can see her grappling with when to be one or the other. And that's my issue all the time.
Zendaya: Right.
Scottie: I don't want to be too soft. I don't want to be too hard. But I am both of these things. Like they both exist in my life. How do you prepare yourself to take on this role in particular?
Zendaya: Right. You know, that's interesting you say that because I feel very much the same. You know, I also feel like she has a level of control, right, like from the moment that she walks in, she's kind of already in control of the situation because she knows what's about to happen. She knows what she's doing. And I also think, you know, Sam, a couple of things is he, he not only wrote her for me, but he wrote her to me. So to the woman that he's growing to know and become, as I you know, as I grow in front of him. You know, he he -- so it was with me in mind. Meaning there are parts of myself that I see in Marie as well, you know. And there are parts of myself that I see in Malcolm as well. And there's parts of Sam, a huge part of Sam in Marie too, because I think people assume because he's a filmmaker, that that must be who he connects with more. But that's not necessarily the case. He shares the lineage and the story of addiction also with Marie.
Zendaya: So, you know, for that -- with that being said, I think it deals, I think with like it's kind of that mirror thing. Having to hold up a mirror and go, ooh! Am I like that a little bit? You know, do -- [laughter] you know there's this thing in the, in the bathtub scene, you know, where he's like, you know, you just need to be in control. And you need to be, you need a reason to be needed. I said, oh. Come for me, okay?
Scottie: Right.
Sylvia: Right. [laughter] At me next time, at me next time.
Zendaya: Said, maybe I do need to be in control. Absolutely, absolutely. You know, that that is some -- those are things that I, you know, I'm working through myself. And I think I don't necessarily handle situations the way they do at all. But I think in a lot of ways you know, you can find those commonalities as human beings in those moments where you may not have gone that far with a partner, but it feels emotionally tied to something that you have maybe thought about or insec-- because I think really a lot of it deals with these insecurities.
Scottie: Yes.
Zendaya: And insecurities are the basis of a lot of problems in relationships, you know. And it's tough to admit that we all are insecure about something, you know, and we all have those, especially when we're dealing with somebody in that kind of space. So for me, with preparing Marie, it was about allowing myself to, in some instance fal -- follow my instincts. But then because I think she also is a little bit like you don't know where, what she's thinking. And Sam also wrote her to be, I think, the more quintessential male character and him to be the more quintessential female hysteric like ideal. He kind of flipped the gender roles in that way. And so she's a bit more withholding. And, you know, you don't really know exactly how she feels until she lets you know and she exposes how she feels. And it's very intentional sometimes. And I think for me, because I don't really operate that way, it was about finding the moments that felt like me and then find the ones where I had to let go and let her take over. You know, where it's like, well, I don't think I would, I would just go after him that way. I don't think I would start on it. I wouldn't do this. I wouldn't do that. But but she would. You know, so I have to then take Zendaya out of it or Marie, because I am Marie too, that's my name, my middle name. But I had to let the other Marie take, take, take charge and and listen to what she -- emotionally where she's going and how she's responding to these things. And sometimes she can be manipulative and sometimes she whatever. And I recognize that as a, as a person. And I'm like, dang, I wouldn't want to do that. That's how she feels, so I got to do it, you know. So yeah.
Sylvia: No, and it's interesting, you guys are reading, it's interesting you were talking about specific scenes and moments. I mean, me, myself, I was watching with my pillows to argue with and I really was just like, you know what, maybe quarantining alone isn't that bad after all. [laughs].
Zendaya: Right. Right. [laughs]
Sylvia: That's when I was like, you know what? Because I've been in a long relationships. So I remember this, right.
Scottie: Right.
Sylvia: There's definitely certain moments where it's like I've said, like I feel like people who have been in love and in long relationship, like almost like you have to have been to get certain aspects of this movie.
Zendaya: Right.
Sylvia: But which scene or moment from this film would you say required the most vulnerability or emotion from you, if you had to, like, pick one?
Zendaya: You know, it's interesting because I feel like the whole thing really requires that, you know.
Sylvia: Yeah.
Zendaya: And, and a thing that, you know, is also, I think important, which was a choice of mine, was for Marie to stay in a tank top and underwear for the rest of the movie, because even Sam came up to me, like, yo Z, I think, you know, people might -- like they're going to kill me if you don't wear, like a robe or something. And I was like, no, no, I want her to be fighting without any armor. Like, I want her to have this command, this power without having to have anything covering her. She's like, yes, I'm naked and I'm still going to say how I feel and I'm going to live in my power and I'm going to address my issues. And I'm, you know. And for me as an actress, that made it more difficult for me because I was like, you know, I feel more powerful when I have, like, a suit on or I have something where I can, you know. But she because of that, it forced me to be more aware of my body and what my body was doing.
Sylvia: Yeah.
Zendaya: And be more vulnerable because I'm literally in a vulnerable state and find that -- go that extra mile to command that strength. So, you know, with that being said, I think it it required a certain sense of like, fuck it. You know what I mean?
Sylvia: [crosstalk] Yeah.
Zendaya: I don't know if I'm allowed to say the F word. But --.
Sylvia: No, we curse on the --.
Zendaya: Okay. Okay.
Sylvia: We curse on this podcast. Welcome. [laughs].
Scottie: Most definitely.
Zendaya: You know, tight. It requires certain -- cus it's just like here we go. Right. And John David is such an incredible scene partner and he's so, so sweet. He's such a kind kind person. I mean, literally deals with things the entire opposite of Malcolm as a human being, you know. And he was just so supportive and and created such a warm environment. I think everyone did. You know, it was also my crew from Euphoria. So they've seen me go through this a million times. So they create this warm environment where you can just go where you need to go. And there was like hard -- the harder days, I think the harder scenes to find was like that knife scene.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] Yes. Whew!
Zendaya: Because I had to double trick myself into thinking that I was in a headspace and then knowing what was going to happen. You know.
Sylvia: That's the scene where I threw Oscar at the TV. [laughter] I said, take it! Take it if you must! [laughs]
Zendaya: Thank you.
Scottie: Take it cus, child, I was like, she got me good. I was like girl, what?
Sylvia: I said that, no, I think she playin. Is she playin? [laughs]
Zendaya: Right. Yeah. I mean, that's the fun of the, of the, of the movie though is like this, this sense of anxiety and feeling like something bad is going to happen.
Sylvia: Because that's how it feels when you're fighting sometimes with your --
Zendaya: [crosstalk] Yeah.
Sylvia: With your partner. You don't know what this is going to be like, okay, tomorrow we'll wake up and this is fine. Or if this is the end --
Zendaya: [crosstalk] Right. Right.
Sylvia: Of it. And It's like, it's like that dread of unknowing, which is why I kind of like that the movie leaves the viewer feeling that way.
Zendaya: Mmm.
Sylvia: Yeah.
Scottie: Because that's exactly what it is.
Sylvia: Yeah.
Scottie: It's exactly what it is. As somebody who is a professional arguer, [laughter] I will let you know that we don't know what tomorrow brings. But I tell you right now, I got this heat for you ass.
Zendaya: [crosstalk] Listen, that's right.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Okay?
Sylvia: [crosstalk] [sings] Who knows what tomorrow brings.
Scottie: [laughter] But speaking of fuck it, though. A lot of folks have been talking about how grown of a role this is. And, you know, as you mentioned, we know a lot of that comes from your Disney roots. You know, people don't really know grown Zendaya yet. Even with Euphoria, you know, there's still this idea that you're a teenager, but you're grown ass grown.
Zendaya: [crosstalk] Yes. Yes.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] Grown. Grown. [laughs]
Zendaya: [crosstalk] Yes. I am.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Grown. I'm grown. Shout out to Beyoncé. [laughter] How do you find ways to maneuver between the preconceived ideas of, of the kind of roles you should be taking? And how does it feel to have to remind folks that you are grown, you're in your twenties, sweetheart.
Sylvia: Mid twenties! Obviously. [laughs]
Zendaya: [crosstalk] Right.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Mid twenties!
Zendaya: Listen, Black don't crack so I understand.
Sylvia: Listen, it's a problem. We are all dealing with on this podcast, to be quite honest. [laughs]
Zendaya: [crosstalk] What -- What can -- what can we say? Do --.
Scottie: [crosstalk] What can we say?
Zendaya: [crosstalk] Do you known what I'm saying? What can --.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Do you see a wrinkle?
Zendaya: [crosstalk] What can we say?
Sylvia: [crosstalk] And you won't! You won't! [laughs]
Scottie: You won't. You won't.
Zendaya: Okay.
Scottie: Alright. Go ahead.
Zendaya: With that being said, no, I mean, I -- I understand it. Like I look at it. I can look at myself sometimes from like a nonbiased perspective, you know. And I can, and I can understand where that comes from. I think a lot of people have grown up with me or have seen me grow up. And so to a lot of people, I almost feel like their little sister or their whatever. And, you know, yeah, maybe it's a little bit hard for you to kind of see me in this different way. But that's why I choose to take my time and not dive into things before I feel like I'm ready as an actress. But also just you know, it's just not if I, if I feel like that's not the right move quite yet, then, I then, I then I just wait. You know, and I feel like the best way for me to have stepped into a role that felt more adult is one that I can control and one that's my own. And, you know, I can take care of myself because I know that at the end of the day, I'm going back and I'm watching the dailies and I'm giving my notes on the edits. And I'm you know. So with that being said it's like, I'd much rather do it by my own kind of hand, you know, if that makes sense.
Sylvia: Yes. Yes. And I -- that's why I love how often you're saying, like, how collaborative of a process is. Because I don't think a lot of people realize, like, this is your baby, too.
Zendaya: Yeah.
Sylvia: You made this movie. Like it's not a movie that you got casted for. It came to you. Like you were in control of your narrative. And I think that's so powerful.
Zendaya: Yeah, yeah. I mean, I quite literally, like, you know, we we owned it together. We sold it together. You know and --.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] Yeah. Right.
Zendaya: That's that's a -- it's a crazy thing, you know, but I understand it. And I think that it just takes time. And I think with every role, you know, I want to continue to experiment and continue to try things that are going to push me outside of my comfort zone and force me to to be better. So with that being said, people just will, will take their time with me, I hope. And and take it in as it goes. And I think as far as like for character wise, there actually is a reason that there's an age gap there. And they talk about that in the film. You know, she talks about being 20 years old and had never being loved the way he loved her, not knowing, you know, those those things. And I think that that's actually kind of a reason why the relation -- it's actually interesting, that she's so much more mentally mature than him in the ways she handles conflict.
Yes.
Sylvia: That's -- but that's also why we usually date guys who are a few years older, at least I know have. Cus like the mental gap is there.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Child
Zendaya: Right.
Sylvia: And I'm not saying to get creepy with the age gap, I'm just saying but sometimes I understand that.
Zendaya: Yeah.
Sylvia: But I think a lot of this like -- so I feel split about this because like watching our Gen Z because, well, we're millennials, right? And so I'm like, wow.
Scottie: [crosstalk] We're millenials, okay.
Sylvia: We're trying to really adjust to the fact that we're no longer what's it. Like, I'm not to be 31 this week, this Saturday.
Zendaya: [crosstalk] Yes! [claps].
Sylvia: And I literally am like, how did I get here? I really feel like we're the same age in my head. We still are and it's fine. But like watching watching our Gen Z sisters like cross into womanhood is -- it's super confident, makes me proud because I feel like, it -- makes it feel like intersectional feminism and the overall increase in representation of Black women visibly owning their sexuality is working.
Zendaya: Right.
Sylvia: Like this is why when we came on social media, like, wow, we set that standard because we wanted the next set of girls to not feel like they have to wait until their thirties and forties to feel liberated. And I see that in you. I see it in Normani. I see it in Justine Skye. I see it and Chloe Bailey and so on and so on. But there's --.
Zendaya: Wait, y'alls tweets about that?
Scottie: [crosstalk] Let me tell you something.
Sylvia: Listen! Cus that, that's where I'm coming, sis. Because like, but cus there's so many people actively --
Zendaya: [crosstalk] We ride at dawn.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] We ride at dawn for -- !
Scottie: [crosstalk] We ride at dawn. That's it.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] I can't believe it. Like we will -- I will fight.
Zendaya: [crosstalk] Right.
Sylvia: Like Scottie said, like she may not fight, but we do. And that's really -- [laughs].
Scottie: But I -- immediately. And that's, that's what makes me crazy. It's just, we millennials have seen, right, the cycle, we've lived the cycle of literally not -- you know, we have to be severely humble and not brag and not accept or embrace our bodies or show it or celebrate it. You know what I'm saying? I think we should be the last generation.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] To have that. Yeah.
Scottie: You know, I went through that in my 20s. Yeah. So to see you at your big ass age and I'm talking about these girls, these big ass ages, talking about what Chloe should be doing or Zendaya should be doing or whoever. It drives me crazy because it's like, I want you to do better than us. I want you to embrace earlier than us. And I wanted to know, you know, as far as your confidence Zendaya, when did you start to figure out, okay, this is something I have to build for myself?
Zendaya: Right. Right. Well, you know, I have been very lucky with my confidence journey in the sense that I got a lot of valuable lessons from the women in my life. Also from, I think, like my father. But they always kind of instilled this sense of of of pride and self-worth and confidence within me since I was, I was very little. And that really --you need that. Right. And but, you know, it's not until you go out into the real world that it starts to kind of like, you start to kind of question, question it. And I think for me, I mean, luckily I've been able to really, like, hold onto that. And, you know, even through fashion, I think I was a very shy child. But even through acting and through fashion, I've been able to kind of become more confident and, and care less about an opinion that's external, that's not my own. But with that being said, that doesn't mean that it's just like all around, I feel good all the time about everything. You know, I think --.
Scottie: Of course, it's fleeting.
Zendaya: It's fleeting.
Scottie: There's moments.
Zendaya: Exactly. It's fleeting. And and I think for me it's like, it's like my work, you know, I'm so tough on myself about my work and I just want people to to enjoy it. And I want you know -- and it's really hard not to care so much about people's opinions of your work or whatever, because you you care. You know, like I’m a -- I don't just make art -- I do make art a thousand percent for myself, but I do do it for other people to connect to and and to hopefully feel something from. So, you know, so it does matter to a degree what people think. And it's difficult, you know, to kind of balance that, you know, what what what is healthy and what is almost like the movie, you know, what is taking criticism and healthy and understanding? And then what is letting it drive you crazy? Right. And how do you healthily kind of balance that?
Scottie: Right. So what's -- what advice would you give Chloe right now?
Zendaya: It's one of those things where it's like easier said than done, right? I could say, you're the shit. Like, keep doing what you're doing. That's like, you know, Beyoncé said it.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] Hit them with it. Yeah. [laughs]
Zendaya: You know you're that when you cause all this conversation. You know what I mean? Like, just keep living in exactly what makes you feel good, you know what I mean? And keep owning that. And, you know, the way she spoke about it was was eloquent and beautiful. You know, she said took me a long time to get here and just keep fucking doing it.
Sylvia: Right.
Scottie: When was the last time you gave yourself some credit?
Zendaya: Hmm. You know, that's something I still work on.
Scottie: So know you -- first, you're a Virgo, correct?
Zendaya: Yes.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Oh yeah, you don't give yourself no credit.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] The perfectionist -- the perfectionist side.
Scottie: Yeah, I just --.
Sylvia: Very hard. [laughs]
Scottie: I just knew.
Zendaya: Re-- read me.
Sylvia: I love me some Virgos, though. I really do. [laughs]
Scottie: I love Virgos but I, but I see it already because I know that you're hard on yourself. But I do want to know, you know, when's the last time you gave yourself some actual credit? And you said, you know what --.
Sylvia: I'm that bitch. I hope it was today. I hope it was yesterday. [laughter] I hope it's every time you see the Malcolm and Marie trailer on TV like really.
Zendaya: [crosstalk] Thank you. Thank you.
Sylvia: Every magazine cover, the GQ, the Essence, the Elle. [laughs]
Zendaya: [laughs] You know, I do -- I am, I am like, proud of those things, you know. Especially, you know, like seeing them and, or seeing people, you know, who I love or who I'm a fan of or who I'm friends with, comments on it, or just like, you know, it's about per -- personal connection to. Right. So it's like when people saw Euphoria and they, you know, shared with me their stories of sobriety or what -- how they got through, what they got through. I think that -- those are the things that I'm like, dang, you know, that really that that means so much to me. That's the reason why we do this. And I am, and I am really proud of this film, you know, but I'm more proud of the way we made it. We have, like our crew got points on it. They got paid. You know, they got taken care of in the same way that they -- I mean, they just -- you don't normally, that's not how movies are set up. You know, they don't really get to have a true financial ownership in the films that they create, which I think is really interesting. You know, so the more top level producers or studios they, they kind of see all the rewards for for a film. So that was really special to me. And those are the things that I go, y'all did that, you know what I mean? Like, you know what I mean? That was -- good job. That was a good thing, you know what I mean? And I don't know. I think giving myself credit, I kind of I don't know. I struggle with it a little bit because I'm one of those people that if I give myself too much credit, it's going to be gone. Like, you know, I'd rather just work in my little -- just keep keep doing it. And, you know, other people can say it and I can say thank you, but I'm just going to keep, keep my head down and keep on keeping on, you know what I mean? Because it's kind of hard. You know, it's -- there's a balance between again, with everything, of like being like, ooh I'm the shit. I did that, boom boom. But then also being able to, you know, and being able to accept praise and and be excited for yourself and be confident and be like, you know what, this is the shit. I love this, da-da-da-da, you know. But then also on the same token, it's it's hard to do that sometimes because you're so inside of it, you know, that it's hard to to be removed. So when it comes down to this project, you know, I'm -- it's coming out so soon, like it's scary.
Sylvia: Friday.
Zendaya: I'm like, oh, my God, the world is going to be --.
Sylvia: Friday. [laughs]
Zendaya: Right -- having this discourse and I'm just going to be like, you know. But I'm really finding ways to to cope with that, you know, whether that be writing or doing art or something, like all the corny shit they say you're supposed to do when you're feeling anxiety. [laughter] But you know what I mean? They're like, you know, just write it down, journal about it.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Journal.
Zendaya: [crosstalk] Right.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Yeah, journal.
Zendaya: It really helps, you know. So I'm definitely trying to do that. And I try to distract myself because I can get, like, wrapped up in it real, like real time. So I'd be -- be trying to like, just, you know, give myself some space from it and live in the real world a little bit.
Scottie: Right. But I just hope that you're celebrating yourself because, like, it's very important for Black women to celebrate each other. But I hope that you're celebrating yourself because you are worth it. You've done the work and you're continuing to do the work and you will continue to do the work. But I really hope that everybody knows that just take a moment. If it's not like, you know, a glass of wine or it's like, I don't know what the kids are doing, but whatever it is, you know, just take a moment to be like, yo, I did that shit. I really did.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] Yeah. And, you know, celebrate. Be proud.
Scottie: Big ups myself.
Sylvia: Not to quote my own interview, but I do feel like a lot of that, like from the Essence story that everybody from Janet Jackson -- did you not freak out with Janet Jackson with like --.
Zendaya: [crosstalk] Janet Jackson said something.
Sylvia: Every time I see black women win, I cel -- it brings me joy. But the same goes for us with you. You know, like every time you win, it brings us joy. And I think it's about us remembering that as much as joy as we get from watching others win. We should feel the same amount of joy when we win and not be ashamed of it. But the world has made us feel like we can't be proud. So it's not --.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Right. Right.
Sylvia: It's an easy thing to see a struggle with that. And I think that's what the whole -- like that kind of brings the whole conversation around about like us just owning shit, especially on this first Black ass week of Black History Month. We were -- wanted to talk about owning, you know, how we feel, Marie owns herself and her persona and her strength and her vulnerability and her sexuality in her tank top and whatever else. You know, versus like even with like, you know, with the Chloe conversation. But we're also talking about Jazmine Sullivan and her new album, Heaux Tales, which we are obsessed with.
Zendaya: Same.
Sylvia: Oh, are you?
Zendaya: [crosstalk] Oh absolutely.
Sylvia: Because it's -- is there a particular track on the album you love?
Zendaya: [crosstalk] [sings] Get it together bitch. [laughter] I love -- I love the whole, the whole thing.
Sylvia: Get it together, bitch. You don't know who, [sings] who you went home with, you went home with again
Zendaya: [crosstalk] [sings] Who you went home with. You went home with again.
Scottie: [crosstalk] You don't know, you don't know.
Sylvia: "Bodies." She came in with "Bodies" and I said, wow Jazmine, this is how we feelin it? This is how we feel.
Scottie: [crosstalk] [sings] Bodies on bodies.
Zendaya: [crosstalk] I said, so this is what we're doing? Okay. [laughter] And I'm a huge Jazmine Sullivan fan. I have been since like early days. I'm a -- I --we ride for Jazmine Sullivan. Absolutely.
Sylvia: We -- yes. We ride. Yes. Okay so "Bodies" is your favorite from that -- from Heaux Tales.
Scottie: I don't know if it's my favorite -- I'm trying -- I mean, it's hard to pick a favorite.
Sylvia: I know. I mean for me it's somewhere between "On it" even though the one that I'm sitting on these days is my couch.
Zendaya: Listen.
Sylvia: Or "Girl Like Me."
Zendaya: [laughs] Please.
Sylvia: Like I love "Girl Like Me" with her and H.E.R. Like there's just -- I mean the whole album is fire.
Zendaya: I love "Pick Up Your Feelings."
Sylvia: "Pick Up --.
Scottie: Please.
Sylvia: Your Feelings.”
Scottie: Grab them shits and let's go.
Sylvia: You need to come and --.
Scottie: Take them.
Sylvia: Pick up your -- ooh!
Scottie: And move out.
Sylvia: Feelings. To the left. To the left.
Zendaya: Listen.
Sylvia: It's really an extension of --
Zendaya: Right.
Sylvia: “Irreplaceable.” [laughs] Everything you own into the box to the left, pick that up --.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Pick it up.
Sylvia: And your feelings. Let's continue.
Scottie: And please move. [laughter] Yes. How has -- I know you were, you were raised around music too. And girl, so you had said Donny Hathaway in another ep --- like an episode I had listened to. And I was in shock because Donny Hathaway is my favorite artist, right, ever in life. Ever, ever. But I did want to know, you know, what music has shaped you to the woman you are today?
Zendaya: Yeah, mmm. This is interesting.
Scottie: Shaped you. Like not you know, necessarily what you grew up with --.
Zendaya: [crosstalk] Right. Right.
Scottie: Because, you know, we all grew up with Al Green and all that other stuff but are specific albums for you that are like, damn, this is, this is me. This is how I --.
Scottie: I don't know. I think, you know, I go through phases of like, I think a lot of us do this right. We have like these like four songs that you will listen to merc -- like mercilessly like all day. And I think I go through kind of phases of that. And it can be very random. Right? It can be like the new thing that just came out, right. So it could-- if it's Chloe and Halle's album just came out or if it's, you know, Jazmine's album just came out or whoever, then I'll have my favorite songs of that just on repeat. But then like if I take a break or whatever from listening to a bunch of Donny Hathaway, then like just this past summer, then I will like listening to a whole bunch of Donny Hathaway music, you know. And that's just what I have on repeat. Right. So I think it's a very eclectic taste in music. As far as like what kind of you know music shaped me, I think Beyoncé's music has always shaped me, thankfully.
Scottie: [crosstalk] I mean, who hasn't.
Zendaya: But, you know, it's interesting. I think my dad -- I grew up, my dad is also plays the drums. And he forced me as a child to listen to so much jazz music and so much like I've been to so many jazz concerts and, you know, a liv -- you know, and as a child, I was like, oh my god!
Sylvia: [crosstalk] Same. Every time. Lotta Black parents love to drag you to a jazz concert, boy. [laughs]
Zendaya: Right! They love a jazz festival. Oh my --
Sylvia: They love a jazz festival.
Zendaya: Love of a jazz festival.
Scottie: Go my geeky ass. I loved it.
Sylvia: I'm about to say, and Scottie was the only seven year old like, this my jam.
Scottie: Yeah. My mom is a DJ.
Zendaya: Oh wow.
Scottie: So my mom would play everything. We went everywhere. I went to almost every concert. I was just, I've always been big on music. So I love jazz festivals. I still want to go to some now in my big age.
Zendaya: [crosstalk] Listen. But we're adults.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] Well, now, now we're jazz festival age.
Scottie: Yes.
Zendaya: Yes.
Scottie: [crosstalk] As an adult --
Sylvia: [crosstalk] Now we're now we're at the age of it.
Zendaya: [crosstalk] Exactly.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Right, right.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] I don't -- We loved jazz. It was just --
Scottie: Because there was no extra kids. There were no kids at the jazz festival. So you be like it's me just sitting here. But I loved to be in grown folks business. So that was just my thing. I was just in everybody's business all the time.
Sylvia: Right. Speaking of being in people's business, to bring this back around to Malcolm and Marie because I have to ask you this question. I get to know you as like Zendaya's thoughts on Malcolm and Marie's relationship. Do you think it's a relationship worth fighting for or should Marie leave his ass?
Zendaya: Oh, man.
Sylvia: Like, should she have been over the hill into the West by the time he woke up? [laughs]
Scottie: Zendaya, believe in love before you answer this question. [laughter] Believe in love because --.
Zendaya: [crosstalk] Oh no.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] No. Don't try to influence. I just want to know her thoughts. [laughs]
Zendaya: You know, it's, it's a thing that I think I go back and forth with still, which I think kind of is the point of the film, you know.
Sylvia: Yeah.
Zendaya: And I think is the point of, you know, the whole thing, you know, to kind of look at these characters from a nonjudgmental standpoint. Like, I don't necessarily look at them as the good guy and bad guy or the right and wrong. Or should they -- like a finite answer: they should stay together, they shouldn't. I think it's like, you kind of just accept them for these full, complicated people that they are. And all the toxicity that lives within them. I think there's a huge codependency problem that they have.
Sylvia: Yes. [laughs]
Scottie: Mhmm.
Zendaya: That they need to deal with. You know, and so that definitely is unhealthy. And there's, you know, there's so much about it that's like I would never say that or, you know, I would never go there with a partner. But then there's also something to the fact that these characters I mean, I guess, it also is to the fact that we kind of treated it like a play and wanted it to kind of not be too naturalistic in that sense of like two people just screaming at each other and like having a real argument but have almost like a play like theatrical element to it. And and with that comes the fact that they're able to finish their entire pieces of dialog without interruption.
Sylvia: Yeah.
Zendaya: Like they actually listen to each other.
Scottie: Let me write that down. [laughter]
Zendaya: They allow each other to fully finish their argument before they compose themselves and then say something in return, which I think is interesting as far as character wise. Like it's interesting that that someone can sit there and listen to that. Right. And take it for all that it is and be that honest with their partner. So I don't know. It's tough because some days I'm like, mm-mm, mm-mm, y'all need --this is not, this is not okay. This is not how it should be. Whatever. But then there's also such a rom -- romance and a, and a sweetness and a thing to their --.
Sylvia: Like maybe, like exac -- there's like chemistry, obviously.
Zendaya: [crosstalk] There's -- yeah!
Sylvia: [crosstalk] You see the sparks. And it's like maybe it's -- maybe we're going to write a script for counseling.
Zendaya: Right.
Sylvia: Like couples therapy. Let's like, let's just say if you stay together, let's just give them couples therapy. Cus I get -- Listen. I don't know how you argue with somebody who would like John David Washington all day myself. Cus let me tell you something.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Listen, oh my god! Sylvia, please.
Sylvia: When -- you know that man is fine. I'm sorry. And when he was dancing in that suit. Every time he started dancing and pouring a drink, I forgot we were fighting. I was like how's Marie -- I forgot we were fighting. My bad. What were you saying?
Zendaya: Right.
Sylvia: Your face, your beard. I got distracted. Say it again. [laughs]
Zendaya: Right. Right. And let me tell you, Marcel, our cinamatographer lit the the mess out of the whole situation. So he made --.
Sylvia: Listen.
Zendaya: He made everybody just an extra bit of glow.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] You guys looked -- Yes. It was art. Every frame.
Scottie: Every frame.
Zendaya: Arguing is exhausting. But when done with John David, who is a lovely person and incredibly talented actor, it made it more fun. And, you know, we were kind of just like round for rounding. You know, he would do his thing and I'd be like, all right. Okay? Got it. That's what we're coming with tonight. Okay, I got something for that ass. And, you know.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] Yeah. Felt like a fight. [laughs]
Zendaya: Right. And -- but there was also what we had to go to these vulnerable places after he -- you know, we'd check in on each other. Go up. Good? Okay. Just making sure you okay. You know, whatever, boom, boom, boom. So we had this this this partnership and this mutual respect for, I think, the art and what we were having to kind of take on.
Scottie: Yeah, yeah. Outside of the issues that exist between these two characters, there's also this underlying conversation about filmmaking and film criticism. Well, at times a little over the top, Malcolm makes like some really valid points about the way films made by Black people in particular are always placed under a political microscope. What are your thoughts about the expectations that come with Black films?
Zendaya: Right. Well, this is -- I mean, these were conversations that, you know, Sam and I have had kind of me expressing some of those frustrations of kind of preconceived notions or boxes or -- that that I think Black creatives are put in. Like the inability to just make whatever they want to make. There has to be either political element or there -- even if it's not, it's turned into that. Or just having to deal with things or comments or issues that maybe their white counterparts don't necessarily have to go through and even think about. It's like not even a part of their creative journey at all, because it's never a problem for them. It's never something, never an issue that they have to confront. So, yeah, no, it's definitely a conversation we've had. I think, you know, through Euphoria, through whatever, you know -- or just, like I said, just talking. So those things, I think also kind of bled into into Malcolm. And I think hugely more than just like the criticism of criticism. I think what that whole rant kinda plays into is the dynamic of their relationship and lets us know a little bit more of how they work. The fact that he can sit here and rant about a good review, mind you, a good review for, you know, however many minutes. And she just sits there and laughs at him. You know, she's just like, this is, this is the man that I'm with. You know, this is -- this is what I chose.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Yep. [laughter]
Zendaya: You know, and you know, and can continue to do that. And then it's interesting because after that she's -- she is able to somehow find a commonality with this white lady from the L.A. Times and say, listen, you know, her problem with you is my problem with you.
Scottie: That read was the great read of them all. You hear me?
Sylvia: She said, well, the white bitch at the L.A. Times got some points. [laughs].
Scottie: Hello.
Zendaya: She said the white lady from L.A. Times like, I actually -- her issue with you is my issue with you is that you're good and then you take shit too far. You know, you had this film, you had this thing, and then you went too far. You had this great review and then you went too far. You had this argument with me and then you went too far. And you can't accept criticism. And I think that's what I think the overarchingly like, even though there are a lot of good points in what his character is saying and there are -- is truth to what he's saying. It's the way he say it and how how he goes about it, that's just ridiculous.
Scottie: It's malicious.
Sylvia: yeah.
Scottie: Yeah.
Zendaya: And so it makes it harder for people to even digest the actual bars that he is, you know, giving. And I think that that that she in a bigger sense, that has to do with their relationship. And we're tying it back to, you know, when she says, like, the man I'm looking at is the best he's going to get. You know, this is -- because you have no thought that you can be better. That you can look at yourself and say, how can I be a better person? How can I be a better partner? It's the same way you look at your film criticism. You can't get a criticism and go,, hmm, okay, I can do better here. I can do better that, here. Or I can see something through someone else's you know --
Scottie: Yeah. You are not beyond correction. I always try to remind people at all.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] Yeah.
Zendaya: Exactly.
Scottie: [crosstalk] And that's exactly what that is.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] Ooh, child.
Zendaya: So when she -- what she is saying is like, yo, I got that issue too. And let me tell you all my examples of why I have this issue, you know.
Sylvia: Yeah.
Zendaya: And I think it serves you know, I think, you know, it's interesting to kind of see with the criticism, I think that has taken up the narrative of the film that it's just about criticism. But it's it's actually, was only six minutes of the movie that I think served a bigger purpose about how you treat and respect and listen and take criticism from the people that you love.
Sylvia: Yeah, not just to close it altogether, because I know we have to wrap soon. We could talk to you all day about this. But to your --
Zendaya: [crosstalk] I could talk to y'all too.
Sylvia: But to your point about like that, taking up a lot of the narrative. For our final question, I want to ask you, what -- so what do you want, what is your hope that viewers walk away with after seeing this film?
Zendaya: Right. And another thing that I saw it, which I thought was interesting, because it also echoes Marie point -- Marie's point is that maybe all of this is Sam's frustrations. I'm like, wait, wait, wait, wait. Me and John David are producers and financiers. We're -- we were in the room too talking about this script every day. [laughter]You know what I mean, this is ours!
Sylvia: I know. That's what -- cus I think a lot of people were like, how this white man --.
Zendaya: Right.
Sylvia: How's this white man know all this?
Zendaya: RIght.
Sylvia: And I'm like, you know, when you ask like, well, who's Black -- which Black friends told him.
Zendaya: Right.
Sylvia: Well I feel like the answer is Zendaya and John David --. [laughs]
Zendaya: Is the people who are doing the film with him. You know. Sam listens. But, you know, I think I think, you know, he's acutely aware. But he was writing -- he's like, I was writing for these two Black people. Right. And so do you think that I'm going to write a filmmaker that's living now, a Black filmmaker and he's not going to have an issue with the way that his films are critiqued? You know, and what does that look like? And so that's where we step in as well and we insert herself into that dialog and, and make sure that it is I mean, authentic, right?
Sylvia: Yeah. [laughter].
Zendaya: To how we feel. Right. But but but -- and I just thought that was interesting, that that was kind of happening, that we were kind of already being cut out of that narrative in the same way Marie is like, wait, wait, this was me too.
Sylvia: You cut me out of my narrative.
Zendaya: Like a minute. Right.
Sylvia: We we are not just the stars of this movie --
Zendaya: [crosstalk] Right.
Sylvia: We are the producers, the collaborators and co-creators.
Zendaya: Exactly, exactly. But I think what I hope people take from it, I think in a huge way is gratitude. I think for me is the overarching theme of the film. Gratitude for the people in our life who make it possible to do what we do. The gratitude for the people that we forget to thank. The gratitude for the people that we love and contribute to our art, that contribute to our lives, that -- that we depend on, you know.
Scottie: Yes.
Zendaya: And it's just about taking a step back, taking a moment to go, you know what? I forgot to say thank you today. And you know what? Thank you. Thank you for the little shit. Thank you for the big shit. Thank you for all the little things I forget to thank you for. And I hope that that is what people take from it is just, just to love up on the people that you can. And so in this moment, I'm going to say thank you to both of you. You, because I'm serious, this conversation and spending this time with you guys, it really, it means so much to me. Because this is -- I'm stressed the fuck out a lot of the time. [laughter] Because I -- like we said, I put a lot of pressure on myself and to have your support and to hear it. And and also just like from two Black women, like it means so much because that's a huge reason of why I do what I do. You know, and I hope to be able to make more films one day if I ever become a filmmaker. I don't know. I'm learning.
Scottie: You will.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] You will, yeah.
Scottie: [crosstalk] You will, don't do it.
Zendaya: I -- I want to make it and see more Black women. And so your your love and genuine, I think, just kindness has really mean so much to me. So I appreciate you guys having me on your show and letting me talk to you all.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] Girl!
Zendaya: And it just, it means so much.
Sylvia: No, thank you. It means a lot to us. It truly means the world to us too. You are a real one. Like I say, we interview a lot of people. But I was like, you Zendaya and I feel like she's like it. And we we are always going to be here for you.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Always.
Sylvia: Our DMs and message, our inboxes are always open for you, sis. Thank you so much for this time.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Absolutely.
Zendaya: I appreciate that. And hopefully we'll see each other in real life. And I can one day when it's safe. Hug you both. But yeah. Thank you both. Bye y'all.
[Music In].
Scottie: Bye.
Sylvia: Great time. Bye.
Scottie: Precious. Bye.
Sylvia: Bye.
[Music Out]
Sylvia: Whew! that was such a refreshing interview. I am so grateful that we had that conversation with Zendaya to start off our season with this level Black girl magic energy. We're not playing with you all season two. Me and Zendaya over here, we going back to back, back to back with the interviews. I've loved that she chose to pour into us at the end, Scottie, like really just like an all around class act. We have to stan. We have chosen to stan and much love to Zendaya for coming on here and blessing us with your presence and your intellect and all the things.
Scottie: Yes. I love her so much. So, so much. And not just the energy for the new season, but also Black History Month, which is all year. Don't get it confused. But since it is the Black History Month that everybody knows about, [laughter] we're going to talk about some unsung Black heroes. Yes. Get your pen and paper out. It's time to do the, do the work.
Sylvia: So to start off our list of unsung Black heroes, we would like to begin by shouting out, you know, something that worked very hard through the late 90s into the early 2 -- you know, into the early 2000s.
Scottie: Done seasons of show -- of one show that everybody loves so much.
Sylvia: Seasons. A -- a king of comedy, you might say. You might call it. You might call it the king of comedy.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Absolutely.
Sylvia: You know, lots of stand ups. And we are talking about a one Steve Harvey's wig.
Scottie: Yes.
Sylvia: That that is, that is who we want to start by honoring this Black History Month. The toupee-pees.
Scottie: I mean, I still -- we haven't found out what exactly. I would love for it to be in the Smithsonian somewhere --.
Sylvia: Just --.
Scottie: Or somewhere where we can all examine and wat -- and see history before itself. But I, I do want to thank the wig for fooling the masses with edges sharper than a plain piece of paper. [laughter] Like you ain't never going to see anything that crisp ever in your life.
Sylvia: Cristp. Every kinky curl tightly in place. Never shifted, never slid. Was it glue? Was it tape?
Scottie: [laughs] We don't know.
Sylvia: I just want the details because honestly, I stan. Like do you remember the moment you found out Steve Harvey was bald? Like, did the rest of you all know it was a wig? Because when I was watching the Steve Harvey Show, I thought to myself dam -- I guess when you have a certain kind of money, don't -- your hair is just always that same, like you just always keep it tapered like this? Because it was, it was like a -- it had like an interesting like curve in the beginning enough that that's what I feel like should have been where I understood something else was happening.
Scottie: [crosstalk] That's wild.
Sylvia: The fact that I never really saw if Steve Harvey had a widow's peak or, you know, like a straight crisp, like I never really saw the front. It was always just flipped over in a great way. Like he really just did a good job of hiding his edges, you know, or lack thereof.
Scottie: I -- we've never seen them. So I want to congratulate. Hats off to you, literally, [laughter] to your work. We even had to talk to our producer who didn't believe that it was a wig. So we really had to do the work and figure out how this was happening.
Sylvia: Yeah.
Scottie: But I just want to sit here and just, you know, thank you, give you your flowers.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] Give you your flowers.
Scottie: I really wish we knew where exactly that wig is today because I hate throwing away collectibles. You know, and that's something that we should have. It should be in black market vintage. Like black market vintage should look this up, if you're listening, find the wig and please have it for sale for anyone.
Sylvia: I mean, thank you. Thank you for the laughs. Thank you for the looks. Thank you for all the things. We wanted to make sure, like Sottie said, that you got your flowers and that we shot -- we shed a spotlight on you for those who didn't know your work because Black History Month is when you tell the unsung stories.
Scottie: So another unsung story that we would like, and I'm sure it's in the works, is Megan's knees. Megan Thee Stallion's knees. I love when Megan tells her stories, but I would also really appreciate if her knees could give a perspective that I'm sure my knees haven't heard. I just want my knees to know that there's more, there's more than one type of knee. [laughter] And Megan Thee Stallion has that knee.
Sylvia: Knees stronger than toxic masculinity and there's not as many.
Scottie: [crosstalk] That's what's up.
Sylvia: But that is the, that is the lower third. If I was -- in all of your unsung episodes in the biopic that I'm sure is to come about what you gave us: all the twerks, all the videos, all the body-adi-adi. That was you, the WAP! That was you! You know what I mean? The choreography, the tour. We're talking Fever, we're talking Tina Snow. You -- but the needs have been there putting in the work from the beginning to make Megan the star.
Scottie: Responsible for all the Tik Tok challenges that we see and can't do today. But thank you for leading the way for Gen Z to do these amazing things with their knees that I have never experienced. So a pioneer.
Sylvia: A pioneer, a strength, a strong -- strong -- let me tell you about strong Black leads -- strong Black knees [laughs].
Scottie: [crosstalk] Strong Black knees. Strong Black knees is right.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] Strong Black knees. Strong Black knees is it. And I only hope that my knees can have half the strength. If my knees can just maintain half the strength of Megan's.
Scottie: So that's what I'm saying. Like, I just wish that my knees could hear another story so that maybe they can say --.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] They can be inspired to know that, I too, can out-twerk toxic masculinity if I tried.
Scottie: Mmm. Mm hmm.
Sylvia: Next step on this profound esteemed list, is Beyoncé's fan. And not to be confused with Beyoncé's fans, i.e. us.
Scottie: No.
Sylvia: But the fan, the physical fan that keeps her hair moving in the wind at all times. Whether she's stage left, right, front, center, back, third, behind Jay-Z, in front of Jay-Z, in the stands. The fan is there. There in every moment.
Scottie: First of all, I want to also thank the, I'm sure the fan has been through tons of schooling in physics. [laughter] The way this air hits Beyoncé because it's no regular fan. Like this fan knows how to get all her good sides and remove hair from where it's supposed -- like it's not supposed to be. And that's physics. I don't know, you know, how many years the fan put into receiving this PhD and actually working towards being Beyoncé's fan. But I also would like that in the Smithsonian, please. I -- And the amount of bundles that he's moving. The work is being done.
Sylvia: The work is being done. Beyoncé's fan has got to be a Black woman because nobody else works that hard. Nobody else works that hard.
Scottie: [crosstalk] That's very true.
Sylvia: So I truly believe that the fan is a Black woman on on the inside and the hardest working woman in show business, to be quite honest. That's -- there you go. That's what -- that's what that is.
Scottie: Speaking of hardest working woman, this is a hard working woman who refuses to give us an album, but we're not talking about her today. We're going to talk about her weed man. Rihanna's weed man. Whoever Rihanna's weed man is, you have been supplying her with the best of the best for a very long time. And so long that we haven't had an album from her --.
Sylvia: Maybe it's a little too strong, perhaps. Maybe you could just take a step back. I'm just saying, like.
Scottie: What is it? Remove a strand of something. We need --
Sylvia: Just -- The -- a potency. Can we dilute it just a bit? Sis, is so happy that she said, fuck y'all. Honestly, I used to feel the need to perfo --give y'all every year a new album. And now I'm just here happy enough to do what I want. And I said, wow. Let me get a hit of that.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Yeah. She giving me absolutely nothing.
Sylvia: The weed man is so good that we still haven't even gotten to the end of "James Joint." I blame you for not -- her not being able to finish the song. Like, because that's my favorite interlude. That one of my favorite tracks on Anti. And it's like a minute long, sir. The weed was too good. Is that what happened to sis? Like I just --.
Scottie: It's just too good. And she's, you know, shout out to you. We we thought to shouts you out. But now I want to take it back because I want this album.
Sylvia: I mean, but it's still unsung hero because ---.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Sylvia: It's also the kind of weed that's so good, it gives us the, you know, the era of I don't give a fuck that we love about Rihanna, but also there's some a strain in there that still allows her to be creative, a creative genius and give us good work.
Scottie: It gave us like Anti and all that. So, have to be --.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] Yeah so I feel like it has to be a stativ -- a sativa and not really a indica type situation happening here.
Scottie: I don't know much about my weeds, but I do know [laughter] put some water in that shit please. Do something. Y'all got to do something.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] But we thank you for your work.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Give her some reggy or something.
Sylvia: We thank you for your work regardless. Even if it's be -- you're working overtime and we need you to cut back on some hours.
Scottie: Who's next, Sylvia?
Sylvia: Last but not least. A new addition to the unsung Black heroes list is the hardest working pho -- photo booth app in 2021. In January, 2021, which is Chloe, Chloe Bailey, you -- whatever app -- the photo booth app you're using on your Mac book --.
Scottie: [crosstalk] Sweetheart.
Sylvia: And the recording device your using on your ph -- wherever you're using to give us these Tik Toks and these videos and keeping your foot on our necks, making the people mad, we thank, we thank that recording device. We thank the photo booth app for its service because honestly, I have gotten my life every single time you drop new content on the Instagram page since you got it. I feel like that page was like a week old and [laughs]
Scottie: Yeah, it is. And I'm totally fine with you heel toeing on my neck. I embrace it and I want you to continue to do it. Also, keep your foot on these grown ass hos necks that want to sit here and have words about you and project their insecurities onto you. And do whatever you want to do because we're going to be here for you regardless. So, yeah, shout out to Chloe and that photo booth and that phone and that Tik Tok and all social media outlets that she's on.
Sylvia: [crosstalk] All recording devices that she is using to to give us this heat. I'm here for it. And I mean -- and that and that busser challenge she won.
Scottie: Oh, absolutely. Jesus.
Sylvia: So, yes.
Scottie: But shout out to our unsung Black heroes. I'm very happy that we got some time to do it.
Sylvia: Just a few, just a few unsung heroes.
Scottie: Yeah.
Sylvia: Just you know, we didn't have time to honor everybody, but we wanted to make sure we got a couple in.
[Music In]
Scottie: Right. And that's all that matters.
Sylvia: All right. That's our show. Thank you all for tuning in.
Scottie: Our show is a production of Pineapple Street Studios in partnership with Netflix and Strong Black Lead. Shout out to our team. Executive Producers are Agerenesh Ashagre and Danielle Cadet. Our Lead Producer is Jess Jupiter. Our music is by Amanda Jones. Special thanks to Max Linsky and Jenna Weiss-Berman.
Sylvia: Make sure you share your thoughts with us on the episode using the #okaynowlisten. And follow Strong Black Lead on the socials @strongblacklead. And follow us too. I'm @sylviaobell.
Scottie: And I'm @Scottie Beam.
Sylvia: Until next time folks, stay blessed.
Scottie: Bye guys.
[Music Out]