00:00I used to pray for humility every single day, I still do but I pray for discernment this time too.
00:05What's up Billboard and the world, I'm Jussie Smollett.
00:11Billboard Magazine is pleased to welcome Jussie Smollett. Good to see you sir, how you doing?
00:16Nice to see you too.
00:17Good, good. Mr. multi-hyphenate between singing, acting, directing, songwriting, producing,
00:24and probably more I don't even know about. I wanted to ask you about
00:27how singing and acting work creatively together for you, why is that such a thing for you?
00:32I've been so blessed and a little lucky you know to be able to do certain projects that
00:40just so happen to have a musical component particularly obviously with Empire.
00:46That was just the perfect kind of marriage of so many of my loves. Music has always been
00:53the driving force behind everything I do even when making movies when creating now that I'm
00:58directing and and writing and producing and things like that it's still music is the thing
01:03that I listen to when I'm writing music is the thing that I'm listening to as I'm creating the
01:08storyboards of how the scenes are going to look and then music is absolutely what guides the edit
01:12so music is just you know that's where I sit.
01:16When you were cast and filming that first season did you think it was going to do what it did?
01:22I didn't think about it because I was just so happy to have a job
01:24and I was so happy to be doing what I love and you know working with great people and
01:30and I really didn't think about that I just trusted the process. I knew that it would
01:34probably be critically acclaimed especially the team that was behind it. I don't think that there
01:38wasn't necessarily any way to know the kind of this juggernaut that it was going to be and
01:43certainly changed the trajectory of my life. Exactly so what had you been doing just before
01:49that when you said earlier you're happy to get a job? Yeah everything everything everything I was
01:55I worked as a waiter I worked as a I worked did retail I worked as I raised money for children
02:03infected and affected with HIV AIDS here in the states and in South Africa for an organization
02:08named ANSA Artists for a New South Africa. Back in the day I worked as a clown at children's parties
02:13I was like whatever I needed to do but I always held down the job always took care of myself
02:19but then this was this was wonderful it was a it was a really wonderful
02:23wonderful break. It was one of the first shows if not the first show about the music industry
02:27like that and at the same time music from the show was being put out by a major record label.
02:37You had this drama so it was this kind of you know what Shonda Rhimes was was doing and then
02:42we also took kind of what the American Idol X Factor was kind of doing where it was we were
02:47able to mix you know this this these great soapy type of storylines that also sometimes felt very
02:53real and and also have that musical component while also selling the music and being successful
02:59with it so it was crazy. What did you learn musically during your time? You know what I
03:04learned mostly about songwriting and my craft is the business of it. I learned about publishing I
03:09learned about splits I learned about you know I was used to doing it with my musical partner David
03:15Ott and it was just like well this is 50-50 you know what I mean like this is this is easy but
03:20then you're learning about oh so there are other writers on it or you write a song and then somebody
03:25comes in and they add something to it and you're like wait say what or there's yeah there's a there's
03:30a sample that has to be cleared and we again we indie artists we didn't have it in us to be
03:36sampling music oh my goodness oh oh that's a whole other level you know so so it was just another
03:44level of understanding that it really was like a great education for the music industry the good
03:51the bad even some of the storylines in that show it would be like hey this really happens and then
03:57you look it up you're like oh that really that really happens you know companies are taken from
04:00under people and publishing is taken from under people or somebody changes something and it's
04:05what you wrote and all of those things I really got a good like a first class lesson on on the
04:10business of it all. Working with legends like a Terrence Howard or Taraji P. Henson what did you
04:16learn acting wise? Watching Terrence and Taraji both together and separately is like watching a
04:23master class but also aside from Terrence and Taraji we had some phenomenal actors come through
04:30that show we had Forrest Whitaker and Alfre Woodard and you know Vivica Fox and Tasha Smith
04:35and just really really great people coming through those doors so you know every day was just an
04:40exciting and exciting learning experience for sure. And music videos you have a favorite video?
04:46Absolutely I directed a video for my song on my first album called Hurt People.
04:51And it was done we did it in South Africa and we shot at Constitution Hill it was the place that
05:02Nelson Mandela was held before being taken to Robben Island but it was done with my my
05:07cinematographer my DP Jody Williams who I've worked with Jody started working with him on Empire and
05:13then did the music videos with him and now he's the DP on he was the DP on my first film B-Boy Blues
05:20and now he's a DP on The Lost Holiday. Talk a little bit about B-Boy when did that come out?
05:24Oh that wasn't long I saw it you had that glow. We released B-Boy two years ago at this point
05:33two years ago on BET plus we are working on a sequel because it's based on the best-selling
05:40you know book series B-Boy Blues by James Earl Hardy so there's like tons of books there to
05:46continue the story and it's it's it's just a love story and we told it and you know we opened up at
05:53ABFF and then we were nominated for best feature film for GLAAD and we won the fan favorite for
05:59ABFF it was my first film and it was it was really exciting and so just just building my company
06:05building my my kind of filmography has been exciting. So your new film coming out in the fall
06:10The Lost Holiday that you wrote produced directed and starring right okay so tell us a little bit
06:17about the film without giving away too much what it's about and how you got involved. It's about
06:22a man who's played by Jabari Redd he passes away suddenly and his estranged mother who he hasn't
06:28seen in about eight years who Vivica Fox plays comes to LA to handle his arrangements and sees
06:33that they're already being handled by her son's husband who she knew nothing about and I play the
06:38husband. Jason is Damien's husband. Damien's husband. So have you made funeral plans? We can
06:42talk about that a little bit later. Speaking of Vivica I think you guys go back a long ways how
06:47did you know she was the right person for this role? I just feel like Vivica has been a part of
06:54some of the most iconic films but even deeper than that has been has given life to some of the most
07:02iconic characters you know of of my generation certainly. You know you look at what she did with
07:09Ride of Fools Fall in Love and Set It Off and Kill Bill and you know Independence Day
07:14there's not anything that I believe that she can't do. So I called her and I just said I was
07:21like I have to I want to do this film but I can't do it without you and she said that she was on
07:27board so you know and I mean she really really invested her time into the film in a way that
07:34someone on her level didn't have to but she did and I'm forever grateful for her. I believe you
07:41worked with Mona Scott Young on this project so what was that like working with her and for folks
07:46who may not know she is she does Love and Hip Hop but she's also managing longtime manager of
07:51Missy Elliott. Yeah Missy Elliott and Busta Rhymes and you know yeah Mona's been killing it
07:57for a minute. Mona actually first came on board for B-Boy Blues she was a producer on B-Boy Blues
08:02and she came on board for B-Boy after the film was done and she's the reason why we were able to get
08:08it to BET and really lock that down so she came on board as a producer and was really really valuable
08:14in that. So how hard was it directing yourself? That is hard especially it's more difficult in
08:23this in this type of setting than it is for a setting like the tv show. Why is that? Because
08:30the tv show had a budget. A little six letter word okay. A little bit of a budget.
08:38We did not have budget for things like playback you know really was myself as an actor having
08:44to trust my fellow actors and my DP really I really had to trust that my part was good enough
08:54because because I'm not able to see me you know when we're doing Vivica's coverage and we're
08:59doing Jabari or we're doing Marquise or Brittany or London or whoever I can see their I can see
09:05their performance so if there's a little tweak or anything on like you might want to you know
09:08you might want to do that or move this certain way but for me I'm just like it's out there so
09:15it's a little bit more difficult in the in the process of just trusting it but then you realize
09:20once you get to the edit you're like you know what you're doing and you're right it'll be okay.
09:23There's a song coming, My Mind.
09:29The music in this film is really really really special it has so many people just contributed
09:36to the music and I have a couple songs on there and the first one that we're going to release is
09:40My Mind. It's really about you know that thing that you just can't maybe the thing that that
09:45drowns you that you just can't let go of and you know whatever whatever you're you can be addicted
09:51to a lover you can be addicted to a substance you can be addicted to you know whatever you're
09:56addicted to that's toxic that's really what it what it kind of is.
10:00Will that be released independently?
10:02Yeah it'll be independently on my on my label, Music of Sound.
10:06Recently we released my song Some Things and went to number one on the R&B iTunes chart.
10:17We just pushing and like we're we're gonna release the soundtrack and we're gonna release
10:22you know there will be an album that you know my album is done it's just sitting there like
10:29just it's like when do I when do I release this when do I release it and everybody's like yo just
10:35do it just do it it's nice to have something for yourself but then realizing that you know
10:41you don't just make it for yourself.
10:42Will you be any performances coming up?
10:44I think that most most artists would say that that's kind of what it's for is you really really
10:49want to get out there and be able to see the people and and enjoy them and hopefully they
10:54enjoy you.
10:55You've also been through intense public scrutiny and legal challenges which you're still working
10:59through but what is it that keeps motivating you after everything you've gone through what
11:03advice can you offer?
11:04It's it's really about knowing who you are and being okay with that and recognizing your flaws
11:14and acknowledging your flaws but not letting anyone else tell you who you are.
11:19And how have you protected your mental health?
11:23I haven't always protected my mental health but I am now and I I you know I used to pray
11:29for humility every single day I still do but I pray for discernment this time too.
11:33Anything else you want to share?
11:35I think we're good thank you for being so kind I appreciate it.
11:38Thank you for sitting here with us.
11:38Thank you for being so classy.
11:41Elegant.
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