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On this week’s episode of ESSENCE Now, our Slayed or Shade panelists takes on "Oprah 2020", Ginuwine being accused of transphobia, and Amara La Negra's fights against colorism. Plus, Trina dishes on "Love & Hip Hop Miami".
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00:00I'm entertainment director Corey Murray, filling in for McCoh, and today on Essence Now, Trina
00:10dishes on Love & Hip Hop Miami and what she really thinks about Trick Daddy's comments
00:14about black women, and it's the return of Slade or Shade.
00:18But right now, it's time for the hot list, the biggest stories you're buzzing about today.
00:22We're not even a month into 2018, and black girl magic is already on fleek.
00:3216-year-old Star Andrews killed it during her routine at the U.S. National Figure Stadium
00:37Championships.
00:38Watch as Star skates to her own cover of Whitney Houston's hit song, One Moment in Time.
00:44Seriously, who says, I'm not only gonna skate to my own vocals, but it's gonna be a cover
00:58of Whitney Houston, one of the greatest singers of all time.
01:02Black girls, that's who.
01:03I'm giving you Snap Star.
01:07So who was Recy Taylor?
01:09That's what many are asking after Oprah Winfrey mentioned the late civil rights icon in her
01:13Golden Globe speech.
01:15Recy was a wife, a mother, and a sharecropper.
01:17And in 1944, as she was walking home from church, she was kidnapped and raped by six
01:22white men who later went free after all-white, all-male juries failed to convict them.
01:27In the documentary, The Rape of Recy Taylor, she said,
01:30Many ladies got raped.
01:31The people's there.
01:32They seemed like they wasn't concerned about what happened to me, and they didn't try to
01:36do nothing about it.
01:37I can't help but tell the truth of what they'd done to me.
01:40In 2011, Recy received a formal apology from an Alabama legislator, which called the acquittal
01:46of her attackers, quote, morally apparent and repugnant.
01:53Her longtime love, Stedman Graham, says it's, quote, up to the people.
01:57Her BFF, Gayle King, says she's, quote, intrigued by it.
02:00So would you be here for an Oprah Winfrey presidency?
02:03Our boy, Young Sinek, tweeted, Oprah's speech was phenomenal and I adore her, but the fact
02:08that it sparked talk of her running for president is concerning.
02:11Folks don't learn.
02:12But Jam disagrees.
02:13Who more embodies the American dream than Oprah Winfrey?
02:16Prosperity through hard work, overcoming every disadvantage, seeking out the best in humanity.
02:22Of course she should be president.
02:24So will Oprah run for president in 2020?
02:26Send us your comments using hashtag EssenceNow because we're talking about it in Slater Shade.
02:31It's Tuesday, January 9th, and it's time for Essence Now.
02:45Happy New Year and welcome to Essence Now.
02:47You can watch us right now on Facebook, Essence.com, and now YouTube.
02:52Hey, YouTube fam.
02:54Every Tuesday at 3 p.m. Eastern with the best in entertainment, news, fashion, and more.
02:58I'm entertainment director, Corey Murray, filling in for our girl, Mako.
03:02Hey, Mako.
03:03And love to hear from you.
03:04You can sound off on topics using any, sound off on topics anytime using hashtag Essence Now
03:10or by emailing us at EssenceNow at Essence.com.
03:14And here, to start off the year by throwing Slade or Shade, oh God, I really messed that
03:20up.
03:21So we're going to keep going on into comedian Jamal Jamo, on-air talent entertainment journalist
03:26Gia Peppers, and Essence.com assistant editor Lauren Porter.
03:31And I'd like to add that those two ladies are from PG County, Maryland, where I am.
03:35So we're having a little moment.
03:37We'll get to Jamal.
03:39I just don't matter.
03:41As I mentioned in today's hot list, Oprah's acceptance speech shut down the Golden Globes
03:46all the way down and had hashtag Oprah 2020 trending all night.
03:51Now although the idea of having an extraordinary black woman like the Oprah Winfrey in the Oval
03:56Office is compelling and an exciting one, some folks think we should learn from the disaster
04:01that is the Trump administration before we elect another person without governing or military
04:06experience.
04:07All right panelists, weigh in, is 2020 presidential run a good idea for Oprah and America?
04:14Let's see your panels on the count of three.
04:17One, two, three.
04:20Jamal, I'm going to start with you.
04:23We have to stop falling in love with celebrity.
04:25We elected a reality show host as president this time, and it's going really badly.
04:31Like, elect politicians, that's when it goes, not the best, but it's usually pretty good.
04:36People don't have to fall in love with Oprah or want Oprah as president just because Oprah
04:39speaks really well.
04:40It's like, we weren't ready for a white woman to be president two years ago.
04:43Are we going to be ready for a black woman in two years?
04:46Ooh.
04:47That's a good point.
04:48That's a very good point.
04:49Go ahead, Gina.
04:50I love that.
04:51I am of the school of mama Oprah Winfrey.
04:55And one, as my friend Sylvia said, if people try to Hillary Oprah, we're going to have to
05:00fight.
05:01And I really don't want to fight America, one.
05:04Two, I just hope that people understand that Oprah, the goodness of Oprah is that she is this
05:09prism for light and excellence and bettering yourself.
05:12She can't be that if she's telling people, like, drop bombs and things like that.
05:15So I think, you know, we love her for who she is, but let's not ruin Oprah.
05:19This is the hardest job in America.
05:22Hopefully people just subscribe to her content and try to become better people themselves.
05:27Like, I hope this just opens up a whole new wave of goodness.
05:29All right.
05:30Lauren?
05:31I would absolutely have to echo both of your sentiments and say that Oprah is a personality.
05:36She's a figure and we can learn from her and we can love her as much as we do.
05:41But like you said, let's leave politics to politicians, the people who, you know, have
05:45been well-versed in all types of human rights and making decisions that will affect us not
05:51only now, but for the rest of our lives.
05:53And Oprah, while yes, we can get all the motivation in the world from her, politicians included,
05:59we need to let her be good at media moguldom and let that be that.
06:04And she just started running her own network.
06:05She ain't ready to run a country.
06:06But what about the Oprah Winfrey show for 25 years?
06:09It was incredible.
06:10Yeah.
06:11That's great.
06:12You are good at one thing.
06:13Michael Jordan was a great basketball player, but he dresses horribly.
06:16You can't be good at everything all the time or because you're good at one thing doesn't
06:19mean you're good at something else.
06:20Let Oprah be Oprah and stop trying to make Oprah president.
06:23Unless she wants to run for president, then I'll vote for her.
06:26Okay.
06:27That's true.
06:28I'd vote for her.
06:29I mean, she's still black.
06:30If she runs, I'll vote for her.
06:31Oh, absolutely.
06:32Okay.
06:33Yeah.
06:34All right.
06:35Let's check in with the one and only Kayla to see what the social media streets are saying.
06:38Hey, Kayla, what are the comments looking like on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter?
06:41Okay.
06:42Truly mixed bag.
06:43Selena Thornton says, no, I just want Oprah to be Oprah.
06:45She's more effective outside of the White House.
06:47Sandra Parkin says, why should she have to clean up 45's mess?
06:50So they're not here for it.
06:52Barbara Bracewell says, no, I like Oprah, but after this Trump disaster, I feel only people
06:55who have a political background should be able to run.
06:59But some people are here and they're on her team.
07:00Mary Jackson says, I'm on team Oprah.
07:03Mary Taylor says, Oprah has the power to finally get white women to stand up and do what's
07:07right and allow us all women a chance at leading the country.
07:10And Talitha Davidson says, yes, we can.
07:13If a black woman who could actually win and become president of the U.S. is Oprah.
07:17All right.
07:18People are here for it.
07:19Thank you for telling us your thoughts.
07:21All right.
07:22Let's keep it moving.
07:23There was a little tension on the set of the UK edition of Celebrity Big Brother recently
07:27when transgender journalist India Willoughby asked singer Ginuwine if he'd date a transgender.
07:33Ginuwine response, quote, I believe it's your choice and I would choose not to.
07:37Well, that didn't go over well with Miss India.
07:39She then tried to kiss Ginuwine and he backed up and said no.
07:43India later stormed off set, which sparked lots of conversations with the housemates and
07:46social media.
07:48Kayleigh Fox tweeted, India needs to be booted.
07:50She's trying to make out that housemates are transphobic.
07:54Poor Ginuwine looks so uncomfortable with her behavior and reaction.
07:57Good on McKaylee and Courtney Axe for pointing out that what India, what, what India was like.
08:03Kiara disagrees.
08:04This ish between India and Ginuwine is transphobia and I'm tired of them saying that it isn't.
08:10If you say you won't date someone because they're trans, but you would date them if you
08:13didn't know, it is transphobia.
08:15Panelists, what are your thoughts on Ginuwine's reactions merely, was his reactions merely
08:21a matter of preference or are they a part of a larger problem?
08:25On three.
08:26One, two, three.
08:28Hmm.
08:29Another consensus.
08:30Another, another.
08:31Yes.
08:32All right, Gian.
08:33I just think that you can have a preference in dating.
08:36Like some people only like to date a certain race, a certain body type, a certain weight.
08:41I don't, again, the issue is way bigger than what I, what I understand it.
08:45It's a world that I haven't necessarily like dived into, but I will say that I didn't
08:50feel, and just as people who've been fans of R&B and Ginuwine, I don't know him personally,
08:54but I don't feel like.
08:55He's from PG.
08:56He's from PG.
08:57You know what I'm saying?
08:58I'm biased.
08:59But I don't feel like he felt, I felt like he felt uncomfortable on TV.
09:02I feel like if a woman tried to kiss him, who wasn't a trans person, he probably would
09:06have been like, we ain't.
09:07I don't know.
09:08He might have a girlfriend.
09:09You know what I'm saying?
09:10Like, I think it's, I think it's being blown out of proportion right now.
09:13I understand people being offended.
09:15I totally see that.
09:16But right now, in this context, I think it's being blown out of proportion.
09:19What about you, Lauren?
09:20I don't think his actions or his intent was to be malicious.
09:22I think that, like Gia said, he has a preference.
09:25And if he knew she was trans prior to her asking, or if he didn't know, I think that in the same
09:32way you said, if somebody random, male, female, tried to kiss him, I think that part of the
09:37issue is that Genuine sings about such sexual content.
09:41And so everyone always assumes that because he's made his lifestyle and his brand out of
09:46this, it automatically assumes that he's some hypersexual being.
09:49And that couldn't be the case at all.
09:51He could just be not and have a desire to kiss a woman who was born a woman or has made it
09:58her lifestyle to live as a trans individual.
10:01And that's okay.
10:02I think that we also have a lot of navigation still to do as a culture and as a society on
10:08treating trans people with the respect that they deserve.
10:12And so perhaps the situation should have been more of an educational moment rather than a
10:17shameful one.
10:18All right, Jamal.
10:19I don't think it's fair to cite, I agree, but I don't think it's fair to cite Genuine's
10:23work or his, like, just because he made the pony doesn't mean he wants to ride the pony.
10:27Like it's unfair to point these things out and say that, oh, because he sings of such
10:33a sexual nature, like that's targeting.
10:35And like, just because he dresses that way and wears the shirts with the deep v-neck doesn't
10:39mean that he's asking to be sexually harassed by this trans individual.
10:44And I think this toxic trans masculinity is, it's really unfortunate and it's going to tear
10:49apart the R&B world and the Big Brother house wherever they are.
10:52And I just, I feel for Genuine.
10:55I think je suis Genuine.
10:57Your delivery?
10:59The deep v-
11:00Iconic.
11:01Kayla, what are they saying on social media about this Big Brother conversation?
11:04Genuine's fans are here for him and they're slaying him.
11:07All right, so Glenn Stewart says, I see nothing wrong with him not wanting to kiss her.
11:11I don't kiss everyone, so why should he? Girl, bye.
11:13Bianca Nicole says, he didn't disrespect her.
11:15He said he wouldn't date a trans woman and it should have been left at that.
11:18He shouldn't have to date a trans woman to prove he isn't transphobic.
11:22Gloria says, why is it that people want to label us some kind of phobic whenever we refuse to go with the masses?
11:27Big up to Genuine for standing his ground.
11:29All right, thank you people.
11:31He did it.
11:32Deep v- deep, deep v-neck though.
11:35Finally, we've got to talk about Love & Hip Hop Miami cast member Amara La Negra.
11:40In the show's premiere episode, the Dominican singer checked a music producer who challenged her for identifying as Afro-Latina.
11:48Now, while many love the singer's big, beautiful Afro and dark skin, some have accused her of donning blackface and pushing her African heritage a little too hard.
11:56Amara responded with an IG post that read, in part, it's funny that I even have to go through this to show you baby pictures or videos to prove to blogs and people on social media that my skin color is not airbrushed or spray tan, nor do I take melanin shots to be black.
12:13But can you take melanin shots?
12:14All right, we'll get back to that.
12:15Panelists, what are you saying?
12:17Is this a slate or shade in the case of Amara La Negra?
12:20Let's start with you, Jamal.
12:22I think Slade.
12:23Oh, yeah.
12:24Tell me your panels.
12:25I'm sorry.
12:26We're changing formats?
12:27Yeah, we did.
12:28We did.
12:29Starting over in 2018?
12:30I think Slade.
12:31I think we always find issue with it if they're Afro-Latina, but they don't identify as the Afro part of that.
12:37We take issue with it.
12:38And then when they do identify with the Afro part of it, we take issue with it as well.
12:41There's no way to please everybody at once.
12:43Somebody's always going to take issue if the blackface isn't blatant or it doesn't exist at all.
12:49But she's not putting shoe polish on her face.
12:52It's not that big a deal.
12:53I think it's much ado about nothing.
12:56And she responded beautifully.
12:58Lauren?
12:59I think we as a people like to think that we're all a monolith.
13:03And we love to always want to exclude one group and celebrate another.
13:08And I think that Amara bringing this conversation to the forefront is very important because like you said, if we have someone who is Afro-Latina, they claim the Latina, but they ignore the Afro or they pride themselves on the Afro and aren't too happy about the Latina.
13:23And so I think that her delivery may be a little off, but her pride is there and it's evident.
13:31And we saw in her baby pictures and everything, all of the conversation that people are having.
13:36She's given you all the receipts to prove that she has done nothing wrong.
13:40She is presenting herself as she is.
13:43And I think that we should be proud of her for having this conversation and also standing in her truth.
13:49Yeah, I like her.
13:51I like Amara Negra.
13:52I started following her on Instagram myself.
13:54You know, like I'm like, there's something about her that is very positive.
13:57And like, I didn't follow her, but I did like stalk her posts for a second because I was like, okay, let me find out more about this girl because Love & Hip Hop doesn't show everything.
14:05And she's like very positive and like, you know, talks about God and like faith and like love.
14:10Why do we have to tear her down? Like she's beautiful.
14:13I don't think, like if you look at this picture right here, she don't have no makeup on her boobies.
14:16So like, that's her actual skin color. What else do you want from her?
14:20You know, she's just this beautiful woman trying to make it in the industry.
14:23So let's let her live. How about in all 2018, we just let everyone live?
14:27Let everyone live.
14:28Because we talk about stupid things when Donald Trump is like tweeting that we're about to like blow up North Korea and it's really not cool.
14:35We need diversion.
14:37Kayla, what are your thoughts about this?
14:40Well, luckily everyone is in support of Amara.
14:42So Beatrice Andrews says the woman is black and that's the way I see her.
14:45Robin Brown says, I never knew people didn't know Afro-Latino was a thing.
14:49Where have these people been?
14:50Back on Twitter, at Yancey Fenty, we haven't had an Afro-Latina go mainstream since Celia Cruz.
14:55I hope she makes it big.
14:56She's so talented at opening doors to show the uneducated and racist that Latinas come in all shades.
15:01We have one more from Tierra.
15:03I'm proud of Amara La Negra.
15:05She's strong and a beautiful Afro-Latina that knows her worth, refuses to conform to Afro-centric standards of beauty.
15:11But Kayla, I want to know your personal thoughts because you are also Afro-Latina.
15:15Yes, I am.
15:16And I was just blown away that this Latino producer demanded an explanation about what Afro-Latina even meant.
15:22So there's just too many layers to really get into the racism within the Latino community.
15:27So I think I'm here for Amara.
15:29We need her now more than ever.
15:30There's a little girl just like her, just like me, looking up to her and looking for faces, looking for someone who looks like her.
15:35So I'm here for her, 100%.
15:37All right now. Beautiful.
15:39Thank you everyone for joining us.
15:41Coming up, we're talking with Trina about her decision to join Love & Hip Hop Miami and her current relationship status.
15:47But first, has it been cold enough for you outside?
15:49As the entire country begins to recover from freezing temperatures, our girl Julie Wilson has the perfect beauty products to keep your skin looking great, which is great this winter.
15:59Watch.
16:11Okay, so you're never going to believe what this next product does.
16:14It's called Face Halo and it's deemed the modern makeup remover.
16:18Basically, this cotton microfiber disc takes off all of your makeup, including your mascara and all that stubborn stuff just using water.
16:26You don't even need to use a face wash.
16:28Use it throughout the whole entire week and then throw it in the wash.
16:31It can be washed in the washing machine up to 200 times.
16:34It's pretty insane.
16:35So we all know how important silk pillowcases are, right?
16:39They really help keep your skin and your hair moisturized at night.
16:44I'm really loving this company because they come in these really adorable pouches that are great for traveling.
16:49I love this midnight blue color.
16:51It's really chic and obviously really beneficial.
16:55I'm obsessed.
16:56So I'm already in love with Elf Cosmetics and I really love that the company is now breaking into skincare.
17:04One of my favorite new products is their Recharging Magnetic Mask.
17:08It's as cool as it sounds.
17:09It's a charcoal mask.
17:11You put it on your skin, leave it there for five to ten minutes.
17:14Then you use this really cool magnetic tool and it literally lifts off your skin, leaving a smooth, beautifully bright surface.
17:24Gotta love that.
17:26I really hope you love the products I've shared this week.
17:29Make sure you check back again for more dope stuff on my desk.
17:32You're watching Essence Now. I'm Essence Entertainment director Corey Murray.
17:42Remember, I can't even say my name.
17:44Remember to keep talking to us using hashtag Essence Now and we'll read some of your comments later in the show.
17:50Now, how much are you loving Trina on Love & Hip Hop Miami?
17:53Don't lie, we all know you watch.
17:55Well, recently our very own Mako N Luvu caught up with Trina to talk reality TV, natural hair and hip hop,
18:01and what she really thinks of Trick Daddy's comments about black women. Check it out.
18:06Now, a lot of established artists are hesitant about doing reality TV.
18:09Why did you say yes to Love & Hip Hop Miami?
18:12I was hesitant at first as well.
18:14It was offered to me a couple of times, a couple of years ago.
18:17And I just think that now it was just about the timing.
18:20The timing was right and I just decided to do it, you know?
18:22Yeah. There were a lot of unknown people on the show, right?
18:25People that aren't relatively known to the public.
18:27Did you tell the producers that you didn't want to film with them?
18:29Did you want to film with them?
18:30Did you want to film with them? How did that work?
18:31No, not necessarily. I just kind of filmed with what went with my lifestyle.
18:36There's Trick Daddy, of course, which is my friend and somebody I made music with.
18:40And a couple other cast members. There's Trick Wife, which is my cousin.
18:43Yeah.
18:44And a few people that I'm cool with that's from Miami, so I didn't mind filming with them.
18:47If I didn't know the person or whoever it was, I didn't really care to film with them.
18:50Yeah, you didn't care to film with them.
18:51No.
18:52Did you talk to Trick about filming? How did that conversation go down in terms of the show?
18:55We didn't really talk much about it. I just knew that he was doing it.
18:58And then we started doing radio for our song. We had a song out.
19:02And when the song came out, we started doing radio and we would talk and we wouldn't say too much about it.
19:05So before we actually started filming the show, I said, hey, so how are we going to do this?
19:11And then he was like, we're just going to be ourselves.
19:13You're going to do you. I'm going to do me. And I just want you to be the baddest bitch.
19:16Don't be the diamond princess. And, you know, we just kind of went back and forth.
19:18I mean, we just said we're going to have fun.
19:19Yeah.
19:20That's what we did.
19:21Is there anything that you refused to show on the show?
19:23The parts of your life that you kind of held to yourself?
19:25Yeah.
19:26Yeah.
19:27Yeah.
19:28It was certain stuff. It was like, I mean, a lot of it was just music.
19:31It was just my album. It's my personal.
19:33Some of it, my mom wasn't feeling really good. A lot of times I was filming.
19:36I just didn't want to film her. I didn't want to film no scenes with her like that.
19:39That was more personal to me. And just that was it. Everything else I had fun with.
19:43You know, I did business. I did friends. I did fun. I did dates. I did everything. We have fun.
19:48Well, I hope your mom is feeling better for the record. She's fine.
19:49She's feeling much better.
19:50Okay. That's good to know.
19:51Let's talk about the music now.
19:52Yes.
19:53All right. Are you releasing a new album? What is going on?
19:55The album comes out February 23rd.
19:57Okay.
19:58It's entitled The One. The album was pushed back because of a clearance for a record.
20:02We got that done. I'm excited. I'm just excited. You know, the album is just me. It's raw. It's vulnerable.
20:07It's a lot of growth. You know, I chose certain artists to work with and collab with.
20:11Who are some of those artists? Can you give us a little hint?
20:13Yeah. I did the first record I put out. It's the record with Tory Lanez. Then I did my second single with Kay Michelle.
20:20I have Lil Wayne on the album. I have 2 Chainz on the album. I have Kelly Price on the album.
20:26I have Rico Love on the album. I have a couple more artists and I have another person I just put on the album which is like the next single and I'm excited about it.
20:33Okay. Any collaborations with Trick Daddy that you're going to be doing?
20:36Yeah. We just did a record called Paradise. It's off of the album that we're putting out next year.
20:40So you're going to have two albums out next year. You're going to have your solo album and then the Trick Daddy album as well.
20:45And then possibly a third album with a collaboration with another female artist.
20:48Oh. Can you tell us about that? I can't help you.
20:50Tina, you cannot come up here to the Essence Studios and give us some tea like that. Okay. Is it a singer or a rapper?
20:57Do they do both?
20:59Singer.
21:00It's a singer. Okay. Okay. So it's like a two.
21:02Yeah. It's like a duet. It's like the best of both girls, you know, kind of thing like that.
21:05All right. Perfect. Well, we can't wait to hear that.
21:07Now there's a really powerful scene in Love & Hip Hop where the conversation of natural hair comes up, right?
21:11I know you rock a lot of different wigs and weaves and would you ever rock your natural hair for a video or a music?
21:16I did in the beginning when I first came out and it was just like the horrible. I couldn't do, I couldn't keep up with it.
21:22It was like performing, the hair is like sorted out. It comes out flawless and fabulous when I first started and after the show it's like, whoa, what happened?
21:28Right. Just a lot of work, pressure on it.
21:30Usually for myself when I'm performing, I always wear hair, like weeds, always.
21:34When I'm not performing, I'm working, I'm at home, I just have my hair out.
21:37It's probably in a bun or just probably braided, just not done at all.
21:40Yeah. But to perform, I just, it won't work.
21:43It won't work because of the, do you think it's because of the heat or do you think it's just-
21:46Just the heat, humidity, just like performing is hot in the venues, just all of it.
21:50Even when I've tried it with a fan on stage, it's still, it's just like-
21:54It'll show you flames.
21:55It turns out to be not good.
21:57Yeah.
21:58It starts looking all over.
21:59Yeah.
22:00But do you think hip hop is ready?
22:01Because the conversation was really powerful, right?
22:03I think you know what I'm talking about.
22:04Do you think hip hop is ready for a woman who just rocks their own natural hair and becomes-
22:09I mean, if you want to, if that's your choice, you've got to be a person that's really into hair.
22:12I'm not a hair person.
22:14I, even with weaves, I have the worst like issues with hair.
22:18I don't like to brush my hair.
22:19I ball it up in a bun.
22:20I take a shower, it'd be wet and get matted up.
22:22I'm just a disaster.
22:23So I always need like a hair person on deck.
22:26I'm tender headed.
22:27So when I'm getting my natural hair braided under the weaves, it's like, it's, it's bad for me.
22:32So I, I'm just a person that needs somebody to be by my side doing the hair.
22:35Now, speaking of hip hop and women, Trick Daddy has said quite a few questionable things.
22:40Like he once told black women that we need to quote, tighten up because Latina women are making us useless.
22:45And do you ever reach out to him?
22:46I know you're like breathing in already.
22:48Do you ever reach out to him and like, listen, homie, you can't be saying stuff like that.
22:52Well, I, I actually, we did an interview together and we actually talked about that subject.
22:57And me knowing him personally, I know what he was trying to say.
23:02It's just when Trick starts talking, it just comes out all wrong.
23:05I told him you need to like press reset and think before you say something to make sure it's the right thing.
23:10And you can never like say something about black women.
23:13That's, that's, you know, I've never seen you date any woman outside of your race.
23:17So therefore that don't make sense to me, you know, just to say, you know, black women exercise, cook more, be at home.
23:24Stop going to the club.
23:25We don't like that.
23:26And your lashes and all that.
23:27He's in that essence, that's what he wants.
23:29Instead, you're saying a different race of women is on their job.
23:32You're cooking a cleaning trick.
23:33Knock it off.
23:34Right, right.
23:35I mean, we had a conversation about it.
23:36And I told him, just don't say nothing when it comes to women and, and what we do and how we like stuff.
23:40Because women are going to eat you alive.
23:41We don't like that.
23:42You don't talk about women and you know.
23:44And we sure did.
23:45And we sure did.
23:46Oh, they ate them alive.
23:47Yes, we did.
23:48But that's why he has friends like you.
23:49But you know what I love about you is that you stay above, you rise above the fray, right?
23:52Like how do you avoid getting into beefs?
23:54Because you've been in the industry like 20 something years.
23:56Like 17.
23:5717 years, close to 20, which is amazing.
23:59How do you like stay away from that sort of beef?
24:02I just don't have time for that.
24:03You know, I just, I have certain friends in the industry.
24:06We've been friends since I've been in the industry.
24:09And I mean not industry friends, not when I see you on the red carpet.
24:12I mean like we talk on the phone, we text, we send funny pictures and memes and you know, stuff like that.
24:17I just like that kind of energy, those kind of people that's real and genuine.
24:22You know, not when it's a facade or when it's at a red carpet event and we got to be on stage and you got to fake a smile.
24:27Not that.
24:28That's not a real friend.
24:29Who are some of your real industry friends that you actually have in your phone?
24:32Missy is my real friend.
24:33Lala is my real friend.
24:34Nicki Minaj is one of my real friends.
24:36People that I like, I talk to on a regular basis and I, you know, we just talk about women stuff.
24:42You know, like, oh my God, I ate too much over Thanksgiving.
24:44I need to work out and like hit the treadmill for 30 minutes.
24:46Like real conversation.
24:47Real conversation.
24:48You know?
24:49That would be a dope album.
24:50Missy, Trina and Nicki Minaj.
24:51I'm so here for that.
24:52Now you've said in the past before that there's Trina the rapper and then Katrina, the woman behind her.
24:57And that people often confuse the two.
24:59What do you want fans to know about the real Katrina?
25:01The real Katrina is just a woman, you know?
25:03She's real authentic.
25:04She's genuine.
25:05And she's like, she's real, just real beyond music, beyond the brand, the lifestyle, all of it.
25:13I have real friends.
25:14Like my real friends, that's what keep my life grounded, you know?
25:17It's music and this whole industry.
25:19It's a little, it could be jaded.
25:21It could be all glitz and glam.
25:23But when it's real, like the lights go off, the makeup comes off, the hair weave off.
25:26You're a different, right?
25:27Shoes off.
25:28It's a different, you know?
25:29Yeah.
25:30And that's the thing that keeps me humble because this is what I do every day.
25:32These real women that are going through real issues.
25:34Absolutely.
25:35And we'll get to see more of that on the show, which I'm so excited about.
25:38Now, before we let you go, we got to talk about black love, because we love love here
25:41at Essence.
25:42What's going on in your love life train?
25:44Is anyone special?
25:45Yeah.
25:46There is.
25:47Yes.
25:48Okay.
25:49I'm actually very happy.
25:51I love love.
25:52I'm all for love.
25:53I just love when it's genuine, when it's authentic.
25:57And if I'm extremely happy.
25:59If I'm not happy with something, I'll walk away.
26:01You're going to let him know?
26:02I'll walk away.
26:03Is this someone we know?
26:04Is this someone in the public eye?
26:05Or is this a guy who's behind the scenes?
26:06It's not really publicly like that.
26:07Yeah.
26:08But yeah.
26:09I like it that way.
26:10You like it.
26:11You keep it.
26:12Is he on the show?
26:13We get to see him on the show?
26:14Yeah.
26:15So if you could come up with a dream list, perfect list for this guy, what would that
26:17be?
26:18The qualities that he has.
26:19What are some of the great qualities?
26:20I'm just funny.
26:21Just, you know, just a gentleman.
26:23Just respectful.
26:24Just very attentive.
26:26Very assertive.
26:27Just very much, just keep me smiling and happy.
26:30That's all I need.
26:31I do everything else.
26:32I work.
26:33I'm excited.
26:34I'm happy.
26:35I like to vacate.
26:36Go to the islands.
26:37Put my feet up.
26:38Get massages.
26:39Just do your job as a man.
26:40What do you love the most about him though?
26:41Because you're not going to tell us the T on who he is.
26:42What I love the most is that he's very attentive and very respectful, you know?
26:45Yeah.
26:46He understands the business.
26:47He understands me and my job.
26:48You know, there's a hundred guys that could be at me every single day, but you know my attention
26:52is on you.
26:53Yeah.
26:54That's what matters most.
26:55Guys get lost in the face.
26:56It can be very intimidating, you know?
26:57I've dated before.
26:58It's been publicly and it didn't always turn out so right because people are always putting
27:02their hands and they're voicing their opinions.
27:04Right.
27:05So, you know, it just feels a little different.
27:08You're watching Essence Now.
27:09I'm entertainment director Corey Murray.
27:11And before we get out of here, I want to shout out one of the viewers watching with
27:14us right now on Twitter.
27:16Shout out ddreama86.
27:17Hey girl.
27:18Hey.
27:19Let's check in one more time with what you're saying on social media.
27:22Kayla has been reading your comments.
27:23I'll show.
27:24Hey, Kayla.
27:25What's going on?
27:26Okay.
27:27So we asked earlier, are you here for an Oprah Winfrey presidency?
27:29Send us your comments.
27:30We've got a few more comments from viewers worried about what that would really mean.
27:34Nikki Young says, I love Oprah, but I don't want her to run for president.
27:37She's more powerful, influential as Oprah.
27:40Becoming president would actually strip her a lot of her power and put a target on her back.
27:44Teresa Harris says, I'm not here for the presidency either.
27:46I don't want another TV star as president.
27:48If she were to run for something else first, like governor of Illinois, mayor of Chicago,
27:52to get her feet wet in politics, I might consider it.
27:54But not having any experience, I feel like she needs to get some experience first.
27:58All right.
27:59Thanks to Trina and all of our guests for coming through.
28:03Remember, if you've missed any of today's show, you can catch the replay shortly on Essence.com
28:07and subscribe to our YouTube channel to see all of our videos.
28:11And tune in next Tuesday at 3 p.m. Eastern for another edition of Essence Now.
28:15I'm Corey Murray and thanks for watching.
28:18See you next week.
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