00:00Hey, what's up? I'm Rodney Rekai.
00:05And I'm Gia Peppers.
00:06We're here at Essence Festival 2016, Behind the Velvet Rope with Verizon.
00:10Yes, yes, we have had fun all day long, but tonight we're going to bring it to a little bit of the good side of things.
00:16We talked so much about the celebrity drama, but now we're going to talk to the celebrities about what makes them happy when they give back, what inspires them, and the good stuff.
00:23You know, we got to talk about the good stuff, too.
00:25There's a lot of more coming from you guys here at Essence Festival 2016, Behind the Velvet Rope.
00:29With Verizon, Rodney Rekai.
00:31Gia Peppers.
00:32Beautiful.
00:33Gia Peppers.
00:34So this is your second year at Essence Festival, man.
00:36What's it been like this year?
00:37Obviously, last year you guys presented Underground to the world.
00:40What's the reception like this time around, man?
00:42It's been amazing, man.
00:44I mean, the fans, they really showed up and showed out this year.
00:48It's been all love, you know.
00:49First year, y'all weren't checking for us, but it's all good.
00:52I'm going to let y'all have that.
00:53But this year, you know, the love is overwhelming and we're just so humbled by it.
00:57Awesome, awesome.
00:58One of my favorite parts about being here is that we get to play little games.
01:01And before we got you on stage, we told you to pick a quote.
01:05So we want to know what quote you picked.
01:07So show us real quick which quote you're going to pick with us.
01:13All right.
01:14He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.
01:18The great Muhammad Ali.
01:19Rest in peace to Muhammad Ali, of course, man.
01:21Why that quote?
01:22What does that quote mean to you?
01:23It's something I guess it's one of the mantras of my life.
01:26I've, you know, gone through this industry taking risks.
01:29You know, it's about not putting yourself in a box.
01:31It's about breaking out, breaking the norm, being bold, being brave, being courageous and running towards fear as opposed to letting it make you stumble in life.
01:40It's just one of those things that I think we all need to live by in order for us to, you know, really break the barriers that we need to in this entertainment industry.
01:49Oh, man.
01:50We have another A-lister in the building.
01:52Yes.
01:53Mr. Morris Chestnut.
01:54How you doing, man?
01:55I'm doing well.
01:56I'm doing well.
01:57How you doing?
01:58I'm amazing, man.
01:59Man, you've been in the industry and working for so long.
02:00I'm sure you've accrued so much wisdom and knowledge in your journey.
02:02Yes.
02:03What's the best piece of advice that you can offer someone who wants to walk in your shoes one day, man?
02:07The best piece of advice that I can offer for me is, and I like to think of it as if I was a young person coming up in the industry.
02:14And it's always just to really focus on your craft.
02:16Nowadays, people feel like they can, there's a fast route, you know, do a tape or do something else to be famous.
02:23And some people focus on the potential of things that you can have, the material things, if you become famous.
02:29But just focus on your work and all the other things that you want will come.
02:33That's my opinion.
02:34We're having such a good time over here at Essence Fest 2016.
02:37Behind the velvet rope, we have Mike Muse, we have Mr. Walter Latham as well.
02:41Gentlemen, how you doing, man?
02:43Good. How are you, man?
02:44I am awesome.
02:45I'm great. I'm great.
02:46We have this amazing Verizon Samsung tablet here.
02:49They're filled with quotes.
02:50We want each of you to take a quote that most resonates with you.
02:53Something that kind of embodies where you are, who you are, and what you've been through.
02:56So go ahead and give it a look.
02:57Scroll on through, see which one you like.
03:00I mean, it's pulled up right now, right in front of me, actually.
03:03Okay, let's go ahead and get that on the screen for the people out there.
03:05Just play it.
03:06Whoopi Goldberg in the building.
03:07Whoopi Goldberg in the building.
03:08I am where I am because I believe in all possibilities, man.
03:13Is that pretty much summing you up in a nutshell right there, man?
03:16I mean, it does.
03:17It's nothing like carving out your own lane of intersection politics and pop culture.
03:19Again, I get that question so much.
03:20What is it that you do?
03:21And so for me to be able to see the finish line and to understand my work and to understand
03:24it has value and to go against the grain when people question, people snicker, people
03:29wonder, people are condescending, people laugh at you behind your back.
03:32But for me to keep pushing forward, sit back here behind the velvet rope and to talk
03:36with you two today.
03:37Talk about my passions.
03:38Talk about my curiosities.
03:39And talk about my success because I saw it as the possibilities when others did it.
03:44And so that's the power of this quote for me.
03:46Man.
03:47A lot of people say this is how you're supposed to do it.
03:52And being in Hollywood and being in entertainment, they tell you there's a certain way to do
03:57it and there's a certain way you can't do it.
03:59And I think what you're saying is you did it the way you wanted to do it and how you felt
04:05best doing it and it worked for you.
04:07So when people say who are you, it doesn't really matter because you know who you are.
04:11I've already defined myself.
04:12And self-worth and self-definition is more powerful than what other people think of you anyway.
04:16My man.
04:17That's why we're together.
04:18That's awesome.
04:19I love this.
04:20When you're behind the velvet ropes, it really means something, man.
04:24It means that you're somebody.
04:25And right now, I'm feeling like somebody because I have the iconic Maxwell with me, man.
04:31How you doing, sir?
04:32It's good to be here.
04:33How you doing, brother?
04:34I'm feeling awesome, man.
04:35Awesome, awesome.
04:36So, this is Gia Pepper.
04:38Yes, nice to meet you.
04:39She's gorgeous.
04:40She's amazing.
04:41She's cool, you know.
04:42This is Ronnie Rakaaz, man.
04:43Cool, eh?
04:44No, so we have this Verizon Samsung tablet here, right?
04:47Yeah.
04:48It's filled with quotes.
04:49We want you to just look through it really quickly.
04:50Let us know which one speaks to you the most.
04:53Ah, I may change the game.
04:56You want to choose another one?
04:57Okay.
04:58Okay.
04:59So, it is, I am where I am because I believe in all possibilities, Whoopi Goldberg.
05:05Tell me why you chose that one and how it applies to your life.
05:08I chose it because I think that when you look at what we are as a people, as Americans, apart
05:15from being African American, that we do have a wealth of opportunity here.
05:20We don't just have to be creative people.
05:22We don't just have to be athletes.
05:25We can be engineers, we can be scientists, we can be doctors, we can be anything.
05:30And I think it's awesome what Verizon is doing with their initiative to put tablets in places,
05:36in the inner cities, to get children interested in, you know, expanding their minds and their
05:42horizons in the world.
05:43That's so awesome.
Comments