00:00I get to represent the legacy of the women in my family, everything they worked so hard for,
00:05everything they fought for, everything that they didn't believe could come true.
00:09And I know my mom, she wanted to be in show business, but her mama ain't believe in that stuff.
00:15She didn't understand it.
00:16So it's like my mom never pushed me to do nothing that I didn't want to do,
00:19but it's like all them sacrifices.
00:22It's like she's here in L.A. and she's going to walk the red carpet for the first time.
00:26I couldn't think of nobody else that I would rather get this opportunity
00:29because it's like she sacrificed so much for me.
00:32And it's like she can be proud until her homegirl is like,
00:35yeah, I'm out here with my daughter.
00:36My daughter got billboards.
00:37Yeah.
00:38305, we live!
00:40Justin, I'm clean, I'm a deuce, I'm asking.
00:45We should start a rap.
00:46Shawna and I'm Mia.
00:48We got something cooking for y'all.
00:53It's me and you.
00:56Can I twerk on this?
00:57I should twerk on this.
01:00Hello, Brandy.
01:01Victoria with Essence Magazine.
01:02So good to see you both.
01:04I got through the first six episodes.
01:06So excited, yes, to see you.
01:08Kamika, I want to start with you.
01:10You know, being from Florida,
01:11what are you most excited for audiences to see
01:13about the experience of black life in Miami?
01:16To really get into Florida living,
01:18to really get into and respect the artists that come out of Miami.
01:23Like, there are real girls on this real journey hustling to make it
01:28and should be respected in the game.
01:30So that's what I hope, yeah.
01:33And for you, you know, as both writer and co-league,
01:36like, what was most important for you to get right about the story
01:39and your representation with your character?
01:41Making Shawna as specific as possible.
01:45Like, I didn't want her to feel like a generic black girl
01:49as if that even exists.
01:50But you know what I mean?
01:51Like, I wanted, I really wanted to put every weird quirk
01:54that I had into her so that she felt real
01:57and, like, felt like y'all knew her
01:58and y'all were like, oh, I know girls like that.
02:01I don't like girls like that.
02:02But I get girls like that.
02:04You know what I mean?
02:04Like, it was just trying to create a character
02:06that felt true to me but also felt unique.
02:08But also, what do you love most about each of your characters?
02:11I love that Mia don't care.
02:14Like, because I don't in real life.
02:18Like, she just, she's going to do what she got to do
02:21to get where she needs to be.
02:24You know, and she doesn't consider it, like,
02:27parting with herself or whatever.
02:29It's just, you know, that's where she come from.
02:32Like, Miami, Miami girls are a whole different breed.
02:36Like, I'm talking about, like, when you just really dive into it
02:39if you ever live there, like, they're going to get to it
02:42by any means, you know.
02:44So that's what I love about my character.
02:46Like, there are a lot of girls that represent that, you know,
02:50because some people have to.
02:52You know, everybody ain't blessed to come from something
02:55or, you know, so.
02:57What I love most about Shawna is she, oh, she's persistent.
03:03She's persistent.
03:04I feel like she has a lot more follow-through than I have.
03:07And it was actually beautiful.
03:08I remember there was, like, when I first started preparing for the role,
03:11because I'm really chill, laid back, kind of bad at, like, getting things done.
03:15I would always be like, what would Shawna do right now?
03:17And it was, like, organize all my apps
03:19and, like, pretty much be an Adderall pill.
03:21That's what Shawna would do.
03:22Man, where we was filming, and she, this girl moved to Miami
03:27and moved right in the trenches.
03:29I'm like, girl, you got all this money, girl.
03:30You could be staying in a ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.
03:33And she lived right around the corner from where we was filming
03:35in the projects just so she could relate to the character.
03:38I'm like, girl.
03:38My character lives in Little Haiti.
03:40I'm not about to go to Miami and live in South Beach
03:43when my character lives in Little Haiti.
03:45I'm like, Aida.
03:46I'm not messing this up for Issa.
03:48I'm going to be there with the Little Haitian grandma.
03:50She had to be the character.
03:50Girl, get out of there.
03:53I made friends with my neighbors.
03:54I had pickies.
03:55I had a good time.
03:56Well, I mean, I think that, to my last question,
03:58like, what does this world mean to each of you?
04:00Like, it's a big part of your journeys, you know, professionally.
04:03What does it mean, you know, to be here?
04:05It means a lot because I think the women,
04:07like, I was raised by a single mother, grandmother, all women,
04:13and I think that's where I get, like, a lot of my masculine traits from
04:16because they did a lot of things themselves,
04:18and sometimes I have to be like, okay, girl, chill.
04:22But, yeah, like, I get to represent the legacy of the women in my family,
04:29everything they worked so hard for, everything they fought for,
04:32everything that they didn't believe could come true.
04:34Like, and I know, like, my mom, she wanted to be in show business,
04:39but her mama ain't believe in that stuff.
04:40She didn't understand it.
04:41So it's like my mom never pushed me to do nothing that I didn't want to do,
04:45but it's like all them sacrifices.
04:47It's like she's here in L.A.
04:49and she's going to walk the red carpet for the first time.
04:52I couldn't think of nobody else that I would rather get this opportunity
04:54because it's like she sacrificed so much for me,
04:57and it's like she can be proud until homegirls.
04:59Like, yeah, I'm out here with my daughter.
05:01My daughter got billboards.
05:02Yeah, I suck.
05:04A lot of them.
05:05Too many of them.
05:06Issa.
05:07Don't say too many.
05:07Yeah, so it's like I live for that,
05:09and then my grandma, you know, she old school,
05:12so they don't, nothing like this has ever happened.
05:15And then where I'm from, like, stuff like this just don't happen, you know?
05:19So.
05:19Yeah.
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