00:00All right, it's 105.1 The Bounce, and I am Leisha B.,
00:03and I am here talking to some people who have been working a butt off
00:07because you've probably recognized them from a few different places.
00:10I mean, Gail's been on Snowfall.
00:12She's been on Pea Valley.
00:14She's given us something in Atlanta, too.
00:16And Mr. Black has been giving us some emotional things
00:19since This Is Us and Euphoria.
00:21I'm so excited to talk to them about FX,
00:24the drop of Snowfall saga, the spinoff that's happening.
00:28I got Gail B. and Asante Black here.
00:30How y'all doing today?
00:33Oh, we're blessed. Appreciate you having us.
00:35Thank you for being here.
00:37So when y'all heard that Snowfall was coming off with this spinoff
00:41and that Gail, Wanda, was going to be at the center of it all,
00:44how did y'all feel about all of this?
00:47Well, it was just mind-blowing.
00:49I'm not going to lie.
00:50The feeling of, you know, thinking, okay,
00:55I knew a spinoff was coming.
00:57I'm thinking of Leon and Wanda's spinoff.
00:59When they said that Wanda would be leading the charge
01:02and at the center, I was just like, it brung me to tears
01:05because never in a million years did I think we were at that place
01:08or that it would be me.
01:10Well, why would it not be, girl?
01:12Your resume is stacked.
01:15You've been working for this moment.
01:17And I think a lot of the times when I've been watching
01:19not only Snowfall but now the drop,
01:22reinvention has been happening a lot through,
01:24not only for Wanda but for Lamar too.
01:27So for both of you, when it comes to this idea of reinvention,
01:32what does that mean for your characters
01:34and how you played them differently from maybe how you played Wanda
01:37in the previous series
01:39or how you've played other characters in your career?
01:43Like, how did you take on the idea of reinvention
01:46for these characters this time around?
01:50Yeah, I mean, you know, I think that every role as an actor
01:56teaches you something different about yourself
01:58depending on the size of it, depending on the depth of it.
02:04And so from the moment that I read the pilot script,
02:10I knew that Lamar was going to be, he was going to be different.
02:16Somebody that, you know, I would have to really just dive
02:21into a different bag to be able to just embody and get into.
02:27And so I wouldn't necessarily say that it's reinvention quite yet
02:33for Lamar, but I will say that the journey of discovering yourself
02:39and your gifts and your talent is always ongoing.
02:44You know, it's just like, it's life, you know, it's living.
02:48You're always discovering something new about the world,
02:51just like hopefully you're discovering something new
02:53about yourself every single day.
02:55So that's what I really tried to pride myself on
02:59for the character of Lamar.
03:01And hopefully people are, hopefully it's shining it through.
03:05It definitely is.
03:06What about you?
03:08I just knew that I had to honor the time period
03:13and this arc in Wanda's life and this journey in the universe, right?
03:21We're at a redemption story where we're headed upwards and coming back.
03:26I mean, there would be people who have a dream that are watching this,
03:29people who came from addiction that are watching this.
03:32I knew Wanda's story would resonate with so many people across genders,
03:35races, you know, demographics.
03:38And I just wanted to make sure that I approached it with the highest regard.
03:43So just making sure that I honored the time period and the space that she was in
03:47to not just be a visionary and a dreamer,
03:49but to be someone who is a recovering addict,
03:52to be someone who is a Black woman during a time where patriarchy and misogyny
03:56were at an all-time high,
03:58to be someone who is in a male-dominated industry,
04:00because there are women today who may not be an addict or recovering addict
04:03or from the 90s or from South Central LA,
04:07but they are a Black woman in a male-dominated industry,
04:10or just a woman in a male-dominated industry.
04:13There are multiple rooms that people are going in
04:15and people are telling them that they are not qualified to be there.
04:18So being that voice,
04:20I know I had to come from a different space
04:21than the voice of when Wanda was just in Snowfall,
04:25around the way girl dated the drug to the boyfriend,
04:27was cute, everything was fun.
04:29It was like, I knew I had to grow up.
04:31Right.
04:33And I think just off the descriptions
04:35of how you guys handled your characters,
04:37y'all are doing amazing,
04:39at least from the episodes that I've seen so far.
04:41I can't wait to see more.
04:43And for both of you, actually,
04:46when it comes to your characters,
04:48especially with this season being heavily in West Coast hip-hop,
04:51if there is one song that is from maybe today's rap scene,
04:56or even the 90s too,
04:57that your character would immediately connect with,
05:01do you have a song that you guys immediately think,
05:04this is Wanda, yeah, she's got this,
05:06or this is Lamar?
05:08Kendrick Lamar, Count Me Out.
05:11That's a good one for Wanda.
05:14Okay.
05:17Is it for both, or do you have one for Lamar?
05:23Man, feeling myself, Mac Dre.
05:27Yeah.
05:28Lamar do be feeling herself a little bit too much,
05:30and it gets him caught up in some situations, for sure.
05:34But I know that you don't have a lot of time left,
05:37but when it comes to this new series,
05:39this new challenge, the drop,
05:40what do you want people to really take away
05:42when they are watching Wanda and Lamar's story
05:44as we continue to see it unfold?
05:51I mean, I think that it's so important,
05:55and, you know, especially in this culture,
05:57we try to do things on our own so much
06:00because we just live in, like,
06:02a very individualist, capitalistic society.
06:06But the greatest things that were ever accomplished
06:08were never done by one man.
06:10Even if it may seem that way,
06:12it always takes a village.
06:14It always takes a team.
06:15It takes family.
06:17And so I think that that's, like,
06:18the real premise of this show is, like,
06:21make sure that you're leaning on the people
06:22that are truly seeing you for who you are.
06:26Make sure you're listening to them,
06:27and make sure that you are
06:29not only holding each other accountable,
06:32but holding yourself accountable
06:33to make sure that everybody is able to win
06:36in the best way.
06:38I love that.
06:39I have some friends down in Atlanta.
06:40They have a company called HBUC,
06:43Historically Black University of Creatives.
06:47And Trav and Caleb have this saying.
06:50Their motto is better together.
06:51So I want people to take away from Lamar and Juan
06:55is that we're better together.
06:57As a community,
06:58whether instead of being divisive,
07:01let's try to create unity
07:03and all rise together.
07:05You know, let's do it for our family,
07:07our friends, our community,
07:09and society as a whole.
07:11We're better together.
07:14I don't know what better way
07:16to end off this interview than that.
07:17Because, I mean,
07:18that can literally translate into so many avenues.
07:21I think this show is amazing.
07:23You guys are truly amazing,
07:25not only as Wanda and Lamar,
07:26but your work insane.
07:29Again, Asante,
07:30we come from the same place.
07:32So I've been rooting for you since jump.
07:34Gail, you have been killing it
07:35every time I've seen you.
07:36And I can't wait to see you some more.
07:38And I can't wait to see how you guys
07:40get even more in love with the drop.
07:41That is out.
07:42Y'all should be watching it right now.
07:43If you not,
07:44go ahead and stop right now
07:45and go and watch.
07:46Thank you guys so much for being here
07:48and taking the time to speak with me.
07:52We appreciate it.
