Up next in 10
Omar Epps has built a legendary career for himself starring in classics like Juice, The Wood, In Too Deep and Love & Basketball. He then transitioned to TV on shows like ER and Shooter. And he has earned several awards for it. Everything from NAACP Image Awards to a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Now he teams up with Clarence A. Haynes to write an epic fantasy tale of three teens who are learning about their newfound powers. The book is called Nubia The Awakening, and Epps stopped by Sway In The Morning to talk about how the book came to life.
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Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
wow
0:05
yo let me get BB to do the honors man
0:07
our next guest right here man he he
0:09
needs the Oscar red carpet type of
0:12
introduction what he represents for our
0:15
generation and and Beyond yeah DB let
0:19
them know who we got up in here well I
0:21
think we have to go back to the
0:22
beginning because all of his
0:23
accomplishments all of his
0:25
accomplishments may not have happened if
0:26
him and Marlon Wayans I saw the video
0:28
that Marlon posted of them in high
0:30
school I think you had like a dance or a
0:32
prom or something like a prom and uh so
0:34
it's Marlin and Omar in high school at
0:36
their prom bigging up each other
0:38
predicting that they were going to be
0:39
rich he even starts the video out he's
0:41
like yo what's up my name is Omar I'm
0:42
Gonna Be Rich one day
0:45
so I think I think when you look at that
0:47
manifestation I think he definitely hit
0:49
a spot on because I mean look at loving
0:51
basketball I got my DVD I told him
0:53
outside I wore my pumps because I you
0:54
know I was watching been juicing that
0:55
opening scene I should have got a Baby
0:57
Ruth you know what I'm saying like
0:58
steelhead but we can go on and on and on
1:00
I've done this introduction so many
1:01
times and I love it every time but now
1:03
he's back here today talking about his
1:04
new book Nubia The Awakening and it's
1:06
out today please go pick that up and
1:08
please give your uh warm respect and uh
1:11
appreciation and a big round of applause
1:13
for Omar Epps friend family of Sway in
1:15
the Morning there you go
1:18
[Applause]
1:21
when you and Heather was growing up
1:27
come on
1:28
come on here you go
1:30
you know
1:33
yo yo what what like did y'all ever get
1:37
into any fights like friend fights
1:38
Brothers sister fights nah nah we never
1:41
got into it like that I mean plus she
1:43
got two crazy ass brothers so yeah the
1:46
fight used to be with him and my brother
1:47
they would literally be playing video
1:50
games I wake up in the morning come out
1:52
the living room and be and be 2K jams
1:56
NBA Jams yeah NBA gyms if you look at
1:59
the all Glocks Now video you go back
2:01
that's Omar in the video playing the
2:03
game in my living room because that's
2:04
all him and my brother used to do wow
2:06
yeah
2:07
I used to cook back there everybody just
2:10
come over here it's your family though
2:12
when you was at her house she never
2:14
talks about that side well you know and
2:16
my family is back in Brooklyn back in
2:17
them times and this was when I was out
2:19
in Jersey you know you get the little
2:21
starter kit uh-huh Jersey City Apartment
2:29
everybody was in like the same building
2:31
I was down the street wow
2:33
big from today
2:36
you're right
2:39
yo that's crazy wow we got history yeah
2:42
I love that clip uh uh well that that
2:45
moment that um DB was talking about in
2:48
terms of manifest manifestation you
2:51
would you know you and Marlon having
2:52
these dreams man I think people don't
2:55
necessarily uh believe in manifestation
2:58
until it happens to them how many times
3:01
has that happened to you you said I'ma
3:03
be rich now you're rich you know whether
3:05
it's monetarily or for whatever the
3:07
happiness
3:11
way what are you putting up now but you
3:13
know you're rich man you're rich
3:16
um manifestation when did you really
3:18
take hold of that and realize that that
3:20
could be a tool to get what you want
3:21
that's a great question for me um I
3:23
never really had a choice you know what
3:25
I'm saying like the the way I grew up
3:26
and um the things that that my mother
3:29
just instilled in me um a sense of
3:32
purpose a sense of value and um there
3:35
was no other options like all right we
3:37
already here so the only way to go could
3:39
be that way you know and so yeah I'm a
3:42
young kid I was I was probably 16 in
3:45
that video you know I'm talking about
3:47
I'ma be rich this and the other but the
3:50
thing that I want kids to know and
3:52
people to know is but I put in the work
3:53
though yeah yeah that was the secret the
3:56
whole time like yeah this could look
3:57
like this but I'm putting in the work
3:59
when y'all sleep I'm up working you know
4:02
and and then you have to put yourself in
4:05
the positions to have the opportunities
4:07
to for it to manifest you know but it's
4:10
all it's all blessings from from the
4:12
most high when when I look at like
4:14
Jonathan Johnathan Majors or Michael B
4:17
Jordan you know these younger dudes I I
4:20
think of you you know I I see you stop
4:23
yo I never thought about that why not
4:25
though yeah like you were everywhere on
4:28
every screen for us you have been your
4:31
entire career yeah you know when you see
4:33
their careers is it something you want
4:35
to say to them as you see their star
4:38
Rising just kind of like cautionary
4:40
tales or information you want to give
4:42
them what would you say to them yeah I
4:43
mean I admire all those all the young
4:45
brothers and when we meet face to face
4:47
you know whatever's on my spirit in that
4:50
moment I'll share with them but they
4:52
doing it man they doing it they they you
4:54
know they got different opportunities
4:55
and talk about a Michael B Jordan or
4:58
wrestling Pizza Chadwick or you know
5:00
what I mean like these young casters
5:02
they on it do they say what they say to
5:04
you when they see you it's a lot of love
5:06
and respect you know it feels good it
5:09
feels good because you know the only
5:11
person in in terms of in the acting
5:14
world the only person I ever wanted to
5:16
impress was Sidney Poitier and when I
5:19
had the chance to meet him the first
5:20
time
5:21
he knew the fact that he even knew who I
5:23
was I was like oh I won yeah yeah
5:29
right and I know for the younger crowd
5:31
y'all might not know who that is but
5:33
like think of it like this like in
5:36
basketball terms right is there's MJ
5:39
it was Kobe and it's LeBron you know
5:42
what I'm saying Sidney Poitier was MJ
5:45
Sidney Poitier was MJ what do you say to
5:47
you oh he said he's because I didn't he
5:49
was eating right and you know how that
5:51
is yeah I don't want to be one of those
5:53
people
5:54
but I'm sitting there like I'm never
5:57
probably gonna have this moment again so
6:00
I just went over there like
6:02
I'm sorry sir I don't mean to you know
6:04
to serve your meal but you know my name
6:05
is Omar Epps I'm an actor and and he
6:08
said I know who you are son and you do
6:10
great work and that's just blue I'm
6:13
talking about an explosion I was just
6:15
like oh
6:27
if you play basketball with your
6:30
favorite player knows you play ball and
6:32
they like yo you're nice right yeah you
6:34
know what I'm saying yeah like oh word
6:36
so the next practice is going to be ill
6:38
my hero said I'm nice well what was the
6:41
next film after you met him you know
6:43
that's a good question
6:45
um I think that was right around like
6:46
the time of the wood or something like
6:48
that oh it was right around that time yo
6:50
you delivered in the wood too yeah yeah
6:52
that's when it went up another notch
6:55
yo who was the uh because I know Marlon
6:58
everybody's friends you know
7:00
um Allen Payne everybody's friends right
7:03
but everybody has to audition around
7:06
that time who did you audition up
7:08
against the most out of all the people
7:10
you know Marlon Marlin yeah because when
7:13
we were in high school right they used
7:14
to have these commercials the United
7:16
Negro College Fund
7:17
and those were like the little quick
7:19
commercial you could get and me and
7:22
Molly would always go up against each
7:23
other and he would always get it and I
7:25
was like that's all right that's cause
7:27
you light skin but
7:31
um but you know and then we both um as
7:35
soon as we both got out of school we
7:36
booked our first movies you know I
7:38
booked juice and uh he booked Mo Money
7:40
and we've been we
7:47
man you was acting in Juice like you've
7:49
been acting uh like that was like your
7:52
10th project the way you were the way
7:54
you were you seem like the experienced
7:56
actor you know um and I think uh I think
8:00
that's what stood out to a lot of us and
8:02
and just I I hear you tell so many Tupac
8:04
stories man and I love hearing them
8:06
every time but uh to see what you're
8:08
doing now when I think a newbie a big
8:10
round of applause
8:13
hscp the movie we just came to the movie
8:15
premiere in Jersey and Tracy was
8:17
screaming out loud
8:21
and now now we add author um to the
8:25
title Omar Epps is here and it's just to
8:27
me you're a testament it's it's no
8:29
limitations to what we can accomplish
8:31
and when I read Nubia
8:34
um it's such a smooth easy read yeah
8:36
after the first chapter I was like
8:38
they're going for the movie Heather read
8:40
it before me what is your thoughts HP
8:43
well congratulations first off and I
8:45
told oh like I'm not talking to you
8:47
about this again until we see each other
8:49
in person because I didn't want to ask
8:52
so many questions but sway you brought
8:53
up an interesting point about
8:54
manifestation in high school which
8:57
brings me to the book I thought about
8:58
the powers which feel like superpowers
9:00
that all of these kids have tapping into
9:03
like this thing that we all have inside
9:05
of us so what's the synopsis of the book
9:07
as you see it no I'm not telling it but
9:09
you say all these kids typical high
9:12
school in the future okay
9:14
um kids to me finding their their powers
9:17
finding their inner strength and just
9:20
like which we all have by the way like
9:22
we all have it and I wish this book was
9:24
out when I was in high school because it
9:27
tells the story of these kids and drugs
9:31
lifestyle uh Community Family choices to
9:36
make it is everything in here but in the
9:38
future and the entire time I'm reading
9:40
this I'm like I'm not going to tell
9:42
y'all which character I think oh wrote
9:44
about himself but I think you are in
9:47
this to me in some kind of way but um
9:50
it's brilliant and just ways point I was
9:53
just like I'm in a movie right now like
9:55
I'm watching a movie and the sequel I
9:58
can't wait for it you know what I mean
9:59
this is how Vivid it was how long did it
10:02
take you to start building out the
10:03
characters and the concept when did you
10:05
really start this I know when the book
10:07
is out today but when did you start this
10:09
it was over 10 years ago
10:11
um that I had the um yeah the the
10:14
initial idea came from
10:17
a very simple thought that I had because
10:19
we live in a tumultuous world and all of
10:21
that and I was like one day I was like
10:23
what if love itself was illegal and then
10:27
reborn through this 14 year old kid who
10:30
doesn't know that he is love
10:33
and then I just you know you go down one
10:35
rabbit hole that takes you to another
10:37
takes you to another and so we built
10:38
that so it took uh my co-piling and now
10:40
my co-writer Clarence Haynes it took us
10:43
uh three and a half years
10:45
um to write the book and we really
10:47
wanted
10:49
um I love uh everything you just said
10:51
Heather because
10:53
that's the essence of you know the core
10:55
of the book is about unity and about
10:58
hope and we're trying to leave a
11:00
breadcrumb trail for this younger
11:02
generation
11:04
um to unify
11:06
and what you call superpowers I call
11:08
gifts there's a gift within each one of
11:11
us it's just up to us to unrooted unveil
11:16
it you know and um and so so basically
11:20
it's like the stories about these three
11:22
teenage kids right well you know we all
11:25
been teenagers that's just awkward you
11:27
know but in their this their displaced
11:29
they're displaced people takes place in
11:30
uh 2098 so climate change has ravaged
11:33
the Earth
11:34
um it's set in New York because that's
11:36
why I'm born and raised so that's what I
11:37
know like the back of my hand uh
11:39
geographically speaking and um these
11:42
kids are just trying to figure it out
11:43
right but in their adolescence these
11:45
gifts start to
11:47
come out and they don't know their
11:49
ancestral gifts and they don't know what
11:52
it is because their parents haven't told
11:54
them of their true ancestry right
11:57
because the parents thought that the
12:00
gifts of the Nubian people died with the
12:03
land you know and so they're this place
12:06
out here so and then it's it's really
12:08
about like you know what is each one of
12:10
these kids gonna do
12:12
and
12:19
[Applause]
12:20
the whole because immediately I thought
12:23
of you know um the the trans Atlanta
12:25
well I thought of black folks in America
12:27
yeah right being detached from you know
12:30
their roots and coming to a foreign
12:32
place and being that that happened
12:35
that's how I think you know the the
12:36
religion the language the love all these
12:39
different things are stripped and then
12:41
years later that started uh uh refine
12:44
their their Heritage but this actually
12:46
can apply to more than just black people
12:50
right this could goes to anybody's uh
12:54
struggle exactly you know from any
12:56
ethnicity that has been uh you know
12:59
detached from their roots and from their
13:01
upbringing and from The ancestral
13:03
inheritance and all of these different
13:05
things so I started seeing them broader
13:07
one of the things I appreciated is how
13:10
you guys remapped Manhattan crazy that
13:14
that was ridiculous to 2059 I think
13:17
it is what it would look like it's
13:19
brilliant fact how did y'all come up
13:22
with that because it's like it I I look
13:25
at it like this like when you're telling
13:27
a story
13:28
this was a big Learning lesson for me
13:30
um I've never written a novel before I
13:32
wrote from college to fatherhood and
13:34
that's my story I you know that's but
13:37
this is creating an entire world and I
13:39
say that to say
13:40
every speckle of dust
13:43
every molecule of air has to have a
13:47
purpose yes yes so it's like when we
13:50
really okay this is cool this is a big
13:52
concept but when you start to really
13:55
beat it out it has to everything has to
13:57
make sense so that's where the things
13:59
like the map come about and what you're
14:02
referring to is like this sort of a
14:04
there's a there's a couple of pages in
14:06
the beginning of the book that tells the
14:08
reader okay these Monumental events that
14:11
have happened you know you know 20 50
14:14
something 2016 and then the book starts
14:16
when it's 2098. yeah you know and it's
14:19
really to to get a person's mind
14:22
like okay I could see that you know or
14:25
now you're telling me this okay that's
14:26
what it is and this is like this these
14:28
are the rules of this world yes yeah I
14:30
mean is that enough to yeah you know and
14:32
then you dive in and you know that was
14:34
it was challenging but it was fun
14:36
because I feel like newbie or The
14:39
Awakening is a necessary story it needs
14:42
to be told you know this is you just
14:44
said something Heather that I've been
14:46
saying
14:47
which is that this is a book that I wish
14:49
I had around when I was 15 16 yeah yeah
14:52
but why because it you know what
14:56
it takes you on a journey
14:58
you learn a lot of things but
15:00
as a reader You Escape
15:03
it literally takes you to a different
15:04
place and for the kids out there like
15:07
that's an important thing like of course
15:09
you learn from reading but you can also
15:11
Escape for that one or two hours that
15:14
you sit down and read and then you gain
15:16
a a different you get inspired you know
15:18
depending on what you're reading you
15:20
know that can you can bring those things
15:23
back to into your real life and help you
15:25
get by that moment you know get by to
15:28
this next moment now you go read another
15:29
few chapters and you see what I'm saying
15:31
yeah what I loved about it before Tracy
15:33
jump in the reason why I wish that I
15:36
would have had it and I know a lot of
15:38
kids excuse me
15:40
if you are a person
15:43
that deals with dreams and visions and
15:45
energy around you and nobody's
15:48
explaining that to you but you know it's
15:49
a real thing this sort of lets you know
15:52
it's okay to be different it's okay to
15:54
be tapped in even though that your
15:57
parents are not explaining your ancestry
15:59
to you that's what I thought about when
16:01
I read this book I was always a young
16:03
kid with a lot of dreams and a lot of
16:05
visions and I felt energy around me and
16:07
spirits around me all my life I didn't
16:09
know what to call them I didn't know
16:10
what it was but I used to feel crazy
16:12
this book allows the kids right now
16:15
today that you ain't crazy like it's a
16:17
real thing that's to me was the Golden
16:20
Nugget In This Book good job thank you
16:22
yes that's fine you just got gifts you
16:24
didn't understand gifts I didn't
16:26
understand
16:27
got a little crazy on you but that's but
16:29
we all have that sway she got the Jersey
16:31
got that Jersey crazy I'm telling Anthem
16:34
baby yo Freddie's on the line from Cali
16:36
Freddy what's up Freddy hey Freddy hey
16:39
guys uh first time caller and uh when uh
16:42
you open have to show what that that
16:44
scene from Power I had to tell you a
16:47
story I was crying one night and I and I
16:50
and I've always been a fan of Omar and
16:52
man you've just evolved as an actor and
16:54
you had me crying because I was going
16:56
through that same scene and finding out
16:58
that I had a son and my girl came in and
17:01
she was like why are you crying I said
17:03
oh my God
17:05
thank you and I just wanted to say man
17:07
you're you're such a great actor and uh
17:10
and I'm in art I'm definitely buying the
17:12
book today yes thank you
17:15
Hey Paris get it for your your kids too
17:17
get it hey oh afterwards yeah hey Freddy
17:21
oh well he's speaking about the scene
17:23
when uh Detective Howard told Kanan that
17:25
he's his father
17:27
yeah when you first read that scene what
17:30
went through your head when you knew
17:32
this was happening
17:34
um
17:41
get your book ready get out of there yo
17:45
this is what I do it for that's deep
17:46
what this brother just said man yeah he
17:48
going through this in real life and
17:51
maybe that was him seeing that scene was
17:54
a form of catharsis for him to help him
17:56
get through the situation but when I
17:58
first read the scene
18:00
this is what I'm saying man I'm like oh
18:03
people gonna go crazy for this like I
18:05
could already see the reactions and my
18:08
favorite part about that scene shout out
18:10
to Makai Curtis who plays Kanan
18:12
wonderful young actor he's just laughed
18:15
y'all
18:15
[Music]
18:17
these are the things that's not in the
18:19
script yeah yeah you see what I'm saying
18:20
yeah this is his him and his own talent
18:22
and we just dancing and I I it took me
18:26
so much not to laugh at his life yeah
18:28
because that was just so real like yeah
18:35
that was a dope scene man yeah he know
18:38
whether to slap people would hug you
18:39
people went crazy on social you know oh
18:42
they went nuts people went crazy man
18:45
raising Cannon is um
18:47
an incredible opportunity for me
18:49
um I'm thankful you know shout out to
18:51
fifth of course Courtney Kemp South
18:53
Japan Bettina Miller who I think is I
18:57
think she's the best actress sure period
19:00
like yeah yeah for real wow this woman
19:02
just did Broadway ran a marathon raising
19:06
a kid and killing it on set like
19:08
what can't you do yeah you know what I'm
19:10
saying so whoever these voting bodies
19:13
are
19:14
give that woman her trophies give her a
19:17
Trophies the big ones there you go you
19:18
know what I'm saying the ones that start
19:20
with the first letter of your name
19:22
you got a rap okay I know you got to go
19:24
oh I'm getting the rap finger from your
19:26
whole team Tracy real quick go boom go
19:28
all right quick okay
19:33
I'm mentioning gifts I think a lot of
19:34
times people be very specific with a
19:37
gift where let's just say for instance
19:39
you're like I want to become an actor
19:40
but then as you get older you realize no
19:42
this is more expansive it's a
19:44
Storyteller because maybe some doors
19:46
closing in acting when did you realize
19:48
that your gift was actually more
19:50
expansive and it took up the space of
19:52
Storytelling
19:54
oh that's a great question
19:56
um I've always been telling stories I've
19:58
been writing since I was like eight nine
20:00
years old we started out with like
20:01
poetry and then it went to you know raps
20:04
of course and all of that I used to
20:05
write short stories um stuff like that
20:08
and um acting became an extension of
20:13
that so that's how I really
20:15
got bit by that bug because I had to
20:17
find a different way to express these
20:19
things and then
20:21
um you know I've been fortunate to have
20:23
a long career yeah because writing takes
20:26
time right you know what I mean and so
20:28
it's really about to me it's like the
20:30
360 is coming back around and really um
20:33
having a discipline
20:35
um and the time to sit down and that's
20:38
the odd thing about how things happen
20:39
like like I said we started this writing
20:42
process for newbie The Awakening right
20:45
before the pandemic and then we was
20:46
locked down yeah so we can't so we got
20:50
the time to really hit it you know and
20:53
that's what we did so
20:54
I want to encourage all our citizens to
20:56
pick up this book Nubia The Awakening
20:58
it's such a great reason it's crazy you
21:01
guys did really well shout out to your
21:03
uh co-writer Clarence a Haynes as well
21:05
your whole team here have been really
21:07
professional and not really sweating us
21:08
on the extra few minutes so I appreciate
21:10
that
21:12
um and congratulations on power book
21:14
three raising Canaan yeah yo you keep
21:16
killing them oh we love you brother I
21:18
love You More love you man you a
21:20
National Institution in yourself Brother
21:22
come on man Omar Epps Omar Epps
21:28
[Applause]
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