Rashidi Harper On Kevin Hart and Chris Rock in 'Headliners Only' | SWAY’S UNIVERSE

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That clip right there is part of a
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trailer from Headliners Only which
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features
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the one and only Kevin Hart
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and Chris Rock.
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Two juggernauts in the world of comedy,
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social commentary,
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celebrity.
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These guys are masterful at what they
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do.
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We've watched their journeys over the
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decades, but do we really know the true
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stories in the context of things that we
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saw
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in the public eye?
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Both of them, ups and downs. I've known
0:33
Kevin Hart for years. I've known Chris
0:35
Rock for years. And to sustain the level
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of success that they have
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deserves a round of applause. It
0:43
deserves recognition. Yes. It deserves a
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presentation and documentation.
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And who better to do it than this
0:51
award-winning director, producer,
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not only in the
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in multi spots, in multi places, not
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only on the big screen or the small
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screen, but also he's masterful in the
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digital space.
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And that's something you had to evolve
1:05
to become because the digital space
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wasn't as essential when he started as
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it is today.
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Break it down.
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Television, he's done it all. He's
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worked with global brands. One of the
1:15
interesting things he did, I remember
1:17
Larry Jackson,
1:19
who now has the company Gamma,
1:22
from the Bay Area, worked with him on
1:24
KML like a little brother. He and I did
1:27
production deals with Clive Davis over
1:29
at J Records. And I remember he went
1:32
over um when he was making his
1:33
transition, he rode his bike up the West
1:36
Side Highway, Larry Jackson did, and met
1:39
me at a festival to tell me about this
1:41
new thing that was going to launch
1:43
called Apple Music.
1:46
Right? And I said, "Well, Larry, what
1:47
does this mean, Apple Music? What is it
1:49
going to do? I work at SiriusXM
1:51
and what Pandora?" He told me the whole
1:53
concept. I said, "What's going to be
1:55
most important for you is how you brand
1:58
this, the imaging around it, the
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marketing around it, and you should get
2:02
the right people to do that." And they
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did. They got our next guest right here.
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Like I said, the director and producer
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of Headliners Only, Rashid Rashidi
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Harper.
2:14
Yeah. Yes, sir. Rashidi Harper is in the
2:16
building. I was going to say Sheed, but
2:19
Rashidi Harper is in the building.
2:21
Only a few people can call me Sheed.
2:23
Yes, sir. You one of them.
2:25
This is my brother by the way of LA and
2:28
the Bay, Rashidi Harper. We go way back,
2:32
and I'm so proud to have you on this
2:34
platform today, brother.
2:35
Man, Sway, I'm so happy to be here. Had
2:37
the great pleasure to meet you meet you
2:39
and see you again, you know what I'm
2:40
saying, sis? Yes, sis. It's It's a great
2:43
time, man. It's a great time. We excited
2:45
about this film, man. How did this
2:47
Before we get to that,
2:50
your career, I had a chance to watch for
2:52
decades now, hasn't been easy. We met
2:55
because of the Bay Area, but you're
2:57
originally from Los Angeles. Yes. Okay.
3:00
How did you get to the Bay?
3:02
Um my mother's from the Bay Area.
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Okay. So, I've been going back and forth
3:06
between LA and the Bay my whole life.
3:09
You know, my grandmother lives there um
3:12
in Vallejo. Grew up across the street
3:15
from 40 and D-Shot and Sugar T. You
3:17
literally were across the street from
3:19
them? Yeah, they their house is across
3:21
street from my grandmother's house. So,
3:23
in the summer times, we would just be
3:25
hanging out. This is way before 40 was
3:28
40, you know, 40 water.
3:30
Yeah. Yeah. This is He still a athlete,
3:32
right? Was he still Was he out of school
3:34
or
3:34
I think he was still in school, but
3:36
yeah, yeah, probably an athlete. But
3:37
like I just remember what I remember the
3:39
most about going over their house is
3:41
their moms, you know what I mean? Moms
3:43
was super super cool and always just a
3:46
loving person. You know, so yeah, we
3:48
spent a lot of time together, my cousins
3:50
and and his family. What What What What
3:53
was the the catalyst to you going into
3:56
telling stories and making films and
3:58
directing and producing? Um so, when I
4:02
was in LA, I used to act. I was a My
4:05
mother was a theater student at LA City
4:07
College, and I did a lot of acting and
4:10
sitting in the background watching her
4:13
rehearse.
4:14
So, I had the opportunity to get on
4:16
stage as a young man, like, you know,
4:18
about 10 years old, something like that.
4:21
Wow.
4:21
And um I came up just adoring acting,
4:24
you know? And I thought I was going to
4:25
be an actor for a lot of my life.
4:28
And that that got interrupted when I
4:33
had to move to the Bay Area, just, you
4:35
know, family situation was a little
4:37
little tight, and I went to go live with
4:39
my aunt. But how it was sold to me was I
4:42
was going to go to school at Berkeley
4:44
High with my favorite cousin.
4:48
Who's your favorite cousin?
4:49
My favorite cousin, Von. What up, Von?
4:52
Big Von?
4:53
No, not Big Von. No, not Big Von. And
4:56
let's be clear, this is the original Von
4:57
I'm talking about.
4:58
Okay.
5:01
Uh respectfully, Big Von.
5:03
Yeah, my cousin Von
5:06
had a problem that summer, and his pops
5:08
pulled him out. And so, when I got to
5:09
Berkeley, there it was I was solo.
5:12
Uh-huh. You know? And I had to make a
5:14
lot of great friends, one of which was
5:16
the the wonderful Onyeka Day. Onyeka.
5:19
Yeah, she went to Berkeley High. Okay.
5:21
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So,
5:23
I I I lived up there in Berkeley. And
5:25
while I was in Berkeley, I didn't have
5:27
the access to audition like I was doing
5:29
before I moved. I didn't have the um
5:33
the access to act in the same way in the
5:36
same pool that LA was, you know? Like I
5:38
was
5:39
I was on it. Like I was almost on Hill
5:41
Street Blues, if you want to know how
5:42
long ago I was. Hill Street Blues. Tracy
5:45
doesn't get that reference. Yeah, and
5:46
that's Yeah, that's that's, you know,
5:48
Steven Bochco. That's like some old, you
5:50
know,
5:50
What's a old TV old NBC, you know, cop
5:53
series. Got it.
5:55
That's how long you've been doing Yeah,
5:56
it's It's been a while. It's been a
5:58
while.
5:58
CSI?
6:00
Near the years you were born is when
6:01
that was out.
6:01
around there, you know? Okay. But But
6:04
no, I
6:06
I then, you know, got exposed to Spike
6:08
Lee, man, and like a lot of filmmakers
6:10
What's Spike Lee? Yeah.
6:11
when She's Gotta Have It came out, and I
6:13
was sitting in that movie theater, I was
6:15
like, "Yo, this is it. It could actually
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happen. Like I could actually direct
6:18
instead of act." And it's been I've been
6:20
on that journey ever since. Wow. How did
6:23
you teach yourself? Yeah.
6:25
Um well, when you're acting, you're
6:28
you're being directed, and you're
6:29
learning what directing is because
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you're having conversations with, you
6:33
know, talented people, and uh
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I think one of the commercials I was on,
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I just remember this guy, and and I was
6:42
like, "He looks like he's in charge."
6:44
Uh-huh. And I wanted to be in charge,
6:46
basically. And And And then I found out
6:49
that that's not really who's in charge.
6:50
Uh-huh. Like people, you know, whoever
6:52
pay for it That's the person to be.
6:55
Right?
6:56
But I mean, the artists I mean, the
6:57
artists, man, I think we do something
6:59
that's special,
7:01
be it paint or music or direct or act.
7:04
It's like we're really pulling from
7:06
inside ourselves, and we're taking
7:09
and creating something out of nothing,
7:11
you know? So, one of my favorite things
7:13
about the work that I do is it starts
7:15
with an idea, and then we move from the
7:17
idea into something that we can all go
7:20
and watch tomorrow. Like over 300 people
7:22
going to watch it that at that premiere.
7:24
We having a premiere here in New York
7:26
tomorrow. So, it's like
7:27
that kind of moment is is fun and
7:30
special, and it's great to create. Like
7:32
it's all been driven from creating and
7:34
making things for me.
7:35
Wow.
7:36
Wow. Rashidi Harper is here, y'all. Get
7:38
to know him. You can follow him at
7:40
HarperVille, right? Rashidi, is it
7:43
difficult for you to watch your work
7:46
when it's done? Because there's so much
7:48
that goes into it, just like you said,
7:49
the ideation, and then getting the
7:52
budget together, you know, cast, etc.,
7:54
etc. I can't imagine as someone who is
7:57
such um thoroughbred creative, I wonder
8:00
if when it's done, do you ever see like
8:02
any little tweaks you could have made?
8:04
Does it bother you? Or can you surrender
8:06
to the moment?
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Um I'm trying to surrender to the moment
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right now, you know? A lot of work and
8:12
and dedication has gone into my career
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and into this film in particular, and
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I'll probably watch it like the last
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time I'll probably watch it will be two
8:23
will be Tuesday when it comes out
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globally on Netflix.
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Uh-huh. We're talking about Headliners
8:28
Only.
8:29
Headliners Only will be out on Netflix
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on 12 12, and that'll probably be the
8:34
last time that I watch it for a while,
8:37
you know? And And that's because
8:40
you know, there's other projects going
8:41
on, and and no one wants to rest on
8:43
their laurels, you know what I mean?
8:44
It's like it's always about what's next.
8:47
Uh-huh. And the trick is to do the work,
8:50
put your heart into it, let it come out,
8:53
and let the people say whatever it is or
8:54
not, but you steady moving on to the
8:56
next thing. And that's where my head's
8:58
at.
8:58
When you spoke about
9:00
um seeing this individual and being
9:02
like, "Yo, that's the energy of a boss,
9:04
and that's what I'm trying to wear as
9:06
well." But being a director is very
9:09
collaborative experience.
9:11
Was it easy for you? Was it challenging
9:15
to relinquish some control and
9:17
collaborate with other people? Cuz
9:19
sometimes you have like actors that come
9:21
in, and they kind of are self-directing
9:24
themselves, too. Yeah. How does that
9:26
work?
9:27
I I think in terms of um
9:30
me seeing a a director and saying he's a
9:33
boss, I mean, I was like 13 years old at
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that time, you know what I mean? And I I
9:38
And And now
9:39
I'm much more aware of the collaborative
9:41
spirit of it. It's like it really is
9:44
like being in a band, you know what I
9:46
mean? And you might be the lead singer,
9:47
or if there's a a person in the band
9:50
that's like the producer, you might be
9:51
the producer or whatever,
9:54
but you can't do it without literally
9:56
every position from your partners to the
10:00
production assistant to the intern. Like
10:02
it's like everyone plays a role. And the
10:05
important thing that I've learned is
10:06
when everyone does play their role and
10:09
like fully gives in to that, that's when
10:11
you make some of the best stuff cuz
10:13
everyone's clear, you know, on what it
10:15
is to to to that that we're doing. And
10:17
as far as actors are concerned,
10:20
um
10:21
I think they understand that it's a
10:23
collaboration. I think they look for
10:26
um
10:27
they look for what it is that your
10:29
vision is as the director. And it's
10:32
really just a series of conversations,
10:34
you know, like I don't the way I like to
10:35
do it is by the time the cameras are
10:37
rolling, we've talked about it so much
10:39
everyone's clear on what it's going to
10:41
be, you know. And and in this in
10:43
Headliners Only, which is a documentary,
10:45
it's a little different.
10:46
Right.
10:47
Right, cuz I do both scripted narrative
10:49
and I do Let the people know. Come on,
10:52
scripted narrative. Come on, and
10:54
docu-style.
10:56
Yeah, town business. You know, I do
10:58
this. I do this in front of the board.
11:00
Right. Um um with in this in this sense,
11:05
working with Kevin Hart was just amazing
11:08
because not only is he a great talent,
11:11
um he produced the project along with me
11:14
and my company the 51B and my partners
11:16
Malcolm Spellman and Obi Okoye.
11:19
And you know, we we were very clear on
11:23
what we were trying to make. And then as
11:25
life happens, things don't always go as
11:27
planned. And it's a documentary that
11:29
you're making, like it's not a scripted
11:30
piece. It's like things that happen just
11:32
happen. And and you just go with it and
11:34
roll with it. And that's something that
11:37
um you know, I've learned across a
11:39
couple of different projects. Rashidi
11:41
Harper is here, man. He's on the
11:43
producer and director of Kevin Rock
11:45
Kevin Hart and Chris Rock Headliners
11:47
Only have to be.
11:49
Um
11:50
you want to jump in here and talk to
11:51
Rashidi?
11:52
I do. I have a question because when you
11:54
mentioned music and producers and bands,
11:56
I thought about like artists. And
11:58
sometimes artists get bored, you know,
12:00
um you're doing the same thing. You feel
12:02
like you do the same thing. So as an
12:03
artist, you say, "Well, maybe I should
12:05
try a new studio. Or maybe I should work
12:07
with other producers."
12:09
Do directors get bored? And if so, how
12:11
do you get out of that rut? Do you go
12:13
look for new talent? Or do you change up
12:15
your DP or your casting person? Yeah, I
12:19
think I think you don't get as easily
12:22
bored because every project is its own
12:25
thing. You know what I mean? You're not
12:26
doing the same thing over and over and
12:29
over again.
12:30
Um so for example, my experience on my
12:33
series my FX series Hip Hop Uncovered
12:37
is a totally different experience than
12:39
we had on Headliners Only. Like Hip Hop
12:42
Uncovered was more,
12:44
you know,
12:44
Right. Even though even in a series
12:46
situation, you don't you don't come
12:49
across boredom.
12:50
Nah. Not me.
12:52
Not you. Okay.
12:54
cuz I enjoy what I do, right? But I do
12:56
mix it up, right? So for example,
12:58
I just
13:01
decided to shoot a short film like about
13:03
a week or two ago, right?
13:04
Got it. My DP Robert Benavidez, who shot
13:08
most of my doc work,
13:10
um
13:12
I didn't go to him on that. I was like,
13:15
"Let me go to this other cat that I work
13:17
with that I've done some projects with
13:20
that have inspired me in a different
13:22
way." Uh August Thurmer. So he and I got
13:25
together and we made this
13:27
this film that that I'm working on now.
13:30
And you do mix it up, but it's not for
13:34
me it's not out of boredom. It's just
13:36
it's just like every project calls for
13:38
something different. And sometimes you
13:41
have to just decipher like what is that?
13:43
What's needed, you know?
13:44
Man, Rashidi Harper is here.
13:47
Uh just total transparency, you and I
13:49
worked together on something. Yes, we
13:51
did.
13:51
You want to speak to that?
13:52
Man, I mean Who do you place with? We
13:55
worked on a few things. Yeah, yeah. Um
13:58
back when in the King Tech and Sway
14:00
days,
14:01
Mhm.
14:02
this thing that we're doing now, like
14:05
this man was up on it like decades ago.
14:08
Like we literally there's footage
14:10
of some of the best battle rappers of
14:13
the moment yeah
14:14
um in a room like this
14:18
with you and King Tech and these amazing
14:23
rappers battling it out. Like doing
14:25
their thing. And that was I don't know,
14:27
that was like the late '90s.
14:28
That was the late '90s. That was the
14:30
mid-'90s. Uh we were just ahead of the
14:33
cusp. Like we we saw we had a vision um
14:36
for documentation and presentation that
14:39
we wanted to do for the culture. It's
14:41
purely for the culture, right? That's
14:42
that's Remember that? You know, it was
14:44
purely for the culture. And so we were
14:46
kind of like ahead of our time with
14:48
that. But we were always open to
14:50
adjustment. And I and I'm curious to you
14:53
with the digital age coming in and you
14:55
have now more people who have access to
14:57
producing content and you you know, and
15:00
you got a lot of young directors and
15:02
filmmakers that are coming up.
15:04
What kind of changes like I know we talk
15:06
about how music changes and sound
15:08
changes, so producers have to adjust to
15:10
the times. What kind of changes did you
15:12
have to adjust to as a film director?
15:14
Well, the first change I had to adjust
15:16
to was shooting in film. Like I had only
15:19
known shooting in 16 mm and 35 mm. And
15:23
when that when that digital age first
15:25
dropped, it was like a huge difference,
15:29
you know, technically
15:32
and in terms of like
15:34
just not getting
15:37
the budgets in the same way. Like
15:38
everything just sort of switched. And
15:40
that was a tough era. I actually in that
15:42
time I moved from music to I had a
15:47
television series through Scripps
15:50
Network Fine Living. It was called a
15:52
network called Fine Living.
15:54
I transitioned into unscripted at that
15:58
time like for the first time. And we had
16:00
a show about designers. It was called I
16:02
Design. And we did we interviewed
16:05
product designers and architects in the
16:08
same way that you interview a director
16:10
about their film. We talked to them
16:11
about their products. So I was in
16:14
Switzerland at a at a watchmaker's
16:16
place. Here in New York, we did this
16:19
brother name Karim Rashid, who's a
16:22
big furniture designer and a product
16:25
designer, all kind of products.
16:27
And that was probably my first
16:29
professional experience of working with
16:33
um digital in terms of the camera.
16:36
Um and it was a much smaller situation
16:38
that I had been used to. Like I had been
16:40
on sets. I came up during music videos
16:43
Like name some of the Name some of the
16:45
people you worked with. Wyclef, Oh yeah,
16:47
Wyclef Jean, Missy Elliott, Lil' Mo,
16:50
Justin Timberlake,
16:52
uh Snoop Dogg, Snoop Dogg. I did a
16:54
project uh for Brian McKnight's tour.
16:57
Brian McKnight and Justin had a song
16:59
together. And um I shot Yeah, I shot
17:04
Justin like before he went solo. It was
17:06
right in between NSYNC and his solo
17:09
career. Oh, snap.
17:10
Yeah, yeah. Beautiful beautiful little
17:12
piece we did. Um and then I worked with
17:14
Dr. Dre. Like that's probably the the
17:16
headline, you know, that's like
17:18
Yeah, Dr. Dre. When you talked about
17:19
Larry Jackson and Apple, I mean that's
17:21
the guy. Dr. Dre is who hired me and got
17:24
me over there into that situation.
17:26
But yeah, man. What did Dre say to you?
17:29
When he talked to you about this?
17:32
Hey hey Rashidi, uh
17:34
hey, I'm about to go do this thing, man.
17:36
You want to
17:37
That's all he gave you?
17:39
That was careful. That was a good one
17:40
though. He'd be so mad. He'd be so mad.
17:42
He'd be like Talk like that. What the
17:44
[ __ ] you talking about?
17:45
Um um Did you know like this Apple Music
17:50
that you did you understand like the
17:52
magnitude that it would No? No, no one
17:55
No one really did, I think, because it
17:57
was new, you know.
17:59
Um What I understood was that I had a
18:02
great opportunity
18:04
to make Dre look as great as he could
18:08
look, you know. And we produced his
18:12
radio show, The Pharmacy.
18:14
And my partner Yamani Watkins and I, we
18:18
produced all the visuals.
18:20
And
18:21
it was at a time when
18:24
again, this thing that we're doing now
18:26
wasn't really at the forefront of what
18:28
was happening. And I understood visuals
18:30
and I understood that we needed a strong
18:32
visual component. And every episode, we
18:35
would just shoot like a commercial or
18:37
like, you know, a promo spot, if you
18:38
will. And captured a lot of great
18:41
moments and a a lot of good times.
18:43
How do you know when the visual is dope?
18:45
Like how do you know the idea is going
18:46
to work?
18:47
Man, I have taste. Ow.
18:49
I'm saying. Come on, babe.
18:51
Talk to
18:53
I was hoping I'D GET A
18:55
I'LL GIVE YOU A HUNDRED THAT, MAN. I got
18:56
taste. Can we talk about Hype Williams
18:59
for a second and and the impact that
19:01
he's made as a creator, as a filmmaker,
19:04
as a a video director, and the impact
19:07
he's made on your life? So for me, Hype
19:10
Williams is a very dear friend. It's
19:12
he's more than just a filmmaker and a
19:15
icon in the space. He's someone that
19:19
changed my life, you know, in that he is
19:22
the first person that brought me to New
19:23
York. Like we connected through a
19:26
filmmaker and music video legend named
19:28
Lionel Martin and Ralph McDaniels. They
19:31
had a company called Classic Concepts.
19:33
And they used to come to LA and work.
19:36
And so Hype was working with them in New
19:38
York. I was working with them in LA. And
19:41
they told me uh one day I just decided I
19:45
wanted to stop being a production
19:47
assistant. And Lionel hooked me up with
19:50
Hype. And I start and Hype was starting
19:51
to direct at that time and I was his
19:53
assistant director. So basically Hype
19:54
came to LA we did like uh
19:58
What kind of projects that we know of?
19:59
Probably I know for sure in LA we did um
20:02
I want to say Daddy Freddy was one of
20:04
the first projects we did and then
20:07
Freestyle Fellowship.
20:08
Ooh. Wow. Uh Hot Potato. Hot Potato.
20:11
Y'all did Hot Potato video?
20:12
is a Hype Williams production.
20:15
Fellowship's Hot Potato?
20:16
Yeah. Yeah, no doubt.
20:17
That's a legendary group out of LA.
20:19
Think of the good life uh movement all
20:21
of that. They They gave birth to a whole
20:24
different generation of MCs, right?
20:27
Okay, but so Hype Okay. So so that's how
20:30
we met and we hit it off and he was
20:32
like, "Yo, I'm about to start my own
20:33
company. You want to come to New York
20:34
and work with me?" I was like, "Hell
20:35
yeah." And uh the first thing we did was
20:38
a PM Dawn video shot in Brooklyn at
20:42
April Walker's house from Walker Wear.
20:45
Wow. And um Mhm. PM Dawn was in April
20:48
Walker's house?
20:49
Yeah. Yeah, I can't remember the name of
20:51
the song at the moment but that's how we
20:54
first started and I I
20:56
yeah, Hype brought me out and we just
20:58
did a lot of great thing. Him It was
21:00
him, Malik Sayeed, if you're not
21:02
familiar.
21:03
Mhm. Um we just did a lot of videos like
21:06
super low budget at the time and Hype
21:09
always his claim to fame for me is
21:10
having me in and out of every project
21:13
and all of across New York City with a
21:16
Bolex camera him and Malik, you know?
21:18
And uh
21:20
really creating magic, man. Yeah. Man,
21:22
Ra- Rashidi Harper is here. We're
21:24
talking about Chris Rock and uh Kevin
21:27
Hart and Chris Rock's Headliners Only.
21:29
It's going to be on Netflix on December
21:30
12th uh premiering on the 8th here in uh
21:34
NYC. That's tomorrow. They're going to
21:36
have a premiere.
21:38
What did Chris Rock and Kevin Hart tell
21:41
you they wanted to accomplish with this?
21:43
How did I I think um they were clear
21:45
that they were doing a tour here in New
21:47
York.
21:49
Um
21:49
it was during one week and they wanted
21:54
to capture the moment and try to figure
21:57
out a way to make it bigger than just a
21:59
behind-the-scenes, you know? And so
22:02
they partnered with us. Uh my partner's
22:05
Obi, Tammy, and Malcolm and we just
22:08
spitballed some ideas
22:10
internally and then took it back to
22:13
Kevin and Chris and said, "Look, this is
22:14
what we think the film is. We think
22:17
everyone knows you as both of you guys
22:19
as these great comedians but I'm
22:23
interested in
22:25
showing you as the human beings that you
22:27
are. Like it's easy for us as the
22:30
audience to look at the product and
22:34
think that's what the life is but
22:37
there's so much more that goes into the
22:39
final product, right? And what was fun
22:41
about it was just getting them to open
22:43
up about what the New York comedy scene
22:46
means to a a comedian in general and
22:50
what it meant to their careers 15 years
22:52
apart. You know, they're not like
22:54
they're contemporaries but like they're
22:56
15 years apart. So Damn, I didn't
22:59
realize that.
23:00
Yeah. How old is Kev? Yeah, Kev is in
23:03
his 40s, early 40s.
23:05
got to think like Chris Rock was on SNL
23:07
and everything. So and he was in like
23:09
CB4 Uh-huh.
23:11
and movies like that, you know? It's a
23:13
long what um New Jack City? He No, not
23:16
New Jack City. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah,
23:17
New Jack City. Yeah. Harlem Nights?
23:20
Mhm. You know? So it it was a lot.
23:22
Wow. Not Harlem Nights, Boomerang.
23:24
Boomerang, yeah. And and Beverly Hills
23:26
Cop II, you know? Remember that? Yeah.
23:28
So [ __ ] me. I I mean I mean I think
23:32
in this moment we're in, you know, both
23:34
of them are just seen as these icons but
23:37
we get a chance to go back and sort of
23:39
retrace their steps of how they got to
23:42
this great moment that we had together
23:44
at Madison Square Garden.
23:46
Wow.
23:46
You know? So yeah, it's a it's an
23:49
exciting film. It's uh if you if you're
23:52
fans of them, you're going to definitely
23:54
enjoy this film and this journey that
23:56
they share with us and yeah, we're
23:58
excited. Kevin Hart is 44. Chris Rock is
24:01
58.
24:03
Chris looks awesome. They both look
24:05
great, man.
24:06
Wow. No idea. Uh Rashidi Harper is here.
24:09
We got a few callers, man. If you don't
24:11
mind uh we we got creatives from all
24:13
over the country that tune in. So we're
24:15
going to go to North Dakota and we got
24:17
Justin on the line. Justin, welcome to
24:18
the show.
24:19
Yes, what's up? Justin. Hello, hello.
24:21
Good morning, good morning. Good
24:22
morning. Okay, good Go go ahead with
24:24
your question.
24:25
Yeah, man. Thank you for for having me.
24:28
I'm a I'm a avid listener to Shade 45
24:31
My god.
24:32
and uh I love the content, everything,
24:35
the messaging
24:37
so dope and it's an honor to be talking
24:39
guys right now and um
24:41
so but my question is so I'm an
24:43
indigenous filmmaker from North Dakota,
24:45
right? Mhm. And I've been doing this
24:47
since 2013.
24:48
I started I was an actor and then um
24:52
was cast in a film like your your
24:54
typical poverty porn project written,
24:56
produced, directed by non-natives. Yeah.
24:59
Um but the story is about natives and I
25:02
got a role in a film
25:03
and um I was excited. I didn't really
25:06
care because it was my chance to be on
25:08
on screen to show my talent as an actor.
25:11
Long story short, they made the film
25:12
without me but that's the moment when I
25:14
realized if I'm going to be in movies
25:16
that represent us properly, I decided
25:19
I'm going to make my own film. So I
25:21
started teaching myself film.
25:23
And um I did a music video for a
25:26
musician from LA
25:28
and after that music video came out,
25:30
that's when everybody started calling me
25:31
for work. Mhm. And I've been doing since
25:34
but I'm I'm like right at that edge
25:36
You at that edge where you about to ask
25:38
the question?
25:39
You You there? You want to add to the
25:41
question?
25:42
Justin? to where I feel like I want to
25:44
get and how did you get to that next
25:47
level? How did you
25:48
how did you get to that level where
25:50
you're at right now because I'm I'm a
25:52
right at that edge of of getting to that
25:54
point.
25:55
Love it. But how did you get to yourself
25:56
to that point?
25:57
the the the
25:59
the realest answer is that I never quit.
26:02
Um Mhm. It's the It's not really
26:05
there's never one thing that just sends
26:07
you over the top. It's always a series.
26:10
It's a body of work and that's really
26:12
what you're looking for, you know? I
26:14
would encourage you
26:16
to just focus on the work
26:18
know that the blow up and the bread and
26:20
all that stuff is going to come when
26:23
when it comes, you know? In the
26:24
meantime, be creative and go for it and
26:28
just don't stop. Like I'm only here for
26:31
a couple decades plus cuz I never
26:33
stopped and I've I've I'm like I'm no
26:35
different than anyone else in terms of
26:37
I've had my own struggles
26:38
and uh adversity along the way but like
26:41
I just don't quit and I love what I do.
26:43
Mhm.
26:44
Hey, thanks for your call, Justin.
26:46
You're a super citizen. Sway in the
26:47
morning. Good luck with everything. Um
26:49
we have Zuri from Charlotte on the line.
26:51
Zuri, go for it. How you doing, Zuri?
26:53
Welcome to the show.
26:55
Hey, hey, hey.
26:56
Hey. Good morning. Hi.
26:58
Um so um my question will basically it's
27:01
a lot. So I'm a I'm a senior at um
27:04
Winston-Salem State University. Um go
27:07
Rams. Um I'm a mass communications major
27:10
and so I've done a lot when it comes to
27:12
radio, news reporting, podcasting. Um
27:16
and I really have a lot of questions for
27:18
not only you, Sway, but also for Rashidi
27:20
Harper because well, I'm going to
27:23
back track. Okay, Zuri, we we you got to
27:25
give us one question, unfortunately. Uh
27:27
what what's the question for Rashidi and
27:28
then you can always call back for me,
27:30
okay?
27:31
No, no. It's a question for the both of
27:32
you guys. It's one question. You're
27:33
fine. Okay. So basically my question is
27:35
um what advice do you have for students
27:37
who are trying to get into their career
27:39
after graduation because I know that uh
27:41
we live in a very like competitive
27:42
environment and so I would just like to
27:44
know how do you encourage young adults
27:46
to pursue what they want to do? Um
27:47
whether it's in production or digital
27:49
media overall. Um I think yeah, I think
27:52
it's twofold. The first thing is um to
27:55
go somewhere where they're working at a
27:58
high level around you, you know what I
27:59
mean? Because you can never
28:02
underestimate the power of
28:03
professionalism and understanding how to
28:06
work with people and be around people um
28:09
and see what you can learn from them
28:11
both on what they do right and what they
28:12
do wrong. The other thing I would say to
28:14
you is or to that student is to always
28:18
continue to make things constantly.
28:21
Don't stop making things for yourself
28:23
because that exercise in itself helps
28:26
you build your craft and find your voice
28:30
and when you get the moment, the
28:32
breakthrough moment, you'll be ready for
28:34
it. Mhm.
28:34
Okay, Zuri, that's some great advice. I
28:36
would I would echo that. Um and then I
28:39
would say in the process um
28:42
as much rest as you can get, as much
28:44
self-care as you can give yourself
28:46
as you're going through this journey,
28:48
make sure you do it. We came up at a
28:50
time where we would talk to grind and
28:51
not sleep and not eat properly and do
28:53
all these different things and I dare
28:55
say had we done those things differently
28:57
as creative as we were, we might have
28:59
been even more creative. So I would
29:01
suggest that, okay? Zuri, thank you for
29:03
your call. You're a super citizen.
29:04
Sway in the morning.
29:05
Yo, Rashidi Harper, man, I want to thank
29:07
you for coming through today, brother.
29:09
Man, this is a bucket list moment right
29:11
here, baby.
29:13
Come on, man. WE GOT MORE TO TALK ABOUT
29:15
THOUGH. You know? So you can always come
29:17
up here when you come to town or when
29:19
we're broadcasting from LA, come hang
29:21
out with your family, man. Thank you for
29:23
what you do, what you've contributed,
29:25
the work that we've done together even
29:27
with the Wake Up Show. Thank you,
29:29
brother. I'm glad I'm a part of your
29:30
legacy. I appreciate you.
29:32
Likewise, thank you, man. Great great to
29:34
be here. Thank you very much.

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