The Book of Clarence: LaKeith Stanfield & Jeymes Samuel Unveil Truths 🎥 | SWAY’S UNIVERSE

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a powerful trailer rightfully so for a
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powerful
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thought-provoking even funny movie The
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Book of Clarence exclusively in theaters
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January 12th this film is by James
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Samuel starring Our Guest L Stanfield uh
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the official soundtrack includes Jay-Z
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James Little Wayne and more I got a
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chance to see this movie uh we got two
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people on the show right now one in
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person and the other by phone
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and I'm going have DB do the honors of
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introducing our guests well you know
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normally when people come by the show we
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say uh you know you're a citizen of sway
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the morning but this guy I think he's
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earned the title of homie because every
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time he comes here I mean it's just
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always a pleasure and it's always been a
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pleasure to watch your career flourish I
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mean everything from Selma to the
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photograph to the harder they fall and
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of course you're reuniting with the
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director of that film James Samuel who's
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on the phone with us and I think we're
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seeing the new uh iteration of [ __ ] Ley
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and Denzel if you guys keep working
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together and doing quality work like
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this people when you see this film The
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Book of clearance I think it's going to
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drum up some really good conversations
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about the story of Jesus the crucifixion
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religion belief all that stuff so please
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welcome the Stanfield and James
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Sam thank you so much I consider it a
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high honor to be a friend of the show so
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thank you for inviting me I'm glad to be
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here oh man you family bro yeah you're
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you're we expect free tickets to the
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movie theater family you know what I
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mean that's the kind of family you are
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hey
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James peace my brothers this is sway
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welcome to the show peace black king
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it's hon wow honor man I've been
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watching you for since the days of Sway
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and King Tech
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like that's what's up let me tell you
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something James you just you just
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whatever you need James I'm here for you
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you if you laid on your rent I got
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youi and I were just having this off if
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you don't mind okay okay we were just
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having this off mik um conversation and
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we were playing um Tupac Ambitions of a
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Ambitions of a rider and theef was
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saying all the lyrics of this song and
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so I normally don't do this but I got
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pictures of pacing me from when we were
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younger James um I got a picture of Pac
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coming to the sway and King Tech wakeup
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show that you're talking about right now
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with me and and a group called the bums
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and Kevy K all these different people
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were on our show that I just showed lei
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so that there there there's some there's
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some kinetic energy going on right now
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uh cuz absolutely yeah right and so I
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didn't know you was that invested in
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what we've done in the past so I
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appreciate you I want to say that sway
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listen man listen listen sway your voice
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has spanned continents for decades we've
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been listening to you since the 90s
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we've you since since the 90s like
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watching your every single move since
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the '90s putting MTV on your back like
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since the N since since the '90s we've
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been there we've been there through all
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the iterations of of of of um of s so so
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it's an honor to be on the show man it's
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honor to be here with this movie you
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know what I mean I'm about to retire
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thank you James I'm good that's my
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retirement speech we go we go back we go
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back to hea be all Glocks
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down you better do it thank you James my
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goodness wow James speak you know what I
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mean you're speaking to to a scholar of
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the of the Arts you I mean wow that's
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really nice huge scholar uh it's
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interesting because with the book of
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Clarence um as DB talked about it it
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even watching it it kind of makes you
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kind of revisit your ideas about
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religion your ideas about spirituality
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your ideas about faith and your ideas
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about um history and Lee just eloquently
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said that this and podast similar ities
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because Pac is like the archetype of
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what the book of Clarance is about can
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you explain
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that yeah just think like you know P
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talked about how he wanted to bring
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hisself his family into a better space
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and place and do better be better um how
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he wanted to you know be a larger than
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life um sort of person and he had to you
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know he felt like he had to uh be a
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character that was involved in places
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and spaces with people that wouldn't be
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perceived in a positive light in order
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to get a large your message across and
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so his means you may not agree with but
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if you listen to him talk and you listen
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to his music he told the truth and
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typically what happens to people that
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tell the truth is they end up being
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sacrificed at one point or another and
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that's precisely what happens to
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Clarence in this movie he goes on a
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journey of wanting to bring his family
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from one place to a new place a better
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place and his way to get there is you
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know he's like one of the guys who live
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around the corner down the street from
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Jesus he's not Jesus but he lives around
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there and he sees what he's doing and he
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wants to emulate in order to bring
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prosperity to him and his family and be
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loved and feel like a somebody he goes
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through that he does that and it might
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have been the wrong means and he learns
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a really valuable lesson and then
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engages in a form of redemption at the
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end of the of the movie but not without
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a huge huge perhaps the biggest
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sacrifice and so I see the parallels
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immediately when I hear Pac I'm like
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damn that's crazy yeah damn I can see
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those parallels when you when you watch
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the movie we're going to talk more about
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it cuz you do an awesome job as an actor
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in this movie but when you watch the
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movie one of the first things James and
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this is to you um you confront the
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audience in a in in a very detailed way
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it's almost like a a visual forward that
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you give in front of the movie why did
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you feel this was necessary and what did
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you want to accomplish with that are you
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talking about at at the front of the
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movie
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yeah how it starts the opening the
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opening shot no the uh there's there's a
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point where you're talking to the
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audience and the viewer where you're
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saying what what influenced and inspired
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the
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film yeah well for
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me I would say if I I don't know if I'm
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if I'm answering your question um
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correctly but I would say for me right I
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I would see just with regards to well
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well the origin of this movie right I
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had in my head in my head for for
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decades and you know growing up we are
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just as black people because we've had
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everything stripped away from us the one
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thing we've been in inundated with the
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one thing we've been the one thing we've
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been inundated with was the Bible right
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from the Bible imagery with white Jesus
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and everything to the the Bible stories
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the actual New Testament and then we
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were inundated with all of these movies
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that I love you know um uh Ben her Karis
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The Greatest Story Ever Told Ten
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Commandments all of these all of these
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movies but sway I never known anyone
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that looks like Charon hon yeah even in
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the white even in the white Community I
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never known anyone that you know that
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looks like um Victor maure or even Kirk
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dougas in sparus but I know people that
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look like sway I know people that look
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like M Stanfield I know people that look
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like Tiana Taylor so for me it was
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important for to to for us to have a
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movie and to tell a story that resembled
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the environment that actually resembled
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the environment that we come from
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because the Bible talks about the
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environments we come from all through it
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it's just these Hollywood movies never
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really gave us that and it was important
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for me to to to have a movie that
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resembled and tell a story that res
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resemble the environment that we all
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come from and that even if you don't
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come from it you can relate to that
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environment because you've seen it
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before but you know transposing it to to
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2,000 years ago where um you know where
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I can show how similar um that day and
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time is to ours and how little has
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changed I'm not sure if that answers
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your question that was my that was my uh
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uh you know inspiration and and origin
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for tell telling the story especially
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with what we go through with what we go
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through now I think it's important for
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us to to um see ourselves in those days
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as as men and women and as black men and
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women black boys and girls we should see
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ourselves um reflected in in the in the
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Bible days you know what I mean
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absolutely a round of applause for that
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yeah absolutely it's because if you did
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it's almost as if we weren't there
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exactly right um I'm curious to both of
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you because faith is a constant to me is
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the uh constant theme in throughout this
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um picture throughout this project um
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how how has Faith impacted your Journeys
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you know I I know my own personal
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Journey there's been times when I had
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bouts with my faith you know and I had
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to buckle down and and and and reassure
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it and reassure myself and it always
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pulls through how has Faith impacted
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your Journeys I want to start with
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Lei yeah man you know it's uh so much of
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it is mental um uh you know you when I
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began acting when I wanted to pursue
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acting thing it was just uh an idea a
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dream in my head something I wanted to
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do I didn't know how I was going to do
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it I just knew that I was going to do it
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and I'd stop at nothing it was death or
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this so everything I had I put it in the
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Forefront I am going to do this uh and
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one could say that I manifested the
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situation that I ended up being in but I
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think I realized that you know Faith
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while nothing without the works is also
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something that's subject to Fortune and
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uh what one would call luck I was in the
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right place at the right time but I also
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had the circumstances and environment
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which allowed for me to have the
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potential to do what I wanted to do when
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we're lucky enough to have all of those
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things line up beautiful things can come
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from that so it all starts with idea of
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Faith at the time that I thought about
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being an actor I had no reason to
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believe that I could be but I moved and
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regardless of whatever roadblocks that I
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thought might be in my way and as a
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result of that I gave myself a shot at
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an opportunity to be something better
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and because of that I understand the
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value and opportunity and why I'm so
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interested in helping others find it
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because when you have it and you're
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ready you can do things that you thought
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were previously impossible and that's
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what Clarence does in this movie and I
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think that's the overarching message
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that we're trying to leave people with
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is like your faith your belief in the
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Unseen unknown is can be transmuted to a
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knowing of where you're supposed to be
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and with that kind of ambition you can
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bring about good
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things damn James you want to jump on
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that
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absolutely man I mean we you know faith
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is really all we have man coming from
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where coming from where we're coming
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from you know my my background is is
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Niger is African Caribbean and you know
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then we grew up in a hood in in England
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and traveling at an early age around my
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grand lived in my Granny lived in um
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East Flatbush right so traveling at an
10:51
early age to all of these places from
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Nigeria to east Flat Bush back to l i
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you realize that every Hood around the
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world is exactly the same and literally
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the only thing that gets us through is
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our faith right whether it's whether
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it's our faith in God or faith in us in
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ourselves but what I found is that we
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are
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trained the older we get to have like
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less and less faith in ourselves right
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we're trained to have you know less
11:22
faith in ourselves as a child you're
11:23
thought to think positive as an adult
11:26
you're taught don't count your chickens
11:27
before they hatch every you learn as a
11:29
child hence when they say what advice
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would you give your younger self I
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always say I wouldn't give any him any
11:35
advice I'll take advice from him right
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because adults shouldn't be giv advice
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to grown-ups adults are are to to kids
11:42
adults are like super pessimistic kids
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the sky the sky is the limit kids dream
11:48
big kids believe they can fly and the
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only thing that you have going for you
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really is your faith when all else is is
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stri stripped away so I would always um
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uh come back to my faith right it always
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come back to the teachings that my
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mother taught me about about God and
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also who we are as who we are as people
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I think that without faith that's the
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last those are the last um pillars and
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without which we will just crumble all
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the way our faith is what has kept us
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kept us all here so for me Faith played
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a played a um huge part when I see you
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know when I see my brothers and sisters
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I'm the first to say peace to the god
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peace to the god I see the god in them
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and they see the god in me and some
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people I see people in even in the
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comments of of of uh articles and and um
12:37
interviews that I've done say ah he's
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saying that we're Gods he would he would
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uh you know he doesn't understand them
12:44
this movie must be Blasphemous but yeah
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if I if I open with peace my [ __ ] no
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one would say anything no one would have
12:51
any like it's strange thing how people
12:52
have a when you say ain't that something
12:56
when you say peace to the god peace God
12:58
peace God no one says everyone like
13:01
complains but it shows how little faith
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that we have in ourselves and how
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everything's removed but we're allowed
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to call each other [ __ ] and not Gods
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so for me Faith is everything faith in
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God is everything and I'm not saying
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that we are the Divine but I am saying
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we are of the Divine yes we are of the
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Divine we're here for we're here for for
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a reason and the moment the moment I see
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God in Sway and the moment sway Sees God
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in the Keith and the Keith Sees God in
13:29
me we can accomplish great things and
13:31
and it would be all glocked
13:36
down around
13:38
J by the moment we accept ourselves by
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the moment we accept ourselves as [ __ ]
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and watch Jango and watch ourselves
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being called [ __ ] 110 times in two
13:47
hours then [ __ ] is what we'll be so
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face it fa is everything man and that I
13:53
just say peace to the god peace to the
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god peace to the God I love that James
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Samuel I love that when you come to New
13:59
York come hang out with us
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bro I was I was just there man I'd love
14:05
to be in the studio right bro look look
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ke look what I'm wearing man hold on
14:09
what what can you see the tag in this
14:10
what that tag
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say Paper Planes paper plane I got the
14:16
emry exclusive paper plane jacket on I
14:18
knew theef was coming James I'm all
14:21
family I got on my
14:23
unicorn yeah em hooked me up too with
14:26
great colors have the be go ahead jump
14:28
in talking about fashion James and lei
14:31
hands down fit of the year so far I
14:34
don't even know what to do with all this
14:35
you just St well it's a long year
14:39
hopefully I hold up you g to hold up you
14:41
g to hold up but this question is you
14:42
know what does you know what the does
14:44
what every time we got one of these
14:46
young kids pressed to do I'm like how
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how you looking tomorrow he's like man
14:50
I'm just dressing down I'm just dressing
14:52
down so I come looking like so I come in
14:54
looking like two Pops from juice and
14:57
comes in like all all Louis Vuitton
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forel collection K me you got to keep
15:02
him off the sink a nobody be looking
15:04
better than you come on the truth came
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out man you got to see this dude James
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yo that is so funny yeah he he's dripped
15:10
out for sure but you know this
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conversation has reminded me a little
15:13
bit of what happened yesterday we had
15:15
Danielle Kya and uh Kane Robinson they
15:18
pulled up to talk about the kitchen and
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James mentioned about having this idea
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for so long the same way Daniel talked
15:24
about having the kitchen idea for 10
15:26
years and just as an artist cuz I always
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consider myself an artist first no
15:30
matter what I'm doing um it's it's it's
15:34
it sometimes it's frustrating to me
15:35
having an idea for so long I'm like when
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is this going to happen when is it going
15:39
to manifest how can I keep shaping this
15:42
out and taking away and adding to it and
15:44
James you literally said you had this
15:46
idea for a long time as well I want to
15:49
start with you to yeah almost well 20
15:51
years double the time that Daniel talked
15:53
about how does patience play into all of
15:55
this with you with faith and then for
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Leith I would hope that you can answer
15:59
the same thing because it was all or
16:00
nothing for you in terms of becoming an
16:02
actor yeah I would say hether what what
16:06
you must always hold on to right is one
16:09
patience is everything right everything
16:13
but patience doesn't mean to wait
16:16
patience means staying active right
16:19
staying active and holding holding
16:24
holding the course staying the course
16:26
staying active staying the course and
16:27
holding the
16:29
like Like Gladiator right when the when
16:31
and braveart when when the enem is
16:33
coming like hold
16:37
hold but you still have to you still
16:39
have to have to um have to stay active
16:42
with within it because ideas are actual
16:45
living things those ideas you have
16:47
they're living things they're living
16:49
entities they're breathing entities and
16:51
they come to you for a reason they come
16:53
to you because they want to be born
16:55
right they want to be born and and so I
16:57
just see a um as what my mom always told
17:00
me nothing uh uh nothing happens before
17:04
it's time but in the words of Victor
17:06
Hugo nothing could stop our idea whose
17:08
time has come so you just have to keep
17:11
like keep feeding it keep fueling it
17:13
staying active amen within the Machinery
17:15
of that idea and be be patient and it
17:18
would happen it would because because
17:20
the idea came to you for a reason so I
17:22
knew no one was going to make anything
17:23
like the book of Clarance before me
17:25
because that idea was it was just
17:27
haunting me until it was until it was um
17:30
until it was born in 136 years of the
17:33
moving image we've never seen two black
17:35
people go there's Jesus of Nazareth we
17:39
have never seen that in 136 years of the
17:41
moving image we've never seen ourselves
17:44
on screen in that day and time so stay
17:47
the course with all those ideas Heaven
17:49
they're going to be born amen it thank
17:51
you yeah wow thank you we have now James
17:54
you also fail to mention that you kept
17:55
that script a
17:57
secret
17:59
even from me that part when I met him on
18:01
the heart of day fall he was like you
18:02
know uh he he had decided that I was
18:04
going to be in a role and didn't even
18:05
say nothing until later then when he
18:07
showed me the script wow yeah then when
18:09
he showed me the script I understood why
18:10
because it was so big and massive it
18:12
would have took up so much real estate
18:14
in my mind I would have been thinking
18:15
about this script the entire time but
18:17
precisely like patience is a virtue you
18:20
need to understand that everything needs
18:22
to happen at a certain time timing
18:24
Rhythm being in tune and Harmony is
18:26
important and you know understanding
18:28
immediate gratification just leads to uh
18:31
results that you don't want um and
18:33
everything happens at its time you wait
18:35
for the perfect moment I think when
18:37
you're in things for the for the right
18:38
reasons you tend to not need to feel
18:41
immediately satisfied you feel satisfied
18:43
by the process and so that's why a film
18:46
like this doesn't matter what happens
18:47
I'll always cherish it because the
18:49
process was something that was so
18:51
healing so gratifying um and and so real
18:54
and fun and spiritual and that's what
18:57
you want to do now don't get me wrong
18:59
everybody go to the theater January 12th
19:01
go see this movie bring your mama bring
19:03
your grandama bran Friday Friday it's an
19:06
experience that would truly have you
19:08
leaving feeling inspired and just
19:10
remember hopefully you can remember that
19:12
the process is always more important
19:14
than the destination and the process
19:15
requires Faith amen amen write that down
19:18
to Heather all right Tracy G bars we got
19:21
a couple questions James we're g to
19:23
shoot on Mike Muse Tracy G BB they all
19:25
they're eager to ask you guys questions
19:27
yeah James ke my goodness so much wisdom
19:30
and I receive everything that both of
19:32
y'all have shared as truth so thank you
19:35
you know often I think about you're so
19:37
welcome often I think about um human's
19:40
relationship with significance which is
19:43
a need but sometimes when you have an
19:45
insatiable desire for significance you
19:48
over depend on external validation you
19:51
know Heather mentioned um Daniel and he
19:54
had did an incredible interview of Rick
19:56
Rubin and he shared that that there was
19:58
once a time when it came to his work he
20:00
was always focused on being good or
20:02
being great but he ended up over
20:05
criticizing himself and what he now does
20:07
is just an honest performance that's the
20:10
standard he gives himself um Clarence
20:13
throughout the film you hear him wanting
20:14
to be somebody and when it's mentioned
20:18
that he's nobody he rejects it you know
20:21
fiercely how do you know leef starting
20:25
with you and James please jump in as
20:27
well how did you know throughout your
20:29
journey as a human when you were
20:31
becoming somebody that or the difference
20:34
between becoming somebody that made your
20:36
ego proud and somebody that made your
20:38
soul proud it's a good question I think
20:43
uh instinctually in the beginning I
20:45
realized that what came with uh outside
20:47
criticism um outside praise even was the
20:51
idea that you were uh beholden to other
20:54
people's perspective so I was very
20:56
solitary in the beginning and I put my
20:58
head down and people would be saying
21:00
thank you and I was almost rude I was
21:02
almost like I don't care what your
21:03
opinion is because I need to be focused
21:06
on what I'm here to do and it's
21:07
important that my self-image of myself
21:10
is in a place where I can do what I need
21:11
to do uh then comes your opinion later
21:14
yeah as I've grown more I've become more
21:16
open to the ideas but more situated in
21:19
My Own Foundation therefore negative
21:21
positive no matter what it is uh there's
21:23
kind of these built-in reflectors you
21:25
know some people need you to be negative
21:27
you start to realize that that is more
21:29
often than not a reflection of how they
21:31
feel MH and some people are able to give
21:33
their flowers but it's important that
21:35
you understanding yourself knowledge is
21:37
stronger than belief if you know where
21:39
you coming from and that it was honest
21:40
and genuine it don't really matter what
21:42
what everybody else has to say about it
21:44
what I love about being in films is that
21:46
it's such a it's such a communicative
21:48
like Network it's a it's a giant
21:51
Community effort we're all in this
21:53
together and nothing is done without all
21:55
of us being instrumental in the process
21:57
so the people you do things with is very
21:59
important so I got real lucky on the
22:01
book of clearance that it was a group of
22:03
people with a singular thought brought
22:05
together through the music of James
22:06
quite literally I mean we' be on the
22:08
stage everybody dancing and the music
22:10
going and we're all in in one Accord and
22:12
in one frequency and we're all black and
22:15
we're all in in 33 ad like that was a
22:18
dream of mine there was now manifest you
22:21
know what I mean and that you know part
22:22
of that comes from and even in James I
22:24
know he had to walk through them places
22:25
and be like I have an idea and
22:27
regardless of which y'all talking about
22:28
we going to make this be done it all
22:30
starts within and then when you're
22:32
within then you can move without all
22:34
right absolutely man and I Echo the same
22:37
the same sentiments I I would say
22:40
that with Clarence he's he's in a he's
22:43
in a uh he's always on a journey to be
22:45
somebody but he is somebody the minute
22:48
you meet him he's the flyest dopest
22:50
individual you ever seen like in in the
22:52
in the Bible days but he himself uh it's
22:55
almost like he's it's almost almost like
22:57
CL is at war with himself because we are
23:01
all some no one's a no one's nobody
23:04
right no one's nobody i' would like to
23:06
I'd like to just add something just a
23:08
quick sidebar you know hether when I was
23:10
talking about like it took it was like
23:12
this idea was in my for 20 years right
23:15
then I actually wrote it in 2017 I've
23:17
never thought about this before
23:19
literally the minute I wrote that that
23:21
script around like like not long after I
23:23
wrote the script 2017 but not long after
23:26
I bumped into the at the at the um gold
23:30
party right a Jay-Z's gold party we were
23:32
just talking about about pizza nothing
23:34
more then we actually met on the on the
23:37
hard of they St so I know the reason why
23:41
the book of Clarence took long to make
23:43
and this is again back to patience he
23:46
the reason why the book of clarents took
23:47
so long to make is because I didn't know
23:50
Le yet because no one on the
23:54
literally Clarence was born for Le to
23:58
play him I couldn't if if L said no I've
24:00
told him this a million times if he said
24:02
he wasn't playing it I wouldn't have
24:03
made class I would have made another
24:04
movie I couldn't see another person in
24:06
that in that in that role so it's almost
24:09
like the script had to be born when I
24:13
met when I met Le and then Clarence was
24:15
ready to be Clarance was ready to be
24:17
made but uh but anyway wow did y'all
24:19
serve pizza on a
24:21
[Laughter]
24:23
set actually all we ate was pizza yeah
24:26
we were in Italy so it was just like St
24:28
in pizza every day I was pizza the hell
24:30
out by the time we finished it I SAR to
24:32
Man pizza again but that is also a
24:35
testament to the Integrity of your
24:37
writing and the fact that you spoke
24:40
truth to your heart when you do that
24:42
there you find that they're universal
24:43
truth shared by others not only do I
24:46
identify with Clarance but everybody can
24:48
identify with clearance because it's
24:49
such a universal story and that's
24:52
because you was honest enough to lay out
24:54
your heart in your journey when I got
24:56
the script for the book of clearance
24:57
James was on the front of it and Jesus
25:01
regalia rightfully s and I was like this
25:04
is fire because the imagery represented
25:07
like when I look at images which is why
25:09
all my tattoos are symbols I'm looking
25:11
at the symbology and the meaning behind
25:12
it it isn't necessarily what's apparent
25:14
is the the meaning and by the way this
25:16
movie has layer layered meanings for
25:18
instance I played uh Clarence and his
25:20
twin brother Thomas which is Clarence
25:22
Thomas you know what I mean and like
25:24
there are a bunch of little nuggets that
25:25
you find within the movie as you watch
25:28
it that are just brilliant and it comes
25:30
from the just understanding of symbology
25:32
and what what what what lies beyond the
25:34
eye quite literally in the faith realm
25:37
and so when I saw that I was just like
25:39
this is going to be special and written
25:41
from his unique perspective so one of
25:43
the first things I was like it's like yo
25:44
my hair got to be like James's hair and
25:47
so you know we we collaborated on the
25:48
hair and then it was like perfect Boom
25:50
the hair is a representation of James is
25:52
here James's Soul James's Spirit which
25:54
then is a representation of mind which
25:56
then is a representation of
25:58
to us so it's like it's like that wow I
26:03
love that I was speaking to Sno uh two
26:05
days ago and he he'd watched the movie
26:07
and and he said you know I was watching
26:09
it and I just thought it was my my
26:11
biopic and I've heard that from so many
26:13
people who come from our struggle right
26:16
that have watched the book of clowns
26:18
they shout like it was their biopic like
26:20
clown was the book of clown was a
26:22
personal story um from the KE Stanfield
26:24
when you said that s look right at
26:26
me I know couple of scenes that might
26:28
have made him feel that way too uh we
26:31
got Mike in Mike jump on this real quick
26:34
yeah so I had gentlemen I've had a
26:35
chance to see the film so
26:36
congratulations to you James um and to
26:38
the Keith uh really well done twice
26:41
actually um and so thank you the
26:43
question I have it's the same question
26:45
by one to be answered two different ways
26:48
um so first to you Leith I've always
26:50
been a fan of your acting um I thought
26:51
you were been one of the most phenomenal
26:53
actors of our time but I think the
26:55
crucifixion scene for me is what set you
26:58
apart from every other actor that is out
27:00
there and your gift and your Brilliance
27:02
and so I want to know how did you
27:03
prepare uh for that scene particularly
27:06
but James I'm also too I want to know
27:09
how did you think about the cut of that
27:11
scene and the directorial decisions that
27:13
you made by not focusing on actual of
27:16
the nails going in so I want you to talk
27:18
about that it was tricky because um at
27:21
that point in the story clarence's
27:23
mindset is at a different place than it
27:25
was in the beginning he had you know
27:27
realize that there's something larger
27:29
than himself so there's a sense of
27:31
actual confidence and assuredness that
27:34
should accompany him even in the moments
27:35
that are quite difficult so trying to
27:37
incorporate that into these difficult
27:39
moments is quite tricky but also pain is
27:41
not easy to show because it's like well
27:44
how do you act when you're extremely
27:46
hurt in pain well you don't know um and
27:48
so what I literally had to do was uh put
27:51
myself in the in the position of you
27:53
know feeling these nails going through
27:54
me but also thinking about my ancestors
27:56
what they have went through and a lot of
27:58
them going through the the you know the
28:00
whips and and the chains and on the more
28:02
difficult physical taxation on my
28:04
ancestors just thinking about that and
28:05
trying to channel that through and
28:06
asking them for the love and spirit to
28:09
be able to have it run through me so I
28:10
could help tell this story that I think
28:12
could be beneficial for all of us and so
28:14
I'm thinking about that but it's like
28:15
30° outside so it's cold too and I'm
28:18
trying to like keep you know my my my
28:20
mental space and in a certain state but
28:22
really what it is is you got to get to
28:24
the space where you're actually feeling
28:25
the pain so that what comes across in
28:27
your face is genuine you can't really
28:29
fake the pain so it's like how do I get
28:31
to that place and there's some ways to
28:32
do it but I don't really want to give
28:33
all the secrets secret right there but
28:35
it's like when you're in pain often too
28:37
in presence of others what you're trying
28:39
to do is let them believe that you're
28:40
not in pain you're not trying to show
28:42
your cards so there were moments where I
28:43
wanted to keep the pain inside so they
28:45
didn't know how much I was truly hurting
28:47
and I think it was important in that
28:49
moment to do you did that with your eyes
28:51
it it came out in your eyes your eyes
28:53
were you the most perfect part your
28:56
acting part was the eyes
28:58
came right so James the question for the
29:00
decision about not showing the nails
29:02
going in um well for me it's a couple of
29:06
things one um Le Stanfield for me is
29:09
isn't only one of the greatest actors of
29:11
his generation but I'm a student of film
29:13
the Stanford is one of the greatest
29:15
actors of all time this dude is
29:17
absolutely amazing when you watch the
29:19
book of clowns and see like the
29:21
emotional gamut that this um um man
29:24
takes us through it's a it's a sounding
29:27
hence you understand you'll all
29:29
understand why I couldn't do the movie
29:31
um without him you know there's there's
29:33
things that we experience as children
29:36
that inform us artistically through the
29:38
rest of our days a lot of times we don't
29:41
know or we don't necessarily hold on to
29:43
what those things are but they've
29:45
affected us and sometimes we can hold on
29:46
to what those things are for me there's
29:48
a 19 1954 movie directed by David lean
29:52
called Hobson's choice Stars Charles
29:54
Morton who's one of the illst of all
29:56
time and Sir John Mills right now in
30:00
that movie John Mills is a virgin then
30:02
he gets married and he breaks and he
30:05
makes love for the first time to his
30:07
wife and we are behind the door and we
30:09
watch him and his wife calls him in the
30:11
door and and he looks and he walks in
30:13
the room and the door closes it's the
30:16
old black and white movie I watch this
30:17
when I was like 11 and the door
30:21
closes and we know everything that has
30:26
happened right since sat watching that
30:28
movie as a kid every time I see a love
30:29
scene in a film like oh wow do we
30:31
actually have to go there do we have to
30:33
show the actual thing do and it taught
30:35
me as a kid that suggestion is much
30:38
better than actually uh you know um
30:42
showing us what happened so when you
30:44
have an actor like Lis who embodies all
30:48
of the pain I knew I can put the camera
30:50
on his
30:52
face and use the sound of footsteps
30:55
walking around him from point to point
30:58
of the
30:59
Cross and looking at his eyes we
31:02
concentrate on his eyes and you hear the
31:06
footsteps and then bang and the's pain
31:11
and that's one of the most harrowing
31:12
parts of the movie yes without um
31:15
without showing any without showing the
31:17
brutality of the nails actually going in
31:20
I let the mind um do it for you I let
31:23
the suggestion um do it for you and
31:25
that's what inspired from David lean's
31:28
Choice way back in 1954 but for me you
31:31
you do need the the um the right actors
31:35
to do that and with L he can L can like
31:38
embody so much joy and embody so much
31:42
pain also pry much also have you ever
31:44
stubbed your toe yeah unfortunately is
31:48
there you go that too right that's how
31:49
you know yeah that's how you find the
31:52
pain trade
31:54
secret out hey James uh I know we got a
31:57
rap man I a couple things number one
32:00
when you come to New York you got a new
32:02
best friend I just want to hang out with
32:04
you and and swap conversation my brother
32:06
man for Life For Life longer like next
32:09
time I was just here next time I'm in
32:11
New York I'm I'm coming I'm coming up to
32:14
to the show come to the show we're
32:15
hanging out that's that's a done deal
32:16
I'm GNA let DB um in the interview uh
32:19
with the last question um and DB go
32:22
ahead he's our movie junkie he's also a
32:24
member of critic Choice Association
32:26
there you go
32:28
um I I'll keep this short because
32:29
there's a line in the film where um
32:31
Clarence says I'm not a man without
32:32
fault and I'm also not a man without
32:34
purpose and I feel something like that
32:36
transcends uh religion and Faith like
32:38
that it's it's something that can be
32:39
applied to anybody what would you say to
32:41
somebody who doesn't follow an organized
32:43
religion is atheist agnostic or just has
32:45
some sort of spiritual but not
32:47
necessarily believes in Jesus or God the
32:49
way Clarence was at the beginning of the
32:51
film I think it's natural for us to be
32:54
cynical to be Skeptics and I think it's
32:56
actually healthy to engage in a a lot of
32:59
questions about who we are where we are
33:02
why we're here I think the the for me I
33:05
think the the best thing to kind of do
33:06
is do an internal investigation and
33:09
figure out inside go into yourself and
33:11
try to you know work out um more so just
33:15
explore and Survey the question rather
33:17
than look for the answer I think answers
33:20
kind of tighten things up in ways that
33:22
stop us when you get the answer you're
33:24
done if you had the answer to your
33:26
imagination wouldn't imagine anymore so
33:28
I think it's always good to continue to
33:30
question and those people that are
33:31
cynical continue to be that way but
33:34
understand that there's universality
33:36
apparent in all of us and it can be seen
33:38
and it just depends to what frequency
33:40
you're tuned to see it and perhaps you
33:42
know your uh interpretation of the world
33:44
is is is closer to the truth than mine
33:47
or or somebody else's interpretation
33:48
than somebody else's so we got to be
33:50
open to different schools of thoughts
33:51
and ideas and understand we all just
33:53
trying to figure the same thing out
33:54
dancing in the same way trying to figure
33:56
out who we are what we are and what we
33:58
here to do but one thing we know is what
34:00
we not here to do and that's hurt each
34:02
other kill each other steal from each
34:03
other lie to each other so am man
34:05
Stanfield exactly exactly and and I I'll
34:09
Echo I'll I'll conclude on that and
34:12
after by saying you know beneath
34:14
everything beneath every single genre
34:17
the root of it is a story and we're
34:19
storytellers so even if you have faith
34:21
if you're of Faith you're Christian or
34:23
whatever your religion is you'll find um
34:26
uh point in this you find your point in
34:29
this movie you find things you can
34:30
relate to and if you're you're not of
34:32
Faith it's still an amazing story
34:35
because the story is is is about a man's
34:37
life right you know you don't have to be
34:39
Christian to enjoy Ben her you don't
34:41
have to be uh uh you know Christians to
34:44
enjoy the Ten Commandments or any of
34:46
these a great story is a great story and
34:49
a and a great movie is a great movie and
34:51
the book of clowns I know it's
34:53
Politically Incorrect for director to
34:54
say my movie is it's a great movie it's
34:58
the first of its kind in 136 years of a
35:01
moving image and we deserve to see
35:03
ourselves in that space and time
35:05
absolutely you believe in in the book or
35:07
not that time existed
35:10
right uh ancient Jerusalem existed and
35:13
we were all there we were all there we
35:14
deserve to see ourselves in in that so
35:16
hopefully we'll see you all at C yeah
35:19
you'll see there we might pop up on your
35:21
hey hey hey Che it James um before you
35:23
go I'll be remiss if I didn't ask about
35:25
Jay-Z and his involvement but more
35:27
importantly y'all relationship you know
35:29
we we we heard you guys mention that
35:31
some of these parts need to write actors
35:33
but some of these Partnerships need to
35:34
right partner um exactly what what is it
35:38
for you from your experience what's
35:40
special about the the tandem of you and
35:42
Jay-Z and how y'all choose to work
35:44
together man me me and Jay you know we
35:46
met uh like 14 15 years ago through J
35:50
Electronica I was producing J
35:51
Electronica's um act too right around
35:54
the time uh exhibit SE came up came out
35:57
go ahead talk your [ __ ] James that's
35:59
when you come up here that's what we g
36:00
go with it okay all
36:04
right me and Jay electronic like
36:06
producing all of all of act two at that
36:08
time and that's how I met Jay right and
36:10
so we were collaborating ever since we
36:13
we did shiny suit tii uh joint together
36:16
then we then we did the music for the
36:18
great Gat speed but Jay-Z has has what
36:21
what we regarded the dream Gene right
36:24
like you could tell him tell him let's
36:26
go to Mars I want to go to Mars and he'd
36:28
be like I know a guy I know a guy who
36:30
can take to the to you
36:34
know we'll be having a conversation
36:36
about about going tomorrow like he is
36:38
the dopest dopest um uh partner and and
36:42
and just like my R and creating with him
36:45
is like is like breathing and it's not
36:47
just m musical right a lot of things
36:50
that we cook together is film his story
36:53
he's profoundly s literate like you know
36:56
like Keith is a dope musician as well as
37:00
a dope actor and and Jay-Z is dope he
37:04
has a really dope film mind as well as
37:07
as um being an amazing um musician right
37:11
yeah so I think a lot of the people that
37:13
surround me are these
37:16
multier individuals they just come to
37:18
they come to like Le came to um our
37:22
attention as an actor he's equally he's
37:24
equal parts he's just a all around
37:26
artist and JayZ came to our attention as
37:28
a as a rapper but he's a amazing film
37:31
producers our partnership is our
37:33
partnership is is um is rooted in
37:36
friendship and us just cracking jokes
37:38
and out of it and having fun and always
37:41
creating and out of it these Classics
37:43
are made the harder they fall yeah the
37:44
book of Clarance and you know what I
37:46
mean and and and also you know Lees is
37:49
is is one of my cre I've only made two
37:52
movies both star MTH Stanfield you know
37:54
what I mean wow so that's my that's my
37:57
yeah that's that's my that's my my right
37:59
hand there you go hey James Samuel it's
38:01
an honor absolute honor to have you on
38:03
the show today can't wait to meet you in
38:05
person I feel like I already know you
38:07
brother peace God peace
38:10
God peace to the
38:12
[Applause]
38:15
God I love it hey and lke
38:18
congratulations on your journey man it's
38:20
been amazing and not just on the camera
38:22
but off the camera as well man so salute
38:24
to you continue success we gonna stay in
38:27
contact you gonna see me some there go
38:29
Sway and I'm just stand right next to
38:31
you I can't shake them I can't shake
38:34
them anything you want to say in closing
38:36
oh thank you guys all so much thank you
38:38
very much I love it here thank you thank
38:40
you we love you here and James we love
38:42
you too man yes and when you talk to
38:44
himy let him know I rock this jacket all
38:46
right you going see it you going to see
38:47
it the book of Clarence January 12th we
38:50
need the whole Community to step outside
38:54
and support this it's a great movie
39:03
interet it the book of Clarence January
39:06
and the soundtrack is crazy right Lil
39:10
Wayne on it James is on it JayZ [ __ ]
39:13
who else dangelo yeah I heard y'all got
39:16
that 10 minute n minute 10 minute song
39:19
sha minutes 9 Minutes 33 seconds there
39:23
you goel JayZ there you go hey man book
39:25
of clar the book of clearance let's
39:27
support it the book of clearance thank
39:29
you for coming by James see you soon

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