March 11, 2022 • 35 mins
Today, DJ Jazzy Jeff and guest cohost Miles Gray talk to actors Coco Jones (Hilary) and Jordan L. Jones (Jazz) about the significant role social media plays in this modern-day version of the series, the authenticity of the food on the show, and the romance that’s growing between their characters. Watch tensions come to a boil between Phil and Viv, while Will gains a new understanding about Carlton, in the seventh episode of Bel-Air, streaming now on Peacock.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Bell Air the Official Podcast is produced by iHeart Podcast
Network and Peacock. Hey, we're back. Welcome to episode five
of bell Air the Official Podcast. I am d J
Jazzy Jeff, and I'm Miles Gray and I'm so glad
to be back here with you. Jeff. I just watched
(00:21):
the seventh episode of bell Air. A lot is going on.
We're starting to see, you know, viv trying to regain
her independence or capturing her independence. We've got Hillary pursuing
your independence a bit of a rocky road. What do
you think overall? Listen, I was blown away. First of all,
let's talk about the Jazz and Hillary moment. I'm sorry
to to that, but I didn't get a chance to
(00:42):
um pursue Hillary on the original show, and this this
was a little bit different, but it was packed full
of stuff. But yeah, that's the explosive moment. We're gonna
get to that because trust me, as a longtime fan,
I have so many questions when I saw that, especially
for you, Jeff, and I'm glad that I get to
ask directly to you. So today we'll be talking about
(01:03):
the themes of social media and food. Social media plays
a huge part and it really affects the choices that
a lot of the characters make. You know, that was
a big point that Hillary had a huge decision to
make based off of a social media choice. Does she
need right? Exactly? So, she's trying to make her career
for herself through social media. She got in the content house.
(01:24):
She's kind of getting to lay of the land. But
in this episode, like you're saying, we also see that
as she grows her career, she's kind of starting to
lose control over the content that she's producing. And you
hear on Viv she asked, you know when she says, oh,
and I get to live there for free, and she
says nothing's free. Yeah, but it's true. And I think
she's starting to grapple with the fact that there is
(01:44):
a give and take there. Jeff, how do you think
this influence that social media really has kind of dictates
what we're seeing in the show, like this invisible force
that's helping move things along. Yeah, I mean, you know,
going from Viv, who doesn't understand social media at all,
she just thinks that Hillary is just on our phone,
not realizing that this is a way that people conduct
(02:06):
business today. Even Hillary and what she posts. She became
so under the gun to post something that she made
a decision that she kind of wasn't sure, but someone
took it and took it across the finish line without
her knowledge, right exactly. And we're also going to be
talking about the importance of food to the show and
(02:28):
just how black food culture is so accurately depicted here.
Even hearing times when like Viv would be like in
your famous Crab Kicks, I was like, I want to
know more. Yeah, I want to know more about the
crab Kicks. And I love too that, Like, you know,
the food itself also gets camera time in this show.
Other shows typically you never see what characters eat. Yea.
And before we get to the interview, we have to
(02:49):
talk about this episode. Right in episode seven, we see
Jazz and Hillary kissing. Okay, now that is huge for
people like me who grew up on Fresh Prince and
now have the Hunter to sit across from d J.
Jazzy Jeff, who I spent my youth watching like will
they won't they? He's always pursuing Hillary but she wants
nothing to do with him, and now they're feeling each other.
(03:12):
How are you feeling about that? I was a little
jealous at first. You know, Jazz always had something for Hillary,
but Hillary never showed it back. So but I was
also really happy because from a realistic point of view,
they have a lot of interests you have to kind
of dig underneath the surface to understand. But they're more
similar than you would think, which kind of really leads
(03:36):
to them having somewhat of an attraction to make it possible, right,
And I gotta ask, when you were shooting Fresh Prince,
what was your relationship like with Karen Parsons, who played
Hillary on Fresh Prince where you guys flirter you just
like friends. What was it like when they said cut listen.
She's a beautiful human being. She actually helped me a
lot me being someone that wasn't really trying to be
(04:01):
on the show had experience like that. She was one
of the people that really kind of guided me through
a lot of the scenes, especially the scenes with her
because it was weird because it's kind of like I
don't want to kiss you because I might enjoy it
and that's weird. So she would kind of really guide
you through a lot of those scenes and how to
(04:22):
navigate really playing a role. So yeah, it was great.
I was just mad that my character wasn't written in
like that. I was angry earlier that my character didn't
have a cool car like Jazz. And now you actually
got Hillary you know so, And without further ado, we
should just get into the interview with today's guests. Who
(04:42):
better to speak with today than Coco Jones obviously has
been in the game since she was a child. She is,
you know, also a singer. She will be putting out
her latest single on Deaf Jam Recordings this month. She
plays Hillary Banks and she does it in her own way,
and she does it fantastically. And then we also got
Jordan L. Jones who plays Jazz again, Jazz local guy.
(05:03):
He's from Englewood, comes from an acting tradition within his
own family. I'm excited for this. I have to say,
y'all have been in the acting for a minute. Whether
that's you know, Cocode, you've been on this since you
were a child, Jordan's your mother is an actress, and
you've been around the acting industry and all that. What's
(05:24):
it like for the two of you to basically come
into one of the most, if not the most iconic
Black families that's been on television, And what was that
experience like from the moment that you were like, I
want to be on this show too, then getting the
call being like I am Hillary and I am Jazz respectively.
I mean, I don't really have the words to encompass
(05:47):
how I feel when you're auditioning and you're going through
that process and it's so many nose you just kind
of in a way like protect your heart. So when
I read bel Air, I was like, oh wow, this
this is cute, but like anyway, and I had these
thoughts like I'm sure they're looking for a certain type
of girl for this. Hillary, like you just kind of
(06:07):
keep going, Like that's what I feel like the life
of specifically an actor, but a lot of people is
you just keep going and going and going, and then
something stops you in your tracks. And so when I
was getting closer to booking bell Air, you know, you
kind of like get your hopes up, but you're trying
to do that, so you get invested in the project
and then you start thinking, man, life could be like
(06:28):
this if I booked this. Oh my gosh, you know
that up right, I am about to be up. When
I found out that I got it, I knew what
that represented to be a dark skinned version of Hillary,
So I felt, of course excited and honored, but um,
I really was like, Okay, the representation that I'm about
to create here is going to help the next girl
(06:49):
who looks like me. So I want to make sure
that I do this to the best of my ability,
like it's go time. You know, I think Coco literally
said that perfectly. I think in this business, I call
it the profession of note. This is the profession with
the majority of the time you get a lot of
nose and it has nothing to do with your talent
or any of that. It's just I guess the project
wasn't for you or whatever it may be. So when
(07:10):
I did get it, man, it was I just don't
even have the words. I actually didn't think I got
it because when I did audition Morgan, he didn't ask
me any questions. Uh usually directors and stuff ask you like, okay,
do it this way, and just to see if you
easily coachable or like a good person at all before
he works with you. You know, he was just okay,
next scene, Okay, next scene. And then so I called
(07:32):
my mom right after and I said, I didn't get it,
and she was like, what did you did you mess up?
I was like, now, I didn't mess up, but he
didn't ask me much, so I thought he was just
trying to move me out the way. And now I
got the call for testing, and then I got the job,
and then we had lunch on the first day of shooting.
He was like, how do you feel when you got
and I was like, well, first of all, I didn't
at home because you did said a word. And he
was like, man, just when you came on screen, I
(07:53):
just knew was you. And that was such a good
feeling there here too, and and also just a testament
to like, in this professional you don't know when you
go get something and when you don't, that's why you
don't attach yourself. But now actually in it and I
get to be you know, Jazz, I mean this is iconic.
I mean I've already told Jazzy, Jeff already told him like, man,
this is this is so crazy. Dog. I didn't really
(08:15):
have to say to him the first I've met I
don't even know what to say to you honestly right now.
Thank you being able to play this role and bring
everything that you brought plus, you know, my own spin
has just been a blessing and a privilege, and I'm
just grateful that, you know, God put me in this
position and God gave me this, and the two of
you are pulling off these roles so well and doing it.
(08:36):
It's such a unique way that there's not even room
for anybody to begin to compare y'all to Karen Parsons
or Jazzy Jeff because y'all are in your own lane.
But it's also really familiar, and I think that's what's
really so great about this new iteration of the show,
talking about parallels right between Fresh Prints and now with
bell Air. You know, we see the two of y'all
interacting episode for while the family's out canvassing, and we
(08:58):
see some sparks, you know, but we don't know quite yet.
As a fan, I was like, oh, oh no, talk
about it. I like that, and we'll get to that.
But that was my first inkling and said, Okay, there's
some rhythm right there. I like that. But we also
kind of see how different the two of you are
as it relates to social media, Like Coco, you're out
here being like, you know, how many followers you have?
Any Instagram and Jazz is like, what's Instagram? So my
(09:21):
question to you is, you know, Coco, how much of
your actual life do you draw on to play Hillary
who's constantly on her phone, constantly checking social and Jordan's
how do you even approach somebody? Because I I saw
you know, it was your birthday recently, I saw the
turn up on your Instagram. Yeah, I know you're I
know you're on the Instagram. I said the Instagram. Wow.
But how do you even get in the mindset to
(09:43):
play somebody like Jazz who's like Instagram? What huh? I
would say. I'm similar to Hillary and the fact that
I know how much business goes on through social media.
I mean it's marketing, it's it's advertisement, So there is
gravity too to it, and there's an importance to it
that is constantly growing. With my platform, I try to
(10:06):
constantly be engaging my fan base, and I do hold
myself accountable for like the followers I have in the
post that I have, and you know, I'm trying to
be as consistent as possible because I've gotten a lot
of opportunities just from social media and specifically from TikTok
and singing covers and things like that that have introduced
me to people that I couldn't reach out to on
my own. Social Media is a huge world, and how
(10:29):
I think I'm different from Hillary is that I'm not
always on my phone because sometimes it's just too much.
You just want to like be in the moment and
be present and not be worried about who liked what
or who commented anything of that nature. But I do
know that it's a part of business. So I think
me and Hillary are similar and the fact that we
are trying to create an empire and trying to create
(10:50):
a fan base that can't be taken away from us,
and social media is a huge catalyst for that. I
think that my character is different than kind of who
I am in life, like not the way that I act.
I feel like it's very natural screen when it comes to,
like the social media aspect, because I am on social
media a lot. I would say that I have two
friends who don't have Instagram at all, and I'll say
that they're extremely happy with their lives. So I kind
(11:13):
of take that in certain scenes what we do when
we're talking about those kind of things, and I kind
of take like their perspective on social media, and I
feel like they're just more present. It is what it
is because it's and social media. Everybody got it, so
like you can't tell nobody they're not being present because
you probably on Instagram too. Okay, so I'm going to
be the person to bring this up because this directly
(11:34):
affected me in this episode. Jazz and Hillary kiss in
the original episode. I didn't get that they didn't write that,
and when I saw it, my heart skipped a little
beat because I was kind of like wow, wow, like everything.
So the only time that I really got a chance
to kiss Hillary was in a nightmare that Will had.
(11:55):
But I'm curious, like, why was the decision made for
it to be mute? Because mine I threw it out
there and carrying threw it in the track, but y'all
went there, and I'm just curious, what was the decision,
you know, this time around for you guys to almost
go down that road. I didn't write the thing. I
(12:16):
didn't write it, you know, that is what I read.
It was, okay, if I were trying to guess. I
think what's so great about Morgans He can take all
these iconic characters and Jabari says it's all the all
the time. It's like if you took all those iconic
characters and like went through their journals, like their real
life journals and the stuff that they go through and
just peeling certain layers back. So and peeling layers back,
(12:39):
you're not gonna see certain things that happened in the
first one, obviously, And it's also like a dramatic retailer
so drama. So what he wanted to do, I believe
really is it's changed a lot of things that happened
because he didn't want to keep it exactly the same,
you know what I mean, There's there's no way to
redo the the original fresh prints. I mean, like I
keep saying that, but I mean, I brewed if we
didn't sitcom Bro, I would be shot in the street.
(13:05):
And I'm like, I know, I know, God, But also
too because these are like the grounded versions of these characters.
I think with Hillary and with Jazz, there's such like
a yang and yang thing. Jazz is like from the
real world, from the gutter, like he created all of
this stuff on his own, and Hillary is on social
media all the time, so all she's seeing is like
(13:26):
these preposterous images of people, and so I think like
there's a natural chemistry in their storylines because this is
the grounded version of these characters. And I think, even
speaking to myself, it's a breath of fresh air when
you know none of that, like, let's not talk about
any of that stuff. I hear about that all the time.
And so I think like it makes for the perfect
kind of synergy when they both have something that the
(13:50):
other one needs and they don't. They don't necessarily know
that they need that. But that's with all great relationships.
You're kind of are like surprised by the perfect balance
that you have up with the other person. Yeah, I'm
still jealous. I love it though. When you started kissing,
I was just like, Yo, we did it, y'all. I
(14:15):
just pushed pauls and went and got some juice because
I was he said, he says me, to calm down.
He said, I need a couple of juice. That's what's
really dope about this relationship, right, you talk about how
you kind of complete each other, that there are parts
of each other that the other, you know, excels at,
and you really see this, like in this moment right
where Hillary is obviously not liking how Kylo is taking
(14:38):
her content and re contextualizing it for clicks. There's this
moment where the two of you connect because Jazz is
out here saying like, hey, I got your back. If
this is what you want to do to you know,
to stand up for yourself, I have your back. There
he is right there. Okay, let me do all the
talk to me? All right? Should let your back Hillary. Thanks,
What a pleasant surprise do that, Kylo. I've been blowing
(15:01):
your phone up all day and I want that post removed. Yeah.
I know you're upset, but it genuinely was never my
intention to be disrespectful. I was juicing the algorithm, and honestly,
people are loving the thirsty ship. I don't think she
made that type of love. And when you go to
confront Kylo, you know, we're left with this moment that
(15:22):
I think this is you know, very very real, which
is something that I think most, if not all, women
have to navigate in media, which is kind of thinking,
do I need to emphasize my sexuality, do I need
to lead with that, or is it more important to
me to decouple my sexuality from who I am so
I can thrive for being the human being that I am.
(15:42):
I was talking to some big wigs earlier from Victoria's
Secret and they were asking if I could make an introduction.
I could do that now, but it's it's no pressure, man,
Would you just take the damn video down? All right?
Actually it wouldn't hurt to hear what they have to say,
but just make it quick, Okay, yes, man, and Jess,
(16:05):
you could still get us some strings. I'll be right back.
And there's a little bit of tension. How was that
sort of playing that scene out for the two of
you and kind of even your own perspectives on that scene,
because I thought that was really powerful. There's always this
battle as a woman in the entertainment industry of like
why did they choose me for this? Why am I
(16:25):
up for this role? You know? How much of it
is talent? How much of it is physical? Body image
is such a huge issue in the world, not just
in the entertainment industry, but in young girls of all ages.
Comparing themselves is something that you're you do from jump
you know. I think with Hillary and this storyline, she's
(16:49):
chasing the wrong things in a sense, like what I
think what she really wants is a sense of control.
And so the way she's trying to get that, she's
not necessarily sure how she's going to navigate that. And
I feel like I've had, of course, those same options
and those same opportunities, where like this could put you
(17:10):
on but you don't have to show a little a
little more, you're gonna have to do a little more.
And for me, I feel like there's power in both choices.
But what is authentic to me, knowing how long I
want to be in this industry, is like I don't
want to give what I don't feel like people earned.
People don't know me necessarily, you know, they don't know
(17:31):
my exact story. They know me at the top, And
so for me, I feel like I'll share whatever it
is that I want to share that I feel like
it's fair. I just don't think that people have earned
that from me, you know, Like these are personal choices
that I feel like every woman gets to make. But
it is rocky sometimes to navigate, especially when a lot
(17:53):
of opportunities are tied to you being sexual or being
a sex symbol in some sort of way. But I
do think there's power in re choice. But I think,
like Hillary and her journey, it's about like sometimes it's
about going those wrong ways so you know where you're
actually meant to be. That's just about learning, you know. Yeah,
I feel like, um, you know, in this day and
age of social media, there's like a lot of pressure
(18:14):
obviously what co Code tapped on just you know, everything
needs so sexualized, and of course there's incentive and I
don't want to go deep like that. It's about like
don't sell your soul. It's not that deep. But at
the same time, even me, like in social media, like
I've got an opportunities to do certain stuff. I get
free closed I need to be on this doing my thing.
But at the same time, it's it's a thin line
(18:35):
between like doing stuff. It's not about doing stuff that
you don't want, but like doing stuff that you're actually
uncomfortable with for a bad per se or just any
type of incentive. I mean, like in in the episode
you see, you know, Hillary is like Okay, let's go
and I'm about to tell this dude off, like hell yeah,
let's go talk to them, you know what I'm saying.
And then in the moment when it happens and he's
(18:56):
you know, selling her these dreams and like, dude, your
follows like crazy like this, they love this, They want
to see you next week. Do this. Hearing all that,
being in front of the person who could give you
an opportunity that you don't, you know what I'm saying, necessarily,
you know, you don't necessarily want to turn it down.
So she has that moment where it's like, well, let
me just kind of see what it's like, you know,
let me just see. And I feel like that was
(19:17):
a very realistic scene, but like it was, and it
had nothing to do with like her being a new
person or anything like that, or her not valuing herself.
I didn't think it was that deep. I just felt
that it's like, yo, I just don't know what this road,
you know, how this road is gonna take me. And
I've seen people take this road to be successful, but
like I'm not. I'm not those people. But I don't
know if I'm not that person until I try it,
(19:38):
you know, So let me just go and try and
see what it is. And you know, she ends up
coming around. It's crazy because watching how the way Viv
had to navigate wanting to paint and putting that on
the backburner, you know, more so because of the family.
It's different that Hillary has an unwillingness to compromise. How
(20:00):
much do you think that that has to do with
social media not being around for viving her decision. What
Viv is trying to do with Hilary is see her
succeed in the ways that she has imagined our success.
But what she doesn't understand is that she can be
(20:22):
just as successful. What Viv and Phil did for their
kids was they hustled and they struggled so that it
would be easier for them. And in a way it
is easier for them. I mean, of course all of
us go through our own journeys of difficulty, but it
is easier for us. And I think in this day
and age, a lot more people are waking up to
(20:46):
the normal and deciding whether or not they want that.
Like there's more options nowadays, there's more options to what
actually can be success. So of course I think it
is a generational thing, But I also I really think
it's more of a lack of understand ending. I think
if they have had more of an open mind to
sources of income and and monetization, revenue sponsored content like
(21:09):
all these things which are actually business models for a
lot of companies that we know and love. I think
she'd be a lot more open, but it looks like
she's just on her phone posting on social media platform.
So there's like a disconnect there that I feel like,
of course the generational, but that can always be broken.
It's just about understanding. And I'm curious to like Hillary Coco,
(21:31):
you've been really outspoken on social media about like the
racism colorism that you've experienced in your career, and you've
also again you built yourself a platform. Like you said,
you're trying to build an empire like Hillary. I know
how you said how important it was to you to
be a darker skinned version of Hillary. What that means
for you know, having other little girls who look like
you say, oh look, I see myself on television. You
(21:54):
spoke a little bit about how much you interact with
social media, but how much of a process was it
for you to think, Okay, um, different from this character
in this way is also I know, you know you've
spent a lot of time in Los Angeles, but how
did you kind of begin to sort of mold yourself
into the version of Hillary that that we're seeing on
bell Air? The version of Hillary that you're seeing on
Belle Hair is pretty pretty similar to me. I mean,
(22:17):
I've had conversations with Morgan Cooper, our director, that made
me even more of myself as this character. The only
difference is she's been talking to her mom a little crazy,
and I'm from the South and we don't do that.
But honestly, Hillary, she's um. She's just a go getter.
(22:38):
She's she has so much tenacity to push through all
these obstacles. I mean, I know how hard it was
for me in this entertainment industry, and I have my
parents support, So if my parents weren't sure either, I'm
probably what it game. It's just too hard. So I
mean I didn't really have to put on any type
of air except Okay, yes, she does come from upper echelon,
(23:00):
so she is a little more bougie. But I mean
when I'm wearing the clothes and I got the ice on,
and I got the bags of the person in the hills,
it just it just flows out of it. It just
flows and pours out of it. Now, I got a
question for Jordan's You kind of referred to jazz as
the wisdom for will, like, especially in the beginning, you know,
you gave him some really sound advice when you are
(23:21):
overlooking the city, and I saw that you kind of
did that for Hillary with the the thirsty chef thing
that you would just like, listen, don't sell yourself. How
do you approach Jazz, how he's different from the original role.
You told me this really number one, justin not worry
about what you did on the lines, and you know,
(23:44):
the storyline is different. Everything that I'm bringing to it
is You're like, it's perfect. So I just keep doing
you and don't think too much. I think when those
sentimental or like you know, wisdom scenes if you want
to call it, when I and those I don't want
to say, I have to tap in. But like I'm
a really like comedic guy, Like I'm always playing around,
(24:05):
like you know, like a lot, like actually, don't ever
turn it off. Of course we're always in the scene,
but like you know, we get the script and I'm
looking at the words and I'm saying, okay, like this
is really a moment, So like make sure you like
you make it a moment like this is something that
you're actually about to say something profound and actually do it.
You know, don't don't water it down in a way.
I don't want to be boxed in, you know what
I'm saying. That's why I look up to Will Smith
(24:27):
like that, because it's like, Okay, he can do comment
in and he can do really serious stuff, maybe new impersonations,
you know what I'm saying. And that's kind of what
I want my trajectory and my career to be, um
just to not be boxed in, you know. So I
made like a conscious choice to not always be funny
like that and be just more like a matter of
fact and you know, really help the people that I
(24:47):
care about in the show, you know, will Hillary really
try to help them out and give this a sound
advice because I care about them, and I think that
there's a couple of ways to go about that. But
I think me just figuring out what I wanted to
be and the scenes that could be really funny and
the scenes where I'm like, hey man, seriously, and I'm
just thankful that they give me kind of like the
(25:08):
the rain to do that. I hate to switch years,
but I haven't had lunch and I'm hungry, and the
food on the show. I'm constantly looking at this. I
can't handle it. I'm looking at I'm like, yo, what
is going on? I love how Yo Hillary somehow pulling
off magic tricks, being like, yeah, I got a whole
(25:30):
cater dinner in three hours. Yeah, yes, hello, Princess to
the rescue. Oh god, thank you so much. Worse, Mom,
you know I loved Auntie Gail, and you know how
I do with casion. So I was thinking, Gumbo, we
could do some wild rice, some mini corn bread with
the honey butter, and we could get the bartenders to
make hurricanes for everybody. Okay, yeah that sounds amazing, But
(25:54):
I mean that sounds like a lot to prepared. I mean,
Vin starts in just a few hours. Mom, can you
just try See you do your thing, let me do mine.
I got this. So whether it's like you know, the
scene where you're preparing the food for the Whole Cuisine
interview for the fundraiser, all that we see such an
like food play such a central role in this series,
(26:15):
I just have to know, like, how is this food
being made, Who's behind the food, How do y'all eat it?
Just tell me all about food, just from your perspective
really quick, because it is so good it is, And
I'm like they're doing black food right on this show,
So I have to know what I'm getting up at
five am, getting my hair and makeup down, learning my script,
and I'm kicking the food and then I'm prepping it
and then we start sings and every time hours just
(26:38):
to make sure that it looks you know, I'm not
over there in that food. I don't have the time.
I do not have. I'm literally and everyone knows that
I'm always leaving set and going straight to a studio.
So nine times out of ten, by the time I
get up, I was set for a couple of hours.
So no, I'm not making that food as well as
learning and wearing the heels all day. No, but no,
(27:04):
the show, they do a great job of being strategic
with the recipes and keeping the culture involved as well.
I wish I could say that I was over there
cooking at all. I don't know how to. I mean,
you've seen a little bit of my Yeah, yeah, that's
I'm like, let me check them verified. But yeah, no,
(27:26):
of course they're they're props because they have to look
a certain way each take. For sure, that's a whole
team running that. But I'm glad it looks effortless because
food is such a cornerstone of black culture. You know,
like my love language is cooking, and I learned that
from my grandmother because she showed her love. I saw
so much food come out that kitchen. And sometimes she
(27:48):
wasn't the best with words, but I knew based on
the food that I'm like, I'm love my grandfather. Yeah,
I'm like, no, I'm good. I'm like, look exactly, I
just have a bargain sie all over my face. My
grandfather there had a rib shop on slaughter and it
was always like food and family has always been a
huge connection for me, especially as it relates to to
black culture. So I just can you talk about the
(28:10):
emphasis and like the real celebration of like black food
culture that we see on the show. For Hillary too,
it does kind of inform the way she has to
fight to keep her recipes authentic because there is this
theme throughout the show about being unapologetically black, you know,
like not don't cower in the face of being you know, different,
or you know what had been the normal or de
(28:31):
facto way of going through life, you know prior to
this or prior to this modern era. Tell me just
how that all kind of factors in because I feel
like food plays such a more important role than me
just getting hungry when I'm wanting. I mean, yes, of course,
in black culture, you want to feel connected, and I
think that food is one of the ways that Hillary connects.
You know, when she was talking about how they wanted
(28:52):
to take her spice mix out of her ingredients, out
of her recipes, like these are the things that she
learned from her grandma. And I know, being from the South,
I've learned recipes from my grandma that have history attached
to them. This is why we eat this, you know,
like there's there's lessons attached to it. And so I think,
of course it's a beautiful, unapologetically black show. And I
(29:12):
think Hillary maybe being in this zip code where she
doesn't see a lot of people who look like her,
maybe this is how she stays tapped in. Maybe it's
like a part of her feeling like she she still
is black, you know that that is who she is.
It's in her core and it's unchangeable and it doesn't
need to be changed because there's so much history and
culture attached. Black excellence is a big game on our show.
(29:34):
So when it comes to like the music on our show,
which is great, or like even the scene with Vivin
Ashley and she's like braiding her hair and they just
kind of get a couple of close ups on that.
You know, just there's no reason why we actually need
to do that. Besides, like, hey, this is the black experience,
so you know, well, mama's just talking to daughters and
sometimes it's during your brain, you know, and people, you know,
(29:55):
especially black people, can relate to that. And then obviously
as we're talking about you know, the food. I mean
the fact that you know, when you did your food
interview Cocode and you know you're doing shrimp po boys.
You know what I'm saying, Like that's like, that's one
of my favorite foods. But like at the same time,
like you probably wouldn't do that, you know what I'm saying,
you know, in this in this kind of like this interview,
(30:17):
and you know, with these white people, you knowing that
they're gonna be white, but you're like, no, I'm gonna
getting with a shrimp po boy. That was good as
an audience for black people to be like, how did
they not gonna like the spice man spice picks? Yeah,
I think that that all ties in to this black actualency. Actually,
I've seen you made me man. They're like, yeah, we're
gonna have to ask you to do or can shock
(30:40):
you in the mouth. Yeah yeah, I'm like, no, they
did not. There's so many moments like that that are
just small moments that I think, for especially for black
audiences can connect to and say, Okay, now I'm seeing
little things on TV that I feel like I can
completely relate to. And I think again it serves to
(31:02):
bring audiences closer and for other people who might, you know,
have the unfortunate destin need to to be living outside
of the black experience to kind of see a little
bit of how nice it is about the life and
and how vibrant and you know, flavorful. I want to
ask Jordan's first of all, you have to understand how
much I loved when I saw that you were the
(31:25):
owner of a record store. You know, I was kind
of like, all right, that's cool, and then you were
you know, Buddy came in the store. You kind of
hooked him up because he was going in the studio,
and that was so authentic to me. How much of
a music lover are you? Honestly? I am a huge,
huge music lover. Is that with the eight silent or
(31:47):
is that huge? I'm a huge music lover. But but
I'll be honest, I had to kind of tap into
the music that I'm talking about on the showy So
of course I know I know Troud, you know, but
I wasn't really privy to like Africa and Nyaka Mora.
Of course we all know Burner Boy, but you know, honestly,
(32:10):
is gonna kill me for this. I listened to Drake. Okay,
you know, I wasn't gonna I wasn't gonna say nothing,
but I was like, hey, if this man, you know,
I'm like, I'm a little younger. So it's like I
listened to Drake, little Baby money Bag. You know, Drake
is like the starter kit of music. Oh my god,
I don't frying. Is he nothing? I mean, listen, I'm
(32:32):
not mad at Drake, but Drake is just started. Kid.
That's kind of like, alright, my first intro to music,
I'm going with Drake Fair. I mean fair. You know
I'm not fan J Cole fan. You know the huge
fans Coca. What about you? What's your music tastes like? Well?
For me, I grew up listening to some powerhouse singers
like Aretha Franklin, CC Widens, Shaka Khan. Basically, I learned
(32:57):
music from my mom because I would be going into
these auditions and she'd be like, all right, you need
to sing this, and I'd be like, oh, okay, and
she was like, hey, if you can sing these songs,
you can sing anything. You know Mariah Carey lesson. So
I was listening to the real soulful women with the
high notes um. And then of course as I got older,
(33:20):
I would say, honestly, when you do the whole Disney
Channel thing, you kind of on the social spectrum, you're
a little You're a little back. You know, you gotta
catch up to what everyone around because all of your
peers are were like these young workers. You know, we
we know what's in our environment, like we don't go
to real school for the most part, um, so you know,
you kind of have to catch up. So I think
(33:42):
probably when I was more like eighteen and moved out
here is when I was more into like the weekend
party next door and Drake and you know, people of
that nature. But um, I grew up listening to the
powerhouse singers, History Foundation, Good Hey, all right, Well, thank
(34:03):
you both so much for joining Jeff and I to
talk show. I know, I know, I know we could
trade the recipes and album recommendations and all that. Gordon L.
Jones who plays Jazz and Coco Jones playing Hillary Banks,
thank you again so much for showing up and giving
us some insight into the show. We really appreciate you.
(34:23):
Thank you. I'm so glad we spoke to them. They
have such good energy, real life chemistry. They have great
on screen chemistry. It was pleasant. I'm glad to see that.
You know, you kept it together. There were no hard
feelings about where they take the show. You handled it
like a very mature adult. Uh. We expect nothing less.
(34:44):
So next week we're gonna be talking about the themes
of fatherhood and family with Jabari Banks who plays Will
and Cassandra Freeman who plays Aunt Viv. Yeah, and check
out the next episode of bell Air streaming on Peacock
next Thursday, and come back to the podcast every Friday
to hear more bell Air. The official podcast is produced
(35:08):
by iHeart Podcast Network and Peacock. This show is hosted
by Me DJ Jazzy, Jeff and Me Miles Gray. Supervising
producer Mike Coscarelli, Producer and mastering engineer by Heed Fraser.
Executive producers from I Heeart are Nicky E, tor Anna Stump,
and Miles Gray. Executive producers from Peacock are Lindsay Vogelman,
(35:30):
Amber Ferguson, and special thanks to Will Pearson from I
Heeart and Michael Scoggin from Peacock
Bell Air the Official Podcast is produced by iHeart Podcast
Network and Peacock. Hey, we're back. Welcome to episode five
of bell Air the Official Podcast. I am d J
Jazzy Jeff, and I'm Miles Gray and I'm so glad
to be back here with you. Jeff. I just watched
(00:21):
the seventh episode of bell Air. A lot is going on.
We're starting to see, you know, viv trying to regain
her independence or capturing her independence. We've got Hillary pursuing
your independence a bit of a rocky road. What do
you think overall? Listen, I was blown away. First of all,
let's talk about the Jazz and Hillary moment. I'm sorry
to to that, but I didn't get a chance to
(00:42):
um pursue Hillary on the original show, and this this
was a little bit different, but it was packed full
of stuff. But yeah, that's the explosive moment. We're gonna
get to that because trust me, as a longtime fan,
I have so many questions when I saw that, especially
for you, Jeff, and I'm glad that I get to
ask directly to you. So today we'll be talking about
(01:03):
the themes of social media and food. Social media plays
a huge part and it really affects the choices that
a lot of the characters make. You know, that was
a big point that Hillary had a huge decision to
make based off of a social media choice. Does she
need right? Exactly? So, she's trying to make her career
for herself through social media. She got in the content house.
(01:24):
She's kind of getting to lay of the land. But
in this episode, like you're saying, we also see that
as she grows her career, she's kind of starting to
lose control over the content that she's producing. And you
hear on Viv she asked, you know when she says, oh,
and I get to live there for free, and she
says nothing's free. Yeah, but it's true. And I think
she's starting to grapple with the fact that there is
(01:44):
a give and take there. Jeff, how do you think
this influence that social media really has kind of dictates
what we're seeing in the show, like this invisible force
that's helping move things along. Yeah, I mean, you know,
going from Viv, who doesn't understand social media at all,
she just thinks that Hillary is just on our phone,
not realizing that this is a way that people conduct
(02:06):
business today. Even Hillary and what she posts. She became
so under the gun to post something that she made
a decision that she kind of wasn't sure, but someone
took it and took it across the finish line without
her knowledge, right exactly. And we're also going to be
talking about the importance of food to the show and
(02:28):
just how black food culture is so accurately depicted here.
Even hearing times when like Viv would be like in
your famous Crab Kicks, I was like, I want to
know more. Yeah, I want to know more about the
crab Kicks. And I love too that, Like, you know,
the food itself also gets camera time in this show.
Other shows typically you never see what characters eat. Yea.
And before we get to the interview, we have to
(02:49):
talk about this episode. Right in episode seven, we see
Jazz and Hillary kissing. Okay, now that is huge for
people like me who grew up on Fresh Prince and
now have the Hunter to sit across from d J.
Jazzy Jeff, who I spent my youth watching like will
they won't they? He's always pursuing Hillary but she wants
nothing to do with him, and now they're feeling each other.
(03:12):
How are you feeling about that? I was a little
jealous at first. You know, Jazz always had something for Hillary,
but Hillary never showed it back. So but I was
also really happy because from a realistic point of view,
they have a lot of interests you have to kind
of dig underneath the surface to understand. But they're more
similar than you would think, which kind of really leads
(03:36):
to them having somewhat of an attraction to make it possible, right,
And I gotta ask, when you were shooting Fresh Prince,
what was your relationship like with Karen Parsons, who played
Hillary on Fresh Prince where you guys flirter you just
like friends. What was it like when they said cut listen.
She's a beautiful human being. She actually helped me a
lot me being someone that wasn't really trying to be
(04:01):
on the show had experience like that. She was one
of the people that really kind of guided me through
a lot of the scenes, especially the scenes with her
because it was weird because it's kind of like I
don't want to kiss you because I might enjoy it
and that's weird. So she would kind of really guide
you through a lot of those scenes and how to
(04:22):
navigate really playing a role. So yeah, it was great.
I was just mad that my character wasn't written in
like that. I was angry earlier that my character didn't
have a cool car like Jazz. And now you actually
got Hillary you know so, And without further ado, we
should just get into the interview with today's guests. Who
(04:42):
better to speak with today than Coco Jones obviously has
been in the game since she was a child. She is,
you know, also a singer. She will be putting out
her latest single on Deaf Jam Recordings this month. She
plays Hillary Banks and she does it in her own way,
and she does it fantastically. And then we also got
Jordan L. Jones who plays Jazz again, Jazz local guy.
(05:03):
He's from Englewood, comes from an acting tradition within his
own family. I'm excited for this. I have to say,
y'all have been in the acting for a minute. Whether
that's you know, Cocode, you've been on this since you
were a child, Jordan's your mother is an actress, and
you've been around the acting industry and all that. What's
(05:24):
it like for the two of you to basically come
into one of the most, if not the most iconic
Black families that's been on television, And what was that
experience like from the moment that you were like, I
want to be on this show too, then getting the
call being like I am Hillary and I am Jazz respectively.
I mean, I don't really have the words to encompass
(05:47):
how I feel when you're auditioning and you're going through
that process and it's so many nose you just kind
of in a way like protect your heart. So when
I read bel Air, I was like, oh wow, this
this is cute, but like anyway, and I had these
thoughts like I'm sure they're looking for a certain type
of girl for this. Hillary, like you just kind of
(06:07):
keep going, Like that's what I feel like the life
of specifically an actor, but a lot of people is
you just keep going and going and going, and then
something stops you in your tracks. And so when I
was getting closer to booking bell Air, you know, you
kind of like get your hopes up, but you're trying
to do that, so you get invested in the project
and then you start thinking, man, life could be like
(06:28):
this if I booked this. Oh my gosh, you know
that up right, I am about to be up. When
I found out that I got it, I knew what
that represented to be a dark skinned version of Hillary,
So I felt, of course excited and honored, but um,
I really was like, Okay, the representation that I'm about
to create here is going to help the next girl
(06:49):
who looks like me. So I want to make sure
that I do this to the best of my ability,
like it's go time. You know, I think Coco literally
said that perfectly. I think in this business, I call
it the profession of note. This is the profession with
the majority of the time you get a lot of
nose and it has nothing to do with your talent
or any of that. It's just I guess the project
wasn't for you or whatever it may be. So when
(07:10):
I did get it, man, it was I just don't
even have the words. I actually didn't think I got
it because when I did audition Morgan, he didn't ask
me any questions. Uh usually directors and stuff ask you like, okay,
do it this way, and just to see if you
easily coachable or like a good person at all before
he works with you. You know, he was just okay,
next scene, Okay, next scene. And then so I called
(07:32):
my mom right after and I said, I didn't get it,
and she was like, what did you did you mess up?
I was like, now, I didn't mess up, but he
didn't ask me much, so I thought he was just
trying to move me out the way. And now I
got the call for testing, and then I got the job,
and then we had lunch on the first day of shooting.
He was like, how do you feel when you got
and I was like, well, first of all, I didn't
at home because you did said a word. And he
was like, man, just when you came on screen, I
(07:53):
just knew was you. And that was such a good
feeling there here too, and and also just a testament
to like, in this professional you don't know when you
go get something and when you don't, that's why you
don't attach yourself. But now actually in it and I
get to be you know, Jazz, I mean this is iconic.
I mean I've already told Jazzy, Jeff already told him like, man,
this is this is so crazy. Dog. I didn't really
(08:15):
have to say to him the first I've met I
don't even know what to say to you honestly right now.
Thank you being able to play this role and bring
everything that you brought plus, you know, my own spin
has just been a blessing and a privilege, and I'm
just grateful that, you know, God put me in this
position and God gave me this, and the two of
you are pulling off these roles so well and doing it.
(08:36):
It's such a unique way that there's not even room
for anybody to begin to compare y'all to Karen Parsons
or Jazzy Jeff because y'all are in your own lane.
But it's also really familiar, and I think that's what's
really so great about this new iteration of the show,
talking about parallels right between Fresh Prints and now with
bell Air. You know, we see the two of y'all
interacting episode for while the family's out canvassing, and we
(08:58):
see some sparks, you know, but we don't know quite yet.
As a fan, I was like, oh, oh no, talk
about it. I like that, and we'll get to that.
But that was my first inkling and said, Okay, there's
some rhythm right there. I like that. But we also
kind of see how different the two of you are
as it relates to social media, Like Coco, you're out
here being like, you know, how many followers you have?
Any Instagram and Jazz is like, what's Instagram? So my
(09:21):
question to you is, you know, Coco, how much of
your actual life do you draw on to play Hillary
who's constantly on her phone, constantly checking social and Jordan's
how do you even approach somebody? Because I I saw
you know, it was your birthday recently, I saw the
turn up on your Instagram. Yeah, I know you're I
know you're on the Instagram. I said the Instagram. Wow.
But how do you even get in the mindset to
(09:43):
play somebody like Jazz who's like Instagram? What huh? I
would say. I'm similar to Hillary and the fact that
I know how much business goes on through social media.
I mean it's marketing, it's it's advertisement, So there is
gravity too to it, and there's an importance to it
that is constantly growing. With my platform, I try to
(10:06):
constantly be engaging my fan base, and I do hold
myself accountable for like the followers I have in the
post that I have, and you know, I'm trying to
be as consistent as possible because I've gotten a lot
of opportunities just from social media and specifically from TikTok
and singing covers and things like that that have introduced
me to people that I couldn't reach out to on
my own. Social Media is a huge world, and how
(10:29):
I think I'm different from Hillary is that I'm not
always on my phone because sometimes it's just too much.
You just want to like be in the moment and
be present and not be worried about who liked what
or who commented anything of that nature. But I do
know that it's a part of business. So I think
me and Hillary are similar and the fact that we
are trying to create an empire and trying to create
(10:50):
a fan base that can't be taken away from us,
and social media is a huge catalyst for that. I
think that my character is different than kind of who
I am in life, like not the way that I act.
I feel like it's very natural screen when it comes to,
like the social media aspect, because I am on social
media a lot. I would say that I have two
friends who don't have Instagram at all, and I'll say
that they're extremely happy with their lives. So I kind
(11:13):
of take that in certain scenes what we do when
we're talking about those kind of things, and I kind
of take like their perspective on social media, and I
feel like they're just more present. It is what it
is because it's and social media. Everybody got it, so
like you can't tell nobody they're not being present because
you probably on Instagram too. Okay, so I'm going to
be the person to bring this up because this directly
(11:34):
affected me in this episode. Jazz and Hillary kiss in
the original episode. I didn't get that they didn't write that,
and when I saw it, my heart skipped a little
beat because I was kind of like wow, wow, like everything.
So the only time that I really got a chance
to kiss Hillary was in a nightmare that Will had.
(11:55):
But I'm curious, like, why was the decision made for
it to be mute? Because mine I threw it out
there and carrying threw it in the track, but y'all
went there, and I'm just curious, what was the decision,
you know, this time around for you guys to almost
go down that road. I didn't write the thing. I
(12:16):
didn't write it, you know, that is what I read.
It was, okay, if I were trying to guess. I
think what's so great about Morgans He can take all
these iconic characters and Jabari says it's all the all
the time. It's like if you took all those iconic
characters and like went through their journals, like their real
life journals and the stuff that they go through and
just peeling certain layers back. So and peeling layers back,
(12:39):
you're not gonna see certain things that happened in the
first one, obviously, And it's also like a dramatic retailer
so drama. So what he wanted to do, I believe
really is it's changed a lot of things that happened
because he didn't want to keep it exactly the same,
you know what I mean, There's there's no way to
redo the the original fresh prints. I mean, like I
keep saying that, but I mean, I brewed if we
didn't sitcom Bro, I would be shot in the street.
(13:05):
And I'm like, I know, I know, God, But also
too because these are like the grounded versions of these characters.
I think with Hillary and with Jazz, there's such like
a yang and yang thing. Jazz is like from the
real world, from the gutter, like he created all of
this stuff on his own, and Hillary is on social
media all the time, so all she's seeing is like
(13:26):
these preposterous images of people, and so I think like
there's a natural chemistry in their storylines because this is
the grounded version of these characters. And I think, even
speaking to myself, it's a breath of fresh air when
you know none of that, like, let's not talk about
any of that stuff. I hear about that all the time.
And so I think like it makes for the perfect
kind of synergy when they both have something that the
(13:50):
other one needs and they don't. They don't necessarily know
that they need that. But that's with all great relationships.
You're kind of are like surprised by the perfect balance
that you have up with the other person. Yeah, I'm
still jealous. I love it though. When you started kissing,
I was just like, Yo, we did it, y'all. I
(14:15):
just pushed pauls and went and got some juice because
I was he said, he says me, to calm down.
He said, I need a couple of juice. That's what's
really dope about this relationship, right, you talk about how
you kind of complete each other, that there are parts
of each other that the other, you know, excels at,
and you really see this, like in this moment right
where Hillary is obviously not liking how Kylo is taking
(14:38):
her content and re contextualizing it for clicks. There's this
moment where the two of you connect because Jazz is
out here saying like, hey, I got your back. If
this is what you want to do to you know,
to stand up for yourself, I have your back. There
he is right there. Okay, let me do all the
talk to me? All right? Should let your back Hillary. Thanks,
What a pleasant surprise do that, Kylo. I've been blowing
(15:01):
your phone up all day and I want that post removed. Yeah.
I know you're upset, but it genuinely was never my
intention to be disrespectful. I was juicing the algorithm, and honestly,
people are loving the thirsty ship. I don't think she
made that type of love. And when you go to
confront Kylo, you know, we're left with this moment that
(15:22):
I think this is you know, very very real, which
is something that I think most, if not all, women
have to navigate in media, which is kind of thinking,
do I need to emphasize my sexuality, do I need
to lead with that, or is it more important to
me to decouple my sexuality from who I am so
I can thrive for being the human being that I am.
(15:42):
I was talking to some big wigs earlier from Victoria's
Secret and they were asking if I could make an introduction.
I could do that now, but it's it's no pressure, man,
Would you just take the damn video down? All right?
Actually it wouldn't hurt to hear what they have to say,
but just make it quick, Okay, yes, man, and Jess,
(16:05):
you could still get us some strings. I'll be right back.
And there's a little bit of tension. How was that
sort of playing that scene out for the two of
you and kind of even your own perspectives on that scene,
because I thought that was really powerful. There's always this
battle as a woman in the entertainment industry of like
why did they choose me for this? Why am I
(16:25):
up for this role? You know? How much of it
is talent? How much of it is physical? Body image
is such a huge issue in the world, not just
in the entertainment industry, but in young girls of all ages.
Comparing themselves is something that you're you do from jump
you know. I think with Hillary and this storyline, she's
(16:49):
chasing the wrong things in a sense, like what I
think what she really wants is a sense of control.
And so the way she's trying to get that, she's
not necessarily sure how she's going to navigate that. And
I feel like I've had, of course, those same options
and those same opportunities, where like this could put you
(17:10):
on but you don't have to show a little a
little more, you're gonna have to do a little more.
And for me, I feel like there's power in both choices.
But what is authentic to me, knowing how long I
want to be in this industry, is like I don't
want to give what I don't feel like people earned.
People don't know me necessarily, you know, they don't know
(17:31):
my exact story. They know me at the top, And
so for me, I feel like I'll share whatever it
is that I want to share that I feel like
it's fair. I just don't think that people have earned
that from me, you know, Like these are personal choices
that I feel like every woman gets to make. But
it is rocky sometimes to navigate, especially when a lot
(17:53):
of opportunities are tied to you being sexual or being
a sex symbol in some sort of way. But I
do think there's power in re choice. But I think,
like Hillary and her journey, it's about like sometimes it's
about going those wrong ways so you know where you're
actually meant to be. That's just about learning, you know. Yeah,
I feel like, um, you know, in this day and
age of social media, there's like a lot of pressure
(18:14):
obviously what co Code tapped on just you know, everything
needs so sexualized, and of course there's incentive and I
don't want to go deep like that. It's about like
don't sell your soul. It's not that deep. But at
the same time, even me, like in social media, like
I've got an opportunities to do certain stuff. I get
free closed I need to be on this doing my thing.
But at the same time, it's it's a thin line
(18:35):
between like doing stuff. It's not about doing stuff that
you don't want, but like doing stuff that you're actually
uncomfortable with for a bad per se or just any
type of incentive. I mean, like in in the episode
you see, you know, Hillary is like Okay, let's go
and I'm about to tell this dude off, like hell yeah,
let's go talk to them, you know what I'm saying.
And then in the moment when it happens and he's
(18:56):
you know, selling her these dreams and like, dude, your
follows like crazy like this, they love this, They want
to see you next week. Do this. Hearing all that,
being in front of the person who could give you
an opportunity that you don't, you know what I'm saying, necessarily,
you know, you don't necessarily want to turn it down.
So she has that moment where it's like, well, let
me just kind of see what it's like, you know,
let me just see. And I feel like that was
(19:17):
a very realistic scene, but like it was, and it
had nothing to do with like her being a new
person or anything like that, or her not valuing herself.
I didn't think it was that deep. I just felt
that it's like, yo, I just don't know what this road,
you know, how this road is gonna take me. And
I've seen people take this road to be successful, but
like I'm not. I'm not those people. But I don't
know if I'm not that person until I try it,
(19:38):
you know, So let me just go and try and
see what it is. And you know, she ends up
coming around. It's crazy because watching how the way Viv
had to navigate wanting to paint and putting that on
the backburner, you know, more so because of the family.
It's different that Hillary has an unwillingness to compromise. How
(20:00):
much do you think that that has to do with
social media not being around for viving her decision. What
Viv is trying to do with Hilary is see her
succeed in the ways that she has imagined our success.
But what she doesn't understand is that she can be
(20:22):
just as successful. What Viv and Phil did for their
kids was they hustled and they struggled so that it
would be easier for them. And in a way it
is easier for them. I mean, of course all of
us go through our own journeys of difficulty, but it
is easier for us. And I think in this day
and age, a lot more people are waking up to
(20:46):
the normal and deciding whether or not they want that.
Like there's more options nowadays, there's more options to what
actually can be success. So of course I think it
is a generational thing, But I also I really think
it's more of a lack of understand ending. I think
if they have had more of an open mind to
sources of income and and monetization, revenue sponsored content like
(21:09):
all these things which are actually business models for a
lot of companies that we know and love. I think
she'd be a lot more open, but it looks like
she's just on her phone posting on social media platform.
So there's like a disconnect there that I feel like,
of course the generational, but that can always be broken.
It's just about understanding. And I'm curious to like Hillary Coco,
(21:31):
you've been really outspoken on social media about like the
racism colorism that you've experienced in your career, and you've
also again you built yourself a platform. Like you said,
you're trying to build an empire like Hillary. I know
how you said how important it was to you to
be a darker skinned version of Hillary. What that means
for you know, having other little girls who look like
you say, oh look, I see myself on television. You
(21:54):
spoke a little bit about how much you interact with
social media, but how much of a process was it
for you to think, Okay, um, different from this character
in this way is also I know, you know you've
spent a lot of time in Los Angeles, but how
did you kind of begin to sort of mold yourself
into the version of Hillary that that we're seeing on
bell Air? The version of Hillary that you're seeing on
Belle Hair is pretty pretty similar to me. I mean,
(22:17):
I've had conversations with Morgan Cooper, our director, that made
me even more of myself as this character. The only
difference is she's been talking to her mom a little crazy,
and I'm from the South and we don't do that.
But honestly, Hillary, she's um. She's just a go getter.
(22:38):
She's she has so much tenacity to push through all
these obstacles. I mean, I know how hard it was
for me in this entertainment industry, and I have my
parents support, So if my parents weren't sure either, I'm
probably what it game. It's just too hard. So I
mean I didn't really have to put on any type
of air except Okay, yes, she does come from upper echelon,
(23:00):
so she is a little more bougie. But I mean
when I'm wearing the clothes and I got the ice on,
and I got the bags of the person in the hills,
it just it just flows out of it. It just
flows and pours out of it. Now, I got a
question for Jordan's You kind of referred to jazz as
the wisdom for will, like, especially in the beginning, you know,
you gave him some really sound advice when you are
(23:21):
overlooking the city, and I saw that you kind of
did that for Hillary with the the thirsty chef thing
that you would just like, listen, don't sell yourself. How
do you approach Jazz, how he's different from the original role.
You told me this really number one, justin not worry
about what you did on the lines, and you know,
(23:44):
the storyline is different. Everything that I'm bringing to it
is You're like, it's perfect. So I just keep doing
you and don't think too much. I think when those
sentimental or like you know, wisdom scenes if you want
to call it, when I and those I don't want
to say, I have to tap in. But like I'm
a really like comedic guy, Like I'm always playing around,
(24:05):
like you know, like a lot, like actually, don't ever
turn it off. Of course we're always in the scene,
but like you know, we get the script and I'm
looking at the words and I'm saying, okay, like this
is really a moment, So like make sure you like
you make it a moment like this is something that
you're actually about to say something profound and actually do it.
You know, don't don't water it down in a way.
I don't want to be boxed in, you know what
I'm saying. That's why I look up to Will Smith
(24:27):
like that, because it's like, Okay, he can do comment
in and he can do really serious stuff, maybe new impersonations,
you know what I'm saying. And that's kind of what
I want my trajectory and my career to be, um
just to not be boxed in, you know. So I
made like a conscious choice to not always be funny
like that and be just more like a matter of
fact and you know, really help the people that I
(24:47):
care about in the show, you know, will Hillary really
try to help them out and give this a sound
advice because I care about them, and I think that
there's a couple of ways to go about that. But
I think me just figuring out what I wanted to
be and the scenes that could be really funny and
the scenes where I'm like, hey man, seriously, and I'm
just thankful that they give me kind of like the
(25:08):
the rain to do that. I hate to switch years,
but I haven't had lunch and I'm hungry, and the
food on the show. I'm constantly looking at this. I
can't handle it. I'm looking at I'm like, yo, what
is going on? I love how Yo Hillary somehow pulling
off magic tricks, being like, yeah, I got a whole
(25:30):
cater dinner in three hours. Yeah, yes, hello, Princess to
the rescue. Oh god, thank you so much. Worse, Mom,
you know I loved Auntie Gail, and you know how
I do with casion. So I was thinking, Gumbo, we
could do some wild rice, some mini corn bread with
the honey butter, and we could get the bartenders to
make hurricanes for everybody. Okay, yeah that sounds amazing, But
(25:54):
I mean that sounds like a lot to prepared. I mean,
Vin starts in just a few hours. Mom, can you
just try See you do your thing, let me do mine.
I got this. So whether it's like you know, the
scene where you're preparing the food for the Whole Cuisine
interview for the fundraiser, all that we see such an
like food play such a central role in this series,
(26:15):
I just have to know, like, how is this food
being made, Who's behind the food, How do y'all eat it?
Just tell me all about food, just from your perspective
really quick, because it is so good it is, And
I'm like they're doing black food right on this show,
So I have to know what I'm getting up at
five am, getting my hair and makeup down, learning my script,
and I'm kicking the food and then I'm prepping it
and then we start sings and every time hours just
(26:38):
to make sure that it looks you know, I'm not
over there in that food. I don't have the time.
I do not have. I'm literally and everyone knows that
I'm always leaving set and going straight to a studio.
So nine times out of ten, by the time I
get up, I was set for a couple of hours.
So no, I'm not making that food as well as
learning and wearing the heels all day. No, but no,
(27:04):
the show, they do a great job of being strategic
with the recipes and keeping the culture involved as well.
I wish I could say that I was over there
cooking at all. I don't know how to. I mean,
you've seen a little bit of my Yeah, yeah, that's
I'm like, let me check them verified. But yeah, no,
(27:26):
of course they're they're props because they have to look
a certain way each take. For sure, that's a whole
team running that. But I'm glad it looks effortless because
food is such a cornerstone of black culture. You know,
like my love language is cooking, and I learned that
from my grandmother because she showed her love. I saw
so much food come out that kitchen. And sometimes she
(27:48):
wasn't the best with words, but I knew based on
the food that I'm like, I'm love my grandfather. Yeah,
I'm like, no, I'm good. I'm like, look exactly, I
just have a bargain sie all over my face. My
grandfather there had a rib shop on slaughter and it
was always like food and family has always been a
huge connection for me, especially as it relates to to
black culture. So I just can you talk about the
(28:10):
emphasis and like the real celebration of like black food
culture that we see on the show. For Hillary too,
it does kind of inform the way she has to
fight to keep her recipes authentic because there is this
theme throughout the show about being unapologetically black, you know,
like not don't cower in the face of being you know, different,
or you know what had been the normal or de
(28:31):
facto way of going through life, you know prior to
this or prior to this modern era. Tell me just
how that all kind of factors in because I feel
like food plays such a more important role than me
just getting hungry when I'm wanting. I mean, yes, of course,
in black culture, you want to feel connected, and I
think that food is one of the ways that Hillary connects.
You know, when she was talking about how they wanted
(28:52):
to take her spice mix out of her ingredients, out
of her recipes, like these are the things that she
learned from her grandma. And I know, being from the South,
I've learned recipes from my grandma that have history attached
to them. This is why we eat this, you know,
like there's there's lessons attached to it. And so I think,
of course it's a beautiful, unapologetically black show. And I
(29:12):
think Hillary maybe being in this zip code where she
doesn't see a lot of people who look like her,
maybe this is how she stays tapped in. Maybe it's
like a part of her feeling like she she still
is black, you know that that is who she is.
It's in her core and it's unchangeable and it doesn't
need to be changed because there's so much history and
culture attached. Black excellence is a big game on our show.
(29:34):
So when it comes to like the music on our show,
which is great, or like even the scene with Vivin
Ashley and she's like braiding her hair and they just
kind of get a couple of close ups on that.
You know, just there's no reason why we actually need
to do that. Besides, like, hey, this is the black experience,
so you know, well, mama's just talking to daughters and
sometimes it's during your brain, you know, and people, you know,
(29:55):
especially black people, can relate to that. And then obviously
as we're talking about you know, the food. I mean
the fact that you know, when you did your food
interview Cocode and you know you're doing shrimp po boys.
You know what I'm saying, Like that's like, that's one
of my favorite foods. But like at the same time,
like you probably wouldn't do that, you know what I'm saying,
you know, in this in this kind of like this interview,
(30:17):
and you know, with these white people, you knowing that
they're gonna be white, but you're like, no, I'm gonna
getting with a shrimp po boy. That was good as
an audience for black people to be like, how did
they not gonna like the spice man spice picks? Yeah,
I think that that all ties in to this black actualency. Actually,
I've seen you made me man. They're like, yeah, we're
gonna have to ask you to do or can shock
(30:40):
you in the mouth. Yeah yeah, I'm like, no, they
did not. There's so many moments like that that are
just small moments that I think, for especially for black
audiences can connect to and say, Okay, now I'm seeing
little things on TV that I feel like I can
completely relate to. And I think again it serves to
(31:02):
bring audiences closer and for other people who might, you know,
have the unfortunate destin need to to be living outside
of the black experience to kind of see a little
bit of how nice it is about the life and
and how vibrant and you know, flavorful. I want to
ask Jordan's first of all, you have to understand how
much I loved when I saw that you were the
(31:25):
owner of a record store. You know, I was kind
of like, all right, that's cool, and then you were
you know, Buddy came in the store. You kind of
hooked him up because he was going in the studio,
and that was so authentic to me. How much of
a music lover are you? Honestly? I am a huge,
huge music lover. Is that with the eight silent or
(31:47):
is that huge? I'm a huge music lover. But but
I'll be honest, I had to kind of tap into
the music that I'm talking about on the showy So
of course I know I know Troud, you know, but
I wasn't really privy to like Africa and Nyaka Mora.
Of course we all know Burner Boy, but you know, honestly,
(32:10):
is gonna kill me for this. I listened to Drake. Okay,
you know, I wasn't gonna I wasn't gonna say nothing,
but I was like, hey, if this man, you know,
I'm like, I'm a little younger. So it's like I
listened to Drake, little Baby money Bag. You know, Drake
is like the starter kit of music. Oh my god,
I don't frying. Is he nothing? I mean, listen, I'm
(32:32):
not mad at Drake, but Drake is just started. Kid.
That's kind of like, alright, my first intro to music,
I'm going with Drake Fair. I mean fair. You know
I'm not fan J Cole fan. You know the huge
fans Coca. What about you? What's your music tastes like? Well?
For me, I grew up listening to some powerhouse singers
like Aretha Franklin, CC Widens, Shaka Khan. Basically, I learned
(32:57):
music from my mom because I would be going into
these auditions and she'd be like, all right, you need
to sing this, and I'd be like, oh, okay, and
she was like, hey, if you can sing these songs,
you can sing anything. You know Mariah Carey lesson. So
I was listening to the real soulful women with the
high notes um. And then of course as I got older,
(33:20):
I would say, honestly, when you do the whole Disney
Channel thing, you kind of on the social spectrum, you're
a little You're a little back. You know, you gotta
catch up to what everyone around because all of your
peers are were like these young workers. You know, we
we know what's in our environment, like we don't go
to real school for the most part, um, so you know,
you kind of have to catch up. So I think
(33:42):
probably when I was more like eighteen and moved out
here is when I was more into like the weekend
party next door and Drake and you know, people of
that nature. But um, I grew up listening to the
powerhouse singers, History Foundation, Good Hey, all right, Well, thank
(34:03):
you both so much for joining Jeff and I to
talk show. I know, I know, I know we could
trade the recipes and album recommendations and all that. Gordon L.
Jones who plays Jazz and Coco Jones playing Hillary Banks,
thank you again so much for showing up and giving
us some insight into the show. We really appreciate you.
(34:23):
Thank you. I'm so glad we spoke to them. They
have such good energy, real life chemistry. They have great
on screen chemistry. It was pleasant. I'm glad to see that.
You know, you kept it together. There were no hard
feelings about where they take the show. You handled it
like a very mature adult. Uh. We expect nothing less.
(34:44):
So next week we're gonna be talking about the themes
of fatherhood and family with Jabari Banks who plays Will
and Cassandra Freeman who plays Aunt Viv. Yeah, and check
out the next episode of bell Air streaming on Peacock
next Thursday, and come back to the podcast every Friday
to hear more bell Air. The official podcast is produced
(35:08):
by iHeart Podcast Network and Peacock. This show is hosted
by Me DJ Jazzy, Jeff and Me Miles Gray. Supervising
producer Mike Coscarelli, Producer and mastering engineer by Heed Fraser.
Executive producers from I Heeart are Nicky E, tor Anna Stump,
and Miles Gray. Executive producers from Peacock are Lindsay Vogelman,
(35:30):
Amber Ferguson, and special thanks to Will Pearson from I
Heeart and Michael Scoggin from Peacock
Host
DJ Jazzy Jeff
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