Video After The Jump
In this episode of "People's Party With Talib Kweli," Kweli and Jasmin Leigh sit down with actor, poet, rapper, producer, and podcaster:
OMARI HARDWICK
Here's what we got into on this one:
• His Decatur, Georgia upbringing and growing up feeling out of place at times.
• The huge moment of performing his one man show, 'HerO: A Work in Progress'.
• Being into theater as well as athletics and almost being drafted into the NFL.
• The drama of of Team Tasha vs. Team Angela on the series 'Power.'
• Working out and staying fit being an integral part of Omari living out his dream.
• Homeless and living in his car before getting his break in the industry.
• His casting in the film 'Next Day Air' directed by Benny Boom being a game changer.
• How Dave Chappelle has always used his platform to show love.
• Omari and 50 Cent collaborating on the song '50+O=500'.
• Discussion about the similarities of 'Game Of Thrones' vs. 'Power'.
• Feeling forever indebted to 50 for changing his life as well as so many others.
• 50 Cent's online trolling of the 'Empire' cast.
• Illustrating Omari's alternate ending for the 'Power' series.
• The conflicting dynamic of Ghost's good/bad guy persona.
• Omari being intent on making sure the character of Ghost was believable.
• If the 'Rust' onset accidental shooting has changed the industry.
• Starring in rapper/director Boots Riley's 'Sorry To Bother You'.
• Omari's album '2540 Daze' and how the title relates to the death of Trayvon Martin.
• Why LL Cool J is such an underrated emcee when discussing the GOATS.
• Omari's raps reminding Talib of an "LL meets Killah Priest."
• Working with Zach Snyder on the movie 'Army Of The Dead'.
TIME STAMPS:
7:15 -- Omari explores what a huge moment performing his one man show, 'HerO: A Work in Progress' was. His family and fellow cast members all showing up to witness the unique blend of storytelling, poetry, rap, photographs, and video that he put together and presented at Brooklyn's Billie Holiday Theatre. They go on to discuss how the show was something of a testimony about growing up black and being close to his father among other things and Omari also notes some of the artists he got to know doing poetry before being known in the acting world.
10:42 -- Omari is asked about his Decatur, Georgia upbringing. He speaks on moments growing up feeling out of place but also at times feeling like a true authentic ATLien. They discuss the huge migration of black folks moving to Atlanta during the 80's for better opportunities and New Yorkers competing in the ATL and telling Atlanta kids they were wack even if they were originally from NY. They also get into how Reaganomics affected the community and Omari talks about how being heavily influenced by New York culture was inevitable in Atlanta.
15:02 -- Talib brings up hearing Omari at one point calling himself an "artsy fartsy athlete". Omari talks about the chain of events that led him to potentially being drafted by the Chargers following his minoring in Theater. He gets into his aspirations to do more poetry outside of his theater studies and wanting to inspire his fellow athletes to consider exploring the arts, live outside the box and embrace some weirdness. They also discuss the "greater sexy" of confidence in being who you want to be and hip hop's inclusiveness as well as it being an umbrella for all the free thinkers of the world.
20:40 -- Omari speaks on the intriguing dynamic of the characters in 'Power'. They discuss the drama of Team Tasha vs. Team Angela, who's the "ride or die" vs. the "ride or fly" and how both women being black brought a level playing field to the argument. Omari's Men's Health workouts is brought up and he explains why he feels that it would be blasphemous if he didn't take care of his body as well as how working out has long been an integral part of him living out his dream. They also get into Omari's casting in the 2004 crime drama 'Sucker Free City' and what Spike Lee told Omari that got him heavy into cardio.
29:24 -- Omari is asked about his days of being homeless and living in his car before finally making it in industry. They discuss his being inspired after reading an article about a young Lawrence Fishburn almost giving up on his dream of becoming an actor and Omari's working with director Benny Boom on the film 'Next Day Air' alongside Mike Epps and Mos Def. He also talks about his brother being murdered in Las Vegas not long before he made the film, and how the part he landed in the comedy was a true game changer for Omari in so many ways.
37:14 -- Talib talks about his finally having the downtime to binge on 'Power' and they go on to discuss Omari's convo with Cee-Lo about the series. They get into how Dave Chappelle gave Talib a huge lift early in her career and how he has always used his platform to show love. They also speak on Omari and 50 Cent's collab on '50+O=500', compare similarities of 'Game Of Thrones' vs. 'Power', 50 Cent encompassing the story of boy meets a dysfunctional world, bring up notable lyrics from 50's 'Many Men' and Omari expresses his feeling forever indebted to 50 for changing his life as well as so many others.
44:51 -- 50 Cent's online trolling is brought up with his recent history of taking it upon himself to pit the series 'Power' against 'Empire'. Omari speaks of his friendship with actress Loretta Devine, her calling him upset about things 50 had said and Omari tells how he approached 50 about the situation, giving some grace and mercy for the pain that 50 has endured in life. They also discuss how people rarely change after a certain age, 50 being known for giving people permission to be who they are and how today's world views pettiness as a virtue.
51:37 -- Talib speaks on how he thought the characters of Ghost and Angela relate to Romeo and Juliet and Omari illustrates an alternate ending for 'Power' he had made up years before the series finale that catered to the bromance between Ghost and Tommy. The conflicting dynamic of Ghost being a cold blooded drug dealer who remains the moral fabric of the series is discussed as well as Omari seeing the show differently through the audience's lense and his asking writer Courtney Kemp if his character is a sociopath.
1:00:18 -- Omari speaks on his most important job of portraying the character of Ghost in making sure he is believable. They discuss Omari's making of a list about the good and bad of Ghost as well as his own list for Omari, actors not being too far removed from the characters they play and how Omari navigates juggling multiple roles at any given time. They also get into hip hop being the prime example of life imitating art and how 'Power' has been able to draw viewers in with relatable characters and experiences.
1:07:13 -- Omari is asked how the crew of 'Power' handled safety onset. They discuss how the 'Rust' accidental shooting has changed how the film world approaches things, Alec Baldin looking the wiser with his push for higher safety standards, Omari having a long history of dealing with guns on set and how Brandon Lee's death should have had a bigger impact on the industry. They also explore Omari's starring in rapper/director Boots Riley's 'Sorry To Bother You'. They get into Talib not recognizing Omari on the first viewing and the genius of Boots Riley in how he approaches his revolutionary themes.
1:15:44 -- Omari's album '2540 Daze' is brought up. He illustrates how he came up with the title after having Treyvon Martin's family on his 'Poetic's Podcast'. They go on to debate why LL Cool J has been such a criminally underrated emcee when discussing the GOATS and Omari talks about getting his first gig through LL when he got casted as an extra on 'In The House'. Talib goes on to tell Omari why he reminds him of an LL meets Killah Priest, Omari goes on to recite some powerful bars of his own and they discuss the great Gil Scott-Heron finally being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
1:28:19 -- Talib brings up being a huge fan of director Zack Snyder and his films. They go on to discuss Omari working with Zach on the movie 'Army Of The Dead' and that experience being a huge moment of pride post 'Power'. Omari talks about how much he enjoyed having the chance to show people he was much more than just Ghost and he praises Zach Snyder as a genius as he shares a line from Snoop saying 'I want to be the least gifted in the room and I'm really gifted'. They also discuss the greatness of 'American Skin' and how underrated a film it is.
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