Rych McCain Hollyhood Notes : 2014-09-07

Monday, September 8, 2014

Yara Shahidi - TV

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Yara Shahidi - TV

By Rych McCain International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist

By Rych McCain, www.twitter.com and Facebook (Like Me)!

Yara Shahidi

Adorable Teen Actress Making Her Mark!

Yara Shahidi

There are many teens in the TV and Film business and for the most part they are pretty sharp because slouchy youngsters don’t have the metal to cut the riggers and demands of professional acting. Despite these children being as good as they come there are ranks and levels among them and every now and then you run across exceptional cases. Fourteen year-old actress Yara Shahidi easily fits into the class of exceptional amongst her peer group. The Minnesota native and now LA resident has been acting and modeling since age four. She maintains a 4.0 GPA in school, holds a black belt in Karate and recently completed a course of study over the summer at Oxford University in Oxford, England. Not many young actors can match those accomplishments.

L-R: Yara Shahidi and Kerry Washington on the set of "Scandal"

Shahidi made her big screen debut opposite Eddie Murphy as his daughter Olivia in “Imagine That.” This was followed by roles in Tyler Perry’s “Alex Cross,” Samuel L. Jackson’s “Unthinkable,” Angelina Jolie’s “Salt” just to name some. Shahidi has major TV credits under her belt and a couple of full TV series as a regular such as “The First Family.” Shahidi really raised a few eyebrows when she played the young Olivia Pope on the #1 mega-hit TV show “Scandal.” What kind of feedback did that cause? Shadidi lights up, “The experience was that I got a positive response from people on set who were like oh my gosh you are the young Olivia Pope. And then my friends too, the media and my family, I really got a lot of positive feedback. A lot of my friends really supported me and said oh my goodness you’re going to be on “Scandal! “

Shahidi as Zoey on "Black-ish"

Shahidi is currently starring as Zoey Johnson the oldest sister from the well-to-do, affluent Johnson family in the new ABC-TV sitcom “Black-ish.” Anthony Anderson plays her dad Dre, Tracee Ellis Ross is mom Rainbow, Lawrence Fishburne is pops Dre’s dad and she has two brothers Andre, Jr. (Marcus Scribner), Jack (Miles Brown) and a sister Diane (Marsai Martin).The theme of the show is that the dad struggles to gain a sense of cultural identity in his children while rearing them in a predominately White, affluent, upper-middle-class neighborhood.

When ever Anthony Anderson is around there is never a dull moment. How much fun and craziness is it on the set? Shahidi laughs, “It’s so much fun. Honestly, I don’t think we work. Most of the time it’s just us dancing and talking. We do rehearse and all but it’s just full of laughter and there’s so many out takes just because if we were doing anything we were laughing in the middle of it. There is so much improve it’s just an amazing set to be on.” Because the show does deal with cultural identity does that strike close to home in Shahidi’s real personal life being that her dad is Iranian and mom is an American Black? She explains, “When I think about the content of the show, it’s kind of true that any family can relate to no matter what ethnicity. There are shenanigans and all sorts of stuff that anyone can relate to. On a cultural level my parents have done an amazing job and I thank them for it keeping me connected to my roots being able to celebrate holidays. I’m interested in my Hindu culture, I have a Bible and a Quran so there has never really been a moment where I feel like I’ve kind of lost something. My parents have done a really good job.”

Cast of ABC-TV's "Black-ish." Front row L-R: Marsai Martin and Miles Brown. Back row L-R: Marcus Scribner, Tracee Ellis Ross, Anthony Anderson, Lawrence Fishburne and Yara Shahidi

What does Shahidi have to say to youth who come from racially mixed parents? She says, “It’s an honor to come from where you come from no matter what ethnicity your or where you parents grew up or whatever because every culture is so unique. I’m really proud to be half Iranian and half Black. It’s one of those things which allow me to live a crazy life and immerse myself in two cultures that otherwise I may not have had that experience. I love who I am and what I’m able to be.

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MC Lyte - TV

By Rych McCain International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist

www.twitter.com and Facebook (Like Me)!

MC Lyte

Hip Hop’s Pioneer Feminist Is Still On It!

MC Lyte

She has the title of “Hip Hop’s Pioneer Feminist” bestowed upon her and rightfully so. Before her there was no female MC’s in the rap game. MC Lyte started rapping at age 12 and by the time she was a teen she released her first rap single “I Cram To Understand You” on the First Priority label. That led to a distribution deal with Atlantic Records and the rest as they say is history. Lyte’s biggest album was the gold certified “Ain’t No Other” which featured the smash hit single “Ruffneck” which got her a Grammy nomination and a top spot on the Billboard Pop charts. Lyte blazed a path that opened the door for other female MC’s to follow like Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott and later Lil Kym, Foxy Brown and now Niki Minaj.

Lyte’s 25 year career span which also include acting roles on TV and film, voice over work, a national radio show titled “Café Mocha” on Terrestrial Radio and Sirus XM as well as social and charity with projects such as the famed single “Stop The Violence,” “Rock The Vote” and Aids benefits; are now the subject of the Centric TV Network’s celebrity documentary show “Being” which has begun its third season. The show airs on Saturdays at 9ET. Check your local listings. Lyte opens up about her career in a way her fans will love. The network sponsored a press party for two of this season’s stars Faith Evans and Lyte at the Xen Club in the valley. We were able to catch Lyte on the red carpet. When asked what her episode will entail? Lyte smiles and says, “I don’t know. They are still putting it together so I’ll be just as surprised as anyone else.”

What is Lyte’s opinion on how far women have come in hip hop since she stared the ball rolling in the late 80’s? She says, “Oh man, I’m just delighted to see that we’re still working, participating, on the top of the charts; it’s a lot to be thankful for.” When she entered the rap game it was a man’s domain. How did she deal with that? Lyte finds this particular question somewhat amusing explaining, “You know what, I never even considered it in that fashion. I just came to do a job and at the same time I had a whole lot of fun. And still, the only reason why I stay in entertainment is because it is enjoyable.” After she became well established in the biz, was there pressure to bring other women into the game or was it every lady for herself? Lyte explains, “I think when you are young it really is every man for himself and every lady for herself but once you gain a certain amount of consciousness it’s like oh, OK yes; that feels natural to now want to help others to be where you are or be where you’ve been.”

What about the feminine aspect of the game back then? Did you have to be hard or could you have just been a regular lady? Lyte illuminates, “I think you could have been anyway
you wanted to. That’s the lovely thing about the era from which I came. Record labels really didn’t tell you what to do or how to be or how to dress or what kind of records to record. You kind of just did what felt most natural and because it was such a phenomenon they let you do what you wanted to do. That set of executives weren’t in the business of telling you what to do. They were just in the business of creating a way for you to be heard.”

Lyte still has her clothing shop in the San Fernando Valley and her foundation Hip Hop Sisters.Org is still awarding two ($100,000) full scholarships per year to young ladies via the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her new book is coming out on her life’s story.

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