Four
Cocoa butter
Being African-American, anything happens if you don’t moisturize your skin. You get what the community calls “Ash”. Draw “DRY” all over your skin to make it stand out (#notagoodlook). So I drink a lot of water to stay hydrated. Keep your skin as flexible as possible. Because instead of someone with a deeper soul tinge, it looks like they’re walking around kicking the flour.
Five
Esther Perel
My wife and I have been married for 17 years and have known each other since we were 18. Your love for your partner deepens over time. But it’s her initial spontaneity and brilliance that can suffer. Esther gave us some tools and insights. Just because we’ve been together this long doesn’t mean the passion has to go away.
6
Alexa
Alexa is basically Encyclopedia Britannica. If you need something quick, Alexa will respond quickly and ask, “Was it helpful?” And you’ll be like, “Yes, Alexa, it was.” “I try to be polite. Listen, AI continues to develop, and I don’t know if we’re making ourselves extinct to potential intelligent beings, but Brown I am doing my best.
7
“Bluest Eyes”
Inferiority complexes can become internalized when you don’t have the opportunity to present yourself to the world as beautiful. Toni Morrison, in “The Bluest Eye,” sums up that internalization in the most profound, poetic, and incredible way.
8
“Fat Ham”
You take the story of Hamlet into a Southern backyard barbecue and have a young queer black man as the protagonist. It is, if not otherwise, a very faithful follow-up of Hamlet. Then it’s a very pleasant departure.
9
my kids playing
I played basketball, football, soccer, track and a little Ultimate Frisbee. Watching them develop their skills and working with them on something that was such an important part of your own childhood is such a joy.
Ten
cry in the theater
The first Broadway show I saw was in 1998 and it was “Ragtime.” Audra McDonald came out and sang, “You’ve Got Daddy’s Hands.” And I thought, “Is this woman an angel?” Is she a real person? Do you want to see Sterling cry? Then I had the opportunity to work with Renée Ellis Goldsbury.When she sings “Quiet Uptown” [from “Hamilton”] — Child please. I’m a mess
