- [Josh] So you just shot an episode?
- [Jada] Yeah.
- [Josh] What happens after you tape an episode?
- I just eat.
(everyone laughs)
- [Josh] The important stuff.
(laughing)
- [Producer] Quiet on set please.
- [Crew] Camera's speeding.
(snap)
- [Producer] Okay Josh, whenever you're ready.
- Alright, let's have a chat.
We call this Personal Space
and I can't think of any more personal space
than someone's home.
So Jada, thanks for having us in your home today.
- Thank you for being here.
- You know, I list all the things that you've accomplished.
You know, whether it's being an actor, a musician, a host.
We're thrilled to add Trailblazer to the mix now.
Congratulations.
- Thank you.
- Talk to me a little bit about, you know
we are in your home.
When you look around you
and the world that you've created for yourself
and then you look back to your beginnings in Baltimore,
are you shocked yourself?
Could you have imagined
the world that you were able to create for yourself?
- Yeah I am.
I mean, I knew that I was gonna
create something different for myself
than where I grew up and how I grew up.
But you know, this definitely exceeded my vision.
- Yeah. (Jada laughs)
It's funny 'cause we've obviously been talking to you,
MTV's been talking to you since the start.
- Yeah.
- As you can imagine.
And looking back at old conversations with you
on the set of 'Set It Off' and way back when,
you've always projected like what I see here today.
Like a real sense of who you were, a confidence.
I guess I'm curious where you think that came from
'cause it seems like you've had it from the get go.
- Well yeah, I think a lot of it
came from just how I grew up.
You know, I grew up around a lot of adversity.
I was challenged often just in my environment.
And I was also given many different environments
that I was exposed to at a very young age.
So, you know, I could go from my grandmother's house,
which was like Black middle class, you know?
Activism, politics
and then going to live with my mother,
which was, you know, young single mom, basically.
We're like, in the trenches (laughs) you know what I mean?
- It was rough. I mean let's be real, yeah.
- Yeah and so, and then I went to an art school.
- Yes. - Right?
So it was a lot of different worlds
that I had to learn to navigate
and so you really have to know who you are
in order to navigate
all those different worlds successfully.
- [Josh] Sure.
- But I'm so glad that I had the life that I had.
I've learned to really appreciate
the adversity that I had at a very young age
because I don't think
that I could be who I am today without them.
I've learned that
it's through those trying and challenging times
that you actually develop a lot of character.
- Right.
- You know and it's actually a gift.
- And I would think, also with perspective you're like
"I got through that, and that was pretty dire."
- Hey, let me tell you something.
- "So compared to all that, I can handle this."
- Hey, real talk.
(both laugh) - Right?
- Okay growing up and some of the stuff
I was confronted with as a teenager,
I should not be here now. And I mean that.
Several occasions that, you know,
there's definitely a high power looking over me
and so I always think that way.
I'm like, hey, you survived that,
all the rest of this is cake, and that's real talk.
- Do you ever think about the ones that didn't get out?
- Every day. Every day.
You think about the ones that didn't get out
and you still thinking about the ones
that aren't getting out.
You know, you think that once you get to a certain place
or once you have a certain amount of success
or what have you, that people would probably think
that that's no longer reality in your life,
that you don't lose people
and there are people who are still struggling,
trying to get out, trying to make it, you know.
And it's still a reality.
There's so many that,
you know, I get phone calls all the time
of friends of families or people I've worked with,
that can't pay for funerals of loved ones that they've lost.
You know, it's just a constant reality
that you have to face that goes, you know what?
You wish you could bring everybody with you.
You do what you can.
I'm grateful, so deeply grateful
for the life that I've been able to create for myself
and to be able to assist those who call me
and need that kind of assistance.
- Yeah, it must have been eye-opening
when you get to Baltimore --
Baltimore School of the Arts, rather --
and maybe you now have a peek at,
wait there's a way out, there's a path for me.
- Oh definitely.
- Who were you leaning on in those years
to help get you out and kind of like
start to pursue that first big break?
- I would say that a lot of my teachers
at Baltimore School for the Arts
who just believed in me.
- Right.
- You know, who kept reminding me that there was more
that I could have for my life than the streets, honestly.
And also my mother who was just determined.
She really out of anybody
just believed that I could do what I'm doing right now.
- And that's what you need.
You need someone to believe in you, right?
- Yeah, I needed somebody to believe in me,
and my mother definitely did.
I mean I wasn't supposed to graduate high school.
I was literally given my high school diploma as a gift.
'Cause they just knew, they were like
if we get you out of here,
we know you're going to do something for yourself--
- Right, you'll pay it back, you'll pay it forward.
- Yeah, you know and--
- They look good now.
(Jada laughs)
That was a good call.
- Exactly, it was a good call actually.
- Okay, now jumping ahead, 'cause you've done so much.
Talking about the acting career.
You make your film debut in 'Menace II Society.'
It's a hell of a place to start a film career.
- Yeah for sure.
- Talk to me about, did it feel like there was a group
of young African-American actors
that you felt like a kinship with.
- Absolutely, I mean that was the golden age
of like, young Black Hollywood.
And I'll tell you, I got 'Menace II Society' through Tupac.
Tupac was a part of 'Menace II Society' first
and he was the one that put me on.
He was the one that called the Hughes brothers
and was like, "You gotta meet my homegirl Jada."
You know what I'm saying?
And he called me he was like,
"I'm part of this movie.
"I really think you'd be great for this role."
And I was like, word?
So I went and I met them.
We clicked and so I got the role.
So, I'm thinking, "Oh me and Pac
"are going to work together for our first movie," right?
Of course Pac has a falling out, you know
with the Hughes brothers.
But what was so dope,
'cause I was like, "Well if you're not doing it,
"I'm not doing it."
And he was like, "Nope, not playing that game.
"You need to do this film."
And that was my first big break.
- Pac obviously often comes up in conversation with you.
Do you think about him
or is it people like me that bring him up
that put him in your mind?
- Oh there's not a day that goes by
that I don't think about Pac.
I think about him every single day.
- Not many relationships like that in a life, right?
- Absolutely.
- You know, you look at the film career
and it's so eclectic.
I mean, here's just like a handful.
You mentioned 'Menace II Society,' 'The Nutty Professor,'
'Scream 2,' 'Bamboozled' -- I love 'Bamboozled.'
(Jada laughs) - 'Collateral.'
They're all crazy different genres.
- Absolutely.
- When you're flipping through the TV,
is there one in particular that you take most pride in?
You point the kids to,
say, "Your mom did alright in that one?"
(laughing)
- You know what, I really love them all.
I've been really blessed in my career
to be able to do a variety of things.
I take a lot of pride in that.
As an African-American woman
it's challenging to be able to have such diversity
in the roles and the people
that I've been able to work with.
There's not many of us who've been able to do that.
And so when I look at my body of work thus far
I'm proud of it all honestly
because it's challenging to be a woman
and specifically a woman of color in this industry.
And so I look at it all and I'm just deeply grateful.
- Two films I didn't mention
were the two 'Matrix' sequels,
(Jada laughs)
which I adore.
I adore those films and I know you wanted that.
You went after that. - Yeah.
Listen, I remember when Will got the script,
- 'cause they wanted Will to play Neo
And I was like, "Are you crazy?
(Josh laughs)
"Dude.
"You gotta do this movie."
And he was like, "I don't get it."
And I was like, "Alright, cool."
And so they brought me in to read for Trinity
once Keanu had it. And you know that didn't really work out,
but the directors kept me in--
- I think they wrote Niobe for you, didn't they?
- They did, and I was pregnant
with Willow at the time, right.
(Josh laughs)
- Oh, timing.
- We're starting in November. Now peep this --
I was like, "You know
"the baby's supposed to be born in October."
Now her due date was November 11th, okay?
So I kinda, you know
(both laugh)
kinda lied a little bit, you know?
- Can I have my cake and eat it, too?
- Yeah, exactly.
- How am I gonna make this work?
But how about, Willow came early, October 31st.
She came early for her mama, so I didn't lie.
- The family always supporting the family here,
(Jada laughs)
right from the start.
- Exactly, and so
she came out and within a month I was up north
starting to film and train.
Yeah, so I pushed her out like a little peanut
and off to work we went, yeah.
- There's always murmurs about they're gonna revive that
in some capacity, whether it's a reboot or a sequel.
You want in on that?
Would you be up for--
- Oh absolutely. - more "Matrix"?
- Sure. - Come on.
- Absolutely.
- I mean and I know also,
you were in 'Scream 2' I mentioned.
You like genre, comic books, that stuff.
- Oh I love it.
- We're kindred spirits there.
And if anything I want to see you in more.
I mean, we're in the age of that right now.
- Yeah.
- Should we ring up Ryan Coogler and be like,
Black Panther 2,
(Jada laughs)
make some room for Jada?
- You know, hey, I think those things always come naturally.
I mean, who woulda thought
that I woulda had an opportunity
to be part of the 'Gotham' world as Fish Mooney?
- And you loved that role.
- I loved it and not only that,
but to have an opportunity to help create that character.
And so that for me
was one of my favorite projects of all time
for many different reasons.
- We have to talk 'Red Table Talk'
because we're feet away from where you just shot an episode.
- Right.
- And this is a phenomenon.
It's probably,
I don't know if it exceeds your wildest expectations,
but the way it's resonated with people
is pretty amazing and astounding.
And I can guess, and I think a lot of people can guess,
why it's such an honest show.
I mean, you're facing
really traditionally tough things to talk about
in the most profoundly, basic human way.
Have you kind of like
sorted out why you think it's created this community
and why it's resonating with people?
Is it about just like honesty or what?
- I think it may be a couple of things
in regards to -- and this is just a guess,
but I think that people are ready
for that kind of transparency within their own lives.
Really not even with other people, just with themselves.
You know, sometimes we can't even really
contact how we feel just personally
about certain issues, right?
And how often do we really sit in silence
and think about how we feel and really feel it?
- Yeah. - Right?
And then I think on top of that,
just being able to have conversations
that you wouldn't necessarily talk about out in the open.
Specifically problems with pornography
with your daughter and your mother.
That's not a conversation
that you are gonna sit down and have
with your daughter and your mother,
but I think it's the conversations
we need to have, right?
- [Josh] Yeah.
- Because of this day and age that we're living in.
- Do you ever get shocked
by what your mom or your daughter say at the table?
- Absolutely, definitely.
They've gotten me a couple of times.
(Jada laughs)
But I just, I've learned so much about them.
I've learned so much about myself
and just the community that we've been able to create
around the Red Table
and also, to be honest with you,
I've been through so much in my life
and I think I've come through and survived a lot
and I feel like anything that I can share
that can help someone else's path be a little easier.
- Right.
- I think at this particular point in my life
I just feel grateful to be able to do that
and I know that people who've had the courage
to do it with me.
- Yeah.
- Like when people have been really courageous enough
to tell me the real, the real story,
what it's done for my life.
Some of those stories
helped me save my relationship with Will.
Some of those stories prevented me
from making some of the biggest mistakes with my children.
And so I'm like, that's what life's about,
us being able to gift each other in that way
through our experiences.
So if I can help your experience be a little less
of a struggle than mine, why not?
- And it must be such a thrill also to work with family
to hear for instance your daughter's perspective
on things that normally a mother probably wouldn't hear.
I'm wondering do your kids teach you
much about the world we're living in now?
Do they educate you about pop culture,
about phrases in pop culture, in TV and film?
Do they kinda bring you up to speed at all?
- You know what, not so much pop culture,
'cause my kids are kind of eclectic if you've noticed.
(both laugh)
- Understatement of the year.
- You know what I mean?
But what they teach me about is
what needs to be important, specifically socially.
- Yeah.
- You know, in regards to environment and footprint
and Willow, Jaden, and Trey are very sensitive
to what is happening to our planet
and what is happening as far as our educational system,
jail systems.
They keep me up to speed of a more modern understanding
of social issues and how to reach people in a modern way.
- Your family is remarkable.
There's so much talent in this house, where we are.
I'm curious, over the years do you notice a difference
in the way that you and Will are talked about
by press or industry?
Is there a gendered difference?
- Oh definitely.
- Isn't there?
- There's a huge gender difference, always has been.
(Jada laughs)
- You've noticed that from the start?
- Oh I knew that from day one.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
There's a huge difference,
but that's also been a place where I've had to learn
to really find that inner ground within myself.
- Right.
- That place within myself that is still
and standing upon its strength
no matter what people are saying.
- Right.
- No matter what people's perspectives are.
You know, whatever people feel
that they think that they know or see in regards to me--
- That's easier said than done though, 'cause that's--
- It's easier said than done.
But I mean, that is one of the biggest challenges
of being in this business,
is being very clear about who you are
and being able to stand strong on that.
And I think that we see some people in this industry
who are destroyed by it,
and we see giants rise because it's a tough one.
- Yeah
- It's deeply challenging
and I think that people don't really understand.
You can't really know how challenging it is
until you're in it.
- Yep.
- You know, looking on the outside
it looks very glamorous and fun,
and "Oh, people pay attention to you," all of that.
But it's so much more.
- Yeah. Adding another distinction to your long résumé
we can call you a Trailblaizer now, officially,
MTV can and the world can.
MTV defines a Trailblazer as recognizing
a game-changing creator with a fresh and fearless voice
in entertainment.
- I'm gonna tell you one thing about MTV,
and I thought about this
once that I was actually being given this honor by MTV,
and what is completely ironic about this
is that I was 10 years old when MTV came on the scene
and it was the first time that,
in talking about trailblazing,
I really feel like MTV was probably the first platform
that gave me, as a young person,
an opportunity to really form my ideas and my voice
because I could see the people of my generation
that were important to me.
So we had 'Yo! MTV Raps,'
- Sure.
- where I could see Queen Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa, MC Lyte,
KRS-One, Chuck D talk about what was important to them,
what was important to our community,
that they had a platform.
Also it was like learning my social, political voice
through campaigns like Rock the Vote.
So I realized, once I was being given this honor
that I was like, wow MTV really (laughs)
MTV really helped shape my ideas
and really, really helped me understand
that my voice was important and made it very clear
that I could be whatever I wanted.
But I don't think there's ever been,
well besides the internet coming onto the scene,
that there was anything else as impactful to me.
'Cause I mean that was the game changer.
MTV shook it up.
(both laugh)
In all honesty.
- Well we can't say that, but we appreciate you saying that
and it's honestly, speaking on behalf of all of us,
I can say that it's been a privilege
to follow you along this journey.
It's been a tough road at times,
as it often is for artists,
- Oh yes.
- and people coming from different means,
but the fact that you've persevered
and chartered your own path in so many different ways
is inspiring.
There's a lot of MTV love in the Smith house.
Will's got the Generation Award.
- Yeah.
(both laugh)
Jaden got Breakthrough.
- [Jada] Yeah. - You're a Trailblazer.
- Yeah. - So Willow's next.
We gotta get her something. - Yeah Willow's next, yes.