Actress & Musician Nabiyah Be Discusses Her Acting Career, Childhood, And Releasing Her Debut Album
Nabiyah Be is a true triple threat, an actress, musician, and dancer who has been making a big impact in entertainment scoring roles in Black Panther and off-Broadway show School Girls; Or The African Mean Girls. We talked with Nabiyah about her acting career, childhood, and plans to release her debut album!
Nabiyah Be
By: Natasha Marsh
You may have heard of Nabiyah Be from her role as Linda in Black Panther, her performance in School Girls, or because she is the daughter of famous Brailian musician, Jimmy Cliff. Nabiyah is a true triple threat, an actress, musician, and dancer who has been making a big impact in the New York sector for the last seven years. Trained in acting but having performed on tour with her dad as a child, Nabiyah is excited to get back to making music. She is currently working on her debut album and has plans to release it in the fall. We sat down with her to hear about her childhood in Brazil, her acting career, and what’s next for her music career.
QUESTION: What was it like growing up in Brazil and how has it influenced you creatively?
Nabiyah Be: I grew up in Salvador which is the capital of Bahia, Brazil. It was amazing growing up in Brazil; my father is a very famous musician there and I remember I would go with him on all his tours. Essentially, I grew up on a tour bus. I didn’t quite realize what it meant to be a kid on stage till later. My parents raised us on music of the 60s, at the time the dictatorship was quite prevalent in Brazil. All artists, whether it was musicians or painters, worked hard to convey how disappointed and unhappy they were with the government. It was this type of protest music that I grew up on that is still quite relevant to my sound today. I was taught that music should education and produce certain feelings and I always have that in mind when creating.
QUESTION: What is your creative process?
Nabiyah Be: The city where I am from takes a lot of inspiration from West Africa and this is still very much in me. When I first started making my own music, I would start with chord progression and attach lyrics to it later. Now it’s hit or miss, sometimes I start with the chords, sometimes the lyrics, or sometimes I just have a melody in my head and go from there.
QUESTION: Does your album have a specific theme?
Nabiyah Be: Without giving too much away it is definitely a narrative. The funny thing about storytelling is there is an inclination for strong subject matters. You come back to certain things whether you want to or not. For me it’s identity, transgenerational trauma, or family dynamics. You will definitely see that in my upcoming album. It really is just the unraveling of my life over 10 songs I really believe in.
QUESTION: Do you ever get performance anxiety?
Nabiyah Be: Yes, definitely. Acting had been my main focus for quite some time. I have been singing someone else’s songs and telling their stories for so long that it is really scary and challenging telling your own. Usually, in acting, the focus is on how the artist wants it to sound or look. Now creating on my own, I have to think about what I want to sound like and how to become a better messenger of my own story. This is something that I am constantly working at. At times, it is uncomfortable to write or even share my work that I just want to go in hiding. But I tell myself that is probably a good reason to continue and so I do.
QUESTION: What was it like working on Black Panther?
Nabiyah Be: Crazy and important. It was actually my first on screen performance. Just as a bit of background, I moved to New York 7 years ago for school. I attended Pace University to study theater. Pace was the only university I found that you could take classes and work. My second year, I immediately was casted for plays and by the time I completed my degree at Pace I auditioned for Black Panther. I actually auditioned to be Chadwick’s sister but the director saw me as a better fit for Linda. Black Panther was amazing, everyone involved is extremely talented. It sparked my interest to be on screen and after I finish my album I plan to get back to that.
QUESTION: What advice would you give to someone starting out in music?
Nabiyah Be: Find and understand the feeling that moves you forward and stick to it because that will be your foundation. I think often times we will base our foundations on what other people say or we compare ourselves to much but honestly it’s the feeling, and then what you do with it. Because that feeds the feeling.
YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN:
SHARE TO SOCIAL MEDIA
Taraji P. Henson Is Defeating Mental Health Stigmas With Start Of Her Own Nonprofit Organization
Taraji P. Henson launched a nonprofit organization to combat mental health stigmas in the African American community!
By: Omar Cook
Taraji P. Henson decided to open up about her own mental health battles within her family with the launch of her new nonprofit organization Saturday. The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation is named after her late father and is aimed to make mental health care in the black community commonplace.
Taraji was pushed to advocate for mental health awareness among African Americans due to her son battling his own mental health issues after the murder of his father in 2003. In search of mental health help for her son, she was looking “someone that he could trust, someone that looks like him and could understand his struggle,” but said it was hard because “they wouldn’t be African American and it wouldn’t get anything accomplished because he felt guilty for the things he was saying.”
It’s no secret that mental health awareness in the black community is not taken as seriously as it should be. Henson told Variety:
“It was like looking for a unicorn, and the reason that happens is because we don’t talk about it in our community; it’s taboo, it’s looked upon as a weakness or we’re demonized for expressing rage for traumas we’ve been through. I have a lot of white friends and that’s what got me going. They say, ‘You don’t talk to anybody? Girl, I’m going to see my shrink every Thursday at 3 o’clock.’ So I was like why don’t we do that in our community?”
The Empire star understood the need for celebrity power behind her movement because “the misconception about celebrities that we have it all together and we’re perfect and we’re not. Our kids aren’t perfect, we’re suffering and struggling just like the regular person and money doesn’t help. I thank God I can pay for the psychiatry bill but it doesn’t necessarily take away the problems.”
During the event, Henson also discussed her own mental health issues and that she also she’s a therapist. “I’m here to tell you that when they tell cut and the cameras go away, I go home to real problems just like everybody else” Taraji said. She stated she wanted to be transparent in hopes that “people go, “Oh wow she’s going through it? Well I’m alright then.”
The first mission of her foundation was to put art in inner city schools with hopes that this will help combat suicide, bullying and depression. Taraji partnered with artist Cierra Lynn and the thought process behind the art in bathrooms is that this is “where fights happened, jumps, that’s where you got bullied because the teachers weren’t in there, so I thought that was a great thing to do to flip it. You go there to get your head together and instead of seeing hate stuff or whatever madness kids put in there, we decided to turn it into art.”
Actress Jennifer Lewis who also attended the event and has been open about her own bipolar disorder has made mental health awareness a priority for her. “We are as sick as our secrets and it’s time for people to come together, to reach out to those who are hiding in dark rooms, reach out to those who are afraid to take the next step, reach out to those who want to be better and don’t know how to,” Lewis said.
Having celebrities get behind the mental health awareness movement is big because people can see that their are people that they look up to that go through the same things. Black celebrities are looking to eliminate the stigma behind mental health issues in the black community and this is something everyone can get behind!
YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN:
SHARE TO SOCIAL MEDIA
Issa Rae Discusses the Renewal of 'Insecure' for a Fourth Season
Issa Rae’s hit HBO series Insecure was renewed for a fourth season and the creator and star of the comedy series made it very clear who her loyalty on the show is to!
“I could never do this show and have a predominantly white staff.”
By: Omar Cook
Issa Rae’s hit HBO series Insecure was renewed for a fourth season and the creator and star of the comedy series made it very clear who her loyalty on the show is to! In a recent interview, Issa Rae discussed that the success of the show is due to the predominantly minority staff that creates a show that black people can relate to without having to explain the overall blackness of the show to its non-black viewers. It's safe to say the show is unapologetically black, and she is perfectly ok with it being portrayed that way.
Rae uses Los Angeles as the setting for her series and lets it be known her discomfort of the gentrification of the area. “White people left the neighborhood, there was white flight, and now they’re coming back and pushing us out,” Rae told The Shade Room creator Angelica Nwandu. “I’m moving back there—that’s what I want—but I’ve already seen the change. It’s disheartening.”
Even though the majority of the show's viewers are non-black, Issa Rae discussed the importance of “surrounding myself with people of color. I could never do this show and have a predominantly white staff.” Issa Rae giving credit to her minority staff is what the culture needs—acknowledgement. African American culture needs more shows that highlights our culture and shows us being ourselves in a positive light, and this show provides just that. This is what black excellence looks like, from on the screen to behind the scenes.
Season 3 popped off on August 12 and you can view it on Sunday nights at 10:30 p.m. ET.
YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN:
SHARE TO SOCIAL MEDIA
Chadwick Boseman Winning GQ International Man Of The Year Is A Win For The Culture
Chadwick Boseman took home yet another accolade for his roles in the two most successful films of 2018! GQ International Man of Year, add that to the trophy case!
By: Omar Cook
Black culture has been waiting for a major black superhero since Wesley Snipes played Blade and Chadwick Boseman gave us just that. Black Panther is one of the most successful films ever made in the U.S. earning over a billion dollars and it's just that much sweeter that it had an all black cast. Chadwick has been riding a wave of success from his portrayal of T’Challa in Marvel's Black Panther film and the recent edition of The Avengers, and his list of accolades just become much more decorated.
Boseman was awarded GQ International Man of Year for his roles in the two most successful films of 2018. This is another win for the culture as black entertainers are being acknowledged for positive roles by the media. The 41 year old Howard grad is on the rise and is truly an inspiration to the next generation of black youth coming up. Boseman has taken home a few awards this year including MTV Movie Award for Best Hero, MTV Movie & TV Award for Best Actor in a Movie, and BET Award for Best Actor. Add this one to the trophy case.
In a time where tensions are high in the media with politics, and racial issues, it's a great thing to see black people still shining. Boseman winning this award gives major international exposure to black success and spreads a positive message of just how talented black actors are.
Boseman spoke with British GQ saying "Day to day, it's a different experience...You try to keep things the same and they are, you're still living, breathing, eating, loving your family and friends but it is a little bit different when you go outside."
What can we expect next from the superstar?
YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN: