Brown girl magic is still brewing in the atmosphere and and now there's a platform to uphold our voices and celebrate. REVOLT's “Black Girl Stuff” is a female-driven, unapologetically Black weekly conversational series brought forth by co-hosts Demetria Obilor, Brii Renee, Akilah Ffriend, and Tori Brixx. Grind Pretty sat down with the ladies to discuss the significance of this series and what's in store!
Grind Pretty: What does being a Black girl mean to you?
Brii Renee: Being a Black woman is so much, right? It's the hardest job, I think, in America, but it's the most privileged to me. I feel so honored to be a Black woman in so many ways. From our hair to our culture, to the way that we talk to our unique style of dressing. It's just so enriched with so many different layers so it's a privilege, but at the same time, we deal with a lot as Black women. So I do feel like we have to carry the responsibility of that as well. So it's a responsibility as well as an honor.
Grind Pretty: And if you had to describe “Black Girl Stuff” in a sentence what would you say?
Demetria Obilor: “Black Girl Stuff” brings the Black girl experience to life and holds no punches
Tori Brixx: ...it's the kind of stuff that you talk about in your group chat with your girls. WE're gonna bring that right here.
Akilah Ffriend: I feel like “Black Girl Stuff” is range. We don't stay on the same topic because we're not one topic, we don't stay on the same subject, we don't agree on the same subject because we're not all the same. We're not meant to be the same."
Grind Pretty: We love that! As a safe space for Black women, why is it so important for you all to unapologetically be yourselves on this platform?
Brii: It's so important, especially coming from corporate. and coming from traditional spaces that are run by men. Being in a space where you are allowed to be a Black woman... unapologetically, it is s o needed. It's so underrepresented and I feel like I've almost had to give myself permission because I've had to hide in these spaces so often.
GP: And you all have shared our perspective on a range of topics with guests like Usher, Reginae Carter, Ludacris, and more! What has been your favorite conversation thus far?
Tori: I don't have a favorite, but I kind of fanned out on the inside when we had Macy Gray because it was THE Macy Gray.
Like the things that she's experienced, just alone being a Black woman being comfortable wearing her own hair in a time where they kind of always talked about our hair and she didn't care. She was very unapologetic. That's like the definition. I feel like she was one of the pioneers just for being herself.
One of our best topics I think we all cried after was when we talked about colorism for episode four. After that, it was very touchy and we kind of cried and held each other afterwards. That was a really good one that touched us all.
GP: Yes to having conversations that truly leave an imprint! How do you hope Black women whether they're 15 or 75 see themselves represented in “Black Girl Stuff?”
Akilah: I think we showcase, if not all Black women, a great majority of Black women between the four of us on this cast. I think another thing to really recognize or that I would hope to give is just our individual journeys to get here because oftentimes when you see people in the media, in some capacity, there's an automatic level of 'Oh, I can't relate because I'm not on TV.' But I think our individual journeys showcase a greater range of people that can relate and tap in.
At least for me, being first generation is a bit of a difference in terms of my Black experience and others. Being dark skinned is a different experience than others...having natural hair, that's a whole different situation as well. I think people can relate because it's foundational. It's also substance and I think it's important to showcase that when we have this level of a platform.
GP: And what kind of impact do you want “Black Girl Stuff” to have on society as a whole?
Demetria: I feel like our purpose was really hammered out by the show's creator and visionary Monique Chenault.
We always constantly praised her, not only because she hired us, but because she has such a grand vision and we've talked about what the show looks like 10 years from now, 15 years from now, 20 years from now, and I feel like it's rooted in that authenticity. And as a working member of the media for almost a decade, I know that you don't always get that.
There's an inherent bias in the media, we all have our biases, but I feel like on the show, we're constantly confronting them and challenging them and creating a forum where we can all come together and express our ideas and our audience is watching and they get to participate in the conversations in the comments.
That's why we have that amazing segment in our show, so we can all share our ideas and we can keep moving forwards. These are ideas that have been suppressed for so long and told that they don't matter. We've been told that for so long, but that's not the case and we're constantly proving that wrong. We're demanding a space in the media and that's what's going to trickle down. When we have new hosts of the show, 20 years from now, or what have you, they're going to be doing the same things and bringing these opinions to light. This diversity that you've never seen before so I'm happy to be a part of this mission.
Watch REVOLT's Black Girl Stuff here.
Written by Shanique Yates, @astoldbysly
