10 takes.
Didnât really find it until around take 6.
7 might low-key be the one.
9 had something though.
Funny thing life shows me everyday⌠success is staying at the plate long enough to connect a few times out of ten & dealing with striking out more than getting on base...
Thereâve been countless moments Iâd walk away from an L embarrassed, thinking I failed, only to realize later the lesson was worth more than whatever âwinâ I thought I lost at the time.
This scene was complicated. Heavy blocking. Multiple moving parts. Everybody had to stay locked in. But that challenge gave the scene something honestly haunting & something worth earning.
âAnother takeâ = Another opportunity.
P.S. donât be like me in Scene 6! The slate should actually be in frame đ definitely learned something there lol
#slatemusic
Our microdrama is headed to the @americanblackfilmfestival and will be shown on the @therealhartbeat app all throughout the festival. Super excited! #BlackedOut Grateful to the team that helped us create this! #ABFF2026 #WeAreABFF
âIf tragedy doesnât transform us, then the pain is wasted.â
For me, this means loving better, loving deeper, forgiving quicker, and caring more intentionally.
Rest easy, Nancy.
#NancyMetayor
đď¸
Making something because itâs on your heart to make is a special experience.
Yesterday was day one of a new feature @iamshkia and I wrote and are producing, about a string of disappearances targeting women.
We wrote the first draft on October 26, 2025. This project was already in motion.
Then, a week ago, my sister sent me an articleâŚ
My friend from middle and high school, Nancy Metayer, was shot and killed by someone she trusted. Someone she loved. Someone she married.
Iâm still trying to process that.
Nancy and I had lunch not too long ago, and I never thought for a second that would be the last time Iâd see her.
This film didnât come from that.
But itâs impossible not to feel the weight of it now.
A story we wrote months ago sits differently. Feels closer, heavier and more real than I ever intended it to.
I donât understand how someone can take the life of someone they claim to have once loved.
Sitting with that⌠while telling a story like this⌠changes everything.
So being on set doesnât just feel good. It feels important. In a quietly grounded way.
I donât know that this film honors Nancyâs life per se, but my interaction with the work carries something it never could before because some things in life hurt so much they shift how you see everything.
New Micro Drama BLACKED OUT. Find out what happens to Jordan when she battles an addiction⌠Share with someone that has had a crazy blacked out story. #MicroDrama #VerticalSeries #ToughLoveSeries #BlackedOut #newseries
I moved to Los Angeles to pursue opportunity,
not fame,
not friends,
but a chance.
My cup overflowed with blessings.
Multiple shows,
rooms I never thought Iâd enter,
health insurance for the first time
after a decade of jumping out on faith.
And then lessons overflowed too,
delivered through stress, loss, and pain.
Watching those shows disappear
was maddening.
It was grief.
It was an awakening.
And it arrived at the exact moment
I became a father.
I waited for âthe moment.â
Ten-plus years of auditions.
Hundreds every year.
TV. Film. Commercials.
Union. Non-union.
New York. Los Angeles.
Georgia. Alabama. Orlando.
There was a time
the streets felt like the only constant.
Everything bout Maurice (Rap Sh!t) was me,
everything except the jail part.
And who knows,
if I stayed on that path,
maybe that was next.
And when money finally came,
FINALLY,
I mishandled it.
I overgave.
Over-invested in the dream.
Never invested in the future.
Overspent.
Over-gifted.
Over-trusted.
I assumed the work would keep renewing.
I assumed momentum was permanent.
I knew there was no way
theyâd cancel Issaâs show.
I knew there was no way
theyâd cancel Hilaryâs show.
I didnât understand money.
Didnât understand how to make yamz 10x.
Forgot the lessons of turning a little
into enough,
how loaves of bread and fish were never about quantity,
but stewardship.
Discipline came later.
Forgiveness took time.
Healing took me two years.
I realized this wasnât just a personal lesson,
So now the ask is different.
Not just to have more,
but to honor what comes.
To sleep with peace.
To wake with intention.
To keep, compound, and grow.
Life canât just be about making money.
It has to be about responsibility.
Iâve seen too many fall,
talented, famous, paid,
and still broke.
Still broken.
Still lost.
This is bigger than me now.â¨Itâs about family.â¨About legacy.â¨About learning the hard wayâ¨so someone else doesnât have to.
Most financial downfall is mismanagement.â¨Anything worth keepingâ¨starts with accountability.
I came here for opportunity.
Now Iâm building something that lasts.
Let me touch what Iâve been grinding for.
Let me see the fruits.
Let me eat.
ââŚcause I got bills to pay.â
