James "Jay" Parris
artist/actor

More so than ever, urban youth are turning their life lessons into a theatrical movement. The entertainment business continues to bring the big bucks for some of the most creative talents in the hood.

We often complain about hood movies, and why some black filmmakers are only creating these images of gangsters and thugs and why a lot of rap music is so violent. Ideally, we would like to sit back and say it can't be that bad but sometimes it is. I had the chance to speak to James Jay Parris who played Lakid, a thug in the film Belly featuring DMX and NAS...

BUZZ: You are a recording artist as well as an actor. What is the name of your group?
JAY: I'm part of the rap group Silk City. For now, we want to make party anthems and good music. Hit. When you play party music nobody is thinking about fighting or killing each other. We do thug stuff but I want people to party to my music. Although, the thug stuff is real and I can relate to the messages because I've been there, there is always room for change.

BUZZ: Tell me some of the projects you have worked on.
JAY: I'm into music and film and I like them both. Film has just taken the lead right now. I was in New York Undercover, Belly, Crime Partners, The Best Man and I'm working on the film, Thugs and Deceptikon. I was also in a few Sears and Burger King commercials.

BUZZ: How did you become interested in film?
JAY: How I became interested in film is crazy because I was always in the street. There was this one girl who was always around me. She was real positive and modeling overseas. Every time she would come home she would hear about me getting in trouble. She was like, I don't want to come home one day and have to go to your funeral. So she took me under her wing and exposed me to the industry. I will always call her my little angel.

BUZZ: Do you belong to an agency?
JAY: Winsome Sinclair. They cast me in Belly.

BUZZ: If you never had acting training or were interested in film, how did you develop your characters?
JAY: Basically, when I read the script it wasn't far from what I had been doing out here on the street. So I just took everything that I had been through in my life and put it into the character Lakid. Being an actor allows me to play out characters that are inside of me. If I'm mad I can put that into a character and get paid for it. Since Bellly, I have taken acting very seriously and I just do my homework.

BUZZ: Who are some of your favorite actors?
JAY: I love Denzel, Samuel Jackson, and Laurence Fishburne and for the women, Angela Bassett, I feel her. Vivica Fox and Halle Berry. They inspire me so much. I have seen these actors grow. Before they got to the top of their game, they had to play cheap roles in order to get there. I know now that it wasn't easy for them. This is not an overnight success business.

BUZZ: What do you want to accomplish in the entertainment business?
JAY: At the end of the day I don't want to be just labeled as Jay the actor and now he is rapping. I want people to know this is Jay the actor, the producer and I am talented.

BUZZ: You are hitting me with so much information Jay about the business especially from someone just getting in. I am sure you will be a runner up for an Oscar one day. Please reflect on this interview and know that your energy is bubbling. Anything else you would like to say?
JAY: On the record, Hype Williams is one of the best directors out. He keeps it real. They tried to shut him down and he still went on and did his thing with Belly. I have a lot of respect for him. He didn't fold under pressure, he has risen to the occasion. And because he did that, he gave me an opportunity of a lifetime. I'm taking it and running with it. He opened doors for me to be in more films and work my way to the topl He actually gave me hope and I am very thankful.

BUZZ: What films can we expect to see you in again?
JAY: I will be in Crime Partners and Thugs and Deceptikon, coming to a theater near you.

BUZZ: Thank you Jay.

-nigeria

"Please understand me on this.
I have the complete script. If Belly
was shot in its entirety, the way it
was originally written; it would have
knocked out a lot of the other thug
movies."

-Jay on his favorite movie