Hey, this is Nat Mundel. I'm the founder of Voyage and I'm super
excited to introduce our listeners today to Malik Yoba, who plays Reggie in our
contemporary noir, very cool scripted podcast series called Red Meat Village. You probably
know Malik from his performances in Cool Runnings, New York Undercover and more recently
The Last O g among many other credits over thirty forty year acting career.
So, Malik, thanks so much for joining us. Really appreciate it.
Good here many background, Well, the podcast listeners are going to have to
imagine that. So, yes, there is a there is a golf course
behind me and as I, as I disclosed to Malik somewhat embarrassingly, I
am not a golfer. Well, Malik and I were just getting acquainted and
we learned, uh, you know, Malik, that you've got a passionate
interest in voiceover work. Was this your first scripted podcast series? And are
you a big listener of podcasts? I do listen. Yeah, I listened
like Sam Harris and um uh Christia Tipic, I'm like really cerebral when it
comes back. And I listened a lot of like educational podcasts like spiritual or
personal development. On writing. I listened to drink Champs that not you know
that hip hop. But this is the first scripted one that I've done.
Um. Yeah, I've done an audio book, two audio books. Um,
some other voices that we work with brands and not enough cartoons and characters
and all that kind of stuff. Yeah, well, right on. We're
so thrilled you accepted the role of this character Reggie who. Um, you
know he's kind of a renaissance man. He's a champion boxer. Uh and
this part time private detective. It's an interesting combo. Um, he's really
well my character to development, what's happen? It's like my character the rest
of development. He was a party planner and and and a private private eye.
Yeah. So what were your reactions when you first read the script and
about the character, Like what attracted you to it? Um? Well,
number one, my agent Sherry. Every time she called with any opportunity to
do voice work, I'm always saying cool. And then she said, hey,
it's really cool. I have some other clients of doing it. Um.
To be honest with you, I didn't really read it before. I
gotta be and then I read it when I did it with Dan. But
once I did it, I just thought it was cool. Like I skimmed
it. She told me what it was. I had no idea it was.
For me. It was sort of like, um, let me just
jump into this thing called Read and Meat Village and see what it is.
So it's kind of fun to discover along the way that set in Brooklyn that
the character is. Um. Yes, it was a lot of fun,
man. You know, I call right away it said, I want to
do one of these ones a week. And even though it's it's it's rooted
in US, even though it's contemporary story, it's rooted in noir. Have
you done noir before? And and how has it played into your performance?
No? I haven't. I mean I did grow up listening to the shadow.
Is that that should have been from like the fifties whenever that originally started.
I think basically anything that came out of the fifties that had to do
with crime and stuff as by nature, right right? Yeah? Yeah?
So was that cool for you to jump into that? Yeah? Yeah,
it's you know, it's funny because I'm a writer as well, and I
um, in some ways you guys after my own heart, because um,
I was touring with shows in the black community. Like so Tyler Perry's whole
career was based on those storing plays that was like most mainstream media and Hollywood
wasn't aware of. But it's very, very lucrative and very popular. So
I was doing those for like tennimal fifteen years and TV. But I had
this idea to sort of start a play on radio at episode and then in
order to see what happens, you had to come to and see if it
toe the rest of your kind of thing. So this kind of reminds me
of that. You know, you can sort of create these worlds that people
can enter into, get emotionally invested into, and in this case, right
they can become film or they can become a live action a theater production or
whatever. So absolutely, yeah, yeah, we're sorry to say that again.
No, it's because that you're chapping into my interests, that's all.
That's cool. Yeah, we we one of the primary reasons we we built
out this podcast unit was to do just that. You know, we got
a lot of film and television projects, um and in some cases these podcasts
that we're doing, like you know, they strategically aligned for sure, because
as you know, it's like the hot new way that Hollywood is discovering.
Ip um. But uh, but in some cases we're doing like these prequel
you know, sort of side story things that introduce a character, and then
our television show that we're also out pitching just expands on that universe. Right,
So yeah, we we think that's a really cool UM model. UM
all right, So you know, you were, of course in New York
Undercover and you've done work in the crime space for quite a while. Where
do you think Reggie and Tony fit into that history of PI? You know,
private investigator duos, Like what makes them unique? What do they call?
What are they similar to? Um? Well, I mean I think
UM one is sent in Brooke and it does tappen too a little bit about
New York under Cover origins. At this point, this would be number nineteen.
Wow, I just did a film for Netflix, Got a Good Nurse,
where I was Please Captain Sheriff. Actually, so that that was eighteen.
This is nineteen some law enforcement related character. But um, I always
liked the buddy cop kind of genre, right, you know how they are
each other's foiled kind of thing even as they go after crime. The banter
between them the ship talking in the case. Um, this like sort of
that they have around this eaic contest that you know, uptfullly win. Um,
I like it. It's short. Yeah, well you clearly have this,
you know, sort of well regarded history of dramatic performances and a lot
of your work. But you know a lot of people you know, may
not know your comedy work as as especially as recently. Um, you know,
but you've really pulled together some incredible comedic performances and cool runnings and arrested
development and you know, so these two characters, you know, and they're
also in that Origin of War, there's some there's some banter there, and
we're able to draw in some of that comedy as long as then your producer
was lacking even though like I had half of the script on one side of
the screen the other half I could see him, so I kind of see
him my perpery and whenever its head, it is that kind of an audience
of one. So I think I nailed it. But a yeah, what
I want to do more for sure? Yeah? Very cool. So you
know, on that note, what's next for you? What are you working
on? What do you want your fans to know about what's coming up,
well that good nurse film. Um, I'm actually sitting here editing. Between
this interview, I'll go back to a doc series I created called The Real
Estate Mixtape, which is actually a docu series on my journey in real estate
development, which is another thing I do. So I'm finding the storytelling aspects
of all these different businesses. I mean, so, whether it's real estate,
um, I've joined it, gotten into Canada space, whether it's scripted
one hour's comedies, half hours, I'm just being really really productive, especially
over the last couple of years that the world is kind of slow down.
You're officially a Zoolander Slashy. You know the movie Zoolander, the Slashy Awards,
it was like actor slash actor. Yeah, man, I mean you
know. I mean, look, if you're building the platform, look if
you're if you're only an actor, you're always waiting on a job. Oh
yeah, you have a good time. Well, good for you for you've
made a career where you're not waiting too long, you know, over over
that period. Such an extraordinary career you've had so far. But yeah,
I mean I'm a I'm a Slashy I'm a producer slash golfer. Right,
we just learned that. I thought I'm not a I'm a producer slash live
on a golf course golfer, But don't golf slash heat. Just you know,
just find as many ways to be created and tell the kind of stories
I want to tell. I've really gotten a lot deeper into directing, writing
and directing and yeah, being just being a storyteller holding a whole vision.
So that's that's you know, It's just one of those things like when I
pursued when I decided to leave my career as a youth worker. That was
my job running a group called a City Kids Foundation before I did Cool Running
Um, it was a moment where I had to decide. After I did
Cool Runnings, I went back to the organization. We had a Saturday morning
show with the Muppets I was writing music for, and I decided I was
only going to make money of my art. And along the way, I've
always had different entrepreneurial interest restaurants to the marketing company music tech, um.
But now it's just really um a lot of development that the world will see
eventually when I leased it onto the world. But it's awesome, man.
Well, one of our we have we have these four fundamental core values that
sort of under play everything we do at the company, and one of them
is be creative. And I think, you know, that's sort of the
obvious one for Voyage, which is like we're in a creative industry. But
I think creativity is so much more than just the the production of art for
example, it's you know, there's creative problem solving, there's innovation as creativity.
So you know, I'm a big believer in in everyone finding a way
to constantly creatively express and so like I'm a musician, so I try to,
you know, creatively express that way. I creatively express in a lot
of my business pursuits and try to do things differently and stuff. But it's
always wonderful to hear about another another soul out there that just can't help themselves
but produce creative work. Well, you know, I just wrote a song
for you for Dage Me Village that was like a little improv and like we
got to use that. I won't even take the copyright on that, you
guys and ask cap writer since ninety one musicians, well I get it,
no, And it's funny because I think that especially for listeners, any creatives
out there, especially young people, Like if I would have known that business
was creative it was, if it was presented as creativity, then it would
have been a different journey for me as a kid. I'm glad I always
have an entreceneurial spirit and like the point, you can't help but not be
creative if you're a creative being, and I think the misnomer of our entertainment
industry is a lot of times people aren't creative and then that visionary and you
see things, particularly if you're just an active I've been on shows where I've
come up with complete marketing campaign for the show and before we even shot a
pilot, just based on what I saw on the script, I understood all
the touch points and strategy to build around the storyline and the characters you presented
to the exaction. It can make people uncomfortable because in some case they want
you to be in your position, but you're I'm a boss. When that
signs tigned in front of the check, I understand that position. When I
signed the back of the check, I understand that position. And sometimes folks,
you know, UH don't want you to do those things you could just
in their eye, just the actor, but exactly point yeah, exactly.
And the industry is as as you've you know, indicated to our listeners,
loves to pigeonhole, right, and then loves hierarchy and loves power dynamics.
It's long standing tradition, I mean, and and we endeavor to sort of
be the antithesis of that. And I strive as the the owner and and
CEO of the company to keep the company as flat as possible, right where
ideas and great great ideas come from anywhere, no hierarchy, correct, yeah,
like exactly, And so everyone is involved at the company in our strategic
planning, and everybody there's no We try to prevent silimization as much as possible,
and of course that's a challenge when you're also very operational and trying to
execute on very specific deliverables, like you need people to still do their jobs
right, like the Caddyshack line. The world needs ditch diggers too, right,
But but we try to bring the ditch digger into all of the creative
conversations. You know, can you a little bit of your journey, because
as you know, you're a bit of a a unicorn in net respect to
lead a creative business. And as you define this flat to allow for creativity
to come from anywhere, what motivated that for you? You know, it's
it's it's multifaceted number one. You know, the smart part of me wants
to answer that with we think there's a better way of doing things, or
at least a different way, and that that different, friendly, open source
approach creates a context in which better creativity can emerge. Right, That's the
smart answer. And then the other answer, which is a little bit of
a window into me, like I have a little bit of a middle finger
to you know, closed circuits, right and to you know, sort of
old boys clubs. And that goes long, I mean frankly long standing back
to when you know, I was in high school. I was never unpopular,
but I was like always one step removed from the popular group, like
the really the big sort of crowd that was like the epicenter of everything.
And and I never, you know, I never liked that. I always
was really a big fan of inclusion an accessibility. And so when I see,
you know, an industry that has for so long been about exclusion and
non accessibility, I have a little bit of an attitude problem with that,
and that attitude problem, you know, coupled together with the belief that you
know there there ought to be a different way of doing things, just drives
me. You know, do you do you know you're doing right now?
It's a little question. You are affirming what I preach every single that.
The reason why I created the Real Estate Mixtape is because I'm both in the
real estate development business. I'm in the film business, and I was doing
the show Godfriended Me, and I was playing a real estate developer, and
I live here in Brooklyn, and I thought about the amount of productions in
this neighborhood. Godfriended Me shot two minutes down the block to the film studio,
signed the studio for me, and I thought about how many people walked
by film sets all day long, especially in this neighborhood and construction site.
I have no idea how to get nis to either business, and I'm in
both, and I love working with young people, and so I decided to
film my journey pursuing my first development deal in the city. I took seven
young people that I randomly selected from around the city and took them on a
journey over six weeks across the state of New York to give them access to
the process. So now created is a lane for content and alane for real
estate deals and inclusion right. And so recently we screened the first two episodes
in a location abandoned rail station that's being renovated by a woman, young black
woman in the Bronx who's under resourced and under network but has this property.
And we did an equity craft funding opportunity while screening the first two episodes,
and she's in and so is that location. So it was a full circle
way of using art, creativity, content, community organizing, you know,
economic development all at one. So when you say what you're saying, I
appreciate that because I have a bit of a middle finger up too. And
I've been in the game, you know, thirty years. I've spent the
last few days, you know, doing press for Cool Running because making Box
Player team is now back. I got a call today from the guy that
cast me in my very first film in nineteen eighty nine, Danny Reggie Life,
to ask me if I wanted to go Shakespeare with him up in the
Berkshires this summer. And it's interesting because I feel like everything's kind of come
in full circle for me, especially like in this week. And so to
hear you say what you said, that speaks to me. And as an
entrepreneur, I'm gonna offer you something I would love to help you build your
business. I have. I'm connected for a lot of creatives, particularly folks
that look like me. So what I sent you is a Jamaican story and
they're Jamaicans that look like you that people don't know about. Most people think
that most Jamaicans look like me. But intent who's Jamaican intentionally made a diverse
Jamaican cas and like I said, he did it twenty years ago, but
I read it yesterday or two days ago, and I was like, bro,
we have to mount this. And so please take a listen to that
or read it and see if that piques your interest. But perhaps we could
collaborate and that could be that other arm here in New York that can help
feed you some opportunities that we could build together. I love it, man,
and and I'm a yes to that for sure. And I think Dan
has your email, so we won't have the published here, but but important,
it is important. I think for listen is like you know, I'm
moved different, like when I did the movie Why Did I Get Married?
As a for instance, and this is for the creatives that are listening.
We were feeling. I don't know if you see that movie with Tyler Perry.
I played Janet Jackson's husband in that film, and as a scene right
before my character is about to get killed and the Rock actually comes in as
a new lover. That's another. But we're filming the scene and holding was
in an advertising I didn't realize it was an ages get the time. So
I'm standing in the building as we're waiting to shoot and I said, so
what is this place? And someone said it's ANETTI. I said, well,
there's checks in here and I'm going to get them. When Tyler's ready
called me and I started snooping around the office. There's a meeting going on
where the agency is pitching a brand to be the agency of Rector. I
happen to know a little something about that business. They invited me to shit
down. I contributed to the meetings and it turns into years of doing business
with that company, creating content for a bunch of brands and so for particularly
people who think in one's way, and they're only actors. I think that
it's okay to be a little disruptive sometimes, even when you're on a set
filming another movie. Yeah, you know there's a balance there, of course.
Um but yeah, I mean, I a couple of stories come to
mind. These are funny stories. I don't think I've ever told them publicly,
but um, one was actually I'll I was thinking about this one story,
but this is a better one. This is the more pivotal one.
So I you know, I came to the entertainment business a little older.
I had had already had a different career, you know. So I was
approaching thirty years old when I really you know, I'd sort of come up
through the camera department a little bit for a couple of years. But then
I was like, I need to move over to the producing side, and
so I moved to LA I got a job as an assistant at a production
company. So I was like a thirty year old assistant, right, And
in my second week on the job, you know, I was stepping fetching
it whatever I was getting, I don't know. I was walking down the
hall. And this was a TV commercial production company, largely Brandon entertainment and
TV commercials, and so they repped directors. And I was walking by this
director's office, this big like really you know, heyday, big time TV
commercial director, and his door was wide open, and he goes, I
need a screenwriter. He was really frustrated, and I walked. I took
like four more steps past the office, and I was like, should I
or shouldn't I? And I said certainly I should. So I ambled into
his office and I said, Hey, Tom, I can write, and
He's like, okay, then write this. And I wrote his pitch for
him, and he won that gig, right, and you know, a
production gig, and that gave birth really to you know, that moment of
being willing to stick my neck out gave birth to me getting into business for
myself, right, and then the other story which came later. So now
I'm about five years into running the original Voyage, and the original Voyage was
a Creative Services secret weapon, like companies like Jerry Bruckheimer would hire us to
help them develop their TV show pitches and then put together these really great pitch
decks for him and stuff. About five years into building that, I got
a call from this restaurant consultant who had been hired by an ad agency to
find the restaurant's new agency. And I had a conversation with him and I'm
like, well, we're not really an agency, and he's like, well
you should. He was this really wonderful old man named Ray Cohen. And
Ray Cohens goes, he goes, well, just you know, meet me
down at the restaurant tomorrow, right, And I'm like, okay, what's
the address? And so I meet him down there. Never been to it.
It's this chain called Island's Restaurants. There's like sixty of them, right,
It's a ligit chain. And I walked in there and I, you
know, I basically I didn't know, you know, much about anything,
and I just laid it out. I said, this place I think is
a you know, a bit of a disaster in today's world, Like it
needs a complete, you know, do over and rebranding and rethinking of everything.
And so I didn't have anything to lose because I wasn't in the ad
agency business anyway. So he said, okay. He's like, all right,
Nat, well, you know, I'm bit these other two big agencies
and I'm looking for a small upstart, you know, and and uh,
and I'd like to include you. And I said, well, I'm sorry,
you know, I really appreciate that, but we're not an agency.
And he's like, okay, so tomorrow call me and let me know that
you're in. And I'm like, but we're not an age. He's like,
tomorrow, call me. And that's when I got the window. I
was like, oh, this is a guy who's trying to throw me a
bone, right, And so what I did is I was ill, you
know, I sorry to be so long winded with this, but great story.
So I go, who do I know in the agency world? And
I had met this guy in New York at a wedding and I remember he
worked at an ad agency, and so I call him up and I said,
hey, remember me and he's like yeah. I'm like, what are
you up to. He's like, well, we left the you know,
Chris and I my my my creative director partner. We left the agency.
We started our little you know shop here in New York. And I was
like, you want to go in on a on an agency of record deal,
and so we did a deal over the phone, like just handshake,
right, And it comes to my attention that these two creative directors. So
this is Islands for everyone. If you don't know what that is a burger
chain, right, it's casual dining, burger restaurant, sixty stores. It
comes to light that Chris and Greg their nicknames at the agency were burgers and
fries because they they ran h Burger, they ran Wendy's, right, they
ran all the big fast food chains for as creative directors. And so,
you know, fast forward a month and a half later, we won the
account and all of a sudden we were an agency and uh, you know,
so when opportunity calls, like you got to pay attention to it.
You got to be open and innovative and h yeah that you know, that
was a it was a little blip on the voyage radar because you know,
frankly, the recession hit the next year and the agency went under. But
but yeah, I think more to the point is you listen into that voice
that said no, no, no, no, don't take a fifth step.
That's right, yeah, yeah, and know that you're deserving. As
we're talking, it hit me. Yes, I talked to Dan and said,
hey, Dan, I have this this script, but hearing your story
as a fellow entrepreneur. In my spirit, I was like, I need
to tell this man, I can handle we can build your business. We
can help you do that. I know a lot of folks, and you
know, it's a space of it. So if you're away, yeah,
that's very that's very sweet and clearly genuine offer. And I'll follow up with
you on that. And yeah, I mean if you could imagine what you
know, there's the business we're building, and there's what the business does,
but the underpinning of what we're actually up to is like we're trying to create
this like imagine this like heart centered, like lighthouse out there in the dark,
lashing its lights, you know, saying like hey it's okay, we're
here, we can do this. We're you know, come, it's safe
here. It's nurturing, right, and to be that beacon of what's possible,
And that's really the game we love to play. So it seems like
it seems like that's a you know, embedded in your soul longstanding. Rather
listen, man, I'm gonna be really transparent. I had quadruple bypassed heart
surgery. In argument. Oh my gosh, well we're so glad you're here,
man. Yeah, I did not realize that I had blocked artery with
a fit lifestyle and you know, good health, eating and working out.
But it's a genetic predisposition to gift from the answer, and so use it's
true, and it's a real existential time for me. And you know,
I'm resisting the status quo right now that I'm expected, oh, just getting
another series. I've been in the series leading fourteen series and whether it's been
six episodes, the pilot, ten episode, twenty shows get canceled. I
don't own any of that ip and so I'm at a place in my life
where I'm a boss. I can't and I'm still getting hey, can you
come read so this? You know, recovering on the s W Show.
Right, that's the reality, folks, if you're an actor, Like look
up the credit on IMDb. How much I've done since nineteen ninety three,
thirty years in this business, and it's still can you sing for your supper?
You know, I do get a you know, a fair amount of
offers, but you know it's still contingent on someone else saying yes, And
I like, like you, there's so many creatives out here right this this
guy David Herron who wrote this play. I have a friend in Jamaica that
sent me to play six months ago. I was only able to get to
it two days ago, and I finally read it and I was like,
Jesus Christ is fucking hilarious. This is genius. You know, it's hitting
all the emotions for me. I couldn't wait to finish reading it. I'm
on page thirty five, was one hundred page play, and I had to
call him just to let him know, just to give him that little shot
in his arm to say, you have some fire here. I can't wait
to finish. And he immediately called the friends in Jamaica and so for him
to have Malik Yo. But you know, CO signed his work, which
he didn't eat my pop. He's already had success with it, but he's
been trying to get to the next level. And there's a good people like
that that I know. I have as much satisfaction. You're a musician,
I'm a musician. I know what it's like to transcend when you're performing,
and you know that what that feels like. You get to the same place
performing as an actor. There are these transcendental or transcendent moments you can have
when you give yourself over to this spirit of creativity and arrive at these places
that people go, oh, my fucking god, what was that? I
don't know. Yeah, I get the same pleasure from watching a David having
success with his play or any other creatives that I know that are out there.
So I really love what you're doing. Um. I could feel your
energy and your sincere. I felt it with Dan as well. And you
know, like I said, um, you guys have my contact and I'd
love to play. Yeah, awesome, can't wait. Well, you guys
heard it here this Uh, this was a conversation that started one way and
ended another. And isn't that? Isn't that, in some respects just the
wonderful way life goes. So here we are, Uh you can um find
Red Meat Village. Remember that's the show we were talking about. Yeah,
you heard it here the soundtrack. You heard a sneak feature back here.
You know I wrote the tool the stool running too. By the way,
did you really help people to day? You know they can't believe Jimmy Cole.
We have a Bob Slay team. We have the one they re done,
the one Junior and Jimmy Kuns print to Olympic Facy Jimmica. I wrote
that for my audition and so, oh my god, ope call and they
said, um, your tracks are you Runner rate Celebrate and every Jamaica of
the song in their heartstop pulled it out. It ended up in a movie.
Oh my god, that's amazing. That's amazing. Well, I can't
wait for Red Meat Village to come out. Listeners, thank you so much
for tuning in with us. You can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify
or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And huge shout out and big gratitude to
Malik Yoba for joining us today. Thank you so much, Malik for your
time and generosity of spirit. Yeah. This is Nat Moundel signing off