Speaker 1: Dripping like Michael Phelps a lot of lines.
Speaker 2: The track is called Drip.
Speaker 1: The voice behind it, the creator behind it, the artist
behind it is actor musician Michael V.
Speaker 2: Epps aka Mikey. I think that dropped it in twenty
nineteen something like that.
Speaker 1: It's called Drip, and I'm pleased to have Michael VPPs
on this program, primarily to talk about the end of
the highly acclaimed series The Shy, where he played Jake Taylor.
We'll get to his music and what's next for him
in a moment, but before I get to the conversation
with Michael V. Epps, here is some sound from the finale.
Speaker 2: Of The Shy.
Speaker 3: So you're looking at apartments my building going up on
the red Do you want to move here with me?
Don't play with me? Look, that's a big step, I know.
Are you ready for that? I think so? You better
be sure. Let's just true. Would that make us official?
What you mean by official?
Speaker 4: I mean no cheating?
Speaker 2: M sure.
Speaker 3: You don't sound sure.
Speaker 4: I can't promise I'd be perfect, but I'm down true.
Speaker 3: Me too.
Speaker 1: That clip is both poignant and funny to me in
a variety of ways.
Speaker 2: Michael, you's get to have you on how are you, sir?
Speaker 4: Good?
Speaker 2: How are you man?
Speaker 1: If I can plain that being in great, I'm doing
well and thanks for thanks for giving us a little
time here.
Speaker 2: So when you hear that clip, what what do you hear?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I hear, I hear a young.
Speaker 4: Man that knows what he wants and and it sounds
like he's trying to.
Speaker 3: Compromise with his lady. Young man trying to get his
life together at a young age. That's what I hear.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1: As I mentioned a couple of times already, The Shy,
this acclaimed series, has finally come to an end. So
the obvious question for you is what do you make
of the series now that it's concluded? Uh, the impact
that it has had and will have in the future.
Every every one of us, you know, uh builds careers
based upon you know, laying one brick at a time.
So we'll talk about how you build your career moving
forward given the brick you've laid, called The Shy. But
it's talk to me about the series and the way
you see its impact.
Speaker 4: I see it's impac is a big one the culture,
and not just for the culture, but also the youth.
You know, on The Shy is one of those shows
that once when it comes on, you're you gathering around
your front room and the living room with your family
to come watch it. You know, this is some people
would like to call uh think, I forget the name
for it, but it would be like their relaxing show.
They're unwind the time. You know, this is be their
their getaway. And I would like to have the Shot
in the category as those household shows such as Martin's
The The I guess you can the Powers, the Empires
and you feel me all those shows And when people
watching now We're in the future, I just want.
Speaker 1: Them to.
Speaker 4: See a story being told of a community that's misunderstood
and misinterpreted, and when they watch the shot, want them
to see more of the truth and what can be
and what can happen the stories and outcome as they
can come from these communities.
Speaker 1: When you say that you think the show The Shy,
the series was a big win for the culture. Unpacked
that for mere big win for the culture in what waves.
Speaker 4: In ways And I guess you could say stereotypes because
I feel like the shot really debunks a lot of those,
especially the city itself. You feel me when you hear Chicago,
or when you look at Chicago from the outside looking
in somebody who's never been there or don't know too
much about it, or are you see as violence or
that's what the media portrays to you. But if you
actually been in Chicago, you're from Chicago, you know Chicago.
Speaker 3: And we had a complete opposite of that.
Speaker 4: Chicago is a beautiful, loving, fun city, you know, and
you don't know that until you come there. And that's
one of my favorite things about the shot. I feel
like that's what the shot captures the most about it. Then, Yeah,
we have a lot of critics who say things like
I feel like we missed the street essence of the shot,
you know, but everybody knows, Like that's kind of that's
the history of Chicago too. What a lot of people
don't know. It's like the human ezed side of it.
And I feel like that's what the show shows, and
I feel like that's the impact that it has is
giving you.
Speaker 3: The truth is that's what a lot of people don't know.
Speaker 1: Yeah, shows common shows go. You know that better than
most because you're in the business obviously, so they come
and they go. It's not often the case, not always
the case that the show gets two, three, four, five, six,
seven plus seasons, the Shy ran what seven or eight seasons?
That's a good long run. Yeah, eight seasons, that's a
good long run. To what do you attribute its longevity
that it got eight seasons out of it's city? I'm sorry,
I said, to what do you attribute the fact that
this show, unlike some shows that get one season, sometimes
half a season, sometimes they get canceled with at the
first couple of episodes, this show ran for eight long
seasons to what do you attribute the fact that the
show was able to have legs that long?
Speaker 4: Again, just I got to give it to the authenticity
of it, for I really feel like that really plays
and made a part in it that and not only that,
but as the show go on and progresses.
Speaker 3: Another thing we did was we listened to the people.
We listen to the fans.
Speaker 4: We integrated their suggestions into the show and certain things
like It's one moment I.
Speaker 3: Could recall on set was on.
Speaker 4: I believe it was my I believe it was trig
and it was a certain type of wardrobe they want
to put them on, and we was gonna say it
was like, yeah, they'd be already on black Twitter talking
about us.
Speaker 3: We got to change with out of that.
Speaker 4: So it's like, it's the small things like that that
make a show amazing and people love it, you know.
Speaker 1: You know it's funny you say that. Now we're just
talking about Barack Obama. Uh, and you probably only recall
this story and it's tan suit that he wore back
in twenty fourteen, all the drama that came because of
the wardrobe choice that he made that particular day. So
you're right, all these intangibles make a difference in the
way a show is seen, the show is received, and
how it leans into the authentic story it is trying
to tell. We've come to the end after eight seasons
of The Shy.
Speaker 2: Michael V.
Speaker 1: Epps aka Mikey played Jake Taylor on the program. A
bit more about that and his music when we come
forward here on Tavis Smile was probably an actor a musician.
Speaker 2: Michael V.
Speaker 1: Epps aka Mikey played Jake Taylor on the highly acclaimed
series The Shy, which just ended after an eight year run.
So it's a blessing to get a good long run
on any series these days. But once that series is over,
you got to figure out what the next step is.
How do you build on the foundation that that particular
series laid for you.
Speaker 2: So, Michael, what happens next for you? Acting?
Speaker 1: We get to the music here in a second, but
acting wise, how do you build on this opportunity to
be on the shy.
Speaker 2: Well?
Speaker 4: You know, of course, as an acting you never know
when your next job is, so you just keeping working
and keeping yourself relevant. But aside from that, the pedestal
that the show has put me on and the big
fan base support that it's gave is giving me. One
I'm grateful, and two I'm I'm just gonna keep I'm
just gonna continue to feed them with things that they
that they love and that they continue to follow me
and mind me for until my next dick break come,
or I get another audition and or somebody hits me
up like hey, come do this movie?
Speaker 3: Dumping this movie?
Speaker 4: So until then, probably just be putting out stuff like well, actually,
I'm gonna start getting behind the camera, so probably start
putting out on my own auditions for that or casting
calls for that, you know, And I got other stuff
and I'm working on behind the scenes aside from the
music and actor tell.
Speaker 2: Me what, tell me what, what's What's what's intriguing you
about being behind.
Speaker 3: The camera.
Speaker 4: Just the fact being able to tell my own story,
you know, Like it's as I got into music, and
I just like acting is one thing, but what I
discovered with music is like music is it's your own art.
It's your own everything from the beat selection to your lyrics,
to your livery to everything is yours is your own art.
And having that feeling, I just kind of I felt
like I wonder what that'll be on the actor side,
behind the camera, you know, and just being on set
working with different directors and just listen to the instructions
that they giveing me, like.
Speaker 3: It kind of inspired me, like.
Speaker 4: Okay, I can do this, Like I'm specifical what I want,
and I know what I want, and I know how
to tell you how what I want and tell you
how I want to deliver in a specific way. So
just thinking about all that and sitting back, I'm like,
I can I can get behind the camera, and I
have some interesting story that I want to be told,
Like I got a real creative mind and I've had
some wild dreams and just the stuff that I've been
learning relearning history and all that is definitely some things
that I want to write on a paper and making
my own movie or show or something.
Speaker 1: One final question about The Shine with Rap our conversation
talking about your music, what is your greatest takeaway? What
will you most appreciate about having played the character Jake
Taylor on the Shot?
Speaker 3: Mm hmmm.
Speaker 4: Probably being able to, like I said, tell a story
of of a group of people, group of kids who
don't really be who's not able to speak for theirself.
You know, the people who's just before they're they're met,
before they're spoken to, the people who always talked about
from the ones on the outside looking in, but they
don't really know these people personally. You know. That's kind
of like one of the biggest things or like the
proudest thing that I'm happy to be to be able
to be a part of from the Shot and playing Jake.
So just being able to and give them that different look,
like I said, you know, to debunk that that that
theory or whatever you want to call it, that people
pend on those people, So to give them that real
inside look, to show like not all people that come
from that choose that one way, that one route That's
one of my favorite things about JA like you in
the show, Oh season one, you see early on.
Speaker 3: All day, he knows this, this is not the way
he wanted to go. I got bigger and better dreams.
Speaker 4: So being able to embody that carret there and portray
that I was, I'm more than is more than a
happy morning, more than grateful.
Speaker 2: All right, many moments of Michael Vipps.
Speaker 1: When we come forward here on Tavis Smiley left in
this program today with a full show.
Speaker 2: It's been We're.
Speaker 1: Almost there, almost succeeded at getting this eighty pound show
in this forty pounds bag. It's been quite the lift today,
but we made it. I give the last word to
Michael Viepps. So we talked about the shy eight seasons,
a great run and not's come to a close. Michael
Vipps will build on that, no question about it. But
he's also, as I mentioned earlier, an artist. We started
this thirty minute segment playing some of his music, a
track called Drip. So in ninety seconds, Michael tell me
how the music is coming on, what you're working on
the music side. Michael, unmute yourself if you're muted, Okay.
Speaker 2: There you got here, now, go ahead.
Speaker 4: Go for it, Go for it, I said, the music
is coming along. Well, man, I got a single that
I dropped last summer. It's on our platform.
Speaker 3: You can go get it now. Look up, Mike. That's
the name for now until for her the notice. Right now,
I'm just working on other stuff. I got another song
that I'm gonna drop is called on and On, And
I just in the studio the other day I recorded
some other stuff, and I just.
Speaker 4: Got songs in the vault, man, A song that I
can't drop I'm gonna redo, and then just a bunch
more that I'm writing, like I'm writing new songs every day.
Speaker 1: So that's that stuff in the vault as you write
new tracks every day. So we will continue in the
years to come to hear the music of Michael V. Epps,
and I'm sure we'll see his face on the big
screen of the small screen in the future. But we
congratulate Michael Epps and the entire cast, Aleana Waite and
her vision the entire cast the cruise a good eight year.
Speaker 2: Run for the shot.
Speaker 1: I think Michael said it best earlier that it really
does or did change people's minds about the stereotypes of
a place like Chicago. In that regard, it was, as
Michael said, a contribution to the culture.
Speaker 2: We'll leave it there.
Speaker 1: Actor musician Michael VIPs aka Mikey played Jake Taylor on
the shot, and we look forward to what his career
will unfold in the months and.
Speaker 2: Years to come. Michael, good to have you on. All
the best of you and enjoy the rest of your day, sir.
Speaker 3: Likewise, just like.
Speaker 1: That three hours ago and we did it. Eighty pounds show,
forty pound bag. Hopefully tomorrow, Jay Feraji, don't bring me
no eighteen guests tomorrow. I A'm doing it two days
in a row anyway, Love y'all.
Speaker 2: I'm Tabby Smiley. Until next time, keep the faith.