-Tamara’Shanay-
Cousins!
There’s a new television series on the block and it’s shaking things up a bit as it provides a fresh and modern day prospective of Black men’s journey throughout brotherhood, dating, confidence and vulnerability!
Johnson’s on Bounce staring creator and executive producer Thomas Q. Jones creator and executive producer Deji LaRay, Derrex Brady and Philip Smithey, the series portrays the story of four childhood best-friends turned boys to men from Atlanta that all share the same last name but with fairly different life journeys.
This week we had the absolute pleasure of live chatting with Philip Smithey that plays the role of Keith Johnson, an overall kind hearted guy with pure intentions but has a hard time sticking up for himself and is easily blind sighted by romance. He successfully delivers the different complexities of being a Black male by undermining age old circulated stereotypes.
Philip states when he was forwarded the opportunity to take on the role of Keith as well as a series that sheds light on Black male prospective he jumped at it.
” When I got to read the story I was blown away. This is the first time in my life where I actually got to participate in something where I’m not trying to fulfill someone else’s life, someone else’s story, it’s me telling my own story,” says Phillip.
He explained that his character of Keith Johnson is a very complex guy and also a creative spirit. “ He’s a photographer by trade so he sees the world differently, through a creative and artistic lens. There’s sensitivity to him, and a little nativity.”
Philip describes Keith key emotions as being something that lives in all of us as we all want to be taken serious and that none of us have life truly figured out.
He goes on to shed light on his personal life and how he connects with Keith on a deeper levels as when he had attended college at Morehouse and being in the presence of so much Black excellence and everyone naturally feeling grown and sexy and how he couldn’t relate.
“ Growing up I had to understand that I was different from what was perceived to be cool. It made me feel like I understand Keith. That this guy wants what we all want he just doesn’t see life from the sane lens that everyone perceives.”
The one stereotype that Phillip is hopeful the Johnson series has the power to get rid of in regards to Black men is, “ that we don’t feel pain and heartache the exact same way as everyone else.”
He explains that many Black men don’t have the resources or outlets to throughly express themselves because it’s often believed that they must have a tuff interior and exterior. However he believes that Black men deserve to be treated and recognized as humans.