Speaker 1: I'm a homegirl that knows a little bit about everything
Speaker 1: and everybody.
Speaker 2: You don't know if you don't lie about that, right,
Speaker 2: Lauren can't.
Speaker 1: Hey, y'all, it's Laura L. Rosa and this is the
Speaker 1: Latest with Lauren L.
Speaker 2: Rosa.
Speaker 1: This is your daily dig on all things pop culture, entertainment, news,
Speaker 1: and the conversations that shake the room. Now, when we
Speaker 1: talk about conversations that shake the room, we know that
Speaker 1: y'all love when we bring the live conversations, the sit
Speaker 1: downs here on the podcast. So I got something really
Speaker 1: really special for all of my lowriders today if you've
Speaker 1: ever seen the show Girlfriends. And I kind of feel
Speaker 1: like a little like a dub when I say that,
Speaker 1: because who hasn't seen the show Girlfriends? But if you
Speaker 1: have or have not seen the show Girlfriends, we are
Speaker 1: going to talk a lot about it today in this
Speaker 1: episode because we have a icon joining us.
Speaker 2: Ms Golden Brooks, who played Maya on.
Speaker 1: The show, will be joining us to talk about in
Speaker 1: our exhibition that has taking place in la June twenty
Speaker 1: ninth in June twenty eighth at the Line Hotel in
Speaker 1: La So. On June twenty ninth and June twenty eighth
Speaker 1: or June twenty eighth and June twenty nineth.
Speaker 2: I'm like, why am I saying it backwards.
Speaker 1: Like that you'll be able to come out and check
Speaker 1: out some art pieces that were all created by black
Speaker 1: women artists and photographers. Because Girlfriends, the show is turning
Speaker 1: twenty five or has turned twenty five this year. So
Speaker 1: we and when I say we, we talked to Golden
Speaker 1: Brooks me Delaney George, who was the co founder of
Speaker 1: DCDG and Co.
Speaker 2: She put the whole exhibition together.
Speaker 1: She figures out, like, you know, what is the focus
Speaker 1: of the exhibition, who will be focusing on what? And
Speaker 1: then you know, she puts all the pieces to the
Speaker 1: puzzle together. So she brought me in with an amazing
Speaker 1: dope artist named Brittany Bird.
Speaker 2: Brittany is creating.
Speaker 1: Some of the pieces in the show as well as
Speaker 1: helping to you know, bring other artists into the show
Speaker 1: as well. And in conversation with Golden Brooks, we got
Speaker 1: to talk a lot about what the show meant to
Speaker 1: us and pour into Golden Brooks maya from Girlfriends just
Speaker 1: on her and what that looks like for us at
Speaker 1: our ages and you know, we started watching Girlfriends so
Speaker 1: long ago. She you know, Golden Brooks is in this
Speaker 1: conversation just receiving all of the flowers, but for a
Speaker 1: lot of the conversations, she's kind of in awe still
Speaker 1: of the impact of Girlfriends.
Speaker 2: But mar Brock, I.
Speaker 1: Kill Golden, Tracy Ellis, Ross Lynn at everybody who has
Speaker 1: played on this series, Jill, Marie Jones. I think that
Speaker 1: they all and somewhat and in some way understand how
Speaker 1: important they are. But I think it's different when you
Speaker 1: get to hear it firsthand from women creatives who've been
Speaker 1: inspired by the work.
Speaker 2: So that's what we're doing here.
Speaker 1: So take a listen to this exclusive sit down with
Speaker 1: Golden Brooks maya of Girlfriends as we celebrate twenty five
Speaker 1: years of the show. All right, all right, morning morning,
Speaker 1: y'all are glowed up for lining and on a Sunday,
Speaker 1: all of y'all are giving and all are glowing. I'm
Speaker 1: really excited to be here. I've been in preparation for
Speaker 1: this conversation. I've been watching a lot of Girlfriends and
Speaker 1: conversations that I went back through some of the art
Speaker 1: that we selected or that was a part of the
Speaker 1: major selection, and we narrowed it down to for the
Speaker 1: exhibition that is happening in LA and I don't know.
Speaker 3: I think it's just so dope.
Speaker 1: How you know, a show that we watch and now
Speaker 1: have been able to rewatch with our mothers or grandmothers
Speaker 1: and nieces, our aunties and you know, all these people
Speaker 1: that are in our lives is now like we're now
Speaker 1: talking about it in a way of art and exhibition.
Speaker 1: I think that it's amazing to see art be able
Speaker 1: to be communicated in so many different ways. So I'm
Speaker 1: excited for this conversation. You know, I know you guys
Speaker 1: are without introduction, but if you want to just say
Speaker 1: hello really quick to the audience and lets them know
Speaker 1: what part you guys are playing in this, you know,
Speaker 1: twenty five year anniversary art exhibition that we're putting on
Speaker 1: in LA that will be open to the public in
Speaker 1: a few weeks.
Speaker 3: I think that that would be a great way to
Speaker 3: kick it off.
Speaker 4: Yeah, okay, oh, Golden, you go ahead, Golden.
Speaker 3: Oh you go first.
Speaker 5: Okay, Okay, Well, Nati, Hi everybody on the live.
Speaker 4: I'm Delaney George.
Speaker 5: I'm the co founder of Creative Fine Arts Agency DCDG. Also,
Speaker 5: this is our first iteration of our new brain child,
Speaker 5: Iconic Visions, which basically partners legends like Golden works here
Speaker 5: and other people of multiple industries, whether it's music, sports, entertainment,
Speaker 5: and put them in the role of the curator. So
Speaker 5: kind of like you said, Lauren, taking something that we
Speaker 5: all know in love within our culture and then bring
Speaker 5: it into find our in the galleries and putting a
Speaker 5: contemporary towist on something that we all know and love.
Speaker 5: So I'm super excited to be talking about this with
Speaker 5: you all, but also to be bringing this to life
Speaker 5: with so many incredible black women artists. That's what it's
Speaker 5: really about, That's what's connecting us. So I'm excited to
Speaker 5: get into it.
Speaker 6: Hi, everybody in the live I'm so excited to be
Speaker 6: a part of this project. My name is Brandan Bird,
Speaker 6: and I am a multi high far artists and creative
Speaker 6: and I am exhibiting a piece in the show and
Speaker 6: I'm just like heartful.
Speaker 3: Oh gosh, Hi you guys. I'm Golden Brooks.
Speaker 7: Aka my Denise Wilks. I just I I was asked to,
Speaker 7: you know, sort of come along this journey and help
Speaker 7: curate and just pick some amazing art pieces from some
Speaker 7: of these you know, these artists, and.
Speaker 3: To work with the d C d G, it's just
Speaker 3: it feels like such an honor.
Speaker 7: I feel I feel very honored, and I'm I still
Speaker 7: get really emotional when we were talking about any girlfriends
Speaker 7: and just knowing.
Speaker 3: That the show is still is still moving and and
Speaker 3: and being.
Speaker 7: Celebrated and empowering communities, and it's being used to to
Speaker 7: as the muse for for this particular art exhibition.
Speaker 3: It's mind blowing all of us.
Speaker 7: Tracy, Jill Persia and I we're just blown away at
Speaker 7: the amount of just love and support and still the
Speaker 7: train is moving, and I think it just shows that
Speaker 7: we need more of this, We need more representation and
Speaker 7: just girlfriends to be able to be in the art space,
Speaker 7: which I love. I'm a huge art lover. I feel
Speaker 7: very honored, So thank you for having me.
Speaker 5: This is a show that we all know and love
Speaker 5: and all girls, but now to be taking it from
Speaker 5: the screen and putting it on canvas or gallery wall,
Speaker 5: I think that's something that everybody can relate to. So
Speaker 5: even if you're a person that's not traditionally trained harder,
Speaker 5: you're not into it all the time. I think this
Speaker 5: show is going to bring something for everyone to be
Speaker 5: involved in.
Speaker 7: It really is a collection about what sisterhood looks like.
Speaker 3: Yes, and the pieces are.
Speaker 7: Beautiful, and I mean I think that girlfriend and what
Speaker 7: it represents to me is the whole culture of what
Speaker 7: it is to be and not just a brown woman,
Speaker 7: but but female womanhood, from our hair to our skin
Speaker 7: to how we connect physically metaphysically. I mean some of
Speaker 7: the art pieces were so metaphorical and and you know what,
Speaker 7: I feel like, art is kind of like a really
Speaker 7: good dish. Like some people, you may not know what
Speaker 7: you're eating. You may not know all ingredients and sometimes
Speaker 7: intimidating when you go to, you know, a certain restaurant,
Speaker 7: you're like, oh, what is it? But once you eat it,
Speaker 7: it's texture, it's feeling. You just you just know when
Speaker 7: you know, and and you don't always have to have
Speaker 7: the right terminology. But when you look at something and
Speaker 7: it moved you and it evokes an emotion, that's when
Speaker 7: you know that that piece is for you.
Speaker 3: You know it's all feeling true.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and Golden, this is kind of like another full
Speaker 1: circle woman for you, because you guys are The African
Speaker 1: American Museum.
Speaker 7: In DC we we were, We absolutely were our art.
Speaker 7: It's just it's you know, I think because Girlfriends was
Speaker 7: so iconic, I feel so.
Speaker 3: Old when I say that, I'm like iconic.
Speaker 7: But I think because it was one of the first
Speaker 7: shows that actually celebrated or you know, maur bucka kill,
Speaker 7: you know, hats off to her showing black women doing
Speaker 7: yoga and eating sushi and.
Speaker 3: Wearing fly clothes designer.
Speaker 7: I think that was the first time I ever heard about,
Speaker 7: you know, the well, not really the Burken Bag, because
Speaker 7: Sex and the City did it, but you had women
Speaker 7: of women of color wearing designer.
Speaker 3: You know. We talked about it, and.
Speaker 7: I just think that on so many levels it showcased
Speaker 7: us in a way that we hadn't seen ourselves and
Speaker 7: all of our flaws, you know. And I think that
Speaker 7: that's something that I think women of color it was.
Speaker 7: It opened up a whole new conversation piece on the
Speaker 7: black woman and what that looks like, you know, and
Speaker 7: I think museums. I think it should be celebrated, and
Speaker 7: I think Girlfriends really was sort of the catalyst for
Speaker 7: a lot of other amazing shows that have that have
Speaker 7: come after it. So I feel very proud to be
Speaker 7: to be part of that.
Speaker 1: Well, Golden kind of talked a little bit about what
Speaker 1: the show meant to her, but for everyone else here,
Speaker 1: I would love to know the first time you watched
Speaker 1: this is like an Icebregger, first time you watched Girlfriends? What,
Speaker 1: like what did it represent like right away to you?
Speaker 1: And like, I feel like there's a version of us
Speaker 1: who watched.
Speaker 2: It now as we're older, But try.
Speaker 1: And think back to like the very first time you
Speaker 1: watched the series.
Speaker 5: I'm like, I think I want to say it might
Speaker 5: have been like around like maybe two thousand and.
Speaker 3: Three or four.
Speaker 5: My mom used to religiously watch Girlfriends like get a
Speaker 5: and then tune in and like we would literally sit
Speaker 5: in front of tea together. So in a way, Girlfriends
Speaker 5: represents like a motherly bond for me because that's.
Speaker 4: Something that my mom did together.
Speaker 5: Like that was we ate our dinner watch Girlfriends, and
Speaker 5: my mom would literally cold Maya's like, oh hell no
Speaker 5: all the time, she's probably watching this get in here,
Speaker 5: clean this rip.
Speaker 4: Exactly.
Speaker 5: So I mean that was definitely a bonding moment for
Speaker 5: me and my mom, Like so early early two thousands
Speaker 5: for sure. And then it's like when I when I
Speaker 5: saw just the imagery of these black women. I me
Speaker 5: being that age, I didn't really get to Laura digest
Speaker 5: like all of like the drama and the serious. Yeah,
Speaker 5: but they were just so beautiful and like fabulous in
Speaker 5: the fashion in a stop. Like every single episode, everybody
Speaker 5: was on point Tony with all of her designer and
Speaker 5: her product. Like I was crazy because, like I mean,
Speaker 5: growing up in New Orleans, like I, we just did
Speaker 5: not see that type of caliber of black women. And
Speaker 5: I think you said, like that golden like that didn't
Speaker 5: just expose, you know, that exposed to everyone.
Speaker 4: To like the fact that this is what we can be.
Speaker 5: These black women do exist, and that was like my
Speaker 5: first occurrences with it. It was inspiring to see that,
Speaker 5: but also it was a bonding moment for me and
Speaker 5: my mom.
Speaker 3: I love that so amazing.
Speaker 6: I think I started watching it and maybe like two
Speaker 6: thousand or two thousand and one, I was definitely like
Speaker 6: in elementary school, but it was just like always on
Speaker 6: in my house, and it was like, wait a minute,
Speaker 6: they're owning homes and miracle miles.
Speaker 3: Right in the cities. They were, like y'all were.
Speaker 1: Because when I was thirty, I was like, wait, because
Speaker 1: in Girlfriends they were like twenty nine, thirty thirty one, right.
Speaker 6: Right, yeah, and like growing up it's like, oh wait,
Speaker 6: twenty eight with real jobs, law firms.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that was cool for me to see.
Speaker 6: Because it definitely gave me like inspiration, like you can
Speaker 6: be out landishly loud, you can be yourself, you can
Speaker 6: be exceptionally beautiful.
Speaker 3: So yeah, it was a lot of for me. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Same, I agree with both of you guys sentiments. For me,
Speaker 1: I think the first time I watched it younger, it
Speaker 1: was just like it reminded me of like my group
Speaker 1: of friends and like my family, like theirs, Like you
Speaker 1: always have the aunt who has a great job and
Speaker 1: you can tell her lifestyle. You go to her house
Speaker 1: and it's like, oh my god, and then you got
Speaker 1: your homework like it. There were so many different people
Speaker 1: in one show, but they all were together, and I
Speaker 1: don't think I've ever seen that, cause I think other
Speaker 1: than that, a show that sits out to me is
Speaker 1: like a Mosha. But it was different because she was younger,
Speaker 1: she was figuring things out. She was you know, like
Speaker 1: there was a certain unapologeticness in Girlfriends for each character
Speaker 1: in different ways, And I was young, like, wait, hold
Speaker 1: on because she just wait because yeah.
Speaker 2: So figuring all those things out as I was.
Speaker 3: Learning and growing.
Speaker 4: Now I'm like, oh.
Speaker 3: They rewatch it different. The rewatch it's crazy.
Speaker 5: I was like, wait, this is actually unhinged activities.
Speaker 7: So do you guys feel like now you guys are
Speaker 7: still so young, and I mean, and I know you
Speaker 7: watched it with your mom's when you look at it now,
Speaker 7: even for me when I look at it now, you know,
Speaker 7: twenty five years later, and I sometimes I see so
Speaker 7: many memes now online like.
Speaker 3: Who was the most toxic friend?
Speaker 7: Or you know, but looking at it now, now that
Speaker 7: you guys are older, more mature, does it resonate in
Speaker 7: a way that do you feel something different? Do you
Speaker 7: feel like you're more connected to one or the other
Speaker 7: now that you're in a space of living your full,
Speaker 7: flushed out lives.
Speaker 1: Hell, yeah, oh my god, I'll be watching that. I'll
Speaker 1: rewatched it a few years ago with my mom and
Speaker 1: then I've just rewatched it on my own, just and
Speaker 1: moving to New York and wanting to you know, you
Speaker 1: have that girlfriend's like I want to take over the city,
Speaker 1: to take over the world wide, and I feel like
Speaker 1: it depends on what I'm going through in the week
Speaker 1: I'm having. I might identify with a different character for
Speaker 1: a different reason, and I might need like I might
Speaker 1: need to be Then and just be like free spirited
Speaker 1: things are going to work out. I might need to
Speaker 1: be Maya and be like I'm on, fuck this, this
Speaker 1: is not happening. I might need to be Joan. I
Speaker 1: might need to be Deal and be like hold on
Speaker 1: cause from me, I deserve that, like you know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying, Like, it just depends on what I'm going through.
Speaker 1: But Mark brock Iki, I think what it's so genius
Speaker 1: about the show is that I've never I could really
Speaker 1: watch it a thousand times and find a different reason
Speaker 1: why I need it to watch it like the art,
Speaker 1: the story doesn't get old. You watch it like I
Speaker 1: need to see it again, girl.
Speaker 4: That right.
Speaker 6: Definitely timeless for sure, because like a lot of I
Speaker 6: primarily work in fashion and art, but like a lot
Speaker 6: of the fashion girls, they're like, oh it's touch sex
Speaker 6: in the City, no shade, great show, but I resonate
Speaker 6: more with like the characters of Girlfriends.
Speaker 3: Oh Man, thank you.
Speaker 5: It's differing for me too, because it's like I think
Speaker 5: watching it as an adult, like the ages twenty eight
Speaker 5: through like thirty one, thirty two. It's like it makes
Speaker 5: you like they're still going through so many things that
Speaker 5: you would like imagine people not go through. And it's like, wow,
Speaker 5: these are grown women around my age that's going.
Speaker 4: Through the same thing.
Speaker 5: It's just like it's okay to still be figuring out.
Speaker 5: Like Girlfriends just showed such a spectrum of different types
Speaker 5: of Black women, Like they were all different in their way,
Speaker 5: but it's like their situations happen to all of us,
Speaker 5: Like we're not you know, opposed to going.
Speaker 4: Through an that.
Speaker 5: So I feel like it's really for me to be
Speaker 5: like you can be a career woman, can be like
Speaker 5: on your stuff, but you're still going to have like
Speaker 5: reality happen.
Speaker 4: So I feel like Girlfriends is kind of like that's.
Speaker 5: A hug that you need to be like, girl, like
Speaker 5: you're okay, like you're figuring out and that's okay too.
Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah, that's you. Guys are so on it. I
Speaker 7: love it.
Speaker 3: I love it.
Speaker 7: It's it really is crazy how it still holds up,
Speaker 7: you know, and we're all still so very close and uh,
Speaker 7: I mean the fashion we always talk about, you know,
Speaker 7: what I would take this from Joe, you know, oh
Speaker 7: you know, Lynn, let me let me get that little
Speaker 7: black sashet or for real estate dresses and my little
Speaker 7: sassy jeans. And I loved it. I love that we're
Speaker 7: having this conversation. And I think we're all I mean,
Speaker 7: as black women. I really think we're all those women, right,
Speaker 7: I think we're all that, And I think we we
Speaker 7: have to code switch. That's what we do as as
Speaker 7: women of color, women in the arts, women in if
Speaker 7: you know, if you're in the professional space, we you know,
Speaker 7: we're a little bit of Maya when we're with our friends,
Speaker 7: you know, the sister girl where and sometimes we have
Speaker 7: to put on that hat when like Joan in the boardroom,
Speaker 7: and and sometimes we're the perennial student where we're constantly
Speaker 7: wanting to learn, like like Lynn, and I think we
Speaker 7: wear so many hats as women of color that we
Speaker 7: have to. And so I'm so proud of all three
Speaker 7: of you for, you know, being in the space that
Speaker 7: you are. And I think people underestimate how art really
Speaker 7: can inspire you, whether it's TV or an actual art
Speaker 7: piece or.
Speaker 3: Because we're removed by by what.
Speaker 7: Is us and and something that's familiar and something that
Speaker 7: gives us, you know, legiency to.
Speaker 3: To be that and to explore that and to express that.
Speaker 7: So I just think conversations like this are really important,
Speaker 7: especially for you know, you guys and and even younger generations,
Speaker 7: so that they know it's okay, it's okay to to
Speaker 7: to be you, you know, and I know that that
Speaker 7: we're living in a space right now where we're kind
Speaker 7: of told who we need to be. And social that's
Speaker 7: another thing we always talk about. Girlfriends was around at
Speaker 7: a time, but there was no social media. You know,
Speaker 7: there was no Instagram, there was no I mean, I
Speaker 7: think Facebook was just starting, but it.
Speaker 4: Was a space maybe yeah, yeah, it was my space.
Speaker 7: Right, but like you only found out about girlfriends by
Speaker 7: word of mouth, like if you was you know.
Speaker 1: A.
Speaker 6: Yeah, definitely was like a talking point and like it
Speaker 6: was that every point of black women lineage. I can
Speaker 6: definitely say, from like grandparents to like my parents.
Speaker 7: Right, I mean it was sort of like you had
Speaker 7: to go to your local Sunday dinner or to church
Speaker 7: or to a friend's house to talk about that episode.
Speaker 3: Oh did you say when Joon did this?
Speaker 7: Because you know that's also how you know that it
Speaker 7: was the power of us, because you know, it was
Speaker 7: really like we'd have to get fan mail to hear
Speaker 7: what people were thinking.
Speaker 4: It was like wow.
Speaker 7: So they would sit there and open up envelopes, you know,
Speaker 7: and it's it's very interesting. We're in a different time.
Speaker 7: So the fact that we're still having this conversation, it
Speaker 7: just it really takes me a little bit emotional.
Speaker 1: So all right, y'all, So that has been the sit
Speaker 1: down with Golden Brooks. Now make sure again if you
Speaker 1: have not heard it enough throughout this conversation, you will
Speaker 1: hear right now that you come out. If you were
Speaker 1: in la on June twenty eighth and June twenty ninth
Speaker 1: to visit the exhibition, it will be open to the public.
Speaker 1: You can go out, take a look at all the
Speaker 1: art pieces, and you know, Golden will be there. It's
Speaker 1: going to be a great time. It's going to be
Speaker 1: a day full of creativity and conversation through the lens
Speaker 1: of black women creators, which, of course, again, girlfriends, you know,
Speaker 1: it was tea for that is that's what they gave.
Speaker 2: Even though they weren't all artists. You know, they were.
Speaker 1: Painting this campus of what real life looks like for
Speaker 1: us as black women. It's twenty five years later, we
Speaker 1: still celebrate it. So at the end of the today,
Speaker 1: like I always tell you guys, y'all could be anywhere
Speaker 1: with anybody having these conversations, but you choose to be
Speaker 1: right here with me. I appreciate you guys so much, Lowriders,
Speaker 1: and I will see you guys in my next episode.