90's Nostalgia Commemorative Issue April 2017 | Page 28

MADEXXXX
WHO LOVES
kel
mitchell?
MADE By Kris D. Williams
Photo Credit:
Creative Director: Kris Williams
Photography: Jennifer Johnson
Videography: Michael Garcia
Grooming: Georgina Hamed
Wardrobe: Chance Davis
In an exclusive interview with MADE Magazine, actor, comedian and
producer Kel Mitchell discusses his 20-year career, keeping the faith and the
keys to longevity that he’s learned along the way.
MADE: One of the things that is awesome about you
is that you're from Chicago.
KEL: Chi-town, Chi-town!
MADE: And you know MADE is based in Chicago...
KEL: Yeah.
MADE: So let’s start there. You were growing up
around some iconic greats like Kanye and Common
and today Chance The Rapper is proudly carrying
the Chicago flag. Do you feel that Chicago breeds
great talent and is it a special place for creativity?
KEL: I definitely do. The style in Chicago, the
creativity, the artwork and even the buildings and
the architecture of Chicago, it's just all so stylish
and cool to me. All different walks of people. But
everybody has their own style as far as the gear and
clothes. I love the Chi for that and I mean it really
made me who I am, that's right Made! You see how
I did that?
MADE:
KEL: Haha but it really did, you know? I got my start
at ETA Creative Arts Foundation which is right down
the street from Regal Theater and if it wasn't for my
mom and my dad putting me in that drama course
for a summer, I don't know which way I would have
went.
They kept me in the church but then I also had gang
violence around me. And so they put me into this
program because I was very rambunctious and I was
a bit of a class clown so I was getting to that age
where a lot of my friends were making choices, some
bad choices and some of my other friends were
making good choices. So they were like, "Let's get
him into this summer program at ETA," and I fell in
love with the art of acting.
MADE: Love at first sight?
KEL: I just loved it, I really did. I fell in love with it
and it really just put me on a wave. It wasn't that I
wanted to get on television with it. It was more of a
hobby - a good hobby to have that was positive and
it kept me out the streets, so the arts saved me. I
think that was really really cool.
MADE: Okay so, take me back to the time when you
actually got your big break. What did that feel like?
KEL: I was in Chicago. I was doing plays. I thought
my big break was when I got on the back of the
Captain Crunch box. I was on the back of the
Crunchberry box, so I had a high top fade. I was like
"Crunch Berries!" and that was the big moment for
me because everybody in Chicago, well in my neigh-
borhood, all the girls were running after me with the
box like, "Ahh it’s Kel, look he's on the box!" so that
was a big moment for me.
made-magazine.com |
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