growing and learning your craft.
You should never settle and you
have to be prepared for bumps in
the road. When you are an artist,
the hard times will come. But that
is what makes you an even better
artist. I am nowhere near where I
want to be, but sometimes you
have to take a step back and look
at all the things you have accomplished and be thankful for every
experience you had, whether
good or bad. The three biggest
lessons my field has taught me:
faith, patience and perseverance...don't leave home without
them.
Kushe’: If you could do anything
now, what would you do? Why?
Nzinga: I have been writing for
years now and it's time for me to
start producing. There is no reason for all my scripts to collect
dust by just sitting in a pile. So
now is the time to kick fear to the
curb and put my work out there.
It's not easy, but as the saying
goes "nothing worth having
comes easy." As you can tell I am
a fan of adages.
Kushe’: What would you like to
say to your supporters out there?
Nzinga: I would like to say thank
you to every supporter out there.
As an African, there are some
communities that really support
each other; then there are some
that just don't. It's heartbreaking
when people do not support each
other because people truly fail to
realize the
importance of strength in numbers. There is a reason for the
saying "together we rise, divided
we fall." So I do my best to sup-
port all fellow artists and
entrepreneurs, especially the
ones who work so hard, but are
underrepresented.
Kushe’: Did you face any
challenges before landing at this
threshold in life?
Nzinga: I faced many challenges
and still continue to face them,
but that is all part of the journey.
The harder the challenge the
harder I work. Challenge is like
an adrenaline to me. It gives me
the drive to do everything in my
power to get where I want to go.
Before I even got a manager I had
been told to get headshots done
while I was still in college. One
of the challenges I thought I
would face a lot came from a
comment from a former agent. I
had given him my first headshot
to look at and he told me commercially I would do well, BUT
theatrically, he wasn't so
sure...then these words actually
came out of his mouth "you see
Nzinga, usually people with
strong negroid features, such as
yourself, have a hard time making
it big in Hollywood. I mean let’s
face it; you will never be a Halle
Berry."
As you can imagine those words
were shocking and hurtful, but for
some reason I was grateful to that
guy because I told myself I would
prove him wrong. You can never
allow people to speak over your
destiny. Only you have that
power. I don't want to be a Halle
Berry anyway. She has worked
hard to be where she is and I am
going to work hard to be an
Nzinga Blake.
23
Kushe’: What advice would you
give to men and women who are
striving to be in your industry?
Nzinga: You have to have a thick
skin and you can never give up no
matter what. I hate to sound so
cliché, but it's the honest truth.
Rejection will become an
annoying buddy that doesn't go
away, but every victory will be
the best friend that lasts a lifetime.
Kushe’: What’s your favorite African dish?
Nzinga: Egusi hands down. My
Mama taught me how to make it
and if I do say so myself - de
soup sweet oh!
Kushe’: If you were an animal,
what would you be?
Nzinga: A bird. I would love to
fly.
And soaring all possibilities in
life is just what Nzinga does best.
She has learned that every
experience is part of an amazing
adventure called life. “You never
stop learning and you work hard,
but leave enough room for play”,
a lesson passed down from her
parents.