Chyna Layne
By: Melissa Henderson
Hollywood better make room for our sis, star of Netflix’s new series, “She’s Gotta Have It” It took me the whole summer to finish Season 2 of Spike Lee’s Netflix series She’s Gotta Have It. But with each new episode that I watched with a fresh set of eyes, Actress Chyna Layne revealed a new layer of Shemekka Epps, a character with a lot going on. “I was transformed as an actress playing this role, “ Layne confessed to me over the phone. “Spike really challenges you so that you don’t have no choice but to grow. I’ve gotten tremendously better in my craft from just working with him.” Amongst the show’s heavy hitting cast, Dewanda Wise as Nola Darling and Rapper Fat Joe as Winnie Win supported her character growth, challenging what it’s like to have friends from different backgrounds. Yet, Layne’s professionalism in acting stands out the most through characters who aren’t represented as much on the big screen. Her “too hood for hollywood” and ability to relate is what really allows her career to flourish. In today’s culture of women empowerment, the Kardashian body dilemma, the push to keep #blackgirlmagic authentic is a whole fulltime job. We got big hips, we got small boobs and big boobs, we love rap culture and yet we are paid 30 cents less than the white man’s dollar, aren’t fully represented in the women’s march campaigns and still battle with how to maintain our natural sex appeal. Even though this is just a show, these are just some of the issues the character “Shemekka Epps” has to cope with, which is why Layne says this role was made for her. So much so the day before the audition, she flew from New York to Los Angeles, determined to win over producers of the show. She tells Violet Summer Zine that the role was meant for her because of how she connected to Shameeka Epps. So who is Shemeeka Epps of She’s Gotta Have It? Well she’s a struggle hairstylist and single mom on a quest to conquer and re-write the narrative her own womanhood. And this is precisely why Violet Summer Zine had to go to the artist who made it all connect. “I’m too hood for Hollywood and that’s on my IG bio,” Layne reinterates proudly. She says that her dream roles started to materialize when she stopped trying to fit the average Hollywood producer’s role. She wasn’t going to get anywhere playing or auditioning for the typical “black girl” cookie cutter mold. “You’re from the hood, too.” Layne asked me during our call. “Yea I got ties there and like you becoming okay with merging that identity with my “mainstream” life. It’s why I wanted to brand myself as an urban lit writer.” I confessed to myself. It was the 30
