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

affirmation I needed on a Friday afternoon sprawled out across my bed. Replaying the audio back, little did I know, our biz professional zoom call suddenly transformed into girltalk.

“Well, I think the thing with me is that I have not really played typical African-American Hollywood roles. I was struggling with that because I didn’t fit into the girlfriend type or the girlfriend of the lead guy. I always wanted to play a role like that and it was so hard for me to book something like that. I booked it once in Barbershop 3 and then the role got cut.”

Layne grew up in Brooklyn and was raised in a mix cultural household. Her mother is Filipina and her father is Jamaican. She recalls her childhood being a mix of traditional caribbean vibes in every sense - strict values, rich in history and in seasonings. She tells us about nostalgically falling in love with acting through watching caribbean sitcoms like Oliver and obsessing over the craft of acting because of actors like Paul Campbell and his movies that were on repeat at her house at a very young age.

But her rise to the big screen was not easy. It’s clear she hustled to get to Hollywood. As a New Yorker, she worked a 9 to 5 office job while spending her evenings and weekends building her resume, acting in and producing low-budget films. It wasn’t until her role in the Academy nominated film Precious did she quit office job and move to California to pursue acting full time.

The roles that really made this Island Girl stand out included depicting larger social issues that affect the black community. Shit that no one wants to report on like illegal body augmentations accidents and messy domestic violence relationships. Layne’s recent IMDB credits include just that. Give this woman an Emmy!! “At first, not many people understood why Spike put that in there.” she tells me when I ask about Shemekka’s obsession with

The thing with black people is that we live with laughter and we live with sadness. We cry through our pain and we laugh at inappropriate shit. We always find the light in the darkness.

butt injections. “I remember seeing it [situations of illegal butt injections] happen quite a few times when it wasn’t on the news. “ Layne recalls. “In 2017 Latiesha Bynin died a few hours after getting illegal butt injections. She was from the Bronx. That was on News 12, which is the local news in NY. Barry Michael Cooper created the character Shemekka Epps. The writers wanted to bring to life how a young woman comes to pay for illegal butt injections because these have been issues silently existing in the black community. It was what many people needed to hear to wake up and do something about it. For reasons most important

to a trans woman of color with few resources or a nightlife dancer looking to make more money if only her hips were more hourglass, ilegal body augmentation was able to make this one lady named Kimberly Smedley millions of dollars. If you don’t believe me, read her memoir, The Backside of the Story. Her illegal plastic surgery business operated out of motel rooms in Philly, NYC and Baltimore for years in the early 2000s. By the time she got busted by the FBI she already made over $1.5 Million from thousands of people looking for a cheaper way to fulfill their body goals. Smedley eventually got busted thanks to her ego, flaunting her lavish lifestyle to the public caught up to her real quick. Cardi B. also talks about getting illegal butt injections on Vlad TV. The Bronx rapper says she got ass shots because she didn’t have no fat for a fat transfer. Plus she was desperate. The Bodak Yellow rapper heard about a lady doing it in Queens, New York, so she asked a stripper colleague for her number. You can peep the full video here. Basically, Cardi B was on some “what are the odds type of thing.” But even through the BS, it’s storylines like this that can only be meaningfully portrayed by someone who knows what’s up. And this is how Layne rose to the top of the echelons in black Hollywood. She brings to life characters in storylines that historically don’t have a voice.

Spoiler alert! By the last episode of the She’s Gotta Have it series, Shamekka Epps reclaims her time and finds her passion in beauty entrepreneurship. She becomes like a hood Mary Kay and I shed a thug tear. This character did a total 360. You automatically want to root for Shemekka’s come up. It’s the type of urban fairytale we all hope for the hood girl who finally gets her shit together. In a different role, Layne plays a battered black woman named Jordan Boudreaux on TV One’s In Broad Daylight. Released this past July, the on demand movie was meant to raise awareness about toxic relationships. Her co-star Curtis Hamilton of Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel’le and Shad “Bow Wow” Moss of Growing Up Hip Hop: Atlanta slash sabbatical rapper, join Layne in this super dramatic and triggering story. With a mixed cast of actors with their own street cred, the feedback in general was great, especially amongst the urban audience. On the question of how Layne deals with acting out roles with heavy subject matter, she delivers with professionalism and optimism.

“The thing with black people is that we live with laughter and we live with sadness. We cry through our pain and we laugh at inappropriate shit. We are at funerals partying and sending out praises to god. We always find the light in the darkness. That’s what I had to do with Jordan.” On reflecting on her latest roles, Layne says “at the end of the day, it’s an inspirational message of hope and survival. What I love about Jordan is that she always tried to maintain positivity and always had something to fight for, even when it was dark. You can’t play a role like this and constantly stay in the place of darkness because you’re not going to find the light.” With a budding production company and many forthcoming roles to follow She’s Gotta Have It, we’re sure Ms. Chyna got a long career journey ahead. She’s making money moves for sure! There’s definitely a project inspired by her caribeaan upbringing in the pipeline, as her business acumen has always been aligned with her craft. You’ve got to learn the business too for longevity, not just play in it.