Coffee Shop with Bryce Wilson
You may associate Bryce Wilson with the glimpses that you’ve had of him in front of the camera. Perhaps as an actor, best known for his role as “James” in Queen Latifah’s hit film “Beauty Shop” or as a musician-formerly half of the 1990’s R&B duo “Groove Theory”. While those accomplishments may be part of Bryce’s journey, they are not it’s entirety. The multi-talented Jamaican, by way of New York, has also made his mark as a successful film and music producer, working with the likes of Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston, Beyonce, Toni Braxton, The Game and Gucci Mane-to name a few. He’s currently working with actor/director Tasha Smith (Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married”) on film projects-slated to be released in 2010.
Between juggling the business of his film and music production
companies, (his production sales have exceeded 50 million and garnered
2 Grammys), Bryce took a moment for Ocean Style…by stepping into our
Coffee Shop…
OS: Who is your favorite new designer? Favorite classic designer?
BW: I love Gucci, that’s my favorite modern designer. My favorite classic designer is Valentino
OS: What’s your favorite movie of all time?
BW: Heat with Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer…I like that it shows a crime with a great story line and that they were professional even though it was a crime. I like the psychological part- how it showed two characters with two different objectives.
OS: Who would you most enjoy inviting to dinner? Where would you dine?
BW: I’d have dinner with my inner child and we’d dine in Brooklyn or Queens
OS: What is your favorite hotel?
BW: I go backwards a lot when things get too trendy. I’d say The Royalton in Midtown Manhattan.
OS: Favorite drug store/discount store purchase?
BW: Clorox…The bathroom cleaner with bleach…I spray everything with it.
OS: Favorite high tech gadget?
BW: My watch…My watch plays movies and stuff on it. It’s some watch from Japan. It plays mp4, mp3 everything…I watch tv shows in it!
OS: What has been your coolest retail find in the most unusual spot?
BW: I’d say a pair of Pumas I found. I was at Sporty LA in LA. I found $500 sneakers for $130, so I wasn’t mad at that…
OS: What is your must have piece or accessory of the season?
BW: My Chrome Hearts wallet chain…that and a Skully, even in the summer. It’s gotta be in my back pocket. I like the regular black ones that you can pick up from your neighborhood bodega!
OS: When was the last time you sent a hand written letter by snail mail? Who was it to?
BW: Last time I sent one was about a month and a half ago to Chilly who is in jail.
OS: (Charles “Chilly” Patton is the executive producer of Lupe Fiacsco’s 2007 album, The Cool)
OS: What’s your favorite place in the world to relax?
BW: Jamaica. I like Half Moon in Montego Bay and Tensing Pen in Negril
OS: Which place in the world would you most like to visit?
BW: I’d say Italy. It’s got a great combination of centuries of culture and coolness at the same time. Out of all of the old European cultures, I like Italy the best. The “coolness” is built into Italy’s culture…like being “laid back” is built into West Indian culture.
OS: Favorite childhood book?
BW: X-Men comic books…definitely…
OS: Best place to eat for $20 US dollars or less?
BW: M Café in Los Angeles…It’s the best sh*t on the planet…it’s the cleanest food you’ll ever eat. Each dish has a yin or yang that balances it all in one taste. It’s macrobiotic food. I get their chopped salad and they’ve also got a tuna burger that’s ridiculous!
OS: Your favorite workout?
BW: Boxing
OS: Most memorable thing that you've done to give back?
BW: I work with a charity called “Shine on Sierra Leone”. I suggested to the founder, Tiffany Persons, to create a Millennium Village. It’s going to be so impactful for them. Millennium Village is building a system, from a fundamental level, that is self-sustaining. It’s a system that encompasses all walks of survival to make an entire community self sustainable. Like, you may have a factory that creates jobs, the products that they’re producing help feed the communities as well. It’s built into education so that the people can take things to another level. Instead of giving aid to a country it allows a community to sustain themselves when you leave. We have so many things going on for the Millennium Village, every month people are contributing to it…
OS: To get involved logon to www.shineonsierraleone.org
OS: Your advice for President Obama after surpassing his 100 days in office?
BW: Just continue to do what he’s doing. Certain things that he’s doing I don’t agree with, some I do…My advice for the American people is to stay educated on what President Obama is doing. Everyone thinks he’s got it on auto drive and that’s the biggest mistake we could make. We can’t just go about our lives and not pay attention, that’s how we got here in the first place.
OS: The name of your first crush. Did she know?
BW: Ms. Curry…I still remember her and that was kindergarten. She had a really, really short Afro and I guess I liked that look at a young age…I don’t know if she knew about my crush on her, but I was definitely her favorite!
OS: What have you done to GO GREEN?
BW: I’m just starting to do the recycling thing and I’ve helped with a few GREEN initiatives. I think I want to get a hybrid truck next. I still drive a gas guzzler, but I’m not proud of that.
OS: Do you have a good luck charm? What is it?
BW: My daughter…
OS: What makes you feel sexy?
BW: What I think is sexy is having a genuine disregard for bullsh*t forms of establishment…What’s sexy is people who love art or love their art. It’s never about clothes or anything material. Sexy is having that bit of selfishness where you don’t give a sh*t what anyone thinks-that makes an artistic genius.
OS: Top 3 turn ons?
BW: Independence, style and I love people who are interested in things. It is the most amazing thing ever. Going through life not being interested in anything is not going through life!
OS: If your life had a theme song what would it be?
BW: “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy
OS: Describe your perfect day
BW: To be on an island with my good, good friends somewhere, just good company…
OS: If you had to choose one person in the world to be in an interrogation room with, who would it be? Why?
BW: Osho-They call him the 2nd most dangerous man next to Jesus…
OS: (Osho, also known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh was a spiritual teacher, public speaker and Indian mystic who lived from 1931-1990. He authored books including “From Sex to Superconsciousness” and “My Way, the Way of the White Clouds”)
OS: Most embarrassing moment?
BW: I was at the Four Seasons visiting MC Lyte, and it was weird. I was sitting on a bed and a few people kept looking in the room; then Janet peeks her head in and she looks me up and down. I look like, “um, hello?” I look her up and down, just like she looked at me. Then, I was leaving with Lyte, and she said, “Don’t mind her”. I was really feeling myself, walking and talking sh*t right into the elevator. I kept saying aloud “I don’t give a fu*k about Janet Jackson” over and over. Then I pushed the elevator button and am waiting for the door to close and two security guards walk up and stop the doors from closing. They say “…excuse me sir, this elevator is for Ms. Jackson”. I was so embarrassed. I had to walk out of the elevator and as soon as I did, they fell out laughing….
OS: Your favorite celebrity? Why?
BW: Will Smith…He comes from what we all come from and he shows exactly how far we can take it. He’s the epitome of the resilience.
OS: Have you joined Twitter?
BW: I have, for an event that my music company did with Puff, but I’m bad with it. I don’t like people following me. It’s intrusive.
OS: So if you were in the “Twittersphere” right now, what would you say that you were doing prior to our Coffee Shop convo?
BW: Reading a script….
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