06x10 - The Mis-Inspiration of Reggie Devore

[bunniefuu]

-[hip-hop music playing]
-[man laughs]

♪ We gonna stand
On the tables for this one ♪

-♪ Yeah, hey, hey! ♪
-♪ We poppin' out ♪

♪ Party, party, no stopping now… ♪

-[Antoni] Wanna hear about our hero?
-[Tan] Of course!

"So, this week,
we're helping Reggie Devore."

"He's 35, and he is a rapper,
producer and music engineer."

Fun!

♪ Electrifying, I'm given the chair
Messiah got their hands in the air ♪

♪ Super Black, you can tell by the hair
Rude, you can tell by the stare ♪

♪ Magic, dawg, nah, we don't compare ♪

Do you need me to keep going? [laughs]

[Antoni] "He's married to
his high school sweetheart Sasha

and a proud father
to 12-year-old son Reggie."

-[Reggie] Way to follow it.
-My dad is my hero.

Everything he does is
just great and amazing.

[Reggie] Oh!

Like, how could I not admire him?

Reggie and I met in high school.

We were both in the band.
We were both nerds. [chuckles]

We knew that we'd be together forever.

[Antoni] "Sasha recently gave birth

to their second
surprise child, five-week-old Stokely."

[Bobby] Yay! A baby!

We got a baby.
I'm not changing the diaper.

[Karamo] You have to.

[Antoni] "Reggie's an up-and-coming rapper
with a passion for creating beats."

"Loving his craft,
he began performing as a hip-hop artist

under the moniker BlackLight."

♪ Go ahead, yeah, give it to 'em ♪

♪ All they needed was a chance
And it's gone… ♪

The first time that I noticed
that music did something to me,

that was, like, pre-golden age hip-hop.

So, like, I'm seeing all these MC's,
like Tupac, like the young Biggie.

That's what sparked my interest as a kid.

So, that set the foundation
for what BlackLight does.

♪ I don't reciprocate, I just obliterate ♪

♪ Break it by what you say
Break it, disseminate… ♪

"He raps about everything from racial
injustices to mental health struggles."

Yeah, so living.

In 2019,
Reggie's rap career was really taking off.

He got to open for Katy Perry
and Dua Lipa in India.

-Okay, international artist!
-That's crazy.

Then COVID hit, and all of that stops.

My goals were definitely halted,

and during COVID,
I produced more music for other people

than I had ever done before.

But I've only done
one song this year for myself.

Reggie's not in a good place.

I've lost the drive, motivation,
a little bit, even the want,

to be an artist anymore.

No.

Ugh, all I hear is self-doubt,
self-doubt, self-doubt.

"Reggie questions if he'll ever again
harness that passion for music."

[Reggie] We're a humble family.
We don't need a lot.

Like, quitting music is the major thought,

and just, you know,
finding another career.

Look at them big eyes.

[Sasha] He works so hard as a father,
but Reggie may have forgotten

how talented he is
and how worth it his love for music is.

"Sasha's booked Reggie
for a live event at Empire,

a venue Reggie has dreamed
of performing at."

-"And Reggie is the closing act."
-Wow.

Yes, wife-ager.
She's pulling a Kris Jenner.

-Yeah.
-We are booking our husband, honey.

[Sasha] We have a lot
of faith in his abilities.

I think he just needs
a little confidence boost

before he gets out there on the big stage.

[Little Reggie] I want
the Fab Five to help my dad

with getting his motivation
and his drive back

and find his love for music again.

"So, this week, let's help Reggie remember
he doesn't sing because he's happy."

"He's happy because he sings!"

[all] Yeah!

[sings]

-Wow! That was… something.
-Pretty, Tan.

[laughs]

[theme music playing]

♪ Better
All things just keep getting better ♪

[lullaby playing]

[shushing]

[Bobby] Whoo! It's a hot day in Texas.

[whispers] Hi.

I'm Tan, nice to meet you.

Hi, I'm Sasha. [shushing]

The baby is sleeping.

I'm Tan. Nice to meet you.

-I'm Reggie.
-Lovely to meet you, Reggie.

-Reggie is…
-He's in the studio in the back.

We're gonna tiptoe, honey.

[Antoni] Reminds me of sneaking back in

way past my curfew when I was, like,
16 when I was out at a bar with friends,

and I'm trying not to wake my parents up.

Except we're walking into
a stranger's home with a baby.

Wow, life really takes turns sometimes.

[hip-hop music playing]

[clears throat]

-Oh, my goodness!
-[laughing]

-What's up?
-I'm Tan.

-[Karamo] Keep that b*at playing.
-[Tan] How are you?

-That b*at is so good.
-[Bobby] Nice to meet you.

How you doin'?

-[Reggie] Karamo?
-Yes.

-[Reggie] Nice to meet you. How you doing?
-[Karamo] We're good!

This is so amazing that
you have your own studio in here.

-[Bobby] That is awesome.
-[Tan] You always produce your own music?

[Reggie] Actually,
I'll produce like, rock bands.

Like, "This sounds better
if you do this, if you do that."

You can't help it that you're an artist.

[laughs] The whole family, actually.

[Jonathan] Creativity abounds.

-[Tan] How long have you been doing this?
-All my life, you know.

Church choir, uh, wrote poetry to my wife.

Aww.

But, um, I've been
performing professionally

for over seven years as BlackLight.

There was a time
I was in here making three beats a day.

-Yeah.
-What's the meaning behind BlackLight?

Like, with the culture.
You know, Black culture.

I'm shining a light
on what's like, dark, you know,

what's making us have
this "stereotypical" labels

and things like that,
and then, like, just being yourself,

um, is the main goal

and also to be an example for my kids.

-Yes.
-[Karamo] That is amazing.

-I wanna see the rest of the house.
-[all] Yeah.

Wow. These dark, orange walls.

All right.

[Jonathan] We do have a lot
of different looks in here, though.

We are rocking
your gorgeous natural texture. Yes!

Ooh! Okay.

Oh, this is what he wears on stage?

Okay.

-[Karamo] Look at this, them in prom.
-[all] Aww!

-Oh, my God.
-[Antoni] Your high school sweetheart.

-That's lovely.
-[Reggie] I was so skinny back then.

-[Tan] I wanna see the baby.
-[Antoni] Be quiet.

-Let's go.
-Yes! Oh, yeah, but we won't scream.

Hi.

Hi, baby.

He wants to wake up and say hi.

Oh, my God.

I know.

[Antoni] Oh, Tanny.

-[Karamo] That's gonna be you soon.
-[Tan] I know, I'm so excited.

I'm about to be a father, and so
seeing baby Stokely melts my heart,

and it's getting me excited for my baby.

-He's gorgeous.
-[Karamo] Like a gift.

-Oh, my God.
-I know.

About to steal me a baby.

Oh, my gosh, gorg.

If Tan gets a baby, I get a baby.

Okay, let's talk
through your closet. This, I love.

This is my wife's actually.

-Oh, really? [laughs]
-In high school.

-It's fantastic. I love it so much.
-Yeah.

It's hard to figure out
what's yours and what's not yours

'cause it's all mixed in.

-[Reggie] We have always shared a closet.
-Wow, wow, wow, wow. Okay.

-This is you, right?
-That's my performance jacket, actually.

[Tan] It's very corporate for what you do.

The contradiction
of, like, being super formal on stage

and then, you know,
being a hip-hop artist is great.

You know what I mean? I think of
Childish Gambino and Pharrell,

it's always, maybe a blazer.

Is that the look
that you would like to keep,

more of a buttoned-up version of you?

I just don't know.
Sometimes I'll go on stage like this,

with, like, some skinny jeans
and a cutoff, more of like a punk rock.

Okay, there's a lot.

Yeah, it is a lot.

I can't figure out
who you are based on your closet.

Seeing these pieces makes me feel
like he didn't really believe in himself.

He didn't really believe his own hype.
An artist needs to stand out.

That's not the case here.

-You would wear that in daily life also?
-Yeah, I would.

Most of the people I'm helping
have normal jobs. They have normal lives.

You are an artist.

-I want you to feel powerful on stage.
-Mm-hmm.

Okay.

And maybe I can convince you
to come up with a certain vibe.

-Are you a Beyoncé fan?
-Yes, I am. She's good.

The looks she puts on
are Sasha Fierce's looks.

I would love to give you,
like, this little superpower

to take on stage with you,

so you think,
"I stand out. I feel really good,

and I wanna perform for people again."

Okay.

I feel like the microwave
needs all of its layers of doors

to protect you from the radio waves.

-[Antoni] Ooh!
-Yeah, I don't think that's safe.

[coughs]

Uh-oh. She's real broke. Um…

[groans] Wiener juice, wiener juice.
Oh, God!

[Bobby] Wiener juice,
wiener juice, wiener juice.

If you say it three times,
a wiener appears.

[groans]

-Did you listen to any of his stuff?
-[Karamo] Not yet, just the one we heard.

Which immediately when I heard it,
I was like, "This is good."

Yeah, he's got talent. And his writing,
recording, mixing, mastering, all of that.

-All him?
-[Sasha] Yeah.

What we've done as a family is,
if we can't afford it, we do it ourselves.

We learn it ourselves.
We build it ourselves.

We are really invested
in each other's arts too,

because Reggie writes music,
and I write books.

-[Tan] Hey, KK. Sorry.
-[Karamo] Come on in.

I didn't realize you were having a chat.
I thought you'd been

trying to create a song,
'cause it's you. And twerking.

-Exactly, yeah.
-[laughing]

-I will leave him with you.
-[Karamo] Sure. Come join us.

I'm gonna snoop in your closet. Thank you.

I just heard you're producing, writing.

You're doing all these things,
which-- that shows you work hard.

That's very evident. And so,
what was it like for 2020 for you?

Depressing.

I don't know.
I could barely even talk about it.

Still can barely talk about it.
'cause it's still emotionally charged.

Yeah, of course.

[Reggie] I, like, truly love what I did.

[Karamo] "Did" meaning
you used to love it.

Is there something going on there
about your love? Has it wavered?

[exhales]

The whole lockdown,
everything just changed, like,

the underlying frustrations of me,
I'm not out there performing.

-Yeah.
-[Reggie] That feeling of starting over.

It made me question if this is
what I'm supposed to be doing.

-Or if I'm to be doing something else.
-Yeah.

Maybe my goal here
was to be great at a lot of things

and to teach my sons to be better people.

[Karamo] Mmm.

-You have a show coming up?
-[Reggie] Yeah.

Um, Sasha curated it, obviously.

-That's such support and love.
-[Reggie] Yeah.

[Sasha] We got some of
our favorite bands together

to just kind of hit the stage

and give it our all
and get back to the grind.

This is a comeback for you.

Um…

Unsure.

Yeah, that's real.

Stripped away your confidence
and trust in a lot of areas.

-Yeah, for sure.
-"So why would I be confident?"

Right, right, right, right, right.

Oh, my God.

[Antoni] Oh, my God.

Whoa!

We can play a game of "Never Have I Ever."

Never have I ever seen
a table saw in a kitchen cabinet.

It was literally like this.

A circular saw?

It might be a table saw.
It might be circular saw.

But it is a thing that is in a kitchen
when it probably should be in a garage.

I'll say that.

Your hair is so beautiful.

-Thank you.
-Skin, poppin'.

I use coconut oil. That's it.
Literally all over my whole body.

Okay, but I also love
your baby pick moment.

Not a baby pick, but I love that
there's a gorgeous pick in there.

I love that as well.

It's very much Black joy, very much
gorgeous resistance, "This is who I am."

Yes.

I wanna help nurture that.
When's the last time you had a haircut?

Last time I had a haircut was right
before I went to the Katy Perry show.

Oh, so major.

I go and get my hair trimmed,
and they leave me with an inch of hair.

My wife thought it was better.

Who does that?

After that haircut,
you know what I mean,

a lot of stuff went down,
my confidence or whatever.

You lost a little bit
of your gorgeous authenticities.

[Reggie] Right. Mm-hmm.

Like, I feel like not everyone has
the beautiful hair that you have,

and I do love that, like, it's signature,

but I wanna explore
other things we could do to even, like,

help you find your vibe even more.

I am definitely open for that.

[Tan] Ooh!

-[Karamo] Do you know how to do a diaper?
-I… do.

-[Karamo] Do you?
-[Tan] Yes.

-[Karamo] Wah! I peed myself. Wah!
-[Tan] Goes like this.

-Then you take…
-[Karamo] I gotta poopie.

[both laughing]

[Tan] Oh, no, it won't stick!

[Karamo] Tan, you have a child on the way!

-He's just gonna have to go diaperless.
-[laughs]

-[Bobby] It's your first home together?
-[Reggie] Yes.

-How's that been?
-Fixing stuff myself, it's crazy.

The kitchen is where
we need the most help. [laughs]

Visually, it's not bad.

I've got good bones to work with.

I love a nice open floor plan.

So people hang out there.
You can cook in here.

We spend a lot of time here.

[Bobby] Noticing a love for elephants.

[Reggie] Yes, we selected elephants
for the nursery

because they're strong, intelligent,

and I wanted my children
to instill those same values.

-[Bobby] You and Sasha are in here too?
-Yes.

This room is really special to us
because Sasha had the baby in this room.

Wow!

So, this room's special,
and you want me not to touch it?

[Reggie] Um…

-Because I'm fine with that.
-I think it's pretty special.

This is where I make everything happen
as far as my career.

And this is working for you?

-Um, a little bit.
-[chuckles] A little bit.

-It's definitely a black and gray room.
-No, which I love. That's totally my vibe.

-Right, right.
-Cool, cool, cool.

-Limited distractions for making music.
-What about, like, for acoustics?

-It could be better.
-Okay, okay.

I think it's a great house.

I think it has a lot of potential.
We're gonna get rid of all that orange.

That's one
of the first things we're gonna do.

[Antoni] And how was it
during the pandemic?

Like, who's taking care of
most of, like, preparing the food?

-Oh, that was me, and my son as well.
-Mm-hmm.

He first started cooking breakfast,
like, around six to seven years old.

And after that, it was like,
"You're cooking breakfast."

That's awesome.

Yeah, obviously when he's cooking a lot,
he's like, "Dad, come help me." I'm his…

-Sous chef.
-Right, sous chef. Exactly. His sous chef.

I'm his sous chef. He would definitely
like to become a chef one day.

I think it's so special
that at such a young age,

he has his thing
that he's really passionate about,

which he clearly gets from you.

I always love it when you have parents
who are deeply passionate about something,

and you see their kids have
their own things that they really love.

You see that they feel
very comfortable sort of exploring that,

and that's so clear in this house.

Is food, like, your own passion,
or is it something

that you feel like your whole family
kind of shares that thing together?

I feel like the whole family
kind of shares that,

but I feel like, that, like,
I am just a bigger source…

-…than my dad is. He barely cooks now.
-[Antoni] Gotcha.

[Reggie and Antoni laughing]

Just a little bit of shade for Dad.
That's fine. Why doesn't Dad cook as much?

Well, because I can cook better than him.

-Okay, I appreciate that.
-[Reggie laughs]

What's your favorite thing
to make with your dad?

Like, red meat. I just don't know why,
but I'm just really attracted to it.

I love the fact that
you're super passionate about food.

Would you be willing to join us this week?

Yes, that seems like fun.

Yes.

[Bobby] Y'all make pretty babies.

Tan has a husband,
but I feel like this looks good together.

Like, if this was our baby.

[Tan] I'm not gonna have one.
Gonna take yours.

-That's fine, right?
-You can have him about two weeks.

-Take him and pay me child support.
-[Sasha] We're gonna sleep.

He'll have a lovely English accent.

I'll give him back
when he's, like, 17, 18.

[Reggie laughs]

You guys, thank you so much
for letting us into your home.

Now we know, uh, I think,
what we wanna help you with.

-[Karamo laughs]
-[Tan] So, we'll head out.

Thank you so much, my love.

-Reggie, you're with us.
-[Reggie] Let's go.

-Bye.
-[Jonathan] Bye, Reggie III, Sasha.

[Antoni] Nice meeting you.

-[Jonathan] That baby is so cute.
-[Sasha chuckles] Bye-bye! Oh! Bye-bye.

[hip-hop music playing]

[Reggie] ♪ Yeah… ♪

[Karamo] When it comes to his music,
Reggie stopped believing in himself,

and that's an issue.

I need him to believe
in his dreams and himself again.

[Reggie] ♪ I'm looking at life
This can't be right ♪

♪ Sleep with the heater
'Cause it's cold at night ♪

♪ Boy been sick
God, why I ain't signed… ♪

[Antoni] He's lost a bit of his drive.

And sometimes,
if we can't find it in ourselves,

we get inspired
by other people in our lives.

And with Reggie,
he doesn't have to look far.

He's got his own son.

♪ This how you act
When you're doing your thing… ♪

[Bobby] Reggie and Sasha
just had a new baby,

and so they don't have time
to keep doing the DIY projects

they've done thus far on the house.

I wanna make everything
shiny and new again.

So that way, he can focus
on following his career dreams,

but also have a really great place
to hang out with his family.

[Reggie] ♪ 2020 gotta see a little clearer
The only thing that… ♪

[Tan] When you get stuck in a rut,
it's hard to see the wood for the trees.

But I think that seeing himself as
the artist he always imagined he would be

is what's gonna
reignite his passion again.

Everything Reggie has done to work
so hard to get to this point is not lost.

His music is amazing, inspiring,

and I want Reggie
to stay connected to that passion.

[echoes] ♪ On a Yamaha with the nitrous
In the bottle, gone ♪

[rap continues]

-[dance music playing]
-[shouts]

♪ Uh, uhh! ♪

♪ Get busy! ♪

[Sasha] This is my first time ever
coming to Ikea.

-It's like a playland for adults. [laughs]
-It really is.

I wanted to take
Reggie and Sasha somewhere

where they could really get a lot of ideas

for this home
and any future homes as well.

[Reggie] Look at this.

Aw, look at that vent in the top.
That'd be…

And those Edison bulbs. I love those.

-I love these for accent lighting.
-Yeah.

-This is definitely the place for that.
-Ooh, that is pretty.

[Bobby] So, what is it about your
living room that doesn't function for you?

[Sasha] I think the crowding of it.

Okay. So, you know,
a lot of times in a smaller space,

it is best to do a built-in sectional.

Basically, you've just got
the wall and then the cushion.

-Okay.
-And you gain a foot.

[Reggie] Hmm!

-Now…
-[Reggie] I like it.

-[Bobby] …gonna get appliances.
-[Sasha] All right!

I was thinking black stainless steel.

So you don't see any fingerprints,

but you still get the sleek,
cool-looking black stove.

-[Sasha] Yeah.
-[Bobby] There's a microwave that matches.

-With a handle.
-With a door and a handle.

For a refrigerator…

Yeah, and I wanted to do that too.

Yeah, you cannot get fingerprints on it.

Now can you get chicken wing sauce on it?

-[Bobby] Probably.
-[laughs]

-Why you look at me?
-I was winking.

-Are you messy?
-I am very messy. [laughs]

[Sasha gasps]

[Bobby] They have
the cutest kids department.

-I see the elephant.
-[Bobby] Uh-huh.

You get an elephant, and you get
an elephant, and I get an elephant!

[Sasha] Oh!

-I think we got all the elephants we need.
-Right. [laughs]

-[hip-hop music playing]
-♪ Sometimes I feel I gotta run, run ♪

♪ Pocket full of dreams
Gotta make it for me and my team ♪

♪ When I leave, I will run, run
Won't ever stop… ♪

[Antoni] This is a new hotel.
It's called the Line Hotel.

A chef named Kristen Kish
opened up her restaurant here,

Arlo Grey, not too long ago.

Here on this wall, she actually has
recipes from when she started cooking.

She was 17, and she kept notes.

[Little Reggie] I've never been
in a place like this ever.

-[Antoni] How cool is it, though?
-[Little Reggie] Very cool.

So…

[Little Reggie] Look at the spices.

Reggie, Little Reggie is gonna be cooking.

-But you're gonna be taking notes.
-Taking notes.

Sounds great.
Sorry you gotta read my handwriting.

[Antoni and Reggie laughing]

I want Little Reggie
to feel like a boss in the kitchen.

I want his father
to be able to experience that with him.

'Cause if Reggie sees his son succeeding,

I really think he's gonna
want that for himself as well.

So, we're actually gonna be
roasting a whole filet mignon.

There are two parts to this recipe:

One is the beef
and the second one is the sauce.

-You ready?
-Mm-hmm.

[Antoni] Pour the olive oil. There you go.

I always like to season it
aggressively on the outside.

You can pat that down,

just to really get the salt
and the pepper in there. Beautiful.

Since we're roasting it,
we're just gonna sear it a little bit.

Plop it right in there to develop
that crust to just keep all the juices in.

-[sizzling]
-Oh, I love that sound.

So, we have some beautiful browning here.

So it was about four
to five minutes on that side?

[Antoni] Yeah, three to five minutes.

-This is gonna go into an oven at 425.
-[Reggie] Uh-huh.

[Antoni] Know what this is?

-[Little Reggie] Shallots.
-It is a shallot.

-All right.
-[Antoni] You look like a chef.

-You're doing a good job.
-[Antoni] You're doing a great job.

And then three tablespoons of white wine

and then two tablespoons
of white wine vinegar.

I'm gonna need three egg yolks.

Okay.

cr*ck the whole eggs into the bowl,

and then you're gonna gently scoop
your fingers under the yolk

and just slide the yolk really gently
from one hand to the next

so that all the egg whites dribble off.

-Oh, there you go.
-Beautiful.

For every one of these egg yolks,

we're gonna add
about a tablespoon of water.

And now, you're just gonna
keep on whisking the béarnaise.

That's perfect.
And Dad is gonna chop some tarragon.

-Do you wanna be a chef someday?
-[Little Reggie] Yes.

-You do?
-Yep, I wanna go to a cooking school.

-[Antoni] Really?
-Mm-hmm.

[Reggie] He has talked about
cooking for the family a lot.

I'm sure that's where it's gonna start,
but it definitely is gonna branch

into bigger
and better things when he gets older.

But I love that he has drive and ambition,
and he has something that he loves doing.

Like you.

-[Little Reggie] Mm-hmm.
-[Antoni] Meat is ready.

[Reggie] How long should we let beef rest?

-About seven to ten minutes.
-Okay.

[Antoni] I'm gonna check on this.
It's really thickened up a lot.

See how it nicely coats?

So you get little chunks there.
That means it's ready.

So now you're gonna grab our white wine
vinegar-shallot-tarragon mixture

and you're gonna
plop it right in there. Excellent.

And I'm gonna add clarified butter.

-[Little Reggie] A little bit more.
-[laughs]

-There we are.
-[Antoni] I respect that.

Passions are so important,
and I get it from your wife as well.

Like, it's something that
you highly encourage in your kids.

[Reggie] Definitely, and he's found this.

It's definitely
gonna help me do what I do.

-He can cook while I'm doing my thing.
-Right. Okay.

-Look how beautiful and thick.
-[Little Reggie] Crazy.

[Antoni] Gonna season it
with a little bit of salt.

And then I like to do about an inch.

You got it. You got it.

That's so good.

-[Little Reggie] Wow, I did that.
-[laughs]

Oh, man.

-So good.
-So good.

Reggie, you can go focus
on your music because, uh…

Little Reggie's got dinner covered.

[Little Reggie] That was
the best I've had in my life.

-Sorry I'm stuffing my face. So good.
-Yeah, that was really good.

-[Antoni] Take that whole bite.
-[Reggie laughs] He's going to.

[laughing]

-[hip-hop music playing]
-♪ Let's go, let's go, let's go! ♪

♪ Let's go, let's go, whoo, whoo! ♪

We're at Empire. That's where
you're performing. How do you feel?

[Reggie] I always wanted to come here.

[Karamo] What does it feel like
knowing that we are

in the spot and you're gonna be
performing here in a couple days?

[Reggie] I can see it's about time,
but I'm nervous.

[Karamo] His first show in over a year.

He needs to get
into this space before he performs

to start building his confidence
so that he can get on stage

and be the Reggie, the BlackLight,
that he is meant to be.

This is, like, your first time talking
to somebody about your career.

But this is the first of many for you.

-We'll see.
-[laughs]

-We'll see. Okay.
-We will see. I mean…

I stop myself from
thinking too far forward.

A lot of the thoughts are… [sighs]

"Reggie, you need to sit down
and rethink your life."

I need to stay balanced so that I can keep
my wife good so she can have her career

and have the economy of our house going.

-Yeah.
-You know what I mean?

I understand that exact feeling that
there's a stress that you have as a man,

but, like, your wife just rocks with you,

and for the person you're with to support
that dream 100%, it's a rare thing.

That's you stopping yourself, 'cause
you know you got somebody in your corner.

Right.

So, what's blocking you?

[chuckles] Dreaming big has,
I guess, emotionally hurt me.

Yeah.

The logical brain comes on,
"If it hurt you, why are you continuing?"

But, um, you know,

my son has this cooking thing
that he's very passionate about.

My wife is an author.
She's very passionate about that.

And it's like, if I gave up on my dream,

what is that saying to them?

What does it say
to young Reggie if you don't give up,

but you don't believe?

Because you're sending
that message as well.

"If you get burnt in the kitchen,
I mean, you can still keep cooking,

but don't believe you're ever gonna
have your own restaurant one day."

Never say that to him, but, yeah.

I know, but sometimes we inadvertently
pick up on what our parents do.

And what he's gonna pick up on now is,

"Work hard, but don't really believe
anything's ever gonna come of it."

Through life,
I just worked hard to get everything.

And all the work I've put in
is just coming to a screeching halt.

You know what I mean?
And not even my fault.

The thing that you've been doing, saying,

"I work hard every day,
but there's no guarantee…"

You gotta switch that,

because that guy in January of 2019
that was working hard

was in India with Katy Perry and Dua Lipa.

Did that guy back there
know that he'd be on stage in India?

-No clue.
-None.

But you believed that it could happen.

-Oh, I did.
-You did?

-Yeah.
-And it happened.

So, you gotta just trust and believe.

I want you to picture this right now.

Visualize how you felt
when you walked off that stage.

It was the highest I've ever been.

I almost didn't even feel
the steps or the ground.

It's just like,
I floated back to the trailer.

Your dream actually gave you the highest
and greatest moment in your life.

And sometimes we forget that
because it's so easy to see the negative.

Right, yes.

You gotta visualize that moment
that you floated off a stage

and the crowd was loving you.

And when you get there, say to yourself,

"My dreams don't hurt me. My dreams
give me the best moments of my life."

It's okay to dream big.

So, what are your dreams?

That me and my family are gonna
make it through my career, her career

and still be balanced. And you know,

to have a whole lot more experiences
of me walking off stage,

floating to my trailer.

I like this.
Now you starting to dream again.

If you find yourself saying, "Well,
I don't know if that's possible," cut it.

-[Reggie] Thanks, man.
-Ah!

[soul music playing]

♪ Want a little bit more
Want a little bit more… ♪

[Bobby] One of the ways
to help Reggie get his groove back

is to help his house get some groove back.

So, I'm creating
an atmosphere that's bright

and colorful and full of life.

-That inspires creativity and passion.
-[kisses]

Bye-bye, orange walls.

-[hip-hop music playing]
-♪ This is how we do it every day ♪

♪ We be grinding, and if you ask me
We the best, I'm gonna be like, "Yeah!" ♪

♪ Yo, that's us with the crazy flow… ♪

When was the last time you shopped?

Ooh. [laughs]

-A long time ago?
-2019.

Ooh, all right, well, then I'm glad I'm
gonna be your first experience in a while.

-Thank you.
-After you.

Having Reggie shop is really important

because he needs to understand what it is

that he really wants
from his look as an artist.

And so today, he gets
to create a persona that is truly him.

The last time I went shopping
was before my last big show.

Okay.

Do you care about clothes?

[Reggie] I just would rather
spend my time making music.

I get it. Of course I get it.

But it does matter
what you put on your body,

especially for somebody like you.

This is just as important as
the thing that you're singing on stage.

So I looked at your website.

You've got a picture of you
in a black suit and a white shirt.

You look more like an accountant
or like a preacher man.

[both laughing]

You must see what I mean.
My issue isn't a suit.

I love a suit.

It's the kind of suit you choose.

-You're an artist.
-Thank you.

I want people to get excited
when they see you thinking,

"He looks like an artist."

-I see where you're going.
-Right? Right?

You know, I, kind of,
don't know what I want, maybe? [laughs]

Okay, so I would like you to shop.

I just wanna to see the kind of things
that you gravitate towards,

based on who you are, the artist.

What do you wanna convey?

This is kind of nice.

-I love the orange on it.
-I like that too.

-What is that, burnt sienna?
-Yeah. Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho!

It gives me hope seeing him
pull out really bold items

that honestly,
I would never have expected.

-It's definitely eye-catching.
-I love it. Okay, good.

Maybe the concern was that

he didn't have the self-esteem to wear
what he actually wants to wear on stage.

[laughs] Well, you have the confidence
of a performer. That's good.

Does it work or does it not work?

Yes, this actually works.
And this is one that Reggie would wear,

along with BlackLight.

[Tan] The reason why I like
a pajama-style pant is

it is brutally hot here.

-Oh, yes.
-It's probably more brutally hot on stage.

And so at least it gives you
a little bit more comfort.

I love this, actually. Now, the more
I look at it, I'm kind of enjoying it.

Yay, that makes me so happy! [laughs]

You know what it reminds me of?

I'm not trying to turn you
into this person… André 3000.

-[scoffs] One of my favorite rappers.
-Oh, really?

-All right.
-Yeah, I love it.

I'm gonna make sure
in your closet you have everything

that's gonna make you feel good on stage.

Sounds great.

-[soul music playing]
-[vocalizing]

This is called Birds Barbershop.

Super cute.
Have you ever been here before?

-No. [laughs]
-You haven't?

-Come on in. George. How are you?
-Hey, how you doing?

-Reggie, George. George, Reggie.
-Nice to meet you.

[Jonathan] Can I touch your hair?

-Of course.
-[Jonathan] I'm obsessed with your Afro.

I feel like it stands out.

I feel like I don't see it every day.

But I feel like this hair is,
like, going over your ear a little.

Almost like a gorgeous, like,
Black man, Princess Leia moment.

It's starting
to give me bun over your ear.

Yeah, I get it. [laughs]

The point is we'll take this a tiny
bit in, like, a little, teeny-tiny bit.

And then this back hairline in,

kind of 1970s-inspired,
like, Afro-centric moment

where really we keep all of this length.

-Okay.
-[Jonathan] It keeps your options open.

You can braid it down. You can lock it up.
You can do a little twist.

You can do all sorts
of different things with it,

which I think as an artist
is, like, a good thing.

I'm digging it so far.

We're not taking your hair off.

I will literally side tackle his ass
if the hair starts to come too short.

Because I--
I actually would never do that.

Actually I could if it really starts--
Whatever. Focus, Jonathan.

This is all about helping him
embody the music that he creates,

which is about resilience,
joy, confidence.

Wait, so tell me about the show.

When's the last time you've been on stage?

[Reggie] It's been a long time.

-Performing at the Austin Hip Hop Awards.
-[whirring]

And then two months later, COVID.

I was thinking about your experience
and having the universe just kind of

pull the plug on touring

and, like, so much of the music industry
in the way that it had classically been.

But that everyone has
such a different path,

and everyone has so many,
like, different setbacks

and so many different, like, experiences.

-Right.
-That inertia is still there.

And there's no reason to believe that,
like, you're not gonna have more "yes."

So, I guess I'm just saying, like,

it's important for us
to stay connected to our passions.

Just keep going.

Oh, my God. That looks really good.
Thank you so much.

I really like that disconnection.
It's really sexy.

-[laughs]
-Look at you, for crying out loud.

Yeah, I'm digging this.

See this confidence a-brewing, honey. Yes!

[laughing]

Hi. I'm Captain Confidence, Reggie,
and welcome to q*eer Eye.

Yeah, I'm gonna do
a gorgeous moisture mask.

Confidence is something
that comes from our inside.

It's a state of being.

We just have to help
to, like, propel him forward.

He just needs to do a round off
back handspring layout into his destiny.

Except like, the R&B, rap,
hip-hop version of that.

Yes.

[Reggie] Do I look handsome?

Okay, I'm, like, honestly not even
doing this, like, to be extra.

Like, I actually did just get,
like, a flutter.

Like, you really look amazing.

Uh!

-Are you ready?
-I'm ready.

For the new Reggie in three, two, one.

Whoa.

I love it.

[Jonathan] Look at your texture
from the hydration.

It's super curly.

Wow.

Your hair just wasn't hydrated.

-Oil and water repel each other.
-Mm-hmm.

So actually when you coat your hair
in coconut oil,

it actually can prevent softening
ingredients from getting in it.

from shampoo and conditioner.

-Because it gets this barrier on it.
-Mm-hmm.

So, when I put that moisturizer
on your hair, it just was like…

[inhales]

And also for Friday,
we can pick it out big. We can go big.

I love it. Thank you.

We do have…

Oh, my God. I don't know
if I can, like, even handle, like, uh, uh…

Let me pose.
I should've been a model, right? [laughs]

Well, I can't be, like, spoiler alert,

but I will just say, we do have one
more surprise for us to go to together.

Let's do this.

♪ 'Cause it makes me feel good
Makes me feel all right… ♪

-[Jonathan] After you.
-[Reggie] Thank you.

-[Tan] You look so good!
-[all shouting]

You look so good!

-[Karamo] You look so good.
-[Tan] You did such a good job.

It's fantastic.

-[Karamo] Yeah.
-It's just a clean look.

[Jonathan] Now, what we're here to do is…

-[hums fanfare, laughs]
-[Karamo] We're gonna do a photo sh**t!

-Yes, I needed more pictures.
-Everything.

[Jonathan] We're gonna chaîné turn over.

Yeah, this is how we do it.
See? Turn like this.

-I'm just gonna do this.
-Yeah, you do your thing.

-[all laughing]
-[Jonathan] We're obsessed with Hannah.

-I'm Jane.
-[Reggie] Nice to meet you.

[Karamo] I've already tested for you with
the light to make sure that it was cute.

So this is about,
like, defining who's BlackLight

and the guy
who lives in the rest of the world.

Should we get you ready?

-[Reggie] Let's do it.
-Let's. Yes, please.

So, the thing I liked about
what you gravitated towards at the store

was you liked something that was bold.

So, you pick an outfit
based on who you are as BlackLight.

-Okay.
-Play.

-Sounds great.
-Show me what you like.

Ready or not, here Tan comes.

Show these dum-dums
what you've got on. [chuckles]

-[gasps]
-[Bobby] Cute.

-I like this one. I like this look.
-Is that a heel?

[Tan] He said he wanted a heeled boot,
gonna give him some height.

[Antoni] I love the cardigan,
giving me a little bit

of Childish Gambino
meets Frank Ocean, but you.

-I'm fine with all of that.
-[all laughing]

[Tan] We are taking new sh*ts
for his website,

new sh*ts for his promotional material,

so he can feel like when he gets
back into the world as BlackLight,

it is a complete package.

[Jonathan] When you're doing photo sh**t,
you wanna embody a character.

That speaks to what Karamo was saying.

Yes, let's start off with that.
Who is BlackLight?

An aggressive rapper.

I don't think that'd be
the only adjective I'd give for you.

I just wanna hear it from you.
You tell me.

I'm just a lyricist. I mean… [laughs]

A lyricist. When we think "lyricist,"
what do we think? We think "smooth."

-We think "carefree."
-Yeah, "smooth."

-[Reggie] "Poise."
-"Poise, smooth, carefree."

Those adjectives I feel like you can bring
with your poses that say "BlackLight."

Ease us in. So, let's see
what that looks like to you now.

-Have you heard BlackLight rap in person?
-[Bobby] No.

Give me a moment.
Can you just give them, like, a hot…

Okay.

[Tan] I love that.

Uh, let's see.

So many verses come to mind.

♪ BlackLight
The opposition ain't nothing funny ♪

♪ Bitch, I'm about my business
Coming for the money ♪

♪ Yeah, got tunnel vision
Got it out the mud ♪

♪ Started digging
Blood money, whatcha think? ♪

♪ I'm Crip walking to the bank ♪

♪ I'm speeding down 35
Tires ain't skirting, know why? ♪

♪ 'Cause it's 4-wheel drive
Same with my .45 ♪

♪ Staying this, by my side
Every day's do or die ♪

♪ Why? 'Cause you're talking to faces
Joe Jackson blood ♪

♪ But to you, I'm tasteless
This is the part where you vacate ♪

-♪ Then make it quick as a falcon ♪
-Ooh!

[Jonathan] So, do that more,
but now do it for images.

-So, like, hold some of those vibes.
-[Karamo] You were naturally doing those.

Look at this.

-[Reggie] Oh, that's dope.
-[Tan] See?

[Karamo] You seem like you
have your own style. Sexy, smooth.

[Jonathan] Yes.

There's a bit of aggression in there,
but I don't know if aggression's the word.

-[Hannah] Power.
-[Karamo] It's power.

That's the word I was looking for.
It's not aggression, it's power.

-[Reggie] I love that. It's great.
-Honestly.

I never would've come up with that ever.

This looks like BlackLight

and doesn't look like Reggie
who we see the rest of the time.

-Yeah, it's like two different people.
-[Karamo] Yes, BlackLight.

[Hannah] It's really crazy.

♪ Said I got a lotta problems
I didn't catch the magic… ♪

Yes!

For the first time since meeting Reggie,

I'm seeing BlackLight.
I'm seeing the performer.

-Hit it. Get it. Hey!
-[Tan laughs]

I think that he just needed
something to hang his hat on,

and I think this might be it.

-[Jonathan] Yes!
-That's hot.

-[Jonathan] Yes! Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow!
-Oh, yeah.

Hello! Get out of my face.

Welcome to the era of BlackLight, honey.
It is upon us.

-[Karamo] Look at this.
-[Bobby] Amazing.

[Hannah] Your energy is so different.

-I love this.
-[Tan] I know.

[Karamo] Look at that. Look at that.

-[Jonathan] Dang!
-[laughs]

-[soft rock music playing]
-♪ I'm coming home to you ♪

♪ I'm coming home ♪

♪ I'm coming home to you ♪

♪ I'm coming home… ♪

I'm so curious to see
what it's gonna look like.

-I'm very excited to see this.
-I, like, genuinely have no idea.

Whoo! Sorry.

[laughing]

That's not your fault.

[horn honks]

-[Karamo] Yay, they're here!
-[Bobby] Oh!

-[Jonathan gasping]
-[Tan laughing]

Oh, my God!

-[Tan laughs] Hi.
-[gasps]

[all laughing]

-[Bobby] So, I know you guys liked color.
-[Reggie] Mm-hmm.

[Bobby] But I added
a brighter, happier color.

[Reggie] Right. It is. Definitely.

Look at this sectional.

[Reggie] This is so good.

[Bobby] I had this custom built.

[Tan] You're the only one
in the world with this?

Sasha is gonna flip.

[Bobby] I hope in a good way.

Everything is so great.
The fixture over the table!

Wait, wait, wait, wait.

I'm gonna take him. He's coming with me.

-We found him together.
-Did you?

[Bobby] In the kitchen, white cabinets.
They're gonna be easier to clean.

[Reggie] That's awesome. I love the color.

[Bobby] You got all new appliances.

A dishwasher
that's no longer just a drying rack.

And look.

-[Reggie] And it doesn't shake.
-[Bobby] No, it doesn't.

[Antoni] A handle on the microwave.

This is huge.

-Slow clap for that.
-[laughs]

[all clapping slowly]

Oh, my God.

-I love all of this.
-[Bobby] Right?

Oh, it sounds great already.

I know, right? You don't hear
the outside world at all anymore.

-[Karamo] See your computer?
-[Reggie] What?

-[Karamo] Boom!
-[Reggie sighs]

-Thank you guys so much.
-[Tan laughs]

I can't wait to make music
on this thing now.

-[Karamo] The concert's coming up.
-Mm-hmm.

How are you feeling now?

I can say that
I have started to daydream again,

or I have started
to visualize myself on stages.

So, like, it's a work in progress.

The more practice you do,

the more visualization of what's
in front of you, what's possible.

Those daydreams
are gonna turn into big dreams,

and you're gonna believe more and more.

I feel like now, when you say that to me,

I definitely feel it's more achievable.

-It's not so impossible to get to.
-Good.

Bring it.

[Reggie] Thanks, brother.

We came to play, all right?
So your hair, it's looking stunning.

-Mm-hmm.
-I love how it looks from yesterday.

This is three-quarters water,
one-quarter conditioner.

So if you just look in the mirror,

you can just gently mist this
through your curls to refresh

and give you some hydration. Oh!

-[Tan] Hi, Reg.
-[Reggie] How you doing?

Yesterday shocked me.

Like, you turned into somebody
that I see is as aspirational.

I think, "Oh, I want that kind of energy.
I want that vibe."

I want that to be translated
into your clothes as well.

So, everything you see here is bold.

There's so much print here
that's gonna make you stand out.

I've got you colors that were
complementary of the print.

There's brown in that.
There's black in that.

"I'll find a brown pant."
-Mm-hmm.

"I'll find a black pant."

You'll pull out colors
from the print itself.

-That's how you'll build your look.
-Okay.

And so, tonight, I'm gonna leave you
to dress yourself for the event.

-Okay.
-So…

the one thing I wanted to put you in now

is a slick,
artist-appropriate version of a suit.

-We want Reggie!
-[Tan] Come join me!

-Wow!
-Oh!

-[Bobby] This is hot.
-[Antoni] Obsessed.

-The color is breathtaking on you.
-The colors look beautiful on you.

You wanna see the 360?

-We do!
-Yes!

-Yes! Full twirl. Yes!
-[Bobby] Yes, spin, Daddy, spin!

Gorgeous!

-[Karamo] Flick them haters off.
-[Antoni] Yes!

This is my version of, if you wanna be
in a suit, go in a more creative suit.

-Yes, I'm living.
-[Jonathan] Yes!

'Cause you're a musician, honey.

This is not what he'll perform in tonight.
This is for, like, promotion.

You're a genius. You're a genius.

One of us in this room
has a show to prepare for.

I do. Thank you.

I will say,
a lot of the emotional barriers,

a lot of the thought processes…
thank you, Karamo for that…

You're welcome.

…have started to not be so much
of a-- hmm--

It's like a demon in my mind
or a monkey on my back, right?

So, like,
that's kind of slowly going away,

and the confidence and the dreaming big…

Learning so much, like,

the dressing, the clothes.
I need to look good to play good.

Yeah.

-Very proud of you.
-[Reggie] Thank you.

I just can't wait
to see you on stage again.

-[Tan] Me too!
-[Reggie] Thank you so much.

-So great spending time.
-Thanks for teaching my kid how to cook.

-Thank you.
-[Tan] Gorgeous.

Before we go, one question.
How do you describe BlackLight?

-Smooth and powerful.
-[all cheering]

[laughing]

-[Fab Five] Bye!
-[Reggie] Bye, guys!

[Jonathan] Enjoy yourself.

-Bye, honey.
-[Reggie] Bye, guys!

-Bye!
-Thank you so much for everything.

-[Jonathan] We love you!
-You guys drive safe.

Reggie!

-[laughing]
-[Karamo] Bye!

-[Tan] Smooth and powerful!
-[all laughing]

-[pop music playing]
-♪ We won't stop till the break ♪

♪ Ask the DJ, he got the code… ♪

[Karamo] I was just thinking
about the fact

that soon we're all gonna be uncles
and aunties with Tanny's new little baby.

[Jonathan] We sure are.

Especially after spending time
with Reggie's baby.

-Little baby Stokely.
-[Tan] So gorgeous.

-Should we see how they're getting along?
-[Bobby] Let's do it.

Very exciting! I wanna see Reggie!

Hey!

[Sasha] Oh, my goodness!

Oh, look at you!

I'm in love with your hair.
This is not the big old Q-tip 'fro.

[laughing]

[Sasha] You look nice.

-[Fab Five] Aww!
-I love them.

[Reggie] Close your eyes. Close your eyes.

What do you think?

[Sasha] Oh, my God. It's a haven in here.

I don't recognize this place.

I expected a change,
but not this big, like…

[Sasha] This is beautiful!

[Reggie] Come look at the kitchen.

That's nice.

-[Reggie] Come look around.
-[Little Reggie] I'm speechless. What?

This is beautiful.

[Jonathan] Oh, my gosh.

I love it when you realize
your man is so hot

and it brings tears to your eyes
that he's so hot.

-I think it's the house. [laughs]
-Oh.

[Sasha] This is amazing.

-This is not the same room.
-[Reggie] Look at this.

[Sasha] Yes! Grown-up people clothes.

-[laughs]
-[Sasha] You go, Tan.

[laughs]

-[Antoni] He looks great.
-[Tan] Yeah, he does.

I thought this was q*eer Eye, not
America's Next Top Model season 46, honey.

[all laughing]

-[funk music playing]
-[man] ♪ Yeah, that's right! ♪

-[Jonathan] Ha ha! Look at the venue!
-[music continues]

[exhales]

[Sasha] Lookin' good.

[Karamo] All of these individuals who love
him just want him to have this moment

to get back to living his dreams.

Yeah.

[muffled music playing]

-[man] Thank you so much!
-[audience cheering]

[man] Turn that-- Turn all the way up!

You ready?

-Yeah.
-Yeah?

It's gonna be good.

-You got this.
-[Reggie] Love you, babe.

-Thanks for doing this.
-[Sasha] Okay. You got it. You got it.

[crowd chattering]

[Reggie] You ready, homie?

Oh, here he goes.
I can only imagine what he's feeling now.

-What up, Empire! Y'all make some noise!
-[cheering]

Y'all ready?

♪ I'm looking at life
This can't be right ♪

♪ Sleep with the heater
'Cause it's cold at night ♪

♪ Boy been sick
God, why, ain't his time ♪

♪ We're moving too quick
Just wasn't my time ♪

♪ Nowadays, homie… ♪

Yes!

♪ Hooks he gets
Like fixed night repeat, rolling ♪

♪ And the fans with the hands
Like a heavyweight fight… ♪

He comes to life on stage.

♪ Money on my mind
Hood rat chasing cheddar ♪

♪ Chasing cheddar! ♪

♪ I'm on the missus all day
Never forget her ♪

-He's so in his element.
-He really is.

The crowd's loving it. He's loving it.

♪ We ain't in the same league, man
You rock this kind of stick ♪

♪ 'Cause we getting announced now
Rocking now with Katy Perry ♪

-♪ This is like the greatest… ♪
-[Karamo] We all have dreams.

And sometimes
we allow the challenges of life

to stop us from believing in those dreams.

[Jonathan] It's okay if you lose your way,

but what's important is
getting back on the road on your journey.

It's okay to dream big.

It's so important to remember
the fear always comes before,

and as soon as you do it,

you realize it really wasn't
that big of a deal.

Don't let your dreams fall by the wayside,
because you're in your own way.

♪ I'm back on my grind ♪

[crowd cheering]

-I'm out, Empire! Peace!
-[cheering continues]

[shouts] Oh, we love you, BlackLight!

It's important to practice building
your self-esteem every day.

So instead of looking in the mirror

and saying things
I don't like about myself,

point out the things that you do like.

Like, "Ooh, I love my beard."

"Ooh, I love my eyebrows."

"Ooh, I know how to dance."

And if you can't find the confidence
to say something good about yourself,

get a buddy who can love you louder.

Baby, you look amazing.
Look at that face. Look at that jawline.

Now, you are gonna rock this day.

Hey!

Practice your self-esteem
every single day.

♪ Oh, yeah! ♪

[theme music playing]

-♪ Better! ♪
-♪ You came into my life ♪

♪ And my world never looked so bright ♪

♪ It's true you bring out the best in me ♪

♪ When you are around ♪

♪ Things keep getting better ♪

♪ Better ♪

♪ Things keep getting better ♪

♪ Better ♪

♪ Things keep getting better ♪

-["Back in the Day" by BlackLight playing]
-♪ Lust turned to love ♪

♪ It was more than just a fling ♪

♪ The stars not as much
Match the light that you bring ♪

♪ A ebony Aphrodite
She float on angel wings ♪

♪ And I was just a bud
But I flowered to a king ♪

♪ We've been too strong for too long
Our careers got us stressin' ♪

♪ Stars been aligned
Wondering where the… my blessings ♪

♪ Looking at my angel
Like, how many… lessons ♪

♪ I gotta go through
'Till I find the right direction, like ♪

♪ Uh, uh ♪

♪ Back in the day
It was easy for me ♪

♪ Black, Black, Black ♪