Life with Jeannie (Jean Grae's sitcom)

[Mindbender Futurama]

discuss?

[ardamus]

*awaits for the same 10 posters to make 20 posts about why they dont like female emcees*

As for the show, I kinda dont get it. Has potential but the shots in some of the conversational pieces were too far away.

[Vlad Analogue]

this is terrible

[Mindbender Futurama]

I did expect more yuk yuks.

she's overthinking it way too much and maybe putting stuff that should be in it on the cutting floor, and stuff that should be on the cutting floor... in the sitcom

"THIS IS BROOKLYN!!!!" did make me laugh. Nice edit.

[ardamus]

My thing is she should get three cameras for this. A lock off shot then a right cam for her and a left cam for the guy in the store. I get its supposed to have a black Seinfeld feel to it. But for it to be executed better a tad more, she needs some direction with the camera work. The dialogue of her lying about her family was funny but didnt translate as well. Besides, Jean has a very conversational voice you would need to have a good boom mic or to put a zoom recorder on. That was part of the problem........not beibg able to pick up everything that was being said.

That Brooklyn part was funny but made no sense. Feel like an interaction more than that couldve been better.

I'm speaking as a Jean Grae fan.

[LilLeftBrain]

didn't watch the video and don't care about the raps but jeannie co-hosted a stand up show i attended somewhat recently and all of her attempts to crack wise resulted in silencio and why oh why despite her possessing a general affableness and easy rapport with the room. huzz to the black garofalo

[ardamus]

http://chan-lo.com/2013/12/30/exclusive ... h-jeannie/

You can discover a great deal about a person based on one moment. Jean Grae’s moment came in a conversation I had with one of her closest friends/War Media Rep, Satori. Usually, when I interview an artist, I like to ask someone close to them what they enjoy most about that artist and usually I hear a variety of “she’s super cool,” “he’s funny,” or “he’s just awesome.” The normal. Jean Grae, however, doesn’t strike me as normal so I was pretty excited to hear what Satori would say when I posed the question. Her response? “She is probably the most amazing person I have ever known.” See? Anything but normal.

Jean Grae isn’t the one dimensional emcee that we’ve seen flourish in the age of big money, big Bentleys, and the almighty grill; Jean is everything. Rapper, writer, producer, engineer, video director, video producer, editor, comedian, you name it, Jean probably has a hand in it. From writing treatments for her latest video to appearances with funny man Jon Hodgman, Jean wears more hats than most of us don in a lifetime.

With the release of her Gotham Down Deluxe project, another appearance with Hodgman in the works, and visuals for “Fuckery Level 3000″ nearly complete (Grae is doing all of the animation…no big deal) Jean isn’t on free-time overload, but that’s because she has a new baby. One of Grae’s biggest undertakings to date happens to be Life With Jeannie, an e-series that brings us into Jean’s hilarious world of love, life, music, madness, and everything in between. Written, directed, produced, and edited entirely by Jean herself (aka ‘Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop’) Life With Jeannie not only hips us to more of Jean’s wit, but gives us insight into the world of a character who is as unapologetically abnormal as she is loveable.

Amazing indeed.

Check out the full interview below.

Chan-Lo: Let me just tell you that when I received word that I’d be interviewing you, I instantly knew people would get this interview and “Threat” featuring Chen Lo ridiculously confused.

Jean Grae: I still have no idea who that is. I didn’t authorize that.

CL: Yea…that’s odd. Well, let’s talk authorized music by jumping right into Gotham Down Deluxe. It’s been almost two weeks since I’ve been listening and it’s definitely solid. How does Deluxe separate itself from Cycles 1-3 from an artistic stand-point?

JG: It tells the story in the most liner way I was willing to do. Leaves out the details of say, “Double Katanas” and takes you through a more succinct plot. Where things went wrong. Getting the job that would later go horribly wrong. The downward spiral of personal life that lead to being completely heartless. The fall of Gotham… blibbidy blah.

CL: I honestly think “Crayon Ruins” and “iwantweback (Lush Version)” are two of my favorite cuts. Which are the most personal to you?

JG: Everything is always personal. Umm. I think “Crayon Ruins” does something special though. It’s the overall tone of the song and the chords, the pacing. I really love that song.

CL: Let’s switch gears a little bit. Anyone who follows you on Twittahhh knows that you’re absolutely hilarious so, it was interesting to find out that you’ll make a guest appearance with John Hodgman: Secret Society. What can we expect from that?

JG: Well, Hodgman is a genius, first off. He’s also an amazing friend. We met via Twitter and from the appearance on Judge John Hodgman, have been friends since. I’ve actually done Secret Society a few times. From performances, to games, to pretty much, call me to do whatever, man. I’m extremely appreciate to have him ask me to participate. It’s always a great time. What an awesome ally he is.

CL: Speaking of comedy, Life With Jeannie hips us to more of your comedic side. What made you decide to write, direct, and star in your very own 30-minute web series?

JG: I’ve pretty much wanted to have a sitcom since I saw sitcoms and understood what they were. I can’t believe it’s taken me 37 years. What a slowpoke!

CL: I think we can say that you haven’t been wasting time. Haha! Let’s get back to the music because I’d like to touch on something that we don’t find much of these days. You write, produce, mix, and probably engineer much of your work – I have to tip my hat to anyone who has made it a point to learn every facet of their craft. Has that come out of necessity for you or is it just something you’ve been naturally inclined to do?

JG: I think it’s an absolutely natural thing for me to do. I like learning. I like knowing new things. It’s plugging into the matrix and retrieving the information. Then putting the knowledge to use. How is that not cool? It’s very cool.

CL: Three words: “Fuckery Level 3000.” Word is that we can expect visuals…due tell.

JG: OOOH. Haha! As soon as I finish it up. There’s so many things I’m working on and as I’m doing all the animation, it’s a shit ton of work. I’m halfway through though. 1st week of January sounds safe to say.

CL: Satori is probably one of those legit souls whose opinion means quite a bit in my book and she speaks very highly of you as both an artist and a person. As your reach expands, how important is it for you to keep a tight circle?

JG: Man, Satori is absolutely invaluable. She’s my family and I adore her. What a brilliant soul and a brilliant mind. It’s always good to keep a tight circle. It’s good to be able to judge between who you can and cannot allow into your circle as new energy or not. I’ve recently met some amazing people and it’s detrimental to just say, “hey I’m done here. No new friends.” Have a keen eye for anything potentially damaging, but don’t shut yourself off to new things.

CL: There are a few female emcees that seem to be making their way to the surface. Who are a few female artists Jean Grae digs? What about in general? Who are you a fan of?

JG: I don’t judge based on gender, so it’s weird for me to answer that.

CL: Fair enough. Last, but not least – I heard that you’re pretty much “Jeannie: Top Chef” when it comes to throwing down in the kitchen. If we were sitting at your table now, what would we be grubbin’ on?

JG: Mmmm… butter poached lobster tail. With garlic broccoli rabe and mushroom risotto. YEEEEAH.

CB: As my mouth waters. LOL! Thank you for chatting with us Jean. Anything else you’d like your fans to know?

Life With Jeannie is up at jeangrae.com Remember, it’s ONE episode. It’s in 5 parts. We’ll be bringing you episode 2 on Valentines Day. If you’re in NYC, come watch it live with us on Valentines day at my new residency at Union Hall: The White Hot Room. A one hour, one on one conversation with a special guest each time! Yay! 8pm.

Thanks: Jean Grae & Satori

Photo Credit: Life With Jeannie

[Dudeman]

so bad.

[Mindbender Futurama]

is Jean Grae hip hop's #1 self-saboteur?

[ardamus]

I give her props for doing all of her own stuff but she needs a little assistance on some of this stuff it seems.

[Piff Tannen]

that was a tough first episode to watch. i want jean to win though. ardamus is right, 3 cams would help, but even with one, they can freak it the same way. they just need a person dedicated directly to shooting who has an eye and a mind geared to shooting. i get the feeling jean is trying to do everything on this

if felt weird to be seeing credits for the first 3 minutes of the episode.

if i was in brooklyn i would love to come help jean out on this. but shes in brooklyn, she should be able to find a videographer to lace it up no problem.

[EMCEE DARTH MALEK]

i like jean grae but she isn't funny

[myself]

Don't care to watch it, but I learned about its existence on Gawker of all places. So I guess she has some support out there on the non-small-time-hip-hop blogosphere. Then again, they also post about Run The Jewels.

[Sylissez]

Stopped watching 15 seconds in when I realized I couldn't hear what she was saying. If they don't care about the audio, why should we?

[Thun]

This is about the level of quality one could expect based on her history.

[Philaflava]

i have always liked jean but i am not sure why i need to really watch this

[MC Homeless]

She is a comedian now?

[hellriser]

is Jean Grae hip hop's #1 self-saboteur?

sure she sabotage that bsbd album too i dont know why

[Piff Tannen]

what happened there, she was supposed to have a BSBD album?

[hellriser]

what happened there, she was supposed to have a BSBD album?

yes she have album with them but later she said that she dont like it and she dont admit that material..... something like that. i would like that young god explain that thing a litle better

[sleazy_j]

She is a comedian now?

she's always tried to be funny, a la "one of the guys" as far as i can remember, if not in her attempts at sometimes shocking violent lyrics, there can be dark humor found in that, but when i used twitter in 08 and followed her, she was constantly trying to be a wise-ass.

[Sylissez]

She is a comedian now?

she's always tried to be funny, a la "one of the guys" as far as i can remember, if not in her attempts at sometimes shocking violent lyrics, there can be dark humor found in that, but when i used twitter in 08 and followed her, she was constantly trying to be a wise-ass.

she still does. she's painfully unfunny.

[ardamus]

She willl always be a better rapper than a comedian.

[sleazy_j]

but mostly isn't taken seriously in either aspect.

the bigger question should be "why is so hard for Cam'Ron to commit to putting out a sitcom?"

[Mindbender Futurama]

^^^ yeah... Cam'ron needs to get his own pilot on SHOWCASE. Something truly surreal and ghetto fabulous. Everybody wins.

And Jean drunk off the Grae Goose? I want her to succeed... but she's gotta meet some people half way, sometimes

she's just too in her own head sometimes and not making anything worth deciphering

De La Soul used to be mad obscure and inside jokey and funny and shit... but it worked. We didn't mind being on the outside, listening in
At least we could make sense of some of the skits and abstract songs.

Jean will probably find her success in the weirdest thing ever. She might want to look into doing some Suicide Girl modeling, I unno anymore :kanyeshrug:

[Thun]

It's funny that you mention De La Soul because the immediate sense I got from this was that she was attempting to do the De La Soul is Dead skit humor in video form but couldn't pull it off.

If she wants this to succeed on any level she should definitely dial up Prince Paul.

[GUCCI CONDOMS]

so, jean grae is a lesbian now?

[ardamus]

It's funny that you mention De La Soul because the immediate sense I got from this was that she was attempting to do the De La Soul is Dead skit humor in video form but couldn't pull it off.

If she wants this to succeed on any level she should definitely dial up Prince Paul.

Agreed. Don't know how but Prince Paul is great at branching off into stuff like this.

[The Afronaut]

I would definitely peep a Paul/Jean collab. Music or comedy.

[ardamus]

I'm surprised wouldn't get Mr. Complex on to helping out with this as far as camera work. I mean, he's down with Monch and does some video stuff. And Monch is pretty much W.A.R. Media which is what Jean Grae is a part of somewhat (she's still on Talib's label, right?).