A Brown Bettie with Moxie

By Peppur Chambers



Yasmine Richard
Multi-format Producer
On-Air Host
Voice Over Talent

A whip of a firecracker, Yasmine is a wonderful personality. I’m not just saying that to say it, nor am I saying it in terms of how the entertainment industry refers to talent…I’ll leave that up to agents, managers and Entertainment Tonight as Miss Richard is already skipping along the yellow-brick road towards being a Wonderful Personality.

With time short these days, we get things done the way that is quick and most convenient! Therefore, Yasmine and I conducted this month’s Brown Bettie interview via BlackBerry. For those of you perhaps unfamiliar, a “BlackBerry” is like a little typewriter that fits in the palm of your hand that is connected to the internet (more or less). You may see people tapping into them while walking, driving, standing in line at Starbucks, etc. The keys are small, as is the screen, so to communicate “effectively”, we often use abbreviations and stylized words to make up for the crunch. Below, I tried to keep true to what Yas wrote, only changing words that the general population may not be familiar with. It’s a fun interview and as Yas said, “Sorry I'm answering funky...I'm on my bberry.”

How many nicknames do you have?
A million. Yazzy, yazzo, yaz, jazzy, jaz, yas-mi-mine (pronounced yaas-me-meen...my fam is haitian), pimante, picante...The last 2 are a funny story. I got them as a kid. I was in Haiti with my fam and I went to the fridge and bit into what I thought was some fruit...turned out to be some pepper. OUCH! Recently, Myss Moxie. I gave it to myself. I like what the word "moxie" means.

Which one is your favorite, and why?
All of them are special to me. Probably the last few since they remind me of my fam.

I understand you helped break the Kanye West musical debut at MTV. What in your gut made you know you were right about him and/or his music?
His energy. Like pure raw talent. He loves music. And I do too. And quite frankly it would be an injustice to me to not have introduced him to whoever I can. I think that because of competition or whatevs people don't wanna put other people on. I always look at it this way. If that was at the beginning of my career, I can't wait to see how the rest shapes up!

How have you used that instinct to directly help yourself in your budding career as an on-camera broadcast journalist?
Great question. No...I haven't. My focus for several years has been behind the scenes. I figured the stronger I am as a producer/director, the better I can communicate when I'm on the other side of the camera. Its taking me a bit longer but I know the "Oprah 2.0" movement will go down!

How long have you been in LA and what are you doing now?
Been in LA about 3 years. I'm currently a producer with a huge emphasis on field producing. I'm really interested in development too. So I've been developing projects on the side that hopefully I'll pitch in the next few weeks or so.

Tell us about one of your favorite interviews/projects and why it was so special (or crazy).
Fave intvs/projects-well, 3 intvs stand out. 1.) Terrance Howard...he's very graceful and intense. Makes total sense why he's the great actor with range that he is. 2.) Gladys Knight! She was phenomenal. It was at some BET awards [event] and they asked us if we wanted to talk to her....(keep in mind, I work for MTV and why would MTV wanna talk to Gladys Knight!) So of course I said YES! How could I not!? She was everything you wanted her to be. And lastly/most recently, Common. Again, exactly who you want him to be. So humble and articulate.

For another interview on Yazzy and to see how phenomenal she is, check her out at Galrilla.net pg 82!!!!

You graduated from Brigham Young, correct?
Yup, BYU. I got a scholarship there for academics. My fam is Mormon. And I was recruited as part of a multi-cultural program designed to recruit...multi-cultural students. Did I just repeat myself?? Lol.

You mentioned an outstanding idea about Myspace. Do you care to talk about it here?
I would talk about my myspizzle idea but there are some swagger jackers out there and I wanna lock in the ownership before I put the call out! (Aarhaa aarhaa! That's my bird call. Lol)

Update: Yasmine is ready for the world! She has two projects going. See below for the rundown!

You recently visited the Peponi Spa, which is in Venice and Black-Owned. Do you happen to have a phone photo of your hottt nails? (What was the color?)
Peponi is dope on a rope! So relaxing!! Great energy. But yeah the nail colour (tryin’ to be fresh throwing the "u" in there). So, ok I knew I wanted pink but I couldn't decide what shade sooooo I put three different colors on 3 different nails to get some opinions and I realized that I liked all 3 so I decided to do all of them. It’s different but it works!

Do you like a Lady's Man (i.e. a man that adores a Lady) or a Bad Boy? Why?
I like a combination. A man that knows when to switch it up. You can be a lady's man when the time comes but when its time to whip out (that's awful! Lol) the thug passion. Handle ur biznass! Haha. (Sorry mom)

What ultimately makes you a Brown Bettie?
What makes me a Brown Bettie is my belief in integrity. I'm the oldest of 8 kids and it’s important to me that my family knows I WON the RIGHT way. Always, always move with INTEGRITY it’s [always] in the back of my mind. I'm in an industry where people will do WHATEVER it takes to win. I won't. I will do it my way.....with Moxie!

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

******"Myss Moxie Presents: Social Studies"******

Click here for the video!

#1) Have you ever exposed a guy/girl on Facebook/Myspace? Like found out that she/he was doing you wrong thanks to the magic of Facebook/Myspace? If so, Myss Moxie wants to hear about it. Email: thinktwice.ent@gmail.com

#2) Has ladies night at the club ever turned sour because of a bug a boo? You know, the dude or dudes (depending on your hotness level) that will NOT leave you alone. The one that insist that because you're wearing a certain outfit or looking a certain way, thinks it's the greenlight to harass you non-stop? Send an email or a 30s webcam with your story to: myssmoxie@gmail.com

For more on Yasmine and her projects, go to: www.myspace.com/myssmoxie. All photos by Steve Kay www.myspace.com/stevekay13