Actress Ta’Rhonda Jones is best known for her recurring role as Porsha Taylor on the hit drama series Empire. However, in a new interview with our colleagues overt at the Kinda Nerdy Girls, Jones stopped by to talk about her new project The Never Ever Mets.
This is a transcript of a full-length interview:
KJ: Hi, Ta’Rhonda! I know we have a ton of Empire fans tuning it but let’s talk first about your current project, The Never Ever Mets!
Ta’Rhonda: So, I am on a show called The Never Ever Mets. It’s on OWN. It’s also streaming on ACL Max. I bring seven couples under one roof who are all in the same situation, which is they’ve been dating someone virtually, but they never met them in person. They’ve never seen them, they’ve never physically talked to them or physically touched them. They just talk over the phone or the Instagram or they just do everything via metaverse. So I bring them all under one roof to see if their connection could withstand the real world versus behind the screen. And like you said, it’s a bizarre way of dating, for sure. You get a little bit of drama. You get a little bit of everything on this show, OK?
KJ: Can you imagine yourself? I mean, obviously, online dating is a very normal thing. But full online relationship, no physical contact. Could you ever imagine doing that personally?
Ta’Rhonda: I cannot. No. My love language is physical touch. Okay. It’s one of them. I love to touch. I love to, you know, that’s, that’s one of the ways, uh, I actually connect. I gotta, I gotta see my person. I gotta see if the energy is there. You haven’t been in the room with somebody and you just feel a little off in person. So I won’t know if the connection is really there until I physically see you in person. I can’t wait five, eight, seven, 10 years before I see my person to know if the connection is really there. Then I’ll be sorry I wasted my time.
KJ: Now, I always love having someone like you on the show, who is multi-talented, multi-passionate. I think for a long time, we thought we had to be in a box, and this defines me. I am this one thing. Where you are, I mean, You’re an actress, you’re a rapper, you’re a designer, you’re out there doing good in the world. Can you talk a little bit about how you manage all of your passions and still have energy to do it all?
Ta’Rhonda: I think when you’re walking in your purpose, it doesn’t feel like work. When you’re truly walking in the spirit and when you’re truly doing what God called you to do, It doesn’t feel like work. You don’t get time because you’re moving in the spirit and not in the physical. So when God gave me all these gifts and talents, some of them are just talents. Some of them are gifts. And the reason why I’m able to operate in them is because I know the difference. But I love what I do. I love what I do. And one of the main things my grandmother always used to say is, it’s good to be good. And if I don’t like what I see in the world, because the world can be a very dark place. It’s so dark. I’m always saying, you gotta be the one to light it up then. If you don’t like what you see, be the one to light it up. It’s good to be good. So just trying to be an example of what good looks like, what good feels like, what good should be doing, and then eventually, I believe it becomes a domino effect. You know, I do one thing, and somebody might get inspired by the things that I’m doing, and they start doing it, and then somebody might see them doing it, and they start doing it, it becomes a domino effect. Now the world is just good. The world is just light, and it’s not so dark.
KJ: I love that. And we’re here in Indianapolis, so not far from your home of Chicago. And would you share a little bit about some of that good that you’re doing? Because you’re helping in neighborhoods. You’re empowering young girls. And I always love to give you a chance to talk about maybe some of those organizations that we could do some good in helping you.
Ta’Rhonda: Oh, thank you. Absolutely. So I, I have a foundation called Black Village Foundation. What we do is provide financial resources for young budding entrepreneurs all over the South and West Sides of Chicago. The goal is to break generational curses. It’s also to build Black wealth. So if there’s a project or a business that these young entrepreneurs are trying to kickstart, we give them the funds to be able to do that. We also provide food resources. On the west side of Chicago is one of the most food deserts in the city of Chicago. So we do food giveaways on a weekly basis. I also am an advisory board member of Project Hood. The Hood stands for Helping Others Obtain Destiny. Pastor Cory Brooks is one of my amazing mentors, brother, friend, everything, my confidant, everything. What we’re doing is we are basically located in one of the most disinvested communities, which is called Old Block. It’s also one of the highest-rated crime areas. I teach an acting class there, and it’s more than just acting. I’m teaching emotional intelligence. I’m teaching kids how, and it’s kids from the ages six to 18, teaching kids how to regulate their emotions. I’m also teaching them how different etiquette, how to be a lady, how to be a gentleman, how to court. and things like that. And I’m also teaching them not just one thing, but teaching them how to be a jack-of-all-trades like myself. So I’m teaching them writing, I’m teaching them directing, producing, acting, music. Yeah, so it’s more than just acting, it’s also life skills. I don’t remember anybody coming back giving me those tools to be able to maneuver in the world. So these are the gems I’m giving the kids. They ain’t old enough to have a Crown Royal bag, but I give gems to folks for putting their Crown Royal bag.
The full interview is down below:
A girl with too many fandoms to count.
