Teyana Taylor Gets Interviewed By a Gospel Choir

[instrumental music]

[melodic beats]

I was coming today for an interview

and I realized that I am now in a church.

So maybe the interview is in the church.

Let's get it started. Let's see.

Let's see what's happening.

One, two, ready.

♪ Gospel means good news ♪

♪ When you receive good news ♪

♪ How do you celebrate ♪

♪ Sing it again, y'all ♪

♪ Gospel means good news ♪

♪ When you receive good news ♪

♪ How do you celebrate ♪

Oh my God.

It just like, the gospel

just hit different. [choir laughs]

I'm telling you like when I get it together

and fully focusing on submitting my life,

I wanna do a gospel album.

[Choir] You know what I'm saying? Yeah.

Yeah, so I'm like super excited-

[tambourine rattles] [choir cheers]

Yeah, yeah.

I give thanks, that's how I celebrate.

'Cause again, I don't let this get lost on me.

And I understand that everything that is happening

for me is just, you know, answered prayers.

[Choir] You know? Amen.

And is, that's, yeah, very, very important.

And it's crazy, as I said that yesterday, I'm like,

they were like, you're not tired?

You don't get so tired?

You know, I'm like, listen,

I will never complain about answered prayers, you know?

I used to literally pray for times like this.

No matter where I am in the industry,

where I am in the world,

I take that with me.

I take the good news with me.

I take the gospel with me.

[tambourine rattles]

[everyone laughs]

♪ What do you miss most ♪

♪ About the Harlem of your youth ♪

Ooh.

♪ What do you miss most ♪

I miss this, like, you know,

walking into St. Luke's Baptist Church on Morningside, ah.

Walking up in there for I remember being,

when I got baptized and everything,

it's just like coming into church and-

[feet tapping]

Right. You know what I'm saying?

And praising the Lord, [tambourine rattles]

going up and being able to sing.

Like I miss that kind of stuff.

I miss doing that when I was younger,

you know what I'm saying?

I used to always try and eat up the, uh-

[everyone laughs] Communion cracker? The crack- [everyone laughs]

And I wanted to taste the wine,

but they really just gave me grape juice.

[choir laughs]

I was upset.

I said, the blood God?

This the blood of Jesus? [choir laughs]

Where is the wine?

[choir laughs] Right.

A lot has changed in Harlem.

I mean, not the spirit, but what it physically look like.

You know, it doesn't feel like that

coming to age Harlem that I know.

Like, it actually felt really cool when I was doing

A thousand and one [clock tower strikes]

and we were able to like go back into the '90s

and the early 2000s and they were able to like,

make Harlem look the way it used to look.

It just, it felt so good and it felt so homey.

Now it's a lot more glass, a lot more, you know,

it's bittersweet for me.

'Cause of course we always want elevation and you know,

we wanna be able to make sure we have,

you know, nice things and stuff like that.

But the Harlem girl in me is just like

oh yeah, take me back.

Put me in a time machine.

Put me in a time machine for sure.

One, two, three and one.

♪ What would the sixteen year old Teyana think ♪

♪ Of the Teyana of today ♪

Hey! [tambourine rattles]

♪ What would the sixteen year old Teyana think ♪

♪ What would she say ♪ ♪ Of the Teyana of today ♪ Hey! ♪

Mm.

When I was 16, I was a little bossy too.

[choir chuckles] But I was a helper.

I would be, you know, just walking around Harlem

and I might see a dance group and I go

and like make up the moves.

I'm like, this needs to be fixed, this needs to be fixed.

Like, I've always been

a little creative director, [choir laughs]

you know?

I don't know if people know this neither,

but when I was like 12,

[Teyana laughs]

I had a bible study class

and I would bring all the little hood boys

and you know, to come over because I was like,

I was 12, but I was like an old soul.

I was too grown.

I wasn't fast, but I was too grown.

And I'm like, y'all out here running around,

let's go. You know? [choir chuckling]

So I was like, I always felt like I needed to be the one

that was doing something for the community.

It was girls there too, but the boys were the hotheads.

So it was really dope to see like these hood guys,

you know, that was outside for real, for real,

come into my Bible study class and like make them read.

Some of them could read, some of them couldn't really.

And you know, the Bible and scripture was like

the first thing they really read out loud.

So like that stuff made me proud.

Like I did everything.

I was running track. I was, everything.

People would be like, Oh, Teyana, Keep your job, Taylor.

That's been me.

Even- I was packing bags.

My mom was like, how you coming home with all this money?

I was baking cakes for the basketball teams.

[choir laughs]

Like, I had all types of stuff going on.

But I've always been that.

I've always wanted to be some type of like positivity,

you know, bring the positivity to um, my neighborhood.

I think 16 year old me would be very, very proud.

16 year old me manifested a lot of this.

I wanna say like the, just the inner child in me,

like the 16-year-old in me, is just like,

again, filled with so much gratitude and you know,

I think this is really my first time

really talking about it.

And I think that's why I am so emotional

because it's just like, wow, this is like all happening.

♪ Tell us about the time ♪

♪ When you questioned your belief in yourself ♪

Mm.

[bangles jingling]

I mean, I definitely think, you know,

coming into the industry at 15 years old, you know,

it's really, really young age

and I had to grow up very, very fast.

And the times that I've questioned myself was

when that weight felt like punishment

and not understanding that it was preparation.

And there's still times that I have to be reminded,

you know, um,

the blessings are very real.

And that's why no matter what room I'm in,

I'm gonna always represent,

I'm gonna always bring the good news,

I'm gonna always pray even when they don't clap.

[Choir] Yes. You know?

So it's just real.

Everything's happening.

With everything that I've been through,

to see everything flourish right now

is really showing that

this is what was already ready for me.

I'm just so grateful and just filled with

so much gratitude, you know?

And that's why I do what I do, you know?

And why I pray the way I pray, and I dunno.

[Teyana laughs]

I feel bad. [choir clapping]

Sorry. [Teyana laughs]

[Speaker] No, you're good. Don't apologize.

[bangles jingle]

[choir humming]

♪ Ohh, fill in ♪

♪ Fill in the blank ♪

♪ Oh, oh, oh, fill in ♪

♪ Fill in the blank ♪

♪ Leonardo, Leonardo ♪

♪ DiCaprio, DiCaprio ♪

[Teyana laughs]

♪ Taught you ♪

[tambourine jingles]

I wanna say he taught me how to show up

and be present for my scene partner.

I think that, you know, that's really important.

And when I say that, it's like I'm always present

in everything that I do.

But to be able to act alongside of an icon,

a legend, like and to see him show up for me

goes to show me that no matter where I go in life

or how big I become,

to still always be present for my scene partner.

Because I've worked with people.

His status that will, like,

I show up for them and then they go

and I'm reading with like, when it's my turn to go,

I'm reading with a stand-in or like their body double

because they're them and I ain't complaining, you know,

I'm just happy to be here, you know?

But people at that caliber don't stick

around for you, you know?

They are not as present as it looks

when you finally see the movies.

So to be able to work with Leonardo DiCaprio

and how he's a mentor on set

is really important because it's like,

oh wow, like, you know,

that it's all a part of keeping you grounded

and understanding to just to be present

no matter where you are in life.

It's very collaborative, you know,

and, you know, he's just very present.

So that's one thing I can say that

I definitely learned from him.

With a person at that caliber, like,

you know, one day when I'm at that level

to always still remain present and you know,

and mentor, you know, the younger ones that's coming up,

you know, and trying to navigate this thing

and being nervous in front of a presence like him, you know?

'Cause a lot of that is that as well.

♪ Final question ♪

♪ Are you doing anything after this ♪

[Teyana laughs] ♪ What are you doing ♪ [hands clapping]

♪ After this ♪ [tambourine rattles]

♪ What's next, yeah, after this ♪

♪ After this, after this ♪

♪ Ohh, after this ♪

♪ What are you doing, after this ♪

♪ What's next, after this ♪

♪ After this, after this ♪ [tambourine rattles]

Mm!

After this, I'm going to Red Rooster, baby.

[choir laughs]

I am going to Red Rooster to do my interview.

My cover interview for Vanity Fair.

And I'm like so, so excited.

I did my shoot yesterday

and I was like, I was gagged a few times.

Like I was really stopped in my tracks, like,

I'm really about to be on the cover of Vanity Fair.

This is insane.

And I'm gagging even more because I'm in Harlem,

we at this church and we are bringing us to Vanity Fair.

And I think that's so beautiful.

And now my interview with Vanity Fair is about to be

at Red Rooster.

Like what?

Like it's just really a New York affair and you know,

I'm so honored and I'm so happy

and I got so much stuff coming up.

I mean, the blessings is just rolling in

and rolling in and rolling in.

I think that's why I'm like so emotional

because for the past few months straight,

I have been on like a press run.

So I just been going, going,

going, going, going, going, going.

And I think even just sitting in this chair

and sitting with y'all has been the longest

I've actually sat down these last few months.

Like, I have not had any time at all.

So I think like sitting and then y'all singing

so beautifully and asking these questions in a way

is just really like, touching my heart

because y'all asking real questions

that I haven't been able to really like sit and like,

digest and really just take in.

So I've been taking in bits and pieces like,

oh my God this is happening, thank you God.

Oh my God this is happening, thank you, God.

Just, you know, [choir laughs]

my prayer.

But like, I haven't really sat in and was like, oh my God.

And I'm just so overjoyed and overwhelmed

like in the best way.

Yeah.

[gospel music] [choir applauding]

Thank you.

♪ Amen, amen ♪

♪ Amen ♪

♪ Men ♪

Yeah!

[tambourine rattles] [feet tapping]