Ricco Ross from Beauty In Black is UNHINGED

Summary

Podcast Summary: Unhinged & Immoral

Hosts: Jameela Bell & Mecca Evans
Guest: Ricco Ross (Horace in Tyler Perry’s Beauty In Black)
Episode Date: December 11, 2025
Production: Diamond MPrint Productions

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Episode Overview

This episode delves into the acting journey of Ricco Ross—best known as Horace from Tyler Perry’s Beauty In Black. Jameela and Mecca, with their trademark humor and flair, take listeners through Ricco’s career, his theatrical roots, method acting insights, industry advice, personal life, and upcoming projects. The conversation explores Black Hollywood, the complexity of Horace, the influence of social media, and the importance of representation—delivered with plenty of laughter, candid stories, and a few unfiltered takes.

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Major Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ricco Ross on Playing Horace in Beauty In Black

• Character Complexity:
  • Ricco discusses becoming Horace, a character he calls "a hot mess... confusing. He’s complicated."
    • "When I got the cane, I was like, I got you now, Horace." (02:41)
• Preparing for the Role:
  • Ricco drew on his extensive training: UCLA, Shakespeare in London, and method acting. Physicality (shoes, cane, cigar) helped shape the Horace persona.

2. The Art of Cursing & Characterization

• On-screen versus Real Life:
  • Ricco hardly curses in real life and chose to remove extra curse words and racial slurs from the script for greater impact.
    • "He was so powerful that he didn’t need them." (04:16)
• Cast Dynamics:
  • Other actors, like Mallory, also diverge from their characters’ language offscreen.

3. Acting Abroad & Black Identity

• Acting in the UK:
  • Ricco recounts how being American, particularly Black American, elevated his status in the UK acting scene.
    • "Often the best place to be a Black American is outside of America." (08:44)
• Cultural Contribution:
  • Abroad, Black Americans are celebrated as culture carriers—musically, athletically, artistically.

4. Training: Theater vs. Film/TV

• Denzel’s Advice:
  • Admits theater training creates versatile actors; film can be more forgiving and accessible.
    • "On stage, you show. In front of the camera, you be." (13:02)
• Learning from Peers:
  • Cites working with Ken Wahl (The Dirty Dozen 2) as proof that on-camera acting can come naturally for some.

5. Tyler Perry’s Production Style & Soap Opera Speed

• Unique Filming Pace:
  • Tyler Perry shoots fast and allows actors creative control, especially veterans.
    • "Sometimes I'll have three different ways I want to deliver this last line... they can choose in the editing room." (25:25)
• Soap Opera Roots:
  • Ricco likens Perry’s pace to his days on Young and the Restless: memorize lines quickly, little rehearsal, constant churn.

6. Craft, Mentorship & Set Culture

• Veterans & Mentorship:
  • Veteran actors like Ricco, Richard Lawson, Debbie Morgan, and Malik Whitfield model techniques for younger actors.
• Underplaying Power:
  • When everyone’s shouting, Ricco lowers his voice for more effect.
    • "The king doesn't shout." (24:01)

7. Horace’s Surprising Depth & Popularity

• Character Layers:
  • Horace evolves from seemingly weak to formidable, adding intrigue, longevity, and audience fascination.
    • Originally supposed to die in season one; Tyler Perry kept him on after a standout performance. (23:03)
• Audience Reaction:
  • Ricco is surprised by the breadth of his fanbase, crossing age and gender.

8. Social Media & Modern Visibility

• Blessing & Curse:
  • Ricco employs a social media manager but reads comments and relishes audience love.
    • "Social media is a tool... it depends on what you want to use it for." (20:38)

9. Upcoming Projects

• New Movies:
  • An Unexpected Christmas with Lil Rel and Tabitha Brown—a potential classic, with a throwback feel, relatable to all families.
    • "When the film is over and the credits are rolling, the film doesn’t stop there. You’re going to be talking about these issues." (30:08)
• Another Tyler Perry Christmas Movie and a horror movie where he plays a Catholic priest.
• Theater for a Cause:
  • A Christmas Kill for a Cure in California, benefitting children with rare diseases.

10. Personal & Professional Reflection

• Favorite Roles:
  • Ricco’s favorite role is typically his current one, enjoying the diversity—gang member, priest, family man, villain.
• Career Timing:
  • Finds greater appreciation for fame and success later in life; might have squandered it if younger.
    • "I think it’s probably better that it happened later in life, because I think I appreciate it more now." (37:49)
• Balance & Mental Health:
  • Family, basketball, and staying physically active keep him grounded.

11. On Black Love, Marriage, and Blended Families

• Marriage Wisdom:
  • Communication is key; every relationship is unique.
    • "A marriage is like a contract... no two contracts are the same." (44:33)
• Long Courtship:
  • Nico dated his wife for six years before marriage—after a "rotation" of relationships.
• Blended Family Experience:
  • Shared real-life parallels with his new film (An Unexpected Christmas), noting challenges and authenticity in blending children.

12. Black Fame, Representation & Cultural Roots

• Black Famous vs. Mainstream:
  • Ricco discusses being “black famous” in Atlanta via Tyler Perry, and "white famous" at sci-fi conventions.
    • "Every time I step out [in Atlanta]... I really am black famous." (57:42)
• Chicago Roots:
  • Proud Chicago native, especially fond of the city’s culture and winters.

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• "When I got the cane, I was like, I got you now, Horace."
  — Ricco Ross [02:41]

• "Often the best place to be a Black American is outside of America."
  — Ricco Ross [08:44]

• "On stage, you show. In front of the camera, you be."
  — Ricco Ross [13:02]

• "The king doesn't shout."
  — Ricco Ross [24:01]

• "When the film is over and the credits are rolling, the film doesn’t stop there. You’re going to be talking about these issues."
  — Ricco Ross [30:08]

• "A marriage is like a contract... no two contracts are the same."
  — Ricco Ross [44:33]

• "Enjoy the grind. Enjoy the journey. Fall in love with the journey and you'll be fine."
  — Ricco Ross [59:50]

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Memorable Moments & Laughter

• Horace’s iconic cussing combinations:
  "I’ve never seen this combination of cuss words before!" — Mecca [05:14]
• Fans calling Ricco by character roles rather than his name ("Mr. Whitney Houston", "Calvin") [11:21]
• Playful flirting between hosts and Ricco, "You better stop flirting with me, girl!" [25:01]
• Candid discussion of Ricco’s "rotation" of women before marriage—handled with respect and humor [45:39–49:32]
• "He is delicious in this role, isn’t he?" — Ricco on a co-star’s villainous turn [33:09]
• Audience participation and commentary during Black film screenings [29:03]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro & Guest Introduction: 01:03–02:25
• Becoming Horace: 02:25–03:52
• Cussing, Character, & Language: 04:00–06:16
• Acting in London & Black American Identity: 06:16–09:59
• Theater vs. Film/TV Training: 12:13–15:27
• On Set with Tyler Perry: 23:03–27:47
• Horace’s Evolution & Audience Love: 21:54–24:46
• Social Media’s Double-Edged Sword: 20:35–21:21
• Upcoming Christmas Movie & Soundtrack: 28:27–31:00, 51:45–52:55
• Blended Family & Art Imitating Life: 49:54–51:22
• Thoughts on Fame, Peak & Valley Careers: 40:20–41:18, 59:19–59:50

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Conclusion

This episode spotlights Ricco Ross’s fascinating journey from Shakespearean actor to Black soap opera staple, his mentorship, views on representation, the nuances of Horace in Beauty in Black, and the power of giving back. Jameela and Mecca keep the conversation lively, relatable, and real—digging into relationships, industry grind, and what it means to be Black, visible, and authentically yourself in entertainment.

Listen in for laughs, wisdom, and inspiration from a bona fide “Black famous” legend.

Transcript

[Commercial Narrator]

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[Jameela]

She flowing in that cash hall Walk in the booth like Naomi on the catwalk and tell them bitches whoop, whoop from the jaguar it ain't even right though push me and I might though she ain't getting money I'm like, what the fuck a hype for when them bitches bite flow make my appetite go poof Gone, voila. Magic looking mad good just to pull up on them Ramping. Welcome back to another episode of Unhinged and Royal. I'm your host, Jameela.

[Mecca]

And I'm your host, Mecca.

[Jameela]

Today we have such a special guest. I'm so excited because, well, as you know, me and Mecca do love us some beauty in Black. Oh, we love it so bad. We're addicted to it. I'm about to actually rewatch it to prepare for the part two coming out. We have Rico Ross, and you might know him as Horace. That old mean but nice. But mean but nice.

[Rico Ross]

Oh, he's such a hot mess. He's confusing. He's complicated.

[Jameela]

He's so complicated. I don't know whether to trust you or not. I feel just like. What's her name?

[Mecca]

Melon.

[Jameela]

Kimmy.

[Mecca]

By Kimmy.

[Jameela]

I'm like, I don't know. I don't know. I truly don't know what to think of you. And it's just.

It's so yummy, though. How does it feel playing that character?

[Rico Ross]

You know? It's really fun playing it. I bet it's really fun playing, but it's different. It's a stretch because it's not like me.

[Mecca]

Okay.

[Rico Ross]

He's not like me at all. So it is definite stress. And I kind of. When I got offered the part, I had to tell them. I said, listen, when you meet me, I don't present myself as the way the character is described. He's a 70 year old elderly man. And I just said, I don't really present myself. And he said, well, Tyler hand picked you and we'll make it fit. And so I get on set and we started working with shoes. You know, I studied at UCLA and I also worked in Hollywood for a year, did some successful stuff as a gang member and only got gang member parts after that. And so then I went and studied Shakespeare in London, England. And then. And then I stayed for 13 years after that. And the first four years I was there, I was working as a British actor because I had acquired a British accent. And then I got residency and then I started working as an American abroad. So when I came back here and I was preparing for this role, I used method acting to get from the inside out to kind of find the character. But I also used like the right pair of shoes, the right clothes. And then Tyler suggested that I try a cigar. And that helped because it did something to my voice and it kind of slowed me down a little bit. And then he suggested that I try cane. When I got the cane, I was like, I got you now, Horace. I got you now.

[Jameela]

That did it. That definitely solidified. I mean, Horace is.

[Mecca]

He's something. And you talking about everything that we were gonna ask you about.

[Jameela]

Yeah, I mean, I do have to ask, though, do you cuss like Horace? Can you cuss real good like Horace? Cause Horace, when he get the cuss, I'm like, well, now I don't cuss. You don't cuss at all.

[Rico Ross]

I don't cuss at all.

[Jameela]

So do you feel like, oh, I'm so naughty now?

[Rico Ross]

As a matter of fact, a lot of the curse words I took out of the script, there were a lot more. And a lot of the N words, you know, I took them out as well because I felt like he was so powerful that he didn't need them. And also when I did use them, I wanted them to have more of an impact. So I used them sparingly.

[Jameela]

As opposed to like a Mallory.

[Rico Ross]

Exactly.

[Mecca]

Cause she let them fly. When did he say the N word? When you have it really sparing?

[Rico Ross]

Yeah, I don't use it much. And as a matter of fact, Mallory in real life, she don't curse at all.

[Jameela]

I saw that in one of her interviews, she was like, this is just so.

I'm like, man, I know. Tyler was having a ball right now. Them cuss words.

[Rico Ross]

Oh, yes, he was. And some people actually add them. You know, I chose to kind of remove a bunch of them, but some people actually add them.

[Jameela]

That's honestly my favorite part of the show. How flavorful everyone's vocabulary is. I'm like, ooh, everybody's so mad in the show. I wanna be in the show and yell, too.

[Mecca]

I've never seen this combination of cuss words before.

[Jameela]

Yes.

[Mecca]

No, literally so, like, oh, my God. That's a good combination.

[Rico Ross]

I remember that. Do you use curse words?

[Jameela]

I do.

[Rico Ross]

You a good curser?

[Jameela]

I'm a good cusser.

[Rico Ross]

Ooh. How about you, Megan?

[Mecca]

Because my mother doesn't cuss.

[Rico Ross]

She doesn't cuss.

[Mecca]

So my mother doesn't cuss. But my dad cusses real bad. So we would hear it. He wasn't supposed to cuss around us. And then it would be like, oh, my God. Yeah. But he's like, my dad's a og, so he's like, motherfucker, jab. It's like that type of cussing. So when I started cussing them, that's kind of on TikTok. When we talk, they're always like, we could tell your parents are all about. You put combinations together. We haven't heard that before.

[Rico Ross]

No, my parents didn't cuss. At least they didn't cuss around us, so we didn't grow up cursing. And. And so I just never got got into it. And so I. And I try not to anyway, because I try and use my vocabulary.

[Jameela]

Come on now. I use a little blend of both.

[Rico Ross]

Sometimes you got to put something out there.

[Mecca]

When I got grown and could say the N word freely.

[Rico Ross]

Freedom.

[Mecca]

Freedom.

[Jameela]

Freedom at last. So we want to get into some of that theater. Yes. You are a thespian. Can you describe your experience studying in London? I know you talked a little bit about it. You picked up that British accent. You kind of pulled them on them. Because, you know, they come over here picking up that LA and Atlanta lingo.

[Rico Ross]

Truth, girl.

[Jameela]

And you pulled a them on them. How was that for you?

[Rico Ross]

Facts. And so when people are complaining about them coming over here, I keep quiet. No. Cause I went over there and the first thing they asked the American actors were to acquire British accent. They said, we want you to be able to focus on the character and not be so preoccupied with the accent. And you know how artists are. You put them in an environment, they soak it up. Living over there, it's pretty easy to pick up the accent. And by the time the course was over with, my British accent was as good as anybody in the class. And so all of the British actors started going out on auditions and all that. And I was like, okay, why not? And then I asked one of my friends, I said, let me see what your. They have a national insurance number, which is like our Social Security number. I said, let me see what it looked like. Let me see how many numbers you got me. One up, girl.

[Mecca]

I know, that's right.

[Rico Ross]

I made me one up. And I started going on auditions, and I started getting cast, and I was like, oh, this is working.

[Mecca]

Yes.

[Rico Ross]

I got cast at the National Theater, which is like one of the biggest theaters in London. And I would be in the newspaper in the daytime, perform at night, and then come off stage and wonder whether immigration's waiting on me. It was like that.

[Jameela]

I had no idea.

[Rico Ross]

They had no idea.

[Jameela]

Oh, that's so scandalous. And they can't get you now.

[Mecca]

I'm back home now.

[Jameela]

It's already done. Do you feel like it was easier being a black actor there or here? I know there's different racial politics everywhere, but being inundated within theater, how do you feel like the difference was?

[Rico Ross]

I will say this, I think that it was easier being an actor, period, whether it was black or white, being an American actor, because you do stand out, and there aren't as many. The competition isn't as stiff. So I found that that was definitely a benefit. And I would be in England, and the moment I opened my mouth and they heard the American accent, all of a sudden I was privileged. And a lot of black people don't know this, and black Americans don't know this, but often the best place to be a black American is outside of America. Interesting, because we have.

We contribute so much to the American society that we don't really get credit for. But then when you go abroad, they recognize us as we are the culture, we bring the sound. We are the talented ones. You look at the Olympics, American Olympics, and it's all us, all of us.

You look at the charts of songs, and it's all us. We bring so much culture to America. And when we get out, when you go outside of America and they recognize that you're black American, there is great love. I have a spot in Mexico City and in Mexico City, and when I go out, they say that we black Americans, we add to their culture.

[Mecca]

I know that's right.

[Rico Ross]

And it's A welcoming thing. They want it. And when they throw club parties and events and it's done by black Americans that live in Mexico City, they all come out. They want to be there. That's the place they want to be. So they appreciate us. And just like in the early 40s, a lot of musicians, Josephine Baker, all those, they would go abroad and they would really get love over there and get their flowers over there. And then when they come back here, oh, oh, you're famous now.

Exactly. So that is the truth. Sometimes the best place to be a black American is outside of America.

[Jameela]

Well, white America take notes. I mean, they know take notes.

[Mecca]

So to prepare for this interview, I read an interview that you did where you were asked a question about how do you stay motivated in this industry? And you answered, it's either out of inspiration or desperation.

[Rico Ross]

Look at you, girl, doing your homework. I see you. I see you. That's why you got that. That's why you got that master's degree. She ain't playing.

[Mecca]

And you know your belief that you're a good actor and you were just waiting for the right role. Do you feel like you've have the right role, or are you still waiting on it?

[Rico Ross]

I don't know whether it's just an. As an actor, as an artist, I always feel like my best work is yet to come. I'm playing a role right now that is so damn juicy. I can't wait till y' all see it.

[Jameela]

I can't wait to see it.

[Rico Ross]

And.

I can't announce it because it hasn't been announced yet. But when it comes out, I think it's called the Gospel of Christmas. That's what the. The movie's called. But I think when this comes out, people instead of calling me Horace, they're gonna be calling me this character.

[Jameela]

Okay. Cause you know black people, and we love whichever role, let me tell you.

[Rico Ross]

At first dawned on me when I did the. I was the guy that they were saving out that Whitney Houston was saving.

[Jameela]

All my love for.

[Mecca]

Saving all my love for you.

[Rico Ross]

And I remember crossing the street and some lady shouted out, hey, Mr. Whitney Houston. Am I, Mr. Mr. Whitney Houston now? Yes.

[Jameela]

We are so funny. We gonna grab whatever name characteristic that we go through, and that's who we gonna be. Forget the name, baby.

[Rico Ross]

You gonna be here.

[Mecca]

Let me tell you, this weekend, we were at one music fest, and my brother, I didn't know who he saw. He was like, I saw someone. I saw. I saw someone. I said, ooh.

[Jameela]

I said.

[Mecca]

He was like, yeah, I Said, hey, yo, Calvin, this negro saw Lance Gross.

[Jameela]

Oh, my God. Calvin from House to Cal. Now, I always get that man name right.

[Rico Ross]

You see, that's why I was like, we know. We know.

[Mecca]

And then that was what you chose to call him. And he answered and dabbed you up. I hate boys.

[Jameela]

I'm glad y' all know what you know we mean. Well, you know, I. Poor little. We just black, y'.

[Rico Ross]

All.

[Jameela]

You know how we get down. Yeah. You know, Denzel is also very infamous for saying, if you want to act, go to theater. Is that something that you feel as well? Theater is where you really go to learn how to act for real. Or do you think the TV and the film is good enough as well?

[Rico Ross]

I think you can go in front of a camera and be a film actor without a lot of training for sure. But you can't go on stage without a lot of training.

You may have to do something like a stage whisper, where you're coming across as whispering, but somebody 50 yards has to hear it. And so there is a definite difference in the technique. If you're going to whisper on film, you just whisper, right?

[Mecca]

Yeah.

[Jameela]

All type of mics.

[Rico Ross]

So the way I phrase it is on theater, on stage, you show in front of the camera, you be. So on stage, I might have to show that I'm angry. So you might see it in my facial expressions and my voice and my movements are larger. On film, I just think of something that pisses me off, and the camera will pick it up in my eye.

[Mecca]

And say, this nigga's serious right now.

[Jameela]

He said the N word.

We got it.

[Mecca]

That makes sense, because you can definitely tell when Broadway actors do a film, and sometimes it's read as overacting. But I do think if, like, you know the difference, you're like, oh, no. I can just see that you're theater down.

[Rico Ross]

I always thought that you. Because I come from a theater background, I always thought that you had to have theater training to be a good actor. But I worked on this movie called The Dirty Dozen 2 with a guy called Ken Wall. And Ken Wall is Italian American, and his people were in the Mafia. And so when he told his uncle he wanted to be an actor, the next thing you know, he had a lead role in a movie. Had never acted, had never done anything. And he. And he did well. And from that moment on, he was a lead actor. He actually had his own TV series. And when we were acting, him and I were just talking like this, like, we're talking, and then the director said, okay. It was a two person scene. Director said, okay. Okay. All right, we're going to shoot now.

[Mecca]

And.

[Rico Ross]

And action. And Ken started a dialogue. And the director says, cut, cut, cut. I said, action. He thought we were just still kicking it. Ken was so natural that the director didn't realize that he was saying the dialogue.

[Mecca]

Wow.

[Rico Ross]

So after that, I thought, you know what? You can be a film actor without training. If you can just be yourself and be real, then you can get by with it. I don't know if it works the other way around, though.

[Jameela]

That makes sense.

I, too, have done theater. That was actually my original major. And I remember them telling us, this ain't the TV I had. You know, I went to HBCU when I was studying theater. So she would come in there, this ain't tv, okay? You ain't finna be out here. Minimal. You're finna get on that stage and perform. And we had to do so much. And I have not stopped being extra since. It had put a level of extraness in my blood, and I was already extra. And I'm like, well, oh, Lord, I'm gonna have to learn how to tone that down a little on camera.

[Rico Ross]

The beauty of that is, I think once you get out of your comfort zone and you can be extra, you can always pull it back.

[Jameela]

Exactly.

[Rico Ross]

But some people can't push it out there.

[Jameela]

It's real hard to pull that out of somebody who ain't really.

[Rico Ross]

Yep, it's hard to pull it out there. I was just talking to someone today about this incident that happened on Tyler Perry. She told me this happened on Tyler Perry set. I wasn't there. And she said that he wanted this actress to cry, and she couldn't cry. And then he went up to her and he says, your mama just died. And she was like, what? Your mama just died. Your mother just died.

[Jameela]

That's crazy, ain't he?

[Rico Ross]

And she still couldn't do it. He went, all right, cut. We're moving on. We're gonna scratch this.

[Jameela]

Like, that ain't even gonna work for you.

[Rico Ross]

If it ain't gonna work for you, we just gonna move on. Yeah, but, you know, sometimes in this business, you are asked to turn it on like a light switch.

[Mecca]

And.

[Rico Ross]

And there are people who are really good at that. Yeah, really good.

[Mecca]

I can cry on Dem.

[Jameela]

It's definitely a skill.

[Mecca]

Yeah, I can. I just have to think about, let.

[Rico Ross]

Me see, let me see, let me see, let me see. Your eyes get watery. Listen, the camera's rolling. Come on now.

[Mecca]

I'm Trying so hard, but I'm laughing.

[Rico Ross]

She ain't going to do it. She ain't going to do it.

[Mecca]

But I learned because I have to get my mom and death to do stuff.

[Rico Ross]

So.

[Jameela]

Oh, I was like, you're a liar.

[Mecca]

I. I really can mood. No. I have a little brother.

[Rico Ross]

But you was the daughter though, so.

[Mecca]

But I was the daughter.

[Rico Ross]

Baby girl.

[Mecca]

Baby boy. I used to have to fight against that. So I was like, okay, I'm about to start crying, but I can't do it right now.

[Jameela]

Whatever you can do to get them tears out. I've heard so many actors say crazy things, something similar.

[Mecca]

Like I would start thinking about if something happens. Mind you, I'm talking to a mom, trying to get something to her. But I would think about something that happened to him.

[Rico Ross]

That's sense memory. That's what method actors do. We think about something that pisses us off or makes us happy or, or whatever it is, or. If I see you and I have to do a love scene with you, I start finding things that I like about you. I start finding making myself attractive.

[Jameela]

And that's why folks don't like to date actors. Cause they done falling in love on the set. For real. You over there looking at that girl.

[Mecca]

That's the free promo for the movie.

[Jameela]

And there you go.

That kiss looked a little too real. I don't know if I could do it, but I want to, but I can't. I don't know. I don't trust you. I don't trust you. Cause I think I would fall in love if I really had me a good old, good looking partner play my. Now I love you.

[Rico Ross]

I think you do fall in love for a certain amount of time, you know. But a lot of actors, A lot of actors start smoking because they did a part where they had smoked cigarettes. And then they get into it. I do parts and if I have to smoke, like in Beauty and Black, I smoke before we ever start filming. I started smoking cigars because I never smoked cigars. I don't want it to look like.

[Jameela]

I'm right because you gonna call.

[Rico Ross]

Yeah.

But I am. I am that disciplined person that as soon as it's over with, I will put it down. And so I will fall in love with you.

[Jameela]

Oh, Lord.

[Rico Ross]

And as soon as it's over with, I have to shut that down.

[Jameela]

Get this bitch out of my face.

[Rico Ross]

I have to shut that down.

[Jameela]

As it should be. That's fun. Now I need to get back on somebody's set. I do want to love interest Bad. And I need him to be very fine, very handsome, very single, just in case I can't let go afterwards, you know what I mean? So Lance.

[Mecca]

He is married.

[Jameela]

He's a married. Damn, he sure has a gossip respected wife.

[Rico Ross]

I gotta tell you, there was this one love scene I had to do a TV series and this girl, we were gonna have a love scene at the end of the series. And I remember when I met her at the beginning of the reading, I thought, I can't wait to do this. She was fine as fuck.

And so, but. But by the end of the, by the time we shot that scene months and months later, I had learned her personality. And she wasn't a pretty person. Her personality wasn't pretty. She was great with actors, but to the crew, she treated them like they were less than.

[Jameela]

Don't like that at all.

[Rico Ross]

And it made her not unattractive to me. So when it actually came to the scene we had to shoot the scene, I had to act. I had to act my butt off.

[Mecca]

And that's real. I feel like us kind of just coming into the industry from this department and this avenue, seeing people not treat people that great is always a big turn off for me.

[Jameela]

I'm like.

[Mecca]

Thought I was a fan.

[Rico Ross]

And I gotta tell you guys, guys can fall in love with a bee. If she finds he can, if not fall in love, he could still wanna hit it.

[Jameela]

They'll find a way.

[Rico Ross]

And so it was surprising as a young man that I found this beautiful woman unattractive at that stage. So that was a, it was a, it was a lesson.

[Mecca]

It really is.

[Jameela]

And some men would have still, you know what I mean? They, Brian, you know, they don't always connect for them that way. But I'm glad you got a little bit of morals in you.

That's. That horse wasn't up in you. That wasn't horse. So has visibility changed for you or for actors today specifically? Seeing how social media has really kind of blossomed and allowed people to kind of be more forward facing, do you feel like it's kind of changed people's visibility for actors?

[Rico Ross]

Definitely. And I think it's a good thing and a bad thing.

[Mecca]

Yeah.

[Rico Ross]

But social media is a tool. Tools like anything, they can be used for, good or bad. You know, you can use a hammer to attack somebody or to fix something. It depends on what you want to use that tool for. I don't, I try not to spend as much time on it. I have a social media manager that deals with a lot of that stuff. So I don't get all caught up in it too much, but I do read the comments, you know, and I get a lot of love from social media, and I can see how, you know, it can get in your head. You think you special. Yeah, it's a lot of love coming from all over the world. And surprisingly so, because I didn't think that Horace would be that attractive to the public. And I mean, I get love from young girls, older women, guys, all of it, period.

[Jameela]

Yeah, Horace characters is interesting because he's really not a good, good guy. For real, for real. But at the same time, he. He's done some good, you know, he's saving Kimmy. Crazy ass.

[Mecca]

Yeah, he's not good, though. That's part of the reason. He's like, I'm not a good person.

[Jameela]

And when everybody is horrible in the show and you're like the least horrible, it's like, well, you know, you're not as bad as the lesser of it. You are. So I guess we'll let it rock. You know, when you was pushing on that. That bbl, I said, now hard enough, damn it, she's been through enough.

[Mecca]

That scene was like, oh, your body clenched.

[Rico Ross]

Oh, my God, you guys are real fans. No, I gotta tell you, when I got this role, I really appreciate it because the complexity of this character. When you first meet him, you think that he's a senior citizen on a fixed income. You later find out he's worth millions, hundreds of millions of dollars. When you first meet him, you think that he could be weak. And you later on, you find out that he's not the one to be messed with. When you first meet him, you think he's extremely homophobic. And later on you find out, oh, he may be a little funny himself in that closet. And at times he is the villain, but at times he's the hero. So to play a character that has all these different levels, I mean, it's just. We were halfway through shooting the first season and we had this boardroom scene where the two brothers clash and everybody clash and. And Horace goes off for the first time. You see him go off. And Tyler pulled me over afterwards, and he says, rico, I'm watching the scene and he says, the only thing that I couldn't focus on the scene, I'm just thinking about, I can't kill him off because Horace was supposed to die at the end of the first season.

[Mecca]

And you can kind of tell the.

[Rico Ross]

Way it was written, right?

[Mecca]

The way it was written.

[Jameela]

And I would have been so mad. I'm so glad that little girl found that cute.

[Rico Ross]

And so he says, I'm looking at this. And he said, says, I'm thinking. He said, I love killing off characters. He says, but I'm thinking, I can't kill. I can't kill him off. And he asked me if I would stay on, and I would say, listen, I love playing this dude. I love breathing life into him. Because a lot of it is the writing, but a lot of it is what I found in it. And I kind of. My father is from Chicago, and he's originally from Mississippi, but he moved to Chicago. He's a big man. He was Golden Glove boxer. He. He was a number runner. He was. He did all these things, but I never saw my father raise his voice in anger. And so that was my foundation for Horus was my. My dad, you know, if everybody else is hollering, I'll lower my voice.

[Mecca]

Yeah.

[Rico Ross]

And make that. Because the king doesn't shout.

[Mecca]

That's a lesson, you know?

[Rico Ross]

And. And so I kind of based using my father as, like, the foundation for Horace and me. I'm not a mean person. I'm not a mean person at all. And I think that comes through, too. So you see that the person has some warmth. And if you look at the series the way it's written, most of the characters in that series, they're after what they can get for them. And Horace seems to be the one person that's actually not as selfish. He's looking, how can I help Kimmy? How can I pull her out? If you think about it.

Mallory was pulled out of orphanage by whores. And so he's doing the same thing with Kimmy, and he's thinking about his legacy, which means he's thinking about his grandkids. So he's not as selfish as everybody else.

[Jameela]

Yeah.

[Mecca]

Do you feel like when you go on the sets, are you constantly learning from other actors? Because when I first watched Beauty in Black, I was like, oh, Tyler done got a good actor to play horse. Like. Cause.

[Jameela]

No, it really does read.

[Mecca]

Stop.

[Rico Ross]

You better stop flirting with me, girl.

[Mecca]

Oh, my God.

[Rico Ross]

You better stop it.

[Jameela]

I just said, you're gonna fall in love with me.

[Mecca]

No, they. It read, as you can tell you were on stage. You can tell you were doing certain things. So when it turns into Horace is now not getting killed off. And, like, you're receiving all this love, do you think that you're teaching the other actors things? The actors on set, are they picking up things from you? Are you catching that?

[Rico Ross]

I think that the Veteran. Not just me, but all the veteran actors. You've got Richard Lawson, Debbie Morgan. You've got Malik Whitfield. The four of us are the older characters. And I think that Tyler gives us a little more rope to play. So because he shoots so fast and he doesn't cut, he just keeps the camera running. Sometimes I'll have three different ways I want to deliver this last line. And so I'll deliver it, and then I'll just take a beat and then I'll deliver the same line again and I'll take a beat and then I'll deliver it very differently again. And then I'll keep on moving on with the scene. And I think maybe some of the other characters are seeing that. Oh, when they get into the editing room, depending on how that scene goes, they can choose this version of that line or that version. So I think they are picking up on it. And the other thing about actors is that there's a lot of cursing in this. In this TV series. There's a lot of shouting in it. And what can happen as an actor, you can get caught up in it, and then you start shouting and you want to see who's going to shout the loudest. And next thing you know, everybody's shouting. And for my character, when everybody's shouting, I go the other way.

[Mecca]

Yeah.

[Rico Ross]

And.

Often it has more power than if I were to shout louder. So I think maybe some of the younger actors may be picking up on this. Different ways to.

Play an emotion.

[Mecca]

And with the fast pace. You was on Young and the Restless back in the day, is it the same type of. I mean, I know Beauty in Black counts as a soap opera, but is it the same type of fast pace from, like, the soap operas of old?

[Rico Ross]

You're the first person to ask that question. And I would say this about Tyler Perry, and he said it himself. He says that people who have done improv or theater can work in his system. But I would add soap operas.

[Mecca]

The old school soaps, Young the Restless, Days of Our Lives, all the job was.

[Rico Ross]

My first job was Young and the Restless. And I remember we did the table read in the morning, we did a dry run in the afternoon, and we shot it that evening. And as we were walking out the door, they gave you the script for the next day.

[Mecca]

Right. Turnaround time.

[Rico Ross]

Turnaround time.

[Jameela]

Cause I mean, the Y and R been on for 30 years.

[Rico Ross]

That's right. Every day. And it was the same.

[Jameela]

And they did not play about that.

[Rico Ross]

Why.

[Jameela]

And off.

[Rico Ross]

That's my grandma. You said, I Have a whole new appreciation. I had a whole new appreciation for soap opera actors because you don't get a lot of time and when you see them saying in the middle of their lines they're trying to remember what the hell is my line.

[Jameela]

Yeah.

[Rico Ross]

You know, it's not an easy job being a soap opera star.

[Mecca]

No, it's not. I remember we used to watch all when they had the soap net on cable television and they used to do like the biographies and Susan Lucci had. Did this interview about like how people would come up to her about storylines that she couldn't even remember because she's just running through lines she couldn't remember. Stuff from six months ago. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Rico Ross]

It's true.

[Mecca]

I believe that.

[Jameela]

I bet. Let's get into some new stuff. So you have a new movie coming out November 7th with Lil Rel and Tabitha Brown. Hey, Tabitha. That's our fellow social media queen, Unexpected Christmas. I really want to get into that because as someone who loves Christmas and Christmas movies, I'm so happy that we're having another one.

[Rico Ross]

Girl, if you love Christmas movie, you about to lose your mind.

[Jameela]

I'm so excited.

[Rico Ross]

Cause I saw the, you know, it's one thing when you're in the movie and you're filming it and it's quiet and there's no audience. And then they put it all together and the soundtrack.

[Mecca]

Oh.

[Rico Ross]

And then you see it in the full audience and you know, when you get a black audience, they will talk to the screen like they in the living room. It just hits so good. It hits so good. Good. I'm excited. I'm excited for people to see this film. They are going to. This film is going to be a, a. This is going to be a classic. This is going to be a, a movie that you want to see every year.

[Jameela]

And I need a new classic to add to my, my repertoire.

[Rico Ross]

This is, this is going to be, this is going to fit right in that slot. And it's got, it's got a kind of almost 1980s, 1990s throwback feel to it. And it's got, it's got all of these things that, I mean, it's okay, it's a black family, but the issues they deal with are human issues. And so no matter what culture you come from, you are going to identify with these subject matters. And it's the type of film, I will say this, that when the film is over and the credits are rolling, the film doesn't stop there. You're going to be talking about this when you Go home with whoever you went to the movie with. You're going to be talking about these issues and it's going to cause conversation.

[Mecca]

We love thought provoking films.

[Jameela]

I love, and I love a family with problems movie.

[Rico Ross]

Oh yeah, you're gonna be it.

[Jameela]

You gonna be in my family, guy.

[Rico Ross]

You're gonna be in heaven.

[Jameela]

We're not alone.

[Rico Ross]

You gonna be in heaven.

[Jameela]

Oh, I'm excited about that.

[Rico Ross]

I can't wait till you see it.

[Jameela]

What's your favorite Christmas movie?

[Rico Ross]

My favorite Christmas movie is James Stewart and it was. Doesn't have the word Christmas in the title, but it's about a man who. Who, who has an angel. Just kind of following him around. I can't remember the title. No, it's.

[Mecca]

You said James Stewart. Sorry.

[Rico Ross]

It's an old black and white film. Oh, it's an old black and white film.

I can't think of what it's called. But the other one is I really like A Christmas Carol and I like Home Alone too.

[Mecca]

Okay.

[Jameela]

I mean, got to throw that in there. What about yours?

[Rico Ross]

That was a funny movie.

[Mecca]

I was love the Preacher's Wife because we weren't allowed to watch too much secular things growing up. And then when I got older, this Christmas, but most recently. Is it called Almost Christmas? The one with Monique?

[Jameela]

Yes.

[Mecca]

And Danny Glover. Yes, that one's really good.

[Jameela]

I love that one.

[Mecca]

Every year for the last four years. I really like that movie.

[Rico Ross]

Yeah, I gotta. I gotta plug. Plug a husband for Christmas. Me and Vivica Fox though, because that was a good.

[Mecca]

Oh, you have a Christmas movie already?

[Rico Ross]

Come on.

[Jameela]

Shameless Plug.

[Rico Ross]

No, I have, I have now. And I love my fifth Christmas movie.

[Jameela]

Oh, really?

[Rico Ross]

Yeah.

[Commercial Narrator]

Yes.

[Mecca]

Now we have to go down the.

[Rico Ross]

When you look up your imbassing Christmas movies and, and the one that I'm working on right now happens to be a Christmas movie that'll come out next year.

[Jameela]

Okay, cool.

[Mecca]

And that brings us into our very next question. You have some independent projects coming up in films that you're working on. So one of them is a Christmas movie.

[Rico Ross]

This one that I'm working on right now, it's another Tyler Perry joint. Okay. And it's. I wouldn't call it an independent because usually when you say independent you're thinking like, like low budget. This, this is, this is serious.

[Mecca]

Oh, serious.

[Jameela]

Well, I mean, everything that Tyler do is serious. You know, he got his own studio and things. Tyler, he.

[Rico Ross]

He hasn't announced the cast yet, so I'm not gonna give it to you. But the cast is cray.

[Jameela]

Cray crazy. You know, I feel like Tyler Perry is one of those people, especially in Black Hollywood, where everybody answers his call. So I know he got the Rolodex of Rolodexes on him.

[Mecca]

I knew when Beyonce cleared that homecoming sample at the end of Madea, I said, tyler, you got it.

[Jameela]

You got it, fam.

[Mecca]

You got it.

[Jameela]

He is a monopoly that I want to be a part of. Tyler, you can call me. And I, too, would hit that lot. You hear me? I can cuss. Put me in beauty and black ops dance. I can cuss. I can't. I could whatever. I could die. I know you like to kill folks. What else? I could do whatever you need me to do, Tyler. I could do that.

[Mecca]

And the range of people that he employs, like seeing Jules. That's Otis.

[Rico Ross]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jameela]

I said, excuse me. And you so mean in this role. Who are you right now?

[Rico Ross]

He is delicious in this role, isn't he?

[Jameela]

Oh, he's so cute.

[Rico Ross]

He's delicious.

[Mecca]

He.

[Jameela]

Eddie Ruffin in this role. Ain't he?

[Rico Ross]

Ain't he?

[Mecca]

Ain't he?

[Jameela]

All right, well, you know, theater is still a huge part of your career, and we see that you're gonna be in California November 21st doing a Christmas Kill for a Cure theater for the kids.

[Rico Ross]

Yes. And I do. This would be like the fourth year of doing it, and every year it gets bigger and bigger. And I'm. You know, this is one of those things where as an actor, as an artist, as a celebrity, you're so happy that you can do something like this because it's giving back, and it's not for you. It's really for something bigger than you. And because it's a bunch of celebrities and everybody's accomplished, you get on that stage and it catches fire, and everybody just goes with it. So it's a special night, and no night is the same. Every night is different because whatever you're allowed to feel, they have Hollywood screenwriters rewriting the classic Christmas Carol movie to fit the characters, the actors that we cast. And so I'm a producer this year, and it just catches fire every year. And it's such a good event. And it's for children who have rare diseases. And if you're a parent or if you imagine you're going to have a kid and that kid happens to be one with a rare disease, the government, they work on diseases that affects a lot of people, so you feel completely left out. And so for those kids, you know, it could be life of death. Just the finances to be Able to go on stage, have a crazy hell of a fun night. To bring all these people together and to raise funds for this cause is. It's really. It's close to my heart.

[Jameela]

That's dope. We love the philanthropy.

[Mecca]

You have to give back.

[Rico Ross]

Especially if you're got to give back. You've got to give back.

[Mecca]

Not always like, money, but I believe in, like, using your talents, like how you're using your talent to give back in this way. Obviously, money as well, but, you know.

[Rico Ross]

Yeah. And I'm one of these people that I'm fortunate. I've never suffered with depression or anything like that. But I think if you do suffer with depression and you do for someone else, that gets you out of that depression. Helping someone else is really. It's really some of the best medicine you could get.

[Mecca]

No. True, true thing.

[Jameela]

Okay, so you've definitely been acting for decades like you're at this point a veteran. Would you consider yourself a vet?

[Rico Ross]

Definitely.

[Mecca]

Period.

[Jameela]

Okay. So of those roles, I mean, you've done a little bit of this, a little bit of that. You was an alien and now Beauty in the Black. I mean, some very different characters. What would you feel like is your favorite role to play or favorite genre to play in?

[Rico Ross]

That's a hard question for me to ask, to answer, because often the character that I'm playing at that time is my favorite character. So right now, my favorite character is this character I'm playing right now, you know, and he is. He's.

Extra, easy, easy, extra. I really.

I felt like playing Horace was really an amazing opportunity because you can have a certain amount of talent, but if you don't have the platform to show it, then nobody knows about it. And so I was able to actually showcase what I could do. And then to go from that character, I have a horror movie that I just wrapped on a couple weeks ago where I was playing a Catholic priest, which is quite the contrary. And then An Unexpected Christmas. I'm playing a character that's very close, very similar to myself, where he's a father of a blended family, and I have a blended family, and he's trying to just keep the ship from toppling over. And he's kind of like the straight guy, the rock that you can lean on. And so it's nice to go from playing someone like Horace that can be vicious, to playing someone that is so caring and empathetic, to playing a Catholic priest, to playing the character I'm playing right now.

[Mecca]

Yeah.

[Rico Ross]

Range, which is a smooth criminal, and.

[Mecca]

Getting to showcase that Range. How does it feel having so much success and having such a platform during, like, the latter years of your career? Do you wish it had happened earlier, or did it happen just right at the perfect time?

[Rico Ross]

What are you trying to say? Call me old.

[Mecca]

I was already in the Whitney Houston video. That's high enough for me.

[Rico Ross]

No, that's a good question.

As just someone, the first thing that comes to my mind, hell, yeah, I wish that had happened right out of college, but I think it's probably better that it happened later in life, because I think I appreciate it more now. And.

I probably would have squandered the opportunity. I probably would have made some big mistakes with that in the limelight, which I won't do now. And so I think it probably was a blessing in disguise.

[Mecca]

I'm fine with that. I was gonna say that's how I feel too, especially with, like, social media. We've both been making content since we were in high school, but I think we started getting big, big traction after, like, for me, around 26, 27. And I often say, like, thank God this didn't happen when I was 21.

[Jameela]

Yeah, I think of that all the time. Like, I used to kind of, like, be down on myself about, like, dang, like, I wasted these opportunities because I had started going viral in, what, 2011, 2012. And I'm like, I just didn't really know how to capitalize off of that and make it into a career that I have now. And then going to college and then even graduating college, I'm like, okay, well, I got this film degree. Where's the films? And so now I'm like, okay, I'm 29 now. My career is budding and blossoming and still so many things left to go. And I'm like, I would have lost my mind being that young with this amount of responsibility and exposure.

[Rico Ross]

And I also think being a man, you know, and, you know, I don't even check my DM because he's married.

[Mecca]

Don't DM him.

[Rico Ross]

But I could imagine being a young single man with that much love coming at you, I would have been the biggest hoe in Hollywood.

[Jameela]

Every last one of them is the.

[Mecca]

Biggest hoe in Hollywood.

[Jameela]

I tell you that right now. I already know they a hot mess, y'.

[Rico Ross]

All.

[Mecca]

That's how it goes. That's how it goes.

[Jameela]

I don't know how to act.

So do you feel like it's. Do you feel like you get that type of attention, though, even being older, even being married and being so popular now, like, in person, do you feel like you're getting that type of female attention? Are they clawing at you, the cougars?

[Rico Ross]

No, I get. I do get that kind of attention, and it's a kind of energy, you know, but it's always. They always. I think it's easier for a man than if you're a female and you're getting all this type of sexual attention. But it's always. They're always that it's very obvious that I'm a married man, happily married man, I should even add. And so it's always respectful, but it's also. And this is what I've really.

This is my takeaway from all this excess fame that I'm receiving right now is that there is. It's like a gift to be able to meet somebody and make their day just because you said hi and communicated with them. I mean.

How often can you just get an opportunity to spread joy just by showing up? So it really is. It's a kind of blessing, man. And I appreciate that. I meet people.

In my career. It has peaks and valleys, and there are times when I have a project that's hot, and then I'm hot, and then it cools off. And so I've always been in this position where I meet people that are fans of something that they've seen me in, and they get excited. And I've always appreciated that I can make somebody happy just by meeting them. It's a beautiful thing, and it doesn't cost you anything.

[Mecca]

And that's such a good and realistic outlook to have it. I feel like when we think of especially jobs in the industry, you feel like I need to be hot all the time, all the right now. And if you're not, you feel like you're a failure. And it's like, nah, like, everything else is gonna go like this. Just stay grounded mentally. What do y'. All. What do you do to stay grounded mentally?

[Rico Ross]

First of all, I have five brothers and five sisters that I grew up with. When you got that many people, you gonna be grounded.

[Mecca]

You gonna be grounded.

[Rico Ross]

You didn't be grounded. They gonna let you know.

[Mecca]

Whitney Houston video.

[Rico Ross]

They gonna let you know. They gonna let you know.

I know you before, right? And I also.

I play basketball, okay? And.

I think.

I get a lot of aggression out playing the game. So when I come home, I am Zen, baby. I am the perfect husband.

[Jameela]

And you be at that gym now. They found you now. They did clock the exposed you on Twitter. They said, child whores be in that gym. He don't Walk with no cane.

[Rico Ross]

But that's what I mean about the aggression. I go in there, I play ball to get warmed up, and then after I go play ball, I go and lift weights. And by the time I finish, that there is Zen. And I think people think about the gym and about lifting weights as it's a physical thing, but there is a mental attachment to that, and I think that's why I have the patience of a saint. I have the patience of a saint. I don't. I don't sweat the small.

[Mecca]

Yeah, you can't.

[Jameela]

I'm learning that.

[Rico Ross]

Yeah, I don't. The patience because it's all small shit. Yeah, it really is.

[Jameela]

When you think about it and you back up, it's like, yeah, it really is. But I tell you what, I still don't have the patience.

[Rico Ross]

I'm learning it.

[Jameela]

But, you know, having a toddler, it's. It's teaching me.

[Rico Ross]

Oh, yeah, it will teach you. It will teach you. They will teach you. I don't have as much patience with myself, but with other people, I've got. Yeah, I've got patience of the same.

[Mecca]

I think it's probably because with yourself, you expect the most from yourself. So when you fall short, it feels like, girl, yeah, yeah.

[Jameela]

I do want to talk about, you know, black love. Before we start recording, you let us know you've been married for 17 long.

[Mecca]

You said he had a blended family. Did you catch it on camera? You said that?

[Rico Ross]

And it's funny, because when I met her, I had just come out of a relationship with the mother of my kids, and I was like, I'm cool. I got two kids. I got a career. I got a house. I'm gonna be a bastard for the rest of my life. And if I do meet somebody, and.

[Jameela]

That'S such boy logic.

[Mecca]

Don't be single for the rest of my life.

[Jameela]

I think not.

[Rico Ross]

And then I said, if I do meet somebody, she gonna be fine. She gonna be paid. She ain't gonna have no kids. I met my wife and fell in love with her. She came with two kids. So, you know, when. When love. When love comes, it gets rid of all these preconceived ideas that you have in your mind. Love is love, you know?

[Jameela]

Well, what would you say to the people who feel like they just. They cannot figure it out, they can't make it right. What do you feel like is the key to a successful long marriage?

[Rico Ross]

Communication.

[Mecca]

Yeah.

[Rico Ross]

And also.

America. A marriage is like a.

[Mecca]

A.

[Rico Ross]

It's like a contract. And no two contracts are the Same. You base those contracts on the two individuals that are the contracts are in the contract. So one shoe is not going to fit all.

[Mecca]

Yeah.

[Rico Ross]

So you have to understand when you have. When you have this relationship with that person, what are they need? What are their needs? And what are your needs? Do they meet? Do they check the boxes of your needs? And then you start thinking about, these are my wants, too. I got my needs and I got my wants. If they. If they check most of the boxes for my needs, some of the boxes for my want, then you probably got, you know, you probably got a good one. Yeah, I. I told my. I was with my. My girl, and I was like, listen, if you're in for a real relationship with somebody who you. You looking to get married and a father to your kid and all that, I'm not that guy. I'm here just to enjoy and treat you like a queen and have fun. And unbeknownst to her, I didn't make it.

I didn't kind of like broadcast it, but, you know, I had my rotation.

[Mecca]

You know, as one does.

[Rico Ross]

As one does. As one does.

But after a certain. I think after like four years, she was like, okay, I'm done with this. And she was ready to.

[Jameela]

You had. Hold on now, now, hold on.

[Rico Ross]

We getting deep now. They gonna take us deep now.

[Jameela]

Don't just try to fly back. You had that lady in that rotation for four years.

[Rico Ross]

For four years. And then she said, you know, basically, what are we doing? And I said to her, if you give me a year more. More, I could entertain this conversation. Yeah. And a year later, I proposed to her.

[Jameela]

Aw.

[Mecca]

Well, it ended good.

[Rico Ross]

And that year. That was a year in advance. So we actually dated six years before we got married.

[Mecca]

Wow. Also. Yeah. Because you said you've been together 23 years. That makes sense. Do you feel like, I mean, realist. I don't have kids and I've never been married, but I could see myself going along with something like that if I had already had kids and already been married. Cause it's like, you're not, like you said, you're not in a rush to do that again. So you just trying to, like, vibe. But I do. I do feel her after four years. Okay.

[Rico Ross]

And then it also made me understand that, you know, after having a rotation and having these superficial relationships that were fun, that there is something different when you have a relationship, that there's some more depth there.

[Mecca]

Yeah.

[Rico Ross]

And a lot of guys have this idea of bachelorhood as this being this amazing thing. Well, it is Amazing. When you're in your 20s.

[Mecca]

20S.

[Rico Ross]

But when you're in your 30s and you're in your 40s, it's not the same now.

[Jameela]

Cold and lonely, you know?

[Rico Ross]

Yeah. Cold and lonely. Nice. You know, and so it's, it hits very differently. And I, and I recognize that this is a good woman.

[Mecca]

Yeah.

[Rico Ross]

And you could lose this good woman.

[Jameela]

And she'd be gone forever.

[Rico Ross]

She'd be gone and then you'd be standing in somebody else's arms.

[Mecca]

And me thinking, yeah, I should have picked up.

[Rico Ross]

I should have, shoulda, coulda, woulda.

[Mecca]

And that's the problem, folks. Be in someone else's arms still think about the one that left got on.

[Rico Ross]

So I had to recognize. Had to recognize.

[Mecca]

I'm glad you recognized. Thank God you didn't make her wait six years.

[Jameela]

Cause that would have just been too damn long.

[Mecca]

Please. Okay.

[Jameela]

Okay. So we gotta, we gotta lock in. So we gotta let go of rotation or what?

[Mecca]

Yeah.

[Rico Ross]

And you know, that was a hard thing too, because I.

[Jameela]

And what do you say? All right, listen. You were doing it for. If you have a rotation, how do you let go your. That means you were within. For four years too, right? That rotation?

[Rico Ross]

No, my, my rotation. They would, they would sub in and out. They would be like, you know, I would like, I would like. I would change up my rotation. It wasn't always the same rotation.

[Mecca]

Okay. Because, you know, long term rotations then be the ones that will wait in the, in the sideline, the sidelines for something to go wrong.

[Rico Ross]

But, you know, this is what I, I felt I did find it very difficult talking to my friends and telling them that, listen, I've met someone and I'm trying to get serious and I didn't want to do it by phone or by text. I wanted to do it in person. And so that was, it was an uncomfortable thing. But I thought if you've been intimate with somebody, you deserve to give that person the respect to have that conversation in person.

[Jameela]

Oh, that's. You Would you want to know what they do these days?

[Rico Ross]

I know, right?

[Jameela]

Because that ain't our. Have you ever had someone come to you in person? You know, you're now off the roster. Thank you for your services.

[Mecca]

I don't do that.

[Rico Ross]

No, no, I mean, I mean I, I mean we, I take them to dinner or whatever and just, and just.

[Jameela]

Oh, you was a respectable hoe.

[Rico Ross]

I just. No, if you, if you, if you, if you had had that type of intimacy with somebody and it wasn't just a, A one night stand, I think, you know, they deserve that kind of respect. That's the least you can do.

[Mecca]

Some Red Lobster before. On my way, Please.

[Jameela]

I mean, I agree. I don't know if the fellas, the young. The young boys. Did y' all hear him?

[Mecca]

Dinner.

[Jameela]

At least take that baby out, bare minimum. Get some Red Lobster biscuits or something before you let her go.

[Rico Ross]

No timing in life. I will say this. In general, timing is a really important thing that's underestimated.

[Mecca]

Oh, for sure.

[Rico Ross]

And so if you are going to do something like that, I think you got to create an environment that at least makes it a little easier. Soften the blow, soften the landing.

[Mecca]

You know, how was it to blend kids? Or were your guys kids? Teenagers? Grown?

[Rico Ross]

No. When I met my wife, her kids were 7 years old and my son was 8. And my daughter was just 3 years older than him, so they were all around the same age. But, you know, it wasn't an easy thing to do. My son, it was too easy because when we were just dating, he was already calling her son his brother. And I was like, slow down, slow down, slow down. A little too fast.

[Mecca]

This is my brother.

[Rico Ross]

Yes, exactly. I guess, you know, he always wanted a brother, and he had one instantly. And he was like, oh, this is my brother. I was like, slow down.

[Mecca]

I don't want to traumatize you.

[Rico Ross]

My daughter, on the other hand, she was. She didn't want, you know, it's her daddy. She didn't want to stand with nobody's kids. And Unexpected Christmas is a very similar dynamic that takes place. And I remember I invited my daughter and my son to.

All my kids to the red carpet. My oldest daughter was sitting next to me, and there's a period in the movie where the two sisters are fighting. And I could hear her over there, like, sniffling. You know, she felt like, that's my story out there. You know, it's real.

[Mecca]

I'm telling our business.

[Rico Ross]

Yeah, exactly. It's my story up there. And I play the father.

Of this blended family. So it was real. A lot of it was very real.

[Mecca]

That's going to be good to see.

[Rico Ross]

It's a beautiful movie, and.

You learn lessons from it without it being preachy. And because it's a comedy, I think the lessons are easily palatable. And like I said earlier, the soundtrack on this movie.

[Jameela]

Girl, are we getting original songs?

[Rico Ross]

Yes.

[Mecca]

Yeah.

[Jameela]

You know what?

[Rico Ross]

And I feel like October London has the title, the title track, Unexpected Christmas. He did a beautiful, beautiful original.

[Mecca]

Yeah, I feel like that's what we've been missing is like, very good movie soundtracks. I know you have, like, Waiting to Exhale is one that comes to mind immediately. I haven't seen one in a while with, like, original songs, not just, like, remakes.

[Rico Ross]

This one, this one here, this one's gonna be one of those that the soundtrack's gonna really blend well with the movie, and it helps tell the story as. As with the next project I'm doing the soundtrack from that's gonna be cray cray as well.

[Mecca]

So you're a music head, too.

[Rico Ross]

I am. I do love music. I think my wife is a music head.

[Mecca]

Okay.

[Rico Ross]

And I've become more of a music head. I used to sing in a band for five years. Lead singer.

[Jameela]

And you could sing.

I seen a video of you singing. I said, all right, now we gotta.

[Mecca]

Get Horace to sing something on the Beauty and Black.

[Rico Ross]

But yeah, I think. I think soundtracks are so important, and they really do elevate a movie if you get the right soundtrack.

[Jameela]

We see that even with more recently sinners, because they had a lot of original scoring there. And my goodness, the way that it really carried the story, like, the sound in general for that movie was just so superb. Like, Ryan, the mastermind.

[Mecca]

You are.

[Rico Ross]

You did it, bro.

[Mecca]

And I usually don't trust no man from Oakland.

[Jameela]

Where are you originally from?

[Rico Ross]

Chicago.

[Jameela]

Shot town.

[Rico Ross]

The south side, south side, west side.

[Mecca]

My best friend's from South. I was telling him my mom's from Evanston before you guys here, which is a suburb. Chicago, people. I know it's not really Chicago.

[Jameela]

I wouldn't know a thing. I have never been to Chicago, but it's definitely on my list.

[Rico Ross]

You've never been to Chicago?

[Jameela]

I've never been.

[Mecca]

It's so fun.

[Rico Ross]

Door.

[Jameela]

Yep. But I keep hearing that I should go.

[Rico Ross]

It is one of the most. I mean, people talk about New York because it's got skyscrapers.

[Mecca]

Yeah.

[Rico Ross]

Chicago has skyscrapers with style. It is one of the cities, one.

[Jameela]

Of the most beautiful.

[Mecca]

Yeah.

[Rico Ross]

And if you go. Go there around Christmas time, it will blow your mind.

[Mecca]

Yes.

[Rico Ross]

Well, now it will blow your mind.

[Mecca]

So cold, though.

[Rico Ross]

I know y'. All, listen. That's the one time I want to be cold is around Christmas time. Listen, this rest of the year, I don't care about it, but I want to see snow. I want to be cold today. I want. I want a hot chocolate. I want to be a fireplace. I want all of that.

[Mecca]

True story.

[Rico Ross]

Indoors.

[Jameela]

Exactly.

[Mecca]

Indoors. Because I didn't believe how cold it was. We went to visit my grandmother when I was 8. And I remember we were walking out the hotel. Mom said, put your jacket on. And I just was, like, putting it on as I was going outside. And she was like, let's just watch this. I hit that front door. And I mean, it's Christmas time in Chicago. It stopped.

[Jameela]

Yeah.

[Mecca]

And like, a doorman pulled me back.

[Jameela]

And I couldn't even move.

[Mecca]

It stopped me in my tracks. That's how cold it is in Chicago.

[Rico Ross]

I watched it blow old women over, topple over, topple them over.

[Mecca]

I fell in the snow during that point in time, too. And I started crying, and my tears froze on my face. That's why I don't.

[Jameela]

I don't fool with that.

[Mecca]

Wintertime in Chicago.

[Jameela]

I was literally in New York at the top of this year, around February, and I literally went to North Face. I was like, I'm going to New York. I need a coat that's gonna. Cause I don't. I don't play about being cold. I will be miserable. I'm not gonna have a good time.

[Rico Ross]

Where are you from?

[Jameela]

I'm from Texas originally.

[Rico Ross]

Okay.

[Jameela]

But I've been living here for, like, 17 years, so this is also like home, still very south. We don't. We don't do all that hoopla with.

[Mecca]

The winter in la. During the wintertime, you be walking around in T shirts because you don't think it's really cold.

[Rico Ross]

Yeah. And that's what I love about it. That's what I love about it. But LA is one of those places, if you want cold, you can get in your car, and in an hour and a half, you can be in the snow.

[Mecca]

Yeah.

[Rico Ross]

If you want the beach, you can be in your car for 40 minutes. You're on the beach sunbathing.

[Mecca]

Yeah.

[Rico Ross]

So whatever you want, if you just want it to be cool, then go up in the hills.

[Mecca]

Yeah.

[Rico Ross]

You can get cool.

[Jameela]

California has such variety. Like, I love that about it. It honestly feels like a different country whenever I go.

[Rico Ross]

Yeah, I love it. And I'm spoiled. It spoiled the hell out of me. I can't live anyplace else in America but California.

[Jameela]

I was gonna say you don't see yourself living in Atlanta since you film so much out here.

[Rico Ross]

I love Atlanta, and Atlanta has a lot to offer. What Atlanta has that LA doesn't have is it has taught. There's so many examples of black excellence, for sure. And in la, I'll go to a really nice restaurant and it'll be like, you know, a couple black people, and everybody else be white people or others. And then here you go in a nice restaurant and it's like 50. 50.

[Jameela]

That's some restaurants. It's all Nick.

[Rico Ross]

Exactly. So that's what I really like about being a person of color. I really love that when I walk in there that I'm not the one and only. Because in my career, when I first started off in Hollywood, every time I step on set, I would be the only one and only. It'd be a story. And there's a reason for having a black guy. And it's, I'll be the black guy, you know? And then as time has gone on, it's been become more diverse. And now working on projects, I would still say 95% of my projects are not black projects, but the 5% that are black projects. It's a different feel when you walk on set, you know, it's really a different feel.

[Jameela]

That's always my favorite. When I walk in somewhere, I'm like, ah, my people, I'm home.

[Mecca]

Being black famous, like, that's. I feel like you're definitely someone who could be considered black famous too, because you can go somewhere in Atlanta and be. People are going to know, oh or oh, who from wherever you are. Whereas if you exist in a place and you go into a white space, they might not necessarily be able to clock you immediately. And I kind of. I crave that, that experience because I want to be ambiguous at some times, but then go where I'm appreciated and be appreciated by my people. Like, I love that. And like we said, hey, Calvin, like, we're just so silly as a people. I think it's.

[Rico Ross]

No, but it's funny because I was just talking about that with my wife a couple of days ago. I said, I said, When I came to Atlanta, I said, I really am black famous.

[Mecca]

Oh, yeah.

[Rico Ross]

Because every time I step out. Oh, every time I step out. Yeah, you can't go nowhere every time I step out. Yeah, but.

[Jameela]

But you're in the Tyler Perry anything. You, you belong to us forever.

[Rico Ross]

I really am black famous. But, but, you know, I, I. Because I've done movies and I do these sci fi conventions. I've done a bunch of sci fi.

[Mecca]

Movies for the Alien movies.

[Rico Ross]

For Alien movies. And I do these sci fi conventions. And then all of a sudden I'm white famous. All white famous, no black people. Because it don't seem to be a crossover. Sci fi is very much a white thing. It's becoming a little more diverse now. But it's like two different worlds.

[Mecca]

Yeah. I was just watching Carrie Fisher And Debbie. Debbie, her mama documentary. And they had went to the Star wars convention and I learned all about that, like the booth and the signing and the. That's another quick pace environment. You got to find the monograph.

[Rico Ross]

I'm heading to London after I finish this film. And I'm gonna do three sci fi conventions over there and I probably won't see a black person.

[Jameela]

And you know what?

[Mecca]

I'm thankful that you haven't been able to like, sustain yourself because those type of roles, like the Royal Alien came out in the early 80s. Yeah. The franchises that has been able to sustain you for this long, that's a blessing.

[Rico Ross]

It really is. And you know, next year we have. We're getting. We getting the Saturn Awards for. For longevity. You know, a film that's 40 years old. BE. Next year will be 40 years old. And to still be relevant and to. When I go on these sci fi conventions, I meet people who weren't born when the movie came out and they're super fans.

[Mecca]

And that's crazy when you think of. That's like insane. That's insane, right? And it makes you think about, like when I was talking about earlier, the ebbs and flows. Like you don't have to be up all the time to be impactful.

[Rico Ross]

Yeah. And I would say that to young actors. You know, a lot of actors, they want. They want to wait until they make it to be happy. And in this business, you know, you. That you may be waiting a long time and you may not ever get there. So I would say you have to learn to enjoy the grind.

[Mecca]

Yeah.

[Rico Ross]

Enjoy the journey. Fall in love with the journey and you'll be fine.

[Mecca]

I'm over here. Like, let me. Let me take what resonates.

[Jameela]

What a great way to end. Follow the art. Do what resonates. All the things. Thank you so much for stopping by.

[Rico Ross]

It's my pleasure. Thank you guys for having me.

[Mecca]

And where can we follow you on socials? Even though we know he doesn't run his own socials? Where can we find you and keep up with you?

[Rico Ross]

My name is spelled with two Cs, so it's R I, C, O. Last name is Ross, like Diana, although we're not related. But yeah, on all the social media platforms.

[Jameela]

Absolutely. Make sure y' all check out his new film, Unexpected Christmas dropping so, so, so soon in theaters.

[Rico Ross]

Thank you.

[Jameela]

A new Christmas flick, right? All right, y'. All, this has been another amazing episode of Unhinged. Amoral. You already know what to do. New episodes every Thursday.

[Mecca]

Thursday.

[Jameela]

Make sure y' all are subscribed to the Patreon as well. So we can keep the lights on and we love y' all and we'll see you next week.

[Mecca]

Bye.

[Commercial Narrator]

Yay.

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