4
Cocoa Butter
Being African American, something happens when you don’t moisturize your skin. You get what we call in the community “ashy,” where you can draw “D-R-Y” across your skin and it just stands out (#notagoodlook). So I drink a lot of water and I moisturize. I keep my skin as supple as I possibly can. Because the alternative for someone with a deeper shade of soul is you look like you’ve been walking around kicking flour.
5
Esther Perel
My wife and I have been married 17 years, and we’ve known each other since we were 18. The love that you have deepens over time with your partner. But what can suffer is the spontaneity and that spark that you had in the beginning. Esther has given us a couple of tools and insights. Just because we’ve been together this long doesn’t mean that passion has to die.
6
Alexa
Alexa is Encyclopaedia Britannica, basically. If you want something quick-quick, Alexa gives you a fast answer, and then will ask you, “Did that help?” And you’ll be like, “Yes, Alexa, that did. Thank you very much.” I try to be polite. Listen, as A.I. is continuing to develop, and we don’t know if we’re making ourselves extinct to any potential sentient being, Brown is on his best behavior.
7
‘The Bluest Eye’
There can be an inferiority complex that becomes internalized when you don’t get a chance to see yourself presented to the world as beautiful. In “The Bluest Eye,” Toni Morrison encapsulates that internalization in the most profound, poetic and incredible way.
8
‘Fat Ham’
You’re taking the story of Hamlet, you’re putting it in a backyard barbecue in the South with a young, queer, Black male protagonist. It is such a faithful following of Hamlet until it’s not. Then it’s such a delightful departure.
9
My Children Playing
I played basketball, football, soccer, track, a little bit of Ultimate Frisbee. The joy of watching your children accrue skills and be able to engage with you in something that was such a big part of your own childhood is great.
10
Crying in the Theater
The first Broadway show that I ever saw, in 1998, was “Ragtime.” Audra McDonald came out and sang “You have your daddy’s hands.” And I was like, “Is this woman an angel? Is she a real human being?” You want to see Sterling cry? Then I had the privilege of working with Renée Elise Goldsberry. If she sings “It’s Quiet Uptown” [from “Hamilton”] — child, please. I am a mess.
