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Kofi Siriboe was a problem during Essence Fest. An object-of-every-woman-with-at-least-some-degree-of-eyesight problem. It was a struggle to track him down and grab just five minutes of his time, and even when I did I found myself distracted during our brief interview between all of his handlers, the line of women waiting just to touch the hem of his garment — and grab a pic with him — and, of course, that smile.
“Last year we were walking around like normal,” he told me. “This year it’s been wild, in the best way possible. There’s so many more fans showing so much more love. We were introducing the show last year, now we have people connected. They love it; they love our characters. It’s all love.”
The show, of course, is Queen Sugar. But after this weekend, it’s hard to say whether women will be screaming out Ralph Angel when they see him on the street or Malik, the character he plays in the upcoming Girls Trip. Either way, I have a feeling that as his star rises, Siriboe’s day-to-day life is going to look a lot more like Essence Fest 2017 than he realizes. For now, though, he still manages to retain some privacy.
“I find my space,” he said, “I know how to move and maneuver. It’s kind of fun to me. It’s a process. Sometimes you just want to chill. Sometimes I want to take as many pictures as possible. I ride my bike, I find my parks. I try to keep it low-key.”
Low-key and carefree, I’d argue. One glance at the 23-year-old’s eclectic style and it’s clear he’s not interested in cookie cutter fashion. The sensitivity with which he discusses his character Ralph Angel and his representation of Black masculinity also prove Siriboe isn’t interested in just being Hollywood’s next international chocolate superstar. But as we’ve seen time and time again, the price of increased fame is often the loss of a sense of self, and the uniqueness which initially makes us fall in love with entertainers falls to the wayside in order to fit into the industry’s narrow view of success. Asked whether he’s already feeling pressure to conform, he confessed,”It’s a balance.”
“In a lot of ways it’s easier to be free because I have more space, I have more resources. But then there’s a lot more attention so then there’s a responsibility and kind of a weight working with people like Oprah and Ava who are overachievers and have such high esteem. I’m still 23. I’m still learning myself and I still make bad decisions sometimes. But I just put that work into myself. I keep myself grounded and rooted and feed myself the good stuff and I don’t have to worry as much about that weight. It’s easier to carry and it actually disappears after a while because you attract what you want.”
An extension of the weight the actor feels working with such accomplished Black women is his love for Black women in general. Just google his name and you’ll no doubt come across a number of articles heralding Siriboe for the many times he’s professed his love of us. And while he may be an actor, he made it clear to me his love of Black women isn’t for show.
“I don’t want people to think that it’s for them to talk about. My love of Black women comes with a responsibility — how am I actually going to transition that into work and rehabilitation for Black women? It’s not just a good topic,” he added. “It’s not a cool headline. I actually have some real things I’m putting into place that represent that conversation that I think is necessary.”
Some of those things include nights out, special dinners, like the one he had for 250 of New Orleans’ homeless this past Easter, and conversations not only for the general public but for people in relationships with Black women and his fans.
“I need them to understand it because the more they get it, the more we’ll be able to bring it to the world, kind of like what Chance is doing for kids. There’s a piece of that in there but it doesn’t have to look one way. It could just be a night where Black men are celebrating Black women and their accomplishments just because they deserve it. We don’t know half of the women in these communities, people like yourself, doing great things. So how do we celebrate you guys and use that celebration to educate people because it’s not just for fun.”
Another element of Siriboe that isn’t just for show is the emotion he brings to the role of Ralph Angel. Asked what it takes to portray such a quietly expressive role, he told me, “That’s my normal.”
“I’m very in tune; I’m always thinking; I’m always processing, trying to construct a new way to approach this or that. That’s me all the time. When I get to set, I just fall into it. It’s more, about, sometimes, livening myself up, getting outside of that mood. I’m always over-analyzing. I’m an over-thinker; I’m very sensitive; I’m very emotional; I take everything to heart. That’s why people ask me, ‘what have you seen in your life?’ and it’s more just the weight of it all — being human and feeling so deeply.”
The post How Kofi Siriboe Plans To Live Up To The Responsibility He Says Comes With His Love Of Black Women appeared first on MadameNoire.