0:00
You guys got into making you and Chris,
0:02
you know, you guys got into making film
0:04
really early. I feel like a lot of
0:06
people are starting to in recent times
0:08
have found out that it could be
0:10
difficult to make money off your music.
0:14
You guys pivoted early. Was that the
0:18
You know what? That's a good question.
0:20
For me musically, um, it was it was one
0:24
of the reasons why I I didn't go as hard
0:28
because I felt like, you know, I did
0:30
both simultaneously growing up. Like I
0:32
got in the group, did Bay Kids when I
0:34
was nine, did Sister Sister when I was
0:35
12. So I was simultaneously always doing
0:37
both. I was able to do both acting and
0:39
singing. And I hit a point where I was
0:43
acting is like a a really highpaying
0:46
nineto-five if you look at it like that.
0:48
Okay? You always get your money on time,
0:50
but you get your money.
0:51
And I would always tell people like, you
0:53
know, they always ask me, "What's the
0:54
difference between, you know, singing,
0:55
acting, what do you like better?" I was
0:57
like, "Acting, you get your money. You
0:58
get paid for the work that you do."
1:00
With with music and entertainment, you
1:03
could put a lot of blood, sweat, and
1:04
tears into something and it not work.
1:08
and you you put the same amount of work
1:13
may be more successful making more money
1:15
than you in the music and you like well
1:17
I'm not like they not even putting as
1:19
much work in I'm putting work in and it
1:22
it doesn't have a return on it like
1:24
that. So when you think of a business
1:25
standpoint, so I had to tr transition
1:28
from being an artist to a businessman
1:30
and you know from a business standpoint,
1:32
you got to turn a profit. You know what
1:34
I'm saying? So so film making is very
1:36
profitable and um you get you really get
1:40
to create and you get to you get to live
1:42
out these stories and tell these stories
1:43
your way and everything like that. And
1:44
shout out to Tubi because, you know,
1:46
Tuby gave us that platform, me and
1:48
Chris, to to open up the the the the
1:51
widest market for footage films and
1:53
really build that audience, that core
1:55
audience that we have with footage films
1:57
and Tuby. So, you know, it was just for
1:59
me that transition was um I think it was
2:02
a time too because like I said, I did
2:04
both at the same time. So, it was just a
2:05
time that was slow for even my acting
2:07
career. I was like, you know, I was
2:08
going on auditions and I wasn't really
2:10
booking anything and I was just like,
2:12
you know what, this is just I don't know
2:13
if I want I don't I didn't know where I
2:15
wanted to go or what I wanted to do. And
2:16
Chris was in that that time frame where
2:19
there weren't a lot of African-American
2:21
directors working in Hollywood
2:23
because a lot of people wasn't doing
2:25
their own stuff. You know, you didn't
2:26
have Tyler Perry, you didn't have Will
2:28
Packers, you didn't have the people like
2:29
that yet. You know what I'm saying? So
2:31
Chris was like, "Let's just start our
2:32
own company." So Mark, just for
2:34
everybody that's listening now, because
2:35
you and Sway, y'all been recognizable
2:38
for a very long time. Y'all use people's
2:39
first name, but for somebody listening
2:41
right now in like Chicago, they don't
2:43
know who Chris is. Y'all like Chris
2:47
Give a little background on Chris
2:49
Chris Stokes is is my my business
2:50
partner, my manager. He started my
2:52
career uh artist developed. Uh he's he
2:54
he directed You Got Serve. He he put
2:56
together B2K, Immature, IMX, the whole
2:58
thing. uh you know, so he's been a a
3:01
part of of culture and um you know what
3:03
I'm saying? So we're we're business
3:04
partners now. We both own footage films
3:06
and he writes and directs and um and I I
3:09
also write and produce so you know.
3:13
Just filling it in for everybody
3:15
Okay. All right. Cool. Uh and so um and
3:18
so you started becoming more
3:19
businessminded when you when you talk
3:21
about Tuby. Like there are a lot of
3:23
independent filmmakers now that Tubi has
3:26
signed on board. And initially folks was
3:28
like, "Oh, Tuby, what's Tuby?" Now
3:30
everybody trying to get down with Ty.
3:32
Everybody's trying to get down with
3:33
what's different in terms of the
3:35
business model that Tuby used maybe
3:37
compared to a Netflix or someone else.
3:39
I think Tuby gave opportunities to
3:42
to get their to get their se to get
3:44
their uh their stuff seen and get the
3:46
eyeballs on it. And I think that's where
3:48
Tuby was really smart because instead
3:51
you know, and and that was just genius
3:53
because it's like it's free. It's a
3:54
place that you can see and and we can
3:57
on on on the screen. You know what I'm
3:58
saying? And we were one of the first
4:00
deals with Tubi. Um I remember uh uh
4:03
Chris Stokes, his friend over at Fox
4:05
called him when Tuby first was was
4:07
streaming. He was like, "I have this new
4:08
streaming service. I see all the work
4:10
that you've done with with uh you know,
4:12
TV1, BET. I want you to come over here
4:14
and help us, you know, uh break Tuby."
4:17
And Chris was like, "Cool." You know, so
4:18
we uh we did our first movie. He was
4:20
like, "I I'll help y'all like get, you
4:22
know, get the marketing together, get
4:23
bring in that audience." We did our
4:25
first movie, which was called Howard
4:27
and we thought it was going to be huge.
4:28
It was a musical. It was dope, but it it
4:31
didn't I don't think the market, you
4:32
know, it maybe it didn't, you know,
4:34
connect with the audience and it was
4:35
like, you know, okay, that first thing
4:37
didn't really didn't really fly. And
4:39
then cut two, we did stepmother and just
4:42
that took off. The rest is history.
4:43
The rest is history. So, how much work
4:45
have y'all done with Tuby so far? We
4:47
have done uh 28 movies, I believe.
4:51
28 movies. My gosh, I can't wait to get
4:57
Just might be 30. We we working on two
4:59
at once right now. Okay.
5:01
We have Run that's that's uh coming out
5:03
in theaters tomorrow. Okay.
5:05
Of course, we have another theatrical
5:06
leave that's coming out Martin Luther
5:08
King uh uh birthday weekend for next
5:11
year. So, we just I mean doing it,
5:13
Marcus. With so much success that you've
5:15
had and experience in television, what
5:18
was what is it that made you it seems
5:20
like you guys are leaning more towards
5:22
film than maybe creating, you know,
5:25
Well, you know, that's where we we come
5:27
from film. We come from the thriller
5:28
space and and Chris is a a theatrical
5:30
film director. So, that's just where we
5:32
that's our niche. That's where we hit.
5:34
That's where we're we're successful at.
5:36
Sometimes it's good to do certain things
5:39
and it's good to experience certain
5:40
things and explore, but most of the time
5:43
it's good to just do what you're good at
5:45
And I I I'm I'm a believer in that. I'm
5:46
a strong believer in in in being good at
5:49
something and doing that, you know. And
5:51
of course there we have a lot of TV
5:54
shows coming up, ideas and everything
5:55
that we're working on. But right now,
5:57
we're just focusing on our movies
5:58
because that's really what what people
6:00
the people love from us from Footage
6:02
Films. They love our movies. So,
