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Description

Interviewer: Thank you for joining us today. we have a very special guest joining us today. Let’s start off by introducing our guest by name...

Genie: My name’s Genie (pronounced Jenny). I was born Genevieve Black.

I: What do you do for a living? Where do you live?

G: I currently live in the Boroughs (New York), and I work as a cook in a local restaurant. It’s a small gig, but it pays the bills. I don’t really need much to be happy.

I: What are your interests?

G: I love dancing. I love music in general, and good vibes… I can’t be around you if you’re constantly on some bull—. I love good company because I keep my circle very small. I like jewelry and piercings and tattoos. Clothes… I'm a big (American) football fan. But I'm an even bigger soccer fan. My dad used to play. One of my favorite childhood memories was going to soccer matches with the family.

I: You’re very family-oriented.

G: My family is my biggest motivation. I lost my brother at a young age. we were really close because we were the only two children that shared the same parents. a few years after my brother, my father fell into a deep depression and killed himself. my mother and younger siblings are what I live for.

I: Tell us more about your brother…

G: His name was Urbain and he was a year older than me. He had crazy long and beautiful dreads (that’s why I decided to rock them). He looked just like daddy. I suppose that’s why he loved him so much.

I: Who was your father?

G: My father was Darius Black. Most people from where I grew up in Jamaica simply called him ‘Shark’. He was a fisherman by trade and was very good at it. That’s why he got that nickname. I also heard he was affiliated with some of the local cartel members, which is another reason why he was so well known.

I: Does that explain your sleeve tattoo there?

G: Oh, yeah. Actually there are two sharks. The first big one that you can’t really see on my upper arm represents my dad. The smaller shark on my forearm is my brother. The flower near my elbow is actually a blackberry plant. My father’s nickname for me growing up was blackberry.

I: Do you have any more ink?

G: A lot. I love getting inked. Unfortunately I can’t show you all if them, haha. But I have quite a few and they all mean a great deal to me. We’d be here all day if I started explaining them…

I: How about piercings?

G: I have a lot of those as well. I guess I kind of have a high tolerance for pain. I’ve been thinking of getting more piercings lately though...

I: How would you describe your fashion style?

G: I’m simple because I dress to be comfortable first and foremost. Everything I wear is comfy as hell. But with that said, I also like to stand out. bright colors is my thing. And black. You just can’t go wrong with black.

I: So what is your favorite color then?

G: I can’t separate them. I love black and purple. I think they both speak to both sides of my personality.

I: And what sides are those?

G: Well… I'm not a people person. I like my alone time a lot and added with everything I've seen and experienced, my outlook on life is darker than most people. I like to think it’s more-so just that I have a more realistic look on things. And as for purple... Purple is royalty and it can be so expressive and bright without being in your face about it. That’s basically me. Get to know me and I’m loud and goofy and annoying.

I: You mentioned keeping close circles. Do you have friends that you keep close?

G: Jezzy is my closest friend. she balances my introverted side. Renzo is my best guy friend and he’s been there for me through a lot.

I: Any love interests?

G: Nah, I have enough on my plate handling just me. Plus, most people can’t handle me.

I: How did you end up in the States being from Jamaica?

G: In my adolescent years, I was pretty rowdy. I began to rebel against my mom and internalize feelings of guilt and depression due to bullying at school. Despite being smart (that’s what they used to tell me. I was great at math), I dropped out of school and started hanging out in the streets around kingston. I got caught up in some bad activity and long story short, my mother sent me out to Detroit to live with my Uncle Clyde.

I: Are you and Uncle Clyde still close?

G: Yeah, I kept being on bad behavior when I moved out here and he kicked me out, haha. But since then we’ve reconciled. I’m always there on holidays.

I: How many other siblings do you have? Are they still in Jamaica?

G: I have two younger siblings, Zion and Imani. They’re twins, and we’re about 10 years apart. They have a different dad, but he lives in the city (Kingston). They still live in Jamaica with my mom.

I: Tell us about your mom.

G: Her name is Melaine Black. She kept my dad’s last name. I was told her name was a play on “melanin” because of her rich dark complexion. That’s definitely something I got from her. Actually people say we look exactly alike. anyway, my mom makes jewelry and sells them for a living. She made my bead necklace. my mom is my greatest hero. She’s very strong and has been able to keep both herself and our family together through many hardships. She lives life to the fullest and has no regrets. I strive to be like that.

I: Do you have any regrets in your life?

G: I wouldn’t say so. For a long time, I had a deep regret and felt guilt for not being able to help my dad’s depression and possibly save his life. Since then I've realized that I have to let go of things I can’t control. I still suffer from depression but I overcome it everyday. I feel like my father felt the same guilt, not being able to save my brother, and it probably ate at him… yeah man..

I: You seem to be a strong person yourself. Despite describing yourself as an introvert you’ve opened up to us quite a bit. If there’s one thing you’d like people to know about you, what is it?

G: I totally have a resting bitch face. and 9 out of 10 it probably means what you’re thinking: I’m not here for it. but the other 10% of the time, i’m super approachable!

Description

Interviewer: Thank you for joining us today. we have a very special guest joining us today. Let’s start off by introducing our guest by name...

Genie: My name’s Genie (pronounced Jenny). I was born Genevieve Black.

I: What do you do for a living? Where do you live?

G: I currently live in the Boroughs (New York), and I work as a cook in a local restaurant. It’s a small gig, but it pays the bills. I don’t really need much to be happy.

I: What are your interests?

G: I love dancing. I love music in general, and good vibes… I can’t be around you if you’re constantly on some bull—. I love good company because I keep my circle very small. I like jewelry and piercings and tattoos. Clothes… I'm a big (American) football fan. But I'm an even bigger soccer fan. My dad used to play. One of my favorite childhood memories was going to soccer matches with the family.

I: You’re very family-oriented.

G: My family is my biggest motivation. I lost my brother at a young age. we were really close because we were the only two children that shared the same parents. a few years after my brother, my father fell into a deep depression and killed himself. my mother and younger siblings are what I live for.

I: Tell us more about your brother…

G: His name was Urbain and he was a year older than me. He had crazy long and beautiful dreads (that’s why I decided to rock them). He looked just like daddy. I suppose that’s why he loved him so much.

I: Who was your father?

G: My father was Darius Black. Most people from where I grew up in Jamaica simply called him ‘Shark’. He was a fisherman by trade and was very good at it. That’s why he got that nickname. I also heard he was affiliated with some of the local cartel members, which is another reason why he was so well known.

I: Does that explain your sleeve tattoo there?

G: Oh, yeah. Actually there are two sharks. The first big one that you can’t really see on my upper arm represents my dad. The smaller shark on my forearm is my brother. The flower near my elbow is actually a blackberry plant. My father’s nickname for me growing up was blackberry.

I: Do you have any more ink?

G: A lot. I love getting inked. Unfortunately I can’t show you all if them, haha. But I have quite a few and they all mean a great deal to me. We’d be here all day if I started explaining them…

I: How about piercings?

G: I have a lot of those as well. I guess I kind of have a high tolerance for pain. I’ve been thinking of getting more piercings lately though...

I: How would you describe your fashion style?

G: I’m simple because I dress to be comfortable first and foremost. Everything I wear is comfy as hell. But with that said, I also like to stand out. bright colors is my thing. And black. You just can’t go wrong with black.

I: So what is your favorite color then?

G: I can’t separate them. I love black and purple. I think they both speak to both sides of my personality.

I: And what sides are those?

G: Well… I'm not a people person. I like my alone time a lot and added with everything I've seen and experienced, my outlook on life is darker than most people. I like to think it’s more-so just that I have a more realistic look on things. And as for purple... Purple is royalty and it can be so expressive and bright without being in your face about it. That’s basically me. Get to know me and I’m loud and goofy and annoying.

I: You mentioned keeping close circles. Do you have friends that you keep close?

G: Jezzy is my closest friend. she balances my introverted side. Renzo is my best guy friend and he’s been there for me through a lot.

I: Any love interests?

G: Nah, I have enough on my plate handling just me. Plus, most people can’t handle me.

I: How did you end up in the States being from Jamaica?

G: In my adolescent years, I was pretty rowdy. I began to rebel against my mom and internalize feelings of guilt and depression due to bullying at school. Despite being smart (that’s what they used to tell me. I was great at math), I dropped out of school and started hanging out in the streets around kingston. I got caught up in some bad activity and long story short, my mother sent me out to Detroit to live with my Uncle Clyde.

I: Are you and Uncle Clyde still close?

G: Yeah, I kept being on bad behavior when I moved out here and he kicked me out, haha. But since then we’ve reconciled. I’m always there on holidays.

I: How many other siblings do you have? Are they still in Jamaica?

G: I have two younger siblings, Zion and Imani. They’re twins, and we’re about 10 years apart. They have a different dad, but he lives in the city (Kingston). They still live in Jamaica with my mom.

I: Tell us about your mom.

G: Her name is Melaine Black. She kept my dad’s last name. I was told her name was a play on “melanin” because of her rich dark complexion. That’s definitely something I got from her. Actually people say we look exactly alike. anyway, my mom makes jewelry and sells them for a living. She made my bead necklace. my mom is my greatest hero. She’s very strong and has been able to keep both herself and our family together through many hardships. She lives life to the fullest and has no regrets. I strive to be like that.

I: Do you have any regrets in your life?

G: I wouldn’t say so. For a long time, I had a deep regret and felt guilt for not being able to help my dad’s depression and possibly save his life. Since then I've realized that I have to let go of things I can’t control. I still suffer from depression but I overcome it everyday. I feel like my father felt the same guilt, not being able to save my brother, and it probably ate at him… yeah man..

I: You seem to be a strong person yourself. Despite describing yourself as an introvert you’ve opened up to us quite a bit. If there’s one thing you’d like people to know about you, what is it?

G: I totally have a resting bitch face. and 9 out of 10 it probably means what you’re thinking: I’m not here for it. but the other 10% of the time, i’m super approachable!