“when I didn't hear people say, 'you're good!' I was like, okay, wait, what else do I have going for me?”
To say Coco Jones is having one helluva year is an understatement. To say that the 25-year-old is reveling in it would also be underplayed. After a couple of hours with the “ICU” singer, a few things are apparent: she’s the ultimate professional with no shortage of confidence. She has a self-assurance that you likely won’t see coming but can’t help but respect. At Paramount recording studio, while being interviewed, Coco gives off big boss, rapper energy (think, more Westside Gunn than shy crooner) while talking about the ups and downs and ebbs and flows of the industry.
I have a lot of sacrifices that I make to be here and be available for my career.
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Fishback says she has respect for every role she inhabits, and her goal is always to leave room for the person she’s portraying just to be. “When I act, I always pray that I can be a vessel for the character to organically and authentically show up through me, that I can be gone and a clear vessel. It's almost like channeling, like existing as somebody else and allowing myself to do that.”
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I actually think that who I am is perfect. Of course I have my flaws, but this girl -- love her
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I had to find something else that made me happy, that made me feel valuable
able to sleep at night. I was gonna be tossing and turning, thinking, ‘Why not speak up? Why not say something?’ Because I know I can do it,” Fishback confessed. It’s apparent that this role was predestined for her.
Amidst the rush to seize the next role, to reaffirm to the world that she’s the 'It Girl', Fishback seeks more. She is a woman who contains multitudes and resists the confines of boxes. We are witnessing Fishback in the process of tender transformation.
Her world teems with love. From her family and friends to the neighborhood of East New York and everyone else in between, she exudes love and loves fiercely. This is one of the reasons she is committed to ensuring that her self-love extends beyond her talents as an actress. “When you have compassion for yourself, you're able to extend it to other people a little easier,” Fishback remarked.
Namely, she’d performed on “106 & Park” a decade ago, and the year prior, I had gotten chills watching her perform the now mega-hit “ICU” for the first time on a side stage at the Orleans Theatre in Las Vegas.
Full circle.
Fast forward, and the singer is the main event at this year’s Soul Train Awards, paired with legends SWV, to perform her EP cut “Double Back,” which features a sample of the trio’s sultry hit, “Rain.” Rocking a floor-length white fur over a silk slip dress, fitting for an autumn evening, Jones glows and glides through her vocal runs.
Earlier in the show, she took home the award for “Best New Artist” and then graced the stage one last time, joining BJ the Chicago Kid to perform “Spend the Night.” It’s a beautiful moment that takes place on a windy Sunday in November at a palatial estate off Mulholland Drive. But this day, a not-so-windy one, at Paramount studios for this interview, she
arrives on time, ready to get to business. The business is her and getting to know how we got here. And it’s fitting that during the holiday season, a lot of the “how” is rooted in family.
“My mom was the first one to notice that I could sing. I didn't know that could be a career. And then once I realized it, everything else became second priority,” Jones reveals. With support from her folks, including her father, a former football player, she started working on her career at a tender age. But, being a child star, for Jones, at least, meant going through the motions and hoping for the best.
“If you're a child actor, being booked is good. You say these lines…you play this part…you do what they tell you and that's good. That was really the foundation of my self-worth. So when I didn't get these jobs and when I didn't hear people say, ‘You're good!’ I was like, okay, wait, what else do I have going for me?”
Then came the lull or what Jones refers to as the “middle part” of her come up. The in-between time when she was without a record deal and unable to book acting gigs. The songstress wasn’t eager to rehash those times but in previous interviews, she has opened up about feeling forgotten, even left behind.
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Fishback confided, “A lot of times in wounded, masculine energy in women, being from Brooklyn, it’s like, ‘I gotta do that myself.’ The feminine that is taught to receive, and I can still manifest and get the dreams that I want when I allow myself to receive.” Independence and self-sufficiency are laudable, but there is a softer, more receptive side within that can be nurtured. Fishback is starting to feel this transformation. “Before, I had to get out of my hood and I wanted to so bad, I really had that action drive like, I'm gonna get it at all costs! And then I got there and then that action drive wasn't working for me anymore. I just felt burnt out. I felt tired. It's like why do I have to fight for everything? What if I don't have to fight? What if I get to sit back now and receive and believe that the seeds that I've planted and that God has shown me; my testimony has always been that has been elevated, so why am I going to move as if it hasn't been?”
“I can't have the perspective of, ‘I'm trying to play this character that Will Smith played.’ When Will Smith was doing the original, he was up there really actually being Will Smith. That was him, the character was his name,” he explains. “I use the experiences that I've had, my charisma, and the things that I've been through to empower the character in each circumstance. Half of the character is like I'm playing Will, and then half of it is, ‘this is Jabari, and this is my life that I'm going through.’ I think that’ll grow from season to season.”
Bel Air is just the beginning for Jabari Banks. He’s currently prepping to shoot alongside Benedict Wong and Callina Liang in Bad Genius, a heist thriller about high school students who are cheating on the SAT— an English language remake of the hit 2017 Thai film. He also hopes to play characters in fantasy films because he wants to see more Black people in those sorts of roles. He refuses to be typecast in the role of Will.
Along with growing as an actor, he has taken a couple of lumps growing up in the public eye. During the first press run for the show, he appeared on The Breakfast
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What’s inspiring me now is the success. I think it inspires more ideas.
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“I had to find something else that made me happy, that made me feel valuable and that was consistent enough to place my worth in,” Jones explains. “It could not be the industry; it was too up and down and that's when I really tightened up as a human being and my relationship with God got way more personal and real.”
Her relationship with God is evident. When there’s a mention of “manifestation,” Jones brings it back to the spiritual versus the metaphysical, or “woo-woo,” and instead mentions a Bible verse that she holds close. And when she shares a personal moment that speaks to the downside of these recent wins, it ends with her defaulting to knowing all she can do is trust in God when life starts life-ing.
“I have a lot of sacrifices that I make to be here and be available for my career and that's what it requires. I'm not even complaining,” Jones says while recounting a low moment this year. She lost a family member in the midst of doing the work it takes to sustain this path she’s on.
But, as to be expected, the Lebanon, Tennessee native with a penchant for winning and a fire in her belly didn’t stay down for long. And why would she? That confidence and that boss energy come from self-work, a bit of therapy, and a solid foundation.
I didn't have a project out as an adult. I only had stuff from when I was independent and when I was a teen, so I just didn't know what was going to happen,” the singer explains.
“I was holding my breath so tight because I didn't want my first thing after all these years to not be amazing."
“But I was too scared to really hope for that. I also didn't even know how this really works because the last time I was with any type of label, I was 15 years old. I don't even remember the release process and I was just scared.”
While there have been lows, moments of self-reflection, and countless hours in the studio and on the road, there have also been many highs. The one that feels most relevant, a month after being nominated for five Grammys, including another “Best New Artist” recognition, is the success of her EP “What I Didn’t Tell You” and the singles it spawned. “What I Didn’t Tell You” reached No. 1 on Apple Music’s R&B charts and “ICU” spent some time at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
“That to me was the start of something different in me because before then I didn't have anything.
Time she’ll use wisely because the 25-year-old admits to being fueled by the current fervor and support.
“What’s inspiring me now is the success. I think it inspires more ideas. I’ve put out music that did exactly what I thought it was going to do, which was pretty much nothing,” says Jones.
“My fans and whoever was interested in me at that time liked it and I was like, ‘okay, cute.’ But to have new people, to have new respect, to have new accolades—it's all new. It’s just a different mindset.”
“And the athlete in me is like, ‘All right, let’s keep it going and let’s double it! Let’s triple it. Let’s do even bigger and better than I guess my freshman year.’ I feel like everything was so new when I dropped my EP and now I’m kind of getting the hang of things. So I’m more creatively confident in my choices as an artist.”
The releases of “What I Didn’t Tell You" and "ICU" have generated acclaim amongst music aficionados, and her countless performances have left an indelible mark in the industry. One worth mentioning is a meta moment at Broccoli City Festival, where the singer performed SWV’s “Rain” while it literally poured. It's instances like this that have led us to today.
On the other side of many highs and a few lows, Jones appears to be less scared and, rightfully so. She's way more secure in where she stands now. There’s some banter about putting some respect on “Coco, the brand.” Rihanna and her Fenty empire are mentioned, and we align on how a Coco Jones perfume sounds like an amazing idea. Two-thousand miles away from Lebanon, TN, and many dreams advanced, Jones leans back in the studio’s swivel chair, and assuredly runs down the list of what’s next: her debut album, season 3 of Peacock’s hit show, “Bel Air,” and hopefully some much-needed time to decompress.
“I actually think I am the best,” Jones shares. “I actually think that who I am is perfect. Of course, I have my flaws, but THIS GIRL…I love her. That's my girl. If you’re really your own girl, the world just has to get in order.”
Jones, who shared during our time together that she would’ve been a therapist if not for her current career, is not just feeling more confident in the studio—her confidence is ubiquitous. She casually drops Red Table Talk-like gems throughout our time together.
And while we know it’s bigger than manifestation for her, it definitely sounds as though Jones' own self-work and the positive affirmations she tells herself, may have led her straight to the top—her flawless vocals leading the way. She’s not shying away from being THAT GIRL and we love that for her.
The irony here is that with that rapper’s bravado, the only BET award show Coco hasn’t attended in some capacity this year was the Hip Hop Awards. Gracing just about every stage between last year’s Soul Train Awards, where she made her award show debut, to now, Coco has felt like family to the network.
In June, at the BET Awards, she took home the honor for “Best New Artist,” topping Doechii, GloRilla and Ice Spice, to name a few. It was a stacked field, but Jones stood out and gave an emotional speech that reminded the audience of her journey.
Journaling has served as a therapeutic process for Fishback and she has adopted the practice to embody her characters more deeply. “Journaling as them [characters] is more like building a world. Even if you don't see it on-screen, you can see it behind the eyes. And so when I tell a story, I want somebody to look and be like, ‘Oh, she really experienced that story.’” This meticulous approach contributed to her standout performance as the supportive, soulful poet in the Shaka King-directed Judas and the Black Messiah, where she was far from a background love interest. Fishback’s discernment brought complex, crucial layers to her portrayal of Deborah.
And the athlete in me is like, all right, let’s keep it going and let’s double it. Let’s triple it. Let’s do even bigger and better than I guess my freshman year. I feel like everything was so new when I dropped my EP and now I’m kind of getting the hang of things. So I’m more creatively confident in my choices as an artist.”