My mother ran away from my father after 16 years of being married to him. She was 16 when she hooked up with him. She left him after having six kids.
— Malik Yoba
A lot of times people are caught between doing the things they have to do versus following their passion and I'm someone who, at a very young age chose to be of service.
Even when I did 'New York Undercover' I put together a five-year marketing and promotional campaign to maximize the exposure of that show.
As a black man, you learn at an early age the police are not your friends.
People think that it's ok to degenerate and disrespect someone just because they're in the public eye.
It's not all about starring in a TV show for me. It's about being able to provide opportunity and employment for other people.
Baltimore and Detroit - they are solid cities.
I used to walk in the burnt up Harlem of the '80s, and I'd look at brownstones that were dilapidated or apartment buildings, thinking 'Whoever designed this and built this did not want it to look like this.' So, I used to visualize one day being able to contribute and build in Harlem.
I think it's hard for anyone to get into real estate or Hollywood.
For me, I've always been an entrepreneur.
It's hard to get movies made.
I break rules all the time.
I'm a rabble rouser, man!
No matter what your dream is, first you have to think that anything is possible.
Don't think because I'm a positive dude, I'm going to always say something nice. If you come at me crooked, one too many times or if too many people came at me crooked too many times in a row, then they're going to get it. I don't always exercise that self control and I don't regret it either.
Sometimes you have producers tell you 'I'm a huge fan, I'm a huge fan.' But David Guggenheim, I have so much love for this dude.
I'm proud to be part of projects that literally change lives.
Baltimore obviously has a lot of problems, but there are people there that have a lot of promise.
I made some money, some real money on my first real estate transaction.
When you walk among your own people and you know that they have a question about your integrity and everyone's giving you the side-eye, the people that used to give you the love, that's a very interesting feeling.
My favorite scripture is, 'Your gifts make room for you.' It's something I tell people all the time.
From a genre perspective and a character perspective, you know, sky's the limit.
My experience has shown me that many people struggle with forgiveness of self and/or others.
Success is putting one step in front of the other to get through that door whatever that door is.
To me, acting is simple. People put other things in front of it, but it's staying in truth.
We live in a world where mental health is real. Emotional health is real, and people feel like no one cares.
I've had the opportunity to work as an actor and tell stories that transform.
If you tell yourself you can't, you're right.
I've never been the actor that's waiting for a job. I always have 15,000 other things going on.
