Prior to becoming a movie star, Jodie Turner-Smith was one of many models looking for their big break. The Queen & Slim star has gained worldwide recognition for her leading role in Lena Waithe’s 2019 black Bonnie and Clyde drama, but it was just over 10 years ago that Jodie landed her first entertainment gig as a video vixen. The artists? The-Dream and Kanye West.
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Back in 2009, The-Dream released his Kanye-assisted single “Walkin’ On The Moon.” The synthy, pop-R&B track was given a futuristic visual starring both artists and their model sidekicks, and during a recent visit to BBC’s The Graham Norton Show, Jodie shared the story of how she stumbled into that job. She was introduced to famed director Hype Williams—the man behind many of our favorite music videos in hip hop—and told to hit him up when she visited L.A. Jodie did just that and Hype allegedly told her that his office wasn’t far from the airport so she could just stop by.
Upon arriving, she saw that there were a number of large SUV’s outside and people running around everywhere. When she did meet Hype, he apparently gave her a quick glance, told her to put on a little bikini, got her into hair and makeup, and led her right onto the video shoot without even questioning her. It was Jodie’s first gig ever so it was a bit overwhelming, and for the video, Jodie was supposed to look afraid.
“Me and Kanye are supposed to be walking through like, this tunnel thing,” Jodie remembered. “And he’s holding my hand and he keeps shouting at me, ‘You need to look more scared!’ And I was like, ‘I’m sh*tting myself!” Then, they pulled up a photo of Jodie and Kanye together in the video. “I look so confused,” Jodie said. “Because I really was.” Check out her story, and the music video, in full below.
