A King In The Flesh, Derrick A King Jr

Jackson: Okay, I have to start with an icebreaker because I heard you were a funny guy.
What’s your kryptonite?

King: King Laughs. My kryptonite is the same thing that is my spinach in the Popeyes sense. Which are wings. I love Buffalo wings. I’ve loved them since I was 11 years old, and I have to have ranch on the side. I went through a blue cheese phase too. If I ever have to go to a doctor
and they’re like, you have to give up wings; I don’t know if I could do it. I’ve ended up in a lot of
situations just because wings were involved.

Jackson: How do you enter a room as if God sent you there, and what’s your state of mind like for you?

King: It’s a comfort level. It’s a part of freedom. To me, being free is living without fear and
making the choices you want. I walk into a room, being myself like I belong there. Understanding that if I’m in the room, it’s because God sent me there and not questioning or second-guessing how amazing, wonderful, and how much of a miracle I am in itself. That took a long time to get to. I’m still working on it.

Jackson: Actors Rampage. You are making a community out of it. How did you come across the idea to make it something bigger than yourself?

King: Actors Rampage was an idea that came from me attending acting classes in L.A. Actors Rampage is not a class; it’s a workout session. I say that because I don’t want people to think that this is a substitute for training or actually going to acting class. What it allows you to do, it allows you to get a workout. A lot of the time in those classes, you’re sitting there watching people. The instructors aren’t people who are active in the industry. They don’t know what’s really going on. I thought it would be dope to have something that nipped those things in the bud. I asked myself what would a great acting course or workshop look like to me? From that question I created Actors Rampage and invited people to participate. They loved it and a community naturally formed from there.

Jackson: Tell me one thing you had to let go of to be where you are and who you are today.

King: I had to get rid of the ideal of who I used to be to become who I am today. There are a lot of things about me being from the neighborhood I’m from, PG County, Maryland. A crime
driven and drug-infested place. Being a part of that lifestyle.

The transition was difficult from college to the corporate world and even to becoming my own artist and man. You can’t get to where you’re going if you’re still holding on to who you used to be and what you used to do. Those two people aren’t the same, and it’s weird to accept that without feeling like a fraud or someone who turned their back on the culture or city.

Jackson: How do you balance your career and your personal life?

King: I’m trying to do a better job at actually balancing that. In all transparency, over these last couple of years, my career and my personal life have been the same. All I wanted so badly was to be who I am, to work to be who I am. Lately, I’ve been taking a step back. I try to be a better friend. A better supporter. I also learned to play the guitar, and I play for five minutes a day.

Jackson: What are some rituals that you do to keep your mind at ease?

King: Meditation. I meditate all the time. I meditate every day. I remember being at this event and having to smile my way through. All I wanted to do was go home. There were times when I was like, yo, I need a drink or smoke real quick, and I’ll be good. It could’ve been sex or anything. A lot of those voids, I would fill with stuff. At that moment, all I wanted to do was go home and meditate so I could move through it. It was that day when I was like da**. I just started therapy. All the black men that I meet now, I advise therapy. Therapy is the truth. I thought I was above it, but I need it.