The Queen of Jackson & the Lebron of Beverly Hills?

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Speaker 1: I'm not only the Queen of Jackson, I'm the Queen of Mississippi. I'm the queen of my castle. I am the queen. I'm just a queen.

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Speaker 2: Stay tuned.

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Speaker 3: We'll get into my conversation with Mikeisha and give you my opinion on the Lebron James of Housewives right after these quick ass.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to Reality with the King. It's me Carlos King, the King of.

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Speaker 3: Reality TV and one of the most sought after executive producers in reality television with over ten years of production experience. Twice a week on Reality with the King, we'll sit down with my friends across the entertainment industry, recap our favorite reality shows, and revisit unforgettable moments that we are still talking and tweeting about.

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Speaker 2: Out Hey, rain drops.

00:01:04
Speaker 3: So before we get into my conversation with Aikeisha Holly Cologne from this season of Bell Collective, I first got to talk about a few things. Number One, we gotta get into Lesarenna referring to herself as the Lebron James of Housewives. Oh boy, see, this is what happens when.

00:01:28
Speaker 2: You allow people, places, and things come on nowns.

00:01:37
Speaker 3: To hop you up into believing something that isn't rooted in reality.

00:01:45
Speaker 2: Now, let me first.

00:01:46
Speaker 3: Start off by saying I actually likely Serena. I know that's a very unpopular opinion if you live your life for social media, which a lot of people do, but I likely Surenda. I think Lee Serena is good for the show. Now, back in the day, day day, Lisa Rena was excellent for the show.

00:02:08
Speaker 2: She was somebody who.

00:02:09
Speaker 3: Was just fun, you know, little messy and was able to get the party started and as you know, rain drops. I've been hard on Lisa Renna this season because she's over acting.

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Speaker 2: Like I said to you guys before.

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Speaker 3: She's giving me an old retired magician to where the tricks in your hat is no longer working Now this season on Beverly Hills, obviously, Lisa Rena is getting a lot of shade based on her storyline or a lack thereof, and on her not really being honest and truthful about her life and who she is. Like I said before, I really enjoyed when Lisaurreana was vulnerable when her mom Lois passed, and I would have loved to see more scenes where she talked about that, where she and Harry had conversations about what this means, where she and her daughters really went into grand detail about what this loss means for the family, like we were on this journey with.

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Speaker 2: You for a long time, and we all love Lois.

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Speaker 3: Lois was very integral in Lisa's storyline and listen, may Lois rest in peace seriously and because of that, we the audience feel cheated that we weren't able to really.

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Speaker 2: See how she was dealing with this.

00:03:32
Speaker 3: And we do feel cheated because we also love Lois. But now Lisa Morana is in the hot seat and the depends dif first that she endorsed. She may need to wear again because baby, they are reading her for filth and sadly, you know, I may have to agree with some of them, Lisa, because look to refer to yourself as the Lebron James of Housewives and not.

00:03:58
Speaker 2: Just Beverly Hills.

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Speaker 3: I mean, listen, girl, you're not even the Rick James of Housewives, let alone Lebron James.

00:04:04
Speaker 2: Okay, no, t no shade. Let's just keep it all the way real. With that being said, I don't know.

00:04:13
Speaker 1: Who.

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Speaker 3: I don't know who said that to you. Now you did tag Michael Rappaport, who look I like Michael Rappaport, I like anybody who loves reality TV as much as we all do. But again, this is what happens when you believe the hype that is being said about you.

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Speaker 2: Not from a crowd of people, but.

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Speaker 3: For one person, and that one person is Michael Rappaport, who sometimes is very accurate in his descriptions of housewives. But Michael Rappaport is somebody who who now is becoming friends with these housewives, and because that his judgment is super biased because he's friends with them. And as you all know, I'm friends with a lot of housewives, you know, even the ones I work with. However, dot Org, I'm very honest when it comes to what I see on the show. You know, I'm here to talk about their storyline based on what they're giving on the show, not who I know them as human beings. And I would never go dirty to talk about them based on who I know their character to be.

00:05:30
Speaker 2: That ain't me. That ain't me. So what I.

00:05:35
Speaker 3: Choose to focus on are these people's storylines, Okay, And based on Lisa RNA's storyline, you were never are never going to be the Lebron James of Housewives. Not as long as Nimi Monique Johnson Leaks is grieving, Not when Teresa dj is still around, Honey. I would even give it to Bethany Franco before I would ever suggest orgree that Lisa Renna, it's Lebron James of anything. You may be the Lebron James of the household, honey, you may be the Lebron James when it comes to endorsements back in the day, day day, and you may be the Lebron James of Days of our lives as Billy, but no, Shay, I Lean Davidson.

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Speaker 2: See Lisa, I girl, see look.

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Speaker 3: I tried to at least give you the benefit of the doubt, saying that maybe you were the Lebron James of soaps. However, dot org your girl, I Lean Davidson is the Lebron James when it comes to soaps. So again, not sure why you felt the need to say that, But then after you said that, you also made a comment that they can't.

00:06:57
Speaker 2: Afford to lose you.

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Speaker 3: And then it got me thinking what is happening behind the scenes to where Lisa Renna would type that on her insta story that they can't afford.

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Speaker 2: To lose her.

00:07:17
Speaker 3: One thing we know about Lisa Renna, she loves a paycheck and she loves having jobs. Okay, Lisa, we all know you are never leaving the show.

00:07:32
Speaker 2: You're not going to quit. You're not going to leave. We know that.

00:07:36
Speaker 3: So I don't know who you think you're fooling, but you ain't fooling me or the rain drops.

00:07:42
Speaker 2: Like we all know, Baby, you love being on the show.

00:07:46
Speaker 3: I would even go as far as to say you need the show. And there's nothing wrong with saying that that you need the show.

00:07:54
Speaker 2: You know, you were a.

00:07:56
Speaker 3: Soap opera actress, and like most soap opera actress, there's highs and lows when it comes to your position on the soap. And your career was definitely resurrected because of Beverly Hills Housewives and now you are truly a household name, and at one point in time you were definitely I'm not gonna say the force multiplier because that's a heavy crown to wear. Let's say, instead of the force multiplier, I would give you the force divider, because child I Hodey, it ain't multiplying. The math ain't math in so let's just call you the force divider, because you know how to divide. You know a storyline and scenes, and look, I enjoyed you for a long part of your position on the show. But to play this game of they can't afford to.

00:08:58
Speaker 2: Lose you, you.

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Speaker 3: Maybe should have done that three seasons ago to where I would have been on your side.

00:09:05
Speaker 2: Saying, yeah, y'all, y'all can't afford to lose her.

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Speaker 3: Based on what we've been seeing thus far, it makes me think if you're worried that your job is on the line now. Based on what we've been reading about what happened at the Real Housewives of Bibley Hills reunion, a lot of people have said, people who were there that it was very stressful. Erica Jane gave it a nine, you know, based on a scale from one to ten on how dramatic it was.

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Speaker 2: She said a nine and one.

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Speaker 3: Thing about Erica Jane like she doesn't owe a hype anything, like she keeps.

00:09:43
Speaker 2: It all the way real.

00:09:45
Speaker 3: So I don't know if what happened was you were in the hot seat and allegedly the word on the curb is you ladies weren't allowed to see the last two episodes. Allegedly they're saying Kathy Hilton has something to do with that, or should I say Kathy Hilton's attorneys allegedly so. Is that's why you're worried, Lisaena? Is Kathy Hilton doing something li Serena that makes you think you may be on the chopping block? I guess as we see the rest of this season, it could be very plausible that something is brewing in the nine to two one zero that truly could make your position on the show up in the air. And although Lisa people love to throw you shay and read you, I Carlos King, will stand on the fact that I think, at one point in time you are really a great housewife and maybe you need to be put on palls so that you're able to get back to the fun, loving, messy force divider that you were.

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Speaker 2: Maybe it could do you some good. I don't know.

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Speaker 3: And one thing about me, I want everybody to be able to be happy and to win in the end. But something has happened Lisareena to where the past couple of seasons.

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Speaker 2: You haven't been enjoyable.

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Speaker 3: And I don't know what happened to where you felt the need to just not be the person that the audience loved to hate. So my question for my rain drops is this, can the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills afford to lose Lisarenna? Is it time for Lisrenna to go? And last but not Les? Do you guys think Lisarenna is the lebron James of Housewives? Tweak me hashtagging Reality with the King and let me know, stay tuned. We'll get into my conversation with Akesha Holly Cologne right after these quick ads. This is Reality with the King and I'm Carlos King. Let's get into my conversation with Aikesha. So, in celebration of tonight's season finale of Bell Collective, I have one of the most talked about stars on the show. Yes, Aikesha Holly Cologne. On today's episode, we get into how she was almost cast to be a Real Housewife of New Jersey.

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Speaker 2: Okay, can you see that?

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Speaker 3: Yes, but how she chose to get on Bell Collective not only to be a part of the Upper win Prey network, but to also work with me.

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Speaker 2: I love that, but you guys know Akesha, so of.

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Speaker 3: Course we ended up having a good old shady messy conversation.

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Speaker 2: That is going to gag you the way. It even gagged me. It gagged me so much I had to.

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Speaker 3: End the interview early, ah, because I had nothing to say after that. So without further ado, get into my conversation with Aikesha, Holly Cologne, Oh rain drops, I have a doozy today. So first of all, before we get started, I gotta thank you guys for watching and live tweeting and being in love with Bell Collective as much as I am. You know, I've been producing reality TV for fifteen years and this cast of Bell Collective is one of the best in the business.

00:13:53
Speaker 2: And I love and adore them.

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Speaker 3: Today I'm talking to the newest cast member who who came on the scene, honey, and she says shit off like Biblica fox, honey and set it off girl.

00:14:07
Speaker 2: Of course, I'm.

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Speaker 3: Talking about the alleged Queen of JACKSONID come on, shame Ai Keisha, Holly Cologne.

00:14:17
Speaker 1: I lock myself, honey, allgen, you better check your facts.

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Speaker 2: Ai Keisha, Who's the Queen of Jackson?

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Speaker 1: Listen, I hear people out here claiming I don't want to be the Queen of Jackson. I'm not from Jackson. Honey, didn't nobody know you weren't from Jackson because you never said you weren't from Jackson until I named that, Peela Hatchie Posse. So I'm not only the queen of Jackson, I'm the queen of Mississippi. I'm the queen of my castle. I am the queen. I'm just a queen.

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Speaker 3: I love you so much and your confidence. So before we get into this current season of Bell Collective, in addition to the and You we tape recently, I want to talk to you, Aikeisha, just about you, because again, you came on the show like a force, and one thing I enjoy about watching you on and off camera is you are yourself twenty four seven. So talk to me about who you are as a woman who grew up in Jackson, Mississippi. Where did this confidence that you have come from?

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Speaker 1: The confidence comes from home, and it comes from my mother, my biological mother, my adopted mom, which is biologically my aunt, my grandmother, my aunt, my sisters. I just come from a lineage of strong black women who've all had different struggles and triumphs and victories, but they all poured into me. So I will say I have been this way my entire life. I've always been a leader. Hill I was lying leader in kindergarten, Honey, I mean, I've always be at the front of the line. But there was a point in my life where that confidence kind of wavered. And it was the transition between leaving my biological mom and my sisters to go live with my aunt and my grandparents. And that was only because of allowing outside people to sort of tell me what they thought I was or how I was acting and how I was changing. And I realized at an early age, no, I'm not changing. You changed. So I'll give you an example. When I lived with my mom, we went from Verdon Edition and Jackson. People who are familiar with Jackson, they know where that is. And we moved to Forest Park Apartments, which is now you know, the projects, and it may have been the projects then, but hell, I didn't know. We thought it was the best. It was a great place to us. And like I said, even in the projects, my sisters and I we thought we were as bad as there. You know. And I'm the youngest of five girls, so you have to my oldest sister. There's a seventeen year difference my oldest sister's sixty two, So coming up and just watching them and how they moved just they were the baddest bitches in Jackson to me and my mom. You know, my mother, even just watching her maneuver and how she did her thing, she still was what you would consider a bad bitch for the time. But saying not to say so when I lived there and when my grandparents and my aunt found out about me. My father's family because at the time when I came along, my father was married and he had a wife and a family, and he and my mother, that's why I say on the show, they had a situationship and I came along, his family didn't know anything about me. They found out about me when I was about seven years old. My grandfather said that he had heard rumors before but it was never confirmed. So when they it was confirmed and they knew that my father had a child. I was in between the ages of seven and eight and I met them. They were very accepting of me. They wanted me a part of their lives, which is why I went from Akeisha Smith to Akisha Holly because my grandfather said, she is a Holly and she will carry our name no matter if his son made a mistake, if his son admitted it or not, which he did. But that's how my grandfather was. It did not matter to him. When he walked in the door the day that my father brought me over to meet his parents and his sister, my grandfather cried and when he looked at me, his first words were, she is a holly. This was before our blood tests any DNA. I had not done any of that. So I began to go over to their house. I started spending time with them. So I went from a house where I was one of six till I was an only child. So I have a truly fish out of water story. I loved being with my sisters in at home. Honey, that was a good time. Baby, My mama and my sisters are a good time. But when I went to my grandparents and my aunt, we were watching the news, I was reading books I had to. It was very conservative and quiet. So, going back to what I was saying when I said, the confidence wavered a little when I started staying with my grandparents. I didn't switch schools immediately because I had to test to go into a Catholic school in Jackson. Because I was coming from a poor neighborhood, a very poor school, and I guess these folks wanted to see if I was going to be up to their standard of coming into their school. So I stayed at the elementary for the first year that I was living with them, and my friends started making fun of me, and you know, I wasn't understanding because the thing was is that I went from my household where we didn't have a car. My sister had a car and she would come over and pick us up and we would do stuff all the time. But I went from that household to my grandparents and my aunt's house and we had four cars, but they were all Mercedes. I didn't know what a Mercedes was Carlos, to be honest with you, I just knew that it was a car. So when I got to school, the kids were like, oh, she thinks she all that. Now, she alled that in a bag of chips because she come to school in a Mercedes. And I didn't get it. And I went from being really really popular to it's like, oh, well, you know, I don't really like her anymore because she thinks she's this, this and that. So that's the little period where that confidence kind of wavered because then I wanted to fit in and I'm like, oh no, So I did not want my grandparents and my aunt to drop me off at school. I asked my dad to drop me off at school because see, my dad had a modest car. My dad, honey, he can make a dollar out a penny. That's how he holds onto his coin. So his car wasn't as fancy as there. So I wanted my father to drop me off at school because I didn't want them to make fun of me. And I remember telling the story to my sister, one of my sisters who is passed now, and I was telling her how I didn't want to go to school and I didn't want them dropping me off in the Mercedes, and my sister said what she said, fuck them. I wish i'n Sandy FRANI could drop me off at a Mercedes, because at the time, she was like going on, she was just like, if they don't want to be your friends because you have this, then fucked them. Like it was just as plain as that. And I ended up leaving the school that year, going to the new school where my little four Mercedes. Honey, they were getting dropped off and way beyond what I was doing.

00:21:05
Speaker 3: And the beauty of it. This is still Jackson, Mississippi. Because one of the reasons why I wanted to do this show in Jackson is because I wanted to dispel this notion that Jackson, Mississippi, is nothing but a bunch of poor heillbillies who can't talk. They are rubbing two pennies to make it every week and not understanding. I Keisha that Jackson is filled with wealth and legacy.

00:21:31
Speaker 2: So talk to me about that too.

00:21:32
Speaker 1: No, that's the thing. When I moved with my grandparents and my aunt, yeah, we had four Mercedes. My neighbor next door they had four or five Mercedes, and my neighbor on the other side of us they had Mercedes and BMW's, So you gotta like, I didn't even know what a Mercedes was. But when I got to this new school and I was looking at the money and the wealth, and this is when I realized the difference in education. I'm in sixth grade. I come from Mary Marrison Elementary. Like I said in vern edition, we were getting our books handed down to us. I don't know if you remember when you used to get your school books there was a card in the back, and you said you would write your name on the card in the year that you had the book. That was something that you know in Mississipi. I remember that. So when I got to my new school, you know, we got our books, and I mean this book was like it had never been open. You could hear it. And I was just like, oh wow, I got the I'm the first one to get this book. And I turned to one of my classmates and I said, hey, I said, where do we write our names? I don't see the card in here? And she was like what And I said, where do you write your names in the book? She was like, write it wherever you want to. And I was thinking, like, huh, She's like, it's your book. We got new books every year. That's what they had. They were getting new books. I wasn't used to that. And it was at that point I'm like that was the difference in education because you're giving us the hand me downs. These old books that we were pages were torn out of them, things were missing from them. With the cards would be so long that we were writing in the bottom, turning it over and writing all the way down to the bottom. At Marson and here I am at Saint Richard's and we're getting brand new books. Well, of course we were paying for that, because I was paying for tuition. But I was able to see all of this at a very early age. And this was at nine, ten and eleven years old. So I remember going to a friend's birthday party. We were on a yacht on the reservoir. It was this thirteenth birthday party. And mind you, where I was coming from. Hell, I don't even know if anybody had ever been on a boat or I mean, you know, like it was just it blew my mind. It blew my mind. There is a lot of money in Mississippi. I mean, do you see what's going on right now with Brett Favre and the governor and what's happening with this waterer crisis. Yeah, okay, there's a lot of money in Mississippi. It's just not a lot of us who have it.

00:23:52
Speaker 2: And there you go.

00:23:53
Speaker 3: So when people ask me, why did you choose Jackson, Mississippi to create y'all collective, it's because, listen, my purpose on this earth is to give other people opportunities, especially opportunities to people.

00:24:08
Speaker 2: Who look like me.

00:24:10
Speaker 3: You know, people of color, regardless of your status at the bank. All those things I want to show and inspire the world. And when I saw that Jackson, Mississippi has so much richness into it, whether that's figuratively or literally, it propelled me to want to do Bell Collective. So we have season one and season one was fine. You know, listen, it was a great season. Season two started. You came in along with Slogucci and, like I said earlier, set shit ablaze.

00:24:42
Speaker 2: What made you want to join Bell Collective?

00:24:45
Speaker 3: But before you answer that, you were almost cast as a real housewife of New Jersey?

00:24:53
Speaker 2: Is that correct? Yes?

00:24:54
Speaker 1: I was in that process. I was in the interview on process.

00:24:56
Speaker 2: How did that come about?

00:24:58
Speaker 1: So of friend of mine sent me this some information saying that they were looking for women in New Jersey who were I hate that boss women. Shit. I hate when we even said it on our show, but like I do, it's so dumb, but that were doing well, who were managing their households, they had businesses, they had you know, careers, moms just I guess boss women. And so she said, hey, what do you know, I think maybe you should do this, and it did hit me. I was like, oh, this is a New Jersey, because I know I do go back and forth between Jersey and Mississippi because people don't believe. But my husband and I were beginning to work on some things that we were doing down in Mississippi. So I said, okay, well i'll hit them, you know, I hit it up to see. She was like, oh, well, I already sent your information in, so we'll see if somebody hit you know, if they say anything back. Literally, I don't even know if it was an hour or two. I ended up getting the email from a lady out of California, and so we were talking, just had an amazing conversation talking about things that were going on a Jersey. I was telling her about about me going up in Mississippi, our bar, everything we had happening, and I was I had a baby and I was pregnant with my daughter, and she said, well, you know what I would like to send your information to. I forgot who it was, but do you know what this is? Do you know what the show is? And I said no, I don't and she said it's Real Housewives of New Jersey. And of course I wasn't thinking Real Housewives of New Jersey because shit, I'm black. I didn't even know. I had never seen a black housewife. My girlfriend was the first one on the Housewives of New York and.

00:26:38
Speaker 3: Williams abny K Williams my brain jobs love her. She was a guest on the show too, So abidy K Williams and Ikeisha are longtime girlfriends.

00:26:47
Speaker 1: Yeah, so I immediately ended up. I hit her because I was just like, oh, okay, so I see what they're doing now. They're trying to get a little speck of color up and everywhere. And so I reached out to her and I told her. She was just like yeah, she was telling me, you know, things she'd gone through, whatever, whatever, and so I was like, all right, cool. So at the same time I'm going through this process, I had reached out to Tamra when I think it was around the end of twenty twenty or maybe the top of twenty twenty one, when Bell Collective was coming along or something, whenever the show came out.

00:27:23
Speaker 3: When I saw the January of twenty twenty one, yeap, yeah.

00:27:27
Speaker 1: I saw this young lady on here standing on Fair Street saying, you know something about buying the block back. I was like, okay, well, not that block because that one right there, I own that building and then you know, I mean, the city didn't even own the block. So I was just like, okay, but and I will say this, I loved that she was bringing attention to Fair Street. And I'm like, oh my god, this is amazing because I mean, owns an amazing network, you're a great production company, and bringing that kind of a to Jackson along with my business that I'm bringing to Jackson, it's a win win for me. So I hit Tamra and I hit my girlfriend Melanie, who also makes an appearance on our show, and I said, Hey, I want you guys to introduce me to the young lady who is saying that she was going to do something on theirs. I want to see, you know, what she has going on with you know, our ideas are what she's going to be doing. I would love to connect with her. They connected me with Letitia. I ended up talking to Latitia. It was around the same time that the New Jersey stuff was going on, so it had to be like spring summer of twenty twenty one, and so when she and I talked, I thought she had an amazing just energy. I love the way she talked. She has a lot of passion, so we clicked. We were talking about the show, talking about, you know, the things that I had seen. She always tells people, you know she was pouring into me. Well, I was because I'm watching the show as a viewer, not a person that was a part of television, so I'm looking at it. I was like, hey, you know, I had seen pictures and scene, had been invited to your brunches before. Don't let anybody come in your brunch and do like how they you know what's arguing and doing all of this stuff at your price. You don't need to do that because this is your brand. I mean, we're having a great conversation. After the conversation was over, Letisha said, listen, I'm not sure what we're gonna be doing with the show, but if we come back, I would love for you to do a scene with me. Because we weren't able to get into any of the buildings on Fair Street. I would love for us to be able to get in and actually see a building on Fair Street. Of course, I'm gonna let you do that.

00:29:26
Speaker 2: What does that for me?

00:29:27
Speaker 1: Again? That is a win. That's allowing you to see my grandfather's museum, my family lineage. We have a lot of things in that building that would give exposure to it, and is going to give exposure to what I'm about to do on Fair Street. I said, of course. She hangs up. She tells me that she called whoever. I don't know if she called you, she called somebody, and then she calls me back. She said, they already know who you are, and I said, I said okay, and she said, they want to meet. They want to talk to you. So that was that.

00:29:57
Speaker 3: And in terms of knowing who you are, I was already introduced to you via Instagram, in terms of seeing you on Instagram because of our mutual friend Satchel Jester, who is from Atlanta and he does a lot of great things in publicity marketing and he's just all around great human being. So when Bill Collector came out, he said, oh, baby, you need to get Aikeisha on the show. And one thing about my friends in the industry, they know when it comes to my production, I take it very seriously, like I strongly believe in greatness.

00:30:32
Speaker 2: And I said, who is she?

00:30:34
Speaker 3: He's sending me your Instagram and I'm like, first of all, she's gorgeous, her husband is super handsome, beautiful kids. I see wealth, honey. I saw all of that at that Instagram Paigety and I said, where does she live in Jackson? And he said, oh, honey, she could be in Jackson anytime you want her to. I said, well, if we get a second season, I will let you know Satchel.

00:30:59
Speaker 2: So yes, I was familiar.

00:31:01
Speaker 1: So that transpired. And then when I ended up talking to your people and production and I was like, oh, wait a minute, they want me to be on the show as a cast member, not as me coming in to do a scene with somebody. So at the time, I was pregnant, and I begin to weigh the options. Now I had not been confirmed on Housewives of New Jersey that was in talks. I was still, you know, we were waiting and going back and forth. But I sat and I talked to Willie about it, and I just really had to do some deep thought and even prayer, because I pray over everything before I get ready to do something. And so I thought about it and I said, I know what the goal is and for me, my family has wanted to do something on Fairish and bring Faiish back to what it was for a long time. What better place than the Oprah Winfrey Network, who's from Mississippi, a production company like Kingdom Reign. I've followed you, I've watched your come up, I've admired you, and it's like, God, come on now, because on this other platform, it could be possibly bigger, it could be more money, but they are not going to feature and show my story and the history of this place the way it needs to be shown. And I had to do that for myself and my ancestors. And I knew that your platform and own was going to do that in a respectful way that my grandmother, my grandfather, my great uncle, great aunt and great grandmother who started all of this in eighteen ninety six, we're gonna say, Akeisha, job, well done. So that's how I didn't even think about the other platform anymore. I moved forward. I put all of my energy. I convinced my husband, you know, he's coming down Tossissippi, he's doing whatever, but to be on television with it. He's like, Okay, if this is what you want to do, babe, then I'll come on. And I told him that I think this is it. This is it.

00:32:59
Speaker 2: No listen.

00:33:00
Speaker 3: I'm getting goosebumps right now because what people don't understand is this it's purpose, yes, and it's not being thirsty. Because I am the owner of a production company that produces reality television, I cannot tell you how many famous and non famous people hit me up in the DMS or on the streets. They email me girl, they send me mail like timer mail, okay, begging me.

00:33:28
Speaker 2: To either remove them from their current show.

00:33:31
Speaker 3: These are the people who's on reality or to put them on one of my shows because of what you said. They said, Carlos, one thing about you, You're gonna make sure that your cast member's business is at the forefront of any messy conversation or argument or whatever they gonna have.

00:33:47
Speaker 1: Exactly.

00:33:47
Speaker 3: I'm down for the shade. But one thing you do so well is you make sure the business is at the forefront. And because you could have been, like you said earlier, on a much bigger network, on a much bigger show. What people don't understand is God is the biggest equation you bet, every single aspect of life. Yes, And what bothers me, and I'm gonna be very real, what bothers me is people who try to chase something that looks big on the outside.

00:34:20
Speaker 2: And it's not about attaching.

00:34:21
Speaker 3: Yourself to a situation because the optics look bit. It's about attaching yourself to a situation because you know that God is bigger than any situation.

00:34:31
Speaker 2: And if you follow the path where.

00:34:34
Speaker 3: In twenty years you can say, you know what, I've accomplished everything I wanted to do by making this decision, He is going to uplift you and take you on a journey that's going to blow your mind. And that's exactly what you are doing Aikeisha on this show.

00:34:51
Speaker 2: This season.

00:34:52
Speaker 1: You hit it on the head and that's why you know, I'm gonna bring a little shade up in here, even though we're talking about the Lord. No, because when people say I gave you a seat at the table, I laugh.

00:35:06
Speaker 2: You really did.

00:35:08
Speaker 1: Every a time I hear, baby, you didn't give me a thing. Now, I am appreciative. I do not want anybody to get me wrong or say, oh, she you know, listen, she brought this production to you, She brought the idea to you, and I am grateful for that. But at the same time, I believe what God has and had for me. If it wouldn't have been through bail Collect if your path and mind would have met somewhere, if it was for me to work with Carlos King or for me to work with own. So I am grateful. I thank you for the introduction. But honey, that table that you said, I'm gonna leave that right there because you don't need to be invite girl. We're gonna leave that right there. But thank you.

00:35:57
Speaker 3: No, I want to say thank you because I'm know if you know this, we interviewed over ten women to join the show that's airing right now, and you are the first tape I saw. And I said to Angela, who's my VP of development and the casting producer Keia, I said, oh, baby, I don't care who else follows this.

00:36:21
Speaker 2: I know I want two bells.

00:36:23
Speaker 3: She is going to be one, and I'm going to be very surprised if anyone can top this casting tape. What Aikesha's casting tape look like is evident in the scenes. She's in this phenomenon that was gracing through the screen. And as you're on this show this season, yes, you are budding heads with Letitia Pearson, who also is involved in Feri Street. Were you surprised that you two all butt hit, because I'm getting the sense that you thought, like, Okay, at the end of the day, I know that she and I have the same goal and more than likely we're going to be good.

00:37:03
Speaker 1: That's exactly it. I'm familiar with reality TV enough and I've been in this industry a while to know that I'm gonna be bumping hands with somebody. Hell, I thought it was gonna be Guccie, you know, because I just couldn't get past the name, and you know, at the time, and now, Guccie is my fave. I love her and we talked daily. So I did not think that it was going to be Letitia because she was the intro to the show. And then when I realized that they were using Tamor because I went to high school with Tamra and I knew tamar from you know, from Jackson, and so I just said, oh, okay. But I had no clue that I would be going toe to toe with Letitia. And when that scene at the brunch happened and she snapped at me, I was thinking like, oh wait a minute, them, hold on now, wait. I had to really like get myself together because I was just like, all right, so is this the direction we were going in? But I'll say this, Carlos, I still was thinking, like, all right, this is what you signed up for. We can still go toe to toe and throw shade, but we know what the goal is. We know we want to do this project on Fairs Well, I know I want to do the project on Fair Street. Let me go back and let me clear this up right now on your show, Letitia and I do not and have not had a project on Fair Street together. What we were coming together to do was talk about what she wanted to do on Fairs Street and what I am doing on Fair Street, what I have already done on Fair Street. So when she says you're still in my ideas, girl, I still have not even heard your idea. And that's the truth. I don't know what Letitia wanted to do on Fair Street. I just saw a scene from the first episode when they told her how much it was gonna be to get that building even up the code. I hadn't heard Letitia say anything else about Fair Street till I came along. Listen close. Now, one thing about me you're gonna learn because you are not gonna be working together long time.

00:39:00
Speaker 2: You better say it.

00:39:01
Speaker 1: I don't lie now, I don't lie. My truth has got me in trouble a lot. I got my butt whipped a whole bunch of times when I was young because I couldn't lie. So let's get that straight. But our projects, we don't have a project together. My project was never her project. I don't even know what her project was. And at this point I do not care. And you guys have been watching the season, so you know why I do not care.

00:39:26
Speaker 3: Oh no, they definitely know, and they definitely have seen you. Like you said, you are very upfront, and that was one of the reasons why we enjoyed you. Because one thing about some, not all, some of the women in Jack's Mississippi. A lot of them are Southern belles. And what I mean by that is they aren't upfront. It's like this southern shade to where it's very meek and mild, but it's not in your face. And that was a hard part in casting this show, because you know, a lot of the women from Jackson or even in Mississippi, I should say, they're born to, of course, be a certain way to the public. And then behind the scenes, honey, all bets are off.

00:40:10
Speaker 1: I mean, you are taught to act a certain way in public, You're you're taught to talk a certain way in public, and not saying that I'm not those things. But I'm also not going to sugarcoat things and beat around the bush. And that's Southern as well. I mean the women that I'm around and that raised me are from Mississippi and they don't sugarcoat things. So it's a difference in being Southern, but also being truthful like that doesn't mean you have to lie or pretend to be something that you're not just because you're Southern. And that doesn't mean that I'm not Southern because I call you on your shit? Does it make sense?

00:40:47
Speaker 2: It makes you honest.

00:40:48
Speaker 3: We saw this season that yes, you and tamber went to high school together, and Tambra has always come across on the show as like the peacemaker, the one who wants everyone to get along. And then in these past couple of episodes, we've seen that allegedly Tambra has said some things about you behind your back, and you looked so surprised to discover that. Were you surprised that you and Tambra would be at odds and that the odd thing was the fact that allegedly you were saying things about the bells to Tambra that she took back.

00:41:25
Speaker 1: To the group. Well, it wasn't saying things. She took back one thing because I never talked or discussed the bills with Tama from the first conversation that we had when I first called her. I'll say this, remember at the reunion, and I'm not giving any of the reunion away. When she explained exactly what the conversation was, I said, Okay, now that sounds like something I may have said. So yes, going back to Tama and I had a conversation. I called her one I think, probably to congratulate her on the show. I honestly do not remember exactly what it was, but I do know it was before or the show ever came out. It may have been when you guys first started advertising the show, because it seems like it was around Thanksgiving. To me, it may have been like before thanks.

00:42:08
Speaker 3: It was because we premiered in January, so we did around the holidays, y'ap.

00:42:12
Speaker 1: Okay, So I know it was before Thanksgiving because I remember I came down to Jackson like after that. I'm in Jackson every thanks again. I spend the holidays there, but I was here and I came to Jackson. So anyway, it was twenty twenty and I was pregnant. I had my son, but I was pregnant. I saw the advertisement whatever she posted up on social media, and one none of the girls looked like themselves in that picture. I don't know what the hell y'all did. I don't know if y'all had to hire somebody else to do some new coloring or something, but they did not like after I ended up meeting them. So she said that in that conversation when I was telling her, you know, congratulation on the show, where's the show going to be about whatever? That I said, Oh, y'all can find no cute girls in Jackson. She said that I was joking, and I probably now that sounds like something I probably said, just throwing some shade. Ugly has never come out of my mouth. I don't even really use the word ugly. So that's why when we got to that sistervention and they threw that out, I'm like, Taraa's a fucking lie. I never said that. I didn't even remember the conversation until she said it on the reunion when she brought back exactly what happened. Then I said, oh okay, But my question was, if you knew that I was even joking when I said that, what was that for you to bring back? What was that for you to come back to these ladies and say, oh, well, she said that y'all talking about some cute girls or whatever. For them to think or perceive or just interpret that I was calling them ugly in the episode when they just showed this last week and the next scene with Melanie, she says, I never said that they were ugly, and that was Letitia's interpretation. That is so messy to me. It just had me looking at her so different because when Tisha told me that, she told them they need to watch everything that I say, not to be like I was shady. Don't trust me. That's the question I ask again when we were face to face, even if I was, when have I ever shaded you? When does anyone ever come to you Tamor and said a Keisha said this and that about you. Never So whatever your intentions were for telling these ladies these things, that was something within her. So what I would tell to Latitia Tamara Latrese and whoever else that she thought they thought I was talking about them. You should have been questioning Tamra's intentions. Why does she feel the need to tell you those could be her feelings because I had never said anything to tamor about like never, She's never known me to shade her or anybody around her.

00:44:31
Speaker 2: And like you said, we won't rebuild too much in the reunion.

00:44:33
Speaker 3: By the way, guys, this two part reunion is time of the best reunions I have ever produced in my entire life.

00:44:41
Speaker 2: It is man d stick girl. So we won't give much away.

00:44:47
Speaker 3: But like you said earlier, it does come up at the reunion, and I have to say this. I'm not gonna give too much of way, but I'm gonna say this because I've been again and a part of reality for years and I've seen I've seen women going reunion shows and backpedal, lie, blame the producers, blame editing. It's been a blame game. I Keisha Holly Cologne stood two toes, ten toes, twenty toes down and everything she said, and I was shocked.

00:45:21
Speaker 2: So you know what, I'm gonna be real. I'm gonna be real. I'm be real. I was shocked that when the heat was on you, you.

00:45:29
Speaker 3: Were able to answer every question and to the point where I sat back and was marveling in your honesty.

00:45:38
Speaker 2: Because I've been doing this shit.

00:45:40
Speaker 3: For a long time, and I've seen reunion shows of shows I worked on where women just lie because they want to please the audience on social media, and we live in the world right now where people truly do cater to social media. And one thing I always to my reality stars and I said this to you too, and Tagucci, don't feed into that.

00:46:01
Speaker 2: That's not real.

00:46:02
Speaker 3: That's people who are just trying to attack you because they want.

00:46:05
Speaker 2: A moment, and the moment you engage in them, they felt like they got you. You stood up for yourself.

00:46:10
Speaker 3: You were by yourself, stood up for yourself, and I was so impressed by it that I look at you and it's a woman named Ashley Silva a Love and Marriage DC.

00:46:21
Speaker 1: Oh, I love how long baby, Ashley and.

00:46:23
Speaker 3: You are the same in terms of I said what I said. If I hurt your feelings, I'm sorry, but this is why I said it, and let's move the fuck on. But I'm not going to say I didn't say it and I love that about you on this season. And when y'all see the reunion, baby Keisha, let the girls have it.

00:46:40
Speaker 1: I'm gonna have to meet Ashley in person. We've spoken on social media, but her castmates told me the exact same thing, Irana and Jamie. It was something I was saying and doing, and Irana hit me in the DM she said, you are Ashley and Ashley is you like?

00:46:58
Speaker 2: And I was like, I gotta Ashley.

00:47:01
Speaker 1: She's just like you remind me. So it was some one of the shows or something. She was like, you remind me so much of Ashley and I said, oh my goodness. That means she's absolutely amazing and real recognize real, and so I need I have to be Ashley in person. You have to.

00:47:16
Speaker 3: And Ashley is a fan of Bell Collector. She tweets me all the time and dns me like, bitch, this show is good. So before I let you go, talk to my listeners who are also fans of yours about what they can expect for the rest of the season of Bell Collective in addition to this explosive two part reunion.

00:47:37
Speaker 1: So you can expect to get what you've been getting, and that's just me being real, standing in my truth and my honesty, and I try to look over the things that they have said. That Tamra said about me because of our history. Our grandparents were friends, and so I try to move past that. One thing you'll see about me and you'll learn that through this show is that I'm a very loyal person. I am loyal to a fault, and I'm still gonna do the right thing what I feel is the right thing. But after the reunion and watching how the reunion played out, and like what you just said, I had no one to defend me. I had no one to back me up, to take my side, to even say well, yeah, akesha, yeah you know that did happen. My feelings have definitely changed from what you're going to see ending this show to how I feel after that reunion because I tried. I thought that I could move past it and I could get over it. But I cannot. And so I'm gonna let Tamra keep peddling up in behind Latitia, kissing Latitia's ass, that's what you do, and let her defend you, let her have your back again. It's the woman that she brought on the show saying was with your man. That's what you do.

00:49:06
Speaker 2: Okay, there's nothing to ask after that, So I mean you're the reality king.

00:49:12
Speaker 3: Let's starv No, I listen my rain drops.

00:49:17
Speaker 2: No, I don't bag normally because I, like I said, I've been doing this for so long. Nothing surprises me. Baby, that surprised me.

00:49:25
Speaker 3: I don't have anything to say except oh baby, I got my entire life of those six hours. And I love you. Thank you so much for doing the show.

00:49:36
Speaker 1: Thank you for having me.

00:49:38
Speaker 2: We've had the best time.

00:49:39
Speaker 3: Thank you to Willie Willie Ohans himself, who is a star in his own right.

00:49:45
Speaker 2: I think he just brings.

00:49:47
Speaker 3: That East Coast vibe to the South and it's just fun to watch. And you two are just amazing people, not just as personalities on the show, but behind the scenes, like I want your to know before I keep.

00:50:00
Speaker 2: It was even on the show. She and I would deem each other and.

00:50:02
Speaker 3: She would invite me to like places like I got this going on, you want to come or whatever, and she knows me I'm always working. I'm like, thank you, sis, but you know I'm trying to build this company, honey.

00:50:11
Speaker 2: Then she gets it. But she is such a.

00:50:14
Speaker 3: Beautiful human being with a beautiful spirit. And the reason why you have been able to withstand everything coming at you is because you have the favor of God.

00:50:27
Speaker 2: And the fans are seeing that.

00:50:29
Speaker 3: I promise you, when they see this reunion, they are going to say, that's freaking Iikeisha Baby is the one to watch.

00:50:37
Speaker 1: So thank you, thank you.

00:50:38
Speaker 2: I got to give you flowers.

00:50:40
Speaker 3: Now about that, So where can my listeners follow you on social media? And how can it support you in Farr Street and Jackson and let us know how's it going with the water crisis as well.

00:50:53
Speaker 1: So as far as following me, I am on Facebook, I am on Twitter, and I am on Instagram. Everything is at IQI Holly and that is a I K I S H A H O L L Y. So you can find me on any of those platforms. Fair Street, all of my prayer warriors out there, I am asking for your prayers. So our group we have submitted a proposal to the City of Jackson to do the two hundred and three hundred block of Fair Street right now, the proposal we're currently working on is to redevelop and revitalize the two hundred block. Well, a lot of people don't know about the buildings on Fair Street when they keep saying why does they look the way? And all of this just short history. The jack City of Jackson just acquired those buildings back. They did not have ownership of those buildings as of twenty nineteen. Now that they have the buildings, they have done the work that needs to be done on them, and they have put them up for lease and for sale. And the Holly Cologne Group is going in trying to buy the four buildings that they have up for sell now in order for us to redevelop, revitalize, and get new businesses that in those buildings. There are a lot of people who are sending in proposals. So the prayers I'm asking for is that my proposal is best, it is the only option, and that I will be the first woman developer on this Fair Street project. So that's what I'm asking for now. As far as the water crisis in Jackson, we have received very good news from the mayor. The boardwater order is over. There is clean water running through that plant and so yes, so I'm very grateful and I'm very thankful for that. I am not one to say, you know, what I've done and what I'm doing, especially when it comes to those things. But my family and my business and foundation, we've been doing things privately with organizations and also with the school with Jackson State University, so we are very They are still needing things. If you would like to reach out to me or to the Willy Cologne Foundation, you can hit me on the Willie Cologne Foundation Instagram page and just I can let you know what I've been told and people who are still in need for other things beside water.

00:52:55
Speaker 3: Thank you so much, Aikeisha, Holly Cologne, and tonight we got the season finale of Bell Collective and the week after that is part one of the two.

00:53:06
Speaker 2: Part reunion where you don't want to miss it.

00:53:14
Speaker 3: I love that conversation with Akesha. I mean to hear about her background being born in Jackson, Mississippi, how her mother, her birth mother writing, her biological mother, and her biological dad, who was married at the time, had a situationship that birth Aikeisha, and to know about this legacy that she's a part of was just so beautiful to hear, especially when you think about Jackson, Mississippi, which of course is.

00:53:46
Speaker 2: A predominantly black town.

00:53:48
Speaker 3: So to be able to have this legacy and this wealth and this access as a little girl. I hope it allowed you to have a grand understanding of who Aikesha really is.

00:54:01
Speaker 2: She's a good girl, She's funny, and one thing I.

00:54:04
Speaker 3: Like about Akisha is she's super deeper, honest, and as a reality TV producer who has seen it all child, I can appreciate that. Don't forget Tonight we have the season finale of The Collective. Get into this special clip that I provided for you, and don't forget to tune in at nine o'clock a Central on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

00:54:31
Speaker 1: I'm gonna shock everybody. This is not the time nor the place. A rink is on the way. We have a communication issue. If Glenn cheeks again, we don't have to go ahead and sign the papers on site.

00:54:43
Speaker 3: Bell Collective season finale Friday at ninety eight Central. Thank you for listening to Reality with the King. New episodes drop every Wednesday and Friday, Share, comment, follow, and subscribe to Reality with the King Wherever you get your podcast, visit Reality withthe King dot com and be sure to follow me at the Carlos King Underscore on Instagram and Twitter. Tweak me your thoughts and hot takes about this episode using the hashtag.

00:55:18
Speaker 2: Reality with the King.

00:55:23
Speaker 3: Reality with the King is a production of More Sauce by Stitcher.

00:55:27
Speaker 2: It is exactly.

00:55:28
Speaker 3: Produced by Me, Carlos King and Jasmin Heinley Brown. We are also produced by Lashik Lotus Lee and Laporta Thomas. Additional production support by Corona Wallace and Alexis Williams.

00:55:43
Speaker 2: Engineering and music by Market Paul

00:55:57
Speaker 1: More Sauce