Jaleel White On ‘People’s Party With Talib Kweli’

In this episode of “People’s Party With Talib Kweli”, Talib Kweli and Jasmin Leigh sit down with actor:

JALEEL WHITE

His character Steve Urkel took the TV world by storm after joining the cast of “Family Matters”…Here’s what they dug into with Jaleel:

• His start doing doing commercials right out of preschool
• Not thinking “Family Matters” was funny when he first watched it
• The problematic history of white people writing for Black shows
• Steve Urkel joining “Family Matters” being a bridge for the white writers
• His issues with the idea of a “Family Matters” reboot
• Harriette Winslow first appearing on the show “Perfect Strangers”
• His parents keeping him grounded during the height of fame
• Addressing Jaleel’s public statements regarding Bill Cosby’s guilt
• Connecting reasons for the success of “Black Panther” and shows like “Family Matters”
• Not feeling welcomed by the cast of “Family Matters” for the first two seasons
• Fond memories of working with Kellie Williams who played Laura Winslow
• His mother stepping in and ensuring Jaleel received a decent education
• Issues on set when Jaleel was asked to play Myrtle Urkel
• Voice acting for the “Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog” cartoon series
• A blessing in disguise that came from starring in “Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus”
• How much he enjoyed hosting the game show “Total Blackout”
• Why Jaleel decided to jump into the weed biz with his cannabis line ItsPurpl
• Struggles of not being able to shake the Urkel image after leaving “Family Matters”

“People’s Party With Talib Kweli” is also available to give a listen via Spotify | SoundCloud | Google Play | Apple | Luminary