Risk It For The Biscuit w/ Etienne & Ivy Coco Maurice

You know, social media has a way of bringing people across your timeline and something about them just resonates where you're.

Just like, these are my people.

I don't know them, but I'm going to claim them as my family. That's how I feel about my guests today.

Dead ass, dead ass.

I love that.

Hey.

I'm Kadeen and I'm Devout and we're the Ellis's.

You may know us from posting funny videos with our voice and reading.

Each other publicly as a form of therapy.

Wait, I make you need therapy most days.

Wow. Oh, and one more important thing to mention, we're married.

Yes, sir, we are. We created this podcast to open dialogue about some of Li's most taboo topics.

Things most folks don't want to talk.

About through the lens of a millennial married couple. Dead ass is a term that we say every day. So when we say dead ass, we're actually saying facts one hundred the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

We about to take Bilos off to a whole new level.

Dead ass starts right now, all right, So, typically for my listeners out there, everyone knows that we do storytime every episode, but I actually have a guest today who would like to do story time for a change, which is awesome.

Oh and I'm so excited to hear what she got to say. So take it away.

Guess it's not a it's not a story story, but you offered to story time. Just tell the story.

You know.

It's just funny because I remember being in college with my friends and I think it was when you were having your first son, and I don't know. My friends and I were on Pinterest and we saw this picture of you and your husband that went viral with the ten the tens, Yes, with my first born.

Yes.

And my friends and I were.

Like, oh my gosh, we're going to recreate photos like that when we're like getting married.

And I'm like, oh my.

God, that's so funny.

Wow.

And to be sitting here with you, and upon a time I was in my dorm room with my friends looking at your pregnancy and now you have four kids.

I that's crazy because baby, at the time there was only one. Yeah, there was only one. And fast forward for I know, so now look at us. Now we're here. Now we're here. So I made the vision board. Huh, you made the vision board. I've heard that before. I love that. Thank you so much.

I feel so honored, and I feel like if anything being on someone's vision board like that, it's just a testament to displaying what it's like to be in a healthy, awesome marriage and your journey through parenthood. And that's literally when we just tried to put out there, because that's just our life organically.

So absolutely, thank you for that couple of goals time.

I love that. I love that.

It's so funny because today we have siblings on I'm going to tell you who they are soon, but it's funny to see the sibling banter back and forth because my brother, my sister, and I we literally make fun of each other all day every day. So I love that quick story about actually to piggyback on story time because I feel like I'm compelled to tell this right now. I was so invested in this young man's wedding story. Okay,

Because I said, there's no way of.

Every day in a year that you decide to plan a wedding.

Yeah, the week of July.

The week of.

July six where a hurricane would fix itsself to make its way across our beloved the Jamaica, when somebody is just trying to marry the love of his life.

Was trying to just have a simple wedding.

That's all we're trying to do. And I was so invested that I was watching the play by player.

I said, this has to happen.

I was literally praying for you guys every day that things would divert and it would work out.

And so said, so done. And I love that.

And I think y'all's prayers work because it happened.

It happened, It happened. We'll talk more about that in a second. Okay, all right, karaoke time. Did we come up with a song for karaoke folks?

Because I would go to a classic that I feel like you guys should know.

Listen, got somebody, She's a beauty, very specially.

Take good care of me.

The dude day.

Ride by my Side, nine Day.

That was the song that I entered into our wedding, me and my wife.

I know, I was watching it collective. It's a Jamaican thing. We already know when that beat drops on that song, no letting go, no holding back, Baby Wayne Wonder, I love that.

I love that.

All right, let's take a quick break.

You know, we're gonna vibe here off camera for a little bit while we pay some bills, and we'll be back with the meat of the show, and I'll introduce our two guests for today's episode.

Stay tuned, y'all.

All right, So, I want to introduce really quickly to everyone my two guests for today, the dynamic duo, the siblings that everybody really knows how much I adore my siblings and how close we are, and I always admire looking at you two in the way you love each other. I think that's one thing that's reson through your social media is your interaction together and just even here today

Do you just go buy Ivy or Ivy Cocoa. You can got me just Ivy, just iv her Coco. Is that just like a thing for your sibling.

Or the name.

When she was in my mom's when our mom's stomach, I pointed out to the stomma.

I was like Coco, Coco. And then Coco was born.

Oh my goodness, I love she became.

An adults, and that she wanted to be called Ivy Cocoa.

Ivy Coco I mean, is there's so much history to the name Ivy in our family.

Well, tell me about that.

Well, you know, our grandmother is just basically the root of I feel like who we are is how we embrace our Jamaican roots and our Jamaican American culture. And Eta and I spent a lot of our summers back home in Jamaica, like literally from the day school is out, you don't come back to the United States until the Sunday before school starts.

Well, actually we made a pit stop, so we'd stop in Long Island to visit our grandfather in Westbury. Never remembers, Oh my god, young, you know.

Stopping what are you talking about.

We would stop in Westbury for like maybe like a week, and then we'd go from New York. We'd take off from j K and then we'd land in Norman. Manly, Wow, that's how it went.

You don't remember that you were too excited to get to Jamaica.

You don't.

You don't remember, because literally I would That was literally our itinerary. We stopped see Grampy and then we go to Jamaica Sea Grandy.

I remember Grandpa was already there when we read.

Sometimes sometimes he would even meet us there.

Yes, I remember, yeah, but I remember. I remember.

We spent a lot of time in Westbury, like our our holidays, Collis and.

Lot of time.

So you guys were originally based in New York. You didn't always live in La.

We Yorks in New York. Well, we've always.

Lived in LA but she would just travel there to grandparents.

Gotcha, gotcha? Gotcha?

Sounds good. So that's awesome.

So the rich history behind that, and I want to talk more to you Ettin about that. After posting some wedding content, you had gotten some people who didn't quite

All compass, I would have stayed longer. You actually hit the nail on the head.

Had we found maybe that community, our tribe of people, that kindred spirit, kind of connection, we might have stayed longer and might have been convinced to find something out here. However, in the meantime, when I do come to visit, I do like to connect with folks like that. So you guys have been on my list of folks to chat with, just because I do have that deep admiration for what you both are doing, especially if you don't mind me giving your ages.

Yeah, thirty two and twenty nine.

I mean at thirty two and twenty nine nine, you guys can be doing a lot other things. And the fact that you're so invested in your community and your culture and you celebrated so much, I think is something to be admired. So shout out to y'all. Thanks enough love, enough love. So tell me about why you started Walk Good, La.

Yeah, well, Walk Good started out of a need to get active, But do it with purpose. And so after the killing of Ahmud Aubrey, the unfortunate killing of Joy Floyd and Breonna Taylor and so many black lives that were taken from us, I felt like this innate need for us to come together, for me to bring my community together and get out there and protests, but in the form of movement through running in my neighborhood in

The organization called? And I was like, walk Good.

LA, And that's how walkot LA was formed.

And so we would protest on Saturday.

And at the first protest, my cousin Marley, our cousin Marley, she just got to let go from a yoga studio, and I asked her to like, got us some breath work and some yoga stretches. At that time, I was not into yoga at all, Like I go to a few classes here and there. But when she was guiding everybody in these yoga stretches and these poses, I was like, wait, there's something here right. So I pulled mart this aside. I was like, yo, we should come next week to

Our yoga class was born, and we had.

Like thirty five thirty seven people at the first one, Wow, and each class it started to double, and by the time we got to the end of the month, we took over the whole entire park.

So this is that the park.

So it's not that you had a brick and mortar location. It was just people gathering outside in.

The park that we grew up on down the street from our mother's house.

Wow Wow.

So you say it was a form of, I guess in a sense, movement therapy for folks who needed it during a time that was very very dark for us, where you met with any kind of pushback or vitriol just from like the overall la powers that be I guess I should.

Say, yeah, I definitely think so.

I think when you're taking a stance like that and you're in the streets on a weekly basis, we protested for ten weeks straight, you know, you might have some people honking their horns or saying negative things, or maybe even just throwing a water bottle over you. I had.

I'll never forget that.

Did you throw it back?

Is the you're just so intu it.

It's like you can't even focus on anything else, right, you.

Know, Yeah, no, I get you so, I mean, but the thing about it is that there was some hatred, but there was so much love. And because of that love, that's how we were really able to grow. So what started as twenty five or thirty five people in the park ended up becoming two hundred and fifty three hundred people in the park.

So it really got to be a mass of people.

Oh absolutely, because it was the thing to do and it was like the safe thing to do that was intentional and it was cool like for lack of a better word, for lack of better words, we literally made healing and wellness cool, like it was something that people were able to participate in and actually be impacted at a time where we were all feeling stagnant and felt lost, and you know, we came together as a family and we showed up every Saturday, every Sunday, and when the

Ought into it originally Ivy when he gave there, because you know something your siblings com up, comes up with an idea and you're just like, I don't know about this.

But honestly, honestly, that is exactly how happened.

I guess if you want to be there.

But asking what she was doing on the first day we started to protest.

No, no, honestly, I think the first thing that actually had a shoot, I got booked. You know, like everybody was starting to go back to work during virtual bookings. Yes, so I actually was working during our first protest, and then my brother the second protest, he was like, the next Saturday, were doing it again. So I'm like, all right, cool, I'll be there, like I don't have to work. And honestly, I was so grateful during that time that I was

Don't want to do it on another day, I was like, no, it's happening.

Yeah, yeah, And.

It was great because you know, we were actually getting donations from protesting and sending it to the families that, you know, Browna Taylor's family. We were sending them as donations that we were receiving from our protests, So we were actually raising money and awareness for people. But I think the great thing about having a sibling like my brother, who's so daring and different, is that like you have to risk it. You know, if you don't risk it,

This is mit Coco over here.

She like, give me five prompts.

And you take the credit for that because everybody is.

Eating.

You have some nice food on the biscuit. You know, it tastes nice and sweet right now. Honestly, I think that's the great thing about what walk Good was is that, you know, this is somebody that took a chance on life, and you know it really followed his heart. And I think that's the greatest thing about is that, you know, sometimes I will lead with my mind and he will

Oh for sure, And I love that you said that you weren't deterred from the negativity that may have come your way. You know, even just with social media, people ask me all the time, you know, what do you think about the negative comments? Is that I don't even see them, right, I don't even see them because, you know what, the love and the admiration far outweighs and

So love that, yeah, absolutely, I love that.

So at what point did you realize, like, we're really onto something here. Now we can find different ways to build out what what good La looks like because people are listening are a lot of entrepreneurs or people who have ideas, and the point of this podcast is to share your experience so people can say how we build something from the ground up using what was our passion.

Man, we saw the park full up, you know, I was like, yeah, this is insane, like literally every just imagine just like a big old park and just nothing but to see a black and brown folks beauty in the park doing yoga and just taking moments to breathe.

I think that was when I realized.

Because what we had left to go to Jamaica for the whole month of January in twenty twenty one, and then we came back in February twenty twenty one and our first breathe Good back, we saw how our community had trippled and in size, and then we were like, okay, well now we could start hike good. So we started hight Good, which is our community hig club that we

Everything everything is good.

That's when we realized that we were able to expand and offer things that weren't just yoga and actually provide spaces of healing through the arts for underrepresented communities for sure.

Now, Etty, and how has your being a survivor of gun violence? Has that at all informed how you work today, whether it's just with Walk Good, La or just any of your other endeavors.

One hundred. It's funny you bring that up because I've been thinking about this a lot.

In my first year of starting Walk Good, I had met with with the healer and she had asked me, said, what is the part of your body that best represents you? And I thought my heart, just like my sister said, you know, I leave with my heart. I give everything with my heart. And she kind of like you know, cocked the head and was like, think about it deep.

It was almost like a symbol rafiki moment. I'm really think this is a circle of life, what's going on? And then literally it.

Hit me and I was like, Oh, it's my it's my foot, it's my leg. Now I said, it's my leg, I said, my ability to walk good. This is the leg that I was shot in, and I think this is the leg that has experienced the most trauma, that has, you know, gotten the biggest beating and has gone through so much.

But it's healed.

You know, I'm able to walk, I'm able to I'm able to go to the gym. I'm able to find my balance with both of my legs. So, you know, when I think of everything that I've experienced through gun violence and having gone to the psych ward and battling my own mental health challenges, like it's literally a blessing that I'm even here talking coherently.

I think of all those trials and tribut.

Relations that turn into my testimony, right, I think there are a lot of young men who have been shot. There are a lot of young men and women who know somebody who's been shot and didn't survive the fact that I've gone through everything that I've gone through and I'm able to use my platform and tell my story through this healing practice, it just might save somebody's life.

Young black men doing yoga.

Definitely, it's probably frowned upon it.

Yeah, And so I think when people see what I've been able to do and build a whole enterprise and nonprofit with my family, I mean, hopefully there'll be more walk Goods all across the world based off of this little plant that we that we that we that we planted, that we planted four years ago will grow.

No, that's amazing. How do you feel about that?

I mean, I'm so grateful to see how we've started, and I think it's so rooted in love. Like Etien said, but I think we're able to bring all of our gifts together. And that was the beautiful thing. Etyen was able to lead and bring the people together. Marley was able to bring the sunshine out of people, and during our raining days, and you know, I was just able to be there and like literally welcome people every morning, selling T shirts, T shirt, T shirt, te shirts, you know,

That's beautiful.

You can't even sometimes fathom the idea of you know, people always talk about like I'm living or I'm walking my ancestors prayers and my grandmother's prayers, and to think about where our families have come from. I can relate to that, you know, also being of Jamaican descent, and you know, my mom telling me the stories of how she had to walk five miles to school and she didn't have the shoes to do its had that same same story and it's it's what it is, and it

Then keep going.

I told us, if you would have told me that I was going to be a yoga's instructor and that we would be living the lives we're living right now, I would have said you must.

Have no good But yeah, no, that's amazing. Your mom had said once in an interview that nepotism doesn't exist within your family, right. She said that you two pretty much work for everything that you have, and she takes pride in that and you take pride in that. And have you ever had instances where folks have questioned, like how you got an opportunity or why you're existing in the space that you're in because of your mom?

Oh my gosh, I mean I heard somebody say something about Walk Good before and they're like, Oh, they don't need this, they don't need this organizedzation. They have their support from their mother. And we're like, our mom wasn't teaching us yoga telling us to do X, Y and Z?

Was she did?

She inspire us because she's a woman of wisdom and she's a woman that knows how to bring people together with her voice. And that's how we were able to do this absolutely, But she wasn't the one that said you need to go out there and do X, Y and Z.

Why she ain't introduced us to Michael B. Jordan's expressed to get us that studio.

Oh wow?

Did it so that that happened through a genuine connection you had with her?

Let me tell you how that God is right.

So we had started Walk Good four years ago, so three years ago, no, last last year. Last year, we get a call from Propel Fitness Water and they say, hey, we got this new campaign Propel your City project. We want to support fitness communities all across the United States. They want to support Walk Good and asking us, well, what do you need? What will propel your community, what will build your organization? And at first we were thinking about doing some type of program for one of our classes.

Oh, by the way, Michael B.

Jordan is a part of this campaign to help your initiative low and behold.

They didn't know that Michael B.

Jordan's brother Khalid had come to the very first Walk Good protests wow literally June thirteen, twenty.

And divine because I mean his family has literally come into our space without even.

His mom, his dad, sister.

He said, brother, like, they've all come into the space and they're like wait, wait, Michael was a part of this.

Yeah, I didn't even know.

I had no idea, right, And his father actually do yoga at like a juneteen yoga flow.

It's crazy, you know, like it was all in divine order.

Wow, in divine order for real.

And they've been like, I can't tell you enough how appreciative I am for that family, for Propel, because literally we would not have our studio space, the walk good Yard would not exist if they didn't help us get that money so that we could put it towards our studio.

Wow, very good, that's awesome. I didn't even know, as you know, it's funny. I actually shot my shot with Michael B. Jordan, not how you think because I'm a married.

Preface it when I DMD him and I said, well, funny, quick story, I'll tell you really quick.

My mom was at the gym, you know, local gym where we live out in Georgia, and she calls my phone and I missed the call, so ill I text her about She texted me and I was like, what's going on?

Everything good?

She said, you never guess who's here in the gym and she's in like the La Fitness and I'm like, ohoh.

So she goes to Michael B.

Jordan's Instagram page and she screenshots his picture and sent it to me. So I said, you're in the gym in LA Fitness, in this random part of Georgia with Michael B.

Jordan.

And she's like, yes, girl, wait, let me get a picture.

So I know my mom is like probably scrambling now with her phone, probably being so obvious. Right, she probably don't have an eye glasses or anything, so I can imagine what she looks like trying to capture discreetly this picture of Michael B.

Jordan working out in this La Fitness.

So then I'm waiting for the picture to come along and I see the bubbles and I see the bubbles.

And I said, I said, what happened?

And she's like, girl, I lost him. He must have saw me trying to take the picture.

Oh.

So I knew that Michael followed the family and my husband and all that. So I just was like, you know what, I want to randomly DM him and just tell him this joke. So I was like, bro, my mom literally was at Fitness to explain everything what happened. So I said, please tell me that she's not crazy and that you are in this part of Georgia and you went to Talor Fitness today.

So he messages me back.

Within a couple of minutes, which I was surprised about because I was like, this is Michael Jordan. He's not gonna answer my little DM right, And he was just like, hey, I actually wasn't there, and that's just so funny that your mom thought.

She saw me, So it wasn't here. He was in New Orleans filming something, and he's.

Like, but if I'm ever in that part of Georgia, I'll definitely come to LA's Fitness. So I circled back with him after that because I was having my live show, which is now since not happening, but I'm gonna pivot because he was going to be one of my interviews there and he's like, I'd love to sit down and do an interview with you one on on my next press run.

So I was like, oh, this is great. So it's a good thing. I shot my shot in back, but it was just so funny. How you know.

Listen's eye glass home? Are you telling me that that's my She's like, hey, I promised you. It looked just like him.

They smile everything staying where. I'm like, okay, mom, sure, all right.

So a kind of.

Fun question for you guys because you grew up of course, with you know your mom in the position she's in. When did you realize, like, my mom is famous, like people revere her. Was there like a particular age or a moment where you were like this is it?

I think we were always aware of it. I think all the events we'd go to, the red carpets we go to, especially during like the Moesha days, those are like the big Hollywood moments that I remember, right. But I think the beautiful thing about our mother is that even though she is a famous actress, you know, she's a she's a human being. You know, she's she just happens to be our mom. She just happens to be

God, I was raised by you through the TV.

And I think that is a unique gift to be able to have compassion for younger people and have an understanding for younger people. I think is a gift that my mom has always had and has passed down to us for sure. But I always, to answer your question, I always saw our mother as a special human being and someone who is, you know, extraordinary, because she's not your average mother at all, and not your average mother at all, but she cares and then she shows she shows a lot of compassion.

So while she's a Hollywood mother, she's a.

She's a human mom, and I love that.

I had a moment with her at the Jamaica Independence galap last year. I went and was actually presenting an award to her and we were sitting at the same table together with her and oh yes, photo, yes, but a testament, a testament to your description of your mom, right. I was with my good friend Joshua, who's also my videographer photographer good friend.

His wife makes airrings.

She's from Jamaica as well, So when we were there at the event, his wife came along to support and she had some earrings and she's like I would love to give these to Cherry Lee, but I'm just shy

Wow.

And that was a beautiful moment from my friend. But it was just a testament to how much of a people's people your mom is. And she's just like a genuine person, which is awesome. How about you, Ivy, when did you realize, like, you.

Know, Mom's not just mom.

I think for me, it's just like I've always known that she's just someone operating in their gift. But I think, like Etien said, she's very she's grounded. She's so she'd rather be with the people, you know, And I think no matter how big and how much she expands as her brand and as an actress, like.

She will always be the Sharley Raff that loves to go to Ross.

She'll always be the Sharley Raft that loves to go dip her head in at Marshalls. She's she she loves the Curer girl. Yeah, she'll always be like yo, I have to go to my Korean spa.

Like.

She embraces the things that make her happy like every individual should. But I think what makes her such an incredible A lot of people are like, oh, like Etien said, your mother raised me on TV. It's it's because she's such an incredible mother. You know, I'll never forget like being in like probably like yeah, grade one and know someone asking me my teacher on first day of school, like what do you want to be when you grow up?

I think that that's an interesting thing that you said, because for me, I've always grown up knowing I wanted to be a wife and mom and to your point, having an example of an exemplary mother or father.

You know, it's something that you want to emulate, You want to be like you see what that was like, you see the impact.

I know the impact my mom has had on me now that I'm a four year old woman. So for me, top tier is mother and wife. Everything else is secondary. So I can't completely understand how you feel. So I have four boys, like I told you guys before, and you know, we always talk to them about the importance of paying it forward and working hard and like finding

Whatever you do, it has to be bigger than you. Whatever you do, it has to be bigger than yourself. I think one thing that I've learned through our upbringing.

Is you have to be of service.

I think that should always be a part of your purpose is how can I help somebody else? How can I use my platform to help somebody who might be struggling. Our mother she runs a nonprofit called the DVA Foundation. She started that after losing so many of her friends and family to HIV and AIDS during her time during

You know, she was one of the She was.

The person to desegregate j C. Pennies in Connecticut. And so I think we come from a family of fighters, people who wanted to not only do it for themselves, but do it for communities. And I think anything you'd do in life, I think it has to be bigger than just you. Like a movement can't be run with just one person. People need people don't be afraid to ask for help. Don't be afraid to, you know, to just ask. I think that's the biggest thing that we're a lot of us are afraid to do, is just

So, yeah, don't be afraid to ask the questions. And I love that be of service to people. I think for me, it's just about finding your personal practice. What's that one thing every day that you feel so unapologic, unapologetic about that you can just get up and do it.

Whether that's prayer, whether that's meditation. And I think, you know, we all have our own type of meditation. I remember growing up, and my mom's meditation was waking up in the morning singing and burning her incense. For my dad might be running biking or doing some pilates, or for my grandmother might be opening her Bible and finding her scripture. For my grandfather might be picking up the phone and singing to his grandchildren. Like there are so many different

What makes you ticking inside? Speaking of looking good, you're a stylist. Thank you, you're a stylist. How did that come about? Was that a passion of your.

Make up to yeah?

Yeah, waiting and putting together stuff.

And all that, all of that, Like my grandma taught me at a handstitch. That was the first thing that she ever taught me to do. She was always making things in Jamaica, whether it was you know, a garment or just a table cloth or anything for the house. But she ran an incredible store called the House of Ivy in Devon House. So after Ettenna and I would finish up summer schools, we would go to Devon House

Come about or you started styling your mom.

Is And I think there's a reason why my grandmother has the name Ivy and why my parents gave me the name Ivy. I genuinely feel I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to do. And I have the greatest teacher who was my grandmother.

That is so beautiful.

Wow, I'm loving you guys even more just sitting down here half the time, I'm just watching you in admiration because I'm just like so beautiful Grandma ivy. Okay, she had a piece to play, I'm sure several, but a specific piece to play in your wedding et t the end. So we talked about in the beginning of the episode, you know, me watching and praying and hoping that everything would come to pass for your wedding day. Before we dive into Grandma's tribute or your tribute to Grandma.

Rather tell me what that whole week was looking for.

You give me a.

Real quick So July sixth is the day that I met my wife. It's the day that I proposed to my wife. It's the day that we got married, not only one day though, in the span of three years, span of three years. And I always said when we met, I was like, we're going to get married in Jamaica. And so we've been planning eleven months for this wedding, right, and I a month before the wedding, I go shoot a Christmas movie in Canada and I tell Steph I'm like, yo,

Girl.

It is a week before our wedding. I'm about to travel to Jamaica. And they said there's an unprecedented there's an unprecedented hurricane hurricane five hurricane barrel category five hurricane. I'm like, God, why all the weeks gotta be on this week July sixth? And we get there, hurricane comes and we're just stuck in the house, rain, no power in Kingston at our at our home, yeah, and we're playing Uno.

We got the candles burning and we just you know, share stories.

It was my best friend Ron, my mom, my other good friend Nika and her partner and Coco and stuff. We're all sitting there eating KFC leftover KFC different islands. And they tell us the next day that they've shut down the whole airport, all the airports. Nobody can fly in or come out, and they might not open up until Sunday. We're getting supposed to get married on Saturdaturday. My poor wife, she just broke down and cried.

As much as you tried to be optimistic, and as much as you try to hold it together, there's just nothing.

And I said this too, that like that was the biggest test for us, and it really tested our faith.

Tested my faith for sure. I was thinking to myself, why is this happening?

God, Why were you always optimistic through ivy or were you kind of like I don't know what I understand.

I was sleeping, girl, I was up.

It wasn't wedding.

It was not anyway.

It's funny because my mom came in my room and she was like, yo, Coca has been sleeping for like fourteen hours. I was so tired, and honestly, I knew that God always has a plan. But like at the end said, you know, like God will test you to get to the testimony.

It was through the oh, I know my God, just like the anticipation of whether or not our guests were even going to make it to the island, if they're going to open back up the airport, and by the grace of God, they said, we're going to open it back up. On Friday, we were looking at the flight statuses of my father.

And my wife's parents, all of the key people, the key friends and.

Family, that were stuck in like Houston. We had friends and family that were stuck all over the world. We had three hundred and fifteen people on that guest list. Two hundred and seventy five showed up at the Good Hope in Trelawney.

Jamaica, and it percentage.

It was the most amazing wedding ever.

Like I know, everybody, y'all got your nice little weddings out there in Italy better than I'm going to say I fell it out there.

My husband's gonna be like, not after how much we spent, But I'm like, man.

It was given us the spirit.

It was the story how everybody got there, because everybody had a story how they Jamaica. I agree there were a lot of people that didn't make it, but there are a lot of people that did make it. And I think when everybody got to the island, everybody just didn't care.

They were like, we made it. Read everybody the rain it was clear.

They said the rain might have fallen on July sixth. I said, Baby, I said, Steph, the rain is not gonna rain on our wedding. It's not gonna rain during the ceremony. And then lo and behold the rain came down soon as we did the the son and mother dance.

Wow.

Yeah, but it was fine. It was okay as long as we got through the wedding, it was. It was amazing. And then we had the best after party home video footage. And I can't wait the edit that document.

I was particularly touched to by you and your mom's dance because it's also the choice of song.

I'm like, that's a beautiful song.

You would never think of applying that to your your son and your child everything. I'm already getting teary. I thinking about my four sons and having to have that dance with them.

Oh my god.

I remember so growing up when my mom would pick Coco and I up from school, after she would pick us up from uh from shooting Mosha, she would play that album front to back and that specific song everything.

Wow, we're gonna dance to this song?

Oh my god?

Should I be picking out a song now? But the music is not even good? The music is not even good now.

This is probably gonna be some old robat that I picked because the music nowadays young.

I don't know about that.

And then we have you know, our second mom, Miss May. She was growing up so you know, we were blessed to have Miss May in our lives. When our mom was always shooting or doing a show.

You know, we had Miss May. She was like our living nanny, and so I got to dance with her.

That's a beautiful moment.

We danced to Uh, my life is in your hands. Wow, Franklin, that started balling.

Yes, you know them kind of moments.

As much as you try to contain yourself, I'm sure there was not a dry eye in the house.

That's beautiful.

It was a beautifully ordained wedding.

I love that, such a round out the wedding chatter. Grandma Ivy, you're paying homage to her. Your groom's men had a particular garb on tell us about that and what whose idea was that?

Like moment?

Oh, I thought it was no.

She was.

She styled in the process. Even dang rest in peace, war aor Boswell. He was the designer of my tuxedo and it was the last body of work that he designed before his pass.

I'm sorry to hear that.

Thank you. He designed this.

Beautiful double breasted off white tuxedo jacket and we had two different pants, so we had the off white pants to match with the jacket, and then we had the black linen pants to.

Go with the jacket to compliment the jacket.

And the night night before UH we flew to Jamaica, I was like Coco, which one am I gonna wear?

And we collectively made this decision.

That it was going to be the off white pants, and then I wore the black one for the reception. And then I hit up my brother Toastin from Naid's studio and he was able to look at some of the previous designs that my grandmother made from back in the seventies, and he created like this modern version of the cariba that my grandmother designed, which was to come back colonial forms of dress back in the seventies with you know, the short sleeve linen jacket and the de

She said it came to her in a dream that she saw.

This, this this beautiful suit dress for man that's not just your regular suit and tie. That's a young man in Jamaica can feel proud and wear these these these forms of dress and change the world in this formal attire.

Wow, that that came from her mind. That literally came from a dream.

And so I thought, what better way to honor my Jamaican heritage and my Jamaican grandmother then to dress my groom's men in the Cariba.

They were sharp, so sharp, Oh my gosh, so sharp.

So from a stylish perspective, you were feeling it, Ivy, Oh, no, absolutely.

Because I'm so passionate about the Cariba and the history of it, not just because it's our grandmother, just because of like the intentionality behind it, and because like not just off of what Etchien was saying, but just to emphasize, like she was making something sustainable, Like it was a thing about her seeing men wearing long sleeve jackets and suits and they're sweating. They're like, yo, there are men taking off their shirts and they can see sweat drip.

You know, speak a girl. Absolutely.

I am even going to say that I think you might have started some sort of trends. Like people of course will jump on the trend because they think it's just trendy or it's fashion or it's different. But I think that in every thing that you do, honoring your grandmother and telling the story of the Kreeba is so important because you know, the blogs will pick up your picture and people may say, oh my god, we love

You gotta understand where it comes from.

Pick apart the wedding, but don't pick apart the Koreba. This is where it comes from exactly, and I can see people doing that. People have weddings in the islands and in warm climates always, so this may be like a new trend that you guys start to just I see it.

Ivs. Yeah.

December twenty twenty four, House of Ivy making a comeback.

Yeah, okay, it's giving announcement. Yeah for sure, we have.

December is a big year, a big month.

Yeah.

December n it's what's your birthday? December twenty third, nice, my Goda's birthday. And the fifth of December it's not love Baby and your Wife is the second.

Yeah, November sixteenth, I'm the only scorpio on the fan. Well, my stepdaddy's a scorpio as well.

My baby boy is too. November eight awesome.

And then ten has a movie coming out in December two.

Yeah, HBO will own network. Okay, listen to Matrimony. Nice coming out, and then day after that premiere is on HBO Max my first, my first lead role.

That's amazing.

You know, everybody loves a Christmas, so it's my favorite time of year.

Like I was born at the right, so I was actually doing on Christmas Day came twenty days early and for me after Halloween, like, that's my time of year. So my Christmas lights go up, trees go up, all seven of them. November first, and it's the entire season. We celebrate Thanksgiving, my Birthday, Christmas, family time.

And I will definitely put that movie in rotation. Tell us the name one more time.

You heard it first right here on Dead Ass Podcast, Matrimony.

Network Leading Man starring myself and Ashley Sharp Chestnut, directed by Rhonda Baraka. Yeah, and you'll see it on on Network and comes out on HBO Max.

I love that.

So between that and How Survivor making a comeback, it's about to be an amazing into an amazing, incredible year with so many memories.

I am so honored to sit alongside you, guys.

You have no idea, and sitting here with you during this time, I just get to see even more why I felt like there was a genuine connection here, more than just the Jamaican roots, more than just you know, being people who are like minded individuals. But this is something like a kindred spirit that I feel with you too.

Like you're also ready hear first. Okay, so let me know how.

I love it. Let's take a break, y'all, because we can sit here and cackle all day. Let's take a quick break and we will be right back. All right.

So I'm back with et t N and Ivy Coco Maurice, So tell me what's something that you're dead ass about?

Nobody can shake you. I'm dead ass.

About I am dead ass about my wife. Yes, I'm dead ass about my sister, Ivy Coco. I'm dead ass about now my stay Marley Ray. I'm dead ass about my mother. I'm dead ass about Walk Good.

I love that all the I'm dead ass about loyalty, I'm deadass about my family, and I am dead ass about honesty.

Those three things. Oh, just so you know, are you single, Ivy? I am single?

Okay, So just no, there's a prospect out here to start with those three Okay, she said, that's about those three things.

Three things? Yeah, are you single and mingling or you just kind of like.

No, it's don't work now I'm singling single and yeah I am. It's really it's fun, it's exciting.

Good for you. I love that. Are you overprotective big brother?

Very much?

So?

I can just imagine I would.

She knows better than to introduce me to somebody who she's not serious about it.

Yeah, you got a whole tight until the right time.

I love that.

Well, we're gonna wrap up the show now.

Tell everybody where they can find you, guys about we heard about the Christmas movie coming out, how Surviving.

But if there's anything else that you want people to know.

Follow us on Instagram, Yeah La dot org.

Make sure if you have a organ, if you have a corporation that's looking to donate to a wonderful nonprofit. We are we are glad Lee here to support with Walk Good La, So please we need the donation.

Yeah, so follow us at walk go La. You want to follow our creative wellness studio with the Walk Good Yard, Walk Good Ivy, Coco twenty three All good things.

Love that all right, and be sure to find us on Patreon to see exclusive dead Ass podcast video content. And if you follow us on social media, you can find us at dead Ass the Podcast. I'm Kadene I am and don't forget about hobby. I am Deval And if you're listening on Apple Podcasts, be sure to rate, review and subscribe and remember to walk.

Walkody.

Oh is that like a thing?

Yeah, teach me walk good wod Let me see.

I like that.

I like you are we leg going the bird.

Bird.

Thank you so much for being here, y'all.

Thank you for having us.

Good time than cut.

Dead Ass is a production of iHeartMedia podcast Network, and its produced by Dinorapinya and Triple. Follow the podcast on social media at dead Ass the Podcast and never miss a Thing