1
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- You really have to dream big.

2
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Now I'm gone.

3
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I'm trying to be the fancy of hair.

4
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(upbeat music)

5
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- So we are here in your
pop-up shop in New York

6
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for TPH by Taraji.

7
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How did this idea even come about?

8
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And how did it kind of evolve from an idea

9
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to a finished product that we see now?

10
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- Back when I was starting in Hollywood,

11
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Hollywood hadn't embraced
black women's natural hair.

12
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It was a bout straight hair.

13
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So I damaged my hair a lot,

14
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you know with he
straightening and everything,

15
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and the heat.

16
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So I was like I have to start
using protective hairstyles.

17
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And when I got into
protective hair styles,

18
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my scalp was suffering 'cause it was

19
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all of this obstruction.

20
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So I had to be innovative,

21
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'cause I went out and I looked for,

22
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I was like, nothing exists to help me.

23
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So then I came up with a real
concoction that was better,

24
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but it was really for me.

25
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'Cause it was literally a
problem that I needed to solve.

26
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And so I wasn't thinking
to service the world

27
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with this product.

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I was just like, "This is for me."

29
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And then I started thinking
about it and I was like,

30
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"Wow, women are suffering."

31
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And so I was like "Wow, this
is gonna be really innovative,

32
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"because it's needed."

33
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I started trying to get a partner right,

34
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the perfect partner.

35
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It wasn't hard to convince people,

36
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because it made total sense.

37
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When black women started
embracing our natural hair,

38
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we started like,

39
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it became this thing.

40
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The cosmetology business and
saw that there was a void

41
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that needed to be filled.

42
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And as African American women,

43
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we had to make our own concoctions,

44
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because they didn't exist.

45
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And now it's a multi-billion
dollar business.

46
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So who is not in the
business of making money?

47
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(giggles)

48
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And this was definitely an
empty hole in the hair industry.

49
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(upbeat music)

50
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- There's so many celebrity
based beauty products

51
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on the market now,

52
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how are you making sure as well
that A, you're standing out,

53
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but B, like it is authentically you?

54
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- I have a very diverse fan base,

55
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and this is what I know about
branding and celebrities.

56
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I love Rihanna.

57
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Anything she does, I'm gonna buy it,

58
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because it feels like
I have a piece of her.

59
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You know what I mean?

60
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So I didn't wanna leave
out any of my fans,

61
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so I made the foundation of my line,

62
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is for everyone.

63
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Now that gives me a place to branch off

64
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and handle each specific group
that needs different care.

65
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You know like men, children.

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We need a medicated scalp care line

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for people who really have
issues with their scalp.

68
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So there's so many places I
can go now and now I mean,

69
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I'm a Virgo,

70
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so I'm literally a
people pleaser by nature,

71
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so I'm off to the races now.

72
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I'm trying to save everybody's scalp.

73
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(laughing)

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(upbeat music)

75
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- It probably would have been
so easy for you to just become

76
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the face of a brand,

77
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why did you wanna be so
involved and make it so you,

78
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and be so personal?

79
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I can't get behind anything if
I'm not passionate about it.

80
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If I don't know what I'm talking about,

81
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I can't sell it to the people,

82
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and the people feel me.

83
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Like they feel me through my characters,

84
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They feel me when I'm
just being my silly self

85
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on social media.

86
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They trust me, because
I've been in the game

87
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for over 20 years,

88
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and I've never pushed
a product for a check.

89
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If I didn't use it myself,

90
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if I wasn't well versed in it,

91
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then I would decline,

92
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because then I feel like
I'm lying to my fans.

93
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And I feel like they can tell.

94
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They've known me long enough.

95
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You know you've been an executive producer

96
00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:26,100
on numerous movies,

97
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you've directed before,
and what are some of,

98
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kind of the similarities
between getting a movie

99
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off the ground and getting
a brand off the ground?

100
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- It's the same, it's the same, hustle.

101
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Even when you're trying
to get a movie of it,

102
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you're a salesman.

103
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You're trying to pitch this idea.

104
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You're trying to sell them on it,

105
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like "Hey, you know you
wanna see this story.

106
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"You've never seen this story before."

107
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So I kind of been doing that.

108
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(giggles)

109
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So this is something I know.

110
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- A lot of the times,

111
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well people see you in
a movie or a TV show.

112
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They see you playing a character, a role,

113
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and this is a 100% you.

114
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- Yeah this is all me.

115
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- How does it feel to kind
of be putting that out

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into the world?

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- I feel empowered.

118
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I feel like I'm helping people.

119
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I feel like I'm right
where I'm supposed to be.

120
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It's all about the people around you.

121
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I have a great support system.

122
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They don't allow me to
get ahead of myself.

123
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Step outside of myself,

124
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or what they know as who Taraji really is,

125
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'cause the industry can
change you if you let it.

126
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But I stay grounded.

127
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I stay rooted in what I know.

128
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I still have my friends from
high school and college,

129
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like I didn't.

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I'm still Taraji from
the block, if you will.

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(laughing)

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Just living out my dream.

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(upbeat music)