Malik Yoba
Before actor Malik Yoba got his start as Vernon Turner on "Empire," Yul Brenner in “Cool Runnings” and Detective J.C. Williams, the lead in “New York Undercover,” he thought he would go into education and musical theater. He went to three different high schools in New York City, graduating from an alternative high school where his classes included working in a photography lab and a government office for school credit.
“I love learning, but I didn’t always love the form it came in,” Malik said. “I knew I wasn’t ready to go [to college] right away."
Instead of starting his freshman year, he took a job at the education non-profit CityKids Foundation. There, his mentors enabled him to tackle a wide range of responsibilities, including organizing and leading workshops for teachers and students, helping to produce events at Broadway theaters and Carnegie Hall, and writing music, including the theme song, for the “CityKids” Saturday morning TV show on ABC.
"At 20 years old, I was working in 13 high schools without a degree, teaching," Malik said. "I had a New York City–and I still have it to this day—a New York City Board of Education ID, which I was very proud of. Because here I am, working in schools without a degree."
Listen to the episode to learn how Malik landed a huge promotion at the CityKids Foundation, how he balanced his job with acting auditions, and what led to his big break in "Cool Runnings."
Highlights
College pressure advice for his daughter: There are so many jobs in this world, so many opportunities you can create for yourself, so many areas that you might find interesting, that there's no possible way at 15 years old you're gonna have all
that exposure...People do the coolest things that no one knows about...There are so many niches you can fall into, so don’t feel you have to put pressure on yourself at 15 to know what you wanna do for rest of your life.
The importance of education and curiosity: Education is key, man, and I don't care how you get it. Pick up a book. Watch movies. Ask questions. I just think that it's important to remain curious. No matter who you are, what you pursue, stay curious. Stay open...know that the more you know, the less you know for sure. John Lennon said that and it's true. When I hit 30, it really hit me, how little I know.