Most of us, Old Schoolers, will never forget the 1991 hood classic, New Jack City. Many of the actors were so realistic, they made us believe that they really were those characters.
New Jack City!
We all know what’s going on with Chris Rock, Ice-T, and Wesley Snipes. They’ve all moved on with their careers in a major way. Chris Rock has done several movies and has his Netflix comedy special “Tamborine” out right now. (Not sure if I really like his special, but I digress). Wesley Snipes has done a ton of movies all while battling the IRS. In 2008, Snipes was sentenced to three years in prison for willful failure to file federal income tax returns. After his release from federal prison on April 2, 2013, he only did a few movies that were direct-to-video including, Spike Lee’s “Chi-raq”.
Back To The Scandalous Chick!”
So do you remember the scandalous character, “Uniqua?” She was “Gee Money’s” (Allen Payne) woman, who did him dirty by hooking up with his ‘CMB brother,’ “Nino Brown” (Wesley Snipes), behind his back. *In Gee Money’s voice* “CMB, we all we got!” My bad y’all, I couldn’t resist. Now back to “Uniqua,”…she did her thing in ’91, but we haven’t seen her much since…until now.
She didn’t have may words in the film. Actually I don’t remember any, but check out this beauty now, and see what she’s doing.
Hello Uniqua
Her name is Tracy Camilla Johns and she played the hell outta her “Uniqua” role.
You may also remember when she made her 1986 acting debut in Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It. Yep, it was over 30 years ago that Spike Lee captivated audiences with his groundbreaking portrayal of a self-proclaimed “sex-positive, polyamorous pansexual,” named Nola Darling in She’s Gotta Have It. That was actress Tracy Camilla Johns, and she made her feature film debut as the carefree painter juggling three beaus: the mature Jamie Overstreet, the conceited Greer Childs and the eccentric Mars Blackmon. The movie has resonated with plenty of women because of its overall feminist tone and has since become a cult classic.
BAM!!!
Bam! Is this 1991 or 2018? Because looking at this photo of Tracy Camilla Johns today (above, left), it’s almost hard to tell. If it weren’t for the few strands of gray hair, her new pics would damn near look like a throwback (like the only below with Spike). At the age of 57, Tracy’s aging fine like wine and her sexy fine lines have only made her better with time.
Now in case you’re wondering, these photos are from Spike Lee, who released his Netflix remake of She’s Gotta Have It in recent years. As many of you may know, the pretty lady on the right is actress, Dewana A. Wise, who played Tracy’s past role of “Nola Darling” in the film.
Spike posted these two photos last year when Tracy stopped by the set. He also revealed that Tracy and Dewana cried when they met each other for the first time on set.
What People Are Saying!
ps.s**: I’m still in love with the old Nola
kandyg****: Skin is flawless!!
magnoliag*****: One of my favorite movies
mrs_lo******: Beautiful I love the movie can’t wait for the series to come out much support 😊😊
nikki_maddy****: Both beautiful 😘 loved the movie and can’t wait for the series
leswar****: Always wondered what happened to Tracy Camilla Johns.. Couldn’t find a freckin thing about her on the internet, until now. Thank you Spike!
pierreanth****: This is my all time favorite movie period !!! I was going to go out for the part of Jamie Overstreet in the reboot but my schedule wouldn’t permit but Man what a blessing I was in love with Nola Darling !!! Definitely relevant now !!! If your still looking for a theme song I have the perfect record for it !!!
kd***: Damn the Original Nola STILL fine as hell😍
carter_m****: Beautiful, breathtaking, I am soooo proud to be a black sista!
She’s Gotta Have It
Wise further elaborated on what the role and the movie meant to her at a recent press screening for the series, which Bustle attended. “I was a freshman at NYU when I first watched She’s Gotta Have It,” Wise said. “I was dating some dude who was like ‘you remind me of Nola Darling.’ So I watched it and I was like ‘okay, this situationship is over [laughs], but this movie is amazing.'”
According to Wise, the film and its honest portrayal of a black woman living her best life gave her permission “to explore herself and to move more fully” into the woman that she was to become. After landing the lead part, Wise says she was extremely excited because she thought of Nola as a role model and a role she desired to play ever since she began acting. “There are moments in culture that you can look back on and point to and say that ‘Oh wow that had a legit impact’,” Wise said. “That is Nola.”
Overall it’s always a beautiful thing to see an old school entertainer living healthy and well. Hopefully we’ll be seeing more of Tracy in the near future.
Random Fun Fact: Peep What Al B. Sure & Tracy Did Back In The Day
The above pic is from Al B.’s ‘Heartbreak Tour,’ when he performed at the Madison Square Garden, 1988. We don’t now if this was just a playful concert appearance, or if there was something more going on between them. But either way, based on where Al B.’s hand is placed, it looks like he wouldn’t have mind gettin’ it in right there on stage, LOL.
