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Rolling out sat down with Eric Benét to discuss his new psychological thriller “Snap” on ALLBLK. Created and co-produced by Benét, “Snap” stars Eric Benét, Amiyah Scott, Michael Buscemi, Clifton Powell and Tisha Campbell. “Snap” premieres Dec. 22 on ALLBLK.
“Snap” tackles deep-seated societal issues like generational oppression, climate change, gender identity, abortion and systemic racism. Tell us more about your new anthology series on ALLBLK.
“Snap” is an attempt to get people to look at their own social or ethical biases.
In every episode, there’s a character named A.O., and for lack of a better term, A.O. is god. He is a very earthly god, a very deceivingly human deity, but he or she is god. And in every episode, some different actor plays god, and god holds that mirror up to the protagonist in that episode, [in an effort to have them] rethink how they’ve been operating. Because if [the character doesn’t rethink], it could be catastrophic, or it may be the end of [their] life.
Do you believe we are still experiencing a form of modern-day enslavement?
I feel a very strong argument can be made that within the Black community, we don’t have each other’s back like other communities do. We don’t pool our resources as others do. So, I think that it’s a very specific form of mental slavery that I think still exists.
How do you prepare your mind and body for your roles, songs and projects?
I think every project has its own preparation. With “Snap,” there were so many different hats I had to wear and so many preparations that needed to happen, not just with the acting, but also with the producing and co-producing of a musical episode. I had to reach out to some of my friends on Broadway because I really wanted the songs to come off like a Broadway musical.
As an actor, I had to dig deep with my acting coach. I’m playing this character who’s god but he’s, he’s a flawed god, he’s a very human god and let’s try to create what that looks like.
I think songwriting, and music creation, it’s a bit more accessible to me because I’ve been doing it so long. My challenge as a songwriter is letting me transfer what’s in my mind so people can hear all this dope stuff that’s happening. It’s a bit more of a challenge now that I’m writing stories, because I’m trying to be an effective story writer, but I don’t want to be contrived and I don’t want to tell the same story that everybody else is doing in the same way. And I don’t want it to be too predictable.
Press play below to view Benét’s exclusive interview with rolling out.
View the interview on rollingout.com.