Actress and reality television star Masika Tucker better known as Masika Kalysha has been staying booked and busy in the new year! With secret projects in the works, this 32 year old (June 7th, 1987) serial entrepreneur is kicking off her 2020 in a productive way. Her beauty brand Khari Barbie Cosmetics keeps Masika busy as orders for the products continue to build massive momentum. Averaging at a net worth of $3.2 million (including her earnings from Khari Barbie Beauty, acting, reality tv, modeling, endorsements, real estate and more), Masika is the true definition of a hustler who is sure to drop great tips on her twitter for her fans. JaGurl TV had an exclusive interview with Masika to not only shine a light on how her entrepreneurship is inspiring women around the world, but to really understand “Who is Masika?”. She’s more then just a reality tv star, she is creating an influence that is shifting the culture.
In 2003, Masika graduated from Mount Zion High School in South Atlanta. After skipping 8th grade and graduating high school early, Masika was already getting her steps in order.
Masika: I skipped a grade and graduated early. So I skipped 8thgrade I went from 7thgrade to 9thgrade. When I started Landmark I was either twelve or thirteen. I graduated from Mount Zion High School in 2003.
Interviewer: Oh, you were smart in school.
Masika: Yea I skipped a grade. My sister went from 9thto 10thgrade in the middle of the year and my mom graduated a full year early. I skipped a grade and still graduated a semester early.
Interviewer: You moved to Los Angeles California in 2011, what sparked that move?
Masika: Yes, August 11, 2011. I know the date exactly. A lot of things. I always wanted to move to LA in general. Since I was in college I was traveling back and forth to LA you know pursuing acting, modeling and things like that. The main trigger for me to move to LA. One of my girlfriends Lashawna Threatt, she died on her birthday. It was a huge story going on at the time. She fell out the window of The W in Atlanta on 14th street. And I was sitting at her funeral. We did a lot of like music videos and stuff together and at her funeral I remember them reading her eulogy and saying stuff like she did a Bobby Valentino video and she was a promo girl. I was just sitting there like she did not think she was going to die and this is what people were going to say about her. I could literally just see myself at that point in life like okay I’m still young but I don’t want this what I’ve done here to be my legacy. I don’t want them to read down the music videos I’ve done at my funeral and it was such a huge wake up call because she was so young so full of life so literally I left the funeral and I booked a one way ticket to LA. We always talked about ‘were going to move to LA, were going to do this, were going to do that,’ and I think that was the final wakeup call that I needed. I stayed with one of my girlfriends for like six weeks I went job hunting I went agency hunting I booked a couple jobs found an apartment came back to Atlanta to turn in my 30 day notice packed up my stuff, shipped my shit, shipped my car and never looked back.
Interviewer: What year did you make your first acting debut, and what were you casted for?
Masika: My first acting debut as an adult was Three Can Play That Game and I think it came out in 2007. It was a very small role towards the end of the movie, and I had done some small things like here and there like commercials and stuff. But I think that was the first speaking role I was casted for.
Interviewer: You said in your adult life; so as a child were you booked in anything?
Masika: Yes. The crazy thing is my parents got me into an agency so I did a couple small things here and there, but I was very shy and I didn’t like to do it so they didn’t push us to keep going. I did little campaigns in Macy’s ads and things like that but it wasn’t until I was like eighteen that I decided that I wanted to do it. I would say I remember going on my first audition when I was four, and then I remember doing little things when I was nine but again my parents let us kind of do what we wanted to do and so I really wasn’t interested in it too much. I did a little bit from the age of like four to nine and then I kinda didn’t really get back into it until high school but even then it was like drama and theater and stuff like that.
Interviewer: What was the first music video you were casted for?
Masika: T.I. and P$C called “Do Ya Thang”. I remember that. 2005.
Interviewer: So fast forward almost 8 years and you were casted in Love and Hip Hop Hollywood. Was it anything like how you thought it would be?
Masika: Not anything at all. Completely different. Like literally 100% different. I thought it was going to be like a reality like real reality where they follow you in real time with cameras and catch what’s really going on. What it is like is…hmm how do I put this tastefully. It’s hard to discuss cause you’re not really supposed to so let’s just say…We get a call sheet with a general idea of what to wear, a general time to start and you don’t know whose going to be there or what’s about to happen. You’re not allowed to drive yourself. You’re not allowed to bring friends. Then they take your phone when you get there and then after they take your phone they tell you what’s happening so that you have no time to prepare you can’t just call or text anybody and then you literally go into a scene just armed with a list of things to do things you’re supposed to talk about and you never know what’s going to happen. There might be a key word and boom out pops the jack in the box. Somebody that’s been waiting in the car for three hours to try to get their moment. So it was just very interesting going to work and not knowing what the hell is going to happen.
Interviewer: Yung Berg was on show at one point and you guys started dating. When did this start and how long did you date?
Masika: Well we were actually best friends. We weren’t dating initially at all. Everybody thought we were. No one believed us. We actually didn’t start dating until the last day we wrapped on filming. So, all of the scenes that you saw where they made it look like we were dating we were not. Literally, he was my only real friend on the show. We would hang out all the time. He would come to my house, I would go to his house. We only dated for a few months after we wrapped and that was very brief. End of 2014 beginning of 2015. We were maybe together for three months. But we were best friends for at least a year, and we’re still friends now.
Interviewer: So fast forward a few years later, you took the transition from Love and Hip Hop: Hollywood to Growing Up Hip Hop: Atlanta. When did you get casted for Growing Up Hip Hop and what made you say yes to joining that show?
Masika: I said yes to joining that cast because Bow Wow called me personally and asked me to do it as a favor for him. He thought it would be a much better platform for me to actually you know showcase my music, and can get some work done and I’ve known him since we were teenagers so I felt like it would be a smooth transition and an easy transition. The way they film is a lot more like the way I thought it was going to be however they do magic tricks with their editing afterwards so it’s like on one show they put you in crazy situations that you would never be in before editing. On another show they edit it to make it crazy and you’re like how the hell did you do that. So once I got out of my Love and Hip Hop contract Bow had already called me so it just made sense.
Interviewer: In the mist of reality television, you went on to start your own cosmetic line. What sparked the creation of Khari Barbie Beauty?
Masika: A lot of things. The main thing is of course being on reality tv we get our glam done all the time. Hair, makeup nails everything so at the end of every episode I would have thousands of comments. What color lipstick are you wearing? Oh my God! Who did your hair? What’s this? What’s that? But the main comment was always about my lip color cause I was always mixing like five different shades together to get these bold colors. They were like these dark purples, deep reds, browns and hombre and things like that. So, I had the idea already to start a cosmetics line, but I think what really pushed me over was when I found out I was pregnant. I was like ‘I’m going to be spending a lot of time in glam I know I’m going to be breast feeding, I know I’m going to be with my daughter,’ so I was concerned about powders and makeup falling on her skin and transferring to her face. I’m not going to not kiss my kid because I have makeup on, so I wanted to create a line that had these great beautiful colors that was not full of toxins and things you can’t pronounce that I would be able to have my daughter around and not feel like she can catch a rash or have an allergy; so my line is vegan. It’s paraben free and is cruelty free. A lot of our products are organic, not all of them but a lot of them. And then, our main lip product is transfer free so I can kiss my daughter without worrying about her having red lip prints on her and things like that, so it was a combination of beauty integrity and being a mom. We launched on December 17th, 2018.
Interviewer: With your daughter being 3, is she into makeup at all?
Masika: Oh my gosh! She’s a glam girl. She wants to play in makeup all day long. She asks me if we can do swatches on her arm. She wants me to pick out her lip color. She sells her products to people. She tells them they need to buy Khari Barbie Beauty. She is such a glam baby, she loves to play in makeup. I have little manikin doll heads for her and I let her play with them and do the makeup and she’ll put eye shadow on their ears, gold eye shadow on their heads and chins and you know she does it in her own little kiddy way. She’s really cute and she really enjoys it.
Interviewer: When does she turn 4? When is her birthday?
Maskia: March 29th
Interviewer: The new year is here. What projects do you have coming up next in 2020?
Masika: I have two TV shows coming out this year. I don’t know if I can release the name of the first one, because we don’t have the press release for it yet. It’s a new show and I’m really excited about it. It’s great actors, and great writers. I will also be appearing on Insecure this upcoming season on HBO (Season 4) . I have two more reality shows that I am in. One I’m a cast member, and one I am a producer and a cast member. It’s just so difficult cause I can’t really make the announcement until the press releases come out.
Interviewer: So we can’t get the names of the other shows yet?
Masika: The only name I can give is Insecure and that’s only because its already out and I can’t mention the other three but we are filming. The other show has been done signed sealed and delivered and ready to go. And the other two reality shows we are filming. I have my EP coming out. My single “Cappin’” will be out in a few weeks. I’m super excited about that. I have a huge huge music announcement to make that I’ll be making very soon. I’m trying to let the ink dry a little bit before I do but…you know I learned so much being on television and being an artist as well as an actress; and trying to make that transition there’s so many things that you don’t know that nobody tells you that are industry secrets. And I’m bridging the gap between undiscovered artists and I guess fans. So me and my team have come up with something very lucrative and very interesting that’s going to help independent artists, and I’ll be making that announcement in a couple months. We want everything together but before that my single “Cappin’” will be out very soon.
Interviewer: Do you have a release date for you EP yet?
Masika: I do but I’m not giving it. What I’ve learned about the date is that if anything changes. If anything is delayed. Oh my gosh. The fans are bru-tal honey. If you say it’s coming out January 5thand it comes out on the 6th they are going to beat you. So, I don’t like to put the sharpie on the calendar, I keep it in pencil just in case.
Interviewer: Is there anything you would like to mention that you having coming up, and new products we can expect from Khari Barbie Beauty?
Masika: I just want everybody to keep checking out my website. KhariBarbieBeauty.com MaikaKalysha.com I’m adding a new product to my site almost every month. Now, we have our highlighters our illuminators. I am massively producing my hair oil products. Which are selling out of control. We’re going to be adding organic shampoos and conditions and just so many products that are just going to enrich your life and your beauty.
Interviewer: And for your music, will it be available on all platforms?
Masika: Yes. Spotify, Soundcloud, Apple Music, Google Play, YouTube. Anywhere you stream music, anywhere you buy music. My name is the same everywhere @MasikaKalysha
Photographer: @_steph.paul_
Stylist: @otheezystyledit @Otheezycreatedit
Hair: @_naturalhairflows
Makeup: @antwtff
