'Project Power' Stars Jamie Foxx, MGK & Chika Urge America to Stand Behind Black Women

On Monday (Aug. 3), Billboard caught up with Jamie Foxx, Machine Gun Kelly and Chika for a Netflix roundtable discussion about their upcoming film, Project Power.

Set to be released Aug. 14, Project Power is an action/adventure about an ex-soldier (Foxx), teenager (Dominique Fishback) and cop (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) forming a formidable trio to search for the source behind a dangerous pill plowing through the streets of New Orleans. If taken, the capsule will enable users to have superpowers for five minutes. 

During the discussion, Foxx, Chika and MGK each spoke on a poignant line delivered in the film by Foxx’s character to Robin — the movie’s protagonist played by Fishback — about Black women learning to overcome the system and maneuver with vigor. Chika, who has a minor role in the film, spoke about young Black women becoming more vocal and to finding a supportive team. 

“For me, I’ve had so many different voices in my direction saying what I am capable of and what I’m not, how I should see myself, what I should think of, and things that I should even fear. But what we need to remember is that our fear becomes manifestations,” Chika opined. “Black women have so much power in and of themselves that if they were to ignore everything and focus on honing that power, which is so much of what the movie is about, ultimately, you don’t have any limitations.”

Foxx echoed Chika’s sentiments, and spoke on the importance of instilling confidence in his daughters during a climate where Black women continue to search for respect and justice. “My daughters and what they go through, I don’t let them listen to no bullsh-t,” stated Foxx. “I tell them, ‘You gonna be the President of the United States. You gonna take a rocketship out to space. You gon’ do it all.” 

Foxx added, “As men, we gotta stand up for them because a lot of times we’re guilty of perception. Even when somebody whispers if [Democratic candidate Joe Biden] picks a female [as his running mate], that’s what we’re supposed to do. We’re behind. There have been [female] prime ministers, presidents all over the world. America is behind when it comes to that. This is our time to step up. This is our time to show and prove. Let’s do it.” 

Machine Gun Kelly, who also has a supporting role in the film, later chimed in about how empowering Black Panther was to his daughter, Casie, who is half-Black. “The first time we went to see Black Panther, she said, ‘I didn’t know superheroes look like us.’ Everyone is behind. It’s behind on gender, our sexual choices, and we’re behind on race, which is still mind-blowing,” he said. 

Watch the full discussion above with Foxx, Chika and MGK on empowering Black women.