‘P-Valley’: Lil' Murda actor J Alphonse Nicholson promises ‘dynamic and beautiful’ arc with Uncle Clifford
J. Alphonse Nicholson, who plays "trapper rapper" Lil' Murda on 'P-Valley', had no doubt that the show would be renewed. In an exclusive interview with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), he talked about the Season 2 renewal and the speculation surrounding Lil' Murda and Uncle Clifford's relationship. Here are some excerpts from the interview.
Did you expect such an early Season 2 renewal announcement?
I definitely expected it to be renewed, for sure. I knew the show was going to have a huge impact from the beginning when we first started working on the pilot back in 2018. I was really excited. Shared the news with my family and my loved ones and cried, you know? Now, I'm just getting ready to put in the work for Season 2. I called up Katori [Hall] to congratulate her... and just to say thank you once again for the opportunity.
Can you tell us about what Lil' Murda's intentions are towards Uncle Clifford?
Well, I know for a fact that a lot of people are interested in that question. And unfortunately, I can't share the news due to contractual obligations. But what I can say is that their arc is just a beautiful story. I love the fact that we are seeing this relationship being formed on screen and we'll see how it plays out. You know, right now people only have a little snippet of it and there are a lot of assumptions that may come with what's going on. But once you tune in, Katori does a beautiful job of giving you just beautiful story moments that help not only move so many things forward for the culture, but there are also some dynamic things that end up happening specifically for Lil' Murda and Uncle Clifford.
Is Lil' Murda comfortable with his sexuality or is he still coming to terms with it?
Lil Murda is the 'everyman'. He's comfortable with who he is but he's still putting the puzzle together, you know? He's figuring it out. We all still put pieces together. Like I said, you really have to kind of tap into the show and see who Lil' Murda is. Without me giving away too many spoilers, I can say that there's a little piece of Lil' Murda in all of us that's just figuring out who we are, you know?
Can you tell us about Lil' Murda as a character and how you decided to play him?
Lil' Murda is this beautiful, charismatic, vulnerable, and very heartfelt character that immediately jumped off the page for me. I could resonate with Lil' Murda because of his musicality because I'm a musician. So I really set with that. I said, "I know this guy, I know Lil' Murda". I have a Lil' Murda [like character] in my family. I've seen a Lil' Murda growing up in school. I really wanted his story to be told because I feel like it's very important for our community. So having the opportunity to tell the story, I'm very grateful for it. As far as preparing for it, I listened to a lot of Southern trap music to really get myself in that mind state. Just like any other role I prepare for, I just want to show the humanity of the character and be honest, be relaxed, be precise and fierce. As I like to say, just be truthful to the story and the actions Lil' Murda does, and hopefully, people can resonate with it and see the truth.
Did you get specific notes from the showrunner Katori Hall about how to play the character?
Katori Hall is an amazing writer, amazing showrunner. Even though this was her first time, it came very natural for her. That probably comes from her stage experience. I have a lot of stage experience [too]. So being able to connect with her on that level... yeah. She would drop in and give notes and specific things that she wanted to try to bring more out of the scene. There was great balance and communication on set. I was enabled to make that happen. Specifically, just being truthful, being honest, being very open to the circumstances at hand, and knowing how to tell the story in a way that wasn't going to be a caricature. We wanted to portray a Lil' Murda in a very authentic way.
A big part of Lil' Murda's character is his struggle to become recognized for his music. Can you tell us about the musical aspect of the role?
Quick story. Antwone Moore, who goes by 'FM New Money', was a chef on the set of P-Valley. He approached me and said, "Hey man, I heard you play rap on the show. I'm a rapper. How can I submit my music for the show?" And I said, "bro, rap for me" and I recorded a video of him. I sent it to Katori and Patrick, one of our producers, and their assistants. And, it ended up turning into him writing for the show, writing the music for Lil' Murda, which was really cool. It [crafting the music] was a collaborative experience. Antwone did a lot of the writing, I performed the songs. A lot of the ad-libs, I came up with right there within the studio. Katori would be in the studio, and she was very hands-on and also Patrick. So it was a very hands-on experience with a couple of other artists at the table -- forgive me for not knowing some of the other artists who tapped in -- so we all sat down and came up with it together.
Why is Lil' Murda so desperate to have Mercedes "bless" his music?
Well, I'll let you in or something. What I learned while working on P-Valley, what I didn't know before is that a lot of musicians, a lot of rappers have their music played in strip clubs prior to it becoming mainstream. I believe there's a saying, if you can have your music blow up in a strip club, you can definitely have a blow up on the radio. So a lot of artists and I met a few dancers who said, 'oh yeah, Atlanta artists come to strip clubs to play that music first'. So that's very true, you know, that storyline that happens in P-Valley, that happens [in real life]. So I think he just wants the OG of the club, Mercedes, to dance to his music. All those people are there and if they hear it, it can go viral -- that sort of thing.
'P-Valley' has drawn some controversy over its "slanguage", with some valuing its authenticity and others believing it is too exaggerated an accent. What do you think?
I believe the language is poetic. It has that musicality -- that's very real, that's very authentic. I feel like some people are just not used to seeing it on TV. Some people are not used to hearing themselves and understanding that. It's very beautiful, and nothing to be ashamed of. We're not disgracing anyone, but that is how a very specific pocket of people sound. For me, I'm from North Carolina. I live in the South. I know we have a specific accent, but when you go further South, those accents start to change. They started to switch up. And when you go further North... I have a place in New York but I'm based in LA -- very different accents on [each of] those coasts. In New York, if you're from the South, you're not gonna know all the slang and all the language that comes with the Northern culture. Just like if you live in the North, you may not know things that come with the Southern culture and for our Southern people who may not be affiliated with those types of people who talk like that on a daily basis. I'm sure if you dig deep enough, you know, someone who has that language or shares that same type of dialect. So I think it's very beautiful and very poetic when you really lean into it and allow your ear to understand where the language is taking you.
'P-Valley' airs its next episode on August 9 at 8 PM ET on Starz.