Jasmine Burke has almost quietly been positioning herself to be on the biggest young names in entertainment over the last few years. Seems she’s just about where she wants to be to make 2015, the year of Jasmine Burke. You may have first encountered the singer, actress and film maker Jasmine Burke during her run as a finalist on MTV’s Making the Band, season 3. Since then, she has co-starred on The CW’s Vampire Diaries, Disney’s Let It Shine and most recently in VH1’s Drumline: A New Beat. She has also appeared in several blockbuster movies including, Ride Along, The Secret Life of Bees and Big Momma’s House: Like Father Like Son. Currently, Jasmine is set to star in the newly airing 2015 television series, Bossip TV based on the #1 urban site in the country, Bossip and she will also star in the Lisa Raye McCoy directed indie drama, Skinned. While she hasn’t been on the forefront, she has been on the foreground building momentum in the industry. We recently caught up with the budding star to discuss the new film, the industry and working with the lovely Lisa Raye McCoy.
“I like to joke with Lisa Raye McCoy when I tell her, ‘I popped your cherry,’” Burke says of working with McCoy for the directorial debut of the veteran actress in the film “Skinned.” Burke says the movie follows the journey of her character, Jolie and the struggles she faces being born with dark skin and having to face the social stigmas she has to endure and overcome.
The synopsis from the movie website says, “Jolie is very complex character. Though she’s dark, beautiful and appears confident at times, her self-esteem is extremely low.” Jolie’s character faces depression and problems with dating as well. When asked how she prepared for this role and dealing with such an intense subject matter, Burke said she was able to meet and speak with two advocates, Blessing Adube and Lotten Yeaney, that have been a force for change and who have helped other dark skinned women see the beauty in their skin.
The movie has two pivotal messages it wants to get across to viewer; the first is about the dangers of skin bleaching and the second is a sociological message of the importance of loving the skin you’re in. Burke also stepped back in the sound booth, after a hiatus and came out with a soundtrack title, “Skin I’m In.” She recently shot a video for the song, which will feature clips from the movie. The tie in message of self-love continues across the board. Additionally, the movie is pushing for a Love The Skin You’re In Movement to promote the importance of self-love and uplifting the beauty of the natural skin as well as rejecting the notion that your skin, in all its different shades is not beautiful.
Besides working on Skinned, Burke is also working on a short documentary to give an explanation to her supporters on her ten-year hiatus from music. She hit the scene hard and became a finalist on Making the Band 3, then slowly drifted in the background. She feels now is a good time to come back center stage. “The Making of Me: Jasmine Burke” will give the fans a first person perspective of what really happened on Making the Band, the years that followed and how Jasmine rebuilt her career, as Jasmine says, “the good old fashioned way, not relying on my stardom from the hit talent competition.”
When she’s not on set or in the studio, Burke can be found giving back to her community. She’s a huge advocate for children’s rights and says she could picture herself as a lawyer or advocate for young children if she had never entered the entertainment industry. Since college, Burke has been a volunteer for the nationwide non profit organization, CASA. Additionally, she works with the Boys and Girls Club, Girls Inc. and Miss Black Teen – Atlanta, all of which she had some involvement with or was a recipient of services during her childhood. Within her company, Jasmine Burke Productions, she also offers an internship where she mentors young women and gives them real world assignments in hopes of teaching them about the industry.
Burke seems to be on a roll and you won’t want to miss it. Keep an eye open for her upcoming projects, “Making of Me: Jasmine Burke” in early February, a series on BossipTV and in Lisa Raye’s directorial debut, Skinned in spring 2015.
Burke is active on social media and invites her supporters to spark up a conversation via her social media handles @TheJasmineBurke and visit her website www.jasmineburke.com.