Heartthrob Lamman Rucker stars in a scandalous new series “Black Hamptons” that premiers tonight on BET Plus. You know him from “Greenleaf,” “Meet the Browns,” “Sacrifice,” and remember that sexy sheriff in “Why Did I Get Married?”
He chops it up with iHeart Radio personality and EURweb.com Spotlight Host Jazmyn ‘Jaz’ Summers about the new show, loving Black folks, Black male mental health, Jill Scott romance rumors and keeping the fire burning in his marriage.
“Black Hamptons” is money, sex, fancy cars, yachts, mansions, fine food and fine wine,” Lamman shares.
“It’s your consummate old school, new school family feud. Me and my wife get into this feud with a family that’s already well established in the Hamptons in the city of Sag Harbor. We are new residents. We are just getting acclimated and we find out about the people who like to swing their weight around. The Brittons have that power, and it really impacts our lives personally. My character is Anthony Johnson married to beautiful sister, super sharp, bright, passionate, a little hot, but that’s because the Brittons come at us the wrong way and we bump heads with the family that’s already wielding most of the control and most of the power there.”
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Hip Hop and reality star Black Chyna also has a role.
“She plays my sister-in-law. So she’s kind of like the baby sis who likes to enjoy the access and all the privileges of the Hampton’s lifestyle, the wealth and success that we’ve acquired. But my character doesn’t care too much for her cuz she’s that troublesome little sister, who’s always bleeding my wife for money so there is this bad blood there too. Each family has its own internal conflict.”
And spoiler alert. He says “there’s a little bit of Romeo and Juliet kind of action” between the two families.
In real life Lamman is happily married to a super sharp, bright, passionate siSTAR. But he says he didn’t use any slick pick up lines to grab her attention.
“We met just hanging out with two different groups of friends and happened to be in the same place at the same time. Something told me don’t let her leave,” he tells Jaz. “I had the courage to speak up just humbly, politely just say hello and asked her if she was interested to hang out a little bit more later and stay in touch, get to know each other.
He added: “It’s as simple as that. All I could do was just be me. It was either gonna be good enough or it wasn’t.”
The secret to their happy marriage?
“The secret is the simplicity, small acts of courtesy. I doubt that I ever walk past my wife without touching her. I do my best not to forget to say thank you. I know what holidays matter most to her. So I don’t sweat Valentine’s day as much, but I don’t mess around when it comes to her birthday, and don’t be too proud to be like, yeah, I screwed that up. Or my bad and fight fair. Be impeccable with your word. Do what you say you’re going to do.”
“But that also means don’t be afraid to say no,” Lamman continues. “Because that’s being the man of your word too. And you might make her mad. You might disappoint her, but that’s part of being a man and she has to learn how to accept that. And typically when I’m saying no I’m not doing it to fight. I’m not doing that out of being mean it’s because I really don’t have the capacity or I’m not gonna be able to do that to the standard that I know she would require. So I’m actually doing her a favor by saying no, as opposed to yes. And not being able to deliver.”
And keeping the romance alive he says doesn’t have to be fancy,
“Our best dates ain’t been on yachts and ain’t been in fancy restaurants. It ain’t been at exotic places in the world. It is walks and talks and $5 ice cream cones. But if all you’re doing is, you know speeding past each other and you never really slow down, and really pay attention and tune in to each other. I think that’s where people lose their connection.”
The internet is still buzzing with his alleged past romance with singer Jill Scott but he says none of it is true.
“As fine as she is. And as dope as she is, who wouldn’t want to,” he expalins, “but unfortunately, ywe’re just friends and always been friends. I think people saw the chemistry. They saw the friendship, they saw the love and respect between us on and off camera. And it could have,been a great story, but , she and I were both in very happy relationships at the time and we respected those boundaries. I’m still crazy about her now. So I hope we get a beautiful chance to do “Why Did I Get Married 3″ and have those sparks fly again. C’mon Tyler.”
And Lamman says he loves him some Black women.
“I believe you continue to build the Black community, the Black nation by continuing to love and uplift our Black women. Why would I want anything else? I’m also very grateful for the black women that I’ve had around me throughout my life. And obviously that starts with our mother and our grandmother and my aunties and other women in my community, the teachers and elders not to mention the Black women throughout the history of the whole planet As far as I’m concerned, Black women are the top of the food chain.”
Lamman is also an activist for Black mental health and is participating in a tour around the country with other Black men called “Just Heal Bro.”
“We’ve got brothers coming forward about sexual abuse, suicide, talking about their challenges with marriage and fatherhood and just what it even means to be a man. The definitions of manhood and how that impacts how we walk and talk and carry ourselves and the baggage we carry and the chips on our shoulder and the pressures that we’re under. Where do we go to unpack this stuff? Who do we talk to? Do we feel like it’s okay to ask for help? Where can you share the secrets that you’re holding , the lies that you’re telling, and the lies you’ve been told? How do we manage the people who’ve done us wrong? Are we holding onto things that actually we should let go, or we should forgive? How much do we need to forgive ourselves? We’re saying brothers we love you. We need you. We want you to walk tall and proud and in your strength, and that strength includes your vulnerability and don’t be afraid to be vulnerable or be soft and be transparent.”
You can catch the full conversation in the video at the top and hear some advice from the veteran actor for getting into the business. And please don’t forget to subscribe to Jazmyn Summers’ YouTube.
Interview/article by Jazmyn Summers. Follow her @jaztalk1 on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook.Â
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