Awkwafina is all hustler: born and raised in Queens, New York, she’s the type of person they call a “multihyphenate” nowadays, working as an actor, comedian, producer, rapper, journalist and, with her engaging and wonderful Tawk, the best talk show host currently in existence.
Awkwafina, who proudly compares her speaking voice to that of Big Ang (may an angel rest in peace), just launched her fifth season of the Astronauts Wanted-produced show, on which she interviews figures important to a certain generation and sensibility—cool, smart, and often hip-hop-adjacent—and lets it get weird as it needs to be. Simultaneously, she’s working on the women-led film Ocean’s 8 with Rihanna and some other people, furthering a silver-screen career that began, illustriously, with 2016's Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising. And it should be noted for disclosure’s sake that she has worked for Jezebel in her capacity as a television critic, turning in a review that, as I recall, barely needed any editing. This woman can do anything!
Last week, Awkwafina came through the Jezebel office to discuss her latest ventures, dish on her future ones, and be apparently our first Quickies interview subject to figure out (or at least acknowledge) the double entendre. May Tawk make it to nightly television as soon as possible. Watch it here.