[hip-hop music playing]
[Jeezy] And feel your body. Feel your body.
Move those hips, move those hands, improvise.
Move those hips and then we grind it, bend it, grind it. Down and you pop.
Arch those backs and swoop in.
Six, seven, eight and finally bounce.
That's it. And fan-kick.
[woman 2] Hi, guys, how are you? We're so excited to have you here.
We're, like, over the moon.
Um... for those of you I don't know,
who I've just e-mailed back and forth with, I'm Jo.
-I'm Ly. -And I'm Sam.
And we have been wanting to do this show for I wanna say years. A long, long time.
We wanted to just feature one artist,
but then we kept looking through everything.
We saw your work, too, and were like,
"Nope, they gotta be there, too."
[Ly] Right, right.
I know you submitted stuff originally, but as you move through the space,
if you're feeling inspired, go with it. Feel free to check in with us.
We really just want to reflect how you feel
in this time as a woman,
what power means to you.
[Jeezy] Up, shake it and smack it.
-Yes! I love the sound of booty flesh. -[woman exclaims]
We don't wanna get up like we just picked something up off the floor.
Like, "Oh, my God."
Like, really take your time, straighten your legs,
arch that back, tune it up, feel the back of your legs.
Does that feel okay?
All right, let's do it one more time.
Hey.
Hi, baby. How was class?
Uh, cool. We learned a new dance.
-Nice. -Yeah.
-How'd it go? -Uh, good.
I'm getting good at it.
-Really? -Yeah.
-How good? -Real good.
Can I come see it?
-No. -Why not?
They don't allow spectators? Parents don't come and watch?
-Um... -[both chuckle]
No. Not unless you're dancing. You can come dance.
But I wanna see you, please? Please, please?
Maybe I can put on a show for you.
-[exclaims] -[mimics chomping]
No, stop. Really?
♪ I know I've been bad ♪
♪ Real bad ♪
♪ Still I think I'm gonna do it again ♪
♪ I just can't help myself ♪
♪ When I get the call ♪
♪ I really need to go there ♪
♪ I can't resist the urge ♪
♪ I gotta go on ♪
♪ They call me Trouble ♪
♪ I really dig my name ♪
♪ I'm gonna leave it up ♪
I loved your dance. It was so sexy.
Good. I think I'm gonna put on a show. Like, a real one.
[squeals]
[chuckles] Me and Amber and the girls from class
are gonna do, like, an amateur night, you know?
-Doesn't that sound hot? -Yeah.
I think people are gonna show up. We're gonna do it for free, obviously.
And I think some of us are really considering becoming performers.
-[groans] -[urinating]
I thought this was like...
I didn't even know you're into performance.
I thought this was a fitness class.
Oh, no. That's what it started out as.
But I mean, you never know what's gonna happen.
I mean, Jeezy's one of the most inspiring people I have ever met.
I wanna do for people what she has done to me
every time I've walked into that classroom.
You know?
I don't know, man. I did go in for, like, the workout but...
I didn't go looking for burlesque. What if burlesque was looking for me?
[music playing over speakers]
[woman] What do you mean she's not down? Did she say that she's not cool with it?
No, she's not gonna say that. But she's definitely...
-How do you know that? -Not excited.
-What makes you say that? -She wasn't excited.
Jo is the most feminist, like, activist.
"Yes, do what feels good. Yes, love your body."
We go to strip clubs together, and she loves it.
-Like, I can't imagine a world where-- -What if she doesn't--
What if she thinks feminism is hot, but not hot on me?
-What? Maybe you just read into it wrong. -Maybe.
Maybe she was just so excited that she got kind of quiet.
-[both chuckle] -She's just like...
Hmm. For some reason, I doubt that. Just frozen 'cause she's so excited.
Okay, let's do it like a foot, foot and a half out,
and then we'll leave a little extra room on this and we can cut it on the day.
-[woman] Perfect. -Sweet.
I wanna be aware of color in here,
because it's gonna be painted for the entire thing, so...
[Sam] Okay.
[Jo] There's less color in here, which I'm okay with.
We have the neon sign.
[Sam] You were talking about moving it to the other room?
Yeah.
You're flexible. You got this.
-[all laugh] -Yeah. Nice. Cool.
Sweet.
[man] That was a great discussion.
I think we can all say we learned something, right?
But, look, I'm not gonna be here on Thursday for my regular office hours.
So, if you haven't talked to me about your final paper,
you need to stop by my office on Wednesday.
[chuckles] Whoa.
-You made it. -Hey, dude. Mmm!
Oh, I love it. All right, let's do this.
-How long did those take? -Not as long as I thought they would.
-Check 'em out. -They're so cute.
Josephine, stop it!
[Josephine] Look at all these cute little ladies.
-Thank you. I'll see you soon, dude. -Yes, definitely. Have a good one.
Hi. I'm gonna be in a burlesque show.
If you guys wanna come watch, come be in it,
watch me shake my titties.
[door opens]
-[Chase] Hi. -Hi, baby.
-How long have you been home? -A couple of hours.
-Hi. -Hi.
I'm making lentil soup. Are you cool with that?
-Yeah. -[in mock English accent] Lovely.
[singsong] I've been thinking about you all day
-I love that. Come here. -[mumbles]
Love you.
You know, I've been thinking about, um-- wanna talk about my show.
Thinking about how you feel about it,
'cause, you know, you're kind of one of my, you know...
-I look up to you. -I'm one of your girlfriends?
Since you're one of my girlfriends I look up to,
you know, when it comes to the whole thing of the--
Are you having second thoughts or something?
No.
-Okay. I mean, I-- -Are you?
-About your show? -Yeah.
-No. Dude. -Are you completely comfortable?
-Yes, totally. 100%. -Mm-hmm.
I am behind you, and I love you, and you're gonna be sexy
and you're gonna rock it and I'm so, so happy.
I love you, and that's not something you should be worried about.
-Okay. -Okay?
Okay?
♪ Got something I want ♪
♪ Won't quit trying till I get it ♪
♪ Once you turn me on ♪
♪ Can't turn me off for nothing ♪
♪ Too hot to cool down ♪
♪ No style, I need it now ♪
♪ Got something I want ♪
♪ Don't quit coming for you Till I get it ♪
♪ Ooh-ooh! Gimme, gimme ♪
♪ Boys, don't keep me waiting In the dark ♪
♪ Round and around and around ♪
♪ I can keep playing like this forever ♪
♪ Ain't no secret now ♪
♪ Won't quit coming for you Till I get it ♪
♪ Ooh-ooh! Gimme, gimme ♪
♪ Tell me what it is Don't keep me waiting, gimme, gimme ♪
[Jeezy] Yes! I love it. I love it, ladies. Great job in the class today.
Collect your gloves, collect your stuff.
Everyone's amazing.
I'll see you next week for stocking removals.
But if you're free this weekend,
you should come to Jeezy's Juke Joint,
a Black Burly-Q Revue, which is an all black, queer-ass burlesque show
down at the Promontory in Hyde Park this Friday and Saturday,
and we have amazing, award-winning performers from all over the country.
We got burlesque, striptease, music,
male burlesque, a pole dancer from Atlanta, okay?
So, I'ma see you all there? I'ma see you there?
See your white ass there? You're gonna be there?
All right, give yourselves a round of applause. Great job!
[cheering]
[all grunting rhythmically]
[Chase] Should we just go over there?
I'm waiting, I'm watching.
-I'm waiting for her to be ready. -No, she's chillin'. Okay, fuck it.
-[Chase] Hey, Jeez. -Hey.
So...
We were wondering if you wanna come get a drink with us.
Yeah, we were just gonna go down...
-I don't know if that's weird to ask you. -Um... Yes.
Literally no one's ever asked me to get a drink.
-What? -I know, but I need a tequila so bad.
I need a tequila like I need some new black friends. Okay?
[shouting]
-It's Friday, I can do whatever I want. -Cheers!
-Cheers to... keeping it in the family? -Keeping it in the family.
When people think burlesque, they think pinup,
-you know, a certain style, shape, size. -[Amber] Not past a certain size.
Right, exactly. Certain skin tones, hairstyles.
So, I was like, "No, we need to have a black-ass show."
-I wanna see, like, weave, dyed hair. -Flying everywhere.
-I just wanna see all types of bodies. -[Amber] Weave everywhere.
Yeah!
So what about other people that you've dated?
-Is it, like, a good thing? -Uh...
Do they think it's super hot that you strip or...
Everybody wants to date a stripper or burlesque dancer
until they actually start dating a stripper or burlesque dancer.
And then they're like, "Oh, wait, you're still gonna do it, though?"
Bitch, yes.
So they want you to stop once you start dating them?
Sometimes people will or they're like,
"This is too much for me." Or like...
"I don't like other people looking at your ass," or...
[Jeezy] It's hard being a public personality and trying to date.
-[Chase] ♪ Sometimes ♪ -[ukulele playing]
♪ Sometimes life gets In the way of everything ♪
♪ Sometimes life is everything ♪
-♪ Other times life is nothing ♪ -[laughing]
-[imitating Scarface] Yes, man! Yes, man. -[laughs] Yes, man! Baby, hello!
-[Chase] Hello, hello, hello! -[Amber] Baby.
We're picking out our outfits for Saturday.
Yeah, we're trying to figure out our character for the show.
-[Jo] Sweet. Hi, by the way. -Hello, how are you?
-Haven't seen you in a while. -Yeah, it's been a minute.
-[Chase] We had drinks with Jeezy tonight. -[Amber] She's our teacher.
-[Chase] You would be two peas in a pod. -[Amber] She is, like, the dopest chick.
You'll meet her on Friday. Come with me to Jeezy's Juke Joint.
It's gonna be everyone from class.
You're gonna get to meet all my new friends.
You're gonna get to hang out with me and my BFF.
-You're gonna get to meet-- -It's this Friday?
[Amber chuckles] Yeah! Yeah, yeah.
Um...
[smacks lips and sighs]
I cannot go 'cause I have that art show that we talked about.
Um... But...
if I need to find somebody else to work the door, I totally can.
Um, just let me know so I could get somebody else to work the door.
I am tired, so I'm gonna go to bed. But I love both of you. See you tomorrow.
[door closes]
Fuck! Oh, my God, oh, my God. Oh, my God, oh, my God.
Fuck, dude! I'm such a fucking asshole.
[Jo] Yeah, I feel like the neon is doing really well.
It is. It's beautiful. It just really pops right out at you, right?
Yeah, especially in this space,
-I feel like the-- -Sorry to interrupt.
-Can I steal Jo? -[man] Sure.
I'll catch up with you. What's up?
Too many people are touching the Spanish Mosque.
-Really? -Yeah.
Like, I'm a little worried that Kani probably didn't want that.
I feel like she lowered it so people could interact with it. No?
[Sam] I guess, but can you check with her? She's in the other room.
-[Ly] Yeah. -I don't think it's necessary.
-[Sam] I don't know if that's exactly-- -I just wanna make sure that's okay.
-I will go check with Kani. -Thank you.
-[man] Hey. -Hey, how are you?
I'm good. Looking fly as usual.
-Aw, thanks. Here, I'm putting on a show. -I'll check them out. Cool.
Can you actually hold on one second?
I'm so happy you could make it. What's up, man? How are you?
Man, how dope is this? I didn't know Chase was into this.
Where'd you get that?
She just handed them out at the door.
Wow...
[Jo] Can you hold on just a second?
-Hey. -Hey, baby.
-How is it? -Good.
Um... Do you mind not handing those out while you're taking donations?
Well, I thought... Have fun.
This is a feminist art show,
and I would just rather you not hand those out.
But this is a feminist art show, too.
I know. It's just a little bit different
-'cause there's a lot of feminists coming. -Yeah, that's the point.
They haven't really landed on how we feel about burlesque so...
What? Well, they can decide when they see the show.
-I know. -Do you have a problem with it?
-No, of course, I don't-- -Hi.
-Hi, how you doing? -Hi.
Of course I don't have a problem, but some people will,
and I just don't want that happening at my show.
Is that okay? Please, just for me?
Thank you. Please?
-Okay. -Thank you. Thanks.
Enjoy.
[Jo] And now, we are so excited.
We have a guest performer just for opening night.
Um, she has asked everybody to sit down on the floor.
Um, so if you could do that now
and also remember no photos and enjoy the show.
[slow-tempo music playing]
♪ I'm jealous, I'm overzealous ♪
♪ When I'm down, I get real down When I'm high, I don't come down ♪
♪ But I get angry, baby, believe me ♪
♪ I could love you just like that And I can leave you just as fast ♪
♪ But you don't judge me ♪
♪ 'Cause if you did, baby I would judge you, too ♪
♪ No, you don't judge me ♪
♪ 'Cause if you did, baby I would judge you, too ♪
♪ 'Cause I got issues But you got 'em, too ♪
♪ So give 'em all to me And I'll give mine to you ♪
♪ Bask in the glory Of all our problems ♪
♪ 'Cause we got the kind of love It takes to solve 'em ♪
♪ Yeah, I got issues ♪
♪ And one of them is How bad I need you ♪
♪ You do shit on purpose ♪
♪ You get mad, and you break things Feel bad, try to fix things ♪
♪ But you're perfect Poorly wired circuit ♪
♪ And got hands like an ocean Push you out, pull you back in ♪
♪ 'Cause you don't judge me ♪
♪ 'Cause if you did, baby I would judge you, too ♪
♪ 'Cause I got issues But you got 'em, too ♪
♪ So give 'em all to me And I'll give mine to you ♪
♪ Bask in the glory Of all-- ♪
Chase. Chase! Where the fuck are you going, dude?
I'm leaving, I'm going to Jeezy's.
You can't just walk out of my art show like that.
-It's fucking embarrassing, dude! -Oh, you're fucking embarrassed?
Way to make my artists feel really fucking secure, Chase.
You act like there's no problem when clearly there's a problem.
You don't want me to do my show, and I know why.
'Cause you're a fucking hypocrite.
You got these little bitches up there dancing,
taking their fucking clothes off and grabbing their fucking tits!
[sighs]
You act like you believe in shit you don't really believe in.
Fine. Fine, you're fucking right, okay?
I'm sorry, I don't want you to do burlesque.
It's not because I don't like burlesque
and it's not because I don't like these girls,
-or whatever the fuck. It's just-- -I know.
Yes! I'm sorry, I love you, and I want to protect you,
and I love you, and I know that's not protecting you, and I'm sorry,
but, like, fuck! I'm just a jealous, possessive bitch,
and I'm fucking sorry about it. It sucks dick. I'm sorry.
[Jo sighs]
-[audience cheering] -[dance music playing]
[man] Yeah, that's right! Keep it going for Boutte.
[all whooping and cheering]
[man] I don't know about y'all, but Boutte got my blood pressure up.
[crowd laughs]
[man] She got my cholesterol up. Let me get y'all with a...
-[howls] -[audience howls]
All right, coming to the stage, ladies and gentlemen,
she is voted the number three burlesque figure in the entire world.
-[audience cheers] -She is the honey badger of burlesque.
Let me hear you make some noise for the one, the only Jeez Loueez!
[audience continues cheering]
[R&B music playing]
♪ Keep lying, keep lying to me ♪
♪ Just keep lying, keep lying to me ♪
-♪ Don't go fucking with my fantasy ♪ -[audience whooping]
[chuckles]
-♪ Keep lying to me ♪ -[cheering]
♪ Baby, I've known lonely ♪
♪ So let me down now slowly You know me ♪
♪ Tell me I'm your only ♪
♪ Even if it hurts ♪
♪ Keep lying, keep lying to me ♪
♪ Just keep lying, keep lying to me ♪
Hey.
-Hi. -You okay?
No, you're not.
Are you ever a terrible feminist?
Yeah. It's fucking hard.
Yeah, nobody's perfect. I shaved my legs today.
-[laughs] -[sighs]
-[sniffles] Fuck. -You can take a second.
We need to get back in there.
Let's just go. I'll clean it up and let's just do it.
Band-Aid. Fuck, let's go.
[grunts and blows raspberries]
-[Jo] Hi. -Hi.
How was Jeezy's?
It was fun.
How was your show?
-It was shitty. -[chuckles] I'm sorry.
It's okay. It's not your fault.
[keys clatter]
I'm sorry, baby.
I know.
Yeah, but I'm really sorry. I feel like shit.
It's okay.
-I love you. -I love you.
[woman] See, you know when to applaud, you know how applause works.
Tell me something. Are any of you new tonight?
-Anybody... Yes, look at that. -[audience cheers]
We're all about to go on a little adventure together.
You, me, this chair and Miss Honey-baked Ham!
-[hip-hop music playing] -[audience whistles and cheers]
-[women] Ooh! -[audience whooping and whistling]
[audience continues cheering and whooping]
[chuckles]
-Oh, shit. How was it? -I'm overtaking this. I did it.
-I was good. -Yeah?
That was so fun. That was really great.
-Um... What? Are you freaking out? -Wait, I wanna know if Jo is out there.
I didn't see Jo but the audience, girl, it was so cool.
-Can you see anything? -You could see a lot of people
happy you're taking your clothes off.
-How many? -I didn't count.
Have your dollars ready and have those hands ready
for another round of applausin'.
Up next, it is Lady Cha Cha.
[audience cheering]
[hip-hop music playing]
[audience whooping]
♪ Where all the girls at? With the credit cards and the high heels ♪
♪ The Mercedes Benz with the big wheels ♪
♪ When they hear this jam They can't sit still ♪
♪ Yeah, they know what's up ♪
♪ Where all the girls at? With the Birkin bags and the big house ♪
♪ The Mercedes Benz With the tits out ♪
♪ When they hear this jam They turn the lights out ♪
♪ Yeah, they know what's up ♪
♪ Polo socks, Polo tee Polo bed, Polo sheets ♪
♪ Four-door Benz, four-door Jeep Photo booth, hoes with me ♪
♪ She takin' photos of me That she carry all around like rosaries ♪
♪ She say she never did it With the lights on ♪
♪ Baby, we gon' see ♪
♪ She SoCal, she NoHo ♪
♪ She know Smoke, she know Towk ♪
♪ She know Chance, she know Vic ♪
♪ She know gang, she gon' go ♪
♪ Where your heels? Where your clothes? ♪
♪ Wear your hair in a bun When you head back home ♪
♪ Where your purse? Where your phone? ♪
♪ One more question 'fore y'all go ♪
♪ Where all the girls at? With the credit cards and the high heels ♪
♪ The Mercedes Benz with the big wheels ♪
♪ When they hear this jam They can't sit still ♪
♪ Yeah, they know what's up ♪
♪ Where all the girls at? With the Birkin bags and the big house ♪
♪ The Mercedes Benz With the tits out ♪
♪ When they hear this jam They turn the lights out ♪
♪ Yeah, they know what's up ♪
[crowd cheering]
[shouts]
♪ Where the girls in the club With the black dress? ♪
♪ With the big fat booty And the flat chest ♪
♪ Who tryna wear the black dress To my address? ♪
♪ I got a bed, no frames Just a mattress ♪
♪ Where the tall girls at? You bad! ♪
♪ Where the small girls at? You bad! ♪
♪ Where the mid-size girls? Where the mid-size girls? ♪
♪ Where the mid-size girls? You bad! ♪
♪ Where all the girls at? With the credit cards and the high heels ♪
♪ The Mercedes Benz with the big wheels ♪
♪ When they hear this jam They can't sit still ♪
♪ Yeah, they know what's up ♪
♪ Where all the girls at? With the Birkin bags and the big house ♪
♪ The Mercedes Benz With the lifts out ♪
♪ When they hear this jam They turn the lights out ♪
♪ Yeah, they know what's up ♪
♪ Gold wrist, gold rings ♪
♪ Gold teeth, gold chains ♪
♪ Cold world, cold game ♪
♪ Codename, Cold James ♪
♪ She's takin' off all her shame ♪
♪ And she Destiny's Child When she say my name ♪
♪ She said she never did it With the lights on... ♪