Though they’ve already broken the internet with their March/April ESSENCE cover – which they’ve lovingly immortalized in their home – Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts have much more in store together.
Betts is preparing a new EP, the first formal follow-up to her 2014 album #LLCoolJess. Signed with Boys II Men as a recording artist at just 16 years old, Betts has been singing professionally since childhood. With that experience naturally comes wisdom, and Betts has some sound advice for the version of herself from nearly 25 years ago.
“To my 16-year-old self, I’d say: keep going, to keep following your dreamsand never give up because there are so many amazing things you’ve got in store,” Betts said. “And you’re going to meet the love of your life one day; Later on in life, but it’s going to come.”
That love of her life, Niecy Nash, whom she married in August of 2020, has become not only her partner in life and love, but in work. Even her new single, “We Drip,” which Betts asserts is poised to make the shortlist for song of the summer, was crafted with Nash not only as inspiration but partially in the driver’s seat.
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 24: (L-R) Jessica Betts and Niecy Nash attend the ESSENCE 15th Anniversary Black Women In Hollywood Awards highlighting “The Black Cinematic Universe” at Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel on March 24, 2022 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for ESSENCE)“My wife is actually the inspiration behind the song,” Betts shared about the single. “I guess a lot of people would say ‘We Drip’ and would relate it to swag, style, but myself and my wife, we relate it to sexiness, confidence, and strength.”
“We also drip with love, too,” Nash added.
That love not only keeps the duo constantly gazing into each other’s eyes, caressing, and being otherwise the quintessential PDA couple – even during our virtual interview – but it also grounds them to a groove where they’re able to create together.
Case in point, the video for Betts’ latest sultry single. Nash not only co-directed, but she starred alongside her “Hersband” as the video’s feature eye candy.
“Being a video girl, let me just tell you something, it was a dream fulfilled,” Nash laughed. “I always wanted to jump around in a video and I finally got the chance.”
“When we work together, we have very different styles, so sometimes it can be a challenge because my better half is very passionate and I’m a perfectionist,” she continued. “When those two things meet, you can have a little head-bumping…”
“A little friction,” Betts interjected, with Nash joking that her stringent regime got her fired from the shoot roughly five times.
“Working with my wife is like not working at all because we are in sync and we have a lot of fun,” Betts went on. “It’s like a gift and a beautiful challenge at the same time. Nothing negative. We make sure that we get the job done.”
The duo continues to get the job done on their other venture, FOX game show Don’t Forget The Lyrics! Nash hosts and executive produces, while her spouse leads the band.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 15: (L-R)Jessica Betts and Niecy Nash attend the 6th Annual InStyle Awards on November 15, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/WireImage)“Let me tell you, it was such a blessing to be able to give people bags and bags of money after being in the pandemic,” Nash says of the show’s format. While she loves having her wife on set and being flirtatious, Nash says she’s gotten some pretty hilarious reactions (or non-reactions) to her public advances while filming.Jessica was in the band. I will flirt with this one right here anytime, any day, anywhere. I’m working, I’m on the mic. The audience is there. The lights are up and I’m like, ‘Oh, who’s that cute thing in the band?'” But Betts likes to keep things professional.
“Then as soon as I’m off camera… I can’t keep her off me! I’m like, ‘You just gave me the Heisman on camera. What’s going on?'”
On top of video ventures and their show, the couple is pulling a new clothing line together for their fans. As we speak, Betts is wearing a black tee emblazoned with the title “HERSband,” a term of endearment Nash calls Betts that
“We kept hearing people in the world repeat things that we said or hashtag things that we say. So we just said, ‘Why don’t we give it to them in a different medium?’ And so there we are.”
The post How Jessica Betts And Niecy Nash Work And “Drip” Together appeared first on Essence.
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