Harrell . We ended up getting a background on Jay-Z ’ s first Blueprint album because Bink produced the track and needed me to lay some vocals . So it just started to go from there . It didn ’ t just come out of nowhere , I was auditioning and honestly , I was working very hard to secure these jobs .
Ok , is that how you found your way into television , your connections in the music industry ? Television was a hilarious thing . I absolutely never planned to be on television . That wasn ’ t my plan . A very good friend of mine , Vincent Herbert , does a lot of TV and music production and he really loved this album that I wrote and produced for myself . And he said to me “ I think this music is amazing , Lauren , I want to give you a showcase . So , he actually threw me a showcase and in that showcase were people from music and from television . After that showcase , people started to approach me about doing television , because , within this musical experience , I would do this talk about my experiences and why I wrote a certain song . Then a British production company — and this is before Reality TV — wanted to do a documentary on real life Sex in the City-style women . They ended up wanting to follow my life . That ’ s how I started on TV . That show probably aired on television 1,000 times on the Metro Channel and then on WE TV . Then news channels and other talk shows started to call to get my take on life , love , and law .
So , tell me about the Emmy- Nominated show you ’ re hosting now , Paternity Court ?
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How did you come into that opportunity ? Well , the creator and producer of Paternity Court , David Armour , had been following my career for about 10 years . And he called me one day and said “ I want to do a show with you . And I have an idea ; I want you to talk to families . I want to give a responsible spin to issues involving paternity because we know how it ’ s been handled thus far . It ’ s a show called Paternity Court .” When he first said it , my eyebrow raised because I didn ’ t want to be caught up in a whole bunch of circus buffoonery . That ’ s not what I ’ m about . I said , “ if we ’ re going to talk about empowering families this is what I want to do .” And he said , “ That ’ s exactly why I want you to be the judge .” We then met with MGM , they decided I was the best person for the position and that ’ s how I ended up as judge of Paternity Court . We help families answer paternity questions through DNA evidence . We also empower families with information , both legal and life lessons to help them move forward .
You probably spend a lot of time counseling young people about making responsible choices . Does it ever get old ? It absolutely never gets old . Watching a father reconnect with his baby or a young woman find a father after 20 years or even helping a young person ( or an old person ) finally rid themselves of the secrets and the shame they live with ; The whispers . We try to make the taboo teachable .
What was once taboo in our society , this question of paternity , we ’ re trying to make people understand that it ’ s just a family situation . It has happened since the beginning of time , down to when ( the Virgin ) Mary was impregnated with Jesus and who the father was .
What ’ s next for you ? Well , I am going to be on a new television show , called “ Queen Boss ” which will air on BET Centric and I ’ m very excited about it . It ’ s a show that helps women entrepreneurs find their limitless lives and I also just recently came from in front of the camera and got behind the camera on a new television project that I am producing about empowering women ; The kind of young women who could , if they make a certain wrong turn , end up in my courtroom . Instead , I ’ m empowering them and inspiring them to live their passions and their dreams , so I ’ m excited to be producing and creating this new project which will be on the horizon as well . as well .
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