AGE: Forty-five years old
BIRTHDAY: January 10th, 1976
GENDER / PRONOUNS: Cis Man | He/Him
OCCUPATION: Actor, Music Producer & Owner of Grand Ville Records
PLACE OF BIRTH: Willsden, NP
NEIGHBORHOOD: Hearthstone Bay
HAS LIVED IN ASTORIA FOR: 27 years
There’s a story behind every person
Hakeem Granville met Monique Woods while on the set of a film he starred in. At the time Monique was one of the makeup artists. Initially, she didn’t take any of his advances seriously due to his reputation at that time. Hakeem had already been married three times. His last divorce cited irreconcilable differences as the cause, however, the media had a field day; drumming up a host of stories that made the narrative of the end of his marriage tabloid-worthy. Which didn’t exactly paint Hakeem in a good light, not that he cared. The young Actor rarely let tabloid trash stand in his way, and with much courting and effort on his part the ‘will they or won’t they’ pair became official when Monique eventually agreed to give him a shot. No sooner had the couple gone public, the media’s hunt for information on Monique Woods began. They wanted to know anything and everything about the Makeup Artist. Fast forward three years and Hakeem and Monique got married in a private ceremony. Then the following year, they welcomed their son Jamal months later on a gorgeous January morning.
The handsome, bold and bubbly Jamal charmed his way into the hearts of everyone he met, and even the ones that got to know him from behind a screen. As Jamal grew the public expected more from him, some even predicted that he would follow in his father’s footsteps. Hakeem and Monique tried their very best to give Jamal a normal life as much as possible. For the most part, they succeeded, but when it came to Jamal making his own choices, his parents could not steer him away from the spotlight as much as they attempted to. Jamal’s career in acting started innocently enough with commercials, print ads, modeling, and small appearances as a child extra.
Jamal’s parents still held onto hope that he would choose a more practical career path. With his mind centered on becoming a celebrity, Jamal bothered, begged and pleaded with them until they gave in. As a kid and into his teen years Jamal was enrolled in the Young Actors Program with the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in Willsden. Jamal would look forward to his weekends whenever the 12-week program began. While he adored the theatre and film industry Jamal wanted to expand his stardom, hence his foray into the music industry. Once his unique voice had been discovered he couldn’t let go of the idea of not making the most of it. Finally, in his high school years, he finally got the chance. Jamal and some friends formed a band called Nebula. As the lead vocalist, he had a key role to play in writing the band’s songs.
In Nebula’s early days, the guys had a lot of ground to cover if they wanted to make a name for themselves. They invented and reinvented their image, sound, and quality before finding a niche within the genres of R&B, soul, funk, electropop, synth-pop, progressive soul, and pop rock. Despite being the child of a famous Actor, the band didn’t take off as quickly as Jamal would have liked. Honestly, he preferred that he had to work for it without getting it handed to him like acting was. Auditions were a challenge, and while many times the band’s hopes got dampened in the process, Jamal’s spirit of determination didn’t waver. Nebula resorted to playing gigs in lesser known places before gaining some traction and popularity. That ambitious nature of Jamal’s is what kept his friends going when many doors were shut in their faces. Slowly but surely Nebula grew a fanbase, and as the band matured in their sound, presence and image the right attention came along in the form of a record deal that came along with a move to Astoria. There was only one person who viewed this victory for Nebula as bittersweet; his high school sweetheart. Khari King had some life-changing news of her own to deliver. The last few years of High School for them had been tough on their relationship because of Jamal’s focus on making Nebula a success. The icing on the cake of their relationship crashing and burning came in the form of a pregnancy test result being positive. Jamal’s reaction to Khari’s news left a lot to be desired. Instead of them coming to an agreement or dealing with the ramifications together, he left for Astoria with the promise that they would get around to discussing things at a later date.
Jamal Granville finally made a name for himself that set him apart from his father’s legacy. Nebula became a household name, and recognition came along with it, which was exciting at first for the young Actor and Singer-Songwriter. However, the bad side to fame began to pollute the experience. Throughout his childhood, he was no stranger to the negativity of the press thanks to his parentage, but having something that he and his friends worked hard on to be put under a biased microscope irked him. Of course, he was warned and expected it, but that didn’t mean he was completely prepared. Always ready to lash back with that witty tongue of his, often got Jamal into hot water at interviews and on social media. Jamal just didn’t tolerate certain things and despite PR warnings he did what he wanted and hated being policed. At times he would have to learn that the hard way– not every fight needed to be won.
While things with Khari weren’t the best, when she contacted him about going into labour he dropped everything to head back to Willsden. The pair welcomed their daughter, Jamirah Granville into the world on a pleasantly rainy day. That child would be the center of their world, she completely burrowed her way into their hearts from the moment they held her and looked into her eyes. Their parents thought that Jamal would do the right thing for Jamirah and Khari by taking a break from Nebula, but they were sorely disappointed. The years that followed would see Khari and Jamal trying to make things work; a few months they were together then in the next they were at odds again.
The future of the band Nebula had nowhere to go but up. At least that’s what Jamal dreamed of, but after their first album launched, issues started sprouting up among the band’s members; the main one being Jamal-related because they questioned his interests. As the self-proclaimed ‘leader of the band’ –due to his being a founding member of Nebula– Jamal and the manager at the time, Antonia, decided that the band should evolve and maybe even take another direction musically. This plan served as the catalyst for a huge blow-out among members and the record label. In the end, it all went up in smoke. Jamal wasn’t in the right frame of mind to make major life decisions then, but that didn’t stop him. In his angered state he left the band and tried to sever his ties to the record label. The latter was the only one that didn’t properly stick. The label couldn’t stand to lose Jamal as an artist, so they made another deal; signing him as a solo artist with Antonia as his new manager. A better match could not have been made.
Jamal took a break back then –sort of– returned to his roots and did some acting, mainly on a popular television drama series while the new deal was being brokered. In his ‘down-time’ he had a change of heart regarding things between himself and Khari. Perhaps it’s that he was nearing thirty and never felt more alone, or he finally had the time to do some introspection. Regardless, it was probably a mix of both, plus some other insecurities he had. When the final details for the record deal were proposed he then began working on not only his solo singing career, but his relationship with Khari and his daughter as well. The mother-daughter duo moved to Astoria around the time where he and the band hit that rough patch which made everything go south. Having them in the same Province meant he saw them more often and realised what a fool he had been. He had a wealth of songs just waiting to be heard, and a daughter that was growing up so fast that he wanted to be around more. Jamirah was eager to have him fully in their lives again, but Khari needed a lot more convincing that he wouldn’t break her heart again. His commitment to his family was undeniable, so when they welcomed their second child; Jamilah Makayla Granville, there was no turning back for either of them. Three years later, they were wed in a beautiful ceremony with their closest friends and family.
With several successful albums, TV shows, Films and respective awards under his belt Jamal started looking for the next thing to conquer. With his musically talented touch, similar to that of Midas’ Jamal tried his hand at producing music. He took to it with ease after being on the other side of the recording booth he picked up a thing or two. In his mid-thirties Jamal eventually built up his portfolio and client list enough to launch his own record label. Was born and it kept thriving. His time is mainly spent Producing, Song-Writing and signing new talent in recent years. Once in a while he would be sent a script that is ‘made for him’ to the point that he can’t resist getting back in front of the camera.
Back in February his wife went missing while she was helping the coven prepare for Imbolc. No one could say for sure what happened to her and so many others on that unfaithful day. At first, Jamal went along with the general assumption that Khari was one of the people lost to the rupture in reality. However, as the others were successfully returned to their loved ones, Khari was not among them. Thus leading to the opening of an investigation that’s taking far too long for Jamals’ liking. Without any viable leads, he isn’t relying on the Police, but has sought out a Private Detective not bound to the laws of the country.
FACECLAIM: Lance Gross
PLAYED BY: Kels
