J. Alphonse on playing Lil Murda on P-Valley: ‘it’s such an honor’
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J. Alphonse plays closeted rapper Lil Murda on P-Valley, the Starz series about people who work at a Deep South strip club and the community members in the surrounding (fictional) town. Lil Murda was arguably a supporting character in season one, but in the second season has taken on a more prominent role as his rap career picked up and his relationship with Uncle Clifford progressed. I thought their relationship was a nuanced portrayal of a love story, but some others were apparently taken aback by the sex scenes, almost as if they weren’t aware that’s a thing that happens. J. Alphonse responded to at least one of those takes by basically saying “why are you so bothered” and also stopped by the Tamron Hall’s show to talk about his role and what it means to him.
Season two of P-Valley was the talk of the town all Summer 2022. But it was J. Alphonse Nicholson’s breakout role as Lil Murda that had viewers raving about the hit Starz series. As much praise as Alphonse received for portraying the talented, closeted rapper, he was equally met with criticism from folks who say the show was doing too much.
Plies shared his thoughts on P-Valley with his Instagram followers, claiming that he was “traumatized” watching the series. “Why Y’all Ain’t Give Me A Tutorial On ‘P Valley'” he tweeted. “I Heard The Show Doing Well So Congrats To Everyone Involved! But Damn I Wasn’t Ready For All Dat.” After catching wind of the Florida rapper’s hot take, J. Alphonse responded, “It’s interesting because he knew every character’s name, knew exactly what they said, and so you wonder, are people traumatized? Are you confused? Or are you just scared to kinda accept maybe who you are or those who those who are around you are?”
Since the show’s finale, there has been much Emmy talk surrounding Alphonse’s portraying of Lil Murda. On Tuesday (Sept. 6), the actor stopped by the Tamron Hall show and got emotional about the opportunity to play the upcoming rapper and possibly being nominated for the prestigious award. “Don’t make me cry,” he began. “It’s such an honor to be able to bring such a complex story to the table and to be a representation for any and everyone. I call Lil Murda the every man. I’m just crying because the love is overwhelming. And being able to bring Katori’s story to life, and represent a black woman, I’m grateful for it.”
I do think J. Alphonse’s portrayal of Lil Murda and his relationship with Uncle Clifford is important. And the fact that some consider it so shocking and “traumatizing” and “too much” just highlights that it’s an important representation of normal human life that people should be aware of. Like how is that more traumatizing than some crusty guy being sliced in half at the torso and dragged across a battlefield by his dangling intestines? J. Alphonse’s response was perfect — when someone says something messed up and you just question why they said/think that and then watching them squirm in discomfort is a great way to prove a point. And I like that he showed emotion and spoke about how honored he felt to play such a significant and complicated character from the work of a Black female creator. He’s really done a great job with the character and storyline and hopefully most people can see that.
