Darnell and Alyssa Gilet
*From an educational content perspective, we believe properties that center on Black intelligence and diversity are greatly lacking in the digital realm. This is why the story of Darnell and Alyssa Gilet, creators of House Party Entertainment, caught our attention. House Party Entertainment is the umbrella entity that houses the “Do You Know Black?” game show, which is only a small part of their Do You Know Black brand.
Described as a multi-platinum brand aimed at celebrating and educating on Black history and culture, the Do You Know Black brand not only features a game show of the same name but a talkback segment based upon the questions asked on the game show, as well.
Hosted by comedian and actor Jonathan “J-Hype” Hyppolite, each episode of “Do You Know Black?” highlights an array of black-owned businesses from around the country.
The next second half of season 2 of DYKB was released in September 2022
EURweb: Please tell us about your background and how this came about.
Darnell Gilet: Do You Know Black is something that was created by me and Alyssa, you know, we both have a corporate background but we’re also full-time entrepreneurs as well. My background is in talent acquisition, branding, diversity and inclusion strategy.
So, I’ve had an opportunity to work for a variety of companies within the CPG technology media and sports industry.
Alyssa Gilet: Yeah, I have a background in marketing and brand partnerships with a variety of media companies and entertainment companies, as well as an event production background.
So, I think that also led to, you know, really wanting to create a product that we could connect brands as well as consumers together. So, we already do you know, I always say that you know, what we just showed, you know, the brand, and one of the products underneath that umbrella is the Do You Know Black game show.
Darnell Gilet: So, I’ll talk a little bit about the Do You Know Black game show and I’ll tell you about the brand overall. The Do You Know Black brand is a brand that’s focused on celebrating and elevating black culture and communities through cultural content, events, and experiences. The Do You Know Black game show itself is one of the primary productions that we do.
The Do You Know Black weekend is our marquee event that we hosted, which is a two-and-a-half-day event where we tape 20 episodes of content. We’re doing what we call the Do You Know Black universal.
It ranges in terms of what it touches on, totally trivia based, but it’s across all sections of Black History and Culture. Domestically, and internationally, our questions discuss the sciences, vocation and everything from abolitionists to adventures, you name it, right? So that’s a holistic view of black history and culture. The show also featured black-owned businesses as part of our all-black prize pack.
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Darnell and Alyssa Gilet
EURweb: Why are black-branded businesses so important for this endeavor?
Darnell Gilet: So, we’re featuring black-owned businesses and that’s what the contestants are playing for. So, it’s collectively it’s just a holistically it meets the need to celebrate everything black and celebrate Black culture.
In addition to the Do You Know Black game show, we also have Do You Know Black, Kick Back, which is a conversation series that starts after the show where we take the contestants from one episode, and we take a question from your episode, and we facilitate a conversation around that one specific question.
These conversations may talk about homeownership, may talk about relationships. We may talk about gender roles, you name it. There’s a variety of subjects that we discussed in the after-show, but they’re all rooted in a moment in history that was featured within the panel itself. And then we also have the Do You Know Black Prius kickback, which is Alyssa and I doing a deeper dive into the conversation that we had in the episode.
EURweb: How are the contestants selected and how has the reception been?
Alyssa Gilet: The contestants are selected through a variety of ways. We wanted to show the range of black people. We have contests that have a variety of backgrounds in terms of professional backgrounds. We have actors, we have dancers, we have firefighters, we have engineers, we have educators, we have healthcare workers. We have people in the service industry.
We have people that are African American, Africans that are first-generation Americans, and we have Black immigrants. That was important to us to have the perspectives that’re represented on there. So those are the types of people that we have within the show. But then, in terms of the selection process, it’s straightforward. We do a casting call targeted searches to fill gaps that we may have.
We’re not DMing people on Instagram, you know. We definitely do a deep dive on Instagram and social media to see where we can find other specific types of people, different careers and backgrounds and we’d reach out. We also get a lot of referrals from friends and people working in respective industry that we previously had a good relationship with.
Overall, we’ve had an amazing reception to the show from viewers who’ve seen the show, as well as people we’ve worked with on the show. So for us, it’s really an experience.
When we film this, we film it like a live production. So, there’s a live studio audience. It’s an event. We have different blocks where we tape shows a couple of episodes at a time. The audience members there are really connected to what’s happening during the event. It’s a really interactive experience. You know, we have a DJ, we have food and entertainment, there’s an opportunity to network and connect with one another. And then also being in the room when there’s a lot of energy buzzing. it’s just it’s an indescribable feeling.
The second season of Do You Know Black was released this fall. For more information on the show and its creators log on to https://www.doyouknowblack.com/
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