Terrence J’s memoir, The Wealth of My Mother’s Wisdom: The Lessons That Made My Life Rich recently debuted and it proves itself to be a record of trained mastery. Terrence J delivers a good book and a solid reminder of what happens to those of us who try to be our best—you inherit a pretty good life. We can all learn from Terrence J is the art of the debut.
In an era that seems to be defined by chronic unemployment, abundant talent and creative dreams that remain without their own GPS tools, The Wealth of My Mother’s Wisdom is a soothing read that honors the idea that success comes to those who endure and endure…and endure. It is definitely a book that every parent should share with a child in high school or college, it is also a nice reminder to those who are Terrence J’s peers about what success is all about.
Observing Terrence’ steady gaze into the camera every weeknight on E! News, as he rattles off the latest notes on pop culture, makes you wonder what it is like to be so lucky. To his right is the powerhouse Giuliana Rancic, and very frequently, he is exchanging off-camera quips with media mogul Ryan Seacrest. And yet the young host does not miss a beat, does not break a sweat. Since the moment he debuted on the network, it seems as though he’s always been with E! News. He is effortlessly in-step with the culture of red carpet fashion rewinds, famous party fails and the greater guilty pleasure of figuring out whether or not celebrities are, in fact, just like us.
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Just a year ago, Terrence J co-hosted BET’s 106 & Park (along with Rocsi Diaz), the music countdown show that beat slayed the competition during his time there. As a young veteran, Terrence J’s style has not shifted. The same command that drew in thousands of Hip-Hop fans
now captures the evening regimen of regular viewers of what is very much the House of Kardashian. There are subtle differences in his demeanor now, his swag and trademark smile remaining intact. When watching him, there are times when it is clear he that is still pinching himself, appearing at times bashful, yet deferential to the company he now keeps. Terrence J is a man whose star is rising, and if you are at all into astrology, it is clear that his constellation is just beginning to cast its design.
The Terrence J how-to guide is worth consideration. BET has produced a roster of incredible hosts whose futures after their shows have not always held fast to the national spotlight. Al Shearer, host of the iconic show, Hits from the Streets, appeared in Punk’d and has pursued acting with appearances in movies, including Glory Road, but never ended up with his golden parachute exit.
Terrence’s predecessors on 106 & Park continue to work as hosts: AJ Calloway as a correspondent with Extra, and Free working as an on-air radio personality. Terrence’s former co-host Rosci is a correspondent with Entertainment Tonight. And of course, the brightest star to break from BET is Ananda Lewis, host of Teen Summit, who went on to be a MTV VJ and correspondent with The Insider, who at one point hosted her own daytime talk show.
And that’s not just a reference to the journey for African-American hosts. Watching Carson Daly’s path proves long fought ambition. From MTV VJ to hosting super-late night television, to hosting The Voice before landing on The Today Show, Daly is a lesson in the amount of perseverance required to remain in the hosting game, one that is given to the fickle nature of cultural trends and youth.
But Terrence’s path is a little different. For one, he’s been steadily acting throughout his BET tenure, with his biggest break being Think Like A Man and the upcoming Think Like A Man Too. (Not at all a slight to his memorable appearances as one of Tasha Mack’s many memorable love interests on The Game.) And so while timing may be a key factor for the young host, his new book The Wealth of My Mother’s Wisdom demonstrates that there is something in the foundation that propels Terrence J into a league of his own.
The memoir is a refreshingly humble approach to sharing one’s own worldview, not only bowing to the power of his mother Lisa Gonzales in molding his journey, but also including the thoughts of other Black men in Hollywood, including TI, Kevin Hart and Laz Alonzo, on the impact of their mothers. Yet none of his peers match the eloquence and thoughtfulness of Terrence J’s own voice.
Before he even references it himself, it is clear Terrence J has gotten his Malcolm Gladwell-prescribed 10,000 hours in. Working in radio before arriving at North Carolina A&T University to further develop his skill for reading cultural trends, spotting great music and engaging selective audiences, he’s even gone through his failures and negotiations with ambition. In fact, it was while working at in the office at NASCAR that Terrence J sought out BET’s auditions for new talent that rocketed him to a long-sought stardom.
What distinguishes Terrence J’s book is that he interprets his story through the life of a child from the Boys & Girls Club of New York, who he met while working with BET. Perhaps a nonchalant approach to underscoring the value of mentoring, Terrence J reveals the truth of urban culture’s everyman, youth without adult wisdom and infrequent mentors.
Free of judgment, prescription and elitism, Terrence J navigates his own story through the lessons he learned from his mother, considering his own fate in step with that of one of his mentees, a young girl named Tiffany. In a voice that is as earnest and unpresumptuous as the tenor that has made him such an affable pop culture fixture, Terrence J removes the fragrance of having babies with an objective retelling of the sacrifices and smarts that allowed his mother to raise a son above the statistics. In short, it was not easy.
