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Many may know Tameka Foster as a stylist to the stars and Usher Raymond‘s ex-wife — but contrary to popular belief the entrepreneur has much more to offer the world. Foster and her sons have developed an animated series in honor of her late son, Kile Glover, who passed away in 2012 after a tragic jet ski incident.
The series, entitled THE ODD LIFE OF KILE LYLES, is a ten episode 3D animated show that centers around Kile, a young boy living a normal life by day and saving the world before bedtime. We spoke with Tameka about her upcoming project and she didn’t hold anything back — especially when it comes to public support (or lack thereof).
“The hardest part about crowdfunding is that people will click and like something, but won’t donate. If each one of my 148,000 followers would donate as little as a dollar, the first episode would be funded.”
Before deciding to fund the first episode herself, Tameka met with folks at Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon (Kile’s favorite channels), and neither network fully understood the vision of what Tameka had in mind for The Odd Life.
“I don’t think they’re ready for this. I sat with Nickelodeon and I love them, but they don’t even have programs that’s even along the lines of what I’m doing. This is a little bit next level.”
So the passionate mom is taking the 2019 creative route, and relying on her fans and followers to support the project. But things haven’t been smooth sailing for the momtrepreneur.
“I feel like there’s a stigma about me because of [Usher]. People see me a certain way because of my ex husband. They think I’m just this rich person that doesn’t need anything. It costs $140,000 to make one episode and $1.4 million to do the whole season. [The campaign] has been up for two weeks, and we still haven’t met our goal. It’s a little discouraging. 3D animation is expensive.”
There’s not much representation of young, Black children in animation, which makes Tameka Foster ahead of the curve. The Odd Life Of Kile Lyles isn’t just an animated series, neither.
“There will be lots of teachable moments. We’re gonna touch on current issues. Like immigration. Kile’s best friend in the show is a girl name dream. People tease her and make fun of her name, and then she has to explain to them that her name is dream because her family were dreamers who dreamed of a better life in America.”
You can support The Odd Life Of Kyle Liles by sharing the link and donating at IndieGogo.com. Hit the flip to see what else Ms. Foster had to say.