Yahoo Lifestyle 'All American' Star Kareem Grimes Says Preach Needs a Love Interest (Exclusive)
The ghosts of the past are coming for Preach (Kareem Grimes) on All American in more ways than one.
His daughter, Amina (Alexis Chikaeze), is 16 now and starting to raise more questions about her mom, who Preach shot in Season 4 to save Coop (Bre-Z), and the circumstances around her death. As Amina looks for that maternal influence in her life, those questions will force Preach and Coop to revisit what led them to be in the alley with Amina's mother and her death.
If the guilt over leaving Amina motherless in her teens wasn't enough, Preach is also on double duty as a concerned dad and teacher when it comes to Amina's best friend Khalil (Antonio J. Bell). Preach is not excited that Amina and Khalil have some romantic sparks, but he is also worried that Khalil is headed down a dangerous path to gang life.
Those concerns were put front and center in Monday's episode of All American when Khalil's dad, Marqui (Terayle Hill) yanked him out of class for gang business. Preach stepped in to save Khalil from getting wrapped up in whatever nefarious activity Marqui had planned. But the confrontation quickly turned tense and signs of the old Preach quickly emerged as he put Marqui in his place. Khalil went back to class to finish his work, but there's clear beef between Preach and Marqui now that created a sense of foreboding when it comes to Preach staying on the right side of the law.
Parade caught up with Kareem Grimes to talk about Preach's evolution this season and what we can expect between him and Marqui in the back half of the All American Season 7. All American continues Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on CW. Episodes are available to stream the next day on the CW App.
Related: Everything to Know About All American Season 7
How would you describe Preach as a parent in Season 7?
Parents in general will connect because he's raising a teenager. We've all been teenagers. We all smell ourselves, think we know it all, guys getting into girls and girls getting into boys or whatever. Preach's parenting is tested very much. That's the beauty of this show that we get to see the evolution of Preach and how he's dealing with parenting a teenager and balancing being a teacher at South Crenshaw.
Does Preach have any thoughts on Amina's love triangle and which boy she should be with?
No boys. I don't want her to deal with any boys until she's grown.
According to Amina, she's grown now...
You saw what Preach did to Khalil. If I find out anyone has done anything wrong to my baby girl, Preach is coming.
Amina is starting to express curiosity about her mom. How does it affect Preach that she's starting to think about her mom and those conversations might start up again and won't be as easily avoided as when she was eight?
These are questions that have to be answered. He and Coop have been suppressing it and sweeping it under the rug. As she gets older, Amina is yearning for that mother figure. Coop is trying to do her best, but there's still that missing piece. We've got to answer those questions.
What can you tease about those conversations? How is Preach going to approach it with Amina?
He has to face it head on, just like he did in Season 5. That's just who Preach is. His approach is that you can only hide for so long. When it confronts you, you have to meet it head on, as painful as it might be.
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Speaking of meeting things head on, he meets Khalil's dad head-on in this episode. What is it about Marqui that manages to get under Preach's skin?
Preach mentioned it in Episode 2 that when Preach was in the streets, he heard about Khalil's dad. He was a baby gangster — a BG — when Preach went to jail. Preach heard a lot about Marqui and what he might be doing. Preach also talked about Marqui going to Khalil's football games and cussing at all the refs and the teams. So Preach knows the temperament of these guys, who are from rival gangs. That adds a factor on top of what he's trying to do, what he's been doing. You may see something happen sooner rather than later between those two.
So is Preach tempted back into the street life?
For the most part, Preach has suppressed that part of him and has moved on with his life. But people push buttons. People want to poke the bull. If someone pushes his buttons and provokes him, that side may come out. He may stay Cordell or he might turn into Preach. You just never know.
How does all this make him feel about Khalil and his friendship with Amina?
At the end of the day, Preach can see where this kid is headed and the potential he has. Preach wants to step in and be the voice of reason and say, "Hey, I know the path that you're going down. I've been down that path. These are the consequences that happen if you take this path. He doesn't want to see Khalil take after his father. But at the same time Preach has to be a father to his daughter and make sure she's protected at all times.
We're seeing our former teens enter adulthood now. Preach has been a role model for them for a while. Does he have advice for them when it comes to being examples for the younger generation?
It's taking what Billy Baker instilled in Preach and giving those nuggets of Billy back to them. "Hey, these are the things that your father told me and did for me. I want to be able to take what he's given me and reinforce that back in you." That's what Preach has been trying to do this season, especially at the dedication.
What is it that you want most for Preach this season?
Preach needs a love interest! It's been only school and his daughter. Preach needs a life too. She needs to be intellectual and soft. Preach needs someone he can come home to and let his guard down.
What is the biggest difference between Preach now and when you first started playing him in Seasons 3 and 4?
He's gotten a second chance at life and is making the best of it. He's looking toward the future. He has a responsibility. He's raising his daughter and it's no longer about Preach. It's about Amina and what Amina needs right now. How can he be of service as a father? He missed so much of her growing up and now he's trying to catch up. He's doing all of these things so she knows that her dad is always there for her.
Related: 'All American' Showrunner Explains Why They 'Reset' the Cast for Season 7 (Exclusive)
