Teyana Taylor talks lessons learned from latest project ‘A Thousand and One’

She sings, dances and now, Teyana Taylor is showing off her acting chops in her newest movie, “A Thousand and One.”

Taylor plays Inez, a mother with a troubled past that is attempting to get her life in order. The unapologetic Inez ends up reconnecting with her son Terry and takes matters into her own hands to get him out of the foster system. While the loyal mother may find herself in trouble more than a few times, Taylor says Inez’s perseverance is admirable.

“A lot of what Inez was going through, a lot of people aren’t built to make it through that and still be able to go on with a smile on her face … and just willing to continue the journey but understanding just because it’s getting hard doesn’t mean give up,” Taylor told Access Atlanta.

I would definitely have to agree with Taylor, as I got a chance to see an early screening of the movie. There were several powerful messages including overcoming hard times, the importance of a father figure, and the unwavering strength of a mother’s love.

“I walked away with the true meaning of what it meant of the famous quote, ‘You only get one mother,’ … It’s a real love letter to mothers,” Taylor said. “All the hustling mothers, the hungry mothers, the mothers that are just trying to figure this thing called life out.”

Taylor’s latest movie is just one of the projects keeping her busy this year; she has two others coming, in addition to being greenlit to direct her first feature film. Her all-female production company “The Aunties Production” was also greenlit (by a major studio) to produce their first feature film. Once she can give us the details on it, I’ll fill you in!

We talked to Taylor about that and so much more in our interview, check it out below:

“A Thousand and One” hits theaters Friday, March 31.