“ST. FEENIX ISLAND”
An Interview
with Shanteriah Dixon & Seven Benjamin
By Aiden Staley
In the wake of the wait for “St. Feenix Island”, I reached out to show co-writer and wife of late producer Michael “Mike D” Dixon; Shanteriah Dixon and one of the closest inspirations to the series; producer Seven Benjamin for their opinion on the series after finishing it in it’s entirety this past week.
For those new to the series info, “St. Feenix Island” is a script loosely based around the rise of Anthony Small as “Feenix Bipolar” (and friends) in the independent music industry as well as their personal lives. In my opinion it’s a well written comedy/drama/and even thriller at times. You’re going to laugh, you might even shed a tear or two, might get emotional, might be triggered, this script has everything Bipolar hasn’t written and yes it is very rated R, from the language to the sex scenes it’s the most mature body of work Bipolar has ever given us as far as scripts go. As per usual I had to get an interview going, but this time I decided to do something different; instead of interviewing Bipolar, I sought out his friends and their opinions on the script and messaged them a couple of questions we will all answer about the upcoming series. Bipolar won’t know we did this until I announce it via the blog.
-WARNING: SOME LANGUAGE-
1. Does this series fit with Feenix's past work?
Dixon: I've only read two stage production scripts that he gave me, and that's recently, and his film script "Biking". So as far as writing: it stretches his work. It shows you a different side of him, the guy who puts the verses down and talks to you via a different type of art. An art that causes interpretation and outrage where needed. It stretches to fit.
Benjamin: It fits. It's him not pulling a Dr. Seuss and rhyming it out and just slapping it in a script for you and surrounding it with some things that may or may not have happened and left for you to determine. It's art. It fits. It's the furthest he's gone, but it definitely fits the person I know.
Myself: It fits, it’s different but it fits. If you know who Anthony Small is you’d know he was capable of a series like this ages ago.
2. Are there any episodes you witnessed that you can vouch for?
Dixon: Too many to name. I wasn't there for a lot but Mike text me a lot. Mike called me a lot. When he came home he told me and even the kids a lot. So the script was actually a breath of fresh air for me in the parts that Ant (Small) wrote. They matched my husbands words and personality. I respect that.
Benjamin: Shit, all of them. Every last one of them.
Myself: There’s literally only one appearance from me and my actual name is used, I’m one of the rare characters who’s name is used, I think it’s me and Raven that didn’t mind being named. It’s spot on exactly what happened though, so I witnessed only one but I’ve heard most of it. I technically have to, it’s my job.
3. Favorite male character?
Dixon: I know it's selfish to say it but the way this script is written it forces you to love my husbands character Roman the most, and I think that's what Ant's point was. He didn't focus on his own character he focused on the entire story and it came together beautifully to tell my husband's story. So the character that portrays my late husband is my favorite character because it was written spot on describing him. Roman.
Benjamin: Roman. That's what this show is really about, It isn't Feez's (Small) story, it isn't my story, it's how our stories intertwine. Even if he was still here with us Mike's character "Roman" would be a favorite because that's just who he was. Everyone's favorite. Please remember the first two seasons of this show was devised while he was still living. His legacy was written while he was living.
Myself: We all like Roman.
4. Favorite Episode?
Dixon: Anything that had freestyling in it. I loved reading the lyrics and the creativity. But solid favorite? Too many to name because I helped write it.
Benjamin: The Nerf war episode. It made me cry because Feez described certain things in that episode so perfectly. We ran through my mother's house and had an all out nerf war for about at least 12 hours. No one trusted anyone. It was insane. I know he saves the things I say and we say in his notes but to save them for his art is hilarious and thoughtful. I enjoyed that episode. I've read it over 5 times now. That's honesty for you.
Myself: A lot of them, seasons two and three were packed with so much that I was reading episode to episode on an empty stomach because I couldn’t put my phone down. I really can’t name just one episode. The Nerf War episode was hilarious though, I agree with Benjamin on that episode being up there in the top 5 episodes. I’ll add that the finale was spectacularly written.
5. Least favorite male character?
Dixon: Hunter. Even in real life. I won't say his real name. But Hunter. Ant goes to his lengths to stretch the villains in this script because his belief is that villains have stories to how they became villains. You can tell he is trying to understand the evil even as he writes it but it doesn't hide it due to the actions he has to explain happened. Hunter. Didn't like him. Never will.
Benjamin: Hunter and Niko. They both redeem themselves but you keep one eye open on them mother fuckers after the shit they pulled. We don’t like calling people bad guys or villains because people can change, people sometimes surprise you. Each character that did some bad also did some good.
Myself: Probably Niko, he was a huge hindrance. In real life too. I’ve met Hunter’s character in real life and he’s pushy but we get along for the most part.
6. Favorite Female Character?
Dixon: This is all in credits, again, to Ant and his writing. He forces you to either like some people, love some people, hate some people, and even hate to love some people. My favorite female character is Justine. I love how Christian adores her even when she isn’t around. The audience may have a hard time accepting her character because of the way she’s introduced but as the story carries out you grow to oddly appreciate her. Due to her only being a strong character in 2 of the seasons that says a lot, she’s missed when she’s gone from the script and even I got jittery when she was mentioned after throughout. I actually wished Christian had chosen New York instead of Los Angeles in Season 3, because that would’ve meant more Justine, I wanted more Justine.
Benjamin: Justine, Celeste, and Jas. It's hard to pick just one in this script. Then you have Silver. Then you have Raven, the only female that opted and said 'Fuck it put my name in the script I don't care.' That's my God mother. The females in this script play their part all in their own timing and fashion. You can say Justine because she and Christian were practically together even though Feez always says they didn’t date, that was a relationship, they talked every single day, went to sleep on the phone together, went out places together, did couple shit, Silver too. So everyone he shows a certain affection for you’re forced a little to like them. But Justine, Celeste, and Jas are the formula to the emotion behind the script as it carries, if I had only one choice out of the three it’d be Justine. She’s also the most attractive female character in my opinion.
Myself: There’s an episode where Christian and Nyne are talking and Christian describes Justine as “the closest thing to perfect”. Not sure who exactly she is but that sold Justine as my favorite female character. Small writes her as funny, sassy, supportive, and no other female character gets that level of respect in this series, they get respect but none as high as Justine. After that comes Celeste because Christian shows a similar affection towards her and it carries to the end.
7. Least Favorite Female Character?
Dixon: Ripley was pure evil. Mariah was demeaning. Jas had her moments but it showed that this was all Christian's choices in relationships. He upgraded to someone better each female is that wrong to say? I didn't like Ripley. I didn't like Mariah. At first it throws you to not like Justine because Christian’s cheating with her but when he grows feelings towards her it forces the audience to accept it. The other females had no purpose to do what they did to him. Overall? Ripley and Mariah. Very toxic.
Benjamin: Mariah. Evil. Toxic. Abusive. Manipulative. Influential to the most least influential. Cruel. After that is Ripley. Basically the same.
Myself: I know Mariah’s character in real life, I do not like her at all. I will leave it at that.
8. Funniest Part to You?
Dixon: Anything with Nyne's dialogue. Especially with Roman. Mike would come home telling me stories of Seven and this script just matches so well. After meeting Seven myself I can vouch as you asked in your previous question and say yes he says the darkest things but they're funny to those that can take it.
Benjamin: The freestyle battles. I helped Feez write those. They're funny, the puns, the jokes, I could do it all day.
Myself: For me, it’s every time Nyne opens his mouth in any episode.
9. What is your opinion about the honesty Small displays in this script as far as his escapades?
Dixon: I like the honesty. The parts that were written by me are mostly the dialogue between me and Mike's character, everything else is him and learning these things and seeing who he is now it screams growth. Having heard his music and hearing his humor I knew this script was going to have the language and moments it had, it takes his music into more depth. The honest hip hop artist is just being an honest series writer, nothing much has changed.
Benjamin: He already told me he was airing out some laundry in the script so it didn't surprise me. It forces you to choose which side you're on. Do you not like Christian's character because he cheated repeatedly with someone he eventually fell for? Or do you see the other side in why he made the decisions he made? Do you not like Nyne because of the way he acts or talks? I’m sure Nyne wouldn’t give a fuck, but that’s for the reader to decide. I think what was done here was brave. It was bold. It was a story he wanted to tell that was inspired by me and so many other people and that’s flattering. There’s some small anecdotes that I discovered while reading the script. There was shit I didn’t even know until I read it, I think that’s what made it so fun to read, I was ready for new shit every episode. He didn’t do shit that other mother fuckers aren’t doing today. He just brought it to the forefront. Brave. Period.
10. How do the characters compare to the real life figures Small has placed in this script?
Dixon: To the people I know, it fits perfectly. He nailed it with the people I've met and the situations I've seen and heard about.
Benjamin: They're them. The story was basically lived, that's why it's an easy read, at least for me. Roman is definitely Mike, Nyne is definitely me, even in the made up parts Feez gives the dialogue each of us would’ve used in that imaginary situation, I was reading and just nodding my head at the words he chose for my character most of the time, like “Yeah I would definitely say that.” He’s spot on with everyone and the situations, he’s highly observant of personalities, that’s a gift.
Myself: For the ones I know he definitely captures their personalities in this script. He was careful and it shows.
11. You've read all five seasons, did the end of this series give you the closure you hoped for?
Dixon: Definitely, the finale was everything, everything ended on a good note. I definitely got that closure. In a way I didn’t want it to end. I kept trying to put the idea of possibly a movie to follow everything up and instead of that he just made the finale longer, so I had to accept he wanted it to end at a certain point, I think all good things must end at a certain point or the story will drag. He wanted to tell the story of the rise and fall and rise again, that story was told. The finale had me so emotional because you go episodes without Roman, of course, and then in the finale it’s basically a big flashback to the guys, to the bickering, to the joking, for that episode and that moment everything felt ok again after so many emotional episodes, it was like nothing ever happened and I think it was clever how Ant devised that for the ending.
Benjamin: Yeah. 100%. I actually hope in the course of the next few years he revives it and tells more from where it ended. Everything is left open to speculation, perfect closure.
Myself: I kind of already had my closure by the time I got to the last season, I knew things would end on a proper note. I actually missed the guys and reading their adventures. I wanted one more good long episode like the last one.
12. Do you know each character’s true identity?
Dixon: The main three of course I know they’re Ant, Seven, and Mike. I know who Brick, Ripley, Raven, Mariah, Celeste, and other minor characters are as far the label goes. Silver threw me off because I thought Justine was Willow, it turns out Silver’s character is Willow so I was lost at Justine, I have no idea who that is, that story was new to me. Niko threw me off for a second but as the episodes went on I figured out who he was. Some people you can take a good guess at who they are because of who they’re affiliated with. Like Erykah and Dre. I know about 90% of the characters in real life.
Benjamin: I know who every last person is.
Myself: Justine was the biggest mystery for me because I also thought she was Willow until Willow’s character was introduced, but my guess is she could be Empress Rav, the engineer that he signed to ANROL. I know the main cast. I will say the same as Shan and say I know about 90% of them.
“St. Feenix Island” is slated for sitewide release on April 7th, 2023.