Bae Of The Day: KiKi Layne Radiates Resplendent Royalty On ESSENCE’s “Coming 2 America”-Themed Cover

KiKi is BAE

Were 14 days away from the forever-awaited “Coming 2 America” premiere on Amazon Prime Video for what’s sure to be a nostalgia-splashed celebration of comedy legends Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall and the rest of the beloved cast from the 1988 classic.

This time around there’s an exciting new crop of characters headlined by Jermaine Fowler who plays “Lavelle”–Hakeem’s long lost son and KiKi Layne who plays “Meeka”–the eldest daughter of Prince Akeem and Lisa with a fierceness that the talented actress drew from an undiscovered inner warrior she reveals was always there, but not always evident.

“The regalness [of Meeka] was already there in me,” she said in an exclusive interview with ESSENCE.

“So then I just got to let it blossom under the circumstances of the character that I was playing. What’s cool is tapping into that warrior spirit and that loyalty that I found to be very similar to Danai’s character in Black Panther. That’s one of the fun things about acting. It’s when you start to see the things that you need when going into character that are kind of already in you.”

Other stars like Wesley Snipes, Tracy Morgan, Leslie Jones, Rotimi, Teyana Taylor and Eddie Murphy’s daughter Bella Murphy join Layne in the highly anticipated film that introduces the next generation of Zamundan royalty.

“I loved working with Jermaine,” says Layne of her onscreen big brother. “He’s such a cool dude, and a great spirit. It was really helpful working with Jermaine because he was so encouraging and helped me kind of step out of my comfort zone.”

What are your “Coming 2 America” viewing plans? Tell us down below and peep a very necessary collection of KiKi Layne’s most stunning pics on the flip.