MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
And finally today, I can tell you from experience interviewing is a skill that can take a lot of time to perfect. But our next guest - well, she makes it look easy.
(SOUNDBITE OF MONTAGE)
JAZLYN GUERRA: Hey, guys. I'm here with superstar actor Michael B. Jordan. Michael B. Jordan, how are you doing today?
MICHAEL B JORDAN: I'm doing good. How are you doing tonight?
JAZLYN: I'm doing good.
My name is Jazz, and congratulations on being the youngest woman in Congress. How does it feel?
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: Well, congratulations on being the youngest interviewer I may have ever had. You're amazing.
MARTIN: That's 11-year-old Brooklyn native and self-styled kid reporter Jazlyn Guerra, also known as Jazzy. She's the host and star of her own YouTube channel, Jazzy's World TV. And she's already giving grown-up journalists like me a run for our money. She's snagged interviews with some of the biggest names in entertainment and politics, including Alicia Keys, Jay-Z and, as you just heard, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She's got thousands of followers on Instagram and TikTok, and she's doing it all while keeping up with her schoolwork.
We, of course, wanted to hear more from this rising star, so we've called Jazzy and her dad, Luis DeHoyos. And they are with us now from their home base in Brooklyn. Thank you both so much for being with us.
LUIS DEHOYOS: Thank you. Thank you for having us.
JAZLYN: Thank you for having us. It's really an honor.
MARTIN: Well, thank you, Jazzy. I'm going to start with you. How did you get started, and how did you know this was something you wanted to do?
JAZLYN: Well, my dad used to take me and my brother's to go meet different athletes that we really liked. And I thought that we could make that into something more. I always wanted a YouTube channel, but I never knew how to start it. And since we had a mic and I always love talking to people and learning new information about people, I decided, hey, how about I ask different questions to these different athletes? And here I am now.
MARTIN: Mr. DeHoyos, how did you know that Jazzy had a skill for this? - because, I mean, I got to tell you, there's people who are older than she is who are - you know, they choke up when they meet famous people. How did you know that she could do it?
DEHOYOS: Essentially when we first started, you know, we were kind of like stepping into the unknown - right? - because, you know, we had to kind of like see how it went, right? So the initial interview that she did, the first one was with San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. And Coach Popovich is notoriously known for going off on the media, like, all the time. But he was like super with her, and he was definitely surprised by the type of questions she asked him. And that performance she gave that day, I knew she had something special.
MARTIN: Now, dad, I'm going to ask you - you know that some sports parents can be a bit much, OK? We've all seen it.
DEHOYOS: Absolutely (laughter).
MARTIN: Now, but you know I'm going to ask. Do you feel like you're pushing her, or is she pushing herself?
DEHOYOS: I feel like the most important thing as a parent is to push our kids to be great in anything they do but allow them to also self-explore and find something that they like to do as well, not do something just because the parent is pushing them to do it. I have a whole regiment that I do with her, but I don't take away the opportunity for Jazlyn to be a kid, right? Granted, that's a big part of her life. She loves doing what she does. And, you know, I'm not going to lie to you. Me and her have been through bumpy roads in the past where I've had to have conversations with her in regards to what's expected based on work ethic and what is expected in order to be great and one of the best at her craft.
MARTIN: So, Jazzy, what about that? Like, what's your routine in preparing for your interviews?
JAZLYN: Well, I would practice a lot. But that's kind of like my secret recipe here. All I can tell you is that practice makes perfect and that as long as you practice and you work hard and that you're passionate about whatever you do and that you know that you love what you're doing, then it's OK. Then you are OK with yourself. And it's all about routine and scheduling what you have to do, and also make some time to have fun, too - like, playing video games, playing sports and stuff like that.
MARTIN: So how are the other kids at school? How are they dealing with your new celebrity? I have to say, we read about you in The New York Times, which is, in my field, kind of a big deal. (Laughter) I don't know if you know that it's a big deal, but it is kind of a big deal. Do the other kids at school recognize, like, what you're doing? How do they think about it?
JAZLYN: Whoa. That's a big question. Well, I guess in school, people kind of think that I'm, like, super-famous and stuff. I know a lot of eighth graders know me. A lot of seventh graders know me. And I'm in sixth grade, so that's like, really awesome. And I have - one of my best friends, Miguel (ph), he wears a black jacket. He wears, like, these black-tinted shades, and he acts like he's my security guard. And it's like, my other friends are, like, trying to come up and give me a high five or anything, he's just like, no, no, no, no, no. You're too close, buddy. You're too close.
MARTIN: (Laughter).
JAZLYN: The lunch ladies, they usually give me, like, extra cookies on cookie days. And they usually give me extra beef patties or biscuits, which I really love. And I think it's really awesome.
MARTIN: That is awesome. Jazzy, can you give me some tips? I've been trying to get LeBron for an interview for, like, three years now. Can you give me some tips? Like, what's your secret? Like, where am I falling short?
JAZLYN: Well, I just got to say that LeBron - he's kind of difficult to get, to be honest. And just saying, LeBron, if you're listening to this, I just want to say, why? Why - just - I was trying to stop for him, and he was acting like he was on the phone with his mom, right? - because I was just asking. I was like, LeBron, LeBron, can I please interview? I only have a couple of questions, and it'll only take one to two minutes. And he was just like, no, I'm on the phone right now. And he clicked the home button, and you could clearly see his home was dead. It had - on the screen, it had a battery, and had low charge on it.
MARTIN: Oh, so we are in the same boat. So you need to get your interview, too.
JAZLYN: Yep.
MARTIN: So - OK, well, maybe we'll team up.
JAZLYN: LeBron, come on. We need our interview, bro. We need our interview.
MARTIN: We do. We need our interview. We need our interview. Thank you. See, maybe if we combine forces, we can be successful. I think that might work. Jazzy, do you have - besides LeBron; we're going to keep working on that. Do you have another dream interview, somebody you really want to talk to that you haven't spoken with yet?
JAZLYN: I actually have a big list, but I'm just going to state three. So No. 1 will have to be Bruno Mars.
MARTIN: Solid - can understand that. No. 2?
JAZLYN: Oprah.
MARTIN: Yes, I can see that.
JAZLYN: And No. 3 has to be Beyonce.
MARTIN: That's a tough one - not doing a lot of interviews (laughter).
JAZLYN: I already know that. But just - you know...
MARTIN: But you got Jay-Z, so maybe he could put in a good word for you.
JAZLYN: Maybe. We'll have to see about that.
MARTIN: I was going to say maybe we could team up on that one, too, because I want to talk to her because she has twins, and I have twins. So I've always wanted to talk to her about being a twin mom. Jazzy, what do you think is the future for you? Thoughts about this? I know adults are always asking kids that, and it's so annoying, but thoughts about where you want to go with this?
JAZLYN: Well, I'm not sure what I'm going to do in the future, to be honest. But all I know is that I want to be a kid host on my own kids show so that I can teach people and I could teach kids that kids can also have voices. And I want to give kids a safe platform where they can share their opinions about sports or other kid topics. And I think it'll be really awesome.
MARTIN: I think that would be awesome, too. And I'm going to be very nice to you because I'm going to be working for you one day. So I want to hope that you will remember (laughter) that I was very nice.
JAZLYN: Don't worry. I'll remember you.
MARTIN: OK. That was 11-year-old reporter and host of "Jazzy's World TV," Jazlyn Guerra and her dad, Luis DeHoyos. Thank you both so much for being with us today. Congratulations.
JAZLYN: Well, thank you. It was such an honor. I can't believe I'm right here.
DEHOYOS: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.