By Kimberly Denise Williams
In real life and on television, La La Anthony is known for her loyalty, fealty, and being best friends with some of the biggest names in the industry. Her most popular acting role to date, playing Lakeisha Grant on Power, was the loyal friend to the lead character, Tasha St. Patrick. Online, Anthony is often seen with her besties, a rotating group of other high profile women. In many of her upcoming roles, Anthony is poised to star as even more strong, powerful characters. And with over twenty years in the entertainment game as a DJ, personality, producer, author, clothing designer, and actress, the Hip-Hop veteran has proved that same devotion is the key to long standing success.
Born Alani Vasquez in Brooklyn, NY La La identifies as Afro-Latina with Black and Puerto Rican roots. If you read and watch any of her interviews you’ll see that Anthony represents New York to the fullest, and speaks of the city with the adoration native New Yorkers are known to bestow on their home. While a high school student in Atlanta, she interned and hosted her own radio show Future Flavaz alongside Ludacris. From there, her career grew. She attended the legendary Howard University in Washington D.C., where she was a DJ for the campus station. She held a few more radio jobs, before her career defining role as an MTV VJ. In a 2020 interview with Essence Magazine, she said that’s how many people still identify her “Oh that’s La La from MTV.”
On Direct Effect, an MTV countdown show of the top five most requested rap and R&B videos, La La showcased her skills interacting with both the audience and high wattage entertainment celebrities, conducting interviews about their lives, career trajectories, and current projects. On TRL, La La served as a VJ, playing the ten most requested music videos of the day and interviewing both artists and actors along the way. As a host on both shows, La La would go on to interview some of the biggest names in music including JAY-Z and Beyonce, and actors and actresses like Will Smith, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise and Angelina Jolie.
Her talent as an interviewer was undeniable, influencing the development of Direct Effect Presents: Fashionably Loud, where La La hosted alongside model Molly Sims and highlighted the latest in fashion and music, possibly foreshadowing her own career turn in the fashion industry as the designer of her own clothing line, which debuted at Lord and Taylor. Her versatility and commitment to hard work didn’t stop there, with La La going on to host more shows and specials like MTV’s Spring Break, and even helming her own reality shows with La La’s Full Court Wedding and La La’s Full Court Life.
That twenty something La La Vasquez from MTV is now power icon, Alani ‘La La’ Anthony who is committed to pursuing her passion, acting. Her role on Power is only part of her acting resume, with roles in a wide cross section of projects from silver screen hit Act Like a Woman, Think Like a Man and the sequel, sweet family movie Holiday Rush, BH90210- part of the Beverly Hills Franchise, SHOWTIME original series The Chi, to voice acting for the animated show The Freak Brothers. She’s also set to star in the upcoming show Black Mafia Family, as well as play legendary Def Jam executive Tracey Waples in Wu Tang: An American Saga.
The work doesn’t stop off the screen either. She’s acted in Off Broadway plays and co-produced Danai Gurira’s acclaimed Broadway show “Eclipsed.” She’s adept at using various media formats to push issues and ideas that affect large groups. As an Afro-Latina, she has consistently advocated for her people. She’s appeared on magazine covers for both Latina magazine and Essence, highlighting her place as a woman at the intersection of both communities. She’s partnered with Special K several times on health initiatives, and this summer she is working with the cereal brand to encourage women to run in conjunction with the national running group Black Girls Run. She has also consistently advocated for her people and celebrated the Afrolatinidad, appearing on magazine covers for both Latina magazine and Essence and highlighting her place as a woman at the intersection of both the Black and Latin communities.
There’s a lot more in the works, and in conjunction with several heavy hitters. JuJu, a horror comedy described as “Mean Girls meets The Craft,” will focus on the struggles high school students face and is being worked on in collaboration with Issa Rae, The Shade Room’s Angelica Nwadu, and Thembi Banks. She is also working with longtime friend and collaborator 50 Cent on a limited tv series on the Cyntoia Brown Long story. She’ll play a role in the Netflix adaptation of Tia Williams’ The Perfect Find alongside Gabrielle Union, Aisha Hinds, and Janet Hubert.
No matter which medium she’s making moves in, Anthony is a Hip-Hop veteran who continues to put on for the culture everywhere onstage, on the screen, and on the page-and yes in all her bff’s Instagram stories too.