How ‘Kold X Windy’ Star Sh’Kia Is Creating Generational Wealth In Hollywood

Growing up Sh'Kia turned to the arts to alleviate the boredom of living in the small town of Oakland, Florida. Her grandmother served as the youth director at the local church, hosting events like plays, praise dancing, and recitations of Easter orations for the local children to participate in, her Jamaican father worked as a D.J., and her mother worked at Walt Disney World.

"My mom worked there for like 11 years, and she used to get Disney movies for free. We didn't have cable. All those things fascinated me, being born in that small town," she fondly remembers. "I [watched] music videos on television, and the arts felt like such a bigger space outside of Oakland. So I tried to do anything in Oakland that I could do that was creative, and the only place I could do it was at church."

As a teenager, her mother remarried and then moved to Leesburg, Florida. Augustin immersed herself in the high school band scene and secured a music scholarship playing the flute to attend Florida Atlantic University. After graduating with a BBA in finance and the music business, she planned her career as a creative artist, eventually leading her into acting, writing, producing, and singing. Sh'Kia performed in community theaters and local film productions and wrote a web series and short films. Her career has flourished, and she landed a recurring role as the voice of Shonda on The C.W.'s Black Lightning and currently stars as Malika 'Kold' Wise, the star of AMC+, Allblk, and We T.V.'s Kold x Windy. As a screenwriter, her pilot scripts have been placed in various screenplay competitions, such as a Quarterfinalist in Screencraft and a Finalist in WeScreenplay.

With the re-emergence of the female hip hop duos fueling pop culture like the City Girls, Bettie Gang Twinz, Cam, and China, shows like HBO Max's Rap Sh!t chronicles the rise of female emcees through a more comical perspective. Initially, Sh'Kia was concerned about the premise of the show since it's based around "drill" rap, a sub-genre of hip hop that takes its namesake from the meaning "to shoot someone," which tends to glamorize violence, the pursuit of wealth while underscoring the socio-economical injustices faced by the Black community. However, Kold x Windy takes a grittier slant on the world of hip hop and drill music as Augustin's character sets her sights on becoming a star in hopes of improving circumstances for her and her son while living in the south side of Chicago.

"When I saw the breakdown about [the show] of two female drill rappers trying to make it in Chicago, [it wasn't] something I [was] familiar with, but once I read Malika's breakdown, I just resonated with her character so much, because she's a young mom, who had gotten into trouble in the past [and] lost her son to the system, because of her criminal record. She's trying to change her life around. She's very talented and smart, and throughout the series, you see her go from being an artist and a shell to trying to evolve, asking questions, and learning about record deals. I feel like that's where I am in my life, too," she says. The show further explores the conflicting relationship between the characters Malika and Renee 'Windy' Johnson and how the two women want to divert into two contrasting paths; Windy wants to continue reveling in the rapping about murder, guns, and violence, while Malika desperately wants to change her environment.

"I feel like a lot of people, especially from places that I've been from, will relate to this story and might have a different outcome in life, hopefully," she adds.

Another series that centers around people striving for a better life was the acclaimed F.X. Network program Atlanta where Augustin played the role of Kenya, the ex-girlfriend of Earnest 'Earn' Marks, played by Donald Glover, in the final season.

"It was cool; honestly, a dream [that] came true because when the show came out, I was in Florida at the time. So I was still getting to know T.V. a little bit. But I remember watching the show and feeling like, this is us, it made me feel like I could write for T.V. I see how sometimes our stories are obscure and weakened. But we can depict it on T.V., make it funny and interesting, and even cringe sometimes. But it's still an authentic way of telling a story," Sh'Kia says. When her agent sent her the audition for the show, she instantly deflated her excitement and expectations because she felt since the critically acclaimed series had received notable awards like NAACP Image Award, two Golden Globes, and an Emmy Award, the producers would look to try to tie down "bigger stars." But Augustin landed the role through the charmed stroke of serendipity and destiny.

"Being on set felt easy. Everybody was so chill. Donald Glover is who he is on screen; he's so chill and calm, and everybody's [was] cool. There's [was] no pressure; it just was such a vibe. So it just made me feel like, 'oh, wow, what an easy day of work,' where it felt like everybody was having fun and bringing good energy, and it was just no ego. I'm just so glad I was able to be a part of it," she gushes. In the same vein, she is following in the footsteps of Glover by also creating a series with her husband titled Kinfolk.

Augustin often collaborates with her husband, Daniel Augustin, and the couple has worked on several web series. During the pandemic of 2020, she wrote Kinfolk around the time her grandmother passed away and used her writing as a therapeutic method to grieve her loss.

"I went to the funeral, and I hate to laugh at my grandmother's funeral, but when you go back home to meet the family you haven't seen in years, it just ends up being funny. Certain people got up to speak, and her funeral became so hilarious because it was such a good time to see all these people and it made me feel like I was back at home. Then I just thought about how reckless my family is, and I was like, I need to write about this; I need to write about this experience," she said, speaking of her creative inspiration. "We all were prepared and had so much time to deal with it. We had time to spend with her. I felt like leaving there; I felt at peace because she had been suffering for so long. I'm just so happy that she's in a better place."

Her childhood ordeals with her family served as a concrete foundation to base Kinfolk that encompasses her stories from growing up in a dynamic involving three half-siblings, step-sisters, brothers, mothers, and fathers.

Creating and owning content is one path the Kold x Windy actress utilizes in Hollywood to establish generational wealth. Through her production company Augustin Productions, she intends to break the cycle of poverty, lack of education, and opportunity.

"When you're constantly working for someone else, they'll always get a bigger cut than you. I truly admire Tyler Perry because I feel like he's mastered ownership. I think some people don't even understand the formula he's created for himself, allowing him to build wealth. I think that's the ultimate goal," she says.

As a contracted actress, living expenses in Los Angeles, California, are astronomical. L.A. is one of the most expensive cities in the U.S., with the median annual income only ranking $655 above the nationwide base.

"You're working paycheck to paycheck, gig to gig, movie to movie, show to show, unless you're a producer and have some real agency over the things you're trying to create. As an actor or artist, you want to be the CEO of your brand and company to leverage it and make a life for yourself. Because so many actors put off life, having children, vacations, and so many things because they're trying to chase this dream or the next gig. But if you find a way to master ownership, you can make this life worthwhile while we're here because we don't even have that much time; let's try to find a way to enjoy this life while we've got it," Sh'Kia wisely advises.

However, like many other Black artists, another hurdle she must overcome is landing the next job and having the Hollywood system address the racial-equity roadblocks regarding "financing, content development, marketing, and distribution."

According to McKinsey & Company's report, the television and film industry "[stifles] Black talent throughout the film and T.V. industry ecosystem — and at every step of the content-development process — Hollywood is leaving at least $10 billion in revenue on the table each year. Achieving racial equity will make the film and T.V. sector more just and more profitable."

Sh'Kia has seen some changes from different studios instituting diversity programs, yet she recognizes other DEI initiatives have gone to the chopping block.

"It's hard to keep up with whether or not any real diversity is happening. I feel like I do see a lot more opportunities for myself than I did before. But I do see a lot of independent creators, [generating] their own opportunities, and that's why there is a lot more diversity that you see on T.V. My projects are naturally going to be diverse because those are the stories are centered in my community and experiences," she reasons. "Honestly, we'd all be better off if we weren't thinking so much about what Hollywood was doing and focused more on what we were doing ourselves. You're wasting time complaining about people and things you can't control. I can't control them [or] any of those programs. All I can control is what I do every day, the stories I wake up and write every day, and the efforts I make every day to put our stories out there. So that's what I'm focused on, making sure I do my part because that's all I can control."

She is co-writing a psychological thriller called Burn House with Destiny Macon from South Carolina through her production company. The two artists completed a project last year called Talk Black, a short film directed and written by Macon, selected by ABFF 2022 and nominated for the HBO Short Film Award.

"We've spent the last six months writing a feature film script together, weekly meetings through Zoom, and we just finished the first draft. Now it's been submitted for a grant in South Carolina. So hopefully, it gets selected for the grant, but if not, we plan to go the crowdfunding route to get it out there,” she says.

Watch season one of Kold x Windy online here.