Djakarta (artist)

Djakarta
Born
Djakarta Jacobs
Other names
  • Deena Jacobs
Education
Occupation(s)Actress, artist, comedian

Djakarta Jacobs, better known mononymously as Djakarta, is an American contemporary artist, comedian and actress.[1] She is often mistaken for a persona she developed named "Deena Jacobs," who has appeared on numerous reality shows including Divorce Court, Dr. Drew’s Lifechangers, RuPaul's Drag U and H8R[2][3] as well as her YouTube rants which are featured on blogs such as The Huffington Post, Perez Hilton, Bossip and Sister2Sister.[3][4]

Early life and education

Djakarta was born on February 29, 1975, and raised in Washington, D.C., in the Columbia Heights neighborhood.[5][6] Her father, Charles W. Jacobs, was a calligrapher who co-ran the Galerie Triangle art gallery with her mother, Averille E Jacobs, from their home.[6][7] Her brother, Charles W. Jacobs Jr., is an architectural designer and adjunct professor at The Catholic University of America. She has been married to actor Erin Noyd since May 2013.[8]

As a child, Djakarta studied acting at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. She studied commercial photography at Edith Cowan University in Perth before transferring to the Corcoran College of Art and Design in D.C. She graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography.[5][6][9] Her senior thesis was selected to be in the Conner Contemporary Arts Academy.[1][5]

Career

In 2006, Djakarta worked as a manager at the National Archives gift shop and was selected to introduce the new US $10 bill to the world.[10] While working in the National Archives, she remained active in the city's art scene.[11][12] As a visual artist, Djakarta was a member of the District of Columbia Arts Center Sparkplug arts collective[13] and curated exhibitions for the Washington Project for the Arts.[14] She received two grants from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.[5]

In 2004, her video work of Halle Berry was a featured artist in an exhibition held in the abandoned Capital Children's Museum called Artomatic.[15] In 2005 her multimedia work titled Niggaz4Life (named after the N.W.A song of the same name) was showcased at the Transformer Gallery in D.C.[16] The installation utilized an imaginary advertising campaign to encourage multiracial celebrities to embrace their membership in the black community. The gallery installation featured images of celebrities including Vin Diesel, Mariah Carey and Tiger Woods and a video featuring clips from films including Booty Call, Soul Plane, Bringing Down the House and Spike Lee's Bamboozled. In conjunction with the gallery display, the project involved a street art aspect as Djakarta pasted military recruitment-style posters that said "WE WANT YOU" above images of the celebrities framed in the colors red, green and black.[6][17]

Her photographic series fiction was featured in the 2006 Janus exhibit held at the Maryland Art Place.[5] In 2008, she was one of eleven artists to be featured in a show at the Arlington Arts Center called SHE'S SO ARTICULATE: Black Women Artists Reclaim the Narrative.[12][18]

Djakarta moved to Los Angeles in 2008 to pursue acting. She established her production the New American Divas production company in 2009.[19][20] In 2010, she appeared in the Company of Angels production Downtown Curren(t)cy: Lives Looking for Change.[21] The same year, she produced I’m an Actor, They Don’t Get It through New American Divas at the Stella Adler Theater.[22][23] In 2011, she appeared in two plays for the Towne Street Theatre 4th Annual Ten-Minute Play Festival: Social Science and I Dream of Emmett Till.[24][25]

Deena Jacobs

In 2010, Djakarta began appearing on reality television as Deena Jacobs, playing the role of the "Angry Black Woman."[3][26][27] The character was inspired by Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat Sagdiyev.[28] Deena Jacobs is known for her rants against pop culture figures, which Djakarta posts on her YouTube channel. Pop culture targets have included Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Amber Rose, Rihanna, Chris Brown and Supernanny.[27][29] Deena Jacobs has also appeared on various radio programs such as BlogTalkRadio and Power Talk with Lorraine Jacques-White.[30][31]

In 2011, Deena Jacobs appeared on the CW program H8R as Kim Kardashian's "#1 hater."[27][32] The appearance proved to confuse members of the blogosphere in regards to her authenticity and intentions.[33][34] The same year, Deena Jacobs was a guest on an episode of Dr. Drew’s Lifechangers that focused on the topic of interracial dating.[30][35]

After seeing the "Deena Jacobs" videos, Tyler the Creator hand-picked Djakarta to play reoccurring character Tabbey Tarnetta on the Adult Swim sketch comedy show Loiter Squad.[28]

References

  1. ^ a b O'Sullivan, Michael (27 August 2004). "Connecting Past, Present and Futures". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  2. ^ Chantal, Ciera (25 January 2014). "This Ain't Life News: Crazy Chick Deena Jacobs Goes Off On Kim Kardashian". impeccableimperfections.com. Impeccable Imperfections INC. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  3. ^ a b c "RealityWanted Success Story: Interview with Member Deena Jacobs". realitywanted.com. RealityWanted.com/ICast LLC. 24 September 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  4. ^ Victorian, Brande (28 October 2011). "Dr Drew Show Pimps Black Relationships With YouTube Crazies". madamenoire.com. MadameNoire. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Janus Catalog" (PDF). ericfinzi.com. Maryland Art Place. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d Lipscomb, Hetty (29 July 2005). "For Us, by Us". washingtoncitypaper.com. CL Washington, Inc. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  7. ^ Lewis, Jo Ann (7 February 1987). "Bringing New Art To Light". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  8. ^ "Djakarta". imdb.com. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  9. ^ "E2: Carving a Path". transformerdc.org. Transformer. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  10. ^ "Move over Alexander Hamilton: Treasury says woman will be picked for $10 bill". cjonline.com. The Topeka Capital-Journal. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  11. ^ "Washington, DC Art News". Washington, DC Art News. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  12. ^ a b "SHE'S SO ARTICULATE: Black Women Artists Reclaim the Narrative". Arlington Arts Center. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  13. ^ "SPARKPLUG: DCAC's Artists Collective". District Of Columbia Arts Center. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  14. ^ "Experimental Media Series I". Washington Project For The Arts. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  15. ^ Shott, Chris (19 November 2004). "Show & Tell: Baromatic". Washington City Paper. Washington, DC.
  16. ^ "At Transformer, An Army of One". The Washington Post. 21 July 2005. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  17. ^ "DCist Interview: Djakarta". dcist.com. Gothamist LLC. 29 July 2005. Archived from the original on 6 November 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  18. ^ "SHE'S SO ARTICULATE: Black Women Artists Reclaim the Narrative". bmoreart.com. BMOREART. 10 June 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  19. ^ "Company Profile for NEW AMERICAN DIVAS, LLC". wysk.com. Documented Transactions, Inc. Retrieved 6 August 2015.[permanent dead link‍]
  20. ^ "We Are Legend - New American Divas". california.14thstory.com. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  21. ^ "Company of Angels presents LA VIEWS 4 Downtown Curren(t)cy: Lives Looking for Change". companyofangels.org. Company of Angels. Archived from the original on 15 October 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  22. ^ "I'm an Actor, They Don't Get It". YouTube. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  23. ^ "I'm an Actor, They Don't Get It". tolucantimes.info. The Toulucan Times. 15 July 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  24. ^ "Djakarta". abouttheartists.com. About The Artists. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  25. ^ Taylor, Pat (10 February 2011). "Two productions to talk about this week… both recommended!". tolucantimes.info. The Tolucan Times. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  26. ^ Ramos-Chapman, Naima (20 October 2011). "The Right to Anger: Kim Kardashian's 'H8R' Speaks". huffingtonpost.com. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  27. ^ a b c "Black Woman Confronts Kim Kardashian "You're Not The First Chick With A Booty" On New Show 'H8R' [Video]". bossip.com. Moguldom Media Group. 29 September 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  28. ^ a b "D.C. Native Djakarta (Deena Jacobs), Makes it Big in Hollywood!". 20 March 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  29. ^ "Deena Jacobs". bossip.com. Moguldom Media Group. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  30. ^ a b "Black Women Are Lazy And Only Good For A Meal". atlanta.cbslocal.com. CBS Radio Inc. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  31. ^ "The Negative Stereotypes Of Black Women w/ Deena Jacobs". blogtalkradio.com. BlogTalkRadio, Inc. 10 August 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  32. ^ "Kim Kardashian's #1 H8R Speaks!". PerezHilton.com. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  33. ^ "Kim Kardashian Confronted By Her 'Hater' [This Show Is Awful…]". necolebitchie.com. Necole Bitchie. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  34. ^ "Kim K has a professional hater". s2smagazine.com. Sister 2 Sister Magazine. 30 September 2011. Archived from the original on 14 September 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  35. ^ "Straight Disrespectful: Man Smacks "Kim Kardashian H8ter's" Azz On National TV During Tense Confrontation On Interracial Dating!". worldstarhiphop.com. World Star Hip Hop. 29 October 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2015.