LOS ANGELES—Almost a year to the day where he became the first face of Noir Male, DeAngelo Jackson has signed a contract to appear as a studio exclusive for the popular label.
“Since I did that first scene with Noir Male, it’s been kind of crazy, but in a good way,” says Jackson. “It put me on a larger platform to really expand my audience. I’ve just been busier and working more, so it’s been phenomenal. I’m very excited for what’s coming up next.”
When Mile High Media started Noir Male in August of 2018, it was in an effort to “break down interracial porn stereotypes and conventions” by blending “classic elegance with modern style, showcasing men of color as they deserve to be seen—sensual, sexual, and unapologetically fine.” To celebrate the launch, the studio offered a free scene—pairing Jackson with Jackson Reed—to garner interest. It worked.
“I recall getting on the set and just being taken aback. The location was gorgeous—it was beautiful, just very lush. And the production was top notch,” Jackson says. “I had never experienced anything like that before, just the production quality of it, and Chi Chi LaRue and the whole production crew was wonderful, just very chill and very professional. And Jackson was awesome—the chemistry was phenomenal. From beginning to end, I was just in awe, thinking, ‘Man, this is gonna be really big.’ I was just very, very excited.”
The relationship started when LaRue reached out to Jackson on Twitter.
“I had no idea who Chi Chi LaRue was…I actually had to do some research. I was like, ‘Oh…wow!’” he recalls. Informed that LaRue will probably stare daggers at him the next time they see each other, Jackson laughs. “I mean, she knows. Honesty I had no idea. I was like, ‘Wow, this is a really, really big deal!’”
Jackson started in the industry in 2007 with FlavaWorks, then took a long break in 2013 before returning to the studio as an exclusive in 2017.
“So Chi Chi reached out to the owner of FlavaWorks and he allowed me to do the scene. Chi Chi was helping starting up Noir Male, and she had a sit-down with me and Max Konnor about it, and was very excited,” Jackson recalls.
“And so for me, when I did it, my first scene was something that just blew up. I really expanded my visibility, and it was just like, ‘Who’s DeAngelo Jackson?’ And up until then, I had been working for 11 years in the industry, so I’m like, ‘Okay, here I am!’ I had been doing this for so long, and finally I was getting some sort of attention. It was great.”
And Jackson quickly became a big fan of LaRue’s.
“That first scene, I loved it. I love her input. As we were filming, she’s very, very vocal,” he laughs. “And I love that. I love being directed. If something is hot, let me know. If something is wrong, let me know in the moment. And she would definitely let you know if it’s hot or not. She’s in the background screaming, so it was great. The love was there. It was phenomenal. I love Chi Chi.”
Following his debut scene, Jackson quickly followed it up with two more (one with Jacob Peterson, one with Leo Luckett), and earlier this year he appeared with Bar Addison.
“It was a back-and-forth with FlavaWorks and Noir Male to get me to do more scenes, and how much I would be paid and so forth. It was important that I was known to be a FlavaWorks exclusive, so things became kind of tricky there. So when I was able to do more scenes—not as many as I would have wanted back then—the dynamic was a little tricky, but overall it was good.”
When Jackson’s FlavaWorks contract was starting to near its end, he knew a new world was about to open up for him—and so did everyone else.
“It started to come to life once I was at the Phoenix Forum if I recall correctly. That’s when I noticed people were like, ‘Oh, who’s this? Who are you with? How long is your contract? We would love to sign you.’ And I told Chi Chi, ‘Look, I love Noir Male so much.’ And the thing with me is, I’m very loyal, you know? I’m really big on loyalty, and I feel there is loyalty for Noir Male. I was with it in the beginning, I can see where it’s going to go, and I want to be a part of it. That’s why I was chomping at the bit for my other contract to come to an end.”
But Jackson wasn’t necessarily looking to head right into another one.
“I was very hesitant to jump into another contract, just because of a potential lack of freedom, the issues that might pop up within a contact and what you’re tied to. You might feel stuck, like you’re not being utilized enough, or you’re being shelved. But we worked it out,” he laughs.
“It was a lot of back and forth, and once all my nervousness was gone, l was like, ‘This is going to be right for me.’ I can see what I’m going to do with it. It’s going to be more than just porn—I can expand into more if I want to. So that’s where my excitement really lies. I love doing porn, don’t get me wrong; but I don’t want to be a 50-year-old porn star. And no disrespect to anyone who is still doing it, but I don’t want to be that person—it’s just not for me.”
Jackson says Noir Male has been supportive with his potential interests. He says what swayed him into saying yes to another exclusive contract was “the freedom for me to expand to do some serious acting if I wanted to, and to be supported by the company if I wanted to do something outside of porn. I really do want to expand into it if I can, move over into a mainstream market as far as acting. And to have the backing and support of the company to expand my brand and do more mainstream things—and for that company to help me expand my brand as DeAngelo Jackson—is phenomenal to me. It’s very, very exciting. And I have this wonderful manager, Dwight O’Neal, who is fighting or me and helping me. I am very excited, and I’m ready to get to work with Noir Male to get this ball rolling.”
Jackson signed a one-year deal and is scheduled to appear in around 25 scenes across Noir Male and Icon Male. Next month he shoots with Beaux Banks (among others), and he has already shot a few scenes that haven’t come out yet.
“It’s been great as far as hitting it off with my co-stars, and I always love the location. I always love working with the crew and with Chi Chi, so I am definitely excited for what’s to come next.”
He’s also excited to help evolve the plight of men of color in the industry.
“I’ve got to be careful with what I say here,” laughs Jackson as he pauses. “I think we still have a long way to go. I think the whole vision with Noir Male is for us to be shown and presented in a light that isn’t thuggish. We’ve had an issue of being fetishized. We still have a long way to go.”
Jackson says that he and his peers like Konnor are hoping to help bring positive change.
“We’re not just these big dudes with big dicks screwing anything. We have range, you know? We can do more than what has been presented, and I’m hoping to continue to change the perception of black males in porn—and to also fight for us to get paid on par with our white peers, which is also an issue that is a very touchy subject, that I will not go into right now,” he says with another laugh.
In the meantime, he will continue building his brand and living his life in Atlanta.
“Since I’ve been doing this full time, if I’m not traveling, I’m here just going to the gym or coming home and relaxing, re-charging, re-grouping and trying to prepare for the next gig. You’re always just going and going,” he says, snapping his fingers. “What keeps me sane are all the moments with my friends, and just going out to a bar and relaxing, catching up—and going to the gym. Because if you don’t have something that keeps you grounded, you can get lost. You can tend to lose yourself, and I’ve seen it before, unfortunately. So it’s important to keep yourself busy.”
And the gym is where he will soon find himself.
“The older I’m getting, the thicker I’m becoming. So essentially, what I’m trying to do right now is maintain. I’m not doing anything crazy or trying to switch it up too much, but to also make sure I’m still growing, keeping it tight. But the older I’m becoming, it’s not as easy,” he laughs. “I’ve had to cut back on the IPAs. I used to be able to smash back a few and not have to worry about it, but now…I’m gonna have to tweak this a bit because I can’t do it like when I was younger. Sometimes I’m big on hoppy beer, like IPAs, along with red wine, cocktails and whatnot on weekends. I keep switching it up. But I can’t do it like used to without noticing the effects later.”
Somehow, we have a feeling Jackson will maintain just fine.
