Morris Chestnut, 1998; Morris Chestnut, 2024.Photo: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection; Robin L Marshall for ESSENCE (Getty Images)
There’s no denying the beauty and brilliance of the Black man. But we’d be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge that in the 1990s, God was seemingly handing out premium face cards to a handful of our favorite Black actors and musicians. We’d also be inauthentic if we also didn’t express our subsequent anger and disappointment at the revelation that He seemingly stopped putting these types of fine men into production as soon as that decade was over.
It’s in that spirit of appreciation that we felt it fitting to take a leisurely stroll to look at a handful of our favorite ‘90s heartthrobs — then and now — to reminisce and pray that God somehow hears our prayers and starts reissuing this kind of fineness again.
Morris “My Forever Chocolate King” Chestnut. Blame it on “The Best Man,” “Like Mike,” or “Reasonable Doubt”—either way it goes, it’s got to be a sin for Morris to just keep looking better and better with each project and each passing year. Between his smooth melanin and his blindingly white smile, there’s truly no one like Chestnut. He is the prototype.
