‘Always Work On Your Next Move’—Kandi Burruss Talks Leaving ‘Housewives,’ Broadway Wins, And Her Mogul Mindset
Last year, Kandi Burruss turned the page on her iconic 14-season run on The Real Housewives of Atlanta—announcing she would not return for Season 16. That said, she’s as busy as ever. The multihyphenate mogul keeps a full plate, with no shortage of projects in motion.
By now, Kandi’s expansive body of work speaks for itself. She’s a multiplatinum, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, TV personality, actress, restaurateur, and Tony-nominated Broadway producer. Her impact on the culture resonates through music, television, and now the world of theater.
Whether she’s in the spotlight or behind the scenes, one thing fuels her staying power—Kandi is a phenomenal businesswoman. She spoke with iOne Digital from Atlanta to reflect on life after Housewives, her passion for Broadway, and the mantra guiding her journey.
End of an Era
This fall, Burruss will receive the Wifetime Achievement Award at BravoCon in Las Vegas, celebrating her enduring run on the Housewives franchise. It’s a fitting tribute marking the end of an era she helped define.
“Walking away from something that you had been a part of for 14 seasons is not easy, you know? But I feel good about my decision,” she said. “I took the leap of faith to say, okay, that part of my life is behind me.”
Kandi’s Advice For Riley
Despite leaving the show, Burruss is still in the mix, appearing on Bravo’s Next Gen NYC alongside her daughter, Riley Burruss. “I’m really excited for her. I’ve been doing my best to guide her hard-headed behind,” the mom of three said with a laugh.
As for her advice to 22-year-old Riley—who stars alongside other twenty-somethings navigating young adulthood in New York City—Kandi kept it simple, “Whatever you say, whatever you do—just stand on it. There’s nothing you can do that’ll make me not love you and support you. Just be a woman of integrity. Don’t let them roll the tapes back on you, showing you lying! I’ve never been that person, and I don’t want you to be that person.”
Booked and Busy
Since stepping away from RHOA, Burruss hasn’t slowed down, with little time to reflect.
She’d braced herself for “FOMO” (fear of missing out) once the new season began airing. “But what helped is that I always have a lot going on,” she said. “I didn’t feel like I was missing out because I had other things to keep my mind occupied.”
While the show was filming in 2024, Kandi was on the road with Xscape and SWV for the 30-city Queens of R&B Tour. That same year, she joined the production team for the record-breaking Broadway revival of Othello, starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Broadway has become another space where Kandi thrives. Before Othello, Burruss co-produced the 2024 revival of the beloved classic, The Wiz, another standout success in her producing journey.
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Theater Kid
A theater kid at heart, Burruss fell in love with the stage early on. She graduated from Tri-Cities High School in East Point, Georgia—the starting point for a long list of famed alumni including André 3000, Big Boi, Kenan Thompson, and her fellow Xscape members Tameka “Tiny” Harris, Tamika Scott, and LaTocha Scott-Bivens, to name a few.
“My love for theater happened in my high school years. I always felt like this is something that I wanted to do.”
Other Tri-Cities graduates who made their mark on Broadway—like actress and singer Saycon Sengbloh and sound designer Justin Ellington (who worked on Othello)—inspired Kandi to “really go after it” in recent years.
Broadway Debut
Kandi made her Broadway debut in 2018, playing Mama Morton in Chicago. During the pandemic, she shifted behind the scenes as a producer on Thoughts of a Colored Man.
“I just wanted to be back in that world,” she said. “Every business that I’ve been a part of, I start off as one of the talent—but I’m always curious about how the behind the scenes work.”
She went on to co-produce The Piano Lesson, earning a Tony nomination in 2023 for Best Revival of a Play.
Power of Her Platform
Burruss understands the power of her platform and how to connect with audiences—not only as a performer, but as a producer. By drawing on her wide-reaching fanbase, she’s helping usher new patrons into Broadway venues that haven’t always felt inclusive.
“I’ve seen the audience change from when I first started,” she said, reflecting on the mostly white ticketholders who’d fill the seats. “But now, a lot of people in the crowd are people of color, Black people. It’s so cool to see so many people—and not just from New York—flying in from everywhere to come and support our shows.”
Business Mantra
With a constant flow of ventures in her ecosystem, Burruss is always thinking several steps ahead.
“I realized a long time ago that you could be on top of the world, but as soon as you take your foot off the pedal, people will be like, ‘Oh, they used to be so dope.’”
Her cousin had a saying, “Well, used-to-bee’s don’t make no honey, so don’t nobody care what you used to be.” Kandi laughed, “She wasn’t trying to be mean, but she don’t know how her words stuck!”
It’s this mindset that keeps the mogul moving forward.
“Always work on your next move while you’re in your current move. If you look at the past decade or so, I’m always working on something, trying to figure out how to make the next opportunity. Being a Black woman in any business, you don’t want to wait for somebody to give opportunity to you. It’s better when you can make the opportunity.”
On the Horizon
With her legacy in motion, she’s not done yet. Already a Grammy winner with Tony and Emmy nods under her belt, she’s got her eye on achieving EGOT status—a rare distinction for those who’ve won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. “My dream is definitely attainable if I keep going,” she affirmed.
As Kandi embraces this new chapter, she continues to shape culture not just by showing up—but by building the stage itself.
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