Beauty in Black‘s Taylor Polidore Williams Has a Special Playlist to Get Into Character as Kimmie — Here’s What’s on It (Exclusive)

The actress, who portrays Kimmie on the hit show, tells PEOPLE about the new season and what’s next for her character

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Taylor Polidore Williams is starring in season 2, part 1 of Netflix hit Beauty in Black
Williams tells PEOPLE that the cast is like “family” in real life, but onscreen, the characters “need therapy”
The actress also breaks down her prep process to get into character, which includes a specific playlist for Kimmie

Beauty in Black is “juicy” — and even more so in season 2, says Taylor Polidore Williams.

With plot points ranging from sex trafficking to blackmail and murder in the Bellarie cosmetics dynasty, it’s no wonder Williams, 32, jokes “they need therapy” in an exclusive PEOPLE interview — and highlights just how different she is from her onscreen persona.

Netflix’s hit show returned with part 1 of season 2 in September, resuming Kimmie’s arc from exotic dancer to business woman and COO of the titular Beauty in Black brand.

While speaking with PEOPLE, Williams highlights her exhaustive prep to get into character — and some unorthodox methods she uses to transform into Kimmie.

Williams says that she journals as Kimmie leading up to pivotal moments in the plot.

Taylor Polidore Williams as Kimmie in episode 201 of Beauty in Black.Quantrell Colbert/Netflix

“So if that looks like — on my fifth birthday, the girl threw cake at me — I’ll kind of journal through the memory,” Williams explains. “So it’s in my brain kind of forming this person.”

To further immerse herself in Kimmie’s world, Williams even has a playlist dedicated to the character. What’s on it? Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow.” “Because ‘I don’t dance now, I make money moves,'” Williams says, echoing Cardi’s lyrics.

“I’m very kind of regimented about it,” she explains, ” . . . while I’m in actual costume, then I play the character playlist.”

After Williams tackles heavy scenes as Kimmie, she actually winds down with her own, separate, “Positive Taylor” playlist — which features Beyoncé, T-Pain and Taylor Swift.

The cast of Beauty in Black portrays a toxic brood in the show, but Williams tells PEOPLE that, in reality, they’re like “family” when the cameras stop rolling.

“Despite what our characters are like to each other, we have a really good dynamic on set,” Williams says. “Outside of just the working environment, you know, we’ll have these difficult scenes, and we’re cracking up at each other.”

Taylor Polidore Williams in Beauty in Black.Quantrell Colbert/Netflix

Williams says it’s “a blessing to be able to do what we love to do, but to be able to do it with people that you respect and that you love and that love you and are positive and happy — it really is a beautiful working environment.”

Taylor Polidore Williams on Oct. 2.John Nacion/Getty for Empire State Realty Trust

Looking to the future, Williams tells PEOPLE she’s open to new types of roles, even though she’s cemented her name in the drama space with Beauty and Snowfall. She’s on the hunt for something “a little lighter.”

“Something that has some comedy in it, something that has some action in it, something that’s not as heavy because I’m not a heavy person,” Williams explains. “I understand heaviness, absolutely, but I choose not to, like, live on that side. So I would love to do something that is just different.”

Whether it’s a historical action film or comedy thriller, Williams says that the most important factor for her is always the story.

“I look at, ‘Do I like the story? Do I want to tell the story with these people?’ ” Williams says.