1 00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:03,320 Speaker 1: Calls media. 2 00:00:05,559 --> 00:00:11,960 Speaker 2: Okay, listen, forty million people, forty million, Okay. 3 00:00:12,119 --> 00:00:13,400 Speaker 1: What that means is. 4 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:18,919 Speaker 2: You know these people. Forty million is way too many 5 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 2: for you to not know these people. And what I 6 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:28,240 Speaker 2: mean by these people is people that have or are 7 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:34,680 Speaker 2: currently up until tomorrow, receiving SNAP benefits. Snap benefits were 8 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 2: at one point called EPT, which before that we knew. 9 00:00:38,479 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: As food stamps. 10 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 2: Now, when I was a kid, food stamps were a punchline. 11 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 2: It meant you was poored. You know, they used to 12 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:50,159 Speaker 2: be a you know, joke on sitcoms or when we 13 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 2: was roasting each other. You know you're talking, Yeah, yeah, mama, 14 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:55,480 Speaker 2: food stamps don't fool Well, a lot of us mama's 15 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 2: your grab mama's were. 16 00:00:59,720 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: True. 17 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:06,880 Speaker 2: We think, in a purposeful move by America and our 18 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 2: government and just the stage of capitalism we're in the 19 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 2: way to otherise and to villainize the poor has made us, 20 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:22,200 Speaker 2: in so many ways ignore the obvious, right, what is 21 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 2: right in front of our faces, what is truly clear. 22 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:27,040 Speaker 1: And present. 23 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:32,880 Speaker 2: Not to gibble, but as the blame game is being 24 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 2: shifted back and forth over whose fault it is that 25 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:38,399 Speaker 2: the government is shut down, what I want to do 26 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 2: today is not play the blame game. But I just 27 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:45,479 Speaker 2: want to walk you through just some humanity here, all right, 28 00:01:46,520 --> 00:02:02,600 Speaker 2: tap me in with I remember when I was a kid, 29 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 2: you know, participating in the backing sessions, your mama sessions, 30 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 2: the roasting, the snaps to come back to all this 31 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:11,520 Speaker 2: good stuff. I made these jokes about these food stamps. 32 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:15,920 Speaker 2: I remember they were being presented on TV. I remember, 33 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:19,680 Speaker 2: you know, they used to be like cash notes, but 34 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 2: and there were a different color so when you was 35 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 2: in the grocery line, you could tell that that person 36 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:29,639 Speaker 2: was in front of you had you know, ebt or 37 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:33,399 Speaker 2: at food stamps. Eventually they became like you know, debit cards, right, 38 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 2: But I remember. 39 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:36,359 Speaker 1: Making one of them jokes. 40 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 2: And then my grandma and not my grandmother, my dad 41 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:44,359 Speaker 2: and mom told me in passing, you know your your 42 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:45,959 Speaker 2: grandmother's on food stamps. 43 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:47,280 Speaker 1: And I was like. 44 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 2: What, And it just blew my mind, and then a 45 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 2: lot of memories came back. I remember going to the 46 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 2: grocery store with her. I remember her money being different colors. 47 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 2: I don't know why I didn't connect the dots. And 48 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 2: then it meant that once it's one of yours, you 49 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 2: got to recalibrate everything you think about what those things are, right, 50 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:09,240 Speaker 2: and who these people are. 51 00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:12,119 Speaker 1: My grandma, oh you know what. She was like, well, 52 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:14,440 Speaker 1: well she can't work. And then he tried. 53 00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:16,959 Speaker 2: They tried to explain to me, No, it's not that 54 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:20,360 Speaker 2: people can't work, but that don't work. It's that some people, 55 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 2: yeah they're retired, they're too old, or you know, their 56 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 2: retirement is just not enough money, so you need to 57 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:29,359 Speaker 2: extra to get over there. 58 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:31,359 Speaker 1: And I was like, huh, I wonder if that. 59 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 2: Was one of the beginnings of my radicalization moments that 60 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 2: I was like, oh, I have been hoodwinked. Did a 61 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 2: little more research, and I was like researchers in just 62 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:43,480 Speaker 2: asked my parents questions. I was like, well, what did 63 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:47,440 Speaker 2: my grandma do? Oh, she was a waitress. Okay, so 64 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 2: she was a waitress. I was like, oh, yeah, I know, 65 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 2: that's probably why she was service tables, why she ain't 66 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 2: got enough when she retired. 67 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:53,160 Speaker 1: Right. 68 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:58,560 Speaker 2: Turns out I found out maybe about a year ago, 69 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 2: her and her brother owned the diner. I had no 70 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 2: idea we owned businesses in our family. Yes, my uncle 71 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:15,280 Speaker 2: Billy Ray, her brother, and my grandmother owned a diner 72 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:20,919 Speaker 2: that is on the corner of Avalon It was on 73 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,640 Speaker 2: the corner of Avalon and I think Manchester, or right 74 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:27,920 Speaker 2: next to where Fremont High is. She used to own 75 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:32,159 Speaker 2: a restaurant. I had no idea. So this woman wasn't 76 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:36,200 Speaker 2: just a waitress, she was a business owner. She just retired. 77 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:40,360 Speaker 2: Now that was my first inclination. As I got older, 78 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:46,920 Speaker 2: you start noticing your friend's lunches that they're a little 79 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:50,719 Speaker 2: different than other friends lunches. There's a certain flavor of cheese. 80 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:53,880 Speaker 2: Turns out that was government cheese. I remember government jee's. 81 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:59,200 Speaker 2: I just things that you don't realize are this close 82 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:02,120 Speaker 2: to you. As the point of is taping. Hopefully this 83 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:04,000 Speaker 2: will make sense to you. Once I got to college, 84 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:06,480 Speaker 2: our parents were doing their best putting their kids through school. 85 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:08,560 Speaker 2: Somehow another a lot of us graduated. Now I was 86 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:11,839 Speaker 2: an art major, right. I remember when I got my 87 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:14,080 Speaker 2: first apartment. I went to the store with one of 88 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:15,960 Speaker 2: my home boys and he. 89 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:17,560 Speaker 1: Tapped his card and I was like, what is that? 90 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:20,000 Speaker 1: He was ask my EBT card. I was like what. 91 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 1: He goes, Oh, yeah, I'm I'm on government assistant. Boy. 92 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:27,559 Speaker 2: I'm a poor college student. I only make this much. 93 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:31,040 Speaker 2: I was like, how are you doing that? He goes dog, 94 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:34,920 Speaker 2: I'm trying. Here's the three jobs I have, and I 95 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:39,719 Speaker 2: lost two of them, so I was on unemployment and 96 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:43,719 Speaker 2: until I can get to the next thing, I signed up. 97 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:45,040 Speaker 2: You fell out the paperwork. It was a lot of 98 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:47,159 Speaker 2: paperwork you can't be lying on. He was just explaining 99 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 2: the process. I never thought about it, from the process 100 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:52,840 Speaker 2: of us being young people having to go through this. 101 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:56,040 Speaker 2: And then finally, I remember when I started doing music 102 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:59,760 Speaker 2: and touring full time, and now you start having kids. 103 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 2: You know, a lot of my friends who were maybe 104 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:05,840 Speaker 2: doing music before decided they was going to switch into 105 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:11,160 Speaker 2: like an entrepreneur sort of type beat. And you know 106 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:14,680 Speaker 2: what happens is once you start a business, maybe you 107 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 2: go into the business loan and you know, you create 108 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:20,200 Speaker 2: your LLCs and you learn and you follow, truly follow 109 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 2: the American dream. What you realize is they always tell 110 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:25,599 Speaker 2: you that you're not going to be profitable. What that 111 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:30,880 Speaker 2: means is you have no income. We got children, you know, 112 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 2: forty percent of the people of the forty two million 113 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:36,120 Speaker 2: people receiving SNAP benefits are children. 114 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: Their parents work. Guys. It's dune dunk. It's not enough. 115 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:52,520 Speaker 2: So a country with just the bare minimum of moral 116 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:56,440 Speaker 2: fortitude is going to support them? Do you know the 117 00:06:56,520 --> 00:07:01,600 Speaker 2: percentage of Walmart's income that comes from Snap benefits the 118 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 2: percentage of our economy that actually just it? Don't don't 119 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:11,840 Speaker 2: that make sense? You got to buy it somewhere. You're 120 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:15,000 Speaker 2: going to buy food, fam, I don't know what y'all. 121 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:16,920 Speaker 2: What y'all think this is? 122 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 1: You go buy food for your kids. 123 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 2: So anyway, back to these entrepreneurs. You read these, read these, 124 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 2: listen to them. These are people I know. These are 125 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:34,560 Speaker 2: people I love people with in the coffee industry with 126 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 2: four locations. 127 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 1: People whose businesses. 128 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 2: Have employees, and you out in the streets protesting like 129 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:49,680 Speaker 2: I am with capitalism. Y'all mad at these CEOs, ain't you? 130 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:53,600 Speaker 2: CEO is making twice as much and three times of 131 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:56,720 Speaker 2: some places it's a forty two to one. They make 132 00:07:56,800 --> 00:08:00,400 Speaker 2: forty two times what their employees make. I know a 133 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 2: lot of entrepreneurs who haven't taken salaries for two years, 134 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:07,560 Speaker 2: three years. The whole time they don't take a salary, 135 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:09,880 Speaker 2: they make sure the business gets paid and the people 136 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 2: that work for them get paid. 137 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:16,680 Speaker 1: Well, how do they support their family? Snap? These are 138 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 1: the people. Okay, these are business owners. 139 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:30,480 Speaker 2: I know a very successful fashion and jewelry brand them 140 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:33,840 Speaker 2: fools had to do door dash. What I'm trying to 141 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 2: tell you is even right now, I got this podcast, 142 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:43,160 Speaker 2: i got albums out, I got side work. I'm right 143 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:49,320 Speaker 2: now in Utah because I have sidework for a merch company. Listen, 144 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:58,960 Speaker 2: it's real out here, y'all. Forty million people means these 145 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:02,720 Speaker 2: are your family friends. These are people whose kids go 146 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:06,640 Speaker 2: to your kids school. This the person that just took 147 00:09:06,679 --> 00:09:09,600 Speaker 2: out the trash at the store, just the people bagging 148 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:14,400 Speaker 2: your groceries. These are not other people. They are us. 149 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:17,000 Speaker 2: So if you want to call it the Schumann Schumer 150 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:20,680 Speaker 2: shut down, or you can call it whatever you want, 151 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:25,240 Speaker 2: you know what it is. It's inhumane. Now on my Instagram, 152 00:09:25,280 --> 00:09:28,920 Speaker 2: I've been in social media and in the circles I 153 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:30,720 Speaker 2: work in. It's a lot of people I know that 154 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:34,080 Speaker 2: are doing their best to provide food for people who 155 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:37,320 Speaker 2: are about to lose their benefits. But at the end 156 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:39,080 Speaker 2: of the day, I just want this to set in 157 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:43,120 Speaker 2: that as much as we was in the streets protesting 158 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:48,199 Speaker 2: that Israel was using hunger as a weapon, we need 159 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:52,240 Speaker 2: to go and look in the mirror, tap in with me.