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Speaker 1: Welcome to All the Smoke, a production of The Black

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Speaker 1: Effect and our Heart Radio and partnership with Showtime. Welcome

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Speaker 1: back All the Smoke Season two. Jackie back in l

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Speaker 1: A brother, my brother, Happy to be back in these seats.

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Speaker 1: We got the iced out Vivid, We got a man,

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Speaker 1: a multi talented array of talents. Uh, I mean, rapper, poet, activists, actor,

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Speaker 1: Jack of all trade man. I can't say enough good

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Speaker 1: things about our brother today, common Man, welcome, Thank you

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Speaker 1: for coming already. Now let's jump into it. May you

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Speaker 1: started a a campaign we Matter Too. Can you tell

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Speaker 1: us in the fans what that's about. So that was really,

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Speaker 1: you know, I've been doing a lot of work with

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Speaker 1: with people that's incarcerated, and you know, when COVID hit,

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Speaker 1: of course they were forgotten. They've been forgotten in many

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Speaker 1: ways before COVID, So um, you know what we did

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Speaker 1: was really team out with different organizations that was already

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Speaker 1: doing some of the work and just start started figuring

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Speaker 1: ways that we can highlight the Hey, some of these

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Speaker 1: people that's been locked up for for charges that we

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Speaker 1: know they should be out on to be getting released.

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Speaker 1: We did a quick short film that was directed by

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Speaker 1: the sister and ain't Savannah. She did a dope job

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Speaker 1: just giving us a quick view of how people were

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Speaker 1: feeling in there, because you know, as we were talking

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Speaker 1: before off cameras, like, man, a lot of people that

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Speaker 1: I met inside just man, we just need to be heard.

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Speaker 1: We want to be seen, we want to like feel

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Speaker 1: like we are a person and human being. So during

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Speaker 1: this time, they really needed that. So that's why we

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Speaker 1: decided to get into that. We matter too. I think

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Speaker 1: what's important too, and not just in what you're doing,

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Speaker 1: but overall you partner with people that are already doing

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Speaker 1: something in the space. I think often we think we

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Speaker 1: need to reinvent the wheel. When we don't. We can.

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Speaker 1: We can lend our platform, our voice, our likeness to

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Speaker 1: two groups that are doing great work. They're just seem

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Speaker 1: some magnification, magnification or a little bit of a push.

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Speaker 1: Oh that's key. That's that's wisdom right there. Because you know,

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Speaker 1: sometimes when you first thinking, like a lot of people say, man,

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Speaker 1: I want to do something. I want to do something,

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Speaker 1: and I first say, man, find out what you care about,

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Speaker 1: what are you passionate about? Like what? And then along

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Speaker 1: with that it's like, man, there's people out there doing that.

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Speaker 1: So find if you can team up with them, and

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Speaker 1: if you don't find it's the right connection. By point black,

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Speaker 1: I wouldn't be doing I wouldn't have been able to

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Speaker 1: do the work I've been doing in prisons if I

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Speaker 1: didn't team up with where A r c Scomputing because

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Speaker 1: he had already established him been doing it for years.

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Speaker 1: You're just enhanced what he's doing. Yes, simple as that

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Speaker 1: and that and as you said, it's strengthened in the

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Speaker 1: numbers of its just building together. Yeah together. So that's that, man,

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Speaker 1: that's the important like thing for me to be reminded

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Speaker 1: and remind everybody. Man. And it ain't like we always

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Speaker 1: got to invent the will. Just ready taking your heart

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Speaker 1: and soul and you know stack you've been in it.

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Speaker 1: You've been in it too doing like some of the

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Speaker 1: things you're gonna do, like with with with just your team.

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Speaker 1: Some of it you go team up with other people

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Speaker 1: that's doing it. Some people just go may ask you

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Speaker 1: to just show up for them, and you do that too.

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Speaker 1: But it's you know, it's all different ways, but it's

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Speaker 1: people that's been doing this work long before, long before

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Speaker 1: everything Everything is really recyclable but what you're doing is

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Speaker 1: similar to what we are there doing in the streets.

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Speaker 1: We're given the voiceless a voice, you know what I'm saying,

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Speaker 1: the narrative, and and this thing of us being twisted

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Speaker 1: and displayed as as thugs and just wrong for so long.

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Speaker 1: We finally have a chance to control our own narrative

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Speaker 1: and speak our own truths, our own stories. And people

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Speaker 1: that like mothers that have their son's murdered for police

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Speaker 1: justice and and don't have a Stephen Jackson to speak

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Speaker 1: up for them, you know what I mean, they need

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Speaker 1: a voice, and you're doing That's the same way in

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Speaker 1: the prison SYSM with these a lot of guys should

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Speaker 1: definitely be out of jail, probably in jail for nothing,

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Speaker 1: and they don't, and nobody would never know because they

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Speaker 1: don't have a voice, you know what I'm saying. So

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Speaker 1: what you're doing is similar to what we're doing. I

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Speaker 1: applaud you for that, man, Yeah, give thanks to we

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Speaker 1: I mean for me it even you know, at a

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Speaker 1: certain point, even just when I first stopped rhyming, I

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Speaker 1: was like, okay, I want to just be dope. I

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Speaker 1: wanted to know who I am. That's just the essence

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Speaker 1: of what like I love hip hop, but then eventually

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Speaker 1: just looking around and seeing where I grew up, getting

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Speaker 1: to go to different cities, I was like, man, I

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Speaker 1: got a chance to like really be a voice for

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Speaker 1: them to do through this through the music. And that's

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Speaker 1: where the music started becoming that. And then eventually I

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Speaker 1: was like, oh, man, I gotta put my body in this,

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Speaker 1: you know, I gotta be there like for certain things

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Speaker 1: and like start thinking of creative ways to actually see

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Speaker 1: the change happening, like seeing like changing people's lives, right,

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Speaker 1: And like one of the things that we did in

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Speaker 1: California that I'm like always a lot of things I've

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Speaker 1: done and accomplished whatever professionally, Like we've been able to

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Speaker 1: get some bills passed that was like for for people

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Speaker 1: who was doing serving l WASPS, life without parole, for

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Speaker 1: juveniles who was serving l WASPS, they no longer can

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Speaker 1: be sentenced to life without parole and as a juvenile.

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Speaker 1: And and it took us some time. We was up

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Speaker 1: in Sacramento. We had a concert up there where we

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Speaker 1: you know, Jacole performed with us, Andrew Day. Let us

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Speaker 1: see different artists. Man, they thought, like ten thousand people

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Speaker 1: gonna show We had like thirty thousand people on the

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Speaker 1: capitol when we rocked, and then the next day we

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Speaker 1: went and went and sat down and met with legislators

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Speaker 1: about like hey, this is some and we sat down

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Speaker 1: with people who you know, it was Republicans, different people.

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Speaker 1: Wasn't necessarily always with that, but as you said, when

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Speaker 1: we out of voices, for those who don't get a

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Speaker 1: chance to sit in those rooms, you know they're gonna

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Speaker 1: respond then like they're gonna want to sit out and talk.

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Speaker 1: And as long as we you know, know what we're

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Speaker 1: there for and just be from the hot man. We

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Speaker 1: we took some people who was not thinking about prison

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Speaker 1: reform and criminal justice reform. We took them to follow

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Speaker 1: some prison different government officials. Man, we had them. We

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Speaker 1: had the former chief of staff to the to the

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Speaker 1: last governor of California. God bless us. So she passed.

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Speaker 1: But she sat in the circle with all these men

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Speaker 1: and that were inconcerrating. We just sat man and talked

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Speaker 1: and had man, we said a prayer together. She heard

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Speaker 1: their stories. Some of them brothers that deserve to be

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Speaker 1: out ended up getting out because of that moment. It's

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Speaker 1: just like, man, we gotta be the bridges and the avenues.

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Speaker 1: And I think that's huge because I mean, they have

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Speaker 1: to feel it and they've never wanted to feel it before.

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Speaker 1: And I think inies now as you have to, you

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Speaker 1: have to step outside yourself because it's bigger than you,

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Speaker 1: and at least try to put our shoes on. You

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Speaker 1: ain't even gotta walk a mile our step, just at

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Speaker 1: least have the you know, the the ability to have

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Speaker 1: enough compassion to be like, Okay, well maybe this doesn't

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Speaker 1: directly affect me, but it doesn't directly affect another human being.

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Speaker 1: So let me see what this is about. And I

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Speaker 1: think that's what has has brought us. You know, it's

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Speaker 1: been a domino effective negative thing since Kobe, you know,

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Speaker 1: since Kobe passed and then the pandemic and then you know,

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Speaker 1: George passed, But we were all still kind of looking

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Speaker 1: for stuff and we were forced to kind of see

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Speaker 1: that America conty finally reared its nasty head and its

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Speaker 1: nasty history. And although some people still want to fight

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Speaker 1: in and say there's not issues enough, people of other

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Speaker 1: races have seen that there is a real issue here.

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Speaker 1: So now what is our plan moving forward? And it

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Speaker 1: doesn't just stop with elections in a week. You know,

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Speaker 1: this is this is something that we're we have to

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Speaker 1: carry the torch for like everyone in the past has

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Speaker 1: done for us. It's our turn now and we have

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Speaker 1: to carry the torch and and and November three is

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Speaker 1: not the finish line. It's really the start, you know

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Speaker 1: what I mean, Because it's it's just a continuous process.

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Speaker 1: And I think in the past people have got gotten

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Speaker 1: a past thing. It's not for me. My voice hasn't heard.

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Speaker 1: You know that my my vote doesn't count, and we

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Speaker 1: are you're right with this, Like now, I think we

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Speaker 1: have to take it as responsibility as as African Americans

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Speaker 1: particularly to understand like what is at stake and everything

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Speaker 1: we're fighting for now. We may not directly feel, but

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Speaker 1: our kids are gonna feel and their kids are gonna feel,

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Speaker 1: so hopefully they don't have to go through this again. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: that's the man. I mean. The elections is super important.

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Speaker 1: Like you said, that's one aspect, but it's a it's

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Speaker 1: a necessary aspect because ultimately those those policy makers are

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Speaker 1: making decisions on the way we live. At the end

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Speaker 1: of the day, y'all see the difference in between what's

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Speaker 1: happening in Minnesota and what was happening in Kentucky Like

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Speaker 1: and that's people in government positions who are making those decisions.

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Speaker 1: I went to Minnesota right after you, but but I

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Speaker 1: went there and just sat down with some community leaders

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Speaker 1: and and their governor and Congresswoman Irhan Omar and it

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Speaker 1: was a congresswoman um Ayana Presley, And I was like, man,

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Speaker 1: these the government men officials who really can't like they

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Speaker 1: had people organize it from the hood there that was like,

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Speaker 1: you know, cast it was like your uncle that was

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Speaker 1: doing it for a long time that he had a

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Speaker 1: chance to speak. And I was like, man, the fact

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Speaker 1: and the governors and know and the mayor of both

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Speaker 1: cities of St. Paul and in Minneapolis was sitting there listening.

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Speaker 1: No no government officials said nothing. They just listened to

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Speaker 1: the people. And I felt like, you can see the

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Speaker 1: difference between them and the people in Kentucky. They mata

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Speaker 1: in Minnesota. That's what I'm saying. They make it and

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Speaker 1: and and that to me is a direct thing of

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Speaker 1: us saying, man, we we gotta have elected officials who

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Speaker 1: represent us, who are us, they think like us, and

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Speaker 1: everything is not gonna We're not gonna agree with everything

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Speaker 1: that will. Y'all don't agree with everything your brothers. We

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Speaker 1: brother we ain't gonna agree on everything. But it's like, man,

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Speaker 1: we see this. We got, like you said, the same vision,

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Speaker 1: We got the same We got the same place we want.

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Speaker 1: And it's politicians out there that that have that. And

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Speaker 1: I think you know, this election is like one of

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Speaker 1: the most They always say it's the most important, but

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Speaker 1: it's is very important because man, it's the step that

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Speaker 1: we're taking. People already in movement, were already moving towards

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Speaker 1: what we're saying that goal. The election gott to happen

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Speaker 1: for certain things. I mean, the voting got to happen

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Speaker 1: for certain things to keep moving in that direction. And

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Speaker 1: we continue to hold them accountable when we vote for them.

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Speaker 1: But then we do our community work, yes, you know,

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Speaker 1: taking each other while take each other like I always

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Speaker 1: be like, man, it ain't know one or the other.

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Speaker 1: Why can't you know what from doing? But also what

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Speaker 1: people have to realize, and we spoke about this earlier,

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Speaker 1: is it's not just the federal vote like you said,

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Speaker 1: it's the local and state vote that we're talking about.

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Speaker 1: We directly can we put people in place that are

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Speaker 1: directly responsible for either you know, putting a police chief

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Speaker 1: in the spot. We vote for the mayor, we vote

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Speaker 1: for the d These are all people that have a

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Speaker 1: say or hands somewhat some way into charging these cops.

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Speaker 1: You know. I mean, that's all stuff on that we

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Speaker 1: can see direct turnaround for. So you know, we talked

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Speaker 1: about voting and we gotta wake up and we got

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Speaker 1: to educate ourselves. But we're so far behind because we

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Speaker 1: were never even supposed to get to this point. We're

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Speaker 1: never supposed to have a footing, we're never supposed to

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Speaker 1: have a voice, so we can't tackle all this ship

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Speaker 1: at once. To me, it's about bite sized pieces. You

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Speaker 1: like you said, start small something. You're passionate Prop sixteen

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Speaker 1: that California is trying to pass, the prop that you

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Speaker 1: passed with the police reform. Like there's stuff that you

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Speaker 1: can directly see immediate change on when you vote and

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Speaker 1: you see some kind of reward, And then to me,

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Speaker 1: I think that's going to encourage you to be like, Okay,

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Speaker 1: well let me learn about some more stuff and then

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Speaker 1: next time I'm gonna vote for more and continue to

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Speaker 1: educate ourselves, because like I said, we were never meant

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Speaker 1: to have to say anyway, and now that we actually

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Speaker 1: do have a say, what what are we trying to say?

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Speaker 1: What are we trying to say? And then you know,

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Speaker 1: it is intimidating. I was voted yesterday, um in Chicago.

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Speaker 1: I was in Chicago and I voted, and I was

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Speaker 1: looking and I was like, you know, I had to

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Speaker 1: call and get information on something there point it's a lot,

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Speaker 1: and then something I just didn't know. So I'm like, Okay,

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Speaker 1: it's intimid that when you look at that ballot and

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Speaker 1: you're like, oh, man, so I understand what you're saying

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Speaker 1: is as far as man, take a step, vote for

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Speaker 1: something that you believe in or something certain people you know,

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Speaker 1: you might not know everybody, but I'm sorry. And and

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Speaker 1: one of the things we're doing, like with this Organization

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Speaker 1: Urgency that we're doing and we've been doing for the

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Speaker 1: past days, is going to different cities and states educame

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Speaker 1: people on down the ticket. Like we went to South Carolina,

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Speaker 1: we went to Florida, we went you know, we went

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Speaker 1: to Yeah, we're doing swinging states and then some stuff

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Speaker 1: in Wisconsin and saying hey, y'all, these are some of

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Speaker 1: the people and eight black people, brown people, we gotta

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Speaker 1: get out and vote, and like these are people that actually,

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Speaker 1: you know, care for you and they aligned and you know,

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Speaker 1: for me, I'm like, I ain't speaking up for nobody

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Speaker 1: unless out of and sat and looked them in their

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Speaker 1: house and I know that, like, Okay, you're gonna we're gonna.

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Speaker 1: We got something a lot in alignment, and we're gonna

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Speaker 1: do this. So like Jamie Harrison is one of the

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Speaker 1: people in South Carolina, they got a chance to change

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Speaker 1: those things. And and my thing is educating people, just

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Speaker 1: like I needed to be educated. I ain't know I

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Speaker 1: stayed attorney in Chicago is a woman named Kim Fox

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Speaker 1: who obviously makes decisions on She came for Cabrini Green.

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Speaker 1: I didn't know about her until it was I was

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Speaker 1: doing a documentary and I got to sit down and

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Speaker 1: build with her. But from that point on, I started

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Speaker 1: like seeing what she was doing in the community and

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Speaker 1: our support her, and it's like a little did I

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Speaker 1: know that that's the woman is making decisions on like

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Speaker 1: if somebody, if a police officer kills you know, I didn't,

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Speaker 1: I didn't point Blake. I needed to learn that. Like

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Speaker 1: I said, we learned and we find out because, like

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Speaker 1: I said, there's stuff that we can align our likeness

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Speaker 1: to for situations to to shine light on people who

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Speaker 1: really do care about us and really do have our

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Speaker 1: best interest in at heart. But most of the time

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Speaker 1: we don't know, so we don't feel like there's no

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Speaker 1: one to represents us, so we don't vote. Yeah, and

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Speaker 1: then that's what they count on. That's what the other

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Speaker 1: stuff they they want us not to. They want us

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Speaker 1: to be discouraged like we get this or sometimes with

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Speaker 1: with with do calls because it's very discouraging, you know,

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Speaker 1: voter suppression and all the fake ballots and fake information

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Speaker 1: and fake boxes. I mean, it's tough, but like I said,

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Speaker 1: I think now is the time that we gotta stand

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Speaker 1: and we have to unite. Like I think it's great

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Speaker 1: that there's so many different I don't recall another time

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Speaker 1: where there are so many people with the platform, whether

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Speaker 1: it's actors, musicians, athletes that are actually you know, talking

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Speaker 1: about voting and talking about registering the vote and how

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Speaker 1: important it is to be a part and have your

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Speaker 1: voice heard, even if we haven't done it in the

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Speaker 1: pastor you don't feel like it's gonna work, it's never

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Speaker 1: gonna change if we don't. So let's let's let's come

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Speaker 1: together and figure out what we're gonna do. That's what

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Speaker 1: you just said. Like, I'll be like, man, it ain't

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Speaker 1: like even the first time I voted, I was like, man,

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Speaker 1: even if this ship don't count, I just know I

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Speaker 1: did it. I made the effort to try to do it,

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Speaker 1: you know, like and and and it ain't hurt me

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Speaker 1: to like the other day I voted, it took five minutes.

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Speaker 1: So I'm like, I took you know some time. I'm

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Speaker 1: five minutes out of my day. I'm making this effort.

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Speaker 1: I know it's gonna work. I know it's gonna count.

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Speaker 1: And it is discouraging because I've been a part of

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Speaker 1: things where it's like man, we're going like like like

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Speaker 1: like yeah, and it's but but man, I feel like

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Speaker 1: if I fight, I fight for everything else. Man, I

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Speaker 1: fight for a lot of things, you know, Like and

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Speaker 1: I keep I kept working on my my art phone

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Speaker 1: to get better as an MC. I kept I keep

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Speaker 1: working on my acting. I keep working on different things,

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Speaker 1: like I can keep pushing and kicking that door down

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Speaker 1: for people. You're part of the Showtime family with there

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Speaker 1: with the show shy. Uh, you know, you do a

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Speaker 1: little executive producing and acting on it. How did that

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Speaker 1: situation come about? You know, Lena Lena away to who

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Speaker 1: created the shot. She she from Chicago and she uh,

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Speaker 1: one of one of my producing partners was like, man,

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Speaker 1: this this assistant with the script is dope. You should

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Speaker 1: check it out. So um I eventually checked it out

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Speaker 1: and I was like, man, this is dope, and I

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Speaker 1: was geeked to that it was a show about Chicago

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Speaker 1: and you know, and she was being creative. It was

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Speaker 1: like it wasn't like a documentary, but it's dope. You

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Speaker 1: message that thanks and she's dopey. Thank you, man, I

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Speaker 1: really appreciate it, and we Man, I ain't gonna lie

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Speaker 1: have one of the proudest things I'm a part of

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Speaker 1: because you know, first of all, she doing her thing

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Speaker 1: and telling the story, but we got so many like

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Speaker 1: Chicago people working on it was like to go home

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Speaker 1: and be like, man, the makeup artist, I mean, the

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Speaker 1: person to do heir used to do my mother's hair

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Speaker 1: growing up. You know what I'm saying, Like the locations manager,

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Speaker 1: the black woman from Chicago, actors from you know, It's

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Speaker 1: it's great to be able to go on. The authenticity

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Speaker 1: is that much stronger, you know, when you involved the

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Speaker 1: community that the community feels like they have a hand

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Speaker 1: and like one of the biggest shows on television. Point

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Speaker 1: like that's my city right there. What else are you

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Speaker 1: working on right now? In in in the creative space

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Speaker 1: acting space, because I know you're you're you're big and

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Speaker 1: I'm a fan like you were one of the guys

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Speaker 1: that like low key crossed over and some people like

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Speaker 1: coming the actor comment like no, the rapper the comming

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Speaker 1: that actually acts to like you've been able to make

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Speaker 1: that transition. So what else he working on in this space?

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Speaker 1: I'm working on a new new film. Actually I'm leaving

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Speaker 1: to go out in a couple of days to go

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Speaker 1: film this movie called Alice. It's an independent movie um

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Speaker 1: that this woman wrote that named Kristen Verlinden and Kiki

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Speaker 1: Palm and starting in it too. But it's a cool

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Speaker 1: I really like, it's a really dope piece that I'm

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Speaker 1: excited about that. And also working on producing a couple

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Speaker 1: of TV shows and I'll be acting in and creatively. Also,

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Speaker 1: you know, recorded a new album coming out speak so

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Speaker 1: but thirty If it's called a Beautiful Revolution Part one

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Speaker 1: and the single just dropped yesterday, Black Dog called Say Peace.

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Speaker 1: So man, I got inspired on that. I ain't never

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Speaker 1: made album like in about a month and a half.

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Speaker 1: I always take a long time, but I was like, man,

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Speaker 1: I just seen I think after being still in the

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Speaker 1: when when the pandemic first hit, and just kind of

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Speaker 1: just getting a chance to reflect on life and where

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Speaker 1: I am, who I am, what I want looking at all,

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Speaker 1: what's going on with people having some time to read

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Speaker 1: just be still. I wasn't trying to write and do

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Speaker 1: nothing at that point. But then eventually as I started

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Speaker 1: getting into the creative like energy, I was like, man,

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Speaker 1: I just was feeling it. So we cooked up. Uh, man,

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Speaker 1: I got a piece. Man, I can't wait till it's

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Speaker 1: out on the thirties, you know what I mean? Jack,

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Speaker 1: you just dropped your your piece and same energy, you know.

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Speaker 1: That was one thing Jack said that he felt like

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Speaker 1: he's learned so much in this last six eight months,

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Speaker 1: and he then he's ever learned, you know what I mean,

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Speaker 1: And he took it out and put it out in

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Speaker 1: this music as well. So I'm sure, as you know,

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Speaker 1: to be able to as an artist, to be able

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Speaker 1: to put his feelings out on the paper and then

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Speaker 1: sharing what the world is always a blessing you are.

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Speaker 1: You always been able to do that though, to think

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Speaker 1: as a culture, we expect that from you. We expect

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Speaker 1: that music that's gonna take us there, that that's gonna

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Speaker 1: make us feel what's going on in the days. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: it's gonna take us there. We expect that from you. Man, I, man,

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Speaker 1: what's going on is like exactly, like that's what I'm on,

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Speaker 1: like meaning I'll be wanting that that music to feel

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Speaker 1: like Marvin Gay or Bob Marley or Stevie Wonder or

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Speaker 1: care Us one. I also feel like it's a duty

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Speaker 1: when you do music that's conscious or or like a

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Speaker 1: where it's still gotta be dope, like like that the

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Speaker 1: music that I love listening to and grew up. It

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Speaker 1: ain't only just conscious music, but when it is conscious music,

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Speaker 1: it's dopeless that you gotta be dope and you gotta

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Speaker 1: style on it and give that. But but stack you know,

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Speaker 1: probably when you get more information, like you, like you said,

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Speaker 1: you have something to say on on this project, because

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Speaker 1: you know, I mean you rhyme, So you're like, man,

401
00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:49,840
Speaker 1: I probably you probably like Yo, I experienced all this

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Speaker 1: different stuff. It was easier this time because I was

403
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Speaker 1: in the middle of it, like I was, this is

404
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Speaker 1: my real pain. I wasn't just rapping for the hell

405
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Speaker 1: of it. Like what I was saying this time with

406
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Speaker 1: stuff that I've really been, that I really seen and

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Speaker 1: that that I really want to say because I can't

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Speaker 1: get it out in no other way, you know what

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Speaker 1: I mean. And this was totally different than anything I've

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Speaker 1: ever dropped. Man, I ain't even know that rat would

411
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Speaker 1: be that for me, but that's what it has been like,

412
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Speaker 1: certain things you can't get out like in no other way.

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Speaker 1: But just as an artist, especially when you do have

414
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Speaker 1: an outlet or you discover that this is man something

415
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Speaker 1: I do, This is what I want to do. And

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Speaker 1: it's always been like I been like that for me.

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Speaker 1: So if I see other people's pain or I'm experiencing

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Speaker 1: my pain, always been like I'm gonna speak to it,

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Speaker 1: but my my goal is to speak to it and

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Speaker 1: put a charge to it, like get them uplifted and

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Speaker 1: get them out of the darkness. But I'm gonna speak

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Speaker 1: on the darkness if it's there. But it's like, man,

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Speaker 1: I like giving solutions to because I ain't gonna just say, man,

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Speaker 1: we we're in the hole and not be like, yo,

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Speaker 1: let me try to help you get out of this

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Speaker 1: hole if I can. You know, I'm gonna tell you

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Speaker 1: I got out of this whole help. Well, that's what

428
00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:55,000
Speaker 1: most people realize too. Whether you're you're putting in your

429
00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:58,040
Speaker 1: music or you're acting, or we're just speaking out of publicly,

430
00:20:58,200 --> 00:20:59,800
Speaker 1: most of the time we don't. You know, it's not

431
00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:03,159
Speaker 1: we know that us sharing our ups and downs or

432
00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:06,040
Speaker 1: mostly our downs are gonna inspire someone else because look

433
00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:08,120
Speaker 1: at me coming went through this ship, Jack went through

434
00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:10,600
Speaker 1: this ship, Matt with the ship, Lebron went through this ship.

435
00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:12,240
Speaker 1: So I can make it, you know what I mean.

436
00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:14,840
Speaker 1: If we can affect one mind or encourage one person

437
00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:15,920
Speaker 1: out of you know, that's at the end of the

438
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:17,320
Speaker 1: days to win, you know, I mean. But when you're

439
00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:20,960
Speaker 1: able to encourage millions upon millions of people just by

440
00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:23,879
Speaker 1: being real and spilling spilling your truth, that's where the

441
00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:29,760
Speaker 1: real reward comes from. Yeah, yeah, you know. I was like,

442
00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:32,400
Speaker 1: like early on in my career, I was writing a song.

443
00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:35,000
Speaker 1: I was writing a song about abortion, and this was

444
00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:37,439
Speaker 1: like early on, and I was like some ship I

445
00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:39,840
Speaker 1: had been through with the girl I was with, and

446
00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:42,320
Speaker 1: I just wrote it because it was like I was

447
00:21:42,359 --> 00:21:45,240
Speaker 1: reading these different poems poetry, and I was like, man,

448
00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:47,359
Speaker 1: they'd be saying whatever they feel. So I was kind

449
00:21:47,359 --> 00:21:49,119
Speaker 1: of like, I'm just gonna go there with it. I

450
00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:53,480
Speaker 1: might actually just tell this story. And I did, and

451
00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:55,640
Speaker 1: I put the record. I was a record that Lauren

452
00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:58,360
Speaker 1: Hill actually singing. And week you know, the rerecord came out.

453
00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:00,280
Speaker 1: We just shot a video and everything, and I'm remember

454
00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:03,040
Speaker 1: performing in the concert and then this dude came up

455
00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:07,560
Speaker 1: to me afterwards and was like, yo, man, that record man,

456
00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:10,959
Speaker 1: it's called Retrospect for Life. Was like that record man

457
00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:12,840
Speaker 1: made me decide to have my child because I was

458
00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:15,000
Speaker 1: going through the same things and this and that. I

459
00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:18,000
Speaker 1: was like, yo, I was just telling my stories. I

460
00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:21,320
Speaker 1: didn't know that this exactly, this thing could really like

461
00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:24,919
Speaker 1: shift people's lives like that. That That was one of

462
00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:27,840
Speaker 1: them moments where you're like, dag, Okay, this is really

463
00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:30,520
Speaker 1: meaningful and I could do something with this. Growing up

464
00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:32,560
Speaker 1: in Chicago, basketball has been a part of your life.

465
00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:35,520
Speaker 1: Most people don't know you want I wanted to be

466
00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:40,560
Speaker 1: yall know, most people don't know you were a ball

467
00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:42,280
Speaker 1: boy for the for the Bulls in the eighties and

468
00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:45,680
Speaker 1: that before JT Therapy. Was there any crossover with m J? Yeah,

469
00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:48,280
Speaker 1: yeah I was. I was right there when m J came.

470
00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:52,920
Speaker 1: I started a year before. How I was like eleven

471
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:55,399
Speaker 1: or twelve. Okay, See my father played in the A. B.

472
00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:58,800
Speaker 1: A a couple of years, so yeah, god, but it's

473
00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:01,760
Speaker 1: the thank you brother and um rock Thorne was hit

474
00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:04,800
Speaker 1: one of his teammates. So Rock Thorne kind of was

475
00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:07,080
Speaker 1: the general manager for the Bulls got me. He said, Yo,

476
00:23:07,119 --> 00:23:08,919
Speaker 1: you write a letter, you get the job. You know

477
00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:11,200
Speaker 1: pretty much get the job. So I wrote the letter,

478
00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:13,760
Speaker 1: I got the job. I was there when Mike first came.

479
00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:16,280
Speaker 1: You know, I used to have man I used to

480
00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:18,200
Speaker 1: get you know, you know y'all used to give away

481
00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:20,840
Speaker 1: gym shoes after a few games. I used to get

482
00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:23,120
Speaker 1: gym shoes. I'll be selling them, getting them my teachers.

483
00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:25,760
Speaker 1: I had a pair of ed Jows, like some of

484
00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:28,040
Speaker 1: the first jos, and he signed them and I gave

485
00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:30,480
Speaker 1: him to my father, but my father stopped wearing them.

486
00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:34,879
Speaker 1: He was wearing them to my shows and something like, yo, yo,

487
00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:38,960
Speaker 1: you gotta put them job. It is ain't meant to

488
00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:41,480
Speaker 1: be but yeah, it was. It was an incredible experience,

489
00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:44,920
Speaker 1: you know. I was just geek to be around all

490
00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:47,320
Speaker 1: that and be there when Mike first came. And I

491
00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:52,240
Speaker 1: remember Mike. Mike was playing um, Hohodini like and he

492
00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:54,480
Speaker 1: had the radio playing Houdini when he first came, like

493
00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:56,920
Speaker 1: one of the first exhibition games, and they was like, no,

494
00:23:57,119 --> 00:23:59,720
Speaker 1: you can't play that music. Then after that first game,

495
00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:04,520
Speaker 1: you could play whatever he wants. Really yeah, yeah he Mike.

496
00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:10,200
Speaker 1: They was like, oh, whatever you want. Any cool one

497
00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:12,360
Speaker 1: on one interaction you had with him at a young

498
00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:15,000
Speaker 1: age you can recall just you know, shooting around with him.

499
00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:20,120
Speaker 1: That's more. Well. One thing happened that that um where

500
00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:23,119
Speaker 1: I was like, these kids asked me to get an autograph,

501
00:24:23,119 --> 00:24:25,520
Speaker 1: and I was like, okay, I'll do five dollars. So

502
00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:28,320
Speaker 1: I went and took it down to Mike. I said, Yo,

503
00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:30,720
Speaker 1: can you give me get this autograph? He told me

504
00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:32,840
Speaker 1: to sign it, you know, He's like, oh, you sign

505
00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:34,960
Speaker 1: it and signed it. So I signed it and took

506
00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:37,560
Speaker 1: it up to the kids and the kid looked and

507
00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:41,479
Speaker 1: was like, man, this ain't Michael because I spelled Michael Row.

508
00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:44,840
Speaker 1: He was like, man, what the hell? But I mean,

509
00:24:46,359 --> 00:24:49,480
Speaker 1: obviously I ain't give my five but now, man, I

510
00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:52,679
Speaker 1: mean even later. You know, as I said, I had

511
00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:56,200
Speaker 1: hoop dreams. Y'all know that. But but but I saw Mike.

512
00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:58,160
Speaker 1: This was I played in one of the celebrity games.

513
00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:00,639
Speaker 1: I thought I did good, and Mike saw me. It

514
00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:02,840
Speaker 1: was like, man, you better stick to wrapping and acting.

515
00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:06,760
Speaker 1: I was like, man, this is you know, m classic

516
00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:11,600
Speaker 1: got a chance playing the Hoop movie though, Yeah, yeah,

517
00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:17,159
Speaker 1: just right, yea. Many know she is. She one of

518
00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:20,240
Speaker 1: my favorite people to collaborate with. People I met in

519
00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:23,600
Speaker 1: just overall. She loved her so normally this is at

520
00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:25,120
Speaker 1: the end of the show. But since we're talking about

521
00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:26,600
Speaker 1: her and you know, or help her get up, we

522
00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:31,440
Speaker 1: need we need her on the show. Man. Yeah, queen,

523
00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:34,640
Speaker 1: she's just down to earth yea. And she doping every

524
00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:38,000
Speaker 1: aspect we're talking about, like somebody is super dope acting.

525
00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:43,399
Speaker 1: She could sing right right yeo man, yeah that person.

526
00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:47,159
Speaker 1: And she beautiful, she beautiful broke she doing that movie.

527
00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:49,800
Speaker 1: I was like, yo, you know that was my chance

528
00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:51,520
Speaker 1: to really live out the hoop dreams because I was

529
00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:55,840
Speaker 1: like playing the NBA. Yeah yeah, the injury had to

530
00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:58,520
Speaker 1: do the injury and all the injury and all. Somebody

531
00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:01,760
Speaker 1: called me just yesterday like, yo, you really you did

532
00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:04,199
Speaker 1: the injury for real? I was like, yeah, you know,

533
00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:06,240
Speaker 1: I just wanted to get my all because that was

534
00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:09,919
Speaker 1: my first my first leading roles too, and it was

535
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,159
Speaker 1: like kind of living two dreams in one. Okay, I

536
00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:14,879
Speaker 1: get to play this NBA playing but and it's my

537
00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:17,600
Speaker 1: first leading role. So man, I gave him all. We

538
00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:19,959
Speaker 1: did our best. I'm glad to this day people come

539
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:23,439
Speaker 1: up to me like, yo, just right movie it's kids

540
00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:25,680
Speaker 1: and women and be like, you know, that's just right, movie.

541
00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:30,400
Speaker 1: I messed with that. Um. Obviously, growing up in Chicago,

542
00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:33,520
Speaker 1: tons of basketball talent comes through there, and then you

543
00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:36,240
Speaker 1: also were shaped through basketball and then your creativity with

544
00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:39,320
Speaker 1: your music and your art. Who is anyone in particular

545
00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:42,960
Speaker 1: shaped you or inspired you in either of those lanes? Yeah?

546
00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:47,440
Speaker 1: For me, uh, Isaiah Thomas was like a real inspiration.

547
00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:52,879
Speaker 1: He being from Chicago, like he was the first point guard,

548
00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:55,639
Speaker 1: was like that. I you know, I was like, I

549
00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:58,720
Speaker 1: mean I saw like Kenny Patterson and cats like that,

550
00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:01,880
Speaker 1: but they there was from Chicago, so it was like

551
00:27:02,359 --> 00:27:04,399
Speaker 1: and he was man, he was different. He was a killer.

552
00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:08,119
Speaker 1: So I love his game. Man, that was that's somebody

553
00:27:08,119 --> 00:27:11,200
Speaker 1: who really, I would say, and then I ain't a

554
00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:13,600
Speaker 1: lot like a lot of y'all. You know, we get

555
00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:16,240
Speaker 1: inspired by y'all because man, y'all made it to the

556
00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:21,120
Speaker 1: highest level. Kenney Smith say something that I was like, damn,

557
00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:24,480
Speaker 1: he said, man, only like five thousand people or something

558
00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:29,040
Speaker 1: some number like late in the NBA court, and you

559
00:27:29,119 --> 00:27:32,480
Speaker 1: know how many millions people try to try to make

560
00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:36,480
Speaker 1: it like, so that's like to be chosen out of

561
00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:40,119
Speaker 1: like man, some people don't understand. It's crazy. I mean,

562
00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:42,639
Speaker 1: especially today with the disrespect. Everyone is crazy because they

563
00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:45,160
Speaker 1: don't have to be helped for your accountable, for your words.

564
00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:47,000
Speaker 1: But to be the last minute on the bench like

565
00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:50,040
Speaker 1: he's a very good player, you go around and bust

566
00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:52,560
Speaker 1: anybody's asking any kind of gym. But people don't understand

567
00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:54,040
Speaker 1: because just because you don't get a lot of time

568
00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:55,920
Speaker 1: on an NBA team, if you have a better chance

569
00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:57,800
Speaker 1: of being struck by lightning and making it to the NBA,

570
00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:01,080
Speaker 1: and people don't understand. Like the world wants to be

571
00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:03,520
Speaker 1: in the world where you keep it real, Like that's

572
00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:05,960
Speaker 1: the one sport globally that everyone wants to play. Everyone

573
00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:09,080
Speaker 1: wants to be Kobe, Mike Lebron. That's the one sport

574
00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:11,240
Speaker 1: and to make it and have some longevity and there

575
00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:13,720
Speaker 1: like you really did something. If you have some longevity

576
00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:16,240
Speaker 1: in a game like that respect to both of your brothers.

577
00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:18,920
Speaker 1: I mean, that's like and you know in the breach

578
00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:22,560
Speaker 1: the highest level and stay there and win championships too,

579
00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:25,640
Speaker 1: but just even to get there on that court, it's like,

580
00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:29,000
Speaker 1: I mean still to this day, you see like from

581
00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:32,800
Speaker 1: I mean from actors to rappers to everybody wanted like

582
00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:34,280
Speaker 1: you said, where or why I want to do it?

583
00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:37,199
Speaker 1: Everybody want to everybody want to hoop man, Jacob. I

584
00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:45,680
Speaker 1: heard Jay Cole going for his Yeah, the Master, he

585
00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:47,760
Speaker 1: had his run let Jacole, he can get it if

586
00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:49,320
Speaker 1: you could do what you could do it? What you mean,

587
00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:51,840
Speaker 1: I don't don't matter no labels. When do you feel

588
00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:54,400
Speaker 1: like you found your footing as an artist? You know

589
00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:57,400
Speaker 1: what I feel like I find my footing. I found

590
00:28:57,440 --> 00:29:01,960
Speaker 1: it first when I was like going into this album

591
00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:06,640
Speaker 1: called Resurrection because that was that was four. Because I

592
00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:09,800
Speaker 1: released the album and it didn't get the response I thought,

593
00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:13,160
Speaker 1: because you know, when I first I was releasing the music,

594
00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:15,920
Speaker 1: I was thinking, Okay, people released the album, they got

595
00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:19,520
Speaker 1: a video they made it, but I did, I released

596
00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:22,200
Speaker 1: it and people weren't responded to it. So it made

597
00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:24,000
Speaker 1: me have to do a lot of souls so you know,

598
00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:26,120
Speaker 1: and just be like, man, you gotta get better. This

599
00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:28,760
Speaker 1: ain't about the label, it ain't about the beats, ain't

600
00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:32,560
Speaker 1: about what radio, and it's about yo, you like are

601
00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:35,680
Speaker 1: you gonna? Are you built for this? Like? And man,

602
00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:38,080
Speaker 1: I just started like as you just and say going

603
00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:41,200
Speaker 1: in the ship. I was freestyle and rhyming. I was

604
00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:45,160
Speaker 1: reading different books, started listening to John Coltrane and different

605
00:29:45,160 --> 00:29:47,640
Speaker 1: things that I wasn't up on that would give me

606
00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:51,959
Speaker 1: like open my mind space up. I remember writing this

607
00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:55,360
Speaker 1: song I used to love her and you know that

608
00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:58,360
Speaker 1: song eventually went on and became something where they made

609
00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:00,760
Speaker 1: a movie about it and people did different things about

610
00:30:00,760 --> 00:30:02,680
Speaker 1: it because I was talking about hip hop as a woman,

611
00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:05,200
Speaker 1: and that's where I felt like I first hit myself,

612
00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:08,360
Speaker 1: like you all right, this album, man, I'm an artist,

613
00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:11,600
Speaker 1: like like I know and I don't know everything yet,

614
00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:13,680
Speaker 1: but I know where I want to go with it.

615
00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:16,880
Speaker 1: And I was starting to get my own voice and

616
00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:19,520
Speaker 1: that's when it came and in to tell the truth,

617
00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:22,600
Speaker 1: like you know, as an artist, you kind of as

618
00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:25,400
Speaker 1: a man to a human being, you kind of start

619
00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:28,160
Speaker 1: you find things about yourself, and then you you fall

620
00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:30,000
Speaker 1: off and go this way, you know, like it's like

621
00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:32,880
Speaker 1: it's a journey, like because when you asked that question,

622
00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:35,360
Speaker 1: I was like, well, I found myself then, but then

623
00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:39,120
Speaker 1: I was seeking other things and and and things ain't

624
00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:41,920
Speaker 1: a line. I released another album and it might not connect,

625
00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:44,000
Speaker 1: but then I go release another one and it did.

626
00:30:44,080 --> 00:30:47,280
Speaker 1: So it's like you find your footing. And I think

627
00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:50,680
Speaker 1: the most important thing I found was to be truthful

628
00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:52,840
Speaker 1: with who, who and where I am at the time.

629
00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:56,360
Speaker 1: Like and then you know, sometimes people are gonna be

630
00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:59,400
Speaker 1: rocking with it and sometimes they're not. But it's like

631
00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:02,479
Speaker 1: that's up being an artist is about. It ain't always

632
00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:05,360
Speaker 1: gonna be like it ain't always hit at the time

633
00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:08,040
Speaker 1: where the whole world is celebrating it, and then sometimes

634
00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:10,920
Speaker 1: it make so but you know, I just decided to

635
00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:14,400
Speaker 1: keep putting my intention and then putting with the love

636
00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:17,040
Speaker 1: and putting my truth in it, and you know, God

637
00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:19,400
Speaker 1: willing everything works out the way it done. I mean,

638
00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:21,680
Speaker 1: look at your longevil. They in twenty five plus years

639
00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:23,840
Speaker 1: in the game, what's changed since the first time you

640
00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:26,360
Speaker 1: were you know, started using your pen to your you

641
00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:28,680
Speaker 1: know you're about to drop an album tomorrow. What is

642
00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:31,040
Speaker 1: changing in that time from your point of view? In

643
00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:34,960
Speaker 1: your music? Man, in my music, I think I definitely

644
00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:39,040
Speaker 1: become more confident, like you know, after after doing it

645
00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:43,000
Speaker 1: more times, and even like doing other things like acting

646
00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:47,280
Speaker 1: is actually helped me. Like being more open as a

647
00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:50,800
Speaker 1: human being has helped me. And then you know, the

648
00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:54,480
Speaker 1: experiences I've had made me be like, man, it's I like,

649
00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:57,080
Speaker 1: I ain't afraid to fall and I ain't gonna I

650
00:31:57,160 --> 00:32:00,640
Speaker 1: envisioned myself always excelling and fly it, so I don't,

651
00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:02,960
Speaker 1: you know. And and the way that shows up in

652
00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:05,720
Speaker 1: my music is that I don't like it used to

653
00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:07,719
Speaker 1: take me a year a year to do an album, bro,

654
00:32:07,880 --> 00:32:09,720
Speaker 1: like I go because I was looking for stuff to

655
00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:14,080
Speaker 1: write about. But now it's like, if I catch that inspiration,

656
00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:17,160
Speaker 1: I ain't thinking twice. And and as this album is

657
00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:20,000
Speaker 1: coming out, this is an album I started like in

658
00:32:20,080 --> 00:32:22,960
Speaker 1: the August, and now it's coming out, and and it's

659
00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:26,400
Speaker 1: like I didn't second guess myself. I said, this is

660
00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:27,960
Speaker 1: what I'm supposed to feel, that this is what I'm

661
00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:30,280
Speaker 1: feeling at the moment, and I'm and I'm allowed that

662
00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:32,680
Speaker 1: to be. I ain't gonna think twice. I know what's dope,

663
00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:35,520
Speaker 1: So I'm gonna stay on what's dope and and go

664
00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:38,479
Speaker 1: do that. So I think that's health. And then you know,

665
00:32:38,600 --> 00:32:41,400
Speaker 1: I've been exposed to a lot more things. And you

666
00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:44,280
Speaker 1: know on the South Side, dude, just growing up what

667
00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:47,120
Speaker 1: I knew on the South Side. But then eventually, you know,

668
00:32:47,160 --> 00:32:49,760
Speaker 1: you get to travel the world, you get too exposed

669
00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:54,040
Speaker 1: to do different people, You watch different films, foods, all

670
00:32:54,080 --> 00:32:56,400
Speaker 1: of it, all the information. I always one of my

671
00:32:56,440 --> 00:32:59,480
Speaker 1: good friends as a musician was like, man, every time

672
00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:04,000
Speaker 1: you you digested new things, new information, you you're feeding

673
00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:07,840
Speaker 1: your like musical like palette. You know, absolutely moving to

674
00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:12,680
Speaker 1: New York? What did that do to your creativity? Man?

675
00:33:13,280 --> 00:33:17,560
Speaker 1: That was that catapulted my creativity because Chicago gave me

676
00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:21,040
Speaker 1: a strong foundation. Man, no other places I want to

677
00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:25,040
Speaker 1: be from them from Chicago. And as I built on

678
00:33:25,080 --> 00:33:27,880
Speaker 1: that foundation, where New York was like all these different

679
00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:32,080
Speaker 1: artists from different places that were there coming as a

680
00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:36,360
Speaker 1: melting pots. So I was around artists that were fashion designers,

681
00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:40,760
Speaker 1: that were musicians, that were like chefs as artists, and

682
00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:43,440
Speaker 1: we all were like feeding each other. I was in

683
00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:45,600
Speaker 1: the molting part, and I would be able to go

684
00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:48,280
Speaker 1: to work like it was jams that's going on at

685
00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:50,240
Speaker 1: one in the morning, so I could go work on

686
00:33:50,280 --> 00:33:54,200
Speaker 1: the craft. There, I could go see some Gordon Parks

687
00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:57,160
Speaker 1: exhibit which I ended up using for my album cover

688
00:33:57,280 --> 00:34:00,280
Speaker 1: for like Water for Chocolate, because my homie or Here

689
00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:02,840
Speaker 1: the sister to make Fashion, told me about it. So

690
00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:05,680
Speaker 1: I was around a lot of just dope art and

691
00:34:06,360 --> 00:34:09,600
Speaker 1: New York is one of those places where it's like

692
00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:12,759
Speaker 1: helps you to be free, like you you can you

693
00:34:12,760 --> 00:34:14,759
Speaker 1: can walk down the street where whatever the hell you

694
00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:17,160
Speaker 1: want and they ain't gonna look twice at you. So

695
00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:19,520
Speaker 1: I think I was. I was in one of those

696
00:34:19,520 --> 00:34:22,880
Speaker 1: stages where I was discovering another thing, another thing about

697
00:34:23,080 --> 00:34:25,960
Speaker 1: you know, me and what I wanted to express, so

698
00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:28,360
Speaker 1: I was able to do it in a free space

699
00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:30,719
Speaker 1: and not have to. There were all my homies like rosh,

700
00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:33,239
Speaker 1: what you're doing, man, that's that's terrible, Like what are

701
00:34:33,239 --> 00:34:36,200
Speaker 1: you doing? What you wear? So you know that's probably

702
00:34:36,239 --> 00:34:39,839
Speaker 1: like growing as a as a as a person's confidence, Yeah,

703
00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:42,200
Speaker 1: and yourself no matter what other people, that confidence in

704
00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:44,880
Speaker 1: yourself as a motherfucker for us, you know, knowing that

705
00:34:44,920 --> 00:34:47,080
Speaker 1: the coach has confidence in us. You know what you're

706
00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:49,839
Speaker 1: you're doing something that all the confidence has to come

707
00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:54,640
Speaker 1: from you. You gotta believe in yourself first. When y'all

708
00:34:54,680 --> 00:34:57,279
Speaker 1: hit that spot where you know, like, okay, I can

709
00:34:57,320 --> 00:35:02,480
Speaker 1: actually go to the league McDonald game. Uh, Kobe Bryant

710
00:35:02,480 --> 00:35:06,560
Speaker 1: timtoime was Jermaine O'Neil. I let the game is scoring. Yeah,

711
00:35:06,719 --> 00:35:08,439
Speaker 1: that's when I did. That's when I knew I should

712
00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:11,480
Speaker 1: have got the MVP, should have got the Kobe said

713
00:35:11,520 --> 00:35:13,120
Speaker 1: I got it. He thought I got it, So I

714
00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:16,680
Speaker 1: want on my mind. That's all that matters for me.

715
00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:18,239
Speaker 1: It was just, you know, in college, you know, I

716
00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:19,800
Speaker 1: was kind of a labeling arts more of a football

717
00:35:19,800 --> 00:35:21,759
Speaker 1: player than basketball players. In college is kind of where

718
00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:24,160
Speaker 1: I found my ground. And even when similar to Jack,

719
00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:25,880
Speaker 1: even when we first got drafted and we didn't make

720
00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:27,759
Speaker 1: it because he went somewhere, I had to go play

721
00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:30,600
Speaker 1: in the G League. Like our ship was a grind, grind, grind,

722
00:35:31,640 --> 00:35:32,919
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. And I think it made

723
00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:34,759
Speaker 1: me appreciate it more. And that's why I played the

724
00:35:34,760 --> 00:35:37,279
Speaker 1: way I played because you know, almost for the first

725
00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:39,040
Speaker 1: handful of years of my career, every game was an

726
00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:41,239
Speaker 1: audition only for my team, but other teams around the league.

727
00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:43,160
Speaker 1: So it was either gonna be me or you. That's

728
00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:44,719
Speaker 1: how I looked at it, and that's how you know

729
00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:47,200
Speaker 1: I got my reputation. But you know, that's what I

730
00:35:47,239 --> 00:35:49,040
Speaker 1: had to do to survive in this space. And then

731
00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:51,200
Speaker 1: you know, I turned it into fifteen years. But the

732
00:35:51,360 --> 00:35:53,520
Speaker 1: ship you gotta do to get on or just it's

733
00:35:53,520 --> 00:35:57,919
Speaker 1: gonna be someone else. Yeah, straight up two thousand three,

734
00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:00,239
Speaker 1: you and your first Grammy with Eric about do for

735
00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:08,000
Speaker 1: Love of my Life? What was that experience? Like? Still yeah, yeah, yeah,

736
00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:11,160
Speaker 1: thanks man. Yeah, that was amazing, man, because Grammy was

737
00:36:11,239 --> 00:36:16,320
Speaker 1: something I didn't know. I love her too, goddamn bro everybody.

738
00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:19,000
Speaker 1: And he said we're gonna talk to you about We're

739
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:20,520
Speaker 1: gonna talk to you about some ship off camera, but

740
00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:22,080
Speaker 1: he was saying some ship right for you pull up,

741
00:36:22,120 --> 00:36:23,799
Speaker 1: Like do you realize? I'm like, yeah, we're gonna talk

742
00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:33,680
Speaker 1: about that if you know, you know words up man

743
00:36:33,800 --> 00:36:36,799
Speaker 1: like that. That was an incredible time and night like

744
00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:39,040
Speaker 1: there to win a Grammy, like the first Grammy and

745
00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:41,080
Speaker 1: it was you know, like I said, Love of My

746
00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:43,120
Speaker 1: Life was really based on I used to love her,

747
00:36:43,480 --> 00:36:46,000
Speaker 1: but we did this song for Brown Sugar, which was

748
00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:47,680
Speaker 1: also based on I used to love it. So it

749
00:36:47,719 --> 00:36:50,680
Speaker 1: was kind of like incredible that that that it all

750
00:36:50,719 --> 00:36:53,400
Speaker 1: went full circle. And then with Erica, you know at

751
00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:55,480
Speaker 1: the time, that was my lady, so it was like, man,

752
00:36:55,520 --> 00:36:58,520
Speaker 1: we are we're doing this. That was everything ever at

753
00:36:58,560 --> 00:37:00,759
Speaker 1: the time, and that record that was every thing, man,

754
00:37:00,840 --> 00:37:02,759
Speaker 1: and it felt and I felt so good to be

755
00:37:02,800 --> 00:37:05,600
Speaker 1: able to do that record with it because she she

756
00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:08,880
Speaker 1: obviously is a dope ass like singer, but she a

757
00:37:08,960 --> 00:37:11,520
Speaker 1: hip hop type, you know what I'm saying. And we

758
00:37:11,880 --> 00:37:17,480
Speaker 1: had she got bars, man, she fret. She from Texas,

759
00:37:17,560 --> 00:37:21,200
Speaker 1: you know. Yeah, but you know we have Cobambada, who's

760
00:37:21,239 --> 00:37:23,600
Speaker 1: the father of hip hop, he was in the video.

761
00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:26,320
Speaker 1: Or Cool Hurt. We had Cool Hurt in there, who's

762
00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:28,560
Speaker 1: the father hip hop in there, and man, it was

763
00:37:28,600 --> 00:37:31,840
Speaker 1: just like you know that night, man, we had the

764
00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:34,680
Speaker 1: best jail session ever, Like it was Prince was there,

765
00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:38,000
Speaker 1: like Jill Scott, like it was all like flow at

766
00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:41,640
Speaker 1: to the girls, marshing them, Raphael Sade you know, in

767
00:37:41,719 --> 00:37:45,120
Speaker 1: Quest Love and the Roots and James Poison's cat was

768
00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:48,080
Speaker 1: playing playing fly on the wall there you know it

769
00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:50,120
Speaker 1: was even a fly smoker to join on the wall.

770
00:37:53,719 --> 00:37:56,880
Speaker 1: Was the jail session, bro, like that June turned down incredible?

771
00:37:56,880 --> 00:37:59,640
Speaker 1: So that that one, that Grammy, I was like, okay,

772
00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:02,960
Speaker 1: I left that my mother's house. My mother is the

773
00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:06,040
Speaker 1: first one. You experienced commercial success in two thousand and

774
00:38:06,040 --> 00:38:08,120
Speaker 1: five with your album. Be the grind to get there

775
00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:10,240
Speaker 1: and to finally kind of be able to be crossed

776
00:38:10,280 --> 00:38:12,480
Speaker 1: over to that. But oh six is like your album,

777
00:38:12,520 --> 00:38:16,319
Speaker 1: your whole album is recognized by by the committee. What

778
00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:18,520
Speaker 1: was that crossover? Liking? Is that when you feel like

779
00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:22,319
Speaker 1: you that was? That was? You know, I ain't gonna

780
00:38:22,320 --> 00:38:25,480
Speaker 1: fin I don't never feel like, man, oh man, it's

781
00:38:25,560 --> 00:38:28,319
Speaker 1: done like I made it, Like I do sit there now.

782
00:38:28,360 --> 00:38:30,560
Speaker 1: I take on moments where I'm like, man, let me

783
00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:36,160
Speaker 1: appreciate this moment. Work too often we don't, Man, I

784
00:38:36,239 --> 00:38:38,520
Speaker 1: do that now, Like I mean, I'm grateful to be

785
00:38:38,600 --> 00:38:40,879
Speaker 1: here with y'all brothers, Bill and I would have never

786
00:38:40,920 --> 00:38:42,680
Speaker 1: known watching the games, I don't be sitting here Bill

787
00:38:42,760 --> 00:38:46,799
Speaker 1: with y'all. Right, So I take in the moment, but

788
00:38:46,800 --> 00:38:49,360
Speaker 1: but I don't celebrate too long, like I'll just be like, Okay,

789
00:38:49,480 --> 00:38:52,239
Speaker 1: I still got I still got new things. That I

790
00:38:52,239 --> 00:38:55,279
Speaker 1: want to accomplish and create. That moment I definitely was

791
00:38:55,360 --> 00:38:57,880
Speaker 1: like more than anything when I was taking in was

792
00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:01,879
Speaker 1: like I just come off from being like people was like, man,

793
00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:04,560
Speaker 1: comment doing this crazy Like I did an album that

794
00:39:04,719 --> 00:39:06,840
Speaker 1: was out there, It's called Electric Circus and it was

795
00:39:06,920 --> 00:39:09,759
Speaker 1: like real different. So it was getting ridicuted and I

796
00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:11,719
Speaker 1: ain't getting no critical claiming nothing. It was just like

797
00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:13,799
Speaker 1: cash was writing me off. So it was like a

798
00:39:13,880 --> 00:39:16,879
Speaker 1: rebirth to do be So now only did I feel like,

799
00:39:17,760 --> 00:39:20,120
Speaker 1: oh man, I'm arriving in a in a new way,

800
00:39:20,360 --> 00:39:22,560
Speaker 1: but also it was like that was a moment in

801
00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:26,000
Speaker 1: my life where I started having to really practice like

802
00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:29,560
Speaker 1: speaking things into existence and really believe in what I'm saying,

803
00:39:29,640 --> 00:39:32,920
Speaker 1: Like no matter if people talking ship or whatever, I

804
00:39:32,960 --> 00:39:35,960
Speaker 1: gotta just be like believing who I am. And I

805
00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:39,080
Speaker 1: started seeing it coming to fruition at that time. So

806
00:39:39,200 --> 00:39:42,200
Speaker 1: b was that moment for me to be like, hey man,

807
00:39:42,239 --> 00:39:45,200
Speaker 1: you got power in your mind, you got like your

808
00:39:45,239 --> 00:39:48,160
Speaker 1: word means something, so so do that and I and

809
00:39:48,360 --> 00:39:51,719
Speaker 1: I became more confident in the way that you know,

810
00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:54,759
Speaker 1: I was around Yea and different casts. There was like

811
00:39:56,120 --> 00:39:58,160
Speaker 1: there was more like out there with this like look

812
00:39:58,160 --> 00:40:00,640
Speaker 1: I'm dope blah blah blah, and and you know, and

813
00:40:00,920 --> 00:40:03,840
Speaker 1: it made me see like, yo, you gotta claim what

814
00:40:03,960 --> 00:40:06,520
Speaker 1: you are, like you know, I would do it on

815
00:40:06,560 --> 00:40:09,160
Speaker 1: the mike, but then it's like even the times when

816
00:40:09,200 --> 00:40:11,640
Speaker 1: we was doing listening sessions, you can't just sit back

817
00:40:11,680 --> 00:40:15,239
Speaker 1: and be like bashful about it. I ain't never tried

818
00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:16,680
Speaker 1: to do it like yea, you did it or this too,

819
00:40:16,880 --> 00:40:19,560
Speaker 1: but I still needed to be like yo, my way,

820
00:40:19,600 --> 00:40:21,720
Speaker 1: like Yo, this is this is dope. Check it out y'all.

821
00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:24,560
Speaker 1: Like yeah, So I kind of got into That's what

822
00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:28,240
Speaker 1: b ended up being for me something speaking to Kanye,

823
00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:31,719
Speaker 1: you guys want a grammar together, someone from you know, Chicago.

824
00:40:31,760 --> 00:40:33,839
Speaker 1: What was that experience like working with him and and

825
00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:37,360
Speaker 1: the type of relationship you guys have. Yeah, yeah, he

826
00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:39,520
Speaker 1: was uh see, I know yea since he was like

827
00:40:40,239 --> 00:40:44,239
Speaker 1: nineteen years old because he was no idea produced my

828
00:40:44,320 --> 00:40:48,120
Speaker 1: first albums and just wanted that's my brother from you

829
00:40:48,160 --> 00:40:51,040
Speaker 1: know he's silent, Yeah, that's the guy. He He brought

830
00:40:51,120 --> 00:40:55,160
Speaker 1: Kanye around because Kanye was like their mom's teased together

831
00:40:55,239 --> 00:40:57,880
Speaker 1: and you know, they knew each other. So Kanye was

832
00:40:57,880 --> 00:41:01,360
Speaker 1: his young producer would come around and he was hungry.

833
00:41:01,680 --> 00:41:04,160
Speaker 1: But you know, at the time his beats worth they

834
00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:06,280
Speaker 1: was good, but they wasn't like better than no Idea.

835
00:41:06,400 --> 00:41:07,759
Speaker 1: So I was like, yo, I got these no I

836
00:41:07,840 --> 00:41:10,520
Speaker 1: D beats. But we were still with Bill. We were Bill.

837
00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:14,000
Speaker 1: He come ryme, so we was always cool. But in

838
00:41:14,239 --> 00:41:16,759
Speaker 1: two thousand three, when I was starting to work on

839
00:41:16,800 --> 00:41:19,319
Speaker 1: the other stuff, I was like, yo, yeah, let's get

840
00:41:19,320 --> 00:41:21,120
Speaker 1: on some beats. He was like all right, cool, you know,

841
00:41:21,160 --> 00:41:23,160
Speaker 1: because I just did get him high for his album

842
00:41:23,360 --> 00:41:26,000
Speaker 1: and he was like cool. He started cooking up beasts

843
00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:28,280
Speaker 1: and it was just a real It was I felt

844
00:41:28,280 --> 00:41:30,920
Speaker 1: like I grew a lot working with you because he

845
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:34,919
Speaker 1: had he had a vision of he loved hip hop

846
00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:37,000
Speaker 1: and love like he knew the hip hop that I knew.

847
00:41:37,400 --> 00:41:39,359
Speaker 1: But he also had a vision of how to make

848
00:41:39,440 --> 00:41:44,120
Speaker 1: songs sound big where everybody can hear it, but it's

849
00:41:44,120 --> 00:41:46,799
Speaker 1: still got that soul. And he was able to take

850
00:41:46,920 --> 00:41:49,760
Speaker 1: you know, my rhymes and we were able to create

851
00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:52,320
Speaker 1: songs like he and he was one of the producers

852
00:41:52,320 --> 00:41:56,120
Speaker 1: who would be like, now you should rewrap that, or no,

853
00:41:56,360 --> 00:41:59,439
Speaker 1: don't change that, or now we're gonna get this hooked

854
00:41:59,520 --> 00:42:02,160
Speaker 1: like this, and even like this song called the Corners.

855
00:42:02,360 --> 00:42:04,760
Speaker 1: As soon as I laid the vocals, he was like, Okay,

856
00:42:04,760 --> 00:42:07,320
Speaker 1: the video go look like this in Chicago to smoke.

857
00:42:07,560 --> 00:42:11,160
Speaker 1: So he had even the invisage so he was working

858
00:42:11,160 --> 00:42:13,200
Speaker 1: with him. Was was like that, and you know, and

859
00:42:13,200 --> 00:42:15,760
Speaker 1: it was good too, Like I was on his label.

860
00:42:15,760 --> 00:42:17,279
Speaker 1: I was on good music. So it was good to

861
00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:20,000
Speaker 1: be supporting my brother and he was getting something out

862
00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:21,640
Speaker 1: of it too. So who are some of the people

863
00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:24,280
Speaker 1: you looked up to in your space? I go start

864
00:42:24,320 --> 00:42:26,640
Speaker 1: from some of the earlier For me, it was like

865
00:42:27,080 --> 00:42:31,880
Speaker 1: rock Him and caress One and Big Daddy came E

866
00:42:31,960 --> 00:42:35,399
Speaker 1: P M D. Then casting my age group, I mean,

867
00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:38,200
Speaker 1: and then n W a Ice Cuban and then casting

868
00:42:38,280 --> 00:42:43,400
Speaker 1: my age group became like the Na's, Biggie's UM and

869
00:42:43,560 --> 00:42:46,880
Speaker 1: uh Black Moon and and and cats like that. And

870
00:42:46,920 --> 00:42:49,920
Speaker 1: now you know, I feel like it's still like new artists,

871
00:42:49,920 --> 00:42:54,120
Speaker 1: whether it's Kendrick Um, you know, just doing stuff. That's

872
00:42:54,160 --> 00:42:56,560
Speaker 1: the span I would say, from Carest to Kendrick. It's

873
00:42:56,640 --> 00:42:59,400
Speaker 1: it's kind of like what it ended up being. But

874
00:42:59,480 --> 00:43:01,840
Speaker 1: you know, I ain't gonna lie. I've been listening to

875
00:43:01,880 --> 00:43:04,560
Speaker 1: a lot of nineties hip hop lately. Just getting inspired

876
00:43:04,840 --> 00:43:07,320
Speaker 1: music was different back then, I don't think we knew,

877
00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:12,440
Speaker 1: like we didn't have like as much things going on.

878
00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:14,560
Speaker 1: So it was like we put off my soul into

879
00:43:14,640 --> 00:43:17,319
Speaker 1: the into the hip hop, into these rhymes, into the

880
00:43:17,360 --> 00:43:19,839
Speaker 1: beasts and the way the drums sound and the way

881
00:43:19,880 --> 00:43:23,960
Speaker 1: the scratches were. And it's something prolific about artists nowadays.

882
00:43:23,960 --> 00:43:26,799
Speaker 1: They put out a lot of music, but and some

883
00:43:26,880 --> 00:43:29,279
Speaker 1: of it is great and then something sometimes it don't

884
00:43:29,320 --> 00:43:32,200
Speaker 1: stick with you, Like and what I was listening to

885
00:43:32,320 --> 00:43:34,560
Speaker 1: with some of these some of the nineties hip hop,

886
00:43:35,120 --> 00:43:37,880
Speaker 1: was like, man, this music, Like I'm bringing up nineties

887
00:43:37,960 --> 00:43:40,840
Speaker 1: hip hop because when the pandemic hit, I kind of

888
00:43:40,880 --> 00:43:43,960
Speaker 1: went straight to what what I needed to hear. Like,

889
00:43:44,000 --> 00:43:46,360
Speaker 1: I wasn't trying to be like, let me try to people,

890
00:43:46,640 --> 00:43:49,120
Speaker 1: you know, please somebody else. I'm playing in my house,

891
00:43:49,160 --> 00:43:51,239
Speaker 1: I'm playing this nineties hip hop along with I listened

892
00:43:51,239 --> 00:43:53,840
Speaker 1: to jazz music. I listen to gospel music. But that

893
00:43:53,960 --> 00:43:57,120
Speaker 1: being said, nineties hip hop was feeding me for what

894
00:43:57,160 --> 00:43:59,360
Speaker 1: I was doing working out in these things, and that

895
00:43:59,520 --> 00:44:02,200
Speaker 1: made me see the essence of what what what I

896
00:44:02,239 --> 00:44:05,240
Speaker 1: loved about it was, man, cast was doing different things

897
00:44:05,280 --> 00:44:09,000
Speaker 1: and experimenting with things and being flavorful and everybody kind

898
00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:13,200
Speaker 1: of was having their own sound overalls like whether whether

899
00:44:13,239 --> 00:44:16,399
Speaker 1: it was you know yetto boys like they were who

900
00:44:16,400 --> 00:44:20,640
Speaker 1: they were, um, you know outcasts who they who they were,

901
00:44:20,680 --> 00:44:25,680
Speaker 1: soul is of mischief like these do a die man, man,

902
00:44:25,800 --> 00:44:30,560
Speaker 1: come on, do a die? Twisted like yo, early two

903
00:44:30,600 --> 00:44:34,200
Speaker 1: thousand's you got the acting bug? How did that come about? Yeah?

904
00:44:34,520 --> 00:44:36,880
Speaker 1: My A and I who was working at the label

905
00:44:36,920 --> 00:44:38,440
Speaker 1: I was on was I was on m c A.

906
00:44:39,120 --> 00:44:41,319
Speaker 1: She said, Man, I got an acting coach that I

907
00:44:41,360 --> 00:44:43,560
Speaker 1: think you should work with because she knew I wanted

908
00:44:43,560 --> 00:44:46,839
Speaker 1: to get into acting. I always love fils. He wanted

909
00:44:46,840 --> 00:44:51,040
Speaker 1: to get in an acting too. You got man, we

910
00:44:51,160 --> 00:44:54,120
Speaker 1: got me in, Zack. I'm gonna pull you in and

911
00:44:54,640 --> 00:44:56,799
Speaker 1: put you through. You know you're gonna be We're gonna

912
00:44:56,800 --> 00:45:01,000
Speaker 1: be working work on the craft thing. That's what Jack wants.

913
00:45:02,200 --> 00:45:05,200
Speaker 1: Work on the craft. Yeah. Yeah, so that's what I

914
00:45:05,280 --> 00:45:07,200
Speaker 1: ended up doing. I worked on the craft. I'm like,

915
00:45:08,440 --> 00:45:10,480
Speaker 1: I ain't trying to be a rapper actor. I want

916
00:45:10,480 --> 00:45:12,880
Speaker 1: to be I'm an actor. I told you something. Some

917
00:45:12,920 --> 00:45:15,080
Speaker 1: people like, do you know, look at you as an actor,

918
00:45:15,360 --> 00:45:17,839
Speaker 1: you know, not like a rapper, like an actor. And

919
00:45:17,880 --> 00:45:20,120
Speaker 1: that's that's credit to you, dude. I ain't gonna lot.

920
00:45:20,160 --> 00:45:22,799
Speaker 1: Sometimes I'll be like Dawn and made it made me

921
00:45:22,800 --> 00:45:25,120
Speaker 1: feel good because it's you know, you're not not no

922
00:45:25,239 --> 00:45:27,040
Speaker 1: disrespect to the music, but at the same time, like

923
00:45:27,080 --> 00:45:30,280
Speaker 1: you've you've not mastered, but you're you're a legitimate actor

924
00:45:30,360 --> 00:45:33,319
Speaker 1: as well. Yeah, and I mean yeah, I've definitely had

925
00:45:33,640 --> 00:45:36,880
Speaker 1: like I've did this thing and and I one of

926
00:45:36,880 --> 00:45:39,480
Speaker 1: the comments was like I ain't know the actor comment raps,

927
00:45:39,760 --> 00:45:42,680
Speaker 1: and I was like, don't want to be down because

928
00:45:42,719 --> 00:45:47,120
Speaker 1: I'm multi talented. Exactly, yeah, exactly. But that that being said, man,

929
00:45:47,160 --> 00:45:50,880
Speaker 1: I really took the craft serious and just started studying.

930
00:45:50,960 --> 00:45:53,200
Speaker 1: And when I was going to classes, and I was

931
00:45:53,239 --> 00:45:56,759
Speaker 1: going to classes any time in between twur I just

932
00:45:56,880 --> 00:45:59,280
Speaker 1: going to classes and working on it. And I started

933
00:45:59,320 --> 00:46:01,960
Speaker 1: going on audition and I wasn't doing good, but it's

934
00:46:01,960 --> 00:46:03,960
Speaker 1: still working at it, and just working at the craft.

935
00:46:04,200 --> 00:46:08,239
Speaker 1: Kept going to class. This one script or sides, you know,

936
00:46:08,360 --> 00:46:11,480
Speaker 1: sides are like what you get when you're about to audition.

937
00:46:11,520 --> 00:46:14,680
Speaker 1: They only give you a piece of a scene. Besides,

938
00:46:14,719 --> 00:46:16,680
Speaker 1: I really loved and I got to read the script

939
00:46:17,080 --> 00:46:20,160
Speaker 1: for the movie Smoking Aces, and uh, I was like,

940
00:46:20,200 --> 00:46:23,040
Speaker 1: I love this, I gotta go get better, get better.

941
00:46:23,440 --> 00:46:25,920
Speaker 1: So I went in and man, and that was the

942
00:46:25,920 --> 00:46:29,200
Speaker 1: first call back I got. And then I was geek

943
00:46:29,480 --> 00:46:32,120
Speaker 1: and I remember continue to work on it, work on it,

944
00:46:32,239 --> 00:46:34,600
Speaker 1: like work on the scenes. While I was on tour.

945
00:46:34,840 --> 00:46:37,520
Speaker 1: I flew back and got got got in in that

946
00:46:37,600 --> 00:46:40,360
Speaker 1: room for my second audition and I felt great with

947
00:46:40,400 --> 00:46:43,680
Speaker 1: the audition. And man, I remember I remember getting a

948
00:46:43,760 --> 00:46:46,560
Speaker 1: call like three weeks later. I was sitting there. I

949
00:46:46,640 --> 00:46:49,440
Speaker 1: was at a music conference with Kanye. We were about

950
00:46:49,440 --> 00:46:51,080
Speaker 1: to I was supposed to go on tour with Ya.

951
00:46:51,360 --> 00:46:53,359
Speaker 1: And I was like, we was about to the tour

952
00:46:53,480 --> 00:46:55,480
Speaker 1: was booked and everything, and I got the call from

953
00:46:55,480 --> 00:46:58,439
Speaker 1: the director Joe Kanahan that I got my role, got

954
00:46:58,440 --> 00:47:01,279
Speaker 1: the role. And it was like it was like God

955
00:47:01,320 --> 00:47:02,799
Speaker 1: a sweet in a way because I was about that

956
00:47:02,880 --> 00:47:05,440
Speaker 1: to go tell ya, yo, yeah, I can't do this

957
00:47:05,520 --> 00:47:10,879
Speaker 1: to him. Understood. My brother is still bazy understood. And

958
00:47:11,000 --> 00:47:13,839
Speaker 1: it was just you know, that was from that point on. Man,

959
00:47:13,880 --> 00:47:16,520
Speaker 1: it was just like even even roles where I didn't

960
00:47:16,560 --> 00:47:18,520
Speaker 1: have a lot to do, it was like and and

961
00:47:18,800 --> 00:47:21,400
Speaker 1: it's one of the things exactly like at the end

962
00:47:21,440 --> 00:47:23,360
Speaker 1: of the day, some of it is just looking and

963
00:47:23,440 --> 00:47:25,680
Speaker 1: getting roles, so you can get the experience to just

964
00:47:25,719 --> 00:47:27,560
Speaker 1: being on the set, just like getting shots up in

965
00:47:27,560 --> 00:47:31,960
Speaker 1: the gym. Getting simple as that, because then eventually I

966
00:47:32,040 --> 00:47:35,120
Speaker 1: really saw my acting improve and grow. When I got

967
00:47:35,120 --> 00:47:36,960
Speaker 1: to I did a TV show that was called Hell

968
00:47:37,000 --> 00:47:39,160
Speaker 1: on Wheels. It was like a Western man. I was

969
00:47:39,200 --> 00:47:42,879
Speaker 1: working so consistently. I was getting shots up, and at

970
00:47:42,920 --> 00:47:44,640
Speaker 1: that point I started getting in front of the camera

971
00:47:44,719 --> 00:47:48,640
Speaker 1: and I could start trying things instead of just being like, Okay,

972
00:47:48,640 --> 00:47:51,480
Speaker 1: I got these lines down and and I was doing

973
00:47:51,520 --> 00:47:54,480
Speaker 1: all the other work. But sometimes you can forget to

974
00:47:54,600 --> 00:47:57,440
Speaker 1: be as creative as you could be in front of

975
00:47:57,440 --> 00:47:59,400
Speaker 1: the camera, you know what I mean, because you like

976
00:47:59,560 --> 00:48:01,799
Speaker 1: thinking about somebody, You think about other stuff and like

977
00:48:01,880 --> 00:48:03,960
Speaker 1: you and you're thinking about how to do it right

978
00:48:04,280 --> 00:48:07,800
Speaker 1: when right it's just being in the moment, being president,

979
00:48:07,880 --> 00:48:10,560
Speaker 1: letting it flow to and if you prepare, it's like

980
00:48:10,960 --> 00:48:13,200
Speaker 1: what y'all would probably feel in the game is like,

981
00:48:13,719 --> 00:48:15,680
Speaker 1: if you've been putting up shots, you know what you're

982
00:48:15,680 --> 00:48:17,560
Speaker 1: getting the game. It's gonna be natural with the trust,

983
00:48:17,560 --> 00:48:19,799
Speaker 1: the process and you put in the work. Was it

984
00:48:19,920 --> 00:48:22,680
Speaker 1: awkward to see yourself on on TV acting the first

985
00:48:22,719 --> 00:48:24,440
Speaker 1: couple of times you've seen it, or or on a

986
00:48:24,440 --> 00:48:29,160
Speaker 1: big screen, like what was that experiences that's yeah, that's

987
00:48:29,239 --> 00:48:31,920
Speaker 1: it was like the first time. Man, I was so

988
00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:34,759
Speaker 1: geek because all my homies came, my mother was there.

989
00:48:35,040 --> 00:48:37,440
Speaker 1: I even took my daughter. She was too young and

990
00:48:37,480 --> 00:48:41,520
Speaker 1: probably see smoking aces. But I like it just was

991
00:48:41,560 --> 00:48:43,439
Speaker 1: a joy. I ain't gonna lie. I was watching every

992
00:48:43,480 --> 00:48:47,719
Speaker 1: little moment. But I'm to be honest, I felt good

993
00:48:47,760 --> 00:48:49,680
Speaker 1: about what I did in that movie. So after I

994
00:48:49,680 --> 00:48:53,640
Speaker 1: got over my myself just like being critical, I was like, man,

995
00:48:53,760 --> 00:48:56,400
Speaker 1: this is good man in the movie. And then eventually,

996
00:48:56,440 --> 00:48:58,040
Speaker 1: like some of the fight scenes, like I get to

997
00:48:58,080 --> 00:49:01,719
Speaker 1: doing John Wick. Sometimes I'm like, damn, we did all

998
00:49:01,760 --> 00:49:04,640
Speaker 1: that like we did because it's like it's a lot

999
00:49:04,640 --> 00:49:09,120
Speaker 1: of work. Boy, So I love I know you love that.

1000
00:49:09,600 --> 00:49:13,319
Speaker 1: I love getting through that one man. We like preparation,

1001
00:49:13,400 --> 00:49:17,040
Speaker 1: we go hard man and it's like, man, Keanu reeves

1002
00:49:17,120 --> 00:49:19,560
Speaker 1: just he he the top level when it comes to that,

1003
00:49:19,680 --> 00:49:22,960
Speaker 1: he's someone this I feel like he's been great. Yeah,

1004
00:49:22,960 --> 00:49:24,839
Speaker 1: I think he gets overlooked. He's been a great actor

1005
00:49:24,920 --> 00:49:27,920
Speaker 1: for a long He's been great and done great movies,

1006
00:49:28,000 --> 00:49:31,239
Speaker 1: and he'd been committed to it. Not man for me,

1007
00:49:31,800 --> 00:49:35,440
Speaker 1: It reminded me of just like what athletes would do,

1008
00:49:35,440 --> 00:49:37,680
Speaker 1: because he wanted to work as hard as I like

1009
00:49:37,840 --> 00:49:40,640
Speaker 1: working hard to get to where I get to and

1010
00:49:40,640 --> 00:49:42,840
Speaker 1: and because then it gives me like I know that,

1011
00:49:42,920 --> 00:49:45,960
Speaker 1: I'm like I'm ready. So and the crazy part with

1012
00:49:46,040 --> 00:49:50,000
Speaker 1: John Wick though, is the director Chad. I love him

1013
00:49:50,000 --> 00:49:52,000
Speaker 1: and incredible he did all the John Wicks him and

1014
00:49:52,040 --> 00:49:56,040
Speaker 1: his partner today. But you'll work on the whole scene

1015
00:49:56,040 --> 00:49:59,560
Speaker 1: and blah blah, like you working for weeks months, really

1016
00:49:59,719 --> 00:50:02,960
Speaker 1: work in the choreography for to a fight scene, and man,

1017
00:50:03,000 --> 00:50:04,640
Speaker 1: he had changed it right there. You know, when it's

1018
00:50:04,680 --> 00:50:06,759
Speaker 1: time to shoot, you'll be like, no, let's shot. And

1019
00:50:06,840 --> 00:50:10,440
Speaker 1: that is a lot to to you know, try to adjust.

1020
00:50:10,880 --> 00:50:14,560
Speaker 1: But because we did all that preparation they study, you

1021
00:50:14,719 --> 00:50:16,640
Speaker 1: kind of feel confident. Okay, I'm gonna make it happy

1022
00:50:16,680 --> 00:50:19,759
Speaker 1: to just trusted. Yeah, yeah, I love working on that

1023
00:50:20,000 --> 00:50:22,560
Speaker 1: and action action in drama movies or some of my

1024
00:50:22,680 --> 00:50:25,040
Speaker 1: favorite things to do. You gotta be the movie had

1025
00:50:25,040 --> 00:50:27,480
Speaker 1: to be good to make three of the same movie

1026
00:50:27,520 --> 00:50:35,520
Speaker 1: three times e times. But the beginning of the third

1027
00:50:35,520 --> 00:50:40,000
Speaker 1: one man about two million people died. It was that

1028
00:50:40,080 --> 00:50:44,239
Speaker 1: ship was fired. You work, you got a chance to

1029
00:50:44,640 --> 00:50:46,600
Speaker 1: one of my all time favorite movies with a deep

1030
00:50:46,600 --> 00:50:48,279
Speaker 1: fund cast. You got a chance to work on the

1031
00:50:48,400 --> 00:50:51,239
Speaker 1: American Gangster with this What was that? Like? Man? That

1032
00:50:51,320 --> 00:50:53,239
Speaker 1: was incredible that that was one of the ones where

1033
00:50:53,280 --> 00:50:57,480
Speaker 1: I was like, man, I tried out for one one

1034
00:50:57,600 --> 00:51:02,080
Speaker 1: role and they said, um, nah, we think you you're

1035
00:51:02,120 --> 00:51:05,000
Speaker 1: too young for that role, so try for this other one.

1036
00:51:05,200 --> 00:51:08,160
Speaker 1: And I tried out. Then it was like nah, And

1037
00:51:08,200 --> 00:51:10,960
Speaker 1: I ended up making another tape and just took it

1038
00:51:11,000 --> 00:51:13,399
Speaker 1: to the casting director and she was like, man, your

1039
00:51:13,440 --> 00:51:18,120
Speaker 1: passion for this is we just got. So they cast

1040
00:51:18,160 --> 00:51:21,320
Speaker 1: me as one of the brothers um which is funny

1041
00:51:21,320 --> 00:51:24,880
Speaker 1: because some people don't know. But in that movie, I

1042
00:51:24,920 --> 00:51:30,400
Speaker 1: was playing tas father. It was I got a crazy

1043
00:51:30,440 --> 00:51:33,960
Speaker 1: because you know, you know, about eight years older. But hey,

1044
00:51:34,200 --> 00:51:36,359
Speaker 1: we was acting, so we made it work. But I

1045
00:51:36,440 --> 00:51:38,880
Speaker 1: just was geeked to be in the movie because it

1046
00:51:38,960 --> 00:51:42,279
Speaker 1: was Denzel Washington and Ruby d the Great Ruby Dan

1047
00:51:42,320 --> 00:51:45,640
Speaker 1: God bless Us Souls, and then Russell Crowe and really

1048
00:51:45,640 --> 00:51:48,680
Speaker 1: Scott directing and the story was just so dope. When

1049
00:51:48,719 --> 00:51:51,080
Speaker 1: I read that story and all the dope actors from

1050
00:51:51,200 --> 00:51:54,279
Speaker 1: chest elb to Hotel as You for all, Like I

1051
00:51:54,360 --> 00:51:57,520
Speaker 1: was like Man, this is an incredible cast. So they

1052
00:51:57,520 --> 00:52:00,640
Speaker 1: had a rism. The risd was dope in that too, man.

1053
00:52:01,040 --> 00:52:03,960
Speaker 1: So yeah, man, that's one of my favorite movies I

1054
00:52:04,000 --> 00:52:05,520
Speaker 1: ever got to do it, and that was one of

1055
00:52:05,560 --> 00:52:08,680
Speaker 1: the ones. Man. Literally I only had like a few lines,

1056
00:52:08,760 --> 00:52:12,000
Speaker 1: but still I was like, I'm a classic. Yeah, that's

1057
00:52:12,000 --> 00:52:16,200
Speaker 1: a classic. Sure, you launched your own entertainment company, being

1058
00:52:16,320 --> 00:52:19,239
Speaker 1: Coming after doing under a couple of other labels. What

1059
00:52:19,320 --> 00:52:21,239
Speaker 1: was that experience like being able to finally launch your

1060
00:52:21,239 --> 00:52:23,520
Speaker 1: own label? You know, early on, my friends like, man,

1061
00:52:23,560 --> 00:52:25,320
Speaker 1: you need to start a label and start a label,

1062
00:52:25,880 --> 00:52:29,360
Speaker 1: and I wanted to be able to provide the channel

1063
00:52:29,400 --> 00:52:33,120
Speaker 1: for people to to get out there. But I didn't

1064
00:52:33,160 --> 00:52:35,319
Speaker 1: feel like I had the team and one thing I

1065
00:52:35,400 --> 00:52:38,759
Speaker 1: always I want to do because man, when you're starting

1066
00:52:38,800 --> 00:52:42,160
Speaker 1: to label, you're dealing with people's dreams. Man, Like when

1067
00:52:42,239 --> 00:52:45,480
Speaker 1: somebody come up and say, man, I got this music,

1068
00:52:45,719 --> 00:52:48,200
Speaker 1: that's their dream and I know that feeling. So I

1069
00:52:48,280 --> 00:52:51,920
Speaker 1: was like, once we were I had the right team around,

1070
00:52:52,600 --> 00:52:55,560
Speaker 1: we ended up starting Thing Coming, and you know, now

1071
00:52:55,600 --> 00:52:57,719
Speaker 1: it's spread out to like I got something called start

1072
00:52:57,800 --> 00:53:00,640
Speaker 1: Us Films, which you know, which is film and TV

1073
00:53:00,760 --> 00:53:04,520
Speaker 1: production company, and start Us kids, which is like really

1074
00:53:04,520 --> 00:53:08,040
Speaker 1: a collective where we put musicians, but it's also fashion

1075
00:53:08,120 --> 00:53:12,759
Speaker 1: designers and photographers just giving them platforms. Yeah, and so

1076
00:53:12,760 --> 00:53:16,319
Speaker 1: so it's it's really been good because I feel like, oh, man,

1077
00:53:16,440 --> 00:53:20,480
Speaker 1: now I got the team in place in the infrastructure

1078
00:53:20,520 --> 00:53:23,640
Speaker 1: to really be able to go out and and give

1079
00:53:23,680 --> 00:53:27,319
Speaker 1: people opportunities and not play with their dream, give them

1080
00:53:27,320 --> 00:53:30,719
Speaker 1: a real opportunity. Uh, Selma two thousand and fourteen, you

1081
00:53:30,760 --> 00:53:33,440
Speaker 1: got a chance to co star, Uh, played James Bevil.

1082
00:53:33,560 --> 00:53:35,319
Speaker 1: What was it like, Uh, you know, to play that

1083
00:53:35,600 --> 00:53:38,279
Speaker 1: movie and and that kind of impact considering where we

1084
00:53:38,320 --> 00:53:41,279
Speaker 1: are in two thousand twenty now Selma was for me

1085
00:53:41,400 --> 00:53:45,200
Speaker 1: that was like a life changing moment um for me

1086
00:53:45,280 --> 00:53:47,840
Speaker 1: because it was the first time I got on the

1087
00:53:47,880 --> 00:53:51,280
Speaker 1: movie set and the movie was directed by Ava douven

1088
00:53:51,280 --> 00:53:55,080
Speaker 1: A um a black woman, and everybody on the set,

1089
00:53:55,880 --> 00:53:58,960
Speaker 1: from the director of photography Bradford Young who's super dope,

1090
00:53:59,040 --> 00:54:02,640
Speaker 1: to like costume designer Ruth Ruth Carter who ended up

1091
00:54:02,640 --> 00:54:08,320
Speaker 1: winning up. Yeah, co like the makeup it was black,

1092
00:54:08,840 --> 00:54:12,759
Speaker 1: black men, black women, like the lighting guy. So it

1093
00:54:12,840 --> 00:54:15,759
Speaker 1: was like, Yo, this could this can happen? Man? Like,

1094
00:54:15,880 --> 00:54:19,000
Speaker 1: this is dope? And then you know, Oprah came in

1095
00:54:19,080 --> 00:54:21,000
Speaker 1: and was she was a producer on it, and it

1096
00:54:21,120 --> 00:54:24,200
Speaker 1: was just cool with everybody. We have like good times

1097
00:54:24,239 --> 00:54:26,480
Speaker 1: that like just even at her place that she had

1098
00:54:26,520 --> 00:54:28,480
Speaker 1: down there, and I was like, man, this is a

1099
00:54:29,080 --> 00:54:31,120
Speaker 1: I never felt this on a movie. Like getting to

1100
00:54:31,200 --> 00:54:33,920
Speaker 1: work and see all these you know, different black people

1101
00:54:33,960 --> 00:54:36,520
Speaker 1: working and I really started to learn what we could

1102
00:54:36,520 --> 00:54:39,560
Speaker 1: do with the films. And then when another thing that

1103
00:54:39,560 --> 00:54:41,920
Speaker 1: it hit me was we got to sit down and

1104
00:54:41,960 --> 00:54:45,759
Speaker 1: talk with Ambassador Andrew Young, who was one of Dr Kings.

1105
00:54:45,760 --> 00:54:47,640
Speaker 1: You know, he's one of the men in a civil

1106
00:54:47,760 --> 00:54:50,319
Speaker 1: rights movement doing a lot of work. And he sat

1107
00:54:50,320 --> 00:54:52,880
Speaker 1: down and when he was like, man, what are you

1108
00:54:52,920 --> 00:54:55,839
Speaker 1: willing to die for? Live for that? He was like, man,

1109
00:54:55,880 --> 00:54:58,359
Speaker 1: we was willing to die for freedom and justice. So

1110
00:54:58,440 --> 00:55:02,320
Speaker 1: we lived for every day. And man, that really struck

1111
00:55:02,360 --> 00:55:05,120
Speaker 1: me because I was like, man, what am I What

1112
00:55:05,200 --> 00:55:07,319
Speaker 1: am I really willing to die for? What am I

1113
00:55:07,400 --> 00:55:09,640
Speaker 1: living for? It put the spark in me to be like,

1114
00:55:09,680 --> 00:55:12,560
Speaker 1: I gotta do more. When we talked about activism, that's

1115
00:55:12,560 --> 00:55:15,080
Speaker 1: when I was like, I gotta do more. I gotta

1116
00:55:15,520 --> 00:55:18,959
Speaker 1: I gotta figure out ways and learning that these people

1117
00:55:19,000 --> 00:55:22,759
Speaker 1: were strategizing and coming up using their creativity to come

1118
00:55:22,840 --> 00:55:25,400
Speaker 1: up with ways so that we can't vote, so that

1119
00:55:25,480 --> 00:55:28,080
Speaker 1: we can't sit in the area we need to sit in,

1120
00:55:28,480 --> 00:55:30,680
Speaker 1: so that our schools, you know, working to get our

1121
00:55:30,719 --> 00:55:33,319
Speaker 1: schools better. So all that work that they did, I

1122
00:55:33,400 --> 00:55:36,719
Speaker 1: just felt I started learning more and feeling like that

1123
00:55:36,840 --> 00:55:39,839
Speaker 1: was as you said, the torch, it is our turn

1124
00:55:44,160 --> 00:55:48,359
Speaker 1: coming from Chicago. When you hear the word icon in

1125
00:55:48,400 --> 00:55:51,359
Speaker 1: your name next to it, how does that make you feel? Man,

1126
00:55:51,440 --> 00:55:55,040
Speaker 1: That's a great feeling. Man, It's like incredible. I'mna embrace it.

1127
00:55:55,280 --> 00:55:58,120
Speaker 1: You know before times you'd be like, uh, you know,

1128
00:55:58,239 --> 00:56:03,360
Speaker 1: trying to I'm embrace and say, man, I'm so grateful

1129
00:56:03,400 --> 00:56:05,360
Speaker 1: to be from Chicago and to be called that. And

1130
00:56:05,360 --> 00:56:10,120
Speaker 1: I hope that like other shorties in Chicago and wherever

1131
00:56:10,200 --> 00:56:14,359
Speaker 1: you from, inspired by that and know that Yeah, at

1132
00:56:14,400 --> 00:56:17,160
Speaker 1: first I didn't see myself as being that, but you

1133
00:56:17,200 --> 00:56:19,680
Speaker 1: at some point will and you and as you see it,

1134
00:56:19,760 --> 00:56:23,200
Speaker 1: you will be it. But you know, from the beginning,

1135
00:56:23,480 --> 00:56:26,319
Speaker 1: it was just a dream and just something that that

1136
00:56:26,400 --> 00:56:28,680
Speaker 1: I saw myself doing something in the world and not

1137
00:56:28,840 --> 00:56:31,120
Speaker 1: And with that being said, I just hope that that

1138
00:56:31,280 --> 00:56:33,719
Speaker 1: any youngs could feel like Man, I don't know what

1139
00:56:33,760 --> 00:56:35,440
Speaker 1: I want to do yet, but I'm gonna do something.

1140
00:56:35,880 --> 00:56:38,640
Speaker 1: And you know, if I can go beside your name,

1141
00:56:39,200 --> 00:56:43,319
Speaker 1: then embrace that and use it for you know, for

1142
00:56:43,400 --> 00:56:45,880
Speaker 1: the good all before we leave selling for you and

1143
00:56:45,960 --> 00:56:49,719
Speaker 1: John Legend created Glory, the original original song that you know,

1144
00:56:49,840 --> 00:56:52,239
Speaker 1: I highly acclaimed, clearly acclaimed once some awards for it.

1145
00:56:52,239 --> 00:56:55,120
Speaker 1: How did that come about? After doing the movie something

1146
00:56:55,160 --> 00:56:57,480
Speaker 1: I was and like I said, it affected me in

1147
00:56:57,560 --> 00:57:01,359
Speaker 1: different ways. So I was really inspired and they were

1148
00:57:01,400 --> 00:57:03,719
Speaker 1: looking for a song for the They were looking for

1149
00:57:03,840 --> 00:57:06,080
Speaker 1: music for the for the movie, but they hadn't come

1150
00:57:06,120 --> 00:57:08,920
Speaker 1: to me or whatever. So one day, man, you know

1151
00:57:09,400 --> 00:57:12,239
Speaker 1: that's why I say, man, listen to God, listen to yourself. Man,

1152
00:57:12,239 --> 00:57:14,600
Speaker 1: when you get that gut feeling, go ready to go

1153
00:57:14,680 --> 00:57:16,880
Speaker 1: with it. Because I had a gut feeling. I was

1154
00:57:16,960 --> 00:57:19,320
Speaker 1: just like I was talking to about to My manager

1155
00:57:19,400 --> 00:57:21,600
Speaker 1: was my manager at the time. He one of my

1156
00:57:21,680 --> 00:57:24,880
Speaker 1: best friends, Derry d and we was and we had

1157
00:57:24,920 --> 00:57:26,680
Speaker 1: been saying, man, you should do this and do that.

1158
00:57:26,960 --> 00:57:28,840
Speaker 1: I said, Man, let me just call John. I'm about

1159
00:57:28,880 --> 00:57:30,600
Speaker 1: to call John Legend. I hung up the phone with

1160
00:57:30,680 --> 00:57:33,680
Speaker 1: him and call John and just explain to him everything.

1161
00:57:33,760 --> 00:57:35,800
Speaker 1: Like look, I was part of this movie, Selma. They

1162
00:57:35,840 --> 00:57:38,520
Speaker 1: ain't expecting a song from us, but let's create something.

1163
00:57:38,920 --> 00:57:40,520
Speaker 1: This is what this one, this is what it is.

1164
00:57:40,920 --> 00:57:43,200
Speaker 1: He was like, Man, I'm in London, I'm on tour.

1165
00:57:43,680 --> 00:57:46,320
Speaker 1: I won't be back in the States for another month

1166
00:57:46,400 --> 00:57:49,520
Speaker 1: two months, but I work on something. I'm off on Wednesday.

1167
00:57:49,560 --> 00:57:52,200
Speaker 1: I remember I'm off on Wednesday. I said. Cool. I

1168
00:57:52,240 --> 00:57:54,160
Speaker 1: hung up the phone, and soon as I hung up,

1169
00:57:54,960 --> 00:57:57,479
Speaker 1: I texted him some titles because I just had some title.

1170
00:57:57,520 --> 00:58:00,640
Speaker 1: I was getting sparked it and I tell when Glory

1171
00:58:00,720 --> 00:58:04,240
Speaker 1: was the third title text him. So he took that title.

1172
00:58:04,560 --> 00:58:07,160
Speaker 1: He said he heard he saw that tight on. He

1173
00:58:07,240 --> 00:58:11,280
Speaker 1: just went to the piano and started recording like that,

1174
00:58:11,280 --> 00:58:13,880
Speaker 1: that hook and in the in the in the chords.

1175
00:58:14,800 --> 00:58:16,880
Speaker 1: And when he sent that to me, I was like, oh,

1176
00:58:17,480 --> 00:58:24,720
Speaker 1: got wet. My daughter said, uh. My daughter said, I

1177
00:58:24,840 --> 00:58:27,200
Speaker 1: walked out of that booth because she was at the studio.

1178
00:58:28,640 --> 00:58:30,600
Speaker 1: I told her, I said, yo, I'm gonna get an

1179
00:58:30,600 --> 00:58:33,040
Speaker 1: Oscar for this. She said, I said, yo, We're gonna

1180
00:58:33,040 --> 00:58:35,920
Speaker 1: get an Oscar for this, and she said she was

1181
00:58:35,960 --> 00:58:38,560
Speaker 1: looking at me like this, yeah, he he go get

1182
00:58:38,600 --> 00:58:41,120
Speaker 1: an Oscar. And then she she said she was watching

1183
00:58:41,280 --> 00:58:43,760
Speaker 1: on TV that night on the night of the Oscars,

1184
00:58:43,800 --> 00:58:46,160
Speaker 1: and was like, damn, he said he was gonna get

1185
00:58:46,200 --> 00:58:53,800
Speaker 1: a Oscar energy out there. Yeah, congratulations man of many hats.

1186
00:58:53,840 --> 00:58:57,040
Speaker 1: Activism is something you're very passionate about. Where do we

1187
00:58:57,120 --> 00:58:59,880
Speaker 1: go from here? Uh? With our society? How do we

1188
00:59:00,040 --> 00:59:02,480
Speaker 1: get more representation and looks like us? What are some

1189
00:59:02,880 --> 00:59:05,440
Speaker 1: some things you want to give to your audience, our

1190
00:59:05,520 --> 00:59:08,919
Speaker 1: audience and people who are leaning on us for information. Man,

1191
00:59:09,200 --> 00:59:10,800
Speaker 1: First of all, one of the things I do want

1192
00:59:10,840 --> 00:59:14,600
Speaker 1: to say activism is it's key, Like it's key, and

1193
00:59:15,000 --> 00:59:18,160
Speaker 1: a lot of activism does start with first self activism too,

1194
00:59:18,600 --> 00:59:21,320
Speaker 1: meaning as much work as you do for others, you

1195
00:59:21,440 --> 00:59:23,440
Speaker 1: still want to do work on yourself too. It's like

1196
00:59:23,560 --> 00:59:27,480
Speaker 1: you work, you work on simultaneously. So like getting knowledge itself,

1197
00:59:28,160 --> 00:59:30,360
Speaker 1: taking care ofself is gonna be important, so you could

1198
00:59:30,360 --> 00:59:33,880
Speaker 1: be the best activists you can be. That being said,

1199
00:59:34,840 --> 00:59:37,720
Speaker 1: you know it's identifying things. Both of you have have

1200
00:59:37,880 --> 00:59:41,160
Speaker 1: been activists, like you got thrown into it even more

1201
00:59:41,360 --> 00:59:45,440
Speaker 1: because of what happened this year. Um, when the situation

1202
00:59:45,600 --> 00:59:48,520
Speaker 1: is called upon, you gotta just embrace it, embrace it

1203
00:59:48,640 --> 00:59:51,360
Speaker 1: and just go do it and uh, and and know

1204
00:59:51,560 --> 00:59:53,440
Speaker 1: that you you're not gonna have all the answers. I

1205
00:59:53,480 --> 00:59:55,800
Speaker 1: ain't got all the answers. We ain't got all the answers.

1206
00:59:56,000 --> 00:59:58,160
Speaker 1: But we we seek us and we find what we

1207
00:59:58,480 --> 01:00:01,520
Speaker 1: what we find, and we liver and like the things

1208
01:00:01,560 --> 01:00:03,960
Speaker 1: that we learned, and we take those lessons and move

1209
01:00:04,080 --> 01:00:07,040
Speaker 1: forward with him. I think it's important to identify the

1210
01:00:07,120 --> 01:00:09,520
Speaker 1: things that you want to see change, from the smallest

1211
01:00:09,600 --> 01:00:12,800
Speaker 1: thing in your neighborhood. One lady when I was doing

1212
01:00:12,840 --> 01:00:15,560
Speaker 1: a visual in Baltimore, was like, man, I just want

1213
01:00:16,240 --> 01:00:18,440
Speaker 1: the streets to be clean, like to pick up trash

1214
01:00:18,560 --> 01:00:20,680
Speaker 1: as a simple thing, but it's a pride thing. She

1215
01:00:20,840 --> 01:00:23,560
Speaker 1: wanted that you can make sure somebody in your neighborhood,

1216
01:00:24,200 --> 01:00:27,840
Speaker 1: a political person or organization, is doing that, or if

1217
01:00:27,920 --> 01:00:30,880
Speaker 1: you want to see the educational system be changed, figure

1218
01:00:30,880 --> 01:00:34,040
Speaker 1: out ways that you can partner with people to open

1219
01:00:34,120 --> 01:00:35,880
Speaker 1: up schools. We've been able to open up a school

1220
01:00:35,920 --> 01:00:39,800
Speaker 1: in Chicago called aim Art in Motion, and we less

1221
01:00:39,800 --> 01:00:42,080
Speaker 1: than two miles from my career where I grew up.

1222
01:00:42,600 --> 01:00:45,480
Speaker 1: We got our kids, our kids meditating. Our kids are

1223
01:00:45,600 --> 01:00:49,040
Speaker 1: like they you know, they learned about every different aspect

1224
01:00:49,160 --> 01:00:51,880
Speaker 1: of things that I never got introduced to. And that

1225
01:00:52,120 --> 01:00:54,919
Speaker 1: when the point is from the biggest thing, we don't

1226
01:00:54,920 --> 01:00:56,880
Speaker 1: have to be You don't have to be dr king,

1227
01:00:57,120 --> 01:00:58,320
Speaker 1: you don't have to be an athlete, you don't have

1228
01:00:58,400 --> 01:01:01,120
Speaker 1: to be an artist to make the change we talking about, UM,

1229
01:01:01,520 --> 01:01:04,200
Speaker 1: and it's just really identifying what you're passionate about and

1230
01:01:05,000 --> 01:01:07,160
Speaker 1: if you can't every day, make a step towards it,

1231
01:01:07,480 --> 01:01:09,840
Speaker 1: and you can so do it every day, just make

1232
01:01:09,880 --> 01:01:12,200
Speaker 1: a step towards it. And then that being said, if

1233
01:01:12,280 --> 01:01:15,040
Speaker 1: we spoke earlier, team up with people who can teach

1234
01:01:15,080 --> 01:01:17,160
Speaker 1: you and and and you grow with them and build

1235
01:01:17,200 --> 01:01:19,240
Speaker 1: with them. I think those are some of the things

1236
01:01:19,640 --> 01:01:22,200
Speaker 1: that are key to us moving forward. So you're on

1237
01:01:22,640 --> 01:01:24,560
Speaker 1: a five state tour right now. Tell us a little

1238
01:01:24,560 --> 01:01:28,120
Speaker 1: bit about that. Yeah, So we've been going to different

1239
01:01:28,160 --> 01:01:31,480
Speaker 1: swing states. That's dealing with the election and also just

1240
01:01:31,920 --> 01:01:35,280
Speaker 1: states that really affect the election right now, UM, and

1241
01:01:35,800 --> 01:01:39,600
Speaker 1: just building with the people, encouraging people to vote, supporting

1242
01:01:39,640 --> 01:01:42,600
Speaker 1: the people who have been working at the polls for

1243
01:01:42,640 --> 01:01:46,520
Speaker 1: a long time. We're actually performing for them, performing music,

1244
01:01:47,000 --> 01:01:49,720
Speaker 1: just music, just giving them love. And we're also meeting

1245
01:01:49,760 --> 01:01:52,800
Speaker 1: with some of the candidates. So if for me, if

1246
01:01:52,840 --> 01:01:56,480
Speaker 1: I'm gonna put, if I'm gonna say, hey, support Jamie Harrison.

1247
01:01:56,600 --> 01:01:59,560
Speaker 1: Like you said, I gotta look. I say, look, these

1248
01:01:59,600 --> 01:02:02,720
Speaker 1: are something the things I'm looking for, Like from the

1249
01:02:02,800 --> 01:02:05,120
Speaker 1: people in the community. They're telling me this is what

1250
01:02:05,280 --> 01:02:09,400
Speaker 1: they need. You're gonna deliver that from me. Uh, you

1251
01:02:09,480 --> 01:02:12,640
Speaker 1: know where we're at, and then you know, just be

1252
01:02:12,720 --> 01:02:14,680
Speaker 1: able to look so in their eyes. So we we've

1253
01:02:14,720 --> 01:02:17,600
Speaker 1: been and I've been going in with different candidates like

1254
01:02:17,760 --> 01:02:20,640
Speaker 1: Jamie Harrison and going around and meeting with the people

1255
01:02:20,680 --> 01:02:24,000
Speaker 1: and going into their their communities and just saying, hey, y'all,

1256
01:02:24,200 --> 01:02:26,480
Speaker 1: let's vote as people here to care about you. So

1257
01:02:26,600 --> 01:02:29,400
Speaker 1: it's been a powerful experience, um to go to these

1258
01:02:29,440 --> 01:02:32,200
Speaker 1: different places and just connect with the people, especially during

1259
01:02:32,240 --> 01:02:35,120
Speaker 1: the time where everything has been you know, we ain't

1260
01:02:35,120 --> 01:02:37,600
Speaker 1: been able to be on the grounds with people, but

1261
01:02:37,720 --> 01:02:40,560
Speaker 1: I think it's necessary sometimes. You know, as much as

1262
01:02:40,600 --> 01:02:43,640
Speaker 1: we can have influence on social media and different things,

1263
01:02:43,960 --> 01:02:46,000
Speaker 1: it is great to be able to be face to face.

1264
01:02:46,240 --> 01:02:48,000
Speaker 1: Well that's what Jack something Jack spoke on, you know,

1265
01:02:48,080 --> 01:02:51,560
Speaker 1: through all his endeavors he's still doing, just came from somewhere,

1266
01:02:51,640 --> 01:02:53,720
Speaker 1: but looking at these people face to face and being

1267
01:02:53,760 --> 01:02:55,560
Speaker 1: in the trenches with them, and how important and what

1268
01:02:55,800 --> 01:02:58,000
Speaker 1: the difference is made and on the way Jack looks

1269
01:02:58,000 --> 01:03:00,520
Speaker 1: at things. Yeah, Jack, that's the whole other thing. You

1270
01:03:00,640 --> 01:03:03,320
Speaker 1: just find out how many people really need, how bad

1271
01:03:03,480 --> 01:03:05,560
Speaker 1: the situation is, you know what I mean, and how

1272
01:03:05,600 --> 01:03:07,800
Speaker 1: many people need people like us to speak up for him.

1273
01:03:08,240 --> 01:03:11,040
Speaker 1: I never would have known, you know, how many people

1274
01:03:11,120 --> 01:03:13,720
Speaker 1: and how many people that need our voice, you know.

1275
01:03:13,840 --> 01:03:15,920
Speaker 1: But actually being out there touching these people, talking to

1276
01:03:15,960 --> 01:03:17,840
Speaker 1: them and hear their stories and seeing their face when

1277
01:03:17,880 --> 01:03:19,800
Speaker 1: they see us there, knowing that we care about them,

1278
01:03:19,800 --> 01:03:22,840
Speaker 1: knowing somebody care, it's a totally different feeling. Bro changes.

1279
01:03:23,160 --> 01:03:25,320
Speaker 1: Well people always like people want to say, like, well,

1280
01:03:25,360 --> 01:03:27,560
Speaker 1: you don't you you don't live in the hood no more,

1281
01:03:27,560 --> 01:03:29,400
Speaker 1: you don't have no you have money. Why does this

1282
01:03:29,480 --> 01:03:31,120
Speaker 1: bother you on? What people don't understand is we were

1283
01:03:31,120 --> 01:03:32,800
Speaker 1: the lucky ones that made it out, you know what

1284
01:03:32,800 --> 01:03:34,880
Speaker 1: I mean. It could have been one incident, one thing

1285
01:03:34,920 --> 01:03:37,560
Speaker 1: in school, one incident that we could have been these statistics.

1286
01:03:37,600 --> 01:03:39,240
Speaker 1: We could have been these same people that never looked

1287
01:03:39,360 --> 01:03:41,840
Speaker 1: made it out, you know. So like you guys are

1288
01:03:41,880 --> 01:03:44,440
Speaker 1: both saying, it's our almost our duty to be the

1289
01:03:44,560 --> 01:03:46,840
Speaker 1: voices for the people that weren't fortunate enough to make

1290
01:03:46,880 --> 01:03:48,320
Speaker 1: it out, but still show them that there's you know,

1291
01:03:48,360 --> 01:03:51,120
Speaker 1: there's some brighter days coming. Uh. And I was taught

1292
01:03:51,120 --> 01:03:53,240
Speaker 1: as a youngster never jump ship and end up in

1293
01:03:53,320 --> 01:04:00,320
Speaker 1: the same boat. Yeah, that's that's the wisdom. Yeah, the

1294
01:04:00,520 --> 01:04:05,760
Speaker 1: the show. That s all right, We almost to the end.

1295
01:04:05,880 --> 01:04:09,600
Speaker 1: Quick hitters, your rout Mount Rushmore Artists. Yeah, I want

1296
01:04:09,600 --> 01:04:12,280
Speaker 1: to hear this. Is it a hip hop artists? Is

1297
01:04:12,320 --> 01:04:15,400
Speaker 1: this artists? Is your mountain? All right? My mouth, I'm

1298
01:04:15,400 --> 01:04:20,160
Speaker 1: gonna putting Stevie Wonder in there. I'm putting lies in there.

1299
01:04:21,160 --> 01:04:26,560
Speaker 1: I put John Coltrane and um, I put Aretha Franklin

1300
01:04:26,640 --> 01:04:29,600
Speaker 1: in there. Um, how many people I can put on

1301
01:04:29,680 --> 01:04:32,680
Speaker 1: Mount Russia? Give you two more and that's four. Yeah,

1302
01:04:33,160 --> 01:04:38,840
Speaker 1: I'm I'm gonna put earthmen and fire and then over

1303
01:04:38,960 --> 01:04:42,040
Speaker 1: put Lauren Hill. That's my mouth, Russia More. I want

1304
01:04:42,080 --> 01:04:44,440
Speaker 1: to hear your mouth. I want to speak on that, Stephen,

1305
01:04:44,600 --> 01:04:46,000
Speaker 1: because I said a line on my album I say,

1306
01:04:46,000 --> 01:04:48,240
Speaker 1: people don't understand how talent to Stevie isn't how deep

1307
01:04:48,280 --> 01:04:49,880
Speaker 1: he had to be. He blind, but he's seen the

1308
01:04:49,960 --> 01:04:52,880
Speaker 1: ribbon in the sky. Just think how deep that is,

1309
01:04:53,040 --> 01:04:56,040
Speaker 1: How deep he had to be. It was on your

1310
01:04:56,080 --> 01:05:01,840
Speaker 1: Mount Rushmore hip hop period, just artist period. I'm going

1311
01:05:01,960 --> 01:05:10,640
Speaker 1: with Michael Jackson, miss Michael's man. Hold on, I'm gonna

1312
01:05:10,680 --> 01:05:14,360
Speaker 1: get three or four. Yeah, I'm good for I'm Michael Jackson,

1313
01:05:14,640 --> 01:05:21,600
Speaker 1: probably uh Al Green, Whitney Houston, and it's gonna be corny,

1314
01:05:21,720 --> 01:05:26,040
Speaker 1: but he one of my favorites. Michael McDonald, like Michael

1315
01:05:26,080 --> 01:05:35,520
Speaker 1: McDonald favorite on my own class. That's the classic. I

1316
01:05:35,600 --> 01:05:39,800
Speaker 1: got Michael Jackson, I got tupac Rafael Sad, I'm a

1317
01:05:39,920 --> 01:05:48,720
Speaker 1: huge We can't miss Rael Sack and probably jay Z. Yeah, yeah,

1318
01:05:48,920 --> 01:05:51,120
Speaker 1: you can't miss like we all came. Yeah, you know, yeah,

1319
01:05:51,160 --> 01:05:53,080
Speaker 1: we all put some names out there, but just it's

1320
01:05:53,080 --> 01:05:55,440
Speaker 1: always been so dupe because we've been athletes. But it's

1321
01:05:55,480 --> 01:05:57,480
Speaker 1: just like you know, he's bade the crossover. Like the

1322
01:05:57,560 --> 01:06:00,400
Speaker 1: world doesn't move without music. I mean, you couldn't always

1323
01:06:00,440 --> 01:06:02,080
Speaker 1: put a p you can. You can remember a time

1324
01:06:02,120 --> 01:06:03,760
Speaker 1: in your life when you hear a song like Ship.

1325
01:06:03,800 --> 01:06:05,360
Speaker 1: I remember what I was doing when I was twelve

1326
01:06:05,400 --> 01:06:07,640
Speaker 1: and ninety two when I heard this Ship. You know

1327
01:06:07,680 --> 01:06:10,560
Speaker 1: what I mean? That's music is so inspirational and I

1328
01:06:10,680 --> 01:06:13,400
Speaker 1: admire people who have been able to have longevity and

1329
01:06:13,480 --> 01:06:16,280
Speaker 1: do it because, like I said, it's it's the soundtrack

1330
01:06:16,360 --> 01:06:19,600
Speaker 1: to our life ship through everything you go through. Music

1331
01:06:19,760 --> 01:06:22,000
Speaker 1: is what gets you through, helps you through anything. You know.

1332
01:06:22,000 --> 01:06:24,080
Speaker 1: That's why I'm a big fan of TUPAP because Tupac

1333
01:06:24,120 --> 01:06:26,000
Speaker 1: could have you ready to fun somebody up, but you

1334
01:06:26,080 --> 01:06:27,640
Speaker 1: had me ready to suck somebody up. And then you

1335
01:06:27,720 --> 01:06:30,000
Speaker 1: also talked about you know, dear Mama, and he's got

1336
01:06:30,080 --> 01:06:33,040
Speaker 1: a baby and the Black Panther. You know, he has it.

1337
01:06:33,160 --> 01:06:35,800
Speaker 1: He has a song for every emotion. And that's why

1338
01:06:35,880 --> 01:06:39,640
Speaker 1: I love music so much, and music I really like

1339
01:06:40,360 --> 01:06:43,080
Speaker 1: begetting appreciate it even I mean, I appreciate it throughout

1340
01:06:43,120 --> 01:06:45,520
Speaker 1: my whole life because like you said, it's just it's

1341
01:06:45,600 --> 01:06:48,800
Speaker 1: moments in my life where music has been it. That's it.

1342
01:06:49,680 --> 01:06:52,200
Speaker 1: But but it's the sound track. But then, you know,

1343
01:06:52,360 --> 01:06:55,360
Speaker 1: during this time, it was like, man, I was you know,

1344
01:06:55,600 --> 01:06:59,720
Speaker 1: whether it was just hopping on like hearing DJ spending,

1345
01:07:00,000 --> 01:07:02,200
Speaker 1: whether it's d nice or quest love and they just

1346
01:07:02,280 --> 01:07:05,479
Speaker 1: seeing people like how we was coming together through music,

1347
01:07:05,680 --> 01:07:08,360
Speaker 1: or just people yearning to hear music, and even me

1348
01:07:08,480 --> 01:07:12,560
Speaker 1: playing music at home. I was like, man, music is, Man,

1349
01:07:12,680 --> 01:07:15,800
Speaker 1: It's it's essential. It's fine. Brother a month, Yeah, so

1350
01:07:16,000 --> 01:07:18,320
Speaker 1: I feel you know, It's a crazy feeling when you

1351
01:07:18,440 --> 01:07:20,400
Speaker 1: when you're around you people and somebody play that song

1352
01:07:20,480 --> 01:07:26,360
Speaker 1: all here, everybody. Yeah, that's the wonderful feeling. We got

1353
01:07:26,480 --> 01:07:29,120
Speaker 1: to do and make that noise. Yeah, we going down.

1354
01:07:29,280 --> 01:07:31,200
Speaker 1: So we're here. You got a basketball training, you still

1355
01:07:31,240 --> 01:07:34,880
Speaker 1: work on your game. You're starting five. Four other people

1356
01:07:34,920 --> 01:07:38,200
Speaker 1: with you pastor present, my starting five, but you in it.

1357
01:07:38,520 --> 01:07:41,240
Speaker 1: Yeah but wait, let me be clear about every care

1358
01:07:41,280 --> 01:07:44,000
Speaker 1: about basketball. I had a trainer. I used the trainer

1359
01:07:44,600 --> 01:07:47,120
Speaker 1: when I was working for the trying to get I was.

1360
01:07:47,520 --> 01:07:49,840
Speaker 1: I was playing for the Celebrity Game. I was trying

1361
01:07:49,840 --> 01:07:51,280
Speaker 1: to because we was in Chicago, and I was like,

1362
01:07:51,320 --> 01:07:59,920
Speaker 1: I got shot. Yeah I got by the way. Yeah yeah, yeah,

1363
01:08:00,000 --> 01:08:04,880
Speaker 1: gotta give no disclaiming. I was. I was coming home.

1364
01:08:04,960 --> 01:08:11,920
Speaker 1: I had I had to win. Hey, but uh man,

1365
01:08:11,920 --> 01:08:18,439
Speaker 1: I'm going Mike Lebron Magic and I need a big

1366
01:08:18,560 --> 01:08:20,800
Speaker 1: man and a shack man. I'm gonna go with shack

1367
01:08:20,840 --> 01:08:25,080
Speaker 1: because a sack of dominant man like sack the most

1368
01:08:25,160 --> 01:08:27,920
Speaker 1: dominating player. I gotta hear from y'all. I know we

1369
01:08:28,040 --> 01:08:32,680
Speaker 1: gotta go, but I gotta starting five. I don't want

1370
01:08:32,680 --> 01:08:35,040
Speaker 1: to put myself. He did that. He didn't play though,

1371
01:08:35,160 --> 01:08:38,120
Speaker 1: but still you gotta put yourself in be the sixth man. Then,

1372
01:08:38,680 --> 01:08:47,599
Speaker 1: so I got Mike Lebron, Magic and Shock. All right,

1373
01:08:47,920 --> 01:08:50,519
Speaker 1: I'm gonna small line up. I don't give you my shoe,

1374
01:08:50,520 --> 01:08:52,000
Speaker 1: and I just gave you a bunch of dogs. Okay,

1375
01:08:53,880 --> 01:08:57,680
Speaker 1: Braun at the one, Kobe at the two, Me at

1376
01:08:57,720 --> 01:09:01,679
Speaker 1: the three, I'm gonna be big, Shock and Tim Duncan.

1377
01:09:02,960 --> 01:09:04,280
Speaker 1: You're not gonna be able to stay with our line

1378
01:09:04,360 --> 01:09:07,639
Speaker 1: up though, Yeah, I just like going on. I'm really

1379
01:09:07,760 --> 01:09:10,760
Speaker 1: over the spotting up. I'm in the corner. Yeah, I'm

1380
01:09:10,840 --> 01:09:15,080
Speaker 1: load already, n loaded. Who was the players that made

1381
01:09:15,160 --> 01:09:19,280
Speaker 1: job like most that you can remember, made you most mad?

1382
01:09:19,439 --> 01:09:22,240
Speaker 1: Like yo, I hate playing against this mother? Well, it

1383
01:09:22,360 --> 01:09:24,800
Speaker 1: wasn't a hate. It was I knew that this was

1384
01:09:24,880 --> 01:09:28,040
Speaker 1: gonna be the night where I could possibly get forty

1385
01:09:28,120 --> 01:09:29,439
Speaker 1: put on me. It was gonna be a night we

1386
01:09:29,560 --> 01:09:33,280
Speaker 1: had to work the hardest, and on Koe by far,

1387
01:09:34,000 --> 01:09:36,519
Speaker 1: you're gonna work the hardest that night. But before any

1388
01:09:36,600 --> 01:09:38,559
Speaker 1: two guards, every night I played with and we met

1389
01:09:38,640 --> 01:09:43,000
Speaker 1: him guarded everybody, Dirk the Whiskey to small guards, Chris Paul,

1390
01:09:43,040 --> 01:09:45,800
Speaker 1: all of them. Nobody makes you work harder than cold,

1391
01:09:47,040 --> 01:09:51,400
Speaker 1: was it? Just relentless every place. He's gonna get the

1392
01:09:51,439 --> 01:09:53,679
Speaker 1: ball every place. Got that. I don't give a gene

1393
01:09:53,760 --> 01:09:55,240
Speaker 1: so cold told me one time, it's like I missed

1394
01:09:55,240 --> 01:09:57,200
Speaker 1: thirty straight shot and take the thirty first shot like

1395
01:09:57,280 --> 01:10:00,519
Speaker 1: the other first thirty didn't matter. That's a cold and

1396
01:10:01,200 --> 01:10:04,640
Speaker 1: making them know it's like, yeah, now he was relentless.

1397
01:10:04,680 --> 01:10:06,400
Speaker 1: Brow he was a monster. Yeah, I mean because you know,

1398
01:10:06,520 --> 01:10:08,800
Speaker 1: like jack said, our job every night outside the spot

1399
01:10:08,920 --> 01:10:11,880
Speaker 1: up for shooting and was guarding the best player on

1400
01:10:11,920 --> 01:10:14,640
Speaker 1: every team. So that's the way. One night Carmelo one night,

1401
01:10:14,760 --> 01:10:17,519
Speaker 1: Katie one night, Janoby one night, CP three one night,

1402
01:10:17,600 --> 01:10:21,760
Speaker 1: Clay Thompson one night, Yeah, Kobe one night. Then some

1403
01:10:21,920 --> 01:10:29,120
Speaker 1: nights we gotta go out. Christo boozes all that big

1404
01:10:29,200 --> 01:10:37,280
Speaker 1: strong to sixty to seventy that the rest ever talk

1405
01:10:37,640 --> 01:10:43,519
Speaker 1: back to you. Oh yes, sir, especially me Jackie cussing

1406
01:10:43,560 --> 01:10:47,200
Speaker 1: them all out like that. We believe team. I used

1407
01:10:47,200 --> 01:10:48,959
Speaker 1: to have to like I used to be the peacemaker.

1408
01:10:49,000 --> 01:10:51,400
Speaker 1: And if you know anything about me me being a peacemaker,

1409
01:10:53,160 --> 01:10:56,120
Speaker 1: waite out doesn't work. Yeah, he was actually my my

1410
01:10:56,360 --> 01:11:04,160
Speaker 1: my shrink like because I'm just say and that's how

1411
01:11:04,240 --> 01:11:06,680
Speaker 1: astod like I was like, we both can't be off

1412
01:11:06,680 --> 01:11:08,240
Speaker 1: the off the rocket there, So I got to be

1413
01:11:08,360 --> 01:11:10,320
Speaker 1: some sort of sense because if we both off the

1414
01:11:10,400 --> 01:11:12,880
Speaker 1: rocket with this whole motherfuckering arena might get burnt down.

1415
01:11:12,960 --> 01:11:15,240
Speaker 1: We had the game, we both got kicked out. Probably, yeah,

1416
01:11:15,280 --> 01:11:18,320
Speaker 1: we got on the bus. Yeah, is what it is?

1417
01:11:19,520 --> 01:11:22,840
Speaker 1: Five five dinner guests dead or alive. I've dinner guests.

1418
01:11:22,880 --> 01:11:24,479
Speaker 1: This is always one of the best questions. You know,

1419
01:11:24,600 --> 01:11:32,360
Speaker 1: I love this, This is amazing. Um Malcolm X yeah, solid, Yeah.

1420
01:11:32,439 --> 01:11:37,200
Speaker 1: I probably would go with um Marvin Gaye to Michael Jackson. Man.

1421
01:11:37,240 --> 01:11:42,000
Speaker 1: I always wanted Michael Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't how

1422
01:11:42,080 --> 01:11:46,400
Speaker 1: to pick Mike's man. I'm gonna say Frederick Douglas, And

1423
01:11:46,439 --> 01:11:49,200
Speaker 1: I'm saying Freddie Douglas because he lived in a time

1424
01:11:49,240 --> 01:11:50,920
Speaker 1: where I would be like, what the hell, how is

1425
01:11:51,000 --> 01:11:54,080
Speaker 1: this going down? So is that four or five? Four

1426
01:11:54,200 --> 01:11:57,320
Speaker 1: or four four? I'm gonna say Nina Simone because I

1427
01:11:57,400 --> 01:12:00,599
Speaker 1: love Nina Simon, So yeah, that would be that would

1428
01:12:00,640 --> 01:12:03,120
Speaker 1: be mine. A good book you'd recommend, considering that that

1429
01:12:03,240 --> 01:12:05,400
Speaker 1: the current climate of America. You know what I think

1430
01:12:05,439 --> 01:12:07,799
Speaker 1: the book I would suggested a book called The Prophet

1431
01:12:08,200 --> 01:12:11,400
Speaker 1: Is by Khalil Gobron is short, but it's written well man,

1432
01:12:11,520 --> 01:12:14,920
Speaker 1: and it's um and man. I always go to it

1433
01:12:15,400 --> 01:12:18,360
Speaker 1: because it's like it just reminds you about philosophies in

1434
01:12:18,520 --> 01:12:22,559
Speaker 1: life and not getting too caught up in and stuff.

1435
01:12:22,760 --> 01:12:25,040
Speaker 1: And I feel like you could be from any walk

1436
01:12:25,080 --> 01:12:27,880
Speaker 1: of life and read the Prophet. And so I'm gonna

1437
01:12:27,880 --> 01:12:31,800
Speaker 1: say the prophet kalele Kalibro, I'll read, I'll read a

1438
01:12:31,840 --> 01:12:34,280
Speaker 1: lot of Ye. What's the book y'all got from me?

1439
01:12:34,439 --> 01:12:37,800
Speaker 1: I'm halfway through Message to the Black Man, man, I was.

1440
01:12:38,400 --> 01:12:42,080
Speaker 1: I'm halfway through that one man, The New Dym Crow. Man,

1441
01:12:42,200 --> 01:12:43,800
Speaker 1: I've been sitting on it for a minute. I get

1442
01:12:43,880 --> 01:12:45,360
Speaker 1: hot and cold with it. But I picked it back

1443
01:12:45,439 --> 01:12:47,519
Speaker 1: up this recently. So yeah, that was one of the

1444
01:12:47,600 --> 01:12:50,520
Speaker 1: things that I got to sit down with Michael Alexander,

1445
01:12:50,760 --> 01:12:53,080
Speaker 1: And that's what, honestly was the thing that I read,

1446
01:12:53,120 --> 01:12:55,880
Speaker 1: The New Gym Crow. But then sitting down with her,

1447
01:12:56,479 --> 01:12:59,320
Speaker 1: she was like showing me how the prison system because

1448
01:12:59,320 --> 01:13:00,680
Speaker 1: I was like, man, I'm to do this work in

1449
01:13:00,800 --> 01:13:03,400
Speaker 1: Chicago all the violence, trying to stop the violency. Was like,

1450
01:13:03,479 --> 01:13:05,880
Speaker 1: you know, the prison system is tied into that, because

1451
01:13:05,960 --> 01:13:08,920
Speaker 1: you know, the more we put people incarcerated and then

1452
01:13:08,960 --> 01:13:11,280
Speaker 1: they come back and they ain't got no you know. Yeah,

1453
01:13:11,280 --> 01:13:14,200
Speaker 1: and it's money too, and but just them coming back

1454
01:13:14,240 --> 01:13:16,960
Speaker 1: to society, they don't they if they ain't been really

1455
01:13:17,040 --> 01:13:20,360
Speaker 1: rehabilitated or hell is the word I'd like to use,

1456
01:13:20,880 --> 01:13:25,759
Speaker 1: then they're bound to come back with yeam deep programs,

1457
01:13:25,880 --> 01:13:28,320
Speaker 1: simple as that. So yeah, I love the new gym

1458
01:13:28,439 --> 01:13:30,080
Speaker 1: crow to mess to the black man I used to.

1459
01:13:30,360 --> 01:13:33,760
Speaker 1: I was reading that yo man, that was that book,

1460
01:13:33,800 --> 01:13:36,600
Speaker 1: got a lot of a lot of knowledge. And I

1461
01:13:37,240 --> 01:13:39,280
Speaker 1: was reading How to Eat to Live too, because that's

1462
01:13:39,800 --> 01:13:42,800
Speaker 1: that book was helping me get you know, learned like

1463
01:13:43,640 --> 01:13:46,320
Speaker 1: well I eat. Yeah, exactly the last question and we

1464
01:13:46,439 --> 01:13:48,719
Speaker 1: kind of touched on it earlier. I guess you would

1465
01:13:48,760 --> 01:13:51,639
Speaker 1: like to see on our show. Yeah, well, we said,

1466
01:13:51,720 --> 01:13:55,800
Speaker 1: Queen Latifa. So I like to see naas ony man

1467
01:13:57,000 --> 01:14:00,040
Speaker 1: and tell him when we say that finishing the you

1468
01:14:00,040 --> 01:14:03,120
Speaker 1: could tell him tell him then when you say that

1469
01:14:03,920 --> 01:14:06,840
Speaker 1: you gotta help us get it. Get him on the guy.

1470
01:14:07,240 --> 01:14:09,880
Speaker 1: And we spoke before actually a while back, probably like

1471
01:14:09,920 --> 01:14:12,280
Speaker 1: six seven years ago. I bust the rhyme for him

1472
01:14:12,960 --> 01:14:15,720
Speaker 1: on on this radio station that we both was on it. Yeah,

1473
01:14:15,720 --> 01:14:17,960
Speaker 1: he was impressed, but I never met him in person,

1474
01:14:18,160 --> 01:14:20,240
Speaker 1: but we want to have no nas on the show

1475
01:14:20,280 --> 01:14:22,519
Speaker 1: from sure, so you can help us. Jungle make your

1476
01:14:22,560 --> 01:14:27,840
Speaker 1: hand Jung gonna hit you up. We need God now

1477
01:14:27,920 --> 01:14:35,240
Speaker 1: a yeah yeah the God yeah boy killed it. Well

1478
01:14:35,280 --> 01:14:37,720
Speaker 1: that's a wrap, man, Thank you coming for your time,

1479
01:14:37,800 --> 01:14:40,280
Speaker 1: good luck with everything. And we really want to we

1480
01:14:40,360 --> 01:14:41,720
Speaker 1: really want to link with you with the you know,

1481
01:14:41,920 --> 01:14:44,080
Speaker 1: the prison system stuff you're doing man, so we can

1482
01:14:44,200 --> 01:14:47,400
Speaker 1: get along. We're gonna exchange it from from one of

1483
01:14:47,479 --> 01:14:49,800
Speaker 1: these prisons or something and let these guys tell the story.

1484
01:14:49,840 --> 01:14:52,479
Speaker 1: And I got another acting coach. Yeah, let's go on here.

1485
01:14:52,640 --> 01:14:54,760
Speaker 1: I mean between him and Jamie Fox. Bro, you can't lose.

1486
01:14:54,840 --> 01:14:57,880
Speaker 1: I know they both come back. That's a rap. All

1487
01:14:57,960 --> 01:15:00,320
Speaker 1: the smoke. Thank you to coming again, my brother Jack.

1488
01:15:00,360 --> 01:15:05,559
Speaker 1: Great show. You can find this on Showtime Basketball YouTube sponsors. Yeah,

1489
01:15:06,479 --> 01:15:10,040
Speaker 1: you find a Showtime Basketball YouTube and I Heart Family

1490
01:15:10,120 --> 01:15:13,600
Speaker 1: with Black Effects. We'll see how next time. This is

1491
01:15:13,640 --> 01:15:16,280
Speaker 1: all a smoke. A production of The Black Effect and

1492
01:15:16,360 --> 01:15:18,799
Speaker 1: Our Heart Radio in partnership with Showtime