WEBVTT - FULL SHOW: DL Hughley, Mo McRae, Jason Wilson and More! 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.760 Good morning, Usa yo yo yo yo yo yo yo 0:00:02.800 --> 0:00:04.360 yo yo yo yo yo yo yo yo yo yo 0:00:04.440 --> 0:00:06.280 yo yo yo yo yo yo yo yo yo yo 0:00:06.360 --> 0:00:08.880 yo yo yo yo yo yo yo yo yo Sean. 0:00:08.960 --> 0:00:14.560 Imagine the guy piece to the plane. It is Friday, Yes, 0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:17.640 it's Friday, good morning. The weekend is here, o man, 0:00:17.760 --> 0:00:20.600 beautiful Friday. Man. You know all week long we've had 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:23.600 guests toes. You know, we've had Nini Leach Monday and Tuesdays, right, 0:00:23.840 --> 0:00:27.320 Ebony K. Williams Wednesday and Thursday. And today it's just us, 0:00:27.560 --> 0:00:29.320 just us, It's just us. We got a bunch of 0:00:29.360 --> 0:00:31.479 guest rood Man's in the morning. No, no, that's not 0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:34.680 drove Man's in the morning. If you want sausage with 0:00:34.800 --> 0:00:36.879 your breakfast, we got the sausage for you here right now, 0:00:36.880 --> 0:00:40.159 because we got other sausages joining us. This smart he 0:00:40.240 --> 0:00:43.320 sausage in pork yo, he's stupid. I am pork Noo. 0:00:43.360 --> 0:00:45.800 I got do hugely. He'll be joining us this small 0:00:45.800 --> 0:00:52.639 more sausage. Let's go DLO. Listen, somebody's listening right now, 0:00:52.720 --> 0:00:55.240 Like I told you, they're on the DL. No, man, 0:00:55.360 --> 0:00:57.880 d L Hugly is gonna be here, that's right. Also, 0:00:58.200 --> 0:01:00.840 Jason Wilson will be joining us. Man Ason Wilson man. 0:01:01.240 --> 0:01:03.480 First of all, let's be clear, I love Deal hugely, 0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:05.479 and I love Jason Wilson THO the two black men 0:01:05.520 --> 0:01:08.200 that I truly loved, value and appreciate. Jason william is 0:01:08.200 --> 0:01:11.000 the author of two books, Battle Cry and Cry Like 0:01:11.040 --> 0:01:13.680 a Man. Um. He's got a great film on ESPN 0:01:13.760 --> 0:01:16.480 right now, executive produced by Lawrence Fitshburn called The Cave 0:01:16.880 --> 0:01:19.200 of Almadullah. I feel like I'm pronouncing it wrong. I 0:01:19.280 --> 0:01:22.520 probably am, but the Cave of Almadullah Almadullah sound. But 0:01:22.600 --> 0:01:24.720 he'll he'll he'll get the pronunciation right when he comes here. 0:01:24.720 --> 0:01:26.360 And you weren't here a lot of time, Jason, I 0:01:26.400 --> 0:01:29.240 was here last time. Now, his clips of that interview 0:01:29.240 --> 0:01:31.520 that we did with him before go super viral all 0:01:31.560 --> 0:01:34.040 the time Kevin Games and Kevin Gave was talking about Yep, 0:01:34.120 --> 0:01:36.800 you read the book Cry like a Man? Remember, Yeah, Man, 0:01:36.840 --> 0:01:39.120 So John, I've seen his clips. When I've seen him, 0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:41.080 I guests he uh, I guess at his class he 0:01:41.120 --> 0:01:42.600 was teaching the kid about breaking the board and the 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:44.400 kid couldn't break the balls, and he has gotten him 0:01:44.400 --> 0:01:46.400 through it. And I remember that going viral. So yeah, 0:01:46.400 --> 0:01:48.160 he'll be here with us this morning. Man, So a 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:51.280 lot of sausage this morning, baby, it's a saulted part. Yes. 0:01:51.480 --> 0:01:54.480 And also a director, Mole McRae, will be joining us. 0:01:54.480 --> 0:01:57.960 He actually directed the episode when I was in East 0:01:58.000 --> 0:01:59.760 New York, so he's a director. So we'll be talking 0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:04.280 to him as guy. More more sausage, more sausage, more sausage. 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:07.040 You get a sausage, You'll get a sausage. You'll get 0:02:07.040 --> 0:02:09.680 a sausage. Oh my goodness. All right. And also we 0:02:09.680 --> 0:02:12.200 got to shout out to Nila Simon. Nila, she's gonna 0:02:12.200 --> 0:02:16.920 be joining us. She's a fish. I don't know. I 0:02:16.919 --> 0:02:18.880 don't know what. I don't know what. Not identify ass, 0:02:18.919 --> 0:02:20.400 So don't say me right, you know what? Let me 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:26.240 mighty fish. We don't know, maybe not knowledge, I don't know. Right. 0:02:26.480 --> 0:02:29.120 She called us up the pretty little boy that she Yeah, 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:31.480 the pretty little boy, a pretty tome boy. Oh yeah, 0:02:31.600 --> 0:02:35.320 the pretty tom We're gonna start a segment called past 0:02:35.400 --> 0:02:38.280 the Orcs where we're gonna be passing her the auxiliary 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:40.000 cord that she's gonna be telling U, s putting us 0:02:40.040 --> 0:02:41.440 on the new music that's coming out. It could be 0:02:41.520 --> 0:02:44.200 artists that's out already or some new artists. She's gonna 0:02:44.200 --> 0:02:45.840 be putting us onto some of the new music that's had. 0:02:45.919 --> 0:02:48.520 No she's coming her young fresh DJ. You know you've 0:02:48.520 --> 0:02:50.280 probably seen her on my late night talk show Hell 0:02:50.320 --> 0:02:52.160 of a Week. You know you you hear on probably 0:02:52.160 --> 0:02:53.680 one or five one in New York. You know she 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:56.720 got playlist out there. I can call the mixtape no more. 0:02:56.880 --> 0:02:58.840 They played plays that she'll be up here telling us 0:02:58.960 --> 0:03:01.079 what's on her playlist. Morning. All right, well, let's get 0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:03.760 the show cracking. Get it off your chest. Eight hundred 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:05.920 five eight five one oh five one. Call us up 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:07.320 right now. You need to get it off your chest. 0:03:07.440 --> 0:03:12.000 It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning. This is your time 0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:14.520 to get it off your chest. Eight hundred five eighty 0:03:14.560 --> 0:03:16.400 five one oh five one. We want to hear from 0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:21.320 you on the Breakfast Club. Hello. Who's this? Hello? What's 0:03:21.320 --> 0:03:25.040 your nawal yo? Yo? Does your boy cap from months Ville, Alabama? 0:03:25.400 --> 0:03:28.280 Cap for months Bill without brother? What's up? Man? Y'all 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:30.239 feeling this morning? Good man? I had a good time. 0:03:30.560 --> 0:03:32.040 I had a good great time when I was out 0:03:32.080 --> 0:03:33.919 there for my car ship. What up though? Yeah? Man? 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:36.560 I know Manley you know, take the rocket down down hill. 0:03:36.960 --> 0:03:39.440 But anyway, I just called it. You know, what's y'all? 0:03:39.480 --> 0:03:42.200 A good thing? Man? I hope down last week? That's 0:03:42.240 --> 0:03:44.520 Charlemagne sent me I had in a book night I'm 0:03:44.560 --> 0:03:46.400 gonna sending. I'm gonna sending you a black effect hat 0:03:46.440 --> 0:03:48.080 right now. I'm gonna put you on hold, Eddie, get 0:03:48.280 --> 0:03:50.760 get his a email. Hold on the right. Bunch of 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:56.360 them appreciate that. Now, All right? Hello, who's this? Hope 0:03:56.400 --> 0:03:59.080 Bella Me, Hope Bellamy, what's up? Hope belling me? Get 0:03:59.080 --> 0:04:01.920 you off your chests? Brother, what's up? I'm calling from 0:04:03.320 --> 0:04:06.880 a Koe, Florida. Um. If you're familiar with kale Um, 0:04:06.920 --> 0:04:09.800 the Korey Masker where they killed you know, all these 0:04:09.800 --> 0:04:12.400 black people back in the day for voting. What a 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:15.600 good thing about is that? Is that? Um, I'm expelling. 0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:19.680 I got my rights restorative vote, and I also turned 0:04:19.720 --> 0:04:22.400 around and now I'm running for office here in the 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:27.320 Koe right. I'm running for Korey Um. And it's like 0:04:27.480 --> 0:04:31.080 hard to get our people out to vote. The Democrats 0:04:31.279 --> 0:04:33.960 out numbers or because in the city, but we're not 0:04:34.040 --> 0:04:38.400 getting out in voting. I am cross board against you know, 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:41.760 I'm with everybody every side. I'm people in general, but 0:04:41.960 --> 0:04:45.440 just getting the numbers out to vote. Here it's being like, 0:04:46.120 --> 0:04:49.599 you know, a huge deficit, even getting funny and like 0:04:49.640 --> 0:04:51.920 I'm like grass roots and everything and I'm doing good. 0:04:52.600 --> 0:04:55.520 I'm definitely best candidate for it because I had both 0:04:55.520 --> 0:04:58.680 sides of the table. My dead twelve years in prison. 0:04:59.200 --> 0:05:01.719 Um now I'm gon this side, little fifteen years of 0:05:01.760 --> 0:05:05.159 community work from local level to natural level. So my hitting, 0:05:05.240 --> 0:05:09.640 my background, it messes with the population of Coe. Now 0:05:09.720 --> 0:05:12.640 we're not the Coe of the old. We're puting forward, 0:05:12.680 --> 0:05:15.719 but it's hard getting our people to understand how important 0:05:15.720 --> 0:05:18.600 it is to get out and vote for me. Um 0:05:18.920 --> 0:05:21.880 the month forward. Okay, well, how can people find out 0:05:21.920 --> 0:05:25.159 more what you're You're running on your Instagram, social media, website, 0:05:25.200 --> 0:05:28.839 whatever your campaign. But my website is right. My website 0:05:28.920 --> 0:05:32.600 is Hope, h Ope. My last name is Vellamy d 0:05:32.680 --> 0:05:36.000 E L l A n Y. If the word four 0:05:36.360 --> 0:05:41.040 f o r the letter D one at dot com, 0:05:41.080 --> 0:05:44.760 so it's Hope Vellamy four d one. Okay, brother, good luck. 0:05:45.960 --> 0:05:49.440 The whole stand for the whole stand for helping other 0:05:49.520 --> 0:05:52.760 people elevate. That's my drug, my high, my addiction. I 0:05:52.800 --> 0:05:56.440 like that, all right, brother, campaign slogan. Hello, who's this yo? 0:05:56.560 --> 0:06:01.719 What what's up happening? Get it off your chest? Brother? 0:06:02.760 --> 0:06:06.760 My first time getting and I'm still talking about the book. 0:06:09.000 --> 0:06:13.480 They said you're a book man, y'all. Just put them 0:06:13.480 --> 0:06:18.640 on hold. Maybe listen to old well listen in our defense. 0:06:18.760 --> 0:06:20.960 We were moving last year, that's right. So it was 0:06:21.000 --> 0:06:22.960 a lot going on, you know what I mean. So 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:24.680 I'm gonna get that to your animal. I'm gonna get 0:06:24.680 --> 0:06:27.000 your black effect hat to brother. Hold on, get it 0:06:27.040 --> 0:06:29.400 off your chest. Eight hundred five eight five one oh 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:31.000 five one. If you need to vent, hit us up now. 0:06:31.000 --> 0:06:39.160 It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning, the Breakfast Club. This 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:41.520 is your time to get it off your chest. Eight 0:06:41.560 --> 0:06:43.680 hundred five eight five one oh five one. We want 0:06:43.680 --> 0:06:48.320 to hear from you on the Breakfast Club. Hello, who's this? 0:06:48.320 --> 0:06:53.240 This is man Jasmine. All right, get it off your chests, Hi, Jasmine. 0:06:53.279 --> 0:06:55.560 I'm sorry. I was trying to get out of the 0:06:55.680 --> 0:06:59.000 vand with my kids. I drive kids, okay, but I 0:06:59.040 --> 0:07:01.240 was just trying to get my chance that. I feel 0:07:01.279 --> 0:07:04.520 like the world should make it a little bit easier 0:07:04.880 --> 0:07:08.960 for people with fellings. Needs to get jobs. Yeah, I mean, yeah, 0:07:09.160 --> 0:07:10.920 are you trying to get a job. It's difficult for 0:07:10.960 --> 0:07:14.320 you or family member or not for me, but but 0:07:14.520 --> 0:07:17.040 for our partner, it's just hard. He did some things 0:07:17.120 --> 0:07:19.840 back in the day, long long time ago, and he's 0:07:19.840 --> 0:07:22.480 still paying for it, and it's just like, yeah, it's 0:07:22.560 --> 0:07:24.240 not okay. What kind of job you trying to get? 0:07:24.240 --> 0:07:26.040 And tell him don't lie on his application neither. That 0:07:26.040 --> 0:07:28.400 don't help. What kind of job you trying to get out? 0:07:28.480 --> 0:07:31.560 He doesn't. He doesn't lie, and at this point any time, 0:07:31.680 --> 0:07:33.840 you know, just a job that's gonna pay and help 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:36.120 him be able to provide for the family. What state 0:07:36.120 --> 0:07:39.760 are you in, Jasmine, Columbus, Ohio, Ohio? Yeah, that's one 0:07:39.760 --> 0:07:42.040 of those ones. You got a lobby your state legislator 0:07:42.080 --> 0:07:44.960 dear to remove the check the box. That's that's something 0:07:45.000 --> 0:07:46.400 a lot of state they're doing to try to help 0:07:46.400 --> 0:07:49.920 eradicate that it shit shows bad because he's so driven 0:07:49.920 --> 0:07:51.560 and he wants to do it, and then they just 0:07:51.840 --> 0:07:54.720 shooting him down, shooting them down. They'll give him a 0:07:54.760 --> 0:07:57.760 position and then take it away. I know. Another option, 0:07:57.880 --> 0:08:01.640 Jasmine is go around the system and maybe think about entrepreneurship, 0:08:01.680 --> 0:08:03.560 think about starting your own think about putting yourself in 0:08:03.600 --> 0:08:05.440 a position where you don't need somebody to sign off 0:08:05.480 --> 0:08:08.200 and validate you for hiring. What did you get arrested for? 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:12.280 If you don't mind me asking, Um, it was a 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:18.640 robbery situation when he was like eighteen, like thirteen years ago. 0:08:18.720 --> 0:08:21.160 He did all his time. Everything is done. He's a 0:08:21.160 --> 0:08:23.720 whole new person. But it's like they don't want to 0:08:23.720 --> 0:08:26.520 give him a chance in the world today. I think 0:08:26.640 --> 0:08:28.120 I love whatever he said. I didn't even know that 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:29.840 they were doing that. I don't know. People start remove 0:08:29.960 --> 0:08:32.560 check removing the box. Yeah, yeah, yeah, but I mean 0:08:33.040 --> 0:08:35.600 some state oppositions, like if he's trying to work at 0:08:35.640 --> 0:08:37.959 certain things, don't they have to go through your background history? 0:08:38.160 --> 0:08:39.520 Well yeah, I was gonna say, it looks like if 0:08:39.520 --> 0:08:40.640 you wanted to work for a bank, you know what 0:08:40.640 --> 0:08:42.559 I mean, it was robbery. I'm sure they would have 0:08:42.640 --> 0:08:44.160 to go in the background. I'm sure if you want 0:08:44.200 --> 0:08:46.000 to work for a bank, you got to even have 0:08:46.360 --> 0:08:49.600 seven hundred credit score, they'd be tripping, you know, absolutely, Yeah, 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:51.880 because you'll become a fiduciary, you know, so they want 0:08:51.920 --> 0:08:53.600 to make sure that you're in good financial standing. So 0:08:53.640 --> 0:08:56.560 that's hard. But yeah, certain states are removing that box 0:08:56.640 --> 0:08:59.520 for that reason. So and what's the process of actually 0:08:59.559 --> 0:09:02.600 wiping uh you record you're talking about? So that's an 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:07.200 expungement and can you exponge felony? I'm in the process 0:09:07.240 --> 0:09:09.120 of doing that. Now I start Mike mill getting the exponge. 0:09:09.160 --> 0:09:11.439 I'm like, yo, yeah, dom Carolina, what's happening? I have 0:09:11.520 --> 0:09:14.240 an outstanding citizen. What's going on? I'm not but it's 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:16.720 not easy. No, it's not. It's not easy. It's possible, 0:09:17.000 --> 0:09:18.800 it's not easy. And then when you do it, does 0:09:18.800 --> 0:09:21.959 that mean it's totally expunged, like they can't see it regardless, 0:09:22.080 --> 0:09:25.680 or can they steal nuckles? There's levels, so like, for instance, 0:09:25.720 --> 0:09:27.520 I have an expungement. Remember I told you about my 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:30.560 deferred prosecution situation, so not picked up them Stewart Whitesman 0:09:30.600 --> 0:09:33.360 when I'm seventeen year in college, So that was expunge 0:09:33.440 --> 0:09:39.360 and he was boosting y'alls a thug y'all. But when 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:41.439 it came time for me to take the bar exam, 0:09:41.800 --> 0:09:45.640 there was visibility. Yeah, of course, it didn't stop me 0:09:45.640 --> 0:09:47.880 from being a lawyer. There's lawyers, but DUI is all 0:09:47.920 --> 0:09:52.160 kinds of stuff. But they're gonna permeate that quote expungement. Yeah, 0:09:52.200 --> 0:09:54.480 all right, get it off your chest. Eight hundred five 0:09:54.559 --> 0:09:56.160 A five, one h five one, don't move. It's a 0:09:56.200 --> 0:10:02.880 breakfast lug. The Morning, the Breakfast Club, the Breakfast Club. 0:10:02.960 --> 0:10:07.000 Your morning's will never be the same morning. Everybody is 0:10:07.080 --> 0:10:11.040 dj n V Charlemagne, the guy we are the Breakfast Club. Indeed, 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:13.280 we got a special guest in the building, the brother 0:10:13.400 --> 0:10:17.600 Mote mccraig, Morning Morning, Morning Club, y'all my brother. Now 0:10:17.720 --> 0:10:20.280 you don't know who mo is, You probably know the face. 0:10:20.320 --> 0:10:23.920 He was in NYPD Blue Boston Public, The District, Cold Case, 0:10:24.000 --> 0:10:27.680 The Guardian, The Shield of Division, See Aside Er Detroit, 0:10:28.160 --> 0:10:32.439 The Defenders, uh Sons of Anarchy, Battle Creek, Murder in 0:10:32.480 --> 0:10:36.760 The First Empire, Pitch Tales, Rebel, The Flight Attended. He's 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:41.000 an actor with a long resume, playing a lot of 0:10:41.000 --> 0:10:43.000 cop shows too, a lot of cops shows. I knew 0:10:43.000 --> 0:10:44.760 you was gonna say something about that, was that, do 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:46.480 you want to be a cop grown up? Or no? 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:48.800 You know, Honestly, in the beginning of the cop shows, 0:10:48.800 --> 0:10:51.199 when I started acting, I was pretty much on the 0:10:51.240 --> 0:10:54.680 opportunity for young black actors on a cop show getting 0:10:54.720 --> 0:10:56.959 interrogated as you do it or not. So it kind 0:10:56.960 --> 0:10:58.719 of started off doing a lot of those and then 0:10:58.800 --> 0:11:00.640 later end up getting the player a cop and be 0:11:00.679 --> 0:11:03.240 a lawyer and all those things. But it's what opportunities 0:11:03.280 --> 0:11:04.640 were in the beginning. You know what's so funny. I 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:07.079 saw when they were announcing the NAACP Image Awards. I 0:11:07.120 --> 0:11:09.280 saw the head of the NAACP. He was on with 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:10.800 meffy Man. You don't see me at this one with 0:11:10.840 --> 0:11:12.400 Gail King, and he said something that people got a 0:11:12.440 --> 0:11:14.200 little upset about, but I understood he was saying. He 0:11:14.240 --> 0:11:17.559 was like, meffy Man got nominated for playing an attorney, 0:11:17.840 --> 0:11:20.640 not a criminal. So do you feel like they cash 0:11:20.679 --> 0:11:23.760 black people in those roles, especially black men, on purpose 0:11:24.640 --> 0:11:27.760 and the criminal roles. Yeah, I think that's why you 0:11:27.800 --> 0:11:29.480 didn't hear me with the tough questions fresh out of 0:11:29.480 --> 0:11:31.160 the gate. I mean, honestly, I think a lot of 0:11:31.160 --> 0:11:33.400 it was on purpose because it was telling stories that 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:35.920 are taking place in certain environments, and those are the 0:11:35.960 --> 0:11:38.440 people that didn't have with those environments. And I also 0:11:38.480 --> 0:11:40.800 feel like it was important like when Methodist playing those 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:43.360 type of roles, or we're just seeing us depicted and 0:11:43.520 --> 0:11:46.360 other lights and other things I remember my grandmother. It 0:11:46.480 --> 0:11:48.400 got to a point while I was doing all that stuff, 0:11:48.520 --> 0:11:51.520 those type of roles, he said, baby, you're smart, You're 0:11:51.520 --> 0:11:54.280 so intelligent, you're funny, y'all these things. Let's see some 0:11:54.360 --> 0:11:56.960 of that too. Wow. And when she said that to me, 0:11:56.960 --> 0:11:59.160 it really made me pump the brakes on it, and 0:11:59.160 --> 0:12:01.240 it was something I stopped. Chadwick had picked up on 0:12:01.520 --> 0:12:04.280 really early. He's spoken a lot about that where he 0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:06.439 had to have a little bit more integrity in his 0:12:06.600 --> 0:12:10.400 work and being understanding of what these depictions and what 0:12:10.480 --> 0:12:16.599 this repretation representation actually is. So with those bills, you 0:12:16.679 --> 0:12:18.920 got bills and those it seemed like those are far 0:12:18.960 --> 0:12:21.960 and few. Yeah, the bills. It's a real thing. And 0:12:22.000 --> 0:12:23.960 now I think that's a struggle of every artist. It's like, 0:12:24.000 --> 0:12:26.559 how do you maintain that dream but still maintain a 0:12:26.640 --> 0:12:29.120 roof over your head? And I think that's something all 0:12:29.160 --> 0:12:32.120 the grades had to navigate and figure out, whether it's music, 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:34.800 is playing ball, whatever it is you got that big 0:12:34.840 --> 0:12:37.320 picture dream or what do you do in an intim 0:12:37.679 --> 0:12:40.080 to keep yourself afloat? And so something I end up 0:12:40.120 --> 0:12:41.520 doing a lot of people didn't know. It's like I 0:12:41.640 --> 0:12:45.480 started working with somebody doing landscaping and just figuring out 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:48.319 other things you cut grass and acted. I did whatever 0:12:48.360 --> 0:12:51.280 I had to do, and I also started to home 0:12:51.400 --> 0:12:54.520 my craft because that was the biggest issue. When they 0:12:54.480 --> 0:12:56.920 were saying, Oh, you can't play a lawyer. I'm like, well, 0:12:56.920 --> 0:12:59.960 why can't I It's like your addiction. So I did 0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:03.000 speech and diction training. I did all those things to 0:13:03.120 --> 0:13:05.720 eliminate the no. So I want to show like the 0:13:05.760 --> 0:13:09.640 flight Attendant with Kaylee Quoko, I'm a CIA agent on 0:13:09.679 --> 0:13:12.360 that show. That's because I put that time into the 0:13:12.440 --> 0:13:16.720 craft to be able to convincingly convey those other careers 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:19.200 and archetypes. Now, when did you know you wanted to 0:13:19.200 --> 0:13:23.120 be an actor? Like? When was that? Man, I'm from California. 0:13:23.120 --> 0:13:24.719 You can hit all in your voice. You hit the 0:13:24.760 --> 0:13:29.080 CALLI Cally. You know. It's funny. Every time I thought about, 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:30.840 like when I wanted to become an actor, I feel 0:13:30.880 --> 0:13:33.160 like it just keeps going further further further back in 0:13:33.240 --> 0:13:34.800 my life. But the first time I really made that 0:13:34.840 --> 0:13:37.480 decision and I got on stage in high school just 0:13:37.559 --> 0:13:41.240 doing a play, had a drama teacher and just taking 0:13:41.280 --> 0:13:42.880 the class, I want to be an actors ended up 0:13:42.880 --> 0:13:44.839 in a class and he was like, you got something special. 0:13:44.920 --> 0:13:47.319 You should get on stage. At the time, I like everybody, 0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:49.760 I want to play ball, haven't want to do all 0:13:49.760 --> 0:13:51.360 these other things. He's like, I give you an a a 0:13:51.559 --> 0:13:53.880 in the class if you do one little play. And 0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:55.960 I got on stage and that was it. It was 0:13:55.960 --> 0:13:58.360 something about that connection with the audience and look at 0:13:58.360 --> 0:14:00.320 people in an eye and being an express rest of 0:14:00.360 --> 0:14:02.199 in that manner. I was like, that's what I want 0:14:02.240 --> 0:14:03.679 to do for the rest of my life. And I 0:14:03.720 --> 0:14:06.240 was sixteen years old when I found it. I just 0:14:06.240 --> 0:14:07.719 had no idea how hard it was gonna be. I 0:14:07.760 --> 0:14:09.840 thought it was gonna work, but it was crazy difficult. 0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:11.880 Now do you see those programs a lot because you're 0:14:11.960 --> 0:14:14.719 from South Central? Yeah? South Central? Do you see those 0:14:14.720 --> 0:14:17.480 programs a lot in the hood in those areas? Because 0:14:17.640 --> 0:14:19.720 I'm just I just remember growing up in Queens. I 0:14:19.840 --> 0:14:22.920 don't remember seeing those type of arts. And I don't 0:14:22.920 --> 0:14:25.400 know if Charlemagne you see them in South Carolina. Of course, 0:14:25.400 --> 0:14:27.440 we had the basketball and baseball and football. I don't 0:14:27.440 --> 0:14:30.680 really see in that many had plays when I was 0:14:30.680 --> 0:14:33.640 in elementary school, you know, stuff like rock soup, you 0:14:33.720 --> 0:14:37.880 know what I like? Plays? Yeah, it's plays, but I 0:14:37.880 --> 0:14:40.680 think those like specific programs. That's a good question if 0:14:40.920 --> 0:14:43.840 when you think about like outside of the school, like 0:14:43.920 --> 0:14:47.240 I didn't find any exposure to other arts when I 0:14:47.400 --> 0:14:49.320 was coming up, Like my mom did a good job 0:14:49.320 --> 0:14:50.840 of making sure my brother and I I says, so we 0:14:50.840 --> 0:14:54.200 would go to the museum sometimes when it turns like programs, 0:14:54.200 --> 0:14:57.040 and I think that we're really going to add intrinsic 0:14:57.160 --> 0:15:00.280 value to us outside of like the norm that didn't 0:15:00.280 --> 0:15:01.880 exist when I was coming out. That's all. I'm so 0:15:01.880 --> 0:15:04.520 happy I've been looking into like what Lebron is doing 0:15:04.520 --> 0:15:07.320 with his school. This is a really powerful thing because 0:15:07.320 --> 0:15:10.360 he's trying to give these at risk and these challenged 0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:14.320 youth opportunities to be exposed to more dynamic things that 0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:17.280 can really lead to fundamental growth. Because I didn't have 0:15:17.320 --> 0:15:19.080 that really when I was growing up. And you said 0:15:19.080 --> 0:15:23.880 your grandmother encouraged you to, you know, do better roles, right, 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:27.560 and you're writing and directing a lot of nothing. Yes, 0:15:27.680 --> 0:15:29.520 so that's one of the ones when you were writing this, 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:32.880 did you have Grandma in mind? I had everybody in mind, man, 0:15:33.040 --> 0:15:35.520 when I wrote this Feast. It's a lot of nothing, 0:15:35.600 --> 0:15:39.680 this film. It's a super autobiographical In a lot of ways, 0:15:39.760 --> 0:15:42.040 I just poured from my life, like and researching and 0:15:42.120 --> 0:15:45.040 thinking about all the greats and art. No matter what 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:46.880 the discipline is, the greatest thing you could do is 0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:49.520 pour from what you know. So it's inspired by me, 0:15:49.880 --> 0:15:53.080 my first love, my close friends, my brother, and all 0:15:53.120 --> 0:15:54.800 the things that are happening in the world, like all 0:15:54.840 --> 0:15:58.160 these injustices and these travesties. And so it was like, Okay, 0:15:58.240 --> 0:15:59.840 how can I make a story with the things that 0:15:59.880 --> 0:16:02.520 I know and that we all experiencing that could still 0:16:02.560 --> 0:16:05.560 be funny and dangerous and thrilling. And that's what the 0:16:05.600 --> 0:16:07.760 movie is. I was thinking about everybody when I wrote 0:16:07.760 --> 0:16:09.920 the film. What made you get behind the camera? For 0:16:09.920 --> 0:16:12.520 For people that don't know, I was in East New 0:16:12.600 --> 0:16:16.840 York and you asked, let's go. People know you, they 0:16:16.880 --> 0:16:18.400 might not recognize me. We got an olden jobs in 0:16:18.400 --> 0:16:23.440 the true that's not true, that's not it. But you 0:16:23.440 --> 0:16:25.960 actually directed that episode. And for people that don't know, 0:16:26.000 --> 0:16:28.520 it wasn't like at first. You know, they called and said, 0:16:28.520 --> 0:16:30.440 if I want this, I would have to try out 0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:32.560 for the part. And I had to. I had to 0:16:32.720 --> 0:16:35.080 do it in front of you and the executives. Yes, 0:16:35.280 --> 0:16:37.800 So what made you first want to get behind the camera? 0:16:37.840 --> 0:16:39.760 And then I want you to tell people about how 0:16:39.800 --> 0:16:43.360 good you were my audition. Yeah. Well, first of all, 0:16:43.360 --> 0:16:46.160 shout out to my man Harry, Oh, Harold, who connected 0:16:46.240 --> 0:16:48.560 us man like, which is an important thing in this 0:16:48.640 --> 0:16:52.760 whole process to its relationships and cultivating good relationships out 0:16:52.760 --> 0:16:55.160 of reciprocity value of looking out for people that look 0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:57.040 out for you. But I wanted to get behind the 0:16:57.120 --> 0:17:01.240 camera because I'm an artist. You know, I'm not just 0:17:01.280 --> 0:17:04.240 an actor. I do photography, right, I want to learn 0:17:04.280 --> 0:17:06.800 to draw one day. I tell stories. And so I 0:17:06.880 --> 0:17:09.040 realized I just focused on my acting. I was kind 0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:11.440 of putting myself in a box. Because not anybody else 0:17:11.480 --> 0:17:13.280 is putting me in the box. I was putting myself 0:17:13.320 --> 0:17:15.600 in the box. I was limiting the scope of what 0:17:15.640 --> 0:17:17.360 I could do and how I could tell stories. So 0:17:17.800 --> 0:17:19.760 and I was fascinated with it all. So I started 0:17:19.800 --> 0:17:23.280 studying shadowing all the great directors I was able to 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:27.159 work with, going to YouTube University, spending tons of my 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:29.639 own money as an actor that I was making to 0:17:29.760 --> 0:17:32.240 buy cameras and to make short films. Because I wanted 0:17:32.280 --> 0:17:34.960 to tell stories. I wanted to give people the thing 0:17:35.080 --> 0:17:39.760 that like Spike Lee, John Singleton, the Cohen Brothers, Steven Spielberg, 0:17:39.800 --> 0:17:42.560 the thing that those directors gave to me, those experiences 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:45.320 I wanted to give to other people. So I made 0:17:45.359 --> 0:17:47.479 my first film. So I'm making all those shorts and 0:17:47.840 --> 0:17:50.320 doing East New York right now. How did you get 0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:52.240 East New York? Because I mean, and did anybody know 0:17:52.280 --> 0:17:54.720 East New York was gonna be so big? Because I mean, 0:17:54.720 --> 0:17:59.120 it's a show that people genuinely love, Man the show. 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:01.840 Don't think you ever really know how big something is 0:18:02.320 --> 0:18:05.719 gonna be. I end up getting East New York because 0:18:05.920 --> 0:18:08.760 oddly enough, this is how investing in yourself pays off 0:18:09.000 --> 0:18:10.919 a lot of nothing. This feature film that I have 0:18:11.000 --> 0:18:13.639 coming out, it started as a short film, and I 0:18:14.000 --> 0:18:16.600 spent like forty g's on a short film at a 0:18:16.640 --> 0:18:18.439 time when I didn't really have the bread. But I 0:18:18.480 --> 0:18:20.040 was like, people like, why are you spending so much money? 0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:22.680 Because I need to show my vision because everybody always 0:18:22.680 --> 0:18:24.840 sent a want to do stuff like mo, stick to 0:18:24.880 --> 0:18:26.679 what you do, and I'm like, I want to direct. 0:18:26.720 --> 0:18:29.199 They like, stick to what you do? So I showed 0:18:29.240 --> 0:18:31.840 them the vision. They were like, oh, this is special. 0:18:32.000 --> 0:18:35.240 So the executive producer East New York, Mike Robbin, he 0:18:35.320 --> 0:18:38.600 saw my short film like five years ago or something 0:18:38.600 --> 0:18:41.520 like that. He saw that short film and so he 0:18:41.560 --> 0:18:44.000 had me direct the television show for him a couple 0:18:44.040 --> 0:18:47.080 of years ago, and I'm crushed it show called All Rise. 0:18:47.400 --> 0:18:49.240 And then when East New York came around, as soon 0:18:49.280 --> 0:18:52.240 as it got green lit, he was like, mo, I 0:18:52.359 --> 0:18:54.520 need you to come and do this show. And so 0:18:54.680 --> 0:18:57.359 from him seeing my short film and then what I 0:18:57.400 --> 0:18:59.879