WEBVTT - Episode 49: Afro Anime 0:00:08.800 --> 0:00:13.520 Hey, how's it going. You are listening to another episode 0:00:13.520 --> 0:00:15.640 of nerdive said, I'm your host if you wide away, 0:00:15.680 --> 0:00:19.560 and sitting night next to me as always is Danny Fernandez. Yes. Yes, 0:00:19.600 --> 0:00:22.640 and today we're talking about afro anime because you know 0:00:22.680 --> 0:00:25.800 what it is, what is about, and you know the 0:00:26.079 --> 0:00:29.520 things and inspirations and I'm I'm actually really excited about this. 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:32.600 Uh you know, what do you know about afro anime, David? 0:00:32.760 --> 0:00:34.800 I mean, the first thing that comes to mind would 0:00:34.800 --> 0:00:38.199 be Boondocks. Um and our friend Lashawn Thomas worked on that. 0:00:38.680 --> 0:00:42.400 Oh yeah he sure did. Yeah he directed, and uh 0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:44.960 it was really interesting. We had him on an episode 0:00:45.240 --> 0:00:50.000 of krilling It our Old our old anime podcast, which 0:00:50.080 --> 0:00:52.440 was funny because I didn't know that he wasn't a 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:55.360 Dragon ball Z fan. Do you remember that? If so, 0:00:55.480 --> 0:00:59.600 we I asked him to come on and right before 0:00:59.600 --> 0:01:02.080 we were or it was a live show on hyper RPG, 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:04.920 and he was like, oh, by the way, um, I 0:01:04.920 --> 0:01:07.040 don't really like Dragon ball Z. Yeah. I was like, 0:01:07.080 --> 0:01:09.240 what why did you agree to be on our show? 0:01:10.120 --> 0:01:11.880 Is it? What? What do you what did you think 0:01:11.880 --> 0:01:14.560 we're going to talk about? Anyways? My favorite thing about 0:01:14.640 --> 0:01:17.880 that though, was that he brought up how so many 0:01:18.080 --> 0:01:21.880 we people argue about what's anime what's not anime? And 0:01:21.880 --> 0:01:24.279 he was like, no one has this argument in Japan 0:01:24.360 --> 0:01:27.080 where he works. He works in Japan, um and he 0:01:27.120 --> 0:01:29.520 was like, nobody has this argument there. We're just creating 0:01:29.560 --> 0:01:33.119 everybody's creators and we're just trying to create and nobody 0:01:33.200 --> 0:01:35.640 is arguing about what's considered anime. I think that's a 0:01:35.680 --> 0:01:38.600 really Western thing that that people put on. So I 0:01:38.640 --> 0:01:42.160 am also interested in this conversation. Yeah, well, you know, 0:01:42.480 --> 0:01:45.920 before I introduced them, uh these are the day brothers 0:01:46.240 --> 0:01:49.400 on you and o b U day uh I know 0:01:49.560 --> 0:01:52.360 on you. We go back back when I started at BuzzFeed. 0:01:53.160 --> 0:01:55.080 I found out he was Nigerian. That was it. That 0:01:55.240 --> 0:01:57.160 was it. I was like, bat I. I am like, 0:01:57.280 --> 0:02:00.560 it's so funny every time someone asked me about a 0:02:00.640 --> 0:02:02.680 Nigerian in a comedy and it's like, yeah, I know them. 0:02:02.720 --> 0:02:04.840 If I know you're on Nigerian, I'm gonna connect with you. 0:02:04.840 --> 0:02:07.160 I'm trying to create a mafia here, you know, and 0:02:07.240 --> 0:02:10.320 so so me. You know, we clicked up and you know, 0:02:10.560 --> 0:02:13.280 uh I was wearing a DBZ shirt one day and 0:02:13.280 --> 0:02:15.560 then he was like yo, and then we just got 0:02:15.560 --> 0:02:17.960 into this whole conversation and he told me about his 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:21.200 production company, calling Up Productions and Afro Anime and what 0:02:21.280 --> 0:02:23.280 he was creating. And I was like, you know, we 0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:27.320 gotta get you on ther defficent. And so that was 0:02:27.600 --> 0:02:29.680 pretty much the story and I kind of I'll let 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:31.920 him take it from here. So yeah, without further Ado, 0:02:32.200 --> 0:02:36.880 Obie and Ony day, how you doing? What's hey, how 0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:39.880 y'all feeling? Man, it's been a day? But I mean 0:02:39.880 --> 0:02:41.800 the energy and here is dope, you know, like I 0:02:41.880 --> 0:02:44.760 like what I'm feeling right now. Yeah, it's a nice 0:02:45.240 --> 0:02:47.400 I mean, I guess you will just jump right into it. 0:02:47.680 --> 0:02:50.440 For anybody who's never heard of it or don't know 0:02:51.280 --> 0:02:57.320 what what we're talking about. What is afro anime? Well, um, 0:02:57.360 --> 0:02:59.240 it's really based on like the first part of the 0:02:59.240 --> 0:03:02.840 word afro. So like when people hear afro enemy, you 0:03:02.840 --> 0:03:04.359 don't want to think about a throw like a hair. 0:03:04.680 --> 0:03:08.480 Afro is more about that inspired by Africa, taking it 0:03:08.480 --> 0:03:11.600 from the African lens. So if you're talking about fighting 0:03:11.600 --> 0:03:14.600 with weapons, you're gonna look at African weapons. If you're 0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:18.160 talking about martial arts, you're not gonna see uh jiu jitsu. 0:03:18.280 --> 0:03:22.079 You're gonna see like lamb or um some sent other 0:03:22.160 --> 0:03:25.440 Senegal wrestling techniques. You're gonna see African techniques. And that's 0:03:25.440 --> 0:03:30.680 the Afro so basically African inspired in terms of lore techniques, 0:03:31.320 --> 0:03:36.680 magic juju in an anime kind of medium, which is 0:03:36.720 --> 0:03:38.880 like you know, when someone's angry, you have that not 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:41.880 on the head, you know, powering up some of those things. 0:03:43.040 --> 0:03:47.400 It's a you know, we in creating the name, it 0:03:47.480 --> 0:03:51.400 was kind of like it's very much African and die sport, 0:03:51.480 --> 0:03:54.080 but we we also are going to give you know, 0:03:54.120 --> 0:03:57.560 shouts out to the people that kind of you know 0:03:58.040 --> 0:04:00.400 brought us to the genre. Like you know, So it 0:04:00.440 --> 0:04:03.160 wasn't like we're going to create a name that completely 0:04:03.200 --> 0:04:07.440 like disregards the contribution of those who did amazing work 0:04:07.440 --> 0:04:09.920 and anime that got us even thinking about creating stories 0:04:09.920 --> 0:04:12.520 in this media. Um, we're going to create a name 0:04:12.560 --> 0:04:15.560 that okay, shows show some love, but then very much 0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:18.839 lets you know, this is Afro anime. This is uh, 0:04:19.160 --> 0:04:21.880 we're gonna tell stories through the African lens. Right. So 0:04:22.000 --> 0:04:24.239 I used to always say that you know, when you're painting, 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:26.920 you have this like you know, your oils and all 0:04:26.960 --> 0:04:28.839 that and so anime is kind of like that you 0:04:28.880 --> 0:04:32.360 have always, but what you're drawing is the continent. You're 0:04:32.400 --> 0:04:37.120 drawing certain themes in the continent, Pan African specifically, Nigerian specifically, 0:04:37.440 --> 0:04:41.000 from Kenya specifically, these different ethnic groups spirits. So when 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:43.680 you're talking about you know, now has the nine tails, 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:46.480 we have a tortoise. You know when we when we 0:04:46.520 --> 0:04:48.599 you know, shout out to a Nancy. You know what's 0:04:48.600 --> 0:04:50.360 talking about when we talk about Nancy, you know what 0:04:50.440 --> 0:04:53.599 we're talking about West African thing. So you know, that's 0:04:53.720 --> 0:04:56.960 sort of what Afro anime is. What were some of 0:04:57.000 --> 0:05:00.640 the because um, you both grew up watch anime, what 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:03.599 were some of the titles? I guess that really got 0:05:03.640 --> 0:05:08.719 you interested in moving into animation. I mean I got 0:05:08.720 --> 0:05:10.800 it first and foremost. Give a shout out to whoever 0:05:10.839 --> 0:05:14.880 made the decision um On Cartoon Network to create Y. 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:20.600 You don't realize how you've affected an entire culture of people. 0:05:21.000 --> 0:05:25.200 I'm talking about from hip hop to like animation to 0:05:25.880 --> 0:05:29.640 even comedy. It's so much ingrained into the culture. I 0:05:29.720 --> 0:05:32.760 just heard this new artist um Dollion or something like 0:05:32.800 --> 0:05:35.120 that or the Stallion, and she had a bar that 0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:37.680 was like hair yellow like gog. I was like, see 0:05:37.720 --> 0:05:40.440 this is what I'm talking about, Like we know where 0:05:40.440 --> 0:05:42.560 this came for us. So shouts out to tonomly like, 0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:44.440 I don't know. We used to rush and get our 0:05:44.480 --> 0:05:46.720 homework done just so we can get in at that 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:55.239 primetime hour from DBZ Gundam Wing to Cowboy Samurai Jack 0:05:55.320 --> 0:06:02.800 like Ronnie Ketchens there, and that was like are like introduction. 0:06:02.839 --> 0:06:05.480 And then we were like we started getting on the 0:06:05.520 --> 0:06:07.279 internet more and were like, wait a minute, there's some more. 0:06:08.440 --> 0:06:13.400 You know, sometimes you got to get it, but that 0:06:13.520 --> 0:06:17.440 was the only way we could get it back. That's 0:06:17.440 --> 0:06:19.919 what we're saying. These kids will never know. But you 0:06:19.960 --> 0:06:22.839 can go to Funimation and crunchy roll and get the 0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:26.159 subs and dubs immediately when they were leased. When you 0:06:26.400 --> 0:06:29.040 back in the day when you where you felt dope, 0:06:29.120 --> 0:06:32.440 like when anime was out. We all remember that summer. 0:06:32.600 --> 0:06:35.800 You you got those those subs, and you come to 0:06:35.839 --> 0:06:38.160 school and people who were still watching on two now 0:06:38.200 --> 0:06:41.040 and you're like, oh, I'm already ahead, that already happened. 0:06:41.360 --> 0:06:46.919 Let me tell you already got to the boot. Who's boot? 0:06:47.160 --> 0:06:51.320 I don't know? Yeah, And then the thing about it 0:06:51.480 --> 0:06:55.200 was that for me especially was that it was a 0:06:55.320 --> 0:06:57.760 kind of an opportunity for me to kind of kick 0:06:57.839 --> 0:07:00.200 it with my bro. So I had another younger brother 0:07:00.240 --> 0:07:02.920 who was growing up and born in two thousand, so 0:07:03.320 --> 0:07:05.480 we all kind of found a pastime and watching the 0:07:05.480 --> 0:07:08.280 anime together. So like you know, like I seen I've 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:10.480 seen things on TV when something happened to a girl 0:07:10.560 --> 0:07:12.920 or whatever and she's eating ice cream or whatever. For me, 0:07:13.680 --> 0:07:16.200 it was a bowl of cereal, my brothers and anime. 0:07:16.480 --> 0:07:18.000 That was it. Like I would have the worst dead 0:07:18.040 --> 0:07:21.520 but yo, anime cereal and we just sit and watch 0:07:21.560 --> 0:07:24.800 anime and I feel good after that. And like I 0:07:24.880 --> 0:07:27.520 didn't realize that it was ingraining in me something like 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:30.560 the thing about anime and cartoons, American cartoons that was 0:07:30.640 --> 0:07:35.080 different was the philosophy. And like no matter where I traveled, 0:07:35.120 --> 0:07:37.560 I remember, we wasn't. I wasn't. I spent time in China. 0:07:37.680 --> 0:07:40.400 I was studying out there, and there was something going on. 0:07:40.960 --> 0:07:42.800 And my bro was like, honestly, we just have a 0:07:42.920 --> 0:07:45.280 Dragon ball Z mindset where it's like, yo, we go 0:07:45.400 --> 0:07:48.800 through all this BS, if we don't die, we can 0:07:49.400 --> 0:07:51.760 power up, get stronger. I just keep going. Like that 0:07:51.920 --> 0:07:54.040 was you just said that to each other. It was 0:07:54.120 --> 0:07:57.120 like the most important thing was training. So when it 0:07:57.160 --> 0:07:59.000 came to language, we went hard in language because it 0:07:59.080 --> 0:08:03.080 was like training. So that's what kind of was. Or 0:08:03.120 --> 0:08:08.080 we tried to build a hyper time chance and you 0:08:08.160 --> 0:08:14.520 know what trad part is he figured it out. Hey 0:08:17.920 --> 0:08:20.760 note went to our old coach and I was like, look, 0:08:21.480 --> 0:08:25.840 if you support us, I'm gonna come back. You know, 0:08:26.160 --> 0:08:30.000 help us build something that could both tracks star I did, 0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:34.720 like for real, like I wasn't bs and it probably 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:39.040 training with the weighted cuffs and like Piccolo and I mean, yeah, 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:41.280 I gotta say to have to come back today. I 0:08:41.480 --> 0:08:43.679 totally relate to that, like sitting down and watch to 0:08:43.679 --> 0:08:46.000 see you're watching an anime if you if you haven't 0:08:46.040 --> 0:08:48.079 done it yet, it's always good to go back and 0:08:48.200 --> 0:08:50.920 do it, or like to just fully weep out as 0:08:50.920 --> 0:08:53.240 I was saying me and it was me, Brodie Reid 0:08:53.320 --> 0:08:55.839 and Bide and Bazoon. We went to go see your 0:08:55.960 --> 0:08:58.800 name and then from there drove to a little tokyo 0:08:58.840 --> 0:09:00.600 and had ramen and I was like, man, this I'm 0:09:00.679 --> 0:09:02.960 living my best sports ten year old life right there 0:09:03.320 --> 0:09:05.120 and it felt good. So I'd say, you know, take 0:09:05.200 --> 0:09:07.480 time out your day to do that. But to get 0:09:07.559 --> 0:09:11.120 back on the track, let's talk about how did y'all 0:09:11.360 --> 0:09:14.199 end up coming together to to do this, Like were 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:17.040 you already involved in art and it just kind of 0:09:17.160 --> 0:09:19.160 happened that way or was it just a kind of 0:09:19.320 --> 0:09:22.040 lightbulb moment? No, man, Um, I was in the Bay 0:09:22.080 --> 0:09:24.880 Area at the time. I was working for Apple, And 0:09:25.440 --> 0:09:27.840 while working for Apple, I just learned so so much. 0:09:28.040 --> 0:09:30.840 Like tell people I went to Apple University because those 0:09:30.920 --> 0:09:34.120 like four or five years was just like incredible, Like 0:09:34.240 --> 0:09:37.880 I got to really understand how certain things and innovation worked. Right. 0:09:38.440 --> 0:09:40.000 So one of the things I learned while being there 0:09:40.120 --> 0:09:43.959 is how to identify, um basically the whole in the market, 0:09:44.080 --> 0:09:46.360 how to identify that X how to identify the X 0:09:46.440 --> 0:09:48.920 factor and then go for it before anyone else does. So, 0:09:50.559 --> 0:09:57.800 you know, it was what so, and I was like, 0:09:57.920 --> 0:10:00.280 I'm not going to go any further here, tired of 0:10:00.320 --> 0:10:03.520 working for somebody. This is not working, isn't really meaningful 0:10:03.600 --> 0:10:07.000 to me, So let me take what I know and 0:10:07.720 --> 0:10:09.880 you know, look at the and just look at the industry. 0:10:09.920 --> 0:10:11.199 So I looked, and I happened to look at the 0:10:11.320 --> 0:10:13.480 chain industry, and I was like, Okay, let me identify 0:10:13.559 --> 0:10:17.560 these trends. Okay. I see they've literally squeezed every European 0:10:17.640 --> 0:10:20.240 folklore that they could and retold the story fifteen different times. 0:10:20.559 --> 0:10:24.920 It's dead. Okay. I see Japan and the Asian community, 0:10:25.200 --> 0:10:27.960 they've they've taken their own stories and told it their 0:10:28.040 --> 0:10:30.680 way and now licensed it out. And now people are 0:10:30.760 --> 0:10:32.520 hip to that and they're loving it, they're learning it. 0:10:32.640 --> 0:10:35.920 They're some billion dollar industry. Great. I see they're starting 0:10:35.960 --> 0:10:40.320 to tap into a little bit of the Latina Latino community. Um, 0:10:40.400 --> 0:10:45.520 they're starting to do more stories there. Okay, wait m hm. Africa. 0:10:46.960 --> 0:10:51.480 No one's telling African stories nobody, And I'm like, this 0:10:51.640 --> 0:10:55.439 is it. I know, we grew up with our father 0:10:55.760 --> 0:10:59.880 telling us oral folklores and traditions and like I doubt 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:03.480 with our bedtime stories right uh Mazi and by the Tortoise, 0:11:03.520 --> 0:11:05.920 and we learned all these African folklores. This is what 0:11:06.040 --> 0:11:07.719 we learned. This is our culches, what we grew up with. 0:11:07.800 --> 0:11:10.720 And I was like, that's it, that's the next thing. 0:11:10.880 --> 0:11:14.440 So two thousand eleven called him he was in China. 0:11:14.520 --> 0:11:16.640 I'm like, yeah, I just come back from how I 0:11:16.679 --> 0:11:18.240 was in it. I was taking like a course on 0:11:18.600 --> 0:11:21.080 Chinese art, art in China. Okay, you just come back 0:11:21.080 --> 0:11:23.520 from China? Okay. And I was like, yo, it's gonna 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:26.319 sound crazy, but I want to start a studio and 0:11:26.480 --> 0:11:28.400 I wanted to create a show. And I'm like all right, 0:11:28.440 --> 0:11:30.440 He's alright, bet And I was like, I was thinking 0:11:30.600 --> 0:11:32.599 small scale, right. I was like, we can do like 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:35.360 a you know, flip door of the Explorer type whatever. Whatever. 0:11:35.440 --> 0:11:38.080 He was like, nah. I was like what. He had 0:11:38.080 --> 0:11:40.520 a very Kanye moment. He was like, nah, I don't 0:11:40.559 --> 0:11:43.800 like that. That's not how we grew up. I'm like, okay. 0:11:44.080 --> 0:11:46.040 He was like, what do we always watch? What what 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:48.160 do we watch? I was like, watch Animal. He's like, 0:11:48.200 --> 0:11:50.880 say again, were watching? He said, we watched anime? All right, 0:11:50.960 --> 0:11:53.439 then that's what we're doing. I'm like, all right, but 0:11:53.559 --> 0:11:56.200 if we're gonna do anime, just it's it's not gonna 0:11:56.240 --> 0:11:58.040 be the same way. It's going to be different. He 0:11:58.120 --> 0:12:00.560 was like most definitely. So we're gonna do it. We're 0:12:00.559 --> 0:12:02.480 gonna do it the right way. I'm like, okay, so 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:04.520 what do we do next? He said? We read? Like 0:12:04.640 --> 0:12:07.600 we read. He's like, we read, so Obi, He's gonna 0:12:07.640 --> 0:12:09.800 tell this part of the story. But basically he said, 0:12:09.840 --> 0:12:15.160 we will not write Uni until we read the godfathers 0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:18.920 and god mothers of African folklore, mysticism and you know, 0:12:19.040 --> 0:12:21.480 Juju science fiction. We gotta we gotta know the greats 0:12:21.520 --> 0:12:24.120 who's on our mount rushmore until we figured that out, 0:12:24.200 --> 0:12:26.040 until we know the stories, until we read their work. 0:12:26.400 --> 0:12:29.800 When you're writing, so Obi goes and does massive research. 0:12:29.920 --> 0:12:35.599 I mean, luckily for me, I had a job, so 0:12:36.440 --> 0:12:39.199 so Obie Obie would be like, here's the book, and 0:12:39.240 --> 0:12:41.280 I'll be like, here's the cash, here's the book, here's 0:12:41.280 --> 0:12:43.600 the cash. Here's the book, here's the cash, and then 0:12:43.960 --> 0:12:47.520 we we blinked in them. Those a huge library, over 0:12:47.600 --> 0:12:51.720 five pages written, and we had a solid, solid, solid 0:12:51.840 --> 0:12:56.240 story and it's like, okay, let's start putting faces to 0:12:56.320 --> 0:12:59.120 these characters. But um, just some of the people Obie 0:12:59.320 --> 0:13:02.720 kind of had us go through. Ames Tetola ben O Cree, 0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:07.719 Nadio Kodafo, who eventually ended up being our writing consultant 0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:10.360 for Mysticism in Juju. She ended up being a just 0:13:10.640 --> 0:13:12.960 a dope friend. Now you know, we fam that right, 0:13:13.480 --> 0:13:19.120 So um even we got love from um, a man 0:13:19.160 --> 0:13:22.640 who wrote the novelization of Star Wars and star Alan 0:13:22.679 --> 0:13:25.040 Dean Foster. He gave us love for our work. He's like, yo, 0:13:25.120 --> 0:13:26.920 this is it. This, this is it. I'm tired of 0:13:26.920 --> 0:13:29.760 all that other stuff. This, this is it. Um. So 0:13:30.320 --> 0:13:33.719 from two thousand eleven too, I want to say two 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:38.000 thousand thirteen were developing I P. And then after we 0:13:38.120 --> 0:13:41.720 developed the show, our first premier show called Red Origins, 0:13:42.280 --> 0:13:46.200 we decided to do an animation right first Kickstarter felt 0:13:46.200 --> 0:13:49.960 we didn't know what we're doing. You know, we literally 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:51.560 did not know what we were doing. We were learning 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:54.319 as we're going, and you know, I know we talked 0:13:54.360 --> 0:13:57.599 about this saying, now you pay for your ignorance, like 0:13:57.920 --> 0:14:01.480 physical cash. Everything you don't know, you will pay for it. 0:14:01.600 --> 0:14:04.600 For example, so you did a Kickstarter and it didn't 0:14:04.679 --> 0:14:08.360 go through. Okay, okay, we went hard, but then it failed. 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:11.520 That was a hard elf me. I was like, it's 0:14:11.520 --> 0:14:13.800 a lesson and I was like, he becluse that chapter. 0:14:13.880 --> 0:14:15.600 I was like, no, no, no, no, we gotta how 0:14:15.679 --> 0:14:18.200 could you tell what you did wrong? Well, there's many 0:14:18.280 --> 0:14:21.720 things that it actually helped. One thing you have to 0:14:21.760 --> 0:14:25.400 build that following number one. Number two like only said, 0:14:25.440 --> 0:14:28.800 whatever you don't know, you pay for so when artists 0:14:28.840 --> 0:14:35.680 are like when you don't know like character turnarounds, front backs, expressions, 0:14:35.960 --> 0:14:38.080 all those things, you end up paying for that in 0:14:38.120 --> 0:14:40.800 animation phase. So like we were over paying for like 0:14:41.520 --> 0:14:46.160 um for creating animation. We didn't know, okay, storyboarded, make animatic. 0:14:46.520 --> 0:14:49.800 Then you go to work with you know, just so 0:14:49.880 --> 0:14:52.200 people can understand this from the job. I and Obi 0:14:52.360 --> 0:14:58.000 had zero animation background, yeah, zero. So yeah, but you 0:14:58.080 --> 0:14:59.760 know where we come from the culture of you know, 0:15:00.440 --> 0:15:03.480 if you don't know it, figure it out. Rather you manage, 0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:08.560 you manage, manages, manages. I was like, I was like, 0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:11.760 who's that my uncle? You only you only have three 0:15:11.880 --> 0:15:16.760 three wheels in the car again, it can drive, And 0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:19.680 that's like African mentality, like just just managed. I think 0:15:19.720 --> 0:15:21.160 what a lot of people don't know too, is that 0:15:21.240 --> 0:15:23.160 a lot of these if we're talking about anime, a 0:15:23.280 --> 0:15:27.040 lot of these studios are in South Korea. Like even 0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:29.840 the one Japanese properties still made in South Korea. A 0:15:29.880 --> 0:15:32.000 lot of the animation here is still made. It like 0:15:32.120 --> 0:15:35.000 the really pretty anime that you see is made there. 0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:38.400 So the fact that you're trying to make something here 0:15:38.720 --> 0:15:42.400 right unheard of? Right, it goes back to only only 0:15:42.480 --> 0:15:44.000 was trying to only came from the Bay with this 0:15:44.200 --> 0:15:49.200 like entrepreneur spirit. Baby, so we're gonna do it. I'm 0:15:49.200 --> 0:15:51.840 a researcher and my focus is on on the continent 0:15:52.040 --> 0:15:54.920 and in politics and Chinese African Chinese major and so 0:15:55.720 --> 0:15:58.160 he talked about just pushing all that research and then 0:15:58.200 --> 0:16:00.520 trying to make it happen. And so with the Kickstarter, 0:16:01.000 --> 0:16:03.920 when we figured out, okay, we had to have this art. 0:16:04.000 --> 0:16:05.680 We have to really look at our art, you know, 0:16:05.760 --> 0:16:07.680 we have to really look at our characters. And so 0:16:07.920 --> 0:16:10.320 when we got a stronger, like we got an art director. 0:16:10.760 --> 0:16:12.720 Like the whole concept of having an art director I did. 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:15.800 We had no idea that was an important concept. No 0:16:15.920 --> 0:16:20.320 idea like so, you know, building the following online on 0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:23.000 Facebook and Instagram, on Twitter or whatever, Twitter being a 0:16:23.080 --> 0:16:25.640 big part making sure your platforms are set up, then 0:16:25.760 --> 0:16:29.280 coming out with art incrementally. This is before Patreon all 0:16:29.360 --> 0:16:32.000 that stuff like slowly, slowly bring out your art, Um, 0:16:32.440 --> 0:16:34.480 go to more cons and start talking to more people. 0:16:34.520 --> 0:16:36.800 We only went to like one you know what I mean, Um, 0:16:37.400 --> 0:16:40.000 telling your story online, telling your story online, keep giving 0:16:40.080 --> 0:16:42.960 behind the scenes stuff like when we say we did 0:16:43.000 --> 0:16:44.520 everything in house, we did everything in the house, even 0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:47.840 from the music standpoint, which is huge, right, um, and 0:16:48.000 --> 0:16:50.560 we would even like me just thinking about the concept 0:16:50.600 --> 0:16:53.560 of music, I was like a camera better beyond because 0:16:53.560 --> 0:16:55.880 this is content, we'll flip it out right, And then 0:16:55.920 --> 0:16:59.360 it just gets people more invested in the process, more 0:16:59.400 --> 0:17:02.800 invested in the story, more invested in our success because 0:17:02.840 --> 0:17:05.719 they've been on the ride with us from the beginning, right. 0:17:05.960 --> 0:17:07.440 And then so once you got your art director and 0:17:07.480 --> 0:17:09.159 you've got your characters, you got to turn around your 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:12.240 expression sheets, have everything figured out. Then you've got to 0:17:12.280 --> 0:17:14.520 sit down with your your writers and break down the stories. 0:17:14.560 --> 0:17:17.520 And that's what helped us get to our second kickstarter. 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:20.000 And then of course you know you will succeeded. Let's 0:17:20.119 --> 0:17:22.879 let's let's let's get that off the way first, which succeeded. 0:17:23.520 --> 0:17:25.679 And then getting your family involved, like that's the funny thing, 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:27.439 that's one thing we made a mistake a little bit. 0:17:27.720 --> 0:17:31.320 Then enduring community is huge, huge, huge. I mean the 0:17:31.359 --> 0:17:33.440 Black Dice sport community is huge. There they're looking for that. 0:17:33.600 --> 0:17:36.800 This is the time before podcast, this era when we 0:17:36.880 --> 0:17:39.560 did this kickstarter, this is a time before podcast and 0:17:39.680 --> 0:17:42.200 content push. So it was it was just a different 0:17:42.240 --> 0:17:44.600 time before the Facebook girls even came out and all that. 0:17:45.119 --> 0:17:49.240 So really your community was was critical. Well, if I 0:17:49.320 --> 0:17:51.800 can just jump in for the time you're talking about 0:17:51.960 --> 0:17:55.920 is very interesting because I feel like now black nerdiness 0:17:56.000 --> 0:17:59.320 is very mainstream. But there was a moment not too 0:17:59.400 --> 0:18:03.040 long ago where black people on Twitter figured out that 0:18:03.160 --> 0:18:05.880 we all liked dB Z for some reason. We all 0:18:06.000 --> 0:18:09.040 thought we separately liked it and we didn't. But you 0:18:09.160 --> 0:18:12.280 had the same dudes who was jigging, dudes you know, 0:18:12.760 --> 0:18:17.639 who were also into d b Z. Yeah, yeah, and 0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:20.560 so like it exploded online and right around the time 0:18:20.600 --> 0:18:22.240 that now we hear it in music and all that. 0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:24.080 But there was a time when we all thought it 0:18:24.160 --> 0:18:26.760 was like our little corner and it wasn't as like 0:18:27.040 --> 0:18:30.200 in vogueer cool to just flaunt your nerdiness. So now 0:18:30.760 --> 0:18:32.640 we I think we are in the era now where 0:18:32.680 --> 0:18:35.440 people are super seeking it out too, especially when you 0:18:35.520 --> 0:18:39.840 got taste of it like Afro Samurai and Boondocks. I know, people, 0:18:40.560 --> 0:18:43.000 there's something you you touched on that I think is 0:18:43.680 --> 0:18:46.240 is really important. I want to highlight because it's something 0:18:46.320 --> 0:18:51.160 we've talked about in past episodes where Hollywood, especially coming 0:18:51.200 --> 0:18:54.480 from this personal spot in Hollywood is there is a 0:18:54.560 --> 0:18:59.800 regurgitation of just the same Eurocentric stories. And then I 0:19:00.040 --> 0:19:02.040 think you were right. You did see that trend. You 0:19:02.160 --> 0:19:04.959 had Coco, you had Book of Life, and even then 0:19:05.000 --> 0:19:07.720 we're slowly getting but it's slow. It's afraid because like 0:19:08.119 --> 0:19:11.400 because they don't know these stories. So it's either they're 0:19:11.440 --> 0:19:14.080 waiting for the Latin xt creator to come and bring 0:19:14.200 --> 0:19:17.040 it or still it. You know what I We're saying 0:19:17.119 --> 0:19:21.680 like all the way fun but like so that it 0:19:21.840 --> 0:19:23.879 was great because you know, I did have that flavor 0:19:23.920 --> 0:19:25.920 because I don't know if you know this kickstarter called 0:19:26.320 --> 0:19:32.639 Orian Legacy of Kreyo Don it was. It was a 0:19:32.840 --> 0:19:40.760 it's a Cameroonian game studio called Yeah. So when that came, 0:19:40.800 --> 0:19:43.520 I just immediately supported. I didn't I didn't care, like 0:19:43.600 --> 0:19:45.320 people were like, do you well, do you know if 0:19:45.480 --> 0:19:47.119 I was like, I don't care. I want this to 0:19:47.200 --> 0:19:50.280 be made for reasons of like this, like they were 0:19:50.359 --> 0:19:53.119 telling a story, an African story, and those are stories 0:19:53.160 --> 0:19:56.119 you don't hear. And you know, even within myself, I 0:19:56.280 --> 0:20:00.320 found more success because you know, you're writing pilot, you're 0:20:00.359 --> 0:20:02.200 trying to get stuff, and you start with like what 0:20:02.400 --> 0:20:05.639 you know, like Okay, what's a friendly ensemble husband and 0:20:05.720 --> 0:20:09.680 wife and now I myself and dipping into too, like 0:20:09.840 --> 0:20:12.639 all right, well let me go deep inside and you know, 0:20:13.200 --> 0:20:16.879 without like you know, lasting too much. But it's just like, 0:20:17.200 --> 0:20:18.639 you know, I want to do a story about like 0:20:18.760 --> 0:20:22.320 a man who like has you know, uh connection, he's 0:20:22.400 --> 0:20:24.680 he's a shaman and he connected with mommy want to 0:20:25.040 --> 0:20:29.399 and like that's his connection. But that's like still very general, 0:20:29.520 --> 0:20:32.080 like y'all are talking deep cut stuff that aren't even 0:20:32.119 --> 0:20:34.240 touched like I'll say mommy wanted, and even some white 0:20:34.280 --> 0:20:35.720 people are like, oh yeah, I've heard of that, and 0:20:35.760 --> 0:20:40.480 I'm like, oh, not you. And and just so you 0:20:40.520 --> 0:20:43.320 don't get surprised if it comes out later on you 0:20:43.480 --> 0:20:46.680 have a project like that, but yeah we'll talk, Yeah 0:20:46.680 --> 0:20:53.119 we'll talk. No, but yeah, but even just within working 0:20:53.359 --> 0:20:56.040 with people, because I've been lucky enough this year to 0:20:56.080 --> 0:20:58.320 work on a lot of fantasy stuff. And like my 0:20:58.520 --> 0:21:00.760 take is like I was, I I can bring a 0:21:00.840 --> 0:21:07.200 whole new look because Nigerian mermaids are different than very different. 0:21:07.480 --> 0:21:10.119 And I put people onto that and their mind was blown. 0:21:10.160 --> 0:21:12.720 I was like, that's why you need Africans in this room, 0:21:12.720 --> 0:21:17.000 because we are our our myths, our folklore so different. 0:21:17.280 --> 0:21:19.720 Know what you're saying is crazy, It's like true because 0:21:19.760 --> 0:21:21.920 it really bothered me when during the hip hop time 0:21:22.080 --> 0:21:24.119 they were talking about there's no black mermaids. There's this 0:21:24.200 --> 0:21:26.600