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Speaker 1: Welcome to Money Making Conversations. It's the show that she

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Speaker 1: has the secrets of success experience firsthand by marketing and

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Speaker 1: Brandon expert Rashan McDonald. I will know he's giving me

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Speaker 1: advice to many occasions. In occasion didn't notice, I'm not broke.

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Speaker 1: You know. He'll be interviewing celebrity CEOs, entrepreneurs and industry

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Speaker 1: decision makers. It's what he likes to do. It's what

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Speaker 1: he likes to share. Now it's time to hear from

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Speaker 1: my man, Rashan McDonald. Money Making Conversation's here we come.

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Speaker 1: Welcome to Money Making Conversation. I am your host, U

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Speaker 1: Sean McDonald. It's time to stop reading other people's success

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Speaker 1: stories and really start writing your own. I want to

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Speaker 1: be lead with your gifts and don't let your age, friends, family,

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Speaker 1: or co workers stop you from planning or living your dreams.

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Speaker 1: Those are the guests that I bring on my show

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Speaker 1: for you as a consumer and business owner. I'm giving

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Speaker 1: you access to celebrity CEOs, entrepreneurs, and people I like

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Speaker 1: to call interesting decision makers. My next guest is she's

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Speaker 1: a celebrity, she's a CEO, she's an entrepreneur, and she

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Speaker 1: truly is an industry decision maker. Her name is Debor

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Speaker 1: Martin Chase. She's the President CEO of Martin Chase Productions.

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Speaker 1: She's currently the executive producer of one of my favorite shows,

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Speaker 1: The Equalizer, the TV series for CBS and Universal Students

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Speaker 1: starting My Girl que Latifa. The premiered on Super Bowl Sunday.

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Speaker 1: The Equalizer currently airs every Sunday. You can check it

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Speaker 1: a pm, seven Central again on CBS. Now, let's talk

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Speaker 1: about Debor Martin Chase entertain the industry icon trailblazer as

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Speaker 1: the first African American female producer to have a deal

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Speaker 1: at any major studio. Ever. I was there. I was

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Speaker 1: watching white known sitcom. I was going, who is she?

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Speaker 1: Were like? Ever meet Hi. She's also the first African

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Speaker 1: American woman to produce a film that grossed over one

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Speaker 1: hundred million dollars. That was Denzel's Washington Courage under Fire.

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Speaker 1: To date, her films have grossed over a half billion

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Speaker 1: dollars at the box office. Only got two movies, you know,

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Speaker 1: Think like a Man, Think like a Man too. I

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Speaker 1: think I did a hundred and fifty millions, So I

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Speaker 1: ain't close to her. About six years ago, nobody's interested

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Speaker 1: in making movies about women all people of color. My

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Speaker 1: how the landscape has changed for black people and creatives

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Speaker 1: in Hollywood. Please welcome to when to make it a

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Speaker 1: conversation to talk about it, my friend, and you stone

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Speaker 1: it Devor Martin Chase, So thank you so much, such

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Speaker 1: kind words. Thank you well first of all the three like,

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Speaker 1: I'm Ray Sean McDonald now dever Martin Chase. How did

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Speaker 1: it become three names? Cha? Well, that's the Houston part.

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Speaker 1: I was married when I got out of law school

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Speaker 1: and moved to Houston, Texas and uh, and since it

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Speaker 1: was the beginning of my career, I kept the Chase.

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Speaker 1: And then, as I told you, I still have great

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Speaker 1: friends in Houston and the great love of the city.

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Speaker 1: And it's all part of who I am, what part

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Speaker 1: of who you are has been a person that uh,

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Speaker 1: Like I said, my first shitcom job was with Steve

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Speaker 1: Harvey on UH, I think it was ninety three on

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Speaker 1: ABC Me and the Boys, And then I did Parents

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Speaker 1: Who with Robert Towns. And in the meantime, you were

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Speaker 1: already breaking grounds for a very successful career. And let's

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Speaker 1: talk about because you started out the law I started

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Speaker 1: out at IBM. I was an IBM degree is in mathematics,

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Speaker 1: so I can kind of relate to an extreme change

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Speaker 1: because mine was math. These shows was a law and

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Speaker 1: it kind of correlates with the you know, contracts and

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Speaker 1: the business side that goes along with being an executive

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Speaker 1: producer and a person who runs things behind the scenes.

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Speaker 1: Talk about that transition first, about the law experience and

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Speaker 1: then transmition into Hollywood. Sure, well, I, um, you know,

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Speaker 1: my beloved late dad was the biggest film and television

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Speaker 1: buff that I ever knew, And so I grew up

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Speaker 1: in a household where we watched films and we watched

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Speaker 1: TV together, and I was that kid that went to

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Speaker 1: the movie theater every Saturday and stayed until you know,

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Speaker 1: my mother came to get me. But I didn't know

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Speaker 1: anybody in the business. I didn't know anybody, certainly anybody

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Speaker 1: who looked like me that was behind the scenes in Hollywood.

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Speaker 1: And so I went to law school because you know,

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Speaker 1: I needed to prepare myself for the world. And you know,

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Speaker 1: I went to Harvard Law School and and I started

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Speaker 1: practicing law at big firms and big corporations. And I

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Speaker 1: was a really good lawyer, but I didn't love it,

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Speaker 1: and I just figured, you know, if I'm gonna work

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Speaker 1: this hard, I should go after my dream, which was

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Speaker 1: to make film and television. So, uh, you know, and

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Speaker 1: when and when I left remember because I was in

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Speaker 1: New York at the time and I was working at

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Speaker 1: Avon Products, and my friends were like, oh, you'll be back,

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Speaker 1: You'll be back. When I was like, I'm gonna give

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Speaker 1: this my best shot. Here I am now he was

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Speaker 1: interesting because I'm gonna skip around a little bit because

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Speaker 1: I want to definitely get back to the equalizer and

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Speaker 1: didn't talk about your career. Roughly. I was reading this

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Speaker 1: article I think it was in uh, Hollywood Reporter, and

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Speaker 1: it was talking about roughly six years ago. You know,

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Speaker 1: the landscape was kind of frustrating for you, and you

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Speaker 1: were considering other options other than entertainment. Am I correcting

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Speaker 1: what I was reading? Yeah? Absolutely, And so at that

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Speaker 1: point law was looking like an option again, and then

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Speaker 1: I certainly considered it. You know, I got in this

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Speaker 1: business because when I was growing up, I did not

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Speaker 1: see people on screen who looked or felt like me,

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Speaker 1: and so I wanted to break down stereotypes. I wanted

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Speaker 1: to to create images that would empower us and would

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Speaker 1: help people to understand that, you know, they had the

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Speaker 1: power to do whatever they wanted to do in life

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Speaker 1: and to and to make their own dreams come true.

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Speaker 1: And there was a period in Hollywood and you know

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Speaker 1: where you know, people weren't interested in making movies about women,

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Speaker 1: about people of color. It was all about the big

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Speaker 1: temp pole movies and and and action movies. And I

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Speaker 1: would walk into offices and people's eyes with glaze over

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Speaker 1: when I told them, you know what I was thinking

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Speaker 1: about and I and so then you just start throwing

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Speaker 1: stuff up against the wall that has no meaning. And

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Speaker 1: that's not how I work, that's not to me, that's

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Speaker 1: that that is not the road to success. And so

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Speaker 1: I was kind of I got to the point where

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Speaker 1: I said, well, you know, maybe the universe is telling

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Speaker 1: me that, you know, you've had a good run, but

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Speaker 1: maybe it's time to think about doing something else. Honestly,

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Speaker 1: this is a good story and it's true. And I

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Speaker 1: spent about a year just talking to people because I

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Speaker 1: had the luxury of being at Disney. Um, you know,

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Speaker 1: I had my company based at Disney for you know,

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Speaker 1: twenty years, and and I was thinking about what I

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Speaker 1: should do and where I should go. And Vernon Jordan's

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Speaker 1: you know who we just lost, had been a friend

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Speaker 1: and an advisor of mind since I was eighteen years old.

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Speaker 1: His his his daughter's one of my best friends. And

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Speaker 1: and I went to go see burn it is I

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Speaker 1: often did, and I told Vernon how I was feeling,

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Speaker 1: and I was thinking about doing other other things, maybe

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Speaker 1: going back to practice law. And Vernon heard me very

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Speaker 1: calmly listen to me pour my heart out, and he

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Speaker 1: looked at me and he said, you know you're too

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Speaker 1: old to do anything else. You need to need to

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Speaker 1: figure out you've invested a lot in the film and television,

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Speaker 1: and figure out how to make that work. And he

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Speaker 1: was right. You know, it's really interesting that because you know,

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Speaker 1: when I left IBM, and you know the whole thought process.

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Speaker 1: You can go back, you know, you you you've mastered

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Speaker 1: the corporate space. That's always an option, but it really

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Speaker 1: is about moving forward. That's all least telling you going

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Speaker 1: back with it? Well, why, well, what's there? A lot

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Speaker 1: more confusion, a lot more unknown when you're great, you're

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Speaker 1: fantastic now. But that was just one conversation. But what

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Speaker 1: happened that really set you forward in a positive direction

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Speaker 1: that yes, I can do this again. Yes this is

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Speaker 1: what I've been born to do, this is what this

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Speaker 1: is my dream. This is combination of realizing that there

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Speaker 1: were stories that I still very much wanted to tell,

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Speaker 1: and frankly that the business as I was going through

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Speaker 1: my kind of soul searching process, the business started changing

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Speaker 1: and Hollywood finally realized what you and I have been

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Speaker 1: telling it for and many others have been telling it

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Speaker 1: for years, that diversity was not just the right thing

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Speaker 1: to do, but that it was good business. And once

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Speaker 1: Hollywood figured out that there was money that was being

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Speaker 1: left on the table by not you know, telling stories

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Speaker 1: about people of color, that you know, people of all ethnicities,

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Speaker 1: you know, white people, black people, Asian people would go

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Speaker 1: see good stories about people of color and about women,

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Speaker 1: it opened up the door. And now it's mean, you know,

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Speaker 1: it's still we still a long way to go, but

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Speaker 1: my god, I mean, look at the number of movies

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Speaker 1: that have been made in the last few years. Look

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Speaker 1: at what's going on in TV. It's really exciting. And

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Speaker 1: so it's funny. And it took me about six years

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Speaker 1: to get Harriet made. And Harriet kind of covered that

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Speaker 1: territory from the beginning where people are like, oh, historical

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Speaker 1: movie about a black woman, I don't know to you know,

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Speaker 1: towards the end it was like, oh, yes, you know,

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Speaker 1: hidden figures that happened and I did a lot of money.

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Speaker 1: It was like they could see the potential of telling

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Speaker 1: an action story about a woman of color. You know.

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Speaker 1: It's really interesting because you know, because you were like me,

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Speaker 1: we were there that I'm a writer, your producer, you're

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Speaker 1: a writer too. And so from that standpoint, we went

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Speaker 1: through that whole reality series, you know, where black people,

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Speaker 1: especially black women, were not featured in a very favorable manner, fighting, cussing,

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Speaker 1: drinking party and and so this hair out. Oh my god.

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Speaker 1: So so with that process, I know, you had to

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Speaker 1: be really sick to your stomach that that period right there.

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Speaker 1: And I'm not saying reality shows have changed that much,

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Speaker 1: but now we have ramas and comedies and docuseris allows

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Speaker 1: us to give us solid balance and tell black stories better.

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Speaker 1: But that period, because I was doing the Neighborhood Awards

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Speaker 1: with Steve Harvey and we would we couldn't even get

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Speaker 1: really presenters because there weren't any black celebrities on TV

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Speaker 1: or in the business. It was really a dark period.

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Speaker 1: And so from a creative standpoint, I know what led

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Speaker 1: you to that thought process because guess what, Hollywood wasn't

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Speaker 1: even trying to put the scripted idea in a black

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Speaker 1: person's hand at all. Like I said, literally, I can't.

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Speaker 1: I'm sitting here as I'm talking. I can remember the

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Speaker 1: meetings where people's eyes they just with glaze over, They

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Speaker 1: just like had no appreciation for for you know what

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Speaker 1: I was talking about, and no interest now you know,

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Speaker 1: and part of and you know, and frankly, one of

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Speaker 1: the things is Los Angeles is a very segregated city.

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Speaker 1: And I think that, you know, while the rest of

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Speaker 1: the country was more integrated and kind of embracing different cultures,

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Speaker 1: l A was slow to come to the table to

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Speaker 1: understand that that many people are interested in the stories

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Speaker 1: of all people. Now let's let's let's get back to

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Speaker 1: you know why you really came on this show. You

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Speaker 1: come on to the show to talk to Rochelle. You

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Speaker 1: got this hit shell on TV called The Equalizes and

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Speaker 1: with Queen Latifa. Uh now, I'll ask you this for

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Speaker 1: My first question is premier after the Super Bowl. Okay, okay,

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Speaker 1: Devil Okay, devil, You've done a lot of great things

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Speaker 1: in your life. Okay, certain phone calls come to you,

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Speaker 1: You're like, you got to be kiddy. When how did

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Speaker 1: that started, that opportunity break for you and how did

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Speaker 1: you react? Where were you at when they told you

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Speaker 1: that your series was gonna premiere, was gonna be out

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Speaker 1: to the super funny we were We were shooting because

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Speaker 1: we we are we are well. We are based at

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Speaker 1: the Eyad Center at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. This

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Speaker 1: is below me or is the arena floor, and our

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Speaker 1: standing sets are there. My office here is a skybox

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Speaker 1: at the ead Center. We do some exteriors in New York,

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Speaker 1: but we shoot a lot in New Jersey. That night,

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Speaker 1: we were in Bayonne, New Jersey, at an oil supply field.

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Speaker 1: That was nasty. It was freezing cold, and I got

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Speaker 1: this text from the head of drama at Universal Television saying,

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Speaker 1: you know, um, we need to have a call immediately

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Speaker 1: with CBS. You know, can you get the other executive

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Speaker 1: producers together in in in fifteen minutes? And we were

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Speaker 1: like okay, and we really didn't know what the call was.

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Speaker 1: We were like, oh my god, you know over budget

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Speaker 1: you know like that, and uh, George Cheeks, who is

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Speaker 1: the head of CBS, was on the call and he said, guys,

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Speaker 1: are good news for you. We believe in this show.

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Speaker 1: We believed in it from the very beginning, and we're

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Speaker 1: putting you after the Super Bowl and we were just like,

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Speaker 1: oh my, you know, it's like, oh my god, Um,

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Speaker 1: it's huge. It was huge. It was huge, you know.

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Speaker 1: And I saw the premier and after following the series

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Speaker 1: every since, and you know, when it was announced, you know,

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Speaker 1: we had Denzel and they had the original series and

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Speaker 1: Queen latif you know, because I know the role has

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Speaker 1: some type of physicality tied to it if you want

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Speaker 1: to have some type of credibility. And so my original

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Speaker 1: thought was, canque the teeth for handing the physicality tied

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Speaker 1: to this role? And I'm telling you from the pilot

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Speaker 1: series on where she walked in that uh whatever room

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Speaker 1: where the where the young lady was taken in and

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Speaker 1: the chief yeah, yeah, and she broke off to the gun,

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Speaker 1: kicked him in the corner, shot him and walked out

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Speaker 1: of that went Okay, this is a hit serious right here.

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Speaker 1: This is a hit serious because you know, everything is

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Speaker 1: tied to credibility, and to me, that was the credibility

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Speaker 1: moment for me in this series and walking through that

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Speaker 1: whole process of bringing Queenlitief on board talking about the

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Speaker 1: physicality and horizon to the occasion. Yeah, so funny. So

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Speaker 1: our show at the you know, the Denzel movie franchise

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Speaker 1: is great and it's been enormously successful. They took the

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Speaker 1: basic idea and and and built from there. Our show

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Speaker 1: is based on the original nineteen eighties show. Those are

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Speaker 1: the rights that we have and um so I but

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Speaker 1: you know, Dana and I go way back. We actually

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Speaker 1: actually shot Just Right, partial portions of Just Right, the

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Speaker 1: movie we did together here at the Eyes Ought Center,

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Speaker 1: which is really you know, great symmetry. And I've been

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Speaker 1: trying to get back in business together and I brought

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Speaker 1: her in to have a meeting with Universal TV, where

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Speaker 1: I have my deal and Perlina the Bokway, who was

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Speaker 1: the head of You TV then is now the head

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Speaker 1: of the Universal Studio group. An amazing you know black

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Speaker 1: woman was there and she said, you know, Cleen On,

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Speaker 1: but we have a few ideas for you, like we

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Speaker 1: want to talk to you about And the first one

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Speaker 1: was was Equalizer and honest they Uh, there was a

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Speaker 1: moment of silence, and then Dana said yes, like like,

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Speaker 1: and I think everybody in the room could see her

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Speaker 1: in the role. It just made sense. And then, you know,

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Speaker 1: we we have amazing showrunners Terry Miller and Andrew Marlowe,

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Speaker 1: and they and our other executive producers, we all got

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Speaker 1: the role was built for her. We spent a lot

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Speaker 1: of time talking about what the show should be, what

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Speaker 1: the role should be. You know. Then Queen Latifa spent

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Speaker 1: time on her own with the creators of the show,

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Speaker 1: so they really got a sense of her and her

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Speaker 1: voice and crafted a character that reflected who she was,

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Speaker 1: her essence, her strength and and and her beauty. But

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Speaker 1: you know, from the very beginning, it was really important

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Speaker 1: to all of us and and really important to Queen

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Speaker 1: Latifa to your point, that the action be credible. She's like,

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Speaker 1: I got you know, I got a I got a brand,

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Speaker 1: I got an image. I cannot go out there half big.

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Speaker 1: So she trained, we have experts that she works with

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Speaker 1: with the for the guns and those fight sequences. She

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Speaker 1: does a lot of it herself. Uh, and she's great.

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Speaker 1: It's great. I think it's great. And obviously she rides

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Speaker 1: motorcycles in real life, so that we put that in

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Speaker 1: there because we knew that was organic to her. Well,

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Speaker 1: you know the thing about it is, first of all,

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Speaker 1: you said beauty, beautiful. You know everybody got h D

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Speaker 1: four K, five K whatever I'm looking at. I look

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Speaker 1: at that show that go she looks fantastic. She is

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Speaker 1: absolutely a beautiful woman. I'm going, by the way, you're

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Speaker 1: very beautiful as well. You look fantastic as well. I

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Speaker 1: figure out what cream y'all doing over that set so

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Speaker 1: I could just roll up in that little Jersey said

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Speaker 1: can you put some over shaw? Because I looked at

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Speaker 1: because I'm going like because that you know that that

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Speaker 1: that captured me in the pilot and every episode is

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Speaker 1: how great she looks. Skin looks fantastic, and that carries

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Speaker 1: carries over, I think into the way she carries herself

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Speaker 1: through the series. You know, she carries herself as a

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Speaker 1: very confident person, that she has the issues with a daughter,

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Speaker 1: which humanizes her. It makes her vulnerable and makes her

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Speaker 1: not feel so perfect. Is that if you know in

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Speaker 1: the streets precisely the point and because what she Robin

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Speaker 1: McCall represents most women who have to balance career and

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Speaker 1: family and personal life. Now obviously in this case it's

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Speaker 1: you know, she's former CI agent who's you know, kicking

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Speaker 1: butt on a regular basis. But it's just, you know,

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Speaker 1: it's it's exaggerated by TV turn but it's a real

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Speaker 1: it's a real balancing act that every woman does it juggling,

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Speaker 1: and I think that is what makes her very relatable

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Speaker 1: to both men and women. Men are juggling too, you know,

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Speaker 1: our our lives are complicated, and so we like to say,

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Speaker 1: you know, she can take down the baddest criminal, but

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Speaker 1: she can't. It's hard for her to stand up to

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Speaker 1: her sixteen year old thoughts. And that's that's the beauty

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Speaker 1: of when you when you're building our characters and then

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Speaker 1: and you've been known for developing characters and making sure

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Speaker 1: the characters are flushed out, and that's what I appreciate

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Speaker 1: that because I hate to not watching the movie and

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Speaker 1: I'm not engaged or the character doesn't get me emotionally

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Speaker 1: attached to their problems. And that's really what really is

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Speaker 1: one of the one of the true successes behind the

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Speaker 1: equal lines are correct. Yes, yeah, because she's a fully

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Speaker 1: fleshed out human human being woman us you'll see. You know,

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Speaker 1: we've got romance coming and everything else. But yes, I mean,

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Speaker 1: I believe character comes first because if you can relate

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Speaker 1: to the people, then you're then you will take any

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Speaker 1: journey with them. And and honestly, that's something may have

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Speaker 1: always been a storyteller and I you know, it was

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Speaker 1: a voracious reader growing up. But also you know, I

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Speaker 1: ran until Washington's company early on in my career, and

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Speaker 1: that was one of the things I learned from him,

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Speaker 1: was how to approach things from the character perspective. And

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Speaker 1: uh and and I you know, it is how I live. Now.

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Speaker 1: You get this big opportunity every coming into twenty twenty one,

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna have a conversation about COVID nighteen and the

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Speaker 1: production and how you wrapping up because you know, medical safety,

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Speaker 1: safety or the cast and safety of the production team

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Speaker 1: is is what what in the beginning and what moments

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Speaker 1: that have allowed you to have more freedom now in

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Speaker 1: the production of the show. Their equalizer. Well, listen, it's

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Speaker 1: been a challenge. It's a challenge for for everybody who's

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Speaker 1: in production right now. It's enormously expensive. I test every day,

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Speaker 1: as does a significant portion of our crew and certainly

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Speaker 1: anybody who comes in contact with the actors, because the

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Speaker 1: actors are you know, there's no show without the actors.

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Speaker 1: But they're the most vulnerable because they have to work

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Speaker 1: with no masks on. So we've got um, you know,

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Speaker 1: and and and and everything is slower, you know, location

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Speaker 1: scouting is slower. You know the fact that everybody has

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Speaker 1: to test takes time out of your day. Um you've

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Speaker 1: got you know, we've got masks and shields on all

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Speaker 1: day long. So funny we always laugh and say, at

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Speaker 1: some point, you know, we're gonna be able to take

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Speaker 1: these off and we won't recognize each other because seeing

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Speaker 1: most of my crew without a mask on. So it's ok.

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Speaker 1: And and also, you know, particularly in the beginning, because

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Speaker 1: we started shooting November nine, when it was a different time,

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Speaker 1: there was no vaccine. Yet people are scared and so

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Speaker 1: that you know, they're nervous and and they're nervous about

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Speaker 1: being I mean, most of us have gone from being

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Speaker 1: in our homes relatively isolated with a little bubble too.

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Speaker 1: I work with two hundred people every day in an arena,

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Speaker 1: which is a luxury in these times. But you know,

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Speaker 1: in the beginning, people were scared and nervous and like,

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Speaker 1: oh my god, am I gonna you know, it's just

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Speaker 1: am I gonna get sick? So um Universal, NBC. Universal

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Speaker 1: has been incredibly responsible and CBS and safety has really

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Speaker 1: come first. But it's tough. You know, the thing about

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Speaker 1: it is that when I look at you know, we

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Speaker 1: talked about our frustrations and seeing you know, scripted and

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Speaker 1: black storytelling cast aside for reality. And then but I

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Speaker 1: think that it was really help us is the streaming industry,

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Speaker 1: streaming television there they're the need for content. And then

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Speaker 1: when the content was presented, we delivered talk about the

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Speaker 1: the change in the shifting industry and how it has

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Speaker 1: impacted in a very good way black programming absolutely and

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Speaker 1: kind of the fundamental differences. The movie studios have moved

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Speaker 1: to making tent pole movies that appeal to the widest

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Speaker 1: possible audience globally, and that's that's how they justify their

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Speaker 1: you know, their cost structure and how they make money.

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Speaker 1: The network television similarly, is making shows that appeal to

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Speaker 1: the widest possible audience and that appeal globally, so you're

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Speaker 1: not you know, to find distinctive voices to support those

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Speaker 1: in those environments is really hard, whereas streaming, on the

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Speaker 1: other hand, is more about niche marketing. And so you

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Speaker 1: can have uh, you know, Insecure, which was on HBO,

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Speaker 1: but still you know, cable cable and streaming which because

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Speaker 1: it doesn't you know, doesn't have eight million viewers every week,

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Speaker 1: but has a very loyal following and is a hint

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Speaker 1: in that sense because it's all they just you know,

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Speaker 1: the streamers and and premium cable are about subscribers. So

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Speaker 1: if they can if a show appeals to a certain

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Speaker 1: you know, subscriber piece of the of the base and

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Speaker 1: they are loyal followers, that's that's what their businesses to

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Speaker 1: build up those different audiences into one great audience. So

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Speaker 1: it's hugely beneficial to diverse storytellers. It really is personal,

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Speaker 1: like you were saying, HBO and Insecure and not in

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Speaker 1: the HBO Max, which is their streaming affiliated. Really they're

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Speaker 1: building that out more than they're building out HBO because

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Speaker 1: of the content can be found on HBO Max. And

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Speaker 1: the beauty of what I like about there were about

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Speaker 1: the whole world of streaming is that you know, from

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Speaker 1: a movie movie movie selling, if you're a black lead,

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Speaker 1: it was going to be domestic. They wouldn't even walk

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Speaker 1: internationally with you, and so in a self fulfilling prophecy,

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Speaker 1: right right, and so, but you like, I'm just using

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Speaker 1: Netflix as an example, or hundred in any countries. So

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Speaker 1: when they premiere a black project on Netflix, it premieres

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Speaker 1: and a hundred and ninty count tree. So there's no

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Speaker 1: discrimination about the content and everybody gets an equal chance

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Speaker 1: to enjoy the product. And I really feel that that's

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Speaker 1: where we're going with it. And that's when I say,

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Speaker 1: my have times change and my have chimes change is

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Speaker 1: really tame. It's really tied to the content avenues that

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Speaker 1: we get to tell our stories. And it's great people

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Speaker 1: like you, Devil Martin Chase that are telling it. They've

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00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:29,560
Speaker 1: changed signs chased tremendously, and I can't. I think it's

429
00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:32,600
Speaker 1: it's it is. It is the streaming and cable and

430
00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:36,440
Speaker 1: and and a different appetite and the demand for content. Mean,

431
00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:42,800
Speaker 1: you know, content is needed across the board, and it's

432
00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:46,680
Speaker 1: realization that people will you know that white people will

433
00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:50,679
Speaker 1: watch shows with the Black League. I mean Shonda, you know,

434
00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:54,720
Speaker 1: her shows are really important in in the dynamic of

435
00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:58,600
Speaker 1: all this because raising Anatomy came on with the fabulously

436
00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:02,639
Speaker 1: diverse Castle was a hit and people say, Okay, you know,

437
00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:05,720
Speaker 1: it doesn't have to be just one one that one

438
00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:09,200
Speaker 1: black person. It can be black people in major roles.

439
00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:14,879
Speaker 1: Then Scandal, Scandal was huge because you know, it was

440
00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:19,879
Speaker 1: like the second show on network TV that had a

441
00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:25,320
Speaker 1: pale black lead, and in ABC was nervous at first,

442
00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:27,240
Speaker 1: but to the credit, now you had Shonda, you had

443
00:25:27,359 --> 00:25:30,280
Speaker 1: Channing Dungee was there that was had a drama, and

444
00:25:30,359 --> 00:25:32,960
Speaker 1: you have the fact that that Olivia Pope was loosely

445
00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:37,919
Speaker 1: based upon Judy Smith, the very successful black crisis publicist,

446
00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:40,280
Speaker 1: so it was hard not to cast a black woman

447
00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:42,320
Speaker 1: and that was a huge success. And then it kind

448
00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:46,720
Speaker 1: of went from there. So it's look, I'm just I'm

449
00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:49,200
Speaker 1: happy that I'm still in the in the business right

450
00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:52,720
Speaker 1: now to take advantage of where we are right now. Well,

451
00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:55,040
Speaker 1: first of all, you are fantastic. I want to thank

452
00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:57,680
Speaker 1: you for coming on the series Money Making Conversation to

453
00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:01,240
Speaker 1: talk the Equalizer starting Queen the Tea for every Sunday,

454
00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:04,160
Speaker 1: you gotta hit you on your hand every Sunday, eight

455
00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:11,679
Speaker 1: o'clock after sixty minutes CBS again US we are you know,

456
00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:14,520
Speaker 1: please keep coming. Thank you so much for everybody for

457
00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:17,920
Speaker 1: your support. We appreciate it. We're working hard to continue

458
00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:20,560
Speaker 1: to make a great show. And and thank you well,

459
00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:22,800
Speaker 1: you know, out out of them on my clothes. And

460
00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:25,920
Speaker 1: you know, we got the Queen B Beyonce out of Houston.

461
00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:29,840
Speaker 1: Now we got the Queen C. That's uh devnmont Chase

462
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Speaker 1: out of Houston. Third War Texas, y'all. Third Queen C. Right,

463
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Speaker 1: I own on the with Queen C. Yeah, Devernmartin Chase,

464
00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:41,240
Speaker 1: Third War Texas, y'all. I came from fear for it.

465
00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:43,840
Speaker 1: So three and five that makes eight. We're good. Thank

466
00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:46,239
Speaker 1: you for coming on the show. Devernmartin Chase. Thank you

467
00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:48,960
Speaker 1: so much. This has been such fun talking to you.

468
00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:51,440
Speaker 1: You're great. Yeah, I love it. And until Queen the Thief,

469
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Speaker 1: we've been trying to get on Steve Harmy, I mean

470
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Speaker 1: Steve and stephen A's World because we would because we

471
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Speaker 1: want to help promote the show. So we're gonna reach

472
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Speaker 1: out again. It was definitely we're gonna reach out again.

473
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Speaker 1: And because she had it was a conflict in the schedule,

474
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Speaker 1: but we definitely want to promote your brand because Steven,

475
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Speaker 1: Stephen Stephen A is a big fan of your devil,

476
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477
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Speaker 1: can promote positive Black projects, and this is an amazingly

478
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479
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480
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Speaker 1: you so much, thank you. It's finally here, the season

481
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482
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Speaker 1: lighting the Manura, are going to midnight mass, Coals has

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515
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Speaker 1: E R dot Ai. We will be right back with

516
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Speaker 1: more money Making Conversations with your host, Rashan McDonald. Him

517
00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:32,400
Speaker 1: Rushan McDonald, the host of Money Making Conversation. The Cafe

518
00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:34,920
Speaker 1: Moca Swag Award is a celebration of black men who

519
00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:38,000
Speaker 1: are making a difference in our community by empowering others

520
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:41,800
Speaker 1: to reach their life goals, from civic leaders, businessmen, activists,

521
00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:45,360
Speaker 1: celebrities and everyday dads. The Cafe Moca Swag Award winner

522
00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:49,040
Speaker 1: this week is Dendre with Field. He is an Emmy

523
00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:52,240
Speaker 1: nominated veteran TV and film actor. His new book, Mail

524
00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:55,360
Speaker 1: Versus Man is a game changer. Dandre's goal is to

525
00:29:55,400 --> 00:29:58,880
Speaker 1: help readers understand how the definition of manhood has changed

526
00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:02,560
Speaker 1: and to transform else so they can obtain man status.

527
00:30:02,560 --> 00:30:09,680
Speaker 1: Our manhood is directly tied to our dedication to being

528
00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:14,840
Speaker 1: a servant leader, serving the women and children in our lives.

529
00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:17,480
Speaker 1: I talked about in the book how every man has

530
00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:20,680
Speaker 1: to be the walking tree of his house and community.

531
00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:23,800
Speaker 1: So a treat sees us, a treat gives us shelter.

532
00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:26,840
Speaker 1: The tree allows us to breathe better. That's the job

533
00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:30,400
Speaker 1: of every man for every woman. And child in his life.

534
00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:33,600
Speaker 1: The Cafaine Morpas Swag Award represents men who have strength,

535
00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:37,000
Speaker 1: whose wisdom is assertive, and who is genuine in their spirit.

536
00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:41,880
Speaker 1: Welcome back to money making conversations with your host Rashan McDonald.

537
00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:45,320
Speaker 1: My next guest is truly an industry decision maker. His

538
00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:48,160
Speaker 1: name is Harvey Mason Jr. He probably serves as the

539
00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:51,160
Speaker 1: Chairman of the Board of the Recording Academy also known

540
00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:53,640
Speaker 1: as the Grammys, and he has also stepped in the

541
00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:56,360
Speaker 1: role of interim President CEO for the Recording of Academy.

542
00:30:56,440 --> 00:30:59,120
Speaker 1: Let's give a little background Mr Harvard here. He is

543
00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:01,640
Speaker 1: not only paying it produced songs for industry legends like

544
00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:05,280
Speaker 1: Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, When the Houston, Mariah Carey, but

545
00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:07,960
Speaker 1: He's all In, Elton John, but also for today's superstars

546
00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:12,520
Speaker 1: including Justin Beaver, Beyonce John, Legend Are the Grand Day,

547
00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:15,560
Speaker 1: Justin timber Lake, and Chris Brown. In addition, he's compiled

548
00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:18,040
Speaker 1: in the present list of film and TV credits, including

549
00:31:18,280 --> 00:31:21,520
Speaker 1: writing and producing the music for Jesus Christ Superstar Lives.

550
00:31:21,560 --> 00:31:23,160
Speaker 1: It's just a few of them. I'm not gonna name

551
00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:28,480
Speaker 1: at all. Jingle Jangle, Christmas Story, Christmas Journey, Joey's Extraordinary Playlist,

552
00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:32,000
Speaker 1: Shrek Straight out of Compton, All three Pitch Perfect Movies,

553
00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:35,200
Speaker 1: The Grammy Awards of Music's Biggest Night, and the six

554
00:31:35,280 --> 00:31:38,200
Speaker 1: or three Grammy Awards are Aaron on Sunday, March fourteenth,

555
00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:41,200
Speaker 1: at a PM Easter Standard time on CBS. What can

556
00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:42,960
Speaker 1: we expect? That's why I have them on the show

557
00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:45,880
Speaker 1: talk a little bit about his life. How the extraordinary

558
00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:48,520
Speaker 1: guy like him can be sitting in the background looking

559
00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:51,280
Speaker 1: so good. Please wipe in the money making conversation. My man,

560
00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:55,160
Speaker 1: Harry Mason Jr. How are you doing, sir? Doing well?

561
00:31:55,240 --> 00:31:57,200
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for having me. Excited to be

562
00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:00,320
Speaker 1: here chairing the board Chairman of the board of the

563
00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:04,320
Speaker 1: Recording Academy. What does that? What does that mean? Well,

564
00:32:04,360 --> 00:32:07,160
Speaker 1: it means that some people that were the trustees of

565
00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:10,760
Speaker 1: the Academy thought that I would be good to push

566
00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:14,640
Speaker 1: the Academy forward into the next generation of what this

567
00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:16,720
Speaker 1: academy looks like, and they voted for me, So we

568
00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:20,240
Speaker 1: have forty four trustees. I ran as chair on a

569
00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:23,280
Speaker 1: platform of change and improvement to the Academy, which I

570
00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:25,600
Speaker 1: felt we needed a lot of, uh, you know, I've

571
00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:28,240
Speaker 1: been a member of the Recording Academy for probably, I

572
00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:31,040
Speaker 1: don't know, fifteen sixteen years, so I've seen a lot

573
00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:32,920
Speaker 1: of the great things that it does, all the amazing

574
00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:36,440
Speaker 1: programs and work that it does around philanthropy and giving

575
00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:39,040
Speaker 1: back to the music community, but also advocacy and fighting

576
00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:41,960
Speaker 1: for the rights of creators and music people, and then education,

577
00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:45,040
Speaker 1: making sure that we're getting instruments and hands of kids

578
00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:47,520
Speaker 1: in the next generation of music makers, and continuing to

579
00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:50,280
Speaker 1: expose people to music. So those are things I loved

580
00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:52,160
Speaker 1: about the Academy. There are a few things that I

581
00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:53,680
Speaker 1: thought we could do better, and so I ran for

582
00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:56,880
Speaker 1: chair and they voted for the congradulations. Uh. You know,

583
00:32:57,160 --> 00:32:59,200
Speaker 1: I have a little music background. In middle school, I

584
00:32:59,320 --> 00:33:03,920
Speaker 1: was the first clearing that second share of tennis saxophone

585
00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:06,440
Speaker 1: and uh. And I got to high school, you know,

586
00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:09,280
Speaker 1: you know, I got too cool for music, got too

587
00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:11,840
Speaker 1: cool for the band, and I left the band. Never

588
00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:14,480
Speaker 1: too cool for the band. I thought I was hard

589
00:33:14,560 --> 00:33:16,760
Speaker 1: after I thought but you know the thing about it

590
00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:21,680
Speaker 1: is that I would tell everybody music really focused me

591
00:33:21,840 --> 00:33:24,520
Speaker 1: and really helped with my memorization. And so when you

592
00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:27,560
Speaker 1: start talking about going into the community and and and

593
00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:31,040
Speaker 1: having the children to understand the value of music, playing music,

594
00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:34,280
Speaker 1: singing and understand it. Really I always tell there's a

595
00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:37,680
Speaker 1: big asset. Can you tell everybody the contributions that not

596
00:33:37,720 --> 00:33:39,800
Speaker 1: only just from being able to play the music, but

597
00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:43,360
Speaker 1: from my life and from an educational standpoint, how music

598
00:33:43,360 --> 00:33:48,120
Speaker 1: can really evolve a child's life. I guess that's a

599
00:33:48,680 --> 00:33:50,560
Speaker 1: I mean, it's a good question. It's probably one that

600
00:33:50,600 --> 00:33:54,400
Speaker 1: a scientist or or or psychiatrists could probably answer even

601
00:33:54,440 --> 00:33:57,040
Speaker 1: better than I can. But I know personally what music

602
00:33:57,080 --> 00:33:59,640
Speaker 1: does for me is similar to as you said, it

603
00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:06,040
Speaker 1: helped to find balance, find a center. Absolutely creates a

604
00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:11,440
Speaker 1: sense of emotional connection or relatability to people. Like if

605
00:34:11,440 --> 00:34:13,919
Speaker 1: you're writing a song, where you're listening to a song

606
00:34:13,960 --> 00:34:16,439
Speaker 1: that's been composed, you see that other people have felt

607
00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:18,719
Speaker 1: what you felt you you see that other people have

608
00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:21,320
Speaker 1: gone through things that you've gone through. So there's something

609
00:34:21,320 --> 00:34:24,640
Speaker 1: there that's reassuring, that's something that's identifiable and relevant to

610
00:34:24,680 --> 00:34:26,640
Speaker 1: a lot of different people's lives. So music can be

611
00:34:26,719 --> 00:34:30,279
Speaker 1: served as uh, something that can can heal and can help.

612
00:34:30,719 --> 00:34:32,720
Speaker 1: And that's a little bit of what I love about

613
00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:35,000
Speaker 1: being involved in the Academy is I try and use

614
00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:37,440
Speaker 1: music in our platform with the Grammys to make sure

615
00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:39,960
Speaker 1: we're doing good and we're doing good work, we're bringing

616
00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:42,160
Speaker 1: people together, especially with our show this March. You know,

617
00:34:42,200 --> 00:34:44,120
Speaker 1: this is gonna be the first time in a long

618
00:34:44,160 --> 00:34:45,960
Speaker 1: time that maybe a lot of people have come together

619
00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:48,560
Speaker 1: around music. So my hope is this it can be

620
00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:51,799
Speaker 1: some medicine. It can be something that uh starts to heal.

621
00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:53,960
Speaker 1: And the last year has been a tough year for everyone,

622
00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:57,080
Speaker 1: as you know, especially people in the music industry. So

623
00:34:57,280 --> 00:34:59,680
Speaker 1: my hope is that music, as you said earlier, can

624
00:34:59,719 --> 00:35:02,560
Speaker 1: be something of a positive and be something that's not

625
00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:05,880
Speaker 1: just entertaining but also healing and and improves the lives

626
00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:08,000
Speaker 1: of people who who are fans of it and who

627
00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:11,440
Speaker 1: love it. I have nothing but positive things about what

628
00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:14,200
Speaker 1: happened in my life. How did you drag a tennis

629
00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:17,440
Speaker 1: saxophone a mile to my junior high school, middle school

630
00:35:17,880 --> 00:35:21,600
Speaker 1: and drag it back? And I would tell everybody that

631
00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:24,560
Speaker 1: anybody who plays the trumpet is amazing to me, and

632
00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:26,800
Speaker 1: anybody who plays the flute is amazing to me, because

633
00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:30,000
Speaker 1: it's always all about the lips, all about the curvature.

634
00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:32,719
Speaker 1: And I put that read on that clarinet put that

635
00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:34,720
Speaker 1: read on it. I was good. I was good. Squeeze

636
00:35:34,719 --> 00:35:37,319
Speaker 1: real Hall knew that the fingers working, I was. I

637
00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:40,440
Speaker 1: was your man. But I respected the flute is and

638
00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:42,759
Speaker 1: and and and the trumpet player that was That's a skill.

639
00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:44,600
Speaker 1: What's your what's your skill level? From a from a

640
00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:49,520
Speaker 1: technical standpoint, instrument standpoint, Well, I played piano and when

641
00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:52,040
Speaker 1: I played drums and percussion, a little little bit of

642
00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:54,320
Speaker 1: bass and a few other things, but my main instruments

643
00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:58,560
Speaker 1: that I write and produce on his piano. Now, it's

644
00:35:58,560 --> 00:36:00,600
Speaker 1: the interesting thing about it because I ran off a

645
00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:03,600
Speaker 1: lot of talent. You know Pop, you know Justin Bigger

646
00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:05,719
Speaker 1: got him in my car. You know just In Timber

647
00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:08,000
Speaker 1: that got him in my car. I got you know, Beyonce.

648
00:36:08,440 --> 00:36:11,160
Speaker 1: I'm from Houston. I by my background with Beyonce, uh

649
00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:14,560
Speaker 1: nineteen two, I introduced in my comedy club, one of

650
00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:17,160
Speaker 1: the first people to recognize destinity talent as a group.

651
00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:20,960
Speaker 1: So we go way back personally, all those different talent

652
00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:23,600
Speaker 1: levels that you how do you walk in the room

653
00:36:23,640 --> 00:36:25,920
Speaker 1: and how do you create that relationship? You know, not

654
00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:29,480
Speaker 1: to mention the legends of Michael Jackson and Arita Franklin

655
00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:34,080
Speaker 1: and Elton John but all these people on my playlists,

656
00:36:34,120 --> 00:36:35,880
Speaker 1: so it means that you have a sense from the

657
00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:39,759
Speaker 1: type of music here that I have. So but each

658
00:36:39,760 --> 00:36:41,640
Speaker 1: one of these people have a certain style that they

659
00:36:41,640 --> 00:36:42,920
Speaker 1: want to bring to the table. They don't want to

660
00:36:42,920 --> 00:36:45,520
Speaker 1: be a copycat, So how do you how do you

661
00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:50,319
Speaker 1: introduce yourself to that to their talents? Each person is

662
00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:53,319
Speaker 1: slightly different, but in general I try and enter with

663
00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:57,239
Speaker 1: a sense of humility but also confidence because number one,

664
00:36:57,280 --> 00:37:00,719
Speaker 1: I'm I'm highly respectful of people who create art. I

665
00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:02,800
Speaker 1: think people who I've gotten a chance to work with

666
00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:05,880
Speaker 1: their absolutely amazing and incredible talents and are very special

667
00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:10,200
Speaker 1: for their talents. But I also know that, uh, they

668
00:37:10,239 --> 00:37:14,560
Speaker 1: need collaboration and they look for people that can bring

669
00:37:14,600 --> 00:37:16,400
Speaker 1: the best out of them. And as a producer and

670
00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:18,840
Speaker 1: a songwriter, that's really been my goal throughout my career

671
00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:21,560
Speaker 1: is to try and regardless of who I'm working working

672
00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:24,040
Speaker 1: with and try and elevate or to try and make

673
00:37:24,120 --> 00:37:27,200
Speaker 1: their performance be the best performance they've ever given, whether

674
00:37:27,280 --> 00:37:29,680
Speaker 1: that's you know, Aretha Franklin or a new artist like

675
00:37:29,760 --> 00:37:32,040
Speaker 1: Chris Brown that we started with when he was fourteen

676
00:37:32,120 --> 00:37:34,840
Speaker 1: years old. Fifteen years old. So my goal is always

677
00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:39,520
Speaker 1: to be humble, be respectful, appreciative of the opportunity to

678
00:37:39,560 --> 00:37:41,879
Speaker 1: work with with new artists as well as legacy artists,

679
00:37:41,880 --> 00:37:44,480
Speaker 1: but then also come with the confidence and a spirit

680
00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:46,719
Speaker 1: of collaboration so that we can work together because what

681
00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:48,920
Speaker 1: I do, I feel is also special and what I

682
00:37:48,960 --> 00:37:52,000
Speaker 1: can bring to the table hopefully can be helpful to

683
00:37:52,080 --> 00:37:55,200
Speaker 1: them and their performance. So that's generally how I do it.

684
00:37:55,280 --> 00:37:57,480
Speaker 1: Sometimes it's easier than others. You know, you're dealing with

685
00:37:57,600 --> 00:38:01,439
Speaker 1: artists that are the legacy, the legend artists. They they've

686
00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:04,640
Speaker 1: been doing it for a long time, sometimes thirty forty years,

687
00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:07,040
Speaker 1: and uh, they look at you as the new young

688
00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:11,120
Speaker 1: kid who thinks he's hot stuff. And sometimes those are challenging,

689
00:38:11,239 --> 00:38:14,640
Speaker 1: But it's really about breaking down, uh, those types of

690
00:38:14,680 --> 00:38:18,359
Speaker 1: barriers and preconceptions and letting the people know that my

691
00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:22,000
Speaker 1: interest is only having them shine. My interest is not

692
00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:24,279
Speaker 1: about me shining. And that's the job of producer. You've

693
00:38:24,280 --> 00:38:26,800
Speaker 1: got to make sure that they trust you and feel

694
00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:29,879
Speaker 1: that your interests are aligned. And I guess that's why

695
00:38:29,880 --> 00:38:32,359
Speaker 1: I've had a fairly long career. I've been able to

696
00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:35,680
Speaker 1: gain the trust of artists and make sure artists feel

697
00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:38,560
Speaker 1: like there's no agenda. It's not about Harvey trying to

698
00:38:38,600 --> 00:38:41,760
Speaker 1: look good. It's about Michael or about Whitney or whoever

699
00:38:41,800 --> 00:38:44,360
Speaker 1: I'm working with, making sure they give their best performance

700
00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:46,839
Speaker 1: and their fans are saying, oh my gosh, where did

701
00:38:46,840 --> 00:38:49,959
Speaker 1: this song come from? This artist that I love so much? Really,

702
00:38:49,960 --> 00:38:53,160
Speaker 1: it's really interesting because you you mentioned earlier talents piano,

703
00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:56,120
Speaker 1: so was it Is it easy to work with a

704
00:38:56,160 --> 00:38:59,280
Speaker 1: talent like and Elvin John or John Legend who strength

705
00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:03,040
Speaker 1: is at the I don't know. It doesn't matter. Working

706
00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:06,319
Speaker 1: with any really talented person is pretty easy because it

707
00:39:06,480 --> 00:39:10,440
Speaker 1: flows and they're contributing so much. I try and contribute

708
00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:13,280
Speaker 1: what I can. And whether it's piano that's their main talent,

709
00:39:13,360 --> 00:39:16,120
Speaker 1: or it's just a vocalist or a guitar player, it's

710
00:39:16,200 --> 00:39:20,239
Speaker 1: as I said, it's collaboration, and great talent is generally

711
00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:23,640
Speaker 1: in favor of strong collaboration. And I found in my

712
00:39:23,680 --> 00:39:27,040
Speaker 1: experience that the Legends are all very open if you

713
00:39:27,160 --> 00:39:29,799
Speaker 1: come with good ideas, and again you don't come with

714
00:39:29,880 --> 00:39:32,560
Speaker 1: a personal agenda, and if your goal is to make

715
00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:36,319
Speaker 1: them shine, whether that's John Legend, Elton John, whoever it is,

716
00:39:36,480 --> 00:39:39,600
Speaker 1: they're going to be excited about the collaboration. I really

717
00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:41,719
Speaker 1: want to if I can't get your head because I'm

718
00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:44,880
Speaker 1: a visual person, Harvey. And so when I when I

719
00:39:44,920 --> 00:39:47,200
Speaker 1: see when I see how Michael Jackson, I just see movement.

720
00:39:47,600 --> 00:39:49,760
Speaker 1: I see justin Timber, I see a movement, I see

721
00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:53,560
Speaker 1: Rita Frank and I just see right there commanding the stage.

722
00:39:53,560 --> 00:39:56,120
Speaker 1: Same thing with what you Houston, right there commanding the

723
00:39:56,160 --> 00:39:58,600
Speaker 1: state from a Do you look at music from a

724
00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:05,319
Speaker 1: visual standpoint or is oh audio? It's a unique question. Uh,

725
00:40:05,680 --> 00:40:09,280
Speaker 1: I don't really tend to study. I'm not as cerebral

726
00:40:09,320 --> 00:40:12,560
Speaker 1: as maybe you're thinking about it. I try and go

727
00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:15,080
Speaker 1: off of emotion and feeling, and I also try and

728
00:40:15,160 --> 00:40:17,719
Speaker 1: pay attention and really close attention to the person I'm

729
00:40:17,760 --> 00:40:20,799
Speaker 1: working with or working for. As you said a couple

730
00:40:20,840 --> 00:40:24,040
Speaker 1: of names. If I'm doing a you know, a Beyonce song,

731
00:40:24,040 --> 00:40:25,680
Speaker 1: it's gonna be very different from a song that I

732
00:40:25,760 --> 00:40:28,520
Speaker 1: might do for Aretha. So you have to be cognizant

733
00:40:28,560 --> 00:40:31,680
Speaker 1: of who their audience is and what that artist has

734
00:40:31,719 --> 00:40:33,960
Speaker 1: done in the past. So for me, it's not visual,

735
00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:37,279
Speaker 1: it's not thinking about concerts um and it's not just

736
00:40:38,640 --> 00:40:41,279
Speaker 1: or you're not just hearing it it's really a combination

737
00:40:41,320 --> 00:40:43,680
Speaker 1: of everything put together. And I'm thinking of it more

738
00:40:43,760 --> 00:40:46,320
Speaker 1: from the standpoint of who is the artist, who is

739
00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:49,080
Speaker 1: their audience, what is their history, what have they talked

740
00:40:49,080 --> 00:40:50,640
Speaker 1: about in the past, what are they going through in

741
00:40:50,680 --> 00:40:53,000
Speaker 1: their life now? And trying to weave all that into

742
00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:55,480
Speaker 1: a song. And that's a lot. And when I when

743
00:40:55,480 --> 00:40:58,000
Speaker 1: I look at the Grammys, which has always been like,

744
00:40:58,920 --> 00:41:01,640
Speaker 1: because I mentioned earlier Recording Academy and do you have

745
00:41:01,760 --> 00:41:04,960
Speaker 1: the Grammys? How did the two names become associated with

746
00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:07,840
Speaker 1: each other. Well, they are one and the same. The

747
00:41:07,880 --> 00:41:11,680
Speaker 1: Recording Academy UH is sometimes referred to as the Grammys.

748
00:41:12,200 --> 00:41:15,400
Speaker 1: The Recording Academy is the overall not for profit organization

749
00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:19,880
Speaker 1: five oh one C three corporation that is built to

750
00:41:20,440 --> 00:41:23,120
Speaker 1: host the Grammys and then hosting the Grammys that is

751
00:41:23,120 --> 00:41:26,640
Speaker 1: a television show on CBS. We receive income from the

752
00:41:26,640 --> 00:41:29,080
Speaker 1: television show and that money goes directly back into the

753
00:41:29,120 --> 00:41:32,120
Speaker 1: music community. That's why we're not for profits. So our

754
00:41:32,160 --> 00:41:34,400
Speaker 1: objective in our mission is to serve our members. We

755
00:41:34,440 --> 00:41:37,960
Speaker 1: have over twenty thou members who are professional music creators

756
00:41:37,960 --> 00:41:42,880
Speaker 1: from you know everything, producers, engineers, songwriters, managers, some lawyers,

757
00:41:42,880 --> 00:41:46,319
Speaker 1: so those are our members we put on the Grammy Show.

758
00:41:46,440 --> 00:41:49,560
Speaker 1: Through the Academy, we receive income and then that goes

759
00:41:49,600 --> 00:41:51,840
Speaker 1: back out. I talked a little bit about Music Cares.

760
00:41:51,920 --> 00:41:54,480
Speaker 1: You know, during COVID this year, we had so many

761
00:41:54,560 --> 00:41:56,919
Speaker 1: music people lose their income, lose their ability to even

762
00:41:56,960 --> 00:41:59,200
Speaker 1: make an income. So Music Care is because of some

763
00:41:59,239 --> 00:42:00,759
Speaker 1: of the money that we out in over the years

764
00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:04,279
Speaker 1: from our TV show along with fundraising efforts, we've been

765
00:42:04,320 --> 00:42:07,360
Speaker 1: able to give out over twenty two million dollars to

766
00:42:07,480 --> 00:42:10,160
Speaker 1: people who needed help during COVID, and that effort continues

767
00:42:10,200 --> 00:42:12,160
Speaker 1: and that's just one of the things we do through

768
00:42:12,200 --> 00:42:14,800
Speaker 1: the Academy and through our not not for profit organization.

769
00:42:14,840 --> 00:42:18,160
Speaker 1: The other we talked about was advocacy, So having the

770
00:42:18,200 --> 00:42:20,840
Speaker 1: ability and the resources to be in Washington, d c.

771
00:42:21,400 --> 00:42:24,480
Speaker 1: Actually on the ground they're talking to lawmakers. Making sure

772
00:42:24,520 --> 00:42:27,719
Speaker 1: that music people are taking into consideration for legislation is

773
00:42:27,760 --> 00:42:30,239
Speaker 1: something that we do and we're very very passionate about

774
00:42:30,239 --> 00:42:32,440
Speaker 1: and we spend a lot of time and energy making

775
00:42:32,440 --> 00:42:34,279
Speaker 1: sure that we're doing that. So this year that the

776
00:42:34,360 --> 00:42:36,640
Speaker 1: Cares Act, the Hits Act, these are all acts that

777
00:42:36,920 --> 00:42:39,600
Speaker 1: give some relief to our country. But now thanks to

778
00:42:39,719 --> 00:42:43,439
Speaker 1: the Recording Academy and other people musicians and people who

779
00:42:43,520 --> 00:42:46,120
Speaker 1: make and create music are included in these relief packages.

780
00:42:46,160 --> 00:42:48,719
Speaker 1: So something that we do during these times and all

781
00:42:48,760 --> 00:42:53,120
Speaker 1: fall under the Recording Academy umbrella. That's that's really amazing.

782
00:42:53,200 --> 00:42:56,000
Speaker 1: That's really a blessing as well, because during the COVID

783
00:42:56,000 --> 00:42:58,960
Speaker 1: and A live events basically shut down. It was shut down.

784
00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:01,960
Speaker 1: They still haven't recovered in and and maybe this summer

785
00:43:02,080 --> 00:43:04,000
Speaker 1: or maybe in the far we can started getting back there.

786
00:43:04,320 --> 00:43:07,359
Speaker 1: But you're a writer, you're a producer, you're so there's

787
00:43:07,400 --> 00:43:10,200
Speaker 1: a term out there called mailbox money, which means that

788
00:43:10,239 --> 00:43:12,840
Speaker 1: you're making money while you sleep. That had to be

789
00:43:12,880 --> 00:43:17,520
Speaker 1: a blessing concertainty that the catastrophe that it was going

790
00:43:17,600 --> 00:43:20,360
Speaker 1: on in the in the live events side, to be

791
00:43:20,480 --> 00:43:23,640
Speaker 1: a writer still receiving some formal income. Am I correcting

792
00:43:23,719 --> 00:43:28,000
Speaker 1: saying that you're partially correct. Actually we love mailbox money.

793
00:43:28,040 --> 00:43:30,080
Speaker 1: But the thing is, and what's happened as of the

794
00:43:30,160 --> 00:43:33,400
Speaker 1: last few years, a mailbox money has continued to decrease

795
00:43:33,520 --> 00:43:37,240
Speaker 1: and it's almost deteriorating because of the way legislation plays

796
00:43:37,239 --> 00:43:40,839
Speaker 1: out and allowing streaming companies to continue to use our

797
00:43:40,880 --> 00:43:43,759
Speaker 1: intellectual property in our art at such a low pay rate,

798
00:43:43,840 --> 00:43:46,880
Speaker 1: so we are barely monetizing songs at this point as

799
00:43:46,920 --> 00:43:49,680
Speaker 1: far as the songwriter has concerned. If you're an artist

800
00:43:50,160 --> 00:43:52,839
Speaker 1: or your record company, there's some good royalties that can

801
00:43:52,880 --> 00:43:55,080
Speaker 1: still be generating, and you're still getting that mailbox money

802
00:43:55,080 --> 00:43:57,840
Speaker 1: you're talking about. But as a producer and a songwriter,

803
00:43:58,280 --> 00:44:00,920
Speaker 1: those numbers are you know, they're a little bit in flux.

804
00:44:00,920 --> 00:44:02,560
Speaker 1: And that's one of the things the Academy has been

805
00:44:02,600 --> 00:44:05,600
Speaker 1: doing is making sure that we're advocating in DC, making

806
00:44:05,600 --> 00:44:08,759
Speaker 1: sure we're jumping up and down talking about creators and

807
00:44:08,800 --> 00:44:11,319
Speaker 1: the creator's rights and what should they be paid and

808
00:44:11,360 --> 00:44:15,400
Speaker 1: how can they monetize what they you know, sweat and

809
00:44:15,520 --> 00:44:17,880
Speaker 1: bleed for, which is our music. In our craft, we

810
00:44:17,960 --> 00:44:20,000
Speaker 1: make these songs. They don't just come out of thin air.

811
00:44:20,239 --> 00:44:21,920
Speaker 1: Actually they do come out of thin air, but they

812
00:44:21,920 --> 00:44:25,920
Speaker 1: don't just magically appear. We work, and we we studied

813
00:44:26,080 --> 00:44:29,479
Speaker 1: the practice. We perfect our craft sometimes for twenty thirty

814
00:44:29,560 --> 00:44:32,160
Speaker 1: years in order to make music and make songs, and

815
00:44:32,200 --> 00:44:35,279
Speaker 1: then sometimes it goes onto different platforms and there's not

816
00:44:35,320 --> 00:44:39,040
Speaker 1: a compensation for that. So the mailbox money is getting scary,

817
00:44:39,239 --> 00:44:42,319
Speaker 1: it's getting more and more scarce um. And it's not

818
00:44:42,360 --> 00:44:45,160
Speaker 1: the fault of the streaming companies. We believe the streaming

819
00:44:45,200 --> 00:44:48,920
Speaker 1: companies are great partners. They're exposing so much amazing music

820
00:44:49,239 --> 00:44:52,040
Speaker 1: to the general population and to consumers, and it's giving

821
00:44:52,040 --> 00:44:54,360
Speaker 1: the consumers a chance to choose and be exposed to

822
00:44:54,400 --> 00:44:56,319
Speaker 1: so many different types of music they might never hurt,

823
00:44:56,480 --> 00:44:59,120
Speaker 1: might not have ever heard before. But we have to

824
00:44:59,120 --> 00:45:01,760
Speaker 1: figure out some equitable way to make sure that people

825
00:45:02,200 --> 00:45:05,480
Speaker 1: who create this art and spend the time making the

826
00:45:05,560 --> 00:45:08,040
Speaker 1: music that we all love and enjoy, continue to be

827
00:45:08,120 --> 00:45:11,000
Speaker 1: able to make the mailbox money. Otherwise people are gonna

828
00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:13,000
Speaker 1: have to get other jobs and other sources of income,

829
00:45:13,040 --> 00:45:15,000
Speaker 1: and and it will decrease the number of people that

830
00:45:15,040 --> 00:45:18,280
Speaker 1: are really making the great art that we all appreciate. Wow,

831
00:45:18,800 --> 00:45:21,320
Speaker 1: the Grammy Awards is the money maker is music. The

832
00:45:21,320 --> 00:45:23,759
Speaker 1: biggest night is the six or thirty Grammy Awards. Is

833
00:45:23,800 --> 00:45:27,640
Speaker 1: Aaron on Sunday, March fourteen, a p m. Or CBS.

834
00:45:27,760 --> 00:45:31,600
Speaker 1: What can we expect? You can expect an amazing show

835
00:45:31,640 --> 00:45:35,520
Speaker 1: and you can expect great performances, nothing like you've seen

836
00:45:36,000 --> 00:45:38,160
Speaker 1: during COVID. You know, we're doing things very differently. This

837
00:45:38,239 --> 00:45:40,520
Speaker 1: is not a virtual show. Okay, this is not people

838
00:45:40,560 --> 00:45:43,840
Speaker 1: sending in videos of them performing either at their house

839
00:45:43,920 --> 00:45:46,640
Speaker 1: or at some different location. These are people that are

840
00:45:46,680 --> 00:45:50,440
Speaker 1: performing on the Grammy stage in Los Angeles. Uh. You'll

841
00:45:50,480 --> 00:45:54,520
Speaker 1: see live awards. You won't see a large audience, unfortunately.

842
00:45:54,920 --> 00:45:57,799
Speaker 1: But I'm really excited. You're gonna see a beautiful set,

843
00:45:57,840 --> 00:46:01,200
Speaker 1: beautiful staging and set decoration. Uh. And I think it's

844
00:46:01,200 --> 00:46:02,960
Speaker 1: gonna be, as I said earlier, a bit of an

845
00:46:03,200 --> 00:46:06,000
Speaker 1: opportunity to come together and celebrate music as much as

846
00:46:06,160 --> 00:46:09,640
Speaker 1: celebrating fields. Maybe slightly awkward right now because there's so

847
00:46:09,719 --> 00:46:13,080
Speaker 1: much hardship and so many things happening that put us

848
00:46:13,160 --> 00:46:15,760
Speaker 1: at at unrest and and in a in a state

849
00:46:15,800 --> 00:46:18,439
Speaker 1: of uncertainty. But I think this will be a time

850
00:46:18,560 --> 00:46:20,960
Speaker 1: for some rebirth. And that's a little bit of the

851
00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:23,120
Speaker 1: theme of some of our our elements of this show

852
00:46:23,480 --> 00:46:26,880
Speaker 1: and are coming together and feeling good around music. We

853
00:46:26,920 --> 00:46:29,120
Speaker 1: know the thing about it. I want to say celebrations.

854
00:46:29,120 --> 00:46:31,480
Speaker 1: I want to stick with that, Harvey, because you know

855
00:46:31,480 --> 00:46:33,960
Speaker 1: we've been locked down. Uh. You know, my wife, she's

856
00:46:33,960 --> 00:46:36,680
Speaker 1: still not comfortable going out to a restaurant. She we

857
00:46:36,719 --> 00:46:39,480
Speaker 1: have not been out the restaurant since COVID lockdown, and

858
00:46:39,480 --> 00:46:42,279
Speaker 1: and and and and so you know, she goes out

859
00:46:42,320 --> 00:46:44,719
Speaker 1: to the store. We're wearing masks. There's a there's a

860
00:46:44,840 --> 00:46:47,480
Speaker 1: there's a life of not being comfortable, life not being

861
00:46:47,560 --> 00:46:52,280
Speaker 1: normal to see an amazing show like the Grammys, somewhere

862
00:46:52,320 --> 00:46:55,239
Speaker 1: returning to his live performance format, because all we've seen

863
00:46:55,320 --> 00:46:59,360
Speaker 1: is these zoom type set ups, so you know, virtual somewhere,

864
00:46:59,400 --> 00:47:01,680
Speaker 1: the train stay astion, but Nora AND's not nowhere in

865
00:47:01,719 --> 00:47:05,160
Speaker 1: the facility. As a unified show, I think it's really important.

866
00:47:05,360 --> 00:47:07,480
Speaker 1: How did you guys get to that point of production

867
00:47:07,480 --> 00:47:09,319
Speaker 1: to say this is the type of show we're going

868
00:47:09,360 --> 00:47:13,160
Speaker 1: to do. We're not going to do the traditional remote performances,

869
00:47:13,200 --> 00:47:16,960
Speaker 1: and they just packaged together. Well, it's something we always

870
00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:19,600
Speaker 1: hoped for, you know. Originally when this started, we said, well,

871
00:47:19,600 --> 00:47:22,560
Speaker 1: we'll just keep our fingers crossed and hopefully we can

872
00:47:22,560 --> 00:47:24,480
Speaker 1: have our show as normal. But as we got closer

873
00:47:24,480 --> 00:47:26,320
Speaker 1: and closer to January, we knew we weren't going to

874
00:47:26,360 --> 00:47:29,680
Speaker 1: be able to do the big Staples Center with seventeen

875
00:47:29,680 --> 00:47:32,759
Speaker 1: thousand people. So we changed and pivoted and made an

876
00:47:32,800 --> 00:47:35,040
Speaker 1: adjustment to what we thought was the expected best thing,

877
00:47:35,080 --> 00:47:38,560
Speaker 1: which was bringing the artists together and have being a

878
00:47:38,640 --> 00:47:41,960
Speaker 1: show that they actually came to l A and performed. Uh.

879
00:47:41,960 --> 00:47:44,800
Speaker 1: And we've got a great new director this year, executive

880
00:47:44,840 --> 00:47:48,359
Speaker 1: producer of the show. Ben Winston's executive producer, and he's

881
00:47:48,400 --> 00:47:51,040
Speaker 1: had an incredible vision for this show. You know, we

882
00:47:51,080 --> 00:47:55,920
Speaker 1: had our our last executive director or rather executive producer,

883
00:47:56,480 --> 00:48:00,080
Speaker 1: Kennerlick for the last I think board the shows that

884
00:48:00,239 --> 00:48:02,879
Speaker 1: did amazing work for us over the years. But having

885
00:48:02,880 --> 00:48:06,359
Speaker 1: a different um producer has really brought a different look

886
00:48:06,360 --> 00:48:08,160
Speaker 1: to the show and a different kind of energy and

887
00:48:08,160 --> 00:48:10,480
Speaker 1: a different approach to it. So I have to say

888
00:48:10,520 --> 00:48:13,160
Speaker 1: that a lot of what's happening on March fourteenth is

889
00:48:13,200 --> 00:48:16,160
Speaker 1: because of Ben Winston and his vision and his plan

890
00:48:16,320 --> 00:48:18,920
Speaker 1: for doing something original and different. Well, you know, the

891
00:48:19,400 --> 00:48:22,319
Speaker 1: Grammy serves several purposes for me when I get to

892
00:48:22,320 --> 00:48:25,839
Speaker 1: see Live Entertained, but also artists who win, you can

893
00:48:25,920 --> 00:48:29,560
Speaker 1: see their record sales or digits. Say, oh, digital sales

894
00:48:29,719 --> 00:48:31,520
Speaker 1: or whatever term they're using that that you know, you

895
00:48:31,640 --> 00:48:33,960
Speaker 1: just do use the word album. They don't make albums

896
00:48:34,040 --> 00:48:38,759
Speaker 1: technically anymore. Yeah, they're streaming numbers. They're streaming numbers can

897
00:48:38,760 --> 00:48:42,120
Speaker 1: go off. So being a nominee and being a winner

898
00:48:42,200 --> 00:48:44,960
Speaker 1: and being a live performer, are really also a presenter

899
00:48:45,320 --> 00:48:47,719
Speaker 1: can all the major blessings as far as being a

900
00:48:47,760 --> 00:48:50,879
Speaker 1: part of the Grammy Awards. Correct, Yes, it's a great

901
00:48:50,920 --> 00:48:55,239
Speaker 1: platform for the creators and for artists songwriters, and as

902
00:48:55,239 --> 00:48:57,760
Speaker 1: you said, being exposed on the show can have huge

903
00:48:57,800 --> 00:49:00,640
Speaker 1: benefits for record labels or for the companies that put

904
00:49:00,640 --> 00:49:03,600
Speaker 1: out this music, and for the artists themselves. But for us,

905
00:49:03,600 --> 00:49:06,600
Speaker 1: it's an opportunity to showcase a lot of different great music.

906
00:49:06,719 --> 00:49:10,040
Speaker 1: It's an opportunity to celebrate excellence and shine a light

907
00:49:10,040 --> 00:49:13,880
Speaker 1: on the people that our voters felt had outstanding projects

908
00:49:13,880 --> 00:49:16,040
Speaker 1: this year. And it's also a chance for us, and

909
00:49:16,080 --> 00:49:17,560
Speaker 1: I hate to be cross about it, but it's a

910
00:49:17,640 --> 00:49:20,040
Speaker 1: chance for the Academy to generate some income so that

911
00:49:20,080 --> 00:49:23,160
Speaker 1: we can do the programs that we're so passionate about,

912
00:49:23,160 --> 00:49:25,319
Speaker 1: and we can't give back to the music community the

913
00:49:25,360 --> 00:49:28,839
Speaker 1: infrastructure set up at the Academy, And it's one thing

914
00:49:28,880 --> 00:49:30,680
Speaker 1: that happens. You know, a lot of people are critical

915
00:49:30,760 --> 00:49:33,160
Speaker 1: about the awards, so who gets nominations, who gets to win,

916
00:49:33,239 --> 00:49:35,600
Speaker 1: Why didn't this person get nominated? And I respect and

917
00:49:35,680 --> 00:49:38,040
Speaker 1: totally understand that I've been snuggled myself at the time

918
00:49:38,040 --> 00:49:40,440
Speaker 1: when I thought I should have gotten nominated and didn't.

919
00:49:40,840 --> 00:49:43,120
Speaker 1: But at the end of the day, I tend to

920
00:49:43,120 --> 00:49:45,799
Speaker 1: look at it from a perspective of this show is incredible,

921
00:49:45,840 --> 00:49:48,840
Speaker 1: it's amazing, it's so important, but it's also a vehicle

922
00:49:48,920 --> 00:49:52,000
Speaker 1: that allows us as an academy to generate income so

923
00:49:52,040 --> 00:49:54,120
Speaker 1: that we can do the really, really important work that

924
00:49:54,160 --> 00:49:56,240
Speaker 1: we do in the industry, to be helpful and to

925
00:49:56,239 --> 00:49:59,360
Speaker 1: to stand up programs that change and effect the future

926
00:49:59,360 --> 00:50:01,759
Speaker 1: of our business and hopefully the future and generation of

927
00:50:02,080 --> 00:50:06,239
Speaker 1: music makers that are coming into into this community. It's

928
00:50:06,440 --> 00:50:09,319
Speaker 1: amazing my conversation having with you because I'm exposing you.

929
00:50:09,360 --> 00:50:11,600
Speaker 1: I'm talking to Harvey Mason Junior. He's the Chairman of

930
00:50:11,600 --> 00:50:13,719
Speaker 1: the Board of the Recording of the Academy and the

931
00:50:13,719 --> 00:50:17,000
Speaker 1: interim President CEO, also known as the Grammys, which will

932
00:50:17,000 --> 00:50:19,680
Speaker 1: be are airing on Watched four teen on CBS and

933
00:50:19,719 --> 00:50:21,520
Speaker 1: a p M eased to standard time. I want to

934
00:50:21,520 --> 00:50:23,840
Speaker 1: get back to you because you're a special catman. I

935
00:50:23,920 --> 00:50:26,960
Speaker 1: mentioned the songs that you pinned, but the television and

936
00:50:27,040 --> 00:50:30,960
Speaker 1: film side, I gotta let people know who you are. Man,

937
00:50:31,320 --> 00:50:33,240
Speaker 1: I'm saying, I want them to google. You have realized

938
00:50:33,280 --> 00:50:35,799
Speaker 1: that you are truly a gifted guy because a lot

939
00:50:35,840 --> 00:50:37,440
Speaker 1: of people can be good at one thing. Because to me,

940
00:50:37,560 --> 00:50:40,359
Speaker 1: what you're doing is like watching the Lebron James play

941
00:50:40,400 --> 00:50:45,879
Speaker 1: football and basketball. Because you know, I'm you. You got

942
00:50:45,880 --> 00:50:48,040
Speaker 1: to and please do use chairman of the board. Come

943
00:50:48,040 --> 00:50:51,000
Speaker 1: on now, you big your big boss and so and

944
00:50:51,200 --> 00:50:52,480
Speaker 1: I just see that because you know, I want to

945
00:50:52,520 --> 00:50:55,160
Speaker 1: see straight out of Compty all three pitch perfect moves,

946
00:50:55,200 --> 00:50:58,000
Speaker 1: which I loved, you know, Jingo Jango one of my

947
00:50:58,080 --> 00:51:01,360
Speaker 1: favorite the problem that the first film since The Wiz

948
00:51:01,920 --> 00:51:06,600
Speaker 1: from a Black Christmas Uh Musical, which was amazing. Good

949
00:51:06,600 --> 00:51:09,080
Speaker 1: friend of mine, David Tabo and his wife I interviewed

950
00:51:09,120 --> 00:51:11,080
Speaker 1: on on the show, and I and and and it

951
00:51:11,200 --> 00:51:14,840
Speaker 1: trended a lot on Netflix. When you start looking at it,

952
00:51:15,000 --> 00:51:17,399
Speaker 1: looking at these types of productions, because you know, straight

953
00:51:17,440 --> 00:51:20,160
Speaker 1: out the company was wrapped. Jingo Jango was a was

954
00:51:20,160 --> 00:51:23,680
Speaker 1: a Christmas Yeah, Zoe's extraordinary. That's a that's a dramatic

955
00:51:23,800 --> 00:51:27,399
Speaker 1: when they just sing on television. How do you That's

956
00:51:27,440 --> 00:51:29,879
Speaker 1: That's what I'm saying. How did you start balancing all that?

957
00:51:29,920 --> 00:51:33,040
Speaker 1: Those are different genure, just like it is with the artists.

958
00:51:33,360 --> 00:51:36,360
Speaker 1: But this is even more because it's different songs that

959
00:51:36,480 --> 00:51:38,759
Speaker 1: play off on a different moments that in and our

960
00:51:38,840 --> 00:51:43,920
Speaker 1: ques talked to us about first television then film. Well,

961
00:51:44,000 --> 00:51:46,560
Speaker 1: the television side, you know, your timelines are very tight.

962
00:51:46,719 --> 00:51:49,160
Speaker 1: Things are done quickly. It's week to week and so

963
00:51:49,239 --> 00:51:51,920
Speaker 1: every day you're doing something different, it's by the end

964
00:51:51,960 --> 00:51:53,680
Speaker 1: of the week, it's approved and the end of the show.

965
00:51:54,160 --> 00:51:57,560
Speaker 1: So it's being nimble, it's being creative, it's problem solving

966
00:51:57,600 --> 00:52:00,040
Speaker 1: really quickly. Uh. And I think it's a lot of

967
00:52:00,120 --> 00:52:02,279
Speaker 1: different genres of music. As you mentioned, you know, we've

968
00:52:02,320 --> 00:52:05,439
Speaker 1: done it's always extraordinary playlist for two years. I think

969
00:52:05,640 --> 00:52:09,319
Speaker 1: last season we did seventy or eighties songs for that,

970
00:52:09,440 --> 00:52:11,920
Speaker 1: and we're doing another show for Apple TV where we're

971
00:52:11,920 --> 00:52:15,240
Speaker 1: doing twenty or thirty songs. Uh. And doing those series.

972
00:52:15,280 --> 00:52:17,600
Speaker 1: It's a lot of work and it's quick paced. As

973
00:52:17,640 --> 00:52:20,400
Speaker 1: far as the film side, you know, we're doing a

974
00:52:20,480 --> 00:52:23,560
Speaker 1: movie right now called Respect. It's the biopic about Arita

975
00:52:23,560 --> 00:52:27,120
Speaker 1: Franklin starring Jennifer Hudson. I'm very excited about. And the

976
00:52:27,160 --> 00:52:29,480
Speaker 1: difference with film the TV is you have more time

977
00:52:29,680 --> 00:52:32,440
Speaker 1: you're I've been working on that film for two years,

978
00:52:32,520 --> 00:52:37,160
Speaker 1: so it's really about fine tuning, perfecting everything that you're doing,

979
00:52:37,239 --> 00:52:40,279
Speaker 1: Every piece of music, every note is looked at and

980
00:52:40,360 --> 00:52:43,320
Speaker 1: relooked at by the producer, of the director of the studio,

981
00:52:44,200 --> 00:52:46,759
Speaker 1: the music team. So it's a lot of inspection of

982
00:52:46,760 --> 00:52:49,880
Speaker 1: almost everything that you're doing. That is a major difference.

983
00:52:49,920 --> 00:52:53,799
Speaker 1: But the similarities are you're trying to use music to

984
00:52:53,840 --> 00:52:55,920
Speaker 1: tell a story. You're trying to use music as a

985
00:52:56,040 --> 00:52:59,120
Speaker 1: character in the show or the film, and you're trying

986
00:52:59,160 --> 00:53:01,479
Speaker 1: to evolve the story the plot generally with the song

987
00:53:01,760 --> 00:53:04,759
Speaker 1: or with lyrics. So I've been very fortunate to be

988
00:53:04,800 --> 00:53:07,560
Speaker 1: able to work across different genres and different types of

989
00:53:07,640 --> 00:53:09,799
Speaker 1: artists throughout my career and record making, but as well

990
00:53:09,840 --> 00:53:12,200
Speaker 1: in film and TV. Because it's all music, you know,

991
00:53:12,320 --> 00:53:15,080
Speaker 1: stuff that I loved. I love classic, I love rock,

992
00:53:15,239 --> 00:53:18,560
Speaker 1: I love rap, R and B pop, country. We do

993
00:53:18,640 --> 00:53:21,680
Speaker 1: it all because for me, it's all just different expressions

994
00:53:21,680 --> 00:53:24,879
Speaker 1: of different emotions through different genres. So I've been very

995
00:53:24,920 --> 00:53:27,319
Speaker 1: fortunate to get a chance to work with a really

996
00:53:27,360 --> 00:53:31,239
Speaker 1: wide variety of people in genres. Cool. Now, before we go,

997
00:53:31,280 --> 00:53:33,120
Speaker 1: I want to ask you about this. Always with the Grammy,

998
00:53:33,200 --> 00:53:34,920
Speaker 1: I know how powerful with the gramm muse is because

999
00:53:35,239 --> 00:53:38,160
Speaker 1: people use nominations as part of their credit. So they've

1000
00:53:38,160 --> 00:53:41,080
Speaker 1: been nominated by a Grammy for a Grammy, they're gonna

1001
00:53:41,120 --> 00:53:43,479
Speaker 1: mention it is part of their credits. How does one

1002
00:53:43,520 --> 00:53:46,440
Speaker 1: get in that nomination process? This is Is it a

1003
00:53:46,520 --> 00:53:51,000
Speaker 1: board somewhere? Is it a set of music experts? How

1004
00:53:51,040 --> 00:53:55,480
Speaker 1: does one get nominated for a Grammy Award? Sure? The

1005
00:53:55,520 --> 00:53:58,719
Speaker 1: good thing is our our Grammy rules and voting is

1006
00:53:58,760 --> 00:54:01,360
Speaker 1: published online. Everything is very public and you can you

1007
00:54:01,400 --> 00:54:03,759
Speaker 1: can google it and find these rules out much better

1008
00:54:03,760 --> 00:54:06,800
Speaker 1: than I'll describe it too. But again, we have a

1009
00:54:07,080 --> 00:54:10,120
Speaker 1: voting membership. We have membership for the Academy's twenty thousand

1010
00:54:10,239 --> 00:54:12,279
Speaker 1: or so members, and then we have twelve thousand of

1011
00:54:12,320 --> 00:54:14,719
Speaker 1: those members are what we call voting members, and the

1012
00:54:14,800 --> 00:54:17,520
Speaker 1: voting members. In order to get that distinction, you have

1013
00:54:17,600 --> 00:54:19,320
Speaker 1: to be a creator. You have to be a songwriter,

1014
00:54:19,440 --> 00:54:23,120
Speaker 1: a producer, engineer, artist, somebody who's actually involved in the

1015
00:54:23,160 --> 00:54:26,640
Speaker 1: creation of the music. If you are deemed that by

1016
00:54:26,680 --> 00:54:29,800
Speaker 1: the Academy, you are called a voting member. Those twelve

1017
00:54:29,800 --> 00:54:32,960
Speaker 1: thousand voting members take all the submissions. Anybody who makes

1018
00:54:33,040 --> 00:54:36,080
Speaker 1: music and submit through the label or through a member,

1019
00:54:36,200 --> 00:54:38,760
Speaker 1: or or submit a song or a record or project

1020
00:54:39,120 --> 00:54:40,960
Speaker 1: all those come in. This year we had twenty two

1021
00:54:41,000 --> 00:54:44,120
Speaker 1: thousand submissions. It's the most submissions we've ever had. The

1022
00:54:44,120 --> 00:54:47,880
Speaker 1: twelve thousand voters look through all the submissions and vote

1023
00:54:47,880 --> 00:54:50,759
Speaker 1: on their favorites. The favorites are narrowed down. Then we

1024
00:54:50,800 --> 00:54:54,640
Speaker 1: have a group of nominations Committee Review that goes and

1025
00:54:54,680 --> 00:54:57,040
Speaker 1: they take they take every song, and they listen to

1026
00:54:57,120 --> 00:55:00,680
Speaker 1: the top twenty or so songs. And generally the Nomination

1027
00:55:00,719 --> 00:55:03,840
Speaker 1: Review Committee is made up of experts in each genre.

1028
00:55:03,920 --> 00:55:06,960
Speaker 1: So each different genre has a specific committee that reviews

1029
00:55:07,000 --> 00:55:11,320
Speaker 1: the voters choices. So if you're talking about folk music,

1030
00:55:11,360 --> 00:55:15,360
Speaker 1: you have fifteen or twenty folk music experts listening to

1031
00:55:15,400 --> 00:55:19,040
Speaker 1: the finalist voted on by the voting membership. At that point,

1032
00:55:19,200 --> 00:55:23,280
Speaker 1: the committee will establish who the five or eight nominations

1033
00:55:23,520 --> 00:55:25,480
Speaker 1: go to, because in some categories there's five. In the

1034
00:55:25,520 --> 00:55:29,839
Speaker 1: general field there's eight. Once those nominations are determined, then

1035
00:55:29,920 --> 00:55:32,080
Speaker 1: those names go back out to the voting body, and

1036
00:55:32,080 --> 00:55:36,080
Speaker 1: the voting body besides who the winner is. So it's

1037
00:55:36,120 --> 00:55:38,759
Speaker 1: a combination, to answer your question even more simply, of

1038
00:55:38,840 --> 00:55:42,120
Speaker 1: the general voting body of twelve tho voters, the nomination

1039
00:55:42,160 --> 00:55:45,680
Speaker 1: Review Committee, and then Finally, again, the voting body determines

1040
00:55:45,719 --> 00:55:49,160
Speaker 1: who the winners are. Awesome. Um, speaking to Harvey Mason Jr.

1041
00:55:49,200 --> 00:55:52,440
Speaker 1: I know I said that comparison with Lebron James because

1042
00:55:52,440 --> 00:55:54,399
Speaker 1: he did not play football, I would give you even

1043
00:55:54,400 --> 00:55:57,160
Speaker 1: better with my good friend Dion Sanders because he was

1044
00:55:57,239 --> 00:56:00,440
Speaker 1: talented and a Hall of Fame and football and he

1045
00:56:00,520 --> 00:56:02,799
Speaker 1: played in the World Series in baseball. And that's what

1046
00:56:02,880 --> 00:56:06,520
Speaker 1: you're doing. You're not only a talented writer, but the producer.

1047
00:56:06,600 --> 00:56:09,920
Speaker 1: You're doing television, doing film, You're doing individual orders, crossing

1048
00:56:09,920 --> 00:56:12,879
Speaker 1: all genres. You truly are a superstar behind the mic

1049
00:56:13,320 --> 00:56:15,480
Speaker 1: and as well as sitting down at the piano. Harvey,

1050
00:56:15,480 --> 00:56:18,080
Speaker 1: thank you for allowing me to ask my questions about

1051
00:56:18,080 --> 00:56:20,840
Speaker 1: the Grammys. Let my audience here from a from a

1052
00:56:20,960 --> 00:56:23,880
Speaker 1: very strong success story and hopefully start googling you and

1053
00:56:23,960 --> 00:56:26,640
Speaker 1: uh and start following on social media because you truly

1054
00:56:26,680 --> 00:56:29,160
Speaker 1: are Start Thank you for coming on money making conversations.

1055
00:56:29,719 --> 00:56:31,520
Speaker 1: Thank you so much, great to be here. Appreciate you

1056
00:56:31,520 --> 00:56:34,960
Speaker 1: having man all right there, don't forget the Grammys is Sunday,

1057
00:56:35,120 --> 00:56:38,520
Speaker 1: March fourteen, on CBS A p M. Did you know

1058
00:56:38,640 --> 00:56:42,080
Speaker 1: Amazon provides ways of working that fit your lifestyle. They

1059
00:56:42,160 --> 00:56:46,440
Speaker 1: know you value your time outside of work, juggling families, school, friends,

1060
00:56:46,520 --> 00:56:49,160
Speaker 1: or other activities. That's why they offer a variety of

1061
00:56:49,200 --> 00:56:52,000
Speaker 1: shifts that work for you. There are full time, part time,

1062
00:56:52,040 --> 00:56:55,240
Speaker 1: and even temporary opportunities that can work with your schedule

1063
00:56:55,440 --> 00:56:58,520
Speaker 1: with great starting pay and sign on bonuses. If you

1064
00:56:58,560 --> 00:57:01,239
Speaker 1: want a career that fits in a adapts to your lifestyle,

1065
00:57:01,520 --> 00:57:04,799
Speaker 1: head to amazon dot com slash apply. Amazon is a

1066
00:57:04,840 --> 00:57:10,080
Speaker 1: proud equal opportunity employer. If I could be you and

1067
00:57:10,120 --> 00:57:12,560
Speaker 1: you could be me for just one hour, if you

1068
00:57:12,600 --> 00:57:15,920
Speaker 1: could find a way to get inside each other's mind,

1069
00:57:16,360 --> 00:57:21,600
Speaker 1: walcome mile in my shoes. Welcome Mile in my shoes. Shoes.

1070
00:57:22,000 --> 00:57:25,200
Speaker 1: We've all felt left out, and for some that feeling

1071
00:57:25,280 --> 00:57:28,760
Speaker 1: lasts more than a moment. We can change that. Learn

1072
00:57:28,840 --> 00:57:31,560
Speaker 1: how it belonging begins with us dot org, brought to

1073
00:57:31,600 --> 00:57:37,680
Speaker 1: you by the Act Council. Welcome out in the shoes.

1074
00:57:38,400 --> 00:57:40,800
Speaker 1: Hi everyone, i'l roker here as a guy with his

1075
00:57:40,840 --> 00:57:44,720
Speaker 1: own catchphrase. I appreciate that Smokey's only said only you

1076
00:57:44,760 --> 00:57:48,120
Speaker 1: can prevent wildfires, but I'm filling it because there's a

1077
00:57:48,200 --> 00:57:51,200
Speaker 1: lot more to report, like when they're parched or windy

1078
00:57:51,240 --> 00:57:54,360
Speaker 1: conditions out there, You've gotta be extra careful with things

1079
00:57:54,400 --> 00:57:58,840
Speaker 1: like burning yard waist. After all, wildfires can start anywhere,

1080
00:57:59,000 --> 00:58:01,360
Speaker 1: even in your neck of the woods. Go to Smokey

1081
00:58:01,400 --> 00:58:04,720
Speaker 1: Bear dot com to learn more about wildfire prevention brought

1082
00:58:04,760 --> 00:58:07,120
Speaker 1: to you by the U. S. Forest Service, your state Forrester,

1083
00:58:07,320 --> 00:58:10,200
Speaker 1: and the AD Council. My next guest is a combination

1084
00:58:10,280 --> 00:58:13,800
Speaker 1: celebrity and the industry decision maker. He's a Jason George.

1085
00:58:14,040 --> 00:58:16,560
Speaker 1: He started in the midseason return of Station nineteen that

1086
00:58:16,680 --> 00:58:20,000
Speaker 1: airs on Thursday, martching leven a PM Eastern Standard Town

1087
00:58:20,080 --> 00:58:22,680
Speaker 1: on ABC. George is also known for his work as

1088
00:58:22,680 --> 00:58:26,280
Speaker 1: a regular Mistress's Eve Off Center and Eli Stone, as

1089
00:58:26,280 --> 00:58:29,360
Speaker 1: well as films which is of East East, East End,

1090
00:58:29,400 --> 00:58:32,560
Speaker 1: Excuse Me, The Climb, and Barbershop. After several years on

1091
00:58:32,640 --> 00:58:35,400
Speaker 1: Grads and Natomy as Dr Ben Warren, George turned in

1092
00:58:35,440 --> 00:58:38,439
Speaker 1: this gross for Firefighter Gear when his character helped start

1093
00:58:38,480 --> 00:58:41,960
Speaker 1: to spin off hit action drama series Station nineteen about

1094
00:58:41,960 --> 00:58:45,960
Speaker 1: heroic firefighters. Now, George moved seamlessly between both series. When

1095
00:58:46,000 --> 00:58:48,400
Speaker 1: we talked about his career from comedy the soap operas

1096
00:58:48,400 --> 00:58:52,080
Speaker 1: to Drawma to actions, venture and acting in production during

1097
00:58:52,080 --> 00:58:54,840
Speaker 1: COVID ninteen, Please love. Welcome to a man I've seen

1098
00:58:54,840 --> 00:58:57,840
Speaker 1: many many years, always from Afar. Always wanted to cast

1099
00:58:57,920 --> 00:59:03,400
Speaker 1: him on my shows, but he was always working. Jason George,

1100
00:59:04,000 --> 00:59:06,840
Speaker 1: Oh good, good good when I say that, man, you know,

1101
00:59:06,840 --> 00:59:09,840
Speaker 1: because we all I know, I started writing back at

1102
00:59:09,880 --> 00:59:13,000
Speaker 1: eighty two on my first sitcom on ABC with Steve Harvey,

1103
00:59:13,080 --> 00:59:16,000
Speaker 1: and then I went to uh the Robert Townsend and

1104
00:59:16,040 --> 00:59:18,440
Speaker 1: then I did all seen it was ABC sc Grades

1105
00:59:18,720 --> 00:59:21,360
Speaker 1: the Great absolutely and but all the time I saw

1106
00:59:21,360 --> 00:59:24,280
Speaker 1: you working. He was always busy. And I like to

1107
00:59:24,320 --> 00:59:27,560
Speaker 1: believe that you you've had a working man's career, which

1108
00:59:27,600 --> 00:59:30,320
Speaker 1: is a blessing because of the fact it's a testament

1109
00:59:30,360 --> 00:59:32,600
Speaker 1: to your talent. But this is not what you wanted

1110
00:59:32,640 --> 00:59:35,240
Speaker 1: to do. Was supposed to do. Law was supposed to

1111
00:59:35,240 --> 00:59:40,160
Speaker 1: be your your destiny. Correct, Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's exactly it. Um.

1112
00:59:40,280 --> 00:59:42,240
Speaker 1: I had gotten with the Vice Prince on my high

1113
00:59:42,280 --> 00:59:45,160
Speaker 1: school was but you know, I was like, I was

1114
00:59:45,200 --> 00:59:46,920
Speaker 1: a good student, but I was also a cut up.

1115
00:59:47,160 --> 00:59:49,680
Speaker 1: So I'd be like getting good grades, but in detention

1116
00:59:49,680 --> 00:59:52,040
Speaker 1: all the time the Vice Prince will be like, why

1117
00:59:52,040 --> 00:59:52,960
Speaker 1: you want to be you know, he was one of

1118
00:59:53,000 --> 00:59:55,160
Speaker 1: the two black men I saw an education at the time.

1119
00:59:55,480 --> 00:59:57,640
Speaker 1: My mother was a teacher where I grew up and uh,

1120
00:59:57,720 --> 00:59:59,720
Speaker 1: and Mr has Settled put me aside and be like,

1121
01:00:00,040 --> 01:00:01,520
Speaker 1: why are you make me want to give you attention?

1122
01:00:01,560 --> 01:00:03,120
Speaker 1: Why are you trying to get attention all the time?

1123
01:00:03,160 --> 01:00:04,800
Speaker 1: And then he would like actually sit there and talk

1124
01:00:04,840 --> 01:00:07,200
Speaker 1: to me like I was an intelligent human being and

1125
01:00:07,200 --> 01:00:09,480
Speaker 1: then say, you got detention, but you got potential as well.

1126
01:00:10,160 --> 01:00:13,360
Speaker 1: And uh, and his son was he passed away my

1127
01:00:13,400 --> 01:00:16,560
Speaker 1: senior year. Mr Heisel my vice principle and his son

1128
01:00:17,280 --> 01:00:20,960
Speaker 1: was only the second black Supreme Court Justice of Virginia.

1129
01:00:21,600 --> 01:00:23,400
Speaker 1: Uh he was, and he was the youngest Supreme Court

1130
01:00:23,480 --> 01:00:25,680
Speaker 1: Justice of Virginia had ever had. And his son and

1131
01:00:25,720 --> 01:00:28,000
Speaker 1: I got to be good friends, and he became my mentor.

1132
01:00:28,040 --> 01:00:30,400
Speaker 1: And basically the plan was, you go to college, you

1133
01:00:30,400 --> 01:00:32,560
Speaker 1: get the grades, I'll write the recommendation, get you into

1134
01:00:32,560 --> 01:00:34,520
Speaker 1: the best law school we can get you into. You

1135
01:00:34,600 --> 01:00:36,320
Speaker 1: come back to clerk for me, and then you're a

1136
01:00:36,320 --> 01:00:38,160
Speaker 1: made man as a lawyer in the state of Virginia,

1137
01:00:38,200 --> 01:00:41,400
Speaker 1: and your done career ahead of you. And then I

1138
01:00:41,440 --> 01:00:43,680
Speaker 1: went to college and took an acting class and it

1139
01:00:43,760 --> 01:00:46,800
Speaker 1: all went to help. I had I called an audible

1140
01:00:47,320 --> 01:00:50,080
Speaker 1: change of the plan. And I never told my father

1141
01:00:50,200 --> 01:00:52,600
Speaker 1: that I was gonna go to UH graduate school to

1142
01:00:52,600 --> 01:00:55,120
Speaker 1: study acting because my father was checked out for a bit.

1143
01:00:55,160 --> 01:00:57,360
Speaker 1: My mom and I had a really beautiful conversation about it,

1144
01:00:57,680 --> 01:00:59,720
Speaker 1: and then I had to talk to the judge. Uh

1145
01:01:00,000 --> 01:01:02,160
Speaker 1: you was still one of the big male role moods

1146
01:01:02,200 --> 01:01:04,080
Speaker 1: of my life. And I had to tell the judge

1147
01:01:04,120 --> 01:01:06,440
Speaker 1: and it was a stone cold silence on the phone

1148
01:01:06,480 --> 01:01:09,160
Speaker 1: for a minute. He was he was not feeling it. Um.

1149
01:01:09,640 --> 01:01:12,760
Speaker 1: Unfortunately it worked out. Years later, signed some autographs for

1150
01:01:12,840 --> 01:01:14,480
Speaker 1: some people in this office and we were cool. But

1151
01:01:15,040 --> 01:01:17,640
Speaker 1: you know, so, Jason, It's really interesting because when I

1152
01:01:17,680 --> 01:01:20,959
Speaker 1: when I talked about individuals like you who sometimes people

1153
01:01:21,000 --> 01:01:23,680
Speaker 1: see a different direction and sometimes people get trapped in

1154
01:01:23,720 --> 01:01:26,520
Speaker 1: that direction that people want you to go. And I

1155
01:01:26,600 --> 01:01:30,240
Speaker 1: know that I was at IBM DI theree in mathematics,

1156
01:01:30,360 --> 01:01:32,720
Speaker 1: and so everybody was happy. They thought that was the

1157
01:01:32,760 --> 01:01:35,320
Speaker 1: career path. And I decided one day I want to

1158
01:01:35,320 --> 01:01:36,960
Speaker 1: be I want to pursue my career as a stand

1159
01:01:37,000 --> 01:01:39,280
Speaker 1: up comedian. So a lot of people looked at me strange,

1160
01:01:39,440 --> 01:01:41,040
Speaker 1: how are you gonna walk away from IBM? You have

1161
01:01:41,160 --> 01:01:43,000
Speaker 1: a math degree that has nothing to do with telling Joe,

1162
01:01:43,480 --> 01:01:45,640
Speaker 1: how will you made that? So I can understand when

1163
01:01:45,640 --> 01:01:48,080
Speaker 1: you said there was silence on the phone because that

1164
01:01:48,240 --> 01:01:51,960
Speaker 1: wasn't the vision that person had for you. And and

1165
01:01:52,000 --> 01:01:53,680
Speaker 1: you encountered that a lot because you do a lot

1166
01:01:53,680 --> 01:01:55,560
Speaker 1: of community to work, You work with young people, you

1167
01:01:55,640 --> 01:01:58,959
Speaker 1: work with, you try to shape people's lives. Does your

1168
01:01:59,120 --> 01:02:03,080
Speaker 1: life come to play when you're giving people advice all

1169
01:02:03,120 --> 01:02:06,320
Speaker 1: the time? All the time? I try and tell him say, look, um,

1170
01:02:06,480 --> 01:02:08,000
Speaker 1: you gotta you know like you we were talking just

1171
01:02:08,040 --> 01:02:09,800
Speaker 1: before the show started. You were saying, you're all good

1172
01:02:09,840 --> 01:02:12,360
Speaker 1: actors are good listeners. And I tell folks, part of

1173
01:02:12,400 --> 01:02:14,880
Speaker 1: your job as an actor or just as a person

1174
01:02:14,920 --> 01:02:16,720
Speaker 1: in life, par don't be the way to finding success

1175
01:02:16,840 --> 01:02:19,360
Speaker 1: is you gotta listen for guy's whispering in your ear.

1176
01:02:20,080 --> 01:02:21,800
Speaker 1: Uh that all the time that whispers there. What you

1177
01:02:21,880 --> 01:02:24,840
Speaker 1: gotta be Uh, You've gotta be quiet enough of times

1178
01:02:24,880 --> 01:02:26,320
Speaker 1: that you can hear it, and then you've gotta be

1179
01:02:26,320 --> 01:02:29,360
Speaker 1: loud enough of times to make yourself heard. Um. And

1180
01:02:29,440 --> 01:02:32,080
Speaker 1: so it's that thing when you realize that this really,

1181
01:02:32,160 --> 01:02:33,880
Speaker 1: this thing that everybody else wants for you is not

1182
01:02:34,000 --> 01:02:37,280
Speaker 1: what is meant Um, you gotta be then you gotta

1183
01:02:37,280 --> 01:02:39,360
Speaker 1: make yourself loud, but you've gotta be quietus be able

1184
01:02:39,400 --> 01:02:41,120
Speaker 1: to hear that every once in a while. And the

1185
01:02:41,200 --> 01:02:44,680
Speaker 1: reality is, you know, there's a difference between surviving and thriving.

1186
01:02:45,200 --> 01:02:46,960
Speaker 1: You know, you don't want to just get by, you

1187
01:02:47,000 --> 01:02:50,080
Speaker 1: want to live. And you realize, you know, I remember

1188
01:02:50,600 --> 01:02:52,760
Speaker 1: it was years I went to my my cousin's wedding

1189
01:02:52,760 --> 01:02:55,760
Speaker 1: back in Louisiana, and uh one of his friends like

1190
01:02:55,960 --> 01:02:58,640
Speaker 1: my uh my cousin. He is kind of like his

1191
01:02:58,720 --> 01:03:02,480
Speaker 1: little brother him, like his adopted little brother. And this

1192
01:03:02,600 --> 01:03:04,200
Speaker 1: dude was, you know, grown men now, and he said,

1193
01:03:04,360 --> 01:03:07,000
Speaker 1: what's it like? And I assumed he meant like actor

1194
01:03:07,480 --> 01:03:08,800
Speaker 1: and he said and I said, I said, what being

1195
01:03:08,800 --> 01:03:10,720
Speaker 1: an actor? He goes now like really enjoying what you

1196
01:03:10,800 --> 01:03:15,520
Speaker 1: do because he was he was an accountant, and I was.

1197
01:03:15,720 --> 01:03:17,760
Speaker 1: I was knocked out by it. I was like, how

1198
01:03:17,760 --> 01:03:21,080
Speaker 1: can you not enjoy like my accountant. The reason why

1199
01:03:21,080 --> 01:03:23,840
Speaker 1: my account is my accountant is because this dude's geeked

1200
01:03:23,840 --> 01:03:26,200
Speaker 1: out by being able to do his calculator one handed,

1201
01:03:26,240 --> 01:03:29,400
Speaker 1: like he loves seeing the numbers backshot, like he enjoys that.

1202
01:03:30,400 --> 01:03:32,200
Speaker 1: You don't have to enjoy every aspect of your job.

1203
01:03:32,200 --> 01:03:35,320
Speaker 1: Actually nobody does, even actors don't. But you gotta enjoy

1204
01:03:35,680 --> 01:03:39,200
Speaker 1: You gotta find something in it that that gets you excited,

1205
01:03:39,240 --> 01:03:41,080
Speaker 1: that gets it makes you excited about going to work

1206
01:03:41,160 --> 01:03:43,560
Speaker 1: every once in a while, if not every day. And

1207
01:03:43,600 --> 01:03:45,680
Speaker 1: then the way he said it, I felt like, if

1208
01:03:45,720 --> 01:03:48,080
Speaker 1: there's nothing there, that's that's a problem. Dude. You need

1209
01:03:48,120 --> 01:03:51,200
Speaker 1: to reevaluate your life, really because I know that. Like

1210
01:03:51,200 --> 01:03:53,320
Speaker 1: when I tell people are have a degree in mathematics,

1211
01:03:53,400 --> 01:03:55,080
Speaker 1: you know, I also tell people I don't do my

1212
01:03:55,160 --> 01:03:57,640
Speaker 1: taxes because you know that is not what I do.

1213
01:03:57,840 --> 01:03:59,400
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying just because I don't know,

1214
01:03:59,480 --> 01:04:01,840
Speaker 1: but don't make out no taxes, and I can agree

1215
01:04:01,840 --> 01:04:04,000
Speaker 1: with you. What you're saying is that, you know, when

1216
01:04:04,040 --> 01:04:06,479
Speaker 1: I look at a life, you know, longevity is really

1217
01:04:06,520 --> 01:04:09,040
Speaker 1: interesting when you start looking at decisions that you make,

1218
01:04:09,200 --> 01:04:12,760
Speaker 1: and you know, and I don't question any decision I've made, George,

1219
01:04:12,760 --> 01:04:14,960
Speaker 1: I I just live it because of the fact that

1220
01:04:15,200 --> 01:04:17,600
Speaker 1: it was the next step of opportunity. And if you

1221
01:04:17,680 --> 01:04:19,720
Speaker 1: live on regret, then you really you have an interesting

1222
01:04:19,800 --> 01:04:21,920
Speaker 1: life that you should sit down and think about it.

1223
01:04:21,920 --> 01:04:23,959
Speaker 1: Like your friend, like that person you talked aout who's

1224
01:04:23,960 --> 01:04:26,120
Speaker 1: in the account. He's living a life of regret, which

1225
01:04:26,200 --> 01:04:28,960
Speaker 1: is also going to spill over into other things, your relationship,

1226
01:04:29,240 --> 01:04:32,200
Speaker 1: how you raise your kids and you have to be happy.

1227
01:04:32,600 --> 01:04:35,480
Speaker 1: What drives you to keep that sustained that you know,

1228
01:04:35,520 --> 01:04:37,840
Speaker 1: you're in shape, you know you you you you you

1229
01:04:37,960 --> 01:04:42,080
Speaker 1: you're are working actor? How what? What? What? What sustains you? George?

1230
01:04:42,840 --> 01:04:46,920
Speaker 1: You know what's funny is for me, it's there's internal

1231
01:04:46,960 --> 01:04:50,080
Speaker 1: motivations in the external motivations. Like external motivations are like

1232
01:04:50,120 --> 01:04:52,400
Speaker 1: people telling you to do something, deadlines you gotta do

1233
01:04:52,480 --> 01:04:53,840
Speaker 1: and you need some of that. I mean, some of

1234
01:04:53,840 --> 01:04:56,160
Speaker 1: that's what keeps you, you know going, you know, uh,

1235
01:04:56,320 --> 01:04:58,320
Speaker 1: you know, like so many bolts of that patched on

1236
01:04:58,360 --> 01:05:00,440
Speaker 1: the bellies. You're getting a little big down there as

1237
01:05:00,440 --> 01:05:03,640
Speaker 1: an external motivation, I mean, you know what we're looking

1238
01:05:03,640 --> 01:05:07,080
Speaker 1: for that, But um, the truth is, I enjoy how

1239
01:05:07,120 --> 01:05:09,120
Speaker 1: I feel when I exercise. You, I grew up an athlete,

1240
01:05:09,120 --> 01:05:11,040
Speaker 1: I was captain on my track team. I grew up

1241
01:05:11,040 --> 01:05:13,640
Speaker 1: with you know, friends, you know, you know, and so

1242
01:05:13,920 --> 01:05:16,040
Speaker 1: you know, playing football in the backyard on the regular,

1243
01:05:16,120 --> 01:05:19,120
Speaker 1: and so that's I just like how I feel when

1244
01:05:19,160 --> 01:05:21,800
Speaker 1: I do that. That's the internal motivation is like knowing

1245
01:05:21,800 --> 01:05:24,440
Speaker 1: that I can still you know, I'm not twenty five anymore,

1246
01:05:24,480 --> 01:05:26,840
Speaker 1: but I like knowing that I can still out run

1247
01:05:27,160 --> 01:05:29,720
Speaker 1: some twenty five year olds. I like keeping that side.

1248
01:05:29,760 --> 01:05:32,280
Speaker 1: I think that's a good look. I like that look, um.

1249
01:05:32,400 --> 01:05:33,720
Speaker 1: And the same thing as like, you know, when I

1250
01:05:33,760 --> 01:05:37,520
Speaker 1: discovered acting, it was I discovered things in myself that

1251
01:05:37,640 --> 01:05:41,080
Speaker 1: we're interesting to me. And when I play new characters,

1252
01:05:41,120 --> 01:05:44,240
Speaker 1: I discovered new things about myself. And so there's an

1253
01:05:44,280 --> 01:05:46,800
Speaker 1: internal motivation of what can I find out about me?

1254
01:05:47,080 --> 01:05:48,480
Speaker 1: Let's see if I can pull this song. Let me

1255
01:05:48,520 --> 01:05:51,200
Speaker 1: see if I can pull that off. And that's the challenge,

1256
01:05:51,240 --> 01:05:54,360
Speaker 1: you know, the challenges are that internal motivation, and so

1257
01:05:54,600 --> 01:05:57,360
Speaker 1: for me, it's about finding some of those like I know,

1258
01:05:57,480 --> 01:05:59,720
Speaker 1: like you know, you want me to get something, you know,

1259
01:05:59,840 --> 01:06:01,680
Speaker 1: a script written or paper written or something like that.

1260
01:06:01,720 --> 01:06:04,479
Speaker 1: I need a deadline, I mean. But when it comes

1261
01:06:04,480 --> 01:06:07,280
Speaker 1: to working out or acting challenges, that's the and I

1262
01:06:07,320 --> 01:06:08,600
Speaker 1: guess that's part of the thing as well, when you

1263
01:06:08,640 --> 01:06:10,080
Speaker 1: find out, you know, when you're trying to figure out

1264
01:06:10,080 --> 01:06:12,360
Speaker 1: what is that thing that you're in love with? If

1265
01:06:12,440 --> 01:06:14,600
Speaker 1: you don't need anybody else to push you, because you

1266
01:06:14,640 --> 01:06:18,440
Speaker 1: push yourself, you're internally motivated. That's probably the thing you're

1267
01:06:18,440 --> 01:06:20,800
Speaker 1: meant to be doing, you know what I mean? If

1268
01:06:20,840 --> 01:06:23,320
Speaker 1: you just love looking at the challenging and we're running,

1269
01:06:23,360 --> 01:06:25,160
Speaker 1: and then that's the thing that for me, Like, you know,

1270
01:06:25,160 --> 01:06:26,840
Speaker 1: I knew a dude when I when I ran track.

1271
01:06:26,960 --> 01:06:29,280
Speaker 1: Who you know, you're supposed to draft the people in

1272
01:06:29,280 --> 01:06:31,080
Speaker 1: front of you when you running a long distance, you know,

1273
01:06:31,360 --> 01:06:33,120
Speaker 1: you know, stay with the packs so you save some energy.

1274
01:06:33,160 --> 01:06:34,680
Speaker 1: So he hasn't an energy the end to break out,

1275
01:06:35,440 --> 01:06:37,840
Speaker 1: Uh he will. He only had one speed full out,

1276
01:06:38,280 --> 01:06:40,919
Speaker 1: full out. He said. If I'm not hitting my personal best,

1277
01:06:41,120 --> 01:06:44,800
Speaker 1: what's the point? And I understand the wisdom of both sides,

1278
01:06:44,840 --> 01:06:46,600
Speaker 1: but I always kind of feel the heat of what

1279
01:06:46,680 --> 01:06:49,240
Speaker 1: he's talking about. I gotta be pushing me at the

1280
01:06:49,320 --> 01:06:51,920
Speaker 1: end of the day, so you know, I'm balancing too.

1281
01:06:51,960 --> 01:06:53,280
Speaker 1: It's like I may run with the pack for a

1282
01:06:53,360 --> 01:06:55,840
Speaker 1: little bit, but then when I break out, it's about

1283
01:06:55,840 --> 01:06:58,640
Speaker 1: getting my personal best. So you always gotta be measuring

1284
01:06:58,640 --> 01:07:00,920
Speaker 1: yourself and it's gotta be internally it And that's what

1285
01:07:00,960 --> 01:07:02,680
Speaker 1: I said in the beginning when I set up the show.

1286
01:07:02,720 --> 01:07:04,760
Speaker 1: It's about you know, we read the other people's story,

1287
01:07:04,800 --> 01:07:07,400
Speaker 1: but what passion and what drive keeps you going, what's

1288
01:07:07,440 --> 01:07:09,560
Speaker 1: your planning, what's your committed effort, And that's what you

1289
01:07:09,640 --> 01:07:11,920
Speaker 1: talk about, committed effort. Now, when I look at you,

1290
01:07:12,120 --> 01:07:15,240
Speaker 1: let's go over real, Jess, you're a handsome guy. On

1291
01:07:15,400 --> 01:07:17,960
Speaker 1: your show, We're gonna get to a good story. It's

1292
01:07:17,960 --> 01:07:22,000
Speaker 1: gonna be a good It's not gonna be a you

1293
01:07:22,280 --> 01:07:24,400
Speaker 1: can take it and keep it because you've been living

1294
01:07:24,400 --> 01:07:25,920
Speaker 1: with it all your life and that's a good thing.

1295
01:07:26,400 --> 01:07:29,120
Speaker 1: Now on now on you know Station ninteen, you got

1296
01:07:29,160 --> 01:07:31,320
Speaker 1: my board boards culture who I know really well. I've

1297
01:07:31,320 --> 01:07:33,760
Speaker 1: been doing boards through all these income. Good looking guy

1298
01:07:34,000 --> 01:07:36,240
Speaker 1: and I think he's doing some of his best acting

1299
01:07:36,800 --> 01:07:39,880
Speaker 1: on this on this on Station nintel I mean his

1300
01:07:39,880 --> 01:07:44,640
Speaker 1: his nuances, his uh, you know, frustration, uh, being a

1301
01:07:44,680 --> 01:07:47,800
Speaker 1: guy who has a drug issue, and really showing a

1302
01:07:47,880 --> 01:07:51,440
Speaker 1: wrong character. And the reason I say that because a

1303
01:07:51,480 --> 01:07:54,120
Speaker 1: lot of casting goes in into how you look, and

1304
01:07:54,160 --> 01:07:57,000
Speaker 1: then people will sometimes I give you credit because of

1305
01:07:57,040 --> 01:07:59,880
Speaker 1: how you look or use cash for this particular reason.

1306
01:08:00,240 --> 01:08:03,200
Speaker 1: And I'm so proud when I see what Boris is

1307
01:08:03,360 --> 01:08:05,480
Speaker 1: doing on the Station and the eight team this season

1308
01:08:05,520 --> 01:08:08,040
Speaker 1: because of the fact that you know, many years I

1309
01:08:08,120 --> 01:08:09,400
Speaker 1: know I would cast him because he was a good

1310
01:08:09,400 --> 01:08:11,560
Speaker 1: looking guy. On sitcoms, you know, we need a good

1311
01:08:11,560 --> 01:08:14,360
Speaker 1: looking guy in the scene. Okay, let's Boris and he

1312
01:08:14,400 --> 01:08:16,639
Speaker 1: could act as well, and he can deal with comedy gliss.

1313
01:08:16,920 --> 01:08:18,960
Speaker 1: What point in your brain and your career because I

1314
01:08:18,960 --> 01:08:20,680
Speaker 1: remember your Eve he was a good looking guy. He

1315
01:08:20,800 --> 01:08:23,800
Speaker 1: was just stuck you know, on Eve, you know, and

1316
01:08:23,840 --> 01:08:25,280
Speaker 1: so but that was a good thing because you were

1317
01:08:25,280 --> 01:08:27,280
Speaker 1: getting the check and you was accomplished in your task.

1318
01:08:27,560 --> 01:08:30,080
Speaker 1: But in the process, you just want a job. So

1319
01:08:30,280 --> 01:08:33,479
Speaker 1: with all that being said, what's the ultimate goal? Getting

1320
01:08:33,479 --> 01:08:36,560
Speaker 1: the job or being respected for your acting? No, you

1321
01:08:36,600 --> 01:08:38,559
Speaker 1: want to be respected for your acting because I always

1322
01:08:38,560 --> 01:08:40,760
Speaker 1: looking at like, you know, it's you know, it's like, uh,

1323
01:08:40,960 --> 01:08:42,400
Speaker 1: like I tell my kids, you know, like my kids

1324
01:08:42,439 --> 01:08:45,519
Speaker 1: are perfectly speaking, good looking kids, and there's some beautiful children,

1325
01:08:45,720 --> 01:08:47,599
Speaker 1: and tell him that's your mom and me. That ain't

1326
01:08:47,600 --> 01:08:49,519
Speaker 1: got But if you're in shape, that's that you can say.

1327
01:08:49,520 --> 01:08:52,320
Speaker 1: That's on you. What you do in school, what you do,

1328
01:08:52,400 --> 01:08:55,519
Speaker 1: what you accomplish, what you create, You did that, right,

1329
01:08:55,680 --> 01:08:58,160
Speaker 1: I mean, so you know it's like, so for me,

1330
01:08:58,760 --> 01:09:01,080
Speaker 1: getting being respected as an is that thing. And so

1331
01:09:01,120 --> 01:09:03,000
Speaker 1: when I get things that challenge me that have nothing

1332
01:09:03,000 --> 01:09:05,680
Speaker 1: to do with a look or likability. And the fun

1333
01:09:05,760 --> 01:09:07,880
Speaker 1: thing is that also wear the spot in in film

1334
01:09:07,840 --> 01:09:12,160
Speaker 1: and television where especially in television, where um likability is

1335
01:09:12,200 --> 01:09:16,200
Speaker 1: not necessary point. We want interesting, We want interesting like

1336
01:09:16,240 --> 01:09:19,360
Speaker 1: they threw boards the whole you know, drug addiction situation.

1337
01:09:19,439 --> 01:09:21,240
Speaker 1: And that's when he got a chance to show up

1338
01:09:21,240 --> 01:09:23,840
Speaker 1: what he's capable of, because you know, you gotta be

1339
01:09:23,880 --> 01:09:25,800
Speaker 1: you gotta get ugly for a second. You gotta go

1340
01:09:25,840 --> 01:09:27,559
Speaker 1: to an ugly place, and you gotta do ugly things.

1341
01:09:27,600 --> 01:09:29,400
Speaker 1: And I love when I get opporunities to do that.

1342
01:09:29,439 --> 01:09:32,639
Speaker 1: I mean, I played uh, you know, you know, war

1343
01:09:32,800 --> 01:09:36,200
Speaker 1: veterans who lose limbs, and that's the thing I played,

1344
01:09:36,280 --> 01:09:38,400
Speaker 1: you know, I mean everybody forgets that, you know, in barbershop,

1345
01:09:38,479 --> 01:09:41,000
Speaker 1: I was you know even I played boyfriend and girlfriend

1346
01:09:41,040 --> 01:09:44,280
Speaker 1: in barbershop before we were on the sitcom Eve. You

1347
01:09:44,280 --> 01:09:46,640
Speaker 1: know he I was a pretty good guy in barbershop.

1348
01:09:46,680 --> 01:09:48,599
Speaker 1: I was a dog, you dog, I was a dog,

1349
01:09:48,960 --> 01:09:51,639
Speaker 1: and it was you know, yeah, and playing and playing

1350
01:09:51,720 --> 01:09:55,599
Speaker 1: the playing people who break the rules is a lot

1351
01:09:55,640 --> 01:10:00,280
Speaker 1: more fun because I don't do that, uh, in your life.

1352
01:10:00,280 --> 01:10:03,360
Speaker 1: I don't break rules that I believe in in real life. Um,

1353
01:10:03,479 --> 01:10:04,960
Speaker 1: if I don't believe in your rules ever, just keep

1354
01:10:04,960 --> 01:10:07,519
Speaker 1: it moving. And you know that's everybody who knows me.

1355
01:10:07,600 --> 01:10:10,120
Speaker 1: You know, it's like, uh, you know, it's better. My

1356
01:10:10,200 --> 01:10:12,360
Speaker 1: favorite phrase my wife gets frustrated with it is it's

1357
01:10:12,400 --> 01:10:15,519
Speaker 1: better to ask for giving us informission. Um. So I'm

1358
01:10:15,520 --> 01:10:17,720
Speaker 1: gonna do what I need to do and then I'll

1359
01:10:17,760 --> 01:10:19,360
Speaker 1: find out if there's a rule saying I shouldn't do

1360
01:10:19,400 --> 01:10:21,640
Speaker 1: it later on. Um. But you know, so if you

1361
01:10:21,680 --> 01:10:23,880
Speaker 1: do that in the character, that's that's much more interesting.

1362
01:10:24,360 --> 01:10:27,759
Speaker 1: So I'm much more interested in the challenges of acting

1363
01:10:28,200 --> 01:10:30,439
Speaker 1: than I am and how I look and that sort

1364
01:10:30,439 --> 01:10:31,680
Speaker 1: of thing. And you know, it's like, you know, I

1365
01:10:31,680 --> 01:10:34,280
Speaker 1: love working out, I love work, I enjoy exercising, but

1366
01:10:34,840 --> 01:10:37,120
Speaker 1: when it feels like it's an expectation, I want to

1367
01:10:37,160 --> 01:10:39,200
Speaker 1: go eat a pizza just to like, you know, tell

1368
01:10:39,240 --> 01:10:42,679
Speaker 1: people to step back. You know, I'm I'm a little

1369
01:10:42,720 --> 01:10:47,720
Speaker 1: contraryan in that way, but I'm not stupid. Enjoyed the

1370
01:10:48,080 --> 01:10:50,920
Speaker 1: compliments spite my face. You know, Greg is that great

1371
01:10:50,960 --> 01:10:54,439
Speaker 1: anatomy you know you're regular Dr Ben Warren. Then you

1372
01:10:54,479 --> 01:10:58,160
Speaker 1: get the call we wanted to, uh, you know, spin

1373
01:10:58,240 --> 01:11:01,120
Speaker 1: off in a new seal, you know, guarantees on a

1374
01:11:01,160 --> 01:11:04,400
Speaker 1: new series, you know, and uh, how does that? You

1375
01:11:04,439 --> 01:11:06,519
Speaker 1: know when they tell you they want you to do this?

1376
01:11:06,800 --> 01:11:10,080
Speaker 1: You know, Sean right Rhymes is asking you to do this.

1377
01:11:10,120 --> 01:11:13,280
Speaker 1: I'm assuming to make this move. So what were the

1378
01:11:13,320 --> 01:11:15,400
Speaker 1: thoughts running through your mind when this process was being

1379
01:11:15,439 --> 01:11:17,599
Speaker 1: port Because you have the ability to go between both

1380
01:11:17,880 --> 01:11:21,519
Speaker 1: a doctor and a firefighter in this series. Talk about that. Yeah, yeah,

1381
01:11:21,560 --> 01:11:23,479
Speaker 1: I mean, look when it first came up for you know,

1382
01:11:23,600 --> 01:11:25,960
Speaker 1: when you first get the call that you know, Shanna

1383
01:11:26,080 --> 01:11:28,160
Speaker 1: Rhymes ONCES wants to talk to you at five o'tock today,

1384
01:11:28,680 --> 01:11:30,960
Speaker 1: you think you think, am I getting fired? Am I

1385
01:11:31,000 --> 01:11:33,760
Speaker 1: getting fired? Is this that call? This is that call?

1386
01:11:33,880 --> 01:11:35,960
Speaker 1: And then uh, and then we we got on the

1387
01:11:36,040 --> 01:11:38,599
Speaker 1: phone and Sean and I have been working together for

1388
01:11:38,640 --> 01:11:41,320
Speaker 1: a few years at that point, and in her producing

1389
01:11:41,320 --> 01:11:44,719
Speaker 1: part of Betsy Bears is also a good friend and

1390
01:11:44,720 --> 01:11:46,559
Speaker 1: and they were like, listen, you know, we're talking about

1391
01:11:46,560 --> 01:11:49,479
Speaker 1: doing the spinoff series, and we want Ben to go

1392
01:11:49,600 --> 01:11:52,320
Speaker 1: from being a doctor to being a firefighter and the

1393
01:11:52,920 --> 01:11:56,800
Speaker 1: Sasan McKee, who created Station nineteen, had written one of

1394
01:11:56,840 --> 01:12:00,080
Speaker 1: the last episodes of Raising Anatomy the previous season, and

1395
01:12:00,200 --> 01:12:01,760
Speaker 1: in that episode, there was a massive fire at the

1396
01:12:01,760 --> 01:12:04,840
Speaker 1: hospital and Ben at the time you find out, was

1397
01:12:04,960 --> 01:12:07,200
Speaker 1: definitely afraid of five that you know, dude had a

1398
01:12:07,200 --> 01:12:09,920
Speaker 1: phobia of five. It's not not his thing. It was

1399
01:12:09,960 --> 01:12:12,320
Speaker 1: not feeling the fire. But he runs back in, grabs

1400
01:12:12,320 --> 01:12:14,559
Speaker 1: the firefighters. Bill runs back in to try and save

1401
01:12:14,600 --> 01:12:16,720
Speaker 1: a friend, and then when he doesn't die, that a

1402
01:12:16,800 --> 01:12:19,120
Speaker 1: drilling junkie thing that they had already established, and Ben

1403
01:12:19,200 --> 01:12:22,560
Speaker 1: that he he gets he that he loves the adrenalism

1404
01:12:23,040 --> 01:12:25,680
Speaker 1: uh kicks in and he goes after the challenge and

1405
01:12:25,720 --> 01:12:28,240
Speaker 1: that's part of what leads to him becoming a firefighter.

1406
01:12:28,400 --> 01:12:30,599
Speaker 1: And I didn't realize they were going that road route,

1407
01:12:30,600 --> 01:12:32,720
Speaker 1: but it turns out they kind of set it up

1408
01:12:32,720 --> 01:12:34,160
Speaker 1: a little bit, you know, I think, you know, for

1409
01:12:34,200 --> 01:12:37,719
Speaker 1: me to move in that direction. So I wasn't getting fired.

1410
01:12:37,760 --> 01:12:40,240
Speaker 1: I wasn't, in fact, getting a new job and got

1411
01:12:40,240 --> 01:12:43,080
Speaker 1: to be on the ground floor of building a new, new,

1412
01:12:43,160 --> 01:12:45,760
Speaker 1: new part of the Grazing Anatomy world, a new part

1413
01:12:45,760 --> 01:12:48,519
Speaker 1: of Shawna Land, which that's that's the dreams you want

1414
01:12:48,520 --> 01:12:51,639
Speaker 1: to be part of, you know, Grazing Anatomy is grazing natomy.

1415
01:12:51,680 --> 01:12:53,120
Speaker 1: Long before I came on it was going to be

1416
01:12:53,160 --> 01:12:56,000
Speaker 1: grazing natomy long after I left, but I got to

1417
01:12:56,040 --> 01:12:58,680
Speaker 1: be part of helping create what Station nineteen was from

1418
01:12:58,680 --> 01:13:01,679
Speaker 1: the ground, and so that challenge I was excited about.

1419
01:13:02,040 --> 01:13:03,920
Speaker 1: That's it, you know, believe. I was like, but listen,

1420
01:13:03,960 --> 01:13:06,360
Speaker 1: you know, I'm still a doctor, so the show to

1421
01:13:07,200 --> 01:13:11,120
Speaker 1: come back to be a doctor, right right, you can

1422
01:13:11,120 --> 01:13:13,519
Speaker 1: come back and need me, But you know, like it's

1423
01:13:13,520 --> 01:13:15,640
Speaker 1: gonna be good though, and it's been great, you know.

1424
01:13:15,920 --> 01:13:18,200
Speaker 1: But the interesting thing about that's what we talked about acting,

1425
01:13:18,240 --> 01:13:20,880
Speaker 1: and you know, because there's a credibility in each role.

1426
01:13:21,000 --> 01:13:23,720
Speaker 1: You know, there's the physicality of being a firefighter in

1427
01:13:23,800 --> 01:13:26,640
Speaker 1: Station eighteen, but there's the intellect and the kring and

1428
01:13:26,680 --> 01:13:29,479
Speaker 1: the passion and the bedside manner that comes with being

1429
01:13:29,800 --> 01:13:33,640
Speaker 1: a doctor. And Gray's anatomy, the dynamics and preparing for

1430
01:13:33,680 --> 01:13:36,200
Speaker 1: each role tell us about first grades anatomy and they're

1431
01:13:36,280 --> 01:13:39,560
Speaker 1: transitioning over to the physicality of Station n Was it

1432
01:13:39,640 --> 01:13:42,879
Speaker 1: a easy transition with the more difficulties on grades anatomy

1433
01:13:42,920 --> 01:13:45,840
Speaker 1: as a doctor. I don't know if easy is the

1434
01:13:45,840 --> 01:13:47,880
Speaker 1: word I would use. I mean, listen, you know Gray's

1435
01:13:47,880 --> 01:13:50,360
Speaker 1: anatomy is you know, you've got language that you're using,

1436
01:13:50,439 --> 01:13:52,920
Speaker 1: all the crazy amounts of Latin words and all that

1437
01:13:53,000 --> 01:13:54,800
Speaker 1: sort of stuff, which I took that in a little

1438
01:13:54,800 --> 01:13:56,120
Speaker 1: bit of high school because when I thought I was

1439
01:13:56,160 --> 01:13:58,200
Speaker 1: gonna be a lawyer, I was like, so you know,

1440
01:13:58,360 --> 01:14:00,200
Speaker 1: coming them, you know, you say word, you know, like

1441
01:14:00,400 --> 01:14:01,800
Speaker 1: you know, I don't remember what any of the words mean,

1442
01:14:01,880 --> 01:14:04,200
Speaker 1: but I could say him. I can say him, and

1443
01:14:04,240 --> 01:14:05,800
Speaker 1: I know I know how the sounds should come out,

1444
01:14:05,840 --> 01:14:08,160
Speaker 1: so I can sound like a doctor real easy. That

1445
01:14:08,160 --> 01:14:10,799
Speaker 1: that part came easily to me. And plus the doctors

1446
01:14:10,800 --> 01:14:13,400
Speaker 1: are wearing basically pajamas all day. You're in your scrubs,

1447
01:14:13,520 --> 01:14:18,240
Speaker 1: your chilling, um day, my my, my. My play cousin

1448
01:14:18,360 --> 01:14:19,960
Speaker 1: is a. I lived with him when I first came

1449
01:14:19,960 --> 01:14:22,880
Speaker 1: out here. He's an anessey into l A. He's an anesthesiologist.

1450
01:14:23,320 --> 01:14:25,720
Speaker 1: I think I saw him outside of scrubs twice in

1451
01:14:26,080 --> 01:14:29,760
Speaker 1: three years. Um, you know. And so we do a

1452
01:14:29,760 --> 01:14:31,719
Speaker 1: lot of I acting. When you're in surgery, you're standing

1453
01:14:31,720 --> 01:14:33,400
Speaker 1: in one spot and a lot of it is your

1454
01:14:33,439 --> 01:14:36,439
Speaker 1: your face is covered and you're looking intensely with your

1455
01:14:36,439 --> 01:14:38,360
Speaker 1: eyes during the surgery and that sort of thing. So

1456
01:14:38,880 --> 01:14:41,920
Speaker 1: it's about getting focuses about turning into a laser beam. Right,

1457
01:14:42,320 --> 01:14:44,000
Speaker 1: all the energy that you have is in acting and

1458
01:14:44,040 --> 01:14:47,000
Speaker 1: that's all interesting and fun. And but then when you

1459
01:14:47,040 --> 01:14:51,320
Speaker 1: go to a station nineteam, just the the outfit you're wearing,

1460
01:14:51,360 --> 01:14:54,439
Speaker 1: the turnouts, the fireproof deear that the fire fright is wearing,

1461
01:14:54,479 --> 01:14:57,760
Speaker 1: that plays forty five pounds plus another fifteen twenty pounds

1462
01:14:57,800 --> 01:15:00,000
Speaker 1: of the oxygen tank that we rock on our back.

1463
01:15:00,600 --> 01:15:04,080
Speaker 1: So you got sixty pounds of gear that you're wearing,

1464
01:15:04,160 --> 01:15:06,920
Speaker 1: and you've got to get dressed in this gear head

1465
01:15:06,960 --> 01:15:10,599
Speaker 1: to toe, zipped up so it's fireproof inside of a minute.

1466
01:15:11,000 --> 01:15:13,080
Speaker 1: And the truth is real fire fighters to tell you

1467
01:15:13,120 --> 01:15:15,160
Speaker 1: if you take longer than thirty seconds, they're gonna talk

1468
01:15:15,200 --> 01:15:18,599
Speaker 1: bad about you. Um So while you technically have a minute,

1469
01:15:18,960 --> 01:15:21,679
Speaker 1: if you if you if you're forty seconds, forty five seconds,

1470
01:15:21,680 --> 01:15:23,360
Speaker 1: they're like, dude, you don't get to go to the

1471
01:15:23,400 --> 01:15:24,880
Speaker 1: fire with me. You got to go to the b

1472
01:15:25,000 --> 01:15:27,920
Speaker 1: ships A ship A should get it done in thirty seconds.

1473
01:15:28,280 --> 01:15:31,479
Speaker 1: So getting dressed is hard. You know, you understand that

1474
01:15:31,479 --> 01:15:34,120
Speaker 1: there's a whole other level of physicality, uh, and that

1475
01:15:34,120 --> 01:15:35,800
Speaker 1: I was ready for that. I was ready to bust

1476
01:15:35,800 --> 01:15:37,800
Speaker 1: out physically. And so running upstairs and you know I

1477
01:15:37,840 --> 01:15:40,320
Speaker 1: told him first out. I was saying, look, I have

1478
01:15:40,400 --> 01:15:43,719
Speaker 1: no fear of heights. I love jumping off the stuff

1479
01:15:43,720 --> 01:15:45,519
Speaker 1: and dangling from side. I said, so you pretty much

1480
01:15:46,160 --> 01:15:48,040
Speaker 1: put me through it. Do it. And so they would

1481
01:15:48,040 --> 01:15:49,519
Speaker 1: get mad at me for the first couple of seasons

1482
01:15:49,560 --> 01:15:51,720
Speaker 1: because they have a forty ft ladder going up to

1483
01:15:51,760 --> 01:15:54,280
Speaker 1: the fourth story of the building and don't tell me

1484
01:15:54,320 --> 01:15:56,120
Speaker 1: to climb it if you only want me to climb

1485
01:15:56,160 --> 01:15:58,559
Speaker 1: like six steps, and y'all cut because I'll get up.

1486
01:15:59,400 --> 01:16:01,000
Speaker 1: You know, I'll be to the second third point. They're like,

1487
01:16:01,000 --> 01:16:04,640
Speaker 1: they're yelling, They're like insturments, won't let you do that.

1488
01:16:05,000 --> 01:16:06,880
Speaker 1: And I was like, yo, y'all give me a ladder.

1489
01:16:06,920 --> 01:16:09,200
Speaker 1: So I'm that's how I was writing on me and

1490
01:16:09,200 --> 01:16:12,040
Speaker 1: that's how I get down. So uh, it's definitely a

1491
01:16:12,040 --> 01:16:13,760
Speaker 1: different thing. And then trying to find a way to

1492
01:16:13,800 --> 01:16:17,240
Speaker 1: bring that intensity into the acting and into the performances

1493
01:16:17,240 --> 01:16:20,240
Speaker 1: while still bring it in the fact that these these

1494
01:16:20,240 --> 01:16:22,880
Speaker 1: firefighters care so much about the people. That's the fun

1495
01:16:22,960 --> 01:16:26,320
Speaker 1: thing is that when you're sending still and talking to

1496
01:16:26,360 --> 01:16:29,920
Speaker 1: people over their bed in the hospital, it's easier to

1497
01:16:30,000 --> 01:16:32,200
Speaker 1: let that care and come through that emotion that empathy

1498
01:16:32,400 --> 01:16:35,400
Speaker 1: come through. But when you're trying to drag somebody out

1499
01:16:35,400 --> 01:16:37,200
Speaker 1: of the fire, where you're trying to drag somebody out

1500
01:16:37,200 --> 01:16:39,080
Speaker 1: of the situation and carry them over your shoulder, and

1501
01:16:39,080 --> 01:16:41,240
Speaker 1: that's where the things you're finding a way to let

1502
01:16:41,240 --> 01:16:43,760
Speaker 1: that empathy be seen. Because the reality is if you've

1503
01:16:43,800 --> 01:16:45,439
Speaker 1: ever met a firefighter, if you met any of these

1504
01:16:45,439 --> 01:16:48,680
Speaker 1: first respondents, they have the biggest hearts. I mean, they

1505
01:16:48,920 --> 01:16:51,040
Speaker 1: have gallows humor like doctors do, in the same kind.

1506
01:16:51,080 --> 01:16:53,559
Speaker 1: They'll make jokes just like soldiers do. And you know,

1507
01:16:53,640 --> 01:16:56,080
Speaker 1: like they'll make jokes that are inappropriate in so many

1508
01:16:56,080 --> 01:16:58,479
Speaker 1: ways because they see the worst things in the world.

1509
01:16:59,320 --> 01:17:02,439
Speaker 1: But you wanted to see a firefighter and tears in

1510
01:17:02,439 --> 01:17:04,400
Speaker 1: their eyes. Let him see when the kid gets hurt,

1511
01:17:04,920 --> 01:17:07,200
Speaker 1: um catching when the kid gets hurt. And then you

1512
01:17:07,240 --> 01:17:10,000
Speaker 1: realize how big their hearts are. And so that for

1513
01:17:10,080 --> 01:17:11,760
Speaker 1: me was or how much they care about each other,

1514
01:17:11,840 --> 01:17:14,960
Speaker 1: like uh, the U We had this one one of

1515
01:17:14,960 --> 01:17:18,400
Speaker 1: our fire tech consultants showed me this documentary they made

1516
01:17:18,439 --> 01:17:20,439
Speaker 1: back when he was in Detroit and he called him

1517
01:17:20,479 --> 01:17:22,360
Speaker 1: his fired that he would point to this one gentleman,

1518
01:17:22,400 --> 01:17:24,679
Speaker 1: and this is a this is a young white guy

1519
01:17:25,320 --> 01:17:27,240
Speaker 1: but his fired dad was his old brother, and this

1520
01:17:27,320 --> 01:17:30,120
Speaker 1: old black gentleman h back there and as soon as

1521
01:17:30,120 --> 01:17:32,320
Speaker 1: he started talking about him, his eyes get tearing because

1522
01:17:33,000 --> 01:17:35,800
Speaker 1: he loves that man so much. He said, he taught

1523
01:17:35,800 --> 01:17:37,920
Speaker 1: me about being a firefighter, taught me about being a man,

1524
01:17:38,400 --> 01:17:42,400
Speaker 1: taught me about how you know how to survive emotionally

1525
01:17:42,680 --> 01:17:46,400
Speaker 1: when you lose people, and that lets the that's the

1526
01:17:46,439 --> 01:17:49,320
Speaker 1: thing that emotionally has been the most fun as an actor.

1527
01:17:49,400 --> 01:17:52,040
Speaker 1: The physicality is all great and fun, but you need

1528
01:17:52,080 --> 01:17:54,160
Speaker 1: to find a way to get that level and depth

1529
01:17:54,280 --> 01:17:57,760
Speaker 1: of emotion that these men and women have to come

1530
01:17:57,760 --> 01:17:59,519
Speaker 1: out in the middle of all that action. And that's

1531
01:17:59,560 --> 01:18:01,559
Speaker 1: been the child that'sk me the most. Some parties, I

1532
01:18:01,560 --> 01:18:03,120
Speaker 1: think the writer set us up and I feel like

1533
01:18:03,120 --> 01:18:05,840
Speaker 1: the entire task, that's a beautiful job. Well, the thing

1534
01:18:05,880 --> 01:18:09,160
Speaker 1: about the show I called Station NAM talking to interview

1535
01:18:09,200 --> 01:18:12,320
Speaker 1: and Jason George when the stars of Station ninteen on Thursday,

1536
01:18:12,400 --> 01:18:15,400
Speaker 1: watching Love with the returns a PM Eastern Standard time

1537
01:18:15,439 --> 01:18:18,600
Speaker 1: on ABC. I tell the series is a telling like

1538
01:18:18,680 --> 01:18:21,679
Speaker 1: it is series. You know, you have strong black, dynamic

1539
01:18:21,760 --> 01:18:28,120
Speaker 1: character storylines, great gay and lesbian, transgender storylines, and it

1540
01:18:28,200 --> 01:18:30,880
Speaker 1: plays itself out in a real world environment. You have

1541
01:18:31,520 --> 01:18:35,000
Speaker 1: under you know, commitment and commitment. That's a lot of dynamics.

1542
01:18:35,040 --> 01:18:37,040
Speaker 1: You have a family in fact in the season, then

1543
01:18:37,080 --> 01:18:38,679
Speaker 1: you have to deal with the death in your family,

1544
01:18:38,800 --> 01:18:42,280
Speaker 1: revealing that information out to your children. Talk about that.

1545
01:18:42,280 --> 01:18:44,600
Speaker 1: Those those different when you have the table read or

1546
01:18:44,640 --> 01:18:47,400
Speaker 1: you're going through all these characters and your character plays

1547
01:18:47,400 --> 01:18:50,080
Speaker 1: a major role, and and and and seamlessly has to

1548
01:18:50,120 --> 01:18:55,160
Speaker 1: associate itself with all these different lifestyles, these different emotions.

1549
01:18:55,360 --> 01:18:57,559
Speaker 1: But but keeping it real though, that's what I really

1550
01:18:57,680 --> 01:19:01,200
Speaker 1: enjoy about the series Station ninteen. Yeah, I mean, it's

1551
01:19:01,200 --> 01:19:04,599
Speaker 1: it's it's it's a beautiful situation because it's what's happening

1552
01:19:04,600 --> 01:19:06,800
Speaker 1: more and more on television and film in general. But

1553
01:19:07,040 --> 01:19:09,080
Speaker 1: Shonda Land was kind of right at the crest that

1554
01:19:09,120 --> 01:19:12,639
Speaker 1: way that we're gonna tell a diverse group of stories

1555
01:19:12,920 --> 01:19:15,640
Speaker 1: and make everybody realize that your story is not that

1556
01:19:15,680 --> 01:19:19,760
Speaker 1: different from my story. I mean, uh. And so the

1557
01:19:20,200 --> 01:19:24,240
Speaker 1: diversity that we have on screen is largely supported by

1558
01:19:24,240 --> 01:19:26,519
Speaker 1: the fact that they have diversity in the writer's room

1559
01:19:26,960 --> 01:19:28,680
Speaker 1: and diversity, you know. I mean, I've never worked with

1560
01:19:28,720 --> 01:19:33,280
Speaker 1: more female directors, more directors of color, black directors, um

1561
01:19:33,360 --> 01:19:35,160
Speaker 1: then I have since I've been in Shonda Land. And

1562
01:19:35,200 --> 01:19:37,960
Speaker 1: so when you have that behind the scenes, that lets real,

1563
01:19:38,080 --> 01:19:41,840
Speaker 1: authentic stories get told on screen. And so when we

1564
01:19:41,880 --> 01:19:44,280
Speaker 1: get into that, it makes it, you know, it makes

1565
01:19:44,320 --> 01:19:48,320
Speaker 1: it really interesting and and uh fun as an actor

1566
01:19:48,360 --> 01:19:51,040
Speaker 1: to play. It's presents these challenges, and so we're able

1567
01:19:51,040 --> 01:19:54,080
Speaker 1: to tell all these different aspects that haven't always gotten

1568
01:19:54,520 --> 01:19:57,080
Speaker 1: much play on you know, on television. I mean, the

1569
01:19:57,080 --> 01:20:00,120
Speaker 1: reality is you know, there's a term and uh in

1570
01:20:00,439 --> 01:20:03,960
Speaker 1: uh in Black Hollywood. Uh. You know, I started my

1571
01:20:04,000 --> 01:20:07,519
Speaker 1: career as the BBS, oftentimes the black best friend. You know,

1572
01:20:07,560 --> 01:20:09,559
Speaker 1: My job was to show up and uh and ask

1573
01:20:09,600 --> 01:20:11,679
Speaker 1: the white male league, you know, hey man, how's your day?

1574
01:20:12,000 --> 01:20:14,120
Speaker 1: So we can talk about his love problems and things

1575
01:20:14,160 --> 01:20:16,400
Speaker 1: going on in his life. And I go, well, that's tough.

1576
01:20:16,560 --> 01:20:18,479
Speaker 1: And then that's that's my job, you know, not collect

1577
01:20:18,520 --> 01:20:24,400
Speaker 1: my check and go home. But now everybody, everybody has

1578
01:20:24,439 --> 01:20:27,000
Speaker 1: a real full life. And the fact that, you know,

1579
01:20:27,000 --> 01:20:29,519
Speaker 1: Shana Rymes is why they create these ensemble shows to

1580
01:20:29,560 --> 01:20:31,960
Speaker 1: make sure that everybody and and it also works great

1581
01:20:31,960 --> 01:20:34,280
Speaker 1: for an actor because you know, I've got an episode

1582
01:20:34,280 --> 01:20:37,439
Speaker 1: that we're about to shoot starting this week where I'm

1583
01:20:37,439 --> 01:20:41,280
Speaker 1: in almost every scene, and I'm I'm working every day,

1584
01:20:41,439 --> 01:20:44,479
Speaker 1: and then we'll have an episode two episodes from now

1585
01:20:44,520 --> 01:20:48,519
Speaker 1: where I'll show up for two days. And because they rotate,

1586
01:20:48,600 --> 01:20:50,280
Speaker 1: it means I get, as an actor, get to have

1587
01:20:50,320 --> 01:20:53,200
Speaker 1: a life outside of the show. Um, I get to

1588
01:20:53,200 --> 01:20:54,920
Speaker 1: be with my family, my kids. And then I'm like,

1589
01:20:54,960 --> 01:20:56,599
Speaker 1: by the way, kids, you're not gonna see me this week.

1590
01:20:56,880 --> 01:20:58,759
Speaker 1: Dad's gonna go to work at six o'clock in the morning,

1591
01:20:58,800 --> 01:21:01,080
Speaker 1: come home at eight and nine o'clock, and you're not

1592
01:21:01,080 --> 01:21:03,000
Speaker 1: gonna see me much because I'm in deep this one.

1593
01:21:03,280 --> 01:21:05,320
Speaker 1: But then a couple of weeks after that, you know,

1594
01:21:05,479 --> 01:21:07,000
Speaker 1: they get to see me and I get to be

1595
01:21:07,040 --> 01:21:12,559
Speaker 1: around so they that diversity creates a big atmosphere, big ensemble,

1596
01:21:12,760 --> 01:21:14,320
Speaker 1: and they get to tell a lot of different kinds

1597
01:21:14,320 --> 01:21:17,160
Speaker 1: of stories, which is what I think American needs right now,

1598
01:21:17,240 --> 01:21:18,760
Speaker 1: is they need to hear some of the stories that

1599
01:21:18,800 --> 01:21:21,600
Speaker 1: haven't been told, all those underrepresented communities that have been

1600
01:21:21,680 --> 01:21:25,800
Speaker 1: dying to see themselves and hear their own stories told. Uh.

1601
01:21:25,960 --> 01:21:27,839
Speaker 1: Now we're starting to get told more and more on television,

1602
01:21:27,920 --> 01:21:30,920
Speaker 1: especially on shows like Station nineteen, well the Station eight

1603
01:21:30,960 --> 01:21:33,439
Speaker 1: Team when it comes back, Like I said, earlier. You

1604
01:21:33,479 --> 01:21:36,280
Speaker 1: know that in the season for Noale. You know it's

1605
01:21:36,320 --> 01:21:38,680
Speaker 1: a dramatic one. You know, Uh, I guess it was

1606
01:21:38,680 --> 01:21:41,439
Speaker 1: a sexual trafficking situation that was broken up in day

1607
01:21:41,680 --> 01:21:44,160
Speaker 1: and uh the police showed up. I didn't really want

1608
01:21:44,160 --> 01:21:47,000
Speaker 1: to show up, and you know, my man Miller, he

1609
01:21:47,120 --> 01:21:50,080
Speaker 1: got arrested, and then uh, Celan he hit I think

1610
01:21:50,080 --> 01:21:52,960
Speaker 1: he hit a cop. He got arrested, and then were

1611
01:21:52,960 --> 01:21:55,200
Speaker 1: at that world that we're in today, that kind of

1612
01:21:55,240 --> 01:21:58,040
Speaker 1: like the George Floyd world that we're in where don't

1613
01:21:58,080 --> 01:22:00,479
Speaker 1: have an understanding of people of color, of people. Was

1614
01:22:00,520 --> 01:22:02,880
Speaker 1: that was that important to see that play out on

1615
01:22:02,960 --> 01:22:05,799
Speaker 1: your show? Because, like I always tell everybody Station eighteen,

1616
01:22:05,840 --> 01:22:07,840
Speaker 1: you want to see a real slice of life and

1617
01:22:07,960 --> 01:22:11,160
Speaker 1: just plays out and character relationships and though it was

1618
01:22:11,240 --> 01:22:13,759
Speaker 1: we all can get along if we understand each other values.

1619
01:22:14,120 --> 01:22:16,680
Speaker 1: That's that that finale was powerful to be. How is

1620
01:22:16,720 --> 01:22:20,360
Speaker 1: that leading to the premier episode March your level, We're

1621
01:22:20,360 --> 01:22:22,360
Speaker 1: gonna pick up with that storyline. I mean, that storyline

1622
01:22:22,439 --> 01:22:24,519
Speaker 1: is gonna travel through for a little bit of the

1623
01:22:24,560 --> 01:22:26,519
Speaker 1: difficulties with that. I mean we did we did a

1624
01:22:26,560 --> 01:22:29,920
Speaker 1: story last season where we were all the firefighters. We're

1625
01:22:29,960 --> 01:22:33,439
Speaker 1: meeting with a therapist, psychiatrists, and we're talking about our

1626
01:22:33,479 --> 01:22:36,200
Speaker 1: problems and you find out that recently been had a

1627
01:22:36,200 --> 01:22:38,400
Speaker 1: scenario where a police officer pulled him out of the

1628
01:22:38,400 --> 01:22:40,439
Speaker 1: car and made him lay face down to the ground,

1629
01:22:41,120 --> 01:22:42,960
Speaker 1: uh until he got his wald out, and that sort

1630
01:22:43,000 --> 01:22:44,760
Speaker 1: of thing to be based on nothing, based on nothing

1631
01:22:44,800 --> 01:22:48,360
Speaker 1: that's been done, uh, scenario that you know most black

1632
01:22:48,400 --> 01:22:50,960
Speaker 1: people certainly you know that eyes of black men have

1633
01:22:51,080 --> 01:22:53,800
Speaker 1: lived a couple of different times. Um, you know, driving

1634
01:22:53,880 --> 01:22:58,080
Speaker 1: all black. And it was powerful episode because the whole

1635
01:22:58,120 --> 01:22:59,600
Speaker 1: idea of the reason why that was powerful for me

1636
01:22:59,680 --> 01:23:01,439
Speaker 1: to do and why I really want to make sure

1637
01:23:01,439 --> 01:23:04,880
Speaker 1: that it happened, was that people want to say, well,

1638
01:23:05,000 --> 01:23:07,479
Speaker 1: George Floyd was doing he was he right to bad? Check?

1639
01:23:07,880 --> 01:23:09,000
Speaker 1: Was he well he was in the middle from me

1640
01:23:09,000 --> 01:23:11,439
Speaker 1: in the crime. Well if he hadn't been someplace doing

1641
01:23:11,479 --> 01:23:14,320
Speaker 1: something with the wrong people. And I'm like, no, here's

1642
01:23:14,360 --> 01:23:16,720
Speaker 1: what you're not here. It doesn't matter who you were with.

1643
01:23:16,760 --> 01:23:19,240
Speaker 1: What you were doing. Driving about black can happen to anybody,

1644
01:23:19,360 --> 01:23:24,519
Speaker 1: including a firefighters, surgeon, uh, and the casiologist you know,

1645
01:23:24,600 --> 01:23:27,080
Speaker 1: one of the good ones, because they don't know who

1646
01:23:27,120 --> 01:23:29,360
Speaker 1: you are until they until they get to know you

1647
01:23:29,520 --> 01:23:31,560
Speaker 1: and right now you're just a black man in the car.

1648
01:23:31,760 --> 01:23:34,479
Speaker 1: So that that kind of that level of judgment was

1649
01:23:34,520 --> 01:23:37,120
Speaker 1: important to show that who you are and what you

1650
01:23:37,160 --> 01:23:39,559
Speaker 1: are about and all your accomplishments. They can't see that

1651
01:23:39,800 --> 01:23:43,000
Speaker 1: front um and so they can't see the firefighter outfit.

1652
01:23:43,560 --> 01:23:47,680
Speaker 1: But then but then credit to uh another one who

1653
01:23:48,800 --> 01:23:52,200
Speaker 1: plays Dean Miller. Everybody calls him who plays Dean Miller.

1654
01:23:52,479 --> 01:23:54,439
Speaker 1: He really helped push and say we that story. I

1655
01:23:54,479 --> 01:23:56,479
Speaker 1: can't just be a one off. And so that's one

1656
01:23:56,520 --> 01:23:59,600
Speaker 1: of the reasons why God bless Christop vern Off, our showrunner.

1657
01:23:59,640 --> 01:24:04,599
Speaker 1: She's about making great entertainment, but also trying to make

1658
01:24:04,640 --> 01:24:07,679
Speaker 1: people think, you know, to educate a little bit, maybe

1659
01:24:07,720 --> 01:24:09,800
Speaker 1: you're gonna have to deal with these issues. So they

1660
01:24:09,800 --> 01:24:11,640
Speaker 1: brought it back and that's where you have, you know,

1661
01:24:11,680 --> 01:24:14,640
Speaker 1: these firefighters who are out of uniform getting treated some

1662
01:24:14,720 --> 01:24:17,640
Speaker 1: kind of way by police officers, you know, and and

1663
01:24:17,720 --> 01:24:19,600
Speaker 1: it's anything they do a beautiful job and making a

1664
01:24:19,600 --> 01:24:22,120
Speaker 1: balance because there's the one top who is not having

1665
01:24:22,120 --> 01:24:24,160
Speaker 1: any of it, you know, you know, and puts the

1666
01:24:24,479 --> 01:24:27,360
Speaker 1: you know, the slams them on the hood of the car.

1667
01:24:27,400 --> 01:24:30,479
Speaker 1: And then there's another cop who you know, has a

1668
01:24:30,520 --> 01:24:32,960
Speaker 1: problem with it, but he's not the supery officer, so

1669
01:24:32,960 --> 01:24:37,400
Speaker 1: he just kind of goes along, you know. And when

1670
01:24:37,439 --> 01:24:39,400
Speaker 1: they slammed the young girl's mother on the hood of

1671
01:24:39,479 --> 01:24:42,000
Speaker 1: the car, that's what That's what just got it all triggered.

1672
01:24:42,200 --> 01:24:47,080
Speaker 1: Treating a woman like that, you know, like that, that's

1673
01:24:47,080 --> 01:24:49,160
Speaker 1: what's treating a woman like that and treating it like

1674
01:24:49,200 --> 01:24:52,200
Speaker 1: that because you don't necessarily believe the situation that you

1675
01:24:52,240 --> 01:24:54,280
Speaker 1: don't give the credibility to them when she says, my

1676
01:24:54,360 --> 01:24:56,360
Speaker 1: child is suck in there, you know. And uh. And

1677
01:24:56,360 --> 01:24:58,120
Speaker 1: the show has done a lot of different things. I mean, like,

1678
01:24:58,200 --> 01:25:02,240
Speaker 1: you know, there's an episode where Seandrew Wilson, who plays Bailey,

1679
01:25:02,439 --> 01:25:06,360
Speaker 1: my character's wife on the show, us beloved character, phenomenal actress.

1680
01:25:06,439 --> 01:25:08,479
Speaker 1: They didn't have a few episodes where she had a

1681
01:25:08,520 --> 01:25:10,760
Speaker 1: heart attack and the doctors and are trying to tell

1682
01:25:10,760 --> 01:25:12,800
Speaker 1: her you're not you're not having a heart attack, and

1683
01:25:12,800 --> 01:25:16,560
Speaker 1: she's like, I am a chief of surgery at Graceful Memorial.

1684
01:25:17,120 --> 01:25:19,799
Speaker 1: I know what's going because black women present heart attacks,

1685
01:25:19,960 --> 01:25:24,439
Speaker 1: heart problems different than white men. Uh, different than white folks.

1686
01:25:24,439 --> 01:25:27,000
Speaker 1: And she and it's like, your assumptions of me are

1687
01:25:27,080 --> 01:25:29,120
Speaker 1: different because and they just did an episode on Grades

1688
01:25:29,160 --> 01:25:31,759
Speaker 1: where they did the same thing with an Asian American

1689
01:25:31,800 --> 01:25:35,320
Speaker 1: character because they're their health problems that present differently in

1690
01:25:35,360 --> 01:25:37,599
Speaker 1: the Asian American community, you know, and it's just hit

1691
01:25:37,760 --> 01:25:40,040
Speaker 1: they hit those issues that there's you know, a million

1692
01:25:40,040 --> 01:25:43,120
Speaker 1: different you know, sexual aids for men, but that many

1693
01:25:43,160 --> 01:25:46,240
Speaker 1: for women that you know, who's in charge makes the rules.

1694
01:25:46,720 --> 01:25:48,880
Speaker 1: So they're just trying to point up all those different things.

1695
01:25:48,920 --> 01:25:51,120
Speaker 1: So but they thought to bring that storyline back about

1696
01:25:51,120 --> 01:25:54,799
Speaker 1: the social justice in this show and use sex trafficking

1697
01:25:54,800 --> 01:25:56,920
Speaker 1: because you know, and I've been pushing for that storyline

1698
01:25:56,920 --> 01:25:58,559
Speaker 1: on the show for a while. And it's and they

1699
01:25:58,600 --> 01:26:00,320
Speaker 1: want to write everything they want, but everything the show,

1700
01:26:00,400 --> 01:26:02,720
Speaker 1: so it can't necessarily fit in right away. But you know,

1701
01:26:02,760 --> 01:26:05,200
Speaker 1: I remember I was having a meeting with Karen Bass,

1702
01:26:05,240 --> 01:26:08,240
Speaker 1: Congresswoman Karen Bass, and she said, listen, you all need

1703
01:26:08,240 --> 01:26:09,479
Speaker 1: to put this on the show. This is a few

1704
01:26:09,520 --> 01:26:11,479
Speaker 1: years ago, and she said, you know that the number

1705
01:26:11,479 --> 01:26:15,640
Speaker 1: one traffic human being in America is a fortune old

1706
01:26:15,640 --> 01:26:19,840
Speaker 1: black girl. And I don't know if those stats have

1707
01:26:19,920 --> 01:26:21,960
Speaker 1: changed since we first talked. I pray that they have,

1708
01:26:22,520 --> 01:26:25,880
Speaker 1: but believe that young black girls are still the among

1709
01:26:25,960 --> 01:26:28,280
Speaker 1: the if not the most traffic human beings the planet,

1710
01:26:28,320 --> 01:26:30,960
Speaker 1: and so the writers wrote that into the show, and

1711
01:26:31,400 --> 01:26:34,920
Speaker 1: for me, that's that's why I'm so proud of the show,

1712
01:26:35,320 --> 01:26:38,160
Speaker 1: is that they're gonna have those conversations and make folks

1713
01:26:38,160 --> 01:26:40,280
Speaker 1: at home get their entertainment. You're gonna get your entertainment,

1714
01:26:40,280 --> 01:26:41,800
Speaker 1: you're gonna get your sex. So you're gonna have your

1715
01:26:41,840 --> 01:26:44,920
Speaker 1: feels and let your pearls, but you're also gonna have

1716
01:26:44,960 --> 01:26:48,080
Speaker 1: a conversation about does that really happen? And it is, Yes, Yes,

1717
01:26:48,120 --> 01:26:50,040
Speaker 1: it's happening, and it's happen in the the neighborhoods you would

1718
01:26:50,080 --> 01:26:54,640
Speaker 1: not expect, in places you would not assume. Uh. And typically,

1719
01:26:54,880 --> 01:26:57,400
Speaker 1: you know, America doesn't care as much when they're you know,

1720
01:26:57,800 --> 01:27:00,719
Speaker 1: darker skinned young girls. When they're here in Blue Eye,

1721
01:27:00,920 --> 01:27:04,160
Speaker 1: they stay on the news. Um, But when they're you know,

1722
01:27:04,479 --> 01:27:07,280
Speaker 1: young black women, took me not as much. And then

1723
01:27:07,320 --> 01:27:09,559
Speaker 1: that's reflected in the fact that the cop doesn't believe

1724
01:27:09,640 --> 01:27:11,799
Speaker 1: them when they tell them that there's young girls being trapped.

1725
01:27:11,880 --> 01:27:14,759
Speaker 1: And so it's all these assumption and biases that people

1726
01:27:14,800 --> 01:27:18,280
Speaker 1: have and it's not about saying anybody's a horrible, evil

1727
01:27:18,360 --> 01:27:21,000
Speaker 1: human being out the box inherently. But it's about saying

1728
01:27:21,040 --> 01:27:23,360
Speaker 1: you have bites and you've got to recognize that, because

1729
01:27:23,479 --> 01:27:26,360
Speaker 1: if you can't recognize your bias, then you're you're not

1730
01:27:26,439 --> 01:27:29,920
Speaker 1: helping me. You in fact, can be part of my problem.

1731
01:27:29,960 --> 01:27:32,719
Speaker 1: He plays the character Dr Ben Warren. Now he's playing

1732
01:27:32,720 --> 01:27:36,120
Speaker 1: firefighter Ben Warren on Station nineteen Thursday, wanting let them

1733
01:27:36,160 --> 01:27:39,240
Speaker 1: to coming back on ABC. Uh, Jason George, I wanna

1734
01:27:39,280 --> 01:27:46,160
Speaker 1: call you Ben, but Jason George, I got, I got.

1735
01:27:46,240 --> 01:27:49,120
Speaker 1: I'm one of three boys, Johnny, Jason Jarvis and so

1736
01:27:49,160 --> 01:27:52,800
Speaker 1: I anything. You know what I'm talking to you And

1737
01:27:52,880 --> 01:27:56,280
Speaker 1: I'm like, yeah, you say, man, I got you heyn Man.

1738
01:27:56,520 --> 01:27:58,719
Speaker 1: I appreciate you coming on the short tell your story

1739
01:27:58,760 --> 01:28:00,760
Speaker 1: because you know, I don't know out of HBC, you

1740
01:28:00,840 --> 01:28:04,479
Speaker 1: school affiliates, and Uh, it's just just a growing market

1741
01:28:04,520 --> 01:28:07,040
Speaker 1: of being able to live black people, see real black

1742
01:28:07,040 --> 01:28:10,000
Speaker 1: people tell their stories and their rise and being consistently

1743
01:28:10,000 --> 01:28:12,280
Speaker 1: part of the process. And you're part of the process.

1744
01:28:12,280 --> 01:28:13,720
Speaker 1: Because I want to bring you back on because you're

1745
01:28:13,720 --> 01:28:15,720
Speaker 1: a lot of stuff you do with unions in the community,

1746
01:28:15,920 --> 01:28:17,600
Speaker 1: but more important than they got you in there to

1747
01:28:17,640 --> 01:28:19,439
Speaker 1: talk about the premier and I wanted to make sure

1748
01:28:19,479 --> 01:28:22,559
Speaker 1: I did that correctly about Station eighteen this Thursday, March.

1749
01:28:22,560 --> 01:28:24,559
Speaker 1: You level make sure you guys don't miss it, because

1750
01:28:24,560 --> 01:28:26,400
Speaker 1: you want miss this guy. He's on TV all the time.

1751
01:28:26,680 --> 01:28:29,679
Speaker 1: He'd be dancing between Grays Anatomy, he'd be doing Station

1752
01:28:29,640 --> 01:28:32,240
Speaker 1: and eighteen. He's a great actor, He's a great friend.

1753
01:28:32,479 --> 01:28:35,760
Speaker 1: Jason George, thanks for coming on money making conversation. Appreciate it.

1754
01:28:35,840 --> 01:28:37,800
Speaker 1: I appreciate you. Thank you for having as a blast.

1755
01:28:37,800 --> 01:28:40,920
Speaker 1: I come back any time. Adoption of teams from foster

1756
01:28:40,960 --> 01:28:43,200
Speaker 1: care is a topic not enough people know about, and

1757
01:28:43,240 --> 01:28:45,920
Speaker 1: we're here to change that. I'm April Dinuity, host of

1758
01:28:45,920 --> 01:28:49,920
Speaker 1: the new podcast Navigating Adoption, presented by adopt Us Kids.

1759
01:28:49,960 --> 01:28:53,719
Speaker 1: Each episode brings you compelling, real life adoption stories told

1760
01:28:53,720 --> 01:28:56,280
Speaker 1: by the families that lived them, with commentary from experts.

1761
01:28:56,640 --> 01:28:59,880
Speaker 1: Visit adopt us Kids dot org, slash podcast, or some

1762
01:29:00,000 --> 01:29:03,599
Speaker 1: scribe to Navigating Adoption presented by adopt Us Kids, brought

1763
01:29:03,680 --> 01:29:05,160
Speaker 1: to you by the U. S Department of Health and

1764
01:29:05,240 --> 01:29:08,599
Speaker 1: Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, and the Council.

1765
01:29:09,960 --> 01:29:13,679
Speaker 1: What grows in the forest trees, sure, no. What else

1766
01:29:13,720 --> 01:29:17,400
Speaker 1: grows in the forest, our imagination, our sense of wonder

1767
01:29:17,640 --> 01:29:20,799
Speaker 1: and our family bonds grow too, because when we disconnect

1768
01:29:20,880 --> 01:29:27,519
Speaker 1: from this and connect with this, we reconnect with each other.

1769
01:29:28,240 --> 01:29:31,120
Speaker 1: The forest is closer than you think. Find a forest

1770
01:29:31,240 --> 01:29:34,760
Speaker 1: near you and start exploring. I Discover the Forest dot org.

1771
01:29:35,080 --> 01:29:37,640
Speaker 1: Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and

1772
01:29:37,720 --> 01:29:43,479
Speaker 1: the AD Council. What grows in the forest trees? Sure? No.

1773
01:29:43,560 --> 01:29:46,920
Speaker 1: What else grows in the forest Our imagination, our sense

1774
01:29:46,960 --> 01:29:50,360
Speaker 1: of wonder, and our family bonds grow too, because when

1775
01:29:50,360 --> 01:29:57,120
Speaker 1: we disconnect from this and connect with this, we reconnect

1776
01:29:57,200 --> 01:30:00,280
Speaker 1: with each other. The forest is closer than you think.

1777
01:30:00,560 --> 01:30:03,920
Speaker 1: Find a forest near you and start exploring. I Discover

1778
01:30:04,000 --> 01:30:06,439
Speaker 1: the Forest dot org. Brought to you by the United

1779
01:30:06,479 --> 01:30:10,080
Speaker 1: States Forest Service and the AD Council. We will be

1780
01:30:10,200 --> 01:30:13,240
Speaker 1: right back with more money Making Conversations with your host,

1781
01:30:13,400 --> 01:30:17,680
Speaker 1: Rashan McDonald Him Rushan McDonald, the host of Money Making Conversation.

1782
01:30:17,840 --> 01:30:20,479
Speaker 1: The Cafe Mocha Swag Award is a celebration of black

1783
01:30:20,520 --> 01:30:23,000
Speaker 1: men who are making a difference in our community by

1784
01:30:23,040 --> 01:30:27,720
Speaker 1: empowering others to reach their life goals. From civic leaders, businessmen, activists,

1785
01:30:27,720 --> 01:30:31,280
Speaker 1: celebrities and everyday dads. The Cafe Moca Swag Award winner

1786
01:30:31,320 --> 01:30:35,799
Speaker 1: this week is Dr Shaun Woodley, a graduate of Hampton University.

1787
01:30:36,040 --> 01:30:39,320
Speaker 1: Dr Shaun Woodley has dedicated his professional career to education.

1788
01:30:39,720 --> 01:30:43,799
Speaker 1: He is the architect behind the educated movement Teach, Hustle, Inspire.

1789
01:30:44,120 --> 01:30:47,040
Speaker 1: He has written the bestselling book mc means Moved the

1790
01:30:47,120 --> 01:30:50,600
Speaker 1: Class How to spark engagement and motivation to urban and

1791
01:30:50,640 --> 01:30:55,720
Speaker 1: culturally diverged classrooms. I firmly believe that education it's a

1792
01:30:55,800 --> 01:30:59,519
Speaker 1: key that can unlock so many doors in so many

1793
01:30:59,520 --> 01:31:03,559
Speaker 1: different ructions. We need to be sure that the bright

1794
01:31:03,640 --> 01:31:06,599
Speaker 1: young scholars in the four walls of these classrooms across

1795
01:31:06,600 --> 01:31:10,080
Speaker 1: this country are being exposed so that they have something

1796
01:31:10,160 --> 01:31:13,320
Speaker 1: to shoot for. An education can't do that. The Cafaine

1797
01:31:13,320 --> 01:31:16,599
Speaker 1: marka Swag Award represents men who have strength, whose wisdom

1798
01:31:16,680 --> 01:31:20,120
Speaker 1: is assertive, and who is genuine in their spirit. Welcome

1799
01:31:20,160 --> 01:31:24,160
Speaker 1: back to money making Conversations with your host, Rashan McDonald.

1800
01:31:24,720 --> 01:31:27,160
Speaker 1: My next guest is Sister Soldier. She is a New

1801
01:31:27,240 --> 01:31:29,960
Speaker 1: York Times bestselling author. Her debate book, The Cold Is

1802
01:31:30,000 --> 01:31:32,879
Speaker 1: Win to Ever Soul over a million copies and introduced

1803
01:31:32,920 --> 01:31:36,600
Speaker 1: the world to the quick, witted, bold, fashionable, erotic, soulful

1804
01:31:36,800 --> 01:31:41,840
Speaker 1: and undeniable, complicated character of Winter, Santiago. The sequel to

1805
01:31:41,880 --> 01:31:44,000
Speaker 1: the Cold is when the Ever Life After Death is

1806
01:31:44,040 --> 01:31:47,000
Speaker 1: out now you can buy right now. Previously, as you

1807
01:31:47,000 --> 01:31:49,600
Speaker 1: know the background on Sister Soldier recording artists with the

1808
01:31:49,680 --> 01:31:52,280
Speaker 1: hip hop group Public Enemy. She is best known as

1809
01:31:52,280 --> 01:31:56,600
Speaker 1: a political activist, educative urban youth from underserved communities. A

1810
01:31:56,680 --> 01:32:00,360
Speaker 1: graduate of Rutgers University, her first book, So Like I

1811
01:32:00,360 --> 01:32:03,240
Speaker 1: Said earlier over a million copies. It was recognized in

1812
01:32:03,400 --> 01:32:07,240
Speaker 1: Essence Emerged magazine as when He was a bestseller in eighteen.

1813
01:32:07,720 --> 01:32:11,320
Speaker 1: It was including a PBS Great American reprogram and currently

1814
01:32:11,320 --> 01:32:14,160
Speaker 1: it has over a million copies. In prey please Work

1815
01:32:14,200 --> 01:32:17,479
Speaker 1: with the money Making conversation discussed her new book, Coldest

1816
01:32:17,479 --> 01:32:24,160
Speaker 1: Winter Ever, Life After Death Sister Soldier. He thank you

1817
01:32:24,200 --> 01:32:27,360
Speaker 1: for welcoming me. I'm glad to be here. Well, I'm

1818
01:32:27,400 --> 01:32:29,599
Speaker 1: happy you know this is We're coming into a new

1819
01:32:29,680 --> 01:32:32,960
Speaker 1: year with a fantastic book. Uh. Twenty was a it

1820
01:32:33,080 --> 01:32:35,000
Speaker 1: was a people year for a lot of people. How

1821
01:32:35,000 --> 01:32:37,280
Speaker 1: did it affect you and did you write the book

1822
01:32:37,280 --> 01:32:39,760
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty or you started it prior to that?

1823
01:32:43,640 --> 01:32:49,200
Speaker 1: Definitely in that year and twenty was a very difficult year.

1824
01:32:49,720 --> 01:32:52,880
Speaker 1: I think all around the world I don't think that

1825
01:32:52,960 --> 01:32:59,160
Speaker 1: anybody will forget uh, every on every level personally won't

1826
01:32:59,200 --> 01:33:05,160
Speaker 1: forget it, politically, will never forget it, financially, won't forget it,

1827
01:33:05,680 --> 01:33:08,640
Speaker 1: you know, culturally, won't forget it. So it was a

1828
01:33:08,760 --> 01:33:14,639
Speaker 1: very uh difficult year for everybody. With that being said,

1829
01:33:15,320 --> 01:33:17,400
Speaker 1: when you work in the show, a book is complicated

1830
01:33:17,400 --> 01:33:18,960
Speaker 1: to this because there are a lot of complex care

1831
01:33:19,080 --> 01:33:21,600
Speaker 1: but a lot of familiar characters, and a lot of

1832
01:33:21,600 --> 01:33:23,720
Speaker 1: people have been waiting on this book, the sequel to

1833
01:33:23,760 --> 01:33:27,479
Speaker 1: this book, because Ward's character, you know, in the previous book.

1834
01:33:27,479 --> 01:33:29,240
Speaker 1: They want to know what happened to the character. Tell

1835
01:33:29,320 --> 01:33:32,240
Speaker 1: us about that journey of writing the book. You say,

1836
01:33:32,320 --> 01:33:34,040
Speaker 1: we wrote it to twenty but I thought that was

1837
01:33:34,080 --> 01:33:37,840
Speaker 1: a thought process prior to twenty Land. The chapters Land,

1838
01:33:37,880 --> 01:33:43,720
Speaker 1: the storylines talk about that walk with those steps. Okay, well, actually,

1839
01:33:44,600 --> 01:33:49,240
Speaker 1: when the Cocus Want to Ever first published, in, which

1840
01:33:49,240 --> 01:33:54,439
Speaker 1: I really think it's but in is the number that

1841
01:33:54,520 --> 01:33:57,200
Speaker 1: everybody wants to go with, So that's fine. When it

1842
01:33:57,280 --> 01:34:00,840
Speaker 1: first published, I wanted to write a sequel, you know,

1843
01:34:01,000 --> 01:34:05,400
Speaker 1: immediately I began thinking about a sequel immediately. But then

1844
01:34:05,439 --> 01:34:07,840
Speaker 1: I thought about the fact that the cold this went

1845
01:34:07,880 --> 01:34:11,519
Speaker 1: to Ever is a cautionary tale. It was something not

1846
01:34:11,640 --> 01:34:16,479
Speaker 1: to glorify the drug lifestyle, but to expose it and

1847
01:34:16,640 --> 01:34:22,280
Speaker 1: show how it how drugs destroys the whole family ultimately,

1848
01:34:23,000 --> 01:34:26,559
Speaker 1: So because the cold this went to ever ended with,

1849
01:34:27,200 --> 01:34:31,680
Speaker 1: went to Santiago being convicted and sentenced to a mandatory

1850
01:34:31,840 --> 01:34:37,880
Speaker 1: minimum of fifteen years, I wanted that to resonate in

1851
01:34:38,000 --> 01:34:42,040
Speaker 1: our community, for people to really feel, you know, the

1852
01:34:42,160 --> 01:34:46,479
Speaker 1: absence of her presence or the absence of the presence

1853
01:34:46,520 --> 01:34:49,439
Speaker 1: of someone that you really love or you really missed,

1854
01:34:49,840 --> 01:34:53,240
Speaker 1: because that's what happens in the real world when our

1855
01:34:53,360 --> 01:34:58,440
Speaker 1: loved ones gett incarcerated, and it's serious. So for everybody

1856
01:34:58,479 --> 01:35:01,800
Speaker 1: that was out there quality a drug game, you know,

1857
01:35:01,920 --> 01:35:05,960
Speaker 1: glorifying and glamorizing it, I wanted to make it clear

1858
01:35:06,040 --> 01:35:09,479
Speaker 1: that it's not a game, it's a death style, not

1859
01:35:09,640 --> 01:35:13,720
Speaker 1: a lifestyle, and that the whole family can get destroyed

1860
01:35:14,080 --> 01:35:17,840
Speaker 1: once you get involved in it. Well that's important because

1861
01:35:17,880 --> 01:35:20,360
Speaker 1: we do have a family here, you know, you have us. So,

1862
01:35:20,520 --> 01:35:22,559
Speaker 1: like I said, I haven't I didn't read the first book.

1863
01:35:22,560 --> 01:35:26,320
Speaker 1: I read the second book outstanding, read from cover to cover,

1864
01:35:26,400 --> 01:35:28,240
Speaker 1: all right, Julie, I would tell you how I read

1865
01:35:28,280 --> 01:35:31,000
Speaker 1: books I get up in the morning. But from interviewed

1866
01:35:31,120 --> 01:35:33,080
Speaker 1: on a writer about the book, I read it the

1867
01:35:33,160 --> 01:35:35,800
Speaker 1: day of and I got up at two o'clock in

1868
01:35:35,800 --> 01:35:39,120
Speaker 1: the morning and I read it and it was like, uh,

1869
01:35:39,240 --> 01:35:42,280
Speaker 1: it was it was very colorful, it was very Uh.

1870
01:35:42,360 --> 01:35:46,120
Speaker 1: The characters I always like to say, uh, what were you?

1871
01:35:46,720 --> 01:35:50,000
Speaker 1: Were relatable? I thought, And I thought because of the

1872
01:35:50,000 --> 01:35:53,640
Speaker 1: fact that you know, they were emotionally driven, they were passioned,

1873
01:35:53,680 --> 01:35:56,679
Speaker 1: they were tied to a belief, and they were honest people.

1874
01:35:56,960 --> 01:35:59,320
Speaker 1: And I think for shines the most in your in

1875
01:35:59,360 --> 01:36:01,559
Speaker 1: your book as in all your previous writing. This book

1876
01:36:01,640 --> 01:36:04,479
Speaker 1: is called Life After Death. The honesty of the characters

1877
01:36:04,479 --> 01:36:07,240
Speaker 1: talking walkers through the steps and the honesty of the characters.

1878
01:36:07,240 --> 01:36:09,880
Speaker 1: And are you reaching from certain people that you know?

1879
01:36:10,280 --> 01:36:15,280
Speaker 1: Are these just your imagination? These characters are definitely characters

1880
01:36:15,320 --> 01:36:18,920
Speaker 1: from my imagination. And I think the key to writing

1881
01:36:19,040 --> 01:36:23,519
Speaker 1: these kinds of characters, for any author or aspiring author,

1882
01:36:23,960 --> 01:36:28,320
Speaker 1: is that you have to be able to uh completely

1883
01:36:28,400 --> 01:36:32,880
Speaker 1: distance yourself from the characters that you create. You can't

1884
01:36:33,000 --> 01:36:35,679
Speaker 1: look at it as you want to control the character,

1885
01:36:36,160 --> 01:36:40,320
Speaker 1: or you want to control the character's voice, the character's desires,

1886
01:36:40,439 --> 01:36:45,240
Speaker 1: whatever the case. So for example, Winter Santiago is very

1887
01:36:45,320 --> 01:36:50,960
Speaker 1: different from Sister Soldier. How Winter would answer a question

1888
01:36:51,240 --> 01:36:55,120
Speaker 1: is completely different from how I, the author would answer

1889
01:36:55,120 --> 01:36:59,639
Speaker 1: the question. So I can't start trying to slip my

1890
01:36:59,760 --> 01:37:05,639
Speaker 1: per sonality into her personality without corrupting the character. If

1891
01:37:05,680 --> 01:37:08,519
Speaker 1: I want the character to be genuine, I have to

1892
01:37:08,560 --> 01:37:11,880
Speaker 1: have let the character have a life of its own,

1893
01:37:12,439 --> 01:37:16,439
Speaker 1: if you will. So for each and every character in

1894
01:37:16,479 --> 01:37:19,960
Speaker 1: the in the books that I write, I don't let

1895
01:37:20,160 --> 01:37:24,720
Speaker 1: sister Soldier interfere in the character, no matter what well

1896
01:37:24,720 --> 01:37:27,120
Speaker 1: it's it's important to hear, but let me whenever when

1897
01:37:27,120 --> 01:37:30,200
Speaker 1: they sit over the information or reading about the background,

1898
01:37:30,200 --> 01:37:33,720
Speaker 1: it was saying, all those soldier, you know this is

1899
01:37:33,760 --> 01:37:37,559
Speaker 1: a nonfiction. In Winter within the San Diego's fiction, both said,

1900
01:37:37,960 --> 01:37:40,040
Speaker 1: she and I are real. That's what just the state

1901
01:37:40,080 --> 01:37:43,759
Speaker 1: in that bio and in fact fictitious. Winter is realer

1902
01:37:43,800 --> 01:37:47,200
Speaker 1: than you talk about that when you say that, when

1903
01:37:47,200 --> 01:37:49,759
Speaker 1: you said, even though you said these are made of characters,

1904
01:37:50,000 --> 01:37:52,880
Speaker 1: the statement is that she's realer. When you say realer,

1905
01:37:53,080 --> 01:37:55,360
Speaker 1: what do you mean when you say that? What I

1906
01:37:55,400 --> 01:38:01,080
Speaker 1: mean is that she uh is She's a representation of

1907
01:38:01,560 --> 01:38:06,639
Speaker 1: probably you know, a million of the young ladies in

1908
01:38:06,680 --> 01:38:10,680
Speaker 1: the hood and in the suburbs and the rural areas

1909
01:38:10,720 --> 01:38:15,200
Speaker 1: across the whole United States of America. And and it

1910
01:38:15,400 --> 01:38:19,840
Speaker 1: becomes obvious that she's a representation because of how great

1911
01:38:19,920 --> 01:38:24,080
Speaker 1: the love for her is, because of how high the

1912
01:38:24,280 --> 01:38:29,760
Speaker 1: sales of her story is. All of that is uh

1913
01:38:30,000 --> 01:38:33,959
Speaker 1: is obvious when I first wrote the book, the amount

1914
01:38:34,080 --> 01:38:38,759
Speaker 1: of hundreds and then thousands of letters I got about

1915
01:38:38,760 --> 01:38:41,760
Speaker 1: went to Santiago made it clear to me that she

1916
01:38:42,160 --> 01:38:47,800
Speaker 1: is real and real as personified uh In in the

1917
01:38:47,920 --> 01:38:53,960
Speaker 1: lives of real people in our neighborhoods. Who feels she's

1918
01:38:54,000 --> 01:38:59,519
Speaker 1: real because she represents their sentiments or their emotions, or

1919
01:38:59,560 --> 01:39:04,560
Speaker 1: their challenges, or their lifestyle or you know, or their fantasies,

1920
01:39:04,840 --> 01:39:08,799
Speaker 1: fantasies of who they would like to be. No interesting

1921
01:39:08,840 --> 01:39:12,240
Speaker 1: thing when because you're a performing artist and uh and

1922
01:39:12,760 --> 01:39:15,120
Speaker 1: I was blessed in my life, you know, a stand

1923
01:39:15,200 --> 01:39:18,280
Speaker 1: up comedian, and I got to experience Heights of Death,

1924
01:39:18,280 --> 01:39:21,240
Speaker 1: comedy jam performing in Madison Square Garden and that lab

1925
01:39:21,680 --> 01:39:25,200
Speaker 1: that live performance is really filled with a drill on.

1926
01:39:25,680 --> 01:39:28,120
Speaker 1: You know, from a standpoint as a writer, and I

1927
01:39:28,160 --> 01:39:31,600
Speaker 1: have a sitcom writer, I've written dramas, I've written reality

1928
01:39:31,640 --> 01:39:34,439
Speaker 1: shows and things like that. So that's a different level

1929
01:39:34,840 --> 01:39:37,519
Speaker 1: and from when I was a performing artist as a

1930
01:39:37,520 --> 01:39:40,479
Speaker 1: stand up comedian and and because it wasn't as raw

1931
01:39:40,640 --> 01:39:43,280
Speaker 1: and as a as a performing artist and you're out

1932
01:39:43,280 --> 01:39:45,960
Speaker 1: there rapping, that's a raw form of entertainment. When you

1933
01:39:46,040 --> 01:39:49,679
Speaker 1: out there writing, what compels you and drives your passion

1934
01:39:49,760 --> 01:39:56,920
Speaker 1: as a writer, Sister Soldier, I think that uh, myself

1935
01:39:56,960 --> 01:40:01,240
Speaker 1: as a writer is is the top is the top.

1936
01:40:01,800 --> 01:40:07,040
Speaker 1: In other words, as a music, performing artists or anything else,

1937
01:40:07,120 --> 01:40:13,920
Speaker 1: really a writer clearly tops all of that because I

1938
01:40:14,040 --> 01:40:19,760
Speaker 1: have a very vast imagination. I have thousands of stories

1939
01:40:19,880 --> 01:40:27,599
Speaker 1: in my head. I love the whole process of researching, reading, studying, uh,

1940
01:40:27,640 --> 01:40:32,840
Speaker 1: traveling new world, learning new cultures, new languages, experiencing new

1941
01:40:32,960 --> 01:40:36,200
Speaker 1: things and being able to draw from all of those

1942
01:40:36,240 --> 01:40:40,080
Speaker 1: things at once. And it's a real challenge. And when

1943
01:40:40,160 --> 01:40:45,760
Speaker 1: you're creating a character, it gives you a greater respect

1944
01:40:46,439 --> 01:40:51,000
Speaker 1: for for God then you may have ever had, because

1945
01:40:51,040 --> 01:40:54,479
Speaker 1: you say, wow, it takes all of this energy and

1946
01:40:54,600 --> 01:40:58,519
Speaker 1: all of this imagination and all of this effort and

1947
01:40:58,560 --> 01:41:02,000
Speaker 1: all of this passionate, all of this soul to create

1948
01:41:02,160 --> 01:41:09,280
Speaker 1: this one inanamant character. And here the higher Power, the

1949
01:41:09,400 --> 01:41:13,360
Speaker 1: maker of all souls, has created each and every one

1950
01:41:13,439 --> 01:41:16,760
Speaker 1: of us, and each and every one of us has

1951
01:41:16,880 --> 01:41:21,200
Speaker 1: something unique about us, and each of us has a backstory.

1952
01:41:21,640 --> 01:41:25,519
Speaker 1: It just makes you say, well, a hundle law, how

1953
01:41:25,840 --> 01:41:29,479
Speaker 1: great God is? You know, it's really it's really great

1954
01:41:29,520 --> 01:41:31,200
Speaker 1: talking to you. I want to thank you for taking

1955
01:41:31,200 --> 01:41:33,880
Speaker 1: the time to discuss your book that out now, Life

1956
01:41:33,920 --> 01:41:36,080
Speaker 1: After Death, the sequel to the Code that is When

1957
01:41:36,160 --> 01:41:39,000
Speaker 1: the Winter Ever and Winter being a the lead character

1958
01:41:39,600 --> 01:41:42,599
Speaker 1: in your in your novel series. You know you said

1959
01:41:42,640 --> 01:41:45,400
Speaker 1: something earlier, were talking about drugs, and you was talking

1960
01:41:45,400 --> 01:41:48,000
Speaker 1: about that lifestyle and your your goal was not to

1961
01:41:48,000 --> 01:41:51,800
Speaker 1: glorify it. That's why she went to jail fifteen years

1962
01:41:51,960 --> 01:41:55,360
Speaker 1: and and inserved every year of that in prison. And

1963
01:41:55,360 --> 01:41:59,400
Speaker 1: that's very important in your storytelling dynamics. And so when

1964
01:41:59,439 --> 01:42:01,439
Speaker 1: I when I look at the reality of what life

1965
01:42:01,640 --> 01:42:06,240
Speaker 1: is your education, you know, your degree graduate of Ruge University,

1966
01:42:06,280 --> 01:42:08,639
Speaker 1: tell us how important it is and how its important

1967
01:42:08,680 --> 01:42:11,000
Speaker 1: is that's part of your legacy. When you're talking to

1968
01:42:11,120 --> 01:42:14,240
Speaker 1: young people about your career and you're talking about your

1969
01:42:14,280 --> 01:42:18,480
Speaker 1: career as a writer. Now, well, I think the university

1970
01:42:18,600 --> 01:42:23,040
Speaker 1: level is important, Uh not for the same reasons that

1971
01:42:23,080 --> 01:42:26,800
Speaker 1: maybe other people think it's important. I think it's important

1972
01:42:26,840 --> 01:42:30,120
Speaker 1: because like for somebody like me who came from the

1973
01:42:30,160 --> 01:42:35,479
Speaker 1: Bronx and then came from the poor suburbs, you know,

1974
01:42:35,760 --> 01:42:40,679
Speaker 1: after the Bronx. Uh, going to a university and seeing

1975
01:42:40,720 --> 01:42:46,599
Speaker 1: the facility itself is a very amazing experience. Going out

1976
01:42:46,640 --> 01:42:50,160
Speaker 1: on the yard and seeing all of the organizations that

1977
01:42:50,200 --> 01:42:55,120
Speaker 1: the university offers and realizing that anything you ever imagine

1978
01:42:55,240 --> 01:42:58,640
Speaker 1: in your life you can learn and master in a

1979
01:42:58,760 --> 01:43:04,160
Speaker 1: university is a very uh wonderful feeling. So if you're

1980
01:43:04,200 --> 01:43:08,000
Speaker 1: standing there, you just arrived, it's your first week on campus.

1981
01:43:08,400 --> 01:43:12,880
Speaker 1: You can join an organization to row a boat if

1982
01:43:12,920 --> 01:43:15,200
Speaker 1: that's your thing. You want to rote a boat, you

1983
01:43:15,240 --> 01:43:17,320
Speaker 1: want to play the piano, you want to be in

1984
01:43:17,320 --> 01:43:20,800
Speaker 1: the science club, you want to do experiments. You wanna

1985
01:43:21,280 --> 01:43:24,320
Speaker 1: jump out of airplanes, you want to shoot rifles or

1986
01:43:24,320 --> 01:43:28,960
Speaker 1: whatever you wanna do. And on a university level, Uh,

1987
01:43:29,000 --> 01:43:33,720
Speaker 1: in a major university, it's an opportunity that's there and

1988
01:43:33,840 --> 01:43:36,840
Speaker 1: all of the resources are there. I spent my whole

1989
01:43:37,000 --> 01:43:41,960
Speaker 1: young life wishing that I owned a piano. And when

1990
01:43:41,960 --> 01:43:44,519
Speaker 1: I got to the university and I went to the

1991
01:43:44,640 --> 01:43:48,200
Speaker 1: music the campus for music. I went into a building

1992
01:43:48,240 --> 01:43:51,320
Speaker 1: in every single room had a piano. And because I

1993
01:43:51,400 --> 01:43:53,719
Speaker 1: was a student and I had a student, I d

1994
01:43:54,000 --> 01:43:57,839
Speaker 1: I could access that piano. I could master that piano

1995
01:43:57,960 --> 01:44:01,280
Speaker 1: if I studied it. So I just stink universities are

1996
01:44:01,320 --> 01:44:04,640
Speaker 1: amazing and that young people should stry to take it

1997
01:44:04,720 --> 01:44:08,280
Speaker 1: to the university level, not for the sake of prestige

1998
01:44:08,439 --> 01:44:13,559
Speaker 1: or arrogance, or even for just social activity, but because

1999
01:44:13,920 --> 01:44:18,040
Speaker 1: the sky is the limit with expanding your mind, mastering

2000
01:44:18,200 --> 01:44:21,599
Speaker 1: some skills and talents, and being able to own and

2001
01:44:21,640 --> 01:44:26,000
Speaker 1: control your own business. And that's important. And I wanted

2002
01:44:26,040 --> 01:44:29,439
Speaker 1: to make sure I talked about your your college education

2003
01:44:29,520 --> 01:44:32,080
Speaker 1: because you know it changed my life. You know, my

2004
01:44:32,120 --> 01:44:35,720
Speaker 1: degrees in mathematics and my minor and sociology and and

2005
01:44:35,760 --> 01:44:38,400
Speaker 1: I like you when I went to college and it

2006
01:44:38,520 --> 01:44:40,599
Speaker 1: changed me, and it changed me in so many ways

2007
01:44:40,600 --> 01:44:42,519
Speaker 1: because it showed me there's so many avenues of what

2008
01:44:42,640 --> 01:44:47,120
Speaker 1: I could be and promote the value of that. It's incredible.

2009
01:44:47,400 --> 01:44:49,280
Speaker 1: But I know we have a few minutes left. And

2010
01:44:49,800 --> 01:44:51,840
Speaker 1: the amazing thing about the novel is that you don't

2011
01:44:51,880 --> 01:44:54,280
Speaker 1: really want to tell the story because you want people

2012
01:44:54,280 --> 01:44:57,240
Speaker 1: to read the story. Can you can you tell us

2013
01:44:57,240 --> 01:44:59,320
Speaker 1: about some of the characters that have carried over into

2014
01:44:59,320 --> 01:45:02,719
Speaker 1: the sequel that you are building upon in the sequel

2015
01:45:02,800 --> 01:45:07,559
Speaker 1: Life After Death. Yes, in Life after Death, you will see,

2016
01:45:07,680 --> 01:45:11,040
Speaker 1: of course, went to Santiago. She's the main she's on

2017
01:45:11,080 --> 01:45:14,639
Speaker 1: the main stage in the spotlight. And then you'll see Midnight,

2018
01:45:14,680 --> 01:45:18,040
Speaker 1: of course, because whenever you see Winter, you have to

2019
01:45:18,080 --> 01:45:23,880
Speaker 1: see Midnight. You will see Winter sister Porsche Santiago, and

2020
01:45:23,960 --> 01:45:26,760
Speaker 1: she has a book of her own and she is

2021
01:45:27,320 --> 01:45:31,719
Speaker 1: quite dynamic, if I should say so myself. And uh,

2022
01:45:31,760 --> 01:45:37,759
Speaker 1: you'll see the man that Porsche ended up being married to. Um,

2023
01:45:37,800 --> 01:45:40,479
Speaker 1: you will see Ricky Santiago. Oh that's a big one

2024
01:45:40,479 --> 01:45:44,120
Speaker 1: because you know everybody loves him. And you'll see even

2025
01:45:44,200 --> 01:45:50,639
Speaker 1: Lana glimpses of Lana Santiago. Uh so, yeah, it's all

2026
01:45:50,680 --> 01:45:55,040
Speaker 1: of the characters that you met in Nicodest Winterever. And

2027
01:45:55,160 --> 01:45:57,599
Speaker 1: for some of the characters like went to his friends

2028
01:45:58,320 --> 01:46:02,360
Speaker 1: in Life after Death, you'll see more insight until went

2029
01:46:02,520 --> 01:46:06,920
Speaker 1: into Winter friendships, and the characters the same characters from

2030
01:46:07,080 --> 01:46:12,040
Speaker 1: the Coldest Whenever. But after fifteen years of serving uh

2031
01:46:12,320 --> 01:46:15,040
Speaker 1: prison set, Like you said, you're gonna look different, walk different,

2032
01:46:15,040 --> 01:46:18,040
Speaker 1: talk different. And because the life they live now is different.

2033
01:46:18,200 --> 01:46:20,680
Speaker 1: An incredible read. I'm just gonna let you know I

2034
01:46:20,760 --> 01:46:23,000
Speaker 1: read it, h uh and I would recommend it to

2035
01:46:23,040 --> 01:46:25,280
Speaker 1: my friends and putting in my newsletter, putting on my

2036
01:46:25,400 --> 01:46:28,760
Speaker 1: social media, A great novel. You're you know, you're the

2037
01:46:28,800 --> 01:46:31,679
Speaker 1: blessing of this conversation I'm having with your sister soldiers

2038
01:46:31,720 --> 01:46:35,679
Speaker 1: that you know, you're transcending person. You know, like you said,

2039
01:46:35,720 --> 01:46:37,880
Speaker 1: you come from the Bronx. You know, you're you're You're

2040
01:46:38,000 --> 01:46:40,120
Speaker 1: happily married, you have a child. You know you live

2041
01:46:40,160 --> 01:46:42,719
Speaker 1: in a life of uh that you want to live.

2042
01:46:42,840 --> 01:46:45,360
Speaker 1: And I feel as a writer, as a successful author,

2043
01:46:45,760 --> 01:46:47,760
Speaker 1: just tell me this, uh, you know, we we do

2044
01:46:47,840 --> 01:46:50,280
Speaker 1: these things creative. I was fortunately be with Steve Harvey

2045
01:46:50,680 --> 01:46:52,920
Speaker 1: and we did uh, act like the lady, think like

2046
01:46:52,960 --> 01:46:55,000
Speaker 1: a man, and nobody told us we would sell books

2047
01:46:55,000 --> 01:46:57,639
Speaker 1: and we sold three million copies. How did it feel

2048
01:46:57,720 --> 01:47:02,040
Speaker 1: to realize you had a best seller in your hands? Well,

2049
01:47:02,120 --> 01:47:05,080
Speaker 1: I'm gonna tell you. I like the reaction of the

2050
01:47:05,200 --> 01:47:09,599
Speaker 1: people in the neighborhoods that I grew up in, So

2051
01:47:10,000 --> 01:47:13,719
Speaker 1: I Likeve like, Uh, if I walk down the street

2052
01:47:13,760 --> 01:47:17,639
Speaker 1: in Hallan, you know, I'll hear people whispering, Oh, oh,

2053
01:47:17,920 --> 01:47:21,840
Speaker 1: there should go. It's the girl. What girl, even though

2054
01:47:21,880 --> 01:47:25,160
Speaker 1: I'm grown with you a woman, right girl, God, I

2055
01:47:25,200 --> 01:47:29,160
Speaker 1: wrote the book. But the book, the book, she wrote

2056
01:47:29,160 --> 01:47:33,280
Speaker 1: the book. So I love that kind of feeling because

2057
01:47:33,520 --> 01:47:36,720
Speaker 1: it's a neighborhood that's familiar to me, it's people that's

2058
01:47:36,720 --> 01:47:42,000
Speaker 1: familiar to me. And it's even better than any award

2059
01:47:42,960 --> 01:47:47,640
Speaker 1: or any you know, official kind of congratulations that you

2060
01:47:47,680 --> 01:47:51,760
Speaker 1: can get when you've seen your own people totally engaged

2061
01:47:51,960 --> 01:47:54,320
Speaker 1: in the words that you've written on the page. It's

2062
01:47:54,320 --> 01:47:56,679
Speaker 1: fantastic words. And thank you for allowing me to speak

2063
01:47:56,720 --> 01:47:58,320
Speaker 1: to you and have an honest conversation. A boy a

2064
01:47:58,439 --> 01:48:02,720
Speaker 1: brilliant writer of an artists and an amazing talent, and

2065
01:48:02,880 --> 01:48:05,640
Speaker 1: keep translating in the world with your colorful style of

2066
01:48:05,680 --> 01:48:08,439
Speaker 1: writing in your and your activism. Thank you for coming

2067
01:48:08,479 --> 01:48:11,960
Speaker 1: on money making conversations. Thank you for welcoming me, and

2068
01:48:12,040 --> 01:48:15,960
Speaker 1: thank you for putting me in your newsletter. Absolutely girlfriend,

2069
01:48:15,960 --> 01:48:17,840
Speaker 1: you the thank you as they say you all the

2070
01:48:18,000 --> 01:48:21,400
Speaker 1: one cheetah one, cheetah one. Right. Then the book, the book,

2071
01:48:21,520 --> 01:48:24,160
Speaker 1: that's right, the neighbor That book is you know, Life

2072
01:48:24,160 --> 01:48:26,960
Speaker 1: After Death by Sister Soldier. Again, I want to thank

2073
01:48:26,960 --> 01:48:29,639
Speaker 1: everybody who comes to Money Making Conversation. If you want

2074
01:48:29,680 --> 01:48:32,200
Speaker 1: to see more interviews or here more interviews, please go

2075
01:48:32,240 --> 01:48:35,040
Speaker 1: to money Making Conversation dot com um with Sean McDonald,

2076
01:48:35,360 --> 01:48:42,639
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