WEBVTT - Mohammed Massoquoi 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:02.600 This is cut to it with Steve Smith Senior at 0:00:02.640 --> 0:00:08.879 production of The Black Effect and I Heart Radio. I'm 0:00:08.920 --> 0:00:12.200 Steve Smith Senior and I'm John and this is cut 0:00:12.240 --> 0:00:16.840 to it. Good do it, Good do that's getting down 0:00:16.880 --> 0:00:20.520 to do it? Good do it. We asked the questions 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:23.880 you always want to know, but no one ever asked, 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:29.840 let's cut to it. You ain't heard about it. Then 0:00:29.840 --> 0:00:39.720 we're about to let you know. It's all almost there. 0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:43.839 I'm almost there, almost the Smithy man, let's cut right 0:00:43.880 --> 0:00:46.880 to it. Hey, hey, hey, you're doing good. I guess 0:00:46.880 --> 0:00:50.200 so cool. I just have to yeah. And it's it's 0:00:50.280 --> 0:00:52.360 it's that time of year. Were with a lot of things, 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:55.800 a lot of things. If you I'll tell you it's 0:00:55.880 --> 0:00:58.080 one of those times where you know, I know, your 0:00:58.080 --> 0:01:00.240 appearances are starting to pick up, and it's want to 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:01.880 travel a little bit more worse, things are starting to 0:01:01.960 --> 0:01:04.440 lighten up. But we've had a little bit of conversation. 0:01:04.520 --> 0:01:08.240 What's a what's a common misconception when you're doing either 0:01:08.280 --> 0:01:11.360 speaking events or appearances or whatever it is for maybe 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:15.120 a sponsor, what's a misconception when you show up to 0:01:15.200 --> 0:01:19.039 an event or whatever that whatever that event is? Great question, 0:01:19.600 --> 0:01:28.360 multiple things. One, Uh, I'm taller aside from the physical Yeah, 0:01:28.440 --> 0:01:33.240 people like, oh you're talling what I thought than when 0:01:33.240 --> 0:01:35.240 they when they when they give you some credit on 0:01:35.280 --> 0:01:38.160 you know, they're like, I thought you expect me to be. 0:01:39.520 --> 0:01:44.560 I take that as a straight up compliment, sull. I 0:01:44.560 --> 0:01:50.280 don't know you said taller right. Um. The other is, uh, 0:01:50.880 --> 0:01:55.040 oh you you you a little a little thick, like 0:01:55.120 --> 0:01:58.240 a like a football player, like, oh, yeah, that's what 0:01:58.280 --> 0:02:02.160 I kind of did. Um. And this is the one 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:05.320 I don't necessarily know how to take it. Take it 0:02:05.360 --> 0:02:13.079 as a backhanded compliment. Mm hmm. You're a lot different 0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:16.320 than what I expected. And I'm not sure what they 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:19.960 expected and what do they mean by that, I don't know. 0:02:20.520 --> 0:02:25.200 I take it as a maybe you're not as stupid 0:02:25.200 --> 0:02:35.040 as I thought, or um, you speak so well. Yeah, 0:02:35.080 --> 0:02:37.320 I mean I've heard you speak. You don't really sound 0:02:38.120 --> 0:02:41.359 well like uneducated on the phone. You know. You know 0:02:41.360 --> 0:02:43.520 how it is when you're certain, when you show up 0:02:43.560 --> 0:02:46.920 for certain things and you actually speak, people are shocking 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:49.400 and you actually are educated in the things that come 0:02:49.400 --> 0:02:50.839 out of your mouth. So you know what, I think 0:02:50.880 --> 0:02:53.880 I want to show up to event as one day 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:58.480 in the suit just sagging, sagging bag and berry in 0:02:58.520 --> 0:03:05.200 the suit. You're gonna be abody back for that one. No, 0:03:05.360 --> 0:03:16.320 why is passed down? What a designer belt walking right now? People? Yeah, 0:03:16.360 --> 0:03:18.280 what are the what are the the I guess those 0:03:18.320 --> 0:03:21.839 misconceptions for sure. I was in there. I have been 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:24.440 in a meeting where you know, I've been told that 0:03:24.480 --> 0:03:26.680 if I don't know, if I can't catch football, wouldn't 0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:29.120 be his meet. I was. It was. I was in 0:03:29.200 --> 0:03:32.240 actually in a financial meeting um with a guy who 0:03:32.280 --> 0:03:37.600 told me, and I hate being in business meetings and 0:03:37.680 --> 0:03:40.520 people say, well, let me, uh, let me break it 0:03:40.560 --> 0:03:43.400 down for you, as if you didn't get it the 0:03:43.400 --> 0:03:46.880 first time. Oh no, let me go deeper. Please don't 0:03:46.920 --> 0:03:50.560 cut me off. Wait, touche, let me get your football 0:03:50.600 --> 0:03:56.880 in the house. What do you mean a football? Analogy? 0:03:57.800 --> 0:04:01.560 Were talking about business like you ain't gonna be able 0:04:01.600 --> 0:04:05.320 to understand it another way, and so, uh my, my 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:09.920 financial guy d c uh he when he's hears that 0:04:10.120 --> 0:04:13.040 and they do that, he always puts his head down. 0:04:13.600 --> 0:04:16.760 He's like, oh damn, they just messed up this deal. 0:04:17.720 --> 0:04:23.039 I've had people in a financial meeting talking about stocks, bonds, 0:04:24.120 --> 0:04:31.880 mutual funds, passive income assets, them being the liability. Let 0:04:31.880 --> 0:04:35.240 me break this down for football, and then they try 0:04:35.240 --> 0:04:39.880 to well, you know I'm the quarterback. Oh god, you 0:04:39.920 --> 0:04:42.440 know it sounds horrible, right, And you know, I know 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:45.400 your wide receiver, but you know we're gonna let someone 0:04:45.440 --> 0:04:47.760 else be the wide receiver. And you know you be 0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:53.040 the lineman, Rich I'm not blocking. Well I gotta be 0:04:53.120 --> 0:04:57.760 the lineman. Why does it have to be a football analogy? 0:04:57.839 --> 0:05:00.640 Why can't we just are you making me passive income? 0:05:00.720 --> 0:05:04.560 Soccer bottom line? So i've they didn't they didn't think 0:05:04.560 --> 0:05:08.160 you would know that. But then what was even great 0:05:08.200 --> 0:05:11.200 about this is I think, oh, hey, oh seven. We 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:13.360 were at a at a we were in New York 0:05:13.880 --> 0:05:18.960 and and we were at lunch and they start talking 0:05:19.040 --> 0:05:22.120 all that stuff. Then right before he goes to the bathroom, 0:05:22.160 --> 0:05:27.960 I said, well, you know, what's the raider on the return? Like, 0:05:28.120 --> 0:05:30.440 you know, what do you guys projecting? And you know, 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:33.800 do you guys have numbers? And he goes, well, you know, 0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:37.600 I got use your bathroom, but just let you know, um, 0:05:37.720 --> 0:05:42.760 I mean really, you know, we're just getting started. And 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:44.120 then he went to the bathroom. I looked at me, 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:48.440 I looked at d C. I said, what did you 0:05:48.480 --> 0:05:50.760 hear what he said? He says, I didn't know. I 0:05:50.800 --> 0:05:54.120 didn't know they want to be be their first client. 0:05:55.600 --> 0:06:03.240 They didn't even have performa. So you thought they thought 0:06:03.240 --> 0:06:04.719 that you were just gonna walk in there and just 0:06:04.760 --> 0:06:07.200 fall in love whatever they were gonna say, And you 0:06:07.240 --> 0:06:10.320 were supposed to just fall forward because you some sort 0:06:10.360 --> 0:06:13.080 of dumb jock, or you you're not you're not prepared 0:06:13.120 --> 0:06:17.200 for the meeting, or you don't have the information. They 0:06:17.240 --> 0:06:21.000 had nothing. All they have was they didn't even the 0:06:21.080 --> 0:06:25.400 sad part, the projections they had were not even real 0:06:25.520 --> 0:06:31.400 projections because they had no performer. They had no actual 0:06:31.880 --> 0:06:38.240 history to be able to say what they could have 0:06:38.320 --> 0:06:42.200 projected for future earnings because you know, over the last 0:06:42.560 --> 0:06:46.240 couple of years, this is what they've done. So as 0:06:46.240 --> 0:06:48.000 you've as you've got an older, now you mature, because 0:06:48.000 --> 0:06:50.240 I've heard you talk about this before. But as you've 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:53.960 got an older, do you still sway to not necessarily 0:06:53.960 --> 0:06:56.800 get people what they expect? But now you're now you're 0:06:56.839 --> 0:06:59.640 more so? But do you think now more so? Are 0:06:59.680 --> 0:07:02.479 you trying to now break that stigma? Oh? Actually, yeah, 0:07:02.560 --> 0:07:06.160 as you're older now I have to because you because 0:07:06.200 --> 0:07:09.320 I get. Then it just shows how stupid I am, 0:07:09.360 --> 0:07:12.440 because then I start to play into the narrative. So 0:07:12.480 --> 0:07:14.880 now you know, I make sure I present myself well. 0:07:14.920 --> 0:07:19.679 If I'm in a business meeting, I wear maybe jeans 0:07:19.760 --> 0:07:22.920 or you know, some slacks and a collar shirt. I 0:07:23.040 --> 0:07:25.320 still wear my hat flipped up, hating you know. Some 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:27.360 I don't wear tennis shoes. I wear you know, I 0:07:27.720 --> 0:07:31.960 wearh some vans or some some casual shoes. Um. But 0:07:32.040 --> 0:07:35.280 I am cognizant of making sure that when I come 0:07:35.320 --> 0:07:39.520 to the meeting, I don't come um like I just 0:07:40.680 --> 0:07:44.000 came out of the gym. And so I do believe 0:07:44.080 --> 0:07:47.720 because also too is I also represent my family, and 0:07:47.760 --> 0:07:51.040 so I got to make sure that I don't present 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:58.000 myself that in a way either way that I come unprepared. Right, 0:07:58.040 --> 0:07:59.920 I come with and come with a pen and paper, 0:08:00.040 --> 0:08:02.560 be able to take notes or if I hear something 0:08:02.600 --> 0:08:06.840 that possibly rings a bell or I need more clarification 0:08:06.920 --> 0:08:09.560 on you know, I have. I have that. So I 0:08:09.600 --> 0:08:11.600 always make sure I come with a no pad and 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:17.360 give him that dedicated time. Dope man, breaking those misconceptions. Yeah, 0:08:17.480 --> 0:08:20.560 but sometimes it is, But sometimes it is fun to 0:08:20.640 --> 0:08:24.120 kind of play into the narrative because they will, you know, 0:08:24.240 --> 0:08:27.200 Like there has been times where I played the angry 0:08:27.240 --> 0:08:30.080 black man sometimes at the meeting because it's just kind 0:08:30.080 --> 0:08:32.520 of cool to see him like get stuck down, like 0:08:33.520 --> 0:08:36.320 what do we do. I'll just trying, just playing. I 0:08:36.320 --> 0:08:39.199 won't kill you, I won't I don't care. I won't care. 0:08:39.800 --> 0:08:43.439 I won't care. I won't shoot you. But if you're 0:08:43.440 --> 0:08:47.160 still from out y'all, I whoop you as you just 0:08:47.200 --> 0:08:50.520 gotta play it a little sometimes, right, But it's funny 0:08:50.559 --> 0:08:53.800 as uh d c my my financial guy. I told him, um, 0:08:53.800 --> 0:08:55.440 back in the day, I used to watch it. I 0:08:55.480 --> 0:08:58.160 used to come from like from practice when he used 0:08:58.200 --> 0:09:00.559 to be downtown. So I literally would get off the 0:09:00.600 --> 0:09:02.480 practice field, jumping in my car and run to his 0:09:02.559 --> 0:09:05.079 office and watch him put in a call or put 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:07.920 or put in the stock. And I will watch him 0:09:07.920 --> 0:09:10.000 do it. Because you don't want to be the uninformed nona. 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:13.400 I told him if he stole with me, Yeah, I 0:09:13.440 --> 0:09:15.600 told him, if you stole with me, I won't call 0:09:15.679 --> 0:09:18.840 the police. I come to got come to your house 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:23.560 and get my money and some other folks money too. 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:26.520 And he was like, well, Schmidt, I don't I don't 0:09:26.559 --> 0:09:30.520 notice that I said, okay, and so, but that's a 0:09:30.600 --> 0:09:32.560 running joke. He's been my guy ever since. But I 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:34.000 used to I used to literally go over there and 0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:41.280 watch him and well schools. I actually intern intern under him. Uh, 0:09:41.360 --> 0:09:43.920 but I was a different intern because when you got 0:09:43.920 --> 0:09:49.079 a couple of millions and he's you'm his intern. I 0:09:49.080 --> 0:09:53.720 ain't getting your coffee. I ain't gonna be These entry 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:57.840 level job responsibilities don't really apply to me. Like you 0:09:57.880 --> 0:10:01.240 could listen, I'll call being, I'll do this, and I'll 0:10:01.280 --> 0:10:06.920 do spreasheets. But getting you ask coffee, no, sir, get 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:10.720 your own coffee. Actually you're asking get me some car 0:10:11.360 --> 0:10:17.760 because I'm still in the crimp sugar please. So, hey, 0:10:17.800 --> 0:10:20.800 who we got coming up on the Cut to It podcast. 0:10:20.880 --> 0:10:25.040 We've got Mohammed Massa Kuai, five year NFL veteran, a 0:10:25.200 --> 0:10:29.000 graduate of the University of Georgia, an entrepreneur, graduate from 0:10:29.040 --> 0:10:34.000 the Harvard Business School, and just overall good dude. Mohammed 0:10:34.080 --> 0:10:43.079 Massaki on the Cut to A Podcast. Mohammed, thanks for 0:10:43.440 --> 0:10:46.920 joining the Cut to A Podcast anytime, man, y'all some 0:10:47.040 --> 0:10:53.800 of my favorite people, so sure, thank you. Our first 0:10:53.840 --> 0:10:56.959 segment that we do mo is called get iced up 0:10:57.000 --> 0:10:59.960 and Smithy will hit you with the first question. All right, 0:11:00.520 --> 0:11:03.400 all right, here we go. You're ready, let's go. All right? 0:11:03.960 --> 0:11:09.240 Do you believe money can or can't buy happiness? Yeah? Oh, 0:11:09.440 --> 0:11:12.920 that's a good, good question. I think that if you're happy, 0:11:13.880 --> 0:11:16.640 it will allow you to do certain things that bring 0:11:16.679 --> 0:11:19.920 happiness to other people. If you're unhappy, naturally they're gonna 0:11:19.920 --> 0:11:25.640 be unhappy with money. M M, yeah, it is money 0:11:25.679 --> 0:11:28.439 makes you more of what you already are. Right, let's go. 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:31.559 Let's go down the list. If you're ugly, you're just 0:11:31.720 --> 0:11:35.319 ugly with money, right. If you're stingy, you're just stinging 0:11:35.360 --> 0:11:38.160 you with money. If you're greedy or selfish, you're just 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:43.199 a selfish person with money. Right, So money cannot improve 0:11:44.240 --> 0:11:50.120 your situation if you have a poor point of view, Um, 0:11:50.480 --> 0:11:55.120 would you rather be a boss or employee? Oh? Boss 0:11:55.320 --> 0:11:58.920 for real? I mean you gotta control your own destiny. 0:11:59.040 --> 0:12:01.280 There's a lot of people leadership positions, and I don't 0:12:01.320 --> 0:12:04.520 always lead, right m. You want to be able to 0:12:05.040 --> 0:12:08.400 influence the trajectory where you go and hopefully bring other 0:12:08.440 --> 0:12:10.720 people along with you. If you've been shocked. If someone 0:12:10.840 --> 0:12:15.240 would say employee, sometimes I want to be employee. I 0:12:15.280 --> 0:12:17.000 feel like sometimes the boss says would be like the 0:12:17.080 --> 0:12:19.319 social media answering, Like everyone on social media wants to 0:12:19.320 --> 0:12:21.719 be a boss, but to your point, you know they're not. 0:12:22.880 --> 0:12:25.040 You know what I hate more than anything. Mo, Would 0:12:25.080 --> 0:12:28.160 you agree with this because we'll get into it later. 0:12:28.240 --> 0:12:30.599 But you're a boss, but you have been, like me, 0:12:30.760 --> 0:12:35.040 been an employee. Yeah. Man, there are some days when 0:12:35.120 --> 0:12:39.600 the when the mortgage or the loan payment is due. Brother, 0:12:39.679 --> 0:12:44.000 want to be employee? I get it. I mean I 0:12:44.080 --> 0:12:46.199 get it. It depends on which lends you look out 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:48.360 of it with. Yeah, you gotta be wired a certain 0:12:48.400 --> 0:12:52.640 way because things just like any glamorous when you yourself, 0:12:52.920 --> 0:12:55.719 you got other people under you. But like that kind 0:12:55.760 --> 0:12:59.000 of responsibilities, there's things that you're accountable for. It's not 0:12:59.320 --> 0:13:02.120 the fake version of social media where people are written 0:13:02.200 --> 0:13:05.000 stuff and just taking pictures at things they're not at, 0:13:05.240 --> 0:13:08.880 like when you're really there, Like you know, there's there's 0:13:08.920 --> 0:13:11.400 people that that depend on you. So when that comes 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:13.679 a lot of pressure, everyone says boss, but they don't 0:13:13.679 --> 0:13:16.320 want the responsibility of boss. Not heavy as a head. 0:13:16.760 --> 0:13:21.320 M h, all right, A few more. Does truth exist 0:13:21.480 --> 0:13:26.920 without evidence? I think sometimes people know now what they 0:13:27.000 --> 0:13:30.640 do with the truth is a whole different animal. But 0:13:30.880 --> 0:13:34.520 I think I think people know um deep down inside. 0:13:35.040 --> 0:13:41.680 So does it exist without evidence? Though, man you need 0:13:42.360 --> 0:13:45.240 It depends like some people want evidence just to say 0:13:45.280 --> 0:13:48.760 that they I got you U or now I know 0:13:48.960 --> 0:13:52.200 for sure. But sometimes you're intuition. Sometimes even the fact 0:13:52.240 --> 0:13:55.280 that you question and something kid can can mean that 0:13:55.840 --> 0:13:59.440 you know, that's that's truthful enough. If you don't trust 0:13:59.520 --> 0:14:02.520 something a way, UM, you know that that that may 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:05.679 be an indicator whether you have evidence or not. UM 0:14:06.280 --> 0:14:09.719 to act accordingly to what your gut is telling you. 0:14:11.040 --> 0:14:12.719 I like that, I don't like that. So this is 0:14:12.760 --> 0:14:15.520 the last one. Now, this one is gonna throw you 0:14:15.600 --> 0:14:19.360 for a loop, But just sit back, all right. Let's 0:14:20.800 --> 0:14:25.160 getting to get into your character. Are you ready? I'm 0:14:25.200 --> 0:14:29.040 ready for it? Which character? I don't know? Depending? This 0:14:29.240 --> 0:14:31.720 question is gonna tell on you. This question is gonna 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:35.320 tell you. Are you character? Are you know? Is Mohammed 0:14:35.440 --> 0:14:38.640 gonna answer or is massa answer? It's hope one or 0:14:38.680 --> 0:14:42.240 the other. That's all you got, all right? So you're 0:14:42.280 --> 0:14:46.240 about to get into a fight. What song comes on 0:14:46.960 --> 0:14:50.120 as your soundtrack? I'm about to get into a fight. 0:14:50.240 --> 0:14:51.960 You're about to get to a fight. I'm talking about 0:14:52.040 --> 0:14:55.760 a Molly Wap knuckle knuckle right where in the alley 0:14:55.880 --> 0:14:59.680 in the phone booth, fi fighting the phone booth? What soundtrack? 0:14:59.760 --> 0:15:04.160 Come zone bang. I'm gonna have to take it back 0:15:04.280 --> 0:15:07.720 like either like nuck if you buck or that's what 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:12.120 I just like a lot of people get to ask 0:15:12.560 --> 0:15:14.760 if you buck back in the college days, so he 0:15:14.840 --> 0:15:17.040 might be he might be on something you don't like. 0:15:17.120 --> 0:15:18.880 That's a that's a fake one that now. I just 0:15:19.040 --> 0:15:22.880 think it tastes too long to get hyped though. Oh 0:15:23.000 --> 0:15:25.680 you won't shopping, that's just like reckless from the start, 0:15:25.720 --> 0:15:32.080 where you gotta put on some like you ain't got time, 0:15:35.520 --> 0:15:38.120 but hold on, hold on home, he skipping. Get get 0:15:38.200 --> 0:15:42.200 past the first twenty seconds. Get me to you know, 0:15:42.360 --> 0:15:44.680 I used to have a teammates say he got to 0:15:44.720 --> 0:15:46.880 put on something Gucci, and he used to always say, 0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:48.600 it's the beat, so it wouldn't even be nothing that 0:15:48.640 --> 0:15:51.840 Gucci said. It was just whatever is they told and 0:15:51.840 --> 0:15:53.640 put on the beat is what put him in the movie. 0:15:53.680 --> 0:15:57.080 So okay, that's just good. You gotta ask what y'all 0:15:57.200 --> 0:16:00.560 y'all it's the two right now? If you buck back, 0:16:01.680 --> 0:16:06.480 what what are you'll playing right now? Off real? I 0:16:06.600 --> 0:16:12.400 got d m X which one? It don't matter, like, 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:21.280 how's it going down? As soon as it I'm dodge 0:16:23.000 --> 0:16:26.760 right with some type of uh manslaughter charges you know 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:31.960 how m or like or tupac on me as soon 0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:38.160 as the beat go, you know for me California love Listen, 0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:40.160 I'm an easy date on the fist fight. It don't 0:16:40.320 --> 0:16:42.800 really take much. I whooped. Somebody asks right now with 0:16:42.880 --> 0:16:48.440 a with Purple Rain plan. Yeah, that's that's that's the thing, like, 0:16:48.560 --> 0:16:51.600 that's that's gonna that ain't no one fight and done. 0:16:51.840 --> 0:16:54.440 That's gonna stand to a couple of days. You start 0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:56.680 playing that type of music right there. I mean, think 0:16:56.720 --> 0:17:00.160 about it. If you get Molly wapped listen in the 0:17:00.240 --> 0:17:04.400 Purple Rain, you ain't coming back you you already wanted 0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:07.360 them sappers dudes. It reminds me of the last dance 0:17:07.400 --> 0:17:10.120 where MJ was listening to Kenny Lattim over before. They 0:17:10.160 --> 0:17:12.960 don't take much as you are in a different type 0:17:13.000 --> 0:17:15.359 of assassin to you listen to Kenny Lattimer for a game. Man, 0:17:15.440 --> 0:17:22.000 you are you are straight up right there? Ye whoop 0:17:22.040 --> 0:17:28.840 you up with encyclopedia. Yeah, Kenny g We'll hit you 0:17:28.960 --> 0:17:31.560 with the encyclopedia exes too. I don't even know what's 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:35.880 in the X, but that's that's one of them. You'd 0:17:35.920 --> 0:17:37.480 be like, Bro, you got it. I ain't. I ain't 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:42.359 even trying too with you today. It's like, Brian, I 0:17:42.400 --> 0:17:46.240 ain't even got time today. That was fun. You feel 0:17:46.640 --> 0:17:48.800 I feel warmed up? Do you feel warmed up? I 0:17:48.920 --> 0:17:51.040 love it? Man. That's that's probably like the dopest way 0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:53.240 to enter into one of these things that I have 0:17:53.320 --> 0:17:56.840 to say. You'll introductions better than anybody I've been with 0:17:57.760 --> 0:18:00.720 and break all the tension, all the ice. We're not 0:18:00.840 --> 0:18:03.080 getting any gotcha. I mean, look, it's an open book 0:18:03.119 --> 0:18:07.600 test about yourself. If you failed, that's when you you 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:11.240 had the necessary instructions in front of It's like you 0:18:11.359 --> 0:18:13.440 can't get the first four hundred points on the S 0:18:13.560 --> 0:18:16.800 A T which is your name. Look, you don't deserve 0:18:16.880 --> 0:18:20.879 to be in college. Okay, exactly? All right? So this 0:18:21.040 --> 0:18:23.239 is this is what we love doing. We we can 0:18:23.280 --> 0:18:26.080 ask this a million ways and we get two million 0:18:26.160 --> 0:18:29.320 different answers. So where are you from and the place 0:18:29.480 --> 0:18:34.919 you call your hometown? Oh that's easy, man. From from 0:18:34.960 --> 0:18:38.000 the Queen city from Charlotte. Grew up in Head and Valley, 0:18:38.240 --> 0:18:41.000 you know, right in between Trying and Sugar Creek, and 0:18:41.160 --> 0:18:43.600 so home will always be the city. How did your 0:18:43.640 --> 0:18:50.399 hometown Charlotte impact and shape your perspective on how you 0:18:50.480 --> 0:18:53.879 see the world today. That's complex, just because I'm like 0:18:54.080 --> 0:18:57.320 verying too, and so I grew up in like this 0:18:57.680 --> 0:19:01.040 this weirdness of half of my I'm spent was around 0:19:01.080 --> 0:19:04.119 Liberian cultures. The other half was spent in you know, 0:19:04.200 --> 0:19:08.080 the Charlotte culture. And so I think this this view 0:19:08.080 --> 0:19:10.320 of the world of just being like an immigrant in 0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:14.560 the city, um, and having these two perspectives have have 0:19:14.680 --> 0:19:18.160 allowed me, you know, to to be able to identify 0:19:18.320 --> 0:19:22.879 with people from from everywhere. And also I got a 0:19:22.920 --> 0:19:25.440 lot of pride and around from and so I take 0:19:25.480 --> 0:19:27.760 that pride with me everywhere, even though I live in Atlanta. 0:19:28.040 --> 0:19:31.000 I'm grounded by the things that I learned that Charlotte. 0:19:31.359 --> 0:19:34.320 How did those two dynamics different than you talk about 0:19:34.359 --> 0:19:37.560 Liberian culture and then just growing up here in Charlotte, 0:19:37.640 --> 0:19:40.359 were they sometimes wanted the same that they sometimes but 0:19:40.600 --> 0:19:44.119 heads now I think it's all love, like it's just 0:19:44.280 --> 0:19:47.480 expressed differently, you know where um, I don't have no 0:19:47.640 --> 0:19:49.800 natural born brothers for the people that I grew up with, 0:19:50.080 --> 0:19:53.920 especially through sports, uh, from all around the city. There's 0:19:53.920 --> 0:19:56.840 just a lot of a lot of love. And with 0:19:57.000 --> 0:20:01.200 Liberia is very tribal um. And so it's the same 0:20:01.560 --> 0:20:06.280 manifestation of love just in a different capacity. Uh. From food, 0:20:06.440 --> 0:20:08.639 you know, we did a lot of we call the 0:20:08.720 --> 0:20:10.720 fish rise and different things like that, whether it be 0:20:10.720 --> 0:20:14.520 African foods would be equivalent to like a black cookout. Um. 0:20:15.280 --> 0:20:19.040 And so just that aspect of you know, music, we 0:20:19.160 --> 0:20:21.120 kind of had to pull from all over the place 0:20:21.960 --> 0:20:26.080 because j Cole wasn't around, the baby wasn't around there. Uh, 0:20:26.240 --> 0:20:29.000 And so Charlotte kind of gave us like a a 0:20:29.160 --> 0:20:31.640 mix on different aspects of things that we just kind 0:20:31.680 --> 0:20:35.600 of made into our own. And the Liberia obviously um 0:20:36.040 --> 0:20:40.600 a lot more established culturally and so intertwining that has 0:20:40.640 --> 0:20:42.440 kind of shaped me to people to put the person 0:20:42.520 --> 0:20:45.639 I am. Now we have to take a break and 0:20:46.359 --> 0:20:54.000 the morning anything, we gotta pay some bills. I love 0:20:54.240 --> 0:20:56.920 cut to it, and I love it even more when 0:20:57.000 --> 0:21:01.280 you download us and subscribe ends. You can follow us 0:21:01.280 --> 0:21:04.240 on social media too. Smithie where where at that's at? 0:21:04.320 --> 0:21:08.520 Cut to it on Instagram, what about Twitter at cut 0:21:08.600 --> 0:21:12.239 to It Facebook, cut to It featuring Steve Smith sing 0:21:12.280 --> 0:21:15.679 your what about online and you can follow us at 0:21:15.720 --> 0:21:18.840 cut to It podcast dot com where you can buy 0:21:18.920 --> 0:21:21.760 merch and you can subscribe to us wherever you listen 0:21:21.800 --> 0:21:25.600 to podcasts. I got all my answers questions. Um, yeah, 0:21:26.280 --> 0:21:29.560 I got all my questions answered. That's what I'm here for, 0:21:29.600 --> 0:21:33.560 a brother, cut to a podcast dot com. Just walk 0:21:33.640 --> 0:21:37.800 us through that though. The tribal the the immigrant culture 0:21:38.800 --> 0:21:42.080 that you had to deal with growing up in Charlotte, 0:21:42.119 --> 0:21:46.159 which is a very vibrant immigrant culture already here in 0:21:46.280 --> 0:21:50.920 Charlotte that a lot of people not do not know exists. Yeah, 0:21:50.960 --> 0:21:54.080 you're from l A right, yes, sir, so just think 0:21:54.200 --> 0:21:57.040 of like people from Long Beach got a different, different 0:21:57.080 --> 0:22:00.840 pride about Long Reaching, people from Compton likewise, people from 0:22:00.920 --> 0:22:04.840 like other aspects and so in Liberia and a lot 0:22:04.880 --> 0:22:07.760 of these countries, um to have these tribal aspects, Like 0:22:07.920 --> 0:22:10.680 the area that you're from is just really condensed with 0:22:11.040 --> 0:22:14.480 you just do things differently. There's an overall arching um 0:22:14.760 --> 0:22:18.000 support of the country at large. But then like the 0:22:18.440 --> 0:22:21.119 type of purposing that you represent, that the values that 0:22:21.240 --> 0:22:24.359 you represent the come with it. Each culture has different 0:22:24.400 --> 0:22:27.800 things that are unique to themselves. And so actually, um, 0:22:28.000 --> 0:22:30.240 I was having a conversation with my dad about this, 0:22:31.000 --> 0:22:33.240 and they're big on history, they're big on what what 0:22:33.440 --> 0:22:36.520 they stand for. And we end up getting our DNA 0:22:36.640 --> 0:22:39.439 test And so I called my dad before the DNA 0:22:39.560 --> 0:22:43.400 test and he told me, like, the complete family lineage 0:22:43.480 --> 0:22:46.840 from our people coming from Moley and Sullland to Liberia, 0:22:46.960 --> 0:22:49.760 Avred cult surely on all of that stuff. And the 0:22:49.920 --> 0:22:53.640 DNA report reported all of that. And so when he's 0:22:53.680 --> 0:22:55.960 given me advice, so when I'm talking to my folks, 0:22:56.240 --> 0:22:59.680 they're filtering it through what their ancestors told them. And 0:22:59.760 --> 0:23:02.600 I think and having that groundedness of the highest form 0:23:02.640 --> 0:23:06.680 of yourself, you are expected just to do amazing things. 0:23:06.960 --> 0:23:09.600 And I think sometimes people that don't have that connection 0:23:10.200 --> 0:23:13.160 to where they're from, they're kind of influenced by things 0:23:13.320 --> 0:23:16.440 that are lesser degree themselves, and so they get involved 0:23:16.480 --> 0:23:20.720 in things that are are are pushed upon them versus 0:23:20.760 --> 0:23:23.720 being able to identify with the highest form of whatever 0:23:23.800 --> 0:23:28.040 if people represent, and so, um, those lessons has just 0:23:28.160 --> 0:23:31.200 been pushed towards us. You know, how you're supposed to function, 0:23:31.280 --> 0:23:33.879 how you're supposed to treat people, what you represent, what 0:23:34.000 --> 0:23:37.680 your name means, UM, why you hear, um, what you're 0:23:37.680 --> 0:23:41.280 supposed to do. All all of that is kind of 0:23:41.359 --> 0:23:43.399 what I mean from the tribal aspects. So it's not 0:23:43.600 --> 0:23:46.960 just I identified with being from Charlotte and the pride 0:23:47.160 --> 0:23:49.280 of that, but it's it's like just a little bit 0:23:49.359 --> 0:23:51.600 more um when it comes to how I want to 0:23:51.640 --> 0:23:54.920 move around in life. You just broke that down and 0:23:55.000 --> 0:24:00.080 I love it. So what based off the conversation you 0:24:00.200 --> 0:24:02.720 had with your dad? Based off everything you just said? 0:24:03.920 --> 0:24:08.640 What does your name mean? Man? So that's actually crazy 0:24:08.760 --> 0:24:12.560 because he's doing this forced him to have a deep 0:24:12.680 --> 0:24:18.640 dive and um, just like understanding the actual name where 0:24:18.840 --> 0:24:22.720 there's two versions. One he thinks it's like the head 0:24:22.760 --> 0:24:26.160 of the garden and you know, like people live off 0:24:26.400 --> 0:24:30.080 the land there, so that's an important title. So if 0:24:30.119 --> 0:24:32.320 like you're the head, you know, leader of the garden, 0:24:32.359 --> 0:24:35.280 and you're responsive for making sure that everybody eats, everybody 0:24:35.560 --> 0:24:39.479 is supported, everybody is nourished. Um, you know, your your 0:24:39.520 --> 0:24:42.480 body is your temple. And so that's he can't confirm it, 0:24:42.560 --> 0:24:44.200 but that's like the last thing that he told me 0:24:44.320 --> 0:24:46.880