Speaker 1: What's up, everybody.
Speaker 2: Welcome to the special edition of the Steph Nick Smiths Cheral,
Speaker 2: coming at you as I love to do it, if
Speaker 2: very least three times.
Speaker 1: A week over the digital airways of YouTube and of
Speaker 1: course our heart Radio.
Speaker 2: I'll be giving you interviews all week long because your
Speaker 2: brother's on vacation for a change. Thank the good Lord,
Speaker 2: I needed the rest. Got an NBA playoff uh coming up,
Speaker 2: and that's gonna be big time, make no mistake about it.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of stuff to get into.
Speaker 2: Got a National Championship game taking place tonight in the
Speaker 2: NC Double A Tournament. There's a lot of stuff to
Speaker 2: get into. But there's a lot of people to talk to.
Speaker 2: So I got a few interviews coming your way today.
Speaker 2: One is going to involve the NC Double A, so
Speaker 2: stick around for that, and you'd be surprised at who
Speaker 2: I'm about to talk to, so make sure you look
Speaker 2: for that as well. But there's some great, great people
Speaker 2: to talk to, and one of them is my next guest.
Speaker 1: He's somebody I've known for years.
Speaker 2: He's somebody that you all have known for years, practically
Speaker 2: family to a lot of us.
Speaker 1: He starred in Blackish, has starred in.
Speaker 2: An an ordinate amount of movies throughout the years, not
Speaker 2: to mention he's been on Law and Order on National
Speaker 2: on television for quite some time.
Speaker 1: Throughout the years as well. He's a spectacular actor.
Speaker 2: Could be drama, could be comedy, could be the combination
Speaker 2: of both.
Speaker 1: It doesn't matter.
Speaker 2: Whatever the assignment calls for, he's more than capable of
Speaker 2: pulling off. He's also somebody that's been a good friend
Speaker 2: of mine for many, many years. I'm looking forward to
Speaker 2: talking to him, finding out what's going on with him,
Speaker 2: what he's about to engage in and embark upon. You
Speaker 2: know him A double A one and only Anthony Anderson.
Speaker 2: He's up next right here on the Stephen Nate Smithshaw.
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Speaker 3: We gotta keep going with but how are we gonna
Speaker 3: find line? We don't.
Speaker 4: Lama and I had a lot talking when she got
Speaker 4: elected that if anything like this, whatever happened, it was
Speaker 4: my job to get you two out, and no.
Speaker 1: Matter what happens to her, I'm the look out for you.
Speaker 1: Let's go.
Speaker 2: My next guest is starring in the new Prime Video
Speaker 2: original movie G twenty, streaming on April tenth. He's perhaps
Speaker 2: best known for his role as Andre Johnson on a
Speaker 2: hit ABC sitcom Blackish. I know from a whole bunch
Speaker 2: of movies not to mention a law and order. One
Speaker 2: of the great great actors of our time, as far
Speaker 2: as I'm concerned, please welcome Emmy and Golden Globe nominated
Speaker 2: actor do one and only Anthony Anderson to the house.
Speaker 1: What up, Fred?
Speaker 5: What up?
Speaker 1: Double A? How you doing?
Speaker 5: Bro?
Speaker 1: How's everything everything?
Speaker 5: He's going? Good? Baby?
Speaker 4: My hey, my system is falling apart on me. Steve,
Speaker 4: my bad, baby.
Speaker 5: My bad.
Speaker 1: You can handle it. You can handle it. It's all
Speaker 1: good man.
Speaker 2: Let's get right into it because I want to have
Speaker 2: I want to get into this before you get cut
Speaker 2: off with your damn electronic ass self. I mean you
Speaker 2: electronic inhibited itself. I don't know what technological inhibited. Listen,
Speaker 2: this film looks like a wild rid in it. Just
Speaker 2: start alongside the great Viola Davis and your daughter from
Speaker 2: Blackest Marci Martin.
Speaker 1: Explain the premise and your character.
Speaker 4: Please, Well, you know what, I'm the first man you know,
Speaker 4: by over, Davis is the President of the United States.
Speaker 4: I'm or a husband, and I'm the first man of
Speaker 4: the United States man. So that's my character.
Speaker 2: Now listen, I know you personally, your friend of mine.
Speaker 2: I got mad love for you. You as the first
Speaker 2: man thinking about the power of the presidency. Well, the
Speaker 2: presidency is under a microscope. The first man might be
Speaker 2: a little bit different, not so much. What kind of
Speaker 2: nonsense did you get yourself into as the first man?
Speaker 2: I mean, what kind of ideas were you throwing out there?
Speaker 2: Because I can only imagine.
Speaker 4: Well, you know what, man as the first man, like
Speaker 4: most first ladies, hur our voice really isn't heard that much.
Speaker 5: But uh, we had a great time.
Speaker 4: You know, I'm there supporting Viola's character, supporting our family.
Speaker 5: Uh, you know, I'm gonna stay at home.
Speaker 4: Dad, ex military, married to the President of the United States,
Speaker 4: who happens to go over to Cape Town for the
Speaker 4: g twenty World Summit, and it happens to be attacked
Speaker 4: by terrorists and we have a great time doing it. Man,
Speaker 4: we kick a lot of butt, get a lot of
Speaker 4: butt kicked. We're both ex military in this film, so
Speaker 4: it makes sense for us to do what we're doing.
Speaker 4: And uh, it's action packed and it's fun field.
Speaker 2: So it's action packed, but it's not it's not comedic.
Speaker 2: I mean, because it's you. I mean, anytime we see you,
Speaker 2: you're making us laugh. It's not comedic.
Speaker 5: No, no, not not comedic at all.
Speaker 4: They may there may be some comedic elements here and there, uh,
Speaker 4: but but definitely not a comedy.
Speaker 5: Uh. You know.
Speaker 4: We we may have a joker to to add some levity,
Speaker 4: but it's uh, this is serious business team, this is
Speaker 4: serious business.
Speaker 5: Man.
Speaker 2: So as the first man, I mean, as you imagine
Speaker 2: a man being in the second position, I mean deferential
Speaker 2: to his woman. As black men, we know that that's
Speaker 2: just figured because we all know that listen, ninety five
Speaker 2: percent of the time the women to get what the
Speaker 2: hell a want.
Speaker 1: The five percent of the.
Speaker 2: Time, as Chris Rock will say, give us the big
Speaker 2: pieces of chicken. I mean, our rites are very very
Speaker 2: limited when it comes to our black women. So I
Speaker 2: want to know what kind was that part of Was
Speaker 2: that a part of the character that was portrayed by
Speaker 2: you and obviously by Viola Davis at all?
Speaker 1: She's in charge, I.
Speaker 5: Mean, she's in charge.
Speaker 4: And for some reason, on repeat Beyonce song was playing
Speaker 4: We Run the World, We Run the World, and so
Speaker 4: that was just I was just playing all day for
Speaker 4: six months in Cape Town, South Africa.
Speaker 3: Man.
Speaker 4: So I just had to fall in line, Steven, I
Speaker 4: just had to fall in line and play my position,
Speaker 4: as we all do.
Speaker 2: When you think about what you've done in your career,
Speaker 2: comedic and obviously some serious roles, watching Law and Order,
Speaker 2: in various other roles. At this point in time of
Speaker 2: your career, what do you enjoy most?
Speaker 5: You know, one, I enjoy going to work.
Speaker 4: You know, this is something that I've always wanted to
Speaker 4: do since I was nine years old, and I've been
Speaker 4: blessed with the gift. I don't call it a talent,
Speaker 4: I call it a gift. And it's my responsibility to
Speaker 4: share this gift that I've been blessed with with the world.
Speaker 4: So first and foremost going to work, getting to do
Speaker 4: what I do, but then getting to work with people
Speaker 4: like Viola Davis, Anthony Starts, you know, Marseille Martin, and
Speaker 4: just the luminaries that I've been able to work with
Speaker 4: over the years in my career. That's what drives me
Speaker 4: and that's what satisfies me, and this hunger that I
Speaker 4: have as an actor getting up and going to work
Speaker 4: and gracing the stage and gracing the screen with some
Speaker 4: of our elite.
Speaker 2: So I'm looking at it from nas standpoint, and you know,
Speaker 2: you talk about the work, and obviously in this day
Speaker 2: and age, if you work and you living good, because
Speaker 2: Lord knows this, there's not enough people that's working in
Speaker 2: this day and age, and what have you. As you
Speaker 2: think about what's going on again, the first man in
Speaker 2: this film by Ola Davis is the President G twenty
Speaker 2: coming out April tenth, I'm thinking about the climate the
Speaker 2: times that we're living in. How much did that play
Speaker 2: a role? A in your willingness to accept such a
Speaker 2: role and b in what you guys actually did for
Speaker 2: the project itself. How much does the president administration or
Speaker 2: the president political climate play a role in all of that?
Speaker 5: I'll answer the former than the latter.
Speaker 4: You know, while we were filming this, this is over
Speaker 4: a year ago, so you know, Vice President Kamala Harris
Speaker 4: was vine for the office herself, right, and you know
Speaker 4: we thought this, you know, we thought we were hoping
Speaker 4: that she would be in office that you know, with
Speaker 4: with would resonate with an audience, you know, while we
Speaker 4: were making this film. But given the current uh political
Speaker 4: climate and the new administration off uh the new administrators
Speaker 4: that are in office right now, I think, uh, that's
Speaker 4: going to drive people to see this movie and gives
Speaker 4: it a set of legs, and and and an a set
Speaker 4: of eyes that we probably wouldn't have had on it
Speaker 4: to begin with, having Viola Davis as an African American
Speaker 4: woman being president of the United States, and and and
Speaker 4: running things the way that we would hope and want
Speaker 4: this administration to run these things. So I I think
Speaker 4: it's a great juxta juxtaposition of what's happening in real
Speaker 4: life and working parallel with what's going on, uh in
Speaker 4: this film that we're doing.
Speaker 2: This administration has called out George Clooney and numerous other
Speaker 2: contemporaries in your industry for things that have been said,
Speaker 2: manners in which the president has been portrayed, et cetera,
Speaker 2: et cetera, And one with surmise that at some point
Speaker 2: in time, folks in Hollywood may feel a bit compelled
Speaker 2: to be careful about what they do and how they
Speaker 2: do it, and an effort to be is really not
Speaker 2: as a as authentic to their craft as they could
Speaker 2: possibly be while not provoking the ire of politicians in
Speaker 2: this day and age, particularly doing the show of this nature.
Speaker 1: Is that something that entered your.
Speaker 2: Mind, of Iola Davis's mind at all, or is it
Speaker 2: about I don't give a damn. I'm Anthony Anderson and
Speaker 2: this is the role that it calls for me to play,
Speaker 2: and I'm gonna do what I do.
Speaker 4: You know, I can't speak for vile. I can only
Speaker 4: speak for myself. But you know, we have our First
Speaker 4: Amendment right, you know, to free speech, and we have
Speaker 4: our own opinions about the world in which we live.
Speaker 4: And you know, as long as I can be my
Speaker 4: authentic self, live in my truth and speak my truth
Speaker 4: from my position and my perspective, I want people to
Speaker 4: respect that, just like I would respect their position and
Speaker 4: their perspective. So and it's not about you know what
Speaker 4: I'm me. I'm Anthony Anderson, and this is what I say,
Speaker 4: and this is how I'm going to live, and this
Speaker 4: is what I'm going to do. We also have to
Speaker 4: be conscious of what it is that we say and
Speaker 4: how it may not only affect our livelihood, but how
Speaker 4: it may affect the people that are part of what
Speaker 4: it is that we do.
Speaker 5: But we also have to be informed.
Speaker 4: About the things that we are going to say, about
Speaker 4: the positions that we want to take, and not just
Speaker 4: jump on a bandwagon and say, oh, well I heard this.
Speaker 4: You know, we have to do the work ourselves and
Speaker 4: find out so we're not misinformed and we're spreading misinformation.
Speaker 4: And again, it's just our opinion, our individual opinions on
Speaker 4: the world in which we live and how we see
Speaker 4: it and how it's affecting us.
Speaker 5: And I think that's only fair.
Speaker 2: Let me go back to the film, because the film
Speaker 2: Like You Told You, Like You Articulated was shot in
Speaker 2: Cape down South Africa. What is this some hand about?
Speaker 2: You ended up in the emergency room after the fight
Speaker 2: seeing gone wrong. Explain yourself, Anthony Anderson, Explain yourself, what
Speaker 2: the hell happened to you?
Speaker 4: You know what, some guys got a little Overzea was
Speaker 4: on set, Steven and uh, you know, an accident happen.
Speaker 4: It was a fight scene. We were supposed to do
Speaker 4: some things. I was supposed to be thrown into a chair,
Speaker 4: but they threw me into the chair and missed it,
Speaker 4: and the arm of the chair hit me in the
Speaker 4: small of my back and it felt as if it
Speaker 4: had touched my kidney man and I immediately dropped to
Speaker 4: the floor and found out that I had a deep
Speaker 4: muscle bruise that that was just gonna take weeks to
Speaker 4: heal from within.
Speaker 5: But one monkey, don't stop, no show man.
Speaker 4: I continued throughout the night and work and ended up
Speaker 4: in the emergency.
Speaker 5: Room for five hours.
Speaker 4: Nothing was fractured, nothing was broking, and uh, it just
Speaker 4: gave me a story to tell.
Speaker 5: As I'm sitting here talking to you.
Speaker 2: I am mad at that. As long as you are right,
Speaker 2: I'm all right. Why Cape Town, South Africa?
Speaker 6: Though?
Speaker 1: Why there?
Speaker 5: You know that?
Speaker 4: That that's you know, the G twenty Summit Global Summit
Speaker 4: takes place all over the world, and this particular year
Speaker 4: was taking place in Cape Town. Uh and uh we're
Speaker 4: in our film. Uh, so that's where why we decided
Speaker 4: to go there, exotic locale. The people there were great,
Speaker 4: the production uh team that was there.
Speaker 5: I you know, it was.
Speaker 4: A beautiful thing working amongst our brothers and sisters in
Speaker 4: Cape Town, South Africa. Bringing a production like that, this
Speaker 4: huge American production to South Africa was great for the country.
Speaker 4: It was great for us. And uh, I'm thinking about
Speaker 4: going there and buying the house.
Speaker 1: Man.
Speaker 4: That that's how beautiful it really. How welcome, Yeah, that's
Speaker 4: how welcoming it was.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Wow, you know, I mean, listen, I got to get
Speaker 2: over there. I've been promising. I'm going to get over there,
Speaker 2: or some of my boys have asked me to come
Speaker 2: to Gone and somebody asked me to come to Rwanda,
Speaker 2: and obviously Cape Town and Johannesburg, there's definitely someplace I'm
Speaker 2: planning on visiting as well. I got to ask you this,
Speaker 2: as as you sit here right now doing the kind
Speaker 2: of things that you're doing, you reflect on the career
Speaker 2: that you've had. What do you miss most right now
Speaker 2: in this time and your at this time in your life,
Speaker 2: about whatever most joyous perspective that you've had in your career.
Speaker 1: What's missing right now? If anything at all?
Speaker 6: Uh?
Speaker 5: Wow, good, great, great question, man, great question.
Speaker 4: What's missing? I don't think anything is really missing. It's
Speaker 4: always about the next adventure.
Speaker 6: Now.
Speaker 5: You know, I had a long run with our television
Speaker 5: show Blackish for eight years on ABBC.
Speaker 4: I missed the family there that I built with this
Speaker 4: cast of eight years. You know, I've watched these these
Speaker 4: young children that we got to hand pick and be
Speaker 4: a part of our show grow into young adults now
Speaker 4: and to be a part of their informative lives or
Speaker 4: be an informative part of their lives growing up. Was
Speaker 4: was was a blessing, you know, to have children of
Speaker 4: my own, uh, and then to have this second set
Speaker 4: of children that that I got to work closely with,
Speaker 4: sometimes even more intimately than than my own children, because
Speaker 4: I spent so much time on set.
Speaker 5: So I will say anything is missing from my life
Speaker 5: or my career like that, but I missed.
Speaker 4: Those times that that I spent on that that set,
Speaker 4: uh with with with my cast, you know, Tracy, Jennifer
Speaker 4: Lawrence and and everybody. You know, it's one of the
Speaker 4: reasons Marseille Martin is n G twenty. You know, we
Speaker 4: were looking for a daughter, and I was like, you've
Speaker 4: got to hire Marseille because I know what she's going
Speaker 4: to bring to this role for this and I had
Speaker 4: a great chant, I had a great time working with
Speaker 4: for eight years.
Speaker 5: Let's do it on the big screen.
Speaker 2: And why, by the way, the young lady is already
Speaker 2: an executive producer creating content and all of that stuff.
Speaker 2: She's a star, make no mistake about it. Let's not
Speaker 2: forget in. We all love Tracy and the rest of
Speaker 2: the crew. You know, I'm thinking about that. And when
Speaker 2: you think about the Blackish Family, remember when we first
Speaker 2: came you came on First Take my day job at
Speaker 2: ESPN every weekday morning from ten am the noon. He
Speaker 2: came on First Take to promote Blackish before it launched.
Speaker 2: And remember what I said to you, I said, the
Speaker 2: only thing I worried about is the name. Are you
Speaker 2: sure that the name ain't gonna, ain't gonna, ain't gonna
Speaker 2: provide an impediment to y'all success? And you were supremely
Speaker 2: confident that it would not get in the way, that,
Speaker 2: if anything, y'all were gonna be able to build off
Speaker 2: of it and make it into the kind of show
Speaker 2: that it was.
Speaker 1: And lo and behold, we went from raving for.
Speaker 2: Decades about the Cosby's to raving about Blackish.
Speaker 1: I know you saw success coming. Did you see that?
Speaker 6: Uh?
Speaker 4: We hoped for that, Stephen, You know you can only
Speaker 4: dream for things like that. You know when when Kenya
Speaker 4: and I sat down and talked about what we wanted
Speaker 4: to produce for television, before we even had come up
Speaker 4: with the idea of Blackish, we.
Speaker 5: Were just sharing ideas about our family.
Speaker 4: And it was Kenya's idea to call it that because
Speaker 4: he said, you know what, Anthony, I feel like I
Speaker 4: went from raising a black family to a Blackish Family
Speaker 4: and called me a few weeks after and said, I
Speaker 4: got the title for our show. And you know a
Speaker 4: lot of people were hesitant about, you know, even tuning
Speaker 4: in to watching it because of what the name is
Speaker 4: or and I was like, Yo, that has nothing to
Speaker 4: do with the quality and the portrayal of these characters
Speaker 4: what we were going to do. And you know, Ish
Speaker 4: is a jacent too. We're not making a mockery of anything.
Speaker 4: So come watch this and you know, the issue is
Speaker 4: now in the zeitgeist. You know, they're all kinds of
Speaker 4: issues out there that you know, have come to like
Speaker 4: since the creation of our show. So we are happy
Speaker 4: and ecstatic about that. We were able to get two spinoffs,
Speaker 4: Grownish and Mixed Fish on the air that that's said
Speaker 4: a great time. And so for us to build that
Speaker 4: type of franchise and that family amongst the shows was
Speaker 4: just amazing for us. And that's something that we always saw,
Speaker 4: you know, we always saw that, and we took a
Speaker 4: page from Cosby. We took a page from what they
Speaker 4: did from the Cosby Show and a Different World and
Speaker 4: things like that, So you know, that's where it all
Speaker 4: came from.
Speaker 5: That's where it all stemmed from.
Speaker 2: I Love You on Blackish, no doubt about it as much,
Speaker 2: and as long as we've known each other, I've never
Speaker 2: told you what your favorite role was?
Speaker 1: What was my favorite role of you, of your portrayal
Speaker 1: in this movie. We can play that game.
Speaker 2: Two can play that game with Morris Chestnut and Vivica
Speaker 2: finds man you Because you know, it's like when I
Speaker 2: watch so many movies, right, I ain't gonna say nagg
Speaker 2: because I don't want to throw no shade on anybody,
Speaker 2: but I see stars and I see cats and they've
Speaker 2: got like one of their boys that they're tight with.
Speaker 2: But the advice is all it's always it's always lacking
Speaker 2: with Two can play that game. You were breaking it
Speaker 2: down the Morris Chesna. You were giving it to them,
Speaker 2: and I was like, take the words. I mean, it
Speaker 2: was just it's the kind of stuff that I would
Speaker 2: say to my boys, you know what I mean? You
Speaker 2: had it like that. What was your favorite role?
Speaker 1: Uh?
Speaker 5: You know, we'll start, We'll start with that one.
Speaker 4: And I'm like, Okay, that's the way they game for
Speaker 4: a second, because yes, I watched it a few weeks
Speaker 4: ago in the middle of the night. It's like, maybe
Speaker 4: three point thirty in the morning, twift it through television
Speaker 4: and it came on and I watched it in its entirety,
Speaker 4: and I had to send Vivca and Morris a text
Speaker 4: message like five in the morning. It was like, look,
Speaker 4: I know it's early. I know y'all not gonna see
Speaker 4: there's no time soon. But I just watched you for
Speaker 4: play that game. And I haven't seen this movie in
Speaker 4: almost twenty years. I said, it still holds up. It's
Speaker 4: still funny, and the things that we are saying in
Speaker 4: this movie is still relevant today. And what's crazy, Stephen,
Speaker 4: is that my twenty five year old son was going
Speaker 4: through the same thing that Morris Chestnuts character was going
Speaker 4: through just a few months ago. And he and his
Speaker 4: boy were sitting in my house in my kitchen, and
Speaker 4: I was like yo. I was like, yo, Nate, your
Speaker 4: boy is me in my movie. I did a movie
Speaker 4: about what you're going through right now.
Speaker 5: You're making the same mistake that Morris chess Nut made.
Speaker 5: You need to see this movie so you can understand me,
Speaker 5: so you can understand this problem.
Speaker 4: That you're going through. Steeve Man, he watched the movie.
Speaker 4: He was like, damn, Dad, you right man, he said,
Speaker 4: what did y'all make this movie? I said, May, I
Speaker 4: was twenty years ago, son, and everything we talk about it,
Speaker 4: it's still relevant.
Speaker 2: I gotta look out for your son. I gotta look
Speaker 2: out for your son right now. I gotta make sure
Speaker 2: I give you an opportunity to office. Norris's nose was
Speaker 2: wide open.
Speaker 1: I mean he was going.
Speaker 5: He was going.
Speaker 2: Man had a whip. Now you understand, I mean that's
Speaker 2: what That's what happened. You remember when you told you
Speaker 2: coming through the glass window and he's just sitting in
Speaker 2: the way in the gym, staring in the space, and
Speaker 2: you like to see the light.
Speaker 1: See the light. I'm like, yo, you so I want
Speaker 1: to make it.
Speaker 2: You want to make sure you give give your son
Speaker 2: an opportunity for Pops to help him out here. You
Speaker 2: ain't doing you ain't doing that to yourself. It wasn't
Speaker 2: like that, was it.
Speaker 5: No, Hey a a see my son showed up at
Speaker 5: her house.
Speaker 6: Man.
Speaker 5: I was like, son, you can't do that. Are you
Speaker 5: prepared to see what you gonna see if you show
Speaker 5: up on announce?
Speaker 4: And my son was a man about it, and he
Speaker 4: was like, you know what, Dad, I was ready. I
Speaker 4: was ready to see whatever I needed to see. Man,
Speaker 4: But I just had to go make this move. I
Speaker 4: had to do this. And I say all this to
Speaker 4: say he and his lady have a great relationship and
Speaker 4: they work through whatever it is they needed to work out.
Speaker 4: But I was like, son, we need to watch this
Speaker 4: movie next time before you go make mistakes like that.
Speaker 1: That's right, That's right, no question about it.
Speaker 2: So other than two could play that game, anything else
Speaker 2: stand out in your mind. I want to make sure
Speaker 2: because I know you love all the stuff that you've done,
Speaker 2: but all the else stand out.
Speaker 1: I just want to make sure.
Speaker 4: Look here man, the Departed, you know, getting to work
Speaker 4: with your past that I got to work with, and
Speaker 4: and being directed by Martin Jack Nixon. Yes, yeah, yeah,
Speaker 4: it just the list goes on and on. Man, Romeo
Speaker 4: must die. You know, I got to work with the
Speaker 4: great Leah and and and Jet Lee and things like that.
Speaker 4: Me myself and I ring Jim Carrey. I mean, yeah,
Speaker 4: I've been very fortunate in my career, Steve. So those
Speaker 4: are and look, I ain't gonna lie. I enjoyed working
Speaker 4: on Kangaroo Jack.
Speaker 5: Man.
Speaker 4: You know, I catch a lot of hell, but from
Speaker 4: behind now with me I was saying, Yo, I love
Speaker 4: doing Kangaroo Jack as well.
Speaker 2: I got you, I got you. Listen, I know you
Speaker 2: love working with the people that you work with too.
Speaker 2: And recently I had the lovely, the incomparable. I mean,
Speaker 2: she's mama to us, all the lovely Jennifer Lewis. She
Speaker 2: was right here on this show. And yeah, she told
Speaker 2: she wanted to tell me, she wants she wanted to
Speaker 2: give you.
Speaker 1: A couple of words, a few words. Play this, please play.
Speaker 2: This, please and give Anthony Anthony and just in my
Speaker 2: love and telling me he's an asshole and I.
Speaker 5: Loved him, make sure to do it. Can you imagine
Speaker 5: working with that fool eight years?
Speaker 1: Oh my god, you did it.
Speaker 3: You did it.
Speaker 5: He won my heart, Anthony, So give him a bill
Speaker 5: right his. That's crazy, that's good, you know what.
Speaker 4: I don't know if she was on or off her
Speaker 4: medicine that that day that she was on your show,
Speaker 4: but I love her. Hey, Jennifer, that's that is my baby.
Speaker 4: That that is my second mother right there. That's the
Speaker 4: mother of all black Hollywood right there. Yo, that's serious.
Speaker 2: I don't I don't think it's an exaggeration when you
Speaker 2: think about black mamas in Hollywood.
Speaker 1: It's it's it's Hallowretta Divine. It's one of the two.
Speaker 4: To me, Yeah, yeah, yeah, And I've worked for both
Speaker 4: of them. The Redda Divine didn't play my mama. She
Speaker 4: played my auntie. Whoopy Goldberg played my mom in this
Speaker 4: this other movie called Kingdom Come and Jennifer Lewis. So
Speaker 4: I've been surrounded by the mamas in the unties my
Speaker 4: entire career, and.
Speaker 5: I love it.
Speaker 1: There you go, there you go.
Speaker 2: Let me transition to something else that's near dear to
Speaker 2: your heart. Evidently you and Cedric Did Entertainer are serious
Speaker 2: barbecue enthusiasts, with a line of sauces, rubs, and products
Speaker 2: called ac Barbecue. How did y'all come up with the
Speaker 2: recipes for somebody's family recipe?
Speaker 1: I mean, what's that about? Double A? What's going on?
Speaker 4: You know, we looked at the We looked at you know,
Speaker 4: we're started taking barbecue to fast casual man.
Speaker 5: We were opening up a restaurant here at the Century.
Speaker 4: City Mall or the Westfield Mall in Century City. You know,
Speaker 4: Set and I have a love for food. We you know,
Speaker 4: we take these fellows trips. We always rent these extravagant
Speaker 4: homes and sed and I are always the ones that
Speaker 4: are cooking and barbecueing it. We just had this opportunity
Speaker 4: to get in this space and there's no one that
Speaker 4: looks like us that are in that space. And we
Speaker 4: are talking about, you know, bringing barbecue back to what
Speaker 4: it once was, or not bringing it back, but just
Speaker 4: talking about what it is, the community of it, the
Speaker 4: community aspect of it, the the lovingness, the family buy
Speaker 4: of what the spirit of barbecue is and where it
Speaker 4: comes from. And so we started AC Barbecue and we're
Speaker 4: having a great time where we've licensed our kitchen on
Speaker 4: seven colleges and universities.
Speaker 5: We have this first.
Speaker 4: Restaurant that's about to open uh here in April May
Speaker 4: uh at the Westfield Mall, and so we're excited about that.
Speaker 4: We got products and stores, so we couldn't have been
Speaker 4: more excited about it. We we have this I can't
Speaker 4: tell you about this collaboration that we had, but we
Speaker 4: have a collaboration that you will hear about in a
Speaker 4: month and it's about to be big with us and
Speaker 4: another fresh food franchise. Uh So we're excited about that.
Speaker 2: Okay, And you also partnered with Magic Johnson's what is
Speaker 2: it Dexo Magic to take AC Barbecue to HBCU campuses.
Speaker 4: Yeah, Yeah, we partnered with Sedexo Magic and that's how
Speaker 4: we got our kitchen. AC Barbecue Kitchens on these HBCUs
Speaker 4: and colleges and other all colleges and universities. We're in
Speaker 4: a University of Cincinnati, Jackson State University, Howard University, and
Speaker 4: there are four or five other universities that have AC
Speaker 4: Barbecue kitchens on them. So we're just excited about that.
Speaker 4: Our partnership with the Dexso Magic is beautiful and we're
Speaker 4: just here to do it man, and just you know,
Speaker 4: being a lane.
Speaker 5: You know.
Speaker 4: Look, one of our one of our sayings is, you know,
Speaker 4: we're rooted in culture and fueled by community. That's what
Speaker 4: AC Barbecue is all about. Rooted in culture and fueled
Speaker 4: by community. Just bringing everybody together to celebrate and to
Speaker 4: love on one another through the spirit of barbecue.
Speaker 1: Stay with HBCUs.
Speaker 2: You left Howard University after your junior year, I think,
Speaker 2: and I think it was you talked about it being
Speaker 2: because of financial issues or whatever.
Speaker 1: But how did it feel to recently receive your degree.
Speaker 2: From the chad with Bozman College of Fine Arts in
Speaker 2: twenty twenty two.
Speaker 1: How did that feel?
Speaker 4: It felt great, Stephen And I'll tell you about this
Speaker 4: full circle moment. Taraji Henson gave the commencement speech the
Speaker 4: year I received my degree. Karaji and I were classmates
Speaker 4: at Howard University in the College of Fine Arts. Denise Saunders,
Speaker 4: who was the assistant Dean of the College of Fine Arts,
Speaker 4: helped me assisted me in getting back into school to
Speaker 4: finish my senior year. She and I were classmates at
Speaker 4: Howard University and the College of Fine Arts. Doctor Felicia
Speaker 4: Rashad is the dean of the College of Fine Arts.
Speaker 4: She and I are colleagues and friends in this industry.
Speaker 4: She handed me my degree from the College of Fine Arts.
Speaker 4: And that year that I received my degree in twenty
Speaker 4: twenty two was the very first year that they renamed
Speaker 4: the school and it was renamed to the Chadwick A.
Speaker 4: Boseman School of Fine Arts. And he and I were
Speaker 4: colleagues in this industry and friendly with one another. So
Speaker 4: it was a beautiful full circle moment for me to
Speaker 4: go back to the beginning. Really for me, you know,
Speaker 4: it took thirty five years in the making. I started
Speaker 4: Howard University as a friend in nineteen eighty eight and
Speaker 4: left after my junior year due to financial reasons, and
Speaker 4: had every.
Speaker 5: Intention on going back.
Speaker 4: And I was finally able to go back and receive
Speaker 4: my degree in twenty twenty two.
Speaker 2: I was getting ready to ask you how much of
Speaker 2: a role did Nathan play in inspiring you?
Speaker 1: Says he's also a Howard grad.
Speaker 5: Yeah, well, he played a great role.
Speaker 4: He's unfortunately he didn't graduate yet, but he was. He
Speaker 4: got accepted in twenty eighteen, and he inspired me to
Speaker 4: go back to school. I always wanted to go back
Speaker 4: to school, and I said, you know what, son, You've
Speaker 4: inspired me to go back to Howard.
Speaker 5: So this is what I'm going to do.
Speaker 4: I'm going to walk with you in twenty twenty two,
Speaker 4: and unfortunately, real life got.
Speaker 5: In the way of him. Of my son.
Speaker 4: You know, my son's a young artist, a musician, and
Speaker 4: an actor, and his career started.
Speaker 5: Taking off, so he followed that path.
Speaker 4: But I stayed true to mine as a promise to
Speaker 4: myself and as a promise to him and my family
Speaker 4: and my mom and everybody, because when I started Howard,
Speaker 4: I would have been the first person in my family
Speaker 4: to graduate from a college or university, and so I
Speaker 4: had to finish the task that I started, and it
Speaker 4: took thirty five years to do so, but I was
Speaker 4: able to do it.
Speaker 2: He was also honored with how with the Distinguished Alumni
Speaker 2: Award from the university.
Speaker 5: Right, yes I was, Yes, I was.
Speaker 1: I can't imagine how that must have felt for you.
Speaker 4: It felt great, you know, to receive not only that award,
Speaker 4: but the United Negro College Fund gave me an award
Speaker 4: the following week for the work that I've been doing
Speaker 4: with him in raising scholarship money for other HBCU students.
Speaker 4: And you know, I have my own family foundation, the
Speaker 4: Anderson Family Foundation that this year I'm transitioning from the
Speaker 4: charities that I've been donating to for the last six years.
Speaker 4: But in my seventh year, because I went back to
Speaker 4: Howard University and received my degree, I'm starting a scholarship
Speaker 4: at Howard University. Uh So, you know, some students don't
Speaker 4: have to go through what I went through and put
Speaker 4: that on hold for as long as I put it
Speaker 4: on hold.
Speaker 2: You often tag your social media post just a kid
Speaker 2: from Compton, because that's where you're from, Compton in La
Speaker 2: I want to know, did you say out or do
Speaker 2: you say go ahead dog? When you saw Kendrick Lamar
Speaker 2: giving it to Drake. That's what I wanted to That's
Speaker 2: what I want I want.
Speaker 4: Well, look, hey, first off, I gotta say this, I'm
Speaker 4: a fan of both of the artists. So yeah, but
Speaker 4: you know what, it was great to see what Kayo
Speaker 4: was doing for the culture, for the city of Compton
Speaker 4: and what he did, so I had to root for him,
Speaker 4: you know, a thousand percent.
Speaker 5: And just to see where he is, where his career
Speaker 5: has elevated.
Speaker 4: To from where it once was. I mean, you know,
Speaker 4: he was always a star in our eyes. But to
Speaker 4: see you know, this this last year and a half
Speaker 4: of where it's gone. Uh, and just to see it's
Speaker 4: halftime performance show and just what it symbolizes and what.
Speaker 5: It meant, uh, you know, to people who were watching
Speaker 5: who understood it, what it meant to the.
Speaker 4: Culture, and what it spoke to and what it spoke
Speaker 4: about was just Uh, it was just a beautiful thing.
Speaker 1: So I'll let you get on out of here.
Speaker 5: Man.
Speaker 2: You would diagnose with type two diabetes at age twenty nine.
Speaker 2: You've been a vocal advocate for better understanding and management
Speaker 2: of the condition, particularly in a black community. I want
Speaker 2: you to talk real quickly about what life changes you've
Speaker 2: made and how important of an issue this is for you,
Speaker 2: because it definitely is for me. I was like point
Speaker 2: one point away from being a full blown diabetic a
Speaker 2: few years ago until I really prioritize my health in
Speaker 2: a in a big time fashion.
Speaker 1: Talk to me about yourself and your journey in this regard.
Speaker 4: Uh, yeah, you know I've become a diabetic at that age, man,
Speaker 4: and you know I always took it seriously. But you
Speaker 4: know that it comes a time where you just have
Speaker 4: to make dramatic changes in your life and your lifestyle.
Speaker 4: And that's what I did. Unfortunately, I lost my father
Speaker 4: to complications from diabetes and once but I was the
Speaker 4: first person diagnosed with diabetes in my family. My father
Speaker 4: had gone unchecked for over for more than twenty twenty
Speaker 4: five years.
Speaker 5: And.
Speaker 4: I realized that once I was diagnosed, I look back
Speaker 4: at the symptoms that my father had when I was
Speaker 4: growing up, and they were the same as the symptoms
Speaker 4: that I was having now. And so that's when my
Speaker 4: dad got checked out, and so we lost them to that,
Speaker 4: and that's why I partnered with Noble Orders to bring
Speaker 4: awareness to everybody out there who may be suffering from
Speaker 4: it or adjacent to it. We started a campaign called
Speaker 4: get Real about Diabetes, and they can go to get
Speaker 4: real about diabetes dot com to find out information about
Speaker 4: this disease. And it's really informed. And I go out
Speaker 4: to the communities and I talk to the communities, but
Speaker 4: in particular Black men, because.
Speaker 5: We are the ones that rarely go to the doctors.
Speaker 5: You know, myself included.
Speaker 4: My dad didn't go for twenty twenty five years and
Speaker 4: we lost him because of that.
Speaker 5: So I get out on this campaign and I share.
Speaker 4: My story and my testimony with them, and I just
Speaker 4: talk about the changes that I've made in my life
Speaker 4: in order to live with the disease and manage it
Speaker 4: instead of dying from it. And it comes with sacrifice,
Speaker 4: it comes with hard work, but in the end, in
Speaker 4: the long run, it pays off.
Speaker 2: That's your personal journey, obviously, you're trying to help many,
Speaker 2: many lives, not just yourself. Tribute to you for doing that, major,
Speaker 2: major props to you for that. That's on a personal level,
Speaker 2: on a professional level, considering all that you have done
Speaker 2: and considering the show that you're on here talking about
Speaker 2: right now. G twenty streaming April tenth on Prime Video, Starr, You,
Speaker 2: Viola Davis, and others. Of course, when you talk about it,
Speaker 2: when you think about what you shared on a personal level,
Speaker 2: what are you on a mission to share at this
Speaker 2: point professionally since you're clearly qualified to share because you've
Speaker 2: done so many great things.
Speaker 4: I just want to continue to make opportunities for myself
Speaker 4: and make opportunities for my mother, but also, you know,
Speaker 4: make opportunities.
Speaker 2: Pause right now, no one who's better than you at Domino's.
Speaker 2: Let's not forget that.
Speaker 4: What I mean, Yeah, yes he is. You know, I
Speaker 4: learned from the best, you know. But I just want
Speaker 4: to continue to make opportunities for creators and storytellers, like
Speaker 4: people made opportunities for me to come out and be
Speaker 4: my authentic self and tell my stories from my point
Speaker 4: of view.
Speaker 3: Uh.
Speaker 4: And I just want to continue to be a part
Speaker 4: of that, you know, So that that's what I'm striving for.
Speaker 4: To start directing more, to start creating more, uh, and
Speaker 4: to start collaborating more with people that you know, you
Speaker 4: would never know.
Speaker 5: I was like, oh, I never knew this is what
Speaker 5: you did? Or this is what you wanted to do,
Speaker 5: let me be a part of.
Speaker 4: That, because you didn't know this is what I wanted
Speaker 4: to do and be a part of. So it's all
Speaker 4: about collaborations and just telling you know, and being your
Speaker 4: authentic self and being in that space.
Speaker 2: Love you, bro, Proud of you, So good to see you,
Speaker 2: looking forward to connecting yet again. I know you've been
Speaker 2: on the road a lot, doing a lot of great things.
Speaker 2: I'm just happy for you, happy to see you in
Speaker 2: this space, in this place in your life right now,
Speaker 2: Really proud of you, really happy for you. You want
Speaker 2: of the great ones? You know how I feel about you.
Speaker 2: Nor much love I got for you, so much so
Speaker 2: that I got a surprise for you. Because my career
Speaker 2: is kind of going decent. You know, I'm doing all right,
Speaker 2: you know, okay, And I got something. I got something
Speaker 2: new coming up. I have been I have been asked
Speaker 2: to appear or law and order.
Speaker 1: I'll take it up there After I was like, what what.
Speaker 5: What I mean?
Speaker 1: I mean?
Speaker 2: I got I got to get I got to get
Speaker 2: some tips from my brother.
Speaker 1: I got to get some tips. Man.
Speaker 5: Let let me know.
Speaker 4: I'll run lines with you if that's what you need, Steve,
Speaker 4: we can do it. Got you, Hey, welcome to the
Speaker 4: Leno family.
Speaker 1: Baby, Then did you know?
Speaker 2: I mean, there are worse things to achieve in life,
Speaker 2: no doubt about that. I mean everybody has anybody been
Speaker 2: on law and order. So that's the way I arn
Speaker 2: is to start.
Speaker 1: Of something new. Appreciate you, bro, love you man, appreciate.
Speaker 5: It even always great seeing you're my friend.
Speaker 1: No doubt. All right, talk to you so fix.
Speaker 2: It's my man, Anthony, and it'son Always a pleasure talking
Speaker 2: to that brother. It seems like you learn something new
Speaker 2: every single day. But no matter what he's taught us
Speaker 2: via our conversation with one another in front of you all,
Speaker 2: I doubt that he's going to be able to teach
Speaker 2: us to the degree that the next guest is going
Speaker 2: to teach us. I don't know if I haven't thought
Speaker 2: about it, introducing or interviewing an ash or somebody that's
Speaker 2: going into space, you know, aerodynamics and all of this
Speaker 2: other stuff. Davin, I don't even know what the hell
Speaker 2: it comes with the industry for crying a lot. But
Speaker 2: I'm about to learn because it's a sister that I'm
Speaker 2: about to talk to who is a star who's about
Speaker 2: to go up in space. Like literally, I'm not speaking
Speaker 2: metaphorically or figuratively. I'm talking about literally, she's about to
Speaker 2: go up in space.
Speaker 3: Okay.
Speaker 2: A marvelous, marvelous young sister who is doing big, big
Speaker 2: things and wants to come on this show to talk
Speaker 2: about it. Inspiring young ladies everywhere of all ethnicities. Her
Speaker 2: name is Aisha Bow. She's the real deal.
Speaker 1: I think I'm lying. Listen to her speak up next
Speaker 1: right here on Stephen E.
Speaker 2: Smithshew, My next guest is a former NASA Rocket science
Speaker 2: entrepreneur and global STEM advocate. Oh and did I mention
Speaker 2: she will make history as one of six women on
Speaker 2: Billionaire Jeff Bezos is eleventh Blue Origin and S thirty
Speaker 2: one space flight on April fourteenth, Please welcome the one
Speaker 2: and only Miss Ashabo.
Speaker 1: How are you? How's everything?
Speaker 2: I'm good, It's nice to finally meet you. First of all,
Speaker 2: I'm very very proud of you. Congratulations on all your success,
Speaker 2: and I'm especially proud because you're working in partnership with
Speaker 2: my alma mater, wister, Salem State University. Tell an audience
Speaker 2: about that, please, let's get let's got a touch on
Speaker 2: that first listen.
Speaker 6: We couldnt go to space without Winston Salem. When I
Speaker 6: embarked upon this mission, it was important for me to
Speaker 6: conduct science and to do it with a world class
Speaker 6: institution like Winston Salem. I long admire their astropotany lab
Speaker 6: from when I was at NASA, and I am privileged
Speaker 6: that the opportunity to genetically sequence plants in space with them.
Speaker 2: How do you feel about this? I mean they say
Speaker 2: this is the lady's time. I mean, with all the
Speaker 2: ladies going on this historic trip, who'll be joining? Tell
Speaker 2: an audience who will be joining you on this flight?
Speaker 7: Sure?
Speaker 6: I'm joined by Gil King, Katie Perry, Lauren Sanchez, Carrie,
Speaker 6: Anne Flynn, and Amanda.
Speaker 2: Win Now those ladies that elected to join you, what
Speaker 2: kind of advice have you given them? I'd like to
Speaker 2: know this, because you know, Gail is usually one that
Speaker 2: gives advice now takes it.
Speaker 1: I know she's a friend of mine and she's so bossy.
Speaker 1: I say that affectionately.
Speaker 2: What are the kind of things you told her about
Speaker 2: what she's about to embark upon?
Speaker 6: Pleasant planning and preparation, right, I look at this similar
Speaker 6: to athletics. It's important to visualize. It's important to prepare
Speaker 6: and to be in the moment. We're getting ready to
Speaker 6: go on a journey that almost everyone who has gone
Speaker 6: on it has come back forever changed. And for people
Speaker 6: around the world who are writing me, who are engaging
Speaker 6: with the mission and seeing a little bit of themselves
Speaker 6: in us, it's important that we show up, we meet
Speaker 6: the moment.
Speaker 2: Tell the folks out there about yourself in terms of
Speaker 2: who you are and how this all came to be.
Speaker 2: I mean, when we think about I mean, there's a
Speaker 2: lot of aspirations. People are very aspirational in this day
Speaker 2: and age, but you don't see too often somebody engaging
Speaker 2: in this kind of stuff where you're going up in space, girl,
Speaker 2: you're going above the earth, crying out loud.
Speaker 1: I mean, how did all of this come to be?
Speaker 7: I'm the person who never thought that I would be here.
Speaker 6: I started out as someone who wasn't high performing in
Speaker 6: high school. In fact, I went to my community sorry,
Speaker 6: I went to community college, and I didn't even apply
Speaker 6: to college. After asking my high school guidance.
Speaker 7: Counselor what she thought I could do, and she.
Speaker 6: Said, I think you'd better be better be off pursuing cosmetology,
Speaker 6: and you know.
Speaker 1: I hold on cosmetology.
Speaker 6: Yeah, and you know, I pause here because I'm looking
Speaker 6: at you and I'm looking at this, and this was all.
Speaker 7: It was all a dream.
Speaker 6: And I did not apply to college because I thought
Speaker 6: I wasn't.
Speaker 7: Smart enough to go.
Speaker 6: I did not have the dream of working at NASA
Speaker 6: because I I thought that I couldn't make it.
Speaker 7: And so when I went.
Speaker 6: To school, I said, you know what, Ayisha, you're in
Speaker 6: community college, but you have taken everything that someone else
Speaker 6: has told you about yourself to be true, and it
Speaker 6: is not. And so let's focus only on what it
Speaker 6: is that you want to do. And what I wanted
Speaker 6: to do was wake up every day and look at
Speaker 6: my face and be proud. I want to look in
Speaker 6: the mirror and say that my black was beautiful.
Speaker 7: And I wanted to live a life.
Speaker 6: That was a testimony. And so I said I'm going
Speaker 6: to become a rocket scientist.
Speaker 7: And people laughed.
Speaker 6: I mean they still laugh at me. Today's spoiler alert.
Speaker 6: I'm like, google me, I'll wait right, But they laughed
Speaker 6: because they didn't think that I could do it. And
Speaker 6: so I started my aerospace engineering degree with pre algebra
Speaker 6: in this community college.
Speaker 7: I went to Michigan Aerospace.
Speaker 6: I got a master's in Space systems engineering, and then
Speaker 6: I went to NASA and I said, I'm going to
Speaker 6: commit my life to telling people that being realistic is
Speaker 6: the most commonly travel path to mediocrity.
Speaker 1: I had the.
Speaker 2: Pleasure meeting your wonderful mama. She's standing right over there.
Speaker 2: I see where she gets here, I see where you
Speaker 2: get it from. Okay, let me just say that very
Speaker 2: very complimentary. I might add, but here's the deal. Wasn't
Speaker 2: it your dad that first mentioned to you or suggested
Speaker 2: that you might want to take this path?
Speaker 1: And if that is so, if that is so, what
Speaker 1: is it that he saw that you didn't see.
Speaker 2: At that particular moment in time that made him make
Speaker 2: that suggestion.
Speaker 6: Well, my dad, who's from the Bahamas, decided that when
Speaker 6: he heard what the guidance counselor said, he would go
Speaker 6: and give her a piece of his mind.
Speaker 7: He was told not to come back.
Speaker 2: So he did go and give her a piece of
Speaker 2: his mind, and they told him not to come back.
Speaker 7: Correct.
Speaker 6: Okay, Okay, say you know you cannot allow others to
Speaker 6: define you in life. And I want you to know
Speaker 6: that you were smarter than what they think you are,
Speaker 6: and you were better, and so he would challenge me
Speaker 6: at the dinner table. He would ask me to write,
Speaker 6: like you know, write down equations and things, and then
Speaker 6: he would tear them up and he would tell me
Speaker 6: that the only thing that someone can't take from you
Speaker 6: is the stuff that's in your mind. And he said,
Speaker 6: I assure you can do whatever it is that you
Speaker 6: put your mind to, So go do the math. I
Speaker 6: will pay for it. You'll take the class again. And
Speaker 6: so I started over the classes I was taking in
Speaker 6: high school that I didn't do well in. I started
Speaker 6: over in community college because he told me that I.
Speaker 2: Could, and I'm thinking about it for along the way
Speaker 2: he had to see something is in terms of it's
Speaker 2: one thing to believe in you because he loves you
Speaker 2: daily and he believes that you have a level of
Speaker 2: intellect that they're underestimating. It's another thing important entirely to
Speaker 2: see a particular gift. You got to be gifted to
Speaker 2: do what you're doing right here, because so you're clearly
Speaker 2: a gifted young lady. I'm saying, did he see that
Speaker 2: expertise in math? Your interests elevated when it came to
Speaker 2: that subject.
Speaker 6: What was it, you know, I think he saw potential.
Speaker 6: Everyone needs someone who believes in them.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 6: One of the things I loved about the Venus and
Speaker 6: Serena moving was that the father spoke power over them
Speaker 6: before they were champing bands. He was really deliberate about
Speaker 6: making sure that no one would tell them that they
Speaker 6: are going to be anything better than the best. And
Speaker 6: my dad, in that moment, told me the same thing.
Speaker 6: It wasn't because I had previously demonstrated it. It was
Speaker 6: because he saw potential, and I grew into my potential. Heck,
Speaker 6: I'm still growing into it. I went from being at
Speaker 6: NASA to running two companies, to making education product to
Speaker 6: being on the show talking to you. I'm still learning
Speaker 6: how to do. But what I stand for is the dream.
Speaker 6: I stand for the idea that there is no dream
Speaker 6: too big and nothing too audacious.
Speaker 3: Was folks?
Speaker 2: Were folks derailing your dreams? Or was your actions derailing
Speaker 2: your dreams because you didn't believe you were as nearly
Speaker 2: as focused as you ultimately became, Which was the biggest
Speaker 2: impediment to you getting to where you are today?
Speaker 6: In your estimation, I think I was the biggest impediment
Speaker 6: because I had to learn how to think. I had
Speaker 6: to learn how to view myself as a computer that
Speaker 6: needed to be pushed new prog Essentially, I controlled the
Speaker 6: narrative in my mind, and so if I consistently reinforced
Speaker 6: how I think and how I respond to the things
Speaker 6: around me, then I can change reality to be what
Speaker 6: it is that.
Speaker 7: I wanted to be.
Speaker 1: How were you able to do that?
Speaker 2: When you use the word reinforcement, because I'm peeling apart
Speaker 2: some of the words that you're saying, and you talked
Speaker 2: about reinforce, well, that means it was there, but something
Speaker 2: inside of you was willing to put forth the due diligence,
Speaker 2: the level of tenacity, etc. That you were not willing
Speaker 2: to do in the past. Was the inspiration there because
Speaker 2: you wanted to make your daddy proud? Was the inspiration
Speaker 2: there because you wanted to debunk and ultimately dismiss what
Speaker 2: the teacher who referred you to cosmatology recommended. I mean,
Speaker 2: when we think about the word reinforce, it emanates from somewhere,
Speaker 2: which was the motivation for you.
Speaker 7: I was tired of feeling bad. I wanted to feel good.
Speaker 6: When I woke up, I looked at my reflection and
Speaker 6: I didn't like what I saw, and when I really
Speaker 6: started to think of it, here was I had someone
Speaker 6: that loved me and thought I was so great, But
Speaker 6: I didn't think that way. I didn't feel that way,
Speaker 6: and I could not feel good without taking control of me.
Speaker 6: And so I said, I am strong enough to overcome
Speaker 6: whatever challenges are before me. And I do that every
Speaker 6: single day, even to this day. I wake up and
Speaker 6: before I start everyone else's day, I start mine, and
Speaker 6: I have affirmations, I have meditation, I pray, and then.
Speaker 7: I get going.
Speaker 2: Does meditation really work? I've been that's been referred to
Speaker 2: me on many many occasions. I'm going like this, it's
Speaker 2: kind of impossible. That requires me to shut up and
Speaker 2: just sit there and empt in my mind. And I
Speaker 2: just think there's a lot of things in life I
Speaker 2: could pull off. I don't know if I could pull
Speaker 2: that off. Can you pull that off? How hard is
Speaker 2: it to learn how to meditate?
Speaker 7: Listen? I like to meditate, and when I meditated, like
Speaker 7: to do it in the Bahamas.
Speaker 1: Resident. You know I'm from Virginalais. Now my family's from
Speaker 1: same time as Virginalais.
Speaker 7: Listen, i'ma how about that?
Speaker 1: How about that.
Speaker 2: But I mean, I look at you now, and we
Speaker 2: all have to just stand down and marvel at the
Speaker 2: accomplishments that you've achieved to this degree. When I think
Speaker 2: about what you're doing moving forward, particularly with this mission,
Speaker 2: and how it's going to resonate not just in America
Speaker 2: but throughout the world as you go and you talk
Speaker 2: to young ladies throughout the country, because I know you do.
Speaker 1: What are the kind of things you say to them?
Speaker 7: I tell them that space is for all and not
Speaker 7: for some.
Speaker 6: I'm literally traveling with postcards that I've asked the students
Speaker 6: to write their dreams down on because my goal is
Speaker 6: to be a bedtime story. I want people to tell
Speaker 6: their children what it is that I did in the
Speaker 6: hopes of encouraging them to reach for the stars.
Speaker 2: But you're going to carry these postcards from the students, right,
Speaker 2: And I wanted to ask you what they're going to symbolize.
Speaker 1: But you're taking them up in space with you. Yes,
Speaker 1: what you're doing.
Speaker 7: You know, thanks to Lauren and Jeff, they're going back.
Speaker 6: To the very same students who wrote them, and so
Speaker 6: they'll be stamp flown in space and then they're going
Speaker 6: to bring space back down to Earth.
Speaker 2: Tell me about the significance of the American flos that
Speaker 2: you know you're going to take in the space.
Speaker 6: When I first started working at NASA, I met a
Speaker 6: woman named Nancy Conrad. She's the wife of Pete Conrad,
Speaker 6: the third man to walk on the Moon. She became
Speaker 6: a very powerful mentor to me. And Pete's story is
Speaker 6: similar to mine. He was rambunctious and he didn't necessarily
Speaker 6: fit in the traditional mold of school.
Speaker 7: In the beginning.
Speaker 6: Nancy saw that I wanted to go to space, and
Speaker 6: she mentored me along the way, and when the mission
Speaker 6: was confirmed, she said, Ayisha, I want to provide you
Speaker 6: with the symbol of the past, because you are the future.
Speaker 6: And she asked the museum a flight in Seattle to
Speaker 6: go and get Pete's flag that he took to the
Speaker 6: Moon with him on Apollo twelve, and they sent it
Speaker 6: to me, and so I will have an opportunity to
Speaker 6: put that flag back in space, and then it will
Speaker 6: have been flown twice and his legacy and my legacy
Speaker 6: will be shared in the museum.
Speaker 1: How long are you going to be up there?
Speaker 6: Do you know long enough?
Speaker 2: Listen, that's vague, that's vague, I mean specific, you're gonna
Speaker 2: be in space.
Speaker 1: You know how long are you gonna be up there?
Speaker 6: In?
Speaker 1: Now?
Speaker 6: Yes, so the entire flight will be like maybe eleven minutes, right,
Speaker 6: and yes, and it's great because one that's enough to
Speaker 6: study how plans respond to microgravity. And two, my mom
Speaker 6: knows exactly when I'm coming home.
Speaker 1: Did you just finish saying that the eleven minutes is
Speaker 1: enough to study? Is that? Would you just say eleven minutes?
Speaker 1: That's all you.
Speaker 6: Need, that's all you Well, so when you're in microgravity,
Speaker 6: changes on the molecular level happen instantly, and so we're
Speaker 6: actually able to genetically sequence plants in that period of time.
Speaker 6: And this has implications for food security on Earth.
Speaker 1: We know, forgive this.
Speaker 2: Question, it's gonna sound a bit idiotic, maybe, but I
Speaker 2: gotta ask because you know, we hear politicians all the
Speaker 2: time talking about taking us into space, they exploring space,
Speaker 2: what have you. Ultimately, one day we're gonna live on
Speaker 2: malls and stuff like that.
Speaker 1: And I don't pay much. You're the reason I'm paying
Speaker 1: attention to it.
Speaker 6: Now.
Speaker 1: You shouldn't be honest with you.
Speaker 2: If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be paying attention
Speaker 2: to that, you understand, but you got me interested.
Speaker 1: Are we to take that and embrace that seriously?
Speaker 2: That that is an objective and an agenda for astronauts,
Speaker 2: and that's and everything in between as it pertains to
Speaker 2: this country, this world and things from an exploration perspective,
Speaker 2: they're really really plotting to do this.
Speaker 6: Well. We've been studying various elements of space travel for
Speaker 6: some time.
Speaker 7: We say we humanity massive and what we've.
Speaker 6: Realized is that space is a harsh environment, no surprise there.
Speaker 6: But what we learn in space has implications here on Earth.
Speaker 6: So if you can grow plants in space, you can
Speaker 6: grow them here in food deserts. You can help make
Speaker 6: sure that people get access to the next generation of antibiotics,
Speaker 6: and you can also make sure that they get Wi Fi.
Speaker 7: Wherever they are, gotcha.
Speaker 2: So you just utilizing that to bring it back to
Speaker 2: Earth to make sure we maximize our potential as a
Speaker 2: human race as opposed to telling us were trying to
Speaker 2: move the mall.
Speaker 6: That's what you tell them, exactly space for the benefit
Speaker 6: of Earth.
Speaker 1: That moves me.
Speaker 2: I feel a lot better about that now, a lot
Speaker 2: more knowledgeable about it.
Speaker 1: How does one prepare for a spaceflight.
Speaker 6: Well, if you're an adrenaline drunkie like me, you have
Speaker 6: a lot of fun while doing it.
Speaker 7: I just had the opportunity to.
Speaker 6: Fly in L thirty nine, which is a fighter jet,
Speaker 6: and I successfully completed some aileron rolls and some high
Speaker 6: speed maneuvers.
Speaker 7: And had a great time.
Speaker 6: But there is a commercial space flight regulation that kind
Speaker 6: of lays out preparation for space and so I've gone
Speaker 6: from flying an acrobatic aircraft to hypoxia training to these
Speaker 6: fighter jet and high G forces six gs.
Speaker 7: I love it.
Speaker 6: I absolutely love it, and so it's important to physically
Speaker 6: and mentally prepare.
Speaker 2: I give you kudos not just for your accomplishments, but
Speaker 2: because of your bravery, because they tried to get me
Speaker 2: up in the fire, the jets years ago, and I
Speaker 2: told them to go to hell. Don't even think about it,
Speaker 2: don't even think about coming my way with that nonsense.
Speaker 1: I'm comfortable on land. You understand. I'm not trying to
Speaker 1: do that. So you're brave than me.
Speaker 7: Just but I got the hook up.
Speaker 6: I know a Bahamia who's a fighter pilot.
Speaker 7: He owns the aircraft.
Speaker 1: Let's go No, Yes, I'm not that brave.
Speaker 7: You can do it.
Speaker 6: No, I can do it.
Speaker 7: You can do it too.
Speaker 2: I know I could do it, but because of me,
Speaker 2: I ain't gonna be scared as hell when I'm doing
Speaker 2: at a heart attack.
Speaker 1: You understand what I'm saying.
Speaker 6: Well, look, I think the fear is good.
Speaker 7: You feel the fear, you do it anyway.
Speaker 6: If people ask me, are you nervous, It's like, yes,
Speaker 6: I'm getting in a rocket and going up. But on
Speaker 6: the other side of fears everything I've ever wanted.
Speaker 1: Will this mission be carried lives? It will be, It
Speaker 1: will be.
Speaker 6: It will be broadcast on Blueorgin dot com Wow on
Speaker 6: April fourteenth. You can tune in, whether in a classroom
Speaker 6: or you.
Speaker 7: Were at home.
Speaker 2: I want to go to a couple of other things
Speaker 2: before you depart, and I really appreciate you taking time
Speaker 2: out of your busy schedule onor to have you here.
Speaker 2: It means a lot to me that you hear, and
Speaker 2: it means a lot to me that everybody's gonna know
Speaker 2: even more about your story. You found it stem Board,
Speaker 2: a startup specializing in engineering services for federal and private
Speaker 2: sector clients without any outside funding, and twenty twenty, it
Speaker 2: landed on the Ink magazine's five thousand list of the
Speaker 2: fastest growing privately owned US companies.
Speaker 1: How were you able to do that?
Speaker 6: Dollar and a very supportive dog. Really, I was telling
Speaker 6: people that, look, I'm going to found a company, and
Speaker 6: they didn't know any people who look like me with
Speaker 6: my background who had founded companies and were successful. And
Speaker 6: so I decided that if you tell me that I
Speaker 6: can't do it, I'm gonna do it. And over the
Speaker 6: last twelve years, we've been recognized for hiring veterans, we
Speaker 6: received a higher vets award from Department of Labor, We've
Speaker 6: had the opportunity to expand to five states, and we've
Speaker 6: been on the INK list now twice. I couldn't, They said,
Speaker 6: I can't. I did?
Speaker 3: You?
Speaker 6: Did?
Speaker 1: You did?
Speaker 2: You're also doing great work begase kids to consider STEM
Speaker 2: careers through your ad tech company, LINGO.
Speaker 1: Talk to me about that for a second, and who
Speaker 1: do you hope to reach?
Speaker 6: Well, it sort of became this year one trick pony thing.
Speaker 6: Should I'm like, no, I feel like genius is evenly distributed. Opportunity, however,
Speaker 6: is not, and so how do I take what it
Speaker 6: is that I've learned and my resources and bring it
Speaker 6: to students all around the world, and that was through LINGO.
Speaker 6: Many students had never been taught anything by a black
Speaker 6: woman that was technical in middle school or high school
Speaker 6: or college, and so we decided to make self paced
Speaker 6: coding kits. We started off by supporting inroads and it
Speaker 6: bloomed from there. We in the last two years have
Speaker 6: delivered these kids into the hands of ten thousand students,
Speaker 6: but we stay teaches us for freshman computer science. We've
Speaker 6: been bought in ten countries, and I'm delighted to say
Speaker 6: that we've launched two new space themed lessons so that
Speaker 6: we can take this mission and we can take the
Speaker 6: inspiration and we can deliver that into skills that people
Speaker 6: can use to be employable.
Speaker 7: In the future.
Speaker 2: My last question to you would be this, I know
Speaker 2: you care about humanity, the human race. I know that
Speaker 2: you have a special affection for young ladies out there
Speaker 2: in this world trying to make it happen for themselves.
Speaker 2: But I imagine as a marvelous black woman, it's very
Speaker 2: very touching considering the connections to HBCUs and beyond what
Speaker 2: your accomplishments have meant and will continue to me to
Speaker 2: young black ladies out there in the years to come.
Speaker 2: Can you talk about that for a second and how
Speaker 2: that vibes with your mission and your aspirations and life
Speaker 2: as you move forward.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 6: I had the opportunity when I was at NASA to
Speaker 6: speak to Michelle Nichols. And if you know Michelle, you
Speaker 6: know her from Star Trek, but she also well she
Speaker 6: was the person who recruited the first class of African
Speaker 6: American astronauts with NASA. She used her star power to
Speaker 6: go out there and find many people who you read
Speaker 6: about in history, and for me, it's the story. I
Speaker 6: want to know that when I'm gone, that I have
Speaker 6: left this place better than when I received. And for women, girls, people,
Speaker 6: we don't just inspire Black people. We inspire all people, culture,
Speaker 6: everything around the world. And so for me to be
Speaker 6: here in this moment, I want to let people know
Speaker 6: while I would love it if you become a rocket scientist,
Speaker 6: what I want you to take from this is do
Speaker 6: not allow anybody to define.
Speaker 1: You Aisha Bo. The marvelous is Shabo.
Speaker 2: Good luck, continue to make all of us proud, because
Speaker 2: you're surely making me proud.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for being here.
Speaker 2: My thanks to the one and only I should vote
Speaker 2: to all female Blue Origin NS thirty one.
Speaker 1: Space flight is scheduled for April fourteenth. Be sure to
Speaker 1: check it out.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much. She is an inspiration for sure.
Speaker 2: As the daddy of two beautiful little girls, I shouldn't
Speaker 2: call them little anymore, my god, the teenagers, but they
Speaker 2: make me proud. As Aisha I am sure has made
Speaker 2: her parents proud. She's special, make no mistake about it.
Speaker 2: She's going to inspire young ladies everywhere for years and
Speaker 2: years to come. Let's all keep an eye out for
Speaker 2: that girl, that young lady, and wish her nothing but
Speaker 2: the best, the all I support around her, because Lord.
Speaker 1: Knows she deserves it.
Speaker 2: Let me transition to another subject, back to the NCUBA tournament.
Speaker 2: It's almost over, but there's a lot of interesting storylines
Speaker 2: that took place during the nc doubaa tournament that still
Speaker 2: resonates to this day.
Speaker 1: And one of the people that that applies to is R. J.
Speaker 2: Lewis, junior star small forward for the Saint John's Red Storm.
Speaker 1: A lot of people thought they would be playing for
Speaker 1: the national championship tonight. It was not to be.
Speaker 2: Well, why did that happen? What mistakes were made? What
Speaker 2: they made by him, what they made by coach Rick Patino?
Speaker 2: Is that why he's departing from Saint John's? Is that
Speaker 2: why he decided he might go pro?
Speaker 1: He might even transfer to another school. I don't know,
Speaker 1: but we're about to find out.
Speaker 2: My next guest is a now former star for Saint
Speaker 2: John's University. He recently entered the Tree Transferred portal and
Speaker 2: a clip for the twenty twenty five NBA Draft. If
Speaker 2: he remains in college, the Big East Player of the
Speaker 2: Year is expected to make at least one point five
Speaker 2: million dollars in NIL earnings next season. So joining me
Speaker 2: now to discuss his future none other than the now
Speaker 2: former star officer Saint John's himself.
Speaker 1: R J. Luise Junior. What's going on, big time? How
Speaker 1: are you man? How's everything?
Speaker 3: What's going on? Good afternoon, Good afternoon.
Speaker 2: It's good to see. It's good to finally meet you.
Speaker 2: You got a lot of friends that are friends of mine.
Speaker 2: They've been telling me to meet you for quite some time.
Speaker 2: Congratulations on a great year that you've had. I have
Speaker 2: to admit and start off with this, I'm still pissed off.
Speaker 1: At Coach Patino.
Speaker 2: I did not like the fact that you were you
Speaker 2: were on the bench for the damn near last five
Speaker 2: minutes of that NCAA Tournament game against Arkansas. I want
Speaker 2: to know that, now that you've had time to reflect
Speaker 2: on it, how are you feeling about what transpired?
Speaker 1: And where's your head at right now?
Speaker 3: I mean, obviously, you know, during the game was kind
Speaker 3: of hurt, you know, just not being able to you know,
Speaker 3: be on my on the court, with my with my
Speaker 3: team for the last five minutes to you know, be
Speaker 3: able to win the game. But I mean, you know,
Speaker 3: coach Coach made a decision that he felt was best,
Speaker 3: and you know, I have to I have to respect that.
Speaker 2: My attitude, and I think the attitude of most sports
Speaker 2: fan is that you you use what brought you there.
Speaker 2: I mean, eighteen point two points game, forty four percent shooting.
Speaker 2: Throughout the twenty twenty five season, Big East Player of
Speaker 2: the Year, Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player consisted second
Speaker 2: Team All American All Right, and Saint John's won the
Speaker 2: Big East Outright in the regular season for the first
Speaker 2: time since nineteen eighty five of the Biggest Tournament for
Speaker 2: the first.
Speaker 1: Time since two thousand.
Speaker 2: Even though you were struggling that game, what was your attitude.
Speaker 2: Did you feel like, listen, I can I can get
Speaker 2: through this even though I'm struggling this afternoon. What were
Speaker 2: you thinking at the time.
Speaker 3: I mean, I definitely was a it was a it
Speaker 3: was an off day, it was a rough day. Probably
Speaker 3: wasn't my best game of the year, but I mean
Speaker 3: I just feel like, you know, there was still five
Speaker 3: minutes up in the game. I think anything could have happened.
Speaker 3: When I came out the game, I I shot the
Speaker 3: two free throws and I cut it down someone possession.
Speaker 3: So I mean I was thinking, hopefully, you know, I
Speaker 3: hit those two free throws, I was gonna be able to,
Speaker 3: you know, calm down a little bit. But I mean,
Speaker 3: I think anything could have happened in the last five
Speaker 3: minutes of the game.
Speaker 2: You know, I wanted to ask you before I show
Speaker 2: you a quote. I want to know what your teammates
Speaker 2: said to you at that time when it was going on.
Speaker 1: What were they saying to you or what did they
Speaker 1: say to you? And the immediate aftermath of the game.
Speaker 3: It was kind of just letting, like everything else soak in,
Speaker 3: you know, just the season we had, you know, thirty one,
Speaker 3: thirty one, four thirty one and five since we lost
Speaker 3: that game. But everybody was just kind of just you know,
Speaker 3: kind of sad, trying to just you know, just take
Speaker 3: it in, and they didn't really understand what was going on.
Speaker 3: You know, I myself was lost for worse. So it
Speaker 3: was kind of the first couple of minutes in the
Speaker 3: locker room was very silent, and then you know, then
Speaker 3: it hit us and you know, a couple of guys
Speaker 3: was crying. Some of the seniors was was very upset,
Speaker 3: you know, just because you know, we weren't able to
Speaker 3: you know, keep on dancing. But I mean, after that,
Speaker 3: you know, we just hugged it out. We'd even talk
Speaker 3: about as far as like individual performances. We just you know,
Speaker 3: gave each other a hug. We congratulated each other on
Speaker 3: a great season. And it just suck to go out
Speaker 3: that way.
Speaker 2: Coach Rick Patino, when asked about it after the game,
Speaker 2: wouldn't elaborate on his decision making and why he had
Speaker 2: made that decision. People like myself and various other pundits,
Speaker 2: we were calling them out, like what the hell are
Speaker 2: you doing?
Speaker 1: That's not what you do but.
Speaker 2: Nevertheless, he decided to speak on this recently, within the
Speaker 2: last forty eight hours or so, and I wanted to
Speaker 2: see I wanted to show you this quote, and I
Speaker 2: wanted to get your reaction in real time.
Speaker 1: To what the coach had to say about his decision. Quote.
Speaker 2: It was the right move talking about benching you. It
Speaker 2: was the right move because of where he was mentally.
Speaker 2: He was forcing shots and it was affecting the rest
Speaker 2: of his game. Luis was not only getting down about
Speaker 2: his game. He wasn't playing the defense we needed. He
Speaker 2: wasn't playing the transition.
Speaker 1: Defense we needed.
Speaker 2: He wasn't blocking out all the missed shots, and the
Speaker 2: forced shots were.
Speaker 1: Affecting him him. He just recently gave those quotes the
Speaker 1: Vice TV. What is your reaction to what your coach said.
Speaker 3: I mean, I'm just hurt, you know. Obviously, like I said,
Speaker 3: it wasn't it wasn't my best performance. But I think
Speaker 3: it's a could have you know, could have did a
Speaker 3: better job, you know, picking my head up, and you know,
Speaker 3: you know, just just doing a better job, you know,
Speaker 3: coaching me up, like how he's done the whole year,
Speaker 3: and it just it just sucks to her, said you know,
Speaker 3: obviously the way I played and the way we went
Speaker 3: out in the tournament. Uh, you know, I'm I'm gonna
Speaker 3: take that with me, uh, I mean forever. You know,
Speaker 3: that's my first time participating in March Madness. But I mean,
Speaker 3: definitely just just hurt. It's one of those you know,
Speaker 3: you can only control what you can control. And I mean,
Speaker 3: like I said, you know, Coase Bettino made a decision
Speaker 3: which he thought was best for the team, and I
Speaker 3: have to respect that.
Speaker 1: Is that why you're leaving Saint John's? Is there another reason?
Speaker 3: That's not the reason. I mean, I feel like this
Speaker 3: season I had, I felt like my stock won't be
Speaker 3: any higher than it is. And I mean, thanks to
Speaker 3: my coaches and my teammates, you know, they've been able
Speaker 3: to you know, put me in a position to you know,
Speaker 3: take the next step in my journey, and obviously that's
Speaker 3: to play in the NBA. So that's really really my
Speaker 3: decision is to you know, to go on and you know,
Speaker 3: start this draft process and to see what what God
Speaker 3: has in story for me for at the next level.
Speaker 2: I understand that the draft process is the draft process,
Speaker 2: but is it possible that you could potentially end up
Speaker 2: transferring to another college or are you all in on
Speaker 2: entering this NBA draft and that's what you anticipate you
Speaker 2: will do.
Speaker 3: I mean I'm all in, but I mean worst case scenario.
Speaker 3: Always got to have a backup plan. So obviously that's
Speaker 3: why I into the trans supporter. But I mean I'm
Speaker 3: fully focused and I'm fully focused on the on the drafts.
Speaker 2: What kind of game do you believe you bring to
Speaker 2: the table, not just for another college team potentially, but
Speaker 2: for an NBA team. Describe your game in what you
Speaker 2: believe you bring to the table.
Speaker 3: I'm a two way player, very versatile. I could guard
Speaker 3: multiple positions. I feel like I could defend at a
Speaker 3: high level. And I've I've improved that I could score
Speaker 3: the ball at all three levels. And I'm improving my
Speaker 3: jump shot, my three point shooting, which is very big
Speaker 3: in the NBA NBA game. So I mean, I mean
Speaker 3: as far as what I've done, like the last ten games,
Speaker 3: I think I've I've sat like fifty percent, uh not
Speaker 3: mentioning the last game, but I mean I think I
Speaker 3: bring a lot. I have a lot of potential. Like
Speaker 3: you know my persona, my person you know my character,
Speaker 3: very hard working, very determined. I've earned everything that I've
Speaker 3: been given, and I mean I just keep on improving.
Speaker 3: You know, I'm a late bloomer, like you'll say. You know,
Speaker 3: it was very under recruited coming out of high school,
Speaker 3: had to go to prep school, and you know, I
Speaker 3: just been working, uh, you know, for moments like these,
Speaker 3: for these opportunities, and you know, I'm just keep on
Speaker 3: putting the work in too, you know, better my craft
Speaker 3: and I would've for like you know, NBA teams go
Speaker 3: to get a great kid, a very humble kid, a
Speaker 3: very hard working kid, and a kid that wants to compete,
Speaker 3: and you know, just went at the highest level.
Speaker 2: I'm talking to the Reign and Biggies Player of the
Speaker 2: Year in the consisting second team All Americans, So we
Speaker 2: know you can ball.
Speaker 1: When you think.
Speaker 2: About what you have to do, how far you've come,
Speaker 2: and how you've worked up to this point. Are you
Speaker 2: of the mindset that you know what you're definitely and
Speaker 2: definitively ready now and.
Speaker 1: It would be best for you to be in the NBA.
Speaker 2: Now or is there a possibility that you might decide
Speaker 2: it might be better for you to wait and go
Speaker 2: back to school for an additional year before going pro.
Speaker 2: What's the whole mindset that you're dealing with right now?
Speaker 3: Oh, mindset. I feel good. You know, I'm healthy first
Speaker 3: and foremost, you know, coming off a double shin surgery.
Speaker 3: So you know, I just give the glory to God,
Speaker 3: you know, for allowing me to you know, play the
Speaker 3: sport that I love so much. You know, just obviously
Speaker 3: just being healthy. That's really the main, the main thing
Speaker 3: I took out of this whole year. And obviously you know,
Speaker 3: the performance I had visually as far as collectively with
Speaker 3: my team, I think we did something extraordinary, uh this
Speaker 3: season that Saint John's hasn't seen it, you know, over
Speaker 3: forty years. So it just feels great. And definitely I
Speaker 3: feel like I'm ready. I feel like me going back
Speaker 3: to school would uh probably be like a burden, you know,
Speaker 3: just because you know, I've accomplished so much and as
Speaker 3: far as like accolades and you know, just winning, I
Speaker 3: feel like it just it would just be hard to
Speaker 3: you know, kind of replicate that and and uh and
Speaker 3: match that next year if I were to go back.
Speaker 2: To college, knowing that's still a possibility at the slight
Speaker 2: chance that you remain in college, What programs are you
Speaker 2: looking to transfer to or what kind of system do
Speaker 2: you think better best works for your for your skill set.
Speaker 3: I mean, like I said, uh, fully focused on the
Speaker 3: draft right now. There's definitely a uh every school in
Speaker 3: the country has been has been reaching out to to
Speaker 3: to my agency with Rock Nation, But I'm really not
Speaker 3: even paying on mindset that right now. You know, obviously,
Speaker 3: like I said, enter the transporter as a as a
Speaker 3: backup plan and just fully focus is on the on
Speaker 3: the draft right now, and if it comes to that,
Speaker 3: you know, we'll circle back and go back to that
Speaker 3: because you know we left that opportunity open. But definitely
Speaker 3: just I on the prize, just the NBA right now.
Speaker 2: When you talk to NBA scouts, this is something I
Speaker 2: would know about. Even though your crew, you know, O
Speaker 2: g One and the rest of the crew looking out
Speaker 2: for you the way that they that I know they
Speaker 2: will because they know everybody. When you think about what
Speaker 2: you've accomplished in your life, not just your career. Knowing
Speaker 2: NBA personnel the way that I do, they ain't gonna
Speaker 2: just add they think they've got your game down pat
Speaker 2: they know what you can bring in what what potential
Speaker 2: you may have, et cetera. But you the person when
Speaker 2: they sit down and they ask you about you and
Speaker 2: what you will bring to a locker room, what you
Speaker 2: will bring to a franchise an organization.
Speaker 1: What is it that you like all of these NBA
Speaker 1: teams to know about you.
Speaker 3: I mean, like I said, a humble kid, uh, you know,
Speaker 3: a hard worker, a competitor, and I'm just really just
Speaker 3: you know, just a uh I'm somebodey that knows how
Speaker 3: to deal with adversity, you know, being overlooked. I kind
Speaker 3: of have a chip on my shoulder. So really just
Speaker 3: you know, just going in there determined, and I mean
Speaker 3: just knowing that, you know, all the hard work that
Speaker 3: I put has has led me here. You know, I'm
Speaker 3: gonna keep on doing that, you know, I mean that's
Speaker 3: really it. Just you know, bringing in the energy and
Speaker 3: U do doing the little things that you know that
Speaker 3: that they need me to do. And obviously you know
Speaker 3: as I hopefully as I get there, you know, I'll develop,
Speaker 3: develop my game and you know, just keep on improving
Speaker 3: as a player and as a person.
Speaker 2: Anyone in particular you modeled your game after, or you'd
Speaker 2: like to model your game after.
Speaker 3: Uh, nobody in particular, you know, obviously, you know there's
Speaker 3: there's people I look at, you know, that have the
Speaker 3: same same body type I like. I like Jason Tatum,
Speaker 3: I like Devin Booker. Uh, I like Shaane Gildis, Alexander
Speaker 3: you know, just those big guards that are you know, uh,
Speaker 3: not able to secure for themselves, but to create for others.
Speaker 3: And I think that's something that I wasn't able to
Speaker 3: to demonstrate a whole lot. I think I'm a way
Speaker 3: better playmaker, and you know what what I've done in college,
Speaker 3: you know, just the floor space is very compact. It's
Speaker 3: a lot of guys in the in the gaps and
Speaker 3: stuff like that. So I think, you know, just playing
Speaker 3: in the NBA and is playing on a more spaced out,
Speaker 3: uh more space out system will allow me to, you know, uh,
Speaker 3: just showcase my playmaking abilities more.
Speaker 2: Talk about the experience for the NCAA tournament and what
Speaker 2: you believe is necessary in order to succeed well enough
Speaker 2: to win a national championship. Just going through what you've been.
Speaker 3: Through, I mean, I wish I could tell you. I
Speaker 3: mean I think I got a little taste of it.
Speaker 3: It's kind of hard to really tell you what really
Speaker 3: takes into that. You know, just because I haven't haven't
Speaker 3: been a part of that culture, but I mean hopefully
Speaker 3: I've been part of you know, building that that that
Speaker 3: little culture at Saint John's and you know, trying to
Speaker 3: get that program going. But I mean those are those
Speaker 3: are great programs, great coaches, and I mean it takes
Speaker 3: a lot, you know, as far as you know, the
Speaker 3: trans supporter and stuff like that at it. You know,
Speaker 3: it's hard to build that type of chemistry. So you know,
Speaker 3: just just got to, you know, go go where you're
Speaker 3: able to to build as a as a person, as
Speaker 3: a player, and obviously, you know, you gotta play with
Speaker 3: a coaching staff that believes in you, and I mean
Speaker 3: obviously you gotta gotta put the work in. Nothing's given.
Speaker 3: And I think all those teams have earned the right
Speaker 3: to to play in the final four.
Speaker 2: I know you transferred from you Mass after one year
Speaker 2: to go to Saint John's the last two years, and
Speaker 2: obviously being at Saint John's did a lot.
Speaker 1: For you your career, your future, et cetera.
Speaker 2: To close out, is there anything you'd like to say
Speaker 2: to somebody like a Rick Patino before we depart.
Speaker 3: Uh to tell him now, I just tell him, thank
Speaker 3: you for the opportunity.
Speaker 6: Uh.
Speaker 3: You know, obviously without him, I wouldn't be able to
Speaker 3: play at Saint John's. And you know, obviously get a
Speaker 3: get a good education.
Speaker 6: Uh.
Speaker 3: I mean some people may not know, but I'm actually
Speaker 3: a four point zero student. Oh, I take I take,
Speaker 3: I take take academics pretty seriously as far as you
Speaker 3: know basketball, and I mean that's it. I just really
Speaker 3: just just thank him for the opportunity, just knowing you know, Uh,
Speaker 3: he took a chance on a care from Miami, and
Speaker 3: he believed in me to you know, to come into
Speaker 3: the Big East and and to perform. And you know,
Speaker 3: he's he's allowed me to showcase my abilities at the
Speaker 3: high at the highest level of one of the best
Speaker 3: conferences in the country.
Speaker 1: You said you're a four point oh student. What's your majorment?
Speaker 3: Sports management?
Speaker 2: Okay, right, so I mean what are you trying to do?
Speaker 2: Be an agent, own your own agency. I mean, be
Speaker 2: a future president of basketball operations at GM.
Speaker 1: What's the ultimate goal down the line?
Speaker 3: I mean, if you sit here in my hoodie right here,
Speaker 3: me and my dad got our own own academy. Really
Speaker 3: just trying to you know, just help kids from third
Speaker 3: world countries and really just you know, expand that platform
Speaker 3: and try to introduce you know, not only basketball but
Speaker 3: multiple sports, and you know, just give them the opportunity
Speaker 3: to come over here. And you know it's not all
Speaker 3: about you know, finding the next professional, but just give
Speaker 3: him a chance to you know, succeed in the future
Speaker 3: and give them a better, better lifestyle.
Speaker 2: You talked about people from you know, from third world countries,
Speaker 2: of the spots obviously any any particular areas you're talgeting.
Speaker 3: I mean mainly I got the flag right here, so
Speaker 3: we're just trying to represent the you know, the Dominican
Speaker 3: community as far as the Ecuadorian community, just big on
Speaker 3: the Latin community, and you know it's just been a
Speaker 3: that's also it's been a great blessing. You know, it's
Speaker 3: to play in New York, the mecca basketball where you know,
Speaker 3: Dominicans over back home they say, you know, they think
Speaker 3: New York is a state of the United States. So
Speaker 3: I mean I think it's just great, you know to
Speaker 3: put on and just get all that recognition and love
Speaker 3: and you know this isld be a proud Hispanic kid.
Speaker 3: That's you know, put it on for those those third
Speaker 3: world countries, and it's just truly a blessing. And I'm
Speaker 3: just trying to, you know, just just embrace the journey
Speaker 3: and do the best that I can to get back.
Speaker 2: Keep doing your thing, man, Really really proud of You're
Speaker 2: proud of the year that you have. Man, no matter
Speaker 2: how it ended, you still had a great, great year.
Speaker 2: All the best of you in the future moving forward.
Speaker 2: I know you're gonna do big things. But man, our
Speaker 2: j Luis Junior, appreciate you, man, thank you so much.
Speaker 3: Appreciate, thank you. God bless all.
Speaker 2: Right, God bless Wish another but the best for that
Speaker 2: young brother. Hope he gets everything that he's worked for.
Speaker 2: We none of us ever want to be defined by
Speaker 2: one of our worst moments. Just remember that had a
Speaker 2: bad game, no doubt about that, But that doesn't define
Speaker 2: him as a player. Let's make sure we remember that
Speaker 2: as he marches forward and moves forward. A lot of
Speaker 2: people believe in this kid average eighteen the game. There
Speaker 2: is a reason to do that, make no mistike about it,
Speaker 2: and we wish him nothing but the best.
Speaker 1: Our j Luise Junior.
Speaker 2: Hopefully that's not the last time we've heard from him.
Speaker 2: I suspect it won't be. That's it for this edition
Speaker 2: of the Stephen A. Smith Show. I'll see you in
Speaker 2: a couple of days. I got more content to bring
Speaker 2: your way, even from vacation. I won't let you down,
Speaker 2: so stick around and make sure you catch me until Dan.
Speaker 1: Ladies and gentlemen, be some love.