WEBVTT - Everything's Not Fine: BLM + a Movement in Music 0:00:02.279 --> 0:00:04.240 My name is Alex and I am a proud ally 0:00:04.320 --> 0:00:10.799 to the Black Lives Matter movement. No be alright, no alright, 0:00:11.640 --> 0:00:21.759 no be alright forever, No be alright, alright, no be 0:00:22.000 --> 0:00:27.720 alright forever. So I was planning on releasing my debut album, 0:00:27.800 --> 0:00:31.000 The Gospel Tree, the first week of June. I can't 0:00:31.000 --> 0:00:33.879 remember exactly what date it was, and I thought it 0:00:33.920 --> 0:00:35.240 was the right time. We were in the middle of 0:00:35.280 --> 0:00:39.800 a pandemic. Uh. It felt like the world could use 0:00:39.880 --> 0:00:42.240 some of the messages that I had wanted to share 0:00:42.479 --> 0:00:44.919 in my music, and I thought it was really kind 0:00:44.920 --> 0:00:48.120 of like the perfect time to drop the album. And 0:00:48.159 --> 0:00:51.480 then I saw it. I I saw the video of 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:54.720 of George Floyd being murdered at the hands of police. 0:00:56.000 --> 0:00:58.360 I mean, I feel like, as an American, you see 0:00:58.440 --> 0:01:02.200 violence all the time. It's it's literally glamorized. It's it's 0:01:02.240 --> 0:01:05.840 sexy to see violence. We watch World Star fights, we 0:01:05.920 --> 0:01:09.240 watch you know, rated our movies, we watch war movies. 0:01:09.280 --> 0:01:14.720 We watch everything we can. But this one felt disgusting. 0:01:14.920 --> 0:01:19.520 This one felt hatred fueled. You know, it felt like 0:01:19.640 --> 0:01:23.160 I I was watching something that I shouldn't have to 0:01:23.200 --> 0:01:28.559 see as a human being, and it just brought forth 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:31.760 feelings that I've always felt, of supporting somebody standing up 0:01:31.760 --> 0:01:35.280 to bullies, not letting somebody put another person down, not 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:39.440 letting anybody think that they're more valuable than somebody else, 0:01:40.560 --> 0:01:43.120 And it just it lit this fire under me. I 0:01:43.200 --> 0:01:45.840 shut everything down. I told my team, we're not releasing 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:48.680 the album. I stopped posting on social media, as if 0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:51.600 the world wasn't about to enter or wasn't in this 0:01:51.720 --> 0:01:54.320 disgusting place. And it's interesting because we were in a pandemic. 0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:57.760 People are dying every single day. But for some reason, 0:01:59.480 --> 0:02:04.800 watching this video uncovered a truth to me and really 0:02:05.000 --> 0:02:09.120 gave it this this blinding light. And I knew that 0:02:09.320 --> 0:02:12.400 me being silent wouldn't be an option this time around. 0:02:13.440 --> 0:02:16.239 So I shut everything down and uh, and I immediately 0:02:16.280 --> 0:02:20.880 started researching how I can help, you know, signing petitions, donating, 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:26.280 calling mayor's offices and and and police departments in and 0:02:26.919 --> 0:02:30.919 reaching out for justice for UM for Brianna Taylor as 0:02:30.960 --> 0:02:34.200 her murder was was brought forth, and Elijah McClain and 0:02:34.280 --> 0:02:38.280 signing just so many petitions, And it was disgusting how 0:02:38.280 --> 0:02:41.680 many petitions there were, because it meant that this many 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:47.680 murders have been just completely swept under the rug. And 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:50.640 I fought as hard as I could every single day, 0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:54.920 and we started seeing progress. We started seeing arrests, we 0:02:54.919 --> 0:02:59.800 started seeing cases reopened, we started seeing um gatherings, and 0:03:00.000 --> 0:03:03.040 and and and so much love. And the hatred from 0:03:03.040 --> 0:03:06.600 the other people also rose up. The hatred from racist 0:03:06.680 --> 0:03:10.400 the hatred from white supremacists also rose up, but they 0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:13.600 kept getting fought back by so much love that we 0:03:13.639 --> 0:03:17.840 had been producing together. I also started prepping to release 0:03:17.919 --> 0:03:20.000 the album again because I felt like, Okay, now that 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:22.040 we've now that we've been fighting for quite a bit, 0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:24.079 I do still feel like this album I can fit 0:03:24.080 --> 0:03:26.480 in today's time. And that's when I came across one 0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:29.680 of our guests, and I created an amazing friendship out 0:03:29.680 --> 0:03:32.639 of that. But we bonded so well in our unified 0:03:32.680 --> 0:03:37.240 goal to reach true racial equality and racial justice and 0:03:37.360 --> 0:03:40.160 justice for the lives that have been taken for years, 0:03:40.320 --> 0:03:43.000 hundreds of years. As I started finding out through podcasts 0:03:43.000 --> 0:03:47.200 like sixteen nineteen, as I started listening to more anecdotes 0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:50.000 from the Jim Crow era, and I started reading books 0:03:50.000 --> 0:03:54.480 by tnahsy Coats and and educating myself to really be 0:03:54.520 --> 0:03:57.120 the best ally that I can be uh, And now 0:03:57.160 --> 0:04:01.040 I'm here to discuss Black Lives Matter and the movement 0:04:01.200 --> 0:04:05.360 in music. And what I'm thinking is where do we 0:04:05.440 --> 0:04:09.440 go from here? YEO? What's up? This is alex Iono. 0:04:09.560 --> 0:04:11.360 This is my podcast. It's called Let's get into it. 0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:13.480 And to help me with that, I have again, like 0:04:13.520 --> 0:04:16.000 I said, one of my very very good friends. Now 0:04:16.160 --> 0:04:18.600 like it literally went from zero to a hundred and 0:04:18.640 --> 0:04:22.720 then one song. My brother d Wilson. He's a singer, songwriter, 0:04:22.760 --> 0:04:26.360 worship leader from Chicago. He's written songs including the number 0:04:26.360 --> 0:04:29.760 one gospel single not Lucky I'm Moved by Jonathan McReynolds. 0:04:29.920 --> 0:04:32.320 He wrote the song that still tears me apart to 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:34.480 this day. It's called Rose Pedals with his band Common 0:04:34.560 --> 0:04:37.560 Hymnal and Uh and of course wrote the Medicine, which 0:04:37.600 --> 0:04:40.520 is one of the songs on my album The Gospel 0:04:40.560 --> 0:04:44.000 at D How are you, brother? I'm great, bro, I'm 0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:46.000 great man. Good to be here. Thanks for having me on. 0:04:46.680 --> 0:04:48.680 I'm happy you're here. And we both now get to 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:51.560 make another new friend that we can release another new 0:04:51.640 --> 0:04:54.880 song with. It might not be as it might not be, 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:57.120 it might not be as clean or reverence, but it's 0:04:57.160 --> 0:04:59.840 definitely gonna be fine. I could guarantee that he is 0:04:59.880 --> 0:05:02.520 a rapper, producer and the co host of the Waiting 0:05:02.560 --> 0:05:06.560 on Reparations podcast and Athens, Georgia. His friends call him Mac, 0:05:06.640 --> 0:05:09.400 but we call him Dope Knife. Dope Knife, How are you, bro? Hey? 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:11.359 What's going on? Alice? How you doing? Thank you for 0:05:11.400 --> 0:05:14.719 having me? I'm so happy that you're here and and honestly, 0:05:14.760 --> 0:05:19.360 to me, I think, UM, being an ally means knowing 0:05:19.400 --> 0:05:22.800 when to shut up and listen. And that's really kind 0:05:22.839 --> 0:05:24.640 of what I wanted to do on this podcast is 0:05:24.920 --> 0:05:28.320 talk about music, talk about art and UH and really 0:05:28.400 --> 0:05:30.440 learn from both of you guys how I can continue 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:32.239 being the best ally that I can be in anybody 0:05:32.240 --> 0:05:34.960 who's listening who wants to be the best ally they 0:05:34.960 --> 0:05:37.599 can be to this movement to fighting for racial justice 0:05:37.600 --> 0:05:40.480 and fighting for racially quality, UH can can do that 0:05:40.520 --> 0:05:42.839 as well. So before we get into all of that, 0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:45.359 I have a question that I ask all of my guests, 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:48.760 what have you been doing this week to better your life? 0:05:48.880 --> 0:05:50.520 And and I'll start so that you guys got some 0:05:50.560 --> 0:05:54.000 time to think. Um, I've been house hunting, So I 0:05:54.279 --> 0:05:56.039 don't know if this is like a new thing. But 0:05:57.760 --> 0:05:59.520 the house that I was living in right now is 0:05:59.520 --> 0:06:01.120 getting so old, and I got to find a new 0:06:01.120 --> 0:06:04.760 house to live in, and it is I guess it's 0:06:04.760 --> 0:06:06.120 for the better. I don't know. It's not a really 0:06:06.160 --> 0:06:07.919 good answer. Usually I have a really good answer. But 0:06:08.000 --> 0:06:11.400 my whole life has been the virtual tour and finding 0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:13.599 a house. It's like my two biggest goals. So that's 0:06:13.600 --> 0:06:15.560 what I've been doing. What you got from me, Mac, 0:06:16.040 --> 0:06:20.080 I I freestyle a lot, and um it's it's actually 0:06:20.320 --> 0:06:23.120 one of my more notable things that I do in 0:06:23.160 --> 0:06:26.760 my live show. And it's usually the more that I've 0:06:26.800 --> 0:06:30.120 been making music that's kind of become The main practice 0:06:30.160 --> 0:06:32.560 that I get at freestyling is when I'm performing when 0:06:32.560 --> 0:06:36.559 I'm on tours, like incorporating the freestyling into my set. 0:06:36.920 --> 0:06:39.039 Before I started doing that, when I was like in 0:06:39.120 --> 0:06:41.400 high school and stuff, I used to like have myself 0:06:41.440 --> 0:06:44.680 go through like a regimented practice, like I practice freestyle 0:06:44.720 --> 0:06:47.240 wrapping every day and practice and practice until I could 0:06:47.320 --> 0:06:50.880 get good at it. And it's just been such a 0:06:50.920 --> 0:06:53.960 long time since I've been in a situation where I 0:06:54.040 --> 0:06:57.880 wasn't performing regularly, so I was I was kind of 0:06:57.920 --> 0:06:59.760 like man maybe I should take the time out to 0:06:59.800 --> 0:07:02.240 do like practice for a couple of hours for the 0:07:02.279 --> 0:07:04.800 first time in years. For the first seven years, I've 0:07:04.800 --> 0:07:07.159 practiced freestyling like I was in high school and it 0:07:07.240 --> 0:07:11.080 was it's pretty refreshing. Can you explain what practicing freestyle like? 0:07:11.120 --> 0:07:15.640 How do you practice freestyling? Well? For me, um, like, 0:07:16.480 --> 0:07:21.840 I'll put on YouTube videos or TV and just out 0:07:21.880 --> 0:07:25.280 loud rap what I'm seeing as it comes up, and 0:07:25.320 --> 0:07:26.840 that way you can you can mess up. You can 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:28.960 still because okay, you have to understand how I incorporate 0:07:29.040 --> 0:07:32.239 freestyling into my live set where I have this song 0:07:32.360 --> 0:07:35.559 called who Got the Props? Where I'll just tell people 0:07:35.600 --> 0:07:37.560 to pull stuff out of their pockets and stuff and 0:07:37.600 --> 0:07:39.440 we'll make a song on the spot out all the 0:07:39.440 --> 0:07:42.080 stuff that people and stuff like that. So that game 0:07:42.160 --> 0:07:45.800 in particular, like just watching TV and everything that you 0:07:45.840 --> 0:07:49.880 see visually just wrapping it, wrapping in the shower. So 0:07:50.160 --> 0:07:53.760 I practiced freestyling and I feel like I'm better today 0:07:53.840 --> 0:07:57.280 than I was yesterday. Here we go. That's what that's 0:07:57.280 --> 0:07:59.040 what matter is most. What do you got from me? 0:07:59.080 --> 0:08:00.760 What you've been doing this week to make to make 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:03.640 your life a little better? Well, so there's this big 0:08:03.760 --> 0:08:07.480 um conference every year uh that really couldn't happen in 0:08:07.480 --> 0:08:10.240 persons years that did on videos called the Global Leadership Summit. 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:14.800 And it's, um, it's this this sort of megachurch in 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:20.360 Chicago invites leaders from based literally all across, from all 0:08:20.360 --> 0:08:23.400 over the world and from like sort of all walks 0:08:23.440 --> 0:08:25.840 of life, the business world, of the church world, social 0:08:25.880 --> 0:08:28.080 media world, like all of it. Like it's all it's 0:08:28.080 --> 0:08:31.200 almost like a you name it of leadership. Um. And 0:08:31.240 --> 0:08:35.600 so so for literally uh two days, you just hear 0:08:35.640 --> 0:08:40.120 about all sorts of uh leadership principles. UM. You know, 0:08:40.160 --> 0:08:42.640 not everybody that comes is you know, is a Christian 0:08:42.840 --> 0:08:46.040 or or even like you know, practices of faith at all. Um, 0:08:46.160 --> 0:08:48.160 you know, not even all the speakers or even but 0:08:48.200 --> 0:08:50.280 it's just this is an amazing intersection of people just 0:08:50.320 --> 0:08:54.200 exchanging leadership ideas and it's and then you get so 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:58.959 much good just um quality talks. UM. I want to 0:08:59.000 --> 0:09:02.760 stay preaching because I live in the church, bro, But UM, 0:09:02.800 --> 0:09:04.840 you get you get such a good quality talk, such 0:09:04.880 --> 0:09:08.800 good quality principles. So literally since yesterday eight am until 0:09:08.880 --> 0:09:12.040 I came here to do this, UM, I've been in 0:09:12.080 --> 0:09:16.000 that in that summit. Oh man, Yeah, she's pretty it's 0:09:16.080 --> 0:09:19.240 pretty intense that you definitely you definitely win for the 0:09:19.360 --> 0:09:24.280 like I mean freestyling, like that's like that's major, major major. 0:09:24.360 --> 0:09:27.439 But you're like you're talking about going to like you're 0:09:27.440 --> 0:09:32.480 at the u N. You're at the u N of 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:38.400 the leadership, except like, yeah, way more efficient. Damn. Well listen, guys, 0:09:38.400 --> 0:09:40.040 we we got we got three topics we're gonna be 0:09:40.040 --> 0:09:42.079 talking about. First up, D and I are going to 0:09:42.120 --> 0:09:44.240 go one on one and we're gonna talk through the Medicine, 0:09:44.240 --> 0:09:46.400 which is the song that we we sing together on 0:09:46.440 --> 0:09:49.040 my album and on your upcoming album. Am I allowed 0:09:49.040 --> 0:09:55.920 to talk about your upcoming album? Um? Uh? Nobody told me? Yeah, 0:09:55.960 --> 0:09:58.360 what's the streets saying no? Yeah, absolutely no, But nobody's 0:09:58.360 --> 0:10:00.480 told me no. So this is the debut we're talking 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:03.200 about it right now. I'd rather ask for forgiveness and permission. 0:10:03.280 --> 0:10:06.679 So yeah, there you go. Uh And then uh, and 0:10:06.720 --> 0:10:08.000 then Mac, you and I are going to go one 0:10:08.000 --> 0:10:10.480 on one talking about politics and hip hop. And then lastly, 0:10:10.520 --> 0:10:12.199 the three of us are going to have like an 0:10:12.200 --> 0:10:14.320 all in, you know, go at it to talk about 0:10:14.360 --> 0:10:17.679 the Black Lives Matter movement in music Um, so, d 0:10:17.840 --> 0:10:19.920 let's get straight into it. Mac. We'll talk with you 0:10:19.960 --> 0:10:22.800 in a bit, all right, d Well, listen, we're friends now, 0:10:24.280 --> 0:10:28.560 you have no choice. You're my friend, and and I 0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:31.640 just want to I think if you watch my documentary 0:10:31.679 --> 0:10:34.400 that I put out of the whole album, you'll see 0:10:34.440 --> 0:10:36.560 at the very end there's the snippet that talks about 0:10:36.600 --> 0:10:37.920 the album. But I kind of wanted to just do 0:10:38.000 --> 0:10:41.920 like a twenty minute in depth discussion about how we 0:10:41.960 --> 0:10:45.000 became friends, how the song came about, Um, what the 0:10:45.040 --> 0:10:47.760 song means to you now compared to when you first 0:10:47.760 --> 0:10:49.720 wrote it. We're gonna talk about all that. So first, 0:10:49.760 --> 0:10:52.680 let's get straight into it. Um, I heard this song 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:56.439 my dad like literally, this is like it's usually when 0:10:56.480 --> 0:10:58.320 your dad shows you something on social media, it's not 0:10:58.360 --> 0:11:02.720 cool historically actually really bad. My my dad posted a 0:11:02.760 --> 0:11:06.679 story that was you singing the first ever version of 0:11:06.720 --> 0:11:09.240 the medicine. It was just you live sitting at the keyboard, 0:11:09.880 --> 0:11:12.680 and uh, and I was like in tears, a full 0:11:12.720 --> 0:11:15.240 on was it was? It was? This was maybe? Days? 0:11:15.440 --> 0:11:18.960 Was it was like days after George Floyd was murdered? Yeah, yeah, 0:11:19.000 --> 0:11:21.080 I had to be Um, maybe it wasn't it certainly 0:11:21.120 --> 0:11:22.600 was not a week. Yeah, it might have been like 0:11:22.640 --> 0:11:25.240 four or five days. And uh, and I just I 0:11:25.320 --> 0:11:30.120 just remember hearing it and just weeping, just feeling it, 0:11:30.160 --> 0:11:32.720 like I mean, because the thing that the thing about 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:35.720 the song to me was that I had heard so much, 0:11:36.000 --> 0:11:38.760 you know, and and not that it's the wrong thing, 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:42.560 but after George Floyd's murder, it was all hatred in return, 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:46.080 you know. It was it was fun twelve, It was 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:49.000 a cab. It was all of those things which I'm 0:11:49.040 --> 0:11:53.240 not saying are the wrong reaction, but as somebody who 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:55.800 always tries to lead with love, I searched for where 0:11:55.800 --> 0:11:58.800 the love was. I searched for where we're turning to 0:11:58.920 --> 0:12:01.840 love instead of just urnning directly back into violence and 0:12:01.880 --> 0:12:05.640 feeding into the cycle of war. And the song that 0:12:05.679 --> 0:12:08.120 you that you wrote was really one of the first 0:12:08.200 --> 0:12:11.839 places in which I felt like we were at a 0:12:11.960 --> 0:12:14.199 growing like it was. It was, it was written from 0:12:14.200 --> 0:12:17.120 a growing place. It wasn't just it wasn't just looting 0:12:17.280 --> 0:12:22.800 and fire and destruction, which is the deserving reaction to 0:12:22.920 --> 0:12:27.360 something like George Floyd's murder. But hearing hearing your song 0:12:27.480 --> 0:12:30.520 brought a whole new side of it to me, and 0:12:30.559 --> 0:12:32.760 so I've I've heard it many times and I love 0:12:32.840 --> 0:12:34.880 listening to it. But how did you write this song? 0:12:34.960 --> 0:12:38.560 Tell me about the creation of the medicine? Yeah, um, 0:12:38.679 --> 0:12:40.840 so yeah, just like you said, you know, it's a 0:12:40.840 --> 0:12:45.319 couple of days after um, George Floyd was murdered. Um. 0:12:45.360 --> 0:12:48.080 I've had a very interesting sort of journey when it 0:12:48.080 --> 0:12:52.200 comes to justice issues. Um, you know, like being sort 0:12:52.240 --> 0:12:56.679 of raised in uh you know, maybe middle class, um, 0:12:56.720 --> 0:12:59.160 you know, like sort of society, like a lot of 0:12:59.200 --> 0:13:02.199 diverse f It's like I've never really encountered a lot 0:13:02.240 --> 0:13:05.680 of racism, um, even growing up, not really until I 0:13:05.720 --> 0:13:08.040 became like sort of maybe a teena like once I 0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:11.480 started driving on my own, and it's always driving with 0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:14.080 young black men where you run into it, you know, 0:13:14.520 --> 0:13:17.360 And so like I remember being like so like I 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:19.400 had to really sort of laid awaken and in my 0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:23.960 twenties around Traylon Martin's murder um and watching so many 0:13:24.000 --> 0:13:28.079 of the people that I knew as family turned into monsters. 0:13:28.840 --> 0:13:31.200 And so for me in a lot of ways, like 0:13:31.240 --> 0:13:34.559 writing songs like Rose Pedals, writing songs like the Medicine, 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:37.760 it's sort of me sort of find a lot finally 0:13:37.880 --> 0:13:41.600 being able to articulate all the things that have been 0:13:41.640 --> 0:13:43.040 turning into me, and I, like you, I was the 0:13:43.040 --> 0:13:46.160 same way. I was like, man, you know, like it 0:13:46.200 --> 0:13:48.480 was so hard to see because it happened in Chicago 0:13:48.520 --> 0:13:51.480 to like and actually happened, a lot of looting happened 0:13:51.520 --> 0:13:53.800 like just five minutes or so from where we live. 0:13:54.559 --> 0:13:59.320 And at the same time being so heartbroken that you know, 0:13:59.559 --> 0:14:01.680 there are so on the people that are that are angry, 0:14:01.960 --> 0:14:06.640 that are hurt, that are under pressure, um, that are victims, 0:14:06.800 --> 0:14:11.240 that just that that feel a real thing and can't 0:14:12.200 --> 0:14:14.360 express it articulate a different way. I was really I 0:14:14.400 --> 0:14:16.640 was marked by two things. I was. I saw this 0:14:16.679 --> 0:14:18.440 one video of this young man and I don't know 0:14:18.440 --> 0:14:21.000 where he was, was a young um, young black kid 0:14:21.640 --> 0:14:24.280 basically saying like, this is what you get. This is 0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:26.200 what you get when you take a man away from 0:14:26.200 --> 0:14:29.800 his family, This is what you get when you impose 0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:33.640 all these ills on this community and don't give us 0:14:33.680 --> 0:14:36.520 any way out or any resources. We don't want to 0:14:36.560 --> 0:14:38.760 destroy anything, We don't want to burn anything. But how 0:14:38.760 --> 0:14:41.680 else are we supposed to do this? If if everything 0:14:41.720 --> 0:14:46.000 that we want to change isn't happening. And I cried 0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:51.080 watching he couldn't have been older than sixteen. And I 0:14:51.120 --> 0:14:54.000 cried just watching this kid. You know, I'm thirty three, 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:58.960 was watching this kid. He was so profound in what 0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:02.720 in in thought of saying, this is what you get, 0:15:02.920 --> 0:15:05.720 like this is what happens. You know. Ice Cube was 0:15:05.720 --> 0:15:07.720 around the same age when he wrote after Police. It's 0:15:07.760 --> 0:15:10.560 like he was sixteen being able to process information. So 0:15:10.640 --> 0:15:13.160 I'm driving home. I listened to one of my favorite pastors, 0:15:13.280 --> 0:15:16.600 name is Eric Mason and Philly. He's a black pastor 0:15:17.200 --> 0:15:19.840 UM and one day on Twitter. One day on and 0:15:19.880 --> 0:15:21.800 I don't even know why, it's like he's a boomer too. 0:15:21.800 --> 0:15:23.680 I guess he used. He still used a periscope, which 0:15:23.720 --> 0:15:26.560 is weird. But one day he was um. He was 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:30.120 one day he was on periscope just like letting it 0:15:30.280 --> 0:15:34.000 loose man, and I'm screaming. I'm screaming at my phone 0:15:34.040 --> 0:15:38.120 like yes. And so that's where I first heard him 0:15:38.160 --> 0:15:41.040 say something like something to the effect of like there's 0:15:41.120 --> 0:15:43.240 like this is a sickness, like there's a sickness and 0:15:43.320 --> 0:15:46.880 a sickness. And I'm driving home, like just I just 0:15:46.960 --> 0:15:50.400 left the chiropractor and I'm driving home. All the windows 0:15:50.440 --> 0:15:54.600 are open and I just I like that that word 0:15:54.760 --> 0:15:58.760 like sickness just like hit me in the middle of 0:15:58.800 --> 0:16:02.600 my chest, and I probably in the car, probably at 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:04.920 least wrote the very first line, like there's a sickness 0:16:05.000 --> 0:16:08.320 here that threatens to divide us, and we're all afraid 0:16:08.400 --> 0:16:10.880 to say its name out loud. Always trying to find 0:16:10.920 --> 0:16:13.360 a way to to express things, or to look at things, 0:16:13.520 --> 0:16:17.600 or to address things that is differently than the way 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:20.360 everybody else is sort of addressing and getting talking about it. 0:16:20.960 --> 0:16:24.760 And um, I still could because I don't throw people away. 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:27.200 I still have a lot of people that fall on 0:16:27.240 --> 0:16:30.280 the side of you know, that cop was just doing 0:16:30.320 --> 0:16:32.640 his job, or George Floyd was this, this and that, 0:16:32.760 --> 0:16:35.920 like they're still very much in my world and now 0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:38.480 and then I haven't, But now that I'm more awake, 0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:39.960 I have a lot more people on the on the 0:16:40.160 --> 0:16:43.680 on the side of saying. But whatever whatever it was 0:16:43.760 --> 0:16:47.400 that y'all thought he did, that was unwarranted. He did 0:16:47.440 --> 0:16:49.840 not deserve that. He like, you don't kill a man 0:16:49.880 --> 0:16:53.600 in the street for a twenty like, where are we like? 0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:55.320 What do we like? What kind of world are we 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:59.280 living in? Where a twenty effake twenty if it even 0:16:59.400 --> 0:17:01.960 was that gets you killed in the street, you know. 0:17:02.320 --> 0:17:03.920 So I'm hearing all these things and I'm just I'm 0:17:03.960 --> 0:17:07.080 just so grieved and heartbroken because as a as a Christian, 0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:12.000 it's tough watching the church miss it so freaking often. 0:17:12.240 --> 0:17:14.280 Like that's what happened that, That's part of what happened 0:17:14.320 --> 0:17:17.040 with Rose Pedals too. Was just like guys were missing it. 0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:19.439 We're missing it like this is a human life, like 0:17:19.920 --> 0:17:22.440 this is this is blood, this is breath, these are 0:17:22.440 --> 0:17:25.280 all the things that we say we're supposed to care about, 0:17:25.320 --> 0:17:27.200 but all of a sudden we have all these all 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:30.320 these excuses and all these reasons not too Um. So 0:17:30.359 --> 0:17:33.639 I came home, Um, my daughter and my wife are 0:17:33.640 --> 0:17:37.400 about the head to the store, and I was like, great, 0:17:37.480 --> 0:17:39.560 y'all leave. I have to get to the piano, like 0:17:40.000 --> 0:17:41.760 when I find those moments, you know, as a songwriter, 0:17:41.880 --> 0:17:44.560 like when you have those moments of inspiration, you have 0:17:44.680 --> 0:17:46.640 to hold onto them as long as you can because 0:17:46.680 --> 0:17:50.480 once they're gone, they're gone. Right, And so, um, I 0:17:50.520 --> 0:17:53.040 got I probably got back home at like five thirty 0:17:53.160 --> 0:17:57.520 or six. I went right to my my keyboard, um, 0:17:57.560 --> 0:17:59.960 and I just immediately started like hammering out these world 0:18:00.400 --> 0:18:04.200 and it was weird how quickly they came and how 0:18:04.280 --> 0:18:07.719 good they were. Um. And then literally as as soon 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:09.520 as soon as I felt like the song was done 0:18:09.520 --> 0:18:16.000 being written, I started doing takes on a video and like, um, 0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:18.080 I just started like going, you know, like playing it, 0:18:18.200 --> 0:18:20.320 playing it. I would mess up, start everything over again, 0:18:20.359 --> 0:18:23.320 like and once I finally got one that I mean, honestly, 0:18:23.320 --> 0:18:24.679 that was the first one that I was able to 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:27.439 even sing all the way through between messing up and 0:18:27.480 --> 0:18:29.880 crying and writing, and it's like and I just put 0:18:29.920 --> 0:18:33.040 it up. Man. It was just like, um, you know, 0:18:33.160 --> 0:18:34.800 I don't have a huge following, I'm not a very 0:18:34.800 --> 0:18:37.840 influential person. Like I just put it up as a 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:41.960 way too. I don't even know why, Like I don't 0:18:41.960 --> 0:18:44.040 know what possessed me to do it. It was more 0:18:44.200 --> 0:18:47.199 just like I have to put this up, Like I 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:48.720 just have to. I have to put this out into 0:18:48.760 --> 0:18:51.600 the world like this. It's it's unprotected, it's all the 0:18:51.600 --> 0:18:54.520 wrong things, but like this, this is I have to 0:18:54.600 --> 0:18:58.920 just say this right now, that this like this like 0:18:59.040 --> 0:19:03.639 we are and more importantly, you know, to those to 0:19:03.880 --> 0:19:06.919 those folks that I and in community with, you know, 0:19:07.080 --> 0:19:10.400 in the Christian space, we are missing it. Like that's 0:19:10.400 --> 0:19:12.240 what that second verse was about, you know, Like if 0:19:12.320 --> 0:19:14.320 I can sing, I can sing the words of ends 0:19:14.320 --> 0:19:16.440 of men and songs of angels, I can give all 0:19:16.480 --> 0:19:18.199 my possession to the poor. But if your love can 0:19:18.200 --> 0:19:21.000 move them out into my hatred, I missed it, like 0:19:21.200 --> 0:19:24.479 I missed everything. If if, if all these you know, 0:19:24.720 --> 0:19:27.879 platitudes that we throw out all the time is not 0:19:28.040 --> 0:19:31.400 causing me to love my brother, then I am missing 0:19:31.440 --> 0:19:38.119 the whole thing. Um. And then I just cried, and 0:19:38.200 --> 0:19:41.679 I just cried. Then I just cried. I if you 0:19:41.840 --> 0:19:44.040 listen to this song and you really have that pure 0:19:44.200 --> 0:19:48.159 hearted you know, drive and understanding of the weight of 0:19:48.200 --> 0:19:50.080 what's going on in the world right now, it's I 0:19:50.080 --> 0:19:53.880 think it's absolutely impossible to not cry listening to that song, 0:19:53.960 --> 0:19:56.439 or not at least feel like you want to. You 0:19:56.560 --> 0:19:59.760 mentioned the faith aspect of the song, you know, Uh, 0:20:00.000 --> 0:20:03.199 You're you're obviously a very devout Christian man. I do 0:20:03.320 --> 0:20:07.280 still absolutely claim Christianity. I still believe in God, I 0:20:07.280 --> 0:20:10.760 still believe in higher Power. I'm very monotheistic in mind, 0:20:11.600 --> 0:20:15.000 as somebody who writes so much gospel music and and 0:20:15.000 --> 0:20:20.880 and worship music. More than anything I in the gospel. 0:20:20.920 --> 0:20:23.480 In my album, I have some songs that directly address 0:20:23.520 --> 0:20:27.440 my relationship with with God. How difficult is it? Because 0:20:27.480 --> 0:20:32.680 I do definitely find it difficult um looking at Christian 0:20:32.720 --> 0:20:35.439 religions right now, and like you said, are just missing 0:20:35.480 --> 0:20:39.440 it so hard that we believe in a god that's 0:20:39.440 --> 0:20:43.640 that that that gave us scriptures that say to love 0:20:43.880 --> 0:20:47.399 your brother and love and and to be christ Like, 0:20:47.760 --> 0:20:52.680 and to to accept everybody and love everybody, and and 0:20:52.960 --> 0:20:55.920 leave no stone unturned when it comes to love. And 0:20:56.000 --> 0:21:00.320 yet we're here and among the hatred for the l 0:21:00.359 --> 0:21:03.480 g B t Q plus community, among the hatred for 0:21:03.480 --> 0:21:06.439 for anybody that doesn't believe in what the amount of 0:21:06.560 --> 0:21:10.199 wars that that have been started off of religion, And 0:21:10.280 --> 0:21:15.879 now we're here today as somebody who writes actively addressing faith, 0:21:16.040 --> 0:21:19.480 addressing worship. How difficult has it been in the wake 0:21:19.520 --> 0:21:21.959 of all of this. It doesn't change that the leaders 0:21:21.960 --> 0:21:27.160 of churches, that that pastors that churchgoers are still saying yeah, 0:21:27.200 --> 0:21:30.040 but blue lives matter, or saying but all lives matter, 0:21:30.119 --> 0:21:33.560 or trying to fight these these fight something that's so 0:21:33.600 --> 0:21:37.920 simple as yes, a man was murdered and that's not okay. Yeah, yeah, 0:21:38.040 --> 0:21:41.320 you know it's been. It's been crazy difficult, I think, Um, 0:21:41.359 --> 0:21:43.320