Ebro Darden | Ep. 140 | ALL THE SMOKE Full Episode | SHOWTIME Basketball

brow up to last? Man. You know, my lady's great, my daughter's great. Health is great. You know they still like me. My key working at home. You know what I'm saying, I'm like throwing nothing and body yelling. I sleep great. You know I can't. You know, I really would have to work hard to complain. So you're working. You're shooting two shows a day, five days a week. Yeah.

I do the morning show for Hot every day, Hot Night seven hand New York ebraw in the morning, and and then I do Apple Radio show in afternoons, which is live from here in New York. We've got a few facilities here, um, and that's mostly music and then I do interviews for both shows too, graduation stuff. Yeah. So, and then I do some other administrative stuff for Apple to help manage a team of playlist programmers around the world. Really, you know, I wasn't working with Apple. It's great. Yeah,

it's great. Um, great team, Brave Vibes, great company, you know, chilling. You know, it's a great situation playing a lot of music, get to connect with artists from all over the world. Um, you know, get to help artists try to get noticed, you know, help them build, build a plan, get their music to people all out you know. So it's a good deal. Black music months the future. Why is that

so important to you? Um? Well, we came up with that because you know, we spend a lot of time obviously my team and Apple, which is the hip hop and R and B team, just talking about and protecting and creating space for black music. Right. Um, we have a unique opportunity, I believe with streaming, where you know, when you look at our elders and the musicians and artists that came before us, they didn't really have the ability to protect their music. Some of them obviously couldn't

even own it, didn't even own it. Um, you know, the way systems were set up with record labels, a lot of black artists got robbed. I mean, we know all the stories, right, and we heard all the stories. Um at this point, now we could create space in the service for not only the artists in the future, but making sure that we tell the stories of the past too, and that we pushed that, you know, create space and create noise and create opportunities so that we

and make sure that the stories don't get lost. And you know, people like to remix stories and change stories, so we got to make sure that stay true. We keep telling the stories at home. It's a beautiful place in the area I was. I was born in Berkeley, California, out to Bates. UM. I went to school at the Hoousand Oaks Elementary, Cornell Elementary, and Albany. I went to UH Willard Junior High School in Berkeley for a little while. UM I got family all over Oakland and my parents

split up. My mom moved to Sacramento and I went to some school there too. I went to Sierra Oaks. I was back and forth a lot. It was a lot going on. UM. So I went to Sierra Oaks. I went to UH Cottage. I went to a number of schools growing up, Art and Junior High school El Camino. Um, he went to Del Campo, right, Yeah, we used to whoopay y'all. I graduated ninety three though, okay, yeah, because I was ninety we didn't take went to high school

with Derek Lee, went on the play baseball and graduated together. Um, shout to Damian Gilbert. Gilbert the favorite family. So a lot of cats came out of our school over there too. But yeah, so I was in and I started radio when I was like fifteen years old and started internship. El Comino, the high school I went to had a radio station. I never worked in the class, but I got school credit. This back in the day where you could leave school early if you had good grades and

they would give your school credit. I went to radio station. Yeah, I don't know nothing about that. That's different time. That's a different time. You want to afforded those privileges. That wasn't one of my presents. And then, uh, let me see. Um. I also worked at Art and Mall for a while when I was young. I was you know, I was donning, I was out here moving. I worked at oak Tree

and I don't know, y'all. Y'all young, So y'alln't remember oak Tree and Merry go around when they used to sell you know, there was closing stores, cross colors, Cross Colors, Yeah, cross colors, Jabo Gas. Yeah. We just talking about yea, um what else we had in there? Zcfici's and all of that. So I came up in that time and then, um, I've been in radio since I was fifteen. So what artists made you fall in love with music? Though? Made you want to be in love with music growing up?

I remember my cousin Crystal seaw me the Off the Wall album and playing it for me and me being like, oh this is I mean I was and I was like four or five years old. You know what I'm saying. I'm young. You know the album? I remember my mom bought me Um run DMC raising Hell. We used to live in this building in uh Sacramento. That's uh, it's called Arden, you know about Arden, and out to art

in this one little area. There was a store across the street called jim Coe, which is like a Target now, I think you know, one of them like generically big box stores or whatever. So it was always music you know what I'm saying, Like Shaka Khan, remember buying those tapes. We used to go to the store because we couldn't get tapes, like it wasn't in New York. So you went to the store and you would buy like a tape and I had a bunch of singles on it, and you got a poster that came with it and

all that. I bought my first Ralph Sampson, Puma's Back, then the Ralph Samson, the black and reds with the fat laces. I was that the whole era. I came up under that. So it was seeing all of that. Man, I remember going to the movies see Crushed Groove. But it was probably I would say, um, I'll probably say between New Addition that was like from my era. New Edition and Candy Girl came out and Popcorn Love and all that uh L L cool J Rock, the Bells and my radio and all of that era. So that

was probably like, you know, my little zone. But I was definitely listened to a lot of music growing up. Dad was listening to George Duke and Chuck Man Gioni and Smokey Robinson. I was always playing um mom was what was mom listening to Mom's listening to Tina Marie. I need a baker, I need a Baker's when ye was at eight four five, yeah, eighty six, Yeah, all out sports fan? Yeah what teams you're growing up? Raiders

since forever? Good good good. But when you're from that there, I mean some people are die hard, but I had left for both. I just like to see various sports teams do well, but niners on my team. You know that. Raiders fans we don't talk like that. Yeah, because we've experienced We've experienced a lot of winnings, so we're not we don't get mad when other people win. No, we're not mad. You know, listen first first, absolutely not, no Raiders fans get mad. We have been had championships before

you'll even got championships and not even that. Oh yeah that y'all had championships and the gear there's a shirt in it, right, I didn't even have to look for I'm not you know, things have been. We have some you know, off times recently, but we've had some great times. His story, Yeah, but we talk about team evaluate how many how many stories of the Raiders do you personally know? Not even as a fan about players, the coach, and the owner. Yeah, I just know a lot of losing.

But I'm okay with it because I, like I said, I like when they do well, Like when Jerry Rice went over there, they went to the Yeah Raiders. No, hell no, Madden's Raiders coach. What are you talking about? You play tech Mobowl? Maybe the Raiders of both Jackson Brand Madden. Madden that you know and love it is because of the Raiders. He was a head coach for the Yeah, I'm not know that, and then went on to become who he is. But he was a personality

for the Raiders. That's all Raiders. That's facts, facts, And I don't even watch football like that. Like, so, why y'all got me in this sport? When we talk about evaluations? Recently, the Cowboys had the biggest evaluation, So y'all try to get your money up. Listen, I don't even entertain Cowboys fans you talking about. Hey, I know y'all y'all on TV all the time for no reason, So you just get money over there. That's like them in the Lions for for some reason, the Lions play on Thanksgiving all

the time for no reason. There you go what's your thoughts on the Lakers right this second? Don't the gym right now? What you're gonna do? No draft picks, no cap space. You just hired a new coach. He brought Chet Wallace with him. I heard about all of this. If I'm the GM right now, I'm glad I do radio because I don't know what the funk I would do. And be honest with you, because it's you, really, honestly. You you got Lebron, you got Westbrook, you got Davis.

It sounds like you got some great players that are underachieving. Not Lebron specifically, but as a unit underachieving. So it looks like some serious eye contact need to happened and people need to have some honest conversation about do we want to win games or do we want to and protect legacies and do what we're doing, or we all here just going for itself Because you know y'all, y'all did high levels. I said it was the coach. I think they're good. Now maybe we'll see the good accountability.

I think they're being accountability. That's what you mentioned. I think, to be honest with you, but you know you probably know the brother better than me right, here's how the dude, dude, and he's gonna hold everybody accountable. And he said that the press comes from russ to Lebron to a d everybody. And I think he's in a position to where he got to start this way though. If somebody not performing, he can't be afraid to say somebody and be honest. I don't even feel like I should be having this

conversation with y'all, like y'all should have this convotion. I don't. I've never played a professional sports fan though, absolutely, and I'm a sports fan and I'll talk about sports with non sports people, but when sports people that actually didn't know what you're talking about, I kind of just ask questions. You know what you're talking about, you know what you're

talking about. But yeah, I would say accountability and and and the level of commitment is any anything you're trying to do as a unit and get a win, Like you know what I'm saying, that's anything. It's like, yo, we agree on a plan. We everybody focus on their strengths, and we support people in their weak areas, and we're honest about our weaknesses and ship where we're sucking up and we we go out here and we go to war.

Let's get it. Let's do it accountability. We asked people speaking of the NBA what kind of what they're welcome to the NBA moment was what was your welcome to the to the music in the in the radio industry moments you feel like, well, I've always said that, um, being in radio, we're not really in the music industry. We're in the media business. Um, So I've never really I would never say that I was in the music business. I'm not in the business of making music selling music.

I'm in the business of helping people hear music, you know what I'm saying, and and and that sort of thing. So um, but yeah, it was my internship at radio, you know what I mean, that really got me to the business part. Um. But that's of media, um, you know, falling in love with music. Like we said, I was kind of always like around, but I had no idea of the business of commerce and marketing and understanding you know, social interests and you know, you know all that stuff.

You know what I mean, passive and uh you know, passive audience and all of that, you know, just marketing, sociology. Ship, you know what I'm saying because a lot of it is that media is a lot of dealing with sociology and understanding of how people relate to one another, the things that they love and and and things that they love versus like verse dislike, you know, and understand how to get them more of the stuff that they really like and love versus the stuff that they dislike. You know,

that's a lot of what the game is about. For those who don't know, break your journey down, um, because it's been a grind from the you know, from where you started at too. You know obviously what you are doing now you explaining the beginning the show, but tell us a little bit about the beginning and just kind of once you had to go through the you know, achieving to keep climbing to where you at today. Um. I started as an intern. I was fifteen. Um I

got the job at CASSFMM two point five. Shout to Sonya, him in As and uh and Kimberly. Um, you know they didn't hire do I did call out research like I was the guy who would call people's houses, will be like, hey, what's your favorite song? And who WHOA? And they paid me a little bit. I think back then we was making four dollars and five cents an hour. They said my voice was too deep to to get the job, but Sonya gave me the job. Anyway, I

changed my name. My name was Cameron when I would call your house because you know, they felt like my name was too ethnic, and nobody would actually pick up the phone because it would be like, who's his deep voice, dude name ebro So was the first time I kind of was encountered with like, okay in the business sense, you know, um dealing with race and and and those cultural issues. You know, my mom's Jewish, my father you know,

black from Oakland. So growing up in and around panthers and activism in Berkeley, in the Bay and just all of that was a part of my life. So I knew it was out there, but I had never experienced had it in a work scenario before, right where it was so overt. But it taught me a lot, you know what I mean, And it was It also taught me that it wasn't personal. It wasn't about the people I'm calling. It was. I took it personal, but it

was about me achieving a metric on the page. The job was me signing up to actually get these calls and this information done, and so that's what they was paying me to do. So it's not personal. What's gonna make people stay on the phone and give me this information so I get this little hourly way so I can go in the other room after I do two hours in here and pick the music and being the studio. That was really my in game at the time was

to be like, okay, it's a radio thing. Like you know, I never had never had radio aspirations or DJ aspirations. I just love music and me and my brother used to make pause tapes, you know, back in the day where you get all the music first you make a little pause tape at home where you record from the radio. Then you you know, I was doing that and like hand them out. But I was just sharing music with

my friends. But long before I was on the radio, right you know what I'm saying, everybody got the song whatever, whatever. So that was kind of like if I didn't know what I was doing. Yeah, yeah, I did the internship and next thing, you know, shout to Marcut Sallen. You know, Marcus Sallen. He actually put me on the radio because I was the guy answering the phones, and he'd be like, yo, bro, what they're saying on the phones. Then I was the

guy that was doing the shoutouts. Then I was the guy that they have a movie premiere, and it was like you got to wear the salmon outfit. Cassing from one on two point five had a jam in Salmon. So I had to put on the salmon suit and go to the movie premiere, jam and Salmon, Jam and Salmon. So you know, I'm in the suit. Everybody else at the radio station're making fun of me, you know, but that's even paying dudes coming up. Um. But it was a lot of it was a lot of a lot

of that, but it was it was love though. It was love, you know. And I was at the time when you know, radio was independently owned, so it was like I forget who owned the radio station then. But it wasn't like you had these big conglomerates like you have now. So I've seen some crazy ship too, you know, some dope. It was some you know what I mean, It was definitely some some crazy ship and always trippers and all that ship. This was long before you had

an HR department, and yeah, none of that ship. The nice You know, I'm in the club fifteen, sixteen years old, so and so getting top in the station van I'm sixteen, you know, not even supposed to be there, you know. So I came up in that time. But eventually, Um, one of the guys, it's like, if I played you his voice, his name is Dave Ferguson. Um he actually I wanted. I came in one day and if I played he's like he does voiceovers for a lot of radio stags. He liked that deep voice like you know

you're listening to you know where Bob lives. He wanted them dudes, and he's been doing that for a long time. And he actually, uh, let me get my first hip hop show. But he told me, and this is another learning lesson for me. I went to him and I was like, you know, they're playing pop music and all this ship. I was like I was one of them kids. I was like, nobody listening ship. You know what I mean? Like this ship is that's not what anybody listening to anymore,

you know what I'm saying. It's so think about what's out in that time. You got trial called quests, you got father mcs, you got all of this that you know, Heavy D and the boys you got, you know, h E. P. M. D. You got all this stuff is coming, you know, late eighties nineties, Big Daddy came. You're coming off, you know, paid in full what rock him and all that ship was doing. And it was most of the station's radio stations that come. We didn't play rap music until like this.

So he was like, listen, I'll give you a show, but you gotta show me who is listening to this music, Like who are these people, where they live, where they go to school, what they look like. So he made me go to the mall and actually do like a presentation to him of like why I should have a hip hop show, and that taught me a lot. That was like really getting into some imagine I'm back there calling people's houses, having to change my name to get

what they're actually listening to. So I'm seeing what they're saying they're listening to. I'm going into the meetings where they're analyzing all of that information and deciding what makes it onto the radio based on that information. Now I'm going to the mall and seeing who's listening to what, So that I'm sixteen seventeen years old at this time. You know what I'm saying seeing all this, So that was like my intro to the business. In two thousand three. Yeah,

I won the championship. You joined Hot ninety seven? I won the championship. I wanted the championship. I was like, I want, I said the year I won the championship? Who wanted you join? Three? Was that's your first position? No? No, no no, no, I Um, I was cancer femine. I did when Davy D. We Me and Davy D had a night show for many years from ninety and this is Davy D from Q ninety three in New Orleans. Shout to wild Wayne and everybody down in New Orleans. He moved. He had got a job out in New

Orleans and Sacramento. Bro. Yeah, Davey D. And you know how I might have been ninety two to nineties five six in that time because I was like twelve thirteen. So, um, we had a night show. We had numbers crazy the dice on the radio. Just coming into to high schools. You know, the football game is going on. I'm getting shout out, you know from everybody. I was that guy. We was playing you know, the Hot records was getting into some some rap records in the early nineties before

it was an else. Remember a lot of people don't remember this. The radio station did not play rap records until six seven o'clock at night, you know what I mean. Cam Yell in San Francisco on high Night seven in New York was the first play rap records all day long. And uh and and it actually create a format doing it on a national scale, you know. But yeah, So I started there, did nights, then I got moved to mornings.

Then I went back and did nights. Then one or three point five Kbnb, a black woman had got a radio license and um, she wanted to do hip hop and I had at the time, I had a street team. We was doing parties Shout to My Conscience Vibes family over in Sacramento. We was bringing karras Won the Town, you know boot camp, click to town. By doing the roots to town. We should do a lot of those concerts in the nineties. I went to her and was like, basically,

I want to market your radio stage. You're black on radio station, so I want to help you get the word out. And they was playing like Tom Joiner in the morning. It was playing more adult at the time, and um, So I didn't think it was nothing for me to work there because they was doing an adult format, but I wanted to help get the word out. She was like, now we're switching formats. I want you to come work here. I'll pay you whatever you're making right now, and you come work here. So I went back to

kids So Film. I told him what they was offering, and they didn't want to follow it up. They didn't think we was a threat. So I went over there. Um davy d was like, man, you gotta go. You're gonna be the man. You go over there. That changed it out there too, because that was a straight hip hop station went number one in like eighteen months. He was in the street. You know, I'm from there, so I knew all the that. We was in the hood. We was in the streets doing parties, you know, doing everything,

and we took over the city. And I was nine and I was a program director and doing afternoons at the time. And then I got another offer to go to Portland's UM and they was turned on the hip hop station called Jamming ninety five point five in Portland. This was like nine and the whole story went shout to Rashi Wallace. The whole story. Paul Allen wanted the AM station to play the Blazers, Portland Trailblazers and the Seattle Seahawks games. So he bought an AM station and

came with an FM station. Rashi Wallace was like, have been saying, I want to do radio, but the station that I was out there was like a pop station. So Paul Allen took this FM station. Basically was like, we're gonna play hip hop because Raschi Wallace want to do a radio show. And so I went there and I worked there. I did mornings there for a little while, and then eventually I was going back and forth when they're in Sacramento. And then after about two years there,

I got hired to Hot ninety seven. What was the state of hip hop like when you got without ninety seven? When I got there, Yeah, what was the state of hip hop? Like? I mean, it was great. You know, it's two thousand and three, you know, ship, it was happy, n J fat, you know, fifty was heating up, dep setting all that was getting the streets together out here. South was coming on strong. Yeah, South was coming on

strong because you know things. He obviously p had the nineties that took us into what Bertman and then was doing. You know all that that was a great time, the rough Rodus, that's that's a great time. Who are some of your mentors and ogs? When you got when you got to the big stage up here? Hot should everybody show love? You know? But I'm a West Coast you know, they're like, who this motherfucker? Like that's that's standard. But you know, they they had I known some of the

some of the players. I didn't know flex Um, I didn't know seeing Angie, but I knew some of the people, you know, and they hired me to do a job. But you know that comes with the territory ship. I dressed up in a fish outfit. I'll be I you know what I'm saying. I'll bet you've interviewed a lot of people. Any interviews left you at all? I mean, I'm I'm nerdy like this, but I interviewed, uh Lee

Scratch Perry. Um. If you don't know who Lee Scratch Perry is, He's kind of like the the music and sound man behind what we know today is reggae music and dance hall. And you know, like the sound clash and the sound systems and the sound effects, and you know the way Bob Marley's legend albums was mixed and made and asked Lee Scratch Perry Um. He recently passed away, but I had a chance to interview him before he passed.

So that was kind of like for me, out of all the artists that you've been around world through the interview, what what artists that you feel like really stamped you? If I may not saying you needed it, but what artists feel like really put you on stamps you? They showed you that love. Oh man, a lot of people show love early. Um Buster always Busters always showed them love. LLL you know what I'm saying. We started Kbnb, LLL pulled up in Sacramento. LLL cool J came performed for

a new radio station in Sacramento. We had ll shout the big pun. Big pun was there or even back when k Arrest, you know, booking k Arrest one like we was just an independent you know, tark And and quest Love and the whole roots for a lot of them. You know what I'm saying. I was, uh Steve Rifkin, you know when they first started loud. You know, I was me. It was me, the Baker Boys, Swaying Tech. When we played your records, you know, you got airplay,

you know what I'm saying. So people would come to Sacramento just because I was playing their records. Red Man, you know what I'm saying. You know. And then obviously the Bay Area family where you got E forty and be Legit and d Shot and Sugar T and those all that's all family like too short, uh, social mischief, Um, Sophia, you know what I'm saying. Like Matt Drey, you know all that was love. That's I came up with all them.

You've been known for speaking your mind and kind of being to the point, and you know, obviously it's been seeing that. You know, there's some artists who don't like that I have it. But how important do you think it is to stay obviously true to yourself, but really kind of just I'm gonna have the same conversation with you whether we're on or off the camera. That's why you're riding hi hunt of Miles staying in shape. Yeah,

ready to put somebody on the back. I don't I don't believe there's anything I'm talking about that we would want to fight over with regard to music, like, I'm not talking street business. I don't delve into those things. I don't think that's something to be played with. I don't talk about people's uh wives and kids. You know

what I'm saying. I'm not passing. I'm not even a type of do this passing judgment on what you really doing with your personal life unless you harm it somebody else, you know what I'm saying, And you're harming other people and making it look like it's just all this all just all good. And I've seen shows where people were trying to downplay stuff that was really serious and it didn't go right, you know what I'm saying. But I

respect you for that. Bro, rec you're speaking about that black specifically, I think, yeah, I had no intention of that being received from him that way that way. I actually was trying to address something that I knew we couldn't really delve into, but acknowledge that when it got straightened out, I want you to come back because we take that serious. I think all he received was we take that serious as if I was coming at him.

That wasn't my intent at all. But then when it's firals so fast and you're gonna you ain't just cussing out my room. Like, we're not doing that. You're not just yelling at the girl on the show. He didn't even curse at me. He cursed at them. And I, you know, it's my show, so these people work on my team, like I gotta step up from but like, we're not doing that. That's never going to happen, right, and not even in something we gotta fight. That's why

I just ended the interview. He was like, well, this is the you know where the interview going sother interviews. So the songs, yeah, straight up talk about the importance of using your platform to not only do music, but touch on social issues and things you're passionate about. I think, you know, that's just I don't. I don't. I don't think everyone has to talk about the things that I

feel are important or think need to be shared. Nor do I feel like I spent all my time on those topics because I try to we you know how how they seven the Morris Morning show Man. People trying to get their kids to school, they're trying to uh make lunch. You know, they're about to be in traffic. They're dealing with real life things. How kind of we We'll be trying to have fun first. Obviously there's gonna be days that aren't fun. That's just real life. And we're gonna be as a team as us as the

hosts and y'all as the listeners. It's a funked up day. Let's let's figure this sh it out. You know what I'm saying. Get a couple of records on talk about the information that we have that's you know, useful productive. Um So, yeah, that's you know, um, all of that. But I would say the greater societal issues in America are most of my passion points. If that's what you're

asking White supremacy specifically, Um, what that is? The architecture of that and like the ways it moves and works, and you know, dealing with, um, the trauma of our ancestors being enslaved and and how to unpack that, you know, because when you take the con structive white supremacy and you overlay it with our trauma, and then you're dealing with capitalism and you're dealing with all of these things,

and these mechanisms are moving in concert, you know. Um So There's there's a lot there obviously that you when you delve into those items. But yeah, those are passion points for me to try to like see see right here, you see what they're doing right here, You see right here?

Now you know what this is right here? Right? You know, I operate in that space a lot of trying to you know, need to play see the play folding, what's next, you know, so we can try to not go where they're at, but we gotta go where they're going, where they're going. That's user breaking down the atlantaship very clearly to us earlier. You've been in music for so long,

obviously it's changed and it's supposed to change. There any constant you feel like there's been in music consistently since you started to this today constant um, I mean hip hop has been a constant. So I would say it's the most successful, longest running chart dominating music genre. And they got a late start too, what you mean late, like I said, wasn't really getting airplay util but it

was already moving though. You know, I don't just because it ain't on the charts and on the radio don't mean it's not affecting culture and people don't having success, you know what I mean. You know, Curtis Blow was on this you know, Sugar Hill Gang was on the radio, but it was a song. At the time, it wasn't like a full format of music with multiple artists hadn't

become that yet. Curtis Blow, you know, the first, like dude, they say it was the first, like hip hop superstar, you know, like he was out here and moving curs but was popping. So rap had moments before it became like a you know what I'm saying, playing all day long, you know, but make no mistake, there was a time when the message Mellie mel Grandmass flashing Furies five. They did not want to play that on the radio. When you go look up the the history of black radio,

especially in New York. I don't want to speak for everywhere, but New York black radio stations didn't want to play rap music either. Didn't want to play that street music, you know what they It was definitely like those messages, you know, that was considered gangster rap. What do you feel like the turning point was other places trying it and they're seeing the boy was corporate. They saw the white kids was buying it. They saw the white kids

was going to the concerts. They saw that. You know, um, this was money. Like you know, we live in America, man, they see money happening. Money's happening. You know it's gonna happen. So companies that had interest in selling advertising and getting the largest audience started playing rap music all day. Speaking of advertisement, when we were off camera, you were talking to me and Jack, you know, who were your sponsors and and and get that right. But then you also

brought suth Esska. I want you to elaborate on, you know, just kind of the gym you were dropping before we got on camera about shining light on these black companies in the whole media. Play with that. Oh yeah. I just feel like there's so many people like yourselves that have are doing very well with your platform and extending a platform from podcast to videos and show Tom and

Black Effect and Our Heart and the whole thing. Um that creating space for black entrepreneurs and black business to associate themselves with you guys is important or anybody that has a brand. You know, we did the same thing in radio, you know what I mean when somebody coming in we're trying to figure out based on what they can afford to get them into space. You know, if you see that, a lot of DJs are doing that

across the country. But I was just saying specifically because the advertising dollar and where it's being spent is how platforms sustain. So if you're wondering why there's not a platform for this, or why this went away or this other thing didn't succeed or whatever, it is likely because

they couldn't find money advertisers to associate with it. And so we need to find businesses as often as possible that represent what we represent right to give them a platform and make sure that they can sustain so that we can continue to flow the art within our ship, you know. And that could be a small thing, could be it could be a T shirt line, it could be even something larger like you was talking to other things he was talking to me about off the air.

These other businesses, just a lot of them. So everybody should be trying to do that, right because I think black and brown time, like our level of engagement doesn't get the value it deserves, right because that's what people are doing. They're spending their time with something, and the

advertiser if they don't feel its valuable. They're not spending money next to those things that they're spending time with, So I think that's important, um And I think the other level of it is is also just understanding that oftentimes these major conglomerates, whether it be I Heart and media outlets, whether it be Fox, whether that be ESPN, whether that be any of these things, they're pulling a lot of money off the table into their network because

they have such far reaching tentacles. So an advertiser of Coca Cola, they're gonna spend a couple of dollars with the black media outlet, but they're gonna spend a bulk of their money with these bigger conglomerates, and so those things grow versus the smaller black, mostly black owned minority on outlets, you don't see them growing. It's because they're not paying the level of dollars obviously, because these things

have more eyeballs. But they're gonna keep getting more eyeballs because they're getting more the money and they can reach their metric they're advertising metric, whatever they're trying to reach for cheap. So then that advertiser, the advertising agency gets to keep some dollars that they didn't spend They reached their metric, but they kept a couple of dollars. So they're about to get a bonus because they didn't spend

all the money, you see what I'm saying. So they have you know, there's been mandates throughout you know, where advertising agencies are mandated to spend money with black and minority owned business, but they're on they're not spending like they should be spending for the amount of time and energy that we give to the things that we're consuming, you know what I'm saying. So it doesn't in that way,

it doesn't play out. But the truth of the matter also is a lot of us aren't just consuming black content. We're consuming all different types of content right and so wherever, and they're monitoring how much time we spend with it. They see your behavior on your phone, they see what you're tweeting about. They're measuring whatever you're streaming on your apparatus at home, you're streaming Netflix. Netflix, see what you're doing.

They see what you're watching. You know, they know what's going on a t l y. Why I say, on, young thug, yes, give me your thoughts on that. I think it's unfortunate because too many nomen to cut you off, but too many artists, it seems like these days. And I was talking about on my Instagram how they get money and turning gangster. And I'm not saying this situation with because I know thee there's a lot of that

going on. Can you talking about that? I'm not, you know, that close to it to have expertise on this specific topic. I will say that what they're being charged with, rico charges and all of that is as American as apple pie.

I want to remind people of that because often times we look at young black men doing crime in America and we kind of try to treat it like it's some abarition of like they're they're doing a behavior that America has never done before, or it's never happened before, or these black young people are have created this whole world all by themselves and there's never been guns and gangsters and murder and racketeering. They got a whole movies about this for how long we've been promoting this in

our culture. So now you got some young people from the slums, from the bottom right that want to expedite the process to get into the ship we all brag about the money, the cars, the trips, the planes. They want to expedite that process, and that what you do in America. When you want to expedite that, people hit the streets. If they can't hoop, they can't play football. You know what I'm saying. You know, in these guys situation,

they finessed and have some talent, start making some music. Now, if we want to talk about the other part of it, which is how their content is being used and their visuals are being used to them incriminate, authenticate, you know, I think that that's that's what's gonna happen when you get to start getting charged with rico charges and you're one ft and one fot out. If that's what the scenario is, we've seen it before. Listen, they made announcements,

they ran news stories. Is that the district attorney down in Fulton County, her whole campaign leading into getting in office was to target this. So I think, like I said, it sucks, it's unfortunate. I don't want us to act like we should be treating young thug and and these individuals and what they're being accused of is like some rare thing in America. It's very common, and I think

that is more of the conversation. In my opinion, we should look at ourselves in the mirror, and we should be indicting ourselves on our failures because some young dudes with talent and success still felt culturally or even like tied to being a part of something that could potentially get them these type of charges. You know, I don't know, you know, I don't know the facts that I'm not close to it, so I don't really know much about anything that's going on in Atlanta like that, So I

only know what people are reporting on. So I hope what we're hearing ain't true. But I also don't want us to start We need to. We always screwed this up man as adults, you know what I'm saying. When I was young, it was the same thing with c the Loris Tucker and I want to take the parental stickers off and not wanting to play pop music, and they want to burn CDs, and they want to take us out, take young black men out in front of the government and put us on display like this is

the problem. This is the problem. This is the problem. So I want to go back around to the fact that what they're being accused of, Young Thugg and m are being accused of is an emulation of things that have been happening in American culture since the beginning. So we gotta keep why we keep acting like this behavior is like not a part of the fabric of the society we live in, you know what I'm saying. So I think that part is I'd like to see some

time spend on that from people, right. And I think sometimes, you know, it's so daunting of a thought you think of it in those terms that some people just they don't really know how to do the work to unravel that. That's hard to do. And with whack leadership, whack politicians, whack school system, you know, corruption and government people spending all types of money and all that ship, it's hard

for people to see straight man gas prices. I like with Ebro, what you're talking about, fan, Like, I'm just trying to you've seen this seven dollars a gallon, fan, what you're talking about, Get somebody in here to fix this right now. And then they got you voting emotionally now now you know, now even't forgot about qualified immunity and police brutality and all this other ship they got you so wrapped up in gas prices and shells being empty and ship that you vote in. Who's gonna fix

that tomorrow? Next thing? You know, you ain't even dealt with the fact that the George Floyd Bill took so long just got signed. You know what I'm saying. You ain't even dealt with the gun thing because you're like, yo, fam, these white boys is out here spraying people up. They went a man went and hunted black people, hunted them in Buffalo. He drove to the nearest black populated place with nigger spray written on his gun and started shooting

black people. Did you did you know that one of the guys that that was killed that in Buffalo four days or like a week before, he was on a security man that made the engine that ran on water. I've seen it. I've seen tick man. I saw it. He just came up with that's crazy, se dog. What a coincidence, step man. So that's why I say, it's a lot of wheels turning. Man, It's a lot of wheels turning all the time. And so you know, you ask what I'm passionate about. So I touched on those items.

You know what I mean. But I try not to beat the I don't want to be to know it all. God, I know a few things. I read a few things. I listened a lot, you know. I try to give people periodically some some things to think about, you know what I mean. But I don't. I don't claim to how to answers neither, though, you know what I'm saying. I would say that the best thing to do is own property and take your time and be patient out here. Man, it takes time to build wealth. You know, it takes time.

And you know what I'm saying. Even y'all cats, you know what I'm saying. You got a lot of money, man, y'are rich, a lot of money, and y'all know people say that to you all and you're like, I mean, I'm doing good, I'm doing great relative, But it's a whole other level. Rich and wealthy is a big different wealth and generational and people that I mean, you'll know, kids, kids, kids, kids. Yeah, so we just got I think we gotta pace ourselves too. I want to put that message out there, man, you know,

lock in and pace yourself. You know, we lost a lot Dolf King Vaughan, pop smoke artists, the young artists a getting a lot of money, man, And there's a lot of probably still involved in the streets. And I know when we came up, everything I did was for me to get out my environment. But it seemed like it's back was Now what advice would you give young artists coming up? They're starting to see a bag umid. I want to I want to say, hey, everything you mentioned,

those brothers that whold all of them stories terrible. We love Dolf. I love what he was doing, his family, what he was trying to build, that trouble all that. Like shout to King Van he was getting getting his feet under and making great music. And and and there's been a lot of other little key recently and and and I don't want to say that because remember I've been watching this a long time at a local level in Rady, Yoh, and been in media since these things

was happening. Then. It just they didn't have social media accounts. Right. There was inspiring music people aspiring rappers, but you wasn't even called an inspiring rapper back then. You wasn't able to have your stuff on a streaming service. When they could go look for your I G account where he was promoting your music. So you might have just been somebody around the way that they would just be like, you know, another black man shot, gang violence, altercation, robbery,

grant them auto, you know, whatever the scenario is. But they might have really been trying to do their music thing on the side. We just you may not have known that. So I just want to say that once again, it's always hard for me to look at these terrible trends in our community and then our culture as isolated. It's always gotta go. But parking big you know, that happened, and I was traumatic for you know, biggest hartists in

the world. They got killed, right, And we can come up with all the reasons and stories and all that, but the truth is they're not here. And so it's back to the culture of America, back to how we deal with one another, back to what we hold in place value on. I think that we're going through another period where it's important to pay attention to why these things happening. You know what I mean that socio economic

circumstances around all of this. Coming out of the pandemic, the streets has dried up side hustles is tough, gentrification, joblessness, mental health. You know what I mean. These are societal factors, right because whether you wrapp in, hooping, towing cars, we're all dealing with the same kind stresses in society, you know what I mean. And and you know, obviously we talked about people who get killed who have more notoriety

than you know, the young men in the neighborhood. But it's still a life, and it's still a black life, and it's still you know, people dealing with the same societal pressures and issues. A man decided to go kill trouble for whatever reason, A man decided to go kill Nipsey hustle, that that was what he was gonna do on that day. So sometimes you gotta because we'll all get emotional, right like it'll happen, But you gotta kind of sometimes too. And I do that for my own sanity.

If I just go all emotion, what's what? How am I useful to my family? You know what I mean? To to my team I work with. If I just go all emotion, you know, I do it, But you know, I try to think more. Macro will try to takes practice. We'll wrapper stand out to you right now. I know is your is your guy right now? But why wouldn't you Kendrick? Yeah, well, I mean, I know it's hard work. It's hard work to listen to Kendrick. Kendrick make you work, and people need to go ahead and say it's cool. Man.

I don't say you don't like it, say I didn't get it. And it was a lot for me. And there was a lot of chapters in that book, and I need to go back and listen again. But let's not act like it ain't good music and it ain't good rapping. We're not gonna do that, folks, We're not gonna do that. I wouldn't do that anyway, because some people would. I'm not saying y'all, but some people act like it's stop it over your head the first time.

And that's cool. It's it's so cool that you didn't get whatever Kendrick was doing because I had to listen to a bunch to keep up. It's a lot, But I mean, I love what Cold is doing. Kanye has done some great things recently, even though you get on my nerves, you know, but still man, musically, yeah, say that again. Trying to think what else I like E S T G Y my boy right there. I listened to It's a lot man. Actually I love this kid. I d k out of Maryland, Denzel Curry. I don't

know if you'll up on. Are you onto the Russell yet? I love the Russell? Yeah, he did a thing. I love him. He did a thing the other day. He was like, Yo, I'm raising money for something. I put some money on it. Like, I don't you know. He was like, buy one of these gold coins and do something. I didn't know. I don't even know what has happening with it, but shout to him, Hey, before we get

to quick hitters. Um, obviously our girl, Britney Grinder has been detained free Bhi just thought so just kind of the overall because it's always a bigger picture of things. Um, it's fucked up and I hope it gets resolved. I'm assuming, based on the articles that I've read about Britney Grinding in the whole situation, that there's some sort of list of like prisoners that we have and prisoners that they have. Crazy right, well right right, Because I just saw a

story where there was some prisoner exchange. The prisoner exchanged and everybody was like, why not Brittany. So I had to go, Okay, well she might not just be on the top top of the list because these other people been in three years. I can tell you right now. I'm not in politics, and I've never met Vladimir Putin, but based on what's going on, I don't think he'd give a funk about nothing we're tweeting in any I think Joe Biden is saying or whatever petition I signed,

because I signed the petitions too. Um, so it's fucked up. And she got it was like the worst time. It was the worst it was. I mean what she got to Russia and then up the next day and some wow ship. It's fucked up. So I just hope that she's uh as best as she possibly could be in this current situation and that it gets resolved quickly. And I do appreciate the convo of like, you know what if this was a Lebron James or somebody that had got caught up in this. I appreciate that thought because

I actually said to myself, what what what? What what happened? What could happen? It wouldn't have been in jail. Still, well okay, but like, like, what we have been the thing with the war, assuming there's a Russia is literally bombing a nation that we support, killing kids and doing all type of while a war is going on right there right now. But so then you start too, why was Brittany Grinder, a superstar in the NBA having to

travel the way she needed to travel? How comes she don't have the travel luxuries that the Lebron James or someone else, Because that's really what had come down to. Lebron James wouldn't have been going through no security thing, right, Steph wouldn't have been having to walk through a regular airport because go all the way back what they're getting paid. Yes, I said the big picture, So you gotta zoom out

sometimes facts. So now we're talking about wage. Gay they just gave the women's soccer team the same as the men. They should make more. They are actually winning, Ben winning, Ben winning, been winning, So then you go and winn, so you see I go. So then you go into why is society more interested in watching men play even if they're losing, then watching women if they're winning. Why? I don't know if they want to have that conversation.

I mean, it's the time to have it right. That's the only way you can fix it by having that conversation, those tough conversations, you know, and then you get into you know, who's moving faster, who's dunking the ball, and what's more exciting and blah blah blah blah. You know, you get off into it. I see, y'all see in Christ dangerous. It's over there. They gave me this is dangerous brother uncle to hands. So you go down. Yeah they dunk, they're dunking now, so we go now. You know,

I like listening. So that's why I think about right, because it's hard for me once again to just be like yo, emotional about the Britney grinder thing without actually going all, right, what's what's taking place here, what's the root of it? How did we get how did she get in this predicament? Right? Because then there's a whole conversation about w NBA players having to play year round.

They make enough money here during that season, they wouldn't have to go overseas once the season overhere to make ends meet. You know what I'm saying. They just make it here, but they don't have to go overseas, point blank and now to fix everything, but everything they can't make it here because they're not generating enough money because they don't have the eyeballs. Mm hm No, it's deep. That's why I said. I said, I said bigger picture when I asked you the question. Because it's a big picture.

People think like you said, like you got to zoom out sometimes to zoom man to really kind of see the whole free b G Baby Free. You know I loved your family. What's the funniest artist you've interviewed or worked with? Artists like a like an artist, musician, musician, not a comedian. I was gonna be like, yo, he damned, so don't count about wake up funniest. I mean, Jay is obviously funny, y'all if y'all have been around Jay Z got jokes all the time. He laughing all the time.

He got jokes. He don't take himself too serious. You know what I'm saying, He's great. You know what I'm saying, he's he's great. Kanye is very funny, like very funny. You know what I'm saying. Kanye has been very funny for a long time. I mean red Man, I was man. Obviously it's wow Keith Murray is funny as fuck. It's a lot of people are here man and just are great and funny. Okay, let me cardi b hilarious, real

life hilarious, hilarious. Let me phrase question. You got somebody on your show, Yes, and they said something that got your laughing so hard that y'all go all off script. Well, we never on scripts. Always freestyle. There's literally no script. There's no Everything is all improv all the time, the whole show, the whole shows improvlems. I mean, there's certain things that are um, you know, bench what we call a benchmark. We're going into this segment. We got a

routine and we go into it. If you ever listen to our morning show, we'll be singing. We got a little songs. We've been singing all types of ship having fun. Man his parents and kids in the car. Man as we're just trying to have fun. Fat Joe Kalid, I mean, Kali has been coming on, you know and giving us so many things. Another one. Like a lot of people don't know the relationship between our show and Khalid. Kalid was at a point went in his career where he

was leveraging everything he had to make an album. I forget what your album it was. This was This might have been two thousand and fourteen or fifteen. Remember when Kalid got lost on the jet ski in the dark? Social media where it was at around that time. I was with the Clippers at the time, So yeah, what you are, we're talking fifteen with them? Got it so right before that, you know, and he was just getting

on social media being himself. But Kaleg has always been funny, and so he never used to like coming on morning shows because he didn't like joking around. He'd be like, I don't like morning shows, man, I ain't you know coming up there that funny? And I used to be like, you don't know you're funny, like you college, you don't know you're funny, and you can't remember college a radio guy. So he did nights in Miami nine nine Jams. Also another funny person in Funk Flex. Funk Flex is hilarious,

m hilarious. But they're just being themselves. So to them, it's not they're not doing routine, They're not you know what I'm saying. So there's a lot of things that Cali would come up to the show and we would take sound bites of what Kali was saying, and LUs were like another one, and like because he would just be talking, I'm making another hit. He would be like another one, and so we would just take it because

it was funny to us. Remember the Remember the video with Kalid was like to the girl, he was like, you smart, Remember that whole ship. That was from a whole the whole thing. Man. So a lot of times, a lot of we have a lot of ship with Kali from over the years, all the way up through Congratulations you played yourself and all all of those things. Man, that's cut shops for goddamn. Sure, bro, I'll do it because I'm just glad I missed my shoes. I've been

dodging bulls. I gotta take these motherfucker's off whites. Four dunk loths on white. Let me see the back. I'm special, They're special. Yeah, I want to suck them up. You can get more of those stranding on the island. Five albums, You're Taken with You, sho Greatest Hits, Bob Marley, Legend, Stevie Wonder Songs in the Key of Life. Oh I got a cheat coat. Prince put out this project once or I don't even know if Prince did it. Maybe the label did it when he was beating with him

or whatever. It was called hits and B sides. That ship had like forty joints on them, bringing that ship. Yeah, this whole thing, bringing that and then I don't even know. It'd be tough. Don't you listen to too much music? Catalog in his head is too big. But I'm saying here because I'm trying to figure out, like stranded strands the last you got four albums, no hip hop in there yet. Yeah, I didn't put no rapping there because if I'm stranded, you don't want to hear that ship.

I want to hear that ship right now. Man, we're just trying to make it through. They don't stress me out, man with all that ship. But you might come to where you gotta you gotta survive, go through survival mode. No. I let Stevie sing, okay, all right, taking the church. Let Prince do his thing now. But I was thinking about I was thinking about what I bring. Uh, I might I might bring Biggie Life after Death because musically and the raps and the amount of hits on the projects,

would you know what I mean? Because because if you noticed, I started thinking about, like I can't just have like little tense song albums and I'm stuff. I needed things that I need a little bit more larger swath of material. You know, favorite restaurant a dish in NYC oh restaurant or dish. There's too many, bro, I'll be playing myself years. You ain't got a favorite spot you go to? Nope. I don't like people knowing where I'm gonna be at home at that. I don't like being at the same

place all the time. And you know, it's probably some amazing people to every type of food, type of food, favorite type of food. I probably top two is probably Japanese and Mexican. Yeah, not at that five dinner guess dead or alive. I mean, it's probably the same people I'm bringing the albums from. Okay, you know Steve Yeah and Prince Yeah and you cooling. We're gonna be on the piano singing songs. Br G. Cracking jokes. He's funny.

What's press doing making pancakes? Trying to go out? If you could have one that's on our show, who would it be? But but on your show? On this show? But before you answer, you have to help us get your answer on the show. You know everybody too, you know everybody? Oh my god, Well, I want to first say, what's your budget? Whatever you need because if y'all got

me working, y'all must have carved out a check. You know, we get yourself if you get it, and you know everybody, I would like to see y'all get and I gotta help you do it. Just a text. It ain't just attenative, bro, you know what it is. He's gonna have to make a call. He's giving us someone big jack. He's thinking right now because see this is this is why this is hard. Let me tell you why this is hard. I can't get him for y'all. Just say, yo, I

know something. Jay Z has never even come on my show. That's crazy. I didn't know that. I didn't know that. Listen, consider him a friend. You can call him absolutely, he ain't coming. And you're a man in your word too. I'm looking forward to Yeah, trying to figure it out. Like if you say it, I guarantee it's gonna you are a man of your word. Yeah, try. I don't know if that's all we could ask, that's all we ask. If Oka said a whole bunch of names today. Huh, Kanye,

I can try. I think me and him ain't really in a good space right now. We're kind of not really good now. We're not bad, but we're not good. I have opinions that you know what I'm saying. I'm not gonna just I probably agree with your opinions, so I feel you. Okay, it's two people, all right, Mad and Red Man. I don't do that for you can get him at the same time. We're gonna smoke out and have a crazy I can make that call because they're doing a read. They're probably doing a real high too.

We ain't have a part of it though. I don't think though, are they. But we need to be the new method. We can do it. I like it. We can do that, Sack and Pedro. You know what, it would be great. You know what the wind is for y'all because you know meth in the gym and so it's Red Man. Ain't they might be better athletes than y'all too right now, Absolutely not at that. But I ain't that far away. No no, no, no, no, that's not happening. That's not happening. Might be stronger than me.

Because living ways. But so I think because you got that energy right there, I think that is a great spinoff the showtime where met because they all smoked, they all got their little y'all want a little health smoking healthy. Yes, you know what I'm saying. So let's put it to the text. You want to eap it? No, he said, no, good that it is that. We appreciate that absolutely, watch promote. Yeah, have us all come on the show and talk ship.

There was no reach out to him right and math, we need y'all you say right now, let me see if what this this is all the smoke spake ship coming in for landing free Bro coming through Bro, what's bro smurch sweatsuits? Especially twenty certificate of authenticity. There's only four and I do that. You know what I'm saying. You got the white one, the green one. You got the white. That's all that's hard. Don't smoke with that. You if you ask, you got to give me trouble.

Gonna get dirty right away. You smoke, You're gonna waste the ashes on it. Yeah, this is fire though. Man man, congrats all man for just being cool. Dudes appreciate and you have a success after another chapter in life. That's the goal, right, People don't get that opportunity like that's a big y'all realize that's a big deal, right, appreciate that. Man, he didn't pick up me, didn't pick up my call. Man, you know we we know you want to texting right now.

We trust you. But man, thank you for your time. I'm not gonna get it again because I lost my eye cloud. No, you lost everything. Yeah, but I didn't even call god hacks. My Instagram came back though, Bro, my Instagram came back. It was funked up at how I had to save just something. They pulled some bullshit.

They don't want me. But anyway, man, that's nah. We appreciate you forgot his PASSWORDA we were we we're smoking too much weed, don't know its trying to call to and it was like, sir, we went way deeper than that out forever. Don't tell you your phone, tell you some ship like that. Log you out for suppress one more number. I dare you ask well, try to get us wrong? If anything, that would be my son playing my funk. But man, we already got you. We appreciate

your time. Man, We appreciate what you do. In the space. Like I said, I've been a fan of you since I was a teenager. I appreciate you continue to press your message, be productive on the platform and showing people the way. Man. We appreciate you. B Yeah, you know listening. I gotta be honest. I might do another part I don't do. I've never been you know, get yourself out there. I was like this, get yourself out there. There ain't too many like ours though, So don't expect this ship

when you go somewhere else. But what people need to hear? That for real. But you got to say, especially about what's going on, Bro, because a lot of the messages that that that's coming out are skilled and a lot of people that's given the messages aren't the people that

should be giving the messages. So people not listening. But you people would listening for me, Bro, I would love for you to continue to be that Guy's important to stand up and speak us and to give those messages because you give them not only the right way, but to educate a way. And you say what people need to hear, not what they want to hear. And that's what we do. You know what I mean, it's it's

it's it's needed, so man again, we thank you. You can catch this Showtime Basketball YouTube and the I Heart platform Black Effects. We'll see you all next week. Peace. This is all a smoke, A production of The Black Effect and Our Heart Radio in partnership with Showtime