C. J. Sapong Part 1

hired as the Detroit Lions head coach. I want to play the audio of his press conference as he got introduced as a new head coach, And I want to get your reactions to this, all right, And when you punch us back, we're gonna smile at you. And when you knock us down, we're gonna get up. And on the way up, we're gonna buy the knee cap off,

all right, and we're gonna stand up. And then it's gonna take two more shots to knock us down, all right, And on the way up, we're gonna take your other knee cap and we're gonna get up and then it's gonna take three shots to get us down. And when we do, we're gonna take another hunk out of you before before long, we're there going to be the last one standing. All right, that's gonna be the mentality. I'm sorry, what's your reaction to that? Man, Let's break it down.

Let's show, shall we? Yeah, let's go ahead. You start, you go with, you go the line and then I I mean, for me number one, I think, what do you think he's trying to do? You hear so many of these coaches, man, so many people are so quick to do all the raw roster right, like we want to get people, we want to get people fired up. And and as someone who's participating in sports, I get that. However, However, someone who's participated this the way you said, however, um,

this is comical. It's funny, right, Like you're talking, You're talking about getting punched in the face and biting knee caps off. Like for me, this this isn't something where I'm like, oh man, I can't wait to go and play for this guy. Like this is not getting me going or making me want to say, oh man, I'm going to run through a wall for for this guy, personally,

I'm not getting that well, he stated. The first time we get knocked out, we get knocked down, we're gonna know the this team is going to be built on. We're gonna kick you in the teeth. You'll punch us back. We're gonna smile at you. Okay, so berbatim. We get hit in the face, we're gonna smile. That was line number one, you know. So so you didn't got you didn't got hit. We're gonna kick you in the teeth. Not that we're gonna hit around house. I didn't know

we were playing him. I didn't know this was m M A. Connor McGregor. Just got knocked out. Anyone got that name Robinson. So now so we're gonna we're gonna kick you in the teeth. You punch us back. So he's so, he's already telling you you're gonna you're gonna take that ash up. So we're gonna kick, They're gonna punch, We're gonna smile the hell I just got hit, and I'm showing a mouthful of didn't push a lot of folks. I ain't never seen a smile come out of one

of them. So let's let's continue. When you knock us down, we're gonna get up, and on the way up, we're gonna buy a knee cap off um street ball and the m m A, m m a. That's illegal marks and I I get it, and I gotta see your technis shot records, because first of all, you got rabies. First of all, if you bite me, that's a problem. But you also smile when you got hit. So that's it. I'm fresh off a smile. It ain't a lot of upstairs.

Let's let's continue to decode after he so bang, I hit you in the mouth, I smile, you smile, Then you round and I'm knock down by the way you bang. Then you got hit. On my way up, I'm gonna bite your knee cap off, all right. Then we're going to stand up and it's gonna take two more shots to knockers dance. So now you hit me twice, No, you got hit my full time this round hit yea in totality, I've been hit. So's he coach of the Detroit Lions. Okay, look is maybe he's trying to play

into the narrative of Detroit's a tough town city. I don't think people that need go around. I don't think that getting punched in their face, and they definitely ain't I know in Detroit they put you back, they'll rob you too. You ain't gonna smile getting wrong. Let me get your wallet and then to finish up. And then the finish up he said, And on the way up, we're gonna take your other kneecap and then we're gonna get up. And it's gonna take three shots to get

his down. So now it's got punched in my face three times on top of the previous Can I can I can I jump in? Can I be honest and explain and maybe say why he's trying to emphasize a mentality that they have not been for a long time, Detroit tough. But coach Campbell, h if you are trying to tell men, you're recruiting them to become to come to the Detroit lines, and you are advertising that we're gonna get our ass kicked, but we're not gonna we're

to go down fight. It's gonna be the last one standing. You know what I think of that that kind of coaching, that that that type of rob Rock speech you big dummy? Yes coming that? Sorry, Yes, team with that? Come on man, coach Dan cam Where you are a recipient of the cut to It podcast Big Dummy Awards? Oh yes, you know why because he is trying to use words and he is everybody knows Detroit of his notorious for not really doing what they're supposed to do. That city is

a that city is a great city. They rally around their sports, blue collar city, bue collar. But to come in and your you know, fresh off Yo Joseph a bank suit. Oh yeah, my chill factors real load to day, I'm coming in hot. There's a fastball right down to centence. Yeah. And they go and they got a COVID nineteen sale too. Yeah. He bought all of them, all six of them, fresh off the rack, fresh Taylor just yep. Yeah, his uncle head to the time and then right he had some

busted browns. But then you do that and then he's like you could tell he's just gass grasp. I think he got in that deep end and he didn't know how to swim back. After He's like, all right, I gotta we're gonna get punched in the mouth. I'm gonna get knocked down, I'm a I'm anna bite. I gotta show my tough and so we're gonna bite them back to nobody. I'm gonna get back up. So your point, you know what's gonna happen. You want to talk about

resiliency like I get it. So after that, though, after that, what's the next storyline. We're gonna let Matthew Stafford m hmm go to a new team. Right, What kind of coach was coach Daniel Um? What kind of coach was he? What was he coaching prior to looking up? Let's looking up? Okay, I'll let you know here's I hate to say it this way. I'll probably be at a training camp or during a game. Don't set your team up for failure

before you on your first day at the job. We've seen that before, uh four years ago, when somebody got a job and they started making outlanded statements on the first day of the job. Get your feet wet, coach, understand the landscape of the I understand he knows the landscape of the city, but understand the landscape of your team. You make all those statements, and then your quarterback, who's the future, who can drop a dime pretty much anywhere on the field with a broken hand to school leading

in passing any and you come out there. You could be tough all you want, but if you don't win, the speeches fall on deaf ears. Yep, because Cam, I think it's I think it's remarkable what you're attempting to do. But you're coaching better. Be better than your weak ass speeches because you're gonna catch mold in them. A coke and a smile, you're gonna catch. You're gonna be the next guy in Detroit and out of Detroit. So coach the next press conference you have. I'm not can you

You're a big dumb just smiling wave, smiling wave. Who we got? We got c J Sapong. It's a special two part episode. I like c J. I learned, I learned a lot. It was a great opportunity to talk to him because, um, you know, I love to travel. But he he, he gave us a part of his life. He gave us some things that are not national geographics. They aren't on the Discovery Channel, to Travel channel down and books there are. It's about the real life history of c J's history. And you may not like what

you hear. You may not agree with it, but one thing you have you can't this credit is that's his story and that's his and that's what he experienced that his family has experience. And I and I love the We had the opportunity to go down c J's story, and I hope you enjoy it's too part um. We talked about a lot of different things, but one thing you can't overlook is what c J and who says c J is and how his family got here. So

I hope you enjoy it. Let's go to it. The first thing we're gonna get into is our get iced up segments. All right, you ready, let's go. Okay, what childish things do you still do as adult? I've continue to record myself dancing like TikTok. Will you just do it? Just to be just doing it for myself, just random? Yeah, yeah, well interesting, Yeah, I know I've seen a picture of

you. You You gotta make sure that flash on me. And huh, that's why I do it in the morning when the sun's coming up, just because hey, hey, we got filters for that now. I mean, we don't know that we're light skins. I mean, we're all right, y'all. Y'all be squitting like the flashes on the now you trying to go there. Everybody ain't gotta make the drake pace, you know, here we go. Uh do you survive the apocalypse? Uh? Huh?

What would your job be? I would be, uh a boxanists because I'm into the agriculture and all that, so you know, I would make sure I know what that is to me. So what you said, that's what we'll just say. We'll just call it plants science. Yeah. Yeah, there we go, come up us with the school to play sports the school, and then happened to learn and happen to play sports school. Yeah yeah, I feel that.

I feel that plants science. Man, that's my ship and it's a it's a skill that I think, you know, even in this time, our community, if we if we are able to stay you know, true to that, we won't be as a lying on you know, all these other establishments, if you will. Yeah, I like that. I don't like that. All right, this is the last one. What set of items could you buy that would make the cashier the most uncomfortable? You know, I got I don't know, Steve, this is in your wheelhouse, but mostly

for me. It's so it's some type of foot care products. You know, playing soccer, my feet get kind of beat up, so you know I'll be having the heel bomb and anti fungals. You know, they kind of look at me a little little sideways. But you know is what it is, always great until when I used to play, until you start back playing and then that, yeah, well come back in and take your socks off and everybody's looking around. Can't wear sandals nowhere? You look like you got ugly.

Told well, I'm not gonna lie. That's the genetics. Yeah I got. I'm glad of it. My family's on here. So you know, we our feet are just built for terrain, you know, we we feilt. We built a traverse lands and that's not a bad thing. You know, I've embraced it. It's time in my life first land feet. Yeah, there's so there's so many places I can go right there culturally relevant. Give me a trouble, So tell me what's

your full name and what does it mean? Okay, my full name Charles, Nana na Palm and yeah, yeah, so Charles, that one Charles, Charles, we wrote down. I got Charles. What was after that I got too, because Nana is a nickname. Yeah yeah, yeah Nana, Yeah nah, I get that one. That ship. But now here's where I get tricked. Quab Na quab Now that's k w A b e n A and that's um well I have not yet and uh and then obviously so Pong at the end,

um the non clap Na. Those those are my middle names um in my culture, my Ghanaian culture, the tribe that my family is a part of. You you put Nana in front of a name when it's the first born, and then quab Na again with my tribe, we have a specific set of names dedicated to each day that has its own element of the earth that it signifies as well. And that's where quap n comes in. Born on a Tuesday, child of the earth. Um. And then Spong is my my father's last name. So you think

out of the earth. Yes, you're talking about you a study of plants? Is that intertwined with with your tribe and what your what your heritage? You know? I would say, I would say it's it's more of a you know, a genetic DNA thing that kind of just manifested itself throughout my life because I never was into plants when I was younger, I hated vegetables. You know. Um, but yes, our culture really believes that the name that you're given has an effect on who you who you become. So

it's it's pretty interesting. I think, well, since you you went there in softball, pitch that for a minute, we go ahead and hit that thing out of the park. Where are you from in the place you call home? That's Ghana in West Africa. I know you guys are familiar, might not be, but Africa. I am familiar with Ghana. One of my best friends is a guy man and he is always bothering something. See that. Yeah, you learned that. You learned that early, especially if you about that. I

grew up. So I took a missions trip, my first time ever going out of country UM two thousand and eight and I went. I went with a group of guys and we went to uh Togo Lo May and then we went to um Nigeria. And you know where I'm going here? Because Togo is a French colony, there is an English colony. Where do we have to stop to go? Two? Because we're on the budget obviously a

mission trip, so we had to stop in Ghana. Oh and we spent a few hours in Ghana and it was really cool, um to see that because I saw one you know, I got to see the homeland and one of my best friends who we met ninth grade. We're still friends to this day, right to this day. But one but he also got me a Beckham jersey. But it cost me about five of my own jersey just for that one Beckham jersey. Because I'm pretty sure he bawled. He bartered one jersey for me and several

jerseys for himself and other guys. That's how it works, bro. Yeah. I even got messages from cousins left it right to this day. Man. You know, it is what it is. My my family, I guess kind of going back to um you know the origin story. I have a large, large Arte family. My grandfather was the chief of his tribe UM and you know, if you go back hundreds of years Africa rather you know, it wasn't countries, right, it was ribes and as the Europeans came into Africa infiltrated,

a lot of the tribes dispersed. But my my lineage is has ties to be a con tribe, right, and they believe in you know, expanding or spreading the scenes far and wide. Um yeah, exactly exactly. So I have what I had thirty three uncles and aunts. Yeah, I got many, many, many a cousin's man. I went wild. Story. Actually, I when I went to Ghana when I was twenty one. You know, I went out there. I'm out out in the club with about five of my cousins. You know,

I'm dancing, feeling good out there. You can just carry the bottles all around the club. And I see a chick, you know, I'm like, oh, talking to my cousin, Like, Yo, who is that? Like, I'm trying to see what's up? Man? It's just like, yo, chill, that's your cousin. Damn all right. It's like that. They got cousins South Carolinas. And we have to take a break and morning anything. We gotta

pay some bills. You got checks. I love cut to It, and I love it even more when you download us and subscribe, and you can follow us on social media too, Smithie, where where at that's at? Cut to It? On Instagram? What about twitter? At? Cut to It? Facebook? Cut to It featuring Steve Smith singr? What about online? And you can follow us at cut to It podcast dot com where you can buy merch and you can subscribe to

us wherever you listen to podcasts. I got all my answers questions, Um yeah, I got all my questions answered. That's what I'm here for, a brother cut to a podcast dot com. I remember that was one of the startling things is getting off the airport. Um, back, this is this is back. Then you get off the airport and they tell you like sex trafficking, all that stuff. They do not play its signs up there. And then that was the first time I really realized how dangerous

it was. Dud's had a K forty seven's And then you get off the airport and and this is a small airport, so you get off like literally the trmac right there. You get off and you walk in and they and they also tried to get me to flying out. All they tried to get me. They had me go through a metal detector, but the metal detector was unplugged, and he was like, where's the American money. He was olden my passport and he said he wasn't giving me

my passport. Man. I snatched my passport because I was on my way out right, and I was on the I was on the road for like almost two weeks. I was ready to get home. Right. You had we had to. This is two thousand seven or eight, so you had the constant rolling blackouts at that time. I had to. I had a satellite phone because international m plans weren't there, and I just was done. I was done taking a shower with a bucket. Right. I stayed because we was on the mission Star accommodations. I wasn't

have no Star accommodations. Right. We had one time, what we had for breakfast one egg baguettes. This was in Togo, and t I had. I didn't even eat my toes. I didn't even eat my egg. I gave you somebody else. And I just hate a backget and I had unlimited team. It was tough. And that's what I really noticed, and really realized how big the world is and how small

we are. But I also noticed that if America didn't have as much financial influence, bro, we wouldn't be here because there's so many there's so many more established, not even well off, but grimeer countries that are just trying to stay afloat, and we don't even realize how lucky we have it here and we got it. We get a twisted We complained about being in line at a drive through, right, I mean, there's that's a hot button

take right now. It is privileged on either side. But yeah, we we we do our own privileges that that we live in right now. So that's that's part of it. So you talked about your try, what is it? What take us through? What a trial? My mentality is for family because I hate the stereotype. But watching television, right, and I had to see it for myself, watching television, hearing about Africa, hearing about stuff. If you're only understanding is when they play Shakazoolu every year in the States.

Is your perspective of of Africa? Sure? Sure, your dumbass meter is up there. It's it's it's about on the scale of one through five. Yeah, that's not really what Africa is about or what stands for. How it even stands on his own two ft um with each country. Yeah, exactly, And I'm glad that you said that because it's a that is a offshoot of the serious programming that we as black people have gone through growing up in this country. But I'll save that for maybe later in this podcast.

But when I talk about a tribe, right, it's better to envision, uh, your envisioned your neighborhood growing up, right. You had you know, old Uncle Timmy down the street. Maybe he was drinking a lot, but you know he always gave you a nice little bit of insight. You had your little homies that you know, you knew where they live. You rode your bikes there. You know, you ain't calling nobody, you ain't texting nobody. It's a tribe.

A tribe is a communal group that had it dictates its own I won't say laws, but they each have their roles within that tribe and it's and it's set up so that that tribe, that tribe's capacity grows with every individual. Okay, this person does the sewing, this person grows the food, this person does the exports with other tribes, and you know, dealing with treaties to ensure again that the capath city of their community continues to expand with

every individual. Now that the issue with that had happened in Africa is that when the white man came in, the white man came in, and you know, at first obviously it's a land that they didn't know, so they kind of you know, assimilated into the culture. They acted like they wanted to learn. They brought, you know, the different things from Europe that Africans didn't have, and slowly but surely we got away from our own self sufficiency.

So an interesting story with my particular tribe, with my grandfather, he had a situation where the industrial Revolution was taken over Europe and he essentially got exposed to the white man, you know, with industrial parts, and he moved from agriculture base with you know, with rice grains and self sufficiency to straight car parts, jet engines, like big factory type items.

And while that actually helped us um as a tribe, as a family, uh, grow in our financial potential, like I said, it ripped us away from the things that we had known for generations and down the road, it actually ended up causing a lot of risks because you know, as that British pounds started going in circulation as opposed to which you said, the old barter system, now degree takes over, you know, and it's it's a it's a

really crazy story. How um you know, again, the programming of the white man kind of infiltrated my family's tribe and to this day we still have to deal with, you know, people going on land that we own and just European companies just building like premium homes. And you know, it's not like out here where you can you know, go to court or you know sense order like out there, it's like, yeah, if you want this, you better come and take it. And you know that leads to a

lot of a lot of stuff. So do you go back? Um any um, Yeah, I was just back in January. How is your family's tribe and laying and all that stuff right now? Yeah, so based off of and this is interesting how it turned out. So because my grandfather made that move to industrialize, he actually ensured longevity within certain aspects of our family. Right, Like I said, he had thirty three kids, he had five wives. So the order,

the hierarchical order, yeah right, um. The first you know, my my mother's family was lower on the uh in terms of the chain of hierarchical order. Especially what happened was the first borns, the second borns from the other mothers ended up just through green need losing everything. Whereas our family, because it was little by little by, little by little was very frugal, kind of kept, you know, the little bit of land here, the little lot there,

the little house there. And we're able to slowly but surely build up to the point where now, man, when I go back, like we were living good. We're in the parts of Africa that you're not going to see on TV. You know, we we still have family that chooses to live you know, more simple life, that's you know,

more in the village. And you know, it was cool for me to be able to just go back and forth from like literally living better than I live here in America to having to drive two hours up the mountain. And you know, uh hear the story is about walking three miles just to get water for the day. You know. So, oh it's real, bro, you know walk in three hours too, It's real. You know, it is so real. And yeah, man,

and it's kids too. You know, it's five six year olds that are that are doing this, and but you know it's wild to me. It brings perspective because they're doing it with a smile on their face. Man. You know, you spend the first five hours of your day just to uh go to and from water and then just to get water, bros. And I mean that's for that's water for bathing, that's water for cooking, that's water to drink it. And I mean these kids still do it

with a smile on their face. And you know, there, I would argue that there's still happier than people that I know. I mean, I play soccer with dudes. I got money for days. But you know they walk in in the morning and you sense from their energy like damn dog, you're not happy like it. It's it's wild really growing up and being exposed to your trying. How does that How has that impacted you? Package you in shape? How you see the world today? That's a great question, bro,

That's literally the reason I am am. But you just got us a real rating. But here's what I love. Like the fact that you are talking about tribal We do a segment called DP three. I've changed my three questions now what you said, because I'm eating up everything that you're talking about culture, You're talking about the stuff just real talking in when I when I'm I'm just gonna tell you, I love to travel and I love the world. Right, And this is a story that nobody

really is her. I remember, I grew up in l A. Um, I grew up poor, and my grandma and grandpa built into me, and growing up in in l A, they always you know, we grew up. I grew up in l A where a time where black and brown people were very dominant and living in in poverty. Black or brown people are neck to next, shoulder to shoulder right in the in l A. And my grandpa used to always say, if you will come to this country, you

needed to speak our language. That was his stance on having some of the bilingual literature on buses on billboards in our community. And I never really understood that. And then on the way back to the States, we stopped in Paris because we went through Togo, and so we stopped in Paris, and at that time I didn't really

know travel. I went through like a month process again my passport, and I remember sitting there and so I stopped in Paris and I want to butt in and and um, no one speaking English, and bro, my Grandpa's words rang in my head. If you're gonna be in our country, you gotta speak our language. And I it reminded me how small my I was and how I didn't go anywhere, and so I was in and being a light skin dude, I had a lot of people talking to me because they thought I was mixed, and

so they were talking French. Tell me brothers still figuring out English? Right, I was, and I started to and my wife took French, so she kind of was like, hey, baby, she recorded some words just the safe for me and I I as soon as they realized, just off the respect if you attempt to speak their language. Bro, this is a part of pissed me off anymore. They speak five languages and they busted the English, and I'm looking

at them with them evil eyes like you right. But one of the cool things is I was hearing my grandpa talk about other folks, but he was talking about me. H. He gave me that at that time, and it was really cool. And that's when I really started to And I love traveling now and with this virus. But when we start back traveling, a buckle up, Buttercup, because I'm getting my mouths back. I want to see everything because I don't know when the next time we will not

be able. And so what I'm trying to say is, bro, you're allowing me to travel right now into Africa and all these different parts. So for me, I'm about it. I want to know what the tribe like was? What is who is c J the soccer player that is now infiltrated to cut to a podcast? Give us, give us an opportunity, brother, take us on the Discovery Channel hood version of really what it's like to play soccer? But also what this man who's experience and from a

tribe of thirty three plus? Now, what what what do you bring to the table other than a nice jersey and a soccer ball and some grass and the net right yellow and yellow and red cars. Man, I don't I don't care how many goals you make. I want to know about this man. I want to know about this tribe and what what being from having a parents that you had, having a name that you had, and

coming from the tribe that you've come from. You're gonna give us today that can really speak to these young men and women that are sitting here going I'm not from Ghana, I'm not from Togo, but I'm from here and I need to know can I make it? That's an amazing question, and I'm very glad that you asked that because this is the ship that people need to hear these days. Man, you know going, I'm gonna I'm gonna start backwards, right you buck? I put my seatbelt on.

Hell yeah. So so you are just talked about, you know, the indoctrination if you will, that you went through with your grandfather, you know, saying hey, if you don't be here, you need to speak English. I actually hear that a lot from people you know from here. Uh, friends, you know, acquaintances, what have you. Um. But what I recognized through my African heritage one, I didn't get to visit Africa. I visited Africa when out six, but I didn't remember much.

It felt like it was poor land, right. It just seemed it was so different than America, and I I was very resistant to it. Um. But definitely what I realized is here, the biggest thing that leads us to success, I believe is perspective. I got perspective through the tribal culture that, even though I didn't grow up in in Ghana, was in my household. Right. So out of those three kids my mother's mom had a leaven of them, eight of them ended up within a thirty mile radius in

fucking Northern Virginia. So I mean whether when my mom was at work and you know, it's my aunt that's that's watching me, or then it's my cousin that's watching me. And you know an African culture, well Ghandian culture, it don't matter who that that ken is to you, they can beat you, right, So mentality, that's that's South Carolina too. You know you're missing a key part. How did y'all pick Ghana to Virginia like that? You? I mean, how

do you pick that? Because I have a friend here who does some stuff and you might have heard on his name, manny a homemade. He does Samaritans uh, Samaritan's feet and a wash feet, washed children's feet. They serve God. And he got a scholarship two I believe South Dakota State or North Dakota and South Dakota. South Dakota. He got a basketball scholarship off a freaking brochure. He had never been to South Dakota. So when he that was

the first time he saw snow. So he got off the plane and I'm trying to figure and now he lives in North Carolina, so I know his story, but how do you how are you guys picking Ghana to Virginia because that seems there's a there's a lot of land between Ghana and Virginia. Oh my my mother one, like I was saying, so one of eight, that's all

sisters too. My mother actually came to Virginia because two of her sisters had come to Virginia simply because it was close to d C. They literally Ghana was looking at him, Matt and was like, oh, yeah, that's the capital. Oh yeah, we want to go close to there. So but my mom's two older sisters came came to northern Virginia about twenty minutes outside d C. Literally sent her their passport. Well, they each used one passport, Like my aunts looked ridiculously alike, Bro, it's kind of crazy. Um.

So that's how I know, right, that's how. That's how different it was. Though. So my mom got to Virginia, she decided she wanted to be a nurse. She was stocking closed at Ross while she was in nursing school. Well, we'll leave that right there for a second. All the while, my father had gotten a scholarship from his college in Ghana to do a master's program in Texas at Baylor University computer Science. So my dad blessed heart man like

old scholar. You know, I'm not quite a scholar, but there are a lot of you know, his qualities and characteristics that I've taken in my life that I think have really helped me to get where I am today. So he graduated, boom. First job he gets is at the Federal Reserve in Washington, d C. So he moves to d C. So my parents met each other here.

They didn't even meet in God, yeah, because I was gonna I was going to I was trying to figure that out, you know, and and not step in the you know, step in the ignorant bucket, right and go, hey where your parents you know, arranged marriage. Right. So because like I said, man, this is discovery for me, this discovery channel. I want to be able to ask ask you the dumb question and it'd be okay, that's a dumb question. But there's there's not a lot of people I roll with or I know that's from a

tribe that that tribe is in their DNA. That yes, because he's knowing that history. Even because I would say on the other end of this table, because his brother from Lexing to North Carolina. But it ain't nothing. There's a lot of kids and cousins, his cousin in the club. But but but alone, but alone that route. I can't say that we did the whole ancestry dot Com thing. Maybe in oh wait. And I didn't know my family's

history at all. My mom did. And what we end up finding out is that my great great great grandmother, I believe, was a slave named Margaret that came from Africa. That's all I know. That's where my family stops. And so to hear this brother c J talked about the tribes Ghana, what's it like there? Like all this I mentioned it before, heritage that he has, I'm damn, they're jealous, spous because he knows, he knows his identity, and you

picked Virginia to come from Ghana. Margaret was brought here through the slave trade, pulled it through Charleston, South Carolina, and we make land in Gaffne, South Carolina before coming election to North Carolina. But it's through the slave trade. So just being able to hear that type of history and that kind of heritage and that story for me, I'm I'm giddy because he knows the other side. Monster my family stump starts in Charleston, but he has this

rich heritage, deeply routed, deeply routed. So man, I'm I'm I'm getting and you've been on our podcast. You're watering and making your roots even deeper because you know we I don't, I don't know exactly on both sides. My mom is one of third Day. Well, first, I'll say y'all are part of the tribe as well. You know this might be a little caused personal, but the tribal nature, the tribal culture is the reason why our people were

pinpointed as you know, profit as profitable. The resilience, the strength, the courage, the connection that comes from a tribe is something that the white man saw and said, Okay, boom, I'm gonna use this for my profit. That's why they brought him here. They brought us here. You know, agriculture, whether it's cotton, whether it's hemp, whether it's corn, We was the right, We was the ones growing it because they didn't know how to right. So they had us

come here, set all the infrastructure up. They sat there, you know, yes, they threw the whip and they slowly but surely learn and learn and learn and just oppressed us. And and that's the reason why they went to such tactics, you know, and the slave slave times to really emasculate the men and desensus ties of families because they realized the strength of the tribe. They realized the strength of

the family, you know. Um. And while it's sat in interesting enough, this allows me to kind of, uh put a little point of emphasis on when I first got on the call, because you know, I answered and I said, oh, living the dream. And Steve was like, man, this is a nightmare and it is. I ain't going in front it is. However, when I look at that, and yes it is. It does come from me having, you know,

or being privy to the knowledge of my identity. When I hear all the atrocities that have happened to my people, When I go to Ghana and I see the castles that they set up along the coast and move my people across the water just so they could use them, you know, I realized why. It's because of the strength and the beauty within my dna. I think it's about that time. Just take a little breather. Good do it, good do it. Let's getting down to do it. Good,

Hey Gerard, why did you get that T shirt? Oh? Yes, I got it from cut to a podcast dot com, where we have exclusive merchandise. Shout out to our guys at seven or four shot. But yeah, you can go on, buy you a T shirt, subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. When you talk about castles on the coast holding my people, dump it down and simplify it to two people who have you know, who've never been anywhere, who who don't know what you're referring to, who who

who have been living under a rock? And I have no idea what you're talking about. Hell yeah, alright, So picture this. I'm I'm a twenty one year old African Americans, fairly successful in America. He's going to his native land to to learn and you know, quite frankly, did not know what he was getting himself into. So I spent the first couple of days with the family in the city downtown, goodbyes all that. So you've right now, you've

traveled to Ghana. Traveled to Ghana. I'm in across across the capital, so you're living in the You're living the fake life of your family history right now on there on your home exactly. So not some homeland somebody told you. But you have many actual homeless and you're living in this life based on what you're about to go into. Yep, okay, didn't you. I just had to make sure you got it. You got it. So one of my cousins, um, while I had looked up the name of the cousin, Actually

his name is un What's what's his American name? Cubby? Okay, blacks always got a nickname, O North Carolinian. You got a big name then, right, So I told him, you know, I heard of a spot called Cape Coast. I saw some stuff and on a it was Wikipedia at that time. I want to check it out. He said, alright, bet, well we'll go. I think two days later. We set up because it's a trip. It's like two hours from the capital, so we set up our supplies. You know.

We started driving. Within thirty minutes, the asphalt changes to dirt, you know. You yeah, everything's getting dusty. There's certain areas of the road where you literally have you can't drive more than ten miles hour or you will get stuck, you know. Um, And I'm just on this like pilgrimage. If you will Man and uh, you know, two hours later you start to see the water, the air starts, you know, smelling nice, smelling salty. But then I also the first thing I noticed is down the Africans here

is hell of light skinned. Didn't didn't think anything, you know, I didn't think anything of it at the moment at the time, bro, Like I just remember, like, look and I said, wow, these this cast is light skin. Boy Like, all right, when would you see someone out there? You know? Not even not either? But I learned later, you know. So we get to the coast and I think we were at the Portuguese castle. Um. You get there and you're like damn, like, okay, what's going on here? Um?

You know, I had known it was European castle, European castle, and it was there for the slave trade, but I had no idea what was in there. I had no idea like the history behind it, the ship that was going on in there. And so we get out. We literally crossed the drawbridge into this ship, and I mean I got hit, bro was I I believe it's a

it's a d n A thing, right. I believe my people in my lineage because they had to experience such trauma, like in a way it has passed out to me because I walked in this spot and I feel weak in the knees, I feel anxious, you know, and and in every corner, you know, there's some bit of information, you know, letting you know. Okay, this is where, for instance, where they held the slaves, like there's a there was a dark line. Literally it was up to around my

hip and I'm six for tall. That's where the p and the secs were stacked in the same room that they held the slaves. Mind you, this is their land, right they came Europeans, came on the boats. They didn't even go inland first. They started building right away, built the castle. Said oh hey guys, we're here. We just want to learn, like you guys seem so cool, like hey, look here's this, like it's from where we're from. What

do you have? You know? And it and it talks about how slow and methodical they were in learning how to They didn't know how to make rice, you know, they didn't know how to fucking be uh uh covered from the sun, like yeah, they could, you know, be in their dwellings. But whenever they try to leave, like some burn out the ask. We're giving them different types

of herbs to help with that. While all along they're setting up this castle they got and ends on there that are facing the land or facing the water and the land just in case, you know, the convoy comes for them or some ship. Um you know, I got to read the and this is where the light skin

thing comes in. Uh. They said it was wild how the masters, the white men, which has rampidtly raped the women, and that they actually had a lot of um anecdotal evidence that showed that these white men were lusting so much over the African woman, like we're literally had an insatiable thirst for them. Where they would go there every single day. Yeah, every single day they would go into the the quarters that they were holding them and they would just pick out the litter, just pick each one

every day, multiple times a day. Hence why all the people in this region are light skinned. I was like, oh, I get it, now, I get it. How are you feeling why you're experiencing all of this at the same time with that landscape of telling you that one of your thirty three was possibly captured and raped. One of the thirty three's friends were captured and possibly raped and and and held captive against their will on the land

that's your family fought for, fought other drives for, died for. Hell, there are men and women died out in the heat on you know, serving and cultivating that land to be able to provide for their for their children for generations. Yeah. Man,

that's the hardest part. It's like I said, it was super emotional from the chock Um, But I think the biggest one that got me was um, not just the way that they treated the women um, but also learning that the tactics right, like they would put tribes against each other, you know, tribes that were in prosperity for hundreds of years, and then you know, I don't know if you understand the term false flag, but like you know, they'll get four or five of you know, some some

men from one tribe and give them women, give them alcohol, let them shoot a gun, and tell them, hey, now you're gonna go do that to that tribe that you've

been chilling with for the last hundred years. And oh yeah, if you don't, we're gonna cut your nuts off, or we're gonna go get your wife where We're gonna go get your daughter you know, and like the way they because they were scared, like the white man white man was still so scared of us that they didn't they weren't the ones, uh, you know, pulling the trigger all the time. It was literally them brainwashing and and coercing our own people to fight against each other. That that one,

for me, is the biggest one. And the anger and the the hatred and obviously the triggers from you know, the different type of racist moment I won't say racist, but like moments of systemic injustice that I had already transpired by the time I was twenty one. It's like it put me in a dark place for a while,

for real, um. And I'm fortunate that I was able to use that as an opportunity to recognize while you know, as I did the deep dive into this history and this information, it gave me the opportunity to realize, well, hey, why else would they have done this? And it was for for them. It was such a fear that god damn, we're sitting over where we're at, thinking we're running things, and then you come here and these they don't have carriages, they don't have all the cool things we have, and

yet they're prosperous. Yeah. If we don't get them right now, they're gonna get us. Talking about that dark place, how do you after experiencing everything you experienced twenty one years old? You know, we skipped a lot, we'll go back to it, but how do you not become racist based off that small information that and I say small because you just got a morsel of information, but it hits you like an earthquake because it was your it's your family, and you get to see your history. How do you not

walk around that are resentful? Yeah, resentful and kind of it's like and the reason I say that is, uh, you you know I sometimes you go to movies when they were open, You see movies about history, and you walk out of there and sometimes in all ang yes to the point cert like you go man, and they're say, what based on based on true story, based on historical facts, And if you happen to be of that culture, you can't just walk out and go that was a great movie.

You're gonna some bullcrap. So how could do How did it not sour your taste about people that were not of your descent, that were not that were a lighter color skin than you. Yeah, that's the short answer, is it. It didn't. It may be very bitter, it may be very racist for a little bit there, And I think it's a process. That's the thing that even in this time now, we got to allow ourselves to heal from

past trava. Man, we can't be sitting here like, oh, all of a sudden, we're gonna be above and beyond you know the trauma that's been that are are people have transpired for. Yeah. So what Fortunately for me, I was able to find success through the sport I played, which allowed me to recognize that even in all the you know, systemic issues that are are out here, when I ball hard, y'all respect me. Now, that's not a good,

that's not good by enemies. But through that, through that confidence, through that feeling of value, I was able to find Honestly, bro, it's swag, Like that's something that black people. We just got swag. We got energy, we got spice, we got sauce, and these are things that I think I used and I and I really engulfed myself and that energy because I saw how comfortable it made people that are not my race. And so that was my subtle f you to them, is I would walk down, you know, campus,

a college with four percent black people. I walk down, my headphones is on loud. Yes I'm wrapping little way, and yes I'm saying the curse words, and yes my head is held high. Yes I'm stopping and dancing. And they'll look like, oh is that what is he doing? And like the fact that in a place where I'm four that y'all the eight to six seventy percent are getting uncomfortable or the you know, I'm the one or two black guys in the party and y'all uncomfortable that

I'm here. Bet hell yeah, because I do have power over you. It's it's it's it's a mind thing at that point. And and obviously that was backed with the actual knowledge of my people and the identity that I had any time I went home, and understandings of self sufficiency and knowing that okay, now I can be I can't walk around my chest held high and not war so much about how I'm mused because I don't need that job that only the white man could give me, right,

I don't need that. Uh. And this goes to if I was to have, you know, my own self sufficient type of agricultural setup. I don't need UH hit Walmart every week to continue to give the white man money. You know, I know my people have this in my DNA. I know that I can learn these skills, these reeks, get these resources, this knowledge that I can then pass on to my family for generations to come. We have to stop right there. C J story only gets more interesting.

It's just so much in there. We had to break it up, trying to be respectful of your time. Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, Steve, we heard about CJ's heritage, and what do you know about yourrs? I know a lot, not just quickly. My heritage is on my dad's side Smith. Um. We were a family

born and raised in Louisiana. Uh. They were blacksmiths on a we're slaves and we're free, and UH went to Texas and UH two in Texas became was forced back into slay slavery, UM and had to fight, became a buffalo soldier, had to fight and UH in the war I believe in civil war, and in that civil war we fought became free. UM. And then my family moved to Monterey, California, where my UH great great great grandfather

moved to Monterey, California, started several churches. UH started the in double a CP of Monterey UH plan of four or five churches. My great great great grandmother UM was considered the first lady in UM. And my grandfather great great grandfather, who was a Buffalo soldiers, actually in the

uh Enshrine and the Smithsonian and UM. And so that's my history on my UH on my dad's side, my family at the time and my family some of my other family, they went actually to the to the property in Louisiana and and and tour the grounds and it was really cool UH to see and so we did a they got the experience to it. I was in trading camp, still playing at the time. But they went back and UM went and tour the grounds and and saw everything. UM. And we did it. They we did

it as a UH family reunion. It was pretty cool. UM. I got pictures and all that stuff. So it was really cool to to get to experience. And I still have the pay work in my house and I looked back and so that history was pretty awesome. UM. And what's really cool about that is UM. Also in my family history is my boys my generation, my kids are all named after so. My oldest son, Peyton, my first name Steven is his one of his middle names, um Boston.

His middle name is Gene, which is my wife's dad's middle name, which is Um, my father in law's dad's first name Um, and then obviously deuced his name after me. UM. So we have started that. UM every boy in our family with you know, my three boys will be named not after me, but named after another man in our family that holds significance. My wife's father us holding significance because he taught me how to tie a tie. He wasn't my father. UM my dad is in my life,

but my dad UM taught me some things. UM. My dad name is Stephen and my name is Steven. Um. So just my boys know when they have boys that they are to name it after someone in our family or significance. Doesn't have to be me. It doesn't have to be my dad, but somebody else. So I think that's very unique and want to keep that tradition that I've started. Dope, it's dope wrought in your DNA A little bit, a little bit. You are a unique person.

You are well worth it. You are competent and most of all your lovable I'm Steve Smith Singior, I'm Gerald Little John and this has cut to It. Cut to It with Steve Smith Senior. That Is Me is a production of Cut to It LLC, Baltol Creative Media, The Black Effect and I Heart Radio. For more podcast from I Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio, Apple Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows from Cut

to It. Executive producer Steve Smith SINGR, co host Gerard Little John, talent in booking manager Joe Fusci, Social media team Wesley Robinson and John Show from Balto Creative Media. Cut to It is produced by Brian Balta Chevitch and Meredith Carter, with production assistance by Alex Lebrek, Production manager Sarah Pollock, Theme music by Alex Johnson, lyrics and vocals by Anthony Hamiltons. You heard about it, then we're about to let you know. It's all