NAVV GREENE - Taco 'Bout Hustle

Hey, guys, welcome to another episode of Eating While Broke. I'm your host, Colleen wat and today we have very special guest, comedian actor Nabed Green in the building.

How you doing.

Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to come hang with me.

Oh man, for sure. Yes.

So what are you gonna have us eating today?

Uh?

Chicken tacos.

Chicken tacos? Okay, pretty simple.

It sounds simple, but not the way I make it out. Is it gonna be good? Oh? Definitely that okay?

Okay, what are the ingredients for your chicken tacos?

I got a few dice onions, some Tyson grilled chicken breast, We got some grape value pepper jack cheese. Then we sprinkle on top of that, and we got.

Some kyeso okay, and then you have salt and sor.

Yeah, that's that's your discretion' I didn't have that.

But so we're gonna have kyso in the tacos.

Yeah, we just sprinkled.

You got you got my interest problem.

By the way, when you said a few onions, you was real serious. It's like a little splash.

But yeah, yeah, cause you don't want to overdo it. You don't want to overdo it. You don't want to take away that flavor of the chicken. So that's why I always do that.

And then I heard you ask earlier if the butter was salted. Is there a reason?

Yeah, so I won't put that much uh season salt on my uh chicken cause you don't want to overdo that as well. Yeah, I I know, I sound like a real chef. I could have been one problem.

You're having with this. Yeah, okay, So take me back to what was going on in the Chicken Chicken taco air of brokeness.

Mainly, I think doing that chicken was a lot cheaper, So if you want tacos, I think chicken was was cheaper, and then you felt like it was being healthier because it was going through that phase with beef and pork. How we was kind of like trying to lay off of it. And then plus I think taco Tuesday, like people now, you know, feel like you only could eat tacos on Tuesday, but tacos are good essential meal. Yeah.

So is this dish go back to being in your home with your parents or is this college? Is this before?

It's a lot, it's a little both.

Take me there.

I think at home it was either like this, I felt like this was like a gourmet meal. And plus with these kind of chicken, With this kind of chicken, you could do so much with it afreido, we can do tacos. So it was like multi purpose. So anytime I bought this chicken, I know it could last me the week.

Now, did you did you buy the pre made ones?

Oh?

Yeah, this is pre Oh you never did the raw?

Oh no, no, no, no, because that costs more.

It costs more for the raw.

Yeah, because you're getting the chicken breast. Then you gotta cut it this already, come cut. It's only so much you could do in a in a dorm room as well. And then at the house.

Okay, did you come from two parent household? Middle class?

Rich for well, two parents, but we was a little under middle class okay, yeah, but we was to two parent.

Okay, nice. And then you went to college for a year? Four years? Oh finally a college dropout. I've been, man, the last couple of interviews, everyone's so educated.

Yeah, man, and that's just a waste of time. And guess what they're doing same place as me. So that just going to show you. But nah, real, real talk. Like I went to college just because my parents were telling me, like, man, you know, go to college. We felt like that was the right thing to do. But once I got to college, I was like, man, after I started dropping them first couple classes and I was doing work study and got that first refund check, I'm like, I'm out of here.

You got to check from school.

Then you dipped. No, no, no, I ain't gonna lie. I got the sick one too. So the you know how they do it in disbursements. I think I said it right. So when they said that, I was like.

Nah, okay, so you drop out of school. What are your parents in and what were you even going to school for besides appeasing them business.

I had to think about it because I didn't man, I didn't care what I just you know, anytime somebody just go to school for business, they don't know what they're doing, It's like, why what point?

Well, we want money at the end of this, so we'll just choose the option business.

But I went there and I was taking up certain certain classes, and then after I would get out of class, I would like be joking in the be joking outside by the calf and stuff like that. And this one girl had told me. She was like, man, she was like, you really got talent. So her saying that, I was like, what you mean? She was like you could be like an entertainer or something like that. And when she said that, I was like, yeah, I ain't coming back.

So all iok.

Was one girl and I don't even know her name. She probably don't even know she she changed the trajectory of my life. Wow, well not trajectory, cause I was gonna do it anyway, but I did it faster.

Okay fast.

Yeah.

She was like, I'm not even gonna waste some man.

I didn't even waste the time because when when I go back, so you know, in the summer, they started sending you information about dorms and stuff like that. So my mom was like, uh uh you didn't give me the paper to fill out your dorm information. I was like, oh, yeah, uh I'm not going back. She's like, when you was gonna tell me? I was like, uh, I been thinking about it. So, you know, saying that to your mom and stuff like that, and she you gotta think just

You feel me and then you don't have a lot of money, right, So I didn't go back. So you but you went back to mama's house.

Yeah, I ain't had no choice. I ain't have a plan.

So what you say when you're like, hey, epiphany, change, I'm not doing this? Did she ask the good old what do you? What's your plan?

Uh? So to be transparent with you. When I was in high school, I had did this show called Your Mama. It was an MTV Your Mama Show, and I had one a couple episodes on that. So after I won, I knew then like I could do it. I wanted to be an entertainer, but it was like I'm thinking somebody was gonna call from that, but no, that didn't happen. So I like, boom. So now I'm in college. So when I come back, I'm like, I'm gonna work this job and then I'm gonna get me some money and

Like four five months, and what happened.

Ship out right back in Atlanta.

No way. Yeah, did you so you were did you at least do the shared room thing?

Yeah?

Okay, so that ran up? And what did you do while you were in LA for that short stint?

I met. I met a couple of people I had knew. Uh, this guy Brendan Lewis, I knew him from he had did to Your Mama show as well. And I met a a few comedians while I was out there. But it was like I didn't understand in LA, like you had to have credits or something to get on stage.

Well, yeah, l A is weird because they like make their comedians literally work from the door up.

Yeah, and I saw that. So sometimes when I first moved out there, if you're familiar with the area, I was staying out there in Palmdale.

Oh that's far you was on another island.

Listen shared room, No, I have my own room. Listen. So when I'm in Palmdale, I'm running the metro link to the city that I didn't.

Even know they had a metro linoponent. I've been there twice.

Whatever the big train is. Yeah, yeah, it come down to the city. So when I how long is that right?

Like two hours? No?

No, it's not even alone. Forty five minutes. Okay, yeah, well it's not that far.

So when I to the city to Hollywood to Lay okay.

So when I get down there, I could be off ten or fifteen minutes, but it's not that long ago.

Okay, our max I would say an hour.

Okay, good, I said fifteen minutes. So look, I get there me not knowing how the train works. It stopped running at nine. The comedy clubs don't start to about eight thirty nine. Yeah, so and then I would have to go to the train station and I gotta wait till it start running in the morning at five. So I was like, nah, this ain't gonna work. I have to move closer to the city. That's when I found out about the U c LA. Like, now, this was a good apartment. I'm like this when Craigs listen, just

Oh you actually went through the shared room.

Yeah, I ain't had no choice. I had like I had.

The game all right, Oh before you even.

Sawry man, you know how bad you gotta be doing again with a deposit on the shared room?

Okay, So then what happens?

So I stayed. I stayed a couple of months doing that, and then that's when did you.

Get into any of the clubs?

Yeah? I had got in a couple of clubs, and it mainly was like networking, but to a certain degree what you mean, cause it's like, hey, yeah, I'm out here to do this and do that, Like okay, they don't really care cause you gotta think it's so many people out there with the same story as you, as you rather so then I found out I had a child on the way, So that was my rules. I have to go back now, cause to be honest with you, I felt like this is what I was supposed to do.

So you went back. Now did you end up having to get a job? What was the plan after you found out?

Man, I went back to that same job. I was working at the Congress Center of Georgia Dome, and I went back there cause it was it was like a temporary job. Anyway, you work a certain amount of hours, so they they they'll always let you come back long as you left on good terms.

So you start doing the job. Are you packing up with the idea on your dreams at this point?

Nah? I never gave up on my dreams though, I never I just didn't know when or how it was gonna take shape. Or form. But I was like, it's s something gonna come from this, and like what it I didn't know what it was gonna be at the time.

Are you living at your mom's or with your girl at the.

Time or I was living with my uh my girl at the time.

Okay, cool, Yeah, so you're raising this baby and it I think it.

I would have rather been staying on my mom.

Cause, like you're hilarious.

No, I'm telling you truth. If you go home broke to your mom, like it's sympathy, you go home broke to your girl, that's a different type of you hear her complain, Like you can hear your parents complain about the beatings all days, like shit job, been doing that since I was three. O. Man, you hear your girl saying that sh making you feel bad? Like man, So it was like that was different. So we thugged it out.

Wow. So are you guys still together?

No? Okay, this every story on any way you think?

Okay, okay, So you so you staying with her, You're you're working at this this temporary job type place and you're not actively pursuing your dreams or you're like praying on a miracle.

Yeah, at the time, I'm not even actively like pursuing it because to be uh, all the way, we we had actually had to move to Savannah. My girl she was in the army.

Oh so her she was a benefits.

Yeah for them. Yeah, so she uh, she's down there at Fort Stewart in Savannah. That's like three and a half hours away from Atlanta. So like every weekend we coming back. But you know, that's gas money and stuff like that. So it was like on Sunday, Uptown would have Sunday for comedy club, but it's only so much. If you not around the scene and don't know nobody, they don't really take you serious.

Okay, So that was that Backack, how'd you end up in the yo mama situation? In high school?

So look a buddy at the school I was at, he had he was talking about it, so he was gonna do it. So he was like, just come down here with me. So all of us were joking class. We go down there to actually they had auditions at Uptown, so we get on stage, were doing it, and then after we left that was it. But I got a call back.

He didn't I know, he was probably thinking like why did I take him with me.

Yeah, but or was yeah, I don't think he really gave it, damn. Okay, yeah, it was just something to do. So then they give me a call back. So the first time that I leave to go because this when you do like the free for all for the show when they have you in the big circle. So they had already told us like, you get paid regardless, so I was like, I don't give it. Damn. Yeah. Of course I know I'm gonna get some money from this, but I didn't even know how entertainment worked. I'm thinking

You got called by your mama.

No, my friends, they putting the wrong they putting they real age down. So they were like, how's he eighteen hanging on with all these sixteen year olds?

Oh my gosh.

So they pulled me to the side of the one of the consultants that like tell the truth. They were like, how old are you? I was like seventeen and a half.

Oh my gosh.

You know how you put the a half under you make him feel better? But nah. So after that they had to get permission from my mom. So that's how she found out I was even on the show. Oh snap, I was the youngest one on the show.

But at least it led with hey, he already won, right.

Yeah, well my at first my dad was like, nah, tell him bring his ass home. It was like, well he already won up the three thousand and nine, well he better win it. Like he was part of his head then. But at first it was like cause I had been I had skipped school to do it, cause like they would shooting certain scenes during the daytime, I would leave school like or not even go.

Oh my gosh, okay, so you you got into some kind of trouble even though you walked away with a check, right.

Yeah, but then I didn't even know how it worked the check. The check didn't even come to like two months later. But I knew my money was coming, so people would I tell somebody like, you know, my money on the way. So by the time I got to check, that shit was gone anyway. Okay, but no, but after I did it, it made me see for myself after just being on TV, you gotta think this before social media, it's all. Wait, so this before social media. We had

What what platforms are you using at that time.

That's when Instagram started coming around.

Okay, so did you do the vine error?

I missed the vine era. I caught the end of the vine era and it was straight on Instagram. That's when Instagram started making the videos. I mean, you can, yeah, but.

They were longer than Yeah, that's how them.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So then once Instagram started doing the videos, it was okay, I'm just gonna do Instagram. So with that being said, at the time, I'm still with my child's mother, so you know, like of course, were starting to do more things, and so she was like, you don't think you want to get a job. So when she said that, it's like, you know how you see the pressure of that, like I do have to. I know I'm chasing my dream, but I still gotta make sure my family is straight.

And when I said it, still you're still contributing, right, Yeah.

And when I said that, I realized then I met it. I was like, I don't want to work. That's all I want to do. So like you know how some people like you. You meet people and they they have regrets, like, man, I wish I would have did this so much. I never want to do that. Like growing up, we try to tell our kids you could do this and be that, don't give up, but then you give up. Yeah, because it's like that's what I would have been. I probably would have been a I'm a great father, but I

Yeah, like you watching a lot of resentment.

Yeah, resent man, that's the better word for it.

And then you also end up resembling with your mate too.

Yeah.

So so you decide, like, in this conversation with her, that's it, I ain't never going to get a job a kid.

Right, Okay. So with that being said.

And so at this point, you're also so how are you supporting the family at that point where you're like, I'm never getting a job because at the time she you didn't have a job.

Right, Yeah, I was getting unemployment. Shout out unemployment. It help it, don'll save my life a few times. So, uh unemployment. And then I was getting the while she was in the army, when we was in Savannah, I had uh did the I end up doing it as well?

You joined the military, Get the freak out, no talking about Yeah, did you did you make it through at least a couple of years or probably right at that Oh so you tell me, tell me did you get kicked out the army or did you get what is the honorable discharge? Or whatever they call it.

Nah, it was. It was man when I first got there. So a lot of people don't know this. So like, with that being said, when you go into a recruiter's office, they gonna tell you everything you want to hear. So I was like, man, my uh, my kid and my baby mom they right here at Fort Stewart. He like, oh yeah, yeah, you'll be right here with him. So I'm like, okay, cool. He was like, are you got to do is go through your training. I went through

Shit fun, Like the military's fun.

No Koreer career. Okay. That's why I ain't think I was gonna last long.

Man.

I had I got so many if.

You know about the military, No, not really.

I hain't got so many article fifteen's.

What what's that?

That's like basically, you done got in trouble for doing what were you doing? No, I got in trouble before I even got to Korea. I swear to God to you, like, I'm in basic training. So they take away all your privileges and stuff like. So when I say privileges, like if you smoke, you can't smoke for those eight weeks, so how long you in there? You can't eat candy,

Okay, And some people are crack, so I.

Guess it was the myth of their method. Long story short, I get the basic training and like, I'm from Atlanta, so like a hustling mentality is gonna come to me. So I was like, we could start. Our family could sent us stuff. So I would tell them to take the soap out of there and put a cigarette box in the soapbox and and clew it back. I'm selling cigarettes. Ten dollars a cigarette.

Oh my god.

Ten dollars a cigarette, and you gotta think this is my first time really around white people, so I'm not knowing. I'm like these white people cool as hell until they got caught. They're like, where you get that from?

Man?

So minute they came in and start pointing me. But so I'm so good. I would buy cards from the PX. I would buy cards from there, and I would send it back to home, but I would have the money in there. So I never kept money in my locker. So when they saw that they had no evidence on me for real, I think I was the first one with a real rico charge.

What's that?

Just a bunch of crime?

So discharge?

Yeah, it sounded like a line, I swear to God, like I could show you proove.

How long did you last?

After that? I went to Korea, and when I got the career I had, got like, they give you so much freedom to wait, you either punish yourself.

So they go from all restrictions to mad freedom.

Oh yeah in career, Oh man, it was grat.

Okay, how long were you there for a year? Okay, so you made it a year and then you came home and they said get out.

They just say it like that.

Okay. Uh.

The commander, he was like Green. I'm gonna be honest with you. I'm surprised you last this long. I mean too Yeah, but he said you could pass me spool. He said, now you could get out or you could re enlist, but I don't think you a last here. So with that being said, I was like, I'm gonna get out because I'm still at this time. I feel like I got some money, so I'm like, now I could get back and chasing my dream like for that was my whole plan. But I just never thought I would go end up in Korea.

So the military was paying you weekly while you were there, or I don't you.

Paid by week? You get paid by week? Okay, but a lot of people this is what the people don't realize what the military do. It kind of sets you up for failure that you always need them because every two weeks you start depending on you live and checked the check.

But that's the thing. Don't they take ere of your like overhead and all that stuff? Well, I thought, you don't you live in the army or something. You live together?

Yeah, if you live on base and stuff like that. But you gotta think about it. You gotta have a car, you gotta get around so if you wanna you don't wanna eat the food in the cafeteria. You know what I'm saying. So what that being said is like God forbid, if you like wearing tennis shoes, you buy tennis shoes. All that stuff is started.

Just so you was a stagnan tips. She was having a good old time.

Oh yeah, I ain't stacked nothing.

Okay, so you get you get honorable discharged. You tell your girl, was that a difficult conversation? No?

I think she knew I wasn't gonna stand. She probably was surprised. I lasted that long. Like I'm telling I started off. So the other article fifteen, we had found some cards. Man, we playing cards in the dorm room where you're supposed to be like sleep. So we playing cards and I'm talking trash to the guy, and all of a sudden, I don't see him no more. All I see is the drill starry. So I'm the only one get caught with the cards. But I did not tell.

You who. And people in they how they snitch.

It, Well, that's what they were used to doing. You can't blame them for what they used to. They didn't want to get.

In trouble, so you get out of the military. Next next milestone.

That's when I started the videos.

Okay, that's when you need to start a social social media So when do you see ones starting really hit man?

When I I think it was doing the shift Leader in the in the Professor Fleet character. But when I did that shift Leader, cause I had did a few videos before then, but only my friends were like laughing and like cause they know me. But when I saw so many people that I didn't know start like laughing at the shift Leader videos, I was like, man, I got something with this. And after that it just started going and I just stop.

I was f in the takeoff then and then it went from there. So what's your first acting gig after that?

My first acting gig, it was Dirty South House Arrests or either Digital Lives Matter and that was where uh we was uh with archive, it was me, DC, Emanuel Hudson, like all of us was under the same Like who else was over there? Uh, Erica Dutchess and Mark over It was so many people, Ernestine Morrison. So while we over there like.

It, how'd you get over there to begin with?

Sh shooting the shooting the videos? When I once once I shot the uh video with the shift leet the video, they saw that and then just started shooting over there with them. So long story short, a lot of people was on DC at the time, just like now, but with them, they was like, if you want DC, found a role for them. So that's how we were getting in movies and stuff, okay, and getting like getting a little gigs and stuff like that.

What do you mean by if you if you, what do you mean by that?

Like they would want DC on fly yea yeah, but they would tell them, well, we also got these people, could you find a road for them? So that's how we would get some yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Okay, I like that you guys. To you, you guys are kind of like moving like the Kardashians, like you all brought us all on.

Yeah yeah, it was kind of like that for real.

Okay, so you get on what a success is success starting to be a little bit more real to you at this point hood success, hood success.

And when I say hood success, like people around the well, I see you that type of ship, Like.

Was the money equaling the not okay, got it?

It was it was it was something like you know, to get by with but it wasn't enough money to like just be like living. Yeah, because it's still.

You're still like living check or hustle to hustle check exactly. Okay, what are your parents saying during all of this.

Well, see my mom she was telling me at the time, she was like, you gotta have a plan. Beat. She was like, it's not guaranteed, you know, like being a real mother. But my mother had never seen me on stage, so she come we had a show at Uptown. She come to see the show live. It was we would do a Wratchet People meat show. She come see the Ratchet People Meat Show. And once she see me live, she was like, you're gonna make it.

I love that.

And when she told me that, I knew then. I was like, boy, that's what you know, Like you want your your parents to believe in you. But my mom, she had seen her your mama thing and she used to always say she was like, you like fast money, Like she was like, you don't. You don't understand you have to work for certain stuff. But at the same time she was right, yeah, like I do like fast money, but I'm still gonna have to work for what I want. Yeah, it wasn't gonna be handed.

Yeah, and it definitely wasn't gonna be fat. Man, how many years? How many years of struggle would you say you had to.

Go through shit since two years ago?

I like that. I like that. I like that. I like that, though, I like you. Yeah, so it's like over ten plus years, right, and then you say two years Agould you say it's been at least over ten years?

No, I would say probably right at seven and a half, because it's like all all between those first before two years ago, I was living, like we were saying, hustle to hustle. So it's like you kind of like willing to like work on this, work on network, but now it's like it's to your discretion.

Like, okay, So what was the pivot moment that happened two years ago where the landscape kind of changed?

Okay? In twenty nineteen, I had did come into America, and when I did come into America, that paid very well.

And at this point you you probably know how to manage money a lot better.

No, I fucked that money up so fast, cause it was, like I told you it was, it came so fast. I'm like, bro' were living. Yeah. So when it came, I was like, man, it's so dope, and I'm thinking it was gonna always be like that, which it wasn't because you gotta think after that movie said it's over with. So but you gotta get some money to realize how to maintain it and manage it.

So after that, Oh so, it's not not having it that teaches you. It's once you get it.

And you could not have it for a long time. And then when you get something, you're gonna start buying stuff that you wanted. You're gonna look out for people that you always felt like you had to look out. But I wasn't in the the space to do that. You but I ain't realize that.

Yeah, so you blew it, not all at once, but yeah, pretty fast.

And then you know what, the pandemic happened right after that, So we're not working and the money I felt like I had saved up. Oh shit, I ran through that.

Yeah yeah, so then you're going through the pandemic. What's your next playoff?

And then right after that, after I do come into America, I start touring with eighty five South.

Okay, nice, I love the I love the homie bond in the like, man.

But as soon as we started touring, that's when the pandemic happened. As soon as I started touring with.

Them, yeah, I even like, dang, God, come on work with me, man.

I counted them. They sent me the dates. I counted them dates and multiplied my money by I was like, boy, I'm rich forever. I like, I felt like I'd never be broken in the pandemic.

What's your mind state when that happens. Do you start to question your purpose or what are you thinking?

Well, no, I would question. I would question in the world. I'm like, what the going away? Wait till I started getting some money?

Yeah, exactly.

So then with that being said.

By the way, did you know because I remember when the pandemic happened. I was one of those students that didn't pay attention in school ever, and so I didn't know that like pandemics and things like that happened. So when it first happened, I was completely like what the what the f I remember specifically the NBA canceling the game, so that was like a huge like you yeah, And then at first I was like, oh, well, last three months, oh, the last six months. Then I was like, yo, are

Not even that because we hear about stuff that goes on all the time, but it's like if it don't affect us, we don't really care. No people can say they do. They don't really care because this shit happening on right now, but it don't phase us. But it's like when that happened, I was like, man, the whole world shut down, luckily for Atlanta, Atlanta and stay shut down, loon, Like the world was shut down?

What do you mean Atlanta in station down?

We were back running in three weeks?

What no way, no, no, lie.

We couldn't We couldn't do certain stuff. We still couldn't tour eighty five South couldn't tour. But we started working, like doing stuff in house, and like it was still like the who Like what's the what's the governor name? Yeah? Camp say ship life goes on?

Oh no, in La it was it was, Oh yeah it was.

I was shut down, was out there.

So I'll tell you something though I had this really bad thought during the pandemic. I really shouldn't confess this, but like when they broke out, like you could wear masks the evils. I guess side of me was like, yo, we could like really rob somebody, Like what are they gonna say that person with a mask? Like you know, it was so easy, And I was like, yo, this is a dangerous setup, like you're going into these stores

You not really being selfish because you like we really we didn't.

Know what was going on. Yeah right, damn like every time someone tried to pick me up, but like, you know, the whole world's going through this. Mine, I get that, but let's focus on But.

You know another thing though, it made you realize like we have to figure something out, yeah, because why we depending on depending on like we were. I think before that everybody was depending on this or depending on that to happen. But then it's like, I gotta I gotta put some content out. Let me do this, let me do that.

Well for you guys, yeah, for the content creators. It was good for for y'all to some degree. I think for me with the most I walked away from the pandem, especially living in La la' is one of those cities it's like, Hi, nice to meet you. What do you do? Like it's we don't even care what the last name is or nothing. What do you do?

How can we a fake place?

Yeah, it's super fake, But it was the first time where people started having conversations like how are you doing? What are you doing?

What?

You want to hang out at your house? No fancy restaurants. And I really can say that those two years to be able to get one on one with friends, even guys, because guys don't really talk. They kind of do activities with you. You know, they'll be like, let's work out together, let's go. If I hit up my homies and I'm like, yo, you want to hang out there? Like no, but I'm going to the gym. You can work out with me if I'm not working out with the name or something.

And it made you appreciate family too, because I ain't. I was. I had well, I had no choice, but I was spending so much time with my family, like we were doing stuff around the house. So it's like after that, I kept doing it, like like, let me at least do something with them right now.

And then after the pandemic.

Yeah, even after the pandemic.

Family, Okay, so you survived the pandemic.

Oh, soon as it opened. Soon as the.

Pandemic, Well for you guys, it's three weeks later. No, but I'm saying, but you could do little stuff in Atlanta.

Yeah, we could do little stuff in Atlanta. So it was certain stuff we were finding out we could do. So after the pandemic ended, I want to say tours the end of the year. The tour started back the.

End of the year. It wouldn't be two years later. The next year, I was like, god, it was two years. The money had been gone, well, they had the unemployment. Like I saw people that were like Homewoods doing backflips okay, because they were like, yo, this is the most money I haven't made in my life.

And I don't know if I can talk about that. That helped too. But moms were legal because I had just worked on that coming to America set so I was employee, okay, and it ended right then. So I was getting my unemployment from that.

I know in La it was doing. There was a lot of people doing unemployment schemes.

My cousin. My cousin was getting unemployment in LA. He ain't never been out there. Yeah no, I went.

After let me tell you something.

There was some people's mailboxes that was getting overloaded with them unemployment texts, like people was finding ways to ship them checks out went after the fact but doing yeah yeah, so.

Okay, so you you survived the pandemic gracefully. You come out, you start going on the road. Yep, the money comes back.

But then you got to think you really playing ketchup.

Even with thet the unemployment during the pandemic was like, you're hilarious.

Because I wasn't. I wasn't working for it. Ain't appreciate it.

How's your how's your feed me? I think this is the first ever episode where some fathing meal and just cooked like I'm at your house. You're like, I'm supposed to your food.

Taco.

It's got the little sauce to show you this. This looked like a definite hood taco.

Check it out. You add legos and stuff to it's pretty good?

Do you usually add this white?

You need a ca Okay, I want a little bit more cashe on it? What it's salty? Mm hmm? What it's dry? Man? You need like a lot of.

Well I didn't.

I didn't. I didn't know you was gonna eat it.

I can't.

I can't, George my good.

Oh damn, I wasn't add that much messed up.

Hold on now, bit let me see.

Let me see. Hold on, I'm gonna end up making this super saucy.

That's all you were missing.

I don't know if I like it with the for real you know what cuss on? Mm hmm.

Then sometimes you just get you a bag of chips and eat with it too. Oh man, don't crunch up them chips on there.

That would have been great if we would have put the chips on there, but we got some chips.

I didn't know how the budget was set up.

So when you're at home during these broke times, is this is what you're doing? You're like, oh man, you know what this could just use a little bit of chip ad.

Yeah, man, you know what's so good?

Are you gonna do it with chips? It's gonna be good. I think I was on this show. I forgot who They added chips to a sandwich and I said.

Oh, yeah, that's the bit, and you cut it diagonally. I don't know what about cutting that sandwich diagonally.

In Atlanta thing, because yes, I was asked to be like, how you cut it?

That's a difference straight.

I said diagonal and they were like, yes, you won, you passed.

So when we started back tour, they's good, now we're talking mm hm, and I got yeah, let me add some saucea to it too, and that pepper jack cheese I think it was. That's that's good, right. You don't want to overdo it. Check the flavor from your chicken away. So we started back tour. This time I realized like, okay, I never know what could happen. I need to start putting. I need to save better, put money up in case this happened, because you never know.

Also that the pandemic I only teach you one of the things that I definitely walked away with because I owned the business and it was like doing really well and it was my only stream of income. When the pandemic happened, I learned that you should never only have one stream of income.

Good hold on any of that crunch mhm, we don't. We don't fuck them up with that.

It reminds me of the crunchy wrap at Choco boll.

This might be a little better though, Okay, I.

Love how proud you are of your cooking.

Well, no, you're right though, because it's like you just got to have some money, man.

Yeah, but multiple streams more different. So you get this money, now you're thinking about saving and making it work.

And then more opportunities just start coming. Oh I'm tripping another thing. During the pandemic, eighty five South got to host the BT Awards. Okay, so all between this time I'm getting unemployment. I do the BT Awards with them. They stopped my unemployment because they felt like I was employed.

But I would think that that would be like an independent contractor, you wouldn't have to deal with that till the very end.

But when you put that Social Security number down on the right away. So then they sent me some stuff in the mail. They was like, are you employed them? I'm like, no, I just didn't right back cut my unemployment off. Oh shit, yep, That's what I had to think about, like what happened during that time. But after that,

What do you think that reason is?

Mm to keep you grounded, I'll say, keep you grounded, and then to understand things like it's not on your time and appreciate a lot of people. And we don't realize people like you gonna appreciate this when you get to this level or getting this place, and I ain't realize it at the time, like because some people go through way worse than I thought. I think I went through. But after the fact, man, when I started just seeing, like you see the productivity or like the progress of

Saying, Yeah, how do you stop from feeling that entitlement? Though?

Man, you got to just go around people who bitter. I don't know if I'm saying nobody.

So there's no such thing as the right thing. And that's why I love this show because they get to kind of get this perspective.

But no, like you know when you go around somebody and you hear them complaining and feel like, oh, I supposed to be doing Like nah, you gotta work for this, or like this could be me if I don't keep like grinding and keep working.

What are some key things that you learned about the industry on your road to success?

Man, be useful. And when I say be useful, a lot of people try to take away from a situation when they get around the situation. Sometimes I'm thinking what can I bring to this situation? Sometimes even if it don't benefit me at the times, Like I want to show I'm a team player. So a lot of people don't want to be a team player.

They just coming with us.

Yeah, And a lot of people and like a lot of people want to be like a lot of people want to be the ultimate star. And when I say that, like I'm thinking about on the sports side, a lot of people want to be like the main face of the franchise or something like that. Man, that don't mean nothing if you're not a good teammate or a team player.

Star, because then it's like that makes sense.

A lot of people don't realize that though you want to, because the people who make the most money, they they usually have to have the most bills, more people to take care of. Yeah, so you find the little level you want to be at and stay right there.

Yeah, I agree. I mean some people that'll be like they'll be broke or and they they don't they don't necessarily I don't say broke, but they don't really help others. And they'll be like, well, when I am rich, I'm like, oo, if you're not doing that this right, it's only gonna get worse because with the more money you make, the more bills go up.

Man.

Yeah.

No.

When I first moved to la I think my first room for rent was like four hundred and fifty dollars that'd be impossible now, you know. But sometimes I joke with my girlfriend's like, Yo, when I first moved there, i lived on like twelve hundred a month, I'm like, how did I do that? But the truth of the matter is it is like your bills are just gonna keep growing as you grow. So if you can't find it now, you you know.

You're gonna want more stuff out of life. You see more stuff you around certain people. Now your needs grow, So it's like and plus, you're not the same person.

You was at twenty four, Yeah, yeah.

Twenty seven, thirty, you know what I mean?

What advice would you give to other comics or actors?

It gonna sound crazy, but don't give up. That's why a lot of people don't make it. Don't give up. And a lot of people when you look around and you see certain people, they either gave up or they got it. They got a bad ass attitude that stopped

I agree with that.

A lot of people like you gotta be wanted people to be be likable. Yeah, people not likable and they give up. Yeah, and that's why they give up because they're not likable.

Have you ever burnt bridges in the industry, I'm just y, Yeah, can you share a story about that. We don't talk a lot about it, but I do know in the industry it's a dangerous It's a I learned a valuable lesson at a very young age on how dangerous is to burn bridges in the industry because you never know who you and it comes full circle on your life that one person it wasn't worth it.

But you know what, I do know this though, it's like I'm just not burning them just because just to burn them. After a while, I was like, man, hey, we don't reach the peak, like if we never have to work again, that's cool, and then I'm loyal. So it's like the people that I work with and stuff like that. Now, if it gets to the point where we don't work work together, anymore. They donet done. We

Yeah, Like I don't.

Want to go around nobody. I got a fake laugh with, fake kick it with. So it's like it's not so much a burning bridge. It's like if somebody were like, what happened with you? I say, i'n't fun with them, and that be it. They'm not talking bad about it.

Yeah, I mean sometimes you can burn a bridge like I, Like I said, accidentally you could burn a bridge. Yeah, but and don't have to be like I don't f with them. It just be like I accidentally burned the bridge.

And not knowingly. Yeah, you know what, a lot of people don't have relationships to know that they burned the bridge.

I was very fortunate. I remember when I did it. It was ironically it had something to do with ludicrous def jam kind of messed me up, but it was it was an accidental overstep. But I was fortunate enough to have other people on the label call me and be like, yo, you better send some flowers and start kissing ass now, because you really did some damage.

But you had a relationship with them.

Yeah, I have a relationship. Yeah, they had relationships where they were like, go take quality time and fixing. Luckily I was able to fix it. But I got someone on the inside saying you messed up. Fixed immediately, you.

Know, but them knowing you what if you was going around them always with a negative attitude in the mass spirit, they were like, oh, that's just her.

Yeah, they wouldn't have looked out for you, would have looked out for me. But but I will never forget that lesson. And I was like, never ever again, because I remember I had to work with j jay Z on a project and that's when it bit me in the ass. And I said that hurt. It hurt, it hurt more than you could ever imagine. I was damn, I don't know, I fucked up. I never forget it. I was like, never again. You'll never forget a lesson when it involves jay Z. Right, Yeah, I was like, ah, man,

What a good thing. He'll never forget you.

Oh, it wasn't with j particular, so our cross pass he definitely forgot. But but it's so funny because I still email requests the jay Z's publicist. I'll say, like once every four to six months, and I shoot my and I'll just be like, go worry. In a couple months, I'll come back to you. Yeah, And I think she thinks it's funny at this point.

You know.

Sometimes she'll respond really fast. Sometimes she'll be like, yeah, I'll see you in a couple of months. She'll be like that, Yeah, but thank you so much for your time. I really really appreciate it. Where can people keep up with everything? Nap Green on.

Social media at nav Green and avv green.

Is there any projects we could look out to in the future future?

Right now? Something coming very so Drew Ski he's doing a Could Have Been House?

And what's that about.

Well, he takes some challenge, he say, they challenge, but he takes some artists and put him in the house and they compete for fifty.

Thousand, okay, So, and it's called what Could Have been house, could have been house. Yep, that's hilarious, and.

They got broken play on the Channel eighty five app. That's my sports show touring with eighty five South. By the end of the year, we got a movie Departments out that Tip directed. Uh, Carlos Miller's in it. D c On Fly, Little du Ball, j Ski. It's so many funny comedians in it. K Dog that's out. Yeah, Ship, that's about it.

Okay, everything that green, everything that all right?

You didn't finish your food? Tell the truth? Where was it? Don't don't talk behind my back.

It's a it's a solid C plus, see a D plus. It's one of those meals that I don't go home and try to remake. Yeah it was cool. I gotta be polite. And you're a comic. You can roast me if you want to know.

So you made it. Look how much I ate you.

Was probably starving at It's a definite. I'm broke and starving to that. I need to kill my stomach.

Man.

I killed definitely look like you just twice. I tried to help it with the sauce. I tried to help it with the chips. I mean, I try to bless you with a taco bell compliment sort of. But nah, man, I've never been so bad. This was absolutely like one of the dishes that I would not highly.

Come on, No, I appreciate you, hav No.

I appreciate you taking the time out of your schedule to share your story. Thank you, thank you. Peace out y'all. For more eating while broke from iHeart Radio and The Black Effect, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.