This week on the latest episode of The Big Show, we have one special guest this week as we launch into our light Reel film Festival coverage. Stay tuned and find out who this brother is. We'll have all that and more, plus reviews of Havoc and Charles.
What's the other one called? Fight?
Yeah? That one.
All of that coming up on the latest episode of Keeping It Real with Film Gordon. Let's go good afternoon. Welcome to the latest episode of Keeping It with Film Gordon. I am Tim Gordon, and I am joined by the one the Only.
Charles Kirkland Junior. Charles, what's going on?
Bro?
Good ee?
Teams to you all, and welcome to the new Pope from Chicago. Congratulations Neo.
First of all, if you was gonna do that, shouldn't it have been like a Chicago accident.
No, that was.
The Pope. But he's from Chicago.
He's from Chicago, but he spent a lot of time in Peru and other places.
So first of all, I was in sensed that somebody, somebody else made the moment about them.
We are so proud of you. Oh my god man.
Nobody cares about that for real, Okay, I cared about it you're focusing on anyway, man, we haven't. That's American, now, how about that.
I'm not never mind, I'm not I'm not Catholic anyway in mind, but you know, yeah, anyway, we got a big show today. Man, we got a couple of movie reviews. I can't wait to talk about having a.
Little later on.
Just so unnecessary, so unnecessary.
Man.
Look when I saw the film, said you got to see this thing.
Oh my god, it's ridiculous.
Shane, so unnecessary, didn't We'll talk about it later on.
And then it's Fight and Flight is sister film to have it.
I'll just say, okay, cool, so stick around for that because we're gonna definitely have some fun with these films
later on. But now, we got the light Reel Film Festival coming up, man on June the fourth through the seventh, right, And you know you hear about us talking about this all the time, Man, we this week because you know, by the time you guys are listening to us, tickets have been released so you can go to light Real Film Fest, I mean light Reel Film excuse me, dot com that's brutal and pick up your tickets.
But the next.
Several weeks leading to the festival, Charles and I have sat down and decided that we need to bring in some of the filmmakers whose films will be gracing the festival. And we are starting off with a brother that I literally met. We've known each other what about six months? Yeah, it was about six months mat At a party, Brother told me, hey, man, I'm finishing this movie.
I was like, I got this festival, let's make a deal.
Months later, brother said, the film and I'm not I'm telling the audience the same thing I told him. I was ten minutes in, called my significant over over to watch what I was watching over. Yeah, that what I just said, y'all know what I'm talking about. I do this And she was like, I said, yeah, we're playing this. We screened this film, and that's got us to where we are today. The brother, Now do I introduce you by your moniker or your government?
It depends on what you talking about. But I say that, I say to Monica, he is priest. No. No.
But what I've done is I used both.
Both. I do the first name and then put the Monica in the middle, you know, like that.
Priest. The nomad is.
In the building. Thank you for having me man.
Bra Brah, I was the weird though not just is select an official selection at the festival, but it's an official selection.
Charles, that's a spotlight. That's the anchor the Friday night line up.
There's a huge honor, Bro, a huge honor and and wats this and deservedly so appreciate that.
Man, I'm humbled, grateful, a lot of Workman, years in the making, years in the making, a lifetime in the making. This is your story, I mean, and it's DC and it's high lighting you as a rap artist growing up here in d C. And ho and go go man, and it's a high the focus of the film. But talk a little bit about what it was like. I mean, you said I was the weirdough but we find out that you were just a weirdo in the scheme of things.
Really.
Yeah, it's funny because to toiled with that title for like we were the widows I wasn't you know what I'm saying, because it was it was a whole community of us coming to find out later. But I didn't find that out till later, right, So for a long time you were it was like me, I was the widow right, because I was surrounded by other dudes that was into other things that you know, and we all went to Look, man, I love Go Go music. I love our culture. I love that. You know, we've created
our own genre of a subgenre of music. You know what I'm saying. We're a live band area and all that, man, but you know we're also a transient area. You know what I'm saying. There's a lot of people that come to the nation's capital and it's surround the areas.
Man.
I mean, I'm born in Northeast and and Britwood, but I grew up you know what I'm saying. I mean I moved to Rigs Park and then I grew up. A lot of my formative years was in Belsville, Maryland, right, and in Hyttesville, Maryland, and then came back to the
city and everything. But so just but when we started doing I was doing stuff in high school and you know, you find a kid or two or something, you know, you do it and everything, but you know, for real, they you know, when it came time to really do it in front of people, everybody was like, nah, nah, don't we don't do that. But we don't do that. So I was, and I was proud about it, like I was always about hip hop. I love you know what I'm saying, Uh, it spoke to me. The culture
spoke to me. You know what I'm saying. I was a dancer, B boy, and so I'm saying, M saying like that, started doing stuff and then you know, jumped on the club scene sneaking out of high school. And that's when I really got into the city and got and got into the club scene as a dancer, and then that kind of brought the rhyme thing back. So you know, even though I went you know, DC, Maryland all that, but everything that we did was in the city, right There was no scene in Maryland or I mean
everybody came to the city. So everything that we brick laid was in the city right, So between the clubs, between U Street and all that.
So so so my question is and I and I sort of kind of understand that, you know.
The art grips you the way the art grips you.
I'm trying to figure out growing up in this area where go go is so prevalent. Like I moved here in eighty five and knew nothing about the scene, and here I am now four decades later. I'm like, I'm talking about the go go scene, like you are immersed and I don't know how old you are, I assume I'm I'm I'm a proud fifty two brother about the term fifty three By the time June first is the birthday.
Man, it's fly gym and out. You know what I'm saying, young man? Know what I'm saying. So I think fifty three, young man, I wear that with pride. Man, you know what I'm saying.
Saying in this area, old priest, you know, go go It is not just the home ago you know, Chuck and he you and backyard like, so you're immersed in the go go culture. How what what spoke to you that gripped you and said, you know, go go is cool?
But man, this this hip hop, well like I loved both man, I mean we went to go gos. I mean my my, my era growing up in the eighties, man was you know, was the the you know, the course is Chuck at S S and EU and all them right and then but you know, my my one of my heroes was Heartbeat, uh and his you know, central groove back in the day that in fact they was out in Maryland, went around my way, you know
what I'm saying. So I kind of with dudes. Was the dudes that we could touch, you know what I'm saying, So shut out the heartbeat and the congo all that stuff. Man. So like him and his brother Rick God God rests did man. He they was peoples that we could touch and we would go see them and another. But but also what was happening at the same time was Frank ski Uh was here and he had a show at w d c U on ninety point one called Breaker's Delight and that was in the eighties and was in
the mid eighties. So I'm like, you know, junior high and then coming into high school eighty six eighty five, like peeping that. And that's what introduced me to really really all the hip hop culture in the groups, because that's when I learned about Cold Crushing Flash and hur Can you know Run DMC and all that. And then you know, them tape started coming down, right, you know, you recording them shows and rocks Sand and then was
dudes from here that was doing on those shows. Because my man who wound up being one of my crew members from Man sub Z he was with a group called Dynamically Fresh that they had a video at the Capitol and like eighty five, you know what I'm saying. So, and then there was stuff down you know what I'm saying. It was the bray Burn Building and all that stuff, right, all of that stuff was going on. B boys in F Street. They was breaking down F Street and you
know what I'm saying. Back in the day, you know, this is when junk Yard used to be down there. So it was like so it was like you know, and then and one of the things I talked about in the Doctor is that there was a meschine of go go and hip hop from the early days. And
this is one of the reasons why. It's because a lot of the breakbeats that the early pioneers of hip hop, Grandmaster Flash and Hurking them when they used those were DC funk bands, you know what I'm saying, Skull Snaps, Chuck Brown, Soul Searches, that's where the pay the full beat comes in, I'm from. So a lot of those they learned about DC bands, you know what I'm saying, through the breakbeats, and so they started you know, playing those breaks and everything, and then starting to collaborate.
And so you saw on the Die and then herbing U.
And even I mentioned that, but even before that, it was EU and Curtis blow party time, right, you got you got that, you got then you got dropped the bomb with Melle Mellon and did it because trumple was on sugar Hill, you know what I'm saying. Record. Yeah, So and then remember Jump was on death Cham. M junk Yard was on death Cham.
Yeah, look at the world.
Saw these a poking beans and the word on the flip side that was a death Cham recking.
I didn't know that.
Yeah, they were definitely the fact they was in a movie tougher than Lever. I remember them being in that. Yeah, that's why they was an ass because they were on Death Chair. I'm saying Rick Ruben helped produce that. He helped produce you know what I'm saying. He put the production you know, like to you know format right the go, go to make it, you know, fit the format. But yeah, he was behind the word and you know, like kind of blending with them on on that like officially. So, yeah,
the word and saw these a poking beans. I was that was on death Chat. I had heard rumors about the DC hip hop culture. But by the time I mean eighty six I graduated, I'm gone to Baltimore because that's where I could really touch my hip hop. But and like you said, I grew up loving Go Go. I heard it all the time, but I didn't get it developed my love for hip hop here in the city.
I had to go north. But there was another culture that was happening, and you touched on it a little bit, the singers in the in the jazz culture that was also growing in DC that I'd like to talk about that some I mean, somebody needs to talk about that as well. But it all started coming out of that U Street corridor that you're talking about. The jazz. The jazz is one of the foundations of the city. I mean you talk about Duke Ellington, Yeah, I mean Duke
Allingxon is here. You know what I'm saying. You know, Uh, one of the things I talk about old U Street, the the you know when after post reconstruction and out of the blacks. So DC was one of the areas man with the most freed slaves, right right, So we had empowerment of slaves, they had upper echelons of skilled laborers here. They built that that that George Washington purposely blown here literally to build the city, right, to build
the capital, to build the White House. So that a lot of them was able to obtain their freedoms and stuff like that. So what happens is you got a whole But they was cool because Maryland and Virginia were the slave states, right, so they had the district where a lot of the blacks were happened to be free and they could buy their freedom, more so because it wasn't a big agriculture area, you know what I'm saying.
So because of that, then you had but the segregation was hard, right, So a lot of all of those prominent blacks then took those skills to U Street and you have the corridor black businesses that all established, and they were doing so many business, but all of them had to speak easies, right. You know. That's where crystal caverns didn't later be through, you know what I'm saying. So it was all of these, a whole bunch of them,
you know what I'm saying. Around the corridor. You had Maryland was a Mary Cliver Thorne, I think it was on Vermont, and you know it was so many people. But you know you had the cab Callaways and Duke Ellington's and Miles and all of them. So the jazz is rich, you know what I'm saying. That that's always been and so that whole that whole thing, and it is a great history of jazz, I mean with you know the Howard Theater and the Lincoln Theater, you know, Crystal Caverns and you know all of that.
So look, it's funny we had And.
That's that's the thing about this doc for me, man, because like I went into it just trying to document our resurgence because we were the resurgence of U Street. That's why the story is very valuable because when people think about U Street, they think about the original U Street, right, think about Duke and and and you know and Billy and yeah, Billy coming Black Broadway right exactly. But they
don't understand what happened after the crack era. But happened after the riots and then the Crack era came and U Street was rough, you know what I'm saying, I was rough, right, And it was the it was the starting to revitalize that they had the plans to build the Metro U Street Cardoza. Right before they built that, it was rough, and it was the little cafe owners that were started to opening up their shops trying to get who gentrified. Who's the first to, unfortunately pave the
way for gentrification is always artists. We're always the first to be the first level of gentrification because we're the ones who are from these and we from these neighborhoods. We don't care. We just wound trying to do our art right. So we go to these places. We're just doing art. I mean, we're pulling I'm a freestyle union, were pulling dudes off the streets to rock may put the things in the car. Man come round, you know what I'm saying. We're doing that type of stuff. We're
not tripping off that. So we come and do that. And then what happens is white people come because they see the art right, and then they're like, oh my good.
You know.
And then we were doing this and because we going, we we've touched dudes in the neighborhoods or whatever. It's a safe, safe space. We build them. You know what I'm saying. My man Cocaine talks about that on The Doctor. We built that safe space and then they become comfortable. They start becoming comfortable you already know. Yeah, the next step is y'all got to go. We're like, we're gonna start buying it, and that's what happened. And then you have let's get rid of Go go music. You can't God,
So that worked out. No, what I was about to say before you know the city.
You know, what I'm saying is that it's funny as an outsider, right like Charles grew up here, You grew up here.
But I'm saying I'm an outsider who's been here long enough.
I would never claim DC like I'm a native. I'm not a native. I'm just a guy that understands the culture stories people come here thirty forty years. Yeah, man, but you But but there's a difference between being native born and being a person who's immersed in the.
City and understands it. Because when I first came here, I felt like an alien. I would look around, you know, people were talking about the love of the of the mayor then Marion Barry and all of the stuff that was going on in the music in the.
I can't even say it, like, but being in the being around this energy, all these black people. That was the first thing I noticed when I moved here, because in the middle in the eighties, this really was Chocolate City and yeah, man so but but I remember listening to Go Go early in the game, and I had
I had knowledge of Go Go from like Trouble. I remember Pumped Me Up came out of like eighty two I think it was, and I remember going, man, that's different and not you know what I'm saying, because nobody knew what Go.
Go A lot of times that break that that that break beat has been used.
In hip hop.
Oh my god, I mean, like, yeah, gracious man like and you know, and that's the Mallard did over like he did.
I still I still think to me to this day that that is one of the most amazing Go Go songs ever. Man Like, I'm like, how And then I saw him play it like I think it might have been on Soul Train.
They showed up and did a version.
I'm like, it's gotta be one of the most difficult songs to play because you think of all that percussion.
That's in that song for that amount of time.
I'm like, wow, there's no there's no stammin of like go Go drummers. I was gonna say, the reason why it's called go go is because you just keep going, you go go stamming of the stand backs by I mean they all all Man. The industry comes here and pulls musicians like crazy from here because of that. There's a story with I think Quest Love on his probably he was talking about my man was telling me that, you know the Quest Love was I was talking to somebody.
It was a big rock group and I can't remember the group, but they were like they had to have two drummers on tour with them, and they were like, why you got two drummers on tour. It was like, well, we have to show us three hours. They was like, you know, we have to do an intermission, so we have to use one drummer for the first time. The show number said maybe you need to go to d C and pull one of them go Go drummers, And it was like and then they sold question. I think
quest I started. Quest took him to a go Go I think he took him to so it was a EU. Probably might have been Juju or somebody like. It was somebody like that, and they wind up grabbing them and put them on tour. They was like, yeah, they go all night. You know what I'm saying about it to you? Going to the gotart man, they hitting all nights. Yeah, like so there's nothing like you know, hey, look they sipping, they doing whatever, They drinking whatever, drink with other one. You just keep going.
Man, we in here with Prieston, No man, man, no mask dot.
I was the weirdough is playing.
Friday, June sixth U seven point thirty over at the Angelical pop up Theater at Union Market. Man, I'm really all joking aside, and you and I have had this conversation, so I'm just repeating to you or to the audience what I repeated to you. You know, when we came up and conceived this film festival, and Charles has worked with me on it, like every year we've done it right. And when we first started, Charles I thought, you know, I just thought it was a cool idea.
Man, we'll get some films together. Man, we show some films.
But you understand as it grows the impact that it's a platform, right, So it's not about us, it's a about you, It's about young filmmakers. It's about burden and filmmakers established ones all coming together.
To create their art.
But what makes this year and my estimation is so special is we've had local films before. I don't think we've had the quality of local films that we've had this year. Right, So we're talking about film, we're talking about a film that we're gonna be talking about our opening night class reunions, which is which is another one.
We got screenplays from local artists from about the Go Go what is it called the Go.
Go, the Go Go, I can't remember, but we had a screenplay that's a go Go district, the Go Go district, Right, So that was one of the things I leaned into, and I think I shared this with you two priests, is that we show films. Like last year we had film filmmakers that came from like England, Canada and Germany and other spots, which is cool. But I want this.
Thing also balance out and be for the right.
I want it to be folks who are creators that are here to use our festival as a platform in a way, and no disrespect to any other festival in the market, man, but I'm just saying that's that's our sort of mandate for what we're trying to.
Let me tell you how important that is. Man. We're in a city, man that's unlike any other city in the work, and everybody comes here and takes from us. You know what I'm saying. You have people, and I say, it's a heavy transit area. People come here and go to school, they come here for business opportunities, They come
here because of the politics whatever. They come here. And because of the politics and because of the lack of statehood, right, you got people, you got congressional favors and things like that that they're creating businesses from people that are not from here that are creating And it's like, how does business pop up?
Hoo?
Are these people all of a sudden they in the forefront of stuff, They running stuff, they gatekeeping, they doing all of this stuff, man, And then they bring in they people and then they just you know, you this has been the story of my life, man. That's why you know a lot of my stuff is under ground.
I had to create my own movements because there's so many gatekeepers that are not from here, and then people that are from here that just getting get in the bag and getting the check, and then and capitulating to that right and not staying true to a purpose of Hey man, we have to really really shine the light on the excellence in here, because then that's why so
many people leave here. The people that are from here that are doing big do big things, they go somewhere else, right, and they're more appreciated than that, you know what I'm saying. So I you know, I'm not in a space, you know, and a lot of part of my life where I can do that, you know what I'm saying. I got a lot of responsibilities. I care giving my mother, and all that time, I was like, man, plus, somebody has to be here, somebody has to be home and hold
it down. So when people come here, they know, oh no, you got to go holler or you got to go holler at these people or these cats over here that's doing this or whatever. And you know, and I make sure that I stay tapped in, try to tap in with a number of different areas and arenas of art here. Like you know, it's jazz. I got ass casts. I'm doing stuff with University really University of Maryland Jazz Ensemble, Big band Jazz. I've been hitting with them. We just
did UDC Jazz Festival, mid Atlantic Jazz Festival. I'm I'm a feature MC with them like I'm doing, you know, going making sure. If I need to go to the go go seeing, I'll go tap my man killer Cal you know what I'm saying. The essays, I'd be like Cayle, I need to roll with you. He'll take me. You know, we go hit fast at these and we go hit somewhere you know where essence is at, and then you
know there's other things that's happening. I try to stay tapped in the you know, local cast, different artists that are not from the U street scene. PI can kill a corn and other people that are doing their thing. I try to stay tapped in because we are so much and that's my gem and I personality right, multiple sides, right, I try. I see the value in each side. So I always try to stay tapped in and so that
I know people from all different types of arenas. You see how hard it is to walk and black kids.
Studio.
You know from all walks, and it's about giving love and staying truth. One thing about this city we respect the real without regardless of what you are, you better be real about it. Because you're gonna get your card pool, you know what I'm saying. So my thing is real love and it ain't situational love. It's like, I really love humans, man, you know what I'm saying. And I think that's missing, right, that humanity. Right, So I take an l if you if you got some messed up
energy or whatever, I'm gonna let you. I'm gonna let God deal with that stuff, you know what I'm saying. But I'm gonna give you love, right, and it ain't gonna stop my movement. I'm always gonna have a movement, you know what I mean. So I can walk into any room and not look over my shoulder, and I think that's one of the fabrics of being here that you know, did things like make me walk out on
Quincy Jones? Yeah, wait wait wait, wait hey, hey, hey, you gotta tell me that we're not gonna tell that story in the film that's in it not so walk watch the film and see that.
Yes he did, because I look, but it's who it is. Man.
We ain't on no sucker time. Man. I'm like, you know, you be what you about and if you try to make things work, but I'm not going to sell out who I am for something that I don't really believe is pushing the needle. That's dope, you know what I'm saying. And I'm just like that, I'm just not that dude. And you know, it's a respect, it's a love. But like I'm staying over what I stand and I'm so glad that I did that now because that's part of my legacy.
Exactly, you know, exactly so.
And I love the fact I do a show every every month where I get to sit down with filmmakers who are doing it right here and give them the love that they need to hear for doing stuff here. I mean again, like you said, they have the opportunity, the option to go anywhere Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, wherever, but I give them props for staying here and giving
back to our community. And so it's it's so important, I think for our film festival to start highlighting those stories, highlighting your story and other stories that are happening that are hit ours, and I hope people start coming out and understanding that this is our festival that we need to support it as well. And I know you got your fans and your friends are gonna come out. But I want everyone to hear this story. This is a little I mean, just like just like a second ago
I would happened. I would I would love for you know, seventy percent of the audience for me not know them, right, that would be great, right, you know what I mean. So I definitely want to get this out.
Unfortunately that's not gonna happen. The whole audience coming.
Well, we need to get another we might have to open up another showing.
We had a conversation around that and uh yeah, so well we don't see how it plays out.
We'll see how it plays out.
Hey, look man, we you know, look, you know, you know in the promotion game, and gotta over promote because you know, some are always coming up with people. People are a thousand people, Oh.
Yeah, we come up, we coming out.
And then twenty people out of that thousand, you know what I'm saying. So that that's why you got to promote to fifty thousand so you can get like five, five hundred or three hundred.
I'm just fascinated, bruh.
And you know, because I was prepared for us to have a conversation and to be around the film. But to Charles's point, the film is your life. So you know this first film, right, first ever?
Right?
So and I heard I heard him speaking of that, and I'm talking to shout out to my cinematography, my man, Craig Kilgore and who was in a film group and all that, and supposedly the thing is to make shorts, film shorts and stuff to do that before you do a full feature film. And they were like, yeah, so we didn't really discover that, like ignorance is bliinch. So it was like, I was like, man, because I remember we didn't I didn't have any timeframe for the doc.
I was just like I got all of this stuff to talk about. I got thirty in views, and I got all of this footage. I digitized two bags of VHS tapes from shows and ciphers and things that we've been doing.
Yeah.
Yeah, and I'm just like, I don't this ain't gonna fit in uh in a thirty minute where you could have had to scale it down to eighty two minutes like it could have it could be a series literally, because I just so much stuff that I didn't use, so and I want to try to do some type of series because every interview was like an hour plus.
I mean, you're talking about DJ Cool, You're talking about Tannahose Coats, You're talking about Camilla Forbes who runs the Apollo Theater, like, you know, nonchalant, like all.
Of these people. How all these people connected?
That's d C right, that would bring chat you know, chap here to how with them and Stinky Deck all in the same you know what I'm saying, Like, how does that work? Right?
As d C?
I'm trying to figure out because I saw that I saw time heat in the in the in the in the show, Like, how did you not get involved with Black Panther?
You knew, Chad? You knew?
I mean because I don't know if you know this, but t was the one that was the one who set the blueprint for Black Panther as we know he was. He wrote the comic. The comic, he wrote the yeah, the latest edition. I mean I was created by Stanley and Jack Kirby. But Coats is the one who created the vision that we see that Coogler put on the screen. And so just to see I mean, it's amazing the connections that you have. I mean, Chad and Coats and so many other people. It's just a fantastic video.
How do you get from Chad to Bi to biz Markey, I'm confused with that the other way around.
Start the other way again and this and see the the I'm not really a self self absorbed dude, right, So I didn't. It was a big I really tried to not not make this about me, and I was trying to. But my thing is my story is the glue, right, So my my I've connected to so many things into so many arenas and generate like everybody's thinking. Everybody thinks I went to Howard University. I did not go to Oward University. Everybody like, I hear people hitting me like yo,
ain't you you know? I'm like, yeah, you know, that's fammy, that's family. But I didn't go there, Like you know what I'm saying. But Maryland, huh Maryland, No, No, I didn't go I went to I went to a year of at Hampton. I went to a year Hampton, like ninety one ninety two. But it just didn't fit for me, you know what I'm saying. It was cool, I messing real grade people down there. I danced down there and everything, but I couldn't you know, couldn't go back and all that.
So it was a blit, you know what I mean. And I didn't go straight from high school like I was on the club scene and I went down there. A lot of people knew me from the club scene in DC because everybody came to DC to party right going to the rints. They was going to the chapter three of Memory Roger and all that type of stuff. So that's the thing. It's like I haven't been, but I've been. I've been involved in generations of art at Howard.
So the early stuff in the early the mid nineties was the era of my man Young Guru and Tracy Lee and them and and and all that stuff in Power Move and doing a cultural initiative, hip hop conferences and all that type of stuff. Well, my man Tim Jones and all of that that was that arena and right, and then after that comes and that's d Dot and all of them in Puff you know like before like right after that, and then after that is the era of you know, Camella and Chad and and then Tynahsee
come comes later. So they're younger than me, right, but I'm involved in all that because I'm U Street and a lot of them casts came down U Street to do stuff. So every time we're doing something, we wind up being back out. I was dancing for somebody Howard Steph Lover you know my sis stuff love it was and I was one of her dances. You know what I'm saying. I talked about that, you know what I'm saying. So I didn't know that was in ninety two ninety three.
Men this other dude who went to Howard and we used to rehearse at Howard, right, and so everything that we did, all the clubs in Uptown, the you know the clubhouse, Bomb Shelter, all of them places, right, So it's the dancing part. And then it was rhyme. Men coming to the yard to rhyme. That was freestyle and
I'm battling, so I was always up there. And then it was hip hop theater, right, which is Chad and all of So I got pulled to do that because I was just always in the mix, you know what I'm saying, Always at Cramp and always at our Altist theater,
like always doing stuff. So everybody and people and people were just like yo grad priest grad priest grad priest and and That's why I said, man like this at some point with this dog, hope we give I hope I can get an honorary degree to be involved in the educational things re a that joint because I'm just
so involved in generations of art there. I mean, you know, Felicia Rashad was just doing Breakfast Club talking about you know, hip hop theater and Chad and how that started at Howard, you know, and so it's you know.
Does anybody did anybody have any clue about this guy man like I'm talking about?
Was it?
Did anybody else see how about Chad and go?
He could be special?
Chad was always he was well, you know, and again we weren't real tight. You know. It was a cat that I met through the theater process. But he was real tight with some of my other younger brothers in the Freestyle Union. They had a group called Human Profits and a man Jabari and them. But they they brought me like they him and Camilla came and sought me to come to the Dude the hip hop theater. Ron deferred piece with them because I was doing a lot
of stuff at that time. I think Tanna Hose had did a cover story article on us at the City Paper in the Atlantic and then too right, No, no, he worked at the Atlantic. He worked at he was at the Washington City Paper though, you know what I'm saying. When he was he was doing school right and everything, and then stuff for the Washington Post. So we were everywhere. So they came and got me, and that's how I
met chatting them, you know what I'm saying. So, but Chad was always he was always him like the same
cat that he remained. That dude. He's very spiritual, very humble, very about his craft and and just you know, real grateful and that I think that's the what I'm most proud about with him is that through his whole career, even to the last movie he was in when he was battling cancer and having to I know a number of different actors and stars that were in movies, they you know, even Violetta Davis was like, h Viola Davis
was like that. They were kind of thought that he was acting like uh, you know, big and stuff because he was getting all of the special care and he just kept rub but you know, and how bad they felt after learning that he was battling cancer and literally dying and doing his art and not mentioning to anyone like that's a pedigree, that's a cloth, that's a that's a you know what I'm saying, Like that's a thing, and that stuff like that is what motivates me and
influences me the most. It's the why you do it and how you go back. Do you do it for something bigger than you do you do it for the ancestors. Do you do it for the community and for the people. That's why I never waiver. That's why I'm never on
those sucker time because it's for the people. And I'm looking at these youngins that are eight and nine, and they looking at stuff because they can't see themselves right in greatness, So they out here robbing dudes and pulling up the yns and all that type of stuff because
they can't see you, feel me. So anything that we can do to help these young and see through this crazy system that we're all trying to navigate, it's our responsibility to shine that light and to try to be that and then give them a time when they come to a story yard, give them that time. You feel me? Wow, Now, that's why he's called priest. I'm just sitting there like this look that I'm passionate and I'm passionate. I'm just passionate, but like I really am, I'm just passionate about purpose.
So we got we got about ten minutes priests Biz Marquie.
Here's a brother.
We had a good friend of mine who's the hip hop artist Empty Chill out of Cleveland, and he and I have had long conversations with him and Biz we're kind of tight, right, So it was at dude another dude, man who was here?
I saw? I ran into Biz one time and Booie, I was like, was here the longest?
Yeah, it's funny because when it because I was saying I was telling somebody jokingly because it's me instead of saying, hey.
Man, like your music. I w was like, what you're doing here?
Right?
So talk about talk about some time with bis man.
With times that I can talk about on it. NA Man, that's big bro. Man. Look, you know I talk about this in the dock and how we met and everything. I met as a dancer, but literally me rhyming with Biz got me really taking rhyming seriously because before that I was a dancer, right and black in ninety two so, but how we got connected was I was I'm part part of this crew called house Nation that we should have.
We should be dancers. You know. That's another thing that we talked about the sub genre of a sub scene of house music. Here shout out Sam the Man Burns and rest in Peace and all that. You know what I mean, Like house music is here Baltimore and everything. Man, but it's it's you know, we we go back and forth, but we want to on a club scene. And we had a crew called house Nation and Tone was apart of that. So Tones on the dock, you know what
I'm saying. And uh so we did that and that's how his god wound up becoming his manager in Monty a la mout Wanza. It was part of the House Nation and so they wind up starting to throw parties. He was part of that era of Ronda burying them and they started do the rents and the clubs and stuff like that and throwing parties. And they started doing parties with Bis and because Biz started DJing around that time, and it just happened to coincide. And then you know,
SOI Biz loved the way Moncie was dealing. So they started started managining Monsky was managing me. He started like, Yo, I think you need to really start like rapping, because I was just I was ciphering and rapping so much. After the clubs and stuff. He was like, who's the dancing dude dancing? But every time I come out to the club, they be ciphering. I'm like, oh, snapped to jump in. I start baling, you know, stuff like that. So people just knew that. I was like, you know,
rhym and so that's how we linked up. And we didn't wind up linking up. When they did a party with him down University of Virginia. Shout out, Kenny Johnson down there, who was doing that? And that's how I got the audio of us freestyling. Kenny and Slam gave us that audio, Yeah, of us freestyling going, you know, rhyming. Batting is not battle, but just rhyming at the party. And then after that business like, yo, man, you got skills. He's like, yo, you got scales, but you need to
lessen though. I got some things to tell him that type of thing, and so yeah, we just kind of, you know, and then we separated because they started doing
their thing and I'm finding. But later on when I became an engineer, I started working with him again as an engineer and that so then that's when we reconnected, right and I started I was recording a lot of his stuff for Yo Gabba Gabba when he was doing that that that that show, and then when later stuff that he did like on Bumpy Knuckles album and stuff I recorded and Bowie actually yeah, yeah, studio a little freelance studio I was having down there.
So nice.
Yeah, so you know, so I was kind of just, you know, it was one of those things we've always connected periodically type of thing. But but yeah, but he was very influential. Increase is the glue. The one thing I want to ask you. I mean, I don't think you really covered much in the in the in the movie. You you're a hip hop guy. You you you celebrate the the the excellence of the rhyming and being great
in what you're doing. The culture kind of changed when n w A and some of these other people started coming in. Can you talk about how that affected you as a as a performer or the industry, how the change in the industry, what that did. I like to differentiate that industry versus culture, right right, So you know, and then what was the question, how did how did it.
Affected come in more prominent than the conscious music that was out.
I heard more stuff, you know what I mean, But it didn't affect me because I was pretty much locked into what I was locked into, you know what I'm saying. At that time, you're talking what mid to mid to late nineties, late too late nineties. But when when DC guys started listening to rapping, they wanted to represent the West Coast and scarface and yeah, yeah, so again this is some doc stuff, but you know, d C had a d C had a thing with New York hip hop.
They had against New York kipp and again that that goes back to some street stuff, you know, and drugs and all that. So I think that just became the lens. And even when dudes didn't realize that that was the reason they they you know, people that wasn't even in the streets. They were just like, it just became a thing. Oh, you're doing the New York Bama stuff. That's that New
York Bama stuff. And even when dudes started getting into hip hop, it was like, you know, ghetto boys with scarface, it was you know, in those casts out you know, rock and with go go bands, so it was n W A cop is most wanted, you know, and things like Devin the Dude, you know what I mean, like that that type of stuff. So yeah, so there was
just always that connection. And of course there's a big down south, you know, a connection here and in DC a lot of people you know, connection from the South, you know what I'm saying. So you know, my folks from you know, grandparents from North Carolina on my mother's side, South Carolina my father's side, So there's that thing too.
But there was a thing undercurrent about New York hip hop, you know what I'm saying, and that was that was influencing me because I love boom Back and I love because the boom Back was the soul because of the samples,
it was the breaks. It was the learning about Donald Bird and learning about you know, uh, you know, the Ron Carter and jazz Grats and stuff like that, and learning about people and even tribe called Quests dude who sampled other outside of you know, soul and then you know different crazy you know, uh folk folk music and stuff like that. That's just shows you how far hip hop can go. So it really didn't affect me. I was locked in. But what I did learned, I learned
about it. Hip hop spread out right, and you started because you saw the skill level because a lot of those cats were fans of the culture and New York hip hop. I mean, iced T is connected to you know, to that you know, like a lot of the early because a lot of a lot of that stuff. New York was the start, right, so every area had that lens and those influences. So you had people that really took the craft of rhymen seriously from every city that they was there. So that's to me, that's what it
was about. It was about the craft, even if you regardless of the subject matter, right, I could appreciate the craft. So I could be a fan of some some gangster because you know them n W Wait records and especially ice Cube's first record, America's most was a knockball outis like you know what I'm saying, And you had to
get past the subject matter. But like on some hip hop he's doing with the Bomb Squad, but you know what I'm saying, Yeah, with the productions, you know what I'm saying, So like shocking and keep shocking, like come on, So I think when you ahead, when you're a hip hop head, you you you look at the difference, right, and you're like, oh, they on this type of time. Okay, but what what what the rhymes looking like? What the beats looking like? So I think that's from us who
do it? That's kind of the less we have, you know.
So I was gonna ask you, man, like for the audience is coming out man to watch the movie. But I guess the last the last forty five minutes, you've set up the movie for people to come out of watch that.
Well, you know, it's funny because the questions come and the doctor dresses it, does you know what I mean? Like literally, That's why that's one of the reasons why I had to make it that left, because there was so much connection and it was it was a thing of discovery. Like the the more I went into just trying to document stuff, you realize what connects to what and you're like, Dad, well I can't just let that go. I need to speak on that and I need to
do it. And that's how I started like putting, really putting the piece of pieces together. And because different what I realized is that different eras different years of my story connected to different things that were going on at that time. Yeah, you know what I'm saying, because it was the early nineties, mid nineties, late nineties, early two thousands,
and then going to you know what I'm saying. So I appreciate that about the film, is that you give that background that was what's happening so sidly that that influences you that you city under sea stuff like you know what I'm saying, what I didn't know this stuff was going on because I discovered this is barbershop talk right talking about the you know, Alpo and New York hustlers coming down here when Ray Felin then was down here, like all of that stuff was like you just had
to know. I didn't. You know, I didn't know because I wasn't on the streets, like I wasn't on you know, I knew people who did it, but you know, I definitely didn't. So I discovered later. Okay, that was me understand Oh so this oh yeah, oh yes with Frey and oh okay, then you start learning stuff and then you start connecting the dots. Well, this is why I was getting this type of clock back when I was doing, Oh this is what year? Yeah? Wow, I started putting
it together. Then I'm like, okay, so it makes sense for me to tell the story and connect scenes that were happening at that timeline to give that lens.
Right. So you were talking about the New York d C piece is funny. I was watching a video the other day, a Cameron right, and he was telling the story of how when they were making Paid in Full, how Dame put a scene in there that he didn't want to do because he was like, you know, if you remember the film when he goes, you.
Know, I ain't gonna tell on.
I ain't gonna tell on, and he wound up coming down he is later and getting shot behind that for real, Like that's a movie, this real life, but there's real beef in the streets man, when you're talking about these two cities.
And you know, and it just I mean me not being in it, but discovering. I mean, our post name is is trash here man. So I mean like, I mean, you know when it comes to DC, because you know he rather you know that that that whole thing that it went down, So it's like anything that's a sensitive thing, you know what I mean, and like I said, I'm not in it. I don't know you know what I'm saying.
But when you mentioned that to d C dudes, when you you know cast that was and even today you mentioned that, I can't tell that, they go, it's right, this is that you know. I'm like, okay, yeah, but it's the same way with anyone. You know what I'm saying. But yeah, So I just I just really discovered a lot of that.
Man.
So well, bro, look.
We can have this conversation for a couple of hours.
But again the other thing, now, you will you want to announce that Doubt announced the newest development now or she should we just wait? You're talking about what we talked about, because we already gonna have the film. We're gonna be doing the Q and A with you, a post film Q and A. But I think there's another talk you're gonna be doing pre film.
Oh you're talking about the Yeah, you want.
To tell them, you know?
All right, So as I said, the film is going to premiere, you're laughing.
We talked, I know what you're talking about. Now we ain't talking about that.
But your film, of course is gonna is gonna premiere on at seven thirty on Friday, June the sixth, Right, So there's gonna be a post Q and A hosted by one of the hosts here at d C Radio, Troy Pinkney, who's one of the co hosts of the Hip Hop Morritors. So he's gonna he's gonna sit down with you after the film for the audience in the theater. But prior to the film being screened, we've set up another talk, a half hour talk that we're gonna do which hasn't been made public and this is really the
first time we're talking about it. That's gonna be over at Bertland over in Union Market prior to the film. So we still got to work out what time that's gonna be and then put that out on social media.
But we give people to come. People that's in the festival or you know, come in and come early. Man, let's let's let's talk about Look.
I want I want the people to get some I want I want them to get love to you.
And I want you, yes, sir, sir bro. So I'm looking forward to that, man, looking forward to you being in there.
Man.
Uh be read copy ready.
Bro, i'ma be hip hop.
Hang out hang out, man, we just gonna chop up two films real quick man. So Charles Kirkling man priest is in here, so you normally a little extra.
I want you to tone it down.
What so first, every time I tell you, every time we do that, people are like with something wrong with Charles?
What's wrong with you? Just kind of low na man? So I think we're gonna start with you. Look like we're gonna start with yours first. What is it called flight?
Up?
Fight on?
Fight? You got the description up?
I do not? Oh, man, come on, he let me know when these jones are showing too, because I want to make sure this weekend I'm assuming okay, fight or Flight? This is a mercenary takes on the job of tracking down a target on a plane, but must protect her when they've been surrounded by people trying to kill both of them. Directed by James Madigan and stars Josh Hartnett and Sharitha Chandran and Katie Sakoff.
So give us a breakdown, man, what's this movie about?
When I saw this movie, I said, oh, this is just bullet bullet training on a plane. That's I mean, basically, that's all it is. I mean from the beginning of the movie, Josh Hartning is this washed out ex secret service guy who gets called into service to track down this person because the CIA has crapped the bed and they originally turning to him to save this person off
of flight. Unbeknownst to him, everybody on the flight has Now I'll become aware that he's on this plane, and he's he's like persona non grata throughout the spy espionage world. So not only are they trying to capture the person that he's captured going to capture, but they're trying to kill him as well. So he's got to fight from the beginning of the plane right to the end of the plane, right just killing people and in creative ways.
I can say that there's one scene where a chainsaw and how do you get a chainsaw on the plane? I don't know, but they explained it decently, I suppose in this film. So, uh, there's there's another scene in there where this one woman is fighting him and she engages with his manhood in a way that I was like, I'm very uncomfortable here, ultra violent, over the top, but it's a lot of fun. Let Yeah, this was Ultra Vivia too. This is a thing that we're having for the show Ultra viblet.
Watch both of these.
I watched both of them.
You're sure you're gonna need some therapy?
You do?
Wow?
Pretty much? Talking about it?
So yeah, again, violent but fun and you know it's one of those just turn your brain off and then sit back and relax.
All right, cool, cool, all right? So what you're gonna grade this thing? I give it a C plus plus.
All right?
So that was that was violent? Huh, Yeah, it's not as violent.
Were about to talk about, all right.
Coming up next, After a drug deal gone wrong, a bruise detective must fight his way through the criminal underworld to rescue a politician's a strange son, unraveling a deep web of corruption and conspiracy that ensnarees his entire city in havoc. This film starts Tom Hardy, Timothy Oliphant, far As Whittaker, A gang of people, man, and I'm gonna
go first on this one. Okay, Now, Charles, if you if you listened to this podcast this fifteenth year we've been doing it, but Charles and I have been doing it about seven eight years now.
If you listen to us every week. You know, we like violent movies.
We love it.
Right.
We were in Toronto a year ago and it was a movie called Kisch and were we in there at the same time.
I believe we were. Yeah. We went the cheering like seven year old kids.
Like whoa, No he didn't.
So I'm look, look, I love violent films. And then this havoc.
I watched this movie and let me tell you, I told you the plot of what it's about. So Tom Hardy is playing like this, this detective who is ensnared, you know with this, I guess he's the mayor of the town far as his character is the mayor, and his son is caught in a very uncompromising, very compromising position. I has to say that results in the depths of some people, right, So he's gotta go major people. So he is tasked to as a final favorite to the mayor go get my son, which.
Leads to this generally save his life literally.
And but let me just say this, man, for the record, I love violent movies.
This movie is way too much. Bro. I was on the phone with Charles.
We were talking about it before we came on the show, because I had to watch it in pieces right. So I would watch maybe twenty minutes and go, this is a lot. Man would turn this off and then he was like, you know, we got to talk about it, Dan. I go, okay, let me watch some more of it. I watch some more of it.
I'm like, really, this is nothing, dude. There, okay.
There's a couple of scenes in this thing right where the police are.
Chasing some criminals in the truck.
Right now, we've seen criminals being chased in Trusty about Eddie Murphy and Beverly Hills cop wear truck tails in the city.
I don't think I've ever seen a scene where they.
Open up the back of the truck and throw washing machine full of coke into a police car, trapping police officer who was sitting there with coke fumes as he's dying.
Like I said, what is going on? They are just it is just all truck.
This is not a violent film. This is truck bruh. No, you do not. And you know what's funny. Here's and I should say this, I.
Don't know whether washing machine full of that's just that's just one.
That's just one scene and that's an opening. But no, no, but then this more but but you know it's funny, Charles.
Have you ever had to watch an action film or a violent film where there are times where you just.
Go, I just can't watch that.
Have you ever had that happen?
No?
I did. In this movie.
I was like, whoa dude. I was on the phone with Charles and I watched.
One of the killing scenes and I went, so unnecessary, there's no need.
You don't have to shoot somebody through the throat or the cord that.
Come on, man, it's just too much. Man. So for that reason, they got automatic weapons and they got to shoot somebody with the automatic weapon like eight times, right, I mean.
But you gotta go.
So directed by Gareth evans Man who did Raid. Uh, and then the second Raid, Raid Redemption. I now, what's this in Raid? We don't need all those guns?
We got one?
Man?
Have you ever seen Raid? What's this? Brook? I'm me tell you the other secret.
Look.
I watched Raid Redemption before I saw RAD. I saw Ray, and so there was like.
I went in there and went, man, that dude beat up like five hundred guys in that movie.
Am I wrong? Like with his hands?
No weapon? Five hundred dudes, easy, but no guns.
So he was like, I guess Garret Eva was like, yeah, we can do the same thing with some guns, and boy doesn't. So that's my perspective. I just thought this movie was overly violent. Yeah, I agree, And what are you thinking?
I agree?
It is very violent, up violent, but it's fun. I thought it was fun. I thought it was you still got issues? You watch both these movies this week.
I did literally almost back to back one day, and then the next day I saw this film and I called you up. I said you gotta watch this film, and.
You were like, I don't know. And then you're like, yeah, what you know?
You know, here's another thing that if you don't talk to me all the time, charl soon say, you don't if you don't talk to me a lot, and Charles, I think this might play into it.
I've been spend a.
Lot of time watching classic movies on TCM, so I'm watching, you know, movies where it's kind of nice. Yeah, I'm watching classics, right and and and then I have to switch back and forth, so I got to put back on my current hat after I'm taking off my classic hat. And I think maybe you caught me in a moment where I was watching something sweet and.
Kind and then you drop having on me and I would hey, you are doing too much.
Off top, Oh my god. But no, So what would you give a grade for having? I gave Havoc a be minus. I really liked having.
I gave Havoc an incomplete, man, because I think I watched the whole movie.
But I'm like, bruh Okay, here's a great if I don't want it, like, there might be some folks in audience.
Man, they can't do violence. Man, all right, So here's the great thing. Havoc is on Netflix. You can watch it right now. You should watch Havoc the Fight or fighters in theaters. You can watch it this weekend. It's whatever, man, all right. So as we tell you, because we gotta wrap this thing up. Man, if we tell you guys every week in closing, please watch something good of the movies. If you got a soft psyche, I wouldn't watch either of the movies.
Just talk about it.
I want to watch either one of those.
Watch having it and holler at me and let me know what you.
Psyche, non compliant?
Right right?
Right?
Oh and over half one more time? Man, giving it up? Man today for priests and no man.
Man.
Thanks for coming through, Man, Charles Kirkling. Man my ride a die Bro I'm sim Gordon. Man.
We out Man. We'll see you guys next week. Man. Peace, Peace,