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hot pinks and pretty blues and purples. Good stuff. Go down until freedom dot com. I have allergies and it's really really bad. It's bad. Yeah, you've been finish and at first over again yesterday we took it to taking tests every two times in the last Yes, don't have But people should get the antibody test, because I took antibody test yesterday with you chickened out and didn't take

that got a little negative. They pricking fingers, They prick your fingers and they picked hers twice, Oh my god, because she couldn't get the blood out of one thing. That should have go prick another one. And my finger is still like there's a lot of it's sensitive in that spot. This is a real prick. You know, there's pricks for some things, but then this one has like some kind of plastic and they literally pushed something down and it's a thick, little prick into your fingers. It hurts.

But what the reason why I was so adamant about getting it done. And it's funny because in New York, everyone that I know that has to hook up with COVID testing, none of them know where to get an antibody test. It's one place that I know to get an antibody test is in Kentucky and little a Book and we get at every time we go. Every time we go to Kentucky, a black woman. She tests us on our way in and on our way out, sometimes in different events we have going on. She tests us

and um from the Hope Wellness Center. The Hope Wellness Center, So if you in Louisville, Kentucky, check out the Whope Wellness Center. You have to call to schedule an appointment, and if you don't have insurance, you have to pay your thirty dollars. I think per person to get tested is very important that we support black folks and that you don't ask them to like cut you a deal, go then pay, or you can go stand online at the other places where it was wrapped around the corner

and you just wait until it's your turn. That's life. But anyway, she did the antibody test, and the last time we took it, it was like a talk of the whole office because they said my antibodies were so high that they were like, wow, this is it wasn't the mother, it was the grandmother something like. It was a real, real strong level of antibodies. And all of the medical professionals were in communication about how high the

levels were. So that was a while because the last time we just got COVID, I didn't get an antibody's test. So now we're talking about a few months. So now I'm like, dang, you know, let me get it again, because I'm sure that the antibody sort of died down. And then yesterday they were like still very strong. And I had COVID in September and still my antibody. I really must have. I told y'all I was sick. Nobody believed. I mean, some people's bodies just react different, like I don't.

I've taken the antibody test and never had it. So I never had no antibody, so maybe it didn't take it. Yea, it was several couple of months after. But anyway, you know, speaking of tests and things like that, r X, Yeah, man, you know, we lost one of the great man. It's not just for me, it's it's personal. DMX was a friend, personal friend of mine, one of the first people when I started to rapping and I was signed who like kind of took me under his wing, you know, DMX.

I was in Vegas with DMX. The only time I ever smoked weed in my life, I tell his story is with DMX and we were just in the hotel room, meet him and my manager, and we're just chilling and we're drinking Hennessey. I'm twenty one years old, and he's just telling me stories and he's telling me how to rhyme and how to have this level of my melody and how to change flows. And I'm just listening to him.

And then he's telling me about the game. How the songs he put up now he wrote ten years ago, Like all the songs that was on his album he wrote ten years ago, and he did it specifically to prove to people that he'd been though. You know, he didn't change the songs and nothing. He wrote these songs ten years ago and came to the industry and just got new beats and put out and came out with

five times platinum. So he's telling me five times platinum first album, you know, so when he's telling me this one album went five times platinum, had two albums that way, I think both of them were five or I think one of them were five and one with three. So he so like he so somewhere between eight and ten million back to back albums within six months he released them, and I think I think nobody has ever done in a history. He was a musical genius. So he taught

me a lot about music. He gave me a lot of life lessons. You know. He's somebody that I really looked up to, and he had a lot of um, a lot of respect for me as well. You know, he put he used to tell people he's the truth, you know. So he one of the first people that really motivated me in this game. So you're hearing that he passed was really difficult man. So shout out to his family, My respects to my regards to his family, sleeping peace, to the goat, the dog. The greatest entertainer

I've ever seen. D Mix was the only entertainer that I've ever seen performed for an hour with new hype man. And you know how hype his songs are. So there's nobody else on the stage with him going inside the side, it's just him and the mic jumping around getting the crowd or hype. I watched him perform to where he came off and he almost fell out and they had to wrap him in the blanket. He was completely exhausted, but he would leave every inch of itself on that stage,

you know. So you'll never get another DMX. There will never be another one like him. The authenticity that he faced. I watched that man go to projects literally reported he would say, let's go to projects. Where's the projects that and go to the projects in any hood in America, no security enough, and everybody coming outside hugging him like family. He's nervous, he and nothing. They just loved that man

because they sensed that authenticity him. So, man, it's so funny because as you know, we've been discussing, it wasn't long ago that actually saw him talking to people. People were like hugging him and they were all around him, and I was like, you know, kind of like sliding past, but as you know black, and it was all folks that were trying to talk to him. They were taking pictures, and you know when black people see each other, we'd

be like, what's up. And so he saw me over white folks like hey, and I was like, almost gonna just wave and keep moving, but something in my spirit said go back. And I told him that you and what's our Noriega was together somewhere and he said okay. He said, well tell me the address, and he just left and went there and met y'all. Was so cool. But if I had that's the last time, just a couple of months ago. But if I had just kept it moving, it would never have y'all wouldn't have connected

that day. And it was and I just something in my spirit said, don't just keep running, because we always just keep running. You see people, you're like, what's up? This love and that's it. But this day something said, no, I need to go back. And I don't think I was hit the mall, hanging out with my girlfriends, and but something in my spirit said you go back and talk to him, and I did, and I told him to go and meet y'all, and y'all were able to hang out. And that was the last time I see him.

He drove his home Lord speed Demon. I ain't never seen the white drug to the King. That's all I could say. Man, Like, you know, it's a lot when you listen to his music, you realize he was in term more and he was in pain. He was constantly fighting this good and evil fight, you know, but and he everybody fights, everybody fights, but he was so vocal about it. And that's why I think you were so able to connect because he actually spoke what we was

thinking and what we was feeling. And he wasn't afraid to admit his faults, his weaknesses, you know, the things he done wrong. He wasn't afraid to be transparent, you know. And it's that's a very rare trait, you know, when you come just people in general, but when you have musicians, you know, like that have that level of connection to their fan base is just different. Man. A lot of people love dmx SO and and you know, I have to say that to Shara, his wife. I'm not sure

if they are married or divorced. They were definitely separated, but I know her very well well. Someone said, and you told me that he was engaged, So I guess that means that they are divorced or let me be clear, because you know folks, they listen and they take everything and make it something that is not um. But anyway, to Shara is a great woman that I have come to know. She's God fearing positive. She's given me a

lot of encouragement. I watched her story and the progress of growth, you know, um, from everything that they went through together, building up from you know, wherever he started, and her being there on the journey taking care of they had children. I mean, she's just a beautiful woman. So to your point, we want to say to uh, to d m X is family that we love all

of you, sending our blessings. I have to say that my brother and sister, UM Swiss Beats and Alicia Keys, I've watched them love up on d MX in a real, solid, solid solid way. Swiss was really appreciative. You can tell to DMX for helping him along the way in his career, helping to get him started, you know, and and and and you could tell that the two of them were his real friends, you know. And and it's hard to find people that when you come to them, you could

come to them in any kind of condition. You could come as your natural self and they are they are there to pick you up. Most of the time, when we have friends, we don't show back up around until we get it a little bit together. You know. In the dusty busty time period, you kind of like stay away from everybody. You don't want people to judge, you

don't want people to see. But you know that there were moments when DMX was going through a lie, he was broken, and you would still see Swiss like right there by his side, like being with him and being like we're coming back from any situation and circumstance. And I know, you know all of rough riders and why and all of them did that. And so he has some good people that loved him definitely. Man, he was he was one of a kid. And I watched DMX go through so many different phases, but it was always

an authenticity man always. And the people around him, my brother's d and Wad, these are two of the most solid people that I've ever known. You know, and they've always been by his side and always you know, it's dead with guidance and and everything for him. So I know their feeling is lost a lot right now. So when setting out my love to them too, man, the whole Rough Writers camp, they embraced me like families since we was kids. Man. It's just it's it's a um

like a lot of people. I've been reading a lot of means that people are saying. You know that he's his soul is in peace now, soul is in rest. Man. You know, he's one of God's angels. Man, so God had to bring him back home with him, Man, to celebrate both the living and the dead, because as I saw on one of our other brother nineteen Keys page, he said that there is no life without death, and

there's no death without life. You can't understand the moment you're in without knowing what the other side looks like, you know. And so definitely that peace. Sometimes at fifty, he was fifty, and sometimes at fifty you've lived more than people that seventy eight years old. Um, And so again peace like a sleeping angel. So my thought of the day today, you know, every now and then I get in my comments and I go with my d M s and I read because you know these are

sometimes which I'm beginning to find out, my son. There are a lot of fake people online, like you know, they exist. They have three, four or five accounts. Didn't you show me something the other day? You said they got a new thing. What is it? How? How does it go? The new thing is the scammers. See now that I'm talking about you said if a person started, yeah, so what it is? Yeah, they're gonna um when you can block on Instagram now right, So when you block

somebody we love because that's my new thing. I don't even before you out of here. So now when you block somebody, you block them in any page that they may create. So when they they gotta go with a whole new everything different in order they got it ain't just in five minutes. I'm just gonna put another note. You gotta get another email, you gotta get maybe I have to get a whole another phone number because it picks up that it's a page that's from somebody that

you already blocked. So shout out to Instagram that they're making it so much easier. That's but so now, because sometimes I start going back and forth with people and then and a lot of times I do it not because I care who's on the other side. They can have two followers, no followers, be a troll or whatever. But some of the things that they say, I've heard it more than one time, and I think it's important not to leave their comments without there being a response,

because people do get educated in the comments. Like sometimes when I see something on Instagram that I don't understand, I go and start reading the comments and then I'm like, oh, that's what happened, or that's who died, or this and that in the third So sometimes the education needs to be there. But um, and so I found out it's a lot of trolls, but I do read and there are real people who have real thoughts and real feelings. And I noticed that during certain times I get attacked

by men. You know. Often often there are women who, of course come on my page and they have things to say, um and mostly you know, and sometimes they might be a little rude and disrespectful, but the men are blatantly. They call me witches, they call me bitches, they um, you know, I mean, they say just really

really bad things to me. And I noticed that I had a spike again after the Cadillac commercial came out um in men saying that I was um participating in the divide between the black man and the black woman.

And my thought of the day or the question I have for you, because you be out there like you, you be out there with the hoteps, you be out there with the street dudes, you be out there with the bourgeoise, the black bourgeoise e. So you know, and I've had people that's the other thing, from different walks of life. It's all different types. Asked me, Well, I don't understand why there had to be something where was

just you as and other women? So my question is do men not think that we should celebrate women's his three months? Like? Is that is it? Should we? Do? You do? Do men feel like get rid of women's his three months and like the celebration we shouldn't have that? Well? I think there is uh, you know, a level of fear, you know, until you start to get a level of comfort in yourself. You know, Um, black men are dealing

so much right now. We we realize that the enemy has an agenda to get rid of us, you know, And I don't and I don't agree with the fact that elevating black women is diminishing black man. I do not believe that at all. I think that narrative is false. I think it's a skewed mindsett I think Black women are the backbone of civilization, you know, who have been

taken the back seat for so long. So to have them being elevated and acknowledge them in their strength, beauty and all of those things at one time and say and call them lead, let them lead, or allow them to lead, or you know, give them the space to

lead as they do what they naturally do. I don't think it's anything wrong with that, But I think what happened, just like anything when when men have been so used to being you know, revered and talked about in the front row and in the family is based on the man and all those things. And when you start to say, well the woman, my mother was just as strong as my father was. You know, my father, my mother actually

ran the household because she did all these things. My father went to work, he paid the bills and all that, but she made sure all these things. And when you start acknowledging that, some people feel they have a fear they fear that it diminishes them. And I and I'll hear you saying that a lot of black men, but they are black women who share this same thing. I've listened to someone I'm not that is communicated to me. Yeah, And I think and I think it's out of fear.

I think it's out of fear. I think when black men, look how we've been you know, we're being assassinated, you know, how we're being incarcerated, all of those things at the highest rates of any other race is the black man. And then we see our women being elevated. You know, it's it's a fierce like damn, you know, and some people they have to get over there. You have to get over that fear. And there's a level of, you know,

just fear. Some men are just actually scared and ain't just feel they're just scared because a lot of times, unfortunately, that's the only place that black men are in control. They go to work, they're working for some people, some black men, not all that, you know, most of them are working for somebody. They're being beat down by the man, they being incarcerated, and in their household, they feel like

Daddy's the king. He runs this. So when you start seeing commercials that say women are gonna black women are gonna lead this nation there and there's there aren't no men, they just immediately equated with something that's wrong, not even they don't look at the back story and say, well, this is black, this is women's history, and Black women are beautiful women. Let's let them be elevated, let them

acknowledge their time, let them have their time. But then they say, oh, we don't got a black we don't got a man's mouth, and we don't and it's just it's a counter mentality. Men have been celebrated, men have throughout history, men have led things. So when you when you look at it from the perspective, just basic perspective, you say, it doesn't make sense. But when you look at the history of what black men have dealt with on separation of our families, UM, I understand that I do.

But I think the challenge for me is something that um Sojourny Truth said a long time ago, and I would add a little bit to it when she was standing before UM a group of white women at a conference. The biggest line that we know from sojourn the truth is ain't I woman, And the thing that I would say is, ain't I a black woman? Do I not have the right to celebrate black women because I am one? So I hear people say all this feminism thing first of all, and and lendus also explains it in the

way that it's best. My feminism is not nected to politics. My feminism is connected to my own spirituality and faith. And that means that I believe in the power of women. And I understand the abuse that has been done to us by the world, of course, and by our men at times. Right, I understand that just like we are in a position where we're breaking through the chains of racism,

we also are breaking through the chains of sexism. But even as I sat as one of the highest ranking if you will, uh people, black women within the Women's March, my role there was to always make sure that the agenda covered the entire black family. And y'all know that because not just you, but I bought several black men along with me and forced them at that table to allow black men's voices to be heard. And I said over and over again, and I said it in speeches.

I mean, if you go back and listen to some of my words, which is another thing. People talk and they don't listen. They don't do research, they just talk. If you listen to some of my speeches, I have said, my feminism also includes my black son. It includes the black man that I am. I don't have the luxury

of leaving the black man behind. But I also understand that I have an obligation to my own womanhood, not even to the greater collective, that's one thing, but my own womanhood that I recognize my greatness, the power of my grandmother and my great grandmother, and my aunties and my own mother, who are staples in society. And the problem that we have, the problem that we have, brethren who may be listening, is that women have always been leading. We are now just being pro vided with platforms to

actually talk about it. But we've always been leading. In fact, there was not. Even when you think about the speech that Dr King gave um the the I have a Dream speech, we know the story goes that at some point, as he was speaking, Mahellia Jackson calls out, tell him

about the dream. Martin tell him about the dream, and he begins to get into the I have a dream portion, which would go on to be the most renowned words that he ever stated that the world, the world's world, world world knows about that was because a black woman was there pushing them and telling them go ahead on and give them that good stuff. You know, that's what I can imagine she would have said, you know, given

that good stuff. You know, why is it that the that we discount what it looks like for Martin and Abernathy and other members of their team, and and and and Reverend Jackson and Wyatty Walker to stop by Mary Lou's house and get a fried chicken meal a telephone to use to call their families. That's a part of the revolution as well, if they didn't have the sanctity of what a black woman was doing for them to help them along the way. And so for us not to be able to have a moment during one month

to talk about that. Now is this other thing right where people will say, because you know what they do is when they realize that what you're saying over here is right, they go, oh, but you said this other thing. And you know, we we we only hold other people to every word they've ever said. We don't hold ourselves to that. You don't hear people doing YouTube videos, Twitter and all of that about their own mishaps, their failures. You don't see people running down Yeah, I messed up today.

I said this. I meant to say that. You don't see them apologizing to other people when they do and say things that are wrong. That's not what happens. But okay, that's cool. That's why God made us who we are, and they are who they are, and that's why they do YouTube and Twitter and we actually out here changing

your world, right, so you know that's why. But anyway, so the other thing they'll say is, so, no, but you said, you said that sexism, uh is worse than racism, and of course if you want to lift that, right, because I have a friend who's hope tepi ish, right, So he calls me all the time like, yo, sis, I don't know about that, you know, but he knows me well enough to know that you know who I am. So he respects me enough to come to me when he's like, yo, that feminism thing, y'all all going on,

Oh no, no, no, I'm like this, you said. So he hits me up and he's big on faceboo on Facebook too, and he hits me up and he's like, yo, you know, I'm just trying to understand. And we begin to speak about the context that I was speaking. In what I was talking, I also always called Mark Thompson. I run it by him because he you know, he's in these worlds too, and he's like to make I know exactly what you're saying. The context of the conversation

was talking about Kamala Harris becoming president. I was doing a TMZ interview in which um, they were asking me a bunch of things about the election. What do we want to see from Biden? How are we gonna you know, they're running it all down, And they got to a point where they said, well, do you believe that Kamala Harris is going to be president? So the first thing I said was she can want to be president all she wants, but unless she shows us something during her

tenure as vice president I mean vice president. And by the way, you only have about eighteen months of that, because it's getting ready to be time to run for president right now, like in a minute. They got to start picking up the steam. So I said, she has a short period to show us that she's even first of all reconciled with some of the things that people have challenged her on in her past, and that she's up into the table bowl, courageous and ready to call

out the system and do some real things. They this administration has to get something done in order for her to become president. They asked me another question. I can't remember. I haven't I've never listened to the interview again. But they said, you know, do you think whatever about her being president? And I said, but the thing is racism, I said, Sexism is even worse than racism in the context of her being able to become president as a

black woman. You understand I'm saying. So perhaps they're right, maybe because extra line. Look in context a black man, black man exactly exactly, so you know, exactly so. But maybe and which I'm you critique me, That's why you know, critique me. And that's fine. Perhaps a line could have been added to explain that I'm speaking about a black woman in this context. But you know, you I was in a car doing an interview with Team and Z, so I'm moving, you know, trying to get my points out.

So and I've never listened to it again to even know if I did say that, or if I didn't, and I'm fine with the fact that people say, well whatever, But instead what I received was you see, you see she's against the black man. She's against black How damn she? I mean, what are you talking about? How could you

say that? But if you actually are looking for the positive in people rather than the negative, then you will be able to identify that I was speaking in the context of the fact that she's a black woman, so that she might be able to get as a or a black man we saw become president, right, we know that can happen, might be hard to get it done again, but he became president. We know that. But a black woman, I don't believe we're anywhere near there because America actually

preferred a black man white woman. So my position is that I understand that there are black ceo male for the most part, then maybe like one or two, there are black men who are running major hedge funds. Right, there are black men who are regarded as some of

the highest levels of our society. Even when you look at Congress, you look at um, even city councils, and and first black mayor black woman mayor flat first woman, this first black woman that we know that black women have been a step behind in terms of accomplishing some of these things that are looked upon in high society. We know that, so we understand that there must be something else that plays into it, that adds a little

bit of ice and on the cake. So you got racism as a foundation, and then you pour on top of it sexism, and now you really have a problem. That was the context that I was speaking in. Could I have added a word or two? Sure? If that's what you know, you could tell somebody could tell me right now? Ohsis I heard, I hear what you say. Okay, I'll see what you're saying. Let me tell you how you you to said it. And the next time you hear me speaking, I will what they said down and

be saying it even better than they said it. So I get that it's not about whether or not we could do and speak better. But if you are looking for the positive in your own people, if you're looking for a way to say, I get it. And like I said, my homeboy, he's like I thought, that's what you were saying, you know, but you left out this or that in the third right. And so if you're looking for the positive in people you're not going to jump to and and and the sad part and not

say this and be done with it. The sad part is that clickbait is so real that most of our people are running to make a video so that they can and they don't realize that. They say, oh, y'all exploiting,

y'all exploit its. Well, guess what, how do you what do you think you're doing when you use your social media platform to get clickbaits for yourself and you could pay your own bills and do the things that you need to deal By tearing down other people and trying to put people who are actually really trying to do something every day in a bad life, you don't think

that that's freaking exploitation. Like we are so damn hypocritical, and it is absolutely ridiculous that we sit and we use our platforms to be the same damn co and tell pro operators that have existed since every every movement. We gotta deal with the coin tell pro operators. And I tell you all the time, people who had that point of view were never your supporters, right, People who actually supported you, have faith in you, knew who you was. They don't come to you and be like, no, I'm

gonna do all of this. The people that if they confused, like you said, your support of somebody. That's cool that you came to ask the questions, all right, I get it, because they want they know your heart. They believe in you, so when we do something that disaccording to what they believe, then they're gonna ask the question because they give you

the benefit of the doubt. The haters don't give you the if they're looking for the aha moment, right Like black people don't want to see other people with And they said, oh, you said all of us, Now we know ain't talking about all that you know, dann Well, I ain't talking about every black person in the world. I'm just it was a general statement, but it didn't. It didn't mean every person. But you know what, the people that wouldn't want to find something for you, come

to one of them. Yep. Nicole, my friend of Cole Chaplin, text me and she was and she sends me text message make sure I'm good. She's like, hey, I hope everything is good with you. You know, I love everything you do. I'm supporting you. She said, I just want to let you know one thing. Not all black people don't want to see you. And because I want to see you, then when she said that, it clicked in my head. Okay, God, I get it. Because my people want me to know that they would me and they

don't want to be put into this thing. And I respect that. I'm human. We all make mistakes. You move a little too fast, we say something a little too fast. But when you know somebody is authentic, and you know their hard and their track record has proven to be right, and you actually want to believe in them, then you will. But when you don't, your whole thing is to fund everything up. You don't say you said, you know what I'm saying. They look, he put a wire. Look, you

don't know what he's doing. So that's what we live in. And I don't have the time or even the will to try to change your mind because you're not going to mess up the people who don't. I'm gonna tell you this, this is young kings and queens. The people who don't support you, fuck them. The bottom line is you're never going to change their minds. There's never going to be a time that you change the mind of somebody who doesn't like you, and if you do, then

that's guard's work. But make sure that you continue to make the people proud who already support you. Make sure you continue to move alone the path of the people who have been loving you and supported you supports So that's how you win everybody else you gotta Sometimes you just gonna flock. M hmm, that's it, that's what you got. And I'm blocking them down. And I didn't even know. I used to not even know how to block people. But finally I asked my manager, I said, what exactly

do I do? I said, how do I? She told me there's a way you can mute people, in a way you can block them. And I just started blocking a bunch of people. I know we need to be around um winding this down, but this is so important. So why would you block this person and that person? This one is nice, and that one is they just a truth teller, and this one is this And you guys are need to be listen your approach. And maybe I need to grow up, maybe I need to know I do. I accept the fact that I have to

say to go every night. I said, Lord, work right there, like you get like when you're getting a massage and you telling mssus like right right right here, work right on that spot. That helps me to grow up At forty years old, I know I need to grow to allow people to attack me, slamming me, misrepresent me, use me, come with negative energy all the time. Every time I see something that I'm tagged in, it's about decoding with this. One said, uh, dealing with my son. Um. I can't

believe they did this this time. Oh um she said this, and oh and I'm and I I need to work on God to allow that person to think they can still talk to me. I'm not mad at what you're doing. I'm not I know how to find you. I know who you are. I know that at one point we were in communication and we no longer are. I know that I know exactly who you are. But I'm not looking for you to ask you to stop talking about me.

I'm saying talk all day and all night. I just don't have to see it, because when I wake up in the morning, it's a list of people that I know I gotta deal with all day. People need me to get things done all day, all day, all day. There's precious coming from every different direction. This happening, that happening. Gotta check on your own family. I don't need negative energy that I don't have to deal with. It's sad

enough that I gotta watch the George Floyd murder. It's sad enough that I gotta listen to Brianna tell his mother cry when she gets frustrated. It's sad enough that I gotta work with organizers where we don't always get along. It's sad enough that I have to look at my mother who was at one point dancing and moving around, and now she's crying because she's partially paralyzed, and I gotta worry about my son. Your negative energy, I don't need that right now. I just don't if I want

to look for it. If I want to look for negative energy, I will come to your page because I know what's gonna be there. Block facts. Before we go to the next segment and have our special guests joint, we're gonna take a quick break for our sponsors, and now we come to our Streets is Talking segment where we have our resident brand expert, LaToya Bond. Thank you, Tamika and Mice, and welcome to the brand market. I'm LaToya Bond your resident brand whisperer. Today we are going

to focus on a product for natural hair. So this week the product that I am highlighting is Coil. You can find them at www dot shot Coil dot com. The reason why I love this product is because it focuses on moisture and hair growth. And if you are naturally sta or just if you're a woman of color, those are two of the things that we struggle with the most. Our hair is constantly dry no matter what we do. It seems like we can never get enough moisture.

And we also struggle with hair growth. A lot of us try to grow our edges and then because we wear so many protective styles, a lot of us deal with with ball spots and alopecia in different areas. This product is perfect for it. It's super rich. Actually use this all the time, as you can see, my clothes are popping. And they also have a scout massager which is great for stimulating your scout and helping with hair growth. I want to tell you guys how to get your

products featured on the brand market. You can find me on all platforms at the BBM Agency that's the BBM Boy Boy. Mary agency. Click the link in a bio and they'll have instructors of how you can submit your products for consideration. Under a new stimulus bill signed by President Biden, millions of Americans have or or they probably have already, but they will receive a third stimulus check. The third round payments are for fourteen hundred dollars for

eligible persons. You really get I think I got a check, put it in your bank account. You should actually nobody, but you can also get fourteen hundred dollars for each eligible dependent. So today we're speaking to tax experts ship Kwana Brooks to learn more about the smartest ways to use your stimmy check and also your tax refund, because you know, the tax refund and the semi check is all sort of coming at the same time, and well, you got to flip that stimmy, flip it, but it's

got to be done legally. Legally, we got to legally flip that stimmy. And I think if there's one thing that we learned from the pandemic is that we cannot not have money have stash right because people just all of a sudden were cut off from working. They just didn't have a check. And until uh you know, at that time, it was the Trump administration got it together to say okay, we're gonna start sending out money, or

that there was going to be unemployment. You had different states with different rules, and there was so much happening. There were folks who literally went under during that time. And I think the thing we learned is that we have to make sure that we are secure enough to make it a few paychecks right before, you know, before you run out. So it's nice to have you here. You are our first, our first in studio guests. Thank you.

I'm so honored and you should be because because we don't really be liking people think I'm grateful that you guys like me have here and this business. So before we get into flipping this, then me tell people, like, what is it you do? How did you become successful? Like, give us your little background, my background, a little background. Well it's a big background. Okay, yes, it's a big background. Okay. So I started out in big four accounting firm right

after college. Before that, my dad owns restaurants um in Brooklyn and New York City. I was raised. I've literally

been working since I was six years old. So at this point I kind of feel like it's time for me to retire, but I haven't working since I was six years old, just in that entrepreneur space, went to college, studied accounting, decided that I wanted to just really understand what the cool what corporations knew that we didn't, How were they moving, what were they doing, how were they able to get for even from a stock perspective, which which is where I started my career out in mutual funds.

Then I switched over to real estate private equity, just so I just wanted to understand what they were doing and what they knew that we didn't. So I stayed there for six and a half years before starting my own tax and accounting company, Brooks Alliance. And at Brooks Alliance, I pretty much have taken the corporate structure on how they approached taxes and accounting and implemented it for small

businesses and real estate investors. It's important and no one uh when I started about three and a half years ago, no one was having the conversation about taxes, no one, And I was like, everyone's always talking about getting money, but no one's talking about how to save their money. And that's important because as I'd like to say, the I R S is like your secret. It's like your silent partner. They come in and they take a piece

of your your paycheck, but no one questions it. And it's like one of our highest senses that we're paying. And so you know, I started Brooks Alliance and it's been three years and it's been amazing. So that's pretty much you know, my journey and what I do. And I just love to have the conversation about finances because I know that every time I have a conversation with somebody, they're able to have a conversation with somebody else. And that's the way I have that what the sound like

like talk to us? So conversations. Um, So I meet clients at different stages. I meet a lot of clients when they're just starting out their business and they may say, I don't know where to start, and so you know, what does it mean for me to have a business. I didn't have this in my family, so I'm literally starting from scratch. So help me out. We're talking about structure your business? Structure? What does that mean? Right? Everyone? Do you need an LLC? Do you need a corporation?

If you're going in partnership. What does that look like, What are those terms look like? Hiring a team, like really getting into a mindset because I feel like we're so trained to just try to do everything ourselves that no one is talking. You need a team. You need to consult with people that can help you eliminate a lot of these mistakes, right, because mistakes cost money, and a lot of people, especially starting out, it's a lot of money that you have to put out and no

one is talking about. Okay, yeah, you need to hire your team. You need to consult with the right people to help you eliminate a lot of those mistakes. Then we're talking about how to effectively operate a business. You need a business bank account, which was a lot of issues that a lot of people were running into during the pandemic. When they were giving out all of these loans and grants and all of these things, people businesses

weren't structured correctly. No one had business bank accounts, no one fouled their taxes, and so now they're running into issues. Yeah, a lot of people really didn't have bank accounts. A lot of people do not have bank accounts for their business, for their business, and a lot of people are not do not have personal accounts. They had me have like you know, maybe like a cash card or something like that. And so people are really really you would be surprised.

You would be surprised how people are not operating or they don't have things in order, but they're doing business. But they're doing business. They're operating business on their cash act or you know, venmo or things like that. And so when it's time for you to qualify for things and really benefit for the things that's out here, you're not able to qualify. The same thing goes for home loans.

When it's time for people to qualify for loans, whether you have a job or whether you're self employed, you need your taxes. That's the number one thing that they ask for. And some people are not following their taxes if they are self employed. Is really struggle to get

them to file their taxes, you know. So I just try to pretty much in so compliance as well as how can we use what we have to help us get ahead, because until we get to a point where you know, our financials is going to push us through, we need those tax returns we have to the game. And to be honest, it really comes down to a lot of paperwork and just knowing what you need in order to get what you know to get where you're going. So yeah, and it's funny because I learned, you know, um,

I had to pay a tax bill that was massive. Um, And I learned bad habits just over many years. But now I'm in a different space. And the thing that I learned is the paperwork you do beginning I guess January first or whatever, the you know, beginning of your year is it's so important to maintain that, keep it up, the receipts where you're putting them, what type of fold

is you have, what notes are being written? Even if I spend X amount of dollars on like zell or even cash at Vemo, I make sure to use the note section to remind myself of what it is, because you think you're gonna remember, and you you don't remember where, who was this and what was it for? And now you've got an account and looking at you like, here's a spreadsheet. I need to know what all this is. Yes, And so that's another thing where people don't understand bookkeeping,

and I'd like to explain it to clients. Where that's like the foundation of your business. You know, like you have to know what's coming in. You need to know what's going out that's gonna one help you file your taxes at the end of the year, remain compliant, as well as help you make decisions in your business. A lot of people are operating at a loss from when they first start because they don't even understand how much

it costs them to push out a product. Maybe selling the T shirt and you think because Johnny is selling the T shirt for twenty five dollars, that that means that you can sell the T shirt for twenty five dollars too. But you're not even you know, you're not even taken into account you're shipping, You're the cost of your you know, the T shirts, the printing, all of you.

Are so many people who do business like that. Yes, there's so many people who like I have conversation with people that I'm gonna sell it this and I'm okay, So how much do you pay for it? And how much does it want you to ship it? How much are you paying when you staying able to just saying that about until free Day, I said, we have to really be attention, like we can't just put sell merchandise for two dollars more than we actually bought it. Because

that the two dollars, we ain't making no money. We're actually in the red. So a lot of people don't understand it. So we got these we get these um tax refunds, you know, we get anyse stimulus checks. We are not me everybody else because some reason I ain't never had none of it. But anyway, people are getting these things. How do we flip this, How do we make this make money? How do we create some wealth some you know, some generate some income that it could

be continual. So I think it's important to first be realistic and understand where you are and what's important. Right. So, if you are a person that wants to start a business, you should go out and start that business. You should form your LLC. You should um educate yourself because that's another thing. Educating yourself, maybe buying a course, right that will help you eliminate a lot of those mistakes, get started and put you in a position where you are

able to flip that money. Um. Something else that I think is really important is investing, and we can do that in a few different ways. Some people don't have that knowledge to actually go out and invest in the check and see what's going on with my stuff. While right now, so a lot of people, you know, they see stocks and they feel like, oh my god, I can't invest. But the reality is if you are, if you're drinking a beverage, if you have clothes, that those

clothes are on the stock market. Louis Vutan is all on the stock market. You know, it's important to invest, right, invest holding everyone's taking flights, everyone's flying out. Delta is on the stock market, every airline is on the stock market. Right,

So invest in some stocks. I think if you know, for some people that are just in a position where they're like, okay, well I don't want to individually just say okay, I'm gonna put you know, just one like I'm just gonna pick up one stock with this money. Maybe what you can do is invest inside of a roth IRA. Right. So that's a retirement account and it is when you take the money out of it, it's

non taxable. So that is extremely important because again the I R S is your silent you know, your silent partner, and can kill your wealth much faster than a lot of things. And you know, if you're paying thirty and to the I R S, then guess what that could have been that you're you know, taking somewhere else. So with the roth Ira, you get to contribute to that

roth ira. You can choose, you know, either a bucket of type of stocks or industries that you want to invest in, and then you can have that growth for you. And then when you decide to take it out, you don't have to worry about paying taxes on it. If you have debt, maybe paying that debt debt on that keeps a lot of people. Remember I had like debt from the old cable building my mother put my social Security. Most of the people in the hood and still dealing

with the old cable for real. And when I'm when I'm listening to you, right, and I'm one of these people, right, like I have an issue with structure. Like I'm one of the people that I'm very creative. I'm a very creative mind, come up with ideas and thoughts as soon as you want to sit down and structure it. It's if I have a fear of that, the polar opposites.

And so that's why I always tell people you shouldn't have to be the CEO and accountant in your business because a lot of times, if you're creative, you need space to be creative and the moment that you to lock you in. And I've been saying this for years. Everybody has a different role. I'm not the structure person. I am a creative. My mind create. So do you insert yourself? Yes, I insert myself in every process is

set for just nothing. Okay, then that I really literally I get scared of it, Like it frustrates me, Like it really frustrates me, Like every time I sit down and I have to structure this creativity, it really and there's a lot of us who feel like that. For me, you skip past it. The problem is that if you are a person, in my judgment, who just wants to be a creative, then you have to take on just

a creative role. But when you step into management and say, now you're actually running an organization, a company, a show of this and that you have to know how to wear multiple hats unfortunately, because you gotta run your business. Right, But that's not really true because everybody has a different role. I understand for me, right, I understand that somebody is better than some and than I am, and I know what I'm good at, and what i'm good at i'm great at. Like I know I'm the best that what

I do. I'm in the top tier of what I do. I can do that all the time, all the time. The things that I don't do, I don't like to venture in because there are people who are way better than me, and I don't ask people to venture into my speaking. No, but that's but unfortunately, unfortunately you can you know, of course, correct me if I'm wrong. Unfortunately, that's how most artists, entertainers, and creatives lose money because you have to know what's going on with your business.

If you don't know the ins and outs of what's happening with your business, you can't just trust even your own family members to just run things. You have to be in the details of business. I agree, you have to understand what's happening, because what you're doing is you don't understand it, so you're deviating away from it. If you understood it, then you wouldn't be You know, it's not that I don't understand, is that I don't like it. You don't like it, But like if you understood every

single part of it, every single aspect of you. I do understand. I'm very intelligent. I know how, and that's why to get the same time, what questions you want me to get? Okay, do you want a real example. You sat through all of the insurance calls, so you know about the setup of the insurance, how it works, what's going on. I forced you and your brother our other person that is a lawyer, and he's very he's brilliant.

He wants to write and think and do policy and this and that and dream about what the world for black people should be without, you know, separation, our own world that we can create. That's what he wants to do. Meanwhile, the paperwork is due tomorrow. Okay, you know I did you here right here with us getting through this process and this one over here is like I'm writing the thing, and I got to go to the studio tonight and this and that and then they check in and go, chicks,

y'all good. I got it all right, good. So he sat through all the calls about the insurance. I made them get on the phone. It was three and a half hours of the day of talking through the steps when we got off the phone, maybe two or three days later he calls me and said, so we have insurance, So what is it? What does it look like? Well? So how much I gotta spend that kind of money? We went through, we chose the plan together. You wrote it off. You just didn't want to deal with it.

But I do agree with that. So let me say, let me not even say that you don't understand. If you applied yourself and paid attention, you'll understand it. But I think that you don't like it so much that you just write it off because it's not your thing. But you have to understand it because guess what if something happens to your business, that insurance is going to

come in handy. Like a lot of people during COVID was able to pull from their insurance because they were not able to make money, right Like a lot of people are able to pay into insurance over their lifetime and then pull from it at a cash value in and invest in it or live from off of it at some point. Right, So I think that, and what about if something happens to one of us? Yes, that's important. Who's gonna know where to get the passwords? The information?

Like you don't know? Now? Thank god? Michelle Richberg, who is our finance person, has it together, okay, And she's got it together because you concluded that. Because that, He's like, well, listen, I don't need to do that because I can just go to her and I think for me, like, I understand what they said because I'm I pay attention to it. I pay attention enough to know, Okay, well, I don't intricate details and all that. I don't. I don't Michael

manage nobody on this stuff. I'm just because I believe. I come to you, I say, you know we're gonna get this done. And I come to you when you said it's gonna get done, and I said, is it done? And it's not then that we have an issue other than that, I'm not calling you a thousand times. I'm not trying to figure out when you do it. They do that, they say my song, did you do this?

I said I was gonna do. I don't need you to call me a thousand times because I get no. No, that's not Actually, whenever I take on a task, I get my task that I don't take on anything that I'm not gonna get done that you are more of the Okay, so you guys just operate different. You are more detail oriented. You want to be in the detail of it, right, You're a detail person. He is more high level. He's more like, I'm gonna hire who I need to hire and have them give me high level

what's going on. I'm both of you, right, So you have to have things. I get it, like, I'm a detailed person, but where I can things, I don't have to be in the detail about. Yeah, I totally just kind of and I and yeah, and we take on like he said, which is true, each one of us has a different role and that's what makes our team so amazing that we all have something different that we do. The one thing they want is the little text message that I send every few days. Here's what's in the bank.

They want to know that. They want to know how, and then and then and then they say and then they say, and why did we spend something? Now, that's the other thing when we hire vendors. Our security bill is outrageous, but it has to be because we live in a time and we deal with situations that are just ridiculous. They never understand why the bill is so high, but they want to. But they want all the things. Well, now he doesn't even care. He's like, I don't need security.

I'll fight for myself. We have had many fights about that several times because he says that and then and then he goes, no, he says that, and then he goes we go somewhere, he goes where a song. This is ridiculous. I mean we're walking around we oh, so you know that's what they do. They act like they don't know, and then they know. And it really just comes down to the fact that in a lot of ways,

I believe that men and women operate differently. It's just like women we run out homes into the little little you know, and we know that and we say I don't get it. And I think that was actually one of the things that I was going through, um talking about women and just from a financial perspective, I was, you know, just saying, the women face financial hardship sometimes because sometimes women don't want to have the conversation about

finances or they over extend themselves. We are over extenders. We want to please everybody, We want to know every everything. We want everyone to be able to rely on us, where men are just like, if that gives me a little bit of stress. I'm not doing it, and we're just like, we're gonna push through the stress, and we're gonna push through. We're gonna get it all together. So I definitely agree there's definitely a difference on how men

operate and women operate, even financially. So you're telling me my stimmy check that I think I got it. I'm pretty sure I got it because I saw four dollars more in my bank account than what was supposed to be there, and so I think I did get it. Um, So I can't go buy back. You tell me it's put it in. My little l has a stock by the stop by the stock So how do we? Okay? So give me, give me, like, because there are a couple of programs that you can you know, I find

out a lot of them. What like, if you just a regular dude from the hood, you got your stimmy, you've been working all year, You've got a couple of dollars. You still got a little check that you're working, but you got a little stimmy. You've got a few thousand dollars. What do I do? What program do? What app do I get into to look for these things? Like? What is the basic simple thing that Joe Joe can do Joe Joe. Okay, So first brokerage accounts, I use uh

a Merritrade. I use a Merrior trade um for my stocks. I do think that there's needs to be some education, right, So you have to learn first. So find someone that is educating, like Wall Street Trapper. That's his whole on Instagram. I'm not sure if you follow him on Instagram, but that's his whole thing where he's like, I want to show the hood that we can invest in stocks too,

and this is how you do it. Like he has a monthly membership, membership membership, right, so you can do that where it's I think it's like twenty seven dollars a month. But you're in this community of investors and so now it becomes a part of your conversation and now you're able to say, Okay, well I can do this, and okay this this person made this play or you know got this stock. I'm going to do the same.

So sometimes it's before you can actually get the results, which I know everybody wants to be living this microwave society where people like, Okay, I want to invest in stocks and I want to be rich today. But it's really about understanding like the power of stocks, because a lot of people don't even understand that. So if I was Jojo and I got fourteen hundred dollars, you know, now some people got a lot of money. They got a lot of racks for your for your from your

tax can take. So if I have ten thousand, can I slid it in half and get my bag with five or four or three or whatever and some things? And I know, you know what I'm saying, because I'm just being really being realist. I'm being realistic, and I know that if you make if you're forcing me to

take my whole ten thousand dollar check, I get it. No, But I'm saying in my situation, I have grown to a whole different place because I've been through enough to understand and I got bagged glore, so I don't need to think about that. So I am invested because I have a stash app um and when I see things

going on, I am moving my money around. And Airbnb, by the way, has actually been doing really really well for me, really well, so to be clear, But I also have I come from a time and I have friends, cousins, family, members. And I know that if I tell them to take their whole ten thousand dollar check and go invested, they're not gonna and more than likely, and more than likely because of the pressure of the whole ten thousand they start thinking it is and that and and then the

next thing you know, they did nothing. They didn't invest anything. So I want to give realistic advice. If you've got ten thousand dollars you're sitting on, if you got five thousand dollars you're sitting on, take fifteen hundred dollars and blow it doing whatever it is you want, but make up investment of thirty five hundred or five thousand or whatever and go and do something. I think people can

do that. I think what she's saying is right. I feel like when you make things and people make people feel that they can obtain things, they do it. It's kind of breaking it down in body sizes. You can't take someone that's used to getting money and blowing it to then saying, hey, take this whole ten thousand and just put it doesn't stop money, so he doesn't understand.

You don't understand that, see your mind, I think, But y'all came from the bottom, like all the way zero and I did prison time, so I know, dudes that's in jail, that's beg you for a soup. Of course ten cents. They don't have nothing. So I've seen absolutely destitution. So for me to just gonna waste money, I'm just not gonna do it. It's gonna make sense. If I buy something, I can buy three of them, like I don't. That's just most people don't think like that. And that's

what you have to understand. Most people are living paycheck to paycheck, and some of the time it is because of bills, but a lot of the time also people out here, they're eating out all the time. They're popping bottles, they are buying bags. They offensive it's expensive. I don't do that. If I go outside with with with with guys, guys like the pop bottles, I'm not doing that. Um. But yeah, you know, so a lot of the time,

you know, people are wasting a lot of money. So you do have to be realistic and you can't just say, oh, if you're gonna take your ten thousand and make it twenty, people don't see it like that. They're like, I'm gambling. I may not be able to flip this ten thousand because again you're entering an arena you know nothing about,

so you don't see the value. Let's saying stops or even if somebody may want a house if you get ten thous some dollars, if you get an FH program, sometimes that's enough for a down payment for a house, but some people aren't looking at it like that, right, So yeah, she's perfect because because I can see, I can right, it might never listening right here in my new Lubertans, right, and I'm gonna look cute and I need to yes, and I might be able to flip it because when I put my never for and my

new Lubatan shoes on, that I might meet somebody that's got the ability to get me to the ten thousand, so I could get You're welcome. Yes, So what I would say is, um, figure out. Let's say in your in your example where you're like, okay, the person got ten thousand, maybe take of it, do something that you want to do, and then take and really invested because and I think again, you have to really understand where you are, and I think being realistic with with with

yourself is very important. Are are you ready to invest. If you're not, then maybe you should just kind of put your money to the side until you fit. It only takes fifty dollars, so but listen, but this has been great, and just stay and talk because there's so many little questions and ins and outs. But how do people contact you if they want to work with you? They need some support. I think the biggest thing for

me has been, like you said, the educational piece. I shied away from it for so long one because I wanted to blow my money. I wanted to buy you know, as soon as I got came into three thousand dollars, I wanted to go buy six d worth the makeup, and you know, a new pair of shoes and this and that I need. I wanted that. That's what made

me feel validated in the moment. But as I became more educated, especially when I got my tax bill and when some other things happened to me, and also when during two thousand eighteen, two thousand and nineteen, I tell the story all the time I had to ask people for money to help bail me out of situation. But yet I was making big money and just like you said, dinner, this that just not thinking now I don't play no

games like it's a different situation. But the education that I went through with the folks who I finally allowed in, they were always around, but I didn't want them to see how bad the situation was. And I also didn't want to listen because I knew it was going to take a sacrifice and you wasn't ready again being real

with yourself and knowing where you are at that moment. Right. So, UM, in regard to reaching out to me across all platforms, is miss business one on one, Miss business on such, Miss Business, so miss business one on one across all platforms. That's also my website, Miss Business one on one. UM. If you reach out to me on any of my social media platforms, you can email me d M me. I will get back to you great. Well, we appreciate your brooks a Miss Bennett. She out here doing the thing.

We appreciate you. I'm gonna take a lot of that that. I'm going to invest my statement that att I'll be trying. I'm a part of me. Don't listen to that because I'm a part of the meeting. I just know my role. I don't have a problem playing my role. I'm good at what I do, and I'm not good at what I don't. I learned piece by piece. I come to the meeting, right, I'm at the meeting. I'm listening. I'm saying. Sometimes I check out when it ain't my part, though,

But when it's my part, I'm all in. And the thing is, they want to interfere with my part too. See that ain't gonna have to That ain't gonna work because I don't interfere with yours. No, no, no, it's very important. Well, thank you, misses. We appreciate you so much for having me than you so much to be politicians. Thanks for being our first first in studio guests. Before we go to the next segment and have our special guests joined, we're gonna take a quick break for our sponsors.

That's how we are. You're getting a little little little bit better at the stuff we were just talking to Chiqua about. Listen, I'm great what I'm saying. I know what I'm doing. You're getting a little bit better. You get a little bit of letting me do my own thing. That's true. I stay out of your people do their own thing, But you noticed that I stay out of it completely but that's only because I left Julian Hoffenberg in the middle of it, and so I know that

there's the same type of management is happening. Calls me and said, hey, I need this done. It gets done. I called her and we have a business relationship that works for us. She doesn't Michael manage me, and it works. You know what I'm saying. But shout out to Chakwana. You know, she showed us how to flip ms bennes. I mean, basically, the thing I learned from what she said, which we already know, is that this is the time of engaging in the market. Right. If you have money

in your hand, you need to be investing. You need to be getting a LLC is paying off debt, doing things that will help you to be more financially secure. I think most people will say, well, we were never taught and we don't know. But there's so much information about this now. We do know, but we're choosing to ignore the things that we should be doing because we have bad habits that so many of us have settled into. A lot of people are just scared of doing something new.

You know, when you start talking about money and you talking about big words and you say stock market. They think it's just this far off planet, yeah, you know any thing. It's like, no, I can't do that because rich people do that. I'm just a regular person. So you have to really start breaking it down from nuts to boat so they can feel comfortable in doing it. So I think we're in that error right now. We're in the stage of doing that right now in seeing

that we have another guests. Yes, really because because for our next guest, I think one of the things that will make people more comfortable is helping our child ldren, like starting with them being really really small, because even you know, when I look at my child, the one thing about him is that he at two years old, he doesn't really ask for money. He takes care of himself, he pays his bills. But he also doesn't understand the

way I feel like. He goes to the club they they you know, pop bottles, and then when it's rent time, you can tell he hustling it up, doing what he got to, trying to figure it out right. And so that's something. But these are skills that you learn as that you should learn as a kid. You put your important things away and then use whatever is left over. So today we have somebody that will talk to us about the children and what we should be teaching them.

I love this book, Yes s Larry The Lending Lion, Money and Finance Lessons for Kids by Ayisha hol who is a very good friend of mine. She is dope. She's formerly in Carsted like myself, and she came home hitting the ground running and she's done. She does so many different things, but this is one of her many feats. So we're gonna have her talk about this book and her journey and all the things that she's doing for the community. She's also activists, she's entrepreneurs. She does so

many different things. So how are you doing. We appreciate you. I have long respected and appreciated what it is that you are contributing into society. So thank you so much for being with us today. Thank y'all. Thank you for having me like. I'm honored. I love you, you know, UM, I definitely look up to you your coverage. You know, I think that it's amazing, my sign you already know, my friend, my brother. I really respect what you'll do. So this is an honor to even be here. UM,

and you are our second in studio, second ever had. Yes, So, UM, this this was a very This is probably the most important thing that I've done so far. Um, since I've been home, how long has it been. I've been home three years. I've been out of the halfway house for a little over two years. And how long were you? Give them a little give them a little background, you know, so they can see all the greatness that you do. Okay,

thank you. Well. I did ten years in in federal prison and um, the reason I went to prison is I was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and UM, I had a company. I was very young, I was twenty four, and UM, I got involved in the trade business. And what I learned was that in private placement trading that um, there's not a lot of African Americans, and the requirements to enter those trades are like unrealistic. Hundred million dollars, fifty million dollars. That's the network that you

have to have to get in. You can spend a hundred dollars if you want once you get in, but they don't let you in unless you have a certain network. So anywhere from fifty million to a hundred millions. So you know who's getting in there. You know, there's a small class of people that are getting into those trades and it's just not fair. So what I did, um, was I took clients and I linked them with hedge fund managers or people who had very high end assets, um,

and they shared the assets on paper. So now when you get to the trade door and they're like, well, I'm sorry, we don't you want to come in here and spend you know, a million dollars, but if you're not worth a hundred million, you can't get in. And now they were able to say I am worth a hundred millions because I connected them with people who are The problem in the way I got in. Trouble is that process took a while, so people who were anxious, you know, I changed the paperwork so that they could

get in faster. And that's what I messed up. Um. But you know, in the scope of things, it wasn't something that I should have gotten ten years for. I taught myself. Yeah, I taught myself UM and UM. You know I was very young, and like I said, I'm ade ten million dollars. Um. I didn't expect to. It was something that came to me like just from you know, different relationships with people and being in the mortgage business at one time. So I got lucky, I guess and

being able to learn that. But what I was taught with self taught, and I wish that I had more financial education younger. You know, they didn't teach about credit because this is a credit driven business, and they didn't teach about credit and commodities, which is the actual thing that's traded. Mostly comes from Africa. So I did a lot of business in Africa, a lot of businesses Sierra Leone and most of the business is won by run

by European companies. And you know, it's not really something that we're a part of, but we are the creators of it because it comes from our land. So it's it's a very interesting thing and I wanted to after being in prison, you know, coming home, I came into like scamming was huge, and I realized that a lot

of people aren't just criminal minded. They want things, they want tools to be able to live a better life, and they don't really know how to go about it, so they do it the wrong way or the fast way, but they're not bad people. So this book that I wrote, the Lindon Lyon is to teach children about financial response, stability, um and learning how to manage their money, what it means to have good credit, what it means to have

bad credit. And I've read this book to five and six year olds and there's a quiz in the back and they get it because it's rhyme, is very rhyme, is very simplified, and it just teaches them that if you borrow, you have to pay it back. But if you pay it back, you earn points, and those points can make will make people trust you to lend you money so you can do the things that you want to do responsibly. But it sounds like I can send this to It's true? Is it like money for dummies?

Like type of not? Kind of like you know, I can, I can give you a little piece of it. It's really a quick read, but it rhymes, so it starts off, you know, in the town and it helps with retention the rhyming. So in the town of Money Deal right next to a lake, Larry, the London Lion owns a penny bank. Early every morning, Larry proudly wakes up, He brushes his man, puts on his chain and it's inside his truck. When an animal borrows one penny, they have

to pay back ten. Trusting that someone will pay you back is what it means to lend two pennies, course twenty cents, four pennies, course forty. But not every animal pays back what they borrow. Some of them are naughty. So it teaches them about interest, um, and then it goes into the definition of interest. It goes into the definition of what it means to lend. And Larry is going on this journey to try to collect the money that he gave to the animals in the community that

weren't paying back. And they all have these excuses, and the one in here is um. Greeted the frog greeted. The frog borrowed tenpennies, and that was a big amount. He owed the lions so much money, Larry, the lion laws count. Don't worry, said Mr Greedy. The frog. Take my wallet. It's ten pennies. I checked, Well, ten pennies are not enough. Remember you owe me interest. Interest, he asked, I don't understand. Why don't you come back tomorrow. Interest is when you pay me back more than what I

let you borrow. So at the end of the book, when I asked chosen to questions what is interest when you borrow more than they originally gave you, like, they really get the concept. And when you pay I'm sorry, when you pay back more than what you originally borrowed,

and they really get the concept. And then there's a game that I created in the back that parents can play with their children and they use pennies and they have to do different things in the house or wherever they have to, like, you know, they can take they borrowed tenpennies and then they can buy, you know, a lemon, they can buy a cup, they can buy sugar, and then they have to go sell it and pay the

bank back. And it teaches them, you know, um, some entrepreneural skills from five being an author myself, you know, and having having the same similar outlook, you know, the fact that it rhymes definitely is something that helps your retention. And this is definitely a skill that people need to understand about borrowing and about the value of money. You know, yeah, definitely, And I think it will help, um a little bit if I can help one kid, you know, not go

to prison like I did. You know, I had the right intention, um, but I did it the wrong way, And I think that if I have more knowledge, this is a little bit of financial morals also, you know, you can't just take money and and think that if it's not yours that you just get to keep it and not pay it back. And they need to understand that because right now, you know, it's a music, you know, scamming this and people think that's okay, and it's really

not because it affects the community, especially our community. So I think that it's a very important book. And do you suggest that parents read the book with their children. Absolutely absolutely, it's definitely because the game is interactive and parents have to also understand that there's an emotion attached to money that we teach. So when we're like, oh, these bills, you know, you're teaching kids a negative way to look at money when you always complain about it.

So we have to have positive talks about money and make money be a part of, you know, our our lifestyle like other communities do. Like there's certain vocabulary that we don't even use that gets used in other homes, you know, and then they expect us to understand we don't because money is cultural, you know, So it's important

that a book like this, and there wasn't one. Because I looked to see if there were any other similar books, you know, because I wanted to mind to stand out, and I couldn't find any that were like this and geared towards us. So you you also focus on credit repair, Yes, yes I do, and I actually have a credit repair company,

the Real Credit Pro. And the way I started it was when I came home, Um, I was so broke, I lost everything, and a lot of the girls that I was locked up with I made a promise to help them, so I would be sending money orders ten dollars. It was like not really much, and my friend was like, girl, you need to get yourself together first, and I'm like, you know what, You're right, But what helped me was

getting my credit together. So I'm like, you know what, rather than be giving them money when they come home and stuff like that, I can help them get their credit rights so they can get their own money. And that's where we started doing it, and then it just grew from there. Can be within a circumstance and then use that dark cloud to make sunlight for and it's just so comportant for people to constantly see their lives in that way that your dark moments are actually a

blessing to other people if used properly. Because you know, we know people they come home from prison, they come home from different situations out the hospital with the surgery, and they're angry, they're evil, they don't they are unapproachable, But you're doing things. That's why I said, I really have, you know, respected the journey and what it is that

you're doing, because I have. After meeting my son and Jamility Davis and a few of the other people that I work with, I started to uh to see a different side of people coming home that I didn't see before. I mean, my my brother, he's definitely a very positive person who's you know, thank God for that. But most of the people that I meet that come home there it's like they're really in a dark funk. They're really struggling.

They have not figured out while being inside what it looks like to sort of flip their live like, they haven't figured that out, and it's like they're coming out. What I think I have learned from you, my son, and from Jamil and others is that the time when you're inside, you're supposed to be trying to figure out, like what does life look like on the other side

of those del fences, gates or what have you. But a lot of people don't do this hard, yeah, because a lot of people get so caught up in you know, a false reality. Right, Because when you're sitting and sell you can make, you can write the biggest things down on the paper. I'm gonna come home, I'm gonna get this job, and I'm gonna make ten thousand a week, and I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna give me my house, and I'm gonna have a wife and and all of

those things. They write this on the paper, right, they don't, but they don't plan for that not to happen. So what happens is when you come home and you don't get the job, immediately, people go right back to what they normally did, and they have expectations, especially when you leave the streets with ten million dollars in online you come home and you don't have nothing. Hard. It's hard.

You're surrounded by people that expect you to have this, and they know that you used to do things illegal, so they come back to you with the same mind state, and it's easy to fall into that. If you haven't, if you haven't prepared your mind that, look, there's nowhere I'm going back to prison and there's no way that I'm giving up. So those have to be two things that you prepare me so and when you come home

with that mind state. And I told people because I used to teach re entry programs, and I said, you have to be prepared to fail in order to be successful. You gotta come home and say, Yo, this might not work. You know, I was a rapper. I can't I left with a million other record there. Everybody, Oh, you're gonna go home and be fair. I said, that might not happen.

And if it don't, I'm okay with that. Whatever the steps is gonna take for me to make sure that I again keep my freedom, and then if I have to gradually grow to do that, I'm okay with that. And it was hard because a lot of people say, when you watched up, you ain't got this, you ain't this person and such and such, God this why you ain't got that? And then you have to hear that.

I mean, it's definitely not easy. I mean, even right now, I'm dealing with a situation where I was almost finished reprobation. I had UM just until June. And UM, the my boyfriend who is also UM, an ex offender, a felon. Um, we're not supposed to be together because we're both felons. That's like against the rules. And I didn't tell them, which you can't help who you love, you know, And UM, he got violated as well. They came into the home and I was there and they called my p O

and UM, I got violated. So probation was supposed to end for me. Not only did it not end, it was extended for two additional years. And I have a bracelet on a bracelet, wow, And that's for being with a felon. And you know, I don't think that's fair because the number of men are men that are felons is so outrageous, you know. And my father was a felon, My brother was a felon. And just in case, you know, we want to catch you up, well boom, that's something

so easy to almost violate anybody with. So dang, that just happened. That just happened, just happened so close. And I mean in our communities, like I'm trying to think outside of one man maybe too that I've been with him out entire you know life. All of the men that I have dated or been with, they all have a record. They all are either convicted felon or you know, they at least have done state time. Yeah, and I mean these are some of them. It's for different reasons.

Some of them. It could be, you know something extra years, did ten half just because you love the man who was formerly in carhein in jail now former he's home. He was violated, but his violation got him locked up, but he got violated the days he was in the house with chilling home. You're trying to change your life around, You're doing positive things, and they come in and they take him, violate him, and then violate you and give you two extra years, extra years, you know, which affects

business everything. That's what I respect that you should resilience, help people. Country Miller, like when you watched them, she came straight home. When I first met her, she was she does music. She was in the club. She had this energy and she kept doing music. And I just loved the way that she moved herself and I see her constantly. She did the books. You know, she had liquor, whatever it is. She's an entrepreneurs. She kept going back to work for the white man. Oh never, let me

tell you something. I read this book. It's called Wake Up the Wind, and I had a new respect for I always put, you know, my people in high regard, but this book was about when slavery was over and how we was in the woods. People were dying from snake bites. Women were running around. I haven't seen my child in six years. They looked like this. I mean, it was just chaos. And then I connected with that.

Coming home from prison. People have so many expectations of people coming out of prison, but we were just literally slaves. It is a slave system and you're just freely released and it's like, go ahead, go shoot figured out. We're not a slave. You were enslave, enslave, that's right, you were enslave, but you were not a slave. I mean,

how you feel, you know, that's how you feel. You can't, you know, and to come home, especially if you were successful before and people just expect so much of you and you're really starting over, and that this book, you know, it's just it's just resonated with me because we were in such a bad people. You're free, Now what does that mean? You know, I still have to be able to build myself back up after I've been torn down for a decade. So it's not easy, especially for women

who were mothers. You know a lot of times fathers incarcerated the children up with the mother. But imagine being a woman, you know, and you don't have children. I don't have children. I don't have children, And you know, that was all that was an issue for me when I was away. I'm like, you know, will I have time to meet somebody and maybe have children? You know, there's a lot that women deal with who are incarcerated.

So this is very important to me, very passionate. So you open to partnerships with the white man, but you ain't trying to go to the job every day and put the chick chicken in right. No, no, no, no, no, that's like not even um. Because we have in order to build up a good community, we have to build up our our mindset of taking care of ourselves and

not being the pending that. They really don't want to see you win anyway because us winning, you know, in their minds represents them losing, so they don't want to see you win. So where can people buy this book? They can buy it on Amazon, buy it on Amazon, and we can also buy it at Larry the Lending Lion dot com Larry the Lending Lion dot com. And that's more directly from you or is it self published? This is amazing, Thank you so much, really it is.

And it's dedicated to my brother and he was killed by the police. Is dedicated to my father who was murdered. You know who told me, you know, keep pushing, keep pushing, keep pushing. There at the forefront of my mind. So I just want to shout them out. I always do. Well. I want to say thank you, and you know, you are very inspirational. Like I always tell you, you you constantly

see you moving. She'll text me a bro, I see you, and I'd be like, yo, I'm proud of you, you know, and it's it's a real authentic relationship that we have and I really appreciate you continue to do what you do. You know, you always have my support and we're just proud of you. Man. Yes, yes, yes, and thank you for being the second in studio guest politicians. Y's go

get the book. Larry Lindon Lyon I used to hold the entrepreneur the winner keep going, and that brings me to my you know, it's a lot of things I don't get, I think, but this week, you know, us losing one of the greats, you know, and seeing negative some negative things from just news outlets. You know about how DMX loses houses since he's been rapping in the the last couple of years, or you know, Kobe Bryant, there

was negativity that came up. It's like, why is it that, especially these media outlets choose to try to bring up negativity about someone when they pass away, and they just they listen, you come out the New York Post, they bring up negativity about the living, the dead, whoever. They just racist period posts. Yeah, they definitely have horrible every

time that something negative is in the post. And I think, you know, people got to stop buying stuff that don't support us and doesn't show us in the you know, in the proper light. Man. Any time that somebody like DMX, what he's meant to this culture, even through you know it's ups and his downs, but and he's you know, he's in a position where he's in critical condition and you decided to put out an article about homes that

he's lost. You know, I just don't even understand what brings you to that, What is the mindset that goes with that? You know, And and it happens with a lot of our people that we love, you know, a lot of I was super stars and our icons when they passed this some media outlet that tries to find a way, you know, to highlight negativity that they've been through. You know what, I think, we we we gotta stop supporting it. We gotta stop even allowing it to happen. Mm. Well,

I think that's been an issue for black folks. The way we're covered in the media. It is really problematic in general, not just when we pass, but throughout our entire existence. Like there's never been a time when the media has properly represented our stories. Even in the moments when they're celebrating us. Um, there's still always either something problematic and or it's very short lived. There's no commitment, loyalty, dedication to our stories. It's just about the you know,

picket a draw. So today is a good day, Tomorrow will lie on you, you know, we'll we'll we'll have three days apart a great story and then allow somebody to write an opinion piece that's like saying something that they haven't even verified. So it's the media is very very dangerous in that way. And I guess um it brings it makes me think about how important two things are. One for us to financially support black media, so you know, people like A Rolling Marin and others out here even

subscribing to our show. It helps to keep the media, the black media that's telling our stories in the ways in which you want, you know, it helps to keep us um uh just I don't want to say courageous, that's not the word. But I think it just keeps it authentic to your point, right, the Black Effect Network, you know, making sure you support things that they're doing in all the different shows that Charlemagne has now launched

um through his network, his platform um you know. And and again there are people who have, you know, real subscription based models where they are actually giving us good information. Again, I'm not talking about people that their entire time is negative about who ain't doing what. I'm telling about people who are actually doing the work and also speaking and sometimes critiquing things that need to be critiqued. So I think one is definitely, um, you know, support black media.

But I think the second thing is um that black media has to do a better job of telling the stories themselves, of doing the research, of using the context to get to the person who knows the thing, because unfortunately, what the black media is doing is copying and pasting what they see on other outlets and then they just put the story out there. Of the problems, especially in

Kobe situation. Yeah, absolutely, I mean, you know the way that well, black media representation is different from black Okay, it's very different. I'm I'm talking about black media networks. I had to contact three or four people that are my people, like we are cool and close, hang out talk all the time, and I'm like, why are you

running this story about me that? And by the way, they ran other stories about things that, you know, different issues that people had with me that I didn't call them at all because it's the news and that's gonna happen. But in this particular situation, they were running stories about what somebody said about me and nobody actually called me. I didn't say, don't run the story, because you can't

do that. That's not integrity. I didn't say, don't really I said, did anybody on your team, the one that saw me in the office, or know as we go to dinner, just think to call me and say, hey, what's your perspective? Do you not even get that opportunity? So it makes it diminishes the value of even black press when they don't do real work. And I know

the budgets are low because so the two things. That's why I said these are two points, because they'll say the researchers and all the things that the bigger entities had they can't afford, so they end up being cut and pace journalists. And that's not real journalism. Our legends and our icons should be able to die with respect, you know, and overcome their shortcomings, especially if they've done

the work to move past them. So no media, and especially not black media, should be covering us in that life and if they do, look buck. So that brings us to the end of another episode. Street Politicians who want to thank you all for joining us, always love the number one show, number number one. So if you have any suggestions, if you have any topics you wanted to talk about, just hit us up. Man. Listen, I'm

not gonna always be right to Mika. Maybe she won't always be wrong, but we will both always be authentic. Actually laughed. It's true. It's funny. It's the true, because you're gonna be wrong most all, sometimes not not about this. Oh yeah, get this right now. That's how we owed it. That's how we owed it. That's how we owed it. That's how that's how we owned it.