That's what's up. Family. It's your girl to me Ka d Mallory.
And it's your boy, my son and gentlemen.
And we are your host of street politicians, the place where the streets and politics me.
Finally, you don't sound like you're not saying it trying to copy how well I say it.
I've told you already to what it is, and I'm doing that. If you want to keep reiterating the same thing, then go on there.
Copy me.
Okay, that's that's what it is.
Yeah.
So I and you were on at different parts of the last few weeks. You and others have been on the road. We've all been on the road together. But I was on the road for about three weeks. And I don't know if I can sustain living in America, Like I might have to move because the call lost
of survival. And by the way, I tried to do one or two fun things too, like when everybody was gone and it was just me by myself, you know, I try to like do a little fun and I was trying to just like literally by myself, focus on a few fun things. And I don't understand how people are surviving with these numbers they keep saying there's no inflation, I mean no recession. They keep saying there's no recession.
I don't know why, and I don't hear it usually when the Democrats lie, because they lie and they try to cover up things. Of course, every political party is going to try to suppress any negative information because they don't want when especially when they're coming up on election time, to have you know, certain dark clouds open. So every administration does that. Every political part already is gonna speak
talk up their good side. So but I also don't hear a counterbalance from the Republicans saying that there is a recession. It seems like no one is saying there's a recession. Maybe there, of course they are analysts than others. But I a person who am not I'm not struggling. Am telling you it is way.
Too expensive.
Flights, hotel, car services, just services in general. Three hundred and fifty dollars for makeup, you know, four hundred dollars, but there's two hundred dollars. It's a lot of money to survive, and it's just it makes me feel very I don't. I just know, and I know I keep ask saying the same thing almost every show. But I'm I feel like it's getting worse.
I mean, I definitely agree with you. You know, of course living is has skyrocketed, and being you know, being in a position to actually be able to pay your bills out worrying about that and then like you said,
trying to have a good time. You actually see how fast when he goes and you it's just like thousand dollars here, fifty five hundred dollars here, every this and that, this and that, just trying just to maintain and the average person, you know, has to be dealing with a lot, you know, I know, case the point, we just see all these robberies are starting to happen, you know, and and I think that's like who who who was it that that got robbed?
We damns and indrests. He's an actor.
And then of course, you know, our our auntie Tina, Tina knows our house was also burglarized where an entire safe was removed. And listen, that's very triggering to me because, as you know, my son's father was murdered over a safety and removed from a high house that he was
living in with some people in Pennsylvania. And the one thing I know is that whenever somebody physically moves a whole safe, they have information about where it is, how long they're gonna have to get it out, because I'm sure and by the way, we haven't even heard Tina Knowles confirmed anything about this. So they're saying it's a million dollars in the safe. You know, the media that they make up anything all the time, So we don't know how much money was really in it. But a
million dollars is a lot of money to move. And so if they did move a million and jury in a safe, the safe was not light, that means that they knew they had time to physically move the safe. And it's funny, Masan because my parents never told the neighbors when they were going to be out of town. But in the social media erar you, it's hard for people not to know that you're on tour with your daughter in Europe.
Yeah, you know what I'm saying. It's hard for people not to.
Know that you're on a yacht with Magic Johnson and Cookie Johnson and they, you know, they do their trip every year.
Samuel Jackson.
It's a big trip that I you know, I always sit and just fantasize on what it would be like to spend time just sitting with them and listening to the wisdom and the stories and the funnies. So this is stuff that people are watching. So while you're out of town, they know how long it's going to be before you retire.
Yeah, and people are hungry. You know that It goes down to that the inflation that they say is not happening in the recession, they say, we're not in you know, people are really like we're talking about that. People are really trying to figure out because there's a lifestyle and I think what happens with social media, it also shows shows people really living and enjoying life. Right, And if you're just.
Somebody, they look like they.
Are, well, they look like they are, but you don't really look like you. Are you on a boat, you know in the Seven Seeds with with five or six millionaires and billionaires, you don't really look like you have you at a party surrounded by the top artists or you know, And everybody got on and they got a whole page on how much the watches cost. They had fifty people that was in a certain party and they were showing the watches that range anywhere from fifty to
a million dollars. They were just showing the watches that each of them had on, So it don't really look like you actually can you can pretty much concur that these people are living their best life.
And when you but you don't know what people got going on, you just know you don't.
But I'm just trying to say, it's hard for you to believe that they not. You know, when you look and you like, you know, I know where I would be enjoying myself with that. But you got about fifty dollars dollars in your pocket, the bills is coming, the kids is hungry, you know, the gas, you got your check engine light on. You know, Oh, you're young and just impressionable. So it's a lot. It's a lot of pressures that I realized that this generation deals with that
we didn't have to do. We just had to deal with seeing the people from our block have a couple of things that we didn't have. But when you go to the social media and it looks like everybody in the world is doing better than you, you know, it's it's a lot. It's a lot of stress. So with I say all the time, poverty is violence, man. And I'm I'm I'm thankful that there was nobody in those homes. You know that the only thing it was with some
property that they probably have and so on. Yeah, they probably can ensure and get back whatever it is that they lost, but you know, we just had some real tough times.
No it is, I mean, and and the robber, the burglaries.
Everybody has to be aware because it's like, you know, in my house, it's a total different situation because there are people here all the time, twenty four hours a day, round the clock. It's somebody in the house, people watching my house. You know, we have it set up that way. But and I'm not saying that there's not in Tina Knowles's house either. Obviously she didn't have the same you know, resource. I mean, I don't have the same resources that she has.
But I actually live with other people, you know what I'm saying, So it's different. It's a total different situation. I live with other people, so it's people always around. Nonetheless, when I say we're going to Kentucky to fight Daniel Cameron, or we're going to the exact spot where aj Owens was murdered, when I say those things, people know that you're not around, you're not at home, or at least they think that you're not at home.
And just like you said, I'm.
Glad that no one was in those homes that was harmed. The other side of it is, I'm glad you didn't walk into somebody's house trying to steal their stuff and they were home and put a bullet all the way through your behind. So this is a time that people are living real dangerous because folks is not gonna let you just take their stuff because you going through whatever you go through, they're not going to allow it to have it.
So you're gonna see more people.
Did you ever see I don't know if I ever told you, or maybe I did send it to you when the Uber Eats or one of those delivery services when he tried to twist the doorknob of a woman and the woman pulled a gun on him and held him at at a gunpoint until the police arrived. Like, you're gonna mess around and go up in something and find out that people are not playing about their stuff. And you know what I think is so funny. If it it's true that there was a million dollars in
Teena Ole's house, right, if it's true. Now, these are people who had massive resources, massive resources, and yet and still she still has some cash in. Now, black coats gonna put some cash in the house in case anything shall have it happened to have That's oh.
That's old school, Manma. We was taught that. Man, the banks might close, don't put all your faith in you know, technology and all like, have you some money and just in case anything go bad. So you know, yeah, Mama Tina, don't play she from the old.
School at your little cash in the house.
But again, we don't know that that story is exactly as it's being told. So on speaking of money, the family of Tyree Nichols is suing the city of Memphis for five hundred million dollars and the audacity and I get it. Lawyer's gone lawyer right, any system it is going to try to protect itself. But they're trying to get the city of Memphis is trying to get the lawsuit drop so that they don't have to pay this family to five hundred million dollars. I don't I mean,
I don't know what they're talking about. We saw it, like everybody saw why it's five hundred million is not even enough for the trauma of the whole community. They ought to be paying everybody, all of us that had to watch Tyree Nichols being beat to death by those officers. So the audacity of them to even try to they
should be saying, let's just settle it quietly. I do understand. Again, lawyers are gonna lawyer, but you know, even even I don't know, you know, it's just like, okay, yeah, I think.
I think that's a no brainer. I think y'all figure out how you can set or if they were five hundred, give them for ninety nine, man, because I ain't got a snowballed chance in hell what they did to that man. The greediousness, the fact that you know that it even happens is you can't you can't. First of all, you
can't put a price tag on life, you know. And the fact that his mother, his parents, and his family have to be reminded of the way he was brutally and just beat and you know, it seemed like it was so malicious, you know, And the fact that just that that vision, yeah, exactly, and just that vision being able to go all over your head. I don't think you can put no price. I think, actually you asked me, they should be asking for a billion dollars, you know.
But I just think that all of our tax player, we send money to people that ain't done ship for us, that don't deserve it. We give millions and billions of dollars to other countries and shit, and we always say we don't have money. Well, this was to me, this would be our tax money going to the right thing,
you know. And then and hopefully we start ending this qualified immunity so these officers can have to pay up their own pocket, you know, and be dead broke, you know, we you know, unfortunately the man lost his life and he's dead, but we want you to be dead broke while.
You live, right because the thing is the way that you know.
Legislatively, we still are fighting to change the laws, and there is a fight against us to get that done. But economically, you can certainly make sure, as Attorney Crump always says, that we make killing a black man or woman unjustifiably so expensive that the country can't even continue to pay the fees too, you know, for for this immunity of murder. God, you know, it's just we need it to be so so expensive that they say we got to do something different because we keep on we
can't keep on paying out this type of money. And yes it is taxpayer dollars, there's also some insurance policies and other things that play into us. So it's not all taxpayer dollars. There's some other pieces that play into how the departments have to pay as well, and the City of Memphis all of them. And like you said, the police officers ought to be paying themselves. They should never ever, ever, ever ever be comfortable anywhere in their lives.
They shouldn't have no money. They should be shamed, they should be they should have to move for people doing protests outside of their homes. They should just be as uncomfortable as possible. That's what I think about that. So Essence, we just came out of Essence weekend and you know, over a million black women, specifically more people but black
women getting together in New Orleans in that city. And you know something that I was thinking to myself, that is really the one place that when I look around, I do not see white people.
They don't be there. I don't see him.
I mean, I know they are Orleans. But in terms of like, you know, how white folks always find like at the rallies and different things, you see white people, you see we you know we we just finished at the rally for a j Owens and there was white there was white people there.
White people always aren't But for whatever reason, during essence, people.
Ain't no white people there.
People go during that.
I don't know, it's it's not they think. I think I think, you know.
I mean, I'm not saying they should be there. I'm just saying.
It's like you might see one or two. I don't even know if you see one or two, actually I don't know. But you know, there's a couple, it's a couple. There's a couple of people that come to the cookout that you know, you might see here and there. But for the most part, like you said, it's really not many Caucasians there.
But while Jill Scott was singing the star Spangled Banner, the or the at the black star Spangled Banner, which I thought was powerful by the way, I was looking around because that's heavy, and I was looking around to see the discomfort.
Of you know, white folks, and it occurred to me that there were.
There ain't nothing to be discomfort.
Hm hm, well that's interesting.
But what bothers me? Okay, forget that work? This is no no you no, no, it's not don't work for me. This notion that when we critique America and when we say things and we bring up history, historical events that we know when she talked about all the things that she said in that Star Spangled banner, when she she reritted rewrote it so.
That if nineteen years old, yes.
So that it fits the narrative of what we actually deal with and have dealt with in America, that there were so many people with this. Well, if you don't like it here, whyon't you just go? And that shit bothers me more than anything. You know, the fact that we actually live here and we and like she said,
this fucking country is built on our backs. We have every right to critique, We have every right to point our historical events that have been not so favorable that we've had to endure, that our ancestors have had to endure. And nobody gets to keep telling us that we don't we shouldn't be here if we're not okay with the fact that our people were enslaved. It's like the dumbest shit ever, you know, And I hate that. I hate that,
you know, somebody who's on my page. It's this one person on my page that said that shit, and I think it's over a thousand people that's underneath him calling him that every dumb mother effort that they can, as we think of. And it's just sad that there are people who think that we're supposed to be silent about a pinion, a historical one of the most egregious, the most egregious event in history in American history, that we should be silent, especially after we see the remnants and
the remembrance of what has happened to our people. You know, when we look and see the conditions that our people are faced today, they are direct, you know, results of what we talk about. So all of y'all with the if we don't like it, leave, if you can't see it, then my middle fingers up.
Well, there's a lot of people that if you don't like it, leave, because that was a big part of the whole essence debate. You know, several nights of a concert and of course Janelle Monnee I was there for her performance while waiting for Lauren Hill to come out.
And then I think the next night, or maybe the last night, which I wasn't there for Meg, the Stallion performed and there was some we don't like it, so either we're leaving or we really what they What I heard people saying was they wanted Meg and Janelle Monet to either tongue down in or don't be in the show.
And you know, I thought to myself, first of all, Joanel Monne and Meg in her own way, they are a special cup of tea that you have to want, right, like you It's not regular lifting, right, this is whatever whatever thing. It's got spice and all that in it. But sure I'm not gonna take that. I understand. I also understand that we live in a highly sexually charged time so right.
Now sex sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex sex.
I get it. Totally understand that there are people who feel, like you know, every time they turn on their cell phone, every time they, you know, anything they do, they're seeing this sex being pushed in their faces, and therefore their children are impacted by it.
I do not disagree or not understand it.
I don't, But what I would say to offer a balanced approach, right, And I guess it's very much so the thought of the day for me. The first night of the concert, Lauryn Hill had on about full outfits. In one thing, she had on some big feathers thing covering up everything she had. Her full body was covered. She didn't work, not one time, right, So Larren Hill came on, I mean Janelle came on before she pulled
out the nipple. I don't really understand. I was there, but I don't think I was paying attention close enough to understand the context of what happened in that moment, which nipple was covered by the way, but still she pulled her breast out. So that was one thing. Then you had Lauryn Hill right Then after Lauren, the next night you had Missy Elliott, who we know is fully dressed with the shimmerie and even the baggy clothes, and she's Missy doing what Missy does right.
A little bit of sexy, but she's not overly sexy.
The last night you had Meg the Stallion and some twerkers. My thing is everything you wanted was there? There's people women? When you got a million women, a million women going to a show, participating in a conference. It is true that they are going to be different types of women who are interested in different things.
And I think from my.
Perspective, right one, you don't have to participate in the parts you don't want to see what I do. Every year, I get the Essence schedule. I don't like to go out every night. That's not my thing. So I look at the schedule and I see who I am interested in.
Lauren was somebody.
I was there, my homegirl and I and we sat for hours on end while Essence.
For whatever reason the schedule I don't know, but it was late before Lauren came out, and it was not her fault because she came right out once.
You know her people was doing their set while Kenny Burns and DJ Clark Kent was doing their thing. The set was being built, and as soon as the set was finished, Lauren was on the stage. So we're not gonna do the lauryn Hi'll be late thing. I know she does this sometimes, but she wasn't this time. But it was super late by the time she came out. That's who I wanted to see. There were other things on the schedule that I was an interested in, so Therefore I didn't show up early or I left early.
I tailored my experience to my taste. So if I don't want to see mag thee Stallion and the Magnes do that work thing she does, which, by the way, I like it, I'm not gonna lie like I'm I guess I'm of a generation or whatever the case may be. I'm not against Meg and her turk and I'm just not. But I understand there's people who don't like it, so then you don't have to see it. And then you were saying something the other day. I heard you saying that.
Well, yeah, what I want to say. Huh No, I wasn't. I wanted to reiterate this, but if you want to repeat that, you can.
So you were saying that Essence has been a certain thing, so people are looking for a certain quality.
But I think I'm not saying quality because I'm not trying to make it seem like what Meg does is of less quality. It's just a different genre, it's a different feel, it's a different dynamic. And I think since I've been going to Essence, there's always been this this theme of dynamic. Right, it's hip hop excellence, it's more geared towards not more of the conservative kind of understanding. I think most artists who come and perform at Essence
have pretty much classic hits pretty much. They have either classic hits or new classic hits, and they perform them as if they perform it for a certain crowd, right. And I think even even some of our most explicit and people who push radical artists, who push the envelope sexually, when they come to Essence, they perform it in a different in a different way. And I think, I mean because I don't think I don't think that I've seen anyone who performed at Essence with the level of sexuality
that Janelle did or that Meg did. Yet maybe they have been Maybe maybe we can go to former you know, performances and say, oh, such and such did this and such and such was way more explicit than that. I don't think that's a dynamic that has really been introduced. And I think, you know, to your point, like you said, that they're trying to attack, attract a younger audience and and keep you know, moving and moving to a different space.
And it actually maybe evolved, but it's a lot of people that just like their stuff the way they had it right. There's a lot of people that go to Essence every year and they're used to a thing. They used to hearing their favorite artists you know that they've been in love with for the last ten, fifteen, twenty years, sing their classics, do their songs jump up and down. It's not you know, and it's a lot more families,
family orientated show. It's not a lot of it's not a lot of you know, that kind of material that's been there. So people are there. You got in the Essence crowd. You got people from twenty to eighty. There's eighty year older women that's sitting in there. And because they wanted. They fans of Lauren Hill. They fans are Missy, they've been you know, they like certain songs that they've come there every year, and there's certain artists that they
they you know, this is their time. They go to there, they see their friends, you know, they get their same seats every year, and this is their thing. So when they see something that's completely new and is on the side of sexual that's not more family orientated, some of the all gonna be irritated. Their kids are gonna be like, oh, that's my girl. Megan, but some of the elder people who've been going to Essence for twenty and thirty years, they're not gonna it's gonna be okay with it.
Well, but let me just say this right.
Well, first of all, India I read had and hopefully when our guest joined, we'll get an opportunity to talk about this some more, because I made a comment on his page when he was saying thank you to India, and I think India.
Iria is a goddess.
Anything she say, I love Indi Iri is like for.
Me, she is, She's she.
I want to see her on my TV and listen to her all the time. I love nd I re anybody who knows you know I love India, my posician know. What she said is that you know why we're trying to we're making this culture mainstream and I don't like this moment. And my response to those two things at once is that the reason why you didn't necessarily see and I can't.
I don't know. I can't remember every show, right, so I can't say for sure what's in every show. I think I generally agree with you that because we know that working or the work culture, which by the way I know for it, And I asked my mama to be clear because somebody else said, no, it's getting worse. I asked my mama.
When Tina Turner started came you know out and started shaking with the shimmery with her butt and doing them, I thought that was too much. They thought it was too much. They said it was too By the way, Beyonce, Beyonce has been told even by some of our own leaders to put some.
More clothes on and that she's too sexy and too explicit. Right, but.
Let me let me just finishing what I'm saying. So these so the thing is Essence has a responsibility to stay.
Relevant to the whole culture.
It's not about I don't know if that's I don't know if that's I don't know if that's what people are saying. I don't know if because it's like it's just like Iri, no, no, no, Because Indy Iri has a brand that she with India, Irin says is what she's always She came into the game with that same mentality that's the Brandon. So what she's saying is not far fetched for India to say, like this is what
India is to say. So with people. Anybody that critiques what she says, that's how that's who she's always been. She's always been. I don't know why women are taken the clothes on, and I'm not going to do that.
And I'm not critiquing that. I'm not critiquing that. I'm saying that she was trying to push back.
Against Essence, and Essence released a statement which they did not call her name, but they said, we have a wide array of folks that we are trying to bring the entertainment that they like to that right now, granted, say whatever you want. I looked at the footage. I wasn't there for Meg, but I looked at the footage and I saw some older people who you were talking about getting down because they like a few of Meg's songs.
You know what I'm saying.
So I'm saying that you're never are going to please everybody. And I do understand that there's a thin line because the issue is so much bigger than just Meg and Janelle Twerking, Right, It's bigger than that, I get it. The broader conversation here is what is happening to our society and our women and our men and whatever because of so many different issues that we're seeing.
We see in the Christian.
Rocks and the or and I guess that's when you tell me it's Christian, excuse me her and the sexy.
It's a lie.
But I truly do believe my opinion. I don't think these people are gonna last long. And I'm not talking about Meg and Carty and folks like that. I'm talking about these other young ladies. I don't think it's going I don't think they're gonna have to evolve, even in their brands, because eventually you can only be but so many booty holes before people like, all right, we got it.
Well, I hear what you're saying, but I just wanted to go back to a point because I guess it's in the r when we need to bring them on in a second. But when you talk about Tina Turner, right, and then you talk about Beyonce and you talk and you talk about how people were saying that was too much, right, you see that there's less and less clothes every time, right you So you so what I'm saying is you you'll definitely see it. It's not it's not the same.
So it's not when we're saying something this definitely it's going to a point where Tina Tina had she shook a butt at the camera and she had a little shimmery thing. Now this person gonna shake her button and she's gonna have half it. She's gonna have Leo tard on. This person gonna have a throng on. This one's gonna be naked. Like the the there is growth. So everybody is not going to agree with it. And that's what I'm trying to say. I'm saying that there has to
be and it can be. It doesn't. Everything doesn't have to fit into one thing. Like I'm not going nobody's gonna make me think that the church is going involved to the preacher up there or the the whoever is the priest. If there's a female she's up there talking, because this is the church. You want, I don't. I don't, I don't. So that's what I'm trying to say. We can't say that we want to appeal to it because there are people that's in the church that that love Magda Staff, but they're not.
Gonna go to church to say church. You know.
What I'm trying to say is nobody was the Essence Fast has a certain brand and people go there because that brand represents a thing and if if, if that brand stops a lot of and that's what a lot of artists do is it's called a lot of artists and an attempt to reach a new demographic and get a new fan base, they do something different and you go away from what your brand is established, that has you did for thirty and forty years, and what you
start doing, you start you're not actually gaining because that demographic that you're going after is not really your fan base.
But but but but because.
We go because the thing is this you like, But you you've been going to Essence for something else because that's when you go there. That's not using.
But I'm not gonna not go to Essence. By the way, I don't think I want to see some of these other type of artists out there.
But I don't see meg as being.
I'm not saying, I'm not saying artist.
That's not gonna stop me. That's not gonna stop me from going to the concert. And the majority of women will continue to go, but they do have everybody does have to have an element of the different, you know, little tastes.
If you do a festival, you're gonna put a taste.
The bottom line is, there's no there's another There's nothing.
Wrong with having a brain saying what I'm saying with your brain.
But it's not about Sticky because the brand had evolved. I'm sure there were things that they did before that they started doing something else and people were like, I don't like this, why is this happening? It always going to be people that are not gonna like different elements, But the overwhelming majority, from Lauren to Missy to Jill Scott to this one and that one was on on key, they had one or two things that was a little different.
It's not I'm but with those artists. We all but there's nothing wrong with those artists because reality situation is, I don't think people go to the essence to see to see the visuals of those things.
They might all they was in the owls dancing, okay, loving it up.
So maybe we should bring our guests.
As always, I would show it was full of our friends, and this guest is no different. He's one of a brother I respect musically, you know, I love what he does for his community, with the community at large, he's an educator, he's dope lyricists, and he's one of my guys. This brother here, Haqeen Green from Channel Live, the founder of twenty four Hours of Peace, and a New Jersey native. He is here to join us today. How you doing today, brother.
I'm great, I'm excellent. Thank you for having me on the show. It is completely my honor. Thank you, Sef ma'am peace, Queen.
What's up man? You know how much we love you Haqeen.
You know we always speak very highly of you because you're just that type of dude. And everywhere I've not ever heard anyone say something bad about Hakeen Green.
I just had is somebody out there with some darts for me.
They don't say it.
To me, and trust me, people got something to tell me about everybody, but they say anything bad about you, And I think that is a true testament, you know, to to to who.
You are and what you've done.
My dad is that type of guy that everywhere he goes people say positive things about him, and that's just a that's a good thing when you can actually walk in and out of rooms and have people you know, carry your name and uphold your legacy in a positive way.
Well, I think my mother she gets all the credit.
Yes, as she should. Man, Yes, sir, so Hakem. I know you do a bunch of work. You know, you're a part of the legendary Channel Live and in that concert. I'm gonna even a couple of tickets. I can. I got to call me a favor.
Man.
You know that a Yankee stadium.
Oh no, no, no, I'm not gonna be a Yankee stadium.
You're not coming to Yankee Stadium.
Man, I can't afford Yankee Stadium. It's crazy. Dave Jackie robs Up, he got your arm behind that. They look, you should be at the Yankee Stadium. Man, I'm gonna I'm gonna try. I'm gonna try. But we're working hard to pull off. August twelfth, the very next day KRS one Temple of hip Hop, twenty four hours a piece. We're doing a hip hop celebration on the block in front of fifteen to twenty Central Avenue on the twelfth the next day.
Oh so you're gonna be in the hood. That's my hood. You know, I'm from University and all that, So that's right down the block I was born.
That's what that's what hip hop is about, being in the hood and touching down with the people.
You see how we're doing Nork every year.
So it's the fiftieth anniversary of hip hop and the community that gave us hip hop, we need to give something back, so you know, we're doing our effort for free. Even though the Yankee Stadium event is looking quite legendary, it's it's crazy.
It's crazy, but for the people.
We over on Central Gavenue fifteen twenty Central g Cavenue on August twelfth.
See it's over there August twelfth.
I saw you with Chris at the jah Roof show.
A few weeks back, and I know you guys chopped it up, so I'm hoping we got my side on the bill.
Well, listen, man, from your mouth to gods is man, listen you. I would love to be there. That's the hood, you know, I'm wanting. I started rapping because of Chris, So it's that you know you if you're from the Bronx and Chris didn influenced you as a lyricist, you know, then then I don't even know what you was doing. So I'm definitely would love to be there.
Right So vitalizing the flyer right now talking about promotion. So we're gonna add my SiGe name on there.
If you don't mind thease, do do business right right time, right in time. So tell tell people about twenty four hours a piece, how it started? You know, what is the goal and every where it is? Everything?
Yeah, like you out like you.
I was highly influenced by KRS one. Of course I work with him with Chanel Lives Matters and Record. But in two thousand and six we reconnected and we initiated
to Stop the Violence Movement as a nonprofit. So in doing that work and kind of coal us and using hip hop to coal us around peace, love, unity, safety, having fun, it kind of allowed me to carry this over to Jersey where I hooked up with ros Baraco who was then Southwork Councilman's principal Central High School, and following him and the North Anti Violence Coalition, it was like, Okay, how can we use hip hop culture to peace to push peace, love, unity, safety, having fun.
I got with a Mary Baraka Junior.
He was like, Yo, we need to put the hip hop out on the block for twenty four hours hot, all day, all night. I'm like twenty four hours. Why don't we just do something like forty six hours in and out, you know, easy setup. No, we got to make a statement and do this for twenty four hours, and that's how twenty four Hours of Peace was launched.
Peace, Love, Unity, safety, having fun.
There's a lot of people in our community who are already doing the work. I mentioned the North Anti Violence Coalition and like yourself, you guys are doing the real work.
Uh.
The commercial is the commercial right, and as artists and creatives we have the ability and the power to shape the messaging in a certain way. So that's what I'm doing with you know, my effort to support the work, the real work that you guys do.
The folks that are in Newark, New Jersey.
Big shout out to the Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery and the Brick City Peace Collective. You guys are your research, but we're talking about that real work, tending to people who have suffered violence, traumatic experiences, getting that extra support, organizing city government around that effort. That's what it's about. And we can use hip hop to engage folks in that way.
Definitely, Definitely, you've been and you've been. You know, a stead work, a start work in that area for years. You know, I remember when you brought me up to twenty five hours a piece, and you know, I was amazed, like dag, it's just this level of energy. I think Queen Latifa was. There was so many people there, you know, and it was a dope event. So when is the next twenty four When is twenty five hours a piece?
This year?
The next one is September first and second, of course in North New Jersey, and we try to schedule it towards the end of the summer, heading back to school, just to start the school year off on a positive note. And we've been able to do that fight well since twenty ten. Every year since twenty ten except for the pandemic year.
Now have you seen like in terms of the data. I never forget the New York City. One of the biggest fights I had with Mayor Bloomberg was around getting money for the anti violence work. You know, of course Erica Ford and At Mitchell and so many people in the City of New York. We were fighting for resources and Mayor Bloomberg said that there was no data to prove that funding small grassroows groups would actually help to
reduce violence. He thought it should be all about the political side, and you know, of course passing legislation to get guns off the street and all of that, and we said, no, that's part two.
Part one is invest in our communities. So from the twenty four hours.
Of component and thinking of you know, his well, let me go backwards and say, but when he talked about data, we understood then that that was the that was necessary going forward. So we would never be caught out there again without data points. So no one could deny resources based upon that. So what do you have, you know, what do you think in terms of what twenty four hours a piece the impact.
That it has on the community.
Okay, so let me let's you say, twenty four hours a piece is one day in a year, right, and you know it's organizing the cultural the cultural community, the artist community, plugging into the nonprofits that already exists, and of course with the city comes behind it, with the support.
It's a part of a larger effort. Spirit had it by the mayor.
Before he was the mayor, he launched the Initiative to Declare Violence of Public Health Issue, which was about local, state, federal government investing in community. The number one resource is human resource, so we don't invest in human beings. Everything else is gottage, right, So raz understanding that has a series of initiatives. Office of Bole of Prevention, Drama Recovery, Brick City Peace Collective are just two of the flowers
on that tree. It's an overarching and I don't want to speak like an expert as if I know all the bits and pieces that said Nork is experiencing the lowest violence and crime rates since before the Nork riots in sixty seven. Last year, a New York police department didn't fire their gun one time, not shoot somebody. They didn't fire their weapon one time. And I think that the city has throughout the entire year. In North last year, nor police department didn't fire their weapon one time.
And he defunded the police.
That's the culture.
Yeah, I don't. I don't, you know, said, I don't work for the mayor, I don't work for the city.
I don't think.
I know over there that you know, people get a little itchy about the defund word, but it is what it is.
He took money from the police department and put it into these programs.
Yes, and I say he abolished the police obviously, and that's not what defund means.
Like people try to twist it on purpose because they want to confuse folks.
Defunding needs take some money, as you said, and shift it to other places, and you are able to prove that when you invest in the human resources is the best resource. When you invest in community and not so much impunitive damage method methods that you'll see more success in terms of safety and so on and so forth. And by the way, I mean I know these things because obviously we talked to Mayor Baracco all the time. It is also dangerous to have police officers having to
fill the role of being the mental health therapists. You were gonna say, go ahead, well no, it's.
You know they they're called peace officers, right, and you know that first line of defense should be offense should be the work of peace officers who are trained professionals, social workers, psychologists, educators who know how to you know, talk to talk when it comes to de escalating people having mental health crisis, walk them, get them over to the other side.
They're needed.
You know, people are crying out for help or having meltdowns at a lot of a lot of times and they need professionals, not just somebody to short up with a gun. And you know what raz Mayor Barack has been doing in North New Jersey, not just with getting behind twenty four hours of piece, but everything he's doing is transforming the city in a positive way.
You're definitely shout out to rest Rock. We've been doing We've been doing work with Boycott Black Murder in Newark. You know, shout out to Keisha Yuri, Shout out to Kylisha Hill, the people who work those those programs that you're talking about, and a lot of other organizations like New Direction, who I work with, you know, one of the the ny Brothers who work out there. It's a lot, it's it's a real collective.
You know.
I've been working with these individuals and they're very intentional and it's serious about the community. So the work that's happening there, you know, it's a blueprint. It's a blueprint for the rest of the cities and the rest of the states. You know that if you actually invest the money in people in the community, that you'll see change.
So make sure we uh spread love to our brother Bashir Anelli. You know, he's another brother that before and before everybody got to Newark to start doing anti violence work, he was on the ground. This brother has been assist that he is like the father, if you will, of anti violence, organize it in my eyes. Now, I know there were people before him, but I'm saying I'm forty three years old and I've been knowing.
I know Bashir since i was eight years old exactly, So I like, in terms of our walk, like we walk together, it's a crew of us that you know, I graduated high school nineteen eighty seven, So it's like, you know, a lot of the folks that I work with in North now, folks that I've known from the sandbox literally, you know. And what's happening in North is about you know, people on the inside who have been doing the work for years and Mayor Baraka empowering him
to come inside city Hall to continue that work. And you know, Vasher is just one of those folks. You know, again, one of the North Anti Violence Coalition, and if the peace was inspired by watching the work of the North Anti Violence Coalition, Rest in peace. Natasha Allen one of the powerful sisters in the North community who you know, one of the executive members of the North Kentry Polace
coalition passed away last year and alexis trustee. Just you know again, I've been knowing these folks since the sandbox, grew up with them and to see them, you know, transform their community like you got to pitch in, you gotta help. So for all the artists out there, that's our responsibility is to help the real work going.
On now you're still making music. Also, because you know, my son is always very clear because people are like my son is an active he's that I'm an artist and an activist. So he is a ractivist, that is no, his his title is raptivist. He say sure that people know, don't try to act like I'm not still outside and I don't still.
Have got these bars. I met the God.
First time I met you was at Tramps at the kras One Redman show.
This was probably.
Six or seven or twenty first Street, and like you were like the talk of the town, like every my sign my side, like you were next right, so you know, to know what happened and the trand you know what and you come out on the other side and you're doing this and like you're over where I'm at, Like you was over there you come through the belly of the beasts and you hear and it's like your confirmation for what I've been working towards for, like you know, since I got put on by Chuck Chris Exclaim so
forth and someone that ability to speak the language of the people to elevate them. So it's like, man, you know, you influenced me as much as I'm the og and I'm before it. Man, you influenced me in ways we have no idea and we have a song together called Don't.
Truck Don't Trump right, we definitely do so.
Yes Aubrey album produced entirely by Rob Lawrence, Hitman Legend.
I got Carl Thomas, carris.
One, Selo Green Freeway step on the project and g Simone Big Shot the g Simone. Krras One's wife, she's on the project. And we got some bangers on there.
Check it out.
Rob Lawrence is no joke on the on the tracks and like my side test, I got them bars.
Well, speaking of bars, you and I had I dropped what I thought was some bars on your game the other day and we were just talking about, you know, this this moment that we're in where which we all agree the three of us won't argue that this is a super super sexualized time right where it's a lot of sex out here, everybody's selling something, you know whatever.
I'm gonna leave that at that.
And I think that I and and and also I said on your post, where you would, you know, basically showing love to nd I re for her position that she doesn't like this moment that we're in where we're sort of mainstreaming sex in a place.
Like Essence Fest.
I think one of the things, and I don't. I'm not against Ndia, I Rea. I respect her position. I think her position is necessary because it must be a balanced conversation. Never have our culture be, you know, in a space where Auntie or sister sister, we're gonna still call her sister, can't step into the chat and say, hey, let's make sure we keep.
Our shit together, right, So I don't.
I'm not against her for that, But I do have other another perspective, or I think a broadened perspective on it. And I talked about how the show has so many different elements. It was it was full of all the things that anybody wanted to see. I was saying to my son, I go to essence. Every year, I would like to be out at one and two o'clock in the morning every night. I wish they would start a concert at two o'clock in the afternoons, so I go to bed at ten o'clock, like, but that's not what
they do. Concerts go till two o'clock in the morning. And I look at the schedule and decide what I want to see. You know, I don't.
I don't go to everything. Some nights I'm like, you know, some years, I want to see this. I want to see that. I know I'm not gonna stay up three nights. That's not going to happen. So I need to pick a hall, a.
Solid tooth, and that's what I do. So I feel like understanding that I saw. I watched Laurren Hill put on one of the best performances ever one only one other time, and I've seen Lauren Hill several times. One other time, PUFF had a small thing and my son and I somehow ended up at the front table, and I and.
My son.
Nobody else was dead except him at Laurenn Hill in the room that night, because you know, she performed and she was so amazing, but this she was in Oh she was oh hakem at essence. Lauren was on high, she was amazing, she was radiant and all that. So you got that, and you had she was fully dressed, she had everything on. Then you had you know, Jill Scott who came with the old Negro spiritual the new star Spangled banner then and she was of course fully dressed.
Missy Elliott was fully dressed. She wasn't twerking. She was shimmering, but not twerking.
You had a lot of people, right, and then of course you also have the element of the time that we're in where these younger girls they doing what they're doing, and there's other young girls that are not doing that.
So I just know that, you know, I feel like the variety of things that's out there.
When you have a million women coming together, people want to see different things, and so I just feel that it wasn't overly it wasn't overly done. There was more of the other stuff and less of the meg and Janelle Monee Tourken moments.
That was one moment in a full three days.
Of a festival.
Right.
Well, I don't think the critique is about the whole thing. I think the critique is about that moment. So if anything goes, everything will. If we allow for anything, everything will. Now this is my first essence festival. But when I think of essence an essence festival, I don't think of black tails, don't I think of there's a level of excellence that essence represents that you tarnish your legacy when you would go down to the to attach it.
Now, there's a respectful way to do everything.
But when you allow for anything, everything goes, and you can't then control what goes and what doesn't go because why can they do it but I can't do it? You get into that argument now, you know, I understand the times that we're in and there's a reason for it. Like as much as there's a sexual revolution, I can enslave you with sex, there's really you gotta be careful
o the sexual revolution. No, in a lot of ways, it's you becoming a slave to your desires and your passions and creating the environment where indecency rules today, where indecency is, decency isn't. So when things go wrong and you're expecting decency to step up, decency left the room when indecency stepped in.
So I ain't perfect. I got my garbage. Like I said, there's somebody out there. It darts for me too.
But struggle with I struggle with the use of the term in decency when we're talking about Meg and Janelle Monette specifically. I'm just talking about those two sisters specifically because they was the target of India's point, right. They were they were, they were the two and I think both of them are incredibly talented. I think that Meg the Stallion is a great artist. I think that she's got some she I mean, yeah, she'd be twerking and
it is what it is. But I don't I if they had sexy read up there talking about booty whatever they talking about, whatever that is, then I might agree with you.
But the problem, the.
Problem is the problem is the problem is this. It opens the door for sexy rich.
I don't think they're gonna have a let.
I'm not even gonna put it on. Like I'm not saying Meg and Janelle they were an artist form. They were when they let.
All the other sisters up on stage. That's when indecency go was on it we allowed. But that you can't decide, Ma. We don't want to see the crack of your ass. We just don't know. Oh yah, yeah.
I always brought another comparison to just so it's not about women, right, So when the whole sagging pants thing happened, right with males sagging their pants and the whole show in your underwear, like that's just indecent, bars.
Don't want it's indecent. It's not for every environment.
It may be indecent, but I see it all the time in some places that un quote unquote so supposed to be so professionally whatever.
And they are wrong, and you're right, Like what you said is right. It ain't wrong just because I might or man I identify with it.
It's wrong. It's wrong.
And I also feel like I also struggle here, right, I struggle in this other area.
I struggle because I feel like I hear a lot of men.
Very loudly trying to help determine what is decent or boundaries for women.
And I understand that we have to respect our kings. I don't. I'm not one.
I mean, I'm all about respecting our kings. But I also think that we as women probably need a space where we can try to work some of that stuff out. Right, Because We've always been being told how we should show up. We've always been being told by men what we should look like. And I think that some of it is resistance to that. So it might be out of control.
It might be out of control in some aspects. Right, I'm not saying all of it, but some of it may be just a barrier breakdown of always being told what we should look like, how we should dress, how we should show up, and what is okay with society for women. Right, we have been censored, if you will, and our lifestyles and everything about us has been so controlled by whatever society things, which includes men, not just
black men, but men in general. So I think we're seeing some resistance to that happening in this moment as well.
Yes, I agree with you there, and a lot of times.
That environment to express yourself is tied to the exploitation of who gets the dollar at the end. Right, So when we look at the advertisers and the sponsors and and so forth and so ons who come in and are.
Willing to dump money here but not dump money there, it's.
Because you know, to the lowest common denominators what appeals to the most people.
But so if I can keep you here, this is where all the investment's going to go.
I agree, but you but we can't say that about essence, right because at essence the investment is covering a wide array of the celebration of black talent, right, It's covering everything. It's not like, well, they're narrowing in on a certain type of thing. And I wouldn't I wouldn't bear to say that there's probably some sponsors that didn't even like the whole trque thing and the bood thing and the whole thing. They probably are not even really with that.
And it might be a little bit of shock to the system as well, because I know a lot of the women specifically who handle the accounts that are millions of dollars worth of sponsorship to Essen, And I can tell you that there's not outside in that way. But I also saw them on camera up in there with Meg, like know, because they like it as well.
So it's I just think just as artists, as individuals, just as professionals. Right when you when you have a catalog right there, there's there's there's a way that you show up right. You understand, you understand the dynamics, you understand your your audience. I just don't think if certain people will actually perform at certain other events that they would show.
Up certain ways Meg does.
No.
I just I don't know what I've seen I've seen. I've seen Meg come out without having on a leotard and without having on like I've seen her, but I've seen him come out without having what even if she does the certain dances, but the way, it's a certain way that she presents herself that I've seen her perform at different shows and different things where there's a different dynamic and understanding that this dynamic is different. But I think artists we have to because there's certain songs that
I'm not gonna perform everywhere. Like I know, I'm not performing my song lefty gunna be in the right pom when I go to the school. I'm just not doing that because that's not the audience for that song. Right, I'm not gonna address a certain way. This what I'm saying is the Essence has Like he said, there's a brand that there's a brand of black excellence. The Essence
represents right. And I think that each of those artists you're talking about have songs and have things that are so dynamic that the Essence wants those things, and I just think that we have to attach it to the excellence. The Essence is not just saying I'm gonna be I'm not. I'm here to get shock value. I'm gonna do some shit that nobody did to bring shock value because I want it and I don't. I think we I think we caught up in a shock value and I don't, and I'm.
Not all for that.
I think a lot of times people are doing things because they want to shock somebody. When you're talent, they actually have talent. That supersedes the fact that we got to talk about that and you did this like we shouldn't even have it. Now it's overshadowed that you actually did dope ship there, you know, And I think that's what every I think that's what the ever we are in there.
Add on to that, he just made me think of something in terms of, you know, the Essence brand, and maybe I gotta twist it. Maybe I'm holding Essence to a higher standard of what it really is. But where I think Essence is right, Like there's places for everything, and we know who Megan is. We know, well, we thought we know who Janell mo. They is she's becoming something else. So we're not mad at that at all. It's just she's transformeding.
But we know, we know what Megan is.
Essence should be the thing where Meg now steps up that says I'm gonna present myself with Yeah, Meg the style, and y'all do these gigs here and it's all good. But when it comes to essence, I'm gonna step up. And that shows systems across the board or not just systs, people's time.
This is not she like, this is a woman of we know that she can do.
That's what I'm saying. I think that's where my struggle is that I don't see.
It.
I don't think her brand was debased.
I don't.
I don't know.
I don't even I need to think about this more because and that's okay to say, like as a woman, I need to think about it more because I know that as the two of you are speaking, and I don't mean this in a in a dramatic way, there are things that you're saying that's triggering me and the freedom of my womanhood right Like, it's just it's triggering me to say that I don't I don't because.
People say the same thing to me. But let me finish.
No, I'm just I'm saying because essence is about for the most part, it's about women, right for the most part. And I don't know what Lil Wayne did when he was there, if any of his songs was the stuff that we know has massagyny in it, but I'm sure it probably was, and he performed, and nobody is talking about how it was ten lyrics or or three of his songs perspected or degrading women, right, But.
I don't think.
I agree with her.
I agree with her in that sense that essence is for women, and then you have an artist who's a large portion of his music is degrading women.
That's really a conflicted messaging exactly.
So it's a lot of conflict in general of things that have to be negotiated in order to give people what they want, right or whatever.
So it triggers me.
But I also I want to be thoughtful about how all of this because you said something, and my song's been saying it to me all week, because we've been talking about this over and over again. It's all connected. And we know where in a time when things in our community there's some challenges, some serious challenges we're up against with the ways in which we behave or are behaving as a community, and a lot of things that
see playing out. And I know that there must be a connection somewhere with entertainment because we know I'm black and I'm proud, and those moments were moments that lifted our people up, and we see something else happening. I'm just saying that I would like for the two of you to hear that I have people who come to my social media and I've had brothers, specifically some of my brothers, more spiritual brothers. I'm not going to put
title specific titles out there. Come to me and tell me that I should not have a bikini on online because people are not going to respect me as a leader.
And that's problematic for me.
But what I'm trying to say so because wait, let me just finish my point and you take it. Because I'm showing up as my full self right on my
social media. My full self is there. Now, it's some other things that I probably do that maybe and I don't know, maybe not, But there's some other things I might do that's not on social media, but I'm saying that I feel slightly oppressed by my own brothers that I know love me when I'm told that I can't be in the bikini online because somehow that's gonna make people not want to show up in a fight that we're in that has absolutely nothing to do with what
I'm wearing. And so when I hear us talking about decency around this other thing, it triggers me. And I don't have a final I don't I can't put a punchline on what I'm saying, but we gonna come back and talk about this.
Let me just say one more thing. Your social media is your personal This this is your personal life.
With those million people that's on.
It, they're following you, you didn't follow them. You didn't go into their arena, you didn't go into their house. You didn't go into the church with what your baby suit on and decide that you're gonna say a speech and a baby suit because you should be able to do it.
You are.
You are one hundred percent aware that when certain organizations and certain places come, you understand that there is something that's required to do that you dress a certain way because you're you're multi.
Thus Okay, you breaking those barriers.
No, you break We have been showing up places where people have expected us to do things a certain way and we have been like, that's just not what we're doing.
No, but that's but that's not what we do anyway. You understand I'm saying what I'm trying to explain to you. We don't do certain things, So we don't go trying to act like we do something and the people that call. But the thing is what we also don't do. You you are you, and you know how to be. When you decide you want to look pretty on Instagram, you posted a pretty picture. When you decide that you want you have to be the beat, you post a picture
to beat. That's what you want, that's your personal thing. But you understand that when you going to the rally, you ain't going in the bathing suit to the rally. You're not trying to.
Get shock value. But I might wear some booty cutters.
But the thing is this I'm just saying.
I want to say with Miniester fa Arakon, me and the minister had a very specific conversation because you know his perspective, well, are.
You going to are you going to? Are you going to the mansle booty cutters.
One, of course not.
But y'all think Essence, I know what I think. Everybody at Essence wants to see this thing that you got what I'm trying to say, Essence has are you all day haking? You will never get off of this thing?
I want to.
So we want to spin back to twenty fours apiece, right, So, okay, twenty five hours a piece, right is. Initially was for positive artists like myself, my sign to have the stage to do our thing and kind of and promote that whole message. When we do that, it was like, you know, we get six seven hundred people, fifteen hundred people, whatever.
You know. Twenty twenty one was a big year.
But last year we did Drill, We did five Yeofarign, g Herbal, two Rare. We had Fabulous, who's gunn heavy in all his music. We had a cls moved myself. We try to balance it out. But because the five year oldarg Herbal and Fabulous, that's what the numbers out. Now we're on stage, it's twenty four hours a piece. Every other song is I'll blow your head off, I put a gun in your mouth, I'll do this. I'll do that.
Ras is looking at me like, y'all hot, you gotta fix this, you gotta do something.
G Herbal set was just total murder, killed, murder, kill our sexually assault you. I'll sexually assault You'll sexually assault you. All little girls knew every word and he's talking about sexual assault.
It's art. It's music. I'm not saying, you know that's what he's a valid me.
It's music. But I know what he's saying. And he's talking about killing black people and sexually assaulting black men and he's being celebrated. They know every word. So after he gets off his set, I had to reset the broom, reset the table, bring people back to why we're here, because on the twenty four Hours of Peace stage, we shouldn't be promoting that, even though there's a reason why
he talking about that. We know black men are oppressed, we know that, we know all these things, but at some point we got to draw a line and say you can't do that here.
And I don't know if you figured it out, because we might be back to seven hundred people if we do that.
You know, okay, well this is.
This is this is a this is a very important conversation that we're having, and I think it's one that we need to continue to have because this is the way to do it right, Like this is the way to have the conversation about what's appropriate, what's not when and how and not have white folks determine what should and should not happen in our communities and where our
people can show up certain ways. I'm just hoping that based upon me telling you about the swimsuit thing and all of that, that it also helps to broaden your perspective and understanding of what it feels like to be a woman who has many different I have all kinds of things with me, you know what I'm saying.
I've talked about work and work all the time, and.
It has actually drawn lot a lot of younger people and different people, especially women, to my world and to you know, they come to me because I'm like, you know, I work and work, so I can do both things.
I can be all those things.
And it has been not so much a marketing tool, but it has helped people to see me in more than just one thing. And I've been winning folks into the movement because they're like, Tamika is different, right, and so I understand it as a place in time for everything I do.
I get it.
But I also know that Jamal and Brian are just given an example. When he's preaching, he understands that he's got to kind of go to the line in an area that is very different than the regular and he has and his church is packed full of people who are there because he's gonna get up there and say lyrics. He gonna talk about stuff that might be a little racy, and it's working in terms of his messages. So we just got to figure out a balance, that's all.
It's just that, it's just like it's just like when but Dumal Brian also know when he went way too far, they tore his ass up, right, you remember that when he said when he did all that, they said, oh no, no, bro, you ain't gonna come in here with that, right, So we we gotta understand that.
And to me, you know, you're talking about looking at the culture, analyzing the culture, and being strategic in how you engage with the culture. That because most people using that language, male and female, are looking to exploit young people.
So we create the environment where anything goes.
Everything will you're talking about being strategic, setting barriers, doing things towards a higher purpose than just the culture.
This is what they're doing or this is what they want.
So I'm just gonna pease them because sometimes it's like you're giving it. It's like giving you a kid. Just keep giving them sugar all day because they asked for it. No, I know, I can't keep giving you sugar because it's killing you. But yeah, exactly, But you gotta like they said, you gotta put the the the cherry inside the colf drop right because you wanted to taste good. But you still but where is the colt drop? See when it ain't no colt drop, that's where the problem is.
Whatever you said, I didn't see this part about the other.
They bought a whole bunch of people on stage.
It was like, you know, it was it's anybody, all types, all sizes, all shame, all agents. No, I mean no, the one girl, her whole thing went up. You could see the crack up behind it was a few of them that would go help. You know, it was what it was because it's meg, it's you know, we get it. But it's like, okay, this is why I'm not the when I saw the videos like, Okay, that's why I don't go to those parties.
I just want you to know that B is clapping cheeks in her concert right now, this word writing.
Concert, just like just like Meg gonna clap cheeks in her but she B is not gonna go to the Essence Award and clap cheeks. She just ain't gonna do it.
I don't know.
I don't think that's should I don't.
Think, but she's not gonna. But she's gonna do it with a different level.
She's gonna understand it's a certain way exactly.
Can ask your question, what was the watermelon song about lemonade or eliminade? Who's the Who's the song? That was some real it was real gutter, but it was Beyonce. And when it was.
Eliminade about the lollipop or something, Beyonce got some ship that when you.
Listen to it, right, what I'm saying, it's like, you know, the girl is super talented, one of the greatest ever do it.
Don't even front I got you. But it's like certain songs you shouldn't be on the radio. Kids is going to kids is going.
To school, And I had to be with it was one of my favorite songs, bunch of my favorite songs national anthems for us.
It's degrading, like it sets the stage for nothing positive. Actually, and.
That already by the time you got knowledge and understand that you already like the song you.
Done, you don't only because you've got to go.
And I want to be thoughtful about my response because again I'm taking into account that you brothers are two people that love black folks, right, So everything you're saying is because we want to see black folks at our high cels. We know what's going on in our communities. We know that our young girls, the way in which they are, some of the behavior that we see is very problematic and it's dangerous.
And so the culture certainly has room for critique. And so I'm I'm for that.
So that's all I'm gonna say. I'm gonna leave it at that. I want to I want to give drop a bomb in this conversation, but I think this is such a rich dialogue that it requires revisiting it and allowing other people to play a role in the conversation to talk through, you know, their feelings about about these things. I know one thing I don't agree with is when women, any entertainer says I'm not a role model, that's a lot, and that's a lot.
So that's something.
Yeah, And everybody, everybody's a role a role model, a good one or bad one.
Everybody's a role model.
That's right, that's right.
Well, brother Green, Haquen Green, thank you so much for joining the street politician.
I feel like we more and so sat in the living room and just kick it and talk, you know, you.
Know, blessings over twenty four hours of piece because you're doing three hundred and sixty five days a piece.
That's what you do every day. That's what we try to work towards.
And we need all the support that we can get because there is so much attention and focus on the negative aspects of you know, in our community. And so when folks step out like you have been for so long to do the work you're doing, we have to salute you, send you.
Prayers and positivity because it's not easy. It is not easy. So thank you for everything you're doing, and we love you and we hear we support you.
Likewise, likewise, you guys are so.
Got the battery in my back in a real way every time I see you guys out there, it's like, yeah, thank god, somebody loves.
Black people, and you guys love black people.
Appreciate you all right, thank you, king piece. Shout out to my brother Hakim Green Man dope conversation, the work he does in Newark and just in general, you know, as an educator and just somebody who's actually for our people. It's just dope. You know, we got music together, going to get his album Aubrey that he said he just dropped, and you know, it's not much else to say. Follow him. Man.
If you don't know Hakim Green from Channel Live, the legendary group, all we do is smoke matt ism like they was one of the first people on the cannabis thing back in the days and they was signed to care rest Ones. So and he's still doing this thing on just a high level, man twenty five, like I could tell you twenty four hours a piece of a real big thing in Newark that they do, you know, So shout out to him on that. And so let me go to my I don't get it because this
is like one of the biggest topics. You know, everybody's been talking about. Kiki p and her boyfriend, baby daddy whatever, And you know, there's been a lot of weighing in and it's not and it's not my job. Is not my place to tell anybody how to handle their relationship, right, because everybody's relationship is different. Things that work in somebody's
relationship might not work for me, you know. And then and if you in a relationship where where there are major things that you that you have that are you know, non negotiable, and your partner doesn't have that, then you
probably in the wrong relationship. Right If he feels that how she dresses wasn't something that a mom should do, and this and that, and in a relationship and they haven't come to terms with that, and you this a non started for you and she's saying pretty much on a way what I want, then you're probably in the wrong relationship. And that's just the reality. Sometimes people are
not equally yok. Sometimes you attracted to somebody like somebody cool this and that, but there's certain things that you're not willing to negotiate that that person is not willing to negotiate either, on the opposite side of the spectrum, and you just have to understand that and you got to move on from that. But my other my I don't get. It is not even about that, my I
don't get. It is pretty much about why grown people, family members, friends, close friends, people who claim to love you or do all these things, are utilizing social media
to have discourse. Like to me, like, I'm really like, I'm so disturbed at it, Like I'm watching everybody go to social media with millions and hundreds of thousand people who don't give a fuck about you, who just want to critique you, just want to tear you down, who just want the tea on your information to where you can't even come back from me, right, Because this conversation that this man had with his women about his women as she came home and he had that same conversation
and be like, yo, you mom, what the fuck is you doing over there? That might have been just a debate, Well, come on, what are you talking about? I'm sexy this, But but I don't think it was all right. I see you in this man face and this and that you like we're supposed to be in a relationship. I think it was disrespect. Whatever it was, it could have been a dialogue that they had amongst each other that could have got settled. Now you putting your personal business
on the internet has caused so much, so much. We got think pieces, we got dissertations, we got everybody in the world is playing in on your relationship, right, and then what it does is it either lessens your value or it lessens her value, because now you got men trying to disrespect her, You got women disrespecting you, the
other men disrespecting you. You got so it's so many different things, and the world is divided, and now you can't even have your own personal relationship normal, right, So why I just don't get why people or who told people that it made sense for you to take your personal relationship and your personal issue with people that you've known for years, people that you share intimate space with, people you got the phone, the people you could text, people you know where they live, that you can knock
on the door, that you sharing your personal information and differences on the internet. I don't get what the fuck that is. I just I'm it's so far from me. I get you might have a moment, you know, you're writing I just literally just see some other shit that somebody some of our friends just sent me and I'm like, Lord, have somes Why is people putting a personal business on
the internet. We gotta listen. It is a recipe for a disaster because at two seconds that you mad at your friend, your girl, this and that that you write so and anger it. Don't it don't disappear. Now, it's in the cloud. This ship is in the it's in the algorithm, and it's showing up every time when you over it and you you're trying to be cool and you walking by and nigga like, Kiki, you shouldn't be with that. Nigga too weak? Come fuck with a player and a type of shit or the girls walking up
to to him. Yeah, she don't respect you. You need to like, why are you putting people in your personal business?
Well, here's the thing. I mean, it's a lot that conversation is a whole different. There's so many layers to personal business on social media. A lot of people feel like it's their only outlet, and.
The majority you feel like it's your only outlet.
The majority of people who go to social media. And this is what I have to say about the Kiki thing. And I ended here, and there's much more. We can talk about this every week. But the majority of the reason why people go to social media is because they are looking to embarrass and or yeah, they're looking to harm a person. They want to harm their their their brands, they want to expose them, embarrass them. They are looking to do something to negatively impact that person's life, right,
That's the reason why they do it. So that's what makes this whole situation with you know, with Kiki's boyfriend. That's the reason why it's problematic. It's problematic because in my opinion, I don't know him, so I can't but in my opinion, he literally was doing it to shame her, right, And that's what people that's why people go to social media because they want to shame the person who they feel hurt them, betrayed them, or whatever.
They want to shame them. They want to hurt them.
They want to hit them where it hurts, where they feel like everybody knows about it.
The problem is, as.
With every situation that I have watched play out, when you try to shoot at somebody on social media, the shit backfights.
It always backfights, It.
Always somehow because as you said, the intention for what you're trying to do, you can't control what the response is gonna be from millions of people who are now
able to weigh in on your situation. So while you think that you're just gonna harm that one person and isolate them, what generally happens is that people who share a variety of perspectives have loud voices, and you find yourself having to shut your social media down or having to protect your family maybe or your whatever whatever things
that you care about, your own brand. Because now when when people when you google the brother's name because I did it, I just wanted to see, the headlines are like so and so, shame, such and such, like it's it doesn't work out for you the weigh in which you think it should, It just doesn't. It never it, never, ever, ever does. I have watched this happen so many different times where to your point, you open up the door and by the.
Way, you actually might be freeing like he might have freed Kiki.
From the relationship, because now you're giving people a reason to say, oh, you went to the end of that.
That's like, I'm not saying she's gonna do that.
I'm just saying that it is counterproductive, and it's hard because sometimes we all feel like we want people to know, or we want to rally people together around our feelings or our thoughts or whatever, but it just never works out. And it didn't work out in this situation. And if I'm in a relationship with a man, I don't give a damn what has happened.
I do not care.
At the moment that a man goes to social media about me, he has his level of man leanness to me.
Has reduced significant. That's just my that's my feeling. I don't even hear.
I don't even see, you think, because the men that I know in my family, the men I'm around, they don't even really do social media first of all, so you know, they kind.
Of do it, they kind of.
My brother is like, I'm kind of into it because y'all be on here all the time, so I'm gonna come over here and see what's going on. So he posts a picture of his kids and see the nieces and nephews and you know, sell his products and whatnot. But for him to get on the internet and write something specifically towards his loved.
One that will never happen, It don't make sense. It's just it's just it's just very weird, and it's like, we have normalized shit that is so whack in this culture now, you know, And I think I think that's what the problem is a lot of people. People are seeing shit and people say that's old school, and it's like, why, how keeping your family business in your household is old school? Right?
I just want to be old school, like my family business and my personal business with my friends and issues like I don't need the Internet to know those those issues. I just don't need it.
And that's precisely why they want to do it, because they think that you don't want it to You don't that they're exposing you or there, or they're harming you by saying, oh, you know, you know, I just thinking about the fifty cent son, you know, coming out like oh we need money or I don't have any money or whatever. And it ends up in other situations. It happened with Masterpiece Son, right. It happened with a number of young people who tried to come out and say
they their parents were not financially supporting them properly. And you know what ends up happening. The same kid ends up going back to the Internet, like y'all could shut up nobody ask you know, nobody asked you for your opinion. I'm not looking for a handout. You end up having to try to defend yourself because now when you was just trying to get a message to your dad or your aunt or your mama or whoever it is, now people are like, take your lazy ass to work. Nobody owe you anything.
And that might not even be right. That might actually be when the parent might really be wrong, but.
Which you open it to somebody else's perspective.
Look at what happened with Ioki Simmons, same thing.
She she came out and said what she had to say if I Russell, which I'm sure at the time, whatever was going on, she was hurt. She was angry when I saw the video of Russell responding, and you know, we know Russell's very well. So when I saw the video of how he was responding, the words that he was saying, I'm a father, I'm your father, I'm your father, it's.
Some pain, that's clear.
It's pain, and I can no parent is perfect, no parent. So I'm sure whatever pain is there he has had, he's been party to it. And she also, you know, she feels how she feels he's been party to it. Her mama made part it's party to it, because that's just the way it goes right as parents. It's the nature of relationships. But I know that after she came out and said what she said, she's and she could have everything she said could have been one hundred percent
on point. But she spent the next few days defending herself and arguing with people online who was now given their opinion and saying nasty things about.
Some shit that they really don't even know. But somebody given an opinion based on words that you said, not even understanding the dynamics, and is drawing a bigger wedge between the person that you say that you loving, you care about. So how how do you think that's progressive? Who have you seen it work for?
I mean, in her defense, in her defense, this is a young lady, right, she's.
A young so I wasn't even talking about her, right, That's.
What I'm saying. She's a young lady. She's a young lady. So kids sometimes do things that they have to. We have to get a lot of grace to our kids.
I was just using those as examples of how you find I'm sure all of the young people who've been in the last year in the press school arguing with their parents and they've had to defend themselves, they probably would advise another person, let's not do this because it doesn't really work out.
Exactly as you wanted to do.
I mean, even just something like where Jaden recently said, oh, my mom, you know, introduced us to psychedelics. That shit done turned into a whole big thing. And I'm sure he just was trying to say, my mom introduced us to something that's been helpful or no, no, no, whether you agreeve it or not is not the point I'm saying. I'm sure he was in charge his mother exactly.
And now here we go. So you just have to be careful how you use social media because it's not it's just as not what people think it's not.
It is.
And the more and the more viewership you have and the more voice, bigger your voices, you have to be a lot more careful about the things that you say.
Oh you know that, because I'm very surprised to hear you say that, because you one of the main damn people.
I don't you tell me that, But I don't care. See what I'm trying to tell you. It's not so much that I don't care about it. The things that I say, I've already made up my mind that I'm willing to deal with the consequence of whatever I say. And I don't talk about my personal business on the internet. I just don't do that. You know what I'm saying. I talk about ship that's public knowledge and public opinions, and i give my opinion of public ship. But I'm
not going on there with my own personal shit. That's not happening. So if somebody has a problem with my my public view of some public ship, so I give a fuck about it.
But still still out Yes, what you are saying is one hundred percent right. Still, the rule applies across the board. It may not be it is different, it is different, but the rule generally applies across the board that you have to be careful when you start speaking on social media.
Right.
And there have been some situations in my life, your life, a lot of it, where we probably would do things differently from how you know, however we reacted on social media or how we responded. There are times when you post things right, and I'm times these are public issues. It doesn't matter. My opinion of these things is who cares? Right,
Nobody but our little followers care about my opinion. And I get ready to write back to you my opinion, and then I realized I could just text you and tell you that right, or I get ready.
And it happens with a lot of the people.
Sometimes you do, like with the situation where ha King I dropped a very non confrontational perspective in his comments just so that it could broad into convo.
And you know, and it's cool.
God love needed.
Sometimes when y'all my brothers be posting ship and I be pissed, like, I don't know. Angelo posted something one day about relationships or women or some shit, and I broke back, like and I thought about it, and I deleted it immediately because one of the things that I realized is that and this is a different this is a different conversation. It's one I couldn't I can text him.
But two, what it does is open up the arena for the or the floodgates for people to feel like there's dissension in my organization with my friends and people that I'm close to.
And I can't your voice attack them. People will utilize your voice, your taxing.
Yeah, it's too dangerous, like our work is. It's literally dangerous. I'm talking about life threatening danger when people feel that they can see something, because then then then they become.
Infiltrated and attack you and are to harm you exactly.
Ride and come there we go. And with that said, lead the acts.
Delete everything.
I wouldn't get on a thread if they pay me, I won't get on those threads.
I never like threads. Is just you can put your thoughts and people comment. You put ship up there that you're thinking and get a whole thread of people. It's cool. It's just a threatening you know. It ain't that conversation.
You know, maybe one day in life, but right now, I'm gonna let y'all have that. Yeah, I just I mean, I have too much social media already.
Once in a while I might write something there. For the most part, it ain't gonna be a thing. It's it's gonna be like I did Twitter. Twitter wasn't something that.
I kind of thing put on Twitter and learn that once you go on there, you have to commit to fighting literally physically fighting.
Was there to fight though, That's the only reason I went to Twitter.
I went there because to say you know what, you ended up having to come back to me and say, you know what, you was right.
Yeah, but I went there to fight, though I definitely went there to fight. I went there fist the cuffs balled up, you know what I'm saying.
Yeah, but you know whatever, whatever.
Thank y'all for being tuning in to Street Politicians. We love y'all for making us the number one show in the world. We appreciate y'all. You have any ideas, critiques, anything, hit us as Street Politicians pod Let us know what you want to hear, who you want to see, give us some ideas for topics everything. We love y'all and we appreciate y'all. And as always, I'm not gonna always be right to me. It's not gonna always be wrong, but we will both always and I mean always, be authentic.
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