Issue #0

go depressive. Man it for me, standing for me out and knock a soft for me. Maybe then I get some sleep, which you probably need. The fifth to live in infamy, so I can live in peace. But I'm splitting six which disease at the centerpiece. Who the fund is? Mariah? What the fun is that? I said? Welcome to the bottom of the barrel, cops j walking put the clock to your perrel. Lock you in the box for all the posits in your bar row, and even taking washingt

bike and talking for in there row. I dare you to come let these crackers put you want to curf you? You could keep it reel and let the silly niggas Murphy. I'll tell you what the deals he really ain't got no virtues of viboral quiets were Nobody really deserves you when life is giving them. Couragey strike probably solve it all.

The follow worlds unite people worth the sight think guy ship nigga my persons tight heard it right and post a picture here to frame of perfect life of the worse and height nick and conserved the worst of slight. Financial rigor mortis got you throwing fish and all you're ship the story that you was talking to sick. Now you're just sipping porch penny pitch, of course, which it makes you sick of porsh it instead of sitting gorgeous

predators got picks and torches. Welcome to Waiting on Reparation. Hurry up. My name's Dope Knife and I'm lingal Franca reporting to you live from not live, reporting to you hot, coming in hot, coming in hot from Athens, Georgia and an undisclosed time on disclosed place. This is actually episode zero of the Waiting on Reparations podcast, and then the tradition of all episode zero is like like I don't know do do you know what episode with with this

episode or issue zero is it's like the epicenter. It's like the ground zero. It's like the dead nation point for the whole thing. It's like the start of the show before the start of the show. Right, It's like it's like the Garden of Eden, you know, back in the day, like in in comic books, they would always have an issue zero, but it would come out long after the comic book has been around, but it would just be kind of like, what are you some kind

of nerd or something? Yeah, I mean you would think so, right, but like if you know the standards story like Spider Man, right then like there would be an issue zero and it's like what did he do in school that day before he got bitten by the radio actors? So it is that yeah, yeah, I mean so this is kind of like that. It's like you know who, So who are we? Who are you? Who are you? Who am I? Yeah? So I'm going to answer a question with a question. So yeah, I'm lingal franco Um hip hop artist, kind

of commissioner here in Athens, Georgia. Show me don't come out to we we both have probably think some robber reason know that from we were keeping a stickle sharp, So pry you better riot if I don't pray you better right, if I'm don't pray you better riot? For about a year and a half now, also getting my PhD at the University of Georgia go doggs UM in Language and Literacy education. So I study hip hop language and culture and how it can be used in the

classroom and stuff like that. And also I'm very involved in politics, and so I'm interested in the overlaps between the dimensions of the political realm and the realm of hip hop. When did you get into hip hop? So it's a funny story because it's also the story of how I met you in the first place, the story of how you got into hip hop, well, got into hip hop in terms of being a performer, take it all the way back, because we'll get to that. But yeah, like so, like how did you get into hip hop?

Just in general, because I mean that matters, because that has to happen first before you get into the performance. That's true. I mean I was a passive hip hop listener throughout my childhood and like early adolescence, I was around a lot of like ciphers and people who thought they could wrap good and most of whom were like dudes, And so I kind of stayed out of it, just like had my little pen and add on the sidelines, like writing rhymes until um frankly, like I wasn't I

got into UM. I was in graduate school and I had been in the spoken word, I've been in freestyle and stuff like that, but like I started to really find a sense of identity and hip hop listening to hip hop that um, I felt like challenged the stereotype of what hip hop could be folks like a sad

rock for example, and like Skeleton came out. I was like, oh, man, hip hop can be this too, Like this can also embrace like the nerdy sides of me, the dark sides of me in terms of like being a crazy person, um and so and still be cool and still yeah and be fantastical and be all these things and so like my inner like you know, book reading, literary as like nerdy black girl like finally found like a space within the genre and uh decided to like start making

my own music and know three years later, four years later, traveling around the country and stuff, playing shows you know, do them with a thing. So who are you? Um, I am dope knife. I'm a rapper, producer, illustrator, sometimes filmmaker from US Havannah, Georgia. I'd rather slabor way to thank of something to say, so when it comes to point, it works to get the dog. I'm a lap rant with that. I still love my son if he's gay, but I kicked him out the motherfucking house if he

wraps whacked one. Mike Mike Dree said everybody down. Kind of found a little audience for myself. So I've been making music independently for about a decade now. I didn't grow up in the States. You know. My my father works in the State Department. When I was a kid, so we used to travel from country to country, you know, growing up, and we'd always you know, I was always in American schools abroad or international schools abroad. There wasn't that sort of you know, hey, hip hop is like

this new fresh thing. It just wasn't there and it wasn't present for me like that. So when I did get into high school, and I think I was in Singapore at the time, um, and I did start meeting people who were like DJ's and break the answers and stuff like that, who are who are in school with me? And it was like, oh man, so like there's like this whole other world that seems like dangerous and not a lot of people do it, you know what I mean. It It just had had this like countercultural vibe to

it that was cool from the surface level. So then when I started becoming a participant and it started researching it more and learning more about it, and then you learn more about like why hip hop was started in the first place, going to hip hop events and be boy jams and battles and graffiti contests and stuff like that, and just getting immersed in the culture. Do you feel like you use hip hop in your everyday life today? Um? I mean yeah, but in subtle ways stuff that's kind

of hard to articulate. Like I think so the way that I think of hip hop, it's in the way that I speak, It's in how I dress. Not to sound corny, but like I look at hip hop as kind of like a spiritual experience for me. Yeah, I really want to talk about how we met because I think it's really funny. Okay, Yeah, the story of how Lingua Franca and Dope Nick and that I was on this little string where one thing was leading to another, and I was opening up for this cat, and I

was opening up for that cat. I was like, oh ship, you know. And then it got to the point where it's like, oh, you know, do you wanna open up for St. Francis in Atlanta? I was like, yeah, you know, that sounds like a planet, you know. So I go down there and I opened up and it was like one of the illest shows that I've done, felt like I rocked. It, got off stage like people bought a bunch of merch and the I came up to you and I was like, oh my god, you were so great.

You should come play in Athens, Georgia. I'm not gonna imitate. And and uh my friend who also has made fun of me and like play wear and Atham started and like Athens is like the whitest town in America, which is not true, but like as a white kid, he you know, um, et cetera. And you you were still like, yeah, sure is you know, come up sometime, we'll play a show. It'll be I was also like just got off stage mode too, so it was like yeah, yeah, somebody's like

talking anyone anything. Yeah, yeah, stuck with me. I was like, I'm going to put on a hip hop show in Athens. So I'm gonna bring this cat out. He's gonna do that who's got the props thing? It's gonna be awesome. Um. And so I had never performed before ever, like it didn't you know, and Athens and only have a five

hip hop scene at the time. But I went to the bar where I was working at and like, you know, asked him, like a hip hop show, there's this really dope cat from Savannah who I'm gonna have come up. It can be great, and they, you know, they grudgingly obliged. Was that the hot corner? That was the hot first off? When I hip hop I had and I, uh, that was like two yeah. So I was like, yeah, I'm gonna open for him. It's gonna be great. But then I had to write all the songs like I had

like I didn't have any material. I was like, oh, it's gonna be fine. I'm gonna you know, write all this material and then you couldn't come. So I was like, well, I guess I'm gonna headline my own first show. And like put this whole bill together, even though like the whole premise initially it's fallen through now um and uh eventually did come play an appen? Yeah, no I did, I did. Um. I think it was the next year I came and played. Yeah it was at the Caledonia,

I think. Yeah. Yeah. But anyway, then we started, i know, times live, We started playing music a lot together. We went on tour through the southeast south to Texas and South seventeen. Now we are roommates. That was the model to model minority tour back into that seen and now we are. We lived together as of like yesterday two days making music and podcasts. Yeah, well you know what I mean. Even this, the whole conversation we've been having so far is all kind of surface levels far as

episode zeros. Yeah, anyway, let's yeah, okay, so Athens, Georgia. Let's talk a little bit about Athens, Georgia, because you know, we might have big ideas, but we live in a small town is and I think a lot of you know, people can relate as be consume media that I was, you know, produced oftentimes like on the coast, Like now

we we regular people. We live in a regular town, but it's a sound the vibrant, I guess you could say, like music history, and so it's an interesting place to be if you are in hip hop, you know, because folks oftentimes know Abouthens for people like you know, R A. M and Bet two and then eight is or like if you're into like I don't know, can you call it indie rock? I don't even know that. I don't

genres outside of hip hop. Um, it's like, you know, like Neutral medic Hotel by the nineties or like upon Montreal of Montreal in the two thousands. I mean, shout out to Kichi Bashi is like killing him right now, is homie. It's definitely one of those towns that's like has has like a musical pedigree, but it does. Yeah, that's a good way to say it. Yeah, yeah, yeah sont Notably, we do claim Bubba Sparks is Bubba Sparks Sparks is from Athens. Yeah, you getg Twins with the

high school here. That sounds like, y'all not it made. I mean just just serves claim and famous motherfucker sounds like not known for his musical talents as much. But Titus Burgess is also from Athens. Yeah, I went to Clark uh Clark County High schools now uh cedar shows high school co jacks. Um. But it's an interesting Yeah, it's got this like this music called pedigree as he said, but like not a lot of offerings for hip hop artists up until the current moment. I mean there's been

waves of it over the decades. My friend Tommy and I was talking about earlier it was like really instrumental and being like the trojan horse of hip hop because, like I said, it's like this shiny, bald headed white guy who like looks good and like a cardigan and like coach shoes, and so they'd like send them in to the hip to the venues that we're booking rock music, like hey, you guys, can we like have a show here to like ease them into having like black people

in their spaces because they were a little how did you get into politics? Uh? So also through hip hop, And that's kind of why I'm so obsessed with that intersection. You know. I met through one of the hip hop shows, either I was putting on or someone's putting on. I met this cat named Tommy Valentine and two thousand, I guess twousnant seventeen, also right before we went on tour together um who was a former hip hop artist who

was running for office. And uh, eventually, like when you talked to about the public policy issues that affect people a hip hop community, you know, stuff like affordable and reliable access transportation, childcare, educational opportunities, you know, wages, criminal justice system, all these things that like people talk about in their songs and like, well even impede them from like having the opportunity to perform their songs so people

can hear that story. And so I started to see all these connections, and you know, eventually started working on this campaign field director, campaign manager. And then through some weird circumstances, I was like, you know what, fuck it, he's running. I can run. I could just do this. I have nothing to lose. Became his running mate, and uh later you know, two thousand eighteen and then one and here I am a year and half later, having

previously never thought it was gonna be a politician. Like man, I've I've just done too much in this life. They find me out on dead Man. But here we are doing the thing. And so in this in this podcast. We're going to talk a lot about like that general idea of like the ways that politics both like you know, public policy and then like revolutionary you know, leftist kind of politics. Can you know what the bearing they have on the hip hop community, the ways in vice versa

and vice versa as well. Yeah, Um, the ways that public policy of shaped hip hop and the ways that hip hop shaped public policy and public discourse, and so um, that's that's what we're gonna be talking about a lot. You have been in office for a little over a year year and a half, now, okay, so how's that going. Um, it's a struggle. I mean, when you're only outside, it's so easy to just be mad at the folks with power,

like why is everything kicking so long? But now that I am actually engaging with like the gears of power, like the interlocking pieces within the local government, I have seen how long things take and kind of appreciate how long things take because like these are millions and millions of dollars were allocating and they're kind of affects the

lives of tens of lessens of people. So um, I've definitely had to cultivate some patients with the process um and learned the art and slowly learning and still frustrated with but like and learning the art of compromise because so many good ideas, really great ideas, get watered down based on you know, just preemptitions by state law, a lack of like federal funding for programming, you know, and then just like the will of my other commissioners who

don't see the urgency of like improving the conditions And do you mean any like mine, do you think it affective your platform at all? Like just the realities of how long things sake um somewhat, I mean, like I still aspire to, like, you know, do things I can

increase the stock of affordable housing in my neighborhood. And like, I think there's a lot of criminal justice reform yet to be done, but just like I think it's expanded the scope and timeline of like what those things are going to happen on and uh and seeing that like piecemeal processes, sometimes what you what you have to sometimes just sometimes what you get and remember remembering to like celebrate when you get little things done as a part

of that larger picture, because you know, it is a very large puzzle, very um complicated image in the background. What is nerds to you? Like, what does that mean? We're talking about like this this podcast is somewhat about nerd life. I don't know what anybody else's definition of

nerd ship is. To me, nerds ship is anything that completely has captured your imagination and your interests, and something that is captured it so thoroughly that you do not care what anybody's opinion is of it, you know what I mean. To give an example, like I was dating a girl who was like much younger than me, not too long ago, and it's like we would be having conversations and I would be like talking about like you know, like movies or something like that, and I would be

like getting really intricate into it. I'd like find myself being like to ship, you're nerding out like, and I'd like feel bad about it, like damn, I really kind of just talked her ear off like nerding out right.

But then you know, in reverse, like something would come up that she was interested in that like you totally wouldn't think was like nerdy at all, like some I don't even know something something mainstreaming, right, and she would talk something yeah, like like okay, that that's totally not it. But I don't know. I don't know who that is.

But let's just say for the same example that like she was talking about Salena Gomez, she would start really talking about Salena Gomes like yeah, all the minution detail and internet stuff and ship like nobody. It's like, word, you are just as passionate about Selena Gomez as any fucking Star Wars fanboy I've ever met in my life that I appreciate that have. Definitely you are nerd nerdity.

Some people are like that about sneakers. Yeah, I know, motherfucker's who could tell you like what color the Jordans that came out in ninety two are? You know what I mean? That's nerds ship to me like that, there's no difference between that and some kids playing magic who can like Chris Wite to you, you know, like like all the details of some power Card or some shows. So to me, that's nerds ship. And and I'm nerdy

about hip hop and I'm nerdy about politics. I want to talk to you because like now that I live with this man, he has the news on like every from what I can tell every waking moment of every day it's good background. But like, so why politics though? Why do you give a ship about politics? Well, I mean it's kind of like the intersection of all the things that I'm interested in. It's like show business but for ugly people, and it's serious but sometimes times it's funny.

But that's like a bad things, you know what I'm saying. It's just like like I'm as far as that aspect of it goes, like like if you just see me and I'm like drawing, or if I'm like working on beats and I have the news on the background, take it no different than you would if like I had like some Netflix series on the background. All right, so what's the what's it? What's your favorite rap song? My favorite? Don't I don't want to answer that. Come on, no, okay, fine,

what are like? Okay, I won't even put the pressure a favorite? No, No, it's fine. I have a favorite rap song. Say it, I'll say it, Okay. So it's probably a Tassa. I'm gonna talk about Asap Rock a lot on this podcast because I'm really obsessed with them. Then it's you know, it's what it is. Second, but

shut to the gun. I love to have you on the show sometimes, Um, so I like identify as like somewhat like a little bit crazy and off kilter and so and some I am someone that goes to therapy a lot, and I'd love it and it's a lot better for it. So when I'll be speaking, I'll be speaking. Uh No, I was like anyway I was doing today, it was great. Um. But his song about going to therapy, Shrunk is my favorite hip hop song. Really got a great narrative. I mean it's like very it's it's fantastical. Also,

it's like very it's like wild. It's like the portraits he paints of sitting in the waiting room and like his interactions it's like going to battle with this like shrink or whatever. I just find it really entertaining. I like that. That's cool and that's cool. That's I think that's a good um you know, like eclectic pick. You know what I'm saying, Like, like, not too many people are going to say shrunk. Yeah you can know. It kind of a really contemporary song to to be like

it is somewhat yeah. Yeah, So that's that's that. That that's you know, well, right back at you. What about your favorite song My favorite rap song. Um see now this one, I legitimately have a hard time. Oh Like I didn't, like, I wasn't forts into a corner. Okay, if it's not as easy when the tables turn on, there could be five, it could be like five of them. But if I got to pick one d twelves, I'll

shoot up you. Oh yeah, yeah, okay, until talking about that, why, it's just like, first of all, when I first started rapping, it was like, you know, it was one of those early songs that was like, oh man, okay, now that I'm doing this and I see how hard it is, and then I would listen to you know, hear that and it's like, okay, fuck, like you know what I mean.

That was like one of the first songs where it's like I heard it as like an early rapper was like damn, you know, like if I get to be the point where I can wrap like that, especially like Eminem's both of them versus on that in his last verse specifically didn't see that either, but like I can

see it now. It's fine. It's fine. I mean, this isn't an It's not on any like deep metaphysical fit is just I have it on seven and like it's like not it is just it is a beat in a collection of versus that just to me go so well together that I can listen to it any fucking time, anywhere, any place. We need to talk a little bit about the title of the show. Okay, why why is it called this? Okay, well, I am gonna ask you this first, because Okay, my answer is not deep at all. My

answer is not deep at off. Well, Okay, the way that I experienced it is ship. At this point, it was like a year and a half ago and I hit you up. I literally was like, wouldn't it be funny if we were stitting on stage and we had to tell people, hey, we're waiting on reparations, which is like we're talking about names for like a rap group album,

and like that was one of them. And I remember you gave you gave like a list of them, and that was one of them, and I think I liked it, but I didn't say anything to you, so like for months you were just still kind of like, oh, we haven't picked something. But in my head I was like, n yo, like waiting our reparations cold as ship, Like we need to go with that so yeah, I like it because it's cool and it's a dough fast name.

The deep The deep thing is the idea that you know, as progressive thinkers, as a part of burgeoning progressive movement, we're all waiting on something. We're all kind of waiting around for what we believe is going to change things.

We might have our different policy issues. You might have a sense of communities that we feel are effective, that need to be heard and have amend's made, you know, for past wrongs for them, and we want to invite people to like when we have guests come on, kind of have them talk about like what are you waiting on it? What are you waiting in criminal justice reform? Are you waiting on marijuana legalization? Fucking hope not Jesus Christ as my team were still having this conversation and

Aden's rogia, but like are you waiting on? You know, like what are you waiting on? And like, I have I have to to be waiting on reparations for a number of reasons we're gonna get into later on in the podcast, But um, we're waiting in reparations? What about you? Freestop freestyle? Um not? I mean if I was gonna apply like if reparations equal justice injustice equals you know, like all things dope. And it's like we're waiting on

ship to get though, you know what I mean? Like for me, that is like you know, that's that's a hip hop concept. It just like you know, in hip hop, we we like dope ship. We like doing dope ship. We like seeing dope ship and hearing dope ship, and we like for other people to to enjoy in that dopeness. You know, equity, dope equity, dope equity exact, see what equity? Yes, yes, um okay, you know. But other than that, it's a cold blood ship. Otherwise it's just cold old blooded rock.

A mic on it. Hey, guys, can we can we get a beat? Please? I feel like rapping? Oh oh yeah yeah yeah wait no waiting waiting our reparations, yo, okay, fuck it yo. I said that I was gonna freestyle, but I gotta hit it first. But I go in freestyle, don't kick a written first. Motherfucker's no. When I go and spit a word, I go and put a rapper riding in the written hers forbidding, going right down the street. Every time I go and swap. Yeah, that's right where

we meet. I take off my captain, I give you agree. Any enemy stepping up, then he's meet in the cleats, meet in defeat. That's a wrestling move. When I'm coming up testing like I'm testing the groove, I'm just stressing them in. This is my will and testament, max coming up with extra men, with extra men fitting in the call like Mexicans. These motherfucker's want to come through. I put the X and men in this X. You out and you acting like you don't know what I'm just about.

But you just about about to get it up to top the dome out of this and I can't. I can't free all right now, it's just like too weird. Ok. Yeah, we're waiting on reparations from here too, across the nation, and everybody trying to come chase it after us. I have to be like Jason, send you to the rapture. Everybody know that I'm something wrapping stuff off the top of the dome. You know about the capsula like a dracula.

Everybody knows you better pack it up right on the microphone, about to smack you up like your mama did back when she was being honest with you when you came up into kitchen with conditions. I don't know everybody living in rough conditions. I can't. Yeah, yeah, okay, ship yo yo yo yo, check it, check it, check it, check it. Try to pull a sex seed out yo? Hey yo, hey you thought because I'm underground, I don't want to

cut a check. I let these sharp words slide across your fucking necks out of step any rapper saying that it stucks the best letting deaf. I don't wrap for any of your punk's respect. I'm thirty plus every day still smoking weed. It took that long for me to figure what I'm supposed to be. I'm not supposed to be hoping that you notice me? Yo? What m the omen? So you know you ain't as dope as me? You were soldier? Please break both your knees seem tremble every

time that I approach them. Sees if not rhymes, where the focus be? I go proceed, Stay above y'all pussys like overreaths broken, stude, rude, rude, Yo. All right, yeah we are. We are waiting on reparations. Am dope knife, I'm lingal Franco. Hurry see you next week. Yeah yeah, hurry up and tune in. Waiting on Reparations as a production of I Heart Radio. Listen to Waiting on Reparations on the I heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.