January 3, 2025 • 26 mins
Hosts Ramses Ja and Q Ward look back at the biggest new stories of 2024. Part 1 of 2.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is the Black Information Network Daily podcast, and I'm
your host, rams' Jah. And sometimes the amount of stories
that make their way to us means that we simply
can't cover everything that comes our way. But from time
to time, a story just stays with me and Bill
compelled to share it with you and give you my thoughts.
And now one more thing. All right, we are now firmly,
(00:29):
decidedly into a brand new year, and I gotta be honest,
we're starting to feel I gotta be careful with how
I describe this, but we're starting to feel we're starting
to breathe again. You know, I don't want to speak
(00:53):
for everyone. I certainly don't want to speak for Q,
but uh, yeah, this is this is where we are,
and uh, you know, we got to work cut out
for us, and I for one, don't have any quit
in me and so onward.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Being able to reflect on another year, man, is a
really exciting thing for us to be so many years
into this that were reflecting or years as they passed,
because you know, once upon a time, you know, we
didn't know where we would be in this broadcasting space.
So it's a it's a fortunate position that we're in
(01:30):
to be able to reflect on our journey in this
space and in this past year in particular. Man, there
were so many high moments, so many major moments that
it was it was difficult for us to to kind
of put it in a list form. To to bring
it down to just these few things was tough because
(01:57):
we had to cut some things out.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Ye, it was a lot.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
We had to edit our list down and it's you know,
once again, man, just a really really big deal for
me to be able to do this with you. I'm
glad you've gotten to a point where you can breathe. Yeah,
I haven't yet, because that would, in my mind, I'd
have to be on the other side of this thing
that's coming. And it's still coming. It's not like it
(02:21):
happened right and now we're responding to it. It's we're
still moving toward the thing. So I, unfortunately and am
still holding my breath and still trying to figure out, Man, Okay,
how are we going to deal with what's next? I
just need to say that out loud.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
But here we are again five and one of the
things that we've yet to do is reflect on the
year twenty twenty four, which for us, for me and
you was a very significant year. We went through a
lot of changes, a lot of growth, and we covered
a lot of stories, and you know, the world adjusted
(03:03):
to the stories while we were adjusting to new opportunities
and you know, wrapping our heads around you know, our place.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
In the world.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
And I'm sure everyone else was doing the same, and
so it just kind of felt timely to to send
twenty twenty four off in a way that only we
can on this show, not a count down at midnight,
not a not a recap, but just you know, some
some reflections, some some introspection and so so yeah, I
(03:34):
made a list of a few things that that I
thought were significant. Q also compiled a list of things
that he thought were significant, and we just wanted to
reflect on those. And of course, thank you our listener
for you know, riding with us through all of these
stories and through all these these growth opportunities, and you know,
we're looking forward to this year being you know, our
(03:57):
best year yet. So I know, a highlight for me,
perhaps the biggest highlight for me was being able to
have a full on conversation with Ambassador Susan Rice. And
I know that was a big deal for you too,
because you were probably more excited about that than I've
ever seen you about anybody.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Yeah, I was to say I was excited about that
as a gross understatement, Yeah, yes, man, A great place
to start. Ambassador Susan Rice not just a hero of ours,
not just someone that we admire and look up to ramses,
but someone who, once we were able to be in
her company, I'm sure you noticed, started to treat us
(04:42):
more like family family than like colleagues or then like
you know, media people. And that was something that really
really stood out to me. Her, her team, and her
family just really treating us better than just people that
they had a professional working relationship with.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Yeah. Yeah, and I really got the sense from her
that that treatment is not extended to everyone that comes
her way. So so yeah, that was just a highlight.
And you know, I want to just circle back just
(05:20):
because I think it does deserve you know a little
bit of attention focus, you know, addressing, if you will.
But in terms of you know, breathing, I I think
I always kind of suspected that when the time came
(05:43):
to breathe again, I might be the one who would
breathe again first. And I never felt responsible for it.
I never felt pushed, I never felt pressured. You know, everybody,
our listeners, you, Chris Thompson, Tony Cole, every body let
me have my moment. You know, my family, my friends,
(06:05):
close listeners of the show. Everyone, everyone let me have
my moment. And I did. I had my moment. But
now that I'm breathing and I and now that I
know who I am again, I'm reminded of that and
I'm like, Okay, I've never been afraid of hard work.
I've never been afraid when the odds are against me. Granted,
I know this is a different predicament. But I'm here
(06:30):
and there's no quit in me. So I want to
promise to you for next year, and I want to
promise to our listeners that I I can be. I
will I will do. I'm a human. I will do
my best to be strong where you might be seeking strength.
(06:51):
That is my promise to you, my brother. Because you
you pull me out of the clouds sometimes and remind
me of what we have to do. I need that,
And sometimes I feel like I need to remind you
of what you me us we are capable of doing.
And and you know this. I think that this list
(07:14):
you know, we've always kind of been fighting against the
odds and this list that we're about to break down
the fact that we are looking back on these things
as accomplishments, like you said, not things that we want
to do, not a wish list, but these are things
that we've actually covered. We have recognition from covering these awards.
In some instances, we've done talks and you know, made
(07:35):
some positive changes in roads, we developed relationships. You know,
these are things that we've done together against odds. You know,
because again, if this would been twenty twenty three looking
forward to twenty twenty four, who we wouldn't have been
able to imagine that.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
But no, we couldn't have possibly exactly predicted the year
going the way that it did. Not even not playing
out the way that we wished, it's still still far
beyond what our hopes could have been for for our
personal and professional lives.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Yeah. So, so obviously we did a lot of coverage
of you know, Palestine and Israel and the conflict and
all of the goings on there. We've had you know,
guests on the show to help give us insight into
you know, both perspectives on on that conflict and people
(08:34):
had had been to both countries and people who had,
you know, ideas of what outcomes should should come from
you know, the war and what was fair play and
what wasn't and uh, you know, I I've decided firmly
how I felt about that, and that's well documented. But
(08:56):
you know, it's it's interesting for me to have been
put in a position to have been empowered to give
a voice to people who I felt really needed it,
you know, and you know that when we had to
(09:17):
kind of peel back some of those layers, you know,
as heartbreaking as that was, yeah, I know what it
feels like to not be able to do anything, and
this past year we were able to do something. We
were able to travel, we were able to again just
to just to be able to report on that. As
(09:40):
heavy as it was, it felt like okay, because there's
a lot of people around the country who are like,
I mean, I can vote, maybe that'll make a difference,
you know, but outside of that, what can I do?
We were able to actually put microphones in front of
people and say, help us make sense of this. And
so Kalstein obviously is more than the footnote that it
(10:03):
is here. But you know, all the episodes are up,
and you're welcome to go back and check them out.
But you know, we stand by We stand by our
our coverage there. You know, Joe Biden, he was initially
he was going to be our candidate, and we had
(10:28):
to take that on the chin because you know, when
he was first elected, he told us that he was
going to be a one term president and sucked a
lot of the political oxygen up, you know, during election
season prior to making way for Kamala Harris. And I
know that this is something that you know, you touched
(10:49):
on a couple of times.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Well, yeah, before you move on, I want to say
something about Palestine as well. Oh yeah, please please, I
mean you said Joe Biden's thing. He took an overtly
Zionist approach to the conflict in Palestine, and that was
(11:11):
tough for us, That was tough for a lot of people.
I go on to suggest, because I don't know as fact,
I don't have enough data in front of me that
that colored the way some voters voted, even after he
wasn't the candidate anymore. His administration's position on that conflict
(11:35):
affected people that we know in a very very real
way and made it. He made it, for some people
a one issue electorate, and that issue was that conflict
in our country's position and support on the genocide that
that was happening, you know, in Gaza. And you know,
(12:00):
it was an interesting time to be a black American
and us kind of always being the allies for everyone
and trying to show up and show solidarity with everyone,
and having been asked and almost implored and demanded to
(12:21):
put our own personal plight on the back burner in
support of those who had to deal with this very
very difficult conflict. And it was a a hard position.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
To be in.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
You know, what are the effects going to be of
this conflict on my life, my children's life, my family,
my friends, and my people versus what it's doing to
the family, friends and people of people that we care about.
It was not a simple issue for us to try
to discuss, and I'm glad that we went into it
(12:53):
with such depth, you know, conversations with people who were
you know, polar options sits on their passions and their
hopeful outcomes from that conflict, and how they felt about
how much human life was lost. And sadly, I kind
(13:13):
of watched people lose their humanity to to blindly support
their team, right, We couldn't just all be humans and
think that the fact that so many people were dying
was bad. Nope, my people dying is bad. Their people
dying is just the cost of this war. And it
(13:34):
was just like man, that was a harsh position to
hear either side of the argument take. And you know,
maybe at a later time, I'll get it, you know,
more into my thoughts on how it seems that humanity
in general and people's view on each other as human
beings seems to be at you know, an all time low.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Well, twenty twenty four we saw the once great Diddy
run into some significant trouble.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
That's a that's a way to put it.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Yeah, oh yeah. And the truth is, you know when
when that when that first those allegations first started coming up,
It was during a time when a lot of allegations
were coming from left and right because New York had
kind of changed the law and so a lot of
people could come forward with stories from decades ago. And
(14:43):
I'm always a little cautious, little leery when when people
are attacking a black man who's accomplished something. You know,
I'm not I try not to be. I'll say it
this way. I'm trying not to be so quick to judge.
And I think a lot of peop people were kind
of in that same space, headspace when it came to
(15:04):
Ditty because Diddy had you know, it just didn't really
seem consistent with the Diddy that we knew, you know,
rumors and parties and all this sort of stuff. Sure,
but you know, people can You're gonna have to give
me more than that. And then when that video came
out of him actually assaulting Cassie in that hotel, and
(15:29):
I was like, Okay, now we got something that makes
this make more sense. And it's not that we didn't
want to believe the victims. I certainly didn't. I didn't
not want to believe the victims. But you have to
be very careful there, especially in a position that we're
in because again, we have microphones and audiences. And so
once that video came out, it was like, it was
heartbreaking because I saw what was happening to this woman.
(15:54):
Of course, like wow, you know, and you hear stories
of women like trapped in abusive relationship and now I'm
seeing it on a video. That's what that must look like.
And feel like she was trying to leave any chaster
and then caught her and then beat her up in
the lobby there, and then she had to go back
(16:14):
to the room. And then of course the story came
out that he paid for the tapes or whatever. So
there's rich powerful something, I can see it, right. The
other part of that, the other part that was heartbreaking. Yeah,
of course once you jump in. But the other part
that was heartbreaking for me was that it was like
I lost Diddy in that moment. I lost this guy
that I was looking up to. I was like, oh
my god, Okay, all right, now there's and now it's
(16:41):
it's it's not premature anymore for me to suggest that
this behavior is deplorable, because it's not speculative I'm looking
at it. And then everything that came out after that,
from people coming forward with stories to him going to prison,
(17:04):
h is all, you know, It's just it's it was
a lot for a lot of people, and of course
it's an ongoing saga. But yeah, please go ahead.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Yeah, I did not mean to cut you off. I
thought we were pausing for a second. I think our
pictures of Ditty were colored a little different prior to
that video, because those accusations were not in conflict of
who I thought he was prior to that. So for you,
maybe that was like, Okay, this is an inconsistent picture
of somebody that I've view on us.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
So you know, you know a lot more celebrities than
I do, so you probably more informed. Yeah, so I.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Was not as caught off guard. And you know, you
and I have spoken about, you know, believing victims, and
I don't think that's something that people are wondering how
we feel, like absolutely, Yeah. I've also said that I
wish there was some sort of punishment for people who
make baseless claims. Sure, because baseless claims make it harder
(18:03):
for people who would rather not believe victims and for
people who would when people come out and attack famous
people just because chasing money or whatever the case, it
turns out to be baseless, and then this celebrity who
lives their life in front of us, their life and
reputation is ruined, and this you know, common person gets
(18:24):
to just fade back into obscurity with a claim they
made hoping to get a payday. But in this case
that the accusations did not seem inconsistent with the person.
The video definitely made it worse, but you know I did.
I didn't have this impression of him that those accusations
(18:44):
were beyond his character. There being some video proof. I'm
glad that happened so people could stop hesitating to believe
this woman who was in this terrible situation. But you know,
Diddy's reputation was not above reproatridge beyond you know, these
(19:04):
these things being beyond the person that I thought he was,
So it was a little bit different for the both
of us in that case.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Well, let me make sure I say this because I
want to be very clear. As a black man, as
a black person, as a person who works in a
journalistic space, a decidedly black journalistic space, you I have
to strike a balance between of course, believing black women,
(19:34):
trusting black women, protecting black women. Obviously, that is a
foremost priority in all things, and I have to reconcile
that priority against in this instance, the priority of understanding
that there are forces at play whose sole purpose is
(19:56):
to tear down successful black people. Wouldn't the world be
better if this arrogant, exceptionally wealthy black man wasn't so
loud and brash and whatever there are people like this,
(20:19):
and you know, there are forces that you know, and
I you know, maybe a lot of it has to
do with conspiracy theories. Maybe it's all imagine, but you know,
a lot of black men are like de facto conspiracy theorists.
And I think that that's kind of par for the course,
you know, for the black experience in America, because so
(20:39):
many of the conspiracies turn out to not be theories,
that it's it's easier to see conspiracies in places where
some of them might not be true. So you know,
when I look at, you know, a black man getting
torn down, I'm like, okay, so is is this real
or is this not real? So there is there is
the potential to pause there, and of course, again at
(21:01):
the same time, you have to reconcile that against Okay,
so there's a black woman here saying that X, Y
and Z has happened to her, you know, and let's
do our best to try to wade through this and
reserve judgment until such a time as we know what
is factual, because I don't want to erroneously contribute to
(21:23):
the wrong side preemptively. And so that's the position that
I found myself in not with just with Diddy, but
with Jonathan Major's as well. But moving on another big
issue that we had to all deal with in the
media space. It got beyond music. It made its way
(21:47):
all through popular culture and indeed it's still going on
right now and we'll see more of it, I'm sure
at the super Bowl is Kendrick Lamar versus Drake And
I know that you would have way more to offer
this than I do, because you know you've studied it
a little bit more closely than I have. But you know,
(22:10):
I will say that being from Compton, you know I was,
there would have been no outcome there where I would
have been like maybe Drake One, maybe I would have
been biased from the beginning. I'm Compton all day and
I have no problem saying that to people. I'm not
(22:32):
a really like if you put me on a judging panel,
don't please don't do that because I will tell you upfront.
My people are the people who won, and that's it.
I don't got nothing else for you, So Kendrick One.
But anyway, I know that this was an exceptionally pivotal
moment for both of us in a number of ways.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Yeah, I think it's a story in a moment that
we all got to experience, rather than an issue that
we had to deal with. Sure, that's a better way
to say, but yeah, man, it was a You know,
I've always had my opinions of Drake. I've shared them
with you, and I think that he is an exceptionally
talented artist. And my issues with Drake have always been
(23:17):
based on the fact that I think he does lazy music.
Based on the amount of talent that he has, I
think Drake could have created his own genre. He's that talented,
and he instead chose the laziest version of hip hop,
like the lowest Hanging Fruit and I'm just gonna do
(23:39):
that version better than everybody else, and was celebrated for that.
He became the top artist in the genre and in
pop culture in general. Drake had an over decade run
that I don't believe is over right. But when you're
going against someone who is a master at an art
form and tries to take that art form to its
(24:01):
highest point, when you're making the music that's the lowest
haging fruit, even when you're making the best version of it,
you're unknowingly outmatched because popularity and skill set are not
one and the same, and he went up against a
Shaolin master chef with you know, a form and grill. Now,
(24:23):
his form and grill is the best form of grill
you ever taste, but different when you got this micheline
five star chef in here with the Shanobi blades, it's
just a different thing. And I think his biggest mistake
in their conflict was the assumption that he was somehow
(24:43):
de facto bigger and better than Kendrick Lamar, and that
arrogance showed at every decision that he made throughout the battle,
what he chose to talk about, when he chose to release,
and the kind of smug position he took at the
onset when he was just begging and begging for Kendrick
to drop a response to not even a month later,
(25:05):
say oh man, you got this burnt out and you
you're doing too much. It's like no where that energy
at where you was telling me to drop. Over and
over again, Kendrick showed that he's a super nova. He's
not just a rapper, he's not just an artist. And
he showed up to as he said, pop out and
show the whole world that this is I'm a different animal.
(25:29):
Over here, and if you if you're trying to bring
it to me, you got to be prepared for an
entirely different type of lyrical warfare. And it's not opinion
anymore of who came out the victor in this context,
not just because Ramses is from Compton.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
That's a good reason though.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Yeah, I appreciate you being transparent with your biases the
black man from Compton one every time, no matter what
I feel you and I'm prone to agree, But in
this it's it's objective. It's not just Ramses and q's opinion.
The numbers show it, the cultural impact shows it, and
I think he, like you said, is going to show
it again on that Super Bowl stage here in a
(26:10):
few weeks.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
You know, there's an acronym that I came across, and
I'm sure many people have come across it. Drake stands
for don't rap against Kendrick ever. And I think if
any lesson that we've learned from twenty twenty four, it's
(26:37):
that one. So so I'll take that. Yeah. This concludes
part one of our two part recap of the year
twenty twenty four right here on the Black Information Network
Daily Podcast check Back in tomorrow for part two.
This is the Black Information Network Daily podcast, and I'm
your host, rams' Jah. And sometimes the amount of stories
that make their way to us means that we simply
can't cover everything that comes our way. But from time
to time, a story just stays with me and Bill
compelled to share it with you and give you my thoughts.
And now one more thing. All right, we are now firmly,
(00:29):
decidedly into a brand new year, and I gotta be honest,
we're starting to feel I gotta be careful with how
I describe this, but we're starting to feel we're starting
to breathe again. You know, I don't want to speak
(00:53):
for everyone. I certainly don't want to speak for Q,
but uh, yeah, this is this is where we are,
and uh, you know, we got to work cut out
for us, and I for one, don't have any quit
in me and so onward.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Being able to reflect on another year, man, is a
really exciting thing for us to be so many years
into this that were reflecting or years as they passed,
because you know, once upon a time, you know, we
didn't know where we would be in this broadcasting space.
So it's a it's a fortunate position that we're in
(01:30):
to be able to reflect on our journey in this
space and in this past year in particular. Man, there
were so many high moments, so many major moments that
it was it was difficult for us to to kind
of put it in a list form. To to bring
it down to just these few things was tough because
(01:57):
we had to cut some things out.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Ye, it was a lot.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
We had to edit our list down and it's you know,
once again, man, just a really really big deal for
me to be able to do this with you. I'm
glad you've gotten to a point where you can breathe. Yeah,
I haven't yet, because that would, in my mind, I'd
have to be on the other side of this thing
that's coming. And it's still coming. It's not like it
(02:21):
happened right and now we're responding to it. It's we're
still moving toward the thing. So I, unfortunately and am
still holding my breath and still trying to figure out, Man, Okay,
how are we going to deal with what's next? I
just need to say that out loud.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
But here we are again five and one of the
things that we've yet to do is reflect on the
year twenty twenty four, which for us, for me and
you was a very significant year. We went through a
lot of changes, a lot of growth, and we covered
a lot of stories, and you know, the world adjusted
(03:03):
to the stories while we were adjusting to new opportunities
and you know, wrapping our heads around you know, our place.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
In the world.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
And I'm sure everyone else was doing the same, and
so it just kind of felt timely to to send
twenty twenty four off in a way that only we
can on this show, not a count down at midnight,
not a not a recap, but just you know, some
some reflections, some some introspection and so so yeah, I
(03:34):
made a list of a few things that that I
thought were significant. Q also compiled a list of things
that he thought were significant, and we just wanted to
reflect on those. And of course, thank you our listener
for you know, riding with us through all of these
stories and through all these these growth opportunities, and you know,
we're looking forward to this year being you know, our
(03:57):
best year yet. So I know, a highlight for me,
perhaps the biggest highlight for me was being able to
have a full on conversation with Ambassador Susan Rice. And
I know that was a big deal for you too,
because you were probably more excited about that than I've
ever seen you about anybody.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Yeah, I was to say I was excited about that
as a gross understatement, Yeah, yes, man, A great place
to start. Ambassador Susan Rice not just a hero of ours,
not just someone that we admire and look up to ramses,
but someone who, once we were able to be in
her company, I'm sure you noticed, started to treat us
(04:42):
more like family family than like colleagues or then like
you know, media people. And that was something that really
really stood out to me. Her, her team, and her
family just really treating us better than just people that
they had a professional working relationship with.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Yeah. Yeah, and I really got the sense from her
that that treatment is not extended to everyone that comes
her way. So so yeah, that was just a highlight.
And you know, I want to just circle back just
(05:20):
because I think it does deserve you know a little
bit of attention focus, you know, addressing, if you will.
But in terms of you know, breathing, I I think
I always kind of suspected that when the time came
(05:43):
to breathe again, I might be the one who would
breathe again first. And I never felt responsible for it.
I never felt pushed, I never felt pressured. You know, everybody,
our listeners, you, Chris Thompson, Tony Cole, every body let
me have my moment. You know, my family, my friends,
(06:05):
close listeners of the show. Everyone, everyone let me have
my moment. And I did. I had my moment. But
now that I'm breathing and I and now that I
know who I am again, I'm reminded of that and
I'm like, Okay, I've never been afraid of hard work.
I've never been afraid when the odds are against me. Granted,
I know this is a different predicament. But I'm here
(06:30):
and there's no quit in me. So I want to
promise to you for next year, and I want to
promise to our listeners that I I can be. I
will I will do. I'm a human. I will do
my best to be strong where you might be seeking strength.
(06:51):
That is my promise to you, my brother. Because you
you pull me out of the clouds sometimes and remind
me of what we have to do. I need that,
And sometimes I feel like I need to remind you
of what you me us we are capable of doing.
And and you know this. I think that this list
(07:14):
you know, we've always kind of been fighting against the
odds and this list that we're about to break down
the fact that we are looking back on these things
as accomplishments, like you said, not things that we want
to do, not a wish list, but these are things
that we've actually covered. We have recognition from covering these awards.
In some instances, we've done talks and you know, made
(07:35):
some positive changes in roads, we developed relationships. You know,
these are things that we've done together against odds. You know,
because again, if this would been twenty twenty three looking
forward to twenty twenty four, who we wouldn't have been
able to imagine that.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
But no, we couldn't have possibly exactly predicted the year
going the way that it did. Not even not playing
out the way that we wished, it's still still far
beyond what our hopes could have been for for our
personal and professional lives.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Yeah. So, so obviously we did a lot of coverage
of you know, Palestine and Israel and the conflict and
all of the goings on there. We've had you know,
guests on the show to help give us insight into
you know, both perspectives on on that conflict and people
(08:34):
had had been to both countries and people who had,
you know, ideas of what outcomes should should come from
you know, the war and what was fair play and
what wasn't and uh, you know, I I've decided firmly
how I felt about that, and that's well documented. But
(08:56):
you know, it's it's interesting for me to have been
put in a position to have been empowered to give
a voice to people who I felt really needed it,
you know, and you know that when we had to
(09:17):
kind of peel back some of those layers, you know,
as heartbreaking as that was, yeah, I know what it
feels like to not be able to do anything, and
this past year we were able to do something. We
were able to travel, we were able to again just
to just to be able to report on that. As
(09:40):
heavy as it was, it felt like okay, because there's
a lot of people around the country who are like,
I mean, I can vote, maybe that'll make a difference,
you know, but outside of that, what can I do?
We were able to actually put microphones in front of
people and say, help us make sense of this. And
so Kalstein obviously is more than the footnote that it
(10:03):
is here. But you know, all the episodes are up,
and you're welcome to go back and check them out.
But you know, we stand by We stand by our
our coverage there. You know, Joe Biden, he was initially
he was going to be our candidate, and we had
(10:28):
to take that on the chin because you know, when
he was first elected, he told us that he was
going to be a one term president and sucked a
lot of the political oxygen up, you know, during election
season prior to making way for Kamala Harris. And I
know that this is something that you know, you touched
(10:49):
on a couple of times.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Well, yeah, before you move on, I want to say
something about Palestine as well. Oh yeah, please please, I
mean you said Joe Biden's thing. He took an overtly
Zionist approach to the conflict in Palestine, and that was
(11:11):
tough for us, That was tough for a lot of people.
I go on to suggest, because I don't know as fact,
I don't have enough data in front of me that
that colored the way some voters voted, even after he
wasn't the candidate anymore. His administration's position on that conflict
(11:35):
affected people that we know in a very very real
way and made it. He made it, for some people
a one issue electorate, and that issue was that conflict
in our country's position and support on the genocide that
that was happening, you know, in Gaza. And you know,
(12:00):
it was an interesting time to be a black American
and us kind of always being the allies for everyone
and trying to show up and show solidarity with everyone,
and having been asked and almost implored and demanded to
(12:21):
put our own personal plight on the back burner in
support of those who had to deal with this very
very difficult conflict. And it was a a hard position.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
To be in.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
You know, what are the effects going to be of
this conflict on my life, my children's life, my family,
my friends, and my people versus what it's doing to
the family, friends and people of people that we care about.
It was not a simple issue for us to try
to discuss, and I'm glad that we went into it
(12:53):
with such depth, you know, conversations with people who were
you know, polar options sits on their passions and their
hopeful outcomes from that conflict, and how they felt about
how much human life was lost. And sadly, I kind
(13:13):
of watched people lose their humanity to to blindly support
their team, right, We couldn't just all be humans and
think that the fact that so many people were dying
was bad. Nope, my people dying is bad. Their people
dying is just the cost of this war. And it
(13:34):
was just like man, that was a harsh position to
hear either side of the argument take. And you know,
maybe at a later time, I'll get it, you know,
more into my thoughts on how it seems that humanity
in general and people's view on each other as human
beings seems to be at you know, an all time low.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Well, twenty twenty four we saw the once great Diddy
run into some significant trouble.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
That's a that's a way to put it.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Yeah, oh yeah. And the truth is, you know when
when that when that first those allegations first started coming up,
It was during a time when a lot of allegations
were coming from left and right because New York had
kind of changed the law and so a lot of
people could come forward with stories from decades ago. And
(14:43):
I'm always a little cautious, little leery when when people
are attacking a black man who's accomplished something. You know,
I'm not I try not to be. I'll say it
this way. I'm trying not to be so quick to judge.
And I think a lot of peop people were kind
of in that same space, headspace when it came to
(15:04):
Ditty because Diddy had you know, it just didn't really
seem consistent with the Diddy that we knew, you know,
rumors and parties and all this sort of stuff. Sure,
but you know, people can You're gonna have to give
me more than that. And then when that video came
out of him actually assaulting Cassie in that hotel, and
(15:29):
I was like, Okay, now we got something that makes
this make more sense. And it's not that we didn't
want to believe the victims. I certainly didn't. I didn't
not want to believe the victims. But you have to
be very careful there, especially in a position that we're
in because again, we have microphones and audiences. And so
once that video came out, it was like, it was
heartbreaking because I saw what was happening to this woman.
(15:54):
Of course, like wow, you know, and you hear stories
of women like trapped in abusive relationship and now I'm
seeing it on a video. That's what that must look like.
And feel like she was trying to leave any chaster
and then caught her and then beat her up in
the lobby there, and then she had to go back
(16:14):
to the room. And then of course the story came
out that he paid for the tapes or whatever. So
there's rich powerful something, I can see it, right. The
other part of that, the other part that was heartbreaking. Yeah,
of course once you jump in. But the other part
that was heartbreaking for me was that it was like
I lost Diddy in that moment. I lost this guy
that I was looking up to. I was like, oh
my god, Okay, all right, now there's and now it's
(16:41):
it's it's not premature anymore for me to suggest that
this behavior is deplorable, because it's not speculative I'm looking
at it. And then everything that came out after that,
from people coming forward with stories to him going to prison,
(17:04):
h is all, you know, It's just it's it was
a lot for a lot of people, and of course
it's an ongoing saga. But yeah, please go ahead.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Yeah, I did not mean to cut you off. I
thought we were pausing for a second. I think our
pictures of Ditty were colored a little different prior to
that video, because those accusations were not in conflict of
who I thought he was prior to that. So for you,
maybe that was like, Okay, this is an inconsistent picture
of somebody that I've view on us.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
So you know, you know a lot more celebrities than
I do, so you probably more informed. Yeah, so I.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Was not as caught off guard. And you know, you
and I have spoken about, you know, believing victims, and
I don't think that's something that people are wondering how
we feel, like absolutely, Yeah. I've also said that I
wish there was some sort of punishment for people who
make baseless claims. Sure, because baseless claims make it harder
(18:03):
for people who would rather not believe victims and for
people who would when people come out and attack famous
people just because chasing money or whatever the case, it
turns out to be baseless, and then this celebrity who
lives their life in front of us, their life and
reputation is ruined, and this you know, common person gets
(18:24):
to just fade back into obscurity with a claim they
made hoping to get a payday. But in this case
that the accusations did not seem inconsistent with the person.
The video definitely made it worse, but you know I did.
I didn't have this impression of him that those accusations
(18:44):
were beyond his character. There being some video proof. I'm
glad that happened so people could stop hesitating to believe
this woman who was in this terrible situation. But you know,
Diddy's reputation was not above reproatridge beyond you know, these
(19:04):
these things being beyond the person that I thought he was,
So it was a little bit different for the both
of us in that case.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Well, let me make sure I say this because I
want to be very clear. As a black man, as
a black person, as a person who works in a
journalistic space, a decidedly black journalistic space, you I have
to strike a balance between of course, believing black women,
(19:34):
trusting black women, protecting black women. Obviously, that is a
foremost priority in all things, and I have to reconcile
that priority against in this instance, the priority of understanding
that there are forces at play whose sole purpose is
(19:56):
to tear down successful black people. Wouldn't the world be
better if this arrogant, exceptionally wealthy black man wasn't so
loud and brash and whatever there are people like this,
(20:19):
and you know, there are forces that you know, and
I you know, maybe a lot of it has to
do with conspiracy theories. Maybe it's all imagine, but you know,
a lot of black men are like de facto conspiracy theorists.
And I think that that's kind of par for the course,
you know, for the black experience in America, because so
(20:39):
many of the conspiracies turn out to not be theories,
that it's it's easier to see conspiracies in places where
some of them might not be true. So you know,
when I look at, you know, a black man getting
torn down, I'm like, okay, so is is this real
or is this not real? So there is there is
the potential to pause there, and of course, again at
(21:01):
the same time, you have to reconcile that against Okay,
so there's a black woman here saying that X, Y
and Z has happened to her, you know, and let's
do our best to try to wade through this and
reserve judgment until such a time as we know what
is factual, because I don't want to erroneously contribute to
(21:23):
the wrong side preemptively. And so that's the position that
I found myself in not with just with Diddy, but
with Jonathan Major's as well. But moving on another big
issue that we had to all deal with in the
media space. It got beyond music. It made its way
(21:47):
all through popular culture and indeed it's still going on
right now and we'll see more of it, I'm sure
at the super Bowl is Kendrick Lamar versus Drake And
I know that you would have way more to offer
this than I do, because you know you've studied it
a little bit more closely than I have. But you know,
(22:10):
I will say that being from Compton, you know I was,
there would have been no outcome there where I would
have been like maybe Drake One, maybe I would have
been biased from the beginning. I'm Compton all day and
I have no problem saying that to people. I'm not
(22:32):
a really like if you put me on a judging panel,
don't please don't do that because I will tell you upfront.
My people are the people who won, and that's it.
I don't got nothing else for you, So Kendrick One.
But anyway, I know that this was an exceptionally pivotal
moment for both of us in a number of ways.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Yeah, I think it's a story in a moment that
we all got to experience, rather than an issue that
we had to deal with. Sure, that's a better way
to say, but yeah, man, it was a You know,
I've always had my opinions of Drake. I've shared them
with you, and I think that he is an exceptionally
talented artist. And my issues with Drake have always been
(23:17):
based on the fact that I think he does lazy music.
Based on the amount of talent that he has, I
think Drake could have created his own genre. He's that talented,
and he instead chose the laziest version of hip hop,
like the lowest Hanging Fruit and I'm just gonna do
(23:39):
that version better than everybody else, and was celebrated for that.
He became the top artist in the genre and in
pop culture in general. Drake had an over decade run
that I don't believe is over right. But when you're
going against someone who is a master at an art
form and tries to take that art form to its
(24:01):
highest point, when you're making the music that's the lowest
haging fruit, even when you're making the best version of it,
you're unknowingly outmatched because popularity and skill set are not
one and the same, and he went up against a
Shaolin master chef with you know, a form and grill. Now,
(24:23):
his form and grill is the best form of grill
you ever taste, but different when you got this micheline
five star chef in here with the Shanobi blades, it's
just a different thing. And I think his biggest mistake
in their conflict was the assumption that he was somehow
(24:43):
de facto bigger and better than Kendrick Lamar, and that
arrogance showed at every decision that he made throughout the battle,
what he chose to talk about, when he chose to release,
and the kind of smug position he took at the
onset when he was just begging and begging for Kendrick
to drop a response to not even a month later,
(25:05):
say oh man, you got this burnt out and you
you're doing too much. It's like no where that energy
at where you was telling me to drop. Over and
over again, Kendrick showed that he's a super nova. He's
not just a rapper, he's not just an artist. And
he showed up to as he said, pop out and
show the whole world that this is I'm a different animal.
(25:29):
Over here, and if you if you're trying to bring
it to me, you got to be prepared for an
entirely different type of lyrical warfare. And it's not opinion
anymore of who came out the victor in this context,
not just because Ramses is from Compton.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
That's a good reason though.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Yeah, I appreciate you being transparent with your biases the
black man from Compton one every time, no matter what
I feel you and I'm prone to agree, But in
this it's it's objective. It's not just Ramses and q's opinion.
The numbers show it, the cultural impact shows it, and
I think he, like you said, is going to show
it again on that Super Bowl stage here in a
(26:10):
few weeks.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
You know, there's an acronym that I came across, and
I'm sure many people have come across it. Drake stands
for don't rap against Kendrick ever. And I think if
any lesson that we've learned from twenty twenty four, it's
(26:37):
that one. So so I'll take that. Yeah. This concludes
part one of our two part recap of the year
twenty twenty four right here on the Black Information Network
Daily Podcast check Back in tomorrow for part two.
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