May 13, 2024 • 36 mins
Host Ramses Ja is joined by AR Shaw on today's podcast to discuss the major news stories from this past weekend. AR Shaw is an author and the Executive Editor of Atlanta Daily World, a division of Real Times Media.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Here at the Black Information Network, we know how important
it is for you to start your week off energized, engaged,
and enlightened. There are always major stories that break over
the weekend, and we feel you should know about the
ones we are talking about today, So stay tuned for
our weekend recap featuring the author of the book Trap
History and the executive editor of Atlanta Daily World, mister A. R.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Shaw.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
This is the Black Information Network Daily Podcast. Now I'm
your host, Ramses. Yeah, all right, mister a Arshaw, welcome
back to the show. I owe you a debt of
gratitude and some thanks because of the article that you
were able to write on behalf of my show, Civic Cipher.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
I appreciate that. How have you been since we last spoke.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Man, Oh, everything has been great.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
And a shout out to Hana Gilmore, who's a wonderful
ride at the Atlanta Daily World who got an opportunity
to interview you all and the content and an article
turned out.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Oh great, that is fantastic. He's a great guy. Man.
We again, we appreciate it. That was a wonderful, wonderful.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Little piece of you know, a little bright moment for us,
you know, what I mean, it's it always feels very special.
And when we get to talk to someone like you
who's able to highlight kind of the work that we're doing,
it's just like we couldn't come up with praise high
enough for you.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
So again, thank you for that. All right, So let's
get to the news.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
It's been an exciting weekend, busy weekend, and unfortunately also
a tragic weekend for some. First up from the Black
Information Network, Senior Airman Roger Fortson, aged twenty three, was
fatally shot last week at his off base apartment by
an Okaloosa County deputy who was responding to a disturbance report.
According to the Sheriff's office. The family of Forts and
(01:50):
their attorneys said the shooting was unjustified, citing that the
airman wasn't causing a disturbance. A woman who was on
FaceTime with forts and at the time of the shooting
said he was home alone. She believes the deputy entered
the wrong apartment as police were responding to a disturbance
by the camera. Footage released on Thursday, which would have
been May ninth, by the Okahoosa County Sheriff's Office chose
(02:11):
Fortson being shot within seconds of the deputy entering his apartment.
In the video, the deputy was directed to apartment fourteen
oh one by a woman who told him that someone.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Had overheard arguing.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
The deputy appeared to knock on the door of the apartment,
saying twice Sheriff's office opened the door. Fortson opened the
door while holding a gun that was facing downward. Video
shows the deputy saying step back before opening fire multiple times.
After Fortson fell to the ground, the deputy ordered him
to drop the gun, to which Fortson replied, it's over there.
(02:44):
The deputy then called for medical assistance. The woman who
was on FaceTime with Fortson said he had initially heard
a knock and asked who was at the door, to
which he didn't receive a response. Later, the woman said
Fortson heard a louder knock, but he didn't see anyone
in the peep hole of his apartment. A woman said
fortsn grew concerned and retrieved his gun, which he legally owned,
(03:05):
while in his living room. The deputy burst through Fortston's
apartment door, saw that he was armed, and shot him
six times.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
According to the woman, so this is obviously.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Something that is very tragic that has come to light
over the past few days. Give us your thoughts, talk
us through through this story a bit.
Speaker 4 (03:26):
Yeah, just you know Roger Forst and he's actually in
Atlanta native, you know, raised here, and it's a major
story here in the city of Atlanta. And just looking
at the footage, disturbing footage, it seems appears to be
blatant murder. Of course, Florida is an open carva station.
You are allowed to own a weapon, you are allowed
(03:47):
to protect and defend your home. And when he opened
the door, the gun was pointing towards the ground, which
there was no immediate threat to the deputy who shot him.
And so it just shows you that this is just
another you know, either either incompetence or racism.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
It's either.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
If it's incompetence, is this this deputy should have never
had this job in the first place, because he doesn't
have the whillbethal to know that you shouldn't kill a
citizen in a state where there is open carry laws
and he has the right to own a weapon. Uh,
but you know, we've seen this before time and time again.
We just hope that the family gets justice.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Justice.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
We hope that the deputy is charged and convicted, and uh,
that's where this needs to end. I think that you know,
this is happening too many times, and this is just
another case of as I would say, it's either negligence
or just flat out racism.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Well said, Well said, I feel like you know, there
are a lot of people who espouse the Second Amendment
of the United States of America, that we have the
right to bear arms, that we have the right to
carry around a contraptionose the only purpose is to end
(05:05):
to life. We have the right to always be at
the ready to terminate another human being's existence, which is
very grim and morbid if you ask me. Now, I
know that when that law was originally worked into our
(05:28):
Bill of Rights, that the intention was for the citizens
to be able to take up arms against the tyrannical government.
But what it has come to mean is exactly what
I said. We have the right to remain perpetually afraid
for our lives, and if we become so afraid, we
(05:50):
can end the life of another. And nowhere is that
right more pronounced than with police officers, And nowhere else
is that right less pronounced, and with black people and
therein lies the source of a lot of problems that
I speak for myself, that I have with.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Policing in this country. If you have a if you're a.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Service member serving our country and you own a weapon,
which you should, you know, in the military, that makes
a lot more sense. And someone knocks on your door
and you don't know who it is, and you don't
see anyone through a peep hole, and you go and
retrieve your weapon, again exercising your second amendment to own
(06:42):
your legally own firearm, to have your legally owned firearm,
and then someone burst into your house, shoots you and
then tells you to drop the weapon before you know
who it is, before you know why they're there, and
(07:03):
then they get to say that they feared for their life.
Somehow their life because they're a police officer, is worth
more than yours, even though you're serving this country. It
goes to show how far away we've gotten from exactly
who is valuable. And this is why I was such
a big fan of the Black Lives Matter moment and
(07:25):
am still a fan of the message, because I think
that it centers the narrative that black people's lives have
just as much value we are having the human experience
as well, and for our less melanated brothers and sisters
who too often fail to recognize the gravity of that
(07:47):
statement and that reality. Affirming that black lives do matter
is something that's very important. So you know, again, brilliant take.
At present, all we can do is hope that the
family gets and that the.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Officer is charged.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
I worry that, you know, this will end up like
so many other stories like this, the officer feared for
his life, and then they'll try to paint this serviceman
is somehow criminal, or he shouldn't have had the gun,
or he should have dropped.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Who knows.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Who knows what they'll say, but this is one that
checks all of the boxes of we're just black and
existing and it still cost us to our lives. Oh,
we'll see how this ends up shaking out, but in
the meantime, we are going to move on this also
from the Black Information Network. On Friday a tenth, the
Shenandoah County, Virginia school Board voted five and one in
(08:42):
favor of a proposal that will restore the Confederate names
the two of its schools.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Per NBC News, The.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Move comes after the board decided in twenty twenty to
change the names schools linked to Confederate leaders Stonewall Jackson,
Robert E. Lee, and Turner Ashby. Following tuesday's vote, Mountain
View High School will return to the name Stonewall Jackson
High School. Honey Run Elementary School will go back to
Ashby Lee Elementary School. The board initially stripped the Confederate
(09:10):
names in the wake of George Floyd's murder and the
nation's racial reckoning. Conservative group Coalition or Better Schools petitioned
against the renaming.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Quote.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
We believe that revisiting this decision is essential to honor
our community's heritage, respect the wishes of the majority unquote,
the coalition wrote in a letter to the board last month.
In twenty twenty two, a similar motion was put forth
to reverse the name change, but it failed due to
a tie vote. The current members of the board said
the decision in twenty twenty was made too hastily and
(09:40):
without appropriate community input. On Thursday May ninth, roughly eighty
people spoke before the Board of voted to restore the
Confederate names, including at least fifty who were against the move.
Quote I am a black student and if the names
are restored, I would have to represent a man that
fought for my ancestors to be slave unquote, one student said.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
The student goes.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Up on to say, I think it's unfair to me
that restoring the names is up for discussion.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
So talk us through this one. Just kind of how
this story hits you a bit.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
Yeah, being from the South, we see it all the time,
you know, here in Atlanta, in Georgia, so you know,
the Confederates they lost the war, and no place around,
in any place around the globe, the people who lose
wars don't get an opportunity to rewrite history. The Nazis,
they aren't allowed to display symbols in Germany. They don't
(10:35):
have any Nazi schools in Germany. So I don't understand
why there's any difference in America. Why do the Confederates
get an opportunity to actually have statues, have schools, things
of that nature. You know, the whole thing is about intimidation.
It's about it's not about holding on to heritage, because
what is the actual heritage.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Of the Confederacy.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
It was about enslaving and brutalizing black people. And so
you know, like I said, it's just a it's another
form of racism, another form of intimidation. And it's just
sad that this school board reversed this decision. And you know,
young young kids have to uh, you know, be educated
in these facilities, uh, knowing that what these symbols represent.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
And I think you said something that's really important there.
What reason is there so far after the Civil War,
you know, to continue to try to honor again the
(11:44):
folks who were anti American as they were the folks
who lost the war because they did. The Confederacy was
exceptionally short lived, and that's that's that's well documented. There
is no long standing Confederate history. The Confederacy was extremely
(12:06):
short lived. And in as far as I know, even
the descendants of these Confederate soldiers don't look favorably on
their or fathers. You know, I recall one descendant of
(12:29):
Robert E. Lee being very critical of things being named
in Roberty E. Lee's honor. So, you know, the people
that really have the most say in this, people that
should have the most say, are distancing themselves from this.
And so when you start to think about how this is,
(12:51):
how this is coming together, you start to really realize
how deep racism goes in this country. And this is
textbook explanation. This is a textbook explanation of how we
are not living in a post racial society. You know,
(13:11):
I get how, Hey, you know, this school has been
named such and such for so long. It's just it's
expensive to rename it. And you know, you know, it's
not that big of a deal. Look, you know, everyone's
making a big deal out of things. Let's just you know,
ignore it. But once it has been renamed to Honey
(13:32):
Run Elementary, and then there are people who get together
a majority of people who get together to rename it
after the Confederate soldier again that lost the war, that
was anti American, that has no ancestors directly speaking in
defense of this. You know, then you just start to
see how the community is not living in a post
(13:54):
racial society. And they're again shaping outcomes like the student
that was mentioned in the art article. They're shaping outcomes
for students like this, who has to graduate from a
school based on where they live, has to graduate from
a school named after someone who espoused slavery.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
If that person had it their way, that.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Student wouldn't even go to that school, they would be
in chains in a cotton field somewhere in that state.
And so again a textbook example of why we are
still working toward a indeed post racial society. Today's guest
(14:33):
is the author of the book Prap History and the
executive editor of Atlanta Daily World, Mister A. R. Shaw
all Right next up from the Grio. In her memoir
Bits and Pieces, My Mother, My Brother and Me, released
on May seventh, the View co host Whoopie Goldberg revealed
that after she had cleaned up from recreational drug use
(14:55):
in the early seventies, she relapsed in the eighties while
spending time in New York and law Los Angeles. The
Egot Winners wake up call came while she was celebrating
her birthday at an upscale hotel in Manhattan. Recalled that
after she had taken an ounce of cocaine someone had
given her, a housekeeper found her in a closet. Goldberg
said the incident startled the housekeeper, who stared at her.
(15:18):
After looking in a mirror, she realized she had cocaine
all over her face. After the hotel incident, the sister
ax Star decided to fix her life and get clean
for her mother, Emma Harris, and her daughter Alex, and
she eventually succeeded. In her memoir, she goes on to say,
despite having been married three times, she's never been in
love and does not believe she's meant for that kind
(15:40):
of relationship.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Quote.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
When you're married to somebody, you have to be invested
in how they're feeling. I am not, Goldberg said. She
goes on to say, I'm invested in my kid, I'm
invested in her kids, I'm invested in my son in law,
I'm invested in my friends. But I am not invested
in a relationship that would require as much as having
a child requires.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Quote.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
So you know, we're we're starting to get some more
insight into all the things that make who Pi Goldberg
who she is.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Let's get your take on this.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
You know, it's interesting. Uh, she's lived She's lived an
incredible life. And I think the drug use pieces it's
good because I think addiction is a major problem, Uh
in this nation where you have individuals who they don't
understand how to how to kick a habit. And I think, uh,
maybe someone seeing her, reading about her testimony would help
(16:33):
someone who's struggling with addiction and trying to figure out
how to jump over that. Heel uh, So I thought
that was important and in adding that, and you know, hopefully,
hopefully it's a wake up call for others, uh to
kick any type of addiction that they may have. In
terms of relationships, I can understand. I can kind of
see how, you know, just her being in an entertainment industry,
(16:54):
how you know, sometimes you know you're you're focused on
one thing, whereas you know, relationships can suffer. And you know,
she's given her testimony on how her relation her personal
relationships have suffered over the years, possibly maybe due to
her career and things that she desires more so than
(17:14):
actually having someone who's a companion at all times.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
And so it's an interesting read.
Speaker 4 (17:18):
I'm sure it's going to sell a lot of books,
and it just provides a little bit more insight on
someone who I know has done an amazing job of
just entertaining us over the years.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Yeah, you know, I.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
Can't really speak to any of like the drug use
stuff I've and I've said on the show, I've never
done a drug before. I'm not even a big fan
of like a lot of what is considered to be medicine.
But yeah, I've never smoked anything. The only thing I've
ever breathed in was air. You know, I've never had
(17:54):
alcohol before, you know, so that's not a thing for me.
But the relationship would that really stood out. I was like, Okay,
I I Well, the one thing I will say is
I can't say I've never been in love. I feel like,
you know, what is life without love?
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Right?
Speaker 1 (18:13):
But I do kind of understand her take on marriage,
and I've been I've been criticized for a long time
because of my views on marriage. You know, I'm just
not a person that really feels like I will ever
be married. But you know, I say that and watch
something crazy happen. But anyway, just as a general rule,
(18:34):
I'm not I just don't know that marriage is for me.
I'm very afraid of what comes with that and losing
it and getting wrong. And I don't think that I'm
more qualified than the scores of other people who try
it and don't make it. So, you know, why tie
yourself to certain outcomes if there's you know, not really
statistical evidence that would support a favorable outcome.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
It's like a crapshoot. And I'm not a big gambler.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
But you know, her view of it, I think is
kind of interesting because how she looks at it is like,
you know, it requires as much as having a child.
You know, you have to really worry about somebody's feelings
and wishes and their sensitivities and so forth, and that
(19:19):
shapes your reality. Your reality becomes defined by their fears
and their goals and so forth, and that can be
very rewarding. I will admit that. Honestly, I know that
it can be. It can be very meaningful to care
for someone and to be cared for by someone. But
you know, if you get it wrong, someone else's reality
(19:41):
can define your reality. They can be think something happened
and didn't happen, or they can you know whatever, who knows.
And you know it's it's interesting because I was doing
some more reading on her, and I guess she's polyamorous,
and that's something that really certainly fits for someone who
thinks like that, because she's like, look, I do enjoy,
(20:02):
you know, the connection with people, but you know, in
terms of like let's get the law involved and you
can have my stuff if it doesn't work, it doesn't
really feel like the most prudent move for Whoopi goldbrig
and I kind of understand that. I think the only
difference is that, you know, as a you know, a
black man. I'll speak for myself here, but you know,
(20:24):
there's a lot of people who say that I am
not fulfilling my duties to my people by remaining unmarried.
I need to marry a black woman to lift her economically.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Out of you know what.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
There's people that make all these sorts of arguments, and
I feel like it's very unfair because, you know, if
it's just a matter of donating money, donating time, or
supporting you know, I do plenty of that, and then
you know, there's a lot to be said about, you know,
conserving the resources that I do have for my own
children so that they can live a life that makes
(21:03):
them happy. And so there's a bunch of different ways
to cut this up. But I'm not mad at somebody
walking under truth. It appears like Woopy Goldberg's walking under truth,
and anybody says anything that kind of parrots my reality,
I'm all for it, so happy to share the story.
All right, let's talk about this article from USA Today,
the Biden Harris HQ Social media accounts posted a video
(21:26):
slideshow of unflattering photos of Trump while a verse from
Kendrick Lamar's song Not Like Us plays in the background.
Biden's campaign tweaked the lyrics by a captions to dis
the presumptive Republican nominees personally nominee personally calling him out
on policy and his own social media use. Quote It's
always been about love and hate. Now let me say
(21:47):
I'm the biggest hater videos text reads next quote. I
hate the way that you walk over women's rights, the
way that you talk about immigrants, I hate the way
that you dress. I hate the way that you sneak
this on truth social So this is him taking Lamar's
lyrics from I believe that song was euphoria and you know,
(22:11):
working it into you know, their social media campaign. So
I thought that was pretty clever of them to kind
of sees the moment.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Let's get your thoughts though.
Speaker 4 (22:21):
Yeah, you know the Kendrick Drake hip hop battle that
pretty much hell captured the nation for a weekend, right,
you know, it was the biggest hip hop battle since
Jay z and Os, which occurred like like almost over
twenty years ago. And so this generation hadn't really seen
a hip hop beef of this magnitude, and it didn't
(22:43):
just stay within hip hop, it became a mainstream story.
I thought it was I thought it was unique for
the Biden administration. I'm sure with some some young social
media manager who was able to pull that over and
and kind of capture that moment. I thought it was
a unique spend on this whole you know, narrative. But
you know what's interesting, I put it out before that
(23:05):
video came out. I wrote an article that basically mpared, yeah,
that compare rap beefs to political debates. Uh and and
I was inspired to write that because questlove who we
all love from the roots. He brought up, you know,
he wrote something on online saying that hip hop is
dead in comparison to the Kendrick and Drake.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
Rap battle, and so he caught a lot of backlashing.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
You know.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
For me, I was just like, you know, it's not
really you know, it's you know, rap beefs are similar
to political debates, of course, you know, uh, you know,
I say, elections are ways that societies correct itself, right,
and when you have two candidates going at each other,
they do mud slinging. Uh, they talk bad about each other,
and they basically want the people to know they try
(23:53):
to they want the people they want to discredit the
other candidate to make sure that the people uh know
that this person isn't worthy of being a leader. And
that's what was happening with the Kendrick and the Drake
fewd It was basically Kendrick Lamar saying, look, this guy
who is the biggest rapper in our generation, Drake, doesn't
deserve to be the leader of our culture because he
(24:14):
doesn't appreciate our culture. He doesn't give us any substance,
and he's just someone who you can't trust. And he basically,
over a span of several songs, Kendrick basically decimated Drake,
not from a not from an artistic standpoint, but from
a personal standpoint. He took away his character. He aimed
(24:34):
at him as a person. And so that that was
a unique thing. And and I said, you know, we
see candidates doing the same thing. We're gonna see Biden
and Trump do the same thing in November. They're gonna
aim at each other's character. Uh, And it's gonna be
it's gonna be debates and and we're gonna and the
people are going to decide who they want to lead
this society. And so, uh, you know, just seeing that
(24:56):
that there's you know, this Kendrick and Drake thing, you know,
it's bigger than just just hip hop. I think it's
you know, over the next generation, what who's going to
be the leader, what type of music is going to
move the people? Where you have Kendrick who has you know,
you talk about the Black Lives Matter protests, he has
an anthem and all right, Uh, Drake hasn't said anything.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
About actually Kendrick Kindrick has a few, got a couple
of them, a few, and Drake.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Doesn't have one.
Speaker 4 (25:24):
And so it's just you know, with hip hop being
something that speaks to the people, speaks to our culture,
and for Drake not to have anything to say about
anything of substance for all these years, it was a
reckoning in terms of hip hop. And so I know
a lot of people are are you know, on Kendrick's
side in terms of uh, you know what he represents,
(25:45):
not a mud slinging of them going back and forth.
That's another issue. You know, there was a lot of
you know, people said there was lies on both sides.
But at the end of the day, I think that
what Kendrick represents in terms of hip hop is a
lot more significant than what Drake represents.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Can I can I say something here to you that was.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Exceptionally well set.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
I I hesitate to add anything.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
You know, I famously, you know, listeners of the show
will know that I famously jumped off the porch when
Jay Cole apologized and I was like, hey, man, listen,
there's no place for battles and beafs and stuff like that.
Battling leads to beefs, and beef leads to, you know,
outcomes that aren't really favorable for black people in our
play right now in this country. And then I had
(26:38):
to kind of reel some of that back in after
Not Like Us came out and I'm like, this is
this is this is really some good music, and you know,
I kind of understand a little bit more. But listen, man,
what you just said is that's I think that's everything
(26:58):
that that a person would need to know in a nutshell. Yeah,
who has more hits?
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Drake.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
He's got a team of people working with him and
their job is to make hits. He can sing, and
he raps, and he knows how to put together an album.
As Kendrick famously said, you go to Atlanta, get the features,
and you know, whenever you need to, you go to
the West Coast and you know wherever you you know,
that's that's your that's your formula. But you know, Kendrick
(27:33):
is if Drake is a is a is a hit maker,
Kendrick is an artist. Kendrick is somebody where once you
listen to the song five, six, seven times, it's something
else will hit you that you didn't hear it the first,
you know, four or five times that you listen. Oh
(27:54):
my gosh, that's what he was saying. That's wild, you
know what I mean. And it's stuff that's very deep
in there. So the artist is different. And this is
why there's this kind of debate where Kendrick has more
Grammys and Drake has more hits, you know what I mean.
Kendrick is an artist and he's doing something for his people,
(28:14):
and Drake is a hit maker and he's doing something
seemingly for himself. Right, And so when Kendrick levels these accualzation,
accusations of being like a colonizer and all this sort
of stuff, you kind of feel it and you see
Drake cast in a different light. Now, make no mistake,
I'm a huge fan of Drake. I played Drake songs
(28:37):
all the time, all the time, and I'm a DJ
still right now. I own two nightclubs, so I DJ
frequently and you know, the DJs that work for me
do as well. And so you know, I danced to
Drake music. I listened to it in the car. I
love Drake, right, but when it's cast in that light
and you're like, okay, Kenny, I see what dang didn't
(28:58):
I didn't really notice it.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
I didn't really notice it before.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
But again, after listening, you know, to all those disrecords,
you're like, man, this is wild. And you know, the
the one thing that I will say is that you know,
as you mentioned, this has taken on kind of this
has grown beyond hip hop, with the Biden administration using
you know, the lyrics of Euphoria specifically in their campaign ad.
(29:24):
But you know, I was contacted. I have a friend
that works for the BBC in London and they wanted to,
you know, my input on the story, and so I'm
on with the BBC, and so you know, that goes
to like Tanzania and all over Africa and of course
all over Europe, and that's that's more of like a
global network. And so it goes to show you just
(29:47):
how big of a of a of a battle this
is and how defining it is. And you know, on
the ground here being on the West Coast this past weekend,
you know, I was, you know, at my club like
I normally do, and everyone's out having a good time
and we're playing songs for them and you know, hosting
the party and make sure everything's good. You know, people
(30:09):
are popping their bottles and you know, birthdays and bachelor
parties and everything like normal. And then Not like Us
comes on and you know, and we have like a
special DJ edit that starts with the with the like.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
The chant that comes at the end of the song.
Instead it starts at the beginning.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
It's like let me hear you say, oh be you
know whatever, and then the people are chanting it just immediately,
and then we had to bring the song back and
that's not something we've ever done before. So it just
goes to show how big this is. And you know what,
I'll take it a step further. This has inspired other
people to try to air out their grievances too.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
I know that. You know, Soldier Boy has.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
Gone on the offensive with with Metro as well and
twenty one Savage and even Shaq Shaq has put out
a song about.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
What's his name? Help me out? What's his name?
Speaker 3 (31:05):
Shannon Sharp?
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Shannon Sharp, Shannon Sharp. And I know that because I
have the lyrics here. It says, your whole demeanor is
faker than new wrap beefy. You're soft before you get fly.
You'd rather tweet me. I was in three different cars
when you was in three feet. In three feet, all
I see is dollar signs that come in in three
D make it hot.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
Ain't nowhere around my degrees. You're not in my spot.
You're like a pee wee.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
So these disc records are flying back and forth, man,
and I admittedly don't know too much about the Shack
and Shannon Sharp background story. Maybe you do, but you know,
this new phenomenon is just kind of well, I guess
not a new phenomenon, but it's certainly been reactivated. So
so yeah, just an interesting development of things.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
And before you.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
Go, I want to I want to get your thoughts
on this other kind of let's call it a bonus story.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
This from hip hop dx.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
Ello COOLJ has offered some career advice to Andre three
thousand and six, suggesting you retire the flute and reunite
with Big Boy for a new outcast album. Appearing on
the latest episode of Lebron James' is the Shop, the
hip hop legend expressed disappointment over three stacks this New
Blue Sun LP, which was entirely instrumental, and urged the
Atlien to return to rap. Quote, he's amazing all right,
(32:25):
his bars all the way up. Ello cool J said,
not the flute, the do you want to hear me
do the violin. I want him to get with Big Boy.
I want them to make an outcast album or do
a solo album. He's so gifted. When fellow guest Lenawait
defended Andre and said she liked New Blue Son, Ella
responded with you like the album, what's your favorite song?
(32:48):
And I think that for those who don't know, I
think that was a dig because the songs have these
really interesting titles that don't really lend themselves to you know,
remembering them a and then be you know, the album
was a success, but there are no like specific singles
that were, you know, on the top of the pop charts.
(33:08):
O L O is just kind of making a point there,
But let's get your thoughts before you go on Llo's
take on. You know, your your countrymen over there, your
your statesman. I guess, oh three three thousand.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
Oh yeah, of course outcasts one hundred three thousand, Big
Boy they are, you know, they're my favorite group. And
I'm sure Atlanta, uh, you know, we riote for outcasts,
you know, at all times. So my thing with with
with ll cool j uh, I think so it's two things, right.
We got to respect LLL for all the things, the
(33:42):
things that he's done and hip hop, and of course
we all want another album, a project from Big Boy
and Andre always just want a tour or some type
of concert. Uh, you know, we want to see them
perform again as a as a as a duel. But
with with ll Cool JAT, I thought that that was
kind of hypocritical. Let's say that you know, when LLL
(34:04):
first started acting, he wasn't the greatest actor. He wasn't
a great like he was not a good actor, and
so you know we would have said, okay, L, we don't.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
Want you to act anymore.
Speaker 4 (34:13):
We just want you to rap because we like LLL
when he's saying I'm bad.
Speaker 3 (34:18):
But what you know, but what if that was the.
Speaker 4 (34:21):
Sentiment of every hip hop fan, is that we don't
want to see ll cool J in front of a
camera anymore, he wouldn't be where he is today. I mean,
he's been on television I think for over twenty years
and he's been consistent, and you know, he's producing shows
now and directing, and he's doing so many other things,
you know, in front of the camera, behind the camera.
(34:43):
He didn't allow himself to be limited by hip hop.
He used hip hop as a as a platform to
take him to another space and from from an artistic standpoint.
And that's what Andre three thousand is doing. He's using
you know what, what he's feeling. Maybe he isn't the
greatest flu player now, but in ten years he could
be the best flute player.
Speaker 3 (35:04):
Of this generation.
Speaker 4 (35:05):
So so my whole thing is, we shouldn't limit ll
shouldn't limit Andre three thousand and uh, you know his
artistic expression because we didn't limit LLL cool J when
he wanted to become an actor, knowing you know, that
wasn't that wasn't our sentiment.
Speaker 3 (35:20):
We we we were behind.
Speaker 4 (35:22):
Him, and even through those early years when he wasn't
the greatest thesbian.
Speaker 3 (35:27):
We still stuck. We still stuck with him.
Speaker 4 (35:30):
And you know, we really cheered LLL on because he
was doing something different and he was allowing himself to grow,
and we allowed him to grow.
Speaker 3 (35:38):
So I just hope that LLL.
Speaker 4 (35:39):
Kolj would give Andre three thousand that same grace in
terms of allowing him to grow.
Speaker 2 (35:44):
Artistically excellent, Take no notes.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
I guess the only thing I will add is echoing
your sentiments, which is that Outcast is indeed the greatest
hip hop group of all time. And yes that includes DMC,
and yes that includes Wu Tang, and yes that includes NWA.
This is coming from a person who's from Compton, California.
Yes it includes all of them. Got out to Outcasts
(36:09):
one time and shout out to Andre three stacks were
doing your today?
Speaker 2 (36:12):
All right?
Speaker 1 (36:12):
With that in mine, Thank you as always for your
time and your insight.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
Once again.
Speaker 1 (36:15):
Today's guest is the author of the book Trap History
and the executive editor of Atlanta Daily World, Mister A. R.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
Shaw.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
This has been a production of the Black Information Network.
Today's show was produced by Chris Thompson. Have some thoughts
you'd like to share, use the red microphone talkback feature
on the iHeartRadio app. While you're there, be sure to
hit subscribe and download all of our episodes I'm Your
Host Ramsey's Jaw on all social media. Join us tomorrow
as we share our news with our voice from our
(36:44):
perspective right here on the Black Information Network Daily Podcast
Here at the Black Information Network, we know how important
it is for you to start your week off energized, engaged,
and enlightened. There are always major stories that break over
the weekend, and we feel you should know about the
ones we are talking about today, So stay tuned for
our weekend recap featuring the author of the book Trap
History and the executive editor of Atlanta Daily World, mister A. R.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Shaw.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
This is the Black Information Network Daily Podcast. Now I'm
your host, Ramses. Yeah, all right, mister a Arshaw, welcome
back to the show. I owe you a debt of
gratitude and some thanks because of the article that you
were able to write on behalf of my show, Civic Cipher.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
I appreciate that. How have you been since we last spoke.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Man, Oh, everything has been great.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
And a shout out to Hana Gilmore, who's a wonderful
ride at the Atlanta Daily World who got an opportunity
to interview you all and the content and an article
turned out.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Oh great, that is fantastic. He's a great guy. Man.
We again, we appreciate it. That was a wonderful, wonderful.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Little piece of you know, a little bright moment for us,
you know, what I mean, it's it always feels very special.
And when we get to talk to someone like you
who's able to highlight kind of the work that we're doing,
it's just like we couldn't come up with praise high
enough for you.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
So again, thank you for that. All right, So let's
get to the news.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
It's been an exciting weekend, busy weekend, and unfortunately also
a tragic weekend for some. First up from the Black
Information Network, Senior Airman Roger Fortson, aged twenty three, was
fatally shot last week at his off base apartment by
an Okaloosa County deputy who was responding to a disturbance report.
According to the Sheriff's office. The family of Forts and
(01:50):
their attorneys said the shooting was unjustified, citing that the
airman wasn't causing a disturbance. A woman who was on
FaceTime with forts and at the time of the shooting
said he was home alone. She believes the deputy entered
the wrong apartment as police were responding to a disturbance
by the camera. Footage released on Thursday, which would have
been May ninth, by the Okahoosa County Sheriff's Office chose
(02:11):
Fortson being shot within seconds of the deputy entering his apartment.
In the video, the deputy was directed to apartment fourteen
oh one by a woman who told him that someone.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Had overheard arguing.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
The deputy appeared to knock on the door of the apartment,
saying twice Sheriff's office opened the door. Fortson opened the
door while holding a gun that was facing downward. Video
shows the deputy saying step back before opening fire multiple times.
After Fortson fell to the ground, the deputy ordered him
to drop the gun, to which Fortson replied, it's over there.
(02:44):
The deputy then called for medical assistance. The woman who
was on FaceTime with Fortson said he had initially heard
a knock and asked who was at the door, to
which he didn't receive a response. Later, the woman said
Fortson heard a louder knock, but he didn't see anyone
in the peep hole of his apartment. A woman said
fortsn grew concerned and retrieved his gun, which he legally owned,
(03:05):
while in his living room. The deputy burst through Fortston's
apartment door, saw that he was armed, and shot him
six times.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
According to the woman, so this is obviously.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Something that is very tragic that has come to light
over the past few days. Give us your thoughts, talk
us through through this story a bit.
Speaker 4 (03:26):
Yeah, just you know Roger Forst and he's actually in
Atlanta native, you know, raised here, and it's a major
story here in the city of Atlanta. And just looking
at the footage, disturbing footage, it seems appears to be
blatant murder. Of course, Florida is an open carva station.
You are allowed to own a weapon, you are allowed
(03:47):
to protect and defend your home. And when he opened
the door, the gun was pointing towards the ground, which
there was no immediate threat to the deputy who shot him.
And so it just shows you that this is just
another you know, either either incompetence or racism.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
It's either.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
If it's incompetence, is this this deputy should have never
had this job in the first place, because he doesn't
have the whillbethal to know that you shouldn't kill a
citizen in a state where there is open carry laws
and he has the right to own a weapon. Uh,
but you know, we've seen this before time and time again.
We just hope that the family gets justice.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Justice.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
We hope that the deputy is charged and convicted, and uh,
that's where this needs to end. I think that you know,
this is happening too many times, and this is just
another case of as I would say, it's either negligence
or just flat out racism.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Well said, Well said, I feel like you know, there
are a lot of people who espouse the Second Amendment
of the United States of America, that we have the
right to bear arms, that we have the right to
carry around a contraptionose the only purpose is to end
(05:05):
to life. We have the right to always be at
the ready to terminate another human being's existence, which is
very grim and morbid if you ask me. Now, I
know that when that law was originally worked into our
(05:28):
Bill of Rights, that the intention was for the citizens
to be able to take up arms against the tyrannical government.
But what it has come to mean is exactly what
I said. We have the right to remain perpetually afraid
for our lives, and if we become so afraid, we
(05:50):
can end the life of another. And nowhere is that
right more pronounced than with police officers, And nowhere else
is that right less pronounced, and with black people and
therein lies the source of a lot of problems that
I speak for myself, that I have with.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Policing in this country. If you have a if you're a.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Service member serving our country and you own a weapon,
which you should, you know, in the military, that makes
a lot more sense. And someone knocks on your door
and you don't know who it is, and you don't
see anyone through a peep hole, and you go and
retrieve your weapon, again exercising your second amendment to own
(06:42):
your legally own firearm, to have your legally owned firearm,
and then someone burst into your house, shoots you and
then tells you to drop the weapon before you know
who it is, before you know why they're there, and
(07:03):
then they get to say that they feared for their life.
Somehow their life because they're a police officer, is worth
more than yours, even though you're serving this country. It
goes to show how far away we've gotten from exactly
who is valuable. And this is why I was such
a big fan of the Black Lives Matter moment and
(07:25):
am still a fan of the message, because I think
that it centers the narrative that black people's lives have
just as much value we are having the human experience
as well, and for our less melanated brothers and sisters
who too often fail to recognize the gravity of that
(07:47):
statement and that reality. Affirming that black lives do matter
is something that's very important. So you know, again, brilliant take.
At present, all we can do is hope that the
family gets and that the.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Officer is charged.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
I worry that, you know, this will end up like
so many other stories like this, the officer feared for
his life, and then they'll try to paint this serviceman
is somehow criminal, or he shouldn't have had the gun,
or he should have dropped.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Who knows.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Who knows what they'll say, but this is one that
checks all of the boxes of we're just black and
existing and it still cost us to our lives. Oh,
we'll see how this ends up shaking out, but in
the meantime, we are going to move on this also
from the Black Information Network. On Friday a tenth, the
Shenandoah County, Virginia school Board voted five and one in
(08:42):
favor of a proposal that will restore the Confederate names
the two of its schools.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Per NBC News, The.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Move comes after the board decided in twenty twenty to
change the names schools linked to Confederate leaders Stonewall Jackson,
Robert E. Lee, and Turner Ashby. Following tuesday's vote, Mountain
View High School will return to the name Stonewall Jackson
High School. Honey Run Elementary School will go back to
Ashby Lee Elementary School. The board initially stripped the Confederate
(09:10):
names in the wake of George Floyd's murder and the
nation's racial reckoning. Conservative group Coalition or Better Schools petitioned
against the renaming.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Quote.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
We believe that revisiting this decision is essential to honor
our community's heritage, respect the wishes of the majority unquote,
the coalition wrote in a letter to the board last month.
In twenty twenty two, a similar motion was put forth
to reverse the name change, but it failed due to
a tie vote. The current members of the board said
the decision in twenty twenty was made too hastily and
(09:40):
without appropriate community input. On Thursday May ninth, roughly eighty
people spoke before the Board of voted to restore the
Confederate names, including at least fifty who were against the move.
Quote I am a black student and if the names
are restored, I would have to represent a man that
fought for my ancestors to be slave unquote, one student said.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
The student goes.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Up on to say, I think it's unfair to me
that restoring the names is up for discussion.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
So talk us through this one. Just kind of how
this story hits you a bit.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
Yeah, being from the South, we see it all the time,
you know, here in Atlanta, in Georgia, so you know,
the Confederates they lost the war, and no place around,
in any place around the globe, the people who lose
wars don't get an opportunity to rewrite history. The Nazis,
they aren't allowed to display symbols in Germany. They don't
(10:35):
have any Nazi schools in Germany. So I don't understand
why there's any difference in America. Why do the Confederates
get an opportunity to actually have statues, have schools, things
of that nature. You know, the whole thing is about intimidation.
It's about it's not about holding on to heritage, because
what is the actual heritage.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Of the Confederacy.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
It was about enslaving and brutalizing black people. And so
you know, like I said, it's just a it's another
form of racism, another form of intimidation. And it's just
sad that this school board reversed this decision. And you know,
young young kids have to uh, you know, be educated
in these facilities, uh, knowing that what these symbols represent.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
And I think you said something that's really important there.
What reason is there so far after the Civil War,
you know, to continue to try to honor again the
(11:44):
folks who were anti American as they were the folks
who lost the war because they did. The Confederacy was
exceptionally short lived, and that's that's that's well documented. There
is no long standing Confederate history. The Confederacy was extremely
(12:06):
short lived. And in as far as I know, even
the descendants of these Confederate soldiers don't look favorably on
their or fathers. You know, I recall one descendant of
(12:29):
Robert E. Lee being very critical of things being named
in Roberty E. Lee's honor. So, you know, the people
that really have the most say in this, people that
should have the most say, are distancing themselves from this.
And so when you start to think about how this is,
(12:51):
how this is coming together, you start to really realize
how deep racism goes in this country. And this is
textbook explanation. This is a textbook explanation of how we
are not living in a post racial society. You know,
(13:11):
I get how, Hey, you know, this school has been
named such and such for so long. It's just it's
expensive to rename it. And you know, you know, it's
not that big of a deal. Look, you know, everyone's
making a big deal out of things. Let's just you know,
ignore it. But once it has been renamed to Honey
(13:32):
Run Elementary, and then there are people who get together
a majority of people who get together to rename it
after the Confederate soldier again that lost the war, that
was anti American, that has no ancestors directly speaking in
defense of this. You know, then you just start to
see how the community is not living in a post
(13:54):
racial society. And they're again shaping outcomes like the student
that was mentioned in the art article. They're shaping outcomes
for students like this, who has to graduate from a
school based on where they live, has to graduate from
a school named after someone who espoused slavery.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
If that person had it their way, that.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Student wouldn't even go to that school, they would be
in chains in a cotton field somewhere in that state.
And so again a textbook example of why we are
still working toward a indeed post racial society. Today's guest
(14:33):
is the author of the book Prap History and the
executive editor of Atlanta Daily World, Mister A. R. Shaw
all Right next up from the Grio. In her memoir
Bits and Pieces, My Mother, My Brother and Me, released
on May seventh, the View co host Whoopie Goldberg revealed
that after she had cleaned up from recreational drug use
(14:55):
in the early seventies, she relapsed in the eighties while
spending time in New York and law Los Angeles. The
Egot Winners wake up call came while she was celebrating
her birthday at an upscale hotel in Manhattan. Recalled that
after she had taken an ounce of cocaine someone had
given her, a housekeeper found her in a closet. Goldberg
said the incident startled the housekeeper, who stared at her.
(15:18):
After looking in a mirror, she realized she had cocaine
all over her face. After the hotel incident, the sister
ax Star decided to fix her life and get clean
for her mother, Emma Harris, and her daughter Alex, and
she eventually succeeded. In her memoir, she goes on to say,
despite having been married three times, she's never been in
love and does not believe she's meant for that kind
(15:40):
of relationship.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Quote.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
When you're married to somebody, you have to be invested
in how they're feeling. I am not, Goldberg said. She
goes on to say, I'm invested in my kid, I'm
invested in her kids, I'm invested in my son in law,
I'm invested in my friends. But I am not invested
in a relationship that would require as much as having
a child requires.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Quote.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
So you know, we're we're starting to get some more
insight into all the things that make who Pi Goldberg
who she is.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Let's get your take on this.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
You know, it's interesting. Uh, she's lived She's lived an
incredible life. And I think the drug use pieces it's
good because I think addiction is a major problem, Uh
in this nation where you have individuals who they don't
understand how to how to kick a habit. And I think, uh,
maybe someone seeing her, reading about her testimony would help
(16:33):
someone who's struggling with addiction and trying to figure out
how to jump over that. Heel uh, So I thought
that was important and in adding that, and you know, hopefully,
hopefully it's a wake up call for others, uh to
kick any type of addiction that they may have. In
terms of relationships, I can understand. I can kind of
see how, you know, just her being in an entertainment industry,
(16:54):
how you know, sometimes you know you're you're focused on
one thing, whereas you know, relationships can suffer. And you know,
she's given her testimony on how her relation her personal
relationships have suffered over the years, possibly maybe due to
her career and things that she desires more so than
(17:14):
actually having someone who's a companion at all times.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
And so it's an interesting read.
Speaker 4 (17:18):
I'm sure it's going to sell a lot of books,
and it just provides a little bit more insight on
someone who I know has done an amazing job of
just entertaining us over the years.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Yeah, you know, I.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
Can't really speak to any of like the drug use
stuff I've and I've said on the show, I've never
done a drug before. I'm not even a big fan
of like a lot of what is considered to be medicine.
But yeah, I've never smoked anything. The only thing I've
ever breathed in was air. You know, I've never had
(17:54):
alcohol before, you know, so that's not a thing for me.
But the relationship would that really stood out. I was like, Okay,
I I Well, the one thing I will say is
I can't say I've never been in love. I feel like,
you know, what is life without love?
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Right?
Speaker 1 (18:13):
But I do kind of understand her take on marriage,
and I've been I've been criticized for a long time
because of my views on marriage. You know, I'm just
not a person that really feels like I will ever
be married. But you know, I say that and watch
something crazy happen. But anyway, just as a general rule,
(18:34):
I'm not I just don't know that marriage is for me.
I'm very afraid of what comes with that and losing
it and getting wrong. And I don't think that I'm
more qualified than the scores of other people who try
it and don't make it. So, you know, why tie
yourself to certain outcomes if there's you know, not really
statistical evidence that would support a favorable outcome.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
It's like a crapshoot. And I'm not a big gambler.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
But you know, her view of it, I think is
kind of interesting because how she looks at it is like,
you know, it requires as much as having a child.
You know, you have to really worry about somebody's feelings
and wishes and their sensitivities and so forth, and that
(19:19):
shapes your reality. Your reality becomes defined by their fears
and their goals and so forth, and that can be
very rewarding. I will admit that. Honestly, I know that
it can be. It can be very meaningful to care
for someone and to be cared for by someone. But
you know, if you get it wrong, someone else's reality
(19:41):
can define your reality. They can be think something happened
and didn't happen, or they can you know whatever, who knows.
And you know it's it's interesting because I was doing
some more reading on her, and I guess she's polyamorous,
and that's something that really certainly fits for someone who
thinks like that, because she's like, look, I do enjoy,
(20:02):
you know, the connection with people, but you know, in
terms of like let's get the law involved and you
can have my stuff if it doesn't work, it doesn't
really feel like the most prudent move for Whoopi goldbrig
and I kind of understand that. I think the only
difference is that, you know, as a you know, a
black man. I'll speak for myself here, but you know,
(20:24):
there's a lot of people who say that I am
not fulfilling my duties to my people by remaining unmarried.
I need to marry a black woman to lift her economically.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Out of you know what.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
There's people that make all these sorts of arguments, and
I feel like it's very unfair because, you know, if
it's just a matter of donating money, donating time, or
supporting you know, I do plenty of that, and then
you know, there's a lot to be said about, you know,
conserving the resources that I do have for my own
children so that they can live a life that makes
(21:03):
them happy. And so there's a bunch of different ways
to cut this up. But I'm not mad at somebody
walking under truth. It appears like Woopy Goldberg's walking under truth,
and anybody says anything that kind of parrots my reality,
I'm all for it, so happy to share the story.
All right, let's talk about this article from USA Today,
the Biden Harris HQ Social media accounts posted a video
(21:26):
slideshow of unflattering photos of Trump while a verse from
Kendrick Lamar's song Not Like Us plays in the background.
Biden's campaign tweaked the lyrics by a captions to dis
the presumptive Republican nominees personally nominee personally calling him out
on policy and his own social media use. Quote It's
always been about love and hate. Now let me say
(21:47):
I'm the biggest hater videos text reads next quote. I
hate the way that you walk over women's rights, the
way that you talk about immigrants, I hate the way
that you dress. I hate the way that you sneak
this on truth social So this is him taking Lamar's
lyrics from I believe that song was euphoria and you know,
(22:11):
working it into you know, their social media campaign. So
I thought that was pretty clever of them to kind
of sees the moment.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Let's get your thoughts though.
Speaker 4 (22:21):
Yeah, you know the Kendrick Drake hip hop battle that
pretty much hell captured the nation for a weekend, right,
you know, it was the biggest hip hop battle since
Jay z and Os, which occurred like like almost over
twenty years ago. And so this generation hadn't really seen
a hip hop beef of this magnitude, and it didn't
(22:43):
just stay within hip hop, it became a mainstream story.
I thought it was I thought it was unique for
the Biden administration. I'm sure with some some young social
media manager who was able to pull that over and
and kind of capture that moment. I thought it was
a unique spend on this whole you know, narrative. But
you know what's interesting, I put it out before that
(23:05):
video came out. I wrote an article that basically mpared, yeah,
that compare rap beefs to political debates. Uh and and
I was inspired to write that because questlove who we
all love from the roots. He brought up, you know,
he wrote something on online saying that hip hop is
dead in comparison to the Kendrick and Drake.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
Rap battle, and so he caught a lot of backlashing.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
You know.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
For me, I was just like, you know, it's not
really you know, it's you know, rap beefs are similar
to political debates, of course, you know, uh, you know,
I say, elections are ways that societies correct itself, right,
and when you have two candidates going at each other,
they do mud slinging. Uh, they talk bad about each other,
and they basically want the people to know they try
(23:53):
to they want the people they want to discredit the
other candidate to make sure that the people uh know
that this person isn't worthy of being a leader. And
that's what was happening with the Kendrick and the Drake
fewd It was basically Kendrick Lamar saying, look, this guy
who is the biggest rapper in our generation, Drake, doesn't
deserve to be the leader of our culture because he
(24:14):
doesn't appreciate our culture. He doesn't give us any substance,
and he's just someone who you can't trust. And he basically,
over a span of several songs, Kendrick basically decimated Drake,
not from a not from an artistic standpoint, but from
a personal standpoint. He took away his character. He aimed
(24:34):
at him as a person. And so that that was
a unique thing. And and I said, you know, we
see candidates doing the same thing. We're gonna see Biden
and Trump do the same thing in November. They're gonna
aim at each other's character. Uh, And it's gonna be
it's gonna be debates and and we're gonna and the
people are going to decide who they want to lead
this society. And so, uh, you know, just seeing that
(24:56):
that there's you know, this Kendrick and Drake thing, you know,
it's bigger than just just hip hop. I think it's
you know, over the next generation, what who's going to
be the leader, what type of music is going to
move the people? Where you have Kendrick who has you know,
you talk about the Black Lives Matter protests, he has
an anthem and all right, Uh, Drake hasn't said anything.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
About actually Kendrick Kindrick has a few, got a couple
of them, a few, and Drake.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Doesn't have one.
Speaker 4 (25:24):
And so it's just you know, with hip hop being
something that speaks to the people, speaks to our culture,
and for Drake not to have anything to say about
anything of substance for all these years, it was a
reckoning in terms of hip hop. And so I know
a lot of people are are you know, on Kendrick's
side in terms of uh, you know what he represents,
(25:45):
not a mud slinging of them going back and forth.
That's another issue. You know, there was a lot of
you know, people said there was lies on both sides.
But at the end of the day, I think that
what Kendrick represents in terms of hip hop is a
lot more significant than what Drake represents.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Can I can I say something here to you that was.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Exceptionally well set.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
I I hesitate to add anything.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
You know, I famously, you know, listeners of the show
will know that I famously jumped off the porch when
Jay Cole apologized and I was like, hey, man, listen,
there's no place for battles and beafs and stuff like that.
Battling leads to beefs, and beef leads to, you know,
outcomes that aren't really favorable for black people in our
play right now in this country. And then I had
(26:38):
to kind of reel some of that back in after
Not Like Us came out and I'm like, this is
this is this is really some good music, and you know,
I kind of understand a little bit more. But listen, man,
what you just said is that's I think that's everything
(26:58):
that that a person would need to know in a nutshell. Yeah,
who has more hits?
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Drake.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
He's got a team of people working with him and
their job is to make hits. He can sing, and
he raps, and he knows how to put together an album.
As Kendrick famously said, you go to Atlanta, get the features,
and you know, whenever you need to, you go to
the West Coast and you know wherever you you know,
that's that's your that's your formula. But you know, Kendrick
(27:33):
is if Drake is a is a is a hit maker,
Kendrick is an artist. Kendrick is somebody where once you
listen to the song five, six, seven times, it's something
else will hit you that you didn't hear it the first,
you know, four or five times that you listen. Oh
(27:54):
my gosh, that's what he was saying. That's wild, you
know what I mean. And it's stuff that's very deep
in there. So the artist is different. And this is
why there's this kind of debate where Kendrick has more
Grammys and Drake has more hits, you know what I mean.
Kendrick is an artist and he's doing something for his people,
(28:14):
and Drake is a hit maker and he's doing something
seemingly for himself. Right, And so when Kendrick levels these accualzation,
accusations of being like a colonizer and all this sort
of stuff, you kind of feel it and you see
Drake cast in a different light. Now, make no mistake,
I'm a huge fan of Drake. I played Drake songs
(28:37):
all the time, all the time, and I'm a DJ
still right now. I own two nightclubs, so I DJ
frequently and you know, the DJs that work for me
do as well. And so you know, I danced to
Drake music. I listened to it in the car. I
love Drake, right, but when it's cast in that light
and you're like, okay, Kenny, I see what dang didn't
(28:58):
I didn't really notice it.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
I didn't really notice it before.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
But again, after listening, you know, to all those disrecords,
you're like, man, this is wild. And you know, the
the one thing that I will say is that you know,
as you mentioned, this has taken on kind of this
has grown beyond hip hop, with the Biden administration using
you know, the lyrics of Euphoria specifically in their campaign ad.
(29:24):
But you know, I was contacted. I have a friend
that works for the BBC in London and they wanted to,
you know, my input on the story, and so I'm
on with the BBC, and so you know, that goes
to like Tanzania and all over Africa and of course
all over Europe, and that's that's more of like a
global network. And so it goes to show you just
(29:47):
how big of a of a of a battle this
is and how defining it is. And you know, on
the ground here being on the West Coast this past weekend,
you know, I was, you know, at my club like
I normally do, and everyone's out having a good time
and we're playing songs for them and you know, hosting
the party and make sure everything's good. You know, people
(30:09):
are popping their bottles and you know, birthdays and bachelor
parties and everything like normal. And then Not like Us
comes on and you know, and we have like a
special DJ edit that starts with the with the like.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
The chant that comes at the end of the song.
Instead it starts at the beginning.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
It's like let me hear you say, oh be you
know whatever, and then the people are chanting it just immediately,
and then we had to bring the song back and
that's not something we've ever done before. So it just
goes to show how big this is. And you know what,
I'll take it a step further. This has inspired other
people to try to air out their grievances too.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
I know that. You know, Soldier Boy has.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
Gone on the offensive with with Metro as well and
twenty one Savage and even Shaq Shaq has put out
a song about.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
What's his name? Help me out? What's his name?
Speaker 3 (31:05):
Shannon Sharp?
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Shannon Sharp, Shannon Sharp. And I know that because I
have the lyrics here. It says, your whole demeanor is
faker than new wrap beefy. You're soft before you get fly.
You'd rather tweet me. I was in three different cars
when you was in three feet. In three feet, all
I see is dollar signs that come in in three
D make it hot.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
Ain't nowhere around my degrees. You're not in my spot.
You're like a pee wee.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
So these disc records are flying back and forth, man,
and I admittedly don't know too much about the Shack
and Shannon Sharp background story. Maybe you do, but you know,
this new phenomenon is just kind of well, I guess
not a new phenomenon, but it's certainly been reactivated. So
so yeah, just an interesting development of things.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
And before you.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
Go, I want to I want to get your thoughts
on this other kind of let's call it a bonus story.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
This from hip hop dx.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
Ello COOLJ has offered some career advice to Andre three
thousand and six, suggesting you retire the flute and reunite
with Big Boy for a new outcast album. Appearing on
the latest episode of Lebron James' is the Shop, the
hip hop legend expressed disappointment over three stacks this New
Blue Sun LP, which was entirely instrumental, and urged the
Atlien to return to rap. Quote, he's amazing all right,
(32:25):
his bars all the way up. Ello cool J said,
not the flute, the do you want to hear me
do the violin. I want him to get with Big Boy.
I want them to make an outcast album or do
a solo album. He's so gifted. When fellow guest Lenawait
defended Andre and said she liked New Blue Son, Ella
responded with you like the album, what's your favorite song?
(32:48):
And I think that for those who don't know, I
think that was a dig because the songs have these
really interesting titles that don't really lend themselves to you know,
remembering them a and then be you know, the album
was a success, but there are no like specific singles
that were, you know, on the top of the pop charts.
(33:08):
O L O is just kind of making a point there,
But let's get your thoughts before you go on Llo's
take on. You know, your your countrymen over there, your
your statesman. I guess, oh three three thousand.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
Oh yeah, of course outcasts one hundred three thousand, Big
Boy they are, you know, they're my favorite group. And
I'm sure Atlanta, uh, you know, we riote for outcasts,
you know, at all times. So my thing with with
with ll cool j uh, I think so it's two things, right.
We got to respect LLL for all the things, the
(33:42):
things that he's done and hip hop, and of course
we all want another album, a project from Big Boy
and Andre always just want a tour or some type
of concert. Uh, you know, we want to see them
perform again as a as a as a duel. But
with with ll Cool JAT, I thought that that was
kind of hypocritical. Let's say that you know, when LLL
(34:04):
first started acting, he wasn't the greatest actor. He wasn't
a great like he was not a good actor, and
so you know we would have said, okay, L, we don't.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
Want you to act anymore.
Speaker 4 (34:13):
We just want you to rap because we like LLL
when he's saying I'm bad.
Speaker 3 (34:18):
But what you know, but what if that was the.
Speaker 4 (34:21):
Sentiment of every hip hop fan, is that we don't
want to see ll cool J in front of a
camera anymore, he wouldn't be where he is today. I mean,
he's been on television I think for over twenty years
and he's been consistent, and you know, he's producing shows
now and directing, and he's doing so many other things,
you know, in front of the camera, behind the camera.
(34:43):
He didn't allow himself to be limited by hip hop.
He used hip hop as a as a platform to
take him to another space and from from an artistic standpoint.
And that's what Andre three thousand is doing. He's using
you know what, what he's feeling. Maybe he isn't the
greatest flu player now, but in ten years he could
be the best flute player.
Speaker 3 (35:04):
Of this generation.
Speaker 4 (35:05):
So so my whole thing is, we shouldn't limit ll
shouldn't limit Andre three thousand and uh, you know his
artistic expression because we didn't limit LLL cool J when
he wanted to become an actor, knowing you know, that
wasn't that wasn't our sentiment.
Speaker 3 (35:20):
We we we were behind.
Speaker 4 (35:22):
Him, and even through those early years when he wasn't
the greatest thesbian.
Speaker 3 (35:27):
We still stuck. We still stuck with him.
Speaker 4 (35:30):
And you know, we really cheered LLL on because he
was doing something different and he was allowing himself to grow,
and we allowed him to grow.
Speaker 3 (35:38):
So I just hope that LLL.
Speaker 4 (35:39):
Kolj would give Andre three thousand that same grace in
terms of allowing him to grow.
Speaker 2 (35:44):
Artistically excellent, Take no notes.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
I guess the only thing I will add is echoing
your sentiments, which is that Outcast is indeed the greatest
hip hop group of all time. And yes that includes DMC,
and yes that includes Wu Tang, and yes that includes NWA.
This is coming from a person who's from Compton, California.
Yes it includes all of them. Got out to Outcasts
(36:09):
one time and shout out to Andre three stacks were
doing your today?
Speaker 2 (36:12):
All right?
Speaker 1 (36:12):
With that in mine, Thank you as always for your
time and your insight.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
Once again.
Speaker 1 (36:15):
Today's guest is the author of the book Trap History
and the executive editor of Atlanta Daily World, Mister A. R.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
Shaw.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
This has been a production of the Black Information Network.
Today's show was produced by Chris Thompson. Have some thoughts
you'd like to share, use the red microphone talkback feature
on the iHeartRadio app. While you're there, be sure to
hit subscribe and download all of our episodes I'm Your
Host Ramsey's Jaw on all social media. Join us tomorrow
as we share our news with our voice from our
(36:44):
perspective right here on the Black Information Network Daily Podcast
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