April 10, 2025 • 46 mins
This week, we dive into a series of heavy-hitting stories shaping our communities: the tragic collapse of Jet Set nightclub in the Dominican Republic that killed over 100 people—including music legend Rubby Pérez and former MLB players—raising urgent questions about safety and accountability. We also unpack a major shift in U.S. immigration policy as the IRS agrees to share taxpayer data with ICE, a move that could send shockwaves through immigrant communities. Plus, we break down the economic chaos following Trump’s latest tariff hikes on China, the record-breaking rise of Latin music in 2024, and why Bad Bunny’s Tiny Desk concert became a powerful love letter to Puerto Rico.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Love me talking about talk. There we go. He said,
you live in life as a ringo, where you question
where you fit in every time you mingle, they say
you do. This would not that my rap.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
This life?
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Ao, Yes, hello, and welcome to another sort of life
as a gringo. I am dramas of course. And it's Thursday,
so it means time for our Thursday Trends episode. I
still sound a little crazy, a little naisaly. I feel congested.
I don't feel one hundred percent. I apologize if I
sound crazy in advance, But Nashelle must go on, as
(00:41):
they say in this biz right, and man, it's not
going to be a positive for me. There's there's a
couple of you know, some light at the end of
the tunnel in some of the conversations. But we have
to talk about the tragedy that happened in the dr
in Dominican Republic at a nightclub as a rooftop collapse
(01:01):
during a concert and lives were lost, still people missing,
just in absolute tragedies that we're gonna have to touch on.
We're also gonna talk about the IRS agreeing to share
data with ICE and what that means for immigrants and
(01:23):
undocumented workers, specifically undocumented immigrants. We'll also quickly quick, because
I don't want to talk about this too much. We're
gonna talk about Trump's tariffs, the latest that's been the
big headline the last couple of weeks. On a positive
side of things, we'll talk about how Latin music is
breaking records in twenty twenty four and on like, it's
(01:44):
just growing. So we'll talk about that. And also, you know,
I gotta give a little shout out. Bad Bunny just
dropped his tiny Desk concert for NPR, so we'll touch
on that. But first and foremost, and start with the nonsense.
The BS in a segment call for the people in
the people in the say a lot for the people
(02:07):
in the.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Say a lot of the people of.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
You know what's funny is as long as I don't talk,
I'm good. The sick irity of that is I talk
for a living, So bear with me. I'm gonna probably
be fighting off a cough the entire time that we
are are here during this episode. But let's verse a
foremost star in the Dominican Republic, this tragedy right here,
the people of dr are mourning one of the deadliest
(02:38):
tragedies in recent memory after the roof of jet Set
in Iconic nightclub in South Flamingo collapsed during a concert,
killing at least one hundred and thirteen people and injuring
over two hundred and fifty others. According to the country's
Emergency Operations Center, rescue teams from the dr Puerto Rico
(02:59):
and in Israel are still searching for survivors in the rubble.
Among the dead are Bedenga icon Ruby Perez, former MLB
players Octavio datel an Toni, Rique Blanco Cabrera. Also confirmed
decease is Nelsi Cruz, governor of the Monte Cris Province
(03:20):
and sister of seven times MLB All Star Nelson Cruz.
Amongst the dead. Obviously, the island is shaken by people,
I think in general humanity, right, seems something like that
happened now they're saying the collapse. Collapse happened just after
midnight on April eighth, during a highly anticipated concert by
(03:42):
Ruby Perez. The venue was filled with about three hundred
people dancing to Madenga when, according to various eyewitness videos,
dust began falling from the ceiling. Seconds later, the entire
roof caved in. Now, according to AP News, the roof
gave nearly an hour into bed as a set of
viral video does show the collapse, and I tried not
(04:11):
to watch the videos. There are people posting videos of
like someone's hand under Rebel one. It's just disgusting in
my opinion, to showcase that stuff. They're saying that this
venue was an iconic one. It's been opened since nineteen
seventy three. It was previously damaged in twenty twenty three
by a lightning strike and a fire. They're saying that
(04:35):
the search for survivors are still ongoing. Authority say it's
too early to determine the cause of the collapse. There
is no record of when jet Set's last safety inspection
took place. The Ministry of Public Works has not commented,
and the mayor's office has not returned phone calls. According
to AP News, obviously they're going to do a whole
investigation to this, and it does it. It doesn't negate
(05:02):
the tragedy that this is. And I was talking to
this about I'll talk about this with someone yesterday and
it's just like the tragedy of it all is it's
like there's nothing you can do, and it's something that
could happen to any one of us in any place. Right.
We sort of take it for granted that the structures
that we're walking into, the cities that we are living in,
(05:26):
and the places that we are going to on a
day to day basis, we just assume that everything is okay,
and everything is up to code and everything is up
to par. But you know, we've seen it time and
time again, even here in the States. There was that
apartment building that collapsed in Miami that killed you know,
so many people, and it was like, you know, failed
(05:47):
inspections that weren't done that should have been done, and
probably people getting paid off and all these different things,
and it's just scary. I guess. I guess it's a
reminder of like how much of our life we're not
in control of, right, and how much of a blessing
every day really is, and how much of a blessing
it is to come home each and every day. And
(06:09):
we take that for granted, right. The idea that we
left the house and we're able to come back home
at the end of the day, you know, is wild
and I think, you know, even for me, this this
obviously hits close to home as somebody who is constantly
a nightclubs and you know, you just think to yourself, like,
you know, there's so much I mean shit, people in
(06:33):
their apartment building in Miami, like they're just literally having
their morning coffee and something like that happens. It's just
I don't know, I guess a lot of things go
through your mind of just the fragility of life, and
my heart goes out to those affected. You feel helpless
in this situation as well. It almost feels empty giving condolences,
you know, in these types of situations, but just an
(06:54):
absolute tragedy and you know, just makes you kind of
want to hug your loved ones a little bit a
little bit tighter after hearing stories like this one. Now
moving on to another story in terms of here in
the States and all that's happening with ICE, the IRS
(07:16):
has now agreed to share data with ICE. Monday, IRS
signed a memorandum of understanding with US Immigration and Customs
Enforcement ICE that allows immigration officials access to taxpayer data
in certain criminal cases. This agreement marks a dramatic policy shift.
(07:37):
For decades, IRS had a reputation of keeping their data
confidential when it comes to tax data, even for undocumented immigrants. Now,
many are asking, what does this mean for our communities,
our safety, and our future. I'm getting this from r
ME two dot com. They're saying, why is this such
a big deal for taxpayer in fort to be shared
(07:58):
with ICE? Now? According to Axios, the IRS has agreed
to share immigrants personal tax return information with ICE when
requested during criminal investigations. This includes addresses and financial details
that for many undocumented taxpayers have long felt protected. Under
the agreement, ICE must provide the individuals in question. Under
(08:22):
ICE must provide that the individual question are under criminal investigation,
which they could fucking say that about anybody or have
a final order of removal. The IRS then cross checks
the records for relevant tax return data. Yet the exact
scope of what will be shared remains unclear. Many details
in the agreement were redacted in public filings. According to
(08:45):
the Associated Press, IRS acting Commissioner Melanie Krauss is resigning
over this deal. So the person who is acting commissioner
for the IRS is resigning over this deal, she's essentially resigning.
In protests, She's the second RS had to step down
in recent months amid concerns over government overreach and data misuse.
(09:05):
The previous acting Commission, Douglas O'Donnell, left in February. He
did so following public outcry over Elon Musk's Department of
Government efficiency gaining access to taxpayer data. Now, undocumented immigrants
contribute billions of dollars in taxes each year, often through
using individual taxpayer identification numbers iti ends. For years, immigrant
(09:30):
advocates and tax professionals have worked to assure these taxpayers
that their information would remain confidential. Now the promise is
in jeopardy quote. The IRS's decision to share confidence or
information with the Department of Homeland Security threatens the safety
of thousands of workers while forcing them further into the shadows.
That is, according to Maraud, were dash of the New
(09:53):
York Immigration Coalition and comments that he told MPR. He
all said Tom Omen from the Center for Democracy and
Technology telling the Associated Press that the agreement quote will
discourage tax compliance among immigrant communities, weaken contributions to essential
public programs, and increase burdens for US citizens and non
(10:14):
immigrant taxpayers. According to NPR, dozens of Congressional Democrats sets
a letter urging the IRS and DHS not to finalize
the deal. They warned that it would drive undocumented taxpayers
away from formal tax systems. It would also shift more
of the labor force to the informal economy and potentially
lower federal revenues from taxes. Okay, I mean it's like again,
(10:44):
it's like the saying of you cut off your nose
to spite your face here, right, So in a means
to follow through with your personal agenda when it comes
to migrants, you're potentially going to to make the country
lose revenue in terms of the taxes that these people
(11:05):
are paying into the system. I mean, and aren't we
trying to raise more money, you know for the the country?
Isn't doze supposed to be efficiency? Right, find more money?
And this is money and now you're potentially going to
be losing it. And obviously they said this is for
special criminal cases, whatever the case may be, but they're
(11:25):
calling everybody a fucking criminal. There was a guy who
got deported that had legal status here. I can't remember
what country he got deported to, not even his own country.
He had legal status here, wasn't a criminal, didn't have
a criminal record, was checking in as he was supposed to,
and got deported by mistake because these people are fucking
(11:46):
idiots because their leader is a fucking idiot, right, and
it's just a mass fucking you know, bulling China shop mentality,
and you know, it's like no fact checking or no
double checking work. It's just like, let's fucking push ahead,
and you know, we'll make mistakes along the way. It's okay.
Well what's not okay when it's people's lives being uprooted? Right?
(12:08):
And then now that that gentleman who was deported, they're saying, sorry,
we did this by mistake. We're admitting it, but we
can't bring you back even though you're have legal status
in the United States of America. And then a judge
ruled that the US has to bring him back, and
then the Supreme Court ruled against that judge. So it's like,
(12:29):
you idiots are, at the request of Donald Trump, just
fucking blindly uprooting people's lives. And how am I supposed
to have faith that you're not going to just find
ways to illegally use this information to attack people who
aren't even criminals. And again in the groundabout thing, because
(12:52):
all you care about is bottom line potentially losing money,
that these people are making right, what's their motivation to
paying to the system. Now, you're literally putting their livelihood
at risk for you know, if they choose to pay
taxes into the system. It's just it's just dumb shit
(13:14):
that makes no sense whatsoever, it really is, you know.
And again you can't have faith that Ice and our government,
the current administration are going to do the right thing
because they're just fucking morons, blindly doing things without thinking
(13:37):
about the long term repercussions of them. And unfortunately for them,
they're fine, but their actions have real world effects on
the everyday person, on real people. Again, that guy was
ripped apart from his family, deported illegally. He had legal
status here, and now they're telling them, sorry, buddy, you're fucked.
(13:58):
We can't do anything for you. Like just crazy shit,
even after they've admitted yeah, are bad, awesome, thank you.
I'm sure his family that is now missing their father
and him who is detained and in the country he's
not from. I'm sure that, you know, admission of making
(14:19):
a mistake is suitable for him and his family. Like
just crazy, crazy stuff. Not a lot of foresight happening
in this administration. That's for sure, and we'll talk about
that when it comes to these tariffs and what the
fuck the latest is with Trump's trade war he has
going on. We'll take a quick break here though, and
(14:40):
then we'll be right back. All right, So here's the latest.
I know I was out last week as far as
the Thursday trends was concerned. Actually we did' drop an
episode all last week. I was deathly ill, deathly ill.
But the chaos of Trump's tariffs had been going on,
(15:00):
the stock market was fucking dropping, dropping, dropping. People were complaining.
Rich people were losing, you know, their net worth. The
dude from Barstool, Dave Portnoy, was famously online talking about
how he's lost ten to twenty percent of his net
worth from this stuff. As Trump is blindly just hitting
(15:26):
countries with tariffs with no real plan in place. And
then now, because of public outcry and I'm sure rich
people outcry, he's decided to backtrack on his tariff plan.
Apparently for ninety days. He's putting a pause on them,
(15:47):
with the exception of China. So the stock market bounced
back yesterday, right, So there was a historic relief rally.
A steep sell off resume on I'm sorry. A historic
relief rally is what they're calling it yesterday right, only
(16:08):
to then fall off once again because today Donald Trump,
or or late yesterday, Donald Trump announced that while he's
putting a pause on the tariffs for many countries for
ninety days, he's actually hitting China with even more tariffs.
(16:29):
So now the Dow tumbled two thousand points after the
White House clarified higher tariffs on China. So the Dow
tumbled more than two thousand points, or five percent today midday.
And they're saying that the broader SMP five hundred sank
five point nine percent and the tech heavy Nasdaq Composite
(16:50):
slid six point nine percent while investors breathe a sigh
of relief. Yesterday, as President Trump announced a ninety day
pause on most quote unquote reciprocal tariffs, he hiked the
tariff rate on China to at least one hundred and
forty five percent, a level that the White House clarified today.
(17:11):
They're saying the prospects of a trade war with China
have continued to spook investors. Quote, we expect the road
ahead to be bumpy and do not anticipate a quick
trip back to new heights, said Keith Learner, chief market
strategists at Truest Advisory Services. Now, the US Dollar index,
which measures the dollars strength against six foreign currencies, tumbled
(17:35):
one point eighty five percent on Thursday or today, hitting
its lowest level since early October. The dollar has broadly
weakened this year, a sign of investors concern about the
health and stability of the US economy. New data today
showed that inflation in the US slowed sharply in March,
and while that's usually welcome news for investors, the focus
on Wall Street is firmly on tariffs and the outlook
(17:58):
for the economy going forward. Quote Thursday's data for March,
which backward looking and doesn't tell the market much about
the recent tariffs, albeit many of them on pause are
affecting consumer prices. At Skuyler Wine and chief investment officer
at Capital Okay, a lot of investor talk here in words, basically,
(18:28):
shit's getting more expensive for us. And the Donald, in
typical Donald Trump fashion, he it's funny because his his uh,
his supporters. Like yesterday in particularly when it bounced back,
They're all like, look at me, I'm back up, fucking
eight million dollars we bought during the dip. Help, Yeah,
(18:49):
he's smart. Dogs Trump, you know what you're doing. No,
this is an idiot, and I don't know how else
to break it down. And I'm like, a part of
me is like, hey, maybe there is a grander plan.
I probably don't agree with it, but maybe there's a
grander plan. And then you realize, no, this asshole just
does stuff without really thinking it through, affects the lives
(19:09):
of a whole bunch of people, and then walks it
back when shit hits the fan'. That's literally the blueprint
for Trump. Hey, let's try this dumb idea that any
expert is telling us is a horrendous idea. The eye
test is telling us it doesn't make sense. But let's
try it, and worst case we'll just go back. But
(19:31):
the fucked up thing is most people aren't multi millionaires
that can afford to lose ten to twenty percent of
their net worth. Most people aren't multimillionaires that don't look
at the price of the shit they're buying, So it
really doesn't even matter to them that certain things are
more expensive. They don't give a fuck, right, it doesn't
(19:55):
affect them. But the everyday person while you're trying to
figure things out on the fly because you're too fucking
dumb to actually do any real research or come up
with a real plan. While you're trying to figure that
whole situation out, real people's lives are getting fucked up.
We saw that with the ice story that I just
talked about. We saw that with you know what's happening
(20:17):
here with the stock market and the cost of goods
that are being pushed onto the American people, which they're
already struggling. They can't take much more. And it's because
this asshole has a lack of planning. And now he's
having a dick measuring contest with China, and it's like,
(20:39):
what the fuck are we doing? And they like they
talk about, you know, this idea of like America has
been being taken advantage of for decades with tariffs unfairly
and all these different things. And this is the thing
about Donald Trump is his craziness has some surface level logic, right,
(21:04):
so he can sell you on an idea because it's
rooted in some surface level truth or logic. Is America
to reliant on partners outside of the US, Should we
be trying to bring more jobs back to the US
(21:24):
and make more things here. I would say, so, yeah, absolutely,
that's rooted in some superficial logic. But then he just
does crazy shit that has no real long term plan
and isn't well thought out, like these tariffs. Like again,
I think to me, and I'm not an economist or
(21:48):
you know, in holding public office, but if the plan
is to use this as a means to encourage further
production in the US and get companies to build factories,
shouldn't you firm be incentivizing and have a plan of
action in place with factories, with companies, with the whatever
car manufacturers, pharmaceuticals, whatever it might be. Shouldn't you have
(22:11):
a plan in place for them to actually create these
jobs and create these factories and to agree to move
production back to the US before you just fucking blindly
start tariffing the shit out of other countries and get
into a trade war with other countries. Like to me,
that that's where you start. You figure out how do
(22:31):
we actually get the manufacturing here. Then once you have
that in place, you begin to do these other fucking things,
not beforehand, because the way he's doing it is going
to put a strain on the everyday person who is
already struggling. And these people and the irony of what
they do. They gaslight the shit at you and they're
(22:52):
like only you know, they're like, only weak people will
fall during a time like this, so obviously like the
average person's fucking ego, especially like these maga people are like, well,
I'm not weak, so hell yeah, let's stay strong. Meanwhile,
your dumbass is paying more money for shit than you
should be. But because this guy has painted it as
(23:12):
your weak if you fail during this time period, you're
being gas lit into buying into the bullshit. And that's
what these people do, and they make you forget as
he talks about it, you know, and then people around
you might get a little bit tough for a long time,
for a period of time, but in the end we'll
(23:33):
be better off. Bro, it's been tough for people. You're rich,
fucking born with a silver spoon in your mouth. You
have no idea what tough times are like. You've always
been able to lie, cheat and steal more money from
people because of your last name. You have no idea
(23:54):
that people are already already struggling, They're already going through
a tough time. Making it worse might make them lose
everything they possibly have. And that's what's being lost here.
And that's what the brilliance of someone like Donald Trump is.
He has convinced so many average people that he, the wealthy,
(24:17):
fucking born into money kid, is somehow in the dogfight
with you. And that's the fun part about this and
what's I guess frustrating for anybody who has their eyes open.
And again I don't even say this as somebody who
(24:38):
is a expert on you know, the economy and tariffs,
so all these things. But history has shown us what
happens when you go into these things. The trade, the
terriff war that we had led to the depression. Like
we see what happens. The stock market was on its
(24:58):
way to fucking just all out crash like pandemic lows.
And there's no real plan in place, and he can't
even explain what the actual fucking plan is. It's all
like tough guy, macho, we're America bullshit. And it's again,
it's like a dick measuring contest with these countries, and
he just wants people to kiss the rings. And the
(25:20):
scary part about something like a country like China, And
I got this tidbit from an interview that was happening
on I think it was Apple News today. They were
talking about the idea of China bowing down to the
US is not a promising one because they're authoritarian country,
(25:41):
a dictatorship that has to rest on the idea that
their ruler, their person in charge, is the strongest person
in the world, essentially, and bows down to no one.
That's what authoritarianism essentially rest upon. And if he backs
down to Donald he loses all credibility as the head
(26:03):
hog show in charge essentially. So it's the wrong country
that you want to test when it comes to a
potential trade war and China's retaliating and we get a
lot of shit from China. You know, Unfortunately, it looks
like you're your sheen fucking pleather jacket that was once
(26:24):
six ninety nine after being assembled. You know, through slave
labor might go up to thirty bucks. You know, it's
gonna be tough times for a lot of us. But
it's just I don't know, man, his own peoples are
like way anybody with half a brain are kind of
as far as Republicans and Congress are kind of like,
(26:46):
I don't know about this. They were having a public outcry.
His own boy, Elon Musk, talks about he doesn't think
tariffs are the right choice here, so it's just and
then he fucking has to backtrack because the idiot has
no real plan. Time and time again, it's the same
fucking pattern. Let me do something. It crashed and burns
now in a backpedal and then like give it a
(27:07):
pr spin to make it seem like I won this battle.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Right, Well, these countries, you know, they've come back now
and they're they're they're coming to negotiating table and you know,
a lot of powerful people are bowing down.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
You know, that's like the type of bullshit he says,
So we won this war. It's fucking crazy, man, But yeah,
that's where we are twenty twenty five, only a couple
months in. Now on some positive news. Let's talk about
Latin music and we'll do so in army hint the segment.
But first's take a quick break and then we'll be
right back. All right, Let's start with a record breaking
(27:57):
year for Latin music twenty twenty four. Last year, they're
saying that Latin music grew to a record one point
four billion dollar industry now. According to rmy two dot com,
Latin music is a growing genre and is taking up
all of the space it rightfully deserves. For the third
(28:17):
year in a row, the genre continues to grow and
is outpacing overall music growth in the United States, which
is absolutely crazy. Again one point four billion dollars in
revenue for Latin music in twenty twenty four, which is
a new record for the genre. Latin music has reached
one billion dollars in revenue for three years in a row,
a six percent growth since twenty twenty four, continuing that
(28:40):
growth trend in twenty twenty four. Like I said, this
is a little slow down compared to the sixteen percent
increase in twenty twenty three. However, the six percent growth
surpasses the three percent growth for all music in the
United States market, so Latin music is growing faster than
any other genre. The broader year and report from the
(29:01):
OURAA paints a big picture of Latin music and how
we consume it. According to report, streaming is a major
player in both revenue and how we listen to our
favorite artists. In total, streaming made up ninety eight percent
of total revenue generated for Latin music in twenty twenty four. Yeah,
I mean I'm not shocked. I mean, I'm actually that's
(29:22):
a lie. I was shocked that it was twenty twenty
four because I felt like we were kind of on
a down year in twenty twenty four because as a DJ,
I kind of felt like, I mean, I know this,
but pop music was like it like Charlie XCX, Sabrita
(29:42):
Carpenter Chapelone, if a, Billie Eilish that as a DJ,
that was like what I was always getting a hit
up about, wanting to people wanting to play that was
always getting the best response. Obviously, Latin music is still
in Bad Bunny in general were like would hit but
it didn't feel like in year's past and this year
twenty I felt like Latin music is bigger than ever.
(30:05):
Like I feel like it's like the go to jore
when I want to get the crowd back into it
or something like that. And I mean that's on the
heels of somebody like Bad Bundy dropping a banging album.
But yeah, I think it's it's a beautiful thing to see.
It's creating a lot of opportunities, a lot of industry.
I don't have the number in front of me, but
I saw something crazy like revenue that Bad Bunny's bringing
(30:27):
to Puerto Rico, and it's just it's beautiful and it's
and it's also being done in a more authentic way
than ever before. I talk about this a lot, and
I harp on it, but it's an important detail to
talk about the fact that they're doing it in their
native language, right, And Bad Bunny is somebody we have
(30:48):
to think a lot for that. You know, he really
is carrying the torch and obviously a lot of other
people contributing. But I think we'd be lying to ourselves
if we didn't say Bad Bunny wasn't sort of at
the helm of this gigantic growth when it comes to
Latin revenue. And it's beautiful, man. It's beautiful for me
as a DJ, and and you know, as an artiste myself,
(31:14):
a beautiful moment for the community, the culture. I love that.
In the past, I can remember, specifically, a lot of
places in New Jersey didn't want you to really play
any Latin music, no ga thong hip hop as well.
Now it's like they are forced, they can't get away
from it. And I love it forces them to have
(31:35):
to swallow their racism. So it's dope, man, I'm here
for it. And piggybacking off of that, Bad Bunny just
dropped the Tiny Desk performance on NPR, and in typical
Bad Bunny fashion, he did it in such a Puerto
(31:55):
Rican way, right, because Bad Bunny didn't just stop at music.
He spoke about Puerto Rican identity, colonization, what it means
to represent the island that can't vote for US president.
Puerto Ricans cannot vote for the president, he said, but
we have to obey with the president orders, and he
did all Spanish. He played for five songs and died
(32:20):
with Labanza, which he described as not a song but
something more. And somebody in the crowd scream Viva Porto
Rico libre or long Live of Free Puerto Rico. He
echoed it, and just and that song, by the way,
(32:43):
it's my favorite song, and like the way that it
ends is like a crowd chanting part of like you're
also in the bad fucking right, like I'm from p
fucking r Puerto Rico, and it's just like this battle
cry of pride, right, and I enjoyed it. And I
(33:03):
think he he did a little bit of the fotos.
I think that's how he ended it officially. But this
backlash to bad Bunnies, NPR Tiny Deak performance, Like, if
you had a problem with Bad Bunnies NPR Tiny desk performance,
you just don't get it. It wasn't for you because
(33:26):
I saw people doing commentary like he didn't play the hits.
He was playing slow music and it was very raw
and rough. It's like, that's the point. This isn't about
putting on a show for the masses. This is about
putting on a protest for the people of Puerto Rico.
(33:47):
This album is a musical protest for the most part. Yes,
he sprinkled in the club records. Yes he sprinkled in
hits that you can sing along too, even if you're
not from Puerto Rico, or if you don't even speak Spanish, right,
you can get it and enjoy it. That's the beauty
of bad money. He mixes the medicine with the candy.
But this performance, he could have given you a commercially
(34:09):
viable performance on a huge platform like this one, but
instead he said, with the world watching, I'm going to
give you Puerto Rico. I'm going to give you a raw,
unapologetic stance on where Puerto Rico is, what's happening on
the island, And on top of that, I'm going to
put on a performance that is riddled with so much
(34:31):
Puerto Rican authenticity, from the instrumentation to the performers that
we're playing there. It was a moment for the people
of Puerto Rico, and it's bigger than just providing you
with entertainment. He chose to use his platform as a
place to take a stance and as a place to
put Puerto Rico on the big stage. And that's what's
(34:52):
respectable about it, and that's why people like myself love it,
and anybody who's critiquing it, you just don't get it
and it's not for you. This is deeper than regaeton.
This is deeper than club music. This is deeper than
sing along anthems. This is a statement and that's exactly
what he did here, and some of y'all just lack
(35:12):
the I don't know, ability to think a bit deeper
than just pop music and understand that some people do
things on a deeper level. And that's why we love
Bad Bunny and That's why this moment in time with
this album and all that he's done since releasing it
has been so special. That's what you're missing if you're hating.
(35:35):
And I rest my case, like, come on, and these
are people I'm not even critiquing like this. So this
was like somebody on the fucking radio was talking about this,
and it's like and and and to their two and
I want to I'm not taking stabs, but this is
somebody from Los Angeles, not of Portrick consent, uh of another.
(36:01):
I don't know if they're Mexican. I don't want to assume,
but obviously in LA that's a huge population of the
Latin diaspora over there, just as like Puerto Ricano Dominican
is in New York. But they were complaining that, oh,
you didn't play the hits, he didn't play, he didn't
do this, bro, what you don't get it? Like, you
(36:23):
don't understand bad Bunny. On a deeper level, you don't,
you don't understand artistry. They were complaining that he did
the song a Hawaii. Yeah, it's a slow song. It's
a song about not wanting to see Puerto Rico as
a colonized island. Lose its culture the same way Hawaii has.
(36:46):
He chose to give you something of substance rather than
other nonsense that you can hear by turning on the radio.
He chose to use this moment where he knew millions
of people would be watching, to deliver a message two
and four the people of Puerto Rico on behalf of
the people of Puerto Rico. That's bigger than any commercial moment.
(37:11):
That's bigger than you having fun in the club, like
stop that, like this is an important cultural moment, and
that it was raw and felt a little loose and
didn't feel like it was overly rehearsed. That's beautiful. You
want to see a polished performance, go see him on tour.
This was supposed to be a raw, stripped down version
(37:33):
of his songs and that's what we got. And as
a fan, I love it. As somebody who is you know,
always advocating for the people of Puerto Rico, I view
it as an important moment in our story and an
important moment of protest on behalf of the people of
Puerto Rico. I'll leave with that, because I could do
a whole hour on this. Yeah, shout out to bad bunny.
(37:54):
With that said, let's tie thing talked about today in
a neat little bow in a segment we call conclusion.
Still all right, I don't have much of voice left.
My chest hurts, so I'm gonna make this really quick.
We started talking about the tragedy in dr at the
(38:14):
nightclub that the roof collapsed. I don't there's nothing I
can say to that. I can talk about what happened
and and and that's it. You know, it's heartbreaking, it's
it's horrific tragedy. You think about all the lives lost.
I think the only thing in this moment I can
take away from it and offer is like those of
(38:36):
us who have a chance to live another day, like,
don't take it for granted. Every single moment. You never know. Man,
it's a reminder of that, you know. It's a reminder
that at any point in time, just like that lights
out and this whole, this thing called life is precious.
And there are a lot of people in mourning loved
(38:56):
ones right now, and you know, my condolences and my
heart felt just sadness, and I don't know, I'm just
there with you mourning this because it's it's a tragedy,
(39:19):
moving on to everything with Ice and the I R S.
And it's again, it's just like when you can't trust
your government to be competent, things like this are probably
not going to work out in our favor, are probably
going to hurt more than a help. Again, when you
talk about the fact that undocumented taxpayers contribute, you know,
(39:48):
it's multiple billions of dollars each year into our economy,
into our country as far as tax revenue goes, and
obviously the money they spend in our economy, you're putting
that potentially at risk for you know, for this sort
(40:14):
of performative politics. And I don't know, And as we
saw with the gentleman that was legally here and assume
to be a criminal and then was fucking deported as
a result, you guys suck at your job, so I
don't think you should be given any more, you know,
opportunity to fuck up people's lives essentially. That's my take,
(40:35):
and that leads perfectly into Donald Trump and this terror.
It's just like it's still wild to me the fraud
that Donald Trump is and the inability of people two
(40:55):
see it or think critically, and it's not even vote
it's every It's literally like, I'm from New Jersey. I
remember when he had hotels down here in Atlantic City.
He bankrupted Atlantic City pretty much. The guy built this
fucking monstrosity of a hotel that was not sustainable. You
(41:18):
didn't have the type of clientele needed to keep it
profitable and in business. And this asshole, with his delusions
of grandeur, thinks that he knows more than everybody, and
everybody else is just dumb and just bulldozes his way forward.
(41:39):
And then the banks give him money because he's a
fucking snake oil salesman, expert marketer that knows how to bullshit.
And then when they you know, when he lost that
hotel was doing badly, he's going bankrupt. He the sales
somehow gave him even more money to open more hotels.
And the difference is, well, yeah, that fuck up the
(42:00):
local economy and people down there in the city of
Atlantic City. That's a far smaller scale than him fucking
up the democracy we know as the United States of America.
Because this guy doesn't think he has an idea, and
he has an ego, and he's a narcissist and is
dumb enough to think that he can fucking do anything
(42:21):
even if he has zero experience. And unfortunately, oftentimes with
those types of people, because they're so good at talking
to talk, they get so many fucking opportunities that they
just shouldn't And unfortunately, this is him doing that at
the highest possible level and affecting the lives of so
many of everyday people in this country because he refuses
(42:45):
to operate from a place of logic and actually trying
to attack a problem or find a solution in a
logical manner. He just blindly fucking tries ship and then
when it blows up in his face, he reels it back,
puts a pr spin on it as to why it
was a great success, and moves on to the next
fucking debacle. And again, unfortunately, you're playing with people's lives
(43:06):
at this point. That's what's so scary about it and upsetting,
if you will. On the positive side, things, Latin music
baby taken over. It's here to stay. It's not a fad,
it's only growing, which is absolutely incredible. I mean, you know,
I'm not a fucking expert here, but I would almost
say twenty twenty four again felt like a down year
(43:26):
because the bad Bunny album wasn't a huge like commercial
success that we were coming off of. It was like
his Trap album twenty twenty five. This album feels bigger
than anything he's ever done. People are loving it. When
I'm playing it out, I'm getting requests for it NonStop.
I think this is going to be an even bigger
year for Latin music. Aro put a great album. There's
(43:49):
just a lot. I think Koji's probably expected to drop
something this year. I believe so. There's just so many opportunities.
And again it opens the door for so much of
our culture right because I'm when I'm in the club
playing it's not just Latin people requesting it, it's white
people as well. And again that opens the door for
opportunities across various industries. It breaks cultural stereotypes, It breaks
(44:12):
a lot of maybe mindsets, you know, And maybe I'm
thinking a little bit too deeply into it or to
fucking you know, it ain't that deep, you know. Maybe
I'm a little too much optimism there, But I firmly
do believe that I think that things like this are
a entry point. Entertainment music is an entry point into
(44:36):
far more acceptance of diversity and far more inclusion if
you will, even though di I apparently is a bad word,
not to say diversity equity inclusion and then bad bunny,
this tiny desk, you know, performance listen. If you didn't
get it, just say you didn't get it, and that's okay.
Don't critique it. Like, understand that this is bigger than music.
(44:57):
What he's doing now is bigger than music. This is
legacy type of stuff. This is bigger than entertaining you.
This is bigger than dancing in a club, bigger than
giving you a catchy line to sing too, which he
still managed to somehow do. But understand this project and
the way he's moving right now is far bigger than
just music. And if you want, you know, fucking traditional
(45:21):
corny play the fucking hits, then throw on Sabrina Carpenter,
throw on whatever, who all have their place. But understand
what this man is doing right now is far bigger
than just being a icon as an artist, but moving
into a space of trying to inspire and be the
voice of a group of people who are marginalized and
(45:43):
being taken advantage of right now. And that's what's special
about this project and everything he does is should be
viewed through that lens, everything has a deeper meaning and
if you don't get it, just say that you don't
have to critique it. With that said, thank you all
so much for tuning in. Financial Literacy Month Still Underway.
Will be back on Tuesday with a brand new episode.
I think we're gonna be talking about side hustles and gigs,
(46:05):
the good, the positive. Latino seemed to be leading the
revolution in side hustles and gigs, so we'll talk about that.
But yeah, So then have an amazing weekend. I'm hoping
I'll be one hundred percent by next episode. If not,
just keep bearing with me fingers crossed. I'll talk to
you next week. Till then, stay safe and we'll talk soon.
(46:28):
Life as a GOODO is a production of the micro
Thura podcast network and iHeartRadio.
Love me talking about talk. There we go. He said,
you live in life as a ringo, where you question
where you fit in every time you mingle, they say
you do. This would not that my rap.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
This life?
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Ao, Yes, hello, and welcome to another sort of life
as a gringo. I am dramas of course. And it's Thursday,
so it means time for our Thursday Trends episode. I
still sound a little crazy, a little naisaly. I feel congested.
I don't feel one hundred percent. I apologize if I
sound crazy in advance, But Nashelle must go on, as
(00:41):
they say in this biz right, and man, it's not
going to be a positive for me. There's there's a
couple of you know, some light at the end of
the tunnel in some of the conversations. But we have
to talk about the tragedy that happened in the dr
in Dominican Republic at a nightclub as a rooftop collapse
(01:01):
during a concert and lives were lost, still people missing,
just in absolute tragedies that we're gonna have to touch on.
We're also gonna talk about the IRS agreeing to share
data with ICE and what that means for immigrants and
(01:23):
undocumented workers, specifically undocumented immigrants. We'll also quickly quick, because
I don't want to talk about this too much. We're
gonna talk about Trump's tariffs, the latest that's been the
big headline the last couple of weeks. On a positive
side of things, we'll talk about how Latin music is
breaking records in twenty twenty four and on like, it's
(01:44):
just growing. So we'll talk about that. And also, you know,
I gotta give a little shout out. Bad Bunny just
dropped his tiny Desk concert for NPR, so we'll touch
on that. But first and foremost, and start with the nonsense.
The BS in a segment call for the people in
the people in the say a lot for the people
(02:07):
in the.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Say a lot of the people of.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
You know what's funny is as long as I don't talk,
I'm good. The sick irity of that is I talk
for a living, So bear with me. I'm gonna probably
be fighting off a cough the entire time that we
are are here during this episode. But let's verse a
foremost star in the Dominican Republic, this tragedy right here,
the people of dr are mourning one of the deadliest
(02:38):
tragedies in recent memory after the roof of jet Set
in Iconic nightclub in South Flamingo collapsed during a concert,
killing at least one hundred and thirteen people and injuring
over two hundred and fifty others. According to the country's
Emergency Operations Center, rescue teams from the dr Puerto Rico
(02:59):
and in Israel are still searching for survivors in the rubble.
Among the dead are Bedenga icon Ruby Perez, former MLB
players Octavio datel an Toni, Rique Blanco Cabrera. Also confirmed
decease is Nelsi Cruz, governor of the Monte Cris Province
(03:20):
and sister of seven times MLB All Star Nelson Cruz.
Amongst the dead. Obviously, the island is shaken by people,
I think in general humanity, right, seems something like that
happened now they're saying the collapse. Collapse happened just after
midnight on April eighth, during a highly anticipated concert by
(03:42):
Ruby Perez. The venue was filled with about three hundred
people dancing to Madenga when, according to various eyewitness videos,
dust began falling from the ceiling. Seconds later, the entire
roof caved in. Now, according to AP News, the roof
gave nearly an hour into bed as a set of
viral video does show the collapse, and I tried not
(04:11):
to watch the videos. There are people posting videos of
like someone's hand under Rebel one. It's just disgusting in
my opinion, to showcase that stuff. They're saying that this
venue was an iconic one. It's been opened since nineteen
seventy three. It was previously damaged in twenty twenty three
by a lightning strike and a fire. They're saying that
(04:35):
the search for survivors are still ongoing. Authority say it's
too early to determine the cause of the collapse. There
is no record of when jet Set's last safety inspection
took place. The Ministry of Public Works has not commented,
and the mayor's office has not returned phone calls. According
to AP News, obviously they're going to do a whole
investigation to this, and it does it. It doesn't negate
(05:02):
the tragedy that this is. And I was talking to
this about I'll talk about this with someone yesterday and
it's just like the tragedy of it all is it's
like there's nothing you can do, and it's something that
could happen to any one of us in any place. Right.
We sort of take it for granted that the structures
that we're walking into, the cities that we are living in,
(05:26):
and the places that we are going to on a
day to day basis, we just assume that everything is okay,
and everything is up to code and everything is up
to par. But you know, we've seen it time and
time again, even here in the States. There was that
apartment building that collapsed in Miami that killed you know,
so many people, and it was like, you know, failed
(05:47):
inspections that weren't done that should have been done, and
probably people getting paid off and all these different things,
and it's just scary. I guess. I guess it's a
reminder of like how much of our life we're not
in control of, right, and how much of a blessing
every day really is, and how much of a blessing
it is to come home each and every day. And
(06:09):
we take that for granted, right. The idea that we
left the house and we're able to come back home
at the end of the day, you know, is wild
and I think, you know, even for me, this this
obviously hits close to home as somebody who is constantly
a nightclubs and you know, you just think to yourself, like,
you know, there's so much I mean shit, people in
(06:33):
their apartment building in Miami, like they're just literally having
their morning coffee and something like that happens. It's just
I don't know, I guess a lot of things go
through your mind of just the fragility of life, and
my heart goes out to those affected. You feel helpless
in this situation as well. It almost feels empty giving condolences,
you know, in these types of situations, but just an
(06:54):
absolute tragedy and you know, just makes you kind of
want to hug your loved ones a little bit a
little bit tighter after hearing stories like this one. Now
moving on to another story in terms of here in
the States and all that's happening with ICE, the IRS
(07:16):
has now agreed to share data with ICE. Monday, IRS
signed a memorandum of understanding with US Immigration and Customs
Enforcement ICE that allows immigration officials access to taxpayer data
in certain criminal cases. This agreement marks a dramatic policy shift.
(07:37):
For decades, IRS had a reputation of keeping their data
confidential when it comes to tax data, even for undocumented immigrants. Now,
many are asking, what does this mean for our communities,
our safety, and our future. I'm getting this from r
ME two dot com. They're saying, why is this such
a big deal for taxpayer in fort to be shared
(07:58):
with ICE? Now? According to Axios, the IRS has agreed
to share immigrants personal tax return information with ICE when
requested during criminal investigations. This includes addresses and financial details
that for many undocumented taxpayers have long felt protected. Under
the agreement, ICE must provide the individuals in question. Under
(08:22):
ICE must provide that the individual question are under criminal investigation,
which they could fucking say that about anybody or have
a final order of removal. The IRS then cross checks
the records for relevant tax return data. Yet the exact
scope of what will be shared remains unclear. Many details
in the agreement were redacted in public filings. According to
(08:45):
the Associated Press, IRS acting Commissioner Melanie Krauss is resigning
over this deal. So the person who is acting commissioner
for the IRS is resigning over this deal, she's essentially resigning.
In protests, She's the second RS had to step down
in recent months amid concerns over government overreach and data misuse.
(09:05):
The previous acting Commission, Douglas O'Donnell, left in February. He
did so following public outcry over Elon Musk's Department of
Government efficiency gaining access to taxpayer data. Now, undocumented immigrants
contribute billions of dollars in taxes each year, often through
using individual taxpayer identification numbers iti ends. For years, immigrant
(09:30):
advocates and tax professionals have worked to assure these taxpayers
that their information would remain confidential. Now the promise is
in jeopardy quote. The IRS's decision to share confidence or
information with the Department of Homeland Security threatens the safety
of thousands of workers while forcing them further into the shadows.
That is, according to Maraud, were dash of the New
(09:53):
York Immigration Coalition and comments that he told MPR. He
all said Tom Omen from the Center for Democracy and
Technology telling the Associated Press that the agreement quote will
discourage tax compliance among immigrant communities, weaken contributions to essential
public programs, and increase burdens for US citizens and non
(10:14):
immigrant taxpayers. According to NPR, dozens of Congressional Democrats sets
a letter urging the IRS and DHS not to finalize
the deal. They warned that it would drive undocumented taxpayers
away from formal tax systems. It would also shift more
of the labor force to the informal economy and potentially
lower federal revenues from taxes. Okay, I mean it's like again,
(10:44):
it's like the saying of you cut off your nose
to spite your face here, right, So in a means
to follow through with your personal agenda when it comes
to migrants, you're potentially going to to make the country
lose revenue in terms of the taxes that these people
(11:05):
are paying into the system. I mean, and aren't we
trying to raise more money, you know for the the country?
Isn't doze supposed to be efficiency? Right, find more money?
And this is money and now you're potentially going to
be losing it. And obviously they said this is for
special criminal cases, whatever the case may be, but they're
(11:25):
calling everybody a fucking criminal. There was a guy who
got deported that had legal status here. I can't remember
what country he got deported to, not even his own country.
He had legal status here, wasn't a criminal, didn't have
a criminal record, was checking in as he was supposed to,
and got deported by mistake because these people are fucking
(11:46):
idiots because their leader is a fucking idiot, right, and
it's just a mass fucking you know, bulling China shop mentality,
and you know, it's like no fact checking or no
double checking work. It's just like, let's fucking push ahead,
and you know, we'll make mistakes along the way. It's okay.
Well what's not okay when it's people's lives being uprooted? Right?
(12:08):
And then now that that gentleman who was deported, they're saying, sorry,
we did this by mistake. We're admitting it, but we
can't bring you back even though you're have legal status
in the United States of America. And then a judge
ruled that the US has to bring him back, and
then the Supreme Court ruled against that judge. So it's like,
(12:29):
you idiots are, at the request of Donald Trump, just
fucking blindly uprooting people's lives. And how am I supposed
to have faith that you're not going to just find
ways to illegally use this information to attack people who
aren't even criminals. And again in the groundabout thing, because
(12:52):
all you care about is bottom line potentially losing money,
that these people are making right, what's their motivation to
paying to the system. Now, you're literally putting their livelihood
at risk for you know, if they choose to pay
taxes into the system. It's just it's just dumb shit
(13:14):
that makes no sense whatsoever, it really is, you know.
And again you can't have faith that Ice and our government,
the current administration are going to do the right thing
because they're just fucking morons, blindly doing things without thinking
(13:37):
about the long term repercussions of them. And unfortunately for them,
they're fine, but their actions have real world effects on
the everyday person, on real people. Again, that guy was
ripped apart from his family, deported illegally. He had legal
status here, and now they're telling them, sorry, buddy, you're fucked.
(13:58):
We can't do anything for you. Like just crazy shit,
even after they've admitted yeah, are bad, awesome, thank you.
I'm sure his family that is now missing their father
and him who is detained and in the country he's
not from. I'm sure that, you know, admission of making
(14:19):
a mistake is suitable for him and his family. Like
just crazy, crazy stuff. Not a lot of foresight happening
in this administration. That's for sure, and we'll talk about
that when it comes to these tariffs and what the
fuck the latest is with Trump's trade war he has
going on. We'll take a quick break here though, and
(14:40):
then we'll be right back. All right, So here's the latest.
I know I was out last week as far as
the Thursday trends was concerned. Actually we did' drop an
episode all last week. I was deathly ill, deathly ill.
But the chaos of Trump's tariffs had been going on,
(15:00):
the stock market was fucking dropping, dropping, dropping. People were complaining.
Rich people were losing, you know, their net worth. The
dude from Barstool, Dave Portnoy, was famously online talking about
how he's lost ten to twenty percent of his net
worth from this stuff. As Trump is blindly just hitting
(15:26):
countries with tariffs with no real plan in place. And
then now, because of public outcry and I'm sure rich
people outcry, he's decided to backtrack on his tariff plan.
Apparently for ninety days. He's putting a pause on them,
(15:47):
with the exception of China. So the stock market bounced
back yesterday, right, So there was a historic relief rally.
A steep sell off resume on I'm sorry. A historic
relief rally is what they're calling it yesterday right, only
(16:08):
to then fall off once again because today Donald Trump,
or or late yesterday, Donald Trump announced that while he's
putting a pause on the tariffs for many countries for
ninety days, he's actually hitting China with even more tariffs.
(16:29):
So now the Dow tumbled two thousand points after the
White House clarified higher tariffs on China. So the Dow
tumbled more than two thousand points, or five percent today midday.
And they're saying that the broader SMP five hundred sank
five point nine percent and the tech heavy Nasdaq Composite
(16:50):
slid six point nine percent while investors breathe a sigh
of relief. Yesterday, as President Trump announced a ninety day
pause on most quote unquote reciprocal tariffs, he hiked the
tariff rate on China to at least one hundred and
forty five percent, a level that the White House clarified today.
(17:11):
They're saying the prospects of a trade war with China
have continued to spook investors. Quote, we expect the road
ahead to be bumpy and do not anticipate a quick
trip back to new heights, said Keith Learner, chief market
strategists at Truest Advisory Services. Now, the US Dollar index,
which measures the dollars strength against six foreign currencies, tumbled
(17:35):
one point eighty five percent on Thursday or today, hitting
its lowest level since early October. The dollar has broadly
weakened this year, a sign of investors concern about the
health and stability of the US economy. New data today
showed that inflation in the US slowed sharply in March,
and while that's usually welcome news for investors, the focus
on Wall Street is firmly on tariffs and the outlook
(17:58):
for the economy going forward. Quote Thursday's data for March,
which backward looking and doesn't tell the market much about
the recent tariffs, albeit many of them on pause are
affecting consumer prices. At Skuyler Wine and chief investment officer
at Capital Okay, a lot of investor talk here in words, basically,
(18:28):
shit's getting more expensive for us. And the Donald, in
typical Donald Trump fashion, he it's funny because his his uh,
his supporters. Like yesterday in particularly when it bounced back,
They're all like, look at me, I'm back up, fucking
eight million dollars we bought during the dip. Help, Yeah,
(18:49):
he's smart. Dogs Trump, you know what you're doing. No,
this is an idiot, and I don't know how else
to break it down. And I'm like, a part of
me is like, hey, maybe there is a grander plan.
I probably don't agree with it, but maybe there's a
grander plan. And then you realize, no, this asshole just
does stuff without really thinking it through, affects the lives
(19:09):
of a whole bunch of people, and then walks it
back when shit hits the fan'. That's literally the blueprint
for Trump. Hey, let's try this dumb idea that any
expert is telling us is a horrendous idea. The eye
test is telling us it doesn't make sense. But let's
try it, and worst case we'll just go back. But
(19:31):
the fucked up thing is most people aren't multi millionaires
that can afford to lose ten to twenty percent of
their net worth. Most people aren't multimillionaires that don't look
at the price of the shit they're buying, So it
really doesn't even matter to them that certain things are
more expensive. They don't give a fuck, right, it doesn't
(19:55):
affect them. But the everyday person while you're trying to
figure things out on the fly because you're too fucking
dumb to actually do any real research or come up
with a real plan. While you're trying to figure that
whole situation out, real people's lives are getting fucked up.
We saw that with the ice story that I just
talked about. We saw that with you know what's happening
(20:17):
here with the stock market and the cost of goods
that are being pushed onto the American people, which they're
already struggling. They can't take much more. And it's because
this asshole has a lack of planning. And now he's
having a dick measuring contest with China, and it's like,
(20:39):
what the fuck are we doing? And they like they
talk about, you know, this idea of like America has
been being taken advantage of for decades with tariffs unfairly
and all these different things. And this is the thing
about Donald Trump is his craziness has some surface level logic, right,
(21:04):
so he can sell you on an idea because it's
rooted in some surface level truth or logic. Is America
to reliant on partners outside of the US, Should we
be trying to bring more jobs back to the US
(21:24):
and make more things here. I would say, so, yeah, absolutely,
that's rooted in some superficial logic. But then he just
does crazy shit that has no real long term plan
and isn't well thought out, like these tariffs. Like again,
I think to me, and I'm not an economist or
(21:48):
you know, in holding public office, but if the plan
is to use this as a means to encourage further
production in the US and get companies to build factories,
shouldn't you firm be incentivizing and have a plan of
action in place with factories, with companies, with the whatever
car manufacturers, pharmaceuticals, whatever it might be. Shouldn't you have
(22:11):
a plan in place for them to actually create these
jobs and create these factories and to agree to move
production back to the US before you just fucking blindly
start tariffing the shit out of other countries and get
into a trade war with other countries. Like to me,
that that's where you start. You figure out how do
(22:31):
we actually get the manufacturing here. Then once you have
that in place, you begin to do these other fucking things,
not beforehand, because the way he's doing it is going
to put a strain on the everyday person who is
already struggling. And these people and the irony of what
they do. They gaslight the shit at you and they're
(22:52):
like only you know, they're like, only weak people will
fall during a time like this, so obviously like the
average person's fucking ego, especially like these maga people are like, well,
I'm not weak, so hell yeah, let's stay strong. Meanwhile,
your dumbass is paying more money for shit than you
should be. But because this guy has painted it as
(23:12):
your weak if you fail during this time period, you're
being gas lit into buying into the bullshit. And that's
what these people do, and they make you forget as
he talks about it, you know, and then people around
you might get a little bit tough for a long time,
for a period of time, but in the end we'll
(23:33):
be better off. Bro, it's been tough for people. You're rich,
fucking born with a silver spoon in your mouth. You
have no idea what tough times are like. You've always
been able to lie, cheat and steal more money from
people because of your last name. You have no idea
(23:54):
that people are already already struggling, They're already going through
a tough time. Making it worse might make them lose
everything they possibly have. And that's what's being lost here.
And that's what the brilliance of someone like Donald Trump is.
He has convinced so many average people that he, the wealthy,
(24:17):
fucking born into money kid, is somehow in the dogfight
with you. And that's the fun part about this and
what's I guess frustrating for anybody who has their eyes open.
And again I don't even say this as somebody who
(24:38):
is a expert on you know, the economy and tariffs,
so all these things. But history has shown us what
happens when you go into these things. The trade, the
terriff war that we had led to the depression. Like
we see what happens. The stock market was on its
(24:58):
way to fucking just all out crash like pandemic lows.
And there's no real plan in place, and he can't
even explain what the actual fucking plan is. It's all
like tough guy, macho, we're America bullshit. And it's again,
it's like a dick measuring contest with these countries, and
he just wants people to kiss the rings. And the
(25:20):
scary part about something like a country like China, And
I got this tidbit from an interview that was happening
on I think it was Apple News today. They were
talking about the idea of China bowing down to the
US is not a promising one because they're authoritarian country,
(25:41):
a dictatorship that has to rest on the idea that
their ruler, their person in charge, is the strongest person
in the world, essentially, and bows down to no one.
That's what authoritarianism essentially rest upon. And if he backs
down to Donald he loses all credibility as the head
(26:03):
hog show in charge essentially. So it's the wrong country
that you want to test when it comes to a
potential trade war and China's retaliating and we get a
lot of shit from China. You know, Unfortunately, it looks
like you're your sheen fucking pleather jacket that was once
(26:24):
six ninety nine after being assembled. You know, through slave
labor might go up to thirty bucks. You know, it's
gonna be tough times for a lot of us. But
it's just I don't know, man, his own peoples are
like way anybody with half a brain are kind of
as far as Republicans and Congress are kind of like,
(26:46):
I don't know about this. They were having a public outcry.
His own boy, Elon Musk, talks about he doesn't think
tariffs are the right choice here, so it's just and
then he fucking has to backtrack because the idiot has
no real plan. Time and time again, it's the same
fucking pattern. Let me do something. It crashed and burns
now in a backpedal and then like give it a
(27:07):
pr spin to make it seem like I won this battle.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Right, Well, these countries, you know, they've come back now
and they're they're they're coming to negotiating table and you know,
a lot of powerful people are bowing down.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
You know, that's like the type of bullshit he says,
So we won this war. It's fucking crazy, man, But yeah,
that's where we are twenty twenty five, only a couple
months in. Now on some positive news. Let's talk about
Latin music and we'll do so in army hint the segment.
But first's take a quick break and then we'll be
right back. All right, Let's start with a record breaking
(27:57):
year for Latin music twenty twenty four. Last year, they're
saying that Latin music grew to a record one point
four billion dollar industry now. According to rmy two dot com,
Latin music is a growing genre and is taking up
all of the space it rightfully deserves. For the third
(28:17):
year in a row, the genre continues to grow and
is outpacing overall music growth in the United States, which
is absolutely crazy. Again one point four billion dollars in
revenue for Latin music in twenty twenty four, which is
a new record for the genre. Latin music has reached
one billion dollars in revenue for three years in a row,
a six percent growth since twenty twenty four, continuing that
(28:40):
growth trend in twenty twenty four. Like I said, this
is a little slow down compared to the sixteen percent
increase in twenty twenty three. However, the six percent growth
surpasses the three percent growth for all music in the
United States market, so Latin music is growing faster than
any other genre. The broader year and report from the
(29:01):
OURAA paints a big picture of Latin music and how
we consume it. According to report, streaming is a major
player in both revenue and how we listen to our
favorite artists. In total, streaming made up ninety eight percent
of total revenue generated for Latin music in twenty twenty four. Yeah,
I mean I'm not shocked. I mean, I'm actually that's
(29:22):
a lie. I was shocked that it was twenty twenty
four because I felt like we were kind of on
a down year in twenty twenty four because as a DJ,
I kind of felt like, I mean, I know this,
but pop music was like it like Charlie XCX, Sabrita
(29:42):
Carpenter Chapelone, if a, Billie Eilish that as a DJ,
that was like what I was always getting a hit
up about, wanting to people wanting to play that was
always getting the best response. Obviously, Latin music is still
in Bad Bunny in general were like would hit but
it didn't feel like in year's past and this year
twenty I felt like Latin music is bigger than ever.
(30:05):
Like I feel like it's like the go to jore
when I want to get the crowd back into it
or something like that. And I mean that's on the
heels of somebody like Bad Bundy dropping a banging album.
But yeah, I think it's it's a beautiful thing to see.
It's creating a lot of opportunities, a lot of industry.
I don't have the number in front of me, but
I saw something crazy like revenue that Bad Bunny's bringing
(30:27):
to Puerto Rico, and it's just it's beautiful and it's
and it's also being done in a more authentic way
than ever before. I talk about this a lot, and
I harp on it, but it's an important detail to
talk about the fact that they're doing it in their
native language, right, And Bad Bunny is somebody we have
(30:48):
to think a lot for that. You know, he really
is carrying the torch and obviously a lot of other
people contributing. But I think we'd be lying to ourselves
if we didn't say Bad Bunny wasn't sort of at
the helm of this gigantic growth when it comes to
Latin revenue. And it's beautiful, man. It's beautiful for me
as a DJ, and and you know, as an artiste myself,
(31:14):
a beautiful moment for the community, the culture. I love that.
In the past, I can remember, specifically, a lot of
places in New Jersey didn't want you to really play
any Latin music, no ga thong hip hop as well.
Now it's like they are forced, they can't get away
from it. And I love it forces them to have
(31:35):
to swallow their racism. So it's dope, man, I'm here
for it. And piggybacking off of that, Bad Bunny just
dropped the Tiny Desk performance on NPR, and in typical
Bad Bunny fashion, he did it in such a Puerto
(31:55):
Rican way, right, because Bad Bunny didn't just stop at music.
He spoke about Puerto Rican identity, colonization, what it means
to represent the island that can't vote for US president.
Puerto Ricans cannot vote for the president, he said, but
we have to obey with the president orders, and he
did all Spanish. He played for five songs and died
(32:20):
with Labanza, which he described as not a song but
something more. And somebody in the crowd scream Viva Porto
Rico libre or long Live of Free Puerto Rico. He
echoed it, and just and that song, by the way,
(32:43):
it's my favorite song, and like the way that it
ends is like a crowd chanting part of like you're
also in the bad fucking right, like I'm from p
fucking r Puerto Rico, and it's just like this battle
cry of pride, right, and I enjoyed it. And I
(33:03):
think he he did a little bit of the fotos.
I think that's how he ended it officially. But this
backlash to bad Bunnies, NPR Tiny Deak performance, Like, if
you had a problem with Bad Bunnies NPR Tiny desk performance,
you just don't get it. It wasn't for you because
(33:26):
I saw people doing commentary like he didn't play the hits.
He was playing slow music and it was very raw
and rough. It's like, that's the point. This isn't about
putting on a show for the masses. This is about
putting on a protest for the people of Puerto Rico.
(33:47):
This album is a musical protest for the most part. Yes,
he sprinkled in the club records. Yes he sprinkled in
hits that you can sing along too, even if you're
not from Puerto Rico, or if you don't even speak Spanish, right,
you can get it and enjoy it. That's the beauty
of bad money. He mixes the medicine with the candy.
But this performance, he could have given you a commercially
(34:09):
viable performance on a huge platform like this one, but
instead he said, with the world watching, I'm going to
give you Puerto Rico. I'm going to give you a raw,
unapologetic stance on where Puerto Rico is, what's happening on
the island, And on top of that, I'm going to
put on a performance that is riddled with so much
(34:31):
Puerto Rican authenticity, from the instrumentation to the performers that
we're playing there. It was a moment for the people
of Puerto Rico, and it's bigger than just providing you
with entertainment. He chose to use his platform as a
place to take a stance and as a place to
put Puerto Rico on the big stage. And that's what's
(34:52):
respectable about it, and that's why people like myself love it,
and anybody who's critiquing it, you just don't get it
and it's not for you. This is deeper than regaeton.
This is deeper than club music. This is deeper than
sing along anthems. This is a statement and that's exactly
what he did here, and some of y'all just lack
(35:12):
the I don't know, ability to think a bit deeper
than just pop music and understand that some people do
things on a deeper level. And that's why we love
Bad Bunny and That's why this moment in time with
this album and all that he's done since releasing it
has been so special. That's what you're missing if you're hating.
(35:35):
And I rest my case, like, come on, and these
are people I'm not even critiquing like this. So this
was like somebody on the fucking radio was talking about this,
and it's like and and and to their two and
I want to I'm not taking stabs, but this is
somebody from Los Angeles, not of Portrick consent, uh of another.
(36:01):
I don't know if they're Mexican. I don't want to assume,
but obviously in LA that's a huge population of the
Latin diaspora over there, just as like Puerto Ricano Dominican
is in New York. But they were complaining that, oh,
you didn't play the hits, he didn't play, he didn't
do this, bro, what you don't get it? Like, you
(36:23):
don't understand bad Bunny. On a deeper level, you don't,
you don't understand artistry. They were complaining that he did
the song a Hawaii. Yeah, it's a slow song. It's
a song about not wanting to see Puerto Rico as
a colonized island. Lose its culture the same way Hawaii has.
(36:46):
He chose to give you something of substance rather than
other nonsense that you can hear by turning on the radio.
He chose to use this moment where he knew millions
of people would be watching, to deliver a message two
and four the people of Puerto Rico on behalf of
the people of Puerto Rico. That's bigger than any commercial moment.
(37:11):
That's bigger than you having fun in the club, like
stop that, like this is an important cultural moment, and
that it was raw and felt a little loose and
didn't feel like it was overly rehearsed. That's beautiful. You
want to see a polished performance, go see him on tour.
This was supposed to be a raw, stripped down version
(37:33):
of his songs and that's what we got. And as
a fan, I love it. As somebody who is you know,
always advocating for the people of Puerto Rico, I view
it as an important moment in our story and an
important moment of protest on behalf of the people of
Puerto Rico. I'll leave with that, because I could do
a whole hour on this. Yeah, shout out to bad bunny.
(37:54):
With that said, let's tie thing talked about today in
a neat little bow in a segment we call conclusion.
Still all right, I don't have much of voice left.
My chest hurts, so I'm gonna make this really quick.
We started talking about the tragedy in dr at the
(38:14):
nightclub that the roof collapsed. I don't there's nothing I
can say to that. I can talk about what happened
and and and that's it. You know, it's heartbreaking, it's
it's horrific tragedy. You think about all the lives lost.
I think the only thing in this moment I can
take away from it and offer is like those of
(38:36):
us who have a chance to live another day, like,
don't take it for granted. Every single moment. You never know. Man,
it's a reminder of that, you know. It's a reminder
that at any point in time, just like that lights
out and this whole, this thing called life is precious.
And there are a lot of people in mourning loved
(38:56):
ones right now, and you know, my condolences and my
heart felt just sadness, and I don't know, I'm just
there with you mourning this because it's it's a tragedy,
(39:19):
moving on to everything with Ice and the I R S.
And it's again, it's just like when you can't trust
your government to be competent, things like this are probably
not going to work out in our favor, are probably
going to hurt more than a help. Again, when you
talk about the fact that undocumented taxpayers contribute, you know,
(39:48):
it's multiple billions of dollars each year into our economy,
into our country as far as tax revenue goes, and
obviously the money they spend in our economy, you're putting
that potentially at risk for you know, for this sort
(40:14):
of performative politics. And I don't know, And as we
saw with the gentleman that was legally here and assume
to be a criminal and then was fucking deported as
a result, you guys suck at your job, so I
don't think you should be given any more, you know,
opportunity to fuck up people's lives essentially. That's my take,
(40:35):
and that leads perfectly into Donald Trump and this terror.
It's just like it's still wild to me the fraud
that Donald Trump is and the inability of people two
(40:55):
see it or think critically, and it's not even vote
it's every It's literally like, I'm from New Jersey. I
remember when he had hotels down here in Atlantic City.
He bankrupted Atlantic City pretty much. The guy built this
fucking monstrosity of a hotel that was not sustainable. You
(41:18):
didn't have the type of clientele needed to keep it
profitable and in business. And this asshole, with his delusions
of grandeur, thinks that he knows more than everybody, and
everybody else is just dumb and just bulldozes his way forward.
(41:39):
And then the banks give him money because he's a
fucking snake oil salesman, expert marketer that knows how to bullshit.
And then when they you know, when he lost that
hotel was doing badly, he's going bankrupt. He the sales
somehow gave him even more money to open more hotels.
And the difference is, well, yeah, that fuck up the
(42:00):
local economy and people down there in the city of
Atlantic City. That's a far smaller scale than him fucking
up the democracy we know as the United States of America.
Because this guy doesn't think he has an idea, and
he has an ego, and he's a narcissist and is
dumb enough to think that he can fucking do anything
(42:21):
even if he has zero experience. And unfortunately, oftentimes with
those types of people, because they're so good at talking
to talk, they get so many fucking opportunities that they
just shouldn't And unfortunately, this is him doing that at
the highest possible level and affecting the lives of so
many of everyday people in this country because he refuses
(42:45):
to operate from a place of logic and actually trying
to attack a problem or find a solution in a
logical manner. He just blindly fucking tries ship and then
when it blows up in his face, he reels it back,
puts a pr spin on it as to why it
was a great success, and moves on to the next
fucking debacle. And again, unfortunately, you're playing with people's lives
(43:06):
at this point. That's what's so scary about it and upsetting,
if you will. On the positive side, things, Latin music
baby taken over. It's here to stay. It's not a fad,
it's only growing, which is absolutely incredible. I mean, you know,
I'm not a fucking expert here, but I would almost
say twenty twenty four again felt like a down year
(43:26):
because the bad Bunny album wasn't a huge like commercial
success that we were coming off of. It was like
his Trap album twenty twenty five. This album feels bigger
than anything he's ever done. People are loving it. When
I'm playing it out, I'm getting requests for it NonStop.
I think this is going to be an even bigger
year for Latin music. Aro put a great album. There's
(43:49):
just a lot. I think Koji's probably expected to drop
something this year. I believe so. There's just so many opportunities.
And again it opens the door for so much of
our culture right because I'm when I'm in the club
playing it's not just Latin people requesting it, it's white
people as well. And again that opens the door for
opportunities across various industries. It breaks cultural stereotypes, It breaks
(44:12):
a lot of maybe mindsets, you know, And maybe I'm
thinking a little bit too deeply into it or to
fucking you know, it ain't that deep, you know. Maybe
I'm a little too much optimism there, But I firmly
do believe that I think that things like this are
a entry point. Entertainment music is an entry point into
(44:36):
far more acceptance of diversity and far more inclusion if
you will, even though di I apparently is a bad word,
not to say diversity equity inclusion and then bad bunny,
this tiny desk, you know, performance listen. If you didn't
get it, just say you didn't get it, and that's okay.
Don't critique it. Like, understand that this is bigger than music.
(44:57):
What he's doing now is bigger than music. This is
legacy type of stuff. This is bigger than entertaining you.
This is bigger than dancing in a club, bigger than
giving you a catchy line to sing too, which he
still managed to somehow do. But understand this project and
the way he's moving right now is far bigger than
just music. And if you want, you know, fucking traditional
(45:21):
corny play the fucking hits, then throw on Sabrina Carpenter,
throw on whatever, who all have their place. But understand
what this man is doing right now is far bigger
than just being a icon as an artist, but moving
into a space of trying to inspire and be the
voice of a group of people who are marginalized and
(45:43):
being taken advantage of right now. And that's what's special
about this project and everything he does is should be
viewed through that lens, everything has a deeper meaning and
if you don't get it, just say that you don't
have to critique it. With that said, thank you all
so much for tuning in. Financial Literacy Month Still Underway.
Will be back on Tuesday with a brand new episode.
I think we're gonna be talking about side hustles and gigs,
(46:05):
the good, the positive. Latino seemed to be leading the
revolution in side hustles and gigs, so we'll talk about that.
But yeah, So then have an amazing weekend. I'm hoping
I'll be one hundred percent by next episode. If not,
just keep bearing with me fingers crossed. I'll talk to
you next week. Till then, stay safe and we'll talk soon.
(46:28):
Life as a GOODO is a production of the micro
Thura podcast network and iHeartRadio.
Host
DJ Dramos
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