QLS Classic: Angela Rye

Attorney, political advisor and TV commentator Angela Rye talks about the current political climate, her part in bringing about change and some of the ways everyone can get involved.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. This classic
episode was produced by the team at Pandora. Ladies and gentlemen,
Welcome to QLs Classic. My name is Quest Love, your host.
This particular episode of Quest Love Supreme is from twenty seventeen.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
We did this on July twelfth. We got to speak
to Angela Rye.

Speaker 1 (00:25):
I mean, oftentimes we only get to see these micro
clips of her social media as a talking head for
CNN or maybe SNBC. But you know, she's a she's family,
she's friend of the show. And during this time period,
of course, we were like one year into that administration,

(00:46):
trying to figure out how to get our way out
of it.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
But a lot of this stuff is timely, as far
as her entry into I guess being an freedom fighter.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
If you will, so hope you enjoyed this episode. Angela. Right, well,
let's classic. Let's go.

Speaker 3 (01:08):
Suprema son Supremo, role called Supremo, Supremo, role called supremo,
some some supremo, role called Supremo.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
He's really into Angelo Rise playlist Yeah, yeah, Chris loves playlist.

Speaker 3 (01:29):
Yeah, Supreme Supremo, Supremo, some some Supremo.

Speaker 1 (01:40):
My name is fante. Yeah, I get the props. Yeah,
Angela's from Seattle. Yeah, like mix a lot.

Speaker 3 (01:48):
Supreme Supremo, cal Supremo Supremo call.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
My name is Sugar. Yeah, I don't get raucous. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (02:00):
Now may I please join your black Hawks?

Speaker 1 (02:07):
She is not leaving sign Supremo roll call.

Speaker 4 (02:11):
I'm paid bill. Yeah, and how you doing? Yeah, I
can't stand it no more. Yeah, collusion.

Speaker 5 (02:22):
Supreme roll Supreme son Son.

Speaker 1 (02:26):
Supremo role is not ready yeah for this roll call? Yeah.
So yeah that's best for all.

Speaker 3 (02:35):
Roll cal Supremo, so Supreme roll call Suprema some Supremo role.

Speaker 6 (02:43):
Oh yeah, it's time yeah for Angelo rhyme.

Speaker 2 (02:47):
Yeah.

Speaker 7 (02:47):
Some try to fight it.

Speaker 6 (02:49):
Yeah, well she won't be to die.

Speaker 1 (02:51):
Come son son, don't.

Speaker 8 (02:57):
Sup roll names a ry Yeah and I got bars yeah.

Speaker 9 (03:04):
Oh yeah.

Speaker 1 (03:09):
Sa twice already said she.

Speaker 5 (03:14):
Supreme roll call Supreme up some Supreme roll call sub
bream up some supreme roll ladies.

Speaker 1 (03:26):
Yeah. As soon as I heard wrong, because I knew
what was coming in really really crazier. I didn't know
you were going to mix a lot. We so you
sound like a little bit of b real and you
remember when Big Dad knees dancer had b real iron

(03:47):
on on bro Bro School Love School. Yeah, I thought
you had school lover. Iis no, that was my mix
a lot in personal swell downe for Seattle. Ladies and gentlemen,
Welcome to another episode. I'm sorry, a very special What's
going Down episode? That's my that's my mama of quest

(04:10):
Love Supreme. Welcome ahead, Supreme, guys. How are you you're doing?

Speaker 6 (04:15):
We ain't on an outfield or you know, on the.

Speaker 1 (04:17):
Court, just sports. We run it out of sport. I
feel like this is going to be a not a
tense episode, but a serious episode. Let me just take
all the fun out the room right now for fun? Yeah,
fun got revolutionaries got to have fun anymore.

Speaker 9 (04:36):
I didn't even get to do a second.

Speaker 6 (04:37):
You want it right now?

Speaker 1 (04:38):
You want that's one. You mess up? You mess up,
that's interest. Yeah. Welcome to my world anyway, ladies and gentlemen,
in our in our special What's going Down episode of Damn.
I forgot the name of my.

Speaker 7 (04:56):
Show, what's happening?

Speaker 5 (04:58):
Supreme?

Speaker 1 (05:01):
I love this woman so much that I forgot the
name of my own damn show. You know, for me,
for the times that we live in, we've been spending
a lot of this time nerding out with our favorite
music acts and you know, uh, learning about music and art.

(05:22):
We rarely do anything leaning towards politics, but I guess
we'd be remiss if we weren't at least going to
have one general discussion about what's going down, uh and
the times we live in. And I can't think of
anyone better uh to sort of tour guide us through
this alternative reality we're in right now than our next guest,

(05:45):
uh lawyer, Uh exactly in the role of the of
Black Caucus. Are you the board member the.

Speaker 8 (05:55):
The so I serve on two of the Affiliate Organization board.
So there's the CBC Pack that's a political action committee.

Speaker 9 (06:04):
I'm on that board.

Speaker 8 (06:04):
I'm also on the CBC Institute Board, and I was
the CBC executive director in General Council. But I hung
up my jersey sports moneypoor for you.

Speaker 1 (06:15):
And I'm great with sports. Yeah, because the Bill's going
to call me on on that.

Speaker 10 (06:18):
Y on some elementarycome angel a ride to Court Love Supreme.

Speaker 1 (06:30):
Now what was he saying? Now?

Speaker 10 (06:31):
I was just gonna say, can you break down with the
black CAUs does because there are people who really don't know.

Speaker 8 (06:34):
Sure, they're often they don't know, especially those that say,
where's the Congressional White Caucus, as if the rest of
the four hundred and thirty five members aren't white?

Speaker 9 (06:42):
I digress.

Speaker 8 (06:43):
So the Congressional Black Caucus is an entity that was
founded in nineteen seventy one. By then, I think it
was twelve members that were black in the House of Representatives,
and they established the organization so that there could be
a space where black people's issues were heard. They're known
as the Conscience of the Congress. And now they are

(07:03):
almost to fifty members. And of course there are two
senators in the United States Senate who also serve as
members of the Congressional Black Caucus. There are three black senators,
but one opted not to join, Tim Scott, don't you
write it down?

Speaker 1 (07:22):
So can I assume that most of the members of
the CBC are Democrat?

Speaker 8 (07:29):
Yes, there is one current member of the CBC who's Republican.
Her name is Mia Love. She is from Utah. My
aunt that's not your aunt.

Speaker 1 (07:39):
Well, her last name was Love. So just so that
all loves are related.

Speaker 8 (07:45):
My dad normally says maybe the same plantation. That's what
he says today, just to be honest with you.

Speaker 9 (07:49):
That's what he.

Speaker 1 (07:49):
Says the same plantation. Yeah, has she attended meetings or.

Speaker 8 (07:53):
Yeah, she has been active on some issues. She definitely
divergent on others, but she's been active on some issues.

Speaker 1 (08:00):
I see. So not why because I appreciate your your
grassroots involvement and you using elbow grease and getting down
and dirty, But why would you choose this particular field?
I mean, you went to law school. You could have
you know, you could have just.

Speaker 9 (08:24):
Done some other stuff.

Speaker 1 (08:26):
Yeah, I mean what what truly made you? Was it
following the family business or I mean in your father's
footsteps as far as the community, like what most lawyers
I know are thinking in terms of oh, successful by
my own law firm, being a partner and that sort
of thing. So should we know who her father is?

Speaker 8 (08:46):
His name is Eddie Ryder Jr. He's an activist in Seattle.
But it's actually a really interesting story. What I'll tell
you is there were two other paths that I thought
I would choose before I chose politics. I grew up
in a house with a dad who's an activist, and
I thought he was always on the opposite side of

(09:06):
elected politics. So I hated it growing up because I
couldn't understand why they didn't understand why, you know, why
he was pressing pressing for, you know, or a part
of the parts anti apartside movements, or you know, getting
involved with ensuring that subcontractors and contractors of color had
an equal share of the pie. I didn't understand why
that was even an issue, right, And so growing up

(09:29):
with him, I hated politics because they were never on
his side. And it wasn't until I was in my
last year, my fall semester of law school. I wanted
to do an internship in Los Angeles and Maxine Waters
was someone I respected a lot, and so I was like, well,
if I can learn from her, you know, maybe this

(09:50):
will be good. But I'm gonna go so that I
could be a trial attorney like Johnny Coppran. I just
want to get an offer at the Cochran firm. And
before that, I wanted to be a sports entertainent layer.
But I'll save that story for another day. It's really
interesting how that happened or didn't happen. But in my
I did my internship and like fell in love with
the bridge between activism and politics, and there's no better

(10:12):
bridge for that than Maxine Waters. I started calling her
the Nation's congresswoman then. That was in two thousand and four,
two thousand and five, and just loved working with her,
loved how she made everything work together for us, regardless
of if we lived in her district or not. And
I did get an offer from the Cochran firm, like

(10:34):
had a mentor Shawn Chapman Holly shout out to Shaun
Chapman Holly, who's still a good friend. Had an offer
with the firm, and then he died damn. And I
was like, oh lord, maybe this wasn't the path. So
at my the National Black Lost In Association.

Speaker 7 (10:48):
He died with your thousand and five Okay.

Speaker 8 (10:52):
At the convention, I was getting ready to introduce Congressman Waters,
who came to our convention.

Speaker 9 (10:56):
I was like, what am I gonna do now?

Speaker 8 (10:57):
Johnny Conran died and She's like, I told you to
go to the hell. So I was like, well, maybe
y'all think about that now. And that's really the short
version of how that happened. But she's never been wrong,
and I'm so happy to see millennials woke about her now.
But she been doing this the nation's congresswoman. Queen magazine's
been doing this so at her back to it all
makes sense now to why you had her back even

(11:19):
more when that whold stupid Bill o'reiley.

Speaker 9 (11:22):
I think I would have had any results going through that.
That was stupid.

Speaker 8 (11:25):
She's on the floor of the United States House of
Representatives talking about what patriotism in the era of Trump
really means, like it's not, you know, pledging blind allegiance
to some concept. It's about standing up for what we
know to be truthful and righteous. And for her to
be talking about that and he's talking about it, damn
James brownwig.

Speaker 9 (11:45):
It took me to send me to a place it's dismissive. Yeah, yeah,
among other things. Oh yeah, a lot of shit DISSI
of the yes, that was very kind.

Speaker 1 (11:54):
Of So do you I mean, obviously, I know it's overwhelming,
but just watching you in action, of course, like in
the age of social media, a lot of people are
familiar with you as as far as your your clips

(12:15):
on the internet, usually going at people well and and
rightfully so whenever facts are are are sprouted out. And
that's the thing like when I when I watch you
go against two three four people at a time, it is.

(12:37):
I mean, it's baffling to me. I don't know if
it's the equivalent of someone asking, well, you know, how
do you how do you coordinate your kick drum and
your high had foot and your left hand and your
right hand and talk to people?

Speaker 6 (12:47):
You know, how are you not exhausted?

Speaker 9 (12:49):
I didn't say I wasn't exhausted.

Speaker 1 (12:52):
I did not say that, But I mean, have I mean,
as I read the the era that we live in now,
which is, of course, I guess, the alternative facts era
in which things are said with such a straight face.
I think, you know, in general, a lot of us
have been programmed to believe that if any information comes

(13:16):
from someone wearing a suit and spoken in the King's English,
then why should they lie to me? Like, you know,
why would they want to lie to me? And usually,
you know, a lot of benefits of doubts are given,
and we're seeing straight up false information. How I mean

(13:38):
to me, it's like the equivalent of you playing a
tennis match with five people on the other side. I mean,
how do you I mean, just in this era, especially
when you agreed to do pundent remarks on shows, how
do you grasp your information because you have to know
what they stand for and how they come. Like, do

(13:59):
you just don't want to train you? Is it?

Speaker 8 (14:01):
No, I've never had media training, but I will say
that I did get Crossfire training. I don't know if
you all remember Crossfired, like the CNN show back in
the day when it was all the old white dudes
at the table.

Speaker 9 (14:15):
Just growing up with my dad.

Speaker 8 (14:16):
Now he doesn't lie, but we don't always agree on
the means to an end goal. So growing up like
just debating him or you know, talking to my friends,
or debating race issues, like I went to a majority
white high school, you know, started a black student union,
and so you get used to having to explain to
people your perspective because it's not the majority view. So

(14:37):
whether or not this is this may be an alternate universe,
but it's still not the majority view on the panel.

Speaker 9 (14:45):
So it's just debating. The problem I have, and I think.

Speaker 8 (14:49):
When people see me get really upset is when I
remember the responsibility that we have to give people factual information.
And I think the frustration that I have, if nothing
else right now, is being able to speak to people
in their homes on their TV screens is an awesome privilege,

(15:10):
and we have an obligation to give them information they
can rely upon, and so I'll normally lose it, especially
on like black networks, like on TV one, if I'm
on Rolling show and somebody's lying, I flip out, like
there's been you know, jiff or gift depending on how
you said jiffable moments just from that, like please don't
come here and lie to our folks. Not that folks

(15:32):
should be lied to unseen in either, but I just
think that there's a different type of responsibility and even
with seeing it, and I think it is really hard
because I remember one of the debates during the general election,
the Debate Commission decided that the moderator did not have
an obligation to fact check the candidates, and I lost it.

Speaker 9 (15:55):
I was like, what do you mean, Like, that's your only.

Speaker 8 (15:57):
Responsibility besides asking the questions like you have one job
or two? You know one a in one, b like
all in one, but you have something what do you
mean Like, of course you have to make sure that
they're being like what are you debating? Then if facts
become a debatable point and not just the perspectives on
those facts, that is a new challenge, and so I do.

(16:18):
I find it immensely frustrating because I don't understand how
someone could be deemed credible at all if they're not
relying on the same principle of truth. You know, it's
just it's maddening. It really, it really really is. And
so to me, I just think that the energy I
take into those spaces is if you're not going to
be told the truth from anyone else, you're going to

(16:38):
hear it from me. And if I'm ever if I
ever misspeak on something, if a stat is wrong, you know,
if I said a word wrong, I'll fact check it
later on Twitter. But I'm not gonna lie to people.
Intentionally deceiving them like that is just wrong. And that's
just kind of where I draw the line.

Speaker 1 (16:54):
Now as of this particular taping. Right now, the healthcare
situation is in the hands of the Senate, and I'm
seeing a lot of them. I guess at one point
on Twitter there were at least three or four of

(17:16):
them that tweeted out or gave interviews sort of to
the tune of you know, you're saying that you know
that twenty two million people might lose their insurance or
and this several hundred thousand might die if this law
goes and you know that was that was not a

(17:36):
good conversation point to sway them the other way. But
I mean, what is for those? Because I have a
lot of friends who are so overwhelmed with what's going
on that now my friends are at the point where
they're just so not even past the point of indifference,

(17:59):
but just so overwhelmed that they don't watch the news
at all. And these are the ones who are generally
on my side of the fence. I don't know. I
can't sleep at night unless I at least watch an
hour or two of at least Rachel's show or someone
that I know that's going to give me straight up facts.
But how do you how do we reignite uh people

(18:26):
or a community of people that just feel like it's
it's no use? Yeah, no use? I started. God, have
you guys heard of a handmaid Handmaid's Tale?

Speaker 6 (18:38):
I haven't watched it yet? Yeah?

Speaker 1 (18:40):
Have you watched it?

Speaker 2 (18:40):
I haven't watched it, but I know it's.

Speaker 6 (18:43):
Yeah, I heard the future really sad?

Speaker 1 (18:45):
Like if you yeah, if you think that like a
House of Cards or you know, whatever is being depicted
now in television as don't hamming. It almost feels like
this is that's where it's going to go to. Okay,
I checked that. I haven't even watched. I gave up
on House of Cards, like I just because.

Speaker 5 (19:04):
It was.

Speaker 6 (19:06):
Right. Yeah, I don't know how they did that.

Speaker 9 (19:09):
Yeah, I l like weight blame House of Cards?

Speaker 1 (19:10):
Actually right, all of it inic.

Speaker 7 (19:15):
Not just.

Speaker 8 (19:18):
I need to find somebody to blame because this makes
no senseides besides old lad like I just I gotta
I don't know, don't happen.

Speaker 6 (19:25):
On the hills of what Amra said.

Speaker 10 (19:26):
And on that note, how do you prioritize the issues
that should you should be most caring about? Because yes,
health care is the issue right now, but there are
numerous issues that you know, our president right now and
his Congress are about to fuck up life with.

Speaker 6 (19:40):
So how do you do that, Angela?

Speaker 8 (19:42):
How do you prioritize so first that y'all's president, that's
not so No. So I think that that's a really
really good question. And what I appreciate about it is
I get so frustrated with whether they're elected officials, they
are sitting members of Congress right now who will say, well,
we don't need to be talking about Russia because what

(20:03):
people really want to know about is their healthcare. What
people really want to know about is you know where
the next job is going to come from the economy.
But here's that's right, and if so, if we're honest,
every single day, all of us are responsible for balancing
something mer we were talking about your time earlier, like
we're responsible for balancing some things. We are people who

(20:24):
can walk into gum at the same time and be okay.
So it's actually okay for us to try to get
to the bottom of what happened with Russia and how
they ended up in several you know polls, you know, precincts,
messing with stuff. You know, that's important for us to
understand because over time, if if countries, if entities can
continue to uh interrupt and disrupt our democracy the ways

(20:49):
in which we engage in the electoral process, people are
going to become disillusioned with that. That is very very
very dangerous. That's exactly right. That means a select you
are picking your your leaders. And what happens is this
healthcare bill to bring this back full circle, which is
you know, very toxic. It is a you know it's

(21:10):
it's a tax cut for billionaires. You know, it is
a way of One of the Senate compromises that came about.

Speaker 9 (21:18):
Yesterday was okay, well we'll just uh.

Speaker 8 (21:20):
We'll reinstitute the mandatory health care you have to sign
up mandatorily. But what we're going to do is if
there's a lapse in your health care, then there's gonna
be a six month window for you to get healthcare. Again,
what happens if something happens to you six in those
six months and you can't afford to pay for health
care out of pocket, that's not a compromise. And if

(21:42):
it's a compromise, who is it on the backs of?
And those are folks who normally look like us, if
they're underserved and marginalized communities, black and brown communities.

Speaker 9 (21:50):
We have to pay attention.

Speaker 8 (21:52):
And if so, if there's nothing else that I hope
comes out of this treacherous, dangerous, awful time, it is
that I hope we really lies that these people are
working for us. And I use this analogy on a
panel the other day. There's not a single one of
us who, if we are employing people, just are like, Okay,
we're gonna pay you. You go and do whatever and

(22:13):
never check in. There's a team call, there's a team meeting,
there's an agenda, there's some type of metrics for accountability
where they have to check in with us. We pay
these people, They owe us answers, they owe us to
do the right thing. I think it's town halls, and
the town halls aren't even enough. And people are starting
to show up town halls, but even that's not enough.

(22:34):
We need to be checking them on what they're doing.
What they're doing impacts us more in some instances than
the employees that we that we that we have.

Speaker 1 (22:42):
So can I ask you, and I know as a
lawyer that you're not supposed to speculate, but with the
Russia issue, break it down to me, Like I'm a
six year old, why don't we go to show At first,

(23:06):
I was like eight six, eight, let me go six
and six. Just say collusion a lot? What is your
belief And you're you're connected to a lot of those,
a lot of people in politics that we're not getting.
What is your belief on what happened? Now? What I'm

(23:26):
thinking the narrative is, especially in light of uh Trump
even slightly admitting that there was. I was shocked that
he even admitted about collusion or you know, Russ's involvement,
because before it's just straight up denial, like we don't

(23:47):
know if they're doing China could be doing, not us.
But what is I believe that he was trying to
position himself in terms of if it did happen, I
know nothing about it. I have no clue. What is
your belief because now I'm even hearing theories of like, well,

(24:10):
Russia paid off a lot of members in Senate, the
devil in Congress. No, how far does this stretch?

Speaker 8 (24:20):
So I don't I don't want to speculate, but here's
what I would Here's what I would do.

Speaker 1 (24:27):
How safe can you go to the deep waters? Explained
to us what I.

Speaker 8 (24:30):
Think I can go safe because I have a security clearance,
but it's not active since I left the Homeland Security Committee,
So I'm good. I'm not relying on any actionable intelligence. Russia, okay,
because they're gonna be trying to hack somebody really did
in real life they hacked into my Amtrak thing.

Speaker 9 (24:47):
But I will talk about that another time.

Speaker 10 (24:49):
No, we're going to talk about that at some point
to hear because I want to know how our pro.

Speaker 9 (24:52):
Time mail account.

Speaker 6 (24:53):
I was like, what email?

Speaker 9 (24:54):
I have a PROTI but that's not mine. Yeah, that's crazy.
We'll talk about we.

Speaker 1 (24:57):
Got to a car home anyway.

Speaker 9 (25:04):
So here's what I would ask.

Speaker 8 (25:07):
I think that it's very important that, of course there
is this special prosecutor that was appointed, but there also
should be ongoing investigations on the part of the House,
in the Senate, those are happening. Why isn't there a
special independent commission stood up to look into this? If
we know that potentially members are compromised, or potentially they

(25:30):
can be blinded by their own political beliefs, why not
stand up in independent commissions to get.

Speaker 9 (25:35):
To the bottom of the following one?

Speaker 8 (25:39):
Why would Donald Trump not release his tax returns even
during the campaign. I think that if we're going to
have a transparent government, it needs to start from the
very beginning, so from the outset right. Problems began to
percolate during the campaign, So release the tax returns, really
look in at them to see if there's any debts
oh to Russia or any other foreign entities for that
matter that may have close ties to Russia. I think

(26:00):
the second thing to understand is who are all the players,
both from the Trump campaign and the Trump transition team,
who had any active involvement with Russian officials, Russian allies,
Russian businessmen, going from Paul Mannifort to Mike Pence. The
reason why Mike Pence recently had to lawyer up is

(26:20):
because he oversaw the entire transition team.

Speaker 9 (26:23):
For those of you that don't know what a transition team.

Speaker 8 (26:25):
Is, that is literally the body that is created to
transition from one presidential administration to another. So right after
the campaign they stand that up. I think the third
thing is understanding whether or not there were any past
dealings with Russia from a business standpoint or a personal standpoint.
There were a couple of things that Donald Trump did
on the campaign trail that should cause alarm. One, he

(26:48):
encouraged them to hack into Hillary Clinton's emails that nobody
could find at a press conference, so it's not like
this is a secret. And I can't remember the second
thing because it's been that kind of day.

Speaker 9 (27:05):
I know it.

Speaker 8 (27:06):
Else, there was another point, and actually this wasn't during
the campaign, but there was another point where he talked
about No, he actually did this on the debate stage
as well.

Speaker 9 (27:13):
He talked about he would probably.

Speaker 8 (27:15):
Get along very well with Vladimir Putin, so sending some
type of signal, and I don't know what that signaling was,
but I think shortly thereafter right there was this, you know,
from FBI Director Comy, there's a new investigation happening into
Hillary Clinton's emails.

Speaker 9 (27:33):
That's two weeks before the election.

Speaker 8 (27:35):
Why did FBI Director Comy feel like he needed to
do that if he originally thought that the actions taken
by Loretta Lynch were a bridge too far just by
sitting on the tarmac with Bill Clinton.

Speaker 9 (27:46):
So there are all of these questions that are very fuzzy.

Speaker 1 (27:49):
But yeah, my guess is maybe he was being blackmailed
or maybe and.

Speaker 9 (28:00):
I don't want to that's what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (28:01):
I tell you what your questions are.

Speaker 10 (28:03):
But do y'all know that today I'm sorry, I watched
the news today said his approval rating in Russia is
like forty four percent here and Russia and I forget
the other country, but it's both not our friends.

Speaker 6 (28:13):
But I just thought that was ridiculous.

Speaker 11 (28:14):
That's your approval rating here among us, you know.

Speaker 9 (28:21):
Yeah, the fuzzy Mike, I.

Speaker 7 (28:28):
Thank you, who.

Speaker 1 (28:29):
I'm sorry believe.

Speaker 8 (28:31):
But no, I just think that there are a number
of questions, and I think that what we could urge
the listeners, the American people to do is until those
baseline questions are answered, Like you just have to keep
pressing to ensure that we get to the bottom of
those truths. They're just too important and the answers could
be tremendously detrimental to the democracy. If we know there

(28:55):
was interference in the election, what motivated that interference?

Speaker 9 (28:59):
Why wouldrush to.

Speaker 8 (29:00):
Choose to interfere in this particular election when we know
from uh, from from intelligence that I think has now
been shared that Russia did not like Hillary Clinton, right,
So I just I think there are so many problems
with this. It's it truly is a movie. Like as
soon as he's done, hopefully in one more year, because
he'll get impeached, that's my prayer.

Speaker 6 (29:21):
You don't want that. But because if he gets impeached,
then we get pissed.

Speaker 8 (29:27):
I think because he lawyered up because whatever was happening
with Mike Flynn, he had to know about it at
the transition. So then we have Paul Ryan, who I
still prefer because he's had he can he can spell
right on a tweet.

Speaker 9 (29:40):
You know, and I and I don't like Paul Ryan.

Speaker 8 (29:44):
But what I will tell you is someone who came
from the Hill at a time when Republicans and Democrats
could at least talk to each other and find some
type of common ground, find some way to negotiate. I
would prefer someone who's got some type of sense.

Speaker 1 (29:57):
Jesus Christ has to Yes.

Speaker 8 (30:01):
Let me tell you how bad it is. I want
to take a selfie with George W.

Speaker 9 (30:04):
Bush. That's how.

Speaker 6 (30:09):
They make the Super.

Speaker 8 (30:09):
Bowl Like, oh, but you know what, there's something to
that too, because if we think about what happened in
two thousand with that Florida recount, it all really started there.
You cannot continue to rob people of their electoral power.
You can't continue to say one person, one vote, And
there's this electoral college system that frankly is rooted in
slavery and think that over time people are going to

(30:31):
be fine with that. We also, on the other hand,
can't be lulled to sleep by that. Like, if a
system doesn't work for us, and it is a democracy,
we need to change it.

Speaker 6 (30:42):
But which call do you make?

Speaker 10 (30:43):
It's like you need to change that, No, it's not
just which there are all of them.

Speaker 8 (30:47):
Yeah, when you build a nation on racism and oppression,
nothing is working.

Speaker 1 (30:51):
So what are effective especially in terms of how easy
it is to hack? Right now?

Speaker 2 (31:01):
By the way, what happened to Anonymous? I heard Anonymous?
Are they alive?

Speaker 1 (31:07):
Like? I almost feel as though what was anonymous Anonymous
was like they were like a group of hackers, hackers
that were kind of on our side. They were like
the occupied Wall Street of hackers.

Speaker 2 (31:16):
Oh okay, but I heard they got infiltrated by the
fares though, like the robot.

Speaker 9 (31:21):
Yeah, I mean, or maybe Vladimiritu.

Speaker 1 (31:24):
Yeah, I'm not gonna say. But what would in twenty seventeen,
what are effective voting options?

Speaker 6 (31:33):
If no electoral college, if we don't have it, well.

Speaker 1 (31:37):
What would the idea scenario of voting be for the
times we live in now?

Speaker 6 (31:43):
Popular vote?

Speaker 9 (31:44):
Yeah?

Speaker 8 (31:44):
So no, I think popular vote would be ideal. But
I think there's a middle road, and that would be
proportional representation in the electoral college. It shouldn't be winner
take all. That's not a one person, one vote strategy.
And there's a nonprofit that's been pushing legislation through state legislatures.
You know that you all know that's one of the
ways that you can change the constitution, and the legislation

(32:07):
is just is very simple.

Speaker 10 (32:08):
It's just did not know that. I'm not gonna lie
because somebody out there is listening. They're like, I don't know, No,
I did not know that.

Speaker 8 (32:12):
Okay, that's good, look up more information on the internet.
But basically there's all not for you. I'm just saying
I'm not to get in all that. It doesn't even
I'll tell you when.

Speaker 1 (32:27):
I'm saying that a big words, just like, wait, okay,
any any information that you think might be a little
too lengthy, whatever, just say it. Okay, trust we got time.

Speaker 9 (32:38):
So No, I just think.

Speaker 11 (32:40):
Is down to.

Speaker 9 (32:43):
She was doing it for the people. I did it
by the culture.

Speaker 1 (32:46):
No.

Speaker 8 (32:47):
But I think that what they've done is very good
because they're pushing these measures through state legislatures that say,
proportional representation is how we should be utilizing the electoral college.
It shouldn't be that if you won this state by
fifty one percent, you get all of the electoral college.
It doesn't it doesn't make sense.

Speaker 4 (33:05):
Transfer question, how does he actually get impeached? I feel like,
how much crazy? Shi it has to go on over
the next year, you would hope for him actually to
get impeached.

Speaker 8 (33:13):
Can I just say that if this was Barack Obama,
he would have been impeached.

Speaker 1 (33:19):
Yea, would goddamn ticket.

Speaker 10 (33:22):
Yeah, when you when you said when you were arguing
with that dude, did you talk to about being a
bigger or whatever you were like if you were like
if Obama had five baby mamas and Obama had did
on grabed chicks coo cheese, white chicks, coo cheese, like
this would never ever, That's just that, that's just the
just siritated.

Speaker 6 (33:38):
I'm sorry, but get peached. Yeah, I'm sorry, Fine, but.

Speaker 9 (33:42):
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (33:44):
Someone will have to lose their life. But I don't even.

Speaker 12 (33:50):
Shot somebody on Yeah, the video the p videos got
a surface.

Speaker 9 (33:58):
Kelly from Podunk.

Speaker 8 (34:01):
They will be like, well, I wish you would have
paid read what.

Speaker 2 (34:11):
Is the what is the process of impeachment? Like do
you know that if you can't just break it down?

Speaker 8 (34:16):
Yeah, that's so that's not a breakdownable thing. But I'll try.
I'll try. I think I think one of the one
of the things that's immediately before us is what's happening
with the special prosecutor. So if the president were to
be fine to have broken the law, that's something that's impeachable.
We still need the Congress to act on that. And

(34:37):
I think the challenge for us is in normal times,
Republicans and Democrats could lay party aside to do the
right thing.

Speaker 1 (34:48):
So is Congress just turning a blind eye because they
don't want they don't want the stain of it's gonna
make Republicans look bad and will never be trusted.

Speaker 8 (34:59):
In one example all of that, Paul Ryan said the
other day, well, you know he's new, Yeah, what are
you talking about?

Speaker 9 (35:06):
Willis like anyway.

Speaker 8 (35:09):
So the point is that there are several things that
could be deemed impeachable offenses. And if he were to
have found to be found to have obstructed justice with
FBI director come or something else surfaces, that's an impeachable offense.
I think Democrats would begin to really hunker down on
calling for his impeachment and Republicans that have to make

(35:30):
a game time decision about doing the right thing, and
right now that's been tough. Like even for example, John McCain,
who's normally deemed maverick, decided to take on Kamala Harrison
in the middle of her questions instead of what that.

Speaker 4 (35:46):
Yeah, I know that was just that was not just
what there was racist. It was all the in a row,
like however you can do.

Speaker 8 (35:58):
That is what Donald Trump is in essence, though, isn't
Yeah every day on Twitter talking about Barack Obama colluding
with the Russians instead of the.

Speaker 1 (36:05):
Fact with perfect grammar that time.

Speaker 8 (36:08):
When he said unprecedented though, yeah, not precedented.

Speaker 2 (36:15):
I don't ever misunderstand. That's my intelligence.

Speaker 1 (36:20):
It was Mary.

Speaker 6 (36:22):
Can we not throw Mary Ato?

Speaker 1 (36:24):
I love Mary?

Speaker 9 (36:25):
Because kind did her wrong day.

Speaker 1 (36:28):
Don't talk about it back the other day though? Was
that new or old?

Speaker 9 (36:35):
That was that's new?

Speaker 6 (36:35):
That's b e t.

Speaker 8 (36:38):
The BT Awards, trying to steal her.

Speaker 1 (36:41):
He went under her Instagram. He's like, yeah, because I
praised the album.

Speaker 2 (36:49):
Oh well yeah, and but yeah, he was like, yeah,
I don't know why you chose.

Speaker 9 (36:56):
Are you doing? We should talk?

Speaker 8 (36:57):
Boy?

Speaker 9 (36:57):
Good night?

Speaker 6 (36:58):
You missing the fame? Boo, you're missing it?

Speaker 1 (37:01):
Man.

Speaker 8 (37:02):
No, he wants that bigger alimony check anyway, Donald Trump.

Speaker 1 (37:08):
I love that so uh well. At least another question
is I heard that perhaps a movement or a migration
to Red States or red territories might be in order,
but well that really for instance, what happened in Georgia,
uh with the with the good question is that will

(37:32):
that be an effective solution?

Speaker 2 (37:33):
Like, well, more democrats movies, some of us have to yeah,
move to going back to Indiana.

Speaker 9 (37:42):
You know, here's the thing.

Speaker 8 (37:46):
What frustrates me is it doesn't even require mass migration,
Like we have enough people. There are over five hundred
thousand unregistered black folks in Georgia, unregistered voters. Yeah, we
could change an election with five hundred thousand unregistered voters.

Speaker 6 (38:05):
How do you think that is?

Speaker 9 (38:07):
I think that people.

Speaker 8 (38:08):
Feel, like rightfully so that over time, democracy for everyone
else has not been democracy for us. That like we
just talked about a system of racism and oppression, doesn't
serve them, a police department that shoots and kills.

Speaker 9 (38:22):
Rather than protects and serves.

Speaker 8 (38:24):
There's so many reasons why people don't feel like the
system has worked for them.

Speaker 9 (38:29):
Nevertheless, it's the system we have.

Speaker 8 (38:31):
You know, until we work to perfect it, it's gonna
be the same broken mess. And so we're in, I
think a very dangerous cycle where we say, well, it
hasn't worked for us, so I'm not gonna go work
for it, but it's never gonna work for us unless
we work for it. We have to fix it. And
some of that change comes internally, Like you know, people
are always like, oh, you should run for office, you know,
but I'm like, that's not my calling. I'm happy to

(38:53):
help other people figure out how to be equipped to
run and all of that. But people also have to
lean into that idea, and so often we don't and don't.

Speaker 10 (39:03):
Arnt you involved with a couple of packs that are
raising young African American like politicians.

Speaker 8 (39:07):
One of my favorite packs right now is Collective Pack
founded by two friends, Stephanie Brown James and Quinton James,
and they're doing marvelous work. They just have their first
training of African American young folks who want to run
for office at Howard University last week.

Speaker 9 (39:24):
Doing great work, doing great work, And.

Speaker 8 (39:26):
So yes, I thought, those are some of the ways
that we can get back with our time, our talent,
and our treasure.

Speaker 9 (39:30):
Another church analogy.

Speaker 2 (39:31):
Break down exactly what a pack is and what it does.

Speaker 8 (39:35):
Sure, a political action committee is an entity that is
charged with raising money and it's not tied to any
specific campaign per se. There are some entities that are
you know, direct to candidate or their leadership packs.

Speaker 9 (39:47):
But a pack is an.

Speaker 8 (39:50):
Entity that you stand up to raise money, to help
train people up to endorse candidates.

Speaker 1 (39:55):
But what's it really used for?

Speaker 9 (39:57):
What do you mean?

Speaker 1 (39:58):
Well, not that's what it's supposed to be. But how
is it being I wanted people to know how it's
being abused?

Speaker 8 (40:04):
Oh okay, well in some instances, Uh, there are a
number of.

Speaker 9 (40:09):
Packs that are steed up, especially super PACs.

Speaker 8 (40:11):
That are just used to kind of farm out ads, advertisements,
political ads.

Speaker 10 (40:16):
Brothers, a lot of people like the Koch brothers and
their impacts and stuff, and well.

Speaker 8 (40:21):
And even if it's not affiliated with the Kochs, there
are entities on the Democratic side of the that use.

Speaker 9 (40:28):
Frankly, just to be competitive.

Speaker 8 (40:30):
This Georgia race cost fifty million dollars, you know, and
a lot of times.

Speaker 1 (40:34):
Are there power brokers and Democrats because besides Bill Bill
mar there I say it, he gives this obligatory two
million a year in Spielberg and Harvey Woods, Harvey Weinstein
does his little five million, like where are our Cooke brothers?

Speaker 8 (40:55):
You know, the Moss is one. What's the other guy's named?
This and involved in kind of green energy. I can't
think of his name right now, but there are there
are some, and I.

Speaker 1 (41:05):
Didn't know that everyone looked like a.

Speaker 8 (41:08):
Definitely, they're definitely more on the Republican side of the aisle.
But the other problem that we have is that too
often money spent in races or even with political action
committees are used on vendors, and they're vendors who don't
know how to reach We talked about that five hundred thousand.

Speaker 9 (41:25):
Cohort in Georgia.

Speaker 8 (41:26):
If you're hiring all white vendors, all white male vendors
who all work together on the same campaign, you're not
reaching a new audience. You're reaching the same people. That's
why you can't win. When you look at the candidate
recruitment strategy, whether it's at the D Triple C, which
is the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, there's a Citate version
of that. You know, there's the Democratic Governors Association, you're

(41:48):
not looking at black and brown and Asian candidates who
can run not just in congressional districts but also statewide.
I have a good friend of mine who's running for
governor in Florida, Andrew Gillam who is the mayor of
tallahassee right now on the leaked email from Hillary Clinton's campaign,
was on the on the short list for a potential

(42:08):
VP pick. It's being slept on right now by DGA
and others. You know, And this is a young black
guy that's doing things completely different.

Speaker 6 (42:16):
Does he have a chance, I mean Florida, he does
have a chance.

Speaker 8 (42:18):
He raised a million dollars in the first three months
of his campaign. Okay, absolutely say his name again, So everybody,
Andrew Gilliam, thank you, okay, and so okay.

Speaker 1 (42:28):
So that leads me to the question of how do
you reach people? Now, I'll say that a lot of
my a lot of my political involvement came at sort
of like the tail end of two thousand and seven,
back when there was a glimmer of hope that oh god, okay,
this could really happen for us. And of course, you know,

(42:52):
Obama also benefited from really using the Internet to his
advantage and reaching people. So now as we stand ten
years later, I get a lot of panic emails from
Nancy Pelosi and you know, like just the the usual characters,

(43:14):
and you know, a lot of times it's just like
I feel guilty from working in suspam because I do. Nevertheless,
you know, but you see you see the subject line
is Nancy Pelosi, we need you amor no. That that
was like two thirteen. That was just like nigga, I'm

(43:39):
nigga cooking up fans. I can't wait. One Pelosi email
got me good, and I was just like, all right,
I'll let me get my and I did it again,
and already it was like, well, you're already a monthly contributor.
Like I didn't realize, like Jesus Christ, I'm already a
month Oh you got to direct like that.

Speaker 8 (43:59):
What if they weren't even if you weren't monthly and
they just told you that that would be funny.

Speaker 1 (44:04):
I know. But still, well that also leads to it's
this might be blasphemous say it. Do you feel that
we might need a change and leadership?

Speaker 8 (44:26):
Yes, So here's what I will tell you. She as
a leader, she's been very effective. The reason why Nancy
Pelosi is still the Democratic leader is because she knows
how to raise money better than anybody else. And that's
a money raising job. Maybe it shouldn't be, but that's
what it is. Right now, what I'll.

Speaker 9 (44:43):
Tell you is.

Speaker 8 (44:47):
There are several things that we need and that is
not the top of where I would start.

Speaker 9 (44:52):
Right.

Speaker 8 (44:53):
Just for an example, the DNC just had kind of
a massive overhaul after the camp paign. We know that
Donna Brazil is filling in as an interim chair, just
like completely crushed it. She did so much that people
don't know. But just wait, I'm sure she will release
a book and seriously, and then now you have Tom

(45:15):
Perez who's heading up the DNC, my friend Michael Blake
who's a vice chair at the DNC. Two people of
color at the top, and before Donna Brazil, we hadn't
had that since Ron Brown, you know, like I mean,
it's it's been it's been a while, right, And of
course Donna Brazil had been vice chair, but not at

(45:36):
the top. So my thing to you would be, we
first need to ensure that the party writ large is okay,
who are the state party chairs? How are they serving
the communities that they're supposed to be? You know, this
big tent, this idea of a big tent, how is
the tent enlarging under these state parties chairs?

Speaker 6 (45:56):
Leadership?

Speaker 9 (45:58):
Nancy Pelosi is is in politics?

Speaker 8 (46:02):
We have a messaging strategy called the boogeyman strategy. Right,
it's the boogeyman approach. Nancy Pelosi is the boogeyman. And
the reason why they went back to that approach most
recently in this special election in Georgia is because it worked.
When Michael Steele was chairman of the RNC, they had
the fire Pelosi pins.

Speaker 9 (46:18):
It worked very well.

Speaker 8 (46:20):
Part of what you should interpret from that is that,
more than anything else in this country where people really
bond is the fear of women in leadership. It's not
about I'm just being honest with you. It's not about
Nancy Pelosi in the job she's doing. We could ask
all these people why we should get rid of Nancy
Pelosi and they wouldn't be able to give you a
reason because she'd been there a long time. Okay, so

(46:42):
was Harry Reid until he just retired. So was everybody
else in democratic leadership. So what is the real issue?
And I think the real issue is she's this liberal,
this uber liberal from California, and she's a woman. And
that is partially for Hillary Clinton. The woman issue us
her big problem. People can understand why evangelicals during the

(47:04):
campaign were flocking towards towards koochie grabbing Donald Trump. And
the reason for that is, more than anything else. In
the church, you're taught that a woman cannot be the
head of a household. She definitely ain't about to be
your pastor, and so she is not going.

Speaker 9 (47:17):
To be your commander in chief.

Speaker 8 (47:19):
So Nancy Pelosi at the top of the house scares people,
and to some of them, it is like it's out
of order, you know, like a woman is not supposed
to have that role. We're so ass backwards in this country.
But anyway, I'm just telling you, I don't I wouldn't
mind if Nancy Pelosi decided to retire. I just did
not for it on those things like what is the

(47:39):
real reason why they're pushing for her retirement when they
literally don't know the role of a democratic leader. Why
aren't you talking about the DNC and figuring out how to
help us identify who we really are? Why are we
not talking about you know, the fact that the white
working class issues are the same as black and brown
and Asian folks. Working class issues like those are the
issues we should.

Speaker 9 (47:58):
Be focused on, not damn Nancy.

Speaker 1 (47:59):
Pelosi when you speak of they and wanting Nancy Pelosi
out of there? Are you speaking of fellow Democrats?

Speaker 8 (48:06):
There are some, I think there are There are a
few who for example, you know, Tim Ryan ran against
her in the leadership elections.

Speaker 9 (48:12):
This time.

Speaker 8 (48:13):
Of course, Tim Ryan goes on air on I think
it was Don le Min Show last week, was like, yeah,
we need change.

Speaker 9 (48:18):
Of course you said it, Yeah, you wanted to be
the change.

Speaker 8 (48:21):
And how much is how much change would that be
to go back to a white man in leadership?

Speaker 9 (48:27):
You know, I mean a less So it's I don't know.

Speaker 8 (48:30):
To me, it's like it's time for us to shake
up how we perceive leadership. I would love to see
more people of color in those roles, but that's not it,
you know. And I don't think that Nancy Pelosi always
gets it right. But I don't think the answer is
to put another white man in charge.

Speaker 1 (48:45):
Wow, and you said it. What I want to know
is with entertainers usually seen as the go to, I mean,
we now live in a time in which you know,
little Yachty might have more excuse the collective colective eyebrow shut.

Speaker 6 (49:16):
I could do a Joe Blade walk.

Speaker 1 (49:21):
If the collective eyebrow look at me was like, but
I mean, this is where we are, as where our
kids are, where we are where you know, entertainers have
more collateral and and say and you know than someone
with or perceived as someone would sense. So that said, uh,

(49:49):
how can we how do we utilize those who are
listened to? Is there going to have to be a
reach across the aisle?

Speaker 6 (50:00):
How do we shut up a little?

Speaker 9 (50:01):
Wayne?

Speaker 1 (50:01):
Just in case I don't even think he's a factor anymore.

Speaker 6 (50:05):
I mean every once and again, I mean.

Speaker 1 (50:07):
It happened, yeah, but his time was ten years ago,
like now it's it's it's the old Wayne. Yes, migos could.

Speaker 7 (50:17):
Say, get you.

Speaker 1 (50:27):
Well, look now, uh, jay Z's new direction with four
forty four is leaning politically heavier than he's ever ever
ever been. How effective will that be as far as
getting people? Because you know, again it's who do they

(50:48):
call on to get people to the polls? They Hillary
called on, Gaga called on Katy Perry called on well.

Speaker 8 (50:55):
Maybe to be fair working popular vote.

Speaker 1 (51:01):
Yeah, but again again, like the numbers of the twenty
sixteen election are still up in the air because in
the perfect world, did she win, you know, like we
don't know popular vote, right, so thus how effective is that?

Speaker 8 (51:18):
Well, I want to push back on that idea a
little bit. I think that there was a time, you know,
in particular in two thousand and eight, where entertainers had
all the gravitas to push every GOOTV Get out the
Vote initiative and people did rely on them. And then

(51:41):
Twitter happened, and then Instagram happened, and then Snapchat happened.
And what has happened is platforms like these have democratized
voices so that you don't necessarily have to be Jay
Z or Beyonce or Gaga to mobilize audiences.

Speaker 9 (51:59):
You can mobilize your own.

Speaker 8 (52:01):
And while it may not be on the same level,
there are still folks that have millions of followers for
drawing on a mean eyebrow, you know, on YouTube, and
so I think that we I'm being honest, so and
literally a main eyebrow too. Anyway, I digress, But the
point is I don't know that that really works as

(52:22):
much as anymore, and I think that we have to
be far more creative and engagement. And what that probably
really means is that by the time you're standing up
a campaign and you are developing your public engagement and
your social impact initiatives.

Speaker 9 (52:37):
It's too late. There's something.

Speaker 8 (52:39):
And this takes me back full circle to the point
I was raising about party chairs on the ground. You
have to have almost a system like we talk so
much about community policing where it's just real relationships with folks.

Speaker 9 (52:52):
You just have to have real relationships with.

Speaker 8 (52:54):
Folks and people feel like you represent their interests and
not feeling like, oh, you went to my church and
waved the fan or shook the tambourine or even you know,
rock on beat with the tenor section, like you did
more than that, and it wasn't just two weeks before
the election, like people know now you know.

Speaker 9 (53:12):
What I'm saying.

Speaker 8 (53:13):
So I think that influencers have a role, but they
aren't anywhere near as influential as they were in a
wait because of these other platforms.

Speaker 1 (53:22):
Well could that grassroots? I'm glad you brought that up,
because you know, I, for one, I believe that like
my personal life goal at least where I am now
in my career or my monetary level, I mean my
personal life goal where I am right now if were

(53:42):
all to end, is I mean, can I effectively affect
the lives of fifty people personally push them in the direction,
which people don't you know a lot of people have
this whole the Michael Jackson, you know, heal the world,
Save the world, you know, and you're thinking of millions

(54:03):
of people, whereas you know, you see the Barocks campaign
start off on a grassroots level, which you know people
scoffed at, like, well, what good at grassroots doing? But
how how does the grassroots level? How effective will that be?
And will we get there in time for the mid

(54:25):
terms or twenty twenty, because I do feel as though
the grassroots level has to start sure, starts with the community,
starts with the block.

Speaker 9 (54:35):
Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (54:35):
Is Alderman still a thing like.

Speaker 2 (54:39):
Yeah he ran, Yeah, he ran, he lost. He was
running against he would be a great person to have
on the show, but he was running against like the incumbent.

Speaker 1 (54:53):
He was like this cop guy that.

Speaker 6 (54:54):
Like Chicago, Chicago.

Speaker 1 (54:56):
Yeah he lost.

Speaker 13 (54:59):
It was Alderman on good Time, Alderman, James, I think change.

Speaker 6 (55:05):
We can't even get.

Speaker 9 (55:09):
Hilarious.

Speaker 1 (55:10):
What is it? Okay? What is the Alderman's job? Is
that like slightly above block captain or look it up
on Wikipedia. Man ay right out what happened? I personally.

Speaker 6 (55:28):
You don't have one. Probably maybe you don't.

Speaker 8 (55:31):
Have but I think here, here, I think is the
point we can't afford not to engage in grassroots level advocacy.
And the point that you're raising, I think is one
that's really important.

Speaker 9 (55:45):
We don't know the true.

Speaker 8 (55:47):
Impact of what Barack Obama did to mobilize people in
two thousand and seven. In two thousand and eight, via
online platforms, you could go and set up a house
meeting on his website. Hillary Clinton didn't do any of that,
you know, And I think that it was just it
was just different. It's not that she didn't do any
of that. She didn't do it as in depth. She

(56:09):
didn't personally go into it in as many communities.

Speaker 2 (56:12):
Yeah, she went in kind of a tone deaf campaign
in my opinion. I mean, I thought she, you know.

Speaker 6 (56:17):
She was gonna win, and kind of felt like, right,
I think.

Speaker 2 (56:19):
It was some of that, some of the entitlement, but
it was just yeah, when you whipping and on, I
was just like, this is not gonna end. Well, she
was playing the satisfone on our City on Hall so
but I mean, but he actually was playing it good,
not like.

Speaker 1 (56:36):
It wasn't Chris wasn't I would.

Speaker 8 (56:40):
Rather and carrying hot sauce in her bag didn't have themselves. Well,
I mean she really, she really does carry hot sauce
in her bag. But I will say this, I would
rather have her any day. And when you all deem
as tone death than what we have right now, she
looks like the mother of Jesus right now compared to that.

(57:02):
So anyway, the only point that I'm raising to you
is we can't afford not to find out what happens
if we don't. Right Like to your point about the midterms,
twenty eighteen is right around the corner.

Speaker 9 (57:13):
It is creeping. I mean, we are halfway through this year.

Speaker 1 (57:15):
Do you have hopes of something happening in twenty eighteen?
What's the most that we could learn for it? Could
we get some chairs, could we.

Speaker 8 (57:25):
Potentially get the house with miracles? The challenge that we
have is there's something called a redistricting process that happened,
and in the last redistricting process in most states, they
drew these congressional districts very conservatively. And what they did
far better than us, is they were strategically targeting state

(57:47):
legislatures to run run for seats and win, and so
we hold very few state legislatures, we hold very few governorships.
Those are the entities that construct those state lines in
the redistricting process.

Speaker 11 (58:03):
And I asked, and I asked questions since you're kind
of leading into this, and it's sort of a parallel
to I guess mainly talking about federal politics or tonight, right.
And I think we've all known and been taught for
a long time that as an individualised the most effect
in local politics. And it seems like in order of

(58:24):
the things that we're obsessed with in politics, it's everybody's
obsessed with federal politics, where they have the least amount of, say,
and some interest in state politics of who's the governor
and who's the and yeah, and then local politics nobody
gives a shit at all, Like you don't know who's
running for you know.

Speaker 1 (58:45):
What's aldermen? Right?

Speaker 11 (58:47):
Like why you know, we know for a fact we
should be much you know, it should be like you said,
asked backwards. This seems asked backwards to me, like where
people's obsessions in politics lie.

Speaker 8 (58:58):
So and I think that part of this is, you know,
not only is it our responsibility, but I would say
it's the responsibility of the media. How often do you
turn on the local news and hear about what's going
on in a city council meeting or you know, in
a city council hearing if it's not a big vote
coming up, like a huge ever, hear about it.

Speaker 6 (59:17):
Or a fight or shooting at the or that Saint
Louis this opens.

Speaker 9 (59:22):
Just like Compton DJ Quick said it.

Speaker 8 (59:24):
So I think that the point is you just never
know anything that's going on on the local level, you know,
unless you get to the B section in your newspaper,
and who reads newspapers anymore? You can go to Twitter
and find your headlines and click on that article. So
I think the responsibility is in part on the media.
But as a result, again going back to the idea

(59:45):
of being taxpayers, we have to figure out how to
go and get that information. And it's frustrating and really
hard to encourage people to do that in a day
and age where everything comes to you, like you don't
have to.

Speaker 9 (59:57):
Go get your news, you get an alert on your phone.

Speaker 8 (59:59):
So how how do you tell people in a space
where attention spans are short and everything comes to them
to go out and get it. It's hard and I
don't really know the answer to this. I also just
said this at the panel I was on for BT
Genius Talks. I am, truly, I think a great example
of a hypocrite in this space. I very rarely know

(01:00:21):
anything about what's happening on the local level politically, and
it's horrible. If it wasn't for my dad giving me
his Philipbruster rundown on the phone to night, even at
home and Seattle, I just wouldn't know because I'm not
as interested in it, and I know it impacts my
everyday life a lot more. We talk about there's just
another shooting death in Seattle by the police department, Charlene

(01:00:42):
and Lyles.

Speaker 9 (01:00:43):
You know that is something that I care about.

Speaker 8 (01:00:46):
And to my credit, I tweeted about one of my
good friends who's a city council member, so she's probably
ready to choke me. She hears this Lorena Gonzalez in Seattle,
who was holding a town hall meeting about what happened
in that shooting death.

Speaker 9 (01:01:00):
And very rarely do.

Speaker 8 (01:01:01):
You see things like that happening where city councilors like
I know, we're culpable, we have a problem.

Speaker 9 (01:01:06):
Let's come and talk about it.

Speaker 8 (01:01:07):
That's a big thing because we don't ever feel heard,
and that's why you see some of those protest actions happening,
because people are like, we pay y'all and you're still
killing us.

Speaker 9 (01:01:15):
So full circle.

Speaker 8 (01:01:16):
I do need to do a lot more myself, But
I talk about what I know because that's where I
worked and that's what I'm most interested in.

Speaker 9 (01:01:23):
But that's not right.

Speaker 11 (01:01:24):
I meant, in general, it seems like everybody's much more interested.

Speaker 8 (01:01:27):
No, no, I agree with I was just using my own
hypocrisy as an example.

Speaker 2 (01:01:31):
My question, my question for you is like, how what
are reputable news sources for you? Because we were joking
earlier about a movie and stuff, but real rap, I mean,
that's kind of it's just in the age we live
in of social media, where information flies fast and disinformation
and misinformation flies even faster. Yeah, after a while, I mean,

(01:01:53):
you I open my Twitter feed and I'm just like bullshit,
bullshit my line bullshit.

Speaker 1 (01:01:57):
You know what I mean.

Speaker 9 (01:01:58):
It's just like, are you following well?

Speaker 1 (01:02:00):
I mean I follow CNN and I follow all the
big you know.

Speaker 2 (01:02:04):
I mean, I try to get quote unquote both sides,
but after a while, it just is a lot of
just words words.

Speaker 9 (01:02:09):
We need both sides.

Speaker 8 (01:02:10):
So at this point it's a it's a human decency issue,
right like this, This is not a partisan issue where
you're just seeing it from another lens. It literally is about,
you know, morality at this point. On the other side
of that, who are your five go to.

Speaker 9 (01:02:25):
Periodicals or whatever?

Speaker 8 (01:02:26):
I would say New York Times, CNN, l A Times,
Seattle Times because I'm from there.

Speaker 9 (01:02:34):
Yeah, I like the route. What else? Political?

Speaker 6 (01:02:39):
For Hill News, I gotta get the act together.

Speaker 9 (01:02:42):
The roots?

Speaker 8 (01:02:43):
All right, that's fair too, But as soon as we
get to favorite groups and the best live show, we'll
talk about the roots.

Speaker 9 (01:02:50):
But yeah, the root and then I also I said
the political political, the Hill? What else?

Speaker 7 (01:02:58):
Washington Post?

Speaker 8 (01:02:59):
Washington Post is also a good one, but yeah, I
normally those are my are my go.

Speaker 10 (01:03:04):
Tos Yo you mentioned, I mean just you mentioned your
phone getting hacked. But have you you You're very we
all know you're very vocal. I know you hold back,
but doesn't seem like it on TV. Have you running
the situations where you've been threatened in that way in
some way?

Speaker 9 (01:03:17):
Yeah?

Speaker 8 (01:03:17):
Absolutely, there was one I only had Thank god, I've
only had one death threat situation that had to be reported,
and several people even on my feed also reported it,
not just to Twitter, but like to the FEDS, like, hey,
this is seems like a legitimate issue. And actually it
happened while I was getting off the plane in Saint Louis.

Speaker 9 (01:03:36):
We talked about Saint Louis earlier.

Speaker 8 (01:03:38):
So yeah, I think that there are definitely some legitimate issues.
And I think regardless of how outspoken I've been, I've
not been threatened at any degree, at any degree or
at any level. The same of some of my friends
who are really doing the on the ground activist work.

Speaker 1 (01:03:53):
So activist work, what is what is your view or
your take on we're actives stands now? Do we need
a figurehead? Do we need a Malcolm? Do we need
a Martin? Do we need a do we have one?

Speaker 6 (01:04:08):
And we just don't know?

Speaker 9 (01:04:09):
No, I think that is different.

Speaker 1 (01:04:12):
I don't know if people are vying for a position,
but you know, but as far as not non Washington politics,
I mean, you know, the the ongoing problem of shooting
unarmed people, it's still you know, we're as far as

(01:04:38):
where we are today. What is your view on activism
and it's participants mainly those that are, you know, saying
that they've started this movement or that sort of thing,
and I I.

Speaker 8 (01:04:53):
Really don't care about the who started what discussion. I
am grateful for for the work of the women who
founded the hashtag, the Black Lives Matter hashtag, Alicia and
Opal and Patrice as I'm equally grateful to, you know,
the many contributions to that movement of Deray and Brittany

(01:05:16):
and Sam and Janetta. I am also even more grateful
to the fact that, or of the fact that it's
been young people, we would have been talking about criminal
justice reform and mass incarceration in the twenty sixteen campaign
if it wasn't for the work of young activists. When

(01:05:39):
I think about the many ways in which were often
challenged and by this I mean black organizations are traditional
civil rights organizations to provide data and metrics for why.

Speaker 9 (01:05:51):
We deserve grant money.

Speaker 8 (01:05:53):
And then I think about what Deray and Brittany and
Sam have done with Campaign zero, showing you the data
on the number of black and brown people who've been
killed at the hands of police or have been brutalized
at the hands of police. All of that work matters,
and I think the sooner that people can stop worrying about,

(01:06:14):
you know, whether or not there needs to be ahead,
or is there a head and who's our new Martin
or who's our new Malcolm, and just focuses on the
fact that the work is getting done and we need
all of these people and everyone has a role to play,
and it's not a competition. And the moment that we
get sidetracked on the competition, that's the moment where another
black or brown person dies. You know, we just can't

(01:06:34):
afford to have those types of silos. I think about,
you know, the work of the Women's March that Janey
Ingram and Tamika Mallory and Linda Sarsoura and Carmen Perez
all were a part of, and in the backlash they
got from black and brown woman who said, why are
you working with white feminists because traditionally they step on

(01:06:54):
us and on our issues. Well, at what point do
we say, I'm gonna deal with that a little bit,
but let's stand together on this one thing. I'm sitting
here so that you have a voice at this table.
Let's just get through this part. I think that we
just have too much on the line to not figure
out ways to work together.

Speaker 1 (01:07:13):
That might be a slippery slip though, because what do
we say if uh, let's say the CEO of PEPSI
visits Trump's White House.

Speaker 9 (01:07:27):
I think it's different.

Speaker 8 (01:07:28):
I think it's And the reason why I think it's
different is because Donald Trump invites people to the White
House for photo opportunities, not to create real change. And
I think the moment you go and you sit at
a table and you see that your there's no intention
on your voice being heard.

Speaker 9 (01:07:44):
You played yourself. That's totally different.

Speaker 1 (01:07:48):
And I can tell you so that selfie or that
photo he took with the.

Speaker 8 (01:07:52):
The HBCU presidents where there's nine thousand of them in
the room and Kelly and the couch, that one that's
the one you're talking about.

Speaker 1 (01:08:01):
Yeah, that was a little Houston five hundred.

Speaker 9 (01:08:03):
Yeah, they played themselves. They played themselves.

Speaker 1 (01:08:10):
That's what it looked like.

Speaker 6 (01:08:12):
Those pens.

Speaker 1 (01:08:13):
No, absolutely not whatsoever like you. Yeah, so to you,
I mean in their eyes, did they figure that, oh,
you two are trying to get a seat at the
table and.

Speaker 8 (01:08:30):
Well and they got played because what happened was they
were told that they were going to have a sit
down meeting with Donald Trump and instead were ushered into
the Oval office, where it is far too small for
that many president college presidents to go in there for
a photo opportunity. They were never talked to by the president. Instead,
he sent his little celebrity apprentice and h to talk

(01:08:52):
to them.

Speaker 1 (01:08:53):
You feel about her, I don't know. I had god
that that.

Speaker 8 (01:09:03):
No love, especially after I don't know if you all saw,
but she sent a letter to.

Speaker 9 (01:09:08):
The Congressional Black Caucus.

Speaker 8 (01:09:09):
Let me just no, no, that that ain't even the worst
part because we know she's not honorable number one, who
signs when you're the honorable, you don't have to sign
your letter the honorable like people notice sign send you
a letter that says that. So also, you know, not
just in law school, but I think even in high school,
you learn where an address block goes on the letter
where Dederick Richmond's address block was at the bottom of

(01:09:32):
the letter.

Speaker 1 (01:09:34):
Yeah, good nights, I've gotten some letters.

Speaker 8 (01:09:39):
Somebody somebody said to check that. And then and then
the bottom line is after she was denied, she went
on Twitter and said one monkey doesn't don't stop, no show.

Speaker 6 (01:09:52):
So are you saying, wait?

Speaker 10 (01:09:53):
So the story isros got denied into the Black Caucus.

Speaker 9 (01:09:57):
Oh no, that was never gonna happen.

Speaker 8 (01:09:58):
She invited them on behalf of Donald Trump, to come
back to the White House for a meeting. The first
time they went, they didn't take the whole CBC because
it didn't merit the entire CBC's time. Congressman Richmond who's
the chair of the caucus, went in with just the
Executive Committee, which is standard we did it for under
Barack Obama's administration. And they took in a white paper
that said, here are here's one hundred and thirty pages

(01:10:19):
of issues that you could be working on that would
help to advance the black community. So when you ask us,
what in the hell do we have to lose, exhibit
a sucker. And that's what they did. And so she
invited them back because that wasn't enough attention for her
and said, why don't all of you come back so
they could.

Speaker 9 (01:10:35):
Try to get this photo op?

Speaker 8 (01:10:37):
And you played yourself because we know who you are
and what you stand for.

Speaker 9 (01:10:40):
Good night.

Speaker 8 (01:10:46):
I folt like she might sit outside at a desk
at the White House.

Speaker 1 (01:10:53):
What was told? Would she be in house of cars?
Which character she would be?

Speaker 9 (01:10:57):
Not on camera?

Speaker 8 (01:11:02):
She would be like like the person, the staffer who
oversees the interns.

Speaker 7 (01:11:07):
I'm not sure.

Speaker 9 (01:11:24):
I understand.

Speaker 8 (01:11:24):
I wouldn't even give her Freddy because Freddy got more
honored this year. But I just wanted to tell you
all this in case you missed it to all the listeners.
The reason why I treat her so bad is because
not only is she the devil, but she also before
she was all on Donald Trump's bandwagon, she was doing
Hillary Clinton. There's photo evidence looking up online Hillary Clinton fundraisers.

(01:11:46):
There was a super pack that was established before Hillary
Clinton announced, called ready for Hillary. Morosa was ready for Hillary.
She worked in the Clinton white House. Yeah, we don't
do Yeah, we don't do that.

Speaker 9 (01:12:00):
We don't do that.

Speaker 1 (01:12:02):
Yeah, wait, I forgot my question.

Speaker 6 (01:12:07):
It's funny.

Speaker 10 (01:12:07):
I've seen a couple of black people in that in
that White House, in the over office. They're always the
one to pushing the reporters out like a couple of
weird It is we Yeah, Angela Mitchell.

Speaker 8 (01:12:17):
She tried to compare herself to Valerie Jared. Girl, if
you ever listen to this, she won't ever be Valerie.
That ain't right, That ain't right, That ain't right, that right,
she said, I'm Valerie Jared to Donald Trump?

Speaker 6 (01:12:30):
What what?

Speaker 9 (01:12:31):
Yes? Exactly Bell, Valerie Jared.

Speaker 1 (01:12:35):
Anyway, what did.

Speaker 9 (01:12:37):
Y'all How did y'all get me down that?

Speaker 1 (01:12:40):
Because yeah, we go down?

Speaker 9 (01:12:46):
Can I stand her?

Speaker 1 (01:12:49):
Did that clip ever come out?

Speaker 9 (01:12:51):
Which clip?

Speaker 1 (01:12:53):
The clip you said.

Speaker 7 (01:12:55):
Sound like you're saying something crazy?

Speaker 8 (01:12:57):
I notice that from the from the yeah, so I
think they put it on a couple of sites.

Speaker 9 (01:13:04):
National Action Network.

Speaker 8 (01:13:07):
They had a women's luncheon and Empowerment Women's luncheon, and
she spoke I don't know who, Rev, I love you
so much, but I don't know who thought that was
gonna be a good idea to have omros to speak
at the beginning of this lunch. And she got up
there and tried to lie to my cousin. So I
had to correct the record. I didn't need to do
my acceptance speech. I just had to come for her.
And so that's what happened. Trump's Apprentice is I didn't

(01:13:31):
even call her by the name, just Trump's a Princeice.
Did she just walk out after No, So she actually
walked out. Rev kind of got her and then she
walked out after that. So I was like, well, somebody
show her a video because I'm about to show it.

Speaker 6 (01:13:43):
So y'all never been at each other's life.

Speaker 8 (01:13:44):
Yeah, they were trying to put her in pictures with
me that day. I was like, I'm not taking pictures
with her. That flies against everything I stand for.

Speaker 10 (01:13:50):
You must have a list of people that like, not
only pictures. I will not engage in conversation.

Speaker 8 (01:13:55):
It's not that long though, people on CNN who are
Trump supporters, who I actually like, you know, but I
just don't like when people are, you know, just blatant liars,
just you know, you switch and you contort and you
just do whatever's convenient when you're clearly an opportunistic person.

Speaker 9 (01:14:12):
I just don't. I can't rock with you.

Speaker 6 (01:14:13):
How many times have you been to offer your own
show on one of these networks?

Speaker 1 (01:14:15):
I'm sorry, that's my next question. It was, why do
you not have your own show like that?

Speaker 7 (01:14:20):
I won't have my own show.

Speaker 1 (01:14:24):
Exclusive coming out when Okay, well, yes, I got to
ask you. When Melissai Harris Perry left her, he didn't leave, Yeah,
she didn't when she was escorted. Yeah, when she when
her post was by my employer, did you get a

(01:14:52):
phone call like would you like your own showing.

Speaker 9 (01:14:55):
You so yes, people are calling me.

Speaker 8 (01:14:59):
I will say that there was not a better person
that could have taken that morning slot than Joy Read.
I think Joy now I was devastated when her daily
show was canceled. And I think that she has like
she kills it. She's better than so many people on
so many networks.

Speaker 6 (01:15:19):
They put us on the weekend.

Speaker 8 (01:15:20):
Yeah, and and but I think that she could easily,
like we see her all the time filling in for
some of the other daily shows.

Speaker 9 (01:15:26):
She's phenomenal.

Speaker 8 (01:15:28):
But yes, I think that I, you know, talk about
things in a certain way, and I will definitely be
doing something.

Speaker 9 (01:15:37):
But yes, people are calling.

Speaker 1 (01:15:41):
Ambiguity.

Speaker 9 (01:15:41):
No, not just.

Speaker 10 (01:15:53):
That question about some real quick Can I just say
that moment we're all talking about the N word follow
up or whatever.

Speaker 6 (01:15:59):
Of course, everybody talking about ice cube. Everybody talked about
doctor Dyson. But Simone Sanders, Yes.

Speaker 9 (01:16:04):
She had. She had a great moment.

Speaker 8 (01:16:06):
And the thing that people don't understand is Simon was
booked to go on the show before that inward moment happened.
She did phenomenally well, so I was definitely cheering her
on and I was so glad that she was there
to kind of speak out not just for black people
and educating on the inward, but also black women.

Speaker 10 (01:16:20):
Yeah.

Speaker 12 (01:16:22):
Sorry, No, it's it's quite a rough show too, your show.
I think were about to ask some Yeah, God.

Speaker 4 (01:16:37):
You were saying that you're friends with some Trump supporters.
When I meet someone and learned that they're Trump supporter,
I have a really hard.

Speaker 1 (01:16:44):
Time talking to them.

Speaker 4 (01:16:45):
I understand, Like I can't. I understand because I don't
understand how they could vote for someone that's not dumb.
That's how I feel about that. I don't think any
of the tables trump supporters. I hope not because I'll
be weird, that particularly weird. But I mean, you know
what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (01:16:59):
Actually, Bill, So I can't.

Speaker 8 (01:17:01):
I can't talk to them about politics. What I have
worked really hard on doing is understanding who they are
as human beings, like why in the what?

Speaker 9 (01:17:13):
And sometimes it is.

Speaker 1 (01:17:14):
We can't separate that. I mean, can you separate that?

Speaker 10 (01:17:16):
No?

Speaker 9 (01:17:16):
Sometimes it's really hard.

Speaker 8 (01:17:18):
But I think one good example is on CNN Jeffrey Lord,
who I'm often like if we're on together, like like
are you serious?

Speaker 9 (01:17:26):
Did you really just say? Or whatever?

Speaker 8 (01:17:29):
Every night, when Jeffrey leaves CNN, he is driving home
back to Pennsylvania to take care of his mother, who
has dementia. And to me, that's something that's very personal
because my grandmother passed away with Alzheimer's a couple of
years ago, and I know how hard that work is.
I know how hard it was for my dad and
his sisters and his brothers. It was really really tough.

(01:17:52):
And then making the decision to put my grandmother in
a home where I was like, she has a mouth,
like my n gonna kill her, and fortunately they then
they ended up actually really really loving her.

Speaker 9 (01:18:01):
But I just know that, and so it just it
there is there.

Speaker 8 (01:18:06):
I know that about him, and that means that somewhere
beyond the Trump propaganda, right, there's the heart of someone
who's truly compassionate and really loves his family. And so
there are things like that that I have to kind
of latch onto and and just be hopeful about the KKK.

Speaker 6 (01:18:23):
They love their family.

Speaker 8 (01:18:24):
Dude, Yeah, I ain't checking for the KKKO they love it.

Speaker 9 (01:18:27):
I don't think he's the kk Okay.

Speaker 2 (01:18:29):
You talked about your dad and how he was an activist.
Was your mother politically active as well?

Speaker 6 (01:18:33):
It is?

Speaker 8 (01:18:33):
My dad still has a bullhorn in his trunk. We
just did a in real life, We just did a
seventy fifth surprise birthday party for him at the beginning
of June, and.

Speaker 9 (01:18:43):
The props at the photo booths, like we had his.

Speaker 8 (01:18:46):
Old MLK signs and the bullhorn was made a very
prominent appearance.

Speaker 9 (01:18:53):
At the party. So he's really serious about it.

Speaker 8 (01:18:55):
My mom was is not the same type of activists
as my dad. She is a retired college administrator, but
she was on affirmative action commissions and studying how students
of color learned, and very active in multicultural education on
her campus, so very much so. One of my favorite
pictures that my childhood Dennis found and got blown up

(01:19:17):
for my parents for my dad's birthday, actually was my
parents marching side by side. It's a great picture. It's
my cover photo on Facebook right now. I was like,
look at black love happening.

Speaker 1 (01:19:26):
That's wonderful.

Speaker 8 (01:19:28):
And my dad had on a bad sweet coach too.
I was like, this dude was stayed silent in the march.

Speaker 9 (01:19:32):
But okay.

Speaker 1 (01:19:34):
So in the idea of being politically active, what would
your message be to people, especially my field of entertainment,
What are effective ways for us to get involved? In

(01:19:56):
which what I say is that the the Harry Bellefonte
method method where he m the sixties routinely funded you know, uh,
marches and hotels and bail money, that sort of thing
I see. I feel as though, ever since the the

(01:20:19):
Dixie Chicks a Bush uh Natalie Mind's criticizing Bush in
two thousand and three for the war and how that
affected their their money, their income, he kind of seeing
a quiet, apprehensive a political view from a lot of entertainers,

(01:20:45):
Like I for one, thought, oh, that this war is
really going to bring on you know, uh what's going
on type Yeah, are politically motivated, you know, like a
more conscious from the opposite and rendered them indifferent and
really to where we are now, like just Cole getting
dumb so and you know a lot of a lot

(01:21:07):
of people would you know, feel as though they might
have something to lose. I mean not in the case
of a it's football player, guy that didn't vote in
the last election.

Speaker 8 (01:21:25):
Sorry, So just as an example of that though, like
I think it's important for us to understand that.

Speaker 9 (01:21:34):
Where we are siloed or we are left.

Speaker 8 (01:21:38):
Standing as individuals, we're easier to target and to strike
and to take out if we stand as a collective,
unified group, NFL players that know the national anthem doesn't
speak for us, and shouldn't NFL players that know that
black lives matter and we should stand for something, you know,
we It shouldn't have just been Colin and that is

(01:22:00):
why it was so easy for them to take him out.
I think, you know, using your art to convey a
certain message is important.

Speaker 9 (01:22:10):
But I think that there's something that.

Speaker 8 (01:22:11):
We, as a collective, the people, have to do to
support that art. I think about jay Z the song Spiritual,
How well did that do? And think about what it
was really about?

Speaker 1 (01:22:21):
So the song he had a song?

Speaker 10 (01:22:27):
You listen to it, listen to it.

Speaker 9 (01:22:35):
It's just.

Speaker 4 (01:22:38):
Wait a minute, you've done the unthinkable is to name
a song that these two never heard of. It was
it was a title exclusive, wasn't it? Because I don't care,
it's never I'm looking for it right now. Oh God,
I hope I title hope reas someone He was twelve
and no one ever heard.

Speaker 1 (01:22:55):
But they've heard it.

Speaker 8 (01:22:56):
So all I'm telling, all I'm saying to you is
or you can look at t I released this mini
doc on bt us or else, And of course the
corresponding album.

Speaker 9 (01:23:08):
How well did those things?

Speaker 8 (01:23:09):
Do you know, when we say that we need our
artists to be conscious and woke and to be pushing
this material and you know, touting these messages, how do
we support them when they're doing that.

Speaker 1 (01:23:21):
I think that's just lip service.

Speaker 2 (01:23:22):
I think that's just from in my opinion, like when
people talk about quote unquote conscious hip hop, when they
say they want that from artists, I think it's very
much like your grocery card is. Like everybody say they
want to eat vegetables, but that ship don't never make it.

Speaker 6 (01:23:35):
They just don't want it from everybody.

Speaker 13 (01:23:37):
They wanted a chance, but everybody, yes, taking a consideration,
the record labels don't want to put in the extra
work to market that kind of material.

Speaker 2 (01:23:45):
But then too, But for me, like I mean, and
I'm just using him as a example, like do I
really want to hear a conscious record quote unquote from
t I?

Speaker 9 (01:23:52):
I mean he I mean, but a lot of this stuff,
it has been infused.

Speaker 6 (01:23:57):
It's hard reality.

Speaker 13 (01:23:58):
Do you really want to another see the record about
all the other ship that he wraps about on all
his other records, because he.

Speaker 1 (01:24:03):
Wraps about that ship really well?

Speaker 2 (01:24:05):
I mean, you you can listen to like you can
get Rubber fan Man whatever you can.

Speaker 1 (01:24:13):
They talk the same ship. So if he wants to
run about something else, then he should be. And that's
the thing. I guess.

Speaker 2 (01:24:19):
My point is if he wants to do that, then
absolutely let him do it. But I think there's a
problem kind of what back when you feel like it's
insincere if don't make niggas out to be more than
what they are, Like when you know when when they
went to.

Speaker 6 (01:24:33):
Aren't niggas more than one thing?

Speaker 1 (01:24:34):
What I feel like we're getting now, we're getting into.

Speaker 2 (01:24:39):
This Ferguson, like when Ferguson happened, when Mike Brown happened,
and everybody was like Nelly needed to come and speak,
Nelly needed to come, and I was just like okay,
and then Nelly spoke and it's just like and then
and then people started climbing. It was like, dude, that
ain't his Maybe that's not yeah.

Speaker 10 (01:24:54):
Because that is his community. That is I mean, he's
the most famous famous MC to come out.

Speaker 1 (01:24:58):
But yeah, with the people, walk with the people. Everyone
has to be I have a dream to put niggas.

Speaker 8 (01:25:07):
On j You don't stop what you're doing but I
think the reality of it is we shouldn't We shouldn't
necessarily try to control them if that's what they feel
like they should be expressing. I also think that we
should try to be supportive of it. If we're saying
that nobody's hearing us and we're not, you know, the voices.

Speaker 9 (01:25:24):
That are talking about it aren't loud enough.

Speaker 8 (01:25:26):
And then once those voices are talking about it, we
don't support it.

Speaker 9 (01:25:29):
That's a problem.

Speaker 8 (01:25:30):
If we don't like how they're expressing it, then we
can offer, you know, criticism, but at least try to
hear them out. And then the other piece I would
say is there are artists who are very conscious who
would still say, you know, there's stuff about this whole
stuff that I don't know enough about, and I want
to learn more.

Speaker 9 (01:25:47):
Before I step out there.

Speaker 8 (01:25:49):
And I think that it's up to those of us
who do know more to help educate the masses period,
regardless of that they have a platform or not.

Speaker 1 (01:25:56):
You should have got whack bezza, Come.

Speaker 9 (01:25:59):
On, what's happen?

Speaker 6 (01:26:00):
You gotta make this is real life and this is
what people think.

Speaker 1 (01:26:04):
It's like it's gotta be a jet like that.

Speaker 2 (01:26:05):
I guess that's to me, because we were having this
company earlier, the role of you know, entertainers quote unquote
as activists to me, that's just it gets really negolous.

Speaker 1 (01:26:12):
Because the sugar helps medicine go down.

Speaker 2 (01:26:14):
Yeah, it's like, dude, just do what you do. You
know what I'm saying, Like, do do what you do
at the best, at what you do. Like, I don't
need artists to quote unquote inspire me by trying to inspire.

Speaker 6 (01:26:25):
You don't need it at about most people.

Speaker 2 (01:26:27):
So I don't think I think bad and Bougie will
get more niggas to work than damn less about black
people people.

Speaker 1 (01:26:37):
This inspirationals You're saying that Migos doing a benefit concert
that could raise money for cause, blah blah blah blah blah.
It's more effective not with them doing.

Speaker 8 (01:26:54):
Everybody do the same thing. Every artist doesn't have to
do the same thing. Their contribution may not look like
Harry Belafonte. Maybe there is somebody that can bring a
stage show to Broadway and disrupt culture just on how
we see ourselves thinking about Hamilton, Like, there are so
many ways that we can disrupt that don't have to
be you know.

Speaker 10 (01:27:17):
Also, Jay Z is setting a little standard tude that
I think is kind of cool because he's been doing
things lately and I don't give him props usually, but
I'm just saying, you don't like the bail things, so
like you didn't you feel about that you didn't like.

Speaker 8 (01:27:33):
Was a part of the Dream Defenders doing that. Dream
Defenders started doing that with mothers who were incarcerated on
Mother's Day and helping them.

Speaker 9 (01:27:41):
Get out of jail. So he actually supported organizations doing
that work. I think it's great.

Speaker 8 (01:27:46):
He also helped to bail folks out during the Ferguson protest.

Speaker 6 (01:27:51):
Yeah, that helps. That helps, But.

Speaker 4 (01:27:53):
I think it has a lot of it has to
happen like Vietnam. Right, it was like Bob Dylan was
writing this music and it was it was more universal
doing it from there.

Speaker 13 (01:28:02):
It's also not all up in the press being like yo,
I did this, I did that, I did this, I
did that. Right, So, like, nobody really to know what
any of these cats are doing, just doing the ship.

Speaker 1 (01:28:11):
And if I were to tell y'all, I don't care,
I don't care what you did, I'm I'm just saying
I don't care what you do. What you're going to
do just do it, and just do something and don't
try to get the love for it. Just do it
true because you.

Speaker 6 (01:28:26):
Know it's prosperate off this community. Give it back something.

Speaker 2 (01:28:29):
But I agree, give it back, but give it back
in the way that best fits you.

Speaker 7 (01:28:33):
Like you too.

Speaker 2 (01:28:34):
Just my problem is just trying to make everybody you know,
Malcolm or Martin what It's just like, dude, like that
just ain't your calling, man, Like, give it the best,
do the best you and and be true in that. Like,
don't try to make somebody that ain't a speaker or
or whatever.

Speaker 1 (01:28:49):
Don't try to make them into something that they're not.
That's all I'm saying. Where's jaw where? Yo? For real?

Speaker 2 (01:28:54):
It's yeah, it becomes a where's jah woke off moment
where everybody's trying to show how woke they are and
this like all right, all y'all needs need to go
back to sleep.

Speaker 6 (01:29:09):
From Carolina And.

Speaker 10 (01:29:13):
You don't like slavery shows neither, and but he loved
black women.

Speaker 6 (01:29:16):
It's a weird you know, we.

Speaker 1 (01:29:18):
Love we're also a hip hop generation and we are
in mid life crisis right now. Also let's admit that
as well. I feel like us as a as a
first generation of hip hop. We're also under mid life
crisis because you know, I mean we're we don't recognize
it no more. Yeah, we don't recognize it anymore.

Speaker 2 (01:29:39):
And uh Freshman cover. That's yeah, that looked like Pokemon.

Speaker 1 (01:29:47):
I was like, who these niggas?

Speaker 6 (01:29:51):
Was like, nah, yes, just a shameless plug.

Speaker 10 (01:29:54):
It wasn't nothing like that Essence cover with all those
ladies like Angela Roach when that was a beautiful cover,
like that Essence cover.

Speaker 9 (01:29:59):
Is honor a part of it?

Speaker 1 (01:30:00):
What's the sports entertainment lawyer story? Why didn't I?

Speaker 8 (01:30:02):
Oh? So the short version is I.

Speaker 1 (01:30:11):
Extended dance version.

Speaker 9 (01:30:15):
To this day. I love the movie.

Speaker 8 (01:30:16):
Jerry Maguire like, I absolutely love it. And so I
was like, I want to be a sports entertainment lawyer.
And I told my pastor, who's also my goddad.

Speaker 9 (01:30:26):
I was like, this is really what I want to do.
So he's like, okay, cool.

Speaker 8 (01:30:29):
So we had like some Seahawks players that went to
my church at the time, and so one of the
players he introduced me to after He's like.

Speaker 9 (01:30:37):
It's my god daughter. She want to be a sports
en tamu lawyer.

Speaker 8 (01:30:39):
We like standing on the altar after the benediction at church,
Goddad b lines and the dude was like, if you're
gonna represent me, what you're gonna do for me? And
I was like, okay, and it ain't that type of party.
I will find another job wait in church.

Speaker 9 (01:30:54):
At church right after.

Speaker 1 (01:30:55):
So that's where to.

Speaker 3 (01:31:02):
One.

Speaker 10 (01:31:03):
So on the hills of that question, And you tell
me if this is going too far, Angela, but this
is my own curiosity.

Speaker 6 (01:31:08):
Are you single?

Speaker 10 (01:31:09):
And if you are, how crazy is it to navigate
in your world being who you are with the mouth
that you have?

Speaker 6 (01:31:17):
And I'm assuming that you rather go black.

Speaker 9 (01:31:20):
So I've never dated a white guy.

Speaker 8 (01:31:22):
Okay that, but I will also say that, so I
will also say that I am single. That is, this
is not a plug for tender like engagement, though on
social media I say that regularly, like I'm not on

(01:31:42):
Twitter trying to find a dude.

Speaker 9 (01:31:43):
Please don't d m me.

Speaker 8 (01:31:44):
I have some crazy dms, like crazy dms, crazy comments
on Instagram in particular, And while I appreciate the love,
sometimes I just wish they would just hold it in
their hearts.

Speaker 9 (01:31:57):
I just want to say I got something happening right now.

Speaker 8 (01:32:00):
I just want to stay focused but no, it's it's
it's fine.

Speaker 9 (01:32:04):
It is what it is.

Speaker 6 (01:32:05):
It's not difficult dating in this.

Speaker 8 (01:32:09):
I don't think I have a problem being approached. I
think that I'm selective. I'm a daddy's girl, truthfully, and
so if they don't align.

Speaker 1 (01:32:16):
With too soon, too soon, if they don't, if.

Speaker 8 (01:32:23):
They don't up my standards are like what I know
a man should be like, I'm not checking.

Speaker 10 (01:32:28):
For dude, would you would you date somebody in politics
at this point?

Speaker 8 (01:32:32):
I don't think so, Like I can't be like a
first lady type. I'm looking to piss off everybody.

Speaker 1 (01:32:39):
You want to know why Angela Rodgers, because you are
going to be president.

Speaker 10 (01:32:45):
First, the second black female president, because we ain't getting
her killed.

Speaker 8 (01:32:49):
So they're not my Those aren't my dreams and aspirations
that I appreciate.

Speaker 1 (01:32:53):
We don't.

Speaker 8 (01:32:54):
We don't like the black folks wanted to be speaking,
gonna be a preacher, like that's what I feel like
because I know politics, like y'all think I'm I'm not
running for office.

Speaker 1 (01:33:04):
And look back in nineteen ninety three when I was
signing my record deal, do you think I was like, Yo,
I'm gonna be the black dox Everson of it. No,
we don't know. We don't know what. There you go.

Speaker 8 (01:33:21):
They know when they dig about his footage, they're gonna
be like, we can't. Yeah, it's crazy like that ain't happening.
So I just don't want to run. I just hope
that you will receive that in your spirit. I don't
want to run. I'm not trying.

Speaker 1 (01:33:36):
The angel. Am I the first person to really tell
you this.

Speaker 9 (01:33:42):
No, there are a.

Speaker 8 (01:33:43):
Lot of people that asked me to run all the time.
That's just not what I want to do. I feel
like there are other ways that I can have.

Speaker 11 (01:33:49):
At the table president.

Speaker 9 (01:33:52):
Maybe that's the press. Maybe you're the press. Maybe the
president's sitting in your chair because it's not in this one.

Speaker 6 (01:33:57):
That's way too much.

Speaker 1 (01:33:57):
We do you think you think Zuckerberg is making a
go I don't know.

Speaker 9 (01:34:03):
Is that a thing? I didn't hear that.

Speaker 1 (01:34:04):
Well.

Speaker 2 (01:34:04):
He is just like doing a bunch of like present
pre president. Like he's like he put up a post
the other day and was like, yeah, I'm in Iowa,
met some folks down here.

Speaker 8 (01:34:16):
Don't trying to get to two billion Facebook users goal achieved.

Speaker 9 (01:34:19):
Now let's see if he still does that so maybe
I'll follow you there.

Speaker 8 (01:34:24):
Yeah, Irey Booker, maybe maybe also Kamala, which like she's
shutting it down, so I mean, I don't know.

Speaker 9 (01:34:32):
I don't know Kamala.

Speaker 6 (01:34:34):
Yeah, I don't want her to get hurt either though.

Speaker 9 (01:34:36):
No, we don't want anybody to get hurt.

Speaker 1 (01:34:37):
We want no one to get hurt. And I appreciate
you for coming on the show today, and we've we've
been trying to make this happen for the longest I know,
So tell us where we can hear your podcast.

Speaker 8 (01:34:53):
The podcast is called on One with a Rye and
it's on uh Apple, on I, on Spotify, on title
and SoundCloud.

Speaker 1 (01:35:04):
Well down, So what do we learn today, Fronte Man.

Speaker 2 (01:35:09):
I learned that Angela Rode is probably like I'm not
a very political person at all. Like I'm not like
a person that like checks the news all the time
and get very involved in.

Speaker 1 (01:35:19):
The creative process.

Speaker 2 (01:35:20):
Yeah yeah, I mean, y'all know, if you've listened to show,
y'all know I don't follow that shit like that, but
you know what I'm saying. But I do have a
respect for just really genuine people. And the thing that
I just met with think with you is that you have.

Speaker 1 (01:35:32):
You're very knowledgeable about your feel and you know it.

Speaker 2 (01:35:37):
But at the same time, there's something with you that
I think is very relatable and you're not so much
like I won't say necessarily, don't say on a pedestal,
but you're you're You're very relatable, which I think also
lends credence to the presidential quality, which I know you
don't want, but I'm saying that I think that quality
about you is something and that I don't see in

(01:35:58):
a lot of your contemporaries.

Speaker 1 (01:36:00):
And it's a lot of people.

Speaker 2 (01:36:01):
Even when we were talking in the group text, we
were like, yo, Andre's doing the show, I was like, Okay.
Out of a lot of people in that lane of
the new Black kind of political she's the one to
me that seems kind of the most centered, not necessarily
center in terms of the issues where you staying, but
just she's the one that seems more like yeah, like
she could, she could fuck with us, and like she

(01:36:21):
is a person, you know what I mean. And so nah,
just sitting down here chopping up, but you thank you
for making the time. And then like, for real, boss, Bill,
what what did you learn today? I learned a lot today,
I shouldn't say learned. I got reminded of a lot
of stuff that I've probably forgotten, like the impeachment process
and all that stuff.

Speaker 1 (01:36:39):
I just wanted to.

Speaker 13 (01:36:39):
Reiterate thank you for coming to show we like you
and I have been trying to get you here for
a while, so we were thankful, thankful that you finally
made it.

Speaker 9 (01:36:46):
So so glad to be here.

Speaker 1 (01:36:48):
Paid Bill, what'd you learn today? Bro?

Speaker 4 (01:36:50):
I learned what Alderman is. I learned that in nineteen
ninety three you signed your first record deal. It was
the same year that I got bur Mitzvoot. That's important.

Speaker 1 (01:36:58):
Wow, You're like, yeah, yeah, that was a good year.

Speaker 4 (01:37:02):
I turned it to man anyway, and uh, And I
wish that I was as knowledgeable about what I do
as ans, because it's really impressive to listen to you
speak like I'm not no no fucking around, like I
can't talk. I love what I do and I can't
talk about I think I'm good at it. Some other
people do, and I Yeah, it's really impressive.

Speaker 1 (01:37:21):
That's all. So thanks. She speaks so well.

Speaker 9 (01:37:26):
In articulate, remember the Joe Biden moment.

Speaker 1 (01:37:29):
Articulate in less than two hundred and fifty words like
tell me what you learned today at a low tone.

Speaker 6 (01:37:35):
Okay, you know I get excited movie, yes, you know
people are like Okay.

Speaker 10 (01:37:40):
I learned a couple of things. I learned she will
not be running for president. I learned that she will
not be running for president, although I I do believe
her because what I'm hoping for in the future is
a black news network.

Speaker 6 (01:37:51):
Somebody's got to do it. I don't know.

Speaker 10 (01:37:53):
I just feel like angel Ro could get it done. Also,
I learned some great periodicals to look for for fat
I hope you guys took your notes. I also learned
that a black man is running for governor in Florida
and everybody should support that.

Speaker 6 (01:38:05):
What's his name again so I can write it down
and Andrew.

Speaker 1 (01:38:08):
Gilli And and Florida.

Speaker 6 (01:38:11):
I learned what I already knew. Grow you dope, Steve.

Speaker 11 (01:38:16):
I learned that that you should have your own show. Yes,
I've been watching it since Crossfire.

Speaker 7 (01:38:23):
I guess, no, I never.

Speaker 1 (01:38:27):
What do you mean?

Speaker 9 (01:38:28):
I didn't know.

Speaker 1 (01:38:34):
Crossfire train, learned from cross.

Speaker 8 (01:38:35):
Fire and then you get Steve, know you need that time.

Speaker 9 (01:38:40):
I know what I said, debated.

Speaker 1 (01:38:47):
She's doing the Angela right now, what.

Speaker 8 (01:38:50):
Happened was and I said, I debated my dad light
Crossfire growing up watching it.

Speaker 9 (01:38:54):
When the new Crossfire came back, I went non seen that.
I was still they wout back?

Speaker 1 (01:39:00):
When did the check? Right now? Your the eighties, right, okay,
try to fact check out seeing the Crossfire was like
when they have the panel five people. I still thought
that was an ongoing.

Speaker 8 (01:39:14):
Thing of they brought it back, but I wasn't there yet.
I was still doing MSNBC anyway. Yes, Steve, we're listening
about that.

Speaker 1 (01:39:23):
Rough you down like I always do. Stand this would
be a great time for you to cut me off, okay,
as usual because I always cut Steve off on show. Yeah, yes,
I learned that she does not funck with al Morossa, and.

Speaker 8 (01:39:36):
I appreciate y'all better not either. I'm gonna come for
you and your Twitter feeds as well.

Speaker 2 (01:39:40):
Know I appreciate somebody again. You related like you name names,
you like fu, you you like the Tupaca politics speaking speak,
burst off?

Speaker 1 (01:39:52):
What's your Twitter handle on your Instagram handles and people?

Speaker 9 (01:39:55):
Twitter handle?

Speaker 8 (01:39:56):
Is Angela underscore Rye Because some white girl took my
name before I was on She took it now it
was it's her real name, to be fair, but she
just got.

Speaker 9 (01:40:06):
The handle first I did.

Speaker 8 (01:40:09):
And then my Instagram handle is Angela Raie. All one
word right like the bread.

Speaker 1 (01:40:16):
Shout out to the juice. Yeah, yeah, yeah, thank you.
I could have sworn that, you too, I could have
sworn it. I gotta say your road call. You guys
missed the golden moment to make all the ship, all
the jewiness that all the things that you guys have discussed.

Speaker 11 (01:40:33):
It still wasn't the worst rod call of the night though.

Speaker 1 (01:40:38):
Collusion. I liked Bill's roll call. It was. It was
funny anyway. Damn well, you guys covered. Oh I know
I learned today. We learn today that Angelay single was
a motherfucker.

Speaker 6 (01:40:55):
Yeah, you're welcome, You're welcome.

Speaker 1 (01:41:00):
My thank you. Nah, I'm trying to I'm trying to
be first dude in the White House. Anyway, Thank you
and uh Fan Ticcolo and Boston Bill and once in

(01:41:23):
future Angela Raie, thank you, thank you for coming on
Quest Love Supreme only on Pandora. Quest Love Supreme is

(01:41:47):
a production of iHeart Radio. This classic episode was produced
by the team at Bendor

Speaker 2 (01:41:56):
For more podcasts, from my heart Radio, visit the iHeart
Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
favorite shows.