July 28, 2025 • 23 mins
On part 1 of today's podcast, Hosts Ramses Ja and Q Ward discuss the passing of WWE icon Hulk Hogan and his racist comments .
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Broadcasting from the Civic Ciphers Studios. Welcome to the QR Code,
where we share perspective, seek understanding, and shape outcomes. The
gentleman you're about to hear from he is the Q
in the QR code. He is a kind spirit. He
continually shares his family with me, and I couldn't have
(00:20):
a better co host for this show.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
He goes by the name of q Ward, the gentleman
who voiced you just heard, who spends the first part
of the show trying to make everybody think I'm awesome,
when really that's him, my brother and my teammate, the
host of the show, the R in the QR code,
Ramsy's Jah.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
I am q Ward and I just work here.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
And we needed to stick around. We have a We've had.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
A busy end of the week weekend in terms of
the news cycle, so we got a lot of things
that are going to work their way into today's show.
But in terms of the headlines, the reason you should
stick around a little later in the show, we're going
to be talking about some videos that have been going
viral on social media of police misconduct. And I haven't
(01:09):
seen these videos. This is you know, these are videos
that Q brought to our collective attention, but we we
take turns watching videos so that we don't become overwhelmed
by trauma and violence against black and brown bodies. So
I'm going to learn along with you, our listener. We're
also going to be talking about Hulk Hogan's complicated legacy.
(01:33):
You know, obviously there are people that are, you know,
rest in peace Hulk Hogan, but you know, he's a
complicated man, and we're definitely going to talk about that.
You know, nobody gets off the hook, you know, and
you know we're seeing that on social media, so we're
going to discuss that. And then also we're gonna have
a conversation about homophobia.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
And hip hop.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
You know, the Breakfast Club we're fans of. We love
those guys, but they had a question can men eat popsicles?
And that kind of started off a whole chain of events.
Going to talk about that in more, but before we
get there, it is time for our feel good features.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
So today's feel good.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Feature comes from the Black Information Network and you know,
shout out to Ralph Lauren, So I'll read Polo, Ralph
Lauren is honoring HBCU legacy and the Oak Bluffs community
of Martha's Vineyard in its latest collection. In campaign, according
to Essence, the luxury apparel brand has extended its partnership
with Morehouse and Spelman Colleges, incorporating HBCU Collegiate style in
(02:27):
its latest oak Bluff's Collection limited edition collection pays homage
to the Oak Bluffs community of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, which
has long served as a coastal haveman for black people.
The oak Bluff's Collection was conceptualized and designed by Morehouse
and Spelman alumni at Ralph Lauren quote. This collection is
about more than a charming coastal town. It's a story
of the American dream unquote. Ralph Lauren, Executive Chairman and
(02:50):
Chief Creative Officer of Ralph Lauren Corporation, said in a statement,
oak Bluffs, Oh Sorry. Oak Bluff's unique history, traditions, and
sense of unity deeply inspire me and speak to what
we are all searching for a place where you can
be free, uncontrived, joyful, and truly at home.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
That's the other part of the statement.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
The collection is launching on Thursday, July twenty fourth, along
with a full length documentary called A Portrait of the
American Dream. Oak Bluff's special screening and panel discussion will
also be held at Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival
on August Day. The Polo Ralph Lauren for oak Bluff's
collection is available for consumers through the Ralph Lauren website
in Morehouse College and spell Mount College, full at campus
(03:33):
bookstores and select Ralph Lauren stores while quantities last. So,
you know, for folks that don't know, the reason that's
a feel good feature is because it's starting to feel
more and more criminal to celebrate blackness, to be black,
and for a company as big and as well known
(03:53):
as you know, Ralph Lauren and Polo to step out
and kind of give a full throat and endorsement of
HBCUs that feels kind of special. So yeah, all right,
So first up, let's talk about culture. Okay, can men
eat popsicles? Homophobia and hip hop? I'm going to figure
(04:15):
out how we bring folks who may not have grown
up with hip hop culture into this conversation. First, I'll
say that I'm well into my forties. You know, Q
and Q and I are approximately the same age, so
we are you know, it's not a young man's game
(04:37):
in the way that it once was. I mean, it
always will be. But you know, we grew up with it.
I know, no other music that defines my my generation
better than hip hop music, right and uh, you know,
I'm more than halfway through my life, you know, based
on the data, you know, based on you know, averages
(04:58):
and whatnot. So it's it's it's kind of the topic
of the day, right. But hip hop has always been
very much about like machismo, and there's always been some
sort of homophobic elements in there. And I think when
you combine that with the general toxicity present online with
(05:24):
like the Manisphere and things like that, you end.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
Up with a very a very.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Well, let's call it dangerous certainly for lgbtq I A
plus individuals, you know, but it's kind of a weird
intersection where things they don't cancel each other out and
in fact they bring out the worst of each other. Right. So, again,
for folks that don't know, let me paint a picture
of what the manisphere is. So this is from nature
dot com. The manisphere refers to a heterogeneous group of
(05:56):
online communities that broadly promotes anti feminism, misogyny, and hateful
ideas about women, trans and non binary people. These communities attract,
among others, involuntary celibates or in cells, men going their
own way, pick up artists, and men's rights activists.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Although these communities.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Are different, they share a broad ideology that women are
to blame for a society in which men are victims,
and that feminism is the cause.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
Of societal ills.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
These communities frequently endorse pseudoscience to justify male supremacy and
produce hateful and violent narratives which can lead to extremist
behavior with dangerous and fatal real world consequences. Okay, so
again those are not my words, but I agree wholeheartedly.
I'm I know and understand that life is female. I
have nipples because once upon a time, when I was
(06:43):
a very very tiny group of cells, I started out female,
as did all of us.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
Right, but that is what these folks think. Now, let's
combine it with.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Something that people that have listened to hip hop and
maybe the past twenty years might have heard this term. Paul, right,
and forgive my language, but this is so that I
can paint a picture for the folks that may not understand.
Pause kind of started as a way of setting off
of a phrase or a sentence, and it would it
(07:15):
would begin pause, to pause the conversation, and then a
person would say no homo in order to suggest that
they are not homosexual, right, So they would just that's
just how It was almost like a game or something
that people would play, and it had very damaging and
hurtful consequences.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
Right.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
So I'm going to share a little bit more about
that from Wikipedia, and of course this is not the
most credible source, but obviously there's not a lot of
scholarly articles written about this, so it'll it'll.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Bring you up to speed, trust me, all right.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
The phrase was originated by Harlem New York City natives
as a way to quash any sexual and gender error
or overstep within lyrics. Joshua Brown in the Journal of
Homosexuality states the phrase no homo arose in hip hop
lyrics of the nineteen nineties as a discourse interjection to
negate supposed sexual and gender transgressions. The phrase no homo,
(08:12):
used in a lyrical context comes as a preemptive maneuver
to deflect any attacks on the artist's masculinity or heterosexual status.
Within this context, no homo is not necessarily addressing homosexuality,
but creating a verbal defense in the musical battlefield that
is wrought with signifying and busting. Musicians realize that a
(08:35):
lyric which is inadvertently gay is fodder for another's verbal
attack on their masculinity. Within hip hop culture, in an
attempt to divert their own demasculation, musicians presuppose those attacks
at their masculinity. In other words, this was the origin
story of the pause no homo, and then eventually that
(08:58):
became shortened to just pause.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Right.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
So those of us in hip hop culture know when
someone says pause, it's because they or someone in the
room has said something that could be misinterpreted that can
sound like a double entendre, or could just really sound
like something that a bona fide homosexual person might say,
and so they will say pause after it's said, just
(09:22):
to clarify that they're not gay.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Now, Q and I have pushed back on this for
some time, mostly because we're mature men and we kind
of outgrew this phase a long time ago, but it
kind of was reignited on social media because the Breakfast
Club had this conversation recently. Is it okay for men
to eat popsicles, like in public, in full view of
(09:47):
other people. Right, So you start to see this pause
sort of thing, and this combination of pause and the
manisphere and generally speaking, toxic masculinity and all that sort
of stuff culminate and well.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Can you eat phallic shaped foods?
Speaker 3 (10:02):
Right?
Speaker 1 (10:02):
And it's not the breakfast club Again, They've said nothing wrong.
They're just reporting on it the same way we are.
But the people's response to that, the comments and all
that sort of stuff is like, it's very interesting. So
I've I've painted the picture. Q. You've You've brought me
up to speed so much more than I've contributed to
this conversation. Talk to us and our listeners about your
take on where we are with this.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Well, the last thing I want you to do is
allow you to present me as the expert on pause,
no homo, because yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
I'm definitely not that.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
I don't know that I've brought us up to speed
on it. It's always been an interesting thing to me.
If anybody's ever seen or met me, or just listen
to Rams and I talk about each other, it could
very easily slip into the area of conversation or emoting
or even physical expression where some mightn't feel the need
(10:58):
to say pause or no homo or whatever, except I
never do. I was the first of a lot of
my now twenty twenty five year relationships with other men
to hug them and tell him I love them.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
And that was a very strange thing to a lot
of people that I met throughout my life.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
And I know this because now twenty years later, they've
told me, like, yo, the first man that wasn't my
dad that ever put his arms around me and said
I love you, was you. And the first time you
did it, I thought it was weird. Now that's how
I feel and that's how I expressed But I learned
that from you, and I'm like, wow, I never looked
at it that way. But that's the nature of being
(11:35):
raised by a woman and having six sisters. So it's
the way that I communicate. The way that I show affection,
you know, to my son and my daughter is the same.
I picked them both up off the ground, spinning around
the circle, hug him and kiss him, both of them.
So again, I don't know that I don't know that
(11:57):
we outgrew at ramses because I think it's very very
microculture or subculture. I think it depends on where you live,
who you live with, and who you're around. There's some
people that do it, that make that that give that
disclaimer because everyone around them does.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
You know.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
It's sometimes by deciding you're not going to participate, people
will triple down.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
You use the word mature, so I'll use it back.
Hey man, I'm too grown for that. I don't do that.
The group of what you would then classify as immature
people around you might Okay, now you're the butt of
every joke, you know what I mean. So I think
it depends on this that you're in and just the
way that you maneuver and move about life. But that
would be a very what's the word I'm looking for,
(12:48):
draining and tiresome endeavor for me to have to be
able to say that.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
All day.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Every every man in my life that I love or
that I see, they get a full embracing and I
love you every time I see him and every time
we part ways.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
That's just the way that I do.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
And like I said, my son, I pick him up
off the ground, I kiss his face, I kiss him
right on his lips, just like I do my daughter. Now,
I'm sure at some point my son's not going to
think that's cool anymore. But it's going to because he's
a teenager and dads are less cool when your kids
grow up, not because he's questioning his masculinity or his sexuality.
So yeah, I did not want the audience to get
(13:28):
the impression that I'm the one that brought the QR
code up to speed. On Paul's No Homo, I'm you know,
we are both observers of that rather than you know,
those that participate in it.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Well, I think that you know. So how about this,
I've said, and I've said this before on the radio.
I grew up in a house where my dad kissed me.
The last time I did kiss my dad, I was
probably maybe in my early thirties, and I wish that
my dad was still here to kiss his son.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
You know.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
So some cultures do things differently, but it I think
the fear of being associated with homosexuality is so toxic.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
If you're gay, you're gay.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
If you're not, you're not, and that can be the
end of it, and you can eat whatever foods you want.
And I think that's what they were trying to say
on the breakfast glove. Of course they had a little
bit more fun with it, all right, moving on Hogan's
complicated legacy. All right, I don't really have too much
of a picture to paint here. Okay, these are our
opinions and we're going to share them. So no articles,
(14:34):
you know, nothing like that. But I will tell you
a little bit about how I grew up. So for
like bona fide radio fans, you might know the name
Bootleg keV. You know, if you're on the ground in
La or really anywhere else in the country, you might
know who Bootleg keV is. And so Bootleg Kevin I
(14:56):
I met him when I was seven years old and
he was three.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
I came to Arizona to get away from the gang
culture in California so I could.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
Grow up in a place where there was we'll call
it less.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
Gangs, and Kevin didn't represent any gang stuff, right, And
he was really into wrestling, really super into it, as
was his dad, And that was my only friend that
I could play with right after school. So I got
into wrestling, right, And of course I knew who Hulk
Hogan was, but through Kevin and his family and you know, all.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
The stuff that they bought the toys. They were like
really into it.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
I became a huge super fan of Hulk Hogan. Now
imagine me at seven years old with my white friend
who was a baby.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
Of course we grew up or whatever.
Speaker 4 (15:48):
But and then eventually I outgrew it. He never did.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
He still a big wrestling time, but you know, Hulk
Hogan was always the main guy. And then later there
was like Steve Austin and the other folks. I was
kind of out of it by then, but I loved
Hulk Hogan. I thought he was just the coolest and
he was, you know, telling everybody to take their vitamins.
And I mean, you're a kid, so that people tell
(16:12):
you that's your hero.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
And then that's it. You don't really need to question it.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
You don't really think about things like race as a
social construct or what demon's lurk beneath you know, or
what is steroids?
Speaker 4 (16:25):
Or is this fake?
Speaker 1 (16:26):
You know, you're just like, hey, this guy seems cool.
I like him, So this is the backdrop for me
a Hulk Hogan and he stayed there even though I
wasn't like the biggest wrestling fan. Once I kind of
stepped into my manhood. Hulk Hogan always had a special
place in my heart. That was the guy I grew
up with. So imagine my surprise when and this came
(16:49):
out when I was working in media. I was an adult,
you know, so I had to report on this. You know,
I was working at a hip hop station. Both but
I think both of us were at that same station
at the time. Que Well, this quote comes out vote.
I mean, I'd rather if she was going to f
some inward, I'd rather have her marry an eight foot
(17:09):
tall inward worth a hundred million dollars like a basketball player.
I guess we're all a little racist fing inWORD unquote.
So that's the moment where you're like, oh my god,
my life is a lie. I never met him, but like,
(17:30):
what would he have thought of me if I met him? Like,
that's that word. It only exists to put down a
group of people. You can't make that individual because it
only exists that you don't you don't use that word
when you're talking about white people. You only use it
when you're talking about black people, right, but don't. So
(17:53):
it's there on full display. And then of course he
came out, Oh I'm not racist. You know, just frustrated
my daughter was dating somebody or whatever. I don't remember
the whole story, and I don't need to rehash it,
but both of those things are true. And I shared something,
you know. I don't always control our social media, but
I shared something on our civic side for social media
(18:14):
where I brought this up, you know, And because that's
the space where he is now, Kramer, the guy from Seinfeld,
this is the space where he is now, right, I
know how you felt the whole time prior to saying that.
Now you might have performed afterward and I was not
(18:35):
may not have been privy to that, but you felt
this way the whole time. You lied to me. You
misrepresented yourself. And this is the worst type of person
to think that. It's like such a hurtful thing. It's
just it's like gross, is all that I can say.
(18:55):
So when people, you know, his family's like, well, this
is like the worst time to bring that up, you know,
and blah blah blah.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
I get it.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
People are complicated, and I always say, nobody's simply the
worst thing that they've done, But that doesn't mean that
you forget something like this. And yes, he passed away
and that's very sad, but I don't think that this
is the time to celebrate him like a hero. At best,
you celebrate him like he's complicated. And I will always
(19:22):
remind people that we as a people deserve better than
what he said. And he said it, I didn't say that.
So anybody it's mad at me for posting that, it's
just going to have to stay mad.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Right.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
So it's my two cents. Q. I know you have
something to add here too.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
I don't even know where to start.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
It's not like a Hawk Hogan was as big as Superman,
yeah or whatever hero or Hawk Hogan was it every
Monday night, every Saturday morning, every whatever wrestling was on.
I want Hawk Hogan to wrestle every time wrestles on TV.
(20:03):
He's the reason I turned the TV on because he
might wrestle the night back then, like I think they
like pre announced matches now. Back then, you didn't know
who was wrestling until you turned on wrestling, and every
night you know when it comes crashing down on the
Hurston's side might blare through the speakers. I Am a
real American. Fight for the right of every man might
(20:25):
blare through the speakers. Fight for what's right, fight for
your life might blare through the speakers. He might wave
the crowd to get louder into his He's gonna wave
the crowd to get louder into the other ear. He's
gonna point to both sides of the crowd, and then
he's gonna rip his shirt and top off into shreds
(20:47):
with the python. He used to call his muscles pythons.
I think he said they was thirty six inches or something. Ridiculous.
Hawk Hogan was a bigger than life superhero.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
Role model idol.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
He was it like this dude was a regular human
doing scripted wrestling moves. First of all, I would have
fought you if you made that claim back then, like
real angry, real mad, want to fight you for trying
to explain to me that what I'm watching in this
Ultimate Warrior Halk Hogan match is not real. And that
(21:32):
was my whole life. Like RAMS just kind of got
out of the game at a certain point. I was
a Hulk Hogan WWF Hulk Hogan, w c W Hawk Hogan,
WWE all three.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
N W O Hulk Hogan. Wow. That guy Hawk Hogan
five o'clock Shadow Hawk Hogan.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Balding spot, but still got the bandana own HAWLK Hogan,
all black, long hair, rocky movie Hank Hogan, hawk Hogan
as a rip, and no hose barred against zeus tiny
lister Junior HAULK Hogan like.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
For real.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
So when Brooke Hogan started dating a black man and
all of the Holsters inter racist tore through that same shirt,
I was all at once f hawk Hogan. From now,
henceforth and forever more, I'm not a fan no more.
(22:38):
The whole twenties thirty something years of fandom is gone.
And no, of course people are not the worst thing
that they've ever done, None of us are. But I
hate you and everybody like you and everybody that looks
like you is a really difficult thing to forgive, especially
when the only reason you hate me is because of
(22:59):
how I look. So yeah, man, we want we can
say it's complicated, but is it not blatant racist? But
you know, I'll sign your autograph. But when there's time
to be you know, loud and political and loud and racist,
I'll do that too.
Speaker 4 (23:18):
Yeah, with the maggot stuff and all that.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Yeah man, yeah, so you know it's you guys can
make it complicated, not really, not really at all.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
Both things are true.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
He was a bigger than life superhero wrestler, celebrity superstar,
probably the most famous wrestler in the history of wrestling.
And he was a blatant racist, like blatant, not kind,
and that sort of very all the way to the end.
He was that Trump rallies saying vile things like three
(23:48):
months ago. It's not like that there was that one
incident with his daughter that he slipped up and apologized.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Now he rolled that all the way to the end,
So you know, what are you gonna do.
Broadcasting from the Civic Ciphers Studios. Welcome to the QR Code,
where we share perspective, seek understanding, and shape outcomes. The
gentleman you're about to hear from he is the Q
in the QR code. He is a kind spirit. He
continually shares his family with me, and I couldn't have
(00:20):
a better co host for this show.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
He goes by the name of q Ward, the gentleman
who voiced you just heard, who spends the first part
of the show trying to make everybody think I'm awesome,
when really that's him, my brother and my teammate, the
host of the show, the R in the QR code,
Ramsy's Jah.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
I am q Ward and I just work here.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
And we needed to stick around. We have a We've had.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
A busy end of the week weekend in terms of
the news cycle, so we got a lot of things
that are going to work their way into today's show.
But in terms of the headlines, the reason you should
stick around a little later in the show, we're going
to be talking about some videos that have been going
viral on social media of police misconduct. And I haven't
(01:09):
seen these videos. This is you know, these are videos
that Q brought to our collective attention, but we we
take turns watching videos so that we don't become overwhelmed
by trauma and violence against black and brown bodies. So
I'm going to learn along with you, our listener. We're
also going to be talking about Hulk Hogan's complicated legacy.
(01:33):
You know, obviously there are people that are, you know,
rest in peace Hulk Hogan, but you know, he's a
complicated man, and we're definitely going to talk about that.
You know, nobody gets off the hook, you know, and
you know we're seeing that on social media, so we're
going to discuss that. And then also we're gonna have
a conversation about homophobia.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
And hip hop.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
You know, the Breakfast Club we're fans of. We love
those guys, but they had a question can men eat popsicles?
And that kind of started off a whole chain of events.
Going to talk about that in more, but before we
get there, it is time for our feel good features.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
So today's feel good.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Feature comes from the Black Information Network and you know,
shout out to Ralph Lauren, So I'll read Polo, Ralph
Lauren is honoring HBCU legacy and the Oak Bluffs community
of Martha's Vineyard in its latest collection. In campaign, according
to Essence, the luxury apparel brand has extended its partnership
with Morehouse and Spelman Colleges, incorporating HBCU Collegiate style in
(02:27):
its latest oak Bluff's Collection limited edition collection pays homage
to the Oak Bluffs community of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, which
has long served as a coastal haveman for black people.
The oak Bluff's Collection was conceptualized and designed by Morehouse
and Spelman alumni at Ralph Lauren quote. This collection is
about more than a charming coastal town. It's a story
of the American dream unquote. Ralph Lauren, Executive Chairman and
(02:50):
Chief Creative Officer of Ralph Lauren Corporation, said in a statement,
oak Bluffs, Oh Sorry. Oak Bluff's unique history, traditions, and
sense of unity deeply inspire me and speak to what
we are all searching for a place where you can
be free, uncontrived, joyful, and truly at home.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
That's the other part of the statement.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
The collection is launching on Thursday, July twenty fourth, along
with a full length documentary called A Portrait of the
American Dream. Oak Bluff's special screening and panel discussion will
also be held at Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival
on August Day. The Polo Ralph Lauren for oak Bluff's
collection is available for consumers through the Ralph Lauren website
in Morehouse College and spell Mount College, full at campus
(03:33):
bookstores and select Ralph Lauren stores while quantities last. So,
you know, for folks that don't know, the reason that's
a feel good feature is because it's starting to feel
more and more criminal to celebrate blackness, to be black,
and for a company as big and as well known
(03:53):
as you know, Ralph Lauren and Polo to step out
and kind of give a full throat and endorsement of
HBCUs that feels kind of special. So yeah, all right,
So first up, let's talk about culture. Okay, can men
eat popsicles? Homophobia and hip hop? I'm going to figure
(04:15):
out how we bring folks who may not have grown
up with hip hop culture into this conversation. First, I'll
say that I'm well into my forties. You know, Q
and Q and I are approximately the same age, so
we are you know, it's not a young man's game
(04:37):
in the way that it once was. I mean, it
always will be. But you know, we grew up with it.
I know, no other music that defines my my generation
better than hip hop music, right and uh, you know,
I'm more than halfway through my life, you know, based
on the data, you know, based on you know, averages
(04:58):
and whatnot. So it's it's it's kind of the topic
of the day, right. But hip hop has always been
very much about like machismo, and there's always been some
sort of homophobic elements in there. And I think when
you combine that with the general toxicity present online with
(05:24):
like the Manisphere and things like that, you end.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
Up with a very a very.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Well, let's call it dangerous certainly for lgbtq I A
plus individuals, you know, but it's kind of a weird
intersection where things they don't cancel each other out and
in fact they bring out the worst of each other. Right. So, again,
for folks that don't know, let me paint a picture
of what the manisphere is. So this is from nature
dot com. The manisphere refers to a heterogeneous group of
(05:56):
online communities that broadly promotes anti feminism, misogyny, and hateful
ideas about women, trans and non binary people. These communities attract,
among others, involuntary celibates or in cells, men going their
own way, pick up artists, and men's rights activists.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Although these communities.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Are different, they share a broad ideology that women are
to blame for a society in which men are victims,
and that feminism is the cause.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
Of societal ills.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
These communities frequently endorse pseudoscience to justify male supremacy and
produce hateful and violent narratives which can lead to extremist
behavior with dangerous and fatal real world consequences. Okay, so
again those are not my words, but I agree wholeheartedly.
I'm I know and understand that life is female. I
have nipples because once upon a time, when I was
(06:43):
a very very tiny group of cells, I started out female,
as did all of us.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
Right, but that is what these folks think. Now, let's
combine it with.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Something that people that have listened to hip hop and
maybe the past twenty years might have heard this term. Paul, right,
and forgive my language, but this is so that I
can paint a picture for the folks that may not understand.
Pause kind of started as a way of setting off
of a phrase or a sentence, and it would it
(07:15):
would begin pause, to pause the conversation, and then a
person would say no homo in order to suggest that
they are not homosexual, right, So they would just that's
just how It was almost like a game or something
that people would play, and it had very damaging and
hurtful consequences.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
Right.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
So I'm going to share a little bit more about
that from Wikipedia, and of course this is not the
most credible source, but obviously there's not a lot of
scholarly articles written about this, so it'll it'll.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Bring you up to speed, trust me, all right.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
The phrase was originated by Harlem New York City natives
as a way to quash any sexual and gender error
or overstep within lyrics. Joshua Brown in the Journal of
Homosexuality states the phrase no homo arose in hip hop
lyrics of the nineteen nineties as a discourse interjection to
negate supposed sexual and gender transgressions. The phrase no homo,
(08:12):
used in a lyrical context comes as a preemptive maneuver
to deflect any attacks on the artist's masculinity or heterosexual status.
Within this context, no homo is not necessarily addressing homosexuality,
but creating a verbal defense in the musical battlefield that
is wrought with signifying and busting. Musicians realize that a
(08:35):
lyric which is inadvertently gay is fodder for another's verbal
attack on their masculinity. Within hip hop culture, in an
attempt to divert their own demasculation, musicians presuppose those attacks
at their masculinity. In other words, this was the origin
story of the pause no homo, and then eventually that
(08:58):
became shortened to just pause.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Right.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
So those of us in hip hop culture know when
someone says pause, it's because they or someone in the
room has said something that could be misinterpreted that can
sound like a double entendre, or could just really sound
like something that a bona fide homosexual person might say,
and so they will say pause after it's said, just
(09:22):
to clarify that they're not gay.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Now, Q and I have pushed back on this for
some time, mostly because we're mature men and we kind
of outgrew this phase a long time ago, but it
kind of was reignited on social media because the Breakfast
Club had this conversation recently. Is it okay for men
to eat popsicles, like in public, in full view of
(09:47):
other people. Right, So you start to see this pause
sort of thing, and this combination of pause and the
manisphere and generally speaking, toxic masculinity and all that sort
of stuff culminate and well.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Can you eat phallic shaped foods?
Speaker 3 (10:02):
Right?
Speaker 1 (10:02):
And it's not the breakfast club Again, They've said nothing wrong.
They're just reporting on it the same way we are.
But the people's response to that, the comments and all
that sort of stuff is like, it's very interesting. So
I've I've painted the picture. Q. You've You've brought me
up to speed so much more than I've contributed to
this conversation. Talk to us and our listeners about your
take on where we are with this.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Well, the last thing I want you to do is
allow you to present me as the expert on pause,
no homo, because yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
I'm definitely not that.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
I don't know that I've brought us up to speed
on it. It's always been an interesting thing to me.
If anybody's ever seen or met me, or just listen
to Rams and I talk about each other, it could
very easily slip into the area of conversation or emoting
or even physical expression where some mightn't feel the need
(10:58):
to say pause or no homo or whatever, except I
never do. I was the first of a lot of
my now twenty twenty five year relationships with other men
to hug them and tell him I love them.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
And that was a very strange thing to a lot
of people that I met throughout my life.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
And I know this because now twenty years later, they've
told me, like, yo, the first man that wasn't my
dad that ever put his arms around me and said
I love you, was you. And the first time you
did it, I thought it was weird. Now that's how
I feel and that's how I expressed But I learned
that from you, and I'm like, wow, I never looked
at it that way. But that's the nature of being
(11:35):
raised by a woman and having six sisters. So it's
the way that I communicate. The way that I show affection,
you know, to my son and my daughter is the same.
I picked them both up off the ground, spinning around
the circle, hug him and kiss him, both of them.
So again, I don't know that I don't know that
(11:57):
we outgrew at ramses because I think it's very very
microculture or subculture. I think it depends on where you live,
who you live with, and who you're around. There's some
people that do it, that make that that give that
disclaimer because everyone around them does.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
You know.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
It's sometimes by deciding you're not going to participate, people
will triple down.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
You use the word mature, so I'll use it back.
Hey man, I'm too grown for that. I don't do that.
The group of what you would then classify as immature
people around you might Okay, now you're the butt of
every joke, you know what I mean. So I think
it depends on this that you're in and just the
way that you maneuver and move about life. But that
would be a very what's the word I'm looking for,
(12:48):
draining and tiresome endeavor for me to have to be
able to say that.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
All day.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Every every man in my life that I love or
that I see, they get a full embracing and I
love you every time I see him and every time
we part ways.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
That's just the way that I do.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
And like I said, my son, I pick him up
off the ground, I kiss his face, I kiss him
right on his lips, just like I do my daughter. Now,
I'm sure at some point my son's not going to
think that's cool anymore. But it's going to because he's
a teenager and dads are less cool when your kids
grow up, not because he's questioning his masculinity or his sexuality.
So yeah, I did not want the audience to get
(13:28):
the impression that I'm the one that brought the QR
code up to speed. On Paul's No Homo, I'm you know,
we are both observers of that rather than you know,
those that participate in it.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Well, I think that you know. So how about this,
I've said, and I've said this before on the radio.
I grew up in a house where my dad kissed me.
The last time I did kiss my dad, I was
probably maybe in my early thirties, and I wish that
my dad was still here to kiss his son.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
You know.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
So some cultures do things differently, but it I think
the fear of being associated with homosexuality is so toxic.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
If you're gay, you're gay.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
If you're not, you're not, and that can be the
end of it, and you can eat whatever foods you want.
And I think that's what they were trying to say
on the breakfast glove. Of course they had a little
bit more fun with it, all right, moving on Hogan's
complicated legacy. All right, I don't really have too much
of a picture to paint here. Okay, these are our
opinions and we're going to share them. So no articles,
(14:34):
you know, nothing like that. But I will tell you
a little bit about how I grew up. So for
like bona fide radio fans, you might know the name
Bootleg keV. You know, if you're on the ground in
La or really anywhere else in the country, you might
know who Bootleg keV is. And so Bootleg Kevin I
(14:56):
I met him when I was seven years old and
he was three.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
I came to Arizona to get away from the gang
culture in California so I could.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
Grow up in a place where there was we'll call
it less.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
Gangs, and Kevin didn't represent any gang stuff, right, And
he was really into wrestling, really super into it, as
was his dad, And that was my only friend that
I could play with right after school. So I got
into wrestling, right, And of course I knew who Hulk
Hogan was, but through Kevin and his family and you know, all.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
The stuff that they bought the toys. They were like
really into it.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
I became a huge super fan of Hulk Hogan. Now
imagine me at seven years old with my white friend
who was a baby.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
Of course we grew up or whatever.
Speaker 4 (15:48):
But and then eventually I outgrew it. He never did.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
He still a big wrestling time, but you know, Hulk
Hogan was always the main guy. And then later there
was like Steve Austin and the other folks. I was
kind of out of it by then, but I loved
Hulk Hogan. I thought he was just the coolest and
he was, you know, telling everybody to take their vitamins.
And I mean, you're a kid, so that people tell
(16:12):
you that's your hero.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
And then that's it. You don't really need to question it.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
You don't really think about things like race as a
social construct or what demon's lurk beneath you know, or
what is steroids?
Speaker 4 (16:25):
Or is this fake?
Speaker 1 (16:26):
You know, you're just like, hey, this guy seems cool.
I like him, So this is the backdrop for me
a Hulk Hogan and he stayed there even though I
wasn't like the biggest wrestling fan. Once I kind of
stepped into my manhood. Hulk Hogan always had a special
place in my heart. That was the guy I grew
up with. So imagine my surprise when and this came
(16:49):
out when I was working in media. I was an adult,
you know, so I had to report on this. You know,
I was working at a hip hop station. Both but
I think both of us were at that same station
at the time. Que Well, this quote comes out vote.
I mean, I'd rather if she was going to f
some inward, I'd rather have her marry an eight foot
(17:09):
tall inward worth a hundred million dollars like a basketball player.
I guess we're all a little racist fing inWORD unquote.
So that's the moment where you're like, oh my god,
my life is a lie. I never met him, but like,
(17:30):
what would he have thought of me if I met him? Like,
that's that word. It only exists to put down a
group of people. You can't make that individual because it
only exists that you don't you don't use that word
when you're talking about white people. You only use it
when you're talking about black people, right, but don't. So
(17:53):
it's there on full display. And then of course he
came out, Oh I'm not racist. You know, just frustrated
my daughter was dating somebody or whatever. I don't remember
the whole story, and I don't need to rehash it,
but both of those things are true. And I shared something,
you know. I don't always control our social media, but
I shared something on our civic side for social media
(18:14):
where I brought this up, you know, And because that's
the space where he is now, Kramer, the guy from Seinfeld,
this is the space where he is now, right, I
know how you felt the whole time prior to saying that.
Now you might have performed afterward and I was not
(18:35):
may not have been privy to that, but you felt
this way the whole time. You lied to me. You
misrepresented yourself. And this is the worst type of person
to think that. It's like such a hurtful thing. It's
just it's like gross, is all that I can say.
(18:55):
So when people, you know, his family's like, well, this
is like the worst time to bring that up, you know,
and blah blah blah.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
I get it.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
People are complicated, and I always say, nobody's simply the
worst thing that they've done, But that doesn't mean that
you forget something like this. And yes, he passed away
and that's very sad, but I don't think that this
is the time to celebrate him like a hero. At best,
you celebrate him like he's complicated. And I will always
(19:22):
remind people that we as a people deserve better than
what he said. And he said it, I didn't say that.
So anybody it's mad at me for posting that, it's
just going to have to stay mad.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Right.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
So it's my two cents. Q. I know you have
something to add here too.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
I don't even know where to start.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
It's not like a Hawk Hogan was as big as Superman,
yeah or whatever hero or Hawk Hogan was it every
Monday night, every Saturday morning, every whatever wrestling was on.
I want Hawk Hogan to wrestle every time wrestles on TV.
(20:03):
He's the reason I turned the TV on because he
might wrestle the night back then, like I think they
like pre announced matches now. Back then, you didn't know
who was wrestling until you turned on wrestling, and every
night you know when it comes crashing down on the
Hurston's side might blare through the speakers. I Am a
real American. Fight for the right of every man might
(20:25):
blare through the speakers. Fight for what's right, fight for
your life might blare through the speakers. He might wave
the crowd to get louder into his He's gonna wave
the crowd to get louder into the other ear. He's
gonna point to both sides of the crowd, and then
he's gonna rip his shirt and top off into shreds
(20:47):
with the python. He used to call his muscles pythons.
I think he said they was thirty six inches or something. Ridiculous.
Hawk Hogan was a bigger than life superhero.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
Role model idol.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
He was it like this dude was a regular human
doing scripted wrestling moves. First of all, I would have
fought you if you made that claim back then, like
real angry, real mad, want to fight you for trying
to explain to me that what I'm watching in this
Ultimate Warrior Halk Hogan match is not real. And that
(21:32):
was my whole life. Like RAMS just kind of got
out of the game at a certain point. I was
a Hulk Hogan WWF Hulk Hogan, w c W Hawk Hogan,
WWE all three.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
N W O Hulk Hogan. Wow. That guy Hawk Hogan
five o'clock Shadow Hawk Hogan.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Balding spot, but still got the bandana own HAWLK Hogan,
all black, long hair, rocky movie Hank Hogan, hawk Hogan
as a rip, and no hose barred against zeus tiny
lister Junior HAULK Hogan like.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
For real.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
So when Brooke Hogan started dating a black man and
all of the Holsters inter racist tore through that same shirt,
I was all at once f hawk Hogan. From now,
henceforth and forever more, I'm not a fan no more.
(22:38):
The whole twenties thirty something years of fandom is gone.
And no, of course people are not the worst thing
that they've ever done, None of us are. But I
hate you and everybody like you and everybody that looks
like you is a really difficult thing to forgive, especially
when the only reason you hate me is because of
(22:59):
how I look. So yeah, man, we want we can
say it's complicated, but is it not blatant racist? But
you know, I'll sign your autograph. But when there's time
to be you know, loud and political and loud and racist,
I'll do that too.
Speaker 4 (23:18):
Yeah, with the maggot stuff and all that.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Yeah man, yeah, so you know it's you guys can
make it complicated, not really, not really at all.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
Both things are true.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
He was a bigger than life superhero wrestler, celebrity superstar,
probably the most famous wrestler in the history of wrestling.
And he was a blatant racist, like blatant, not kind,
and that sort of very all the way to the end.
He was that Trump rallies saying vile things like three
(23:48):
months ago. It's not like that there was that one
incident with his daughter that he slipped up and apologized.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Now he rolled that all the way to the end,
So you know, what are you gonna do.
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