June 9, 2022 • 24 mins
Our hosts Dope Knife & Linqua Franqa will discuss the reality of health risks and disparities in the marginalized communities that make up the majority of their audience. They will touch on mental health issues, particularly about the ways that health knowledge can empower mental wellbeing as well as physical wellbeing. Additionally, the two will examine how issues of health are treated in the scene/culture of hip hop.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
You are listening waiting on reparations production of I R Radio. Yo, Yo,
what's up y'all? This dope knife and we are waiting
on reparations? Hurry up, yo. We are the show rich
in the gap between hip, pomp and politics. You know
(00:22):
how it's been a long time left left you without it? Dope?
How know you? I've been good. I've been good. I mean,
we haven't seen each other since that show that we did.
We did have an exfluent show down in Savannah. You
have to go that. I was seeing the highlights of
your tour. I've been well. Since then, I've been well.
(00:44):
I'm wrestled for it's gotten off the tour when you
were getting READI yeah, so I'm wrestling. I'm actually you know,
you know how it goes when you're on the road
and then you're like, man, I can't wait to get home.
And then you're back home you're like, man, I'm tire
of looking at all this. I want to go back
up and yeah, yeah, yeah, yes. I defended my dissertation
(01:07):
a week ago. It feels like it was months ago
because probably I just blacked out the entire experience because
it's terrifying, but yeah, so I am a doctor now,
so that's crazy. But yeah, and then been tor in Birmingham, BC, Asheville,
Savanna obviously. Um, and I just had a West coast
tour announced like yesterday, I'm going out with a band
(01:32):
called Holy f Word. Yeah they're really dope. But yeah,
we're going from like Vancouver down to San Diego. Dates ten.
You said next week, Yeah, oh say you just get
at it. Yeah. So yeah, that's what un Well, it
(01:57):
is election day today Georgia all across the state, and
we are having some decent voter turnout from what I hear,
we are, yeah, and so there's been a lot of
conversations and go, oh, voters depression, wasn't that bad when
it's like one, people are livid that their votes are
trying to be taken away from them, and so they're
(02:18):
coming out in greater numbers. UM. One survey showed that
Georgians believed their vote matters, like to a degree that
is higher than anywhere else in the country. Like Georgians
really believed. Yeah, like folks in the state really believe
their vote matters, Like I mean yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
(02:38):
And so we got people who were like really motivated
to vote because they really feel like it counts and
it matters more so than anywhere else in the country.
And then we have tons of organizers people like the
New Georgia Project and Fair Fight and Black Voters Matter, etcetera,
registering touns of voter. I mean, like we got obviously
everyone so were Stacy A. Baron's running for governor. We
have an opportunity to expand Medicaid under her governorship. Um,
(03:02):
there's like tons of tons and tons of uninsured Georgians.
We have like one of the lowest insured rates in
the country and then one of the highest maternal mortality
rates too, and so like, um, that alone, I mean
that alone could be world altering for so many people.
But yeah, a lot of folks getting out the vote today,
feeling excited, feeling empowered, cool. So on the topic of
(03:25):
Medicaid and health insurance and our health generally. In this episode,
we've teamed up with twenty three and me for a
conversation for a conversation about DNA testing. Now you have
twenty three, here is a DNA testing you think it?
The guys, we already heard you do that episode about
ancestry and things like that. That's not really what we're
talking about today. See it's it's not necessarily limited to
(03:49):
your ancestry. Like DNA testing can be used to gain
insight on one's own health, certain things that you may
be at risk for, and it can equip you with
the information that you need, and you can equip you
with the information that you need to make the necessary
changes live your best life. You know, So we're cann
alert you to your risk of type two diabetes, maculate generation,
(04:13):
try to keep your eye health good, sailiac disease UM,
if you might be a higher risk for chronic kidney
disease UM late onset Alzheimer's UM, which definitely something I'm
thinking about having, you know, multiple incidences of it in
my family. But then you can see if you're at
higher risk of Parkinson's, a trial defibrilation, which is kind
(04:36):
of like a regular heartbeat. UM. There's all kinds of exema. Like,
there's all sorts of things that you can discover. Nick
kick it off. We're gonna start by recapping the story
of legendary hip hop with user Jake Diller for visiting
stuff of j Dillas story UM with his own health
UM as well as preventative healthcare broadly and the power
(04:57):
of knowing about the DNA. Yeah, now we've definitely mentioned
j Blah on the show before. Just to recap you. So,
Ja Billa was diagnosed with an incurable blood disease around
two thousand two two thousand five. He underwent intensive treatment.
I do believe he was misdiagnosed a couple of times,
and twenty nine out of thirty one tracks from Dyla's
(05:19):
uh last album Donuts were actually recorded in his hospital bed.
He using the Boss SP three or three sampler and
a small forty five record player as those friends bottom
And it was released on his thirty second birthday. And
I mean, you can't up you can't overstate the importance
of that j Bila album Donuts. He can remember the
(05:39):
first time you heard that? I yeah, I was mind blown.
It's around the same time I was like a pretty
young persons all the same time I discovered like m
F Doom Cats like that that really expanded my idea
of what hip hop can be and you know, sonically
um and also resonated with a lot of how I
initially got into hip hop, like through like adult swing,
(05:59):
Cartoon of the Night, they play like a lot of
lo fi sort of um like a lot of samples
drawing from an earlier era, very nostalgic sounding and revolutionary
with her. And so yeah, when I heard Donas, I
was like, oh my god, like hip hop is can
can be so much. I mean he influenced. He influenced
(06:23):
countless people like he pretty much like influenced hip hop producers,
jazz musicians is partially responsible for, like neo soul is
a genre, and as far as the people that he's
worked with. When you're talking tribe called Quest Q Tip
comment everybody, Erica Vadu, Quest love from the roots like everybody.
(06:44):
So J Dilla is like a prolific, prolific producer, but
we lost them early on thirty two years old. So
Dilla was uninshort at the time and he didn't seek
care until he was sacking. And there's disproportionate rates of disease, cancer,
diabetes in the black community that could be mitigated. It's
(07:04):
both new that they are risks and they felt, you know,
in charge of their own health. Yeah, I mean, I
mean so many people, even if you have insurance, you know,
just don't go to a doctor until they're thick, and
especially in the hip hop community and the black community,
it's it's definitely like an issue. I mean, there's like
a laundry list of preventative cares that you can take
(07:26):
right Like you can eat, you can change your diet,
and you can change your lifestyle and all that stuff.
But at the end of the day, it's the more
information that you have about, you knowin your health, the
more aquiff you are when you do when misfortune does
arise and you have to go into the healthcare system
or you know, even unfortunate time to think about, Like
(07:48):
I had multiple hospitalizations last year while I was pregnant,
and um, you know that's a very exciting thing, a
little scary, but you know it's going through something that
you're really stoked about. But even you know, when you're
in the hospital, my experience, I feel like it's also
the same for a lot of people. Um, it feels
like choices are just made for you. Like you go
(08:08):
in and they're like we gotta run these tests and
we're gonna do this treatment and this and that. This
is the plan. Um. And so I think it's important
for people to feel empowered to say, like, hey, I
want information about this. I know I'm at risk for X,
Y and Z. Let's talk about that. So they can
really take control of those conversations where you know, the
power dynamics feel very imbalanced. Were like you're talking to
(08:31):
these medical experts who are like, you know, they got
the game plan versus you that it's just like you're
just there because you care about your health and you
want to be well. Um, but coming into that conversation
like Yo, I know what I'm gonna ask about, I
know what my concerns are. I'm gonna speak up for myself.
It's an important part of really taking advantage of like
preventative health care and getting the health outcomes like you want,
(08:53):
you want to see, so having yeah, sorry now I
was just gonna add like I I also have like
a from experience with that. My father is similar to
j B's situation where he got diagnosed with a kidney
condition and we found it out too late and he
didn't really act on it until he was sick. And
(09:13):
I remember the ins and outs of the hospital and
the testing and trying to figure out what was wrong
with them. You know, by the time we even you know,
they could pinpoint what the actual issue was it was
almost too late. Yeah, but I mean, thankfully there are
opportunities to but certain conditions have insight into how your
DNA can affect it likelihood for developing those conditions, and
(09:36):
then you can you know, be more empowered to make
healthier choices that can improve the you can improve your
quality of life. Um, I think learning those lessons from
our experiences and your experience with your dad and my
experience in the hospital a bunch of times last here
definitely a test um how important is to take that
for racket staff and like, if you're dont learn something
about yourself, something about your likelihood for different um conditions,
(10:01):
you can like you know, make more informed and empowered choices.
So pure, I mean, like I had another personal experience
as well. You know, my father lost my grandmother, his mother,
to Alzheimer's. He was just her. He was her primary
caregiver at that time and it's currently the primary carebra
faver primary caregiver for his partner, my stepmom, who also
(10:22):
has Alzheimer's. And I've seen him close the way this
impacts the family, having dealt with like really strong emotions
observing you know, my stepmother's mental state evolved in the
years since their diagnosis. But luckily my parents are runners
and being physically activists really central to their lives, which
has been found to help prevent and slow cognition impacts.
(10:43):
So knowing that early, knowing that you have an increased
likelihood of developing something like Alzheimer's, you can start off
early on, you know, running, being busily active and making
those lifestyle changes that can actually you know, completely change
the course of your life, you know, if you if
you've to have that info early on. So same thing
with knowing if you're at risk with breast cancer and
(11:06):
getting regular checkups and screenings and you know, get adjusting
your diets to know that you're at risk of heart disease.
Now it is you know, important that we remind you,
Like DNA testing isn't in itself like recommending a treatment. Yeah.
So on the topic of breast cancer, the TOTY three
and me r C A one and b r C
A two Genetic Health Risk Report is intended for use
(11:28):
with adults to report three genetic variants and the d
r C A one and b r C A two
genes associated with the higher risk of developing breast or
variant and prostate cancer. The report doesn't include variants and
other genes linked to hereditary cancer, so it's not intended
to diagnose any disease or tell you about your overall
risk of developing disease. It's not intended to determine any treatments,
(11:52):
and of course you know your results should be confirmed
in a clinical setting before taking any medical off any
medical actions, So it's not a sub institute for visits
to healthcare professionals for recommended screenings are appropriate follow up UM.
It can just kind of prompt you to consider UM
lifestyle changes, what you want to talk about with your doctor,
But ultimately you know it's important to go see a
(12:14):
doctor and talk to them about you know, very soon
as you concerned about now speaking of these twenty three
in ME reports and DNA testing in general as a topic,
like what are your general thoughts about that? I mean,
like bringing back to proposing once again, if I had
known that I was at increased risk for gestational diabetes
while pregnant UM, that would at least have unsettled or
(12:38):
at least would have settled some of the uncertainty of
like simply not knowing when I went in to get
my you know, blood tests, and I was like really nervous, Like, um,
that uncertainty was almost as bad as a lot of
the other health stuff I was going through. But but again,
I'm sorry, I don't know if he caught the yelling
at doctor, But again, like having that knowledge and feeling
(13:00):
empowered like okay, like I could kind of imagine some
different potentialities here and be able to have frank conversations
with my doctors around that, that would have felt great.
But you know, I got through it, So I hope
other people don't have to deal with that same thing.
But let's be frank about it. You know, we're we're
(13:27):
both sitting here and we haven't taken the town ourselves
for this episode's sake. Um, it was something that we
both needed more data and more information on. And you know,
everyone has their reasons of being skin issuggery with giving
you know, just being frank with you handing over your
DNA to a big company or something like that. So
(13:52):
that's generally is my hesitation in doing it, is the
fear of that and in the fear of my privacy
and the fear of you know, like we talked about
finding out our data, and it's just like wanting to
make sure that your dad is in the right hands.
You know that it actually is data that that's like
a personal fear that I've had that was an obstacle
(14:13):
in doing this because you know, like when we when
we were approached for this, we were asked if we
wanted to take the test. I didn't take it for
that reason. And I got to say that through the
course of of everything that we've read and everything that
we've been looking at, I actually feel more comfortable with
it now, and I actually do think I'm gonna go
get the report done after this for all of the
(14:35):
reasons that we've talked about them. Not a spring chicken
of an m C. You know, like the whole thing
would being like a rapper and m C and being
in hip hop. This this sense of invulnerability, you know,
because it's such a youthful thing. You can kind of
get swept up in thinking that you're gonna be young
forever and that you know you're gonna be fine and
(14:56):
nothing's gonna hurt you, and not not taking your health seriously.
And again, you know, it's not something you should just
think about when you're getting older, but like we've been
saying the smell about preventative measure and preventative care. So
the suitor that you start looking into things like that,
even even if you don't go in the route of
finding out your DNA, but if you take a proactive
(15:16):
step in your health and maintaining it and making sure
that you're in the you know, the best condition that
you possibly could be in, that's always important. Yeah, you know,
like people tell you all the time, Oh, you need
to eat right, Oh you need to exercise, Oh you
need to keep your blood pressure down, and limit your sugar.
But when you have like a concrete reason, like oh
I met I know I'm at an increased risk for this,
(15:38):
like that can really get you going, like, Okay, I
really do need to hit the gym. I do need
to be I don't know, I'm drinking more water or
whatever it is. Because it's not just this abstract, you know,
just people bombarding you with advice you didn't ask for.
It's like really tied to your personal life. And so
I mean, I think that's a big benefit. And I
totally understand why, particularly within you know, the circles where
(16:00):
we move, there's a lot of just medical hesitancy generally, um,
you know, just given the legacy of things like just
there's been there's I don't even working to do it
because like there's mad, crazy things that have happened in
our history, in our past and make people like I
don't know about doctors though, but you know, putting that
(16:21):
information directly into your hands, um, so you can decide
what to do with it. It's not necessarily like, you know,
whatever you gotta do with your doctor. If you don't
like go to see doctor, I get it, you should go.
But if you take the information and at least start
making different choices in your personal life with regards to
your diet, with the cards, your exercise, like there you go.
You know, that's that's empowerment right there. But I definitely
(16:43):
drove a little bit of my opencerch at first, Like
I don't know doctor's medicine. I just like you know,
like I was saying about being the hospital, it's just
been so nerve wracking to like and overwhelming to like
take in frol of my health. But I kind of
get it now, you know. Like no, I was gonna
add on to that, like you for people who haven't
been in the like healthcare system and haven't had to
(17:06):
deal with it yet. It's one of those things where
it's like like you don't you don't know until you know,
you know what I'm saying, Like, once you're in it, Shoot,
the more information that you're arm going, the the easier
it is to get through. I'm not saying it's easy
at all, but it's like, the more that you know
about your own health, it can save you so much
(17:28):
time and money and like, to be honest with you, heartache,
you know. Yeah, I mean like for like I think
it probably like nine percent of the time being in
the hospital. It's like one of the lower points of
a person's life, right, Like nobody wants to be there
unless you're like, yeah, I'm having a maybe it's outside it.
But think about the fact that that medical head to
(17:49):
dude that you know, people don't want to go to
the people don't want to get these you know, blood
tests and things. If you are proactive about lifestyle choices,
you can avoid that larger unpleasantness of being in the hospital.
Um because you you know, had the condition that ran
(18:09):
unchecked and now it's really really at firstly impacting you. Um.
So on the flip side. It's like, you know, I
didn't really I was like no, no about this because
like of like skepticism about doctors and hospitals. But having
this information can help you avoid deep intentions with it,
UM if you if you really want to, like, all right,
(18:29):
I'm gonna get my life right, I'm gonna do what
I need to for myself and my health for my
family who wants me to live a happy and full life. Right.
So that's tackful. So yeah, I mean, at the end
of the day, everybody has to do with rank for
them and everybody has to do what's comfortable for them.
This is just one of different avenues that you can
(18:50):
look into UM on this particular issue of your health,
DNA testing. It's not the be all and end all.
And also know you might even be thrown off because
we're talking about twenty three and me and you're thinking, man,
but I thought that was ancestry and whatnot. And it's
you know that you can do more with the knowledge
(19:10):
of your DNA than just find out who you know
what your ancestry is. And that's part of what this
is all about. It's just a cool Black people are
at higher risk of diabetes, heart disease, sickle cell cancer.
I mean, these are all reasons to be proactive about it.
And also, and I'm sure Mariah agree with me on this,
(19:30):
we're advocates of mental health, and in our communities we
have a laundry list of things that we're stressing about,
that we're worried about from day to day, and don't
think for a second that your health concerns aren't adding
onto that. So it's important also to consider I think
the relationship between our physical health and our overall well being,
(19:53):
inclusive of mental health, and so being able to like
go in and have that empowered conversation can have you know,
I don't know, like a sense of self esteem. I
don't always say building, but you know what I mean,
Like you you feel a little more power. Do you
feel a little more confident because you're armed with information?
I feel like, you know, I think that's like a
universal principle if you're going into something like all right,
(20:15):
I got this information to draw off of, like preparation
itself for whatever it is that you have to deal with. UM.
I think I'm definitely you know, going back to the
example of pregnancy, there's so so much uncertainty, so many
things you're just not and it's it's not just like
the physical toll of my knees are aching or whatever.
It's always like mentally it takes a lot out of you.
(20:36):
But you know, it's always it's always easier to talk
about things when you wrap them, at least for me.
What do we mean? What about you? Mariety? You feel
you feel like we could, You feel like we could
bring this home. I suppose I am a rapper, but
I guess this is the big test of time. If
I can wrap about uh DNA knowledge, I can wrap
(20:58):
at anything. So let's get it. Ye oh uh uh
uh we over here waiting no reparations. I'm tired of
taking all of these little adventures. I'm trying to take
a week off. Visit mccardi out there, just my dentist,
(21:20):
get my blood pressure check and get them perfect. Sure,
the uncertainty is a pretty quirky thing, but love, love, long,
and prosperous offer an injury. I'm gonna drinking too much pobo?
Should I compare to to how's my blood sugar? Should
I stop eating the burger king for number? Knowing the
story is going, it's the getherty, but never ever need
to be scared because see a little bit knowledge getting
(21:41):
out for you to prepare to eat your carrots to
some lamps would ever take stay up. It is some faith,
but there's some indicators there from take point, A lot
of information hidden right under the radar. It's mark of conversation,
some contemplations and my though changes. I don't know. It's
up to you. So what you're gonna, what you're gonna,
what you gonna, what you're gonna do? All right, yeah, yeah, yeah,
(22:07):
waiting our reparations. It's obviously fresh a podcast with hip
hop and politics, can nack. I know everybody tough and
they be in on their chat, but don't worry bout
your health. You better go get you with chat gets
some p s A, al shams and diabetes being play.
But don't be afraid to go and let them check
your d n A. If you dive in deep, you
find the factors that you need to change so you
(22:27):
can see a doctor or just cut back off the
e J. I don't even play. I'm about to go
and just be selfish. Get me a report and see
just if I got a health risk. Because when they'd
be creeping up. They're moving on the stealth tip and
with the knowledge, I can see somebody who can help it.
But make your own decision with whatever you choose. I
understand the reservations. I was hesitant to, but when I
look into the subject and I learned what they do
(22:48):
and made me comfortable enough to go and learn me
the truth. Shucks. We gotta leave this iss funny as
it could be. And that's why we did a team
up with twenty three and b don'te Knife and Lan
Franko or they call him a riot and she did
a dissertation that she got a PhD. And I didn't
do none of that. But I am n m C
and I'm notting on my eyes and I'm crossing on
my tees. What I told you, they ain't knowing what
(23:10):
they're facing. Take care of yourself. Love. Waiting on Reparations,
Yeah yeah, yeah you yet, Yeah you get dope yo,
yo yo, the dope knife. And you have been listening
to Waiting on Reparations that week. You liked our story.
(23:35):
Check out what Oscar Ramires has to say about his
journey to health discovery on the Daily Dive Master Ramires.
You can find his episode on the spit Feed, on
the I Heart Radio app, or wherever you listen to
your podcasts. Say Say
You are listening waiting on reparations production of I R Radio. Yo, Yo,
what's up y'all? This dope knife and we are waiting
on reparations? Hurry up, yo. We are the show rich
in the gap between hip, pomp and politics. You know
(00:22):
how it's been a long time left left you without it? Dope?
How know you? I've been good. I've been good. I mean,
we haven't seen each other since that show that we did.
We did have an exfluent show down in Savannah. You
have to go that. I was seeing the highlights of
your tour. I've been well. Since then, I've been well.
(00:44):
I'm wrestled for it's gotten off the tour when you
were getting READI yeah, so I'm wrestling. I'm actually you know,
you know how it goes when you're on the road
and then you're like, man, I can't wait to get home.
And then you're back home you're like, man, I'm tire
of looking at all this. I want to go back
up and yeah, yeah, yeah, yes. I defended my dissertation
(01:07):
a week ago. It feels like it was months ago
because probably I just blacked out the entire experience because
it's terrifying, but yeah, so I am a doctor now,
so that's crazy. But yeah, and then been tor in Birmingham, BC, Asheville,
Savanna obviously. Um, and I just had a West coast
tour announced like yesterday, I'm going out with a band
(01:32):
called Holy f Word. Yeah they're really dope. But yeah,
we're going from like Vancouver down to San Diego. Dates ten.
You said next week, Yeah, oh say you just get
at it. Yeah. So yeah, that's what un Well, it
(01:57):
is election day today Georgia all across the state, and
we are having some decent voter turnout from what I hear,
we are, yeah, and so there's been a lot of
conversations and go, oh, voters depression, wasn't that bad when
it's like one, people are livid that their votes are
trying to be taken away from them, and so they're
(02:18):
coming out in greater numbers. UM. One survey showed that
Georgians believed their vote matters, like to a degree that
is higher than anywhere else in the country. Like Georgians
really believed. Yeah, like folks in the state really believe
their vote matters, Like I mean yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
(02:38):
And so we got people who were like really motivated
to vote because they really feel like it counts and
it matters more so than anywhere else in the country.
And then we have tons of organizers people like the
New Georgia Project and Fair Fight and Black Voters Matter, etcetera,
registering touns of voter. I mean, like we got obviously
everyone so were Stacy A. Baron's running for governor. We
have an opportunity to expand Medicaid under her governorship. Um,
(03:02):
there's like tons of tons and tons of uninsured Georgians.
We have like one of the lowest insured rates in
the country and then one of the highest maternal mortality
rates too, and so like, um, that alone, I mean
that alone could be world altering for so many people.
But yeah, a lot of folks getting out the vote today,
feeling excited, feeling empowered, cool. So on the topic of
(03:25):
Medicaid and health insurance and our health generally. In this episode,
we've teamed up with twenty three and me for a
conversation for a conversation about DNA testing. Now you have
twenty three, here is a DNA testing you think it?
The guys, we already heard you do that episode about
ancestry and things like that. That's not really what we're
talking about today. See it's it's not necessarily limited to
(03:49):
your ancestry. Like DNA testing can be used to gain
insight on one's own health, certain things that you may
be at risk for, and it can equip you with
the information that you need, and you can equip you
with the information that you need to make the necessary
changes live your best life. You know, So we're cann
alert you to your risk of type two diabetes, maculate generation,
(04:13):
try to keep your eye health good, sailiac disease UM,
if you might be a higher risk for chronic kidney
disease UM late onset Alzheimer's UM, which definitely something I'm
thinking about having, you know, multiple incidences of it in
my family. But then you can see if you're at
higher risk of Parkinson's, a trial defibrilation, which is kind
(04:36):
of like a regular heartbeat. UM. There's all kinds of exema. Like,
there's all sorts of things that you can discover. Nick
kick it off. We're gonna start by recapping the story
of legendary hip hop with user Jake Diller for visiting
stuff of j Dillas story UM with his own health
UM as well as preventative healthcare broadly and the power
(04:57):
of knowing about the DNA. Yeah, now we've definitely mentioned
j Blah on the show before. Just to recap you. So,
Ja Billa was diagnosed with an incurable blood disease around
two thousand two two thousand five. He underwent intensive treatment.
I do believe he was misdiagnosed a couple of times,
and twenty nine out of thirty one tracks from Dyla's
(05:19):
uh last album Donuts were actually recorded in his hospital bed.
He using the Boss SP three or three sampler and
a small forty five record player as those friends bottom
And it was released on his thirty second birthday. And
I mean, you can't up you can't overstate the importance
of that j Bila album Donuts. He can remember the
(05:39):
first time you heard that? I yeah, I was mind blown.
It's around the same time I was like a pretty
young persons all the same time I discovered like m
F Doom Cats like that that really expanded my idea
of what hip hop can be and you know, sonically
um and also resonated with a lot of how I
initially got into hip hop, like through like adult swing,
(05:59):
Cartoon of the Night, they play like a lot of
lo fi sort of um like a lot of samples
drawing from an earlier era, very nostalgic sounding and revolutionary
with her. And so yeah, when I heard Donas, I
was like, oh my god, like hip hop is can
can be so much. I mean he influenced. He influenced
(06:23):
countless people like he pretty much like influenced hip hop producers,
jazz musicians is partially responsible for, like neo soul is
a genre, and as far as the people that he's
worked with. When you're talking tribe called Quest Q Tip
comment everybody, Erica Vadu, Quest love from the roots like everybody.
(06:44):
So J Dilla is like a prolific, prolific producer, but
we lost them early on thirty two years old. So
Dilla was uninshort at the time and he didn't seek
care until he was sacking. And there's disproportionate rates of disease, cancer,
diabetes in the black community that could be mitigated. It's
(07:04):
both new that they are risks and they felt, you know,
in charge of their own health. Yeah, I mean, I
mean so many people, even if you have insurance, you know,
just don't go to a doctor until they're thick, and
especially in the hip hop community and the black community,
it's it's definitely like an issue. I mean, there's like
a laundry list of preventative cares that you can take
(07:26):
right Like you can eat, you can change your diet,
and you can change your lifestyle and all that stuff.
But at the end of the day, it's the more
information that you have about, you knowin your health, the
more aquiff you are when you do when misfortune does
arise and you have to go into the healthcare system
or you know, even unfortunate time to think about, Like
(07:48):
I had multiple hospitalizations last year while I was pregnant,
and um, you know that's a very exciting thing, a
little scary, but you know it's going through something that
you're really stoked about. But even you know, when you're
in the hospital, my experience, I feel like it's also
the same for a lot of people. Um, it feels
like choices are just made for you. Like you go
(08:08):
in and they're like we gotta run these tests and
we're gonna do this treatment and this and that. This
is the plan. Um. And so I think it's important
for people to feel empowered to say, like, hey, I
want information about this. I know I'm at risk for X,
Y and Z. Let's talk about that. So they can
really take control of those conversations where you know, the
power dynamics feel very imbalanced. Were like you're talking to
(08:31):
these medical experts who are like, you know, they got
the game plan versus you that it's just like you're
just there because you care about your health and you
want to be well. Um, but coming into that conversation
like Yo, I know what I'm gonna ask about, I
know what my concerns are. I'm gonna speak up for myself.
It's an important part of really taking advantage of like
preventative health care and getting the health outcomes like you want,
(08:53):
you want to see, so having yeah, sorry now I
was just gonna add like I I also have like
a from experience with that. My father is similar to
j B's situation where he got diagnosed with a kidney
condition and we found it out too late and he
didn't really act on it until he was sick. And
(09:13):
I remember the ins and outs of the hospital and
the testing and trying to figure out what was wrong
with them. You know, by the time we even you know,
they could pinpoint what the actual issue was it was
almost too late. Yeah, but I mean, thankfully there are
opportunities to but certain conditions have insight into how your
DNA can affect it likelihood for developing those conditions, and
(09:36):
then you can you know, be more empowered to make
healthier choices that can improve the you can improve your
quality of life. Um, I think learning those lessons from
our experiences and your experience with your dad and my
experience in the hospital a bunch of times last here
definitely a test um how important is to take that
for racket staff and like, if you're dont learn something
about yourself, something about your likelihood for different um conditions,
(10:01):
you can like you know, make more informed and empowered choices.
So pure, I mean, like I had another personal experience
as well. You know, my father lost my grandmother, his mother,
to Alzheimer's. He was just her. He was her primary
caregiver at that time and it's currently the primary carebra
faver primary caregiver for his partner, my stepmom, who also
(10:22):
has Alzheimer's. And I've seen him close the way this
impacts the family, having dealt with like really strong emotions
observing you know, my stepmother's mental state evolved in the
years since their diagnosis. But luckily my parents are runners
and being physically activists really central to their lives, which
has been found to help prevent and slow cognition impacts.
(10:43):
So knowing that early, knowing that you have an increased
likelihood of developing something like Alzheimer's, you can start off
early on, you know, running, being busily active and making
those lifestyle changes that can actually you know, completely change
the course of your life, you know, if you if
you've to have that info early on. So same thing
with knowing if you're at risk with breast cancer and
(11:06):
getting regular checkups and screenings and you know, get adjusting
your diets to know that you're at risk of heart disease.
Now it is you know, important that we remind you,
Like DNA testing isn't in itself like recommending a treatment. Yeah.
So on the topic of breast cancer, the TOTY three
and me r C A one and b r C
A two Genetic Health Risk Report is intended for use
(11:28):
with adults to report three genetic variants and the d
r C A one and b r C A two
genes associated with the higher risk of developing breast or
variant and prostate cancer. The report doesn't include variants and
other genes linked to hereditary cancer, so it's not intended
to diagnose any disease or tell you about your overall
risk of developing disease. It's not intended to determine any treatments,
(11:52):
and of course you know your results should be confirmed
in a clinical setting before taking any medical off any
medical actions, So it's not a sub institute for visits
to healthcare professionals for recommended screenings are appropriate follow up UM.
It can just kind of prompt you to consider UM
lifestyle changes, what you want to talk about with your doctor,
But ultimately you know it's important to go see a
(12:14):
doctor and talk to them about you know, very soon
as you concerned about now speaking of these twenty three
in ME reports and DNA testing in general as a topic,
like what are your general thoughts about that? I mean,
like bringing back to proposing once again, if I had
known that I was at increased risk for gestational diabetes
while pregnant UM, that would at least have unsettled or
(12:38):
at least would have settled some of the uncertainty of
like simply not knowing when I went in to get
my you know, blood tests, and I was like really nervous, Like, um,
that uncertainty was almost as bad as a lot of
the other health stuff I was going through. But but again,
I'm sorry, I don't know if he caught the yelling
at doctor, But again, like having that knowledge and feeling
(13:00):
empowered like okay, like I could kind of imagine some
different potentialities here and be able to have frank conversations
with my doctors around that, that would have felt great.
But you know, I got through it, So I hope
other people don't have to deal with that same thing.
But let's be frank about it. You know, we're we're
(13:27):
both sitting here and we haven't taken the town ourselves
for this episode's sake. Um, it was something that we
both needed more data and more information on. And you know,
everyone has their reasons of being skin issuggery with giving
you know, just being frank with you handing over your
DNA to a big company or something like that. So
(13:52):
that's generally is my hesitation in doing it, is the
fear of that and in the fear of my privacy
and the fear of you know, like we talked about
finding out our data, and it's just like wanting to
make sure that your dad is in the right hands.
You know that it actually is data that that's like
a personal fear that I've had that was an obstacle
(14:13):
in doing this because you know, like when we when
we were approached for this, we were asked if we
wanted to take the test. I didn't take it for
that reason. And I got to say that through the
course of of everything that we've read and everything that
we've been looking at, I actually feel more comfortable with
it now, and I actually do think I'm gonna go
get the report done after this for all of the
(14:35):
reasons that we've talked about them. Not a spring chicken
of an m C. You know, like the whole thing
would being like a rapper and m C and being
in hip hop. This this sense of invulnerability, you know,
because it's such a youthful thing. You can kind of
get swept up in thinking that you're gonna be young
forever and that you know you're gonna be fine and
(14:56):
nothing's gonna hurt you, and not not taking your health seriously.
And again, you know, it's not something you should just
think about when you're getting older, but like we've been
saying the smell about preventative measure and preventative care. So
the suitor that you start looking into things like that,
even even if you don't go in the route of
finding out your DNA, but if you take a proactive
(15:16):
step in your health and maintaining it and making sure
that you're in the you know, the best condition that
you possibly could be in, that's always important. Yeah, you know,
like people tell you all the time, Oh, you need
to eat right, Oh you need to exercise, Oh you
need to keep your blood pressure down, and limit your sugar.
But when you have like a concrete reason, like oh
I met I know I'm at an increased risk for this,
(15:38):
like that can really get you going, like, Okay, I
really do need to hit the gym. I do need
to be I don't know, I'm drinking more water or
whatever it is. Because it's not just this abstract, you know,
just people bombarding you with advice you didn't ask for.
It's like really tied to your personal life. And so
I mean, I think that's a big benefit. And I
totally understand why, particularly within you know, the circles where
(16:00):
we move, there's a lot of just medical hesitancy generally, um,
you know, just given the legacy of things like just
there's been there's I don't even working to do it
because like there's mad, crazy things that have happened in
our history, in our past and make people like I
don't know about doctors though, but you know, putting that
(16:21):
information directly into your hands, um, so you can decide
what to do with it. It's not necessarily like, you know,
whatever you gotta do with your doctor. If you don't
like go to see doctor, I get it, you should go.
But if you take the information and at least start
making different choices in your personal life with regards to
your diet, with the cards, your exercise, like there you go.
You know, that's that's empowerment right there. But I definitely
(16:43):
drove a little bit of my opencerch at first, Like
I don't know doctor's medicine. I just like you know,
like I was saying about being the hospital, it's just
been so nerve wracking to like and overwhelming to like
take in frol of my health. But I kind of
get it now, you know. Like no, I was gonna
add on to that, like you for people who haven't
been in the like healthcare system and haven't had to
(17:06):
deal with it yet. It's one of those things where
it's like like you don't you don't know until you know,
you know what I'm saying, Like, once you're in it, Shoot,
the more information that you're arm going, the the easier
it is to get through. I'm not saying it's easy
at all, but it's like, the more that you know
about your own health, it can save you so much
(17:28):
time and money and like, to be honest with you, heartache,
you know. Yeah, I mean like for like I think
it probably like nine percent of the time being in
the hospital. It's like one of the lower points of
a person's life, right, Like nobody wants to be there
unless you're like, yeah, I'm having a maybe it's outside it.
But think about the fact that that medical head to
(17:49):
dude that you know, people don't want to go to
the people don't want to get these you know, blood
tests and things. If you are proactive about lifestyle choices,
you can avoid that larger unpleasantness of being in the hospital.
Um because you you know, had the condition that ran
(18:09):
unchecked and now it's really really at firstly impacting you. Um.
So on the flip side. It's like, you know, I
didn't really I was like no, no about this because
like of like skepticism about doctors and hospitals. But having
this information can help you avoid deep intentions with it,
UM if you if you really want to, like, all right,
(18:29):
I'm gonna get my life right, I'm gonna do what
I need to for myself and my health for my
family who wants me to live a happy and full life. Right.
So that's tackful. So yeah, I mean, at the end
of the day, everybody has to do with rank for
them and everybody has to do what's comfortable for them.
This is just one of different avenues that you can
(18:50):
look into UM on this particular issue of your health,
DNA testing. It's not the be all and end all.
And also know you might even be thrown off because
we're talking about twenty three and me and you're thinking, man,
but I thought that was ancestry and whatnot. And it's
you know that you can do more with the knowledge
(19:10):
of your DNA than just find out who you know
what your ancestry is. And that's part of what this
is all about. It's just a cool Black people are
at higher risk of diabetes, heart disease, sickle cell cancer.
I mean, these are all reasons to be proactive about it.
And also, and I'm sure Mariah agree with me on this,
(19:30):
we're advocates of mental health, and in our communities we
have a laundry list of things that we're stressing about,
that we're worried about from day to day, and don't
think for a second that your health concerns aren't adding
onto that. So it's important also to consider I think
the relationship between our physical health and our overall well being,
(19:53):
inclusive of mental health, and so being able to like
go in and have that empowered conversation can have you know,
I don't know, like a sense of self esteem. I
don't always say building, but you know what I mean,
Like you you feel a little more power. Do you
feel a little more confident because you're armed with information?
I feel like, you know, I think that's like a
universal principle if you're going into something like all right,
(20:15):
I got this information to draw off of, like preparation
itself for whatever it is that you have to deal with. UM.
I think I'm definitely you know, going back to the
example of pregnancy, there's so so much uncertainty, so many
things you're just not and it's it's not just like
the physical toll of my knees are aching or whatever.
It's always like mentally it takes a lot out of you.
(20:36):
But you know, it's always it's always easier to talk
about things when you wrap them, at least for me.
What do we mean? What about you? Mariety? You feel
you feel like we could, You feel like we could
bring this home. I suppose I am a rapper, but
I guess this is the big test of time. If
I can wrap about uh DNA knowledge, I can wrap
(20:58):
at anything. So let's get it. Ye oh uh uh
uh we over here waiting no reparations. I'm tired of
taking all of these little adventures. I'm trying to take
a week off. Visit mccardi out there, just my dentist,
(21:20):
get my blood pressure check and get them perfect. Sure,
the uncertainty is a pretty quirky thing, but love, love, long,
and prosperous offer an injury. I'm gonna drinking too much pobo?
Should I compare to to how's my blood sugar? Should
I stop eating the burger king for number? Knowing the
story is going, it's the getherty, but never ever need
to be scared because see a little bit knowledge getting
(21:41):
out for you to prepare to eat your carrots to
some lamps would ever take stay up. It is some faith,
but there's some indicators there from take point, A lot
of information hidden right under the radar. It's mark of conversation,
some contemplations and my though changes. I don't know. It's
up to you. So what you're gonna, what you're gonna,
what you gonna, what you're gonna do? All right, yeah, yeah, yeah,
(22:07):
waiting our reparations. It's obviously fresh a podcast with hip
hop and politics, can nack. I know everybody tough and
they be in on their chat, but don't worry bout
your health. You better go get you with chat gets
some p s A, al shams and diabetes being play.
But don't be afraid to go and let them check
your d n A. If you dive in deep, you
find the factors that you need to change so you
(22:27):
can see a doctor or just cut back off the
e J. I don't even play. I'm about to go
and just be selfish. Get me a report and see
just if I got a health risk. Because when they'd
be creeping up. They're moving on the stealth tip and
with the knowledge, I can see somebody who can help it.
But make your own decision with whatever you choose. I
understand the reservations. I was hesitant to, but when I
look into the subject and I learned what they do
(22:48):
and made me comfortable enough to go and learn me
the truth. Shucks. We gotta leave this iss funny as
it could be. And that's why we did a team
up with twenty three and b don'te Knife and Lan
Franko or they call him a riot and she did
a dissertation that she got a PhD. And I didn't
do none of that. But I am n m C
and I'm notting on my eyes and I'm crossing on
my tees. What I told you, they ain't knowing what
(23:10):
they're facing. Take care of yourself. Love. Waiting on Reparations,
Yeah yeah, yeah you yet, Yeah you get dope yo,
yo yo, the dope knife. And you have been listening
to Waiting on Reparations that week. You liked our story.
(23:35):
Check out what Oscar Ramires has to say about his
journey to health discovery on the Daily Dive Master Ramires.
You can find his episode on the spit Feed, on
the I Heart Radio app, or wherever you listen to
your podcasts. Say Say
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com