August 28, 2024 • 38 mins
Welcome to another episode of "Creators Conversation" on the Brothers In Company Podcast. In this segment, we spotlight diverse talents from Charleston, South Carolina, and beyond. Hosted by Chris "C-Lyric" Wynn, one half of the Brothers In Company Podcast, this episode features the talented poet and South Carolina native, D.L. Mack Jr.
D.L. Mack Jr. is the author of two poetic collections, "Black" and "Painted Purple." He uses poetry to give a voice to the forgotten and overlooked, encouraging others to make an impact in their world. Tonight, he shares his journey, inspirations, and the obstacles he's overcome through poetry.
Get ready for an insightful conversation filled with inspiration, crowd-participation techniques, and even a live freestyle performance by D.L. Mack Jr. Don't miss this inspiring episode that showcases the power of words and the importance of supporting local artists.
Stay tuned for more episodes, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and our website at brothersincompany.podbean.com for more exciting content and merch!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This is the Brothers and Company podcast.
Hello, hello, hello, everyone, and good evening.
Welcome to another episode of this segment of Creators' Compensation from the
Brothers and Company podcast, where we showcase artists, poets,
business professionals,
(00:21):
podcasters, and much more here in Charleston, South Carolina and beyond. My name is Chris C.
Lyric Wynn, one half of the Brothers Accompany podcast, and tonight we have a special guest.
He is such an awesome, good friend of mine and a fellow poet of mine in the
community of Charleston.
(00:41):
Mr. D.L. Mack, he is such a great person.
He is a poet, creative, and South Carolina native of two poetic collections,
Black and Painted Purple.
DL uses poetry as a vehicle to give a voice to the forgotten and overlooked,
to encourage people around to use their voice and tools that they have given
(01:05):
to make an impact in the world around them.
I am so honored to have him on this episode tonight. It's going to be an awesome
episode. I'm so honored to have him.
Okay, folks, give him a warm, warm welcome.
Show your amazing Amazing love to the talented poet, Mr. D.L. Mack Jr.
(01:26):
Thank you for the introduction. Thank you. Thank you. I really appreciate it. I'm so glad to be here.
Let's get it started. Absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you again for definitely
wanting to be on this episode of, you know, Critters Conversation.
So happy that you're here.
Like, thank you. Thank you so much. Oh, no problem. No problem. Anytime.
(01:46):
And you said it started as a bluff, right? Yeah. I was like, okay, he got a podcast.
Let me see what he's going to say. I say, hey, let's do a podcast episode together.
You were down, so. Right. Surprise.
Thank you. Thank you, man. How are you doing today, by the way? I'm doing pretty good.
(02:07):
Just, you know, working and then also working on some projects coming up.
So I'm excited. I'm excited.
2025 is looking like it's going to be a good year. 2024 has been an amazing
year thus far. So I'm excited.
Can't complain. playing absolutely me too 2024 has
been amazing so far for the poetry community and then different events going
(02:31):
on and though 2025 next year is going to be amazing so definitely sky's the
limit so you know i truly love it so i'd like to ask you like tell us about
yourself and explain to the folks out there,
who is D.L.
Mack Jr.? So I am, first off, you know, a believer in Christ,
(02:53):
father, husband, all of that.
And just overall, a poet, not even poet by day.
I wouldn't say like, you know, people say like, I work by day,
poet by night. I'm a poet 24-7.
That's pretty much what I do. I get off work and I go to writing and posting
and sharing poetry and also trying to.
(03:13):
Give a spotlight to other creatives as well as I try to make my ascension up
in the poetry world and just, you know, be known in general.
Absolutely, absolutely. I definitely love your drive and your dedication to
your poetry, especially you, like you said, posting videos right every day is so inspiring.
So I always see you on social media. I'm like, Oh my God, he is doing it.
(03:39):
I should i should call you uh dr mac jr
like a professor of poultry because you is definitely
doing it like i mean i
feel like this when you're on the come up getting people to you know notice
you got to be in their face every day so even though i may not be selling a
lot of books i'm in your face every day you know i exist you know i'm there
(04:00):
and no one's gonna forget me because i'm always posting so i mean that's why
i keep keep doing it keep putting my foot on the gas,
so that people know that i'm here and in charleston is i'm gonna be taking over
soon and take that some people with me when i do it so absolutely absolutely
you you make yourself well known so i i always see you do your thing every day
so i love it i love it you just you.
(04:25):
Growing your craft every day is truly inspiring, man. Just keep on going. Do not stop.
Most definitely. Most definitely. Because, you know, I'd be getting writer's
block and be like, oh, let me take a break from writing and just go on social
media and see what my fellow poets are doing. Look at their posts, look at their stories.
I'm like, okay, you keep me on my toes, like, you know, watching you do your
(04:46):
thing. And I honestly believe there's no such thing as writer's block because
we have too much inspiration all around us. There's so many videos you watch every day.
So you always have something to inspire you no matter what. So that idea of
writer's block, I think, is a myth.
You have to push yourself because of what I've learned about writer's block
is that you may think that you have nothing to write about, but there's a line
(05:09):
in your head that you may not want to write down. You just think it's dumb.
So that's why you're not going to, you know, write it. But I learned to write
it out anyway, because that could be the most amazing thing you've ever wrote.
And regardless whether you think it sucks or not, somebody might get,
you know, might be touched by what you wrote. So you just never know.
I kind of agree with you as well, you know, because everybody's poetry is so different.
(05:33):
And like you said, like, you know, it may or may not make sense,
but it may touch somebody, like you said. So definitely, most definitely.
I like that. So can you tell me about who has inspired you and impacted your life in poetry?
Man, it's so many people that I can mention.
I would say on a bigger scale, like people like Rudy Francisco and like Black Chakra,
(05:59):
mainly because Rudy Francisco was the first person like that made me realize
that you can make a living off of this. You can be big doing this.
This is somebody that I've seen on YouTube. I never met him personally,
but I've seen him on YouTube and his videos have inspired me to,
you know, to write and to make a difference in people's lives.
And also the poet Black Chakra, who basically is a battle rapper,
(06:22):
but he does poetry slams and his lyricism is so amazing.
And I love lyricism in poetry.
I love wordplay. So those are the things that really stick with me.
But I would say one locally, you know, in Charleston, people who inspire me
are like people like, you know, Georgia Newby, Mr.
(06:42):
Enlightenment, and also True Seeker, the poet, amazing poet.
She kind of took me under her wing a little bit.
Like we'll talk and she just pushes me to do more, like as far as making sure
I memorize at least three poems at all times.
Or, you know, she's also wanting me to do poetry slams as well.
So it's like I haven't, you know, got to the point where I felt comfortable doing it yet.
(07:05):
But she's always pushing you to do more as a poet outside of the Internet.
So those are people who really inspire me because like her poetry is just amazing.
The way she her stage presence is amazing. One thing I want to work on is my
stage presence, being able to control the crowd, make them feel something when
I get up there. And she does it every single time.
(07:26):
Absolutely. She is truly amazing. For my inspirations that inspired me with
poetry, I would say Maya Angelou.
It's just herds are so incredible like i rise like and phenomenal women is this truly amazing,
i'll say the the you know the community itself like you
(07:47):
know like you said georgia nubia truth seeker even
zachary shout out to zachary williams abby
duran it's a lot of us there's a
lot of us and everybody's so different and
unique i just love them they're like my my third family yeah
like i say every time you go to open mic it's
like going to a family because you never know who's gonna show up you know
(08:08):
exactly exactly and it's so therapeutic too like yeah like like like mr marcus
emmerich could say like you know if you want to cry cry if you want to be angry
angry just be happy you can just be different type of emotions wherever you
want to be it is a safe space and i just love that we can just be ourselves,
you know I just I just truly love it like you said it's a beautiful family reunion
(08:32):
I just want to ask you like since we talk about uh open mic we do we did some
events here in Charleston,
South Carolina I do absolutely love seeing a lot of creative talents in the
room expressing their love of poetry on the mic how does it feel for you to
perform to a crowd of a lot of people it it's always nerve-wracking on the walk
(08:52):
up but once I'm up there I feel at home Because,
like, the mic gives me a chance to say what I need to say, to tell the story
that I want to tell, and allow the audience to relate to what,
you know, what I may be talking about or going through.
So I love being on stage. Of course, it's nerve wracking, but it's one of the
most amazing feelings in the world.
And to, you know, get that get that applause and, you know, people just telling
(09:16):
telling you that, hey, you know, like what I did up there was amazing.
Or they felt what I did so that they could relate to my story.
And that's one of the main reasons I write is so that people can feel like they,
you know, can relate to what I go through or, you know, or they say,
oh, I went through that, too.
Like how'd you get through that like just open up open up
conversations really absolutely i truly
(09:39):
love going to open mics like i remember my first time when i did open mic was
a couple years ago after dealing with a bad relationship and then i went to
i think i remember my first open mic was at the common house a couple years
ago and i i was so nervous my lips were chattering like Like I can, I,
you know, my voice was, was dry and,
(10:01):
you know, but after a while I just got comfortable and, you know,
it was just a second nature.
I truly love it. Like get out there expressing your love of what you write.
Cause you never know who you may touch with your words. Yep.
So, you know, I definitely love it. I always want to come see,
you know, what's out there, who, who's going to show up, who's going to deliver
(10:22):
and, you know, just get inspired by amazing words.
Absolutely. So I want to ask you this. What are some obstacles in your life
that you had to overcome and how poetry helped you to become the man that you are?
Poetry, some of the obstacles I had to overcome is basically being in a place
of feeling like I don't fit in or I don't belong or I don't have a voice.
(10:46):
A lot of times because of my disability, people look at me as like,
oh, he can't do anything for himself or, oh, he can't or, you know,
or people just people just don't accept me for who I am.
And poetry allowed me to learn to accept myself for all my flaws and things like that.
And also help other people, you know, let them know that they're not alone in
(11:07):
their struggles as well.
Because it just started out with poetry when I was through a breakup.
I started writing poetry because of a breakup. Didn't even know I wrote a poem or whatever.
But then I looked back and realized, like, hey, I wrote my first poem,
like, outside of school.
And then I would do it to get attention from people.
And then eventually it started to come around to where like I would write and
(11:30):
share it with my friends or whatever you know like wow that's really good and
then I started realizing that people were touched by the things that I you know
I had to say and you know that my writing was impactful and I had a voice and
I should share that voice with others.
Definitely love that because you truly have a voice. And I was going to my next
question since you were talking about disabilities and your truly inspiration out there.
(11:54):
I love that you do not let anything defeat you and that you continue living
your life to the fullest regardless of what people say.
What advice can you give to those that are experiencing the same thing that
you went through so that they want to pursue their dreams and goals, ambitions, and life?
What kind of advice would you give them? I would always tell them,
(12:14):
if you want to pursue your dreams, pursue your dreams.
There's nothing stopping you from doing that. There's nothing stopping you from
pursuing your dreams. You can do whatever you put your mind to.
You just have to have the drive to do it. But, you know, people like to say
children are like a main stopping point for following your dreams.
I had a friend tell me a couple of years back when my son was first born that
(12:39):
literally nothing can stop you.
You have to plan smarter when you have kids or like when you have other obstacles in your life.
Maybe money may be an issue for you following your dreams. There are so many
resources out here that you can that you can tap into in order to make your
dreams possible, even if you don't have the funds to make it possible.
So don't let anything stop you from following your dreams because you're going
(13:01):
to regret it. You're going to regret it if you do.
Because when I was younger, before I started having poetry in my life,
I used to doubt myself back in the day.
I used to believe those folks that say you're not going to amount to anything.
You're not you're not going to be anything. You're nothing.
But after letting those bad apples go.
You know what i'm gonna do me i'm gonna
(13:23):
be inspiring i'm gonna do what i want to do regardless of what
people say you know sky's the limit yeah you
know going to church you got to use that negativity as a
fuel for it is positive things
absolutely and i use i use that
negativity every day you know throughout my poetry especially when
i post i always post positive quotes every day
(13:45):
on my social media because you never know who may be watching
because they might be dealing with something and they
need that extra push to get them through so most definitely most definitely
you know so go for it if you if those that wants to do poetry or anything in
life do it like don't let nothing stop you you know so i just like that i'm
(14:06):
just a happy happy place in my life now just,
away from doubts. That's always good. And I could tell through your poetry and
the things you choose to share now, that you really overcame those areas that
had you struggling or had you worrying about things.
You could tell by the poetry selection from a poet, where they're at in your life.
(14:32):
Because you usually don't see a poet perform poetry where they're no longer at
anymore unless they're trying to show you prove a point
or show you something so i i truly see
a change in you and a growth in you as a poet since i met you in the
short amount of time that i have known you oh thank you so
much man it's all because guys
like you and and all my poetry friends y'all y'all
(14:55):
y'all keep me going every day every
day because seeing you you know perform form
without without like reading from your book was was dope
i was like okay i wish i was there because i'd have been i'd have been hyping
you a real bad right but sadly
i'm only able to memorize like three poems that's
okay that's a start that's a start i'm trying
(15:18):
i'm trying because i used to take acting back in when i was
in college at charleston and like like acting
and then memorizing you gotta get out of memorize you gotta repeat
repeat repeat repeat yeah it's
a lot of work i think like a month it takes
you about a month it takes me about months to actually get
my memory it takes me about two weeks
(15:40):
like maybe two weeks to two weeks
to a week depending on how serious and then think about i'll be writing other
stuff on top of memorizing so it's like i'm writing and also trying to memorize
and i just take i just what i do one of the key key things that i do to memorize
is i rewrite the poem like while i'm trying to memorize it also write it down.
(16:00):
Like three or four times and then also go in and memorize it.
I use like flashcards, like the index card and I write, write.
My my poems down in parts to help help me memorize
this i'll memorize one one part of the poem and then
work on the second and then run it all together it makes
it a little easier especially when you write it out it makes it easier to memorize
(16:20):
something too like i'll break it down in sections bam bam bam and then repeat
bam bam repeat yeah so absolutely i'm definitely taking taking your notes like
definitely i'm gonna try to memorize a poem in a week.
Oh, next question. In your poetry performances, you are definitely great at
(16:44):
adding crowd participations in your performance on the mic, like especially
the art of freestyling on the mic. Yeah.
You're so smooth and sharp with it, man. Thank you. Thank you.
Seriously. You're welcome. You're welcome.
You always ask the audience a topic, a word, or subject out the blue on the the spot.
And then you're truly amazing at that. So I wanted to ask, how long have you
(17:07):
been, you know, freestyling poetry on the mic?
So I've been freestyling poetry on the mic since February of 2020.
Like after the release of my first book, I wanted to do like a, a book release party.
And I had like poets come out, like Brian, um, Brian Howard,
(17:30):
And I had Georgia and then I had this rapper by the name of D.A.
Smalls come to a party I was trying to do, right?
And nobody showed up but the people I asked to perform and like some of my family
members. So like maybe like 10 people, right?
And nobody showed up. And I had a whole set put together, right?
And I used to freestyle, like try to rap before I started doing poetry back in 2008.
(17:56):
But I never like freestyled a poem before. so i
was like why don't i do why don't i like try to
freestyle or something um like while
i'm on stage because i was kind of hurt nobody showed up like i
like i i bought this venue for a couple hours got my friend who's a dj from
all the way from texas to come out like spend like 300 on him to come out and
(18:20):
nobody showed up so like i just i just spoke what was on my heart and talked
about but how nobody was at my party and things like that.
And like, but I wasn't going to let that get me down.
I still had an amazing time, but that's when it all got started.
And then when I'm like, when I came to Freeverse, like recently,
that's when I kind of picked back up on poetry because I haven't,
(18:42):
I stopped doing poetry like right before COVID hit and things got a little crazy.
So, and then I just decided to do it one day again.
And I've been kind of known as a freestyle poet.
Like people expect me to do it every time i every time i come out like
are you gonna freestyle you gonna freestyle and it's like i want
to be known a little more for freestyling but that's what y'all know
me for and that's what y'all loving i'm gonna keep giving it to y'all yes do
(19:06):
keep doing it keep doing it because you got me wanting to freestyle like i tried
i tried to freestyle on the mic like just see how you feel like i was thinking
going one of my movies that i love i love watching kung fu movies with my dad
like this movie enter the dragon with bruce lee and he was training one of his um.
(19:26):
Students they are and he was like how do you feel let me think and he said don't think feel,
feel how you know feel your poetry don't think i
think like when you think and perform while doing poetry is
you know a big mistake like just just just just
say how you feel so that's a lot of times
(19:47):
even when even when you're you know even you're reciting on your your poetry
or the poetry you to memorize you lose a feeling when you start thinking too
hard or that's how you stumble when you start thinking too hard so like freestyling
like you know i can honestly say like it's funny because remember the last time
when they went to that there was a drunk guy that came on stage,
he kept asking me like how do you freestyle because i'm going through so much i'm like
(20:10):
i'm like bro you don't need to know how to freestyle at this point you need
to like just focus on life at this point but i was
trying to explain to him like freestyling is is something
that not everyone can do that it's like a gift not everyone
can do that not everyone could think on the spot because literally
i just get like a phrase or a word in
my head before i start or a topic and i just let
(20:32):
it flow whatever comes to mind that's what comes out absolutely i do the same
thing too and just close my eyes breathe and just let the words do the talking
definitely love it man just keep doing that freestyling because you got me wanting
to do it so it is inspiring other people to freestyle. So yeah, absolutely.
(20:53):
Oh, so I would ask you to, since we're both offers and we both got poetry books,
I'm so happy and proud of you, man, of your publication.
Like, thank you. Seriously. You're welcome. You're welcome. So one of your books
I purchased, I have it here.
Got, got a little bookmark painted purple. Yeah.
It's truly amazing. I was reading it last night. I'm like, Oh my God,
(21:17):
you got way more words. Thank you.
So can you tell the people, what is your poetry about, your poetry book about
Paint It Purple? And what is it actually about?
Pain in Purple was actually a project that was sitting on the shelf since, I want to say, 2015.
(21:38):
And for those who don't know, I've actually written two books.
But also before then, I wrote some books with an ex of mine that no longer exists
because for some reason it got scuffed from the Internet. So it no longer exists.
But basically, Pain in Purple was supposed to be some like some poetry I was
going to write to my unborn daughter that I don't have.
Right and then around the time like
(22:01):
2020 i found like after after
i started writing based on my experiences that i was going through like i was
i met my wife around the time like like 2019 2020 and so at the time i was dealing
with going through a breakup right with this girl was dating back in
(22:21):
like early early 2018 we
broke up then I had some family issues happen around the
same time and I was also talking to a young lady and then then I met my wife
shortly after so I was I was in between two women back and forth and basically
like everybody thought I was being an ocelot at the time but I was really going
(22:44):
through a lot I just didn't know how to express it didn't know like,
was just not being myself.
And those poems came from that, well, the concept of Painted Purple came from that.
And basically, it started to become an apology to my now stepdaughter.
And basically, I basically detail, like, my struggle with women and how I almost
(23:09):
lost my wife toward the end of the book.
So it's an apology to my daughter and explaining to her all the things that
I've dealt with with women and why I dealt with them because I wasn't healed
and I needed to be healed in order to be in a relationship in the first place.
And it was just like telling my stepdaughter, like, I'm sorry for the things I did to your mother.
(23:32):
But I'm learning my worth and my worth is royalty and I should treat people
as such and I should also treat myself as such. And so basically, Thank you.
When I was, you know, doing all those things, I was broken. But now that I know
my worth, my heart has now been painted purple so that the broken parts have
(23:52):
been now painted purple on my heart.
So basically, that's what it's in a long way of putting it. That's what it's about.
Just understanding who you are as a man, understanding that we do hurt.
We do go through things, but we have to learn our worth so that we can understand
that we are important and the people that we love are important as well.
And we shouldn't treat them like trash.
(24:13):
Absolutely. Absolutely. I definitely like that, man.
Truly inspiring man i didn't know what the title was but i'm like wow now i got a whole,
understanding of what yeah and it's crazy because like
my my daughter she sees me now um she sees
me like doing like you know the videos every day and
i think the last performance that she went to we
(24:34):
had to drop her off at her grandmother's and she was like um she was
like daddy where'd you go i'm like i wanted to do you know how i do the
videos or whatever with poetry she's like six and
she's like yeah and i'm like well you know
daddy had to go perform she said i want to see you perform i'm like i
was like well i don't know when i'm able to take you because you know
you're small but she's she is interested in what i'm doing already she's
(24:54):
like interested like even though she may not understand everything going
on she's interested in seeing what her dad does so
i'm just excited about that you know hopefully i may have a little poet or you
know at least another little cheerleader in my section or you know absolutely
most definitely she did she did the next generation you never know follow daddy's
(25:16):
footsteps she might be freestyling too so.
Yes from daddy to daughter yeah absolutely so all right so next question i know
in the author's world since we got books you know like book reviews are kind
of critical sometimes online line.
(25:36):
How do you deal with the bad and the good ones? The bad reviews go with views.
And do you feel like views can help you grow better as a poet?
I'm going to be honest with you about reviews. So I don't really get a lot of reviews.
I mean, I have gotten reviews, but mostly it's from people that know me.
So of course, they're going to give you the, yeah, I loved it,
and this, that, and the third.
(25:56):
But at the end of the day, I don't take stock in reviews too much because even
with comments, because I get more negative comments on my poetry now.
And I just take it like I get like like people laughing at
my poetry and I'm like okay and I just send a
laughing emoji back and not take stock in it because unless it's
actual constructive criticism I'm not I'm not paying it paying any attention
(26:21):
you know because some people just don't understand you like I remember I did
one of my poems called the weird things um that people tell me when I have cerebral
palsy on this tiktok live one time for like a talent show they were doing.
And I read the poem and it was like, I don't know if I can take you seriously
because they couldn't see that I had a disability.
(26:41):
So they thought it was trolling. I'm like, I have a disability,
but I understand you guys don't understand. It may not be the space for that.
So I just know that people who my poetry is for is going to touch who it's not.
They're just going to discard it. If it's not for you, I'm not worried about it.
But if you got something constructive to say then and yeah i'll
(27:03):
say i'll take you know i'll listen to what you have to say and
take it with a grain of salt absolutely absolutely for
me i never got ready any bad reviews of my poetry everyone said they love my
poetry they you know no really criticism on my end so but i never got any reviews
either or so but um i got i got a couple from friends like a A lot of, with Painted Purple,
(27:27):
a lot of women who read that book said they relate to it like crazy.
And it's crazy because it's written from a man's perspective.
Everything's written from a man's, but women are like, oh, I can relate to pretty much every poem.
And, you know, it's like, wow, I never thought, like I had women in mind,
but I never thought women would be like, man, I relate to the whole thing.
(27:48):
But and and my only thing
i want to tell you about not getting any bad reviews wait till you
start growing wait wait till your platform gets bigger you them
bad reviews gonna come and you know you did something right you start
getting bad reviews and people hating on you maybe you did something right so
yeah absolutely oh i feel like your book should be a movie like since you said
(28:10):
a lot of women is touched by your
story and what your book is about you definitely need to have tala perry,
maybe not Tyler Perry but yeah I do feel you on that one because I mean,
Like I said, my goal is so that people can, people can feel like they're not alone.
So like when people started telling me that, I was like, okay,
(28:32):
I'm on the right track. I know I'm doing the right thing.
So I can't, I can't even say, I can't say no more about it really.
Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely.
Oh, so next question. What type of advice would you give anyone that wants to
start a journey as a poet and performer? What would you give them?
The first advice I'd give you, don't look for your family to support you.
(28:55):
And that's gonna sound really harsh but don't look for your family and friends to support you,
because a lot of times when when you are a creative whether you're a poet rapper singer,
like actor your hometown and people around
you they think it's cute they'll be like oh it's cute that you do
your little poetry your little acting or whatever the case may be but they're
(29:15):
not gonna be invested in you i would i would even tell them if
you start your journey don't let them know about it just post online
or just go to you know to to an event you that
will appreciate your art and let the strangers tell
you how good you are because those
are people that are really gonna rock with you at the end of the day those people
who really gonna buy your merch support you at the end of the day show up to
(29:37):
your shows because i can tell you now as an artist that what i what i've experienced
is the people that i've like co-workers support me harder than my family does
There's no shade to them, but it's the truth.
Like other than my wife and my kids, like I got strangers who will buy my book in a heartbeat.
Just tell them I published the book. They'll go buy it.
(29:59):
But family, you know, it may drag their feet because they're not they're not your target audience.
The people that you that you grew up with are not the people that you're there to serve.
It's always people that are, you know, that you never met before will be your biggest supporters.
Absolutely. Absolutely. Especially going to different events.
You just never know who you may see so absolutely absolutely oh wonderful so
(30:22):
i hate to put you on the spot you know what i would ask you,
since we just spoke earlier about uh freestyling and in poetry earlier.
Um is there a poem that you would like to share with the listeners and fans
of yours tonight okay anything in your heart whoo let's see gotcha yeah yeah and the main thing is i i
(30:52):
watched your episode with joey so i should have
known this was coming yes um and i i do appreciate the
shout out you gave me as well let's see here let's
see don't make me shout out some words now no it's it's okay that that you put
put me on the spot because these words I spit a hot fire like I was a rapper
(31:13):
selling mixtapes out of the trunk but it seems like I was in a sunken place
for too long because I lost my spunk for poetry.
They say it's gifting, so you can't lose it like riding a bike.
I wonder if I might say a couple words that may spark a light in your heart.
I want to be lit like something like Thomas Edison would approve because I can't
(31:42):
help but think if I could find the right equation,
like if I was Einstein, because time is really just relative.
And I wonder if Einstein was really black because it reminds me of CP time.
Because if time is relevant, if time is relative, then I wonder who could really
(32:03):
be my relative in this place that I'm trying to find space in.
I said that open mics are a place where it feels like a family reunion and I
can reunite with my family once again with a stand behind the mic.
And I'm free to spit my truth so that you can feel me.
Like Braille, I make it look easy like I was Wheezy back in the day in 2009.
(32:25):
That sounds kind of crazy to say that I'm 30 now, but I'm giving y'all present in the present tense.
And I wonder if it's evident that my rhymes are heaven sent because I like the
way my words play like kids on a Saturday.
It's sad to say you're not like me or not like us because we're gifted and we
use words in a way that you'll never even imagine.
(32:47):
Like if you were battling dragons and I got a shield to hold your heart and
mind and soul in one place.
And I wonder if you ever felt out of place because these words I spit are here
to let you know that you're heard and things that you're scared of are really real. Peace.
(33:11):
Oh, oh, ah, see, that's why that's why I like your art of freestyle. Oh, my God.
Oh, that touched me right there, man.
Thank you. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. Thank you so much for definitely
doing that, man. I had to put you on the spot.
(33:31):
You know it. I knew it. You know it. So, hey, in the world of poetry,
you got to be ready. You got to be ready at all times.
Right. I'm like, give me a poem right now. What you got in your mind?
People will do that, especially if you're doing like vendoring and going to
different events and they're going to ask you to do a poem.
(33:53):
Absolutely absolutely so you you killed that
one you're welcome you're welcome
all right so where can fans find you at on on social media and again you just
said about upcoming events what you got going on this year and the next so i
do have uh a another um interview on the 10th on TikTok live.
(34:17):
That's coming up soon. And I'm also working on a book that'll come out sometime
next year called Yellow Flower for the Living.
But you can find me everywhere at DL Mack Jr.
So you can find me on Facebook, Instagram. I'm mostly on TikTok and my handle is DL Mack Jr.
(34:39):
Poet. And you'll find me on TikTok where I post every single day.
So anywhere you can find me, Poetry, you can Google me. My books are on Amazon
as well. So just Google DL Mack Jr.
And you'll find me and my books as well. There you go. Mr. Worldwide.
(34:59):
You're all over. That's what's up. That's what's up. So I know we're about to wrap.
Is there anything else you you would like to express to your fans out there
or anything you would like to share?
Support your creatives because what people fail to realize is if your friends
are creative and you're saying you're going to check out their work and you don't, you end up.
(35:23):
Causing them to shy away from doing their gift because you're their first point
of contact as far as criticism and support.
So even though you may not like what they do, support them anyway,
because you can truly affect how an artist approach art as well as their fans.
So support your artists, check on your artist friends because we may be creative,
(35:46):
but the reason why we're so creative is because we deal with so much and we
go through so much and we bleed out for you every Every day we're naked in front
of you guys. Every day we get on stage.
So support your artists, support your artists, support your artists.
Cause if you don't, who else will?
Yeah. That's, that's really all I got. Amen. Amen.
I love that. Yes. Definitely support your artists, man.
(36:08):
Every day that we go through, you know, cause our stories will touch everybody,
you know, regardless of what we go through. So most definitely.
I always end with positive quotes. If you have like a dream,
goal, an ambition in life, just go for it.
You know just express how you how you feel so
absolutely so as thank you
(36:28):
so much man mr dl man i appreciate it all
right so i would like to thank you again for definitely being part of this segment
of creators content by the brothers of a company podcast it was a definitely
a great show i definitely felt inspired by your words and encouragement and
your story absolutely and and your art.
(36:49):
I got to freestyle. You got me wanting to, after this video,
I want to freestyle. I have to.
Yes. Matter of fact, are you going to Free Race Friday?
Yes, I'll be there this Friday to support our VIX.
Freestyle. Freestyle? Oh, God.
I'll be there. I'm going to punch y'all. Freestyle. Oh, wow.
(37:12):
All right. I'll see what I can come up with. Just go with the flow. Just feel. feel,
absolutely all right i'm gonna try i'm gonna try it okay that's a bet all right i got you,
all right guys thank you so much man deal man um my name is chris c larick win
(37:35):
of the bravos company podcast present creators conversation um you can follow us on facebook
x formerly known as twitter instagram tiktok
and on our website at brothers and company
podcast.popping.com where
you can check out also check out our merch store where you
(37:55):
can check out our shirts hoodies and different items and also always me and
my brother always say this on our show we are free 99 to definitely listen to
us you ain't got to take out no mortgage no loan the lunch money to watch us
and review us so definitely it is free of charge.
(38:19):
Okay folks so i definitely for definitely tuning in
again thank you mr dl mac jr for definitely blessing us on this episode i'm
so happy yes most definitely thank you again for definitely being on the show
all right guys thank you so much for your time you guys have a good night peace and one love,
(38:40):
this is the brothers in company podcast.
This is the Brothers and Company podcast.
Hello, hello, hello, everyone, and good evening.
Welcome to another episode of this segment of Creators' Compensation from the
Brothers and Company podcast, where we showcase artists, poets,
business professionals,
(00:21):
podcasters, and much more here in Charleston, South Carolina and beyond. My name is Chris C.
Lyric Wynn, one half of the Brothers Accompany podcast, and tonight we have a special guest.
He is such an awesome, good friend of mine and a fellow poet of mine in the
community of Charleston.
(00:41):
Mr. D.L. Mack, he is such a great person.
He is a poet, creative, and South Carolina native of two poetic collections,
Black and Painted Purple.
DL uses poetry as a vehicle to give a voice to the forgotten and overlooked,
to encourage people around to use their voice and tools that they have given
(01:05):
to make an impact in the world around them.
I am so honored to have him on this episode tonight. It's going to be an awesome
episode. I'm so honored to have him.
Okay, folks, give him a warm, warm welcome.
Show your amazing Amazing love to the talented poet, Mr. D.L. Mack Jr.
(01:26):
Thank you for the introduction. Thank you. Thank you. I really appreciate it. I'm so glad to be here.
Let's get it started. Absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you again for definitely
wanting to be on this episode of, you know, Critters Conversation.
So happy that you're here.
Like, thank you. Thank you so much. Oh, no problem. No problem. Anytime.
(01:46):
And you said it started as a bluff, right? Yeah. I was like, okay, he got a podcast.
Let me see what he's going to say. I say, hey, let's do a podcast episode together.
You were down, so. Right. Surprise.
Thank you. Thank you, man. How are you doing today, by the way? I'm doing pretty good.
(02:07):
Just, you know, working and then also working on some projects coming up.
So I'm excited. I'm excited.
2025 is looking like it's going to be a good year. 2024 has been an amazing
year thus far. So I'm excited.
Can't complain. playing absolutely me too 2024 has
been amazing so far for the poetry community and then different events going
(02:31):
on and though 2025 next year is going to be amazing so definitely sky's the
limit so you know i truly love it so i'd like to ask you like tell us about
yourself and explain to the folks out there,
who is D.L.
Mack Jr.? So I am, first off, you know, a believer in Christ,
(02:53):
father, husband, all of that.
And just overall, a poet, not even poet by day.
I wouldn't say like, you know, people say like, I work by day,
poet by night. I'm a poet 24-7.
That's pretty much what I do. I get off work and I go to writing and posting
and sharing poetry and also trying to.
(03:13):
Give a spotlight to other creatives as well as I try to make my ascension up
in the poetry world and just, you know, be known in general.
Absolutely, absolutely. I definitely love your drive and your dedication to
your poetry, especially you, like you said, posting videos right every day is so inspiring.
So I always see you on social media. I'm like, Oh my God, he is doing it.
(03:39):
I should i should call you uh dr mac jr
like a professor of poultry because you is definitely
doing it like i mean i
feel like this when you're on the come up getting people to you know notice
you got to be in their face every day so even though i may not be selling a
lot of books i'm in your face every day you know i exist you know i'm there
(04:00):
and no one's gonna forget me because i'm always posting so i mean that's why
i keep keep doing it keep putting my foot on the gas,
so that people know that i'm here and in charleston is i'm gonna be taking over
soon and take that some people with me when i do it so absolutely absolutely
you you make yourself well known so i i always see you do your thing every day
so i love it i love it you just you.
(04:25):
Growing your craft every day is truly inspiring, man. Just keep on going. Do not stop.
Most definitely. Most definitely. Because, you know, I'd be getting writer's
block and be like, oh, let me take a break from writing and just go on social
media and see what my fellow poets are doing. Look at their posts, look at their stories.
I'm like, okay, you keep me on my toes, like, you know, watching you do your
(04:46):
thing. And I honestly believe there's no such thing as writer's block because
we have too much inspiration all around us. There's so many videos you watch every day.
So you always have something to inspire you no matter what. So that idea of
writer's block, I think, is a myth.
You have to push yourself because of what I've learned about writer's block
is that you may think that you have nothing to write about, but there's a line
(05:09):
in your head that you may not want to write down. You just think it's dumb.
So that's why you're not going to, you know, write it. But I learned to write
it out anyway, because that could be the most amazing thing you've ever wrote.
And regardless whether you think it sucks or not, somebody might get,
you know, might be touched by what you wrote. So you just never know.
I kind of agree with you as well, you know, because everybody's poetry is so different.
(05:33):
And like you said, like, you know, it may or may not make sense,
but it may touch somebody, like you said. So definitely, most definitely.
I like that. So can you tell me about who has inspired you and impacted your life in poetry?
Man, it's so many people that I can mention.
I would say on a bigger scale, like people like Rudy Francisco and like Black Chakra,
(05:59):
mainly because Rudy Francisco was the first person like that made me realize
that you can make a living off of this. You can be big doing this.
This is somebody that I've seen on YouTube. I never met him personally,
but I've seen him on YouTube and his videos have inspired me to,
you know, to write and to make a difference in people's lives.
And also the poet Black Chakra, who basically is a battle rapper,
(06:22):
but he does poetry slams and his lyricism is so amazing.
And I love lyricism in poetry.
I love wordplay. So those are the things that really stick with me.
But I would say one locally, you know, in Charleston, people who inspire me
are like people like, you know, Georgia Newby, Mr.
(06:42):
Enlightenment, and also True Seeker, the poet, amazing poet.
She kind of took me under her wing a little bit.
Like we'll talk and she just pushes me to do more, like as far as making sure
I memorize at least three poems at all times.
Or, you know, she's also wanting me to do poetry slams as well.
So it's like I haven't, you know, got to the point where I felt comfortable doing it yet.
(07:05):
But she's always pushing you to do more as a poet outside of the Internet.
So those are people who really inspire me because like her poetry is just amazing.
The way she her stage presence is amazing. One thing I want to work on is my
stage presence, being able to control the crowd, make them feel something when
I get up there. And she does it every single time.
(07:26):
Absolutely. She is truly amazing. For my inspirations that inspired me with
poetry, I would say Maya Angelou.
It's just herds are so incredible like i rise like and phenomenal women is this truly amazing,
i'll say the the you know the community itself like you
(07:47):
know like you said georgia nubia truth seeker even
zachary shout out to zachary williams abby
duran it's a lot of us there's a
lot of us and everybody's so different and
unique i just love them they're like my my third family yeah
like i say every time you go to open mic it's
like going to a family because you never know who's gonna show up you know
(08:08):
exactly exactly and it's so therapeutic too like yeah like like like mr marcus
emmerich could say like you know if you want to cry cry if you want to be angry
angry just be happy you can just be different type of emotions wherever you
want to be it is a safe space and i just love that we can just be ourselves,
you know I just I just truly love it like you said it's a beautiful family reunion
(08:32):
I just want to ask you like since we talk about uh open mic we do we did some
events here in Charleston,
South Carolina I do absolutely love seeing a lot of creative talents in the
room expressing their love of poetry on the mic how does it feel for you to
perform to a crowd of a lot of people it it's always nerve-wracking on the walk
(08:52):
up but once I'm up there I feel at home Because,
like, the mic gives me a chance to say what I need to say, to tell the story
that I want to tell, and allow the audience to relate to what,
you know, what I may be talking about or going through.
So I love being on stage. Of course, it's nerve wracking, but it's one of the
most amazing feelings in the world.
And to, you know, get that get that applause and, you know, people just telling
(09:16):
telling you that, hey, you know, like what I did up there was amazing.
Or they felt what I did so that they could relate to my story.
And that's one of the main reasons I write is so that people can feel like they,
you know, can relate to what I go through or, you know, or they say,
oh, I went through that, too.
Like how'd you get through that like just open up open up
conversations really absolutely i truly
(09:39):
love going to open mics like i remember my first time when i did open mic was
a couple years ago after dealing with a bad relationship and then i went to
i think i remember my first open mic was at the common house a couple years
ago and i i was so nervous my lips were chattering like Like I can, I,
you know, my voice was, was dry and,
(10:01):
you know, but after a while I just got comfortable and, you know,
it was just a second nature.
I truly love it. Like get out there expressing your love of what you write.
Cause you never know who you may touch with your words. Yep.
So, you know, I definitely love it. I always want to come see,
you know, what's out there, who, who's going to show up, who's going to deliver
(10:22):
and, you know, just get inspired by amazing words.
Absolutely. So I want to ask you this. What are some obstacles in your life
that you had to overcome and how poetry helped you to become the man that you are?
Poetry, some of the obstacles I had to overcome is basically being in a place
of feeling like I don't fit in or I don't belong or I don't have a voice.
(10:46):
A lot of times because of my disability, people look at me as like,
oh, he can't do anything for himself or, oh, he can't or, you know,
or people just people just don't accept me for who I am.
And poetry allowed me to learn to accept myself for all my flaws and things like that.
And also help other people, you know, let them know that they're not alone in
(11:07):
their struggles as well.
Because it just started out with poetry when I was through a breakup.
I started writing poetry because of a breakup. Didn't even know I wrote a poem or whatever.
But then I looked back and realized, like, hey, I wrote my first poem,
like, outside of school.
And then I would do it to get attention from people.
And then eventually it started to come around to where like I would write and
(11:30):
share it with my friends or whatever you know like wow that's really good and
then I started realizing that people were touched by the things that I you know
I had to say and you know that my writing was impactful and I had a voice and
I should share that voice with others.
Definitely love that because you truly have a voice. And I was going to my next
question since you were talking about disabilities and your truly inspiration out there.
(11:54):
I love that you do not let anything defeat you and that you continue living
your life to the fullest regardless of what people say.
What advice can you give to those that are experiencing the same thing that
you went through so that they want to pursue their dreams and goals, ambitions, and life?
What kind of advice would you give them? I would always tell them,
(12:14):
if you want to pursue your dreams, pursue your dreams.
There's nothing stopping you from doing that. There's nothing stopping you from
pursuing your dreams. You can do whatever you put your mind to.
You just have to have the drive to do it. But, you know, people like to say
children are like a main stopping point for following your dreams.
I had a friend tell me a couple of years back when my son was first born that
(12:39):
literally nothing can stop you.
You have to plan smarter when you have kids or like when you have other obstacles in your life.
Maybe money may be an issue for you following your dreams. There are so many
resources out here that you can that you can tap into in order to make your
dreams possible, even if you don't have the funds to make it possible.
So don't let anything stop you from following your dreams because you're going
(13:01):
to regret it. You're going to regret it if you do.
Because when I was younger, before I started having poetry in my life,
I used to doubt myself back in the day.
I used to believe those folks that say you're not going to amount to anything.
You're not you're not going to be anything. You're nothing.
But after letting those bad apples go.
You know what i'm gonna do me i'm gonna
(13:23):
be inspiring i'm gonna do what i want to do regardless of what
people say you know sky's the limit yeah you
know going to church you got to use that negativity as a
fuel for it is positive things
absolutely and i use i use that
negativity every day you know throughout my poetry especially when
i post i always post positive quotes every day
(13:45):
on my social media because you never know who may be watching
because they might be dealing with something and they
need that extra push to get them through so most definitely most definitely
you know so go for it if you if those that wants to do poetry or anything in
life do it like don't let nothing stop you you know so i just like that i'm
(14:06):
just a happy happy place in my life now just,
away from doubts. That's always good. And I could tell through your poetry and
the things you choose to share now, that you really overcame those areas that
had you struggling or had you worrying about things.
You could tell by the poetry selection from a poet, where they're at in your life.
(14:32):
Because you usually don't see a poet perform poetry where they're no longer at
anymore unless they're trying to show you prove a point
or show you something so i i truly see
a change in you and a growth in you as a poet since i met you in the
short amount of time that i have known you oh thank you so
much man it's all because guys
like you and and all my poetry friends y'all y'all
(14:55):
y'all keep me going every day every
day because seeing you you know perform form
without without like reading from your book was was dope
i was like okay i wish i was there because i'd have been i'd have been hyping
you a real bad right but sadly
i'm only able to memorize like three poems that's
okay that's a start that's a start i'm trying
(15:18):
i'm trying because i used to take acting back in when i was
in college at charleston and like like acting
and then memorizing you gotta get out of memorize you gotta repeat
repeat repeat repeat yeah it's
a lot of work i think like a month it takes
you about a month it takes me about months to actually get
my memory it takes me about two weeks
(15:40):
like maybe two weeks to two weeks
to a week depending on how serious and then think about i'll be writing other
stuff on top of memorizing so it's like i'm writing and also trying to memorize
and i just take i just what i do one of the key key things that i do to memorize
is i rewrite the poem like while i'm trying to memorize it also write it down.
(16:00):
Like three or four times and then also go in and memorize it.
I use like flashcards, like the index card and I write, write.
My my poems down in parts to help help me memorize
this i'll memorize one one part of the poem and then
work on the second and then run it all together it makes
it a little easier especially when you write it out it makes it easier to memorize
(16:20):
something too like i'll break it down in sections bam bam bam and then repeat
bam bam repeat yeah so absolutely i'm definitely taking taking your notes like
definitely i'm gonna try to memorize a poem in a week.
Oh, next question. In your poetry performances, you are definitely great at
(16:44):
adding crowd participations in your performance on the mic, like especially
the art of freestyling on the mic. Yeah.
You're so smooth and sharp with it, man. Thank you. Thank you.
Seriously. You're welcome. You're welcome.
You always ask the audience a topic, a word, or subject out the blue on the the spot.
And then you're truly amazing at that. So I wanted to ask, how long have you
(17:07):
been, you know, freestyling poetry on the mic?
So I've been freestyling poetry on the mic since February of 2020.
Like after the release of my first book, I wanted to do like a, a book release party.
And I had like poets come out, like Brian, um, Brian Howard,
(17:30):
And I had Georgia and then I had this rapper by the name of D.A.
Smalls come to a party I was trying to do, right?
And nobody showed up but the people I asked to perform and like some of my family
members. So like maybe like 10 people, right?
And nobody showed up. And I had a whole set put together, right?
And I used to freestyle, like try to rap before I started doing poetry back in 2008.
(17:56):
But I never like freestyled a poem before. so i
was like why don't i do why don't i like try to
freestyle or something um like while
i'm on stage because i was kind of hurt nobody showed up like i
like i i bought this venue for a couple hours got my friend who's a dj from
all the way from texas to come out like spend like 300 on him to come out and
(18:20):
nobody showed up so like i just i just spoke what was on my heart and talked
about but how nobody was at my party and things like that.
And like, but I wasn't going to let that get me down.
I still had an amazing time, but that's when it all got started.
And then when I'm like, when I came to Freeverse, like recently,
that's when I kind of picked back up on poetry because I haven't,
(18:42):
I stopped doing poetry like right before COVID hit and things got a little crazy.
So, and then I just decided to do it one day again.
And I've been kind of known as a freestyle poet.
Like people expect me to do it every time i every time i come out like
are you gonna freestyle you gonna freestyle and it's like i want
to be known a little more for freestyling but that's what y'all know
me for and that's what y'all loving i'm gonna keep giving it to y'all yes do
(19:06):
keep doing it keep doing it because you got me wanting to freestyle like i tried
i tried to freestyle on the mic like just see how you feel like i was thinking
going one of my movies that i love i love watching kung fu movies with my dad
like this movie enter the dragon with bruce lee and he was training one of his um.
(19:26):
Students they are and he was like how do you feel let me think and he said don't think feel,
feel how you know feel your poetry don't think i
think like when you think and perform while doing poetry is
you know a big mistake like just just just just
say how you feel so that's a lot of times
(19:47):
even when even when you're you know even you're reciting on your your poetry
or the poetry you to memorize you lose a feeling when you start thinking too
hard or that's how you stumble when you start thinking too hard so like freestyling
like you know i can honestly say like it's funny because remember the last time
when they went to that there was a drunk guy that came on stage,
he kept asking me like how do you freestyle because i'm going through so much i'm like
(20:10):
i'm like bro you don't need to know how to freestyle at this point you need
to like just focus on life at this point but i was
trying to explain to him like freestyling is is something
that not everyone can do that it's like a gift not everyone
can do that not everyone could think on the spot because literally
i just get like a phrase or a word in
my head before i start or a topic and i just let
(20:32):
it flow whatever comes to mind that's what comes out absolutely i do the same
thing too and just close my eyes breathe and just let the words do the talking
definitely love it man just keep doing that freestyling because you got me wanting
to do it so it is inspiring other people to freestyle. So yeah, absolutely.
(20:53):
Oh, so I would ask you to, since we're both offers and we both got poetry books,
I'm so happy and proud of you, man, of your publication.
Like, thank you. Seriously. You're welcome. You're welcome. So one of your books
I purchased, I have it here.
Got, got a little bookmark painted purple. Yeah.
It's truly amazing. I was reading it last night. I'm like, Oh my God,
(21:17):
you got way more words. Thank you.
So can you tell the people, what is your poetry about, your poetry book about
Paint It Purple? And what is it actually about?
Pain in Purple was actually a project that was sitting on the shelf since, I want to say, 2015.
(21:38):
And for those who don't know, I've actually written two books.
But also before then, I wrote some books with an ex of mine that no longer exists
because for some reason it got scuffed from the Internet. So it no longer exists.
But basically, Pain in Purple was supposed to be some like some poetry I was
going to write to my unborn daughter that I don't have.
Right and then around the time like
(22:01):
2020 i found like after after
i started writing based on my experiences that i was going through like i was
i met my wife around the time like like 2019 2020 and so at the time i was dealing
with going through a breakup right with this girl was dating back in
(22:21):
like early early 2018 we
broke up then I had some family issues happen around the
same time and I was also talking to a young lady and then then I met my wife
shortly after so I was I was in between two women back and forth and basically
like everybody thought I was being an ocelot at the time but I was really going
(22:44):
through a lot I just didn't know how to express it didn't know like,
was just not being myself.
And those poems came from that, well, the concept of Painted Purple came from that.
And basically, it started to become an apology to my now stepdaughter.
And basically, I basically detail, like, my struggle with women and how I almost
(23:09):
lost my wife toward the end of the book.
So it's an apology to my daughter and explaining to her all the things that
I've dealt with with women and why I dealt with them because I wasn't healed
and I needed to be healed in order to be in a relationship in the first place.
And it was just like telling my stepdaughter, like, I'm sorry for the things I did to your mother.
(23:32):
But I'm learning my worth and my worth is royalty and I should treat people
as such and I should also treat myself as such. And so basically, Thank you.
When I was, you know, doing all those things, I was broken. But now that I know
my worth, my heart has now been painted purple so that the broken parts have
(23:52):
been now painted purple on my heart.
So basically, that's what it's in a long way of putting it. That's what it's about.
Just understanding who you are as a man, understanding that we do hurt.
We do go through things, but we have to learn our worth so that we can understand
that we are important and the people that we love are important as well.
And we shouldn't treat them like trash.
(24:13):
Absolutely. Absolutely. I definitely like that, man.
Truly inspiring man i didn't know what the title was but i'm like wow now i got a whole,
understanding of what yeah and it's crazy because like
my my daughter she sees me now um she sees
me like doing like you know the videos every day and
i think the last performance that she went to we
(24:34):
had to drop her off at her grandmother's and she was like um she was
like daddy where'd you go i'm like i wanted to do you know how i do the
videos or whatever with poetry she's like six and
she's like yeah and i'm like well you know
daddy had to go perform she said i want to see you perform i'm like i
was like well i don't know when i'm able to take you because you know
you're small but she's she is interested in what i'm doing already she's
(24:54):
like interested like even though she may not understand everything going
on she's interested in seeing what her dad does so
i'm just excited about that you know hopefully i may have a little poet or you
know at least another little cheerleader in my section or you know absolutely
most definitely she did she did the next generation you never know follow daddy's
(25:16):
footsteps she might be freestyling too so.
Yes from daddy to daughter yeah absolutely so all right so next question i know
in the author's world since we got books you know like book reviews are kind
of critical sometimes online line.
(25:36):
How do you deal with the bad and the good ones? The bad reviews go with views.
And do you feel like views can help you grow better as a poet?
I'm going to be honest with you about reviews. So I don't really get a lot of reviews.
I mean, I have gotten reviews, but mostly it's from people that know me.
So of course, they're going to give you the, yeah, I loved it,
and this, that, and the third.
(25:56):
But at the end of the day, I don't take stock in reviews too much because even
with comments, because I get more negative comments on my poetry now.
And I just take it like I get like like people laughing at
my poetry and I'm like okay and I just send a
laughing emoji back and not take stock in it because unless it's
actual constructive criticism I'm not I'm not paying it paying any attention
(26:21):
you know because some people just don't understand you like I remember I did
one of my poems called the weird things um that people tell me when I have cerebral
palsy on this tiktok live one time for like a talent show they were doing.
And I read the poem and it was like, I don't know if I can take you seriously
because they couldn't see that I had a disability.
(26:41):
So they thought it was trolling. I'm like, I have a disability,
but I understand you guys don't understand. It may not be the space for that.
So I just know that people who my poetry is for is going to touch who it's not.
They're just going to discard it. If it's not for you, I'm not worried about it.
But if you got something constructive to say then and yeah i'll
(27:03):
say i'll take you know i'll listen to what you have to say and
take it with a grain of salt absolutely absolutely for
me i never got ready any bad reviews of my poetry everyone said they love my
poetry they you know no really criticism on my end so but i never got any reviews
either or so but um i got i got a couple from friends like a A lot of, with Painted Purple,
(27:27):
a lot of women who read that book said they relate to it like crazy.
And it's crazy because it's written from a man's perspective.
Everything's written from a man's, but women are like, oh, I can relate to pretty much every poem.
And, you know, it's like, wow, I never thought, like I had women in mind,
but I never thought women would be like, man, I relate to the whole thing.
(27:48):
But and and my only thing
i want to tell you about not getting any bad reviews wait till you
start growing wait wait till your platform gets bigger you them
bad reviews gonna come and you know you did something right you start
getting bad reviews and people hating on you maybe you did something right so
yeah absolutely oh i feel like your book should be a movie like since you said
(28:10):
a lot of women is touched by your
story and what your book is about you definitely need to have tala perry,
maybe not Tyler Perry but yeah I do feel you on that one because I mean,
Like I said, my goal is so that people can, people can feel like they're not alone.
So like when people started telling me that, I was like, okay,
(28:32):
I'm on the right track. I know I'm doing the right thing.
So I can't, I can't even say, I can't say no more about it really.
Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely.
Oh, so next question. What type of advice would you give anyone that wants to
start a journey as a poet and performer? What would you give them?
The first advice I'd give you, don't look for your family to support you.
(28:55):
And that's gonna sound really harsh but don't look for your family and friends to support you,
because a lot of times when when you are a creative whether you're a poet rapper singer,
like actor your hometown and people around
you they think it's cute they'll be like oh it's cute that you do
your little poetry your little acting or whatever the case may be but they're
(29:15):
not gonna be invested in you i would i would even tell them if
you start your journey don't let them know about it just post online
or just go to you know to to an event you that
will appreciate your art and let the strangers tell
you how good you are because those
are people that are really gonna rock with you at the end of the day those people
who really gonna buy your merch support you at the end of the day show up to
(29:37):
your shows because i can tell you now as an artist that what i what i've experienced
is the people that i've like co-workers support me harder than my family does
There's no shade to them, but it's the truth.
Like other than my wife and my kids, like I got strangers who will buy my book in a heartbeat.
Just tell them I published the book. They'll go buy it.
(29:59):
But family, you know, it may drag their feet because they're not they're not your target audience.
The people that you that you grew up with are not the people that you're there to serve.
It's always people that are, you know, that you never met before will be your biggest supporters.
Absolutely. Absolutely. Especially going to different events.
You just never know who you may see so absolutely absolutely oh wonderful so
(30:22):
i hate to put you on the spot you know what i would ask you,
since we just spoke earlier about uh freestyling and in poetry earlier.
Um is there a poem that you would like to share with the listeners and fans
of yours tonight okay anything in your heart whoo let's see gotcha yeah yeah and the main thing is i i
(30:52):
watched your episode with joey so i should have
known this was coming yes um and i i do appreciate the
shout out you gave me as well let's see here let's
see don't make me shout out some words now no it's it's okay that that you put
put me on the spot because these words I spit a hot fire like I was a rapper
(31:13):
selling mixtapes out of the trunk but it seems like I was in a sunken place
for too long because I lost my spunk for poetry.
They say it's gifting, so you can't lose it like riding a bike.
I wonder if I might say a couple words that may spark a light in your heart.
I want to be lit like something like Thomas Edison would approve because I can't
(31:42):
help but think if I could find the right equation,
like if I was Einstein, because time is really just relative.
And I wonder if Einstein was really black because it reminds me of CP time.
Because if time is relevant, if time is relative, then I wonder who could really
(32:03):
be my relative in this place that I'm trying to find space in.
I said that open mics are a place where it feels like a family reunion and I
can reunite with my family once again with a stand behind the mic.
And I'm free to spit my truth so that you can feel me.
Like Braille, I make it look easy like I was Wheezy back in the day in 2009.
(32:25):
That sounds kind of crazy to say that I'm 30 now, but I'm giving y'all present in the present tense.
And I wonder if it's evident that my rhymes are heaven sent because I like the
way my words play like kids on a Saturday.
It's sad to say you're not like me or not like us because we're gifted and we
use words in a way that you'll never even imagine.
(32:47):
Like if you were battling dragons and I got a shield to hold your heart and
mind and soul in one place.
And I wonder if you ever felt out of place because these words I spit are here
to let you know that you're heard and things that you're scared of are really real. Peace.
(33:11):
Oh, oh, ah, see, that's why that's why I like your art of freestyle. Oh, my God.
Oh, that touched me right there, man.
Thank you. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. Thank you so much for definitely
doing that, man. I had to put you on the spot.
(33:31):
You know it. I knew it. You know it. So, hey, in the world of poetry,
you got to be ready. You got to be ready at all times.
Right. I'm like, give me a poem right now. What you got in your mind?
People will do that, especially if you're doing like vendoring and going to
different events and they're going to ask you to do a poem.
(33:53):
Absolutely absolutely so you you killed that
one you're welcome you're welcome
all right so where can fans find you at on on social media and again you just
said about upcoming events what you got going on this year and the next so i
do have uh a another um interview on the 10th on TikTok live.
(34:17):
That's coming up soon. And I'm also working on a book that'll come out sometime
next year called Yellow Flower for the Living.
But you can find me everywhere at DL Mack Jr.
So you can find me on Facebook, Instagram. I'm mostly on TikTok and my handle is DL Mack Jr.
(34:39):
Poet. And you'll find me on TikTok where I post every single day.
So anywhere you can find me, Poetry, you can Google me. My books are on Amazon
as well. So just Google DL Mack Jr.
And you'll find me and my books as well. There you go. Mr. Worldwide.
(34:59):
You're all over. That's what's up. That's what's up. So I know we're about to wrap.
Is there anything else you you would like to express to your fans out there
or anything you would like to share?
Support your creatives because what people fail to realize is if your friends
are creative and you're saying you're going to check out their work and you don't, you end up.
(35:23):
Causing them to shy away from doing their gift because you're their first point
of contact as far as criticism and support.
So even though you may not like what they do, support them anyway,
because you can truly affect how an artist approach art as well as their fans.
So support your artists, check on your artist friends because we may be creative,
(35:46):
but the reason why we're so creative is because we deal with so much and we
go through so much and we bleed out for you every Every day we're naked in front
of you guys. Every day we get on stage.
So support your artists, support your artists, support your artists.
Cause if you don't, who else will?
Yeah. That's, that's really all I got. Amen. Amen.
I love that. Yes. Definitely support your artists, man.
(36:08):
Every day that we go through, you know, cause our stories will touch everybody,
you know, regardless of what we go through. So most definitely.
I always end with positive quotes. If you have like a dream,
goal, an ambition in life, just go for it.
You know just express how you how you feel so
absolutely so as thank you
(36:28):
so much man mr dl man i appreciate it all
right so i would like to thank you again for definitely being part of this segment
of creators content by the brothers of a company podcast it was a definitely
a great show i definitely felt inspired by your words and encouragement and
your story absolutely and and your art.
(36:49):
I got to freestyle. You got me wanting to, after this video,
I want to freestyle. I have to.
Yes. Matter of fact, are you going to Free Race Friday?
Yes, I'll be there this Friday to support our VIX.
Freestyle. Freestyle? Oh, God.
I'll be there. I'm going to punch y'all. Freestyle. Oh, wow.
(37:12):
All right. I'll see what I can come up with. Just go with the flow. Just feel. feel,
absolutely all right i'm gonna try i'm gonna try it okay that's a bet all right i got you,
all right guys thank you so much man deal man um my name is chris c larick win
(37:35):
of the bravos company podcast present creators conversation um you can follow us on facebook
x formerly known as twitter instagram tiktok
and on our website at brothers and company
podcast.popping.com where
you can check out also check out our merch store where you
(37:55):
can check out our shirts hoodies and different items and also always me and
my brother always say this on our show we are free 99 to definitely listen to
us you ain't got to take out no mortgage no loan the lunch money to watch us
and review us so definitely it is free of charge.
(38:19):
Okay folks so i definitely for definitely tuning in
again thank you mr dl mac jr for definitely blessing us on this episode i'm
so happy yes most definitely thank you again for definitely being on the show
all right guys thank you so much for your time you guys have a good night peace and one love,
(38:40):
this is the brothers in company podcast.
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