Picture this: a lively memory of a town crier in Nigeria, a regal topless woman, and a vibrant blend of stories that weave together the themes of faith, culture, and humor. That’s how our latest episode kicks off with Raphael Harry, a devoted fan from Afros & Audios. Together, we share personal anecdotes about African football jerseys, dive into our religious upbringings, and even chuckle over tales involving anointing oil and a stolen mug. This episode is all about embracing the rich cultural narratives that shape our identities and experiences.
Next, we travel through the world of immigrant stories, with a spotlight on the creation of the podcast "White Label American." Reflecting on our childhoods, fascination with encyclopedias, we recount how those early explorations of diverse cultures influenced our understanding of the world. Despite its original focus on New York immigrants, the podcast’s reach expanded globally during the pandemic, revealing how immigrant tales transcend borders. We tackle the importance of challenging misconceptions and misinformation that often distort immigrant narratives, uncovering the true American story through a lens of growth and exploration.
The conversation then shifts to the media portrayal of African countries, especially the disparity in coverage. We tackle the impact of audience engagement on news coverage, illustrated by a humorous account of a podcast appearance where I was humorously labeled a "villain." We also tackle traditional African customs, exploring marriage rituals and the complexities of cultural identity and expectations. Wrapping up with a nod to African football, we explore the value of connection & community, while expressing gratitude to our listeners and highlighting future events. Don’t miss this engaging episode filled with laughter, reflection, & meaningful dialogue.
Ep 176: Embracing Multicultural Education and Culinary Discoveries ft Paula Sima - https://www.whitelabelamerican.com/
Use code PS24AFAU for 10% OFF - https://www.afrosandaudio.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
and a town crier is ringing the bell.
I'm like, well, what'shappening?
Is there some fight orsomething About to go down?
Because it was around the timewhen some of what's happening in
Nigeria today was justbeginning to happen in the
oil-producing areas where I'mfrom, and I see a young woman
walking behind a few feet behindthe town crier and she's
(00:24):
topless, she only has a skirtand it was a majestic walk.
I'd never seen something likethat before.
She was majestically juststrolling behind the guy and
he's just announcing and theloose translation is Shit
happens.
Shit happens to you and me.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
It doesn't matter if you're a wizard, a king or a
queen, even if you are magic,you've got to agree it's worth
it to talk shit out, no matterhow messy Shit happens.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Shit happens.
What's up?
Hey, shit Talkers.
(01:29):
So this episode is a ShitHappens episode that was
recorded earlier this year inFebruary, and I wanted to bring
it back right now because Rafaand I, with other Africans, will
be part of a panel at the 6thAfro-Sinai News happening
October 18th to the 20th inBaltimore, md.
(01:49):
Our panel is about voices ofAfrican diaspora telling our
stories through podcasting.
So if we got a whole bit oftime then to bring the shit up
in the episode, then right nowRaph is the organizer of this
panel as well.
So he got, he got all of ustogether and we all met last
(02:11):
year at afros and audios fifthfestival.
So come catch us live onoctober 18th to the 20th at
bartlemore md.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Oh, my god, y'all wish me luck because this guest
right here.
Y'all need to send all yourprayers, dance to your gods and
just hope that I make it,because I'm so by your eyes.
I don't know, I'm going to needto go drink after this
conversation.
Allow me to introduce to youthe one and only Mr Raffaella.
(02:47):
He's a Talk Shit With Peef fan,you know.
I met him at Afros and Argersand he was such a fan that he
just wants to follow meeverywhere and just be around me
.
Hey, raf, welcome to.
Shit Happens.
What are you talking to me?
Hello, wait, what jersey areyou wearing?
Why does that look like ayounger jersey?
Speaker 1 (03:08):
I wanted to wear one that you might recognize easily,
but I couldn't find it, so Iwore the Bafana Bafana one
instead.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Don't tell me you have a Typhus Stars jersey.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
I do have a Typhus Stars jersey.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
How do you have a Typhus Stars jersey?
I do have a Typhus Stars jersey.
How do you have a Typhus Starsjersey?
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Because I have many jerseys.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
I don't even have a Typhus Stars jersey, so are you
sure you're from where you toldme you're from?
I have Yanga, because I'm teamYanga, I have team Yanga too.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
That's my team Yanga.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Oh, not Simba.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
I like Simer too.
That's my team Younger, oh, notSimba.
I like Simba too.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Their fans make me, they entertain me online.
Yeah, simba, fans are annoyingas fuck.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
I respect them, you know, but if they want to join
my Patreon, I welcome them too,you know.
So how are you doing now?
I'm good, I'm good.
Well, thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Here'm Raphael Harry.
For those who don't know me,you blackmail me into having you
here, so I don't know whyyou're thanking me.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
I don't know why I was invited, but um, well, if
that's the unofficial way we aregoing with, we'll see.
Well, that looks like my mug.
I don't know how you got it,but I don't even have one, but
you know.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
I went to your warehouse and stole it.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
I was made aware.
I saw the CCTV, but theycouldn't tell if it was.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
A boy's gun.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Should we report?
I was like you know I don'tlike sending was like you know I
don't like sending kids to.
You know I believe in secondchances.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
I'm not a Christian or Muslim, but I believe in
second chances.
I don't.
I just find myself an adult, soyou don't do religion.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
No, I do, but I accept payments.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Impressive for a Nigerian.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
I grew up in the church so I've seen all the
secrets.
I know the secrets.
There's family members who partof why they don't talk to me
today is because of religion.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
So yeah, I figured I disappointed nobody.
Did you ever read that bookabout the Catholics?
This guy went and exposed theentire Catholic, even had an
interview with the Pope andeverything.
I forgot the name of that book.
I didn't finish reading it.
I read half of it.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
I grew up, I was first Catholic.
I did my first baptism.
I just didn't do confirmation.
But then from Catholic Church Imoved to what is called
evangelical here we call itPentecostal in Nigeria.
It was very hardcore.
We even did prayers and fastingfor George W to become
(05:54):
president.
I still remember doing that.
So yeah, the homosexuals do nothave power in America.
We went hardcore and all thatkind of nonsense.
Yeah, the church is very bigright now.
We went hardcore and all thatkind of nonsense.
The church is very big rightnow.
We are probably in a part ofAfrica too.
We don't say we were sick, wesay we are well, you are well,
(06:18):
it is well.
That's how we greet each other.
That's an expression of faith.
There was one time I had painsin my neck and I was told I
didn't have faith.
That's why I was feeling painsin my neck.
So you have to drink anointingoil.
Until I came to America Idiscovered that the anointing
(06:40):
oil I had been drinking wasolive oil and I was like God
dang it.
People cook with this Like man.
This company making a lot ofmoney in Nigeria.
They've been wondering whyNigerians were buying that oil
all the time.
Then I discovered.
I saw the factory in New Jersey.
I was like man, this company, Ican't stop cooking with olive
oil.
Yeah, there's a whole lot ofstories.
If you met that person backthen I would have casted you out
(07:03):
.
Bind you in the name of Jesus,bind you Got to cast him.
Bind you.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
I mean you can't really cast me.
That was just a different kindof casting.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
But it's true.
Yeah, I was very close to themanosphere back then, but that's
why I accept payments now.
If you pay me properly, I caneven bring that person out for
you.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Okay, we need to share that because I've realized
when me and Rafael talk we cango.
When I went on his podcast, weended up talking for almost
three hours and we are trying tokeep this to less than one hour
.
So let's get to.
When two podcasters meet andthen it's two African podcasters
it just gets real.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
I was.
So.
I made such an impact on youthat you even copied my
hairstyle.
That's why I had to cover ittoday.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
You see, I had to do stuff there.
Let's see yours, becausecopying you would mean.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
I saw the photos.
It's all right.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Some of your hair don't grow.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
There's some in here, it's all right, Some of your
hair don't grow you know,there's still some here, there's
still hair.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Okay, let's not start saying which parts there is
hair right now.
So I really actually want totalk to you about your, your,
your podcast and your journeywith your podcast, because you
know, um, first of all, I'm verycurious why the fuck, how the
(08:32):
fuck, you came up with that namelike white label america.
Like what were you thinking?
Until you're like white labelamerica, that's my podcast,
that's the name.
Like how did that come about?
Speaker 1 (08:43):
my shout out to my boy, scott, fellow navy veteran,
and I was in a different spaceback then.
I'd been robbed by a fellownigerian who had stolen all the
equipment for a previous podcastthat we were supposed to do.
I was, you know, I'd embracedmental health.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
It's your own people.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Yeah, it's always your own people, you know.
So it's Black History Month, sopart of Black History includes
some negative stuff too.
Yeah, so I was contemplatingquitting podcasting because, you
know, I didn't really have thefull information before going
(09:28):
into podcasting.
But it wasn't too long after Istarted going through mental
health embrace the mental healthtreatment and part of my
treatment was coming out of my.
You know, I'd withdrawn fromsociety, I'd withdrawn from
people.
I was talking a lot on socialmedia but in real life I wasn't
(09:50):
out there.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Yeah, because you like shouting on Facebook to
people.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Yeah, I wasn't.
He didn't know me then.
That was different.
But I'd come across this dudeand he had said dude, you're not
like other Nigerians that I'vemet.
You have your political views,your social views, you have
great commentary.
We should do a podcast.
(10:18):
And I was like I heard thatword before.
It sounds familiar.
I'd even forgotten I did apodcast with somebody around
2010 and I didn't like my voice.
I don't forget that.
I did a podcast with somebodyaround 2010, and I didn't like
my voice.
I was afraid inferiority,complex, a whole bunch of things
.
So I never listened to it andcompletely forgot about it.
Now this guy brings it up.
I'm in a botched confidentspace mentally and I was like
(10:41):
all right, what do you need?
I just trusted him and he gaveme a list and I bought
everything on the list and hestole everything.
So we ended up in court and allthat.
He still hasn't paid me to thisday.
But I won in court.
But after that experience I'mlike I don't want to do this
podcasting thing anymore.
It seems like too much headache.
But a few friends who listenedto the stuff we did said I have
(11:04):
something going for me.
People like coming to metelling me their stories.
It's a natural thing I have doyour own thing.
Yeah, I always get stories out.
I got your story too, you know.
So, uh, yeah where is it?
Speaker 2 (11:18):
where is it you got my story?
Where the fuck is my story?
Speaker 1 (11:22):
it's still on that.
Come on, we're not doing thatagain.
My external hard drive gotbroken.
Don't make me go over theheartbreak of how much I spent
on that.
My boy Scotty was the one whosaid after I decided okay, I'm
going to do my own podcast, I'llembrace what this skill that
(11:45):
I've always I've never reallyembraced.
Now it comes to what will Icall it, what's the title going
to be?
And my boy Scotty was likeWhite Label, american.
And I'm like are you crazy?
What kind of title is that?
Can't come up with somethingelse?
And he's like, no, no, no, youneed that title because, first
of all, it's catchy.
It makes people pause.
(12:05):
People are going to stop and belike what Wait, I have to check
it out, what is this?
And I didn't realize what I wasdoing then.
But I kind of did a marketsurvey without thinking about it
and I asked about 20 to 30people people, will you listen
(12:25):
to a show or podcast if this wasthe title?
And out of all the people Iasked, only one person was like
why do you hate white people?
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Then I looked at it and I was like there's always
going to be that one person.
There's always going to be thatone person.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
I know the person.
He's also a veteran and he'skind of a Clarence Thomas type
of person and I was like this isthe type of person that gives
me that feedback.
Good, I think this is a goodsign.
So I kept it because it was myown take on who's American.
It's from my own point of view,but it's my own way of showing
(13:04):
the American story and bringingit to light, and although it has
expanded from where it beganwhen I started, everything in
life always expands from theplace you start from, if you're
doing it right.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
That's growth.
Because we are growing.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Yeah, because I started before the pandemic, and
the pandemic will happen and Iwill start getting guests from
outside of america anyway.
So, but immigrant story is not,uh, limited to only people in
the united states or new york.
Like I started, I intention, Iplanned at the beginning to only
have immigrants in new york,because new york is a big uh
market and a big space, so thatwas the original plan.
(13:41):
We'll come, they'll come, sitdown with me in the studio, and
then I started getting guestsfrom around the country and from
outside of the country.
Do I say no just because no,but when the pandemic happened I
couldn't be in the studio too,so fate kind of arranged certain
things for me, but I wasn'tgoing to change the name from
(14:02):
White Label America just becauseI like it and everybody's
always like wow, and if youdon't like the name and you're
like, oh, it makes me feel likeyou don't like white people,
well then that means my podcastis not for you.
Bye-bye, but still donate money.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Before you leave, though, and buy merch I was like
when I first heard the podcastname, I was like, but he's a
black Nigerian and his podcastis called Wild Label America.
Like what the fuck is this?
But then again, then I actuallytalked to you.
I was like it makes sense why Iwould have a podcast called
(14:43):
Wild Label America.
So you, being an immigrant, whywas it important for you to
share these immigrant stories onyour platform?
Were you looking for something?
Were you missing something, orwere you trying to show America
something?
Why was sharing immigrantstories?
Speaker 1 (15:01):
I think it's a combination of all.
Right from my childhood, I'vealways been exploring.
My older brother had a wholebunch of encyclopedia in the
house.
I don't know which one, I can'trecall which one, but it was
(15:22):
from A to Z.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Fancy, fancy.
Sometimes we were know whichone.
I can't recall which one, butit was like from A to Z.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
Ah, you were fancy-fancy.
Sometimes we were, sometimes weweren't.
We still had power outages andlater on I would have to go
fetch water, sometimes up to amile.
So it depends.
To an extent we were, to anextent we weren't, because, you
know, there was a middle classback then so and we could afford
housemates up to a point inlife.
(15:48):
But I was always reading, I wasgetting information about other
places, other worlds, and youhear stuff from people who are
older than you, people who aresupposed to have more knowledge
about the world, and when youare reading information at a
(16:12):
time when there was no internet,at a time when there was no
social media, you startabsorbing this information and
thinking that, oh, you know,people here are this, people
here are that.
And then, by chance, you willmeet one person and you'll be
like, wait a minute, I thoughtyou all are this.
You know, as a big soccer fanand I'm watching one of the
(16:38):
international tournaments and Iwill see a name on a player's
jersey and that name like aJapanese name, but it looks like
exactly the same spelling as aname from the ancient Benin
kingdom.
Has the name the same when youknow?
But there's no explanation forsomething like that.
It's just like everything isblack and white but it's not.
(17:00):
A lot of things exist in a greyarea.
From the information I wasgetting, a lot of it wasn't
correct.
Like one time, I still havethis memory of one uncle who nah
I question if that man evenleft ever crossed Nigerian's
border, but the guy will alwayshave stories of man.
You know, when I was in NewYork I woke up brush our teeth
(17:20):
with Napoleon Brandy man, howdoes that make sense?
But to a kid back then you'd belike, wow, you mean in New York
they brush their teeth withNapoleon Brandy, so great your
teeth was.
You have teeth in your moutheven after six months, but that
(17:40):
dude has stories like that.
And then anti-Black stories.
There was the ones demeaningwomen and all this.
But there was ones demeaningother countries.
How Ghanians are this?
Indians are that?
The legendary story of howIndia beat Nigeria 100 to 0
goals.
A lot of Nigerians believe thatstory.
The BBC has done aninvestigation.
(18:01):
It never happened.
It never happened.
And then you find out one dayday that Ghanaians have the
exact same story.
When did this story begin?
Speaker 2 (18:09):
I saw your post, the mother.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
Yeah, every Indian.
I brought on the podcast.
I've asked them and they'relike man.
You're the first person tellingme this.
India cannot.
They don't have a strong team,they've never had a strong team
in soccer.
But in Nigeria there's alegendary tale that came out
when nobody knows.
Ghana has the exact same story.
So all these things you have tostart.
(18:31):
It's an artificial world thathas been created at one point in
time.
It makes you think that peoplehave never interacted, makes you
think that people have justbeen on islands to each other.
Meanwhile, we've beeninteracting for a long, long
time through different things,most especially trade, be it
from slavery, religion, allthese things.
(18:52):
We've been interacting.
Royalties talk to royaltiesaround the world way before
colonialism came into picture,and colonialism is also it's
exist in the way we talk aboutit now is just seem to be like
oh, europeans just came out andcreated colonization.
Colonization has existed evenin Africa.
We colonize each other and allthese things is something that,
(19:14):
with time, I started looking atit like man, wait a minute.
A lot of information I got as akid was not correct or factual.
I'm not saying correct, itwasn't factual.
So I was always interested whenI meet people from other places
and we start talking and it'slike wait a minute.
You guys do this, I do that tooand you start.
It's like heads start exploding, like wait a minute, wait a
(19:37):
minute.
You guys eat.
You eat it like this.
You guys have this culturalreference.
So why wouldn't I startcollecting stories?
Why wouldn't I start lookingfor a way to show the world that
, yeah, you know, my picture ofAmerica growing up as a kid
wasn't yeah, it didn't makesense.
Now it doesn't make sense nowfor me to still be sticking to
that picture.
And when I try to show otherpeople, like you know, I've had
(19:58):
one or two people write to me mychildhood friends.
They're like, oh man, I listento what?
That thing?
That way they do I listen to it.
Eh, so way they do I listen toit.
So, somebody from this country,they do things like we do things
and I'm like, yeah, that's whyI try and tell you that it's
important for you to hold onSome of those views that we are
still holding on to.
It doesn't really make sense.
(20:19):
Just try and listen to otherpeople and find out that, yeah,
maybe we can pause on some viewsthat we hold on to and think
it's our culture.
Is it really our culture Ifsomebody told you that that's
our culture and we just run withit like it's our culture.
Is it convenient to call it ourculture?
Speaker 2 (20:38):
So, yeah, I think that's part of why I do what I
do, because it just challengeseverything that we hear and try
and stick to it challenges yourmind and you get to unlearn I
think most of us and it kind ofgoes the same when you're
working on yourself right, oryou have to work on yourself.
Most people here are doing thatbecause you end up unlearning
(21:00):
shit you were told, becausethese are things we were told by
our great-grandparents, buteven our parents.
They're like oh, you rememberwhen I told you this?
That's not actually true.
I just came to realize that itdoesn't work that way.
So when you start hearing thesestories and seeing what
different stories of people intheir different cultures, in
their different, you're like ohshit, how come I was told your
(21:23):
country was like this.
So that's not true.
No, no, that's not our country.
And you're like fuck, I've beenlied to all my life.
So you're doing an amazing shitshowing the world and you're
actually also showing the worldthat we are more than what they
see on TV, because they likeshowing these countries on the
bad side, not the good side,only the nasty side.
(21:47):
So hearing people, theirstories and their childhood, and
knowing how they actually grewup or the different cultures
they have, it's just like youknow, people now listen to your
podcast and be like, man, Ishould go visit Ghana, or I
should go visit North Dakota,wherever the stories are coming
from, because of the storiesthey just had from there.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Yeah, and I also look at it this way, because there's
a lot of representation anddiversity on TV, like, for me
personally, I'm not, I know,like when I interview Nigerians,
there's this talk about, oh, weneed to show a lot of the good
things happening in Nigeria andI'm like, yeah, but there's a
lot of bad things happening inNigeria, a lot like plentiful,
(22:29):
and it's part of the stories.
I don't shy away from that, youknow, because the stories
include the good, the bad andthe ugly.
We haven't even touched a lotof the bad, but there's some
ways like I forgot what theycall it.
Is it like the ghetto tourismor something like that?
There are people who enjoy thatkind of thing and for me, I try
(22:51):
to look for a balance and somepeople just want.
I think some people have thisfeeling within them that, oh,
you must always show good or thebright lights when it comes to
my part of the world, and I'mlike okay that's good for you to
my part of the world and I'mlike, okay, that's good for you,
but for me I'm like every placehas good, bad and ugly.
(23:19):
Yeah, but America TV only showsTanzanians' bad side, it depends
on what TV you're watching,because if you're watching, Tell
me what nice shit you have seen.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
No, I'm talking about the news.
I'm not talking about moviesthat are created on Netflix or
documentaries.
I'm talking about the news whenthey report about the country.
Tell me, when have you hadTanzania being reported in a
good light?
Speaker 1 (23:41):
If you listen to VOA Africa, which I do, Again you
said VOA Africa.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
That's right Africa.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
That's Voice of America.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
So when?
What about Tanzania?
Speaker 1 (23:57):
The Jews.
They report everythinghappening and if there's
positive, they report positive.
But you should remember, youshould remember News headlines
is Because what I'm bringingthis point up is people tend to
if there's a war happening inTanzania, should they report it
or should they not report it?
Because when Tanzania's what'syour current president?
(24:20):
The woman when she ascendedpower she was the first woman to
ascend the power in TanzaniaAll of them reported that there
was a woman as president.
Who are saying the power inTanzania?
All of them reported that therewas a woman as president.
But if she does something likewhat is happening in Senegal
right now, where the presidentjust moved the election it's
supposed to happen right now.
Technically, putin, a countrythat has never had
destabilization in West Africa,in big position to have a
(24:44):
possibility of a coup happeningthen everybody's reporting it.
They'll post it.
Oh, they're showing bad newsabout Senegal.
I'm like, yeah, the man did it,somebody there did it.
They have to report.
We leave all that out and say,oh, they only showed the bad.
But I'm like, when the good ishappening, yeah, we don't hold
(25:08):
the people responsible.
We need to hold peopleresponsible for their actions.
There's that side of it too.
But Tanzania.
Remember when the woman, what'sher name?
Again, I'm forgetting yourpresident's name.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
I'm seeing her face, which I guess, of course, that
one they're going to report.
How many women presidents do wehave?
Speaker 1 (25:23):
We have six on the continent.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
But if it was a normal other president, it
wouldn't have been news.
It was news because she was awoman and we don't have those.
Of course they're going toreport that.
But apart from that, we haveincredible, other amazing shit
that goes on in Tanzania.
They don't, but when it comesto our president checking COVID
(25:45):
on the oil and shit, all thebullshit that they report, all
the the bullshit that theyreport, all the killings that
they report, which I get, we dohave bad things, but so does
America, so does all these othercountries, but you see other
countries being promoted.
The beautiful side of it.
I'm not saying don't talk aboutthe bad.
Of course, talk about the bad.
My country has so much bullshit, yes, but it's also still a
(26:06):
beautiful country without a lotof stuff to offer.
Exactly so that's what my pointwas To be honest when it comes
to news from Africa.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Tanzania is still not a disrespect, but Nigeria is
way ahead of grabbing headlines.
I mean we love Nigeria SouthAfrica.
If I have a problem with newsreporting, it's Nigeria, south
Africa, ghana, egypt, ethiopia.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Tanzania.
They don't even know we exist,Unless it's something.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Sometimes I write to BBC Africa, I've written to VOA.
You guys have to report yes, 54countries.
Report on the 54 countries,because a lot of stuff gets
under the headlines.
You have to report, yes, 54countries.
Report on the 54 countries,because a lot of stuff gets
under the headlines.
You have to go on the websiteto get the news happening from
all the countries, which Iunderstand if it's like a
30-minute program.
They try to get the biggestheadliners, the biggest, the
(27:03):
ones that pull more weight, moreeyes on.
You know they want to get,because everybody, everything is
about what do you call it?
Ratings?
Now, right, oh, yeah, yeah, soit's about oh, if we put Nigeria
at the top, then more eyes willcome.
Everybody knows Nigeria.
If we put Seychelles, what isthat?
Where is that?
Is that an, an African country?
(27:29):
Why is there?
Because if you have Africans,why say she was there?
So, and also to that too,people say they want good news,
but at the same time, peopledon't respond to good news a lot
positively.
We also have to question that,because you know when you put
good news, it doesn't move asmuch as bad news.
At the same time, you see moreinteraction with bad news.
(27:53):
I'm not saying they shouldn'treport good news, but I'm just
saying, if you go by the numbersthing, the ratings thing, we
also see that.
But you're right on that though.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
I mean you kind of did the same shit on your
podcast After Afro's Anarchistfor like two, three episodes.
I was a villain on his show.
Like for some reason my namekept coming up.
I think you're a villain.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
I said you are my.
It was the first time I met anemesis, and it was a friendly
nemesis, but it was different.
I had met somebody who couldmatch my energy.
No, you mean?
Speaker 2 (28:33):
exilic because, if I recall properly, I shut you up
for a minute there.
Even people were like is.
Raph quiet, does Raph not?
Speaker 1 (28:45):
have a cover.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
I think Afro and Adias needs to give me an award
this year when I go that theperson was able to shut Raph up,
Like literally, Talib and Corey.
I'm just saying an award thatthey shut Raph up at Afros and
Audios.
Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
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All right much.
Now it's 2023.
We're in 2024 now all right.
Speaker 4 (29:14):
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Speaker 1 (30:09):
The countermeasures have been deployed.
The system has been upgradedBecause the system hadn't met
you then.
So it had to take five minutesto calibrate, to build the
antivirus, to cover it wasn'tused to.
(30:29):
Like you know, the MISA systemhad not upgraded.
You know I had to go addanother one.
From which country would I addthat from?
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Okay, I won't tell you where it was coming from,
but anyway, it don't matter, I'mgoing to get my award anyway,
even if I have to make one formyself.
Speaker 1 (30:47):
I still have my people in the Middle East who
used to make awards for mycommand.
Drink water, please.
Drink water, it's okay.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
So how long have you been working with White Labo
America?
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Since October 2019.
Oh wow.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
That's impressive.
So, out of all the storiesyou've had right in your podcast
, out of all the guests, whichone was the most shocking one?
That was like what the fuckDang?
Speaker 1 (31:24):
Oh man.
Speaker 3 (31:25):
Ask me that question.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
I've had quite a few, I've heard quite a few.
I've heard quite a few.
Let me see, I don't haveanything written in front of me
right now.
So you know I've crossed once,you've crossed 40, you know the
database sometimes be bouncingup and down.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Just say, because you do a lot of this, that's why.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
Nine, nine, nine, nine, nine.
I'm a sober guy, you know it'sonly palm wine.
If it's fresh palm wine, thenit's different.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
But ah, oh, where do you get fresh palm wine?
Speaker 1 (32:07):
What do you know about palm wine?
You're too young to know palmoil.
You guys have palm oil inTanzania.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
I live in Malaysia with Nigerians, so they got palm
oil in.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
Malaysia.
They got no palm oil there.
They do.
Where do you get palm oil in?
Speaker 2 (32:24):
Malaysia.
Where do Nigerian people getall your shit?
They don't have palm oil inMalaysia.
They live in pamwine inmalaysia.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
People get all your shit in malaysia.
They what they sleep that thatis adulterated pamwine.
You have to come to my, to the,to the villages in the niger
delta and get it fresh.
You get it fresh from the tree.
Okay, I ain't telling you nomore secrets, but anyway, let's
stay on track.
So Let me see, I think I might.
(32:52):
Okay, I'll give it two, I'llgive it two.
So when Mariano the episode ofMariano Charles, he's moved back
to Argentina.
He moved to New York right asthe pandemic, right as we went
(33:13):
into lockdown.
So when he arrived in New Yorkit was literally no crowds, it
was like no people, nobody onthe streets.
So I guess he was like one ofthe last people that was allowed
into New York City and that waslike his first time in New York
City.
So that experience, it's rareto meet somebody like that.
(33:38):
You know, because everybodywho's been to New York is like
you know New York crowds, youknow people, like you know
locals, you know like people alot of people get overwhelmed
when they visit New York, likeman there, york, the crowds, so
much.
That guy got a whole experienceOf New York.
That's like it's rare to meetsomebody.
People can really match thatexperience.
(33:58):
Because he got to see GhostTown, new York, and that's how I
even became my friend.
Because when we started lettingpeople Mingle and I also run
some volunteer groups in theneighborhood One is for fathers
raising kids without fathers andanother one is a soccer group
for dads and he came to thesoccer group and he was like,
(34:21):
can I play with you guys?
I don't have any friend.
I moved here just as lockdownhappened, so I don't know
anybody and he's running crazybecause his wife has been living
.
His wife was already in new york.
She's also an immigrant fromgermany, but he didn't know a
single person.
And then he arrived herethere's nobody and it's just uh,
you know it's locked down soyou can't even go out and mingle
(34:44):
, make start trying to makefriends.
He's from Argentina.
He's like going crazy.
And when he finally came on thepodcast and he's sharing his
story, I knew he had beenpreviously married before.
And then he now tells that nowhe's sharing the story of what
happened to his first wife.
She had taken her life, but thewhole thing that led to her
(35:08):
taking her life was a wholeaccident, how she lost her
brother.
But the day she died he was inthe house when she took her life
and I had to stop the recordingand ask hey man, you sure you
want to talk about this?
This was before I started doingvideo recording, otherwise the
(35:30):
clip would have been out there.
But I had to stop and ask himlike hey, man, although you know
, in the content space that'slike gold material, yeah, that
was good, yeah, no no.
I have to ask you, first of all,where are you at right now?
Speaker 4 (35:47):
Are you sure you?
Speaker 1 (35:47):
want to talk about this and he's like hell, yeah, I
want people to know.
I don't know who will listen tothis episode.
I don't know where they are at.
They might be where I was afterI lost her and you know how I
was able to come back and nowI'm married and now I'm a dad.
Like back when he was marriedto his first wife, they didn't
(36:11):
want children, and now he's adad.
Actually, they have two kidsnow.
Their second kid was born afterthey moved to Buenos Aires.
So it was.
I think at that moment I knewthat I'm not in this for viral
moments, because it would havebeen so easy for me to just cut
(36:32):
that clip.
I think at that moment I knewthat I'm not in this for viral
moments, because it would havebeen so easy for me to just cut
that clip.
I can still create an audio clipand just throw it out there.
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
But the fact that I was able tostop the recording right there
and say, hey, man, you sure youwant to talk about this?
Where are you at right now?
And he like, oh yeah, I'm good,I want people to hear this.
Yeah, I came here to share thisstory and I want to share this
(36:56):
story.
I said, alright, we cancontinue.
I know you're in a good placenow.
It's not something that you'rejust going to run your mouth and
then maybe one month later orone year later you're going to
call me and be like no, no, no,no, no, no, Take it off, take it
off, take it off that kind ofthing.
So it was a shock to me to hearthat part of the story, but it
(37:17):
was a good shock, I'll put itthat way.
And the second one is someonewho one of the few people who
knew me as a teenager.
We're both in the same school.
He's a lecturer now in anotherAfrican country and I asked him
(37:37):
you know, when he got to thatcountry, what was his first
surprise?
And you might know the countrywhen I say what he's answered.
So he said you know, when I gotthere, they have this festival
where girls become women, and Iwas surprised the girls were
(37:59):
naked.
They cover their loins.
How can these people notAfrican?
What kind of African people arethese Africans don't do this?
And I was like, okay, okay, Ihear you, I hear you.
Speaker 2 (38:14):
It's safe to say, tanzanians have stopped doing
that ceremony, so I was like Ihear you, but you're from the
western part of Nigeria.
Speaker 1 (38:23):
You're from one of the biggest tribes in Nigeria,
the big three.
Have you been to my part ofNigeria?
That was the question I askedhim.
He said no.
I said okay.
So let me share a story thathappened, something that
happened to me in 2004.
I was in a city.
I was doing a job, you know, toset up canopies, chairs, tables
for events.
They would hire us, so theyhired me outside of Otakot to go
(38:46):
to a nearby city, but still, mytribal people are there, and
that was the first time I wentto this city and we were done
before 6 pm, so we got a fewminutes to relax before heading
back to the city and a towncrier is ringing the bell.
I'm like well, what's happening?
Is there some fight orsomething About to go down?
(39:07):
Because it was around the timewhen some of what's happening Is
there some fight or somethingAbout to go down?
Because it was around the timewhen some of what's happening in
Nigeria today was justbeginning to happen in the oil
producing areas where I'm from.
And I see a young woman walkingbehind a few feet behind the
town crier and she's topless.
She only has a skirt and it wasa majestic walk.
(39:28):
I've never seen something likethat before.
She was majestically juststrolling behind the guy and
he's just announcing.
And the loose translation istake one last look at this.
Let me say, goddess, you can'tlook at her After today.
She belongs to somebody, so itmeans she's getting today.
(39:49):
She belongs to somebody, so itmeans she's getting married.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
So wait, wait, wait, wait.
So when you're getting married,they parade you with your
titties out for people to lookat you.
Speaker 1 (40:02):
Wait, wait, I have to finish.
I have to finish it.
He's saying it in PidginEnglish, right, and a mixture of
english and our language, butit's, it's not like it's, it's,
it's.
It's a loose expression, it's,it's, it's comedic way he's
saying it and she's just likecatwalking and she's just happy
(40:26):
and people like cheering her on.
And for me, coming fromManassas, I'm like what the
hell's going on?
here.
I'm shocked now and I'mbeginning to sound like this guy
who's my guest right now on thepodcast.
That's how I sounded like In2004 and I'm like how dare you
people do this?
What is this?
And I'm yelling and peoplestart laughing at me and they're
(40:48):
like oh, where are you from?
Man?
I said I'm from my tribe and I'man EJOR, like, yeah, which EJOR
are you?
And I said I'm from the nextdoor state.
They're like, oh, yeah, yeah,you guys stopped doing this a
long time ago.
You guys stopped, but we stilldid it.
We've been.
(41:08):
We're christians, we don't dothis kind of stuff.
They're like, uh, yeah, before,we're christians.
You know, we have culture, wehave traditions.
Uh, yeah, this is one of them.
And I'm like, oh, no, no, no,no, no, no.
You know, we are christians, wedon't do this kind of things.
You know, our women cover upand, yeah, so that was something
(41:28):
I wouldn't even think aboutuntil 2021.
I'm interviewing this guy on mypodcast and that's just when
he's.
He's now bashing an africancountry, people in an african
country.
He's trying to tear them down.
Like you know that your owncountry does this shit, people
(41:49):
who have this culture.
And he's like what you mean?
You mean, you mean, you mean.
I'm like, yes, because youhaven't even been there.
You don't even know otherpeople in your own country.
So how, who are you to saypeople are africans, they are on
african, because that's theword he used.
He said they are on afAfrican,un-african, un-african.
And he was trying to saybecause he's a Christian.
(42:12):
And I was like you see, youcan't say somebody is not
African because you worship thisGod or you have this religion.
Oh, you believe in this.
You hear me, you didn't evenknow what's happening in your
backyard, you don't even knowwhat's happening in your land.
And if I didn't know that, thatexperience I went through in
(42:34):
2004 will come in handy in thefuture.
Speaker 2 (42:37):
But now, in defending another african country.
Speaker 1 (42:40):
So imagine you know me now.
You know there's a way I couldhave pretended that that never
happened, you know, but I'm gladthat it happened.
I learned from the correctionthat my own tribe has something
like that, even though it's notmy direct tribe.
It's my cousins from anotherstate.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
We don't actually have a tribe.
Speaker 1 (43:03):
Now we also have something similar to people in
Mauritania where, you know, Iknow some not all of us do it,
but I know it's called fatteningroom, where if a woman is
getting married like two weeks,they pump the woman up.
You know, put the woman up inthe room for two weeks.
So I know everybody does it.
(43:24):
But yeah, yeah, someone likeyou, you're going to come out.
They're going to be like Goddamn, paula, what happened?
Speaker 2 (43:31):
Wait out of curiosity , right, Because you're not
married to an African woman, sothis thing might be a little bit
.
These traditions are because ifyou're African and you're from
there, you know it's supposed tohappen, right.
Speaker 1 (43:44):
It's not for everybody, but Depending.
Speaker 2 (43:48):
it's supposed to happen right, it's not for
everybody, but Depending withyour family members.
You know, in Africa the familymembers hold more say when it
comes to your wedding oranything, than the actual person
who's.
They always try to interjectand there's some families that
they allow the family members totake over.
So do you think if you hadbrought your wife like like her
back home to, Would she haveagreed to leave her head?
Speaker 1 (44:20):
I'll say no, not that .
Speaker 2 (44:23):
Wait.
And how would you have felt asa husband?
Because I don't know how a manfeels like.
Oh, all these people arelooking at my, like she's about
to be mine and now she's comingto me, but everybody has seen
her goodies.
Speaker 1 (44:35):
No, well, I can't speak for other men, but I'm
asking you, no, no, hear me out.
There are certain things thathappen to me.
I call them part of theunwiring of my programming.
So before I left I even leftNigeria I discovered certain
(44:56):
ways families treat certainpeople.
So be it the issue with LGBTQ,no matter how Nigerians come
online and act like, we are 100%against it.
I already began to see thehypocrisy.
So I'd seen a family member whowas into the 419, the Yahoo
sending of the emails, theNigerian Prince thing.
(45:16):
I knew a family member whothat's how he made his money.
And when he came from Lagos tocome visit in Port Harcourt and
I saw, I'd heard our familymembers talk about people who
make their money from that kindof make their money from that
venture, and this guy showed up.
And when he showed up, he'sthrowing money at everybody.
(45:37):
Here you go, christmas time,you buy this for yourself.
I start watching all the churchmembers.
Hey, praise God, man.
I started realizing that itdon't matter what traditions or
culture the family has, nomatter what you, it depends.
Once the individual has acertain level of money, uh, they
(45:59):
will tolerate you.
So someone like me, if, when Ijoined the navy the first time I
went home, it didn't matterwhat if I said I was gay, oh
yeah, yeah, but praise, I don'tsupport you sleeping with a man,
but US Navy salute, sir.
(46:19):
They'll just be saluting me.
There are people who willwhisper it in my back, of course
, but in front of me everybodywill just like yeah, the king,
he gave me $20.
This one gave me $50.
He gave me $100.
Ha, correct guy.
And the moment I saw that,before I left Nigeria, it
changed.
(46:39):
You couldn't come tell me lateron that, oh, my wife has to
come go through this tradition.
You have to.
My wife has to come go throughthis tradition.
You have to force my wifeBecause, as I had noticed that,
because even when I was 10 yearsold between 10 and 12, there
was a funeral that I attended inthe richest family member's
house.
(46:59):
The person was a major generalback then.
He's late now and that was thefirst time I saw a woman smoking
.
This was early 90s.
Women weren't supposed to smoke, you know, the picture then was
like ah, women don't smoke.
So I saw a woman smoking openlyand people were just walking
around.
I was like whoa, whoa, whoa,whoa.
What's happening and I tried totell one of my uncle and shut
(47:22):
up, get out of here, push me,get out of here, mind your
business.
I was like what?
That woman was high up the foodchain.
You can't go talk to her, no,but when a poor woman, you don't
have no money, you light acigarette, man, they're going to
chase you, get out of here, getout of here.
So when the kid starts noticingthese little things and you
start picking man, that kid wasgoing to turn into somebody
(47:45):
considered a bad boy in thefuture.
You know, maybe he'll lose hishead.
Maybe that's how I'm going toput it in my head.
The beneficiary is my wife andkids, so you can't force them to
do something that I don't like,they don't like.
But first of all, if they saythey don't like it, then yeah,
(48:07):
I'm not going to be like.
Yeah, they don't like it, soget out of here.
Speaker 2 (48:11):
But I like that you stand on that, because I know
that's one thing some ofAfricans we have.
We notice, we see, but we stillalso allow ourselves to be
dragged into it, instead ofstanding tall and like, fuck,
now you can't do that to me,right?
So, and it all goes to mindset.
(48:34):
I think we all need to switchour mindset and start really
unlearning and being open to,open-minded to all this other
stuff, otherwise we get draggedin shit that our ancestors
forced on people.
Anyways, we are coming to anend of this.
Thank you for talking shit withme, but is Sunday the last game
(48:58):
?
Speaker 1 (48:59):
Yes, the third place match is on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (49:02):
Who's playing on Saturday?
Speaker 1 (49:04):
South Africa and Congo, the two losers from the
semi-finals.
But they have good music.
There's a lot of dancing inthat.
Speaker 2 (49:14):
And the winner's going to play with who on Sunday
.
Speaker 1 (49:18):
Sunday is between Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria.
Good music too.
Speaker 2 (49:24):
Oh, you know Cote d'Ivoire.
I'm rooting for Cote d'Ivoire,for no offense nigerian there
you go.
Speaker 1 (49:29):
You see, I told you she's just me and her.
Speaker 2 (49:32):
We're on the same wavelength, so you just saw a
proof of that I don't know aboutthat, I just, I just, you know,
I have a lovely it's gonna win,and they literally repeated me,
so I I didn't know who wasplaying.
Speaker 1 (49:52):
I said Nigerians are going to cry on Saturday.
It's sad tears.
They'll be filling buckets fullof tears.
Speaker 2 (50:01):
Have you met Nigerians.
Speaker 1 (50:02):
Do they look like happy losers?
Speaker 2 (50:05):
They'll be fine.
Be prepared, You're going tosee fire Nigerians.
Do they look like happy losers?
Okay?
Speaker 1 (50:07):
they'll be fine, they will be prepared.
You're going to see fire andbrimstone.
Speaker 2 (50:11):
They're always losing with your president and shit.
Speaker 1 (50:15):
They don't come for you.
Speaker 2 (50:17):
Where did K-Fast end up.
Speaker 1 (50:21):
I'm curious they got knocked out in the group stage.
Your coach talked too much andgot suspended for eight matches.
You should have kept quiet.
I don't know why that guytalked to me, but I like
Tanzania, though they likehiring Africans.
A lot of teams used to do thatHire an African from another
country and pay him good,instead of you know going and
collecting these rejectedEuropeans.
(50:42):
Come and coach a team.
But I'm available though.
Speaker 3 (50:49):
You guys want't hire me, I'll accept dollars.
Speaker 2 (50:53):
Thank you so much y'all for hanging out with me on
shit happens.
Please let the people knowabout uh where to find your
podcast, where to find your shit, how to connect with you, what
you got going on.
This is the time to to sellyourself and send them to your
patrons so they can give youtheir dollars, okay.
Speaker 1 (51:10):
Yes, yes, yes, I love dollars.
We accept euros, British pounds.
We accept gold too, like thatsenator in New Jersey Gold bars
Don't give me Nazi gold, butjust real gold bars, like Saudi
Arabian gold.
It's legal.
So you can find me on.
Go to whitelabelamericancom oryou can get our app at Google
(51:32):
Play Store and you can see themug that Paula is showing you.
You can.
If you go towhitelabelamericancom, you get
our merch.
You can get t-shirts, mugs andcaps and other goodies that we
can add.
If you don't see any mesh thatyou like, leave a message there.
That's here.
Our guy will get you any match.
Um, yeah, the app is on googleplay app store.
(51:55):
Um, patreon, we're on patreon.
Just type white label american.
If you like african football, goto africo podcast on youtube.
It's a brand new YouTubechannel that I just started for
the AFCON.
We'll add more stuff aboutAfrican football down the line.
Maybe one day Paula will comeand talk just what will make her
watch African football.
(52:16):
Don't worry, not today, butwe'll get you one day on African
football.
And, yeah, if you want me onyour show anytime, bring me on.
I'm going to start watching 90Day Fiance and some more awesome
stuff because I have real life.
90 Day Fiancé people that Iknow.
I've been watching NakedAttraction.
Right now it's my favoritedating show.
I'm going to improve on moredating shows this year.
Speaker 2 (52:39):
Naked Attraction is the one where they judge whether
they're naked.
Speaker 1 (52:43):
Yeah, awesome dating show.
Speaker 2 (52:47):
It's open and people are fully naked and they judge
it.
Oh my God, that show.
I need to have an episode withyou on that.
Speaker 1 (53:00):
I want to hear your yeah we will, we will, we will
have a round table on that.
100% yeah.
Speaker 2 (53:11):
Oh God.
Speaker 1 (53:13):
My wife won't approve me to be naked.
I mean I'm also not, you know.
I mean I'm still down to getSugar Mama, but I have to sign
some legal papers first for mywife.
I know there's one Ghanaian whomight be watching right now.
He's going to be like ah yes,don't let the showman get him
yet.
So I have one or two Ganyanhaters.
(53:35):
He's not a hater-hater, buthe's a good hater, put it that
way.
He laughs at me too much, butthat would be an awesome idea
though.
Speaker 2 (53:43):
Yeah, I feel like for that one we need a round table.
But I get your emails of theSaturday mornings to come to
your football.
Even some buzzers like I didn'tsee you.
I'm like you all want me tocome and embarrass myself there.
I'm not even watching, I don'tknow what the fuck is going on.
He's like no, you should stillcome.
(54:03):
It's fine, I should still comeso that I sit there and then
when you ask me a question, I'mlike huh.
Speaker 1 (54:09):
We'll walk you through.
Don't worry, we'll do something, for before and after the final
Also hold on.
There's a Zambian show that I'mactually going to be a guest on
on Saturday.
Let me Instagram.
Show me Big Bots.
I don't want to see Big Bots onInstagram right now.
Let me pronounce the showcorrectly before I go and mess
(54:29):
up the title of their show.
The Zambians were nice enoughto have me on their show and you
know it's nice to connect withother Africans.
Speaker 2 (54:42):
Yes, it is.
Speaker 1 (54:43):
Well, I always pronounce their show wrongly, so
I have to see it in front of me.
Yeah, there it is.
Well, I always pronounce theirshow wrongly, so I have to see
it in front of me.
Yeah, there it is.
It's the Insaka Talk Show, sothey'll have me live on Saturday
to talk about the Afcon andAfrican football in general.
So, yeah, I try to, you know,connect.
Speaker 2 (55:08):
There's also for those outposts and outposts.
It's in October, right.
Speaker 1 (55:12):
October.
Yeah, Hopefully I'll see youthere.
Bring two Tanzanians with youso that you can't trick me like
the last time.
Speaker 2 (55:23):
I'm coming for you.
Well, everybody, thank you somuch for hanging out with us
those who have been watching,because I saw a few people
watching live.
For those who are going towatch the replay, thank you for
watching.
This is shit happens where shithappens, and I was hanging out
with Ralph of White LabelAmerica.
Make sure you go check out hispodcast and go support his
(55:44):
Patreon, so go spread some love,y'all.
Speaker 1 (55:49):
Thank you for having me.
Shit shit, shit, shit happens,shit happens, shit happens, shit
(56:23):
happens, shit happens, ithappens.
and a town crier is ringing the bell.
I'm like, well, what'shappening?
Is there some fight orsomething About to go down?
Because it was around the timewhen some of what's happening in
Nigeria today was justbeginning to happen in the
oil-producing areas where I'mfrom, and I see a young woman
walking behind a few feet behindthe town crier and she's
(00:24):
topless, she only has a skirtand it was a majestic walk.
I'd never seen something likethat before.
She was majestically juststrolling behind the guy and
he's just announcing and theloose translation is Shit
happens.
Shit happens to you and me.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
It doesn't matter if you're a wizard, a king or a
queen, even if you are magic,you've got to agree it's worth
it to talk shit out, no matterhow messy Shit happens.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Shit happens.
What's up?
Hey, shit Talkers.
(01:29):
So this episode is a ShitHappens episode that was
recorded earlier this year inFebruary, and I wanted to bring
it back right now because Rafaand I, with other Africans, will
be part of a panel at the 6thAfro-Sinai News happening
October 18th to the 20th inBaltimore, md.
(01:49):
Our panel is about voices ofAfrican diaspora telling our
stories through podcasting.
So if we got a whole bit oftime then to bring the shit up
in the episode, then right nowRaph is the organizer of this
panel as well.
So he got, he got all of ustogether and we all met last
(02:11):
year at afros and audios fifthfestival.
So come catch us live onoctober 18th to the 20th at
bartlemore md.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Oh, my god, y'all wish me luck because this guest
right here.
Y'all need to send all yourprayers, dance to your gods and
just hope that I make it,because I'm so by your eyes.
I don't know, I'm going to needto go drink after this
conversation.
Allow me to introduce to youthe one and only Mr Raffaella.
(02:47):
He's a Talk Shit With Peef fan,you know.
I met him at Afros and Argersand he was such a fan that he
just wants to follow meeverywhere and just be around me
.
Hey, raf, welcome to.
Shit Happens.
What are you talking to me?
Hello, wait, what jersey areyou wearing?
Why does that look like ayounger jersey?
Speaker 1 (03:08):
I wanted to wear one that you might recognize easily,
but I couldn't find it, so Iwore the Bafana Bafana one
instead.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Don't tell me you have a Typhus Stars jersey.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
I do have a Typhus Stars jersey.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
How do you have a Typhus Stars jersey?
I do have a Typhus Stars jersey.
How do you have a Typhus Starsjersey?
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Because I have many jerseys.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
I don't even have a Typhus Stars jersey, so are you
sure you're from where you toldme you're from?
I have Yanga, because I'm teamYanga, I have team Yanga too.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
That's my team Yanga.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Oh, not Simba.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
I like Simer too.
That's my team Younger, oh, notSimba.
I like Simba too.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Their fans make me, they entertain me online.
Yeah, simba, fans are annoyingas fuck.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
I respect them, you know, but if they want to join
my Patreon, I welcome them too,you know.
So how are you doing now?
I'm good, I'm good.
Well, thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Here'm Raphael Harry.
For those who don't know me,you blackmail me into having you
here, so I don't know whyyou're thanking me.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
I don't know why I was invited, but um, well, if
that's the unofficial way we aregoing with, we'll see.
Well, that looks like my mug.
I don't know how you got it,but I don't even have one, but
you know.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
I went to your warehouse and stole it.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
I was made aware.
I saw the CCTV, but theycouldn't tell if it was.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
A boy's gun.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Should we report?
I was like you know I don'tlike sending was like you know I
don't like sending kids to.
You know I believe in secondchances.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
I'm not a Christian or Muslim, but I believe in
second chances.
I don't.
I just find myself an adult, soyou don't do religion.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
No, I do, but I accept payments.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Impressive for a Nigerian.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
I grew up in the church so I've seen all the
secrets.
I know the secrets.
There's family members who partof why they don't talk to me
today is because of religion.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
So yeah, I figured I disappointed nobody.
Did you ever read that bookabout the Catholics?
This guy went and exposed theentire Catholic, even had an
interview with the Pope andeverything.
I forgot the name of that book.
I didn't finish reading it.
I read half of it.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
I grew up, I was first Catholic.
I did my first baptism.
I just didn't do confirmation.
But then from Catholic Church Imoved to what is called
evangelical here we call itPentecostal in Nigeria.
It was very hardcore.
We even did prayers and fastingfor George W to become
(05:54):
president.
I still remember doing that.
So yeah, the homosexuals do nothave power in America.
We went hardcore and all thatkind of nonsense.
Yeah, the church is very bigright now.
We went hardcore and all thatkind of nonsense.
The church is very big rightnow.
We are probably in a part ofAfrica too.
We don't say we were sick, wesay we are well, you are well,
(06:18):
it is well.
That's how we greet each other.
That's an expression of faith.
There was one time I had painsin my neck and I was told I
didn't have faith.
That's why I was feeling painsin my neck.
So you have to drink anointingoil.
Until I came to America Idiscovered that the anointing
(06:40):
oil I had been drinking wasolive oil and I was like God
dang it.
People cook with this Like man.
This company making a lot ofmoney in Nigeria.
They've been wondering whyNigerians were buying that oil
all the time.
Then I discovered.
I saw the factory in New Jersey.
I was like man, this company, Ican't stop cooking with olive
oil.
Yeah, there's a whole lot ofstories.
If you met that person backthen I would have casted you out
(07:03):
.
Bind you in the name of Jesus,bind you Got to cast him.
Bind you.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
I mean you can't really cast me.
That was just a different kindof casting.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
But it's true.
Yeah, I was very close to themanosphere back then, but that's
why I accept payments now.
If you pay me properly, I caneven bring that person out for
you.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Okay, we need to share that because I've realized
when me and Rafael talk we cango.
When I went on his podcast, weended up talking for almost
three hours and we are trying tokeep this to less than one hour
.
So let's get to.
When two podcasters meet andthen it's two African podcasters
it just gets real.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
I was.
So.
I made such an impact on youthat you even copied my
hairstyle.
That's why I had to cover ittoday.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
You see, I had to do stuff there.
Let's see yours, becausecopying you would mean.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
I saw the photos.
It's all right.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Some of your hair don't grow.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
There's some in here, it's all right, Some of your
hair don't grow you know,there's still some here, there's
still hair.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Okay, let's not start saying which parts there is
hair right now.
So I really actually want totalk to you about your, your,
your podcast and your journeywith your podcast, because you
know, um, first of all, I'm verycurious why the fuck, how the
(08:32):
fuck, you came up with that namelike white label america.
Like what were you thinking?
Until you're like white labelamerica, that's my podcast,
that's the name.
Like how did that come about?
Speaker 1 (08:43):
my shout out to my boy, scott, fellow navy veteran,
and I was in a different spaceback then.
I'd been robbed by a fellownigerian who had stolen all the
equipment for a previous podcastthat we were supposed to do.
I was, you know, I'd embracedmental health.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
It's your own people.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Yeah, it's always your own people, you know.
So it's Black History Month, sopart of Black History includes
some negative stuff too.
Yeah, so I was contemplatingquitting podcasting because, you
know, I didn't really have thefull information before going
(09:28):
into podcasting.
But it wasn't too long after Istarted going through mental
health embrace the mental healthtreatment and part of my
treatment was coming out of my.
You know, I'd withdrawn fromsociety, I'd withdrawn from
people.
I was talking a lot on socialmedia but in real life I wasn't
(09:50):
out there.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Yeah, because you like shouting on Facebook to
people.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Yeah, I wasn't.
He didn't know me then.
That was different.
But I'd come across this dudeand he had said dude, you're not
like other Nigerians that I'vemet.
You have your political views,your social views, you have
great commentary.
We should do a podcast.
(10:18):
And I was like I heard thatword before.
It sounds familiar.
I'd even forgotten I did apodcast with somebody around
2010 and I didn't like my voice.
I don't forget that.
I did a podcast with somebodyaround 2010, and I didn't like
my voice.
I was afraid inferiority,complex, a whole bunch of things
.
So I never listened to it andcompletely forgot about it.
Now this guy brings it up.
I'm in a botched confidentspace mentally and I was like
(10:41):
all right, what do you need?
I just trusted him and he gaveme a list and I bought
everything on the list and hestole everything.
So we ended up in court and allthat.
He still hasn't paid me to thisday.
But I won in court.
But after that experience I'mlike I don't want to do this
podcasting thing anymore.
It seems like too much headache.
But a few friends who listenedto the stuff we did said I have
(11:04):
something going for me.
People like coming to metelling me their stories.
It's a natural thing I have doyour own thing.
Yeah, I always get stories out.
I got your story too, you know.
So, uh, yeah where is it?
Speaker 2 (11:18):
where is it you got my story?
Where the fuck is my story?
Speaker 1 (11:22):
it's still on that.
Come on, we're not doing thatagain.
My external hard drive gotbroken.
Don't make me go over theheartbreak of how much I spent
on that.
My boy Scotty was the one whosaid after I decided okay, I'm
going to do my own podcast, I'llembrace what this skill that
(11:45):
I've always I've never reallyembraced.
Now it comes to what will Icall it, what's the title going
to be?
And my boy Scotty was likeWhite Label, american.
And I'm like are you crazy?
What kind of title is that?
Can't come up with somethingelse?
And he's like, no, no, no, youneed that title because, first
of all, it's catchy.
It makes people pause.
(12:05):
People are going to stop and belike what Wait, I have to check
it out, what is this?
And I didn't realize what I wasdoing then.
But I kind of did a marketsurvey without thinking about it
and I asked about 20 to 30people people, will you listen
(12:25):
to a show or podcast if this wasthe title?
And out of all the people Iasked, only one person was like
why do you hate white people?
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Then I looked at it and I was like there's always
going to be that one person.
There's always going to be thatone person.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
I know the person.
He's also a veteran and he'skind of a Clarence Thomas type
of person and I was like this isthe type of person that gives
me that feedback.
Good, I think this is a goodsign.
So I kept it because it was myown take on who's American.
It's from my own point of view,but it's my own way of showing
(13:04):
the American story and bringingit to light, and although it has
expanded from where it beganwhen I started, everything in
life always expands from theplace you start from, if you're
doing it right.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
That's growth.
Because we are growing.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Yeah, because I started before the pandemic, and
the pandemic will happen and Iwill start getting guests from
outside of america anyway.
So, but immigrant story is not,uh, limited to only people in
the united states or new york.
Like I started, I intention, Iplanned at the beginning to only
have immigrants in new york,because new york is a big uh
market and a big space, so thatwas the original plan.
(13:41):
We'll come, they'll come, sitdown with me in the studio, and
then I started getting guestsfrom around the country and from
outside of the country.
Do I say no just because no,but when the pandemic happened I
couldn't be in the studio too,so fate kind of arranged certain
things for me, but I wasn'tgoing to change the name from
(14:02):
White Label America just becauseI like it and everybody's
always like wow, and if youdon't like the name and you're
like, oh, it makes me feel likeyou don't like white people,
well then that means my podcastis not for you.
Bye-bye, but still donate money.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Before you leave, though, and buy merch I was like
when I first heard the podcastname, I was like, but he's a
black Nigerian and his podcastis called Wild Label America.
Like what the fuck is this?
But then again, then I actuallytalked to you.
I was like it makes sense why Iwould have a podcast called
(14:43):
Wild Label America.
So you, being an immigrant, whywas it important for you to
share these immigrant stories onyour platform?
Were you looking for something?
Were you missing something, orwere you trying to show America
something?
Why was sharing immigrantstories?
Speaker 1 (15:01):
I think it's a combination of all.
Right from my childhood, I'vealways been exploring.
My older brother had a wholebunch of encyclopedia in the
house.
I don't know which one, I can'trecall which one, but it was
(15:22):
from A to Z.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Fancy, fancy.
Sometimes we were know whichone.
I can't recall which one, butit was like from A to Z.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
Ah, you were fancy-fancy.
Sometimes we were, sometimes weweren't.
We still had power outages andlater on I would have to go
fetch water, sometimes up to amile.
So it depends.
To an extent we were, to anextent we weren't, because, you
know, there was a middle classback then so and we could afford
housemates up to a point inlife.
(15:48):
But I was always reading, I wasgetting information about other
places, other worlds, and youhear stuff from people who are
older than you, people who aresupposed to have more knowledge
about the world, and when youare reading information at a
(16:12):
time when there was no internet,at a time when there was no
social media, you startabsorbing this information and
thinking that, oh, you know,people here are this, people
here are that.
And then, by chance, you willmeet one person and you'll be
like, wait a minute, I thoughtyou all are this.
You know, as a big soccer fanand I'm watching one of the
(16:38):
international tournaments and Iwill see a name on a player's
jersey and that name like aJapanese name, but it looks like
exactly the same spelling as aname from the ancient Benin
kingdom.
Has the name the same when youknow?
But there's no explanation forsomething like that.
It's just like everything isblack and white but it's not.
(17:00):
A lot of things exist in a greyarea.
From the information I wasgetting, a lot of it wasn't
correct.
Like one time, I still havethis memory of one uncle who nah
I question if that man evenleft ever crossed Nigerian's
border, but the guy will alwayshave stories of man.
You know, when I was in NewYork I woke up brush our teeth
(17:20):
with Napoleon Brandy man, howdoes that make sense?
But to a kid back then you'd belike, wow, you mean in New York
they brush their teeth withNapoleon Brandy, so great your
teeth was.
You have teeth in your moutheven after six months, but that
(17:40):
dude has stories like that.
And then anti-Black stories.
There was the ones demeaningwomen and all this.
But there was ones demeaningother countries.
How Ghanians are this?
Indians are that?
The legendary story of howIndia beat Nigeria 100 to 0
goals.
A lot of Nigerians believe thatstory.
The BBC has done aninvestigation.
(18:01):
It never happened.
It never happened.
And then you find out one dayday that Ghanaians have the
exact same story.
When did this story begin?
Speaker 2 (18:09):
I saw your post, the mother.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
Yeah, every Indian.
I brought on the podcast.
I've asked them and they'relike man.
You're the first person tellingme this.
India cannot.
They don't have a strong team,they've never had a strong team
in soccer.
But in Nigeria there's alegendary tale that came out
when nobody knows.
Ghana has the exact same story.
So all these things you have tostart.
(18:31):
It's an artificial world thathas been created at one point in
time.
It makes you think that peoplehave never interacted, makes you
think that people have justbeen on islands to each other.
Meanwhile, we've beeninteracting for a long, long
time through different things,most especially trade, be it
from slavery, religion, allthese things.
(18:52):
We've been interacting.
Royalties talk to royaltiesaround the world way before
colonialism came into picture,and colonialism is also it's
exist in the way we talk aboutit now is just seem to be like
oh, europeans just came out andcreated colonization.
Colonization has existed evenin Africa.
We colonize each other and allthese things is something that,
(19:14):
with time, I started looking atit like man, wait a minute.
A lot of information I got as akid was not correct or factual.
I'm not saying correct, itwasn't factual.
So I was always interested whenI meet people from other places
and we start talking and it'slike wait a minute.
You guys do this, I do that tooand you start.
It's like heads start exploding, like wait a minute, wait a
(19:37):
minute.
You guys eat.
You eat it like this.
You guys have this culturalreference.
So why wouldn't I startcollecting stories?
Why wouldn't I start lookingfor a way to show the world that
, yeah, you know, my picture ofAmerica growing up as a kid
wasn't yeah, it didn't makesense.
Now it doesn't make sense nowfor me to still be sticking to
that picture.
And when I try to show otherpeople, like you know, I've had
(19:58):
one or two people write to me mychildhood friends.
They're like, oh man, I listento what?
That thing?
That way they do I listen to it.
Eh, so way they do I listen toit.
So, somebody from this country,they do things like we do things
and I'm like, yeah, that's whyI try and tell you that it's
important for you to hold onSome of those views that we are
still holding on to.
It doesn't really make sense.
(20:19):
Just try and listen to otherpeople and find out that, yeah,
maybe we can pause on some viewsthat we hold on to and think
it's our culture.
Is it really our culture Ifsomebody told you that that's
our culture and we just run withit like it's our culture.
Is it convenient to call it ourculture?
Speaker 2 (20:38):
So, yeah, I think that's part of why I do what I
do, because it just challengeseverything that we hear and try
and stick to it challenges yourmind and you get to unlearn I
think most of us and it kind ofgoes the same when you're
working on yourself right, oryou have to work on yourself.
Most people here are doing thatbecause you end up unlearning
(21:00):
shit you were told, becausethese are things we were told by
our great-grandparents, buteven our parents.
They're like oh, you rememberwhen I told you this?
That's not actually true.
I just came to realize that itdoesn't work that way.
So when you start hearing thesestories and seeing what
different stories of people intheir different cultures, in
their different, you're like ohshit, how come I was told your
(21:23):
country was like this.
So that's not true.
No, no, that's not our country.
And you're like fuck, I've beenlied to all my life.
So you're doing an amazing shitshowing the world and you're
actually also showing the worldthat we are more than what they
see on TV, because they likeshowing these countries on the
bad side, not the good side,only the nasty side.
(21:47):
So hearing people, theirstories and their childhood, and
knowing how they actually grewup or the different cultures
they have, it's just like youknow, people now listen to your
podcast and be like, man, Ishould go visit Ghana, or I
should go visit North Dakota,wherever the stories are coming
from, because of the storiesthey just had from there.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Yeah, and I also look at it this way, because there's
a lot of representation anddiversity on TV, like, for me
personally, I'm not, I know,like when I interview Nigerians,
there's this talk about, oh, weneed to show a lot of the good
things happening in Nigeria andI'm like, yeah, but there's a
lot of bad things happening inNigeria, a lot like plentiful,
(22:29):
and it's part of the stories.
I don't shy away from that, youknow, because the stories
include the good, the bad andthe ugly.
We haven't even touched a lotof the bad, but there's some
ways like I forgot what theycall it.
Is it like the ghetto tourismor something like that?
There are people who enjoy thatkind of thing and for me, I try
(22:51):
to look for a balance and somepeople just want.
I think some people have thisfeeling within them that, oh,
you must always show good or thebright lights when it comes to
my part of the world, and I'mlike okay that's good for you to
my part of the world and I'mlike, okay, that's good for you,
but for me I'm like every placehas good, bad and ugly.
(23:19):
Yeah, but America TV only showsTanzanians' bad side, it depends
on what TV you're watching,because if you're watching, Tell
me what nice shit you have seen.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
No, I'm talking about the news.
I'm not talking about moviesthat are created on Netflix or
documentaries.
I'm talking about the news whenthey report about the country.
Tell me, when have you hadTanzania being reported in a
good light?
Speaker 1 (23:41):
If you listen to VOA Africa, which I do, Again you
said VOA Africa.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
That's right Africa.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
That's Voice of America.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
So when?
What about Tanzania?
Speaker 1 (23:57):
The Jews.
They report everythinghappening and if there's
positive, they report positive.
But you should remember, youshould remember News headlines
is Because what I'm bringingthis point up is people tend to
if there's a war happening inTanzania, should they report it
or should they not report it?
Because when Tanzania's what'syour current president?
(24:20):
The woman when she ascendedpower she was the first woman to
ascend the power in TanzaniaAll of them reported that there
was a woman as president.
Who are saying the power inTanzania?
All of them reported that therewas a woman as president.
But if she does something likewhat is happening in Senegal
right now, where the presidentjust moved the election it's
supposed to happen right now.
Technically, putin, a countrythat has never had
destabilization in West Africa,in big position to have a
(24:44):
possibility of a coup happeningthen everybody's reporting it.
They'll post it.
Oh, they're showing bad newsabout Senegal.
I'm like, yeah, the man did it,somebody there did it.
They have to report.
We leave all that out and say,oh, they only showed the bad.
But I'm like, when the good ishappening, yeah, we don't hold
(25:08):
the people responsible.
We need to hold peopleresponsible for their actions.
There's that side of it too.
But Tanzania.
Remember when the woman, what'sher name?
Again, I'm forgetting yourpresident's name.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
I'm seeing her face, which I guess, of course, that
one they're going to report.
How many women presidents do wehave?
Speaker 1 (25:23):
We have six on the continent.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
But if it was a normal other president, it
wouldn't have been news.
It was news because she was awoman and we don't have those.
Of course they're going toreport that.
But apart from that, we haveincredible, other amazing shit
that goes on in Tanzania.
They don't, but when it comesto our president checking COVID
(25:45):
on the oil and shit, all thebullshit that they report, all
the the bullshit that theyreport, all the killings that
they report, which I get, we dohave bad things, but so does
America, so does all these othercountries, but you see other
countries being promoted.
The beautiful side of it.
I'm not saying don't talk aboutthe bad.
Of course, talk about the bad.
My country has so much bullshit, yes, but it's also still a
(26:06):
beautiful country without a lotof stuff to offer.
Exactly so that's what my pointwas To be honest when it comes
to news from Africa.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Tanzania is still not a disrespect, but Nigeria is
way ahead of grabbing headlines.
I mean we love Nigeria SouthAfrica.
If I have a problem with newsreporting, it's Nigeria, south
Africa, ghana, egypt, ethiopia.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Tanzania.
They don't even know we exist,Unless it's something.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Sometimes I write to BBC Africa, I've written to VOA.
You guys have to report yes, 54countries.
Report on the 54 countries,because a lot of stuff gets
under the headlines.
You have to report, yes, 54countries.
Report on the 54 countries,because a lot of stuff gets
under the headlines.
You have to go on the websiteto get the news happening from
all the countries, which Iunderstand if it's like a
30-minute program.
They try to get the biggestheadliners, the biggest, the
(27:03):
ones that pull more weight, moreeyes on.
You know they want to get,because everybody, everything is
about what do you call it?
Ratings?
Now, right, oh, yeah, yeah, soit's about oh, if we put Nigeria
at the top, then more eyes willcome.
Everybody knows Nigeria.
If we put Seychelles, what isthat?
Where is that?
Is that an, an African country?
(27:29):
Why is there?
Because if you have Africans,why say she was there?
So, and also to that too,people say they want good news,
but at the same time, peopledon't respond to good news a lot
positively.
We also have to question that,because you know when you put
good news, it doesn't move asmuch as bad news.
At the same time, you see moreinteraction with bad news.
(27:53):
I'm not saying they shouldn'treport good news, but I'm just
saying, if you go by the numbersthing, the ratings thing, we
also see that.
But you're right on that though.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
I mean you kind of did the same shit on your
podcast After Afro's Anarchistfor like two, three episodes.
I was a villain on his show.
Like for some reason my namekept coming up.
I think you're a villain.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
I said you are my.
It was the first time I met anemesis, and it was a friendly
nemesis, but it was different.
I had met somebody who couldmatch my energy.
No, you mean?
Speaker 2 (28:33):
exilic because, if I recall properly, I shut you up
for a minute there.
Even people were like is.
Raph quiet, does Raph not?
Speaker 1 (28:45):
have a cover.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
I think Afro and Adias needs to give me an award
this year when I go that theperson was able to shut Raph up,
Like literally, Talib and Corey.
I'm just saying an award thatthey shut Raph up at Afros and
Audios.
Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
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All right much.
Now it's 2023.
We're in 2024 now all right.
Speaker 4 (29:14):
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Speaker 1 (30:09):
The countermeasures have been deployed.
The system has been upgradedBecause the system hadn't met
you then.
So it had to take five minutesto calibrate, to build the
antivirus, to cover it wasn'tused to.
(30:29):
Like you know, the MISA systemhad not upgraded.
You know I had to go addanother one.
From which country would I addthat from?
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Okay, I won't tell you where it was coming from,
but anyway, it don't matter, I'mgoing to get my award anyway,
even if I have to make one formyself.
Speaker 1 (30:47):
I still have my people in the Middle East who
used to make awards for mycommand.
Drink water, please.
Drink water, it's okay.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
So how long have you been working with White Labo
America?
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Since October 2019.
Oh wow.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
That's impressive.
So, out of all the storiesyou've had right in your podcast
, out of all the guests, whichone was the most shocking one?
That was like what the fuckDang?
Speaker 1 (31:24):
Oh man.
Speaker 3 (31:25):
Ask me that question.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
I've had quite a few, I've heard quite a few.
I've heard quite a few.
Let me see, I don't haveanything written in front of me
right now.
So you know I've crossed once,you've crossed 40, you know the
database sometimes be bouncingup and down.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Just say, because you do a lot of this, that's why.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
Nine, nine, nine, nine, nine.
I'm a sober guy, you know it'sonly palm wine.
If it's fresh palm wine, thenit's different.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
But ah, oh, where do you get fresh palm wine?
Speaker 1 (32:07):
What do you know about palm wine?
You're too young to know palmoil.
You guys have palm oil inTanzania.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
I live in Malaysia with Nigerians, so they got palm
oil in.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
Malaysia.
They got no palm oil there.
They do.
Where do you get palm oil in?
Speaker 2 (32:24):
Malaysia.
Where do Nigerian people getall your shit?
They don't have palm oil inMalaysia.
They live in pamwine inmalaysia.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
People get all your shit in malaysia.
They what they sleep that thatis adulterated pamwine.
You have to come to my, to the,to the villages in the niger
delta and get it fresh.
You get it fresh from the tree.
Okay, I ain't telling you nomore secrets, but anyway, let's
stay on track.
So Let me see, I think I might.
(32:52):
Okay, I'll give it two, I'llgive it two.
So when Mariano the episode ofMariano Charles, he's moved back
to Argentina.
He moved to New York right asthe pandemic, right as we went
(33:13):
into lockdown.
So when he arrived in New Yorkit was literally no crowds, it
was like no people, nobody onthe streets.
So I guess he was like one ofthe last people that was allowed
into New York City and that waslike his first time in New York
City.
So that experience, it's rareto meet somebody like that.
(33:38):
You know, because everybodywho's been to New York is like
you know New York crowds, youknow people, like you know
locals, you know like people alot of people get overwhelmed
when they visit New York, likeman there, york, the crowds, so
much.
That guy got a whole experienceOf New York.
That's like it's rare to meetsomebody.
People can really match thatexperience.
(33:58):
Because he got to see GhostTown, new York, and that's how I
even became my friend.
Because when we started lettingpeople Mingle and I also run
some volunteer groups in theneighborhood One is for fathers
raising kids without fathers andanother one is a soccer group
for dads and he came to thesoccer group and he was like,
(34:21):
can I play with you guys?
I don't have any friend.
I moved here just as lockdownhappened, so I don't know
anybody and he's running crazybecause his wife has been living
.
His wife was already in new york.
She's also an immigrant fromgermany, but he didn't know a
single person.
And then he arrived herethere's nobody and it's just uh,
you know it's locked down soyou can't even go out and mingle
(34:44):
, make start trying to makefriends.
He's from Argentina.
He's like going crazy.
And when he finally came on thepodcast and he's sharing his
story, I knew he had beenpreviously married before.
And then he now tells that nowhe's sharing the story of what
happened to his first wife.
She had taken her life, but thewhole thing that led to her
(35:08):
taking her life was a wholeaccident, how she lost her
brother.
But the day she died he was inthe house when she took her life
and I had to stop the recordingand ask hey man, you sure you
want to talk about this?
This was before I started doingvideo recording, otherwise the
(35:30):
clip would have been out there.
But I had to stop and ask himlike hey, man, although you know
, in the content space that'slike gold material, yeah, that
was good, yeah, no no.
I have to ask you, first of all,where are you at right now?
Speaker 4 (35:47):
Are you sure you?
Speaker 1 (35:47):
want to talk about this and he's like hell, yeah, I
want people to know.
I don't know who will listen tothis episode.
I don't know where they are at.
They might be where I was afterI lost her and you know how I
was able to come back and nowI'm married and now I'm a dad.
Like back when he was marriedto his first wife, they didn't
(36:11):
want children, and now he's adad.
Actually, they have two kidsnow.
Their second kid was born afterthey moved to Buenos Aires.
So it was.
I think at that moment I knewthat I'm not in this for viral
moments, because it would havebeen so easy for me to just cut
(36:32):
that clip.
I think at that moment I knewthat I'm not in this for viral
moments, because it would havebeen so easy for me to just cut
that clip.
I can still create an audio clipand just throw it out there.
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
But the fact that I was able tostop the recording right there
and say, hey, man, you sure youwant to talk about this?
Where are you at right now?
And he like, oh yeah, I'm good,I want people to hear this.
Yeah, I came here to share thisstory and I want to share this
(36:56):
story.
I said, alright, we cancontinue.
I know you're in a good placenow.
It's not something that you'rejust going to run your mouth and
then maybe one month later orone year later you're going to
call me and be like no, no, no,no, no, no, Take it off, take it
off, take it off that kind ofthing.
So it was a shock to me to hearthat part of the story, but it
(37:17):
was a good shock, I'll put itthat way.
And the second one is someonewho one of the few people who
knew me as a teenager.
We're both in the same school.
He's a lecturer now in anotherAfrican country and I asked him
(37:37):
you know, when he got to thatcountry, what was his first
surprise?
And you might know the countrywhen I say what he's answered.
So he said you know, when I gotthere, they have this festival
where girls become women, and Iwas surprised the girls were
(37:59):
naked.
They cover their loins.
How can these people notAfrican?
What kind of African people arethese Africans don't do this?
And I was like, okay, okay, Ihear you, I hear you.
Speaker 2 (38:14):
It's safe to say, tanzanians have stopped doing
that ceremony, so I was like Ihear you, but you're from the
western part of Nigeria.
Speaker 1 (38:23):
You're from one of the biggest tribes in Nigeria,
the big three.
Have you been to my part ofNigeria?
That was the question I askedhim.
He said no.
I said okay.
So let me share a story thathappened, something that
happened to me in 2004.
I was in a city.
I was doing a job, you know, toset up canopies, chairs, tables
for events.
They would hire us, so theyhired me outside of Otakot to go
(38:46):
to a nearby city, but still, mytribal people are there, and
that was the first time I wentto this city and we were done
before 6 pm, so we got a fewminutes to relax before heading
back to the city and a towncrier is ringing the bell.
I'm like well, what's happening?
Is there some fight orsomething About to go down?
(39:07):
Because it was around the timewhen some of what's happening Is
there some fight or somethingAbout to go down?
Because it was around the timewhen some of what's happening in
Nigeria today was justbeginning to happen in the oil
producing areas where I'm from.
And I see a young woman walkingbehind a few feet behind the
town crier and she's topless.
She only has a skirt and it wasa majestic walk.
(39:28):
I've never seen something likethat before.
She was majestically juststrolling behind the guy and
he's just announcing.
And the loose translation istake one last look at this.
Let me say, goddess, you can'tlook at her After today.
She belongs to somebody, so itmeans she's getting today.
(39:49):
She belongs to somebody, so itmeans she's getting married.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
So wait, wait, wait, wait.
So when you're getting married,they parade you with your
titties out for people to lookat you.
Speaker 1 (40:02):
Wait, wait, I have to finish.
I have to finish it.
He's saying it in PidginEnglish, right, and a mixture of
english and our language, butit's, it's not like it's, it's,
it's.
It's a loose expression, it's,it's, it's comedic way he's
saying it and she's just likecatwalking and she's just happy
(40:26):
and people like cheering her on.
And for me, coming fromManassas, I'm like what the
hell's going on?
here.
I'm shocked now and I'mbeginning to sound like this guy
who's my guest right now on thepodcast.
That's how I sounded like In2004 and I'm like how dare you
people do this?
What is this?
And I'm yelling and peoplestart laughing at me and they're
(40:48):
like oh, where are you from?
Man?
I said I'm from my tribe and I'man EJOR, like, yeah, which EJOR
are you?
And I said I'm from the nextdoor state.
They're like, oh, yeah, yeah,you guys stopped doing this a
long time ago.
You guys stopped, but we stilldid it.
We've been.
(41:08):
We're christians, we don't dothis kind of stuff.
They're like, uh, yeah, before,we're christians.
You know, we have culture, wehave traditions.
Uh, yeah, this is one of them.
And I'm like, oh, no, no, no,no, no, no.
You know, we are christians, wedon't do this kind of things.
You know, our women cover upand, yeah, so that was something
(41:28):
I wouldn't even think aboutuntil 2021.
I'm interviewing this guy on mypodcast and that's just when
he's.
He's now bashing an africancountry, people in an african
country.
He's trying to tear them down.
Like you know that your owncountry does this shit, people
(41:49):
who have this culture.
And he's like what you mean?
You mean, you mean, you mean.
I'm like, yes, because youhaven't even been there.
You don't even know otherpeople in your own country.
So how, who are you to saypeople are africans, they are on
african, because that's theword he used.
He said they are on afAfrican,un-african, un-african.
And he was trying to saybecause he's a Christian.
(42:12):
And I was like you see, youcan't say somebody is not
African because you worship thisGod or you have this religion.
Oh, you believe in this.
You hear me, you didn't evenknow what's happening in your
backyard, you don't even knowwhat's happening in your land.
And if I didn't know that, thatexperience I went through in
(42:34):
2004 will come in handy in thefuture.
Speaker 2 (42:37):
But now, in defending another african country.
Speaker 1 (42:40):
So imagine you know me now.
You know there's a way I couldhave pretended that that never
happened, you know, but I'm gladthat it happened.
I learned from the correctionthat my own tribe has something
like that, even though it's notmy direct tribe.
It's my cousins from anotherstate.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
We don't actually have a tribe.
Speaker 1 (43:03):
Now we also have something similar to people in
Mauritania where, you know, Iknow some not all of us do it,
but I know it's called fatteningroom, where if a woman is
getting married like two weeks,they pump the woman up.
You know, put the woman up inthe room for two weeks.
So I know everybody does it.
(43:24):
But yeah, yeah, someone likeyou, you're going to come out.
They're going to be like Goddamn, paula, what happened?
Speaker 2 (43:31):
Wait out of curiosity , right, Because you're not
married to an African woman, sothis thing might be a little bit
.
These traditions are because ifyou're African and you're from
there, you know it's supposed tohappen, right.
Speaker 1 (43:44):
It's not for everybody, but Depending.
Speaker 2 (43:48):
it's supposed to happen right, it's not for
everybody, but Depending withyour family members.
You know, in Africa the familymembers hold more say when it
comes to your wedding oranything, than the actual person
who's.
They always try to interjectand there's some families that
they allow the family members totake over.
So do you think if you hadbrought your wife like like her
back home to, Would she haveagreed to leave her head?
Speaker 1 (44:20):
I'll say no, not that .
Speaker 2 (44:23):
Wait.
And how would you have felt asa husband?
Because I don't know how a manfeels like.
Oh, all these people arelooking at my, like she's about
to be mine and now she's comingto me, but everybody has seen
her goodies.
Speaker 1 (44:35):
No, well, I can't speak for other men, but I'm
asking you, no, no, hear me out.
There are certain things thathappen to me.
I call them part of theunwiring of my programming.
So before I left I even leftNigeria I discovered certain
(44:56):
ways families treat certainpeople.
So be it the issue with LGBTQ,no matter how Nigerians come
online and act like, we are 100%against it.
I already began to see thehypocrisy.
So I'd seen a family member whowas into the 419, the Yahoo
sending of the emails, theNigerian Prince thing.
(45:16):
I knew a family member whothat's how he made his money.
And when he came from Lagos tocome visit in Port Harcourt and
I saw, I'd heard our familymembers talk about people who
make their money from that kindof make their money from that
venture, and this guy showed up.
And when he showed up, he'sthrowing money at everybody.
(45:37):
Here you go, christmas time,you buy this for yourself.
I start watching all the churchmembers.
Hey, praise God, man.
I started realizing that itdon't matter what traditions or
culture the family has, nomatter what you, it depends.
Once the individual has acertain level of money, uh, they
(45:59):
will tolerate you.
So someone like me, if, when Ijoined the navy the first time I
went home, it didn't matterwhat if I said I was gay, oh
yeah, yeah, but praise, I don'tsupport you sleeping with a man,
but US Navy salute, sir.
(46:19):
They'll just be saluting me.
There are people who willwhisper it in my back, of course
, but in front of me everybodywill just like yeah, the king,
he gave me $20.
This one gave me $50.
He gave me $100.
Ha, correct guy.
And the moment I saw that,before I left Nigeria, it
changed.
(46:39):
You couldn't come tell me lateron that, oh, my wife has to
come go through this tradition.
You have to.
My wife has to come go throughthis tradition.
You have to force my wifeBecause, as I had noticed that,
because even when I was 10 yearsold between 10 and 12, there
was a funeral that I attended inthe richest family member's
house.
(46:59):
The person was a major generalback then.
He's late now and that was thefirst time I saw a woman smoking
.
This was early 90s.
Women weren't supposed to smoke, you know, the picture then was
like ah, women don't smoke.
So I saw a woman smoking openlyand people were just walking
around.
I was like whoa, whoa, whoa,whoa.
What's happening and I tried totell one of my uncle and shut
(47:22):
up, get out of here, push me,get out of here, mind your
business.
I was like what?
That woman was high up the foodchain.
You can't go talk to her, no,but when a poor woman, you don't
have no money, you light acigarette, man, they're going to
chase you, get out of here, getout of here.
So when the kid starts noticingthese little things and you
start picking man, that kid wasgoing to turn into somebody
(47:45):
considered a bad boy in thefuture.
You know, maybe he'll lose hishead.
Maybe that's how I'm going toput it in my head.
The beneficiary is my wife andkids, so you can't force them to
do something that I don't like,they don't like.
But first of all, if they saythey don't like it, then yeah,
(48:07):
I'm not going to be like.
Yeah, they don't like it, soget out of here.
Speaker 2 (48:11):
But I like that you stand on that, because I know
that's one thing some ofAfricans we have.
We notice, we see, but we stillalso allow ourselves to be
dragged into it, instead ofstanding tall and like, fuck,
now you can't do that to me,right?
So, and it all goes to mindset.
(48:34):
I think we all need to switchour mindset and start really
unlearning and being open to,open-minded to all this other
stuff, otherwise we get draggedin shit that our ancestors
forced on people.
Anyways, we are coming to anend of this.
Thank you for talking shit withme, but is Sunday the last game
(48:58):
?
Speaker 1 (48:59):
Yes, the third place match is on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (49:02):
Who's playing on Saturday?
Speaker 1 (49:04):
South Africa and Congo, the two losers from the
semi-finals.
But they have good music.
There's a lot of dancing inthat.
Speaker 2 (49:14):
And the winner's going to play with who on Sunday
.
Speaker 1 (49:18):
Sunday is between Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria.
Good music too.
Speaker 2 (49:24):
Oh, you know Cote d'Ivoire.
I'm rooting for Cote d'Ivoire,for no offense nigerian there
you go.
Speaker 1 (49:29):
You see, I told you she's just me and her.
Speaker 2 (49:32):
We're on the same wavelength, so you just saw a
proof of that I don't know aboutthat, I just, I just, you know,
I have a lovely it's gonna win,and they literally repeated me,
so I I didn't know who wasplaying.
Speaker 1 (49:52):
I said Nigerians are going to cry on Saturday.
It's sad tears.
They'll be filling buckets fullof tears.
Speaker 2 (50:01):
Have you met Nigerians.
Speaker 1 (50:02):
Do they look like happy losers?
Speaker 2 (50:05):
They'll be fine.
Be prepared, You're going tosee fire Nigerians.
Do they look like happy losers?
Okay?
Speaker 1 (50:07):
they'll be fine, they will be prepared.
You're going to see fire andbrimstone.
Speaker 2 (50:11):
They're always losing with your president and shit.
Speaker 1 (50:15):
They don't come for you.
Speaker 2 (50:17):
Where did K-Fast end up.
Speaker 1 (50:21):
I'm curious they got knocked out in the group stage.
Your coach talked too much andgot suspended for eight matches.
You should have kept quiet.
I don't know why that guytalked to me, but I like
Tanzania, though they likehiring Africans.
A lot of teams used to do thatHire an African from another
country and pay him good,instead of you know going and
collecting these rejectedEuropeans.
(50:42):
Come and coach a team.
But I'm available though.
Speaker 3 (50:49):
You guys want't hire me, I'll accept dollars.
Speaker 2 (50:53):
Thank you so much y'all for hanging out with me on
shit happens.
Please let the people knowabout uh where to find your
podcast, where to find your shit, how to connect with you, what
you got going on.
This is the time to to sellyourself and send them to your
patrons so they can give youtheir dollars, okay.
Speaker 1 (51:10):
Yes, yes, yes, I love dollars.
We accept euros, British pounds.
We accept gold too, like thatsenator in New Jersey Gold bars
Don't give me Nazi gold, butjust real gold bars, like Saudi
Arabian gold.
It's legal.
So you can find me on.
Go to whitelabelamericancom oryou can get our app at Google
(51:32):
Play Store and you can see themug that Paula is showing you.
You can.
If you go towhitelabelamericancom, you get
our merch.
You can get t-shirts, mugs andcaps and other goodies that we
can add.
If you don't see any mesh thatyou like, leave a message there.
That's here.
Our guy will get you any match.
Um, yeah, the app is on googleplay app store.
(51:55):
Um, patreon, we're on patreon.
Just type white label american.
If you like african football, goto africo podcast on youtube.
It's a brand new YouTubechannel that I just started for
the AFCON.
We'll add more stuff aboutAfrican football down the line.
Maybe one day Paula will comeand talk just what will make her
watch African football.
(52:16):
Don't worry, not today, butwe'll get you one day on African
football.
And, yeah, if you want me onyour show anytime, bring me on.
I'm going to start watching 90Day Fiance and some more awesome
stuff because I have real life.
90 Day Fiancé people that Iknow.
I've been watching NakedAttraction.
Right now it's my favoritedating show.
I'm going to improve on moredating shows this year.
Speaker 2 (52:39):
Naked Attraction is the one where they judge whether
they're naked.
Speaker 1 (52:43):
Yeah, awesome dating show.
Speaker 2 (52:47):
It's open and people are fully naked and they judge
it.
Oh my God, that show.
I need to have an episode withyou on that.
Speaker 1 (53:00):
I want to hear your yeah we will, we will, we will
have a round table on that.
100% yeah.
Speaker 2 (53:11):
Oh God.
Speaker 1 (53:13):
My wife won't approve me to be naked.
I mean I'm also not, you know.
I mean I'm still down to getSugar Mama, but I have to sign
some legal papers first for mywife.
I know there's one Ghanaian whomight be watching right now.
He's going to be like ah yes,don't let the showman get him
yet.
So I have one or two Ganyanhaters.
(53:35):
He's not a hater-hater, buthe's a good hater, put it that
way.
He laughs at me too much, butthat would be an awesome idea
though.
Speaker 2 (53:43):
Yeah, I feel like for that one we need a round table.
But I get your emails of theSaturday mornings to come to
your football.
Even some buzzers like I didn'tsee you.
I'm like you all want me tocome and embarrass myself there.
I'm not even watching, I don'tknow what the fuck is going on.
He's like no, you should stillcome.
(54:03):
It's fine, I should still comeso that I sit there and then
when you ask me a question, I'mlike huh.
Speaker 1 (54:09):
We'll walk you through.
Don't worry, we'll do something, for before and after the final
Also hold on.
There's a Zambian show that I'mactually going to be a guest on
on Saturday.
Let me Instagram.
Show me Big Bots.
I don't want to see Big Bots onInstagram right now.
Let me pronounce the showcorrectly before I go and mess
(54:29):
up the title of their show.
The Zambians were nice enoughto have me on their show and you
know it's nice to connect withother Africans.
Speaker 2 (54:42):
Yes, it is.
Speaker 1 (54:43):
Well, I always pronounce their show wrongly, so
I have to see it in front of me.
Yeah, there it is.
Well, I always pronounce theirshow wrongly, so I have to see
it in front of me.
Yeah, there it is.
It's the Insaka Talk Show, sothey'll have me live on Saturday
to talk about the Afcon andAfrican football in general.
So, yeah, I try to, you know,connect.
Speaker 2 (55:08):
There's also for those outposts and outposts.
It's in October, right.
Speaker 1 (55:12):
October.
Yeah, Hopefully I'll see youthere.
Bring two Tanzanians with youso that you can't trick me like
the last time.
Speaker 2 (55:23):
I'm coming for you.
Well, everybody, thank you somuch for hanging out with us
those who have been watching,because I saw a few people
watching live.
For those who are going towatch the replay, thank you for
watching.
This is shit happens where shithappens, and I was hanging out
with Ralph of White LabelAmerica.
Make sure you go check out hispodcast and go support his
(55:44):
Patreon, so go spread some love,y'all.
Speaker 1 (55:49):
Thank you for having me.
Shit shit, shit, shit happens,shit happens, shit happens, shit
(56:23):
happens, shit happens, ithappens.
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