They Lookin' Like...

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to the Call youl Cousins Podcast, a podcast dedicated to exploring deep and complex topics that shape our world and human experiences. Before we dive into today's episode, we want to acknowledge the sensitive nature of some of the content we discuss. Please be advised that this podcast may include themes and discussions that could be triggering or uncomfortable for some listeners, including but not limited to, discussions on mental health, violence, abuse, and other potentially distressing topics. Listener discretion is advised. Remember, this podcast is for informational and educational, but most importantly, entertainment purposes only and should not be taken as professional advice. The views expressed by hosts and guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Call youl Cousins Podcast. Enjoy the show. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and good night. Whatever time you're joining us, the cousins thank you for doing so. Welcome back to the Call youl Cousins Podcast, a now tangible group chat of cousins that wanted to share our thoughts, humor, and growth with the world. And everyone's invited, most of y' all. [00:01:31] Speaker B: You're looking like. He. Looking like what he looked like. I just, you know, I wanna know. [00:01:38] Speaker C: Welcome back to the Call your Cousins podcast. This is your host, a dub made it to 2025. Barely alive. Who we got over here? P. Money is here. [00:01:51] Speaker B: Hey, y' all. [00:01:54] Speaker C: We got twin. [00:01:56] Speaker D: I'm here. What's up? [00:01:58] Speaker C: Research team couldn't be with us today, but she's here in spirit. Y' all know that. We barely made it out of 2024 and 2025. Looking worse. Actually, it's looking way worse. [00:02:10] Speaker D: We in the Hunger Games even. [00:02:13] Speaker C: Don't even talk like that. [00:02:15] Speaker B: Hunger Games, Game of Thrones, Divergent, all that diversion. Everything that was apocalyptic in the movies is now Divergent, right? Yeah, we're in it all, but, like, amazing. [00:02:33] Speaker C: Sorry, I just wanted to throw one more in there. [00:02:36] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, That's a good one, too. [00:02:40] Speaker B: I mean, Westworld. Shoot. [00:02:43] Speaker C: Okay, now I'm getting scared. [00:02:46] Speaker B: Well, the real AI, it's giving West. [00:02:51] Speaker C: Robots. Yeah. Androids. Yeah. [00:02:55] Speaker B: So, you know, because at the end of Westworld had. I mean, they. Whoever was right in Westworld did a lot of acid, but at the end, it really. You had to lock in. You had to kind of be on drugs to like, follow the last couple seasons, because they really took it there. [00:03:12] Speaker D: I had to start watching West World. Them robots was too real for me. [00:03:15] Speaker C: Yeah. I ain't make it through season one. [00:03:17] Speaker D: Me neither. They too real for me. [00:03:21] Speaker B: No, it. It was. It's real good. Real, real good to the end. But y' all know me. I. I try to Stick with shows for the most part, but, yeah, Westworld. But we good. We. We here, right? We hear new emoji, New me. [00:03:42] Speaker D: Research team not here. But she got a motto for this year. To stay, find the positive. And everything. We staying positive. So even when the world burning around us, we gotta find some silver lining. And I'm holding on. I'm holding on to that because otherwise, just be like, all this. [00:04:03] Speaker B: Maybe that's what we should be, though. It's like, you know, because I was at the bar the other day talking with another woman who was half black and half Italian, but she looked more Caucasian. And she was just, you know, lamenting about things, you know, yada, yada, yada. And I told her I was just like, girl, it's gonna get worse. [00:04:33] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:04:33] Speaker B: And at this point, they don't like they're going to. What do they have to lose? They be in the animus. They. As Lord Tyrion says in Game of Thrones, they don't have anything to lose. So we really should be kind of like, boo. [00:04:58] Speaker C: I definitely say, man, this probably daily, but I was probably saying that for years anyway. [00:05:04] Speaker D: Yeah, you was. You were. Yeah. [00:05:06] Speaker B: Yeah. I like that, though, because I never. Yeah. I never met anybody that was such an optimist, but also a pessimist. And I actually kind of like that. [00:05:15] Speaker D: It has rubbed off. [00:05:16] Speaker C: You get in that moment. [00:05:19] Speaker D: It has rubbed off on me. When I was at my lowest, Dub used to say, send me stuff just like it. Like, you know what, Dub, you right. [00:05:31] Speaker B: Yeah. So I say, I feel like that's the. I like that memo, personally. Yeah. Because if the worst that can happen, Right. For some people, the worst that could ever happen to them is happening, but the worst that can happen is actual death in most cases. [00:06:04] Speaker C: Right. [00:06:05] Speaker B: So in reality, when, you know, we get to a point where we really take that. That memo, that Mama. That memo to a action base way, we're really gonna. You might see change. [00:06:25] Speaker D: The worst thing that could happen to me is going to jail. I'd rather die. [00:06:32] Speaker B: You gotta be doing something to go to jail, though. [00:06:36] Speaker D: Well, that's true. If I was going to jail due to the revolution, I'm okay with it. But if I went to jail on some BS and I ain't never getting out, I'd rather die. [00:06:50] Speaker B: Yeah. I'm not going to jail. So I revisit Happy Black History Month. We. [00:07:01] Speaker D: We've been up all month. For real. [00:07:03] Speaker B: Yeah. Because, you know, I revisit the civil rights movement at this critical time in our history. And, you know, I I really feel. [00:07:14] Speaker D: That. [00:07:17] Speaker B: If we all aren't going to join in the fight, I ain't going to jail for nobody. So, like, when I think back to King, them going to jail, getting their head bust up in, in their non violent approach, and then the opposite with the Panther Party being arrested and assassinated and killed, you know, by the United States government. I just feel like I'm not doing none of that. If everybody's not in, everybody has to be in. Everybody. And if everybody's not in, it's going to take, like you said, Rome burning, for everyone to realize that that's the only way Rome was overthrown. When Rome burned, everybody was like, f this. And that's how it burned. [00:08:04] Speaker D: Has the revolution started? [00:08:07] Speaker B: Yes, because the revolution starts with waking up to see what's happening. And I do believe there are those who see what's happening. They just don't understand or don't know or aren't aware of any strategies in place to do something about it. As did the Romans. Right. Like the Roman people had gotten to a point where in, you know, things were so bad and terrible and just, you know, incestuous and just disgusting that they just had enough. It's that term. What? Sick and tired of being sick and tired. That's what happened there. [00:08:48] Speaker D: Yeah, I've been there for a while. [00:08:50] Speaker C: Well, this is our first broadcast of 2025 and, you know, we're kind of getting in lightly, speaking about the revolution and what's going on, but we haven't addressed the elephant in the room. As of 120, 2025, this country that we live in does have a new commander in chief. Y' all know who he is because we did do a, an election episode. And that's really what's driving, I guess, the fear or anger in people right now as far as what he and his appointees are doing. What y' all think about that? [00:09:39] Speaker D: It's scary out here and I feel like it feels scary now, but we haven't even felt the ramifications of the things he's putting in place. [00:09:50] Speaker C: And three weeks. [00:09:52] Speaker D: It's been three weeks. And we. It's just like, what the hell? But I think he said is that he's doing exactly what he said he was going to do. I'm not shocked. I am more shocked at people who are shocked that right going on. [00:10:09] Speaker C: Yep. [00:10:10] Speaker B: So, you know, there was another dictator type king, the type politician, not politician in Europe, who did this once and he infamously wrote my comp prior to, you know, carrying out nearly everything he said in his book. And so when we talk about sh, strategies, organizational skills in ways to dismantle governments, it's been done before. And the United States of America has prided itself, for the most part, you know, being a democracy, that one of the few remaining democracies in the world. However, I truly believe that at this critical juncture in time, because this particular administration or government is attacking its marginalized groups of people, that being those who are disabled, those that are elderly, those that are veterans, those that are of any color other than white and non English speaking, has been at the crust, or crossword crossroads of American ideology from the very beginning of the American Revolution. People forget that revolutions have always been the foundation of what we know as the United States of America. So with that said, if we now are going to have a reckoning of that, it has to be torn down. And if this administration is the one to do it, cool. Because one thing, as I was saying, the lady I met in the bar the other day, I say, you know what's interesting, though, about all of this is there's too much technology to wipe out every record of what's happening. We are literally living the history now. 10, 20 years from now, this will be in the libraries, this will be in textbooks. What's happening now is history being made. And as a historian, that's pretty exciting to me. So I fear not, because the playbook was laid out very well for us. But they are the few and we are the many. [00:12:59] Speaker D: I got a question for y' all, because racism aside, let's just be honest. The real issue at hand is money and greed. And I've been thinking about this myself lately. What do y' all think it's gonna take for the average person to wake up and realize that that money ain't got nothing to do with you. You will never see a dime of that money. You are not going to be rich. That is not you. They don't want you to be that. They want to keep you down. And I feel like I saw this comment yesterday that made me think about that. Some dude was like, yeah, he voted for Donald Trump and he doing all this terrible. But, you know, he was rich and he lost all his money, but he really, he found out a way to make it back. So that's who I want in. In office. [00:13:56] Speaker B: Huh? [00:13:57] Speaker C: Wow. [00:13:58] Speaker D: What does that have to do. Like, I think there are people. Well, you. I know we're going to talk about the Latinos, Hispanics later, but it seems like people really feel like they will be one of these rich people one day and all they have to do is keep working hard and vote for these people and they too will be rich. [00:14:23] Speaker C: And what, what they, what people who think like that, which is kind of crazy in the first place, where they need to be cognizant of, is that saying Donald Trump was very wealthy and lost it all and made it back is two different things from the average person having, having, you know, whatever money they have and losing it all because the average person can go to zero. Donald Trump was never at no zero dollars, you know what I'm saying? So it's not. And if he had 2, 3, 4, 5, 600 million left, they'll probably say, oh, he lost it all. But you can definitely flip that and make it that money back. It's, it's not the same as you literally losing all your money and being destitute and you, and you don't have any money because you really can't pull yourself out of that. It's much more difficult for the average person to do that. So you can't base what he did and compare it to yourself. Like, it's, it's just two different things. Like that's, that's not even something to respect. Honestly. [00:15:28] Speaker D: It's not like. But I think I've just been realizing people are, they don't live in this reality. They're not awake. They're not, I don't like saying woke no more. They're not aware of the reality of capitalism. People have to be at the bottom. In fact, the majority of people have to be at the bottom for capitalism to work. So I just don't, I guess I just don't understand how people got in their minds that I too, even though I wasn't born into a family with millions, I too can make a million dollars overnight if I just work hard, come from Reagan. [00:16:12] Speaker C: If that were the case, people wouldn't play the lottery. [00:16:16] Speaker D: Right? [00:16:20] Speaker C: I don't know. I think their base is just people who don't, don't look into things. They're, they're more, they're going to run whatever headline they, they see. They don't investigate or fact check or anything. They just, oh, he said this, this and that. Even though he said this, this, this and that. And they didn't think he was going to do it and he did it and now they. People looking crazy. Yeah, that's, that's just my take on it. [00:16:51] Speaker D: I do not feel bad for any of the people getting deported that voted for him. And really, and really none of I Don't feel bad for none of them because y' all need to get y' all people together. Hispanics, just because you have lighter skin does not mean you're white. You're not. They will never see you that way. And stop crying on TV talking about, oh, well, he betrayed us. [00:17:18] Speaker B: No, he didn't. [00:17:20] Speaker D: He said he was gonna do that. [00:17:22] Speaker C: He really did. [00:17:23] Speaker D: He said, so get them up out of here. I know that's not PC to say, go ahead. [00:17:32] Speaker B: What's PC? [00:17:34] Speaker D: I'm saying get them. It's not PC to say to get them up out of here, but do it like you said earlier. Still, I feel like sometimes you got to shake up. So maybe this will make people aware. And I know it's collateral damage, but something gotta give. [00:17:55] Speaker B: I mean, personally, if he said so. Y' all know I'm a big thing. I'm big on hypocrisy as much as ever. For every federal employee that has been fired or laid off from their job or had a lawsuit taken against them, I need to see the count of how many people personally. It ain't enough that's gonna got deported for me, okay. And that's one of the biggest issues that I have with this particular government is they're not transparent. They say they're doing something while there's so many smoke screens, you don't really know what they're doing. And so lying. [00:18:36] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:18:37] Speaker B: So when you say you got. You deporting people now, you got all the Hispanic spooks or anyone that is non English speaking spooks, and they hot now, y' all not doing a better. Y' all not doing a big enough job for me personally, because I need to see a honey, I need to see hundreds of them out of here every day. As many federal employees that have been fired, so should be those who got deported. And I know they're building room for them at Guantanamo Bay. What did they say? About 30,000. Which was hilarious because I don't think Guantanamo Bay can actually hold that many people. But they also said they couldn't hold that many people in slave ships. And they got us all over here, so who knows what they're going to do. [00:19:19] Speaker D: Well, a lot of us died on the way. [00:19:20] Speaker B: So the point being is no different than the final solution. If you want to find a way to mass displaced people, you'll find a way to do it, period. So if they're saying that the whole immigration thing is a big there, you're not getting enough out of here. And I want to see. I Want to see a website where I can log in and find them? I want to see how many per day that you're getting out of here if that's, if that's true. Because my understanding is that they are, they are going to continue to. What is that word called? I don't know why it's escaped me where you make something small. They're getting, they continue to do that with, huh, minimize. No, it's the other word when you're like downsize. They're downsizing the federal government by cutting different programs and returning those back to the state level. Okay, I'm not going to argue with that. So all those people that had jobs that are not fired and they don't have jobs anymore for each one of those individuals should be a deportee that is accountable. [00:20:44] Speaker C: But look at this. It's how many, well, undocumented or non status people are in the United States. What's the low end? Probably 50 million. I'm sure it's more than that. Right. [00:21:00] Speaker D: I'm gonna take the place of research team. [00:21:03] Speaker C: Oh, that's probably the low end. You literally cannot fly out that many people. It's not even feasible. [00:21:13] Speaker B: That's what I'm saying is I think in the first wake of it they were doing it. But, but like I've not seen no news coverage on it. So therefore I don't believe that this whole idea that there was this mass amount of people that, you know, they've gotten so far. Like, I'm just saying if you want to apply the pressure that you're applying to the federal government, apply that same pressure. That's all I'm asking. If that's how you feel the pressure you apply to the DEI programs, apply that to deportation. That's all I'm asking. Because we know you ain't applying it to eggs. Eggs still high, gas still high, grocery still high. So apply the same pressure. That's all I'm asking. As an American who is a taxpayer citizen, I just ask that if your administration is going to put your energy in one thing, apply that same pressure. That's it. [00:22:08] Speaker D: According to Google, there's there was around 11 million undocumented immigrants in 2023. But that's what they know of. So that's what they know of. So I'm sure they not counting the hiding out at Home Depot. [00:22:28] Speaker C: No, they are supposed to assume in that because they're undocumented, they're, they're non status, so ain't no way. But anyway. And yeah, he, I mean they are deporting people. They are flying people out, but only between 80 and 105 people per. Per flight. Which is like you'll never make it then. And however many people you think are here. [00:23:00] Speaker D: No, you're not. And how you stopping people from coming exactly? I feel like I haven't really heard that part. He was talking about the wall forever and now they just talking about mass deportation. So you gonna stop people from coming in too? You just. It seems like a waste of effort. [00:23:21] Speaker C: The thing is, there's always been deportations. But what happens when people get deported? They come back. [00:23:27] Speaker D: Yeah, they do. [00:23:29] Speaker C: Like if, if, if you trying to find a better life for yourself and you gonna. Them people have for years have been doing whatever they had to do to get here. [00:23:39] Speaker D: Yeah. And what you got to lose if your home country trash might as well try to come back. [00:23:47] Speaker C: Yep. They might just say, oh, I would just wait another three years and come back. Wait till he gone. [00:23:54] Speaker D: You're right. Because that's. That is the one thing that I'm counting on. We only. You can do a lot of damage in four years. But we only gotta withstand four years of this foolishness and then hopefully we can put the country back together again. [00:24:10] Speaker B: Yes. I personally believe that that's not going to happen. [00:24:16] Speaker C: Yeah. Because he's setting a blueprint for these, for these people. [00:24:19] Speaker D: Yeah. I mean, we already had Reagan in office, so I'm not gonna say we'll never have another one like him because America is foolish. [00:24:29] Speaker B: Let me tell you something. [00:24:30] Speaker C: I can't say Reagan was bad as this dude. [00:24:33] Speaker B: Yeah, I, I'm gonna say Reagan was pretty bad, but Reagan wasn't a wartime president. If you pay closely attention to what just happened in Munich, if America, for whatever reason, joins into any so many type of conflict at this point, like actually we declare war, you can then extend the presidency into a wartime. [00:25:05] Speaker D: Don't say that. [00:25:06] Speaker B: I mean, that's, that's actually true. Look it up. [00:25:10] Speaker D: Let's not put that in the atmosphere. [00:25:11] Speaker B: I'm just. [00:25:12] Speaker C: FDR was president for 12 years or something. Like 13 years or something. [00:25:16] Speaker B: Look it up. I'm telling you, it's there. [00:25:19] Speaker D: I believe you. I'm just saying let's not. [00:25:22] Speaker B: It's not me putting it in the. It is happening right now. Explain to me this, listeners. We all lamented about Ukraine getting sent billions and billions of dollars. And the argument that the Biden administration made was that if we don't do that, Russia will overthrow Ukraine and essentially try to take over Europe. Correct? Correct. [00:25:46] Speaker C: Correct. [00:25:47] Speaker B: So in one part, the new administration is honoring what a lot of Americans had an issue with, was, why are we sending all of this money over to Ukraine? Because we are sending money over there, billions of dollars, yet we have people who are struggling here in America, which is a valid reason. But again, the argument was that we don't want to send US Troops over there because we don't want to be in an actual war. Fast forward to this past weekend in Munich. Essentially, the United States of America is not going to send Ukraine anything anymore. Which I thought was kind of interesting because it was almost like it kind of felt like a untapped well where you were just sending all this endless amount of resources over there, like pouring into a black bottomless pit of nothing. But we're not over there, right? Like, we're like. That's the thing about conflict is when you're in a real war, everybody's in it. And we haven't been in a real war since Vietnam, like one where we all. The entire. Where it impacts the entire American people. And I'm just saying, if people pay closely attention what is happening in Europe, it always will impact the United States of America. Never fails. In World War I, when the United States didn't do anything and they asked over and over again, they being Europe, for our help, we kind of were like, nah, we don't want to get involved. You know, this. It was very much unpopular opinion by the American government, I mean, the American people, to go to war. It was not only until Pearl harbor that we all were like, nah, we got to squabble up. It literally took another attack on American soil for us to get involved. Think about that. When was the last time the United States of America was attacked on soil. [00:27:55] Speaker C: Not including terrorists? You're talking about military to military, military to military. [00:28:00] Speaker B: Well, they call, you know, al Qaeda militant, but they call it a terrorist attack. Because what is something that, you know, we. It killed all these innocent people. The only reason why they don't really call Pearl Harbor a terrorist attack because it was a military base, essentially, right? It was the Japanese military attacking the United States military. But had Pearl harbor been like, just a city and like, let's just say it was, you know, Houston and there was a, you know, a attack on just the city of Houston, then yes, it would be called a terrorist attack. So that's the difference. All I'm saying is, as a historian, these things are very exciting to me. And I just see they all. History always repeats itself. And just play close attention. Don't do Anything. Take your little notepad out. Just pay attention. That's it. That's all we can do, honestly, to be reactive and to try to allow our emotional state and our mental well being to be crippled by that. You know, who's bigger than all of this? God. Okay? There is a guy in a universe that cares about its people, and we're gonna be all right. All right. Truly. [00:29:24] Speaker D: I just want to remind the people that Reagan got us on crack and introduced trickle down economics, which is why the billionaires and people at the top have all the money and tax breaks today, okay? And Nixon paved the way before him. So let's not forget how awful Reagan was. He too was an actor, didn't know about politics, was saying crazy stuff. I feel like a lot of us wasn't, wasn't alive during that time, but he was a clown too, and he paved the way for a lot of this. So I just want us to. To study history a bit and realize how we got here so that maybe we won't be here again. Now, I do think Trump is a little bit more animated, you know, and a little bit blatant. But really, if you think about it, back then, Reagan was probably saying crazy too. But we weren't in modern times back then, so saying crazy stuff was allowed. So I'm just saying let's. We can't give Reagan a pass because a lot of this with them at the top is because of his economic policy. That's all I'm saying. Go ahead, go ahead. [00:30:49] Speaker C: And that's just that on that. [00:30:54] Speaker B: That'S that net. Well, how's your mental health? Good. [00:31:02] Speaker D: I'm actually good. I got off social media, so I take it, you know, in strides. People send me links every now and then, and I look at them, but I don't be scrolling. I just be in my room meditating and looking at the other because I can't be involved. He doing something every single day. It's something foolish in the news every day. And then people online ain't doing. They just, you know, following the, making jokes and stuff. I'm like, what are we doing? What we need to be mobilizing and starting the revolution? What is going on? [00:31:43] Speaker C: So literally something every day, every day to talk about every day. [00:31:49] Speaker D: It's too much. So I have tapped out a little bit and I've been good ever since. What about y' all? [00:31:59] Speaker C: D Gucci, per use. Just been playing the game, you know. [00:32:06] Speaker D: Oh, yeah, Shout out to Stardew Valley. [00:32:09] Speaker B: That. [00:32:09] Speaker D: That is a real testament to my mental health. Being great. Right now, Stardew Valley is old as and it's pixelated, but for some reason, soothing. I wake up in the morning, I. I get my chickens, I get my eggs, I get my milk. Sell the go foraging. I don't know what it is, but shout out to Stardew Valley and the creators. [00:32:36] Speaker C: Bro, I thought you was talking about in real life. I was about to tell the listeners, you rich because you get eggs every morning. [00:32:45] Speaker B: The other day I said, you know why? Because you're doing something you can't do in real life. [00:32:50] Speaker D: Correct. [00:32:54] Speaker B: Like, she literally have to go to a video game to get ads because there are no eggs. You can't. They run out. They got little signs in there saying, please be respectful to your neighbor and only take one carton. So every time I go to the store now I pick up eggs if they there. And I refuse to buy white eggs just off of Principality. [00:33:18] Speaker D: Okay. [00:33:23] Speaker C: So you playing Stardew Valley on Switch, right? [00:33:26] Speaker D: Correct. [00:33:27] Speaker C: And it's like, is the original game, like ported to Switch or it's like. Like a remastered type of game? [00:33:34] Speaker D: Nope, that pixelated af. [00:33:39] Speaker C: All right, cool. I might try. I got it. I got a Super Nintendo, so I may try that. [00:33:43] Speaker D: It's giving the original Super Mario Brothers. It's. It's old, but I love it for. And actually I was trying to buy Animal Crossing, but that was like $50. No, that's too much. I'm poor and Stardew Valley was 14. I said, well, let me try, because I ain't. I didn't want to try it because I'm like, that gonna be looking old as. I love it. And it's a whole community on Reddit. I love it, man. [00:34:14] Speaker B: I was about to say she don't found her people because if it's already. [00:34:21] Speaker D: For real for that game to be so old, it's really intricate. Like, they did that? [00:34:30] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. I mean, a lot of the stuff that. A lot of the. The fantasy stuff that people are into today is old as hell. [00:34:39] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:34:41] Speaker D: I wish I had become. [00:34:42] Speaker C: Remaking it. So on Switch, like, is there any, like, online capability or is it literally just the game, like, you play offline type stuff? [00:34:53] Speaker D: You can play offline stuff. I. I bought one physical game and the rest I bought online. [00:35:01] Speaker C: No, I'm asking. Are. Are you playing with other people? Like, is there any. [00:35:04] Speaker D: Like, I'll be playing by myself or I play with my friends offline? I haven't played with nobody online yet because that scares me. Playing with people online? [00:35:13] Speaker C: Yeah. I was just asking if it. If it. You had a capability with that game? [00:35:18] Speaker D: Yes. Oh, with Stardew Valley. [00:35:21] Speaker C: Yes. [00:35:21] Speaker D: I don't know about with Stardew Valley, actually. [00:35:23] Speaker C: Right. Because it's old. So I was like, how does. Okay, all right. That was my question. [00:35:27] Speaker D: I'm gonna go look. You know what? I ain't even look. I'm gonna look later. You be playing online with people. [00:35:35] Speaker B: He loved that. [00:35:36] Speaker C: I'll be on the Xbox. I'll be. I'm playing online. Well, I play football. I play, like, football and stuff online. But FPS games, like first person shooters, like, I just play the story mode and that's it. I don't be. [00:35:47] Speaker D: Oh, you don't be playing. [00:35:48] Speaker C: No, nah, I don't do none of that. [00:35:52] Speaker D: The switch been saving my life, dub. I got off social media, got on the switch, and I'm good now. [00:35:58] Speaker B: I really wish I could game like that because when I was younger, that's. I was a big gamer, but I just don't know how I could game and be a researcher. Like, I have to read so much. I have to read so much that like. Like last year I would game a little bit, like, to take my mind off of, like, you know, what. What I was working on. But like you said, it's so expensive. Like, it's like another expense. Just the game with people, like, gotta get the Xbox Live and then you gotta get, you know, like all these different things. So I just never see the worth in it. But I. Because I'm one of those gamers that, like, once I get into something, y' all know, I get super addicted to it and I get committed, and then now I gotta be on the game all the time. But I can't do that. Yeah, I can't do that. Every, like, as much reading as I have to do, there's no way. It's not possible. Because I read a book, Elise, right now in school, I read a book once a week, maybe two. It's a lot of reading and articles. Not even. Not including articles, not including watching lectures. [00:37:15] Speaker C: So, yeah, yeah, it's becoming really big now, as you know, it's. And obviously this is not a game segment. We just had a little tangent. Is retro gaming, which I told y' all, I'd be like retro gaming and playing all the old stuff. But if you do that and like, like, you could really cut out, like, all the newer systems and there's probably 10, 20,000 old games that you could play. [00:37:39] Speaker D: And that's true. Clearly, the whole game still hold up. [00:37:44] Speaker B: How do you put the old games on your Xbox without paying for it, though. [00:37:49] Speaker C: We. We'll talk about that. [00:37:51] Speaker B: Okay, cool. Yeah. So my mental health is great. You know, I'm glad to hear that you guys are doing well. You know where we. We are. I have it somewhere. How many weeks are we into the new year today? [00:38:13] Speaker C: Six weeks. [00:38:14] Speaker B: Oh, into the new year we are. Well, I don't have the weeks, but I have the days. We are 47 days in today, and we have a lot more to go. So I, you know, I've told many people, just take it day at a time. I'm always reminded of this scripture from the good. The good prophet Jesus when he says, you know, there's so many worries for today that you should not even think about tomorrow. So. And I. I glean to that a little bit because other than making sure that you could kind of pay your bills, for the most part, it's too much. Like you guys said, there's too much being thrown at us every single day. And. And that is actually on purpose. It is to desensitize your. Your mind and create something that has happened to you that is not normal. That is a traumatic response to make it normal. An example, what was not normal was seeing a sitting head of government in his office, his actual office, with a billionaire in that office with a pico on and a T shirt, a hat and jeans, and his child, his one of many with many multiple baby mamas. And that child said child having on Pete coat, drop dress shirt, but also a gold chain. That was not normal. [00:40:06] Speaker D: I missed that part. [00:40:09] Speaker B: It's. It's not normal. None of that was normal. That is not normal. And to present that to the American people as some type of normalcy is why I continue to say, when Rome burned, everybody was like, now we got to burn it down. When they burned Rome down, everybody was like, we have to burn it down. Because the fact that even them. They who are with them saw that and was like, oh, that's kind of, you know, that's normal. Like, that's okay. If a black man. I don't even remember ever seeing Malia and Sasha in President Barack Obama's office. I never remember seeing. I can't think of her name. It's on the tip of my tongue. Chelsea Clinton and her. Well, she probably wasn't in there because her daddy was nasty, but you know what I mean? You've never seen nothing like that before. And to make us watch it and say it's normal. That's what I'm talking about. When they Throw so much at you that you start to normalize things and think it's okay. [00:41:24] Speaker D: I think they're showing us what the new norm is, which is rich people at the top and the rest of you fighting for groceries. Like, I feel like they're blatantly telling us what it is. And for some reason now black people, we know what it is, but we've been known. For some reason, the rest of the country just doesn't see it or they don't care. I don't know what it is. Like, I feel like every time I see black people now, we just be kind of defeated. Like, well, what the I'm supposed to do? I did my part and we did. We've been doing our part since the beginning of time, so what is it going to take for the rest of these people to wake up? I saw that they may be targeting veterans, and while I think that's egregious and disgusting, that might be what it takes for people to realize you are not safe. They don't care. [00:42:20] Speaker C: Yeah. I think. I think the scariest part is that not only are. Are they at the top, but they are letting you know, like, I don't care what you think. I literally don't care. I'm just. I'm gonna do what I want. [00:42:37] Speaker D: And honestly, now y' all, I see why I was let go. I feel like they. They've been gearing up for this foolishness because not only are they letting federal employees let go, I saw in consulting, they letting a lot of go, too. A lot of these corporations quietly letting people go. And they don't have to. Y' all ain't got nothing to do with the government. But once again, money. You don't want to stop getting these government grants and. And tax breaks and all this, so you gonna follow suit with whoever's in. In charge. And I feel like. I don't think a lot of us really thought about how that would trickle down to non government entities and affect the economy as a whole. [00:43:23] Speaker C: I don't think black people walk around in. What did you say? Fear? [00:43:27] Speaker D: No, no, not fear. Just kind of like defeated. Like, yeah, what am I supposed to do? [00:43:33] Speaker C: I don't think we feel defeated because we've been in this position our whole lives. Like, it. It's just now it's just super, super blatant again. Yeah, that's the crazy part. But I don't feel defeated. Like, it's life. Going. Life. [00:43:48] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. I. I love that you saying that, because this is the one thing that is Critical, especially for us that are of African descent and African Americans and people of color, but specific African Americans. Because if we don't go back and look at those before us, there is no way we're going to actually be able to move forward. Because a lot of the playbook was. Is already there, right? Like it's kind of like with Tick Tock, where the older songs come back or like you guys were just talking about the older games, the retro games come back and then they become popular again. The strategies, the way to organize, the theory, the philosophy is already there. And for the most part, there are still our descendants who are still on this earth who went through it. So there. The, the resources are there. And this is why I struggle as someone that is radicalized is. You can't tell me different. There is literally nothing you could say that tells me different because history and facts say so. But now you have people in this government and in this country who say that those facts are a lie. You see what I'm saying? [00:45:23] Speaker C: So books out the school. [00:45:25] Speaker B: If you have people who have an attack on knowledge. Where did that phrase come from? Knowledge is power. Where does that, you know, where do the things come from? And we have to glean back to those who have come before us. Turn the TV off and pick up a book and read. [00:45:47] Speaker C: I see what you did there. I see what you did there. [00:45:52] Speaker D: You have to turn this TV off. Turn this TV off. [00:45:55] Speaker B: You gotta, you have to turn off your social media because it's lying to you. You have to turn off the Tick Tock because it's collecting everything is getting to know everything about you as if your phone isn't already doing that. All the federal and gov. All federal employees and probably anyone who's ever had a student loan or anyone that's ever done anything with the federal government. A billionaire has access to your data as if he wasn't already powerful because he owns all of the satellites in the sky. Y' all better wake up. That's all. And that's all. That's why I don't argue with anyone anymore. That's why I don't have debates. That's why if I'm at a dinner party, I don't have those conversations. Because until you do the work, you pick up a book you read, you discern for yourself. Because I've recently revisited Baldwin, who James Baldwin, I absolutely love, has an eloquent way of describing the African American experience. You know, considering that in 1945, ish, maybe 46, he left America to move to Europe. And he famously says it didn't matter where he would have arrived, but he just happened to arrive in Paris with. On the streets of Paris with $40 in his pocket. And listening to Baldwin, I just think about James Baldwin, how he says in. He left America around 1945, six, eight, one of those. And this is after World War II. And he realizes that he said he would. He could have ended anywhere in the world, but he had to leave the United States. But he ends up in Paris, on the streets of Paris with $40 in his pocket. And he does this as an experiment under the assumption that he could be anywhere in the rest of the world, but nothing could be as worse or nothing could have been done as worse to him than it was in the United States of America. [00:48:17] Speaker C: That's saying something. And a lot of us are getting that. That same kind of sentiment these days. I think a lot of people are think getting that same sentiment, like, preemptively. Obviously, there's no. Well, there are physical atrocities against us today still here. But I understand what he's saying. [00:48:40] Speaker B: And. [00:48:40] Speaker D: I guess I meant, like, defeated. Like, you know, we are aware. But I do think that there are subset of black people who thought things had progressed a bit more in terms of race relations than it really has. And I guess that's what I meant by defeated. Like, I feel like this has really opened some of those people's minds. Like, oh, they really don't care. They really don't. Like, I. People be texting me like, sarah, I see what you're saying about these companies not caring. I'm like, what you mean you just not saying they didn't care? So I think this is opening a lot of our minds to, oh, we will never be one of them. They will never care. They don't even care about their own people. And maybe that's what it is. We realize they don't care about nobody. If you ain't got the dollar sign, they don't care. Did y' all see that park ranger write that letter about how his heart was broken because he lost his job all of a sudden? He'd been there for, like, 18 years. I didn't know they was letting go the park rangers, but it makes awesome. [00:49:55] Speaker C: Hospitals, everything, the nuclear plants, everything. [00:49:59] Speaker B: They messed around and accidentally fired some people on Friday by accident. And they work at a nuclear plant. [00:50:05] Speaker C: No, but what. What it was. No, they fired them on purpose. But what they did was when they fired them, they got locked out of their email accounts, their company email accounts, but they needed those people to work there. And now they can't get in touch with them because they didn't lock the people out of their account when they fired them. So they trying to get the people to come back to work, but they can't find them. They can't get in touch with them. [00:50:32] Speaker D: I wouldn't go back, y' all. I go back to me next week. [00:50:41] Speaker C: I would need my black job. Hey, but we gonna be all right. [00:50:53] Speaker B: We're gonna. We are. We are going to be all right. So I brought up Baldwin to say that he also would say, because, you know, he would do all of these lectures from Cambridge to Florida to television, and he said that if black people were to ever do the same exact thing or say the same exact thing word for word as their white counterparts, they would be met with so much resistance, hostility, etc. Etc. And I just say that to this administration who is trying to force these norms, social norms, air quote. Of what we're seeing with press conferences with the President of the United States and a billionaire, that's not normal. And if a black person did, would be people burning flags in the streets, the American flag, they'd be burning them in the streets. So black people, as the good brother Kendrick Lamar said on his shirt after his incredible performance, please keep them away from me. Air quote. Keep them away from me. [00:52:25] Speaker D: I mean, y' all know I look, I live to make white people uncomfortable. So I just. This is just fueling the fire now. I'm like it for real. Everybody gonna be uncomfortable. I'm uncomfortable. Everybody uncomfortable. [00:52:43] Speaker B: Pretty much. And one thing I absolutely adore endured at the top of Black history month was Beyonce winning the album of the year of a country album, which was the ultimate get back because not only did she win in a genre that told her they lit the entire genre told her to kiss, they assume that entire genre other than those who wanted to support her and lift her up like Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton. And I just thought it was quite incredible that not only did she win, but she herself was actually shocked and surprised and shout out to Blue and Rumi. We know y' all run that household. I don't know what they would do without you. They being Beyonce and Jay Z, y' all are the true goats. We, we know y' all behind the scenes working hard, but congratulations to Beyonce because I know in previous podcasts we had talked about how Beyonce was continuously being on for winning album of the year from the Grammys. And that day came and I'm super excited. I will not be Going to any of her shows because eggs are $8, and I don't know how y' all could afford it. And that's on Mary and her lambs. [00:54:20] Speaker D: Clearly, none of us will be there. She don't want us there. Because them prices. It's a no for me, dog. [00:54:31] Speaker C: Like the. The regular retail price or the resale prices? [00:54:37] Speaker D: The regular. [00:54:38] Speaker C: Okay. [00:54:39] Speaker D: And the resale. Because, you know. And then, you know, Ticketmaster be adding on them fees, too. [00:54:45] Speaker B: Yeah. Ticketmaster need to go to hell. [00:54:47] Speaker D: No, for real. We need to get them up out of here. Why are they still here? [00:54:51] Speaker C: I thought they was in a lawsuit or something. [00:54:53] Speaker B: They are. With Taylor Swift. She's suing them. [00:54:55] Speaker C: I was about to say. I know. I know. They was getting sued because they was buying up all the tickets and reselling them themselves to, like, triple and quadruple their. Their profits or whatever. [00:55:06] Speaker D: Yes. [00:55:08] Speaker B: Yeah. Because they call it verified certified resell or whatever they call it when they do it. But, yeah, if I can't go buy it at a box office, I can't go. [00:55:18] Speaker C: Yeah. I mean, I'm gonna have to get it from the scalper outside. [00:55:22] Speaker B: You know what I'm saying? If I can't go get it, if I can't pull up with my money and go get it, I can't go no more. It's not possible. Because I think, as someone that's seen, she is the only person I've ever seen in concert and to have seen her in multiple cities, which I've said on the podcast before, I would love to go to London to go see her, but it's outside, and I'm not really. I've been outside to see her before. It's. It's cute till it rains. [00:55:49] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:55:50] Speaker B: Okay. And so I was lucky in London every day. Right. [00:55:54] Speaker D: I was. [00:55:55] Speaker B: It was. I was lucky enough where I was in jersey at MetLife Stadium, and it was a gorgeous night. I got really lucky. So I'm not doing. I'm not taking that risk again, unfortunately. But, hey, shout out to all y' all that did get it. I heard the economy gonna crash, so, hey, maybe you're never gonna have to pay it back. Who knows? [00:56:18] Speaker D: I definitely went to Cabo in October and put that on layaway, and I have not made a payment. Okay. Still had a great time. It's up. [00:56:30] Speaker C: I'm so glad they renamed layaway and brought it back. [00:56:33] Speaker D: Me too. I need that. Maybe we used to laugh at people. Not we, but it used to be a thing where you would, like, kind of look down on people that did layaway at down to the Walmart. [00:56:49] Speaker C: Well, the way my, my mother used it was. It was a way for her to go Christmas shopping early and have somebody else hold it in addition to, you know, you get to pay over time, Mark. So then when Christmas came, she just go. Right. Pay the rest of that thing off and pick up the whole bag of stuff. [00:57:09] Speaker B: I think that's what a lot of. I think that's why a lot of black people used to do it that way is because they were able to plan for Christmas ahead of time. [00:57:19] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:57:20] Speaker B: But you know, because I feel like in real time, the only thing they had to buy was, you know, stuff for Christmas dinner and Thanksgiving dinner. [00:57:29] Speaker C: Facts. [00:57:31] Speaker B: Yeah, I remember that. [00:57:32] Speaker C: But layaway was tight, man. Shout out to Kmart. [00:57:36] Speaker D: Shout out to Kmart. [00:57:38] Speaker B: RIP Toys R Us. Rip. [00:57:42] Speaker D: Toys R Us. They was trash. [00:57:45] Speaker B: That's where you got the toys. [00:57:47] Speaker C: You are asleep. [00:57:48] Speaker B: You. What toys was so expensive back in the day? It wasn't like that. It was. It got like that later on. That's why. I don't know if that's why they ended up going bankrupt, but back in the day, that's the only place you could go get toys. [00:58:01] Speaker D: No, I used to with them back then. I'm saying as an adult, they couldn't. [00:58:05] Speaker B: That's what I'm saying. I don't know what happened. I. I don't know what happened at the point where I don't know if it's because. [00:58:13] Speaker C: Happen. Yeah. You just buy it online. [00:58:15] Speaker B: Well, I'm saying is back then you couldn't really get toys at other stores other than Toys R Us. So I feel like, because you could then buy toys at Target, you could buy them at Walmart, you could buy them at Kmart. Like, I think Kmart and Toys R Us used to be the only ones that really had toys. You see what I'm saying? [00:58:33] Speaker C: That's true. We had kb, but obviously KB didn't have the inventory that Toys R Us had. KB used to be a spot in the mall, like so it was like mall sized toy store. [00:58:44] Speaker B: Yeah. Because. Yeah. Think about it. Remember when people used to get their head bust in for. Yeah. At Toys R Us when toys came out. [00:58:54] Speaker D: Yep. Black Friday. [00:59:01] Speaker B: Whenever they. Yeah. Whenever they used to drop something, people used to be enough fighting over toys. Beating. You know, crazy. [00:59:09] Speaker D: People are crazy. It's not that serious. [00:59:16] Speaker C: I'm just saying different times. [00:59:18] Speaker B: Different times. But you know, as we continue on with Black History Month, I also want to give good shout outs to doi who listen If y' all not listening to Dochi, you are slapped on. Okay? You ain't being. You not sleep. You slept on. The biggest rapper in the game is Dochi, period. Right now. Do congratulations on your Grammy, girl from Tampa, Florida. We love you. We support you. She was an advocate of. Either she got fired or she quit her job and she bet on herself and she won. Congratulations. I think it's quite incredible. Also, shout out to Sza, who had the opportunity to do the biggest show of her career at the Super Bowl. I thought that was. She looked amazing and just want to lift her up, you know, and. And continue, girl, to do the good work that you do. Her album is out now. Lana and the Deluxe is out. So their tickets actually the grand national tour, they're not terrible. They're still kind of high, but they're not terrible. So if y' all want to pay Ticketmaster autumn fees, support Kendrick Lamar and SZA as they go on tour. Who else do I want to lift up? [01:00:51] Speaker D: Susa had all that ass. [01:00:53] Speaker B: Yeah. Who bought it? But it's. [01:00:56] Speaker C: She bought it all. [01:00:57] Speaker B: She keep it. She keeps it. I think you have to do stuff to maintain it. She maintains it. Her and Cardi B. Shout out to Cardi B for continuously getting her get back on offset. I just. I love it. [01:01:12] Speaker D: She did something else. [01:01:13] Speaker B: She had offset running around in New Orleans looking for her because apparently her and Stefan actually are a thing. Remember we was talking about that, Dub, not too long ago, where we was. Like. [01:01:22] Speaker C: I said I was a liar. [01:01:25] Speaker B: We did not say you were like, sure did. [01:01:27] Speaker C: Y' all, like, I don't know. Y' all said something like that. [01:01:30] Speaker D: Who was that? [01:01:32] Speaker C: The receiver. [01:01:34] Speaker D: Are they together? [01:01:36] Speaker B: They. That's the one that they said she slept with while she was pregnant. [01:01:41] Speaker D: Oh, okay, I'm back. [01:01:44] Speaker B: But. And Dub is saying that we talked about this on the pod previously. I. And I said, well, if it is him, it makes sense because he the only one. I know that all the girls know what it is, and they all cool with it. But apparently Cardi B and Stefan, a week before the super bowl, were out in New York together. And I love it. You know, girl, go ahead. [01:02:12] Speaker D: Because she was salty. [01:02:14] Speaker B: He was in. So this happened a week before and. And the super bowl was the following week, which I thought was interesting because I don't think no regular people went to the game. It seemed like it was the celebrity bowl because everybody and their mama was in. That's a celebrity. It reminded me of, like, a Formula one race. Everybody was in all the Celebrities were there for the game, and he was. It's this picture of him with the window rolled down, looking for her. [01:02:49] Speaker D: Stay on his neck. [01:02:52] Speaker B: So, Cardi B, I hope you got an album for us, because, girl, that little song you just put out recently with Party, I would. I didn't appreciate that. So, please, we want new music. Thank you. [01:03:04] Speaker C: Cardi does not have an album for you. I'm just telling you right now. [01:03:07] Speaker B: I really. I. I need her to. To. [01:03:13] Speaker C: You know, it's been seven years, right? [01:03:15] Speaker B: Yes. But I am. I love when I say, other than her smoking cigarettes, I truly love Cardi B's music. So I just. [01:03:26] Speaker C: Cigarettes. [01:03:27] Speaker B: Girl off. Had her out here smoking cigarettes. She was stressed out. [01:03:31] Speaker D: Ew. [01:03:32] Speaker B: Yes. Nasty. [01:03:34] Speaker C: That's crazy. [01:03:34] Speaker B: No, no. [01:03:35] Speaker D: Shade to our listeners that smoke cigarettes. [01:03:38] Speaker B: Yes, shade, y' all. That'll kill you. That and vaping. Stop. Will kill you. Don't smoke, children. Don't smoke cigarettes and don't vape. It is not cool. It is still nicotine. And we know. But historically, nicotine kills people. Stop it. Because I seen this, like, this girl vaping on the airplane. Girl, are you crying? You can't. You can't sit on the plane without having a little bit of nicotine. That's like somebody getting on the airplane and smoking a blunt. You crazy. [01:04:08] Speaker D: They do be trying to sneak the vapes on the plane. [01:04:11] Speaker B: No, she vaped literally, as they were boarding, like, right. So you trying to get one last hit before you. You go up. [01:04:22] Speaker D: That's exactly. Yes. [01:04:24] Speaker B: I hate vaping. I can't stand vaping, and I can't stand people that smoke cigarettes. No, no. So if you smoking cigarettes. Stop it. Go get some nicotine gum. Because, you know, Barack Obama smoked cigarettes, and I really used to look at him sideways because of that, but he was, you know, a black man in America, so I don't know. I mean, I would if he couldn't smoke weed. And that was the closest thing. You know, I don't. You know, they say squares are. You know, they say a square is, you know, addictive. So I don't know. Anyways, who else we need to lift up Black History Month? Juju. Hold on, hold on. Juju Watkins. Girl, we see you. Girl, we. We see you at usc. I. I cannot wait to watch what they do this year. Juju, we love you. Yeah. What you got, dude? [01:05:19] Speaker C: Oh, I was going because we. We spoke about the halftime show briefly, but I was going. Big up. The Philadelphia Eagles. [01:05:28] Speaker D: Hey. [01:05:29] Speaker C: The dog out. The Chiefs. And for being a predominantly black team, listen The Philly. [01:05:36] Speaker B: Philly is so known for being just the white people and the black people really are just absolutely ghetto. And I love it. I think Gilly showed it best. [01:05:48] Speaker D: I was just gonna say, did y' all see Gilly? [01:05:50] Speaker B: Gilly is the mascot of the Ink because they're known as the city of brotherly love. And I've been to Philadelphia, and when they say it is really ghetto, it's. It's like white people and black people just ratchet. It's just hood. [01:06:06] Speaker D: And I actually don't like Philly like that, but. [01:06:11] Speaker B: But I do like that they are. They all, for the most part, love Philly. I. I fell in love with Philly when I knew Meek Ms. Mills was from there. And he would remember when he used to come out, and that was. I don't know if they still do it, but the song. They used to come out to his dreams and nightmares, and I always thought that was so cool. Is that they lifted up, you know, Meat Mills at the time where, you know, he was being locked up. He was always in some. At that point in time, and they still would play his songs. So it would be the equivalent to me, as if the Dolphins would actually lift up JT Money, you know, Trick Daddy. Yeah. But, I mean, that's, to me, would have been the equivalent. So I like that Philly always tell. [01:06:58] Speaker C: You right now, they could not play a JT Money song. [01:07:02] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. [01:07:04] Speaker C: He got a couple years. [01:07:05] Speaker B: Yeah, you could play who that, who that, who that, who that, who that, who that, who that, who that? Come on, now. Listen. So I'm saying, with Dreams and Nightmares, that song being like their anthem for many years, I thought was so cool that the Philadelphia Eagles always taps into the city. Right? They always tap into the city, and I just. I loved it. So, yeah, big up. Definitely to. And they show how black they was at the parade. Y' all seen that parade? [01:07:42] Speaker D: I didn't see it. [01:07:44] Speaker B: That's the kind of parade I want to go to. It looked like Mardi Gras. That's what it looked like. It looked like Mardi Gras. Yeah, it was. It was cool. Oh, and big ups to. Hold on. What's that girl name? [01:08:00] Speaker C: Who, Travis? Kelsey X. [01:08:02] Speaker B: No, I seen that. [01:08:06] Speaker D: They shouldn't have even made that a thing. [01:08:08] Speaker B: Yeah, they shouldn't. Even bigger from Philly. No, she works. [01:08:13] Speaker D: But they didn't have to be like, no, she works. They made it seem like she specifically was excited to on him. And it's like, okay, she probably was gonna be excited either Way she from Philly. [01:08:33] Speaker B: Is she? I don't think she's from Philly. Is she from Philly? I. She was there because she works for I am athlete. She's a reporter or whatever. [01:08:41] Speaker C: Yeah, I know she's in that capacity, but I think she might be. [01:08:47] Speaker B: But my big ups goes to Bry Burrows, the fiance of Jalen Hurts. Let me tell you something. That queen is tapped in because he ain't nothing but oozing black greatness. That is a fine black man. Jalen Hurts. [01:09:05] Speaker D: Okay. [01:09:06] Speaker B: He was fine at. In college at Oklahoma and Alabama. Okay, so they met apparently at Alabama. But for her to hold him down and we ain't heard no scandals or nothing. So they look, you know, it looked like it's pretty locked in. Just talking about from the perspective of what Jalen is bringing to the table. That's a black man. He all. He's through and through blackness. Like he still holds his composure when he does his press conferences that you seen that infamous photo dub of when right before the super bowl everyone had voted against the Eagles and had the Chiefs up and he saw it on the screen. He made that little curse permit the fall face where he turned his lip up. [01:09:58] Speaker C: No, I didn't see that. [01:09:59] Speaker B: Oh my gosh. It's like it's a fame. It's like the picture that's famous that's been going around. But he just, you know, and as fine as he is, it would take us a sister to hold that down. Girl, you. You hold that down. So we want to big up to you because we know behind every powerful black man is a powerful black woman. Intake. Who else? So I think we covered everyone Black History Month that we want to big up. Anyone else? No. [01:10:44] Speaker D: Did we shout out Kendrick. [01:10:46] Speaker B: Oh, Mr. Kendrick Lamar. K dot. I would like to firstly say thank you for your contribution to the culture. And I want to do this by saying this comes from the direction this is directly quoted from the Pulitzer website. Most people, if you did not know Kendrick lamar won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for music and that was for his body of work called damn. Storytelling has been Lamar's greatest skill and most primary mission. To put into lots of of words what it's like to grow up as he did to articulate in human terms the intimate specifics of daily self defense from your surroundings. Somehow he's gotten better. Platinum selling, Grammy nominated, now Grammy award winning Kendrick Lamar is one of the rare artists who has achieved critical and commercial success while earning the respect and support of those who inspired him. Last quote. What made Kendrick Lamar's performance, so rare was that the word entertainment is key here, as he was the first. This was the first time a Pulitzer Prize winner had ever performed at the super bowl halftime show. If we could have people cheering, if we had a button, it would be now. [01:12:42] Speaker C: That's what's up. [01:12:47] Speaker B: So many takes. But I would like to start it off by saying this was the most important body of work in art form that we have ever seen display played at the Super Bowl. However, no one, in my opinion, has topped the performance of Prince. Super Bowl, I believe, in 2007 performance. [01:13:23] Speaker D: Well, I'm not gonna argue with that. [01:13:26] Speaker C: That was 07. It might have. It might have been. Because I watched it recently and I was like, damn, this grainy. This can't be. [01:13:33] Speaker B: Yeah, 2000. [01:13:34] Speaker C: It looked like it was older. [01:13:36] Speaker B: I was like, dang, yeah, 2007. Because it was at, it was in Miami at the Dolphin Stadium, and Florida A M was on the set. So that's how I always remember it. Yes. Because I was in college at the time. [01:13:49] Speaker C: Makes sense. [01:13:50] Speaker B: Yeah. Yep. So. [01:13:54] Speaker D: Pretty good performance. [01:13:55] Speaker B: No, I, I, I think the bets. Because there has been a lot of talk about who had the best show. Some people didn't like the show. Some people love the show. Some people, the show went way over their heads. Some people said they couldn't understand what he was saying. And I would just say this. Yeah. I would say from the perspective of art and music, from an art form. Art has always been the particular method and mode in which African Americans or black people show resistance. I'll say that again. Art in any type of form has always been the mode and method for African Americans to show resistance. Thoughts, anyone? [01:14:57] Speaker D: I'm gonna let Dub get his thoughts out. [01:15:01] Speaker C: Oh, I got too many thoughts. It was ass. [01:15:08] Speaker D: Do you. Would you like to elaborate? [01:15:10] Speaker C: I respect it for what he did or what he was trying to do, but as a show, to me, it wasn't good. So what you feel like wasn't entertained? What would you have preferred to be entertained? Like, he did a lot of songs from a new album. He didn't, he didn't do a lot of his better music. And then I get the people are doing the thing pieces on. [01:15:37] Speaker B: Oh, he's trying to say this, this. [01:15:39] Speaker C: This, this, and that. You shouldn't have to tell me what he's trying to say. And I shouldn't have to think about it if I'm a casual viewer, because a casual, casual viewer who already may not know these songs and may not care, they're not Going to then go and research. So your message is not going to land. [01:16:01] Speaker B: Overall. [01:16:04] Speaker D: I don't feel like I had to think about it hard now. I was drunk during the actual. So I had to go back and watch. I enjoyed it. I don't know. I felt like it was timely. I like that he did that on that stage. I like that he was petty taking a shot at Drake. It's a great song. He got a good catalog. But I've seen him in concert before, so I don't know. I'm a fan. [01:16:33] Speaker B: I was. [01:16:34] Speaker D: I liked it. I've been watching it every day since. [01:16:37] Speaker C: Honestly, he does have a good catalog, but I don't think what he performed reflected what should have been done at the Super Bowl. [01:16:47] Speaker D: Well. [01:16:50] Speaker B: So I love that we're probably gonna end the show on this topic as we began the beginning when Twin said, has the revolution begun? And I think what for me, as someone that's not only Kendrick Lamar fan, I've never seen him in concert. I've never seen anyone really in concert other than Beyonce. And she had subtly done homages to the symbolism of African American culture and resistance in her halftime shows. And even most recently at Beyonce bowl had a lot of symbolism there. But this was the first time, I think that the super bowl had ever been used in a way to not only portray activism, but also offer a strategic approach that we just never really saw before. Because again, like Doug just said, everyone liked to offer these, you know, lengthy think tanks about, you know, the show. And granted, I do agree that if you're in an entertainment piece which usually halftime show always lands on nostalgia, like, usually that's kind of why people get to do the Super Bowl. I. I do believe, however, that to use it in this way at this time was necessary because what it did do was have people think right and like the opposite of you dub to say, well, I am supposed to be entertained. And I was not entertained. Then the point, then he actually got that point got through, is it was not to be for entertainment value versus to get people to start to talk about or think about what his messaging was. However, what I thought was very interesting, and this is why I've left social media in all platforms, is because who qualifies you to have these dissertations on what you may or may not thought that Kendrick Lamar was trying to get across if you have not studied such things? And granted, I said in the beginning it is a form of art, so people have the right to their own opinions. But it was very disturbing to see all of A sudden we had these critics that, you know, could decipher what he meant and what he didn't mean. And I thought that was actually quite interesting, considering all things. If you don't have a degree in African American studies or you don't have a degree in art history, if you don't have a degree in African American history, art. If you don't have a degree in hip hop, why are y' all listening to them? And I say this to say, you know, to you, dub is hip hop. When it first came on the scene, it was not. Well, it wasn't. It wasn't entertaining. Like, it was this closest. It was probably as close to spoken word until Beats, you know, and DJs started to put them, you know, into like, as it morphed into an entertainment base. But it really wasn't like that in the beginning. And so I would say to that is like, if we want to preserve the culture in general. I feel that what he really was giving was not only a taste, but also started to gatekeep, right? Like, I watched the way that he changed everything about the field, the set, how he brought on the PlayStation. Like, I just thought it was very well executed from a strategic standpoint. And like Twin said, like, I got the entire show word for word. And I had been drinking as well. And I thought it was a master class on how you use art as a form of resistance. Especially. Especially when Donald Trump was there. [01:21:23] Speaker D: I definitely think the thing pieces be going too far and people be latching on. Oh yeah, yeah, you didn't catch that up. They just be making up stuff, reaching. They be taking. Now they definitely take it too far because like I said, I watched it afterwards and I did not need anybody to explain. Write me an essay on what I just watched. Like, that was just. That was a little too far. But from a performance perspective, y' all know I be going to concerts. I love a concert. And I was telling Pete, rappers do. A lot of rappers do not be putting on a good show. And people saying they don't know what he was saying. I have been to shows where you actually can't tell what the rapper's saying. He mumbling, he up, up there not putting a good show on. And I must say, he. That was one of the best rap performances I've seen at a concert. I would have to say him and Gunna definitely up there, like, in terms of rap performances. So I enjoyed it from that perspective. I enjoyed the art. You know, I just like, the best part for me was making white People uncomfortable. Y' all know how I am. A bunch of. On the field with goals. Yes, please bring them out. Bring them out. [01:22:43] Speaker C: You think that made them uncomfortable? [01:22:45] Speaker B: Girl, yes. Yeah. They was in their houses calling us all. They was calling us. They said, look at these. Look at these. [01:22:56] Speaker C: They do that anyway when they watch. [01:22:57] Speaker B: But I'm saying they were. No, they were disgusted. They were disgusted. [01:23:03] Speaker C: I don't think they were disgusted because white people aren't going to think deeply about this. [01:23:08] Speaker B: No, no. [01:23:08] Speaker C: They saw. They saw the visual representation, but as far as the messaging, they might have. [01:23:14] Speaker D: Said they could see a bunch of. With gold. [01:23:18] Speaker B: They seen a bunch of diggers on the stage. They were discussing. Let me give you an example. One of the stage sets he changed into was this the Streets. And I asked this in a. In a debate. In a debate setting where I asked, what did you think about the set? And those that were there said, oh, well, I thought it was cool that they were in a jail. I said, that wasn't a jail. That was the streets. And they're like, well, the light poles. I said it was on top of the light poles. I said, you can't do that in no jail. They'll shoot you. And I. And I said, that's the funny part, is that some of you guys thought it was a jail, because that's what jails. That's how jails are built. They're built to house what, you know, from the streets, to be in a confinement, solitary, you know, standpoint, like in, you know, being in custody. So I thought it was interesting that people thought that the. The set was a jail or was not the streets. And I. And like you said, when. When they was on the corner with a mouthful of goals and he was rapping. I thought that was hilarious, too, because it really gave me the vibes of, like, you know, people on the street corner selling dope. That's what. That's what. What do you do on the street corner? You either be in front of the bodega, you in front of the. The little corner stove. Back to the. The Miami days. And I thought that was very representation of black culture when you're in the streets. [01:24:53] Speaker D: I feel like when it dub. I feel like whenever there's a gathering of doing things and it's a bunch of white people around, they are uncomfortable, especially rich white people. [01:25:05] Speaker C: But think about it like this. You had a football game. [01:25:11] Speaker D: Right? [01:25:12] Speaker C: It's already a bunch of. On the field. [01:25:15] Speaker B: They don't look at it like that. [01:25:16] Speaker D: I said, doing things. [01:25:20] Speaker C: If we. If we Predominantly are the ones who make up the NFL. The NFL is things. [01:25:27] Speaker B: No, it's not. [01:25:28] Speaker C: It's owned by someone. Someone else, but it's things. [01:25:31] Speaker D: That's why it's not things. [01:25:32] Speaker B: No, it's not things. [01:25:34] Speaker D: The money when it's. When doing things that ain't got nothing to do with them, ain't making them no money. They not benefiting. They're uncomfortable. [01:25:43] Speaker B: People get uncomfortable when you say that the NFL is the modern day version of slavery. People get upset when you say the NFL is the equivalent to a plantation. When in fact, what, people get upset? No, like if you were around a bunch of white people and you said that. Oh yeah, well, the NFL is predominantly black people. It's like it's the modern day form of slavery. Just say it in front of a whole bunch of white people and see how that. I say that because I've said it in front of white people before and I've said because back when. [01:26:16] Speaker C: But you're black. [01:26:18] Speaker B: No. [01:26:19] Speaker C: So they have to pretend to be uncomfortable in front of you. [01:26:22] Speaker B: No, no. [01:26:23] Speaker D: Why would they pretend to be? [01:26:25] Speaker B: I'm telling you they don't. When you look at anything as twin just said that is majority owned by white people and there is a profit in place. This is how Cap. This is what she's talking about when she's talking about capitalism. Right. That when Cap did his protest that around the time of Trayvon Martin's murder to protest police brutality and violence. The problem, and I've always said that there's a problem with him protesting in that way was it wasn't a call to action. He himself was doing in action, but there was nothing that he was calling others to do. Kneeling is just a form of a symbolic way to protest something. But there was no action behind it. And honestly a lot of people like the NFL suffered just because of the disruption of people kind of looking at the NFL as being, you know, low key racist. Fast forward to today's time. My argument is that when Kendrick Lamar says turn the TV off at the end. You know how I always say the ancestors are with us, God is with us, the universe is with us. I thought it was quite hilarious. Like you said the, that the Eagles were beating the brakes off of Kansas City, the breaks at that point. And I've always said if people have known me for years, I've always said if every player in the National Football League did not show up for games on Sunday in protest during to what is happening to African Americans in African Americans. African Americans in America, it would have actual impact. If you don't have everybody that does it, it will never get across the way that you want it to. And so when you say things like the NFL is, you know, the modern day slave slavery or the NFL is represented, you know, representative of a form of plantation, it makes them uncomfortable, but they don't really care because they're still going to watch. That's America's game. You know what I mean? [01:28:54] Speaker D: And I feel like, I feel like the cap kneeling thing further proves my point. Like I, I do feel like having a bunch of niggas on the field makes them uncomfortable. If they could have all white people out there, they would. But when cap start kneeling and it's like, oh, shut your ass up and go out there and play football. They don't, they don't want. If they could have all white people out there, they would. I think it makes them uncomfortable that we are better at the sport than them. Yes, I do think that. And I think that because they can exploit us, as long as they can exploit us and make money, they'll be fine. But I feel like as soon as that stops, yeah, I do, I do think that on the field makes them uncomfortable. I do think that. And if more of us own teams and got in leadership positions, that too would make them uncomfortable. So, yes, I do think having a bunch of on the field rapping and made them rich white people uncomfortable. I do. Because what are they getting out of that? They can't, they can't use that to their benefit. [01:30:06] Speaker B: I also want to shout out the two white men who hold their women the down. The first man of Kamala Harris, Doug, Doug and Serena Williams husband, you a real one. Because in all, in all honesty, what we will learn over the next couple of months and even years from the outcome of this last election is one, that Americans don't care about how African Americans are treated and they don't care about racism. That's the fact that this point. And two, that to confront racism or to confront inequalities in America has to start with white people. As Baldwin says, why did you even need to have a nigger in the first place? And when you reconcile yourself with that question, when you even address the question, when, when you even can talk about that question, is the starting point of America finally being the land of the free and where all men are created equal. And with that, let's go ahead and wrap up the show. What y' all got? Anything? Final thoughts? [01:31:46] Speaker C: I don't have much. I do want to kind of see how the rest of 2025 plays out, but we gonna see. [01:32:00] Speaker D: Yeah, I'm gonna do a shot o' clock. I got some orange mango body armor. [01:32:12] Speaker B: Got me some soda water. [01:32:14] Speaker C: What is some orange mango? What? [01:32:16] Speaker D: Body armor. [01:32:18] Speaker C: Oh, okay. [01:32:20] Speaker D: Superior hydration. [01:32:23] Speaker C: Oh, what we body armor to drink. I thought it was. I thought you was talking about, like, something on Stardew Valley or something. [01:32:28] Speaker B: What we will be is hydrated this year. Okay. [01:32:33] Speaker D: Yeah, I did a little too much. I'm old. Shout out to dub. I watched the super bowl at Dub House. I'm old, man. I was recovering for two days after that dub. I'm old. I can't hang like a YouTube. [01:32:46] Speaker C: I didn't go into the office till Thursday. [01:32:49] Speaker B: After that night, I don't think a lot of people. You know what's interesting to me is I don't know why the super bowl isn't the week of Martin Luther King weekend or like right out or like today with when President's Day is the next day. Because no one went to work. I mean, I didn't. I didn't. Huh. [01:33:06] Speaker D: The super bowl need to be on Saturday. Why is it always. I mean, I get it, but why. [01:33:14] Speaker B: Is it always on Sunday night? [01:33:16] Speaker D: You know, we finna be up. [01:33:18] Speaker C: That is a good question. [01:33:20] Speaker B: Yeah, I didn't drink. Like, I usually get super wasted during the super bowl, but one, I was very much not interested in watching this Super Bowl. But the Eagles made it good. They made it interesting that they just was beating the dog out of Kansas City, which I think everybody enjoyed because. [01:33:39] Speaker D: I was a little disappointed. I wanted them to win, but I wanted the game to be a little bit more interesting. [01:33:44] Speaker B: No. Because then it got for me who wasn't drinking. It gave me the opportunity to go to bed, like, Right. I mean, I watched. Soon as Kendrick performance went off, I re. Watched it and then I went to bed. Yeah. So, yeah, I thought it's okay. [01:34:02] Speaker D: Shout o' clock to family. Y' all been holding me down. I can't say it enough. Y' all brought me back from a low place and I'm. It's up from here. You know, no matter what's going on with the country, we are. We all, we got. So I love y' all. And shout out to research team and her grandma. We gonna put prayers up. Prayers up for y' all. [01:34:28] Speaker C: Blessings. Blessings. [01:34:33] Speaker B: Shot a clock for me. [01:34:37] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:34:38] Speaker B: Keep them away from me. I'm. And if you're not, if you are not, if you are not they who don't want to be they anymore or them Just stay away. Because I do believe, as I often talk in a academic setting about the civil rights movement, which I try to remind people in the beginning, white people wasn't cool with. Was only until the brutality of white. What was happening to African Americans that were broadcast on national television was what really started to pull at the hearts of these evil people which are all can be called moral monsters, right? They believe in the morality of the things that they do. They believe that those that violence was righteous. And I just, at this point in my life, I just keep them away from me, please. I don't. I don't need you. I don't want you. I don't want you around me. And I'm not in like twin said. And I will make you very uncomfortable so that you know to just leave me alone. [01:35:56] Speaker D: Please make them uncomfortable. I'm with it. [01:36:07] Speaker B: Dub, what's your shot? [01:36:11] Speaker C: Keep them away from me because I'm ignoring them anyway. [01:36:14] Speaker D: Hey, love to see it. [01:36:19] Speaker B: Well, listeners, y' all know where to find us. New year, new us, we're glad to be back. [01:36:30] Speaker D: Back like we never left. [01:36:32] Speaker C: Yeah, y' all know where to find us. We do hope you enjoyed this broadcast. Please, please, please follow us on all social media. X formerly Twitter at call your cousins. You can find us on Instagram at call your cousins pod and subscribe to our YouTube at call your cousins. As always, if you want to send us any emails or shout outs or whatever you want to say, you can hit us up at call your cousinspot gmail dot com. [01:37:05] Speaker B: Oh, and we're on blue sky. We're on blue Sky. Come find us. We over there too. Because, you know, one day we might have to leave all these people behind. But you know, get on our YouTube. We want to holla at you, get in the comments. We want to talk to you, all those things. So, yeah, later.