Brotherhood: Test of Time

Some friendships survive time, distance, success, and struggle. This is a conversation about brotherhood, loyalty, growth, and the bonds that continue to endure.

Transcript

SPEAKER_07 0:01

This is not an interview. This is not a game show. Well, it's kind of like a game show. So we're just gonna keep the conversation organic. We're gonna talk about life. We're gonna ask some fun questions. And no form, nothing form. We just gonna let loose.

SPEAKER_08 0:19

The game back together.

SPEAKER_07 0:21

We're over here, man.

SPEAKER_08 0:22

Y'all gotta swap. Y'all, my bed. We get 30 years plus, baby.

SPEAKER_07 0:27

Damn, man. That means we all. Yeah, man. I just wanted to um get us together for a conversation. I think it's gonna it makes history, because you know, everything is documented, and you never, it never disappears unless we get hit by uh um what do you call a meteor, and then all this shit is gone. But other than that, the kids will be able to watch it. We'll be 80 years old, the great grands will be able to watch it. What do you guys say, brother? No. I feel it. Come on, let's go. Let's go. Yeah, I got any intro. Y'all got anything we say? Any introductions?

SPEAKER_08 1:04

This is all about brotherhood.

SPEAKER_11 1:07

I agree. I want to say that I feel like this is a great follow-up to the photo shoot that we did. You guys remember that funny photo shoot. So I still use them for those forums for the city. Shout out to Pressure um for helping facilitate that for us, man. I just think that was a great exemplification of what Brotherhood looks like. He captures some great photos. So I think this is a great follow-up to that, and I'm excited.

SPEAKER_07 1:36

So let's get it. We're gonna start off with some fun questions before we talk about life. Y'all gonna yell some fun niggas. All right. And we're gonna say, we're gonna ask the question and we're gonna give our answers. You wanna yell? I don't know. Should we yell at the same time or what? How should we do it? No, no cursing. Let's let's keep it clean. Oh, my bad. Okay. I try my best. All right. All right. Out of the three of us, who was most likely to get suspended in school?

SPEAKER_08 2:09

I gotta take that one on the chip.

SPEAKER_04 2:11

Okay, I said me. I said me. Okay.

SPEAKER_08 2:13

I was thinking about you at that time when I asked Miss Burrows. Does she know what BJ's was? This was back in the day when BJ's meant blowjaw.

SPEAKER_02 2:26

Correct you.

SPEAKER_07 2:27

I think you said you, I think, I think you did a little more than ask her. Did she give a BJ? No, did she know what a BJ is? But what's she saying? Do your mama go on a BJ?

SPEAKER_01 2:41

Okay, all right. I give I gotta give that a little more credit. Both of y'all said to her, okay.

SPEAKER_07 2:46

All right, definitely. Who was most likely to get into a fight over something stupid, over something stupid? I'm gonna have to go with it.

SPEAKER_08 2:56

I'm gonna have to go with the go ahead.

SPEAKER_05 3:00

I we or who I would go with that one. Because we were four.

SPEAKER_07 3:04

We wasn't like those type of kids. But you gotta pick one though. Now, this is all kid growing up stuff. I would probably serve me. See now remember the key words is over something stupid, right? Who was most likely to get caught sneaking out?

SPEAKER_12 3:25

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 3:27

I gotta take the outskirts. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I said, you remember that time, Miss Timmins? I sent one of the Russian boys to the chicken spot to give me some chicken over here by uh 41. And I took it back to class. I thought I was gonna eat that shit. Miss Timmins, she took you to do it in the trash. Yeah, I remember. I was mad. Then she walked out to class. I said, okay, I'm gonna go in the trash can and get that chicken. I will eat it. She saw me walking towards the gas, I meant the trash can, and she went off. So I gotta take that one on the chest.

SPEAKER_07 4:02

Ain't nobody care where I was going. So you don't really listen to me down. Alright. Okay, let's see. Who was most likely to get pulled over when they first start dropping?

SPEAKER_08 4:20

I ain't gonna even tell that story, but yeah, yeah, yeah. I gotta take that on. Yeah, yeah. He still getting pulled over. All right, definitely.

SPEAKER_07 4:33

Who was most likely to date someone their friends warned them about? I'm going with Snoo.

SPEAKER_12 4:41

It might be both. I said date.

SPEAKER_08 4:47

But you'll be in the most relationships though. That I know of.

SPEAKER_07 4:51

Relationships? I think so. Still in the most relationships?

SPEAKER_08 4:55

I think so.

SPEAKER_07 4:56

I think so.

SPEAKER_08 4:57

I think so.

SPEAKER_07 4:58

If you want to call it a little relationship, you'll uh what'd they call them? Entanglement. No. Yeah, are we out about two relationships? Let's see. Who was most likely to spend the whole paycheck in one weekend? And I say you say me. Oh boy, okay.

SPEAKER_08 5:21

Okay, so y'all saying me on that one. Old old world mouth crowd. Old clothes. I was saying you. You be spending money on them gadgets. So that's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_12 5:35

Like this.

SPEAKER_07 5:37

Um, let's see. Uh who's most likely to become famous? I'm gonna say me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because you be doing all these promotion. That's the only reason I say from not talent-wise. Yes, yes, okay. Who was most likely to get lost in another city?

SPEAKER_04 6:05

Skaking.

SPEAKER_07 6:06

Skaking.

SPEAKER_11 6:08

I'd say always I've been head to a club. We got drunk, and I left the club. Okay, left everybody. I don't even know. Y'all got a birthday. That was my birthday. I can't even recall how I got home to train and everything. And that was my 25th birthday, yeah. Yeah. I don't, I completely blacked out. Like when I woke up, I was in my bed and I had all these missed calls from everybody. I still to this day don't know how to go home.

SPEAKER_08 6:36

That was a wild night, yo. That was a wild night.

SPEAKER_07 6:38

Yeah. Alright. Who's most likely to start a business?

SPEAKER_08 6:44

That never go now. Okay, you come. I'm going with Jerry's though.

SPEAKER_05 6:49

That's a jewel. Yeah, but I'll say this.

SPEAKER_08 6:54

This guy like five of them, man. That's him.

unknown 6:57

Mr.

SPEAKER_07 6:57

Antro Connola. Hell yeah. Because when I hear business, I think about you. So who was most likely to get kicked out of somewhere? Jim.

SPEAKER_08 7:06

Yeah, that's the wild night I'm talking about. My birthday. Brother. Was it? Yeah, with the club, man. Yeah. Y'all left me hanging. I'm sweet by side of cross tree for a club. Yeah. They kicked me straight out the club. I was then? Yes, my birthday, yes. Remember? Skills.

SPEAKER_04 7:25

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 7:26

Yeah, we we all drove over there together. And, you know, I had my little fetish dancing with females, and I like to pull their hair while I'm dancing. And they reported me the security. They got me a pot. Yeah, it got me a pot.

SPEAKER_11 7:39

How you getting fired on you, man?

SPEAKER_07 7:42

Who all right? Who was most likely to no, I'm sorry. Who was most likely to cry during a movie and deny it? That's crazy.

SPEAKER_12 7:52

You think me? Deny you.

SPEAKER_04 7:57

Deny you.

SPEAKER_05 7:58

Still gives Mr. Lumber boy. So deny it or that ain't no. I wasn't denial. Yeah, you're gonna have to go with you.

SPEAKER_07 8:11

Who is most likely to survive a zombie apocalypse? That's your ass, because you sleep hard and you don't be waking up. Me, I'm a light sleeper. I'm a very light sleeper. But to survive a zombie apocalypse, you know about the aliens and shit.

SPEAKER_06 8:26

So I'm gonna give you that. That's crazy.

SPEAKER_07 8:29

Um, I mean look, I'll pay somebody for some some mess. Who might who were who was mo who was most likely to accidentally start drama? No filter.

SPEAKER_01 8:44

He got no filter.

SPEAKER_07 8:46

No filter.

SPEAKER_08 8:47

On the loan, but I don't mean to, but all the I'll be saying the wrong thing when I didn't tell you.

SPEAKER_07 8:54

Who was most likely to become a preacher?

SPEAKER_05 8:57

Yeah, absolutely. They only say Jesus had yeah. They only saying that because I got this hat on. I said I answered this before you wore that.

SPEAKER_07 9:07

Who was most likely to get arrested for a misunderstanding?

SPEAKER_08 9:14

Yeah, y'all think me? Yeah, okay. I mean, I probably am.

SPEAKER_07 9:18

I don't want to I don't want to judge your answers by playing first. I'm gonna stop doing that. I'm gonna stop.

SPEAKER_08 9:24

I think I might be the only one that, you know, had the shackles put on me. Yeah, I'm I even know you had the shackles put on you. God, do you are?

SPEAKER_07 9:31

Oh so I can't uh we'll go through like the uh before we get to to life, we got we got another group of questions like that. Who is most likely to end up in jail? Well, I'm gonna change my age. See that?

SPEAKER_08 9:48

You have to go jail. I gotta have to go myself. I gotta go myself. I ain't gonna go into the detail, but I gotta go myself. Who is most likely to get into a bar fight?

SPEAKER_12 9:58

I'm staying with you. That was you can sing yourself.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

All right.

SPEAKER_08 10:11

I I would say germ.

SPEAKER_11 10:14

All because you don't back down, but let me tell y'all something. This jerk right. Yeah, he's quiet when he wanna be. But if this man has to tell you off about yourself, you will know about it. No, how do you take it? And I could go either left or right, but he will tell you about yourself. But that's what I love about Jerby because he's a friend that will hold you accountable most definitely.

SPEAKER_07 10:46

Ready? Who is mo who is most likely to disappear for a year and nobody knows where they are?

SPEAKER_08 10:54

Snoop, definitely, definitely. You text Snoop, call Snoop, he'll hit you back for like three, four days. I think they can't give it a hand.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

Yo, you see, I ain't nothing.

SPEAKER_07 11:10

Who is more likely to get revenge after being distroscopy?

SPEAKER_08 11:15

How is me? Yo, ass do not play. You say Betty, when you want to be penny daddy, you come outside. Mr. P outside itself. That's it.

SPEAKER_07 11:36

Who is most likely to trust the wrong people? Ibn. Me? Well, Snoop will talk to anybody else.

SPEAKER_08 11:43

Okay, huh? I think you got my friend. That's why I was thinking that. You know everybody, that's what I was saying. Might be Snoop. Maybe, maybe I'll take it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 11:50

I'll take that one. Biggs be calling, keep calling you? I'll take that. Let me see. Who is most likely to get their heart broken the hardest?

SPEAKER_02 12:07

Okay, okay. Hey, he is the lover boy. He is the lover boy.

SPEAKER_06 12:14

I'm gonna lose.

SPEAKER_02 12:15

Okay, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_06 12:17

Um trying to play.

SPEAKER_07 12:20

Let me see. Uh maybe. Who's most likely to lose everything and bounce back?

SPEAKER_10 12:28

I'm gonna have to go myself. I'm gonna have my Zoe. We have to see that.

SPEAKER_07 12:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 12:32

So couldn't I did it like twice?

SPEAKER_07 12:36

He said he did it like twice. Who's most likely to become successful despite the odds?

SPEAKER_08 12:43

I'm gonna say you also, my say you're yeah, I'm sure. Trust the man. That's not from the band. I need that one.

SPEAKER_07 12:50

Who was most likely to have the biggest glower? I put myself. I was good.

SPEAKER_08 12:56

It's tight. I don't myself, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 12:58

Because that does assinuate that you didn't have nothing first. That's why I was hesitant to say. But I'm gonna say, but I'm gonna give it to you. Yeah. Yeah. Um who was most likely to walk away from the streets first?

SPEAKER_08 13:13

I put myself only because I went away to college.

SPEAKER_07 13:17

That's why I said. But listen, walking away from the streets don't mean you was into no violence and no gang shit. Okay. It just meant kind of removing yourself from the environment. So I'm gonna go to germ, Direct. Most that's true. Um not a who was most likely to become exactly who they said they would be? I've got to suck. Both too. Because I didn't say who I was gonna be. I just kind of figured it out. No, you you didn't. You went.

SPEAKER_06 13:47

I'm going with Jern, man. I'm going with Jern, but oh, that was a good one.

SPEAKER_07 13:54

Who was who was most likely to be underestimated? I say, I'm gonna go with me, Alan.

SPEAKER_08 14:00

Oh yeah, yeah, five yeah. I'm gonna go. Yeah, fair. We gave you a hard time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And of course we looked at you there.

SPEAKER_07 14:07

Yeah. That's cool. You're co-secking, though. Who was most likely to have people ruling against them? Bob C on that.

SPEAKER_08 14:20

That could both of those go make it back. Who is most likely to become a millionaire? I'm gonna say Snoop. Because Snoop, I said this first I said all of us, yeah, but then I said, you know what, I gotta get at the Snoop because how was his creative pagans he got? So I gotta go shoot out.

SPEAKER_07 14:41

Throw some masquine on that shit, that's fine. Alright, now we kind of get to some more like normal questions a little bit. We can all share a little bit. What was normal in our neighborhood that wasn't actually normal before?

SPEAKER_08 14:58

I said dope fiends and pissy hallways. It's crazy how we could just walk right outside on your porch and you got people selling drugs right off your porch, dope feeds walking around, and then the pissy hallways is just ridiculous. I could never understand that shit.

SPEAKER_07 15:16

Yeah, I can't say I disagree. All that shit sounds familiar, I always about all that shit sounds familiar. So you see, you get out to a place like this, and I know when people, when driving their cars and I'm walking on the sidewalk, always tell you, I don't like that. Because I'm still hyper-vigilant about the environment.

SPEAKER_08 15:34

So yeah, none of that shit. Which don't get me wrong, they got dope seas in the suburbs and all that too, but the hood tope looked different.

SPEAKER_01 15:43

That's the part of it.

SPEAKER_07 15:45

So it must you know what I'm saying? So yeah, they wouldn't understand. What were we exposed to too young?

SPEAKER_08 15:55

Sex too, violence, and I said drugs, man. Even though we didn't do drugs, yeah, but we was exposed. You saw it. Those are two entire ass. Yeah.

SPEAKER_11 16:07

Sex and drugs. That's the thing, me.

SPEAKER_07 16:12

That's that's the big dirty. I think it started first. Nah, no curamuchi don't snoop. Oh, you counting. Okay. Um it's a lava boy. Just in case the kids watch this one day. What did we think success looked like at 15?

SPEAKER_08 16:30

I said the American dream, graduating from college and then getting a job. But that ain't the American dream no more. Like, you got people with college degrees working, no no shade on McDonald's, but you could have a four-year degree and be working at McDonald's, catch your hero.

SPEAKER_07 16:47

Yeah, trying to be the manager. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? What y'all thought? Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking at 15. To be honest, I was trying to survive. So I can't even tell you what at 15.

SPEAKER_11 16:59

I guess for me is you know, acquiring the house, the family. Through stability. Yeah. For me, I would say stability. That was what success acquired for me.

SPEAKER_05 17:15

The bar was low as hell, right?

SPEAKER_11 17:17

No, just have it happen, whatever it is, just robbing and whatever it is that you're doing.

SPEAKER_07 17:22

And also. Oh, this is the follow-up, though. This is the good one. What did we think we'd be doing at 40?

unknown 17:29

Damn.

SPEAKER_08 17:30

I ain't gonna lie. I always said this is never too late, but I thought I would be a millionaire, jet skiing, and running a record label. Remember, I used to always know about opening up a record label, so that's what I thought I'd be. Boring music, hey. It's been Bob Music, it's big.

SPEAKER_07 17:46

He might have been the only one that said I wanted to run a label. It wasn't focused on being the artist.

SPEAKER_08 17:51

Oh, yeah. That's y'all. I couldn't do that.

SPEAKER_04 17:53

Business. Business.

SPEAKER_08 17:56

I'm steady. Yo, Hobo.

SPEAKER_07 17:59

Oh, OU. Me, I'm a therapist. What was oh, we didn't finish answering the question. What did we think we'd be doing at 40? Yo, I don't know if I I don't I don't even know if I'd wrap the concept. I was in survival mode too much that I didn't start thinking about older age until I found some stability. Then I started to shape out my future.

SPEAKER_11 18:25

I didn't know what 40 was gonna look like. Alright, okay.

SPEAKER_07 18:29

You know? Jerome always had vision, man. He was smart enough to get get the fuck up out of here. My bad, cursing again. Get him to get up out of here. And you know, that was the that was the bit that was a uh chain reaction because it affected the choices that he made and trying to be vague, but you you know what I'm saying? Yeah the what's in your environment is an is a result of the decisions you made to remove yourself from. That's true. He also had a dad that was That's true, Danny Graham. Rest in peace, Danny Graham. Now it's Jane! He is a man, he's a great man. And what you call deer uh crew? What do he be was making? And he tripped out. Oh, dear meat, dear meat, dear meat. Dear meat. I hate you.

SPEAKER_00 19:16

Venics, venison. Vinice.

SPEAKER_07 19:19

Dear meat. Hold on. Oh, that's a good one. What almost, but I can't really answer. What almost ended our friendship?

SPEAKER_08 19:30

I got a story that Evan probably don't even remember.

SPEAKER_07 19:34

If it involves people, I'm gonna leave it out.

SPEAKER_08 19:36

No, no, no. Alright.

unknown 19:38

No, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_08 19:39

Uh yeah. So we was in the sixth grade. I don't remember exactly what I said. But we weren't in the same class. But you was in Miss and Miss Burroughs, right? No, that wasn't fifth. We wasn't in the same class. But we was in the sixth either, nah.

SPEAKER_07 19:55

I'm reading Miss King class, I said.

SPEAKER_08 19:57

So they must have been in the seventh grade. Anyway, so seventh grade, I said something crazy to Ibn, and he was pissed off. Like he was mad as hell. He went off. So the next morning.

SPEAKER_12 20:07

I thought about that.

SPEAKER_08 20:10

I thought about this shit off my bat. I thought about this long. And I came back to school the next morning with a vacant egg of cheese for Braxness and gave it to him. But I'm like, I didn't know about him to be that happy. So that was the old century. Yeah, that's why I said in France. I don't remember that. But that was the only time I think we ever had issues. And here they be eating. Nah, I don't remember that, huh? What was I doing?

SPEAKER_07 20:35

I did used to be white and little bit. I said something crazy. He was mad as hell. Damn.

SPEAKER_11 20:41

It must not have been that because I get to remember So look, this is what I can recall. I don't I don't have any any situations like that, but one thing that I can say that when it comes to Eb, he's a Dr. Shakur. It's all the county. You got boys in the women? You know, he's the he's a person that's that's very rounded when it comes to respect. So if he had any issues with anybody, it came down to a level of respect. Outside of that, he really didn't have any issues.

SPEAKER_08 21:15

And he ain't mind stepping to her. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 21:18

If I told you all this meet, that's Mr. Micho outside. Yeah, he'll he'll pull up with you. We'll pull up on you with you. He'll pull up.

SPEAKER_07 21:26

Even if I think you might book my ass, I'm still gonna pull up, queue. No cursing, man. Mr. Michael outside. Jesus is king, but Jesus, I'm sure Jesus had some four-letter words, too. Come on, come on. Hold on, where were we? Alright, alright. Oh, what's something we never told each other until now? It don't have to be about each other, even if it's about yourself, that that we that maybe you've never said out loud.

SPEAKER_08 21:53

I can't think of that, because I think we you know very supportive of each other, encouraged, and all that stuff. So I can't.

SPEAKER_07 22:00

I can't think of a tough one. I ain't really all all my skeletons. Everybody know. You know what I'm saying? So I really, if I think of something, I'll circle back. I'll circle back to that one.

SPEAKER_02 22:12

I'm depressed. I want you to fool me, bitch. This got crazy. Bitch!

SPEAKER_07 22:31

Let's see. Which one of us changed the most?

SPEAKER_08 22:36

I gotta go with Ibn. Because now with them kids, man, you used to see Ibn outside. Now he got pencil. You went schedule. Wow.

SPEAKER_06 22:45

He got scheduled. I calmed down a lot. I was way more impulsive.

SPEAKER_08 22:50

Them kids, them kids got him in a lockdown mode, which is a good day. Which is a good one?

SPEAKER_11 22:54

I only saw him I can leave one or twice in 2020. Six? Well, 2025? Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 23:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_11 23:02

This man was locked in, man. I did. So I did.

SPEAKER_07 23:11

Which one of us is exactly the same? That's a tough one. I'm gonna have to run with germ. Because obviously, you obviously you're gonna evolve. But like which which is like when you get around them, it feels the same. Yeah, I'll throw it by myself. I won't have to say germ now.

SPEAKER_11 23:33

He gives me nostalgic vibes, but I felt like germ evolved so much. I agree. I agree since we grew up as kids.

SPEAKER_07 23:42

It's just the I guess it's just the who's closest to who you feel like, like you said, the nostalgic. But the evolution is a part of it though for sure. I I agree with that. Let's see. What's a memory that none of us will ever forget? That might, that might be, that might be too much. I got you know I got some peakies ones?

SPEAKER_08 24:08

I got one. That snowy night.

unknown 24:12

Oh god.

SPEAKER_08 24:14

If it is snow came to what, 20 Grand Avenue? Trying to party with my sister. And she got y'all truck.

SPEAKER_05 24:21

How old? Like 15? The stove east two foods and the whole thing holding arms or whatever. And stumbled their way back to where y'all were going? All of it. All of it. I'm back to your career now. We were young too. We were like 60 or we were in those streets. You hear me? I don't know.

SPEAKER_07 24:42

Wigs waiting outside of the liquor store, paying the fiend to get Palmer's on. She's like three dollars. Chairgill insides.

SPEAKER_08 24:51

And this one, I don't think Schnoop was at the crib. But Ibn had went with me over to Brooklyn. Yeah, yeah. That was I would tell that. But yeah, Ibn had went with me over to Brooklyn to a block party. And my god brother took us to um a flea market and put us on to pornos. I ain't had no pornos at that point. So he took us to the flea market. We bought some pornos. We went back to my crib. Brian came over to the crib with his brother. You remember? Yeah, I remember. Okay, yeah. So Brian came over to the crib with his brother. His younger brother. His younger brother, his younger brother was like 12 or something like that. And we tried to put up, put the porno board. Brian went on like, ah, don't show my brother that porno.

SPEAKER_02 25:36

Don't show my brother that porno.

SPEAKER_07 25:38

That was wow. That was just for the record, we would never do anything like that now. But that was just the level of just like immaturity and just like we just wanted to laugh. Yeah, but smart enough. Because exposed to that.

SPEAKER_11 25:53

Also, for the record, as I mentioned in the beginning, we were exposed to sex at a very early age.

SPEAKER_07 26:00

Yeah. So that was, yeah, that was true. I can't believe we did that shit. Let's see. What helped us avoid becoming statistics? Can I let me answer that first? This is the God honest truth. Maybe this is something I never said before. Maybe I did. These two is what helped me avoid becoming a statistic. Because when I look to the left and when I look to the right, they were never into any bullshit. There was a small window of time, I want to say between maybe eighth grade and ninth grade, where I was a little bit more likely to lean into the the wrong shit. Just a little bit. Nothing too crazy, but like hanging with certain people where like if I didn't leave Snyder after freshman year, I was more likely. But when I looked to Jern, he was going to college. He was keeping up with shit. When I looked to you, you was keeping up with your art program. So I couldn't be left out. So that kept me a little bit more grounded because y'all know some of the people, I won't say no names, but y'all know some of the people that were very close in us in the in the circle that's doing like crazy time right now. So not that I would have intentionally did anything, but all it takes to be with the wrong person at the wrong time.

SPEAKER_08 27:18

Well, that goes back to that question or something, because I never knew this. So this is. Yeah, yeah, and some that the white source. But for me, I would say it was my parents out eagle. Yeah. I just didn't want to disappoint them. And and knock it, like you knew my father. You knew he was blessed. They weren't blended. That's shit. He wasn't blind. He was not.

SPEAKER_07 27:40

And then we we we benefited from your parents too. Your pop had paid for my prom suit. You know what I'm saying? And when they found when my family found out he paid for it, they tried to get him money. Don't get him money back. And he told me to keep it. Told me to keep it. You know? But what was that? What kept you grounded?

SPEAKER_11 28:01

Oh, I will say my family, most definitely. Like Jump said, now I want to disappoint my parents and my brother. Your moms, the moms are solid. Yeah. And you know, that it just I guess trying to hold on to what God gave me because after my dad died, you know, life is dark for me. So art was kinda like the escape. I felt like God gave me that to not fall into the streets. And when I realized what I had, I said, you know what? Gotta stay focused, struggle out there. And uh that's what kept me out.

SPEAKER_07 28:40

So I'm gonna skip this one question, unless you want to answer it there. How much how much of success is choices versus luck? You want to answer that?

SPEAKER_08 28:48

I think it's a little bit of both, but it's more on the decisions that you take. Amen. Because you gotta put in, in order to be successful, some people think it happens overnight, but it don't. You don't see the sweat, the tears, the long nights that it takes to put in to make it to success.

SPEAKER_07 29:13

And so let's not forget, sorry, sorry to interrupt you. Hey, we didn't even mention you went through law school. So you talking about studying for that bar exam, the amount of the amount of hours that it takes to put in for that. We didn't even touch on that on that. My sacrifice. Yeah. Talking about my art, talking about pieces, you talk about the level of repetition to block out all of that chaos that we grew up around, and to be able to focus on that. Listen, if we have to navigate the all all end when you step outside, imagine where where you could be without having to fight against that.

SPEAKER_11 29:53

I don't have a master in arts, but I master the arts, patent pitches that they actually hark. See the trials, no amigos, we're actually sharks. We done said it, take no credit, it is actually God.

SPEAKER_07 30:08

Like then. What traps did we see other people fall into? Drugs hit a little bit all about streets, man.

SPEAKER_11 30:17

Streets and streets will get you alive. The streets is probably the umbrella, and everything falls under that. So I would agree with you.

SPEAKER_08 30:26

And I want to say this the piggyback. The the what one to piggyback off what you said. Yeah, one thing about each one of us at this table, we would never follow us. You always led the path.

SPEAKER_07 30:39

Yeah, yeah. That's all that needs to be said. Yeah, yeah. Was around it, but not where we are, B, with the minutes. 31. Alright, we're good. That's not too bad. What lessons from the neighborhood still help us today? I got one that I will never, but go ahead, Jerry. How do you see survival life? Yeah, that's the number one role.

SPEAKER_08 31:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 31:07

I think that I know for myself, I just I'm just grateful how tough I am. And people get tough confused with you guys criminals where we come from criminal activity or how gangster you are or how good you could fight physically, you know. Being tough, like I'm not gonna give up. You know what I'm saying? I'm gonna be resilient. I'm not gonna tolerate no bullshit. I'm gonna confront everything that I need to confront. And if it wasn't for that environment where you be in a lot of situations where you're uncomfortable, you know what I mean? You know, people would eat you up. It's it's a bunch of sharks where we come from. And you and you learn how to adapt. So I will never, I will always be grateful for that, aside from the trauma.

SPEAKER_11 31:50

I I have to jump in. It's not to cut you off. I want to piggyback. You'd only vote 41 raises there. I have to piggyback off of um what you were saying, man. I just feel like you you exemplify the mental fortitude that kids at that age really didn't have. Yeah. Another thing is people can beat you at what you were good at.

SPEAKER_07 32:12

Yeah. And once you figure that out, you stop trying to play their game.

SPEAKER_11 32:16

And that's one of the things that I learned from you to be really good at what you do. And another thing that I still hope, I remember I would bring information to him, and he would say, Don't bring anything to me if it's not applicable. And you need to be able to apply it to see what it looks like in your life. And one of the things that he taught me, man, was to get ahead of your problems. Like when they come, don't let the pal up. You go towards it. And this is why when I tell y'all, man, when they come to this man right here, if you don't have that mental fortitude to be a shock when it comes to defeating whatever it is that you up against, you're going to fail going against him because he's wired to overcome obstacles in that manner.

SPEAKER_08 33:04

And I think also the hood should teach you three keys. You want to have a little bit of a lot of books, street smarts, and common sense.

SPEAKER_07 33:17

Yeah. Yeah, you can apply that as a fact. You go apply wherever you go. Big three, right? That's a big three. You want to throw three. Um let's see. Interesting. What did we learn about being a man that turned out to be wrong?

SPEAKER_08 33:38

Who wanna go first? Because I got a good one I think. I'm just gonna say this, but I think he would be in the hack off. Men don't cry. Okay, that's some yants. That's a good one. That's a good one. You need to let your emotions fly, even if you gotta go in a private room, but if you hold all that aside, it's gonna drive you crazy and you're gonna hurt somebody.

SPEAKER_07 34:03

That's a fact. I wasn't even thinking that, but uh, I think that's the that's probably the biggest one. For me, I'm gonna I'm gonna go a different direction. What's the question again? What's the biggest thing I learned about a man that was wrong, right? All right, and I'm not not getting soft, gotta say that. I think the biggest thing for me was using female relationships as validation and a source of me being masculine masculine. I think that was the I think that was the biggest thing for me. That's deep. You know why? Because I think even though we weren't into no no drugs or no violence, I think we had two vices. I know there was money, getting that money, we'll we'll leave school early and go to Giant Stadium and work. And giant stadium. Yeah. And the barbershop, just sweep the barber shop, we're gonna get that paper. Yeah, but the the from the standpoint of when we were young, the girls, it's nothing wrong with it. Like, we supposed to learn, we supposed to do all that. But boy, the mistakes that I made and the things I got into, just because I was trying to rack up numbers and those choices and those decisions, I could do without those. Sure.

SPEAKER_04 35:20

That's true.

SPEAKER_07 35:20

And then and then focus on more depth than numbers. Because that was the one thing that I think I know that I left the hood with. If I I'll take that over a criminal record, but that shit was not powerful.

SPEAKER_11 35:37

For me, I'm gonna say making healing a priority.

SPEAKER_04 35:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_11 35:44

We dealt with a lot of traumatic experiences growing up in the environments that we shared. Yeah, and I feel like if you don't find a way to heal from that, you grow up in these adult bodies with these same traumas that triggered you as a kid. Yeah. And uh you essentially passed that down and to the generation. So Kamola Bower, healing that aspect of life.

SPEAKER_07 36:09

That's true. Yeah, we didn't focus on that. Like that was it was only resilience being a man for the daughter. Um let's see. Um what do we do differently as fathers now? Let Jeremy answer that.

SPEAKER_08 36:26

Because I'm the new fire, let's go. Uh I think for me, and I say this, my patience is limited. Generally. Yeah, generally. But now that I have a daughter, I realize that I gotta be a little sh more short-tempered and not so quick to snap. So that's something I'm realizing that I need to work on.

SPEAKER_11 36:55

Well, he's about the baby cry. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 37:00

Well, I don't want to do it differently as a father. I don't know. It's tough for me to really separate it because I'm the oldest. Right? So you got Ian, you got Ishmael. I kind of went through that cycle. It works. So it was like, I don't know. I'm sure there's some things that were different, but I feel like I went from adolescent to parenthood. I had custody of Ian with my grandmother when I was 21. So I went straight into it. So it's hard for me to. I ain't had a break yet.

SPEAKER_11 37:32

I would say it's crazy. It's what do oh what do we do differently as fathers? Um, I could say this. So watching this man, I feel like he's not we're gonna quit giving yourself flowers first. I don't know. I mean, I'm I'm definitely getting there, but uh, there was some some things that you said that I I just wanted to piggyback off of. I feel like just watching you develop as a as a dad, you know, that was a very pivotal day, man. And being the father that you are is the type of father that all children's need. Um and that, you know what I'm saying? Okay, go.

SPEAKER_08 38:12

Not to cut you up, and I would say I had a great father, but see him, y'all, however, old school, yeah, old school, man, but but seeing both of y'all grow as fathers seriously inspired me. So I gotta sit there before yeah.

SPEAKER_07 38:28

Now give yourself your flowers for I'll give them to you.

SPEAKER_11 38:33

I'll I'll say I guess just learning how to understand that parenting doesn't come with a manual. You literally learn how to love your children as they evolve. I have a line in the poem where I say that, you know, the teenagers eventually grow up and they're not your babies anymore. They're still your child, but you know, you gotta learn how to love them through those phases. And I'm currently in that stage, and I feel like I'm evolving with that. I'm not stuck in origin, and oh, this is how you got over your kid, and you gotta be like, nah, I'm open to you know, allowing that relationship to grow however God sees fit.

unknown 39:17

Okay.

SPEAKER_07 39:17

This is what I'll say I learned from both of y'all as fathers, right? For one, I'm gonna give Jerem his credit. What what I think we all need to do more is making sure even as a dad, you have self-care. Right? And prioritizing that, that has to be the bar. Because if you don't do that, if you don't do that, what good are you gonna be for your kids? Right? So that I learned from Jerem, from you, I would say was you don't have any sons, right? So you have you have all girls, raised three. So learning how to be soft with them, right? Learning how to you were around all you had a house full of women, right? So learn how you gotta reshape, man.

SPEAKER_11 40:01

You gotta be able to be malleable. That's the word, right?

SPEAKER_07 40:05

I went, I didn't, I don't have a doctorate in English. Well, I still would the 41s, okay? I didn't learn that one. You ready for the next one? Okay. Let me see. What em I don't know, you want to answer this? What emotional struggles do men hide? I think we basically Yeah, we kind of covered that a little bit. Yeah. Ooh, this is a good one. What advice wouldn't we give our 18-year-old selves?

SPEAKER_08 40:32

For me, it's kind of piggybacking off what you said. I was at 18. I wasn't focused so much on partying and kind of like wasteful spending, using that money and kind of like being more knowledgeable about the desonance. Because if I'd have started doing that at that point, yeah, where I would be right now. It would be the millionaire we picked. Tell me about it, boy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 41:04

And instead of sending me to the mall to get all the girls to bring back, you've been doing investing. Um uh for me, I would have told my 18-year-old self, relax. You got it, don't panic, don't rush, don't make decisions as if time is running out on you like that. You got it. That's what I would tell myself. Because my nervous system sped up because I'm so so used to chaos and how to beat it, I don't even give myself a time to breathe. You gonna be aye, bro. That's what I would tell my eight-year-old self.

SPEAKER_09 41:46

Yeah. For me, think about when you were 18. That's where you were at. Being courage and believing yourself. Yeah. Is that true? Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 42:02

I think that's a good one for that's the jewel. Yeah. Alright, this is rapid. This is this is rapid for rapid fire. Okay. Some of these questions, this one question I don't I don't really like it, but it will, I'll let you answer it. Is it's down the list. First person you call if you got arrested. You talking about one of us? Anybody.

SPEAKER_08 42:24

Okay. Oh, you call it.

SPEAKER_01 42:26

Oh, either kick out the lawyer later.

SPEAKER_02 42:28

Oh, crazy. My mother.

SPEAKER_07 42:36

Who's the cheapest?

SPEAKER_10 42:39

You're really safe. I'm not, I'll take too many risks, but my male. I I would say that I don't think none of us are cheap. Yeah, I don't think so. Yeah, we spend money on the days that we want. That's important about the radio. So that's tough. Who's the funniest? Absolutely hell. Yes, yes. Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_11 42:57

Jer will make you laugh, talking about some right and stuff. He's not even fucked there, you think about these the blue.

SPEAKER_05 43:06

It gotta go beautiful. Who tells the best stories?

SPEAKER_07 43:10

Jer. I'm gonna say Jer. Let's see. Who's the most stubborn? Snoop. You think so? It's it's a close, it's close.

SPEAKER_12 43:24

You think I'm stubborn?

SPEAKER_11 43:30

I feel like I could be stubborn at times, but I'm not stubborn at times. You are German. We run away. I don't know. Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_07 43:42

Who's most likely to answer the phone at 3 a.m.? Me. Yeah, German. I answer the phone. I'm knocked the fuck out.

SPEAKER_12 43:50

You definitely answered the phone.

SPEAKER_07 43:56

I don't like this question yet. Who's the best follower? I think. We are great. Yeah, I'm not. That's not, that's not, that's all subjective. Who's the worst driver? Worst. It depends what you mean.

SPEAKER_08 44:09

Worst say. Well, I might take it on sure. Okay, driver. Everybody.

SPEAKER_07 44:14

Who's most likely to win an argument?

SPEAKER_04 44:18

You think me? I keep thinking.

SPEAKER_11 44:23

I'm gonna date the father of the germ been into them things. We gotta come good, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you too. So I gotta get both of y'all gotta take that one.

SPEAKER_07 44:33

But I'm not really a uh argumentative.

SPEAKER_08 44:35

He just comes outside. We don't gotta talk no more.

SPEAKER_07 44:38

Let's get to it. Who's most likely to start an argument? Hmm, that's a good question. We're not some type of dudes here, Billy Low start arguments like that. Fake show. Yeah. Who no, we ain't we skipping that. We already got that. Who was the wildest back in the day?

SPEAKER_08 44:55

Jury. Yeah, yeah. I gotta take that for myself.

SPEAKER_07 44:58

It was wild too. Yeah, I'm almost gonna do that to myself.

SPEAKER_08 45:01

It puts the charger in my back, though.

SPEAKER_07 45:04

Oh, wait.

SPEAKER_08 45:04

You put how many you get funny.

SPEAKER_07 45:09

I'll put them look crazy. Because this is think about wild, right? Yeah. How you present is the is the thing that's misleading. Yeah. Right? Like how you present versus what you consider wow. Who's secretly the softest? And let me be clear. When I say soft, I don't mean let people run over. You know, no, no. I mean who has the softest side. I say Snoop, because Snoop, I got Snoop is the lover boy. Yeah. Snoop is Mr.

SPEAKER_05 45:37

Loverboy.

SPEAKER_08 45:38

I've been saying that.

SPEAKER_05 45:39

He's lover boy, what do you think? How would you describe me? I'm the wild card, man. Let's be in the wild call. What am I? Icebox?

unknown 45:51

No.

SPEAKER_05 45:53

You're cold. When you wipe me.

SPEAKER_07 45:56

Cold, cold.

SPEAKER_08 45:58

Zero. But you the mouthpiece.

SPEAKER_07 46:02

Yes. Yep. You the mouthpiece. Yeah, send it. When you when we were teenagers, how you get your girlfriend? How you got I got him, I said you the mouthpiece. But just put the battery in my back.

SPEAKER_08 46:15

I say, I mean has always been he can start. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He don't mind walking up to. I say I could close, but the initiation, he's the initiator.

SPEAKER_05 46:28

He treat me like a fucking hip bull. Anytime we go again. Anytime we went fishing, he came back with a big exactly. Go get so oh who's the most loyal?

SPEAKER_07 46:42

I think we all loyal. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 46:44

That's a that's the I don't think we had been able to stay as connected as beyond if knew what's to see.

SPEAKER_07 46:52

Bro, that's a nasty word. Who's most likely to go viral?

SPEAKER_08 46:56

I'm saying you, because you make all the you got right food. I don't know, it's coach. Well, Kiss, Artia, yeah. It will be both of you out there. You got the artistic piece. You posting in all these damn videos. One of them gonna hit. It's crazy.

SPEAKER_07 47:09

I'm gonna ask this the last formal question before we just kind of like talk about our closing, our closing statements. I feel like we covered this, but we'll we can reiterate it. What is something you admire about each person sitting at this table that you never actually told them? That's the that's just try. Even if you said it already, you I guess you can say it again.

SPEAKER_08 47:32

I'ma say confidence. Your confidence, I'm my your confidence and your creativeness. Because you're good with the camera, then you're good with our art too. So yeah.

SPEAKER_07 47:48

I wanna say the thing I mind work most about Jern, and this was subconscious, subconsciously when we were growing up, right? But now I could I can articulate it now. Because I didn't I couldn't explain it. Is Jern's ability to do what he wants his way. We've never none of us have a foul, but I think Jern was at a different level of doing his own thing. When we graduated from high school, he got out of here. He wasn't thinking about shit else. And that takes a lot of courage because you gotta leave your environment where you're comfortable, you gotta leave your friends. And Jerm is locked in. If he you think I'm I can focus, don't get me wrong, but germ just completely said, I don't care what nobody else is doing, this is what I'm doing. See y'all when I get better. All right, Rick. So, hold up. You said, okay, all right, so now let me say Snoop. That I have it total, that's gonna be hard. I wanna say probably two things. I wanna say his ability to, for one, his ability to be vulnerable without that same level of masculinity that is toxic, right? To remain true to himself, but still, but still be able to tap into that, like in that verse, divine, uh, masculine and and feminine, feminine both sides, right? Like in a way, in a healthy way, not the society soft pump way, whatever they say. I think that, and I think never sacrificing his art. Always. I've never known him to not be creative. When I went through my shit, my depression, and going up and down and leaving my creative shit alone, he never left his. I think it's your turn, though. Steve, man. Um another new left, man. I didn't have to tell you that. Yeah, you gotta you gotta process shit and think about it sometime.

SPEAKER_11 49:48

Well, for me, when it comes to germ, you took the words right out of my mind, and I'm not piggybacking, but when you think about however, I'm not gonna use the word quite. When you think about germ and his overall entirety, I think about the word determination with hashtag. Literally. That's germ was always determined, even in elementary school, get good grades. He was just he got into some stuff, but again, one thing you couldn't take away from Batman was his education. He was very determined. That was one thing that I always admired about Jerry. In regards to Eb. Oh, there's so many things, man. Hmm. Crazy. No, no, no. I won't say not crazy. I could tell you that I admire about Eb. Man, his willingness to never give up. Yeah. He's gonna push through, he's gonna make it happen. Oh, I I'll I'll I'll name another thing that I that I I I truly admire about you. You are a great connector, man. You helped a lot of people, you helped transform and change a lot of people's lives. It's one story that I I go back to all the time. And even just recently, I had a um a reunion at at the college, and all of the foreigners were coming up speaking. And when I thought about that, I thought about how he was the liaison when he worked at the college, and all of these foreigners were coming in, and he was the person that they had to talk to and see why they come. He was the first person of contact, and he helped so many people coming through Georgia City, the golden door of America. And when I think about things like that, I'm like, damn, he carried a big torch and didn't even know it at this at a young age. So great connector. You help a lot of people, and you never gave up.

SPEAKER_07 51:59

I'ma fight. I'm gonna fight. All right. The formal questions are done. I think the best way to close it out, maybe over the next eight to ten minutes, is we'll just share some stories. We try to keep it funny. I'm gonna try to keep it vague without giving too many details if it if it's not appropriate. I'll say one thing about we can talk about yourselves a little bit. One thing I'll say when we were younger, I think I was always a risk taker, for better or for worse. And freshman year, I remember I was cutting school a life. I was cutting crazy. And what happened when I talked him into cutting school? You want to tell the story?

SPEAKER_11 52:39

My first time ever cutting school. Ever. We go to his house, and like 15 minutes of us being in the house, his his grandmother came home, and we had to hide under the beds, and I kept falling asleep, snoring, and he would hit me in my face with sneakers to try to keep me quiet. We would keep me quiet. And I don't even remember how we got out of that situation, but I was so traumatized, I never skipped school or garden or college ever again. Lesson learned. It was a lesson learned, bro. So uh yeah. Any stories you've done, Jordan?

SPEAKER_08 53:18

Yeah, I say me and it was like we were always about the dollar bill from a young, young age. I remember we we wasn't old enough to get a legit job, or we couldn't find a legit job. It's been so long, I forgot. But we went around, we made like a what's that called? Like a business with some flyers. Yeah, we made a business with some flyers to do like cleaning, cleaning. So we walked around, I think it was like West Side or anything, like Vran or Orient or some something like that. And we went and we got this man who had a backyard, and he said he was gonna pay us to clean his backyard. We charged him maybe like something $40, $50. Yeah. This backyard was extremely messy. It took us maybe half the day to clean this person's backyard. He, this old man, really tried to take advantage of us. He made us bring all the trash and all that, put it on our lawn. Then he thought we were supposed to take it and remove it from in front of his door and bring it somewhere. Man, my father came to pick us up and went the hell off on that man. You better pay these young kids and you better get the FIK.

SPEAKER_06 54:48

We was trying to hustle.

SPEAKER_08 54:49

We was really trying to hustle. Yeah, you never heard that story? It was a yo, it was crazy what that man had us doing. That backyard was filthy, dog. It was dusty as hell, yeah. Yeah, but that's all instead of us going the street way, you wanted to go the right way to make an honest dollar. Yeah. And then another time, I tell this guy, this is where we start in Giant Stadium. Now I know apply giant stadium first. I tell him, if you want a job, you get hired at Giant Stadium. This guy wind up starting before me. And I put in the application first.

SPEAKER_11 55:31

That's how you told my woman. First, I'm like, oh here, I'm talking to me, girl, and best thing you know, the girl at this time.

SPEAKER_08 55:39

I'm like, how he start before me? He said I'm the board.

SPEAKER_07 55:43

You told me to do.

SPEAKER_02 55:46

Oh man.

SPEAKER_08 55:47

So you know, he was a worker, yeah. Little sex worker. But yo, what uh another story. Y'all remember clicks for picture plates. Yeah, man, in Newport Mall, we used to go there and take some crazy pictures, some fly pictures. We was always fly, but for the grab that we used to get. For the grab. And you don't know how many women still say, I got y'all clip picture in my crib. I'm like, we were like hood celebrity before hood celebrity.

SPEAKER_07 56:17

Yeah. And we're done with a lot of hate because of that. Yes, yes. No, because we cared about how we looked and we didn't follow. And, you know, it was, you know, it the same goes now. Like when you, you know, people don't, people can get uncomfortable when you are being yourself. Right? Because it they they project that, you know, they're not being themselves, so that can make them uncomfortable. You know what I'm saying? I'm trying to. How can I say this story? Because maybe I won't say this story. Maybe I won't say it. No, I'm not gonna say it. Nah. What are your last words? Any last words? Anything that y'all wanted to say on camera?

SPEAKER_08 57:01

I want to say this. Because my father said this, and I think I probably told y'all. But when y'all came to my law school graduation, that was like the proudest day I could remember my father. He told me, these are your real friends. Like, real friends. What years was that? This was uh 2015. Okay, I remember. He was like, never lose that connection. So I want to say we made it 30 plus, tow it to the next 30 plus, and the 30 plus after that. Let's continue to be great parents, continue to hold each other accountable, and let's bless up.

SPEAKER_07 57:48

Before we dump up, you got anything to say? I got nothing to say after that. That was Jesus is king. That's what his hat said. Yeah, man. I don't think I got much to say. We cover a lot. I think we kept it healthy, we kept it wholesome, you know, leave the skeletons where they are. That's probably for off the rapid anyway. I did want to show some of the, you know, that we're human too. You know what I'm saying? We we're professionals. Let's just say what we do, right? You a well-renowned artist, photographer. Say anything else? Well, that's it. Just a creator. Right. I'm a creative, licensed therapist, doctor of education.

SPEAKER_08 58:30

And I'm an attorney.

SPEAKER_07 58:33

So I select that one word. Just an attorney.

SPEAKER_08 58:35

Just blew everything. Yeah. I don't say much. I'm more behind the scenes anyway.

SPEAKER_07 58:44

Yeah, man. I'll just say this, man. It's rare that people stay friends this long, but I think it's a it's a green flag. You know what I'm saying? When you when you've had friends for this long, I tell people all the time, like, I don't have like, I don't know what it's like to have unhealthy relationships with my friends. I don't know what that's like. Because everything is out in front. And if we see that you're not really of that cloth, you just kind of stay on the outside. You know, you're not really ever in like that. So I everybody that I fuck with, we, you know what I mean? It's all up because there's no room for anything else.

SPEAKER_08 59:19

Life is too short. You know what I'm saying? To be stressed. I just want to be blessed.

SPEAKER_07 59:24

Yo, man. Like, just based off lifespan, this is like the harsh reality. Assuming we live full lives, this thing is potentially halfway over. Right? Yeah. 40 years old. You know what I'm saying? So, and we've been down for 90% of the 40 years. That's wild.

SPEAKER_04 59:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 59:46

What the locks say, we never break up.

SPEAKER_07 59:50

That's true. Yeah. Yeah. Any internal turmoil? It was inside.

SPEAKER_08 59:58

It's all out, baby. It's all out.

SPEAKER_07 1:00:02

Let's go.