Forgive Me For I Have Followed
In the conclusion to our conversation,, we dive deeper into Kevin “Konkrete” Davis’s challenges with Shekinah Church and 7M Films. He reveals the key moments and conversations that helped him realize the changes he needed to make, as well as the fallout from his decision to leave and forge his own path forward.
Forgive Me For I Have Followed continues the exploration from Netflix’s hit Dancing for the Devil documentary series by delving deeper into the personal stories of those affected by Robert Shinn, Shekinah Church, and 7M Films. We will focus on the experiences of victims and their families, address urgent questions raised in the documentary, and gather insights from former members and dancers. Our goal is to uncover strategies for combating abuse and ensuring that controlling, cult-like communities are held accountable for their actions.
*The following is based on actual events. Certain composite and representative materials and characters have been used for dramatic purposes.
He could talk.
He was shaken and he couldn't like teach and I don't know what he said, but he says something that was like, oh, yeah, this man's done.
Welcome back to forgive me for I have followed. This is part two of our conversation with Kevin Concrete Davis, former Shaquaina member and dancer with Seven M Films. In our last episode, we talked about Kevin's roots in the Crump community and how he first got connected with the church through his fellow dancers. He shared how he was looking to grow closer to God and saw an opportunity to not only strengthen his faith, but also boost his career as a dancer and influencer. However, he'd noticed things that rubbed him the wrong way and thus planted the seeds for wanting to leave Shicaina and Seven M Films.
On this episode, we dive deeper into Kevin's challenges with Shakaina and seven M Films, the key moments and conversations he had that illuminated what needed to be done in the fallout from our decision to leave, forge our own path forward and now here's part two of our conversation with my husband Kevin.
You know, I'm really protective of my wife, so I'm location. I'm like, man, you know, if something happened, I am jetting.
You know.
Even there's times where I'll go to this little coffee shop and because she would work at the house by herself, but I'll be lurking like I had to, especially at that time where the allegations was coming out, and I was like, Okay, you know, if she going to that house, I'm gonna be close by.
So you were seeing these allegations coming out on social media, the pulpit call out already happened. So your blood's already boiling. You're already on alert at this point. What was that moment for you that was done? Ooh, I'm out of here.
There was many moments I just didn't know when to say anything because I knew how vibrant relationships were with the pastor so some people that I was even closer to, I couldn't say anything yet. But there's one specific time where a couple of us I'm gonna just say me and Aubrey out of respect, we found out together we all had the same type of like feeling or experience, and we were heading to a music video and we were.
Like, yeah, this is a cult.
Yeah, which leads me to the moment. I'm the one that brought it up. I said, Hey, wasn't the pastor like tripping the other day? He couldn't talk, he was shaking and he couldn't like teach, and I don't know what he said, but he said something that was like, oh, yeah, this man's done. I've never seen a man crumble like that. And it was that was from Crystal Ball. She was just delivering blows to that man and he was just crumbling. He couldn't even teach the sermon. He couldn't do nothing. And this by this time, Daniel was gone and.
He had just left.
He had just left.
Yeah, so he had Crystal Ball and Daniel even he didn't even have to like disrespect anybody for me to know, oh that he's off, Which lead me to another part. He talks about the allegations and he says, is some of it true? Yes, and it's some of it not true?
Like I'm like, bro, what do you mean some of it's true?
Bro? These are not allegations where you just cruise by. I was like, oh, this is not even the way to respond.
And on top of all the things that he was already doing, that was just that absolute tipping point.
Yeah, that that right there. I said, okay, and then you know the NDA and service. I said, now come on, now, now you're just taking advantage, Like, bro, this does not look good to the point where all the dancers were even like an NDA in church, what are you talking about?
You know?
So I'm thinking we're all going to leave, But I just felt sick because I knew it was true. I was like, I don't think people gonna lie about that. It just sucks seeing the faces on some of the people that were like, you know, looking down, and I'm like, oh, yeah, this ain't cool.
I can leave, but my homies are here.
And if beat Ash is cool, if he not budgeting, that's fine. I'm not putting nothing on beat Ash. But that was my trust valve right there.
Did you try to have a conversation with him?
Beat Ash wasn't the guy to talk to about that, and I knew it. So I tried to talk to the eyes you know, supposed to be my big brother at the time, and he understood. But he made a different choice. So I'm not judging him for that. Because he has a certain perspective of life. He was brought up a certain way and I was brought up a certain way.
So just to lead all these questions, but.
You can ask me no.
After the doc came out, there was people that had responded. We knew that we know, Miranda did a public video. She was what I felt was like the spokesperson for addressing a lot of the documentary and the issues, which I have my own issues with that. There weren't other people that stepped up, but one thing that was also very public was Ko and Isa's response to not only the documentary, but I think to those that participate in the documentary, including yourselves. So outside of leaving, was there a pretty big shift in your relationship when you left? And then post documentary?
We left supposedly on good terms because the last people I talked to was Eyes and beat Ash after deciding, hey, me and Kal are going, I think everybody should leave because this is a little past our jurisdiction. I'm talking to everybody, all the guys at least, I don't think the women were there.
But all the guy dancers.
At this time, I said, if people decide to stay, my phone's still open. Let's still knock these videos out, but we don't got to be here.
They could wake up and we can be.
Gone, and then, you know, Eyes and beat Ash tried to get me to stay, but I don't want to like judge them for that because they're taking it a different way and I understand it to a certain point, but for me, I'm just like, I just don't want to be around it, you know what I mean. This is all of our work. We're the ones sweating. All we gotta do is wake up, do this without them and gather people who are who would at least told us in the beginning about some allegations, some real people, you know what I mean. And I gave him a hug. I was like, my phone is still open, bro, let's still hang out or whatever. So I'm thinking everything is cool, and then I'm blocked by tight eyes and I'm like, what, Bro, I'm were we just had a great conversation, and.
I was like, I know what that is.
But they're just going to have to find out in the way they need to find out what's really going on.
Yeah, which is hard because you guys both understand that they are just doing what they think they're supposed to be doing in order to have a better relationship with not only God but also with Robert. So yeah, I totally get where you guys are coming from.
It's heart.
It's hard to just have like a very direct answer to something like that because you understand it's a trickle down. And Khalia spoke publicly about it. When after the documentary came out. I think a lot of people were trying to go after James bea Dash and try to say some shit about him, and I really appreciated that you came. Yeah, you both were like, hang on, it's not him, He's not the problem. Like this is a trickle down. There is a puppet master, And so I really appreciated you guys both being so open and vocal during that time, which I know is hard because it's you're also talking about friends.
That was a hard thing to do. It was just one of the reasons why I was still lingering around. These are people I grew with me and be Dash got a whole brand, bro and that brand was swept something that you know, I still believe could do something and you know, like me and be Dash did something that nobody has ever done before and crump. It was supposed to be tight eyes and little see, but it was me and be dash and for somebody to weed into that and not see the future with that brand, I think that's just unwise. Yeah, you know, but I learned to move on and you know, just to continue doing what I'm doing with the people that I love.
We'll be back with part two of our conversation with Kevin. This is forgive me for I have followed.
Welcome back to forgive me for I have followed. Now back to part two of our conversation with Kevin. So, I know we were talking about like pivotal moments where we realized that things were off in Chicaina. And I think after some of the things that had built up with how we were being treated, the things we were noticing, recognizing some of the lies, and then the allegations had started to come out. I know you spoke with Young one of those days. Can you tell us about that conversation?
Yeah, that was a movie, bro, Just how that started. I don't want people to feel like that was just a random convo.
Yeah.
Me and Young developed a relationship just through working out together doing jail workouts, because he was like man I'm trying to lose some weight, bron. I see working out. Bro, we should just go to some and just work out. I'm like, for sure, let's do it. I don't got to go to a gym and pay, you know. So I never remembered the workout. It was always the conversation, you know what I mean. And we kept talking and we kept working out, and so all this bull crap is happening, and young comes up to me this one day, is super hot outside.
I see his truck drive up. He pulls up.
And he says, hey, you know Kevi, Man, I talk to you. I said yeah, And I was like, oh, what's going on? Bro? And he was just like, man, do you know what's going on? And I was like, no, man, Like, nobody's answering nothing. So I'm out of here.
Bro.
Like it's is childish and I'm getting skeptical. Of course, we've talked a little bit, which is kind of blur, but the only thing that stood out that was clear as day. He said, all right, I need you to take this information.
You do whatever with it. If you're going to stay here or continue to be here, protect your woman and protect your heart.
I said, got you man, I went straight to Kalia, we're getting apartment, we're leaving. That was it for me. You know, Young didn't have to say that. That's the type of people I'm used to being around, the type of people I grew up with in Sacramento.
You know what I mean.
Hey, Bro, I'm gonna tell you the real bro. Don't mess with that girl. Bro like just information like that or bro to ado. Don't play for that basketball team, you know what I mean, Just to be one hundred. And when I get to just to be one hundred moment, I'm solid and Young gave me that moment. And I hope he's good. I know he's good. He has he's a weapon. Bro, he's so he's so dope, you know what I mean. He deserves a lot. So whatever was going on with Young, I hope he's good, even if he's in there.
Yeah, because it really does feel like he's turned his life around, especially story, Yeah, his story, and like his background, and you know, despite the things that we know now about Chakaina and like some of the things that she kinda has done for him, it really like he really was not necessarily the little but he was like the groundskeeper. He did the things around the house in his world, like he gave his life over to God and is working for a church and has left like whatever crime life behind.
And it's doing everything at the church, cleaning it, fixing it.
Bro, this is yours to be on.
I just I wish it was for a more upstanding group, a more honest group.
I wish Daniel told him, And if he did, then that's between y'all. But I wish Daniel would at least explain to Young, because Young was fucked up.
From that Daniel.
Yeah, he didn't even like Daniel at first, but he grew to love him as a brother.
For those that don't know, Young is married to Shirley. Surely for a short period of time. We know was married to Robert. We don't know what the timeline was with her and Young, but that there was a relationship between Robert and Shirley, and so Young has been around for years, Yau.
Shirley and Young had known each other in like high school as kids, and then Shirley had gotten involved in Chicaina also as like a young teen maybe seventeen, but definitely like younger teenage years, and so her and Young had a relationship like I think they weren't dating necessarily back in the day, but they were, like you know, I guess I don't know they were. They were friends, they like maybe entertained the idea of dating. And then that's when Young went to jail. And then so he was in for a while but still kept in contact with Shirley, and you know, through Shirley, I'm sure ch Kina had their involvement, and then you know, getting out, that was who was there to help him pick up the pieces. And I think when he was in jail, they had given him a Bible and that was you know, that connection there. So when he got out, it was somewhere to live, somewhere to work, and you know, something to do and put his time into that wasn't crime related. But something that we had figured out was like Young didn't know about the relationship between Shirley and the pastor until it came out, until we all found out together through social media, through social media.
And that was before he told me all of that, So I could see that's something that inspired him to say some you know what I mean, He just let me know people weren't brothers, So I'm knowing that and then talking and tight eyes or then talking. You know, I'm like, dang, it took somebody who I didn't even know him but a year to notice how much of a fake you are behind people back. That was an emotional roller coaster right there, man. And you know, leaving from that, I put a lot on my shoulders from that time. You don't hear a lot of people talk about the especially you know, being a male figure.
Bro, I want to protect.
I could be territorial, but it's just offered protection in my family and my you know, my wife, man, and I felt guilty having her around that shit.
Like, Bro, that's weird. Bro.
She could have been another woman and just been like, I'm leaving all this. You brought me here, that's weird. I've had encounters with this before. I don't want him anymore.
I'm leaving. I could have woke up, she could have been gone.
And that's embarrassing to me to be one hundred like, I may not know how her family look at me like you know what I'm saying so and that's just me being to overthink her. But that guilt is gone because her family's so cool. I love them dearly.
They're very supportive.
Will be back with part two of our conversation with Kevin. This is forgive me for I have followed.
Welcome back to forgive me for I have followed. Now the conclusion of our conversation with Kevin.
I appreciate the vulnerability and you openly talking about your mental health during that time when you left Chicina and throughout the process, we spoke a lot about how refreshing it was to see a young man speak about his mental health. It wasn't something that people were openly doing, and.
Especially a young black man at that, because that's something within our community we don't see often and is very like stigmatized. Even talking about some of the things that we've had to go through since leaving Chakuina's like panic attacks, which were new for you and for me too. I think it was a moment where I had just like we were doing research for your I was wrong. We thought it was something physical, and then I think I had that aha moment and I was like, I think this is a panic attack or an anxiety attack. And I remember we looked down the list. I was like, this checks off these boxes. I'm pretty sure that's what that was.
So that happened for the first time at that house that we stayed in.
Yeah, yes, I haven't been first time.
And I called Daniel and I was like, man, I'm never smoking again. I'm thinking it's the weed or something. I'm like, bro, I'm never smoking again. I'm not doing it. But I was like, I smoke now. I ain't trying to expose myself, but I like to celebrate.
And I remember one my birthday in California, but this is California, is legal. I bought it from a dispensary. But I never had a panic attack.
And I've been faded to where the world looked digital, but this one was different.
We was going to get some food.
I'm driving and this gospel song comes on Elevation Worship.
My chest start beating inward. I'm like, oh, I don't know this.
Maybe you're gonna have to drive like I'm too high, you know what I mean. But I'm like, nah, this ain't it. And it was lasting for a long time. I had a little edible, but I said, nah, I've had this same edible. This is why I get this edible because it don't do nothing. It gets me to the Snoop Dogg point. But I've never felt my chest like I'm telling you, feel like it was beaten inward. You know, I felt nervous. I'm thinking I'm blacking out, and I just grabbed Kalia for hours. But it happened in that time, going back to that house, the house that you left, the house that we stayed in. Yeah, and I know this was a time where I was yelling at the top of my lungs about a lot of stuff, and Kalia she was just letting me go off because I come home with like these questions, are like, what the hell is he talking about? So I'm yelling and now I'm starting to see all that led up to that to the point where I was like, dang, bro.
I developed freaking panic attacks here.
And I had one on tour and I knew it because I wasn't smoking. I wasn't trying to smoke on tour, Like, you know, you're focused. This is Beyonce here, Like I'm focused, I'm on the bus. I'm like, you know, that's same feeling. I was like, whoa, and I'm eating healthy, I'm ripped. At the time, it was still happening. I had one at our apartment in La twice there and a couple of spiritual encounters. I've had a spiritual encounter in that house with flies. The house was infested with flies. For me, that's evil. I don't care what nobody say.
I'm leaving like.
I do take spirituality serious, especially if it's stuff like that.
That's showing, Bro, I'm taking heat.
And it's crazy because I remember right before all of the flies being It's like that fly infestation that was in the house like a week before. Remember I had that dream that we were making our bed and there was like a bunch of maggots in the bed and I was like shaking the maggots out, and then a week later there's flies just.
All in there. There's no lies, Bro.
I believe in spiritual encounters, and I think that being able to identify where those panic attacks were happening and at that time in your life, and being able to talk about it and to have such a strong partner to help you through those things. It's refreshing to be able to have a conversation like this openly.
Sure, it's an important time for me to let a lot of stuff go.
That's why I like talking about it.
You know, it helps me And if it does help somebody else, you know, that's even double.
So is there anything that you would want to say to anyone that might find themselves in a similar situation, someone that's feeling trapped in a toxic community or a cult like environment like how we were in.
If they don't give you a choice, it's a manipulation, simple as that. Ask questions like, Yo, what's you trying to do if somebody wants to take you on a day wing?
Okay, what's the plan? What's the game plan? You know what I mean? Who are you?
Why you want to do what you do? I don't care if they are offering five hundred g Yeah. And for the record, if he was to hear this, bro, if you would have told me in the beginning, hey, look I do have some allegations, but I would still love to help you guys in your journey. I'm handling mine in a spiritual way. This, that, and the third I would have respectfully declined. I would have been like, sir, no disrespect. I hope your journey and healing with however the church split, you know, God does wonders, But I'm gonna have to decline because I just don't feel comfortable, you know what I mean, boom, But it didn't happen that way. A lot of stuff was hidden and a lot of conversation wasn't given as which was all I wanted, and that was enough for me to be like deuces.
Kevin, thank you again so much for doing this. Thank you for lending us your amazing wife who has just been such a power house and using her voice for good and continuing to do that. But both of you being a part of the documentary, your vulnerability, taking care of your health. I'm so happy to hear that you're continuing to do that, and I appreciate both of your friendships.
And we're in it.
We're all in it together. We're family now, So being in the clurb, we all fam. Clear in the blurb, we all fam.
Oh my god, fail you.
Thank you so much for listening to part two of our conversation with Kevin Concrete Davis. It was amazing having him on the show, and we're so thankful for him sharing his story and talking about his experience through everything he went through in Chicina and seven M Films.
And it was really incredible to have him on this show with me to talk about our experience.
And having my husbands bring her husband to workday. I loved that, loved having you both here in person, so refreshing and it was so great to see you guys. So love peace and chicken grease Yeah.
Forgive Me For I Have Followed is a production from wv Sound, Dirty Robert and iHeartMedia's Michael Tore podcast Network, hosted by me Khalia.
Gray and me Jess Coosovetto.
Forgive Me For I Have Followed is produced by Aaron Burlson and Sophie Spencer Zabos.
Our executive producers are Khalia Gray, myself, Wilmar Balderama, Leo Klam and Aaron Burlison at wv Sound.
This episode was edited by Sean Tracy and features original music by Madison Davenport and Halo Boy. For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
See you next week, See you next week,
