Ruben and Marco, two young creators from Queens, shoot their shot when they sneak out to Brooklyn for a hip-hop show and bluff their way into an artist interview. But as the friends hustle to turn the interview into a new podcast, Ruben has a panic attack and mixes up his anxiety medication... right when it’s time to hop on the mic.
Featuring Def Jam artist Nevaeh Jolie & her new song “Sorry I’m High.”
Executive Producer: Asante Blackk
Producer: Daniella Perkins
Starring: Asante Blackk and Daniella Perkins
Co-Starring: Bobby Cius, Rayme Cornell, Christopher V. Edwards and Taylor Bettinson
Written by: Taylor Bettinson and Nakia Hill
Directed By: Christopher V. Edwards
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Yeah, I feel one coming on right now, another panic attack inside, climbing up in my throat, and I'm starting to hyperventively all the classic science. Man, I gotta get out of my head and pay attention or I'll miss my transfer. I think I'm all worked up because it was coming up tonight. I thought i'd be excited, but it's just it's just too much. You know, what the hell am I inbuts oh god, God cool yo, Ruben, It's all in my head. I know this, I know this, but it feels so real. Sometimes it's overwhelming and I cannot have an attack like this night. It will ruin everything Marko and I have planned, Ruben. See, no one wants to be a Hollywood celebrity anymore, no one my age anyway. I mean, we want to be Internet famous. We want to be influencers, motivating our peers to become followers of what's trending on Twitter, TikTok or Instagram. We areddinkted to our follows and our likes. Man, I should know. I remember when I was nine, I created a profile on Vine. Remember ye that it doesn't matter, kind of like Instagram, but with just video. Anyway, I posted a video and nearly broke the internet. Outloaded the post to me freestyling off of Hello Marco, what man, are you ready for tonight? My best friend Marco has a mischievous grind. Oh he sees his upside. Try my best not to frown, Try my best to mirror his expression. Yeah, I'm ready as I'll ever be. Believe it, bro, you gotta kill it tonight. Trust me, my head is still in the clouds when I try to focus on Marco was asking me about I can't believe of really doing this. He grabs me by the shoulders and stares me dead in the eyes. Hey, I wanted you in this with me specifically. You got this. Are you sure you don't want to be on MIC for the interview yourself? You got the crid, You're the quote unquote influencer. Now I'm just a goof making dumb TikTok videos. Man, this is bigger than that. It's got to be its own brand. You got the depth. You're practically an artist yourself. I see you lost in your head all the time, scribbling your ideas out in class. You need an outlet, let those creative juices flow. I know you can connect here. Trust me. You're a guy for this. I do trust Marco, but I am nervous as hell. All I really want to do is put my headphones on and yeah, I get lost in my thoughts. I don't want to think about doing an interview tonight. I can't believe I'm sneaking into the city, lying to my parents and doing what I've dreamed of doing forever. Too sick when you think about it. I'm tripping, fraid I can't do this. No, no, no, no no. Marco was right, No need to psych myself out there. There's no turning back now. Did you tell your parents you're staying at my place tonight? Yeah? They think they know, They don't know. Jack Jack, Jack Jack. Hey, congrats man, it's been a hell of a summer. We live large. Now on to bigger and better things, right, meet me back at the train station at seven. That's gonna be huge? Will it be huge? What if I mess up? Ship? I'm more afraid of it being huge. And if it's just some dumb, hoppy me and my friend of doom? What did I get myself into? Okay, let's let me stop tripping. I put in my earbuds and force myself to focus on something other than myself. Doubt ready or not, here it comes to break, of course, I'd be Marco back to the train station. He's always mad late, It's like clockwork. And while I'm stuck waiting, my mind dripped back to the same old training thought. The video that blew up on Vine just me freestyling over a Kanye type beat I found on YouTube. After I posted that video, my likes my shares, they went through the roof. Next day at school, everybody stopped me in the hall in class Wherever asked me to take selfies with him. The biggest hip hop law share my post on their pages. I was famous overnight in that famous anyways. I gained fifty k followers in less than forty eight hours. Parents didn't quite understanding the oven until Ellen, Yes, Dad, Ellen, the one with the TV show shared my video on national television. Ellen itself didn't invited me on, but my parents thought I was too young. They wouldn't allow me to fly out to Los Angeles to be a guest on the new shows at Ellen or or anyone else hosted on television, radio or even podcasts. Parts right, my parents thought my freestyle was cute, but they freaked out it all the attention I was getting, some of which was negative. After monitoring the comments over the weekend, my parents to leading my account on Monday morning before they dropped me off as school. They were afraid of me being cyper bullied or distracted by internet fame or worse. I mean, I thought I was just having fun and being myself. It's never my intention to go viral or whatever, but I did. But man, when it happened, what a rush. I just I never quite stopped chasing that feeling. Fast forward eight years later to the here and now. My friend Marco was a self made social media influencer and he's only seventeen years old. He doesn't follow trends. He sets him height beast monitors his social media pages for direction. Dude has been a tastemaker his whole life without even trying. Marco has a soil of three hundred thousand followers. He gets invited to these exclusive events in the city and he's not even old enough to drink yet. Man, tonight is one of those events. He got two tickets to see Levega Jolie live at the Brooklyn Bowl. I mean, this show was sold out leves from Newark, so you already know the love of cool kids gonna be in the building. Not that would even get closer to the the stage to see her performance, probably won't even get to shake her hand and meet her. But Marco's big ideas to maneuver our way onto the press list and score an interview with her tonight. My doubts had me scrambling for a way out. I can't deny that Marco knows me. He knows what makes me tick. He knows I want that rush the rest of he gets all the time, one post, one sound bite, one selfie blowing up that next level rush. I do a gut check on my nerves and to show this closer and closer. We're on the train now heading into Brooklyn from our queen's neighborhood and far rockaway into the A tram. Once we arrived at the Brooklyn Bowl, Marco gives the woman behind the ticket count of our names. She asked if we're on the press list. Mirco gives her a slick smile and responds, yes, my stomach is doing backflips. This is the moment of truth. The ticket lady frowned and she looks through the papers on the clipboard, shaking her head, ready to turn us down. I feel my throat tighten again. My head is dizzy. Ship ship ship not now, man, not now. I can't the race, and thoughts start flying around my mind. I mean, what if she kicks us out for lying about the press list? What if I have an anxiety attack right here in the lobby. Okay, I gotta chill. She want to call my parents to take me home, which is humiliating enough, But then they'll find out we're doing this. I'll be crowning from not telling them in this podcast interview we have planned would be over before it begins. When I get caught up like this, I can see the oncoming crash, and I feel like there's no turning away Marco Joseph. If it's not there, then there's been a mistake. Just like Marco, this dude is too smooth. Meanwhile, I'm trying not to throw up the ticket. Lady calls Neveta's rep, who comes up front to greet us, and without hesitation, Marco introduces himself with me. At least he recognizes Marco's name, special Influencer, inviting all I'm still focusing on my breath, playing it cool and trying to hide the fear of my eyes. Let it. Marco leads, really, this is my creative partner, Ruben Robinson, my schedule to an interview Nevea. But it looks like we're left off the press list. Vea's rep looks amused, probably thinking these kids got balls or we're out of our damn minds. There's a long pause. You're right, you're not on the list. I checked my hands to make sure they aren't shaken. I don't. We're about to get kicked out. I know it, and if he sees my nerves, it'll be my fault. I can't let Marco down like this, but I like your hustle follow me. A sense of really floods my veins like a cold shower. I held it together barely because we walked through the crowd. The rep asked if we want to meet an available before the show. She's got a few minutes and it will be our only chance. The rep is talking about a meet and Greece, so I kind of have to force the subject of the interview, even in the green room. But of course we respond yes in a nonchalant tone. Like it isn't a big deal. MARCOA makes small talk smoothly drops that we got a podcast, and the rep loves the name. Here comes the break, Only we don't have a podcast, not yet anyway. The rep looks at us, smiles slightly. He's clearly amused with Marco. My stomach has stopped doing flips, but now it feels like there's a lead brick in there. I didn't think this will work, but now we're here and there is no turning back. I'm seventeen and about an interview one of the hottest up and coming artists in the city. I've been waiting my whole life for this moment. I've loved hip hop since I was little. I remember being real young, like six, and hearing beats bleed through the walls from my parents room. It was my dad who introduced me the legendary artists like jay Z and Naas, who told me the stories behind each track, about their lives growing up, fast money cars and beasts that cost mcs like Biggie and packed their lives. He taught me the hip hop was born in the South Bronx. He exposed me the cool Hurt Run DMC and African Bambiden through Death Jam and the rise of Gangster Rapp. They're never in the story. I was obsessed with hip hop. I wanted to meet my favorite artists, dive into the culture, and spread the gospel. The minute I started getting the platform, my parents just shut all that down. I see my parents frowning and alarmed at the side of the amount of followers I gained overnight. I'm reminded of my parents discouragement. I get it on some level, particularly from my mom, who's always extra alert to the dangers of me putting myself out there as a young black man. She might not disapprove this podcast I did now that I'm seventeen, but she definitely won't be cool with me and Marco sneaking into the city and night behind her back. I can feel the tightness in my chest, the stack of breathing as I pull out my phone to review the questions I prepared to ask Nova if we actually got this far as if you couldn't tell. I have anxiety. I was diagnosed with it at ten years old. I've been taking medication ever since. Sometimes it works better than other times. Honestly, until the night, I never thought of my angsty diagnosis that's connected to my board of fifteen minutes of fame. But moments like this are triggering. I should feel exhilarated, proud, and excited, but I'm preparing for the worst. Something bad will happen, something will ruin this moment for me, or maybe I'll ruin it for myself. In a weird way, I want that to happen to take the pressure off. I know that on some level, the real reason Marco insists that I joined him on this adventure is because he wants to have a reason to keep hanging out. My parents arranged for a transfer to a stem Magnet school booker t Washington High when school starts. Marco and I don't want to lose our friendship, and keep telling myself tonight doesn't have to be about anything bigger than that we arrived closer in the Vedas green room, Marco little ship that he is locked size and smiles at those who aren't getting access backstage like we are. We're being treated like v I peace and it feels electric For a short shining moment, I don't feel like a snowball careening downhill. I feel all the way up, like fat Joe and Remy my. The door opens and the publicist woman needs Marco went out into the green room and I swallowed the rise and pit in my stomach. Novella. Great to see you, Marco, Joseph Ruben Robinson, we're here for the interview. Holy shit, there's that adrenaline rush. When the ride a home. Marco can't stop help the photos of us. When the he writes, teasing captains to read a night to remember and new project coming soon. Marcot was crazy. I'm happy you had a great time, but I'm just trying to save her every bit of day. Endorphin high and filing after that interview, but as we get back to town and head back to Marco's place, I feel sad. All of a sudden, the closest we've ever been tonight. But what if this is the last time it's like this? What if changing schools changes us. It's like on the trip home, I've been able to fly all the stresses and fixations that was lashing onto in my panic. I left them way down below me on the ground. All those issues seem so small and manageable. All of a sudden, the thing, the actual thing, the interview, We got it, but I'm coming back to earth. Marco and I both knowing but not saying that this is the end of an era, knowing but not saying this podcast it's our best shot to make this the start of something new and great instead. Marco may be in Internet sensation, but I'm the one getting into a private stem school starting next week. He'll still be back in public school in some ways. He needs to pop more than I do. You know, Marco is addicted to every hit on his social media accounts. That's just the world he lives in. I always tol him that this goes well, and as if he's reading my mind, he turns to me and says, hey, Ben, thanks for doing this with me. Thanks for pushing me. Man. When we get back to Marco's house, it's at it in time. It's pretty late and his parents are already asleep, so we raided the catchen for snacks, takis and prettzels and the red Bull. Each we rush up the stairs to Marco's room so we could dig into the Neva interview. Keep on riding that high. Yeah, and it's the last weekend of the summer, so if we want to, we could stay up till dawn and sleep tomorrow away. I was turning the interview over in my head on the train ride back while Marcot was on his phone, So once we're safely in his bedroom, we immediately snapped back into mind. Mailed Mark, just leaving some of the casual stuff on either end. Help things feel real intimate. Oh, we're gonna want to score the opening and closing with the tight beat for now the job. On the girl group question, she really opened up about her mom, and I'm bringing the closer we get to complete in the pot, the more I start to feel my anxiety return, just bubbling up from within me. Oh shit, I just realized I forgot to take my meds. I've been so distracted that it didn't even cross my mind. And to be honest, my Clopin could put me to sleep, which I've been too busy for. While the audio file renders, I pulled the pill, bought a lot of my bag and duck out to the bathroom and wash one down. When I step back into the room, Marco was pulling the microphone from his closet and hooking it up to his laptop. What are we recording? You've got to introduce yourself to the masses. Bro queue up the interview with an intro in a sign off. Damn, he's right. I've been so focused on the interview itself. But there's another part of this. I hadn't thought through the big picture. I don't want to tell my parents, but if I'm the face of this project, then it gets the audience we want. I can't keep pretending this is just gonna be a fun amateur poty with my friend. If it hits, we're not gonna be business man. We're gonna be a business man. I can't hide that from my parents forever. The combination of the long night in the city, the head trip of success, the lack of sleep, and Miss Mad's it's got me tripping, and without thinking, I blurt out, can we disguise my voice? Marco throws some serious I what, no, man, We have to lay effects back over the whole interview. The sun's coming up. It'll be worth it. Maybe it's part of a stage name, a persona. The anonymity could give us a little mistique. Okay, okay, that's interesting what you're having in mind. I scrambled for an idea, jittery winging it, I suggested this out of panic, But now I gotta keep my nerves about me and back it up. How about mask on like a play on futures. Mask Off could be a play on Corona culture too. I mean, you know all right, it has potential. If I start on divorce distortion as soon as we lock down the intro on autro, we could still post it today. And I gotta record the central and noutre before that climb up and kicks in the fact I fell off my med schedule on his own and starting to freak me out. You can throw off my mood for days. Not what I need right now. I got a family dinner celebrateing Mynday school tomorrow. Marcos starts to take with a tap on his track pad. Okay, mask On, step up to the mic. We'll so we's set out there, podcast world. We are coming at you, fresh from the van of Joel Show at the Brooklyn Bowl after wrapping up an interview with one of the hottest new artists in the game. She's fly too. That's what we do here and here comes to break. You get used to that. I'm your host mask on, and that's what those earbuds in and enjoy our exclusive interview with Nevea Jolie. I don't know where it comes from, but I feel way less anxious and more confident behind this PERSONA killer first take and I'll try to outro. That's our interview with the Veta. Hey, the show was amazing. Showing some love like follow and subscribe to the artist feeds our feeds links in the description, I'm mask on. This is your place for the hottest and breaking new artists. Ready or not, here it comes to break. Oh you're a natural. We don't have a second episode lined up. The plug you worked around it. Don't sweat it for now. I'll here comes to break official accounts, cross posts on my accounts. We'll have artists coming to us once we hit some real numbers, and until then, we just gotta step up our hustle going out to shows rollsoving me like a wave. This thing is real. Now the thought scares me. It's rattling around my brain, throwing the elbows and the climb up and still doesn't feel like it's kicking in. Suddenly have a panic thought and check my book back again. Shit, I brought the wrong pill bottle. This is my adderall I took an adderall by mistake. Oh, there's no way I'm getting any sleep. Now, I'm going to be up all day and walking in the family dinner tonight with raw nerves. The big celebration to me starting a book of t and I'll be lucky if I'm a zombie on type of line to them about why was tonight? Now I'm gonna have to cover up my exhaustion and adrenaline and they're gonna see if right through it. Oh, the voice whispers inside of me. Oh no, here it comes all my anxieties. They're coming together, and that big familiar blob of fear. Now, Yo, Reuben, it's time to work. I step up to the mic. Adrenaline anxiety coursing through me. Let's screw it. Here calms the break. We'll be right back and now back to the show. In an industry that is constantly trying to define artists, can you tell our listeners in your own words? Who is Novea Joe Lee h Who is Novejoli Novego Lee. I am an artist, a full on creative, crazy person, singer, songwriter, actress, future entrepreneur. I do a lot, but I'm still defining myself every day. You get my own words. Wow wow okay, okay. You know every artist has that when they step into a room, when they walk, the way they dress, speak, sing. How do you maintain to develop that? WHOA? My number one role is to always keep it playing, so you know, I gotta stick to that definitely, and just being yourself as an artist. The goal is to be entertaining, but the goal is also to be able to express yourself and the best way you can. So if people are digging it, they're gonna dig it. You just gotta be you keep it playing. Okay, Okay, I feel I feel you and you go right. And so you were eight years old, So tell me what road is writing playing your life? Writing is my expressions, my voice, pen and paper, just typing it out and my notes is it's getting that emotion out. It started off with a little colone little songs. Since I was eight, I carried around a journal and I just whenever I thought of something, I just wrote it down. It's kind of like just a release. If I have built up energy, I can't sit on it. I need it to get out of my system. So I write every day, just trying to express myself. Did you view it as a film a therapy? Definitely? Definitely. It's processing. It's ways to get out an emotion you you have and you can't necessarily say it, you know what I'm saying, Like, I'm not the best at articulating my thoughts, so I'll have to write it out. I'll have to because I'm better with that. The switching gears here. How how have you built your following, especially on social media? Well, it's been it's been, you know, going up these past like two years, and I've just been building relationships with my plays and it's dope. It's dope. I really just try to stay true to myself, try to post relatable content, just try to reach out to people, talk to people, go live and just really use my platform to not only advertise my music and advertise what I'm doing, but just to be there for people, you know, and to connect about current events like Black Lives Matter. Yeah, that's what that's That's what it's there for. Definitely speaking about it. Tell me, how how are you personally coping with all the civil own rest. Well, it's always been there and always been a problem. It's literally one of my only triggers that make me like angry or make me flustered. Just racism, police brutality, all that nonsense. My first fight ever, my first fight that I ever got into, was on that topic and um, I got body slammed by a dude. It was in the army program in my high school. Yeah, I'm just very passionate about that type stuff. And it's so tiring. It's just tiring, it's exhausting. It's not gonna stop anytime soon unless people actually wanted to and make a difference. So you were in your first girl group of tend called the Perfect Storm. When lessons did you learn from that experience? Oh, my gosh, rhythm definitely. Rhythm. Wow. I was doing like choreography at ten and it would get me so frustrated, but it helped. It helped a lot, and it just it got me used to positive and negative feedback, people telling you how it is to your face as a kid, like I'm getting nose left and right. Because I used to audition for stuff on the side too, because I was also acting. So I would just catch the train to New York with my mom every day, every weekend, anytime she got off of work, and it was just audition after audition, So it just taught me a lot about the industry, you know, But it was just me and my mom was not like the most extreme mamager ever. But when I said that I wanted to do music, she was like, if you want to do it, we gotta get you on vocal lessons, we gotta do this, we gotta get you doing theater, we gotta do this that that. Well, what are getting that support from your mom? Meaning you and mental lot? At first I wanted to be a scientist and she was like super for that. But when I was like, Okay, no, I really want to do this music thing. We've been doing it for real, Let's do it for real, for real, of course she was going to support me. I was just so eager. There was no way that she was going to stop me. You know what I'm saying. She had to be there for it, and she believed in me entirely, and she still believes in me now and she's definitely rooting for me. So that's amazing. What advice would you get the families and parents about supporting a teenager that wants to pursue the arts. If you see their dedicated and you see that they really mean it in their grades are good, then my thing doing, man, I don't do it. Man. I kept my honor roll. But this is for all y'all aspiring artists. Keep your grades good. If you're trying to convince your parents that you got your life, figure it out. Keep your grades decent, and then they'll they'll believe you. They'll believe your promise. Keep your grades good. That's a going, that's a going. I know you're in the guide in meditation and drawing and painting. What does your wellness routine look like if you have them. I don't really have a routine. I try to meditate as much as I can, like every day, every other day. I try to draw a little bit in my journal, right, a little bit of poetry or a song. And final question, what would you like your legacy to be? Maybe just having a good personality, like just being a good person. I just I just want to be you know that cool old lady you know everybody remembers. Well, I'm sure your jeans are great. You know, I'm not gonna look like an old lady once you become an old lady. You're right, I'm gonna still be on tour like Shoot, I'm gonna be out here yoke. That was our interview and the Vega has blessed us with the fresh track to break through you right here on here It comes to Break. That's coming right up. This is mask On, get your listen on and now an exclusive track from The Vega Jolie Chad Shine, Hold Shine, I didn't see right, oh shone high. Spending all this time to get you, but there's nothing better thing you baby, ground my face and fool me clothes and ba my ways. I feel saying anything change when I'm looking out to see the stars in the night on the feeling in my heart and staring me a fire. You to fight on my spy, just one shine, check you on you hold on Shine Shy and I feel like I mention my vibe. Tell me want to feel like Oh shone by try f of your love and me to tell now I felt this way for now. You want to shout another side love man, want to say a little more said you know, felt a lovely showhead to tell the world, try to have good night. I just want to try take you one word Shy. Here Comes to Break is produced by Double Elvis and partnership with I Heart Radio. Executive produced by Deaf Jam Recordings. Executive produced by and starring Asanti Black Is Ruben, Produced by Danielle Perkins who plays Janelle, Bobby cus Is Marco, Christopher V. Edwards as Dad, Raymie Cornell is Mom, and Taylor Bettinson. Written by Taylor Bettinson and the Kia Hill Artist Interviews conducted by Nikia Hill, directed by Christopher V. Edwards, mixed and edited by Matt Ta Hainey, Sound recording by Colin Fleming Music Elements and production by Ryan Spreaker. Additional production support by Jamie Demons. Executive produced by Jake and Brady Sadler for Double Elvis Special Thanks to Rain Rosenbaum, Shelby Shankman, Sarah Kane and Jordan Gerrellic at United Talent Agency, be Comedian Marketing, Barack Muffatt and Universal Music Group, Rich Isaacson, Lind Gonzalez, Charlene Thomas, Merissa Pizarro, Gabriel To Serrierio, Jessica Manarino and Nya Fleming at Deaf GYM Recordings and Conald Burn, Carrie Lieberman, Will Pearson, Noel Brown and the entire I Heeart Media team to hear bonus content, meet the cast, and go behind the scenes of Here It Comes to Break. Follow with double Elvis on Instagram or visit double elvis dot com.