The Not So Drunk, Not So Holiday Show with Deon Cole
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Question. Love Supreme is a production of I Heart Radio Eight Days of hanaker La eight Motherfucking's days. Welcome to this is our fourth annual uh Shaka Khan episode. If you're celebrating Hanukkah chin China cut smoking, Yeah, I'm about to say, uh smoky propos pronounced the cha chanuka. That's all jam is it? Steve? Who was that? Sharon Jones? Sharon Jones and the Death Kings eight days only Hanakah was actually that funky and soulful. I'd be a happy guy. Well, you know, now now was the now's the time to h reverse that. Now that's one of my favorites. I like that record. Yeah, man, this is uh oh we we should uh before we get started, give a shout out to our good friends. Belvini got very familiar with them this year. Um, extremely familiar. Um. Yeah, and uh you know it's Belvini that's handcrafted to be enjoyed responsibly, so you know, give him a shout out. But also let people know that they should drink responsibly. And uh, you know, because we know that this could be you know, celebration for some people can be uh not too celebratory for other people. Yeah, our guest today is a friend of the show. I gotta say that one of the biggest surprises of was actually how good of a DJ this this man? Yo? Like, uh, dude, I had zero clue that you were this serious on term tables. Yea welcome Deon Cole. Yeah. Addition, yeah, that's what's going on the King. What's going on? Brother? Y'all doing? Everybody doing? Everybody good? We're good, brother, We're good. Yeah. I didn't think I I was thinking. I was like, man, I didn't think that Dion was such a big househead. But then I realized, I'm like shitty from Chicago. Of course he's IU was here, Like okay. So that's the thing though, Like if you are, if you're of age in Chicago, especially in the eighties and the nineties when this is blossoming, I mean, it might to assume that that's house music is almost like a birthright, like everyone is indulged in in the house music culture if you're from Chicago. Yeah, especially back then, Like back then, it was like everybody, everybody was engulfed in it, like it was it was something that was on. It was almost like almost like a secret, like it was like our thing that we was doing. And then if you really, like like I was my age, you wasn't thinking about the world and them not hearing it. You was just happy that it was like like how almost like how hip hop was hip hop just came and it just was something that we felt like was ours, even like in Chicago, I remember h H b K underground hip hop stations. It was just something that was just ours and we just, I don't know, we just embraced it. But everybody was. Everybody was into it, like everybody thugs, gangsters, pimps, everybody like her. That's what I'm saying, because I would I would have thought it was just a niche like kind of a selective few. We're into this as an underground. But I slowly realized how damn near every person from Chicago, like even Commons, knowledge of house music history ran deep. So I didn't know that, Yeah, Calm Calm always come on the page and be requested songs and me to play like just always playing uh put us under and all over my face, all over my faces. Sometimes I do here like here, come over there like here like text me or something to be like Y'll play this, and I'd be like all right, now, I look it up and I'll play it definitely. But yeah, like man, our days go back, even back in the day, Calm and me. Everybody used to be at this place called the Bismarck. But we used to get down a music box a k as all disco. And I'm talking like vice lords, disciples folks. Yeah, man, Common Common was a common was a mode her vice lord. And still to this day he got a little vice lower none of them like how much of But that's crazy because no matter how hard you was, you still dance to the music still. And that's and that's the point I was getting to. You're being there with like straight thugs with guns everything shamming like jamming the house because it was a spiritual vibe. Man, it was. It was almost tribal what it was, and it was something that we all got along with. And not only gangsters. We're talking like gay people, gangsters, regular people, everybody in the same room, politicians, uh pre pastors, everybody, because it was the disco era that ended and made it underground, and it made people gravitate to it because it was you couldn't hear it on the radio and them more once the disco era and you cadn't really in on radio like that. So it was all these underground places that played music. And there was a place called the Warehouse where Frankie Knuckles you still being Frankie, were around for the you're around for like the Ryan Hardy that was that before your time? Was that? Man? Let me tell you Ron, Yeah yo, Ron, she she Frankie Knuckles was like he was the one that was like it was like sophisticated house when Frankie would do it, and it would be mostly gay too. It would be like a mostly gay sophisticated scene. And um, but when Ron, yeah, all that Jamie principal, all of them. Yeah. But then but then when but when when Ron started? When when when they was end in the warehouse, then the music box opened up and that's when Ron came in. And Ron took the music from being sophisticated to like taking chances with it, like you're here music that you ain't never really heard before, and you're hear music looped in a way that you thought it was a whole new song that you just didn't hear. And he had this thing where he'll play a song and then he would have a real to real, real to real, and he would blend in the real to real from the turntable, but the real to real and be going backwards and he would play and he would play the song backwards on the reel to reel and you will be dancing to it going buserk that he playing this track backwards and the track being played backwards sound like a whole new track. Yeah, you used to just like just zone out in the sound system was like no sound system I've ever heard still to this day. And it came from, uh, what's that place, Larry Levine, that's garage to dude who did the sound system in para type garage did the sound system at the warehouse in Chicago, and it was yo, there it is and and never never heard nothing like that to this day, I haven't heard a sound system like that. And he used to thump like like through your soul. So yeah, man, that that house scene was big. And the music that Rod that Frankie and then used to play at the warehouse, you couldn't really get it nowhere. It was exclusive. So what they would do they would make tapes and sell them at the ware at this that this uh at this uh record company in High Part and they used to sell like the music that people will go there and be like, yo, let me get some of that warehouse music, you know, let me get that warehouse music. And after while they took the house music. Yeah, they took the wear off of it. It was just like, let me get some of the house music. Whatever. Oh So that's that's the derivation of how uh Salty. When other cities started calling and what I was gonna say, what's your relationship with Detroit? Because even in Baltimore, No, I think that they always respected that it came from Chicago. From that, I know, they always respected. It's respected that, but they knew that that's what that music. It came from Chicago, and that's what we called it, and that's just what it was. And then they started adapting and adapting the two which was always love. Like I want nobody in Chicago never was against Baltimore, Jersey to rest their club. Yeah, yeah, yeah exactly, so it was it was it was just love like anybody. I've never heard nobody in Chicago tripping over it like that, you know, but it's always been a part of our culture, man, and especially like then, it was it was. It was it was a hybrid because hip hop was like coming there raw and hard too, so it was like between both of them. It was just music heaven in Chicago at the time. When I go to Chicago, like I always find out, like when I go to the cities and figure out, like what the national anthem of that particular club culture is. So what is the my eyes don't Cry of Detroit? I was about to say, I know the answer is, Baby, I'm Scared of You by Woolmack and Womack. But now I'm also thinking about stepping culture, like how does stepping culture is that different than house culture as well? Or did it? Yeah, Stephan culture is a whole another culture of Chicago. Stepping culture is also back in disco era, taking a lot of that music and and just the seventies itself. Man, it is great music. Curtis Mayfield, all of them. They have music that had this certain rhythm and there's certain the certain beat pattern that was considered like a music that you can dance to with your woman and not slow dance, but not fast dance. But it was something cool that you can just move to. Because a lot of players they don't want to mess their shoes up. They don't want to get all sweaty, and so it was a nice way to just be cool and just groop. Yeah yeah, yeah, so you were groove and it was able for you to not not be sweaty, but groovy with your lady, be tight close to hud and it was just a good way of just grooving or whatever. So a lot of pimps used to do that, a lot of players, and that was a good way that they used to do it. And it was just it was just it just stuck around. It just always was a thing, you know, from back in the day, like my father, my mother, everybody us two step like to this day, people's steps, championship level stepping tournaments. Yeah, all of that, like tournaments like like practicing all year long, going from party and party, practicing and then at the end of the year, you you you get into a stepping tournament, like if you is the ultimate stepping teacher. H Me and my wife we stepped. We I got her into it. I've been doing it for a couple of years kind of before we got together, and then I got her into it, and so we cold we kind of stopped it because you know, we didn't get to, you know, be doing it like we used to. But we're still we're stiking being in the kitchen. We're doing living everybody with everybody at patient with you trying to you know, because I hear from various people. I hear that like wool Mac and wool Max. Maybe I'm scared of you. And then the that's Jeffrey, uh making love is gonna last. That's that's more stepping with this name Jeffrey something up got his name. But yeah, I know you're talking about right, So like what what are those like Chicago only records that like of that era at least well winning, like anything about the moments of the shot lights like some some cool that's like yo stepping group. But like I said, it's just a temple movie likes nah, come on sexy mamas that yeah, yeah, not a fashion Yeah, it's that tempo if you're in that tempo. Because I'll tell you somebody, who's who people get because we we stepped to Earth Wind and Fire like Earth on the Fire is like a great great group. But I'm gonna tell you, I'm gonna tell you who people love this Kim like Chicago. Yeah, yeah, do not God no, no, no disrespect to Kim No, but just the way he pops up on this the way he pops up on this podcast. I need someone to properly explain the power of Kim. I'm gonna telling you, Kim is just cool, Yo, It's just it's there's a cool look. We don't know him personally, We don't know him personally, but the music just got a groove, a sophistic like us cool pimp sophistication type thing that people love in Chicago, man, everybody, everybody maybe everybody I know in Chicago. Ya Kim, you listen. Kim is one of them artists, bro, Like for real, Kim is one of them artists that like nobody claims to like. But this nigga puts up numbers on the board. So it's like, listen, some of our niggas is lying because these records is not buying themselves, you know what I mean. Nigga's fun with Kim doubt this concert and trench coats and mustache, Like, Yeah, I learned. I learned the power of Kim on a drive to New Orleans. I was driving while I was riding with my aunts from New Orleans too. Well, from Atlanta, New Orleans. We're going to New Orleans for Marti Gras and nig When I tell you it was a Kima thon for six hours. That was when I got school. I was like, okay, I get it. He he is the Auntie Whisperer Frankie for real. Wit wait wait wait, I gotta I gotta clear something else because I ain't trying to get a little shot no more. Um yeah, no disrespect, disrespect to Kim, just simply I'm not that familiar with Kim's discography. But again I recognized he puts numbers on the boards open up shows for him in stadiums at eight thousand Cedar, Jill Scott opening for Kim. You know, damn your sixteen thousand Cedar in Philadelphia, like he does the numbers. I just I've never studied him. And yes, as a casunal listener, you might dismissively say, okay, that's just Al Jebro whatever. But now I get so the whole thing about Kim from I don't I don't know his history and none of that need. All I knew was it was homeless. He got a deal and blew up and it made people go wow, look at look at that. Look at this guy's voice is amazing and he was homeless. Yo, were rocking His story is crazy. Yeah, we're rocking Wood. Were rocking Wood. So that's okay, let's get Kim on the show. I was, uh, we gotta do Aldo Black first, but as soon as we get at Blade black person. But on some stepping you through some KMO, you could be in the middle of a fight. You through some kmother's gonna be like, I bet I see your ass around in the moat? How how long have you been DJ? Just all your life? For it's just a new pandemic skill, Like I just really like I was just talking about this other day. I'll talk to a friend and I said, can you believe I have not DJ a year yet? I'm not. No, I don't even know how to DJ on c DJ. Wait, you saw the writing on the wall, got you some DJ equipment in March and then became class DJ. No. No, I've had the equipment for three years and I had it sitting there. I was living in another house. I had it sitting there and I tried to use it and I didn't have the time to practice. I had a catalog of music. I always had a catalog of music because I just loved collective music and especially disco music. That that's my thing. So I always have music. But I had the equipment, and I never had time to do it. At the time I was filming Blackish, Grownish, Angie Tribeca, uh Man Conan, I was, I had no time, and so it just sat there, dusty everything, and I just never did nothing with it. Moved to moved to my new place, and still never did nothe with it. It was just sitting up in the box. And when the pandemic hid, and then I saw D Nice. I saw D Nice and I was like, and I was on D Nice page this one D Knights had like a hundred and twelve people listening to him. So we was over there, you know, just just checking them out. And I just just like, man, it ain't nothing to do. I was like, man, I should I should pull out my equipment and just see if I can just try try to do it. And I just did it and was playing around and people was like, don't quit your day job and get horrible and stick to comedy and where's the jokes that they just kept doing and and I was joking with him too, because I was like, yeah, I am horrible. Definitely, my blends are horrible and all of that. But I remember Ron Hardy in Chicago. Ron Hardy wasn't no great blend do it's what he it's what it's what he played that amazing. He was a selector. Yeah, And so I just always had that in mind, and I was like, you know what, but I got some music people don't know about. Like, I got some music, and so I just was like, let me just try it. And then I stopped thinking, you know what, it would be hilarious if I learned how the DJ right in front of everybody face and I just I just didn't care and just did in and see to see what happened, and and and plus let this music out that I got that people don't know about, that people don't know about. I tell you, if you you've been like a mirror. Yeah, man, I've been doing this for about seventeen years. I do. It's a world class. Like you now have you? You you have an amazing two for where now like I expect you to be your own after party DJ, after your conder to checks. That's what that's that's what I want to do. But singing comedy, Yeah, that's why I want. That's why I wouldn't call myself and I still don't. I don't be calling myself the DJ because I just don't. I feel like I feel like that's what I do, That's what i'd be doing. But I don't feel like I went through the trenches to call myself a DJ like that, Like I don't need I back off of anybody even saying that. Sometime I just be like, I don't think I'm that, but I just think I played music that. But you have got requests for gigs. I bet man. I did the Chosen Few, which is crazy. I did chosen few this year. I did rock the vote. I didn't rock the vote with Louis Vega and DJ Spinner and did uh souling the horn. I just did that. Yeah that sounds like from one impostor syndrome to an other. Just accept it, Like we think you're a DJ, you're a DJ. Trust me on this sweating while you DJ? And is that still nerves or is it hot in there? And I got air conditioned, I got I got, I got air condition No, I just be, I just be kind of like losing it this. That's what I do when I put a playlist together. I don't listen to it loud. I listened to it. It's very low speakers, and I just I just listened to the blends of it. I don't even really listen to the whole song because I know the song, or if it's a new song that I hear, I listened to it, but I want to listen to it loud. And I listened to it a couple of times. But the experience is when I'm playing it loud for the first time, when everybody listening to it, and I'm on, I'm on these, I'm on, I'm on these boys right here, these speakers, these last year music, yo, last look at this my speaking speaking, No, I'll be rattling, rattling, this whole joint be rading. You feel it through the screen when you're watching them. That's why I asked, oh yeah, and and and that joint too up there, like I'd be rattling, rattling, and so you know, I'll be feeling it, man. I just be like I feel music, man, I feel it, like I always saying to myself too. I was like, if I wasn't a comedian, I'll probably be A and R somewhere. Man, Like, I just love music and maybe I'm just maybe I don't know the ins and out of A and R, but I just thought that. But I just love music, man, I just uh. I think that's what comes through in your sets because you know the records. And that's the thing now with when I tell when I talk the cats coming up. Whatever, it's like with DJ and like a mirror can give you his hard drive right and just you know, twenty songs. But if you don't know the songs, if you don't know okay, this is the part that's the break to play into this. Yeah, if you don't know what to do with it, that ship is just files on the laptop. It means nothing. But if you know the records, that's what makes you a good DJ because you know how to play him right, like like even like requested things. The thing like like request is that certainly like you can hear DJ's play music and that's cool. But then you got DJs who played music where you want to know the origin of this music. You want to know who made it, you want to know who's selling, you want to know you. You want to know history of music just from the way somebody played, you know what I mean? And Man, as many times as many nights haven't been on your page, listen to you, man, I've sat there like with another computer. Man, just like yo, what is the But that's why I do it. I do it so cats can dam it and learn. But that's what I'm saying, like what you're doing and with your nariety and your popularity, like even I have a deeper respect for disco culture and house music culture that I thought I had. But with you, I see it that almost as an education like that. Just definitely keep Sunday service even when we quote stop wearing our masks and get out into the wall, Like I need to make Sunday service a thing, that day afternoon service, you know wherever you are in l A or that sort of thing. Thank you man. That and that's the goal, man, to keep rocking with it, going from some different cities, man, and comeing through and get down and get down with some other great cats man, and we just have a night of it. Man. It's just uh, just make it happen. Man, It's just just play of music. Man. And uh, you know, excite each other, you know, because that's what it is. Man, it's exciting each other too. Uh, you know, just shine shine a light on something, because it would be it would be so many people that kind of my page and they'd be like, I love this and never heard it life. They'd be like like where did this come from? You never even knew it existed? And be like what is this music? It's life and they and they all more importantly, they'd be like, I remember this. Oneman was like, I don't know whow I feel. I feel this way, she said, I feel stupid sometimes like feeling good about this. It was like it's weird, and I was like, wow, that was important. When she said that, I was like, man, that's good. And that just drives you to just keep searching for music and pulling up music and all of the people they used to the music just moving their bodies before it even hit their minds. Yeah, that's true and a big you know, and a big part of it, like is also, um, you know, now is the time for tastemakers to sort of grab the brass ring again because you know, previously those who were leading in DJs were just basically doing this. Yeah, for the sake of, you know, their own popularity and their own but not music. They feel like all the times DJ's tell me like, yo, man, that's just I wish I could do what you do, like you just do what you want to do. Da da da da, And you know, so hopefully now somebody told me that they was like, man, I wish I could play play the music like you play. And I was like, why can't you, like you know, you just got to play with people want. And I'm like, oh, I don't agree with that because they they they only get It's to me kind of what it's kind of odd for you to get out of the car listen to the radio going to a party and then hear what you heard on the radio, you know what I mean, Like I could have kept my ass in the car. I could have got my ass in the car, Dude, I gotta get my ass to the car. Sole. No, it's for you to like break new music. And yeah, I definitely understand. You got to get the people what they want. They love to seeing some stuff. But it's just it's just a mixture, man. It's it's a mixture of uh of of new, old and old. That's new to you. You know, if you ain't never heard it's new. Okay, you think you with with you doing the like your DJ SAT you say you pretty much we're learning how to DJ live like in front of an audience. Do you think was that same kind of mentality? Is that what led you to do your comedy? Like when you put out your like I think the one hour set you put out of just you working stuff out. Yeah, we're working it out. It's it's yeah, It's like, um, it's taking chances, man, that's all it is. And it's like, you know, you had these thoughts in your head of what you think and you don't know until you know. You know, hell, I could probably be the best astronaut in the world. I don't know because I ain't never go up. But if you sent me to the moon, I'm like, I might do some cool shut up there. I just don't know, you know, until I know and ship you know. So that's that's how I feel like. I was like, man with my with my my working at out comedy special thing, I was like, man, it'd be cool if I gave people material that I was not thrown away but wasn't used and make a special out of material that I wasn't using because of people like this, wait till they see what I kept. So you're seeing your your Stevie Wonder story is a throwaway story. It was. It was a story that I told before, but I didn't but I didn't use but I didn't use in my stand up like that. It would be a story that I would just tell if people were talking about stories, I tell the story now. I had it as it. I had it as a joke before, and I did as a joke before, but I think people The funny thing was people wouldn't believe me, and so they thought that it was just fat and so I instantly believe a forty nine paragraph text kind of love those anybody watching this right now. If you don't have a text from quest love you, you don't know what texting is, Well here's the course of course. Text got fade in in the corners. Like god, I laughed. I've never laughed so hard to routine in my life because yeah, I know that no one wants to believe, you know, and so so I quit doing it. People people were kind of like, man, don't talk about Stevie like that, And so I did joke and then I just let it die down. And then when I was doing my special, I was like, I should bring this back up, and then I was like, you know what, I ain't gonna bring it back up, but I'm gonna tell people the story to fill time in the room because I couldn't think of no more new material I wanted to work on, so I just told the story the same time. So when I was editing the special, I was like, I should throw this story in that, and I just like, let me throw it in there and give it to the people. And man on I think Facebook alone, that story alone, just that story alone got like one point eight million views. Have you heard anything recently since it's been out? Since the special has been out on I've heard nothing from his camp. Like there's just one girl from his camp. She used to always be like, take that down, do this, but she would be cool. Though it wasn't no dis she would be cool. She would be cool about it. But now I haven't heard nothing else from from them at all. But I see Stevie every now and then in l A like I pop up somewhere and I'll be somewhere like that's what happened. Before I was at this bar chilling, and his boy came over and tapped me on the should and was like, hey, Stevie in the corner, like come on, you want to talk to you. But I was like, I ain't going over therefore gonna come see what Stevie won't I'm like, nah, man, I ain't going over there, Like dude, get over man. I won't get into the specifics, but I got um one time. I got what was it called when you when you're left holding the bag? I got scapegoated into having to be a bad guy about a musical decision that impacted him and he was kind of left with the impression that that was a mirrorst call or a mirrorst fault that that happened. And this was at another event and I came to work to the Tonight Show the next week, the next Monday, and he was the guest on the show and instantly like to know my production manager Keith, Like he Keith, you got that one person in your life that lives for telling you bad news, you know, Like the day I got in trouble with Michelle Bachman, it was like, uh, you're wanted in Lauren, Lauren Michael's office, like which is basically you're about to get fired right now, like that sort of like he lives with that. She's like, it's important, Stevie, wonder what's to talk to you right now? And I'm like, wait, why, uh? You know, I guess about last Friday And I was like, that wasn't my fault, and well, he won't talk to you just like he lives for that. And the old thing was it was it was like somehow the guyfather. Where the thing I was amaz is that was that he was sitting at a table and I guess he was warming up his voice because we're about to sound check, and he had these two scalding hot um like crafts of tea, but they were sitting on the edge of the table and it's only me and him in the group, me and him in the room. And on top of that, he has like a bag of muffins and butter and different jams and jellies, and I'm watching him just navigate like it's normal, but he's also like reaching his arm over ever so slightly to that hot craft of hot tea and I'm on the receiving ends. So it's like you could almost like like that sort of thing. And at one point he reached out to like he was reaching for like more butter, and reached his arm out and I grabbed the craft. He said, no, no, no, no, I know where it is. I got it. I got it, And I was like, do you know what I'm doing right now? But that whole people knowing, man, man, he knows, and the whole time he was like, yeah, so uh Friday, I uh. And I'm like, I try to play it off like yeah, man, it was so much fun, Like I really tried to just no, man's you know, I just want to make sure we cool, you know. And then I just had to play dumb like I didn't know what happened, like I had to cut this song short or something, you know, that sort of thing and get him off the stage or whatever. Yeah you don't, you know, like when you're doing that high boy ship so right, but I knew. I was like, Yo, he's gonna he's gonna expel this skall and hot tea on your lap. He's to let you well, I guess at some point we should say, since this is the Christmas episode, happy Holidays. I was like, I'm happy. I'm celebrating my holiday. What you doing, bro? What you're doing a Thaniel? Nothing? I know, Like, is it really Christmas? This is I'm so happy to not have the pressure or the just the stress of traveling nigger ship. You got kids, and I'm certain they want to PS five. No. Yeah, I'm with my son. He want the Xbox. And what's the difference because I'm talking to a bunch of kids that are like PS five, I want an Xbox? Like what so what is it like it's like a smartphone versus Apple likes, It's not necessarily that it's one sort a thing of like um with particularly my son, So the way games are now, like gaming is basically just a whole another social network. And so if you're if you have an Xbox, then you know you can chop it up without your homies on Xbox. If you got the PS five, then you know you can do it as well. And so for my son, he's fitteen Um. Yeah, so a lot of his homies they like be running two K and his kind of social network is all on the Xbox. So it's really a social thing for them. So to me, I'm a PS five guy, Um, but I'm not a social gamer, Like my game is just sol I'm not you know, talking to people online. I'm just playing. But for the younger kids, it's a social aspect old Xbox. From what I see, that seems to be where most of the youngest that's where they that's where they get it in there, got it, got it? Is there a world for me, like, you know, a world where I can fit in and just play like my regular two D games and whatnot? Or um, I think you if you're talking on the PS five, they got games that like you could like I'm still like sing it a yeah ship you might when you get U. Um man, well they do got all those simulators. So now they got all the simulators you can get. Um the Nintendo simulators you can get them. And they got like, you know, all the game that some games on. Yeah, what what's a good what's a good virtual game? It's a good question. They have those. Yeah, the VR. I mean that's not really something I get into, but they but all the systems have them. Um I was running and I was running Resident Evil seven I think like like two years ago, and it's like a survival horror joint all the time. Nigga and with the Virtue and that ship is a whole another spirit. I was like, now I don't want this smoke blowing my mind right now. You're saying that they got it for virtual Yeah yeah you can get there like this headset or whatever, like I want to speak, but Resident Evil seven broke you can have that joint. I was like, man, yeah, it's really I was like, oh no, I gotta I gotta watch that. I gotta get that. I used to always play that. Well. I don't know, man, it doesn't not that it doesn't feel like Christmas, but I don't know it is not. It is the most Christmas I've been bought. No gifts for nobody. I have been bought nothing for nobody, even myself. This holding tight a year like nothing like a birthday, not a nothing, nothing not. I just borrowed DJ gigs. I'll be like, yeah, I'll DJ your party for an hour. So yeah, that's what I'm doing because I think the thing is I think just this year like it really just calls us to slow down and stop. And you know, it's like you would give people gifts for them to use, you know, outside of their homes, Like yeah, I'm gonna see you on a trip somewhere almost and it's just like Nigga, we're all in the house, like so I go to graans, I can't do massages and none, none of the days at the spa ship like that. I wouldn't see my wife to the spa all the time. But that's why Amazon is killing the game. I thought, yeah, I mean they're killing the game. But you know, you buy a gift for somebody, it's the wrong size they like, and ain't it's worth it. It's like, everybody just chill this whole year. When next year come around, we're gonna make up for all of this. We're gonna make up for all our birthday all our birthday parties. We're gonna make it. I know I'm gonna have a birthday party twice next year. Rit I'm having a two birthday parties. I'm gonna hard. I'm gonna double up on everything. But right now, we just got a chill. It's like it ain't not next year, babe, twenty two, so we gotta triple up there. We'll see July and August. I think it's gonna take at least a year for the vaccine for everybody to kind of make the nile to take because we gotta find We gotta find out how long get lasts. Don't nobody know that. We don't know if it's forever or if it's for a year. I think it's got to be honest. They have they haven't decided yet if it's gonna be keep taking. They haven't decided yet. They're just like, take it and we'll figure it out right now, like a man. You know what I'm saying, figure out dude. Yeah, he fell on his face because he had COVID months before. My doctor. My doctor friend was just breaking it down to me because he was like, what people don't say. I think it's k Yes, people don't understand it. Like once you have COVID with your heart and the shape of your heart and it it changed the shape of your heart. You said like, yeah, it has something to do with this side. It does after it's over out of your body, it does it with your heart. Yeah, man, that's my man. Terry Hannah d J Terry Hannah, he got yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Terry got it. Terry got it. Wow, Terry got it. And Deebo when Debo rest in peace to Debo, Debo had he had it before he got over Covid ended up catching it again. Same thing with the young player. He had it a minute ago, happened he caught it again and that's how Devo died. Wow, I didn't know that was yea. Even so, even so everybody is talking about they catching it and they're cool after they catch it, or they im no, that ain't. We still don't know the long term effects. So I think they're gonna be studying this ship for the next decade. Man, Like, we still don't know. Even if you quote unquote get over it, we still don't know what getting over it completely looks like. Yeah, well we do know. By by the fall, we'll probably if we're lucky, we're masks, but we're not maskless until one people gonna we're gonna have we're gonna be able to be like, Okay, we can see how long this is going to affect people. They want to know more about it. If we should take a shot of the year, because they tested people months earlier prior to of this, So around the fall, that's gonna let us know if it wear off for a dozen or whatever. Was lucky that y'all got to get black ish out a little bit. Most people don't. They're getting shut down. Hey, we're still shooting and it is. I'm gonna tell you something, man, So what's the protocol of shooting a television show now during this period? Like what's take me through your day? Like? How early do you have to get up in? What's testing? Like? Yo? Let me tell you. So I get tested every day even if I'm not filming, because if if they have that, they want to know. Also if they have to move the scene around, I'll be ready. So they make sure they make sure that you test like every day. Our day. Now it's way longer. So if it takes us, if it takes us six hours to shoot the scene, now it takes us like nine, well eight after every scene we got to leave out, they got a disinfect that we come back in, and they got to move the cameras around. Everybody got to leave out. It's like a whole old process. Man. So the question, all right, because I don't know how what child labor laws are or whatever, and plus children now they're teenagers. Yeah, but does that does that also change in Hollywood? The I know that there's a four to five hour limit for like actors under I think fourteen and fifteen or whatever. Does that also change? Does this also change that rule? I'm not I'm not sure, but I do know this. They get those kids in and out. They get them, and they're getting them in and out like definitely. Like like if you got a scene with one of the kids, you it's gonna move a little bit. It's still longer, but it's gonna move a little bit more faster because they're gonna get him in and out. So they do everything that they possibly can do in order to um, uh make sure everybody's cool or what. But but it's totally it's totally different now. Man. You you have to mask everywhere where everybody in the individual trailers and it's just nerve racking because you've got so many people. Because another thing too, when you do make up, you can't put a mask on. You gotta put one of the plastic things on your face. And hopefully nobody's in six feet are you. You stay away from them because you put a mask on, it's gonna mess your makeup up. And uh so you gotta just stay away from everybody as much as possible. Man. And you know, and does that give does that give enough? Time for I mean, I don't know what the protocol is, but I assume that, like you guys have to like rehearse lines and rehearsal rhythm, and so we come in and we rehearse, and then we go back and we change and then when we come back and we shooting, but we rehearse with our mask on. Yeah we do that. But yeah, it's it's it's it's it's so it's very tedious. It's very tedious. But we were at the same token. We're working, and uh, a lot of people wish they could be working, and a lot of people losing their homes because it's such it's the industry, so y'all know, I mean, I don't know if everybody knows this, but like a lot of these sets and stuff, these are essential services, Like the state has now said that, like movie sets are essential because this town will die. It will die people. It was and and and it was doing that. People were losing their ship left and right, and they still and they still like Hollywood is like, wow, right now there are time crewise, he wasn't wrong. I was gonna ask you and when you think to creis y y'all on my Mama. I felt that y'all in real life. In real life, I was like, Yoaka's time, Like, dude, do you know how many people shut the funk down and y'all got the opportunity to make it y'all sitting around here bullshitting and walking around and whispering to each other ship they already got shut down with more? Yeah, Like, man, what are you doing whispering to a motherfucker? Like the worst way to communicate with during snack out? Do you whispering through my fun? Sound like? Just text ya Tom bad time like I thought. I thought I heard him say nigger a few times around with you nigga Ya Tom Tom? Yeah, Tom Tom Tom. Let it out the way that it was supposed to be let out. Man, But it is, it's it's uh, it's it's tedious though, so like when y'all shoot, like, um, I guess I'm not a love scene, but like, is there in no physical like if if Anthony has the kiss Tracy or something like, is it none of that? You know? Not no none of that? If you if you look at this season, the block is we are, especially the office things that we do where we we we nine times out of ten, we are not in the office no more. We're in the break room, but we can like spread out and we don't have to right next to each other. So we got a couple episodes where were in the break room, but the majority of the season we ain't. We I mean, I mean a couple of episodes where we're in the office together, but the majority of season we're in the break room where we can stretch all out or whatever. But yeah, everybody kind of spaced out, definitely, definitely mentally. So how does that affect when you're playing the scene? You know, when you know were you're in a scene where you have to you know, ostensibly assumed it or portrayed everything is fine or we're joking, we're laughing, but in your mind, you know, like nigga, it's a whole ass plague we're trying not to catch. How do you disassociate from that? I take a deep breath before I say my lines and then hold your breath. I was like, and if you talking to Lawrence Fishburn and Jennifer like you really hope? Yeah, boy, I'll be hold my breath. I to be a Navy seal right now, dude, I hold my breath, I turn on, I turn around, do my lines in the corner. Man, I thought I was the only one that serious. Lawrence up in the bubble wrap. Y'all make sure they're good. Lawrence, don't be playing Lawrence Jennifer. Both of them, baby boy, they serious. They will get on your ass lace fishburn Lawrence be like it, and that calm voice launts to be like, you must do what you're supposed to do in order for everyone to get through this. You want to stay, you'd be like this, Yes, sir, I just stopped. I don't think I just talking my shirt saying for no reads. But yeah, I don't think you have to tell older black people no oh no, no, no, no, no no, you can't see younger people that are like, yeah, invincible and yeah they do. Yeah, they killing us, young people killing us. Man. I like to short that that's what it is, young people cracks. No, it'sn't saying oh the tip board, the TEPS is tips, the TEPS is. They did here today's black contract speech? Cute there was yeah, cue made a speech? Oh man, yeah what was what was what was in today's more black? I mean like Biden is not in office yet, Like you can't. He's demanding, he's giving his demand. Yeah, and I'm like, let him get in. It's okay, Biden said, let people demand from him that feel like they have added to you know, bringing him to that place. Biden's okay, don't worry about it. A mirror, He's I know not. Look, I love Cube manah, that's my guy. We all do. Man, Like, I don't know. I just and this just generally from anybody like that wants to give a hot take. I need them. I need to feel like they really know what the political process is first, where you just walking the door. My whole thing is this though, I'm like this regardless if he knows, if he doesn't know, at least at least he's doing something like I don't see nobody else doing ship and so and this is what I'm saying, Like I'd rather take something nothing, Yes, I rather out something and nothing really the wrong thing something right? Right? Yeah? Nothing again, Cubert, it's like, undo all your work. All you talking about the game, Cuber, I was thinking about the actual Cubert d J. Yeah, always out of here. I just I just I don't know. I just respect what Q did. Man. And I'm like just making I acknowledge his heart was in the right place. Yeah, he if he was gonna do that ship to me, you should have did that ship in because it's you know what I'm saying, because it's one thing to say, Hey, listen, I didn't vote for this motherfucker, but listen, this is what we got. Let's try to work with what we got. You say that in teen top between seventeen, nobody's mad. It's like, all right, well let's let's see. But pulling this ship down, you know, damn three weeks three weeks from where it's like, come on, but look, let me ask you this though, Like if if he if he came to the table with no agenda, as far as I mean not, I ain't saying no agenda, but if he came to the table and he wasn't biased, and he wasn't towards the Democrat, he wasn't in a Republican. He just came over the plan on who's gonna help black people with this? And the Republicans go, man, we want to do it or we want to see it, and he go I find cool? Like like the years though, is that if I'm paying attention and a leopard. Don't change his stripes like that, and they especially gonna change the ship three weeks for y'all Nicks getting ready to go vote. And the thing is that I would have already known coming in from the door that this this is more about a photo opportunity or bragging right opportunity for Trump than it is about helping You're not. You shouldn't negotiate with a scammer, Doug right right. A contract, it's very long. I'm curious. I haven't said much because I ain't read the contract to comment, but I'm just curious that I did. I went through. I went through it, and so what it was. I read a little bit of it. Yeah, absolutely, not not enough to not enough to say like it's horrible, It's not, but I read. I read through a little bit of it. But like I said, I've always just gave him credit for at least bringing the idea up because prior to him doing that, I can't recolleze. I can't recall anybody talking about them helping out black areas and black people and ship like that. I just don't black lives. Yeah, I always gave you blood for that. Yeah, I think you're celebrities. You have to use your voice, like if you wanna you know, if you want to, you know, use your voice and commit I would say, use your voice to like amplify the people that actually do the work in the community, you know what I'm saying, people to know the policy, people that like put your money behind that actually do the work right the political process. But what are those people doing? Yeah, but in comparison, there there are people doing it. But you've got to be actively you have to be actively actively I'm sorry, you have to be actively informed or who's doing the work. There are people on the ground doing the work, of course, all New York Abrams or whatever. But it's just like, you know, I'm not saying that. I'm not saying that Cub was trying to be performance No, no, no, no, listen, and you know he clapped back at me on one post. I'm not thinking that Cube is trying to be performative. I believe that his heart is in the right place. But last I checked, absolutely, this entire administration is not about the advancement of black people at all matter and just by even you taking that consate like because the thing is because here's the thing. Let me just be clear, Like we love que Cuba's hip hop, Like say what you want about this ship he's doing now, But Nigga Cube was one of my favorite like ever, you know what I'm saying, depth cive kids wanted. But the thing about it, you know that people that we were trying to understands, like listen, we're not ashamed or disappointed in Cube that he tried. We're disappointed that he didn't see the fucking game to begin with. You know what I'm saying. It's like, nigga, you you got fucking scam, bro, you know what I mean, Like they were never gonna give you a real shot. You were never gonna have a real conversation with Trump or any of them niggas. They were just he was above that. He might have thought he was the one, just like Steve Harvey thought he was the one. Like you know, it's certain, but that that's the thing, like the thing that I knew that it's exhausting. And I brought this up before it where people like, man, I can't I can't watch the news. I can't And even this year I stopped watching the news as obsessively as obsessively as I used to. But it's like since two thousand and sixteen, since January sixteen, I've never I have not shut my eyes once. I'm ma sure I was abreast on everything that was happening. And that's forward to we don't have that luxury no more. Yeah, that's that's definitely true. Man. Like I said, man, we uh, we don't. We don't know the blueprint to none of this ship. We were sitting up trying to figure this out as it goes along, and nobody got the answers to nothing. So the way I feel is, if anybody come with anything, I'm going that's cool. I'll let you know how I feel about it. But I'm glad you did. So now let's keep it moving. Now what we're gonna do? Okay, So that was so, this is what they tried to do. Okay, Now just look at the let's look at the black contract, and let's see how we really can all come behind this and make it happen and come together. But we need we need a place to come together. We ain't even got no place to come together. We ain't got nobody to talk to, we ain't got nobody to to power with. Because he could if we if we had that kind of organization and that type of togetherness, then he could have you could have came to the to the table with a group of people that's over our kind or whatever. You know, just like when when Nick Cannon, when Nick Cannon did that ship, they had Nick Cannon talked to like the head of the Jewish community who they talked to for we ain't got man, We ain't got a We ain't got a negga to talk to. Not one had they had they had talk to Charlemagne. You know what. That's crazy, But that's what I'm saying, Like we got we gotta come together and we all gotta stand on something and have to have a place to go to, have a place to talk, have a place to power out, and we and we don't even have that. So if he got something and he like, man, let me just bring it up. Yeah, Honestly, I think I agree with just India. I just think that we have to have those conversations. I think we just have to have those conversations privately. Think a big problem like social media like Twitter, Instagram, white people have never had unfettered access to the thoughts of niggas and that is not necessarily always a good thing, you know what I mean, Like they know too much, Like when you see all these you know, all these damn you know people that got caught black fishing, like the chick from the chick that was at that school, and Rachel and yeah, all the yeah, all the all the all the white women that was pretending to be Justice, Rachel and Jessica whatever, the chick, the Jewish chick that was pretending to be black. Like I think, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, this bitches scamming like a motherfucker. But like, yeah, so I just think, like we're seeing they're able to like put on that costume so readily easily, because never before in the history of this fucking country have you been able to see like our language, like our inside jokes, like what they call a a v whatever, like all the just our cultural shorthand that we have. Nigga, they see that ship, right, they can pick it up and you know, learn it and apply it. But how but how can they when we don't know what we want? We gotta know what we want. As much as a cliche it is, you know, when I first heard this term on like news programs and news pund and saying we're not a monolith. We're not a monolith. I believe that now more than ever, because I didn't realized one how conservative a lot of us are. I didn't realize how there's like six to seven we got apartments. Yeah, the thoughts of black people that aren't as unified as I thought we were not at all. We're so not unified that that contracted ice cube put out. I I briefly ran through it. Y'all Black Lives, Black Lives Matter manifesto from five years ago. And if the nigga would have read that ship and God would I'm sorry, no shade, but nigga attitude that ship. Maybe we could get at least get together on that. But that's what I'm saying. We gotta know what we want. Black people don't come together as many shades as it is of us. It is, there's been many different kind offer So we we gotta come together. We gotta come together on what we wanted to be called. We gotta be We gotta tell together we don't we some niging something is cool with me and nigga something is cool with me, and we gotta come together what we're gonna be called we gotta come together on what we're gonna take the stand on. We can't just be taking the stand on with shipped for a hot man and and that's out. I remember everybody was like funck Starbucks. Three months later niggas was whipped cream the funk out around all that. Everybody was molt they up the ass, That's what there was. Mother fucking google chiatu Google chi next thing, you know, one the one show later, niggas was the funk up. We gotta know what we want, I'm telling you. Look, look, yeah, look we were so we're so fucked up in the head yo. As far as black people, that's why we don't have no long term black designers. You know why because black people. Because black people don't want to support ship. They think everything played the funk out. They don't want to come together and be like, this is the brand that we're gonna have and now we're gonna rock funk. How you think it's played out or not we need That's why we don't have long term black designers. We don't got no no motherfucking Perillous or my motherfucking Ralph Lauren because niggas feel like it's played out and didn't want to wear it instead of instead of motherfucking respecting ship representing ship like like we should, we don't come together on that ship. I think I think that ideology is changing. I'm supporting like all my gear, I'm rocking now and that's love. And always don't just wear it for the moment, not just for February. Always wear it because that's what white folks do. White folks when they when they when they funk with Michael Cores, motherfucker, they're gonna they're gonna wear that ship. They're gonna wear that black people. Black people be like, yeah, Cross Colors was cool. We out that ship sucked us ship because they didn't keep You're gonna go buy right now. They have to evolve too, I guess. I guess they have to evolve too. Yeah, you know what I give you that they got evolved too. But it's up for us to let them know that as well. Like Yo, but we gotta stick with these companies. We gotta some of them try to. I'm gonna try to evolve, but people just don't funk with them no more. People be like But I think I think a lot of that has to do with I mean, I think what you're there's some truth to what you're saying. I think that's kind of just the gift and the curse of black people is that we because we are the most creative, the most kind of forward thinking in terms of just the stuff we create. We're always thinking forward. And so if you even look at music, right, if you look at every every art form of music, like every class of music black people we have, they have the same pattern. We create it, will nurture it, we elevate it, and then we abandoned it. Yeah, gospel, blue's jazz, like I mean hip hop to some degree, you know what I mean. And so I think that's just kind of who we are. It's like we just make these things that we think are fantastic and the great, and then we're like, all right, I made that, Okay, onto the next ship. Meanwhile, white folks is looking at the ship that we didn't left behind, like, oh my god, nigga, like he left this behind. They realized how much they sell it back to us. I get it, Like how they they are selling that ship back to us. Let's give light to uh Lemelin, Let's give shots to uh I mean, is is fifty on or off? Like, are we still on Virgil? Virgil? Is he back in the house and not in the house Virgil was kicked out the house for a second cut. There's in Preston Victor Gleamond. I think, shout out, shout out to my man aid collective thoughts in Chicago. Also my man, uh dirty milk, my man Daniel Daniel, we got dirty milk and uh we Yeah, those are some great brands, right Dapper Day Yeah, definitely Gucci. All right, there's celebrities. She's She's coming up in the world and so there's But I think I think the gold is not just the way this stuff. But rock with them as long as you can and hold them accountable, to revolve and rock with them and let these people be the voice. Let let them speak for us, as long as other clothing designers come along, man, because right now it's just sad to me that we don't have no long term black clothing design. It to I felt bad a lot of no, no, no, no, you're not school, no no no. I'm thinking of all the ones that passed or that was another one. I was thinking, the calls all of that we don't but it's another Tracy Ross. Yeah yeah, no, like no, and if it is one, I don't know about it, and I should. I don't even think we make a good shoe ship nothing because because you know what you remember. You remember when Timberland. Timberland was like, we don't make our shoes for black folks, and everybody went crazy, like funk Timberland, I ain't wearing that ship. I was personally say, yeah, Nigga still like I told you before about the Starbucks, Nigga's be like your fun that ship. But then they go right back to it. But at the same token, when Timberland said that nas hid the same thing, and I mean Loki, I was like, I get it because I kind of get it because you don't want Nigga is coming through rocket your ship saying it's played out, and then the case because when they can say it's played out, it's plaid out, just as I'm on Dutch and true religion. Okay, so I'm not. I'm not. I'm not too hip to the shoe game as I am the fashion game. But definitely there's there's some designers to look out for. J. J. Gray. Uh. Ever, there's a brother Velis um, and these are like high end. Uh there's one l f LS like Father, like sun shoes, Uh, Tianna, Barnes, Stella Hughes, and these are like no, man, there's there's I'm telling you this. This could be the paradigm shift where you know, I'm definitely more uh you know, aware of businesses then I was not previously or using my dollar for that. So that's what everybody's doing for the holiday season. Two. If you notice, it's been a lot of promotion about around small businesses, black business like make sure you you know so he got a black business store. Everybody, I mean even Steve got a black business, um Christmas sweatshirt on what about my man, my man, my man Rich Fresh too fresh. We should actually you know which he do clothes for everybodybody? Man do it for like uh black designer. Cool dude. He do a lot of stuff for Laylor Waite. That stuff with the stripe with like the yellow and black stripe. That's that's yeah, that's Rich Fresh, Rich Fresh, black designer. He called to you do stuff, ain't way everybody man, So yeah, shout out to Rich definitely shut up. Wait a minute, this is weird. This is the the one episode where I had so many craft questions about your comedy that we didn't talk to anything about your your comedy set up? All right, so we before before we wrap. I do want to know how does one stay sharp when you don't have an audience? Two sort of work this one. So, like Dave Chappelle and a couple other comments, they've been doing shows, They've been going out and they've been doing shows. Yeah. Yeah, they've been doing that, and that's cool. You know you feel comfortable enough to do that, and that's love. Me personally, I'm not sharp. I have not performed since February, and that is like a no, no. I am terrified to get on stage. A lot of people don't know that. I'm terrified to even perform right now. I've been stocked, stockpiling material left and right. That's why I dropped working working it out because I knew I haven't performed, and I was like, I want to give a people something until you know I can get back out there. But me going on stage, when I get back on stage, it's going to be something that I must record because I'm going I'm going to be terrified and I'm going to be unsure, no confidence, I'm gonna be scared shitless, all of that, and so I am very nervous and I think about it at least three times a day about me getting back on stage, and uh, and I haven't because I know I'm not sharp, no more so pre pre March. What not? What was your regiment? Okay? I know about the obvious spots like going to uh not comedy seller, the comedy store, But where's where's like a secret merth spot where you work it out? Like is the Comedy act theater still the thing like where Robin Harris and all those guys used to work out. No, that's not a thing. No more Comedy Act used to be real though, shout out to Mike Williams on that. But me personally, I will perform at the improv called the Lab and the lab room only seats forty people. That's where I got the material from to put together for working it out. Okay, forty people in this room and work out there. That's it. That's that was my ideal spot to do that. Uh, do some open mics every now and then, pop in places, but that would be it for me personally because a lot of times when you perform in l A is so Hollywood, and they ain't up telling who in the audience. And when you get on stage, your mind is set to do one thing, but then it changes up because you're about gonna stay. Right before you go on, they go, oh, Ray Romano is gonna do five in front of you, and then you gotta wait, and then Ray go on and he'd kill it. So now what you had in mind to do, you can't do no more than then you go up and you do your old ship, Yeah, your greatest hits because you want to follow Ray Romano and it's all funked up. So I personally go to small rooms and try to just work it out like that. Oh, I don't even tell people I'm coming, so I can keep the fair fair, keep keep people's expectations for people coming to see me. I don't want them to see me until I work it out. Has it been easier or harder to write the funny in these this year? You know us odd it's comedy, right, yeah, yeah, But but when it comes to writing, you don't want to write with everybody else, right, that's me? And I think of a joke that's too that I'd be like, I know everybody's gonna do a joke about COVID and mask and this and that, and then I try to think about how can I say it this different? And then I go, well, I don't know, I think somebody's gonna think like that. And sometime I overthink myself. But I was talking to um. I was talking to uh Chris Rock one day, and Chris Rock was like, don't underestimate yourself on how quick you write a joke. It was like us Prince. It took Prince three months to write a song and then some day it's it took him an hour to come up with a hit. It was like, so if something comes to you that easy, don't dismiss it like it's just maybe it just came to you easy that way, right, And so I'm learning to do that because I've thrown away so much material good Karen jokes that you were, like everyone's telling the Karen jokes when when nobody thought of it the way that I did, but I thought, but I thought that they did. And so I keep forgetting that I'm different, and people do that. People think like, you keep forgetting that you're something else. This is something Yeah, you're the difference. It's not the joke, that's not you to say it's so busy, you're so busy trying to write the joke, you leave you out of it. And by you leaving you out of it, you dismissed the joke because it kills the joke. Yeah, so that's what I've been learning, and I've been learning to just go to trust myself and uh stockpile as much as possible, and then when it's time for me to finally get on stage and go rock, go rock, and just go do it. But I can't wait till that day man, where I can get on stage and I can just stretch out and just I know wherever I'm going. I'm going somewhere where I could do two hours straight no interruption. You do you stockpile by like post it or just your phone, my phone, I voice records or just jot it down or whatever, And uh yeah, I just stockpilings, put it all together and put all together and there's no order, there's no nothing. I just got it all written down. So yeah, I can't wait to get up to finally go do it, though, But as of right now, somebody called me recently was like Yo, we're doing the show. It's gonna be a virtual thing. It's gonna be forty people. I was like, nope, really, somebody offered me some big money and I said, nope, really, you didn't want to take the risk on confidence. It's not I haven't tried it. I have to go try it, Okay, I have this might put you on the spot. But I always wanted to know um only because uh Gerard produced this the special and I never got to ask or Gage a comedian what they thought of Drew Michael's audience lists comedy show. Yeah, we have Michelle wolf on. She hated it. She hated it. She was like, Michelle wolf Yeah. I asked Michelle about that. It was Drew was Michael. Drew Michael did an HBO special where he did a comedy show with no audience and you know, you're right, Michelle. And I asked Dave about it as well, and you know, he said, yeah. First thing I said to him was like, I hated it. But it was almost like it was almost like watching somebody that grew up on like East Coast Ilmatic and you know, like trial called quests. It's like asking them what they think of the new like Me Goes or Little Baby album, you know where you know it's it was definitely weird to watch, like to watch somebody do comedy with no audience whatsoever. But clearly that should predicted itself. Yeah, but clearly I think, you know, the sign of true art is when something that you're not supposed to do becomes the norm. Yeah. So, but I mean, would you consider I've never I've went on line and done jokes with no audience, just two camera they're like fifteen minutes. I've done that before, but just trying out new material stuff. But to go up and to film a special with no audience, to me personally, I get it. You want to you want to flip the script, do something different, see if it sticks whatever, I get. I commend him on that. I haven't seen it. I didn't even know what it was. I haven't seen it, but I commend him for trying something. But me personally mad, that's like, that's like, that's like masturbation. It's like it was like he MASTURBATEBD. You know, like you need you need, you need an audience. Yeah. I think because I think specifically for stand up, a woman need a man, a man need a woman in order to make this thing happen. To do that, but for stand up, if you out there by yourself from the audience. Me personally, I thrive off of that. I thrive off of hearing audience. That's why I'd rather a person boom rather than don't say nothing at all, because that quietness kills me. I can't. I can't take the quiet like that. I remember, I remember, I gotta have some noise or something. Well, I could play off of that or something I can play off of it, something I mean, I don't want to be booed at all, Yes, because the thing is with silence. But silence I think for like for a comedian like I would compare as an MC is like silence is like a three mike rating in the source, right, it's like three mis. It's kind of in I And like I'd rather either if niggas ain't just laughing you know, out they see some which would be like a five mic, or if they booing you, which is a one mic like you kind of I enjoyed being on those ends because at least that no you would listen, You're listened, a real reaction, just that middle of the room ship I'll tell you this though too. Steve Harvey taught me this as well. Though it all depends on how you play site silence can work good too, Like if you can make a whole room, if you can make a whole room silent, that's just as good as a laugh too, because they engaged. So it's all it all depends on how you play with that silence. And and I just thought about that too, Like if I can go into a room full of people and I can go you know what, I do that on purpose to lie, just to act like I'm thinking, but I'm actually listening to see how quiet it is, to see if I got everybody and they're not go into a joke or whatever. It's a control thing time of life like that, like a timing. But like I do that a lot, just to kind of test the room or whatever, just to see who's engage and who not. But but when it comes to like doing the joke and the joke don't work, you can give me silence at first, But if I do three jokes in the row and they're not working, and you silent, like I'm gonna need somebody to go bringing nigger something somebody else. My money back, some money something, tell me something. That's that's pressure though, like right now, right now, and the tonight show, we're allowed by the state to have ten people in the audience. Yeah, so it's like, Uh, the thing is I liked I liked doing the show when it was just us with ourselves. Yeah, it felt like a public access show. It's like Wayne's World, and and jokes didn't work, then we just laugh at each other and it was actually funnier than if the joke work. But it's a different thing when you have ten people in the audience because it's like we're kind of using the old model of what the show used to be, but only for ten people. And like if something doesn't work and it's a slow laugh, then it's like it's just harder to navigate. Employees, Like do we like we it's half employees. Well, I mean because thirty Rock is such a big building that you know, there's other shows so like like today, Uh, Lawrence Gallia who does traffic in the morning NBC, like she was part of the audience. So like people will come in on their lunch break from like MSNBC, CNBC, like those those they're not worried about losing their jobs. You need people's staff they get up acting. I see what you mean. Yeah, I have a question, Steve God Yeah, Steve, you should hand good stories. We talked about the holidays. Sorry, So, with regards to this, like stockpile of jokes that you've been writing humably since February March and I haven't been able to Are you worried about any of it, like being dated by the time you get to tell it on stage, or like you know, or or you specifically like trying to write stuff that will still make sense, you know, whenever you get to go back on stage. Oh well, that's that's that's that's the beauty of how long it takes me to write. I don't you know, I can't just write some ship like that, Like I was just telling you, like, if I think a joke too simple, I ain't working with it, like I just I just if I feel like I think people thinking like that that they're gonna come up with something like that, I'm just I'm just not gonna sunk with it. So what I write is evergreen, and I make sure I try to make sure everything I write is evergreen. My should be simple. My should be like my should be my my ship is like I was talking to Jamie Fox one time and Jamie told me he was gonna do a special, but after seeing my special, he was like, I threw my sp it away. It was like because I don't he said, I don't want to be Jamie Fox, the celebrity. He said, I want to be the motherfucker that's relatable. And he was like, and that's what Cole Hard it was to me, it was relatable and I was like, I was like, yeah, like my ship, I was talking about, man, you ever God glory for a parking space like like you know what I mean? Like my ship is like simplistic, like where everybody can get. It was no celebrity ship. What none of it was like parking space do you ever? Uh? Motherfucker don't want to pay the bill? Like it was like like very simple ship that that everybody can relate to. And that was the lane that I knew didn't didn't really didn't exist. So that's how I write, and I write like that to this day. Simplicity is key with me. You know. So as far as writing all this COVID ship and Black Lives Matter ship, do I have that I got. I do have some of that. But my job and what I'm going to do is when I do hit the stage, I'm gonna spend every bit of fucking seven minutes on that ship and I'm off of it. And it's the same way look at it. I look at the same way with being an m C. It's like, if you're writing rhymes, Yeah, you could go on Twitter and look at the trending topics or whatever and just make that ship rhyme and it'll be hot today, you know what I'm saying. But after that, like, yeah, you have to write stuff this evergreen. Yeah, you don't want to do that. So the stuff that I write, man, and that's why I take me so so long or right. It's like the stuff that I'm doing is like like, um, I got a new bit that I'm working on now about women's knees and ship you know just how they how I'm quite should they miss them? But I ain't gonna go no first he's okay, like like E D s oh no, older women needs just but but yeah, like I said, topics like that are evergreen. A woman's knee is gonna go out all the time, and it's gonna be something that you can always use at all time. I talk about classic bags when when they throw them motherfucker's away? How how big you got a closet full of them upfuckers when you're gonna throw them away? Or how do you use them? So it's so never right, So no, all right. Where it's evergreen, you know it and it'll be around for a while. So yeah, I'm not worried about I'm not worried about that at all. You know, I didn't think you're worried. I want no no, no, no, no, no, no, not at all. Like kid, I'm just saying, yeah, I don't. Anytime I think of something that's funny, that's like in the moment, I probably try to make a video for the text it tweeted out whatever and put it out like that. But as far as materials concerned, I got a few of them jokes that I'm going to do definitely, But after seven minutes of that, I'm I'm off for how do you like? Even with my special, we've been where my comedy special, I ain't talking about no politics. I ain't talked about none of that ship. I ain't talked about none. None of my ship is like on the whole everything is just really simple, simple and basics. I ain't say one thing about no organizations, no politics. So how do you are you, um, how leary are you in going to these spots, especially in Hollywood, where I'm almost certain that it's easy for someone like is biting still? Is that a thing that comedians have to worry? That's just that's just so, that's just so terrible. In the game, man, they bite that people are like intentionally biting and joking. Like, yeah, absolutely, And let me say this too, because I don't wanted to be missical screwed or whatever. Those that do do current events stuff like that, man, and the ones that do it great, man, love to them, and they do it amazing. I'm not saying that that is the wrong way to do it at all. I'm just saying the way that I write, like I can't. I can't write like that, but I don't. Yeah, because it's great. Like ship they Chappelle, They Chappelle should be like topic is hell and that motherfuckerl be Co crushing that ship the way that he put it out there, you know, But it's for the moment, it's for the time, and and but you can listen to it forever. That's that's the genius. That's the genius about there. You can listen to that ship forever and remember that moment in time. So I'm never knocking that on people who do that. You know, it's comics that do a lot of ship that I can't do. Corey Holkum is one of the most ignorant, ignorant motherfucker's you ever go see do it. But hell, but we were more ignorant than Jamar Neighbors or I don't know about them, but Coy wild boy, who's this? Corey Holm is the most clever, funny motherfucker you. I can't do what Corey do. Well, cle Corey had a joke. He had it on his special. He opened up. It wasn't even a joke. It was just he just opened up and his first thing out of his mouth shout out all the fat bitches riding dick with t shirts off. It's just like what I was like, Yo, glory be ignorantly dope, clever, fucking funny ship, y'all. I can't do that, but man, but he could do that ship where with his eyes clothes, And that's why he wanted the fucking goats in this game. Man. Shout out to Corey too Special now called COVID. I got one day what Yeah, my boy, we saw hold him at UH at Charlie Goodnight's this club down out here probably last year last Corey started together in Chicago. Shout out to yeah, is there a way? Not for nothing? Since we're talked about this and it is COVID, It's interesting that everybody at DION stats like how are the comedians doing as used to? Like touring? And like how do you support your favorite comedian in these times? Like and it's hard, man, it's hard on everybody. Man, it's it's it's hard. I don't I don't understand really how it's working for a lot of people. Man um. You know I think about that a lot too. I'll be thinking, like man, I hope because it ain't no music matters for comedians. It ain't no like what is an R and B foundation? Like nothing? You know what I'm saying. States that are open though, like Florida's open for business, Atlanta is open. Yeah, in a club with people laughing in your face, risk your life? But but but what do you to do though? Too? You know you gotta make a living. You gotta make money. It's like, you know, you gotta do what you gotta do. Whatever. Now, I don't knock nobody doing what they gotta do in order to get it, but it is hard out here. It's hard, man, because I'm quite sure if they had other options they were using, you know, so, you know, shout out to all the comments. Is still grinding and stay safe, man, stay safe. Do you miss late night life at all? Or was that just a nice experience you had? You was talking about late late nights as far as writing for television, writing for you know what, his moments when I'm missing in his moments that I don't me being the only black writer for Conan and probably the fourth black writer in the history a late night That ship was like that was the part that I really I wasn't. I wasn't feeling that ship at all, you know. But my story was so crazy because those that kind of shipped on me, they ended up having to write for me. So I flipped, and I flipped the game on him, Like I went from trying to write like them to them writing for me for Coning And so that's what I saying for for like Conan and ship like, uh, they had to write bits for me and ship, you know, and they had to write it in my voice, which is the same voice that I was trying to write, and the get go that they was shipping on me about when I was trying to give it to Conan. So I don't miss that kind of ship, you know. But I do miss I do miss the excitement of having a great show and certain guests come through. You'd be excited to see him and hang out and ship like that. Ship was cool too, you know. But Late Night was rigorous, man, as far as coming up with material. Every night, new material, and then it was almost like a competition with other writers. You had to see if your ship get on TV and come up with a bit. I was repetitious enough for him to use it every every week, every month or whatever. Yeah, that that was. That was grueling, but it made me. It helped me to this day to be like just sharp like that in order to like come up with something quickly because we had to do that for like, I wrote for Conin for eight years. So yeah, and it definitely sharp him out my sword. I wanted to ask you too, man, you you produced the one Woman show for my girl NEFORI Yeah, yeah, yeah, man enough man, we work on a Sherman showcase together and we worked with Yellow and all that and um yeah, man, So I was curious, know, like, is that something you look to do more of, maybe like producing more um well artists. Well, um, I am switching gears. And I would definitely come back on him and talk to y'all. And I hate I hate niggas that be Like, I can tell you what it is. Wuck up your bag? Do it's real? Big? Yeah? Yeah, I'm doing man. I just dove into something. I just produced this film, executive produced this family and my partner Kelly Kelly Cally, who's a fantastic director, director and writer. We collapsed on a couple of scripts that we're doing man, and uh it's been amazing journey. Uh we got a lot of good stuff coming out. And uh, man, that's all I can say about that. That's all you need to say. I ran. I ran into Marlon Wayne's and The club Man, and he changed my whole thought process as far as like writing content because people too, is he complaining about what they're not getting? But you're not writing nothing for yourself you're not even write nothing for for for who you are, Like, you gotta at least write something and show people what you what you what you bout. I don't care if it's a TV show, talk show, movie, whatever it is. If you can't just sit back going, I hope they give me something. You gotta show them what they gotta give you. So therefore, if you write that down and you give it to him, then YO, it's gonna be all love. I'm in New York. I'm at this club right and I'm doing a movie for Netflix, this Christmas movie. And I'm out there in the club Marlon Wayne's walking crew, they all sitting up in this section. I see Marlin. I go over there. I'm like Marlin, we're hugging it out and I'll just ship malling like, Yo, what you're doing it? N y I'm like, man doing this movie. And he was like, oh Man, congratulations Man your movie. And I said, no, no, I'm doing this movie for Netflix. And he was like, okay, you produced it. I was like, na, no, I'm just I'm just you know, I'm just starting it. He was like, oh you started, he said, it's all you're starting. And he was like but you showed it to him, right, And I'm like, no, they no, I'm just like just like after the movie, he was like this, Oh okay, he said, but it ain't yours. I'm like, I'm like, na. He was like wow. He was like so he said, he said, so you're just gonna keep doing movies for everybody. You're gonna keep being funny for everybody and and not and not for you. And so I was like, I mean, ship man, I mean, I hear what you're saying. But he was like, no, I don't think you do. He was like, dude, you want of the funniest motherfucker's in the game. And he was like, you still making other people funny? He was like. He was like, dude, if you don't write, you a movie or show or something for yourself. Man. And he was like, they don't know. You said. They can say whatever they want to say about me. He was like, they can say my movies is horrible. They're great. He was like, as long as they my movie, I rolled up, I produced them all that. He was like, they mind, And he was like, my budget steadily going up constantly, and I just froze. And he was like, but yo, man, next time I see you. Man. He was like, man, I hope you I hope you write you something. And I said, man, thank you very much. Left left his section, went back over to the to the to the chicks and and and my boy, and was like, I'll talk to your letter. Popped in the cab, went to my hotel room and just laid there and stared at the wall. Yo. It was just like embarrassed. I was embarrassed. I just I didn't even want to be out no more. I was embarrassed because motivated what from that day I've been writing and so somebody, you know, you just did that right in this moment for me, But I don't matter. But I'm just I'm telling you, like like when Marlon hit me with that Marlon he couldn't he couldn't even fathom. He just kept going, it's yours, right. I'm like, nah, so you wrote it, NA, okay, so you produced. I'm like, no, motherfucker no. He's like like, what do you mean, Like what do you and you don't and when and when I left Marlon. From that day on, I've been right and right write the scripts and like right now we just finished one of the movies that we wrote, we wrote, we wrote another one. We got another one on the way that we right, and we just shot one of the movies. We just finished it. Uh. That's why I was looking at your page too, and I want to congratulate you on your film opening up Sundance. Boy Ya. That's how you go thanks what you're doing. Yeah, that's how. That's how you gotta do that, dude, I'm telling you. Like, when I seen your page, I was like, I'm right man, I'm right behind you. Quest like you gotta do it, and you got to do it from your point of view and how you want to do that? Ship done? You know what I mean? Yo, Man, this is the greatest subconscious masterclass that I've ever been apart just I was gonna say, like with the way that Kenya is popping off all these issues, like surely there's has the conversation ever happened with you having your own vehicle for a show, So no, no, no, I'm just saying that I feel like you're the next unifourth issue that so so so. Lawrence and Jennifer they have their spin off, Grownish that they shoot right now. Grownish they had me We agreed that I will go to Grownish and we kicked the show off and like work with them until the show kicked off and then you know, we go from there. So I was great. I was you know, it was great for me to work on that show for like three years. But then when they hit the fourth year, the kids will graduate, so they're not gonna be in the school. Me being a dean at the school Wasn't that makes sense too much? Some more like that. So then I was like, you know what, you know, we we I'm an exit or whatever and we're still cool or whatever. But as far as my own show with Kenya producing, it never never, never was brought up. Damn. I feel like that's the as a layup. Yeah, yeah, it was never as never brought up it was. It was just always like I said, he sent me over the Growners to kick Growning shop and then when Growner started flourishing with the kids was getting down on their own, then I departed from there. And then um, yeah, I just a you're gonna be your own Kenya. But interesting because you popped off grown It's like there was a reason that Charlie needed to be on campus. Yeah, that was the reason why I had to be there, you know, so so so it was all good. But then once once the chemistry and the kids and they got to think, yeah, it was you know, it was time for me step off. But it was great. It was a great opportunity and all of that. And as far as like yeah, but as far as like him coming to me going, yo, you're a spin off show, we never had that conversation. Well, I'm putting out there that he needs his own malone don't want to come back here. Yeah, but thank you, Dione, Thank you so much, Thank you man. This is this is his education, educational question episode. He's family, yes, and remember and not for nothing. I'm trying to remember. But it was not the one that helped us book Dion on the first episode in l A. She might have been I think she might have been got out to nothing, nothing monster to people don't know about nothing. No, thank you for doing the show. Uh who oh, by the way, uh, this will be on for the holidays. Correct, Yes, it's just okay, it's the most holiday holiday show. Yeah. Speaking of holidays, let me remind people that, uh, I'm actually involved with three movies with the title Soul in it and one opens on Christmas. Disney plus Soul. I am a Pixar characters, a real Pixar character, Jamie Fox and Tina Fee and David Diggs and Angela Bassett and Felicia's shod It's it's amazing. I hope you guys enjoyed on this show. I'm sorry, head, I'm sorry. Um yeah. And and also shout out to bell Vini for for our spirits drink. I drank half of you tonight and I know Steve did. Thank you. PSH. Big up to Dion who does not who does drink responsibly and does not drink. I just want to pick you up. That's funny because it has some little spirits and no, but you know, let's have a prosperous uh and uh you know, and and put we're gonna will Dion's Empire universe. Yeah, exactly, all right, Thank y'all, many shall Hey, this is Sugar Steve. Make sure you keep up with us on Instagram at q l S. Let us know what you think. Who should be next to sit down with us? Don't forget to subscribe to our podcast. What's Love Supreme is the production of I Hearn Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.