Transcribe your podcast
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Welcome, welcome, welcome to armchair expert. Oh, my, I'm DAX Shepard.

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I'm joined by Monica Myles. Hello. Today we have Common who I absolutely adore. Way more after talking to.

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Oh, my God. What a delight he was. Yeah.

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Every now and then I get one of these really strong connections with a guest. And I really felt like he and I are soul mates. Soul mates.

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Yeah, I want to hang with them. Colin is a rapper. He's an actor. He's a writer.

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He was in John Wick, Chapter two, Smokin Aces, where I fell in love with him. Hell on Wheels. And he has a new album called A Beautiful Revolution, Part one, as well as a new podcast called Mind Power Mixtape available on Audible. So please enjoy a very uncommon common. I just sold Wabi Wab's joke and you'll hear about it in the interview. He's in our chat.

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How are you doing? I'm so good, how are you doing? Great, great. You're in L.A., right? Yeah, I'm in L.A.. You guys in L.A.? Yeah. I want to come to your backyard and do this. I want to see your mug while we do it.

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And no, man, we could have shoot. I could take him to wherever you go. Oh man, man, man.

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I'm covid tested and that man is good. Yeah. We're pretty on it. Although we posted a picture of ourselves with another friend that's on it and boy did we get some heat. You know, you just can't escape the heat and the heat.

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Hey, you like them and people analyze and freakin critique everything man.

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Oh I'm like how could you assume what's happening with us medically. Like everyone's on a show getting tested four times a week. We'd only see each other.

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But, you know, but there's fear like today there was a thing that came out that said one in five people in L.A. have it.

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So I think people are just scared. I get that.

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Yeah. But I mean, I understand that those reports come out. But I mean, ultimately, it's like if you see a picture with me and some people, how do you know what we've done? You can't you can't judge the picture before. Before that.

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I'm sympathetic to fear, but I don't excuse the shaming like people whose first motivation is like I'm going to shame this person knowing nothing about it, knowing nothing about it.

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And I mean, you know, I'm empathetic for the fear, too, but ultimately, I'm not subscribing to it. That's not my thing. You know, I'm not going to walk around here like I'm going to be aware and be responsible and be accountable and be, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I got to say, man, the name of the podcast is so freakin dope, man. I love this shit. Where did you get that name from?

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When I was in anthropology in college, it was a term they used a lot for like early anthropologists. They didn't do any research. They just sat around and thought of ideas like, oh, I guess I know how a giraffe's got longer. They stretched towards the tree, you know, like, figured it out. But of course, that's how it happens. But that's me. I'm not going to do any trials. I'm not going to get in the laboratory, but I'm going to have a fucking opinion on this.

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Yeah, I love Great Saito's man. It's like Inspiron. I like book titles and movie titles and record titles.

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You know, as someone who's written movies, I cannot title them in any way that I'm proud of.

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And I always look at Tarantino's titles and I'm like, well, there we go again. One more amazing fucking title. He can't not have a brilliant title where he's just brilliant.

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That's one of my favorite directors writers. Yeah. Yeah.

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Well, let's see, because you and I are about the same age. So I was eighteen when Pulp Fiction came out and I think that's the first time that I was like, oh, that's an art form that I want to be a part of. Like that kind of made me interested in movies more than just a consumer. What was your reaction to that movie?

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That's one of my favorite movies of all time, is the movie that when people always ask you, what's your favorite movies? I don't forget Pulp Fiction and I've watched it over and over. I was amazed at the writing. My friends is reminded me of how I used to have a bunch of blockbuster videos and I would have Pulp Fiction all the time. You know, I know Quentin Tarantino is like a movie, a film aficionados, so I didn't know like what he might have been inspired by, whatever.

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It just felt like this new creation to me. I love that. And for me, even if he was inspired by other films and he came up with his own voice into it and came up with his own thing, and that eventually, to me is what you how you bring it to new generations. Because, you know, when you hear like, oh, Tarantino studied some of these Italian films and he's like, oh, let me check out that stuff, too.

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But the proprietary thing about Tarantino is like, great. I don't really care if it was shot for shot some Italian movie, the fucking dialogue. And I'm going to make a parallel between hip hop. So I think when hip hop came out and people were like, hold on, there's a product that's available to the masses that's talking like we talk in telling our stories. And I think for me, Pulp, I was like, oh, my God, I live in Detroit.

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This is the conversations I hear all the time. I didn't think that would ever make its way to a movie screen. Yeah, I agree.

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The writing, the dialogue. Not only what you like, man, I relate to it, but you also is like is beautiful. Like it was something like. Yeah, poetic. It was poetic. It's a poetry in his writing that I'm always inspired by and like love. I just love it. I want to hear it. I think in fact that's some of the greatest things about hip hop to to me is when you can say something that's relatable, but then you also can be poetic with it.

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Yeah. I got to ask you, when you sit down and write, is your process like I've just seen something or read something that is sparking me to write? Or do you say, OK, let me take this time today to write and I'm. It's going to go at it. How does that process go? I generally have sat down with an idea. Funny side story is I've gotten on most of my good ideas by guessing wrong while watching trailers.

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Right. I'm in the movie theater. The trailer starts. I'm like, oh, this is a story about blank, blank, blank. And I'm excited. And then it's not that at all. And then I go like, oh, I like the thing I thought it was going to be. So I've had a few of those where I just was wrong about what I thought this thing was going to be. And then I was like, oh, but that would make something good.

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Generally, I always have just the beginning. In the end, I think of like, where would a great story start and end? And then I just suffer like a motherfucker through the second act trying to figure out how there. Yeah. How about you when you write what's your process?

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I you know, I've been having some days lately where I just take time out the day to write and say I'm going to write. And I mean, I guess that's been a process for a while. But I think while I was doing a lot of different things, it was always writing on the move. I actually like writing in the car, like I like putting on music. And that's not even a car anymore. Now it's like just being somewhere by myself.

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But I usually go get in the car because it's like I'm not on the phone and not distracted. And of course, being in California, I'm like riding up the PCH, looking at the ocean like, oh, this is Godlee. Yeah. And I just started, you know, coming up with thoughts. And the other day I wrote for three hours and didn't write really any lines that I like, but it still was fun in the process.

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And now I'm at this point in my life writing, I feel like, man, I just want to just be free and like be pure and be prolific, you know? So I just try to let the truth come through and then I go back and edit.

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As you're getting older, I'm getting older. Do you find that like for me, I've had the thought of like, oh, when I was young and nothing was about process. I just wanted the fuckin results. I wanted the outcome. I wanted that outcome to give me some other opportunity and then I'd want that outcome in like process. Forget it. I didn't even care. But I've aspired for the last like ten years. Like, you've got to enjoy process because that's the actual thing, the results, not the thing.

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The product's not the thing. Your life memory is the process. Right.

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And as you were just saying, that that was just giving me chills, man. I it made me emotional because the more I just surrendered to the process and live in the process and be a part of the process, the more I enjoy my life, I'm like, yeah, wow. Oh yeah. Like, it's kind of just sitting down and going through it and rewriting and taking those three hours and maybe not coming up with anything, but not just beating myself down because I didn't write.

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That is part of the joy and the learning. And you also understand that there is going to be tomorrow and you will be able to do something else. So you did get something out of just that, right? So, yes, I adore the process and appreciate the process and value it more than I ever have. And I do believe that comes with age. Yeah. Yeah. It took me time to understand that. But I do remember having moments in my mid thirties, early thirties when I was just like, wow, I'm sitting here in this moment.

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Like it could be somewhere like sitting there listening to music and creating with somebody. Or it could be a moment where, you know, you're like, oh, this is Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama.

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And I'm I'm listening to poetry in the White House. Now, this is like I started to take in those moments and value them, I think is the combination of, you know, reading books that deal with, like, you know, self-awareness and self-help books. Yeah. And also just being in situations where I was like really kind of thanking God for where I was and like being able to be in that gratitude, being able to be there.

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You weren't sitting in the White House going, why aren't I the president? Because that's what human nature is like. OK, I've met him. He's charming. Why the fuck aren't I the president?

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It's still the same President Obama. I was like this do was born to do it. It was no other person. It should have been our first black president. Yeah. You know, sometimes you just got to be like, man, I'm happy to be in the presence of. That's what I was like. Yeah.

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You know, that thing I get off on with him and seen him around other big dogs like other hyper alpha successful dudes like his thing on the barbershop, whatever LeBron shows called HBO.

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And I was like, oh, you got LeBron here. You got some other, you know, hyper successful. And he's the most relaxed motherfucker there. And I'm like, oh, my God, that takes such conviction around those dudes to be like, yeah, I'm the one with patience. You guys go ahead, entertain me. I'll hit you with a counter hit.

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He got it made of. I looked at me and he lived it, he was born to do it, he wears it well, he wears away. I mean, I think I know he's a Leo, so as much as he loves attention and he's confident, I still think it's the humility to him and a compassion that we all adore it. And we all looked at four in leadership. So, you know, that's why I like I was talking with the artist killer Mike.

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Oh. From the group Run the Jewels and I'm a bag of dicks. Put me to your lips.

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Yes, I. But we were going back and forth because we were sitting at a panel with Raphael Warnock and John All-staff running for Senate and now elected to the Senate. Yes. But anyway, we were sitting on the panel and we were talking about electing officials and what that process is and how do you determine it. And one of the things I was like Kerensa, one of the first things that got me about Barack Obama was character. And then he was like, man, you don't vote for a freaking character.

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And I was like, well, you don't vote only for character, but a person's character is going to show you what type of human being they will be in power. Now, obviously, many of us, let's face it, a lot of us, you know, experience power and we have to learn how to deal with it. But I mean, you've had to say, I know who you are as a person is just going to be exemplified when you get the platform into stardom or whatever it may be, whether it's a politician, an actor or athlete, you know, who you are as a person that's going to come out in certain ways.

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Yeah, the value of character, in my opinion, is all these people enter any office with a really good game plan. Right. But then I go straight to the Mike Tyson quote, Everyone's got a great game plan for the fight till they get punched in the face. Then the game plans out the fucking window. So and that's where a character takes over because all these people are going to get in situations that are outside of their plan. And then they're going to have to rely on some compass.

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And you want that person to have a compass you agree with?

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I think, yeah, that compass is one of the greatest things I look for in leadership like this. I just want leaders to have a compass. I'm not going to agree with everything that they are. That's just not realistic. I don't agree with everything my mother said. I don't even agree with everything you said. I'm sure that everything, you know, today here real time and then tomorrow I'll add on. I don't think I like that point, do I?

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Like Yo Monica, I'll be like, yo. I look at pictures of me for like three days ago. Three weeks ago. What was I wear? What was I thinking?

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I'm having one of those days. I'm glad you brought that up. I'm in like dainty suspenders and stuff and I'm like, I don't know if is the right look for him, but we're going to try it. Never going to. I love your place is dope and it looks great. Oh, thank you.

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There's our little attic. It's above a garage. And we've made a few hundred episodes here and we fucking love it. I want to try to hit you with an overall theory I developed about you while researching you. But before I do that, because I do not want to forget. You want to know this. I can't imagine. But us four have all been together. That's right.

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We had just done a live show I think in Chicago that would make the most sense. Yeah. And we are flying back to L.A. and you were on the plane. You were like in the front row and we were like in three and four in Rob, who's a quiet dude and doesn't make many jokes. You got up to leave and some woman wanted her bag and you offered to get her bag down for her. Very nice. Very nice. And as you were getting the bag down for the stranger, Rob said very uncommon.

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And I was knocked on my ass by that. I was like, you talks about that once a week. I think that's the best joke ever.

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Yeah.

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There he should be competing with Dave Chappelle. That's right. That's right.

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He needs the springboard. He's ready. Yeah, that's it is. Yeah. I remember we were on the plane and I definitely we nodded at each other. Yeah. We not. And I said, what's up? We talked maybe briefly because I remember you said you had to show something. I just I remember that. Oh wow. I assumed you didn't remember. And I remembered because my self-esteem is low that I remember we were coming from Chicago.

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Yeah. Yeah, I remember that. Yeah. I probably brought up my friend Andrew Panay, who I think you've worked with on some ad stuff.

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I think that's what it was. You talking you brought up Andrew. Yeah. I love you. I love me too. What an original, huh. Do I love people that they just themselves. They could be themselves no matter where they go. Andrew is that man. Andrew is that.

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Oh, my God. I met him. He was producing a movie I was in. That's how we met. I said, look at this gorgeous little gay gentleman. He was wearing like true religion jeans with sparkles on him and a half shirt and all this.

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And then he introduced me to his girlfriend. I'm like, oh, this guy's great. He's got a whole. Vibe going, but I'm wrong and I loved it. Mixed messages, man, does he know his talk about a compass? No, that's what I'm talking about. I love him for that man. I guess that's one of the traits that I always want most of myself is to like be able to be myself and not be afraid of like, OK, my homies go think this of me.

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Or the public is going to say, man, it was not on point with that, you know, and Panay Andrew is one of those guys is like me. I don't give a fuck. This is who I am.

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OK, good. This fits into this theme I want to explore with you and I'll probably be wrong. Generally, these big, big theories that people when I researched are 40 percent accurate.

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But that's why you're an armchair. That's why I'm an armchair expert. But this is what I think I see in you. And it's something I admire in you. And I'm going to make some really broad general statements to set it up. And that is I'm from Detroit. You're from Chicago. I didn't have a dad. Your mom and dad got divorced, right? He goes to Denver. I'm assuming what your neighborhood is like. That's where I could get in trouble.

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But in my neighborhood, lower class, not a lot of dads around. So, like, masculinity was everything. So I'm a hillbilly. So could you Wheely, could you jump over fire? Could you fight dudes? Could you know, all these little measures of masculinity, I assume, because there is no dads in the household, like, good job, you're a man. I'm assuming your environment had to be semi's. Similar.

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I love that comparison. South side of Chicago. My mother is a smart woman, a teacher, but I'm still katsas like, hey, I like that shirt right there. I like the hat. That's the signal that they might want you to take your hat. Right. And then again, I also was going to a private school. My mother was a time educator. She's making me do book reports, do all type of stuff. So I was very academic and also like learning and was into that.

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But I also was in the neighborhood around different things. And and the masculinity was something that, you know, it's funny. I'm glad you brought that up, because I was just having a conversation with some musician friends of mine. Like we didn't have a man sit down and say, this is the way you be a man in a relationship and give us even some type of instructions and even how to handle yourself and what that means and what you know that can be.

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You're learning it from your peers, right? I'm learning it from other dipshits that don't know what they're doing. My dad didn't sit me down and tell me how you treat a woman or.

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Yeah, exactly. OK, or just respect for self and respect for women. I was learning from guys who were my age a little bit older. We were listening to music and that influenced us. You know, for all the positives that hip hop brought it, we also like had those songs was like, you know, a lot of stuff was just like, man, I don't care about women. I don't get as many women as I want.

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No ghetto boys. Yeah, exactly. You know, NWA, like, you know, all that stuff. So. Yes. And, you know, that's the thing that's so dope about what you brought up was like that. Right. That makes me realize the for lack of a better word, the commonality that we have as people, but we just don't know it all. So you grew up in Detroit, white cat grew up, you know, in the hillbilly area.

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I grew up on the south side of Chicago, black cat. But we got more similarities than we do differences.

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I mean, even when you're talking about your mom. So my mom was single mom, hardest working lady alive, started as a janitor at night shift, built a company. I was her golden child. I was supposed to go be a doctor. I spent a lot of my time being what she wanted me to be and then I'm out doing insane shit.

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I had such a dual personality, you know, I would be doing shit thinking, oh, my God, if my mom saw what's happening right now, she would just be heartbroken.

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When did it click for you? Like, no matter what my mom is thinking, no matter what whoever expects of me, I'm going to do this.

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Well, I got away from her so that I could feel the freedom to be the dirtbag I thought I should be.

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Now, this is what I want to applaud in you, is that I think when I listen to your early music, you picked a lane, which I think it has to be stressful to pick a lane in hip hop, especially in ninety six or ninety five, because as you just said, the stuff that's working that's monetized is this hypermasculine music.

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And you at twenty seven, you know, you put out some music that's soulful and melodic and respectful and deep. I was listening to some of that early stuff today, like the light.

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I just love the light and I think wow at twenty eight man, I was still like, I'm going to join the Hells Angels. I like I still had this chip on my shoulder. I got to prove what a fucking badass I am. I applaud and I'm enamored by the lane you picked. And I just wondered if that was challenging or it was tempting to go another route because it would be more successful, you know, as much as my.

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Friends, as much as they joked about me for doing different things, they also still unconditionally love me, right? And it was some about that unconditional love that allowed me to, as an artist and as a person, be willing to put myself out there. I like individualism. Even when me and my friends, when I start to call someone like I would try to get the different of the real abstract, different looking started, you know, the pink camo.

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So it was then finding and individualism that I actually started feeling. But when I first started rhyming and it gave me a chance to express myself in ways that I didn't know, I would express myself and say things that I didn't even know that I was thinking, because it's just art. So you just expressing the purity of it and it allowed the truth to come out. And then that truth. I was writing love songs. I was writing these things, and because I had already had a certain individuality, I was OK to embrace it.

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And I felt like, man, this is what I want to put out there in the world. My inspirations were Bob Marley and Stevie Wonder and yeah, Charis One and you know, and Nina Simone and John Coltrane. I'm OK with being different in that way. Don't get me wrong, I went through phases where I was really just indifferent and it really lightened my innocence in doing things. And I still like my instance in Palestine. So when my friends were like, what the hell are you doing a joke on me every day?

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But I can take the jokes because I grew up with the jokes already.

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Well, but I do think, like, what's always so ironic and counterintuitive is that by you not broadcasting your masculinity, it actually is proof that you had confidence in your masculinity. And I think it took me longer to be like, oh, no, I'm this. I like therapy. I like talking about childhood trauma and I ride motorcycles. But it took me longer. I wonder, what do you think that's anchored in? Your dad was in the ABA?

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Yeah, my dad played in the ABA. I didn't grow up with my dad.

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But I wonder if you had a physical confidence. Were you, like, physically gifted? The confidence definitely wasn't about the physicality because I wasn't the guy in high school that girls like. Oh, so, you know, that guy wasn't that guy like, you know? And I actually started to feel like my best quality was my heart, you know, like to be honest with myself and my heart. So, you know, you kind of go to your strengths and my heart is my strength.

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So I would go to my strength in that way. But also just it was something about the people that I saw that were over masculine and doing that. I've been through that experience. I've been in fights and I've been like, you know, because girls around I want to show out and getting tougher with. But then I always go home. And when I'm by myself, I reflect on things. And it was like, is that who I really want to be?

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That I feel good doing that? Yeah. And I didn't have all the process. I didn't have the therapy I've had now and those things to the resources to be able to like have these words be clear and like really understand what the process is. But that's how I was feeling. So I started more and more just going closer to my true feelings and then seeking out things to be better. And therapy was one, because it was like I found myself repeating things in relationships.

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I found myself like I'm like, man, I'm not fearful for music. I'm not fearful as an actor, you know, relatively I'm sure, you know, we all get nervous about not acting. But what's going on in relationships? What is it? So I had to work like and figure it out. And I'm a real advocate for getting better. I want to be better, like a better human being, a better father, a better child of God.

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I'm going to take a stab at something because we have a similar background. Did you have some pretty deep fear of commitment? And do you think it's a little bit because you and I were our mom's partner and that was a little cumbersome. Yes. Oh, man. Hey, that's that's that's going on. You already knew to answer your question, but I will elaborate, man. My fear commitment, your fear commitment has come from the aspect of having a mother as a parent and as a single parent home usually and sometimes even it doesn't have to be single parent.

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But let me speak to my situation. My mother, like the love that she put on me, was a lot and in love was beautiful. But then some of it was her own heart. And what she didn't have, maybe from her father, from the breakup with my father and I become the emotional weight. And I don't even know that that weight is weighing me down the knees that she has. So fast forward when I'm in a relationship and I feel somebody need me, is hitting those wounds that I had as a kid that I couldn't take on that responsibility of my mother's emotional weight as a kid.

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So now I'm feeling as an adult, somebody needs me and I'm like, you know, I don't want to take this on. This feels familiar. Like a bad familia. Yeah, I have what you call from there. Love addiction, yeah, and fear of commitment. What a combo. It's the best combo is the best gift. Well, it's a tough combo because you really love that feeling. You love that feeling of being a good relationship and that single you get.

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And then the second you see the click where it's like, oh, yeah, I convinced them to like this person, oh, fuck, I'm going to fucking let this person down. That's all like ten minutes away.

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It's like ten minutes away. And you're like, oh man. I say I wanted to be in love, that I don't want to be in love.

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Like we're both high as kites and everyone's cool there. We've done as you song about process now because we know those things. I'm able to be in a relationship and be like, OK, what's really true to what I'm feeling and what am I bring it from my past. Yeah. And how do I work through some of the things and fears that I've repeated? I'm able to process it and take inventory and just be conscious and aware of it is making me be better in relationships and be happier and everything.

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A perfect I'm just a twin.

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I'm saying I was going to say I just am coming to terms with this stuff. And I'll tell you what one of my hurdles was, is. In my story of my life, my dad, since he left, was the villain in my mom was the superhero who raised us three kids and sacrificed everything.

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So in this archetype, you know, Greek story, there's no room for me to be critical of my mom and there's no room for my dad to ever be just a human who had some flaws. So, you know, in the last few years, I've been like, well, and also my mom was a human. But because she was up here and my dad was down here, I didn't even want to really look there.

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Yes, it's something because you see all the love that your mother has given you and you see how wonderful she is. And you don't want to humanize them because you like looking at all the stuff she's done for me. Just the person has committed their life to me. And you don't want to see failures in them, too, because it's like this is the one hero you kind of have. Like, I was so glad that my father, you know, the times I got to spend with my father, he was really, really honest with me and would be like, man, look, I was dealing with drugs at this point where I failed this, you know, and I was crazy at this point, you know, a lot.

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And he, you know, he was I got really spiritual. But didn't he talk shit? And he just he clever. He was straight do but just read the Koran and the Bible like he had all these dynamics. So and I love seeing that because I got to see a human being. Can I just try to put my father on a pedestal too, because he wasn't there and I needed that male figure to be on that pedestal. But then him humanizing himself just made me be like, oh, we got to be able to show those sides.

[00:28:55]

But you're right, it took time for me to actually acknowledge that. Hey, man, you got some flaws, too. I'm going to take one more gas. So you have a daughter, right? Yeah, I'm going to guess that when you looked at your daughter, it was the first time in your life where you were like, yeah, fucking depend on me. No fear of commitment. I have two daughters. And that was this crazy sensation I had where I was like, yes, be dependent on me and expect me to be there forever because I can't wait to be there forever.

[00:29:26]

And I was like, oh, this is what it feels like to love without any fear of commitment.

[00:29:31]

Yes. I think you know what? I had a moyet then. There's two things. It was a natural, like just, OK, I'ma be here forever to love you. I'm going to do everything that I can do. But it also, oh, I got to work extra hard and I got to take care of, you know, like I got to focus. Not in fact that's when I honestly was like, OK, I'm hanging with my homies still.

[00:29:54]

I was like, no, I got to figure this out. Like, I got to where this move from Chicago, whatever it may be, I have another human being that I'm going to love is going to be there for and I have to provide for to. So, you know, I have both those feelings initially and now, you know, it's great to see that relationship evolve, too, because that relationship was perfect either. Like she at some point confronted me and was like, yeah, and you didn't do this when I was a kid.

[00:30:22]

You didn't take care this. You didn't want to pay for my SAT score. I was like, you really believe some of that stuff? Because, I mean, let me make sure I'm clear with you that what she was saying was her feelings. It was what she felt. It took me to understand in that moment. It was a real lesson I learned in that moment was it didn't matter what I thought, like what I think or something she said was definitely not true.

[00:30:46]

But yeah, what qualities facts were, what the facts are, the facts didn't matter. I think now it just was like these are her feelings. This is what she's experienced and this is her perspective. I need to hear out. I need to take it in. I'll need to try to be right and try to defend myself now, because initially I was like Moyar. You really think that I didn't do this and do that? But I learned tonight as we talk about learning from our process and learning to tap and ourselves is something to learn from your children who are being involved enough to even want to have a conversation with me like that.

[00:31:20]

I don't feel like you did these things, not mine. You did start with she had been drinking.

[00:31:25]

So I kind of play this game for fun. When I'm with my daughters, I sit around, I try to imagine what they're going to have a grievance about because you just have to you have to have a fucking grievance with your parents so you're not a human.

[00:31:38]

They go have some gripes, but ultimately I'm like, man, what you just said, like, yo, you've been there already for them in ways that's going to shape their lives forever. They know what love is. Yeah. If we start there, if we know what love is like, know what it is to be loved and know I love especially for a woman to know what it is to be loved by a father. Yeah. And then, you know, I look at things like I'm not one of those past is like hovering over like oh just being like man I don't want her to mess up.

[00:32:09]

I'm like I just don't want her to mess up with detrimental like when something is really like you can't. I agree you're not in jail and you're not shooting meth, you know, yeah, we can manage. We can we can manage. We can course, correct? Yes, exactly. Exactly.

[00:32:29]

Stay tuned for more armchair expert, if you dare.

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[00:35:10]

OK, this has no value other than I'm just curious, did you love the Jazzmatazz album by Guru? Oh, I love that. And that's one of them. I was like I was like, oh, you can do those things, too.

[00:35:23]

I don't think I've ever listened to a CD more of my life.

[00:35:26]

I didn't know that at that point in time. I was like, OK, Guru is a part of Gangster, but he just went out and did a whole separate project with Delp jazz musicians like Donald Byrd and Roy Ayers and different man. I love that hip hop is honestly one of the things that was my gateway into jazz and jazz is honestly my favorite. Like, I listen to jazz probably more. I listen to any other music. I love that I will go to God bless his soul.

[00:35:53]

I've actually got to tour with Gang Starr and it was one of my favorite things I've done in my career. I was on tour with them and Talib Kweli.

[00:36:01]

Oh, I love Talib. He's probably my only friend in the music business. I adore him, man.

[00:36:06]

He's such a good news. I do. And he's been one of my friends for a long time in this business. And we just you know, it's just brother, there's some pattern, right?

[00:36:16]

Like you worked with Kanye for years. His mom was a teacher. Your mom was a teacher to Lib's. Mom's a professor, dad, professor, like it seems like a subset within hip hop of these musicians was kind of similar backgrounds, like the weight of their parents expectations and having ascended and then living in the neighborhood and having friends and like just this weird confluence of all that stuff.

[00:36:42]

To Dr. Donda West, Tanya's mom, and Tyler's mother, Miss Green, and my mother and Talia, me and Kanye, we all had a panel. We all did this panel. Oh, on about education, you know, as I look through the piano and stuff, it was funny because Miss West was like rapping. Kanye is lyrics.

[00:37:01]

Like she was like, show time.

[00:37:05]

I'm like, damn. Oh, no, oh no. My know like that. But to see these mothers, they were proud. But more than anything it was like I noticed that we all had been under the teachings of teachers and it affected the way I work. Kanye is not only a gifted musician and genius when it comes to music, but he also is like brilliant with his words and he uses them in certain ways and we have access. And Talib is the same as far as just being brilliant in his use of words.

[00:37:33]

And M.C. Chappelle's mother was an English teacher and his father was a professor. Yeah, there's some weird magic.

[00:37:41]

It's like it's the product of once there's opportunity, you look at the product, the products like this fucking beautiful synergy of all these things, the jazz tradition, the knowledge, the education, the words, you know, all of it.

[00:37:54]

Well, also, you would go home and you'd be thoughtful about what you just experienced. And I think that's practiced in academia. Like, you know, you reflect you just are automatically doing that in life. You know, the book report is what you're bringing into your bedroom to let me tell you about it.

[00:38:13]

It's like my mother used to make me do book reports. And, you know, this is outside of the work I had to do for school. And she made school, like, OK, if you do a good school, you can get the things, you know, like you want pretty much like not, you know, within our financial world. We went like I was going out just getting anything. You got the pink camel's starter jacket. Exactly.

[00:38:35]

Exactly. I remember I was in college. I would take the time out of my day. Lisa, I wanted to just to sit down and go in a room and just work on Wrap's. Right. It was really parallel to what I would do. A book reports. I would just sit in a room and just work. I could hear my friends drinking like outside of my door, kicking it, watching TV, playing Nintendo at the time.

[00:38:58]

But I was like focused. And I think that really translated, like you said, about access. That creates the opportunity. I'm like, man, I look at a lot of people and say, man, if they had some of the access, they would be amazing. I feel like where the access meets you is divine order, sometimes in different ways, meaning you just got to meet the access. Sometimes some of the experiences I've had, if I was a child actor, I would have had a more difficult time experience.

[00:39:28]

And some of the things, some of the fights, some of the break ups, some of that, you know, like dates and, you know, some of the fun times, I just wouldn't have had those experiences, some of the failures, you know, like like my first albums, people weren't didn't know who I was. That helped me to know and to be able to understand what journey is and to appreciate journey and have gratitude and also know that when you got to work on.

[00:39:51]

But as long as people get that access, like at some point, then I'm all into kids being like knowing what directors of photography, you know, what cinematographers are, what costume and makeup design. I want them to have access along with other stuff, academics, so they can say, hey, I actually want to be this and be that not. Allows you to see those things, but I do believe life experiences adds on to that once you get the access.

[00:40:16]

Yeah, I mean, look at Whitney Houston's first album. That's almost impossible to navigate through this a lot, man.

[00:40:23]

It's a lot. And you've really got to have like a true center in itself, because when your first album is like that and when it comes out on top and it's the biggest almost a century out of year, you're going to go down. So you switch to fear. You're going to make your next album out of fear.

[00:40:38]

And now I understand the roller coaster even more. And as you said, the most important thing is the journey. And that really is true. Like people say it and they're like, oh, man, it's about the journey. But when you really embrace that and live that man, that's when it's the most joyful and expressive and most powerful. And it's just like you enjoy life more.

[00:40:59]

Yeah, I've known a lot of these cliches over the years intellectually and not connected to them emotionally. And then all of a sudden when I connect to it emotionally, I'm like, oh, that is a really profound statement, even though I got it. But now I feel it. And wow, what a difference. Do you watch the Wu Tang doc on Showtime?

[00:41:19]

I love Wu Tang. I did watch the documentary. I was just in a conversation with my friend about my top three groups of hip hop and it's Chai de la Soul and Eau de la Soul, three feet and rising.

[00:41:30]

That fucking thing did not come out of my 10th grade CD player. Sampling's Steely Dan. I know I love you better. I know I love you. I know.

[00:41:40]

I love you, man. You better, man. I was one of my favorite songs on the on that they were some of the most innovative artists in music, but in hip hop for sure.

[00:41:51]

Other ten years ahead of their time, at least for sure.

[00:41:55]

I just listed for daylilies within the past week like three feet high rise and de la soul is the stakes is high and below mindstate and along with different aloma innovator all them and experience and they are timeless. Yeah.

[00:42:11]

Well so I slept on Wu Tang. I have no knowledge of Wu Tang. I was not into any one of those folks individually, for whatever reason I missed it. Then I watched the doc. Just out of curiosity, what I absolutely covid is that they got to share that experience, like the fact that they were this fucking creative gang, like a brotherhood and that is so rare. That's the thing I watched and I was like, God, if I were in hip hop, if I were you, if I were anyone, I'd watch Single Man.

[00:42:41]

I kind of wish I had that brotherhood along the ride. That's just what's so damn special about that group.

[00:42:47]

Yeah, well, I have to say, I think so much obviously is power and being able to bounce your ideas. And then sometimes it's like a basketball team. I love basketball. So if somebody is having a good night, then that's how it is. Like somebody might smash a verse on a song. And I still think that everybody gravitates toward or two or three people may smash it. So to have a group is incredible and iron sharpens iron.

[00:43:11]

So when know you're around somebody, you're going to get better if they are elevated. Yeah. Now, see, for me being a solo artist, the benefits of being a solo artist was that I didn't have to run on my ideas but someone. So if I wanted to do a song about abortion, which I did do at one point, I could do it. This is what I feel. This is, you know, is my project and this is my expression.

[00:43:34]

And also the other benefits were that I did have some people to bounce idea. I remember working on the album I had called Resurrection Was, which was my second album, and this was at a time when I released the first one and nobody knew who I was. My idea of like I was going to come out and be a superstar.

[00:43:51]

So I really thought, yeah, you wouldn't do it if you thought otherwise. Yeah, right. And I released it and no one knew. But in the process of me working to get better, I was around all these guys and we were freestyle all the time. And and then my producers were getting better. So we were shopping each other even though I was a solo artist.

[00:44:09]

Yeah. When I look at who you worked with, it's pretty bonkers. Jadallah and Kanye, Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu at the pinnacle, like you fell into the other amazing saga. Man, I am super grateful to work with these people that I've worked with, like to be around Lauryn Hill and watch her work and to be a part of something like she's one of my favorite artists, or D'Angelo and Erykah Badu and J.W. Dilutive. Cute tip, man.

[00:44:34]

I was just on my cue. Tip is like he's like a Charlie Parker or Coltrane of music, of hip hop music for sure. And I was learning I was having fun. But the thing I like about even working on films and working on projects, even now music, because I have a collective I work with a lot, we sit by and we come up with stuff and it's a different process. And I really do love working with a team is one of the things I love about making films.

[00:45:01]

I'm part of a process is not all on me. So I love the benefits of being a solo artist. And then I also love the joys of being a teammate and working. On a film, we're working on a project which is great, other artists I'm collaborating with. Yeah, you don't have your fucking poker in one fire, right? I mean, the fact that you got into acting, that you write, that you're musical, that you are a model, that you can have ad campaigns like especially this last year, it's like, OK, well, you're not going to be touring, OK?

[00:45:33]

And that's all you do then fear for your fear. But like you have this beautiful mesh of productivity and interests. And I think now more than ever, I would hope you just feel grateful to be so diversified.

[00:45:47]

I thank God. I feel extremely grateful to be able to do things that I love to doing on purpose to do and things that I'm passionate about to work on an album and say, man, I'm working on this album because I want to put it out for the people. I want to like put this out to touch people. I don't have to put it out because it's the only way I'm going to pay my bills. Right. And you're operating out of fear, especially because it's something you love to do, but you still have to pay your bills.

[00:46:13]

So you're like, oh, I got to make this up. You know, I've been in that position. I couldn't pay my rent. So I'm looking for a show and I'm looking for, you know, like I got this next album. I want to do it for the love I needed to hit to. Yeah. Now it's like, can you impact people like you wanted to, like, shift the paradigm and change people and inspire people and be here and be like motivating and fun.

[00:46:36]

So now I can come from that place and just create music when I'm inspired to and when I have something to say. And also on the film side and TV and acting before I was like, honestly, just if I can be in a movie and it's even if it's three lines, I just want to be in it. And I'm grateful I did that because I was also learning what the process of filmmaking is. But now it's like I'm not just taking anything just to be in it, you know, although I'm glad you were in smoking aces.

[00:47:04]

I just loved I was like, oh, get out of here. Look at this dude. That was my first movie. It man. I love I love that movie. I love it. I love working with them, man. And like Taraji was in there, Ryan Reynolds to Jason Bateman was the best scene in the movie with a real eye infection.

[00:47:21]

Dude, that goes back at me like that was my first film. So that experience in itself, that was my first callback. And then getting a call that I got this movie, I was jumping up and down on the bed. I was like tears coming to my eyes. I called my mother and the next thing I had to do was going to the next hotel room and tell Connie I couldn't go on tour with him.

[00:47:43]

Oh, oh, boy, oh, boy. That's a pretty big transition. That was the transition. But he really he really was like, OK, you say, you know, you process that love. It was like, man, if this show just what you want to do. Yeah, go do it. Rascoe do it. I was like this. My brother is my brother for life because it was a lot on the table when I was on his label and he was like, man, go pursue your dream.

[00:48:08]

That's big of him. Yeah. Yeah. OK, so your new album is a beautiful revolution, part one. And I think you just answered a question I had for you about that, which is, does it get harder to be creative as you get older? Because the normal Catalyst's, thank God, aren't there like, you know, massive heartbreak being shit on by the boss. You know, all these situations that are great fodder for music, is it harder and is it maybe helpful that you get to duck out of it and then only come back when you're passionate?

[00:48:40]

It is very helpful that I get to, like, gather my thoughts, experience life, absorb life, and then speak when I have something to say. Part of my tools with being an emcee, being an artist has been a speak of the people, emcee other people. So I even if I'm not going through some of the experiences, you know, I feel it. I stay in tune with people. I go around people, you know, I stay connected enough to to be able to speak towards things is going on.

[00:49:12]

Another thing that's kind of subconsciously that I didn't know was happening, but really happening, especially with this new project. And just lately, I've been listening to a lot of 90s pop and I've been listening to it because I've been in workout's and I've been working out and I'm listening to Ninety Step Up because I just wanted to go to the music that I just truly loved and just hit me out. It went about, yeah, just the new jam and it's just I'm going to into music hit my soul.

[00:49:39]

Yeah. And 90S Pop is one of those things to be able to listen to that I was reminded of all the things that I was influenced by, loved, whether it was tribe, whether it was black moon, whether it's gangsta with his KRS one Rakim. So here in the purity of that, in the spirit of what that music has brought, really help channel something great for this new music that I'm doing. Sometimes you got to remember who you are.

[00:50:02]

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, I love it. OK, now you have a podcast that's available on Audible. And incredible list of guests. Fuck you, it took us two years to just be able to get some of the folks that are on there. But just in this first season, you have Hussen Manaj, you have Mahershala Ali, you have Nars.

[00:50:24]

You wouldn't know the history of this podcast, but my first episode was with my wife. I'm like, oh, this will be fucking easy. I've done a million interviews with her. We know how to do this. I sit down to do it. She's annoyed she had to be there. She wanted to go to fucking Michael Michaels to buy fabric. I'm like, girl, you what you got to buy? What are you talking about? That's a priority to buy fabric.

[00:50:45]

She's annoyed with me. I'm annoyed with her. And there's like a first forty five minutes is just us kind of bickering and then we find our way out of it. And I was considering not even airing it. I'm like, this is not the most beautiful picture of her and I America's lovebirds. I just was curious. I don't know if you still are, but you certainly were dating Tiffany Haddish when you interviewed her. Did it go as smoothly as you anticipated or was it also complicated?

[00:51:12]

Hey, DAX, our lives have a lot of parallels.

[00:51:15]

And yes, Tiffany and I, you know, I love her. She's a wonderful woman and we have a partnership. And so me sitting down interviewing her, I knew I was going to go smooth. Like, we have just funny conversations. We have fun conversations. We go to deeper places. I was like, this is going to be great, man.

[00:51:40]

That conversation is stop, man.

[00:51:43]

It was tough. And it was like she was ready to go. Like during the middle of the talk, she was like, how long is this supposed to be just what you want to hear?

[00:51:54]

I'm like, and I sat out and thought of all these thoughtful questions. I'm thinking we got you know, I've worked with my team that we came up with some great stuff. And this is going to be deep. I'm going to say some things you don't talk about.

[00:52:08]

Let me tell you that John was forty five minutes of nothing to the point where we had to go back and redo it.

[00:52:15]

Oh, my God, I am so relieved to hear that. Oh, my God. Is that me? Derek? I'll do that was my exact experience. And then also Kristen was like, I can see it, right? She's like, I think she thought I was going to try to trapper in like like outer for some shit. I know that like and I'm like, okay, I would never do that to you, but. Yeah, right.

[00:52:36]

Like she had her guard up but she never has. I was like, oh this is so bizarre.

[00:52:40]

In fact I was like man, it's really difficult to interview somebody, you know like that. Well, and they are looking like, are you going to say something that, you know, I've share with you? It's like just personal like that. Yeah. I'm like, yeah, you know, I'm not going out. I don't I'm not doing that. I'm I want you to look great. Like I and I do want it to be a great interview.

[00:53:02]

So I want to go someplace, you know, different that you wouldn't talk about things. But anyway, the next time, the second round we did it, which ended up being on Audible, which is a great interview, by the way. I listen to the first half of it this morning. It's fantastic. Yeah, thank you. I really took it from more of let me have a conversation, but let me stay my course because I also was drifting in the conversation and not doing things that I normally in other conversations would try to keep.

[00:53:29]

You know, like we have a theme to some of it, to some of the things that we do. And we ask people what songs inspired them, what songs touched their soul person, who would you sit down and have dinner with, which, you know, which comedians. What do you think Richard Pryor would say about you if, you know, I needed to stay into some of that room anyway. Lessons learned. I grew from it.

[00:53:49]

The interview came up good now and I'm happy about it. It was a challenge.

[00:53:54]

Well, let me ask you this. So when I listen to Kristen and I's, first of all, it actually destroyed my confidence in doing this job. I'm like, I'm not going to be as good at this as I hoped. And number two, I was like, oh, my God, am I controlling? Like I was on fire burning with how controlling I was. I was just trying to force this thing to be what I thought it could be.

[00:54:19]

And I was just humiliated with myself. I'm like, oh, I got to get my shit together, dude.

[00:54:25]

I learned so much from that situation, like of me coming in and thinking like, yo, it's got to be this and it's got to be this powerful, not what people really get to know. Tiffany in another way, man, this is going to be one of the great podcasts like. Yes, all that stuff. I just had to remove it, let it go. Like it just the president as we talked about it and let it go where it goes.

[00:54:48]

And then not always just dwell on the results. And I think, man, being president has been like the biggest gift you can have because sometimes you never know what the present moment is going to take you. And that's what I started learning in these five cars. You know, this is my first time doing a podcast, especially from in a. View his perspective, and I wanted it to be conversations, but I also knew I had to still ask questions, so I hear you.

[00:55:17]

My confidence was broke, too.

[00:55:19]

Well, I don't know about you, but for me, too, I was like, well, this can be so easy for me. I've been doing interviews for the last 17 years, and I think I'm a pretty good interview. Like I can shoot the shit. And I underestimated. Yeah. That I will have a role in this. That was a little adjustment for me. Listen, I try every art form or thing that I get into.

[00:55:39]

I want to be great at it. And I was like, man, I'm going to be able to do this. I like talking. I'm a talk show, you know. But then I realized, oh, I got to be a listener and, you know, be better. You know, one of those things where you're like, OK, I'm starting here and I can work to get better. It's E found podcast went on. I got I started feeling better.

[00:56:00]

And I think you hit the total key for me. What I learned is exactly what you were saying, which is like embrace the present, throw away the game plan the game plans there to go back to, but embrace the moment in the present. And don't be afraid that it's going to take you so off course because it might take you somewhere that's way better than the course you charted and just have the game plan is like your safety net.

[00:56:23]

And it goes back to a whole theme of this talk is just in the process and being in the process of it, because that really is trusting it, like trusting that. I mean, we are honest. This what we do right. Everything we're going through, we want to we want it to be like excellence and greatness. And sometimes doing that process we like. OK, well, it should be this way. That's what the greatness is going to be when I push it this way.

[00:56:46]

And I don't mind. I need that push. You might need to be still right there in a moment. I might need to shift over to the left. And I'm actually been working on that myself. I even in recording in the booth because I have the rap down the way I want it and I want to hit it that way. But I can't allow certain moments to just happen like the way they do. And when you talk about the song In The Light, you know, one of the lyrics that people sing the most beyond the chorus when I'm performing the song is somewhere I say tickets are tickets to tickets.

[00:57:17]

It's now I only said that because I hadn't finished the rack and I was just laying down a reference of it. But people say that more than any other words I wrote and I'm like, man, that's just an example of be in the moment, let the moment happen. Sometimes the moment is that. And then, you know, we go back and fix up some of the other aspects if we need to. But I had to leave that take.

[00:57:40]

I kept trying to do different takes of it. And I was like, this is it. This is the song. Is that feeling was knowing it. Yeah.

[00:57:48]

So mine power mix tape, which is on Audible. Will you be doing more seasons.

[00:57:53]

Yeah, we are going to do more seasons. But I got to say right now I'm focused most on new acting work and new music and just doing the social activist work. So the mind mix tape, I definitely get to it and do it at some point. But everything to me now that I do, I wanted to bring joy, bring like some impact, bring some inspiration. It could be fun, enlightening. So I did get that out of a lot of conversations I had.

[00:58:23]

So that's one of the reasons I'm like, yeah, I'm going to do it again. And it was fun, like getting in a new swimming pool, like, yeah, it's fun to learn something new. And I mean, when I'm on fire for. Yeah, OK, so you're just a beautiful dude. I'm going to tell you and I really hope that we bump into you again in transit to Chicago, either to or fro. We have no preference.

[00:58:44]

Well, actually, I want to see you on that flight to Chicago. You can also hang out in Chicago and tips. You could throw us some tips and tips. Yeah. Yeah. If we ever in Chicago together, we got to go to dinner. Got to do some going to my friend. Got a boat out there. We got.

[00:59:00]

Oh now you're talking about your job forever and I loved having this conversation with you.

[00:59:07]

That's man we parallel bro. I know it's freaky. Yeah it's crazy but this is incredible man. Same. Same. This is the ones that carry you through to all the others if things get things all right. Tons of luck and everyone should check out a beautiful revolution. Part one anywhere you get music and of course, check out mind power mix tape on audible Common is once again good at that big man. Take care. Love. God bless.

[00:59:37]

Stay tuned for more armchair expert, if you dare.

[00:59:43]

We are supported by Squarespace. Now we have a website, armchair expert, pod dotcom. I encourage everyone to go check it out because it's beautiful and it's highly functional, very gorgeous. And we are walking the walk because while we what made it was Squarespace. Now you might need a website to showcase your work or blog, publish content. You could sell products and services of all kinds or maybe promote your physical or online business. It's so easy to do.

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[01:00:40]

We are supported by Grove Collaborative.

[01:00:43]

I love these products. Yeah, we're nailing it with our products. Yeah. Now listen, the New Year is finally here and many of us are ready for a fresh, clean start. Now our sponsor, Growth Collaborative, wants to help you kick off your resolutions for a healthier home by making it easy to shop for natural household products.

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[01:01:14]

That's the part I like because I think I used to have really good intentions to buy green products before you go to the store. And it's really hard to tell because a lot of them are acting like they're green, but they're not.

[01:01:24]

You're darn right it's overwhelming. So this misleading op shop. Yeah. Can take the stress away from that. Now, with growth, you don't have to shop in multiple stores or search endlessly online to get all the natural products you desire. You just go there, make your home healthier this new year for a limited time when armchairs go to Grove Dot CEO DAX, you will get a free Mrs. Myers gifts plus free shipping with your first order. A thirty dollar value.

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But you have to use our special code. Go to Grove Dot CEO DAX to get this exclusive offer.

[01:01:56]

That's Grove CEO DAX and now my favorite part of the show, the fact check with my soulmate Monica Padman. Money, how do you like your new car? I got a new car. It's changed your personality.

[01:02:13]

Oh, what is it done to it? You're even more confident. Oh, my gosh. I didn't think was possible.

[01:02:18]

It's certainly not gotten annoying yet, but it is your peak confidence.

[01:02:22]

OK, that's ironic because, OK, I'll tell our armchairs, even though I was kind of you remember, I was reluctant to tell Armchair. We're both embarrassed. Yeah.

[01:02:33]

Because you got me a car. Yes, I bought you a car that I thought is the perfect embodiment of who you are, which and it was felt like a crime that you wouldn't be driving this car.

[01:02:46]

You drove my Prius that I love, by the way, you had too many pops one night and I had to drive your Prius back to your house with mom in a carpool.

[01:02:55]

Yeah.

[01:02:56]

And you and mom were in a nice car and I was next to you at a light in the Prius. Yeah. And you were upset.

[01:03:02]

I was like, you work too hard and are too successful to be driving this thing everywhere now. But guys, first of all, I love Prizzi's. Yeah, you're right. You're right. So then you surprised me. Was a beautiful surprise. I could not believe it.

[01:03:14]

And it's a C forty three AMG Mercedes and it is, it's gorgeous.

[01:03:20]

I wish everyone in their life could experience watching Monica pull away from somewhere in the C forty three because it has a really aggressive exhaust notes which I was.

[01:03:29]

Why IMG is so great and she looks like a little fucking gangster in it's. Oh my God. Well she even intimidated Rob Corddry.

[01:03:38]

She pulled up behind Rob Corddry and he started getting nervous.

[01:03:42]

But it's funny because you say that my confidence is at an all time high, but I am not there yet in that car. I'm very worried about hitting a curb, things that I normally don't give a shit about. Yes. In car driving. And it's actually one of the reasons I liked having my Prius is because I was like, oh, well, for one, it was tiny, it was a Prius C, I still have it, but I would go in and out of little spaces if I hit something, not the end of the world.

[01:04:08]

But now it feels like the stakes are high.

[01:04:10]

OK, so I should be more clear. I, I've seen you pull out of our driveway a bunch of times so there's no hazards.

[01:04:15]

You just trip out of there and I have you and I'm like, get it, Monastir, Maximus, miles. And then also we saw you on the way to the Hanssens. We happened to pull up next to a legit was just like, oh damn, that's a nice AMG.

[01:04:28]

And I was like, oh my God, it's Monaco in the game.

[01:04:30]

You were not afraid of hitting anything because it was wide open space.

[01:04:32]

I look like a baller. Thank you. It was an incredible gift and I'm very grateful for it because new car stuff is tough.

[01:04:42]

Yeah. You would not want you hate the idea of buying a new car. Yeah, I'm glad you did it for me. OK, well, listen, we have a new sponsor and they make that if you don't have me in your life, you're just going to go out and pick out a car for you. And really, it would you agree it is you, though, because it's tiny and powerful.

[01:04:57]

I want to say. Yes, I do, but I'm not secure enough to say yes. It is the car of your daily affirmation.

[01:05:04]

OK, yeah.

[01:05:06]

So if you don't have me in your life, let me tell you all the reasons people hate buying a car because you are immediately terrified that you're going to have to haggle over the price you get there.

[01:05:15]

Yes. No.

[01:05:15]

And get strongarmed by some bozo. Everyone hates that car, Max. That's not what happens. They have a preset price. They're all certified quality cars. OK, so you're not worried that it's going to break down when you drive out of the lot and they have something even better?

[01:05:29]

Because a lot of people, even if they're not afraid of those things, they're afraid of buyer's remorse.

[01:05:34]

Oh, especially in a car. Yeah.

[01:05:37]

Like, I bet even your experience of this car enjoying it has been better because you don't have to think about buyer's remorse.

[01:05:44]

You know, another do this Shackley you're not driving around going like tonight. Is this worth this or whatever?

[01:05:49]

Yeah. OK, so here's what they have, which is incredible.

[01:05:52]

It's called Love Your Car Guarantee. So what you do is you go pick out a car with Carmex, love your car, guarantee you get to take the car home, put it through all its paces, drive it to work, run the kids a soccer loaded up with groceries, hit the drive thru, take time and get to know the car. It feels like true love and you buy it. You're still covered because with the new love your car guarantee, you've got a full month and up to 1500 miles to love it or return it for a full refund with a 30 day money back guarantee.

[01:06:23]

Isn't that bonkers? It's crazy. Yeah. So you get the car, you drive it around for up to a month, put some miles on it, and then if you don't love it, you return it. What more could you want? You know who loves CarMax? My dad. Oh yeah. He's purchased all his cars there. Yeah. It's a great place. Also a great place to go trade in your car. They just tell you what it's going to be.

[01:06:41]

No haggling. All right. Use the love your car guarantee from CarMax. It's America's number one used car retailer. You can get all the details and start the search for your next car today at CarMax Dotcom.

[01:06:52]

Shall we bring in my best friend Aaron Weekly now? Yeah, he's here.

[01:06:56]

I'm so excited to get in the common. I went as far as downloading some after you had after you guys talk to him. Dex was pretty excited. And just having hit the play button, you haven't had time, just haven't found your time, so it's loaded up, but not yet locked and loaded.

[01:07:15]

I haven't had the time, which is a great opportunity for us to just quickly say that, Aaron.

[01:07:19]

You know, Aaron comes out here to California every two weeks.

[01:07:23]

He was leaving this time he told his ex-wife, like, back to the grind, I may act like I'm doing a lot more done out here than actually.

[01:07:36]

But at the same time, she knows she's a very good woman. She is incredible. Incredible.

[01:07:43]

Yeah. Yeah. So I was like, you know, I wish I didn't have to go back out there so soon, but in fact, I do. Duty calls. What would you to be doing right now without me on this fact to would be on here announcing the end of the show?

[01:08:01]

Well, I'm glad you're here because we have a new show coming up that you're the star of.

[01:08:08]

That's right. Co-star. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's let's get Charlie some some love. Yes.

[01:08:16]

It's a show about Aaron and Charlie. Perfect.

[01:08:20]

And Charlie, have we already talked about it or teased it at all? It's come up a little bit in conversation, but not really. So today is the day. So the podcast is called Race to 270, starring Aaron and Charlie and guest stars Monaco, DAX, DAX and I are there also.

[01:08:43]

And the premise is that Aaron started out at three hundred and sixty six pounds and Charlie started at two four two thirty two thirty.

[01:08:58]

Yes. So it's almost even at the beginning.

[01:09:00]

That's right. And it was who can get to 270 pounds first.

[01:09:05]

Yes. For a for a financial reward I. Yes. Five five grand cash. Mm hmm. But even that of all.

[01:09:13]

Yeah. Yeah. Unfortunately it takes a lot of twisties and it is fun.

[01:09:20]

Oh my God. Is it fun. First of all, it's something that started as a very simple premise that I thought I questioned whether it would have legs or that it could be like a true challenge where you'd get absolutely invested and there'd be twists and turns.

[01:09:33]

Yeah, I had reservations.

[01:09:35]

I didn't know if it had like a nine episode bit of story in it and oh my God, was I wrong to the point where I as we said in the last episode of Race to 270, if I were listening, I would think it had been scripted. Like what ended up just happening naturally became so dramatic. You're likely to never hear such an honest account of someone's life.

[01:09:58]

I don't think I think that's the proprietory, crazy thing that I would love about listening to race to to 270.

[01:10:06]

Yeah, the transparency is off the charts when you say, yeah, we discovered what Aaron's brand was in the middle of the show. Charlie and I would talk about it afterwards. And Aaron's brand is no human or algorithm.

[01:10:17]

Could guess where the story's going. That's that's that's actually what I want to isolate is like. Do you think you're about to hear a story about this? It seems so familiar. Yeah.

[01:10:29]

And then you're like, what? That's the end of the story.

[01:10:32]

And I think that's what he delivers. Probably all nine episodes. Yeah. There's always at least one thing where you're like, I'm so sorry. What? There's no way that that's not where this was going.

[01:10:41]

Yeah, it's almost like a Malcolm Gladwell book. It's true.

[01:10:45]

And Charlie and Aaron are paired perfectly because I would say very different histories, histories for sure. And temperaments write like, oh, yeah, Charlie is Chris.

[01:10:56]

I was just saying this the other day. He's the strong, silent type and she talks. She says how attractive that is to her.

[01:11:02]

Like she's like, you know you know, what I like is like you talk nonstop, but like Charlie because I was out of town, get in the motor home and someone who stole my sister's car out of the driveway. So then Kristen was kind of nervous to go to sleep that night. So she called Charlie and Jess and they both came over and she said Charlie didn't say shit. He just showed up with a baseball bat.

[01:11:24]

And then at a certain point, he walked in the room. He looked around and he said, and she's like, yeah.

[01:11:31]

And then he walked out and she was like, that's sexy. He's like, he's not interested. He's not trying to, like, win you over with words.

[01:11:38]

But his actions are making you horny. OK, I like I like that statement. Yeah. You know who is also not the strong silent type, Jess?

[01:11:48]

No, no. She really countered it. She had one of each.

[01:11:52]

Yeah. And Aaron's not the silent type either.

[01:11:55]

No, nor am I. But you are strong. Is that the all three of you have that in common? Well, all four of us have that.

[01:12:02]

Well, Monica, we just had so much fun in the. Jim singing Do you know the top song, You didn't have to love me, but you did. But you did, but you did. And I thank you. I don't know that one. Don't know it.

[01:12:19]

Well, we went all the way with it and we were singing, oh, we have lots of fears and triggers, but used to like me and thank you last night and it just kept getting more and more vulnerable.

[01:12:40]

Scared of everything. Had a checkered past. Thank you.

[01:12:50]

That's a good. I like that rendition. Yeah.

[01:12:53]

It went on for about twenty five minutes of course. Good. Yeah. I asked permission and she signed a paper.

[01:13:02]

It was Melera that was so common. What do we know about common. So what's interesting is there is a song I love that I knew I loved. Then there were two songs that I've always loved, but I did not know was him.

[01:13:19]

So as I went down the common rabbit hole after meeting him and loving him and researching him, I was like, oh shit. I didn't know he sang that song. Oh.

[01:13:27]

So I had some favorites that were him and I just didn't know they were. Yeah. In fact, his album that Kanye produced, I'm trying to think of the name of it.

[01:13:34]

I mean, look it up. There were a couple songs that were big in my ecstasy dancing phase that I didn't take the time to find out who sang them because I was on ecstasy and trying to make love to somebody. Probably be.

[01:13:47]

Mm hmm.

[01:13:49]

Yeah, but off the album B is an amazing song Go that I'm obsessed with.

[01:13:54]

But this song I was use. You're familiar. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like me. And it was big in the like dancing I was in.

[01:14:08]

It was always on and I was always on ecstasy. But again I never asked who sang it.

[01:14:12]

Now you know I love away but the thing I liked so much about him is, is he pointed out like he's growing up in poverty, black community and I'm growing up with hillbillies. And yet we have all the same issues and the same shared history.

[01:14:28]

Yeah, yeah.

[01:14:29]

And then the and then the navigating, trying to define yourself as a man and commitment issues because of single mom, mom. But that's to me was like, oh yeah, I love when it's like oh yeah.

[01:14:41]

That stuff transcends everything.

[01:14:42]

Of course. Yeah it's incredible. Yeah.

[01:14:44]

My whole life some of my closest friends, the last twenty years, the inner city and it's all well you and I were talking about this in Lake Arrowhead, which is I would say more often than not I don't get why I'll certainly be more prone to not hit it off with kind of upper middle class and rich white people, whereas I find that I've always been able to hit it off with black people because it feels like the experience is a lot more relatable and it's less judgmental and it's less lofty and and definitely is demonstrated that with his friendship group in Detroit.

[01:15:17]

Yeah, yeah.

[01:15:18]

Speaking of Lofty, you're not going to like this, but I did a wine tasting last night.

[01:15:23]

We did. Yeah. With you, but it was virtual. Oh. And the whole time I kept thinking, oh my God, DAX is going to die.

[01:15:32]

It's just so. Noby, was it with your Georgia friends. No, it was with Rachel and her friend let it. And she's like in classes and stuff and I think she's done the first level. Then there's another level and then there's the master level. You become a sophomore year after that. Yes. A master sommelier.

[01:15:52]

No, Seminyak.

[01:15:54]

Yeah, I forget. I want to I want to say Somalia. Right. That's Somalia.

[01:16:00]

That's a country. And some Moyet, some Somalia. OK, so um. Yeah. Anyway, so she's going through all that but there's only like one hundred and seventy of them in the whole world. Semillas Yes.

[01:16:18]

A Masters and you're going to be one. Yeah. That's what I decided after my tasting is I want to be mainly because I just want to be in that exclusive group but I'm not good at it.

[01:16:31]

I was going to say you don't have the strongest nose. I'm a very strong nose when I'm far.

[01:16:36]

You're I'm always terrified you're going to seem to ever smell the ones you've let me smell are not stinky, OK?

[01:16:44]

Oh my God. We've never got to talk about this with Aaron here. But Aaron was present from the worst part of my entire life.

[01:16:50]

I remember. Yeah. The onion rings in the school bus. Oh, fuck you. I still compare that part to anything like any. Oh, fucking dead.

[01:17:01]

Right. I see how it was. Like when I think of the worst smell. Oh, yeah, that was a career highlight. Yeah, seventh grade. Yeah.

[01:17:17]

I had gotten into to I don't know what the brand was, but there's lots of not out the brand onion rings you pop in the oven and fuckin I plowed through like like one of those boxes is like serve seven to eight people I the whole thing.

[01:17:32]

And the next morning I had this episode on the school bus and the worst part. Well I don't know if it's the funniest part of the worst part, but our town was weird in that the elementary school kids and the junior high kids rode the same bus.

[01:17:44]

So there's like six year olds panicking from the smell. There is like 15 year olds dropping the windows and it's wintertime.

[01:17:54]

It was pandemonium, responsibility.

[01:17:57]

Well, Aaron and I were laughing so hard, it was quite obvious that it was well. And he laughed.

[01:18:03]

So it seemed very obvious. Oh, wow. Wow.

[01:18:07]

I'm so glad you remember it as clearly as I can because I thought maybe I was remembering it so clearly because of the embarrassment it.

[01:18:13]

Oh, I remember. I remember the smell.

[01:18:16]

The taste. Yeah. Oh yeah.

[01:18:24]

When you can't like burnt hair and you know, you know, when you can't get it together now it's stuck to every fucking thing inside your face. They want to throw their clothes out when they got home at school.

[01:18:39]

Can you imagine if I did that by myself. Like the best part was as you were there and we got to share in that crazy experience.

[01:18:45]

But if it was just me, man, that was almost worse than pooping your pants and public like that would probably be the worst memory of my life. But it's one of my favorite memories because you and I were like, what is happening?

[01:19:00]

Oh, what an experience. Yeah, it was great. But how do we get on this common.

[01:19:08]

Oh, because, you know, some of you a small yay energizer.

[01:19:13]

I was just about to try it myself. Give it a shot. Try it. Somalia.

[01:19:20]

Yeah. That was kind of a mix that you almost had salami and salami on my mind.

[01:19:29]

OK, so there aren't many facts here, OK, because it was a mainly an emotional conversation.

[01:19:35]

You can't fact check emotions. All right.

[01:19:37]

LeBron show is called The Shop. The Shop. And he had Obama.

[01:19:43]

Yeah, he didn't see that, did you? Do not. Well, he and I were talking about what we were all talking about is that it's so cool to see him with other big alpha studs here because he's the most relaxed.

[01:19:58]

He's like, yeah, I'm the coolest motherfucker here. Yeah. Like any by all accounts, was a nerd his whole life.

[01:20:04]

I mean was a fuckin bookworm. Yeah. Nerd. And he's the coolest, highest on the suspect.

[01:20:10]

But he was, he was cool.

[01:20:12]

He was he wasn't just a straight up nerd. No. He did cocaine.

[01:20:17]

Mm. When he could afford it. That's what he said in my book. Now you know he's got my approval.

[01:20:25]

Yeah. I was going to vote for him.

[01:20:29]

I do think that actually had an impact on people voting for him and maybe in both ways.

[01:20:33]

But I think it made him relatable and real real people liked that. They do.

[01:20:40]

Maybe Hillary should have done cocaine just so she could have said that. I wonder if she has I don't think it backfired so bad on her.

[01:20:48]

Well, what's unique about him is not that he did cocaine. What's unique about him is he admitted he did cocaine like Clinton smoked pot, and then he acted like he didn't inhale. Well, he's like none of these things are unique.

[01:20:57]

It's just who's going to admit it? Hmm.

[01:21:00]

Hillary made up, might have banged a linebacker or she might have. Yeah. But we have to also be aware, like if she had said it, that just would have been even more fuel to her.

[01:21:08]

Her fire. Oh, yeah. Cocaine induced murder of so-and-so.

[01:21:11]

So Benghazi, was she ripping lines when she exactly. Killed everyone in Benghazi? I know.

[01:21:18]

So I guess you have to know what you're able to say and what you're not, which sucks. OK, so that was only real fact. OK, right. But then there's if we can if we want. Common said that he asks guests podcast questions like What's your favorite song that really touched your heart? What comedian would you want to hang out with? And then Laura said, What would your answers to those questions? Oh, the comedian's easy for both of us.

[01:21:47]

We could say it at the count of three. One, two, three.

[01:21:49]

Richard Pryor just talking about it yesterday. That was the number one of all time. Chappelle Yeah, that's a good one. He's he's a very close second to I want to have him on here so bad.

[01:22:02]

You know, we have the same birthday you do. You, Dave Kerchner and Chappelle. Yeah, we're in the birthday, buddy. Wow, that's a good birthday, buddy. All right, group solid shit. I got to see those of my group. I was so mad.

[01:22:16]

I know you're Jay to see, but what is that? July second chance? I suspect the birthdays. I'm going to look it up right now. Oh, my gosh. Real time fact check. Mm hmm.

[01:22:28]

And there's too many songs that just. What was the question? What's the most emotional? Is that what it was about? The songs?

[01:22:34]

What's your favorite song that's really touched your heart? Oh, I bet we could go on three on this.

[01:22:39]

Could we? We could if we stare at each other really hard for one second emotional. Listen on repeat. Tell me if you think you have. I mean, let's try, OK?

[01:22:50]

You kind of sound Monica three to one birthday blues doing a good one would you say Deacon.

[01:22:57]

Deacon Blues.

[01:22:58]

But you know what's crazy is, of course birthday was in my. Yeah. That's what I was thinking the second she said the question. Yeah. Which is just the came back the sugar.

[01:23:08]

You really stirred up some old emotions.

[01:23:12]

That's an amazing song. Yeah.

[01:23:14]

OK, July 2nd, Ashley Tisdale, will this Larry David for your own good.

[01:23:26]

That's a good one for Arunta Love's cover.

[01:23:29]

Johnny Weir, the skater. OK. Lindsay Lohan.

[01:23:35]

Oh, yes. There's a few others on your. But great. Thank you, Larry David.

[01:23:41]

Yeah. Thank you for that. That's what I'm taking away. Yeah. You only need one.

[01:23:45]

Yeah. OK, I'm going to do yours.

[01:23:48]

You and let's you already know Cuba Gooding Jr..

[01:23:50]

OK, but I have an advantage that like I've seen my birthday in like tweets where they do like people. Happy birthday to Cuba Gooding Jr., DAX Shepard.

[01:24:01]

I've seen some of those with your birthday.

[01:24:03]

And I thought, oh, yeah, I can't. I can't. I can only remember Cuba. Yeah.

[01:24:08]

Cuba Gooding Jr.. Taye Diggs. Oh yeah. Christy Turlington and DAX Shepard.

[01:24:16]

Uh huh. Gabrielle Carteris from nine or ten oh oh oh that was forty one thousand.

[01:24:24]

And she's like the head of SAG so we love, we love her.

[01:24:27]

Don't fire me. She don't kick me out of the union.

[01:24:31]

I want my pension plan. This is exciting. Well that was smart. Graduate, don't graduate.

[01:24:39]

Oh let me tell you that we had a they they staged a walkout at my high school over hats. That was our big political issue that we want to be able to wear hats. So someone's coordinated some big walkout. And we were all standing out on the front yard of Wildcat Central. No one really knew what to do. And I started chanting.

[01:24:59]

Don Imahara graduated, took off an electric. Oh, my. Well, I love you.

[01:25:06]

Thanks, guys, for helping me. Just get excited about race. It's Race to Seventy is awesome.

[01:25:14]

It is awesome. It's a nailbiter.