Shout and I just another statistic which I do better don't gotta go all ballistic and get a new Beretta State Fair make bread keep my hands clean instead of banking off for the back surfing the dope things exceed what I believe that I get achieve.

I got dreams and I believe that I can see I got a bad little thing that A Treatise won't ever put my hands on like teen now listen if you're ready and I'm a teacher to my kids Cemetery as far as I can see it.

If I got it then you got it too.

You ain't gotta worry about my passing what I went through.

I keep the closing your back and you tell me fool.

Remember knowledge is power your bed, its school.

Don't let the others determine how you live.

They can take it all from you with the shake it.

My name is Jamal Bufford.

My name is Rob Wallace.

I am Michael Henry My Brother's Keeper is a national initiative that was.

Started by Barack Obama in 2014 an entity that exists around the country that is meant to engage.

In support and advocacy for young men of color the Washington County chapter has been active for about five years now since 2015 watching.

I was actually the first Community to sign on as a MBK community in the country.

The first one the biggest target that they have is really changing the narrative about men of color in this County in Washington County.

I think that it's a perfect case study in income inequality.

During his presidency.

He made a call to action for a minute of color to be more active and engaged in the community and supporting young men and men of color helping them counter some of the barriers that we Face we talked about how both of us loved hip-hop and how we recognize that it was important to engage young men.

amen across generations and the language that they speak and the language that they speak is hip-hop.

I involve music and almost everything.

I I do if possible.

I just believe music is it's fun.

It's informative.

It's a way to learn a way to teach, you know, the program was was envisioned as a artist development program.

That was very unique something that didn't exist.

For just normal neighborhood young men as well.

As you know men up to age in this case about 52.

I believe was our oldest participant hip hop became a part of that conversation to kind of broaden the discussion as well as give voice and amplify the voices of young men around the county this project.

They they had started this media project.

They had underway but was kind of stalled and they were going to do a documentary.

simulated this but there was no music element to it.

It was more of just hearing from men of color in the community about what's going on in their communities their neighborhoods their schools if there is in in school and just talking about their experiences, so we wanted to take that.

kind of expound on it a little bit show more of keep have that element involved as well, but also show more of what Wnbk is and show some of the local music Talent that's in this area and have that be a way of telling our story as well.

Cool, welcome everybody.

So y'all kind of have a little bit of background on what this is we kind of came together with the idea of creating a media project which was already kind of on the table.

We decided to kind of remix it and add a music.

element so we wanted to get some documentary style footage of some of the brothers that we bring together kind of just talking about how they feel about their Community ways.

They want to see it improve where they can help it improve what they see themselves being doing in the future and ways that they can help create change in their communities for other black men and men of color.

But we also so we wanted to put a musical spin on that.

I've purposely had picked a lot of y'all just because I love all your varying styles of music and I'm a fan of all y'all and so, you know, y'all don't make the same type of music but it is all you know hip hop soul rap, whatever you want to call it.

It's all based in the same.

So I want to see how y'all can collaborate and create and come bring those different ingredients to it.

So be open to what other people do.

And just be mindful of everybody else in this space.

Can I give a little context?

Yes.

So the thing that we want you guys to keep in mind is we're here to hear your voices.

We are here to access your experience.

So it can be something that other kids can learn other not other kids, but other men can learn from other young men other old man because this energy generational you see that we we're expand we're spanning a large amount of age here, but my brother's keeper is an organization that is governed by the Intermediate School District as well.

So we want to keep things positive as much as possible.

We're not going to censor a lot of your content, but we just want to keep you we want you to keep in mind that the goal of this is to create something of positive value also in this.

Hey, we want to stay away from hates.

So when we do our songs and create these songs, we don't want to have any sort of I know we some we might have some affiliations and and and or you may be a related to somebody with affiliations and all that.

But when we in this space between these walls doing My Brother's Keeper where we want this to be the the primary affiliation that we were concerned with what you do outside of here.

We can't really control we know that but we want to keep hate for the other side or whoever you may want to address away from these songs that we create so tonight's focus is on chemistry.

Trying to develop chemistry.

What we plan to do is we plan to take this experience that we have tonight and start to make some decisions about how we want to move forward.

So we've created two teams of you and your charge tonight is to make a song.

but you only have hour and a half.

So it's important that you choose a vision quickly.

The subject matter can be whatever you choose for it to be.

We're not going to point you in a certain direction tonight or anything.

We want to kind of see you at your best in a pressure situation.

This isn't making the band.

We not you know, I'm saying sending people to go get cheesecake and all that.

But we want to see in certain parameters.

How you perform?

I'm a slide through this by the animal City negativity cuz I'm positive I'd head in woman who was dressed to grown and in me Saluda woman because you got to know don't women not Queens at time that it's time for the Kings to be Kings.

My brother's Keepers.

So, you know, my brother's keeping me Taylor Michael I go about true classic.

I'm a local producer and MC.

My name is Frank Bennett.

Otherwise known as Frankie Hollywood.

I am a musician a writer producer in the Ann Arbor Detroit area Lewis Picasso and my specialty.

I'm a frequency Bender as I would call myself.

Or like the rapper aspect of it more so in the engineer so we can at least have something you know say I know we got that much time.

We're here a couple Yoki.

So, oh I've developed just as an artist and as a person through my heart, you know, I'm saying I start off as a writer actually it was a startup is poetry.

It was an African-American lit class and basically she had his writing more about like ourselves and our environment in our journals and it kind of just turned into you know, writing raps.

My dad was a big Jazz fanatic.

My mom was really big in the gospel.

So I and my sister like the R&B.

So and then all my friends listen to heavy metal Rock.

so I kind of leaned towards the rock just You know just hanging out with with my friends my brother moved in with me when I was about like 11 like 10 or 11.

And he was he was a rapper and I saw the process he was recording at the house.

He was making his own beats.

He was recording on his own.

So I saw that and then kind of just wanted to take it swinging so I ended up doing that and just Being trashed for like five six years and now finally start sharpening up the craft, you know, I can be, you know inspired by this moment right here, you know right here makes me feel as if I'm like, okay what I'm doing, I'm I must be doing something, you know for me to be here at this point of time being interviewed by you.

So this is inspiring.

This is inspiring me to keep going so I might just go home write a song about this.

I'll sit down and write and be like, okay, this is beginning to end but most of the time it's just I focus on the beat the Rhythm the melody and then I'll just free flow with the lyrics, you know, like just get it's all it's all about the groove.

You gotta get in the groove.

Hey, my name is a Sam Watson AKA, Sam Watson.

TJ DJ TJ I know it's kind of funny way, but I'm mostly a producer.

engineer I guess are up a little bit, you know here and there.

But I've been doing it for.

I want to say about 11 years.

11 or 12 so it's been something that's been a ruby part of my life.

I come from a musical family on both sides.

I was always introduced to music as a kid growing up.

So you pretty much were here Temptations Stevie Wonder.

I actually brothers.

You know, Donny Hathaway and just noticed red and like Nirvana and Pearl Jam.

It's the process of Performing as well.

Like I love that process.

You know, it's probably the music.

music more like rapping it probably rapping, you know saying cuz that's so much more personal than direct, you know, I mean Beats.

music without words can like you can draw your own interpretation from it same with art like visual art, but with words, I feel like that's much more direct and I can say a lot more be more direct and clear what I want to say.

Just because the man it's rich don't mean any classy just cuz the man is rich don't mean that he happy.

No, pay attention.

You might learn some things just look at Robert Williams and Kirko bang and I'm here.

This is why this is where I'm the most comfortable.

This is where I know I can be me and I know I can be me without but it's something about the music man you can.

Just express yourself even more.

In terms of just how you really feel what you really want to say music gives you that type of freedom and aside from just actually just speaking it out loud music is a is a fight within itself.

I understand I can translate that, you know, so whatever I do.

What money make the world go round so I gotta get it?

No more wear ragged hand me down.

It's gotta be exclusive Pockets one swollen off throwing up in my ego and play this the knock out him blowing up.

So come in.

My main infection ain't no way to have it without the dedication to get the baking used to be mistaking thinking I could be patient Chase of paper more Pace, but now racing so name is TJ Greggs.

Okay.

My name is Drew dancing or Andrew Johnson.

I stage aliases lose sighter l e w y s e i f e r and my stage name is druzy Baby Gone by spunky Smith earlier in my career.

I made the name spunky Smith when I was like 15 like a MySpace name generator and I was just like I don't really want you Smokey is a grown man.

So let's change a little bit and I'm one of the three members of approaches so profound minorities.

It's a group of That I've had for a long time.

We've been making music under different names or whatever.

We were sitting there doing a photo shoot.

We were getting ready and my boy Aries came through the studio.

He had this crazy beer that he'd been growing purple.

Blue Beard going on and then like some crazy hair and like piercings and stuff like that and then he came to the studio and cut all that off and then was like wearing some glasses.

So he looked completely different as he came in studio.

I was like man, you look like real approach for my noise and it just kind of stuck.

It was just like all right.

That's what we're just gonna call ourselves now approach from minorities.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yo Marty Make the World Go Round so I gotta get it.

No more wearing reggae hand me down.

It's got to be exclusive Pockets one swollen enough growing up then my ego with flight.

It's offended Right.

Oh, hold up.

Hold up.

Hey bars, Drew, man.

I'm gonna do not cut myself.

Music has played a major role like the biggest thing is just like getting my jumble mind say out of my head in writing it down because like my mom always told me when I was younger.

She was like everything always seems horrible while it's in your head and it's out your head.

It's not as bad as it actually is you can actually prioritize on how to attack on issue for me to have you know, somebody of you know rods Wallace reach out or rods stature reach out to me and offer us to do something that's paid, you know what I'm saying?

And just to like really for me to get the respect from somebody for the years and years of work and that was awesome.

So I was just elated about the whole thing and it was don't because I didn't have to be in charge on there's been a great tool to meet a lot of cool people interesting people to see who have these different work ethics on like how to change my own work ethic and how to manage my own time and how to do things in my life and It's always something that I'm willing to expand on so.

I like the little Pow Wow, we all got together.

You know, I'm saying I felt like I was back in school for a minute and just to get to really kind of like Flex my skills and not worry about anything else and there's just like the most official thing that I feel like I've been a part of well, I come from a line of raging alcoholics.

Mama used to smoke a little crack can't call it whole life of hell this pain not been falling and got nothing left and loose.

So yeah, I'm all in Richmond my life every day to make a move my racing parano trying to say smooth people disappearing all around me one by one game pop by the pace of getting dropped by a gun murder in the conservation coming from a million Blessed Be black my mama white they call me light skin some Brown please do not compare me to them white man, even though you probably see me out with my wife friends.

Oh came from the struggle man of self.

May my team down every single way.

That's my family.

That's my squad.

There's my Bros back in the day.

We used to pop the same now, we full grown now boss.

I'm a Savage best believe this world is legal gun owners best believe I keep a nine.

If you try to up on me.

I have no choice.

I'll blow your mind.

Will you about to make a world a whole better place?

Try to see my friends laying their lives the waist success is a thing that I've only yet to taste.

Yeah.

I'm striving for the top marathon.

Not a race.

Cold cold.

Yeah.

perfect time, right I do love it.

I really do remember been through so much pain.

Been through so much pain.

Been through so much pain.

Seen a zombie as this great.

gotta ground can't get like yeah, you can't hold me down.

Was born an adult house.

I was a new shootouts.

Got stabbed a few times.

I see what I cancel take you out.

Can't laugh.

I've been doing to it do it too it do it make it so my boots make it up stand strong for you.

tomorrow been through making sure my mama get through.

I can't laugh at nobody cuz I've been through it to do it just lullabies.

Wonder why my pots lost another job then the funds went dry.

So she was worth the double just so we can get by see my dad has delicious with the sauce cause problems and in the fighting with his boss.

It's like you never get about who would take the loss going hungry no more.

We will be the ones to pay the car.

All right King.

I don't mean a daily open deeper.

That's my full name.

My name that I go as I Almighty.

Tyrell Stays name real r e l l 2 times 2x.

Buffer reached out to me reached out to my mama text her.

Tell them.

Really two movies like he just wanted me on a chair.

I was like already bet.

I like that.

I really didn't care about the money and No, I also can rap sing into a microphone do order make good music sound engineer.

So pal ready?

Yeah.

I'm a slide through this right there and I'm our city negativity because I'm private self.

I didn't woman who was wrestle grown and me Saluda woman cuz you got to know don't women not queens that time that it's time for the Kings to be Kings My Brother's Keeper.

So, you know, my brothers keeping me from shout was really the problem prince who grew up soliciting King and now he's gonna get rich.

I really don't take rapper series, but like I like wrapping his funding me and I like it a lot.

It's in my blood.

I could wrap it all it because you God Tell us to get the equipment.

Yeah like you.

Like a rabbit around make it with rapping.

I'm I want to be a realtor my biggest goal is to go back to Nigeria.

Irrigate.

the countryside where it's all forest and stuff and people are living and they have to walk for water.

I want to do something out there and I'll change the world.

I want to be global.

I'm not standing one spot.

I want to expand the world.

Everywhere, I just one spot.

Yeah, I want to visit the world because if I stay here I'm saying the same things.

I got to see different different stuff and different pictures.

See my first experience was My Brother's Keeper was actually when I was in high school my senior year.

I met some mentors I met some good friends.

Some friends that are friends anymore today, but the first Studio search and I met a lot of cool young black dudes, and we was all you know ready to make music.

Well from the city D Tree.

So like it's a lot of bad stuff that happened there a lot.

So like that's all I read about is bad stuff because that's what I grew up around.

Uncles get locked up for doing a honey ears doing 50 years.

I mean, yeah you so when I was what and I've seen it.

Well, what's that game?

Still gonna get that quick money, but the long words that money Gonna Last, you know, is that money gonna stay here?

There's because that money ain't there.

That's not what you need to be.

I can draw.

Real good.

That's like a that's like, um, I told tell it that I got I don't nobody know I can draw I can draw a real good I can draw.

zombies any type of anime whatever I drew.

Yeah, zombies anime stuff done.

Just what I see.

Or how look at things.

and if you if you want to know what I mean by that like Growing up.

I seen a lot of a lot of death.

Witness everything so like I just draw what I see in my eyes.

I'm confrontation on very confrontational because you know, I've been going through fights all my life.

But at the same time I am very emotionally stable pretty much unless there's like a volatile person around me.

Then it's like we had this plan for you know, having what we call a huddle which is really, you know, just we Circle up.

kind of do a check-in and then also Focus the young man, you know on the topic that we wanted to deal with, you know for that particular session.

Yeah, you know some of these young men have been through a lot, you know, they've been through a lot.

Like I said, some of them are already caught involved.

Dealing with a lot of trauma in their background that they come from.

And you know, I just commend them for being able to.

persevere and not only make it through but like really Excel and what they put their mind to the environment, you know that we created with the Huddle and then just having some ground rules and then also showing respect for everyone the way that we show respect to each other and to to the participants set a tone.

Potentially you may have the opportunity.

As you get older.

to have a child with your Neck think about the weight that that carries think about.

If a person was to be named after you what that means.

We put in the chat yesterday about manhood.

I want you to think for a minute about a man from your past from your life As an example we can sit up here and we can talk about what manhood is.

but who was your example for manhood and think about what were the qualities that that person had?

What are the qualities that that person possessed?

Yeah, put the camera on me.

to be honest with you the closest thing to a father figure I ever seen.

Was my boy buff to be honest.

God never grew up.

No my mom.

Who was that?

for real she got balls.

My mom I never had you the closest thing.

Yeah, I'm gonna say like that you is and I respecting for it.

Well, it's beautiful you oh Father.

I've never met my dad, but My mom and my grandfather those were the two people who showed me.

What a man was my granddad.

I said my granddad the most because my granddads the definition of a grounded person from the house.

He's been in and Eastside Ann Arbor.

He stayed he was born there and he still lives there.

He's 70 something.

He's been working at the same job since he was since he got the Marines.

He was like 25 years old.

He stayed at the same job at University of Michigan.

He's still working there to this day.

Always makes time for his grandkids his three daughters.

He's a type.

Like he's he's a type of person that is strict on you.

But he's also the type of person.

That will get you to learn something.

I'll get you to understand something.

I moved out of my mom's house in high school started living with my dad.

and You know, he just was making money for me and my sister.

My sister didn't even live there.

My mom was going to school she got her Masters, but my dad all he was doing was making money.

and You know.

From that standpoint.

I see that you know as a man.

We are looked at as the breadwinner.

And when we are supposed to be the breadwinner, you know.

That just takes us to the place where it's like.

Okay.

What are you willing to do?

And what are you willing to not do?

Okay, you got you got the you got the mail figure that gives you this side that you need to understand but and where's the James Brown?

My man is not a man, but I don't want me.

Sir, so woman exposes you to a lot of other things that you didn't know that you had.

I want a man kind of kind of restricts you from going on that side unless it's completely necessary.

But it's like provide they don't they don't give you like the the blueprint because they don't know the blueprint so man's ability to balance.

Yeah, like to have balances like they say you got to act hard and Keep in mind stable keeping them keep focused on certain things, but what they don't tell you is like how to do that most of the time how to get it back if you lose it.

Yeah, like they're not really verbal on how to express feelings.

As opposed to a woman though a woman does so a woman does it it kind of opens it opens this door for them to say, okay, maybe?

Maybe I can go to this route.

It's okay to be it's okay to be human.

I was rolling raised by women, you know I'm saying and I have a male figure until I got older and I didn't really understand.

Like I struggle with my own integrity and like the idea of being a man and having to prove myself because I know what that looked like so I know what you saying, but that's only because I had a perspective of a woman and I had that perspectively.

Yeah.

You it's about you had just one blueprint and you but you didn't have this other one.

That was the only missing piece.

To what you needed so you had to figure that out on you.

That's one of the Mysteries your own blueprint.

I mean everybody has to figure that out for themselves regardless of who they dealing with, you know, but it's about that balance.

I think at the end of the day, you gotta had a balance of both but like I questioned that it all the time growing up this like what is an idea of a man cuz like I grew up around like just drug dealers and like addicts.

So I'm just like What we thought was cool was just having money and doing like record and I'm saying and eventually went like my first like role model was like my uncle we weren't necessary blood my mother got divorced but he still came around held everybody down south down the whole neighborhood that was like my first idea of a man.

So it's like and he was like, he was kind of a hard heart.

He showed love all day.

He let you know that he loves you and all that I am saying but he was really hard on you.

I always feel like that's what that balance is, but I don't know man, like I fully agree with you.

I'm just kind of adding on to that.

I think Jason Wilson, he talks a lot about being comprehensive, man, and that's pretty much.

Being whatever you need to be at any given time, you know, and so that means that as humans first of all, we have full range of emotions, right?

So we explore the anger we explore the that side a lot but we never get into the other side of our emotions sadness fear and things like that.

And so any given time, you know, you may have to be again somebody who stands up and your testosterone takes over by the time you may have to be tender you may have to cry things like that.

So I think once you fully come, you know, you explore those full ranges of emotions you come out as a better person because you know from when from our earliest ages we're talking everything, right?

You know, I'm saying it's no surprise that especially it's black men as we get older.

You know, it's always been we suffer from heart disease we suffering relationships and stuff like that because we're told don't explore that side, you know if I got a problem with my brother I rather just not hang or say nothing because you know all the stuff that I'm thinking.

That's I'm gonna be a punk if I come and tell them that he hurt my feelings.

You know, I'm saying like you were saying like the qualities these are qualities of like strong men and women where it's night.

It's just kind of like frowned upon and like in this scheme of things, you know, I'm saying like culturally like people think that like that's a toxic way of thinking but like like you saying a healthy way of dealing with all that like I think that yeah, there was a word that I just thought of I wanted to answer that it was but he go ahead.

Okay ability vulnerability being vulnerability and vulnerable vulnerability.

That's a strength and a lot of people think that's a weakness when you make yourself vulnerable, you know, I'm saying live that's usually both viewed as a week and a lot of ways their stories are just like mine, but in a lot of ways, they're very different, you know, some of the young men come from mixed parents, you know mix makes household.

So that's something that that I I can't relate to so they told their story and talking about that.

You know some people a lot of us come from single parent homes that come from a single parent home.

You know, I I grew up right here in Ann Arbor, you know Section 8 Housing With My Father Here he was in Ann Arbor, you know, he was just doing his thing and you know, I have a great relationship with my father, but he wasn't in the house.

And so I think young people can relate to that story The not just young but the men that were involved in a project.

I think they can relate to that story.

So what we want to explore tonight is the question is What as a man what will you teach your son?

If you could write a song that talks to your son?

What would that song Sound?

You got one two, three, that's not good.

First of all, I'm the youngest here to to be honest with you and I never really seen that none of my life.

I like outside like yeah on his buffer.

But like he not in my house.

So for me to see it every day type of so I went like I can't I can't really explain how to be a man.

What like, yeah y'all do that out there, but I ain't experience in myself or feel the type of love from them for me.

So I don't I don't I would never in my life respect the man or or man try to be monster because I won't want it at the end of day because I never had my blood father to to do it because you want to know why so it made me not respect.

No man on this Earth because At any day you you not the rest.

I ain't truly.

I I'm not saying no man and air not every man.

Not the same.

I'm just saying it's just that's just where I'm I just left it just like that.

That's my perspective really like I know you so.

There was a question that was asked by to a man his son.

Actually.

How did you didn't have a father?

How did you turn out being such a great father?

And he's in response was I gave what?

I always wanted.

There's some things that you want.

Come on from a man.

From your father some things that you wanted and now you're gonna be in the position when you have kid or it can be some little ones you like.

You know, what I'm gonna do that, you know, I I wanted that from all, you know, I say with an older brother like, oh, you know my brothers like much older than me.

I want it someone I was like maybe just on top of me.

So when I find out I did have a younger brother, you know, like man, I'm gonna do all the things I want it.

For my little brother and I made our relationship, you know better, you know, and so it's the same type of way like you're gonna be put holding you.

16 16 you gonna be putting the position guarantee, you'll be putting the position where there's gonna be some youngest whether it's your own whether it's blood whether it's somebody from neighborhood.

They're gonna look up to you as a role model and you're gonna on the spot.

You have to be like what can I give that young man?

And you are going to yourself?

What is it that you always wanted?

I honestly want to say what I would want my father to do if he were to come back to be honest to you, but If I were to say just beat her to be honest, I wouldn't want you to provide for me.

Nothing.

I do it myself.

Mom.

My momma did the rest.

He already taught me for me.

So just be there for real and show me love you like that that that's all you got to do is be there.

You feel me?

Like I like I know you probably scared.

No, we are be scared.

I'm scared a lot of things for me.

Yeah for me I get butterflies, too.

I don't care.

But like I you gotta owner to it about like I I can't really just beat her what we think a man should be portrayed or things that define a man are things that you already exhibit that I'm not even sure you're aware that you're exiting.

So and the reason why Here is because of the years I work with you.

You were a leader and the younger students in the class always looked up to you.

You know that we talked about this.

Yeah, we talk about this all the time.

So you don't necessarily it would be great if you took this.

This exercise that we're doing and put it to use as far as trying to speak to your child or whatever to the notepad first off.

It's not mandatory.

If you do feel inspired to write you could come from the perspective of a leader in your community in your school in your classroom and already just write down some of the things you already exhibit that you passed down to the younger cats that were in our classroom.

You are always the protector.

If anybody says something about one of the younger kids in the class.

You already know you like nah, that's not going down.

You are always.

Helpful, as far as wanting to help kids get their school work, right?

you were always demanding Excellence from everybody in your class when I was 16.

I feel just like you bro, just like you and it has taken me, you know some decades to You know try to figure it out.

I've been very intentional of you know to not have any kids.

Because I never wanted to pass on you know, the stuff that some of the men in my family passed on.

And I I think it's it's healthy to you know Express that anger and express.

You know, I think that's actually could even be part of you know, this whole exercise is, you know that to hear, you know, some of the anger related to not have a father who was just there like when I was younger like I yeah, I promise I say I hate him all the time but like like growing up.

I noticed like my brothers and sisters fathers that come around their mind wouldn't but they finally want to come around all the time.

So really I was the father figure in my house because my brother just looking up to me.

I did everything to be honest my mom put it all on me.

Yeah.

So yeah, that's so like I so so like really I did I came I came I went I wouldn't hate him for if you were to come back.

No one nation.

I wouldn't I be here but because I already know what I'm able to do and like I have seen it.

Yeah, I've seen it been around me but Shoes because now you gotta relate that point.

How did you overcome that anger?

Because there's people you young and have over there's people who go to their grave and you know, so that's something to talk about.

How did you overcome that?

You know, literally?

for me I used to feel like I just felt like she loved me you gonna say and like everything my mom have put me do I I used to hate her for it for for me.

I use.

Hey Mom, too.

I know I ain't gonna lie to you right now, but as I age I learned to forgive her like because first of all to be honest I'm only gonna be a kind of fool.

When I get up there, so like if I ain't gonna forgive my mama or make myself a better person or even do anything a life.

I got it.

I got it build it within myself.

I think like he said ain't nothing mandatory here, you know I'm saying but I think your perspective and what you have to say is important and people should hear that but like whatever you want to do and I'm saying for sure like well, I think what you got to say is useful for people.

And yeah being president.

I think that's I mean that's harder than with any of us care to admit man to be.

As man you get real busy real quick, you know and say yeah, I'm present I'm gonna go where the how big how small it is?

I'm gonna be present with my kids and president necessary me.

I'm just there.

I mean that y'all not on my phone not thinking about work because a lot of times we bring our work what doesn't be doing stuff.

All right, you know, so just to be present enough to be, you know to be there mentally and physically, you know, it's very very important characteristic.

It's all like there's so much lost potential in a lot of black thing because they just perceive us one way.

Like you like the love the surface level stuff you tell us the surface level stuff.

You just said today easily could been could be like copies of a bunch of people were to put the world break on you thousand things on you to keep moving because it's gonna hold you back at any day.

Yeah.

I been everywhere Cycle Warehouse everything you got it.

You got to be resilient for real.

I appreciate.

How open people are and I think if I could say anything about Mike and buffing myself, it was intentional for us to spend a lot of time in the first couple months really developing camaraderie a amongst you so we could be this honest with each other, you know, we don't have walls in this group and every time we talk or whatever it's not necessarily going to be where we you know, where we getting this D. But I appreciate the courage that it to when you introduce yourself to me.

You said your name was real?

You understand what I'm saying?

And that was the realest one of the realest things I ever heard you say tonight, and I just appreciate what everybody brought to the table.

And it just it just feed my spirit so much to be able to hear these things.

And I think that what we Express in this music is gonna feed the spirit of other people and that's what our intent is.

Keep in mind that this is a lot bigger than us.

It's for all young men.

Not and not even just young men of color in Washington County.

It's for all young men to be able to gain something from so that's all I got to say.

I think you know we find some music see if we can pick up some inspiration if y'all want to do like eight bars a piece or something like that.

Somebody want to work on a hook.

Let's see what we can come up with in the next couple.

But the name mixes came but the treat is a lot of scum.

I'm really wicked out before I'm talking Revolution the government cannot stop the growth and evolution.

I'm gonna take the game.

I got for my ogs and make sure every person on this Earth know me.

Reciprocity was never part of them Monopoly.

Just skiing that really don't give back especially if you brown the black.

So I'm asking Casey for my van that it's time to stack apart as chicken get some land back.

I need my tax dollars in a 401k I wanna dials that I used to round the way because in any snacks in between the place trust and good faith.

I'm trying to be sitting at the table.

Just enjoying the cake not having this great.

Bye.

I just wanted for my people.

That's the difference.

Let it be you can watch this revolutionize like we do know permission.

I see three Euros Devin kiss you.

but without TJ Show a picture on the way back from Florida yeah, like in the car.

Yeah.

our okay Well appreciate y'all making time.

mid travel and safe out there.

Trying to man.

Yeah.

It's been a while.

crazy times it's like like coronavirus is like the afterthought Yes, you know what I'm saying?

We're talking about it.

Not one bit.

I don't even mention the baby cases are going up or anything like that.

Whether it's gonna go up in these.

These large natural areas, you know I'm saying because of what's been going on.

and but I mean in even when you look at it on a national scale.

Even though there's been you know, I'm saying I hate to say like standard.

Kind of standard disruption and disruptive behavior, whatever but I mean the loss of life.

As a result has not been high.

You know what I'm saying?

Um, I mean, it's been remarkably nonviolent in a lot of places.

But because when you look at the scope of it, I mean, this is everywhere instead of all been avoided.

If just been served if that's happening, so it's just like you took forever to arrest this guy and now you're like trying to like like you're not like you're not that's the partners.

And now this point we were just like well, I'm unemployed.

I'm not going to sit inside and I'm gonna write.

Being Lewis in here now what upload?

What's good family?

How are you?

I'm telling I was I've been in I've been in Detroit Friday and Saturday Friday and Saturday night.

So oh my God, I'm glad you say man.

Yeah.

All right last night.

Yeah, I'm kind of I'm kind of taking that all in it's it's my different when you when you actually out there you feel me and then you go back home.

And you see I like everything at the news traffic is my man.

So it's so many lies that they telling doggy so many so many so many lives like what like one of the alright so When we left the first thing we did was like check the news right, you know the like what they were saying.

Doggy he said that only five people got arrested.

This was on Saturday night.

Five people got arrested and there were zero injuries, right?

Bruh, my man's next to me.

We were we were like your front line, right?

The police were shooting rubber bullets from man's got hit in the face.

It looked like somebody took a knife and slice the piece of pie out of his lit where you can see his front teeth that You know what?

So that statement that I'm able for Lou got on that's all based on perception that I'm getting from the news.

Exactly I'm saying yeah, it's broke to be honest with our if you are if you if you if you haven't if you haven't been out there and when it's seen it for yourself.

Anything after that the media say do not trust.

What I was live last night you got arrested on camera.

Like right now the boy jpf can maze.

A home girl Tori.

She went like a hundred pounds her and her friend today.

They both got arrested.

She said she got Cuts all of them all up down her arms and stuff her shoulders thrown around here.

Bro, there there procedures.

So wow, like they don't they don't they don't look to see if you're doing anything.

You feel me?

He's like, what's that call?

Once that call gets cold.

They they run out they like they basically jump out.

Actually they'll stay in a straight line and then they'll like jump out at you and just grab or be whoever they can grab and then they'll do that for about 20 to 25 seconds.

And then they'll regroup right back into a line and wait to get caught again and then they'll all start marching like for you Like this crazy bro, like literally man.

It was it was all peaceful at first.

This is another thing really it was all peaceful.

At first.

We did our walk Walking the highways all of that all of that and then the police ended up standing up like, you know in their lines or whatnot and bro, they actually they're the ones actually started the taunting.

You feel like banging banging on their shoes like that.

That's what God people, you know Wild.

People was chilling.

We were saying we had to say someone and someone and then they got to like being on this you then got the got the Barking so he's got the Barking back.

this meeting was Initially called because you know there was that there's a pandemic going on.

And yeah, and we haven't been able to meet obviously for obvious reason and finish up this project that we all I know so desperately want to get done and finish up.

And so we thought it was good to get everybody on just checking see everybody's doing first of all physically mentally emotionally.

and you know get shot a song that you hear some of the close to finish product and get your thoughts on anything.

Y'all might have on the songs.

But in lieu of what's been going on in the last week or so.

I think it's Great coincidence that we were having this convening so we can hear somebody thought you guys are already talking about.

And Lou you been out in the field.

So here in your perspective on that is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for that.

Oh, but I do I do want to take a brief a brief moment of silence to acknowledge.

Not just you know, George, of course, not good all our brothers and sisters and transgender black people that have been here by the police and people so called taking citizens arrest doing whatever taking a lot on their own hands.

And everyone that that has been lost to covid-19 or anyone you lost in your personal life.

So I just want to take a quick moment of silence to acknowledge all those appreciate that.

Um, so real quick.

I want to hear some message everybody.

We'll go around a particular order.

Just you know, I would like to hear I know it's been crazy times, but I would like to hear a positive thing from each one of something you experience within the last month or so that has brought you Joy brought you excitement brought you happiness so we can start with anybody just let us know something you've experienced in the last one.

So that's that's brought you some Joy What else will look first of all Luke cut his dreads and I'm over here like yeah.

Oh, wait a minute.

Hold on.

Would you just cut you me just cut him shorter nobody I I calmed out my Lots.

Okay.

Yeah, I come tomorrow and I didn't bring them down.

So I guess actually go first.

Hey, thanks, Sam.

I feel the same way when you Cut well.

when covid hit I dropped everything.

This is this is our life.

This is our life right now.

You know, yeah it was.

You know obviously music was secondary.

That was the first thing from our mind when covid hit but it did, you know, it did hinder our process for sure and completing the album.

But we just wanted to make sure people.

were taking care of their mental and physical health first and foremost.

This album probably would have been ready.

A couple of months ago a couple of months before it came out.

If not for me to a degree because I dropped everything.

I lost all motivation to mix the album to finish production on the album all of our young men.

They kind of went there separate ways and I kind of locked myself in with my family and and kind of stayed away from doing creative things in lieu of doing the things that needed to be done at home.

Washtenaw County reach out to me and have wmbk lead the covid-19 relief.

Supply relief in this community was huge.

You know for the most part we for sure were in communities.

You know that looked like us and black communities of color because they needed the relief supplies the most, you know, these were the areas that were hardest hit by covid-19.

Again, that's another you know Health Care disparities is that systemic side of things that we want to try to address as well.

I started to kind of pick it up and get back in contact with the fellows like okay.

Yeah.

I think we ready to go ahead and do this and we started talking about dates and we started talking about artwork and we started talking about paperwork and we started talking about all of these things.

But I think like with everything else.

It just was a moment in life for us all to kind of take a step back and reflect on what was truly truly important.

Yeah, and then we we just reconvene, you know, we took a month or so, you know be without super reaching out and trying to contact people say hey, what's up with this and that verse and send these files and but you know once things kind of settled not got back to normal because you know, we know that's may never happen, you know, whatever normal is but so we took a month or so.

Then we started to reach out and slowly come up with the plan on how we wanted to finish.

This album.

We're really proud of this work.

We're really proud that.

We were able to capture a lot of these stories and you know do it in the middle of a pandemic and do it in the middle of you know cultural Uprising and also an economic collapse.

we've had so many people on the team step up and just figure away.

when there wasn't a way, you know when our original Path, you know was was pretty much, you know, totally rearranged, you know, our directors was able to get us.

Studio space that you know, we hadn't budgeted for we hadn't even considered.

You know, we were doing a lot of this on location and Through his connections through his resources and just you know his ability to hustle.

He was able to figure out other ways for us to get this done and get it done safely.

The rest of the footage in a way that I could be quality and also concept could tell the story the way that we wanted to tell it.

You know, we we I'm sure we could have and would have liked to have done more but the project is amazing.

We're all super happy about it.

We love it.

And yeah, we got it.

We got it to a point where we're super excited about it.

The state clean she raised him to the job.

She did was amazing and speaking of amazing.

Yeah.

My wife was amazing.

I feel like having blessed me with a hell of a lady my baby.

Hold me down in the world.

That's so crazy.

She helps me stay sing with this world trying to break me back when I was broke.

She's trying to replace me.

She put me back together like a puzzle to save me the women in my life.

The reason I can do great things.

So I'm so grateful for you.