This episode is sponsored by Bubs Naturals, yet
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to episode 558 with co -founder Sean Lake. Welcome
to the Behind the Shield podcast. As always,
my name is James Geering. And this week, it is
my absolute honor to welcome on the show, rapper
turned comedian, A Hood. Now, in this conversation,
we discuss a host of topics from his childhood
in Shreveport, Louisiana. the importance of mentorship
and parenting, the factors contributing to our
young people leaning into gang culture, his discovery
of social media, his mission to use kindness
and compassion and comedy to bring people back
together again, and so much more. Now, before
we get to this incredible conversation, as I
say every week, please just take a moment, go
to whichever app you listen to this on, subscribe
to the show, Leave feedback and leave a rating.
Every single five -star rating truly does elevate
this podcast, therefore making it easier for
others to find. And this is a free library of
well over 1 ,100 episodes now. So all I ask in
return is that you help share these incredible
men and women's stories so I can get them to
every single person on planet Earth who needs
to hear them. So that being said, I introduce
to you A. Hood. Enjoy. Well, Ehud, I want to
start by saying thank you so much for taking
the time and coming on the Behind the Shield
podcast today. Yes, sir. It's a pleasure being
here. So where on planet Earth are we finding
you this afternoon? I'm sorry. Could you repeat
that? Yeah. So where are you right now? Where
in the States? Yeah, I'm in Texas. Beautiful.
Well, I'd love to start at the very beginning
of your timeline of your life. So tell me where
you were born and tell me a little bit about
your family dynamic, what your parents did, how
many siblings. Well, I was born and raised in
Louisiana. Shreveport to be exact. I'm a family.
My mama had nine kids. So I come from a big family.
I know, you know, that's why I get along with
kids because. you know i got a sister that's
eight you know what i'm saying and i'm gonna
be 35 so i come from a big family so i know how
to socialize with people that's one of the pluses
of coming from a big family you get what i'm
saying um i actually i got two kids i got a daughter
17 love of the death she was the one who introduced
me to the internet well and i have a seven -year
-old son like i said I'm an All -American. If
you ask me anything, I'm an open book. Well,
you're one of nine. I'm one of five kids. So
I'm this large -ish family myself. So where do
you sit? Are you the oldest brother or are you
a little bit lower down? I'm next to the oldest.
I'm next to the oldest. It's seven after me.
Okay. That's the same as me. I'm the second oldest
brother, but second oldest kid. So we're in the
same pecking order. Okay. Talk to me about Shreveport
back then. What was the environment like? What
were you growing up as far as the positive and
the negative role models around you? Shreveport,
man, it's rough all the way around. Growing up
in Shreveport was rough. I always had an ambition.
I can tell you that. I always had an ambition
as a little boy. you know, a pupil. I had dreams
of wanting to be famous, you know. Even when
I couldn't be famous, I'd go around the little
neighborhood, because we stayed in apartments
too. So I cut grass in the local neighborhood.
When we stayed in apartment complexes, I... I
had a nice little clientele. I'd walk over there
and ask them. I'd be like, man, every week, can
I take your trash out? You know what I'm saying?
And they pay me. A lot of people don't want to
walk through that dumpster. You know, I always
had a hustler's ambition. Growing up in Shreveport,
it's a lot of gun violence. You know, and they
don't care who it is. You know, you make a name
for yourself, you a target. You got more than
the next person, you a target. You just want
to be left alone. You're a target. So I left
because at some point I was becoming a target.
You see what I'm saying? I just ain't want to
be another statistic. When you look back now,
what were the reasons, what were the background
reasons that that neighborhood was so dangerous?
Gangs. Like... We got a different set of gangs.
The way Shreveport work, our gangs go by neighborhoods.
You know, we got gangs that a lot of people never
even heard of. You know, faux babies. You got
chasers. And they all break down into different
neighborhoods. You see what I'm saying? One thing
I can say is... Right now, in today's time, it's
trying to do a turnaround. But it's so bad right
now that Trump is going to send the U .S. Army
down to help literally Shreveport. You know,
it ain't got just that bad. Yeah. See, as a firefighter
paramedic, you know, I got to see a lot of neighbors,
some in California, some in Florida, where I
worked on both sides. And you see. how that's
a vicious circle, that cycle of gang membership
and addiction and poverty that just keeps turning
and turning and turning. And if you go far enough
back in the history, the prohibition of drugs,
making addiction illegal, created a business
for slinging dope in the underworld, as it were.
And now it's interesting. I mean, as you smoke
and I sit here talking, my community is starting
to realize that psilocybin you know mushrooms
um mdma ecstasy are healing us for ptsd so the
very laws that you know reefer madness and a
lot of those which are actually founded on racism
that have created the violence that you experience
as a young boy and i saw in uniform now we're
starting to see that turning around and cannabis
being legalized and mdma and you know psilocybin
some of these other ones so I'm hoping that when
that starts to really shift, that that will help
start to take power away from gangs, pulling,
you know, young boys and girls into it. And then
they go towards a more positive direction. So
with me, a little backstory about my mom and
where my message come from, I was very rebellious.
You know, my mom would tell me, don't do something,
I do it. My mama told me, my mama is one of the
most racist mothers you can run across. You know,
and she always had this slogan, if she can't
use a comb, don't bring her home. And I did the
complete opposite. You know, and they don't understand.
A lot of my viewers, they don't really understand.
That you don't have to, what you grew up in is
not what you have to go by when you grow up.
Absolutely. When you venture out in that world,
your choices are yours. Yeah, 100%. And this
is even from the trauma side. I've been talking
about this a lot recently. Whatever you were
raised in. So it could be anything from being
exposed to drugs, gangs, domestic violence, whatever
the things are, regardless of where you live.
You could be on the poverty line or living in
a mansion. It's the same kind of thing. But there's
generational trauma. And the moment exactly what
you're talking about, the moment you, you and
I, as we sit here now, can look and say, okay,
these were the things that happened to me when
I was a kid. And these are the things that happened
to my mom or my dad when they were kids. And
you start seeing those dominoes. Then you can
stop it. Then you can stop your 17 -year -old
and your 7 -year -old having the same kind of
things forced on them. Right. So what about your
dad? You mentioned, obviously, your mother so
far. Was your dad in the picture? Yeah. I grew
up with both parents. Oh, my dad, that's my best
fucking friend. Tell me about him. That's my
best fucking friend. Like, he just called me
to introduce me to his girlfriend. They've been
dating three months, and I told him. You know,
because I told him, I'll let you meet the girl
I've been dating in three months. You know, because
that ain't the type of relationship we got. Man,
let me see. You know, like, we got that type
of relationship. Like, my pops, that's my world.
You know, like, and a lot of people probably
wouldn't understand that, or a lot of people
would, but my dad has been there. You know, and
I'm sorry for the people that didn't have this.
but yeah and what was he doing as a profession
as a career well he worked for the city of shreveport
he'd been working for the city of shreveport
for over 30 years doing what um working on the
streets and drainage okay beautiful so what what
was about him you know talk to me about the the
values that he imparted because like you said
And I've heard this on so many people that be
on the show so far. You know, I had a dad that
was present, like physically present, but emotionally
not so, you know, so it was a kind of a strange
dichotomy. He was there, but he wasn't there.
A lot of people on the show that went into the
military and the first responders and other areas.
A lot of them didn't have parents. They were
absent in one way, shape, or form. And therefore,
they were looking out into the community for
a mentor. And some of them, it might be a bad
mentor first. It might be someone in the gangs.
And then eventually, it might be a teacher, army
recruiter, whoever it was. But there's a lot
to be said about the mother, the fathers that
are there, because that is the answer, is us
trying to reform these homes and raise our children
to feel loved and feel secure. So what was it
about your father with nine children? How was
he able to kind of steer you in this positive
direction? Well, you know, you got good apples
and you got bad apples. So before I answer that
question, I want to tell you, the brother that's
above me and the brother that's right under me
are both in jail for the same murder charge.
They became a statistic. You see what I'm saying?
I just, my other two brothers took to my mom
and I just took to my dad. My dad, he'd been
working for as long as I can remember. You know,
I got my first job at Raising Cane's three days
after my 16th birthday. So, and I've been working.
ever since you see what i'm saying um he funny
people love him um and i can call him and i can
joke about it you know and we can play you know
my dad my dad if i call him right now he gonna
say you already know club five dudes hoover that's
a game i say pop You're 50 fucking 5. Listen,
how? You've had a job for 30 plus years. How
are you a gangbanger, bro? I ain't never known
a gangbanger hold a job for 30 plus years. They
can't even live 30 plus years. You got a family.
That don't sound like a gangbanger. Gangbangers
build family in the streets. it's a different
but i can joke about him with those things you
know what i'm saying and we laugh and he just
he's just a good person to be around well what
about when you were in the school ages what were
you playing as far as sports or exercise honestly
i ran track uh and i was in gymnastics i can
really turn flips like backhand frames and um
but other than that i was a troubled child at
school i found track to get me out of that but
then i just got so many bad memories of my mom
because she stopped me from doing that because
she didn't want to go to the other school and
get my brothers and sisters while she was at
home. So I didn't too much have a social life.
I did a lot of running away. Yeah, I mean, that
must have been hard with nine kids trying to
give them positive outlets, you know, sports,
whatever it was. But, I mean, with nine of them,
especially the way I know American sports are
here, you know, with the costs and, as you said,
all the different events and locations, I mean,
that must have been a nightmare with nine of
you. Right. But we also lived a good life, though.
you know like i said my daddy's been working
for as long as i can remember uh we grew up in
a medium not no high living not poverty but you
know i had every new game system that came out
um but yeah they divorced now though but So what
about career aspirations? What were you dreaming
of becoming when you were in high school? On
somebody's television. You know, I always want
to be on somebody's television. I'm going to
be on somebody's television one day. One day.
And who were your heroes at that point? Who were
you wanting to emulate? Who was on television?
Lil Wayne. You know, my first, I wanted to be
a rapper. You know, that was my first thing,
a rapper. That didn't make it far. I learned
real hard. If you are truly good at something,
you don't have to work hard to be good at it.
You know, a lot of people be rapping for 30 years,
ain't went nowhere. But there's somebody that
come along in six months and can surpass you.
So. I decided to choose a different route around
2019. And then that's when I fell into the comedy.
So talk to me about that. Which route did you
take? And then how did that lead you to comedy?
I took the rapping route. I lived in Atlanta.
I even, me and this rapper, I don't know if you
ever heard of him, Boosie, La Boosie and La Webby.
They from Louisiana, but they, they be too. I
got locked in with them in Atlanta. They shot
my video. You know, it did numbers. But then
me and my son's mama, she left me for somebody
else. Cold turkey. Like it was out of the blue.
I came home from work and she was gone. And so
I took my son. and we moved back to Louisiana.
I left the music alone. My mama let me stay,
but she also make it uncomfortable, impossible
to live there. You get what I'm saying? So I
moved to Missouri. My daughter called. And she
was like, Dad, this new app out, this new app
out, TikTok. I want to be TikTok famous. Can
you help me? I'm like, I'm living with somebody.
I'm working at Sony. And I'm a full -time dad,
single. And I was like, no. I got real life to
deal with. She got mad. Didn't want to call me.
Didn't want to talk to me for two months. And
then she called back. And she was like. dad you
got my brother staying with you right i said
yeah you know this she was like and the only
thing i'm asking you to do is download this app
to burn with me and you can't do that but you
got my brother 24 7. i downloaded the app hands
down question you know so she teaching me You
know, we're doing these TikTok dances. You know,
that's why I learned this little move right here.
Ooh, ooh. She taught me that. You know what I'm
saying? So she got grounded. I got addicted to
the app, you know, but she got grounded. I'm
up there. This time, I'm calling her. I'm like,
what's the new dance we finna do? You know, and
I ain't had it. Because she got grounded for
like three months. Her phone was suspended from
social media. So I felt like, dang, I got to
find something else to do. I'm like, do I want
to do the music? Do I want to go back to the
music? I feel like I got to work too hard for
that. And then I was like, my family always told
me I was extra funny. And I said, I'm just going
to try. So I started doing lip syncs. of funny
comedians lavelle crawford uh kevin hart and
i said this ain't gonna give me no well i want
to be more creative so i started doing these
skits by myself um then i moved to ohio springfield
ohio during the wintertime and um i remember
walking on the porch And I was like, I'm waiting
on, it's snowing. It's like three inches. And
it's, and I'm like, oh man, I need somebody to
come down the street so I can ask them this question
about this lady that I saw. Her name was Roe
Vickie. And because she got out of the store,
she was like, the Shell Moon, anybody want something
from the Shell Moon? And I was like, I don't
see nobody. So, fuck, I was just like, okay.
so i walked to the porch and i was like hey who
it y 'all ever heard of a song alone and it just
took off from them you know during those times
they didn't have community guidelines so it wasn't
nothing consider harassment and bullying but
when i created the guidelines then my page all
the videos started coming down for harassment
and bullying so um my page got banned at 1 .5
million followers um a lot of money was in that
account and uh i fell off the app for like two
or three years i got into some legal trouble
and i'm back um i was incarcerated probably about
a year and a half and I came back then, took
a little longer break. And then I just been back
maybe about a year, year and a half. And then
here I am. Well, going back to first getting
TikTok, up to that point, had you used social
media like Instagram, Facebook, any of the less
TikTok -y apps? Didn't care too much for Facebook
until recently. Didn't care too much for Instagram.
until recently um because i feel like they both
hard to grow on and i blinked twice and the following
just was like voila so i gotta entertain them
too you know well talk to me about your livelihood
being kind of interwoven into social media because
you and I spoke the other day and I lost my account.
And I think in all honesty, even though they
said it was a copyright thing, it was kind of
earlier with the whole Gaza issue. And I had
guests on and, you know, I was talking about
that because I think that, you know, when tens
of thousands of children are killed, it's a bad
thing. And obviously that wasn't a popular opinion
back then for some reason. And yeah, I had, I
think, 220 ,000 people on Instagram and then
boom, it was gone. No appeal, nothing, just gone.
Now I didn't monetize that, but it was still,
it was right when I released my book last year,
right when it happened. So all the potential
exposure for a book that's helped a lot of people
was just taken away from me. So talk to me about
how you built up the financial side some of this
um you know the the overextension of rules and
that closing down how that affected you financially
because this is an important you know if people
are putting out truly hateful stuff of course
that their account needs to get taken down so
many people's accounts were removed you know
early in covid because they said that masks don't
work or whatever masks don't work you know what
i mean they were telling the truth right when
i lost the account I can't say that it impacted
me financially because I lost it while I was
in incarceration. You get what I'm saying? So,
you know, it ain't like, of course, I came home
and had to start over and build the brand again.
And I can say, yeah, it changed my lifestyle
when I came home. But I've always had something
to fall back on. I have a culinary arts trade.
You know, I've cooked for Trey Songz because
I've cooked, I've worked for places like Copeland's
Cheesecake Factory, Texas Roadhouse, Arnie's.
These are, you know, I didn't, I had my fair
share, you know, of being around, you know, but
other than that, like I said, I've always had
something to fall back on. Well, before you were
talking about doing the lip sync and that kind
of thing, it seems, correct me if I'm wrong,
that this kind of, you know, 2 .0 A -hood, there's
a message of kindness and community and pulling
people together. So where did that come from?
Okay. I told myself that I was nervous at first
because I was like, okay, what if they get up
here and... You know, crucify me for this. You
know what I'm saying? But then I was like, it's
always somebody out there somewhere that feel
like you do. You know what I'm saying? So my
objective is to take the power from the words.
You know, if the African -American black community.
hear you say what I say, they'll have a different
story for you. But if it's coming from me, they
left confused. You see what I'm saying? I do.
Now, one day I'm gonna wake up and it's gonna
be people like you and me uplifting each other.
You see what I'm saying? So, man, I woke up one
day and I thought to myself and I was like, we
need our own word. The first video that I made,
I said, I'm gonna only say this one and one time
only. If it ain't what? It ain't right. And that
took off. Okay. Have you ever heard of Clayton
Bigsby? I have, yes. So I started doing a couple
of Clayton Bigsby skits. That's Dave Chappelle,
isn't it? The clan member, the blind clan member.
So my objective was to draw as many people. that
i can that thinks it's funny whatever whatever
i don't care the color and then flip it then
that's when knacker nation came about you see
what i'm saying so i i made a video saying if
i'm your milk and you my crowd then why together
we can't be some knackers it's only right 100
and then you start seeing more people joining
more people joining now it's becoming a movement
it's not it's a it's a family it's not a trend
it's a way of life what's really sad as we sit
here recording now i think it was about three
or four days ago that poor ukrainian woman was
stabbed in charlotte north carolina by a black
passenger that sat right behind her. And it has
become, again, depending on what you allow yourself
to see and which news outlet you consider is
your Bible, a kind of race conversation. And
clearly it's a mental health conversation. If
a human being sitting behind someone else on
a train decides to stab them in the neck, that's
not about color, creed, sexual orientation. It's
about mental health. And so I see this, I almost
feel like it's a desperate attempt because I
think this division is starting to fail. I think
people exactly like you're saying are realizing
that in their schools, in their communities,
in their workplaces, they work with people of
all colors, creeds, backgrounds, and, you know,
they get on really well. So I feel like that,
for example, is one of these things thrust into
us again, like, oh, don't forget that, you know.
The black people do this and the white people
do that. And I think it's bullshit. I really
do. And so I don't know what your perspective
is, but I think there's a huge awakening now
for what I always say is like the 80 percent
in the middle that aren't racist on one side
or racist on the other or, you know, whatever
extremists, the 80 percent, the majority that
are just sick and tired of this divisive rhetoric
and and, you know, want to have that conversation
like, hey, we do all. this is the united states
of america we do all get along right and that's
and i think that's the reason why they trying
to remove tick tock because a lot of people is
learning different ways of life you see what
i'm saying through their mobile device you see
what i'm saying like to us it's a they saying
it's a security risk you see what i'm saying
yeah you know i don't i can be honest like Everybody
here, we only reporting what we see. I mean,
if you want to flip it around, if you want to
get down to the bottom of it, it's a security
risk if you have a government of either side
that's allowed the country to get fatter and
sicker, that's allowed our schools to become
a place where shootings are a common occurrence,
that have allowed gangs to thrive because of
drug prohibition. The greatest threat to national
security is our government at the moment, not
someone from overseas. Right, right. They're
doing it right under our nose. You know, so,
but honestly, me personally, I feel like if I
sit back, you asked me, you didn't know my thoughts
on the, you know, the black and the whites and,
you know, the makeskins. My thing is, I have
seen the slavery movies, okay? I've seen what
happened. My thing is, I'm not finna prosecute
a person. For something they never had to endure
and they was born in the same time we born it
had nothing to do with these things if I Treat
a person accordingly to how they treat me. You
see what I'm saying? Um, I can go in Some of
my best friends are white You know, I'm saying.
Mm -hmm. Um, I got some best friends with black
Like I got some best friends Mexican Maybe one
of them, but, you know. But I treat a person
accordingly to how they treat me. Like, the very
thing that we preach about and we talk about
is what we do every day. It's racism in every
race. Racism in every race. No matter what it
is, you got bad judges, you got good judges.
You got bad lawyers, you got good lawyers. You
got bad doctors, you got good doctors. The world
revolves around good and bad. My analogy, if
you go to the grocery store, and this is for
the police officers, that's why I say I bag the
blue. Only the good, not the bad. You see what
I'm saying? Because if I go to the grocery store
and I buy a dozen eggs and three of them eggs
is bad and the rest of them things good, all
other nine good, what you going to do? You going
to throw the whole thing away? No, you going
to throw them three eggs out. You going to cook
them other nine. So work with what you got. We'll
cross that bridge when somebody treats me. according
to my color and not my personality yeah yeah
well i think this is the thing as well with with
history and again i'm british so my nation or
people leaders of my nation have done horrible
things around the world they colonized two -thirds
of the world at one point um and even though
there are some beautiful side effects if you
go to london these days you know you'll see the
whole world represented you know if you go to
heathrow airport it's you know african dress
and indian and you know all over the world and
these are all british people coming home so you
know that there's there's an upside to some of
this because we can't go back and change it but
acknowledging history is extremely important
remembering history you know we have to remember
history otherwise we make the same mistake over
and over again but that's different than continuing
a victimhood as you said generations later i
learned um you know recently that at the height
of slavery when the british were the ones who
were buying the slaves from the african tribes
and then basically trading them with the americans
so they came home with tobacco and clean hands
um that was when britain's were british people
were some of the poorest ever so some people
were making a shitload of money but the country
wasn't you know what i mean so the moment you
kind of broad brush everyone this is where we
get into trouble and if you Take a step back
and you look at the horrible things that have
happened in history. Usually it's a few people
in the government, in businesses, whatever it
is, and everyone else has to pay the price. So
the way we really turn things around is, as you
said, we all stand side by side. Someone made
a comment on an interview a few months ago and
said, if you think about a medieval castle, like
the old British Robin Hood type time. And you've
got the peasants in the village arguing with
each other. You told them that, oh, they're the
bad guys and they're the bad guys. He said, well,
then where are you not looking? At the castle.
And this is the point. Don't get me wrong. There
are some great countries with great leaders around
the world, but the bad ones will keep dividing,
keep reminding, oh, you know, you're black, I'm
white, you're gay, I'm straight, whatever the
thing is. And then you're creating that tension
to take the eyes off where we should be looking.
The safety of our schools, the quality of our
food, the purity of our water, all these things
that affect every single person, whether you're,
again, any color, creed, sexual orientation.
Right. I agree. I concur. At the end of the day,
what we stand for is family, unity. Color don't
matter. And a lot of people wouldn't understand
when I say, if it wasn't for Jazzy, Beauty, Peaches,
Tony, Virgo, these are people that actually got
behind the content, the brand, and helped push
it to become what it is. You see what I'm saying?
I do. So when you got a solid team behind you,
like I said, I'll be the face of the movement,
even though I feel like somebody should have
said this a long time ago. I can relate to that
completely. I've always said, how come a guy
with very limited intelligence that came from,
you know, across the ocean from the UK can figure
out some of this stuff, but the people that we
pay a lot of money don't, you know, I mean, if
you think about the amount of money that's out
there. we should be living harmoniously. The
rest of the world should be dreaming of coming
to America because everyone's healthy and the
schools are safe and the environment is protected.
But it's not. So if you look at a movement, more
often than not, it's people that were sick and
tired of watching pain, suffering, whatever it
was, and they said enough is enough. And whether
it's someone... creating a training company for,
you know, women to help them with domestic abuse
or whether it's, you know, starting a TikTok,
trying to bring people of different, you know,
ethnicities back together again. It's the same
thing. Right. And I mix it with some comedy too,
you know. So I get some inboxes. People be like,
are you making fun of us or are you serious?
I'm dead ass serious. I love. everybody i don't
care who you are if you like what i do then we
got something in common you get what i'm saying
i have a dark sense of humor i'm sorry i laugh
about some you know what i'm saying i i i'll
be playing with my homeboys because i was crawling
back like kente but that's i play like that my
that's how me and my people play You know, like,
I got a dark sense of humor. I like to laugh
at the shit a lot of people wouldn't laugh about.
And now that I've seen more than just me, I got
a dark sense of humor. But I had to learn it.
You ever watch South Park? Yeah, I love that
show. That's the perfect example of using dark
humor to put a point across. And I think what
they do so well is they don't just make fun of
people that they they choose to make fun. They
make fun of everyone, all of us. So no, no one.
So that way is fair. No one escapes the mirror
that's held to our face. Right. So. At the end
of the day. I don't know where it's going to
go. But I feel like it's going to be somewhere.
You know, I enjoyed you. And can you let the
people know where can they stream this at? Yeah,
you can say that. Yep. Let us know. How can we
stream? oh this on the podcast yeah for people
listening yeah if you just basically put in behind
the shield podcast in google this will pop up
straight away and if you put a hood as well then
but it will be on everything itunes spotify i
mean any anywhere it's not i don't do the video
i just do the audio so they'll be able to hear
it anywhere they get podcasts right okay so but
like i say at the end of the day i'm gonna try
That's all I can do is try. If you were king
for a day and you could change some things that
are going on at the moment, what would you change
to make this mission come together for you? Man,
listen, a lot of people are going to hate me
when I say this. I remove all leadership, man.
I feel like we wasn't put here for leadership.
I don't feel like leadership was a part of God's
plan. You know, that was man -made. You know,
like, we shouldn't be paying for grapes, man.
Them free. He gave us to them free. You know.
I just, I'll remove all this. Man, listen. I
said it. I don't. Nope. I never voted. Nope.
Never will. Nope. That'll be my main thing. If
I was king for a day, that means when I'm not
king, this is a free world. Mm -hmm. Well, it's
interesting. I understand we have some cuckoos
out there. And a lot of people may feel like
we need that. But if it's nothing, you can deal
with it. You see what I'm saying? I just, I feel
like the wars and all it is, that's just a little
much. I'm over here shaking in my boots behind
some shit I ain't even did. Yeah, no, it's funny
because, I mean, it kind of mirrors what I say,
not no leadership, but the way that our system
is designed to choose people, you have to be
a millionaire or billionaire. You take money
from companies that basically buy your way into
being president. And you have to have no ethics
because those companies, a lot of times their
products kill a lot of people. Tobacco, drug
companies, fast food, et cetera, et cetera. Military,
you know, weapons manufacturers, those kind of
things. So, yeah, I agree. I think if you look
at, you know, healthy societies, usually a leader
is chosen because people want that person to
be in that position. Not because they bought
their way in. Not because they lied their way
in. And until we have something that represents
that. I think people would rather just have no
leader than deal with this because we've had
the left, we've had the right. And again, over
the tens and tens of years, we've got fatter
and sicker. You know, we've got this, just when
we were starting to heal and come together as
a nation, I think, you know, in a couple of days,
it's 9 -12, day after 9 -11. That's what you
saw. America really was America and doesn't matter
what you were as far as, you know, how you look
to who you pray to. We all came together. So,
you know, I think that, yeah, we. Leadership
would be good only if it was the kind of people
that most of us truly looked up to. You know
what I mean? And what should happen in an election
is you'd have two people running or three people
running. If one of them won, you'd be like, okay,
well, that wasn't my favorite, but they're still
really good. But that's not what happens. You
know what I mean? So, yeah. So, me personally,
Maybe not no leadership, but something, something.
That's all you want is just good leadership.
You know, something different, something different
because I don't, I'm not understanding it right
now. Well, I think there's a, there's a basic
kind of principle in my opinion. Leaders bring
people together. Tyrants force people apart.
That's it. So if we had a good leader and we
were slowly being brought together and the leader
themselves was, you know, stayed in shape and
ate well and talked about mental health openly
and, you know, was looking for proactive reasons
to help people that are struggling and invested
in communities that were, you know, maybe not
as able as other areas, you know, and you're
seeing this nation heal. I think a lot of people
would be happy with that person being in place.
But it's the basic principle. If you're not bringing
the country together, if you're dividing it,
then you're not a leader. You're a tyrant. Like,
I ain't never seen so many people. Like, it's
real life. Some people be like, if I make a political
post that's on the joking side, you got some
people that will say, yeah, that's them Democrats
for you. That's some Republican shit right there.
You know, I've never seen it like... Do they
know that that's gangbanging too? That's red
and blue. Mm -hmm. Exactly. And even the legal
drug companies, the same as drug companies. Everybody
that's watching this shit, you're gangbanging
for the government. Mm -hmm. Yeah, you look at
the model of fast food, you look at the model
for prescription drugs, it's no different than
what you'd see on the streets. It really isn't.
You know, create an addict for life. Right. So
just keep that in mind. Y 'all be over here talking
about, I'm team red. Y 'all talking about y 'all
team blue. But when you hear somebody say it
in the street, your head gonna run like hell.
Absolutely. And then what do you see with those
old heads and the Crips and the Bloods when they
start getting into their 40s? they realize that
it was crazy. And they start standing side by
side, trying to stop kids from going into the
gangs in the first place. But it's too late.
Because if you should have stopped it, they should
have stopped with you when you're younger age
before they, you know, your partners, you should
have stopped your partners. And your partners
should have stopped their partners. You know?
So I ain't no youngsters trying to hear what
no OGs trying to say when you got NBA Youngboy
and they don't. So how do we change that? I mean,
I think the drug prohibition element would be
huge because if you simply couldn't make money
slinging dope anymore because they were fixing
people that were addicts and you could have access
to pharmaceutical grade opiates or whatever it
is, if you were weaning yourself off, then you'd
cut the head off the snake, I think, with the
drug side at least. So aside from that, how do
we stop this circle of violence when it comes
to gang membership? You, honestly, I feel like
if it's always something, they stop this, it's
going to start a different something. You see
what I'm saying? This 2025, I done seen some
shit and heard some shit I ain't never even heard
of before. You see what I'm saying? They can
stop this and start it another way, but that
only going to make them go another way. you see
what i'm saying so if let me give you an example
they made weed legal everywhere you know to where
like you said they're not going to go in there
and sell them off with cocaine so if they can't
if the government can't do that then that pushes
everybody that goes from that route to another
avenue it's always something You see what I'm
saying? I feel like making it legal would be
doing more harm than helping because I don't
feel like marijuana tearing down the community.
So I wouldn't want to mess with the people that's
dealing that. You get what I'm saying? Because
then you will push them to do something else
because they got to provide for a lifestyle that
they have already accumulated. You see what I'm
saying? Then whatever they promote they sell
to, then we'll be tearing down the community.
You get what I'm saying? See, you have legalization
where you can go and buy it, and then you have
decriminalization. And that's the model that
I think is really good. They did it in Portugal.
And again, like you said, marijuana, obviously,
we're seeing it legalized now. Because I think
that when you take a step back, yes, you can
make a living selling marijuana, but how many
kids that ended up in the gangs and selling whatever
on the corner were we robbing? from a career
to do something you know architect construction
doctor whatever like we stopped their potential
because of the environment they were surrounded
with but what the portugal model really is is
the understanding as you said when you start
getting harder now cocaine you know opiates crystal
meth all these other illicit drugs those are
being used by people who are hurting and so if
you can pour resources into mental health addiction
counseling job creation housing And you stop
a lot of people from needing to fill that void
with a drug specifically. And I think, again,
some of the therapeutic ones we talked about,
that's a different conversation. Marijuana, MDMA,
psilocybin, these have healing properties. But
with the other ones that are just destroying
people, and then obviously we have opiates with
fentanyl at the moment that are just snuffing
people out of all colors, creeds, and ages. If
you can take away some of that pain from the
community, then those people stand on their own
feet and they're... back in the community so
your customers diminish in the illicit drug trade
you know immensely and that's that's what happened
in portugal they still chased the smugglers they
chased the dealers but you know the users themselves
they put in to they gave them support to get
them well again because you know addiction is
basically a sickness and again i'm not talking
about you know marijuana and some of these therapeutic
ones so i think that's what's interesting about
that model because if you're option isn't to
sell drugs anymore, and you create an infrastructure,
then a lot of those young people will then go
and do careers that are a lot more rewarding
and don't result in dying in some god -awful
drug war. Right. But what about the ones that
then gave up all of that without and chose it
for the streets? Because a lot of these people
out here want to be where they are. They don't
want help. why do you think that is in louisiana
we call it chasing a dragon something you saw
the first time you got high that you want to
see again that you'll never see again you know
so you you do have those and you can pull in
the resources all you want a lot of them just
won't accept it because they don't want They
want to be carefree. They want no worries. They
like where they at. Like I'm from Louisiana.
I'm from Shreveport. I see a lot of it. A lot
of people like, I done seen a dude quit his job
that worked with me to stand on the corner. And
then when I, he was holding the sign. I didn't
give him nothing because. You was my co -worker.
Why did you quit? You see what I'm saying? I
do. No, please. I'm a realist. I'm going to say
what I feel. It was no reason. We got the same
24 hours. The same seven days. I think that...
Other danger, though, is that there'll always
be that group. There'll always be that group
that you can't help, no matter how much you try.
Whether it's people trying to stop smoking, whether
it's illicit drugs, whether it's homelessness,
whatever it is. But we focus on the ones that
didn't work for rather than the ones that it
did. And I think this is what we miss in America.
Food stamps, government housing, they always
point out the people that abuse it. Yeah, that
happens. I see it as a paramedic and a firefighter
in America. I saw it my whole career. But we're
not looking about all of those families that
it helped, that got back on their feet. You know
what I mean? So I think that's the other part
is not thinking that we're going to fix everything.
But we have to change the way we do it because
the way we're doing it now isn't working. I mean,
it's just not. Right. I agree. So that's why.
That's why what we do is what we do. I believe
a lot of people feel like they have some sort
of freedom in what we do. You see what I'm saying?
Yeah. Honestly. I done seen people, I done seen,
I love my Caucasian people, man. I done seen
them make a video saying, black power and it
just tickled me you know how can anybody hate
it now i'm getting special requests talking about
man what about the mix because in the end you
know so we gotta we gotta make sure that everybody
feel welcome absolutely Well, you've obviously
mentioned about, you know, the TikTok channel
specifically. Where do you hope this all leads
to? Is there going to be, you know, outside of
social media, live comedy, you know, TV shows?
Yeah, I'm in the process of starting stand up.
Ultimately, I'm going to my first major step
and go. I say would be Wildin' Out. I want to
be on MTV Wildin' Out. That's my major first
step and go. Because if I can get the audience
to see me just one time, oh, I'm going to shine
bright like I die, man. All right. Well, I want
to go to some closing questions and then we'll
make sure, again, everyone knows where to find
you on social media. The first question, is there
a book or are there books that you love to recommend?
It can be related to our discussion today or
completely unrelated. I like to read fantasy.
So I love reading Twilight sagas. I love Harry
Potter books. Those are my two favorite series.
And these books they call hood rat novels. Yeah.
Yeah. Don't buy that book. Don't buy that book.
A whole lot of hood stuff. What about TV, films,
or documentaries? TV. True Blood. orange is the
new black um let me see movies oh i'm a i'm an
october baby so anything anything horror you
know um i just watched the new uh conjuring yeah
yeah yes yes i just watched weapons have you
seen that yet It's not like horror, like slasher
or anything, but it's creepy as hell. It's Josh
Brolin and some other people. But yeah, that's
another good one. If you're into horror, watch
that one too. Okay. Brilliant. What about documentaries?
Any of those? Are you a documentary watcher?
Yeah. BMF. BMF? BMF. BMF, okay. you know the
black mafia family you know um yeah i love country
music though let's get that clip but i love our
music but i got a special special place in my
heart for some country that's what we're seeing
again back to our conversation earlier if you
look at I mean, obviously sports teams, I mean,
they're pretty diverse and we seem to ignore
that, that these, you know, men or women or whatever
team it is, you know, play side by side and,
you know, rejoice and hug each other or console
each other if they've won or lost. But even in
music, look at the fusions that have happened
for a long time now, you know, these collaborations
between these different, you know, music genres
that supposedly are all black or all white, whatever.
And it's bullshit. They're all playing together.
Right. And there's so much unity in the world
today, man. That's why I think they're trying
to remove TikTok. Absolutely. All right. Well,
the next question, is there a person that you
recommend to come on this podcast as a guest
to speak to the first responders, military, and
associated professions of the world? Hmm. Yeah.
Texas cop. 2 .0. He's actually a police officer.
That's his social media handle? Texas cop 2 .0?
Okay. All right. I'll look him up. Another one
as well I'd love to get on is Lil Wayne. Because
if you hear him talking about the kindness of
a cop when he was little. when you know when
when his house was raided and i think he was
shot as well at that point he was only a little
boy um you know again he's he's been a another
voice of exactly what we're talking about you
know good good people bad people not about you
know skin color or uniform in that case but just
who showed him kindness when everyone else was
stepping over him and he he that was a good story
too i did hear that story yeah that story was
told on i think the bt awards one year Yeah,
Uncle something. I forget what his name was now,
but he referred to him as Uncle. Yeah. All right.
Well, then the last question before we make sure
everyone knows where to find you and your work.
What do you do to decompress? I listen to music.
I play Fortnite a lot. That's why I mellow it.
And again, I didn't think about that. How many
people of all colors and creeds play those games
side by side talking to each other. You know
what I mean? Right. They may look like a dragon
or whatever it is in the game, but they're not.
Like I didn't, I didn't met some great people
just from by playing the game. Yeah. And you
can't see him. So you're not judging on how they
look or what color they are or if they're wearing
a turban or a burqa. They're just whatever character
in the game and you're talking to them. Right.
Absolutely. All right. Well, then for people
listening, the social media platforms, where
are the best places to find you on all things?
Instagram and TikTok is both A -Y -E -H -O -O
-D official. One word. That's where you can find
me on all platforms. And I would like to, if
I missed a couple people, big ups, Tony, I love
you, brother. Peaches, I love you. Jazzy, I love
y 'all. Thank y 'all for being a part of what
we do. G, Ginger, Cal, Michelle, Lulu Lemon.
I love y 'all, man. Y 'all stay up. Stay blessed.
We're going to get there. Beautiful. And if you
missed anyone, I'm sure they're going to be really
pissed off. Yeah. And everybody else that I miss,
please. All right. Well, I want to thank you
so much. It's been such an interesting conversation.
This was super organic. My wife showed me your
account and I was like, this is phenomenal. You
just, you know, the message is positive. And
I'm sure if you see mine, it's the same kind
of thing, just trying to storytell the goodness
in the world. So I want to thank you so much
for being so generous with your time and coming
on the Behind the Shield podcast today. Yes,
sir. Thank you for having me. And I will share
it out and I will get my people to stream it.
We'll be on it.