Yo.
I'd like to welcome everybody back to a brand new episode
of the Carlton and the Colage podcast.
I'm your host, Quinn Golden.
We're friends and family.
Come and QG for sure.
And I think I want to start this podcast with the discussion
of what is culture.
A little deeper than the culture of the world.
The things that's cultural, that some shit we champion,
another shit we vilify.
I give a perfect example.
Like biker clubs.
Not all biker clubs, but you know, you got like Hell's Angels
and shit like that.
Like stuff that's like a big deal.
Like, you know, you got like a big deal.
Like stuff that's like documented like crimes, like murders
and selling mess and all that type of shit.
But they're deemed heroes.
Even like one of my favorite shows of all times is Sons of Anarchy.
And you know, if you really watch the things that they were doing,
they was running guns, they was killing shit,
they was extorting shit, like these niggas was criminals.
Shit in a bar, they had a whole wall of their mug shots.
It was like a Hall of Fame type of thing.
But America, like they champion them.
You know, like, oh, they bad boys type of shit, right?
But then you have like organizations like the Bloods and the Crips
and you know, they just, they vilify.
And if you know the history of either one of these organizations,
it didn't start out with the intentions of being negative.
The Reagan era kind of fucked that over.
Beforehand, it was more about protecting territory,
paying the hands shit.
You know, in the worst case scenario, you might get jumping.
But the cracker, the CIA, like that's the reason why 1980s
Los Angeles became like a war zone.
These niggas don't own no boats.
They didn't own any planes.
They didn't have access to government-issued military-level fucking firearms.
You might get a revolver from the pawn shop or some shit like that.
But these niggas wasn't getting Mack 11s and Technons and shit.
Like, that's government-level shit.
But I was listening to this guy and he was just talking about, you know,
my dad was a biker and funny enough, I lived with some bikers in California
for like two weeks.
So, all right, when I lived out there in California,
I was in Palo Alto, California, which is in the Bay Area,
Silicon Valley, pretty much.
And my company that I was with, they had a position that was open out there
so I transferred out there with no knowledge of California
outside of knowing that, oh, you know, they make movies out there
and it's always sunny type of shit.
But as far as like cost to live in and cultural shit,
I didn't truly understand the type of move there.
And one thing that I learned when I got there is that
South Los Angeles or Southern California is totally opposite to Northern California.
And if you've never been there, you'll conflate the two.
Like San Francisco and LA are very different, extremely different.
But while I was out there, you know, I had some issues back home,
some family shit, so I was like, I want to be there in case it goes really, really bad type of shit.
So I decided to move back, so I had to break my lease.
I was staying at the Stanford Villa Apartments and they were on like Alma Street.
Like I was across from the Caltrain Station.
I was more or less down the street from like Stanford University type of shit.
Beautiful area. I loved it honestly.
And if it wasn't for, you know, shit back home,
I probably would have never came back to Baltimore if I'm being honest.
Like I feel like I felt myself out there because I could just breeze.
You know what I'm saying?
Like as far as Baltimore is concerned, like every place I go, you know,
people are engaged with like it triggers like memories like, oh shit, this is where so and so died.
This is the corner where this thing happens or shit.
We got to with them niggas over there.
So shit, we can't really be chilling over there because yeah, we passed it,
but everybody ain't forget type of shit.
But in California, I had none of that.
I walk out the front door, go to the right.
It's a whole new adventure.
I walk out the door the next day, go to the left.
It's a whole new adventure.
There was no negative thoughts or memories affiliated with any location out there.
I could just be free.
You know what I'm saying?
But oh yeah.
So when it was time for me to move back, I had to break my lease and they were more or less like,
all right, well, if you break in the least and you can't chill here with dollars,
how much time you got left in the month, which I thought might have been not lawful,
but I don't know.
I didn't dive that deep into it.
So I had a homeboy named Jim and Jim father lived in Mountain View.
He owned like a couple of houses in one of the houses.
Like he was like written rooms more or less.
So I never went in the room.
So like my last two weeks in California just so happens.
There were two bikers who also written rooms there.
One was from the Hells Angels and his name was Don and he was like six, seven kind of slim built
tattoos everywhere.
One of the coolest motherfuckers I've ever met in my life.
And there was a show to Hispanic guy who was also from a biker gang.
I don't remember what the biker game was called, but like he was also standing and they were more or less like,
I guess retired.
I don't know.
Cause I would think with them being from opposing like, you know, factions that it would be some time,
some kind of tension, but it wasn't.
It was cool.
And in the backyard, they had a lemon tree and had an orange tree or whatever.
We're like this like park bench type of setup.
So me, Don and the Hispanic guy, damn, I wish I could remember his name.
We would just sit out there as the sun go down and pick an orange is off the tree and just talking about the
most graphic violence we've participated in or experienced like throughout our life.
And I really built the bond with them niggas over the last two weeks.
It was cool.
And it like kind of changed like my perspective, cause like from the outside,
like I ain't ever been around that shit.
I ain't ever known anybody affiliated with that type of shit.
So like hearing like the similarities and how, you know, organizations are structured.
I was like, Oh shit, that's sound like I'm familiar with that type of thing.
But I see all that to say the other day, I was overheard this guy talking about like, you know,
how his dad was a biker and, you know, he just, he held him in such high regards like a hero.
Like he was a pillar of the community and all that shit.
And then I was like, Oh, where's your dad now?
He's like, Oh, he's serving life in prison.
I was like, for what?
If your mommy asked him, he was like, Oh, you know, selling guns and all kinds of stuff.
And he was like, Oh, I'm gonna sell guns and narcotics and murders and shit.
But he was my hero.
I was like, Oh, then I think, you know, I still thinking about somebody like, like took him.
And it ain't my place to speak on took you by no means.
But, you know, he was accused of, you know, killing like, I want to say it was like a hotel,
front desk person or something.
And they can never actually prove it, but it's the 80s and this LA and it's what it is.
So he gets sends to get sends to death.
And while in jail, you know, I mean, a prison, I should say, like he wrote like children's books,
hero books about gang prevention, all this.
Like he completely like changed his life.
And at the time Arnold Sorcery, like the was the governor of California.
And, you know, we had all the big celebrities like Snoop and like just a vast array of like celebrities like petitioning for him to be granted a party.
And they wasn't asking for him to be released.
They was just like, you know, let him just live his life, continuing the work that he's doing.
Like he's not outside.
He's not trying to influence anything.
And the governor like totally ignored it and took it was executed.
You know what I'm saying?
And it's like, don't quote me.
This not rebate about no, like Arnold was saying something like along the lines.
Like, you know, because of him and, you know, other guys like Raymond Washington, who created this organization, look what they unleashed onto the world and all this other type of shit.
Trying to blame him for every, every, you know, gang related shit in LA was somehow he was the creator of which was bullshit.
And when they got I was talking the other day, I didn't express any of this if I'm being honest.
I'm just thinking about it.
It's just like, then I saw things like, all right, you got shows like again, since the sense of anarchy and shit.
And these guys are like glorified.
Like they make the heroes, but they do fucked up shit.
And I love that show.
You know, and whenever you got like, you know, blood and crit related show, they ain't really no happy.
They ain't no happy in this, even if you can like relate to the people like, like, all right, perfect.
And like, it was snowfall like Leon was a crib.
They never came right out and set it.
It was subtle, but he was like, like man boy was like, and then you know what I mean?
But like, you see how everybody's shit ended.
Leon more or less made it, which kind of give an example like Snoop.
Like nowadays, like people see Snoop and think like, yo, he's on the voice and he did some shit with Mark the stew in the.
Yeah, what shows the, you know, the evolution of him as a man.
But if you know Snoop origins, like Snoop was really that really is that.
But you know, he showed that he could be more than that.
And he might be the only one who might be the exception of the rule.
I think Nipsey began to get that status where like, because of his level and electric, a seed pass like his affiliations.
You know what I mean? But like those are like rare cases, but you know, I just I find it weird.
Like one is vilified. One is celebrated.
You know what I mean? And it's just like they pick and choose.
Like this might be my most controversial park here so far, but fucking I'm just like even with the military, you know what I'm saying?
Like, we got these kids from all over the country.
And they promised the promise, you know, high education for free and all this type of stuff.
You just got to defend your country, which honestly, I'm glad we have that level of structure set up.
You know what I'm saying?
Because the country, they do protect it. And this is no knock to any soldiers or anything like that.
It speaks more to like, I guess, our culture and our belief system because like, you know, they'll say, if you kill somebody, you need to go to jail.
This that in the third. But that's not true.
They don't care about people being killed. They care about what you're wearing while you're doing it.
So if I got on a hoodie and a pair of Jordans and I pop a nigga, I'm the scum of the earth.
I'm going to jail for my rest of my natural life.
They gonna badmouth me. They gonna talk about every time I was suspended from school or some other shit.
They gonna destroy my character in the public before they take me to trial.
But if I'm wearing a pair of fatigues and I'm over here getting into a person who's never did anything wrong to me personally,
but my higher ups tell me, yo, them niggas got to go.
If I happen to survive and make it back, I get a holiday.
You know what I'm saying? I get to eat free at certain chain restaurants.
You know what I mean? And I might get like a discount on like a home loan or like auto insurance or something like that.
So culturally, we're not against murder at all. Shit, we champion it.
The best shows, the best movies usually have a high level of violence involved in it.
You know what I'm saying? But again, from a cultural standpoint, we're not opposed to violence.
We're actually fans of it. You know what I'm saying? And we're champion, but we like the most during the most heinous shit.
But if we like them, if we want to live through them vocariously, then we're champion of shit.
You know what I'm saying? So like, and don't get me wrong, like I had family that's like from different branches of the military.
My father's side and my mother's side. And I salute them all because that shit takes the extreme level of bravery to decide that, yo,
I'm going to potentially sacrifice my life, my time, my time away from my family, everything to benefit this country.
But I'm not knocking out. But like I said, if I go over there, kill a motherfucker, I never met, never disrespect me personally,
be proud of the never cross paths until this person sent me over here to do this.
I'm champion. But the nigga down the street, who I personally have an issue with, who has personally done something to me as somebody that I care for.
If I decide I'm going to take this shit and some old hands and handle business, I'm the stomach of the earth.
And I get it. Everything can be one way and it's caveats to everything. And, you know, but it's just something I was like thinking about.
You know what I mean? I heard Dr. Yuma, I believe it was Yuma. So Dr. Yuma, I saw him on like an episode of Joe Button podcast and he was talking about like,
well, you can't say Eminem is one of the greatest of all time because he's white. And, you know, black people created this, which honestly,
I think was one of the stupidest ships I've ever heard because I don't believe culture to be race related to the degree.
Yeah, but not really. Because from that same logic, that same logic, Larry Bird is the greatest basketball player of all times.
I mean, yeah, you got the LeBronze of the world, you got the joins of the world, but it was a white man who created it, right?
So if he created it, regardless of how much these black people excel, you can't mention them as the greatest. Shit, a white person created this.
So if black and Hispanics created like hip hop or black and Puerto Ricans like created hip hop, Eminem is one of the nicest niggas to ever touch a pen.
Oh, well, he can't be deemed one of the greatest. I mean, the origins of it was black and Hispanic. Get the fuck out of here, man.
Who does culture belong to?
Now, like I said, you got to make exceptions to places like North Korea or like fucking South Korea, like Japan or some shit like that.
Like, there's not many outside cultural influences on that culture itself.
But as far as America go, like it's a melting pot and it always has been. You know what I'm saying? Like you got you got people like African descent, you got people with like German descent, Polish descent, Asian descent, Hispanic descent.
Uh, uh, you know what I mean?
And we all borrow.
Like I saw a video once of like this white dude, and he was like going on like this super racist rant. It was like a video on YouTube or some shit.
Or it might be Instagram. He's going this crazy racist rant and like Walmart.
Then we got to get these Mexicans out of our fucking country.
But then I looked at like the nigga shopping cart. He had a bunch of taco making for like taco Tuesday or some shit. It's like, nigga, you hate these niggas, but you love that culture.
That shit is insane. It makes no sense.
But that's the world in the nutshell.
I don't know, man. I've been looking into like just an array of things like just like, oh, back to champion and the villa fine shit.
So for some reason, my algorithm lately on YouTube has just been, I don't know why, just a bunch of like X mobs is doing interviews talking openly about like having multiple body counts and all this type of shit.
And these niggas is free as a bird. Just sitting there like, yeah, when they told me to go kill Johnny to lips, you know, I didn't want to do it.
But this is exactly how I did it.
And then they explained like, yeah, show me back there twice took his shoes off.
I was like, what the fuck? They said, then just talking about the shit.
And I know niggas personally, that's doing decades in prison for selling weed. And now you can send your fucking kids to college with the proceeds you make from your fucking dispenser.
But these niggas are still sitting in jail.
It's crazy.
It's like, why is one villa five and one not?
But it kind of come back to the American shit. Like, you know, I heard this quote, it was in the movie sicko by the director Michael Moore.
And if you're not familiar with Michael Moore, he also made like Fern height 9 11, which was kind of breaking down the 9 11 shit.
Let me just stop to say this.
Government, if you're listening, I don't want any beef with your niggas. I'm not starting no type of movement.
I'm just speaking what I've been watching recently.
So leave me alone. Don't tap my phone. Don't randomly put side and I in my fucking McDonald's meal or some shit.
Like, leave me alone. I don't want to trouble.
But the quote from the Michael Moore movie sicko is that America is more so accompanied in the country.
And I was like, damn, that should be.
And it never, it never rained more true to me than the explosion of the acceptance of like marijuana.
Like, I saw a mom and pop corner store like from my area from growing up like these same two people been running this store for decades.
Now that shit is like a weed dispensary slash smoke shop type of shit.
And it's just like, yeah, we used to stand outside of the store and sell weed and had to run from the cops.
Now these niggas openly sell weed.
You see police cars pulling in to go get something like I thought it was a crime.
But, you know, now you can attach a buckle to it, you know, American tax it, shit nigga, we good.
I mean, as long as we get our cut, let us get our little 6% or whatever the percentages in your state.
I think Maryland state tax is like 6%.
But I don't know.
When we talk about this concept of like right and wrong and what you should or shouldn't be doing like nobody truly means that shit.
It's like if the higher ups say that like it's good, then it is.
But it's not.
I don't know.
So I say all that to say, once I get my money in order, I'm open number fucking weed dispensary.
I am.
Niggas is literally making millions.
Generational wealth in some cases.
Off of what you're doing to be illegal.
But I guess it's just evolution of like how the world is moving on.
I can't really speak for the world.
I can speak for like America and I can't really do that.
But I can say like this is random.
But out of the 50 states in the United States, I've probably been to at least 30 states.
And my travels.
I'm a person like just get out and you know see for myself like I've been in the south side of Chicago.
Almost died too.
But that's a story for another time.
Them niggas end up being cool.
I've been to Compton, California.
I've been to South Central, California.
I've been to Oakland, California.
I've been to Houston, Texas.
I've been to Dallas, Texas.
And I ain't talking like the tourist spots like nigga, I want to see.
Like my mom told me this one time she said the thing that she loved the most about me is the thing she probably disliked the most about me.
Is that I don't have fear.
Not afraid.
You know what I mean?
And I don't like no machismo tough guy shit.
It's just like yo people is people.
And we all got a date.
But I'm not going to live mine going damn man I wish I could have but I was a fruit.
Nah man.
I'm not walking in any of those places I just name acting like I'm super tough.
I walk out there if I'm approached by somebody I'm going to look you directly in the eyes.
I'm going to speak to you.
And I get where I'm at.
Hey bro you know oh yeah man I'm from Baltimore.
I'm just out here visiting.
I just wanted to see for myself.
And then usually when that shit happens and they see that you ain't there to be destructive.
Are you not there to like make a mockery of what they do with that culture?
It makes me like oh shit.
Like look bro it ain't really safe around here but this is this this is that and then they'll flip it.
Yo what is Baltimore like?
The main thing I always used to get not so much now but it's like yo is that shit like the Y?
I'm like nigga the Y.
I wore the damn bro we don't keep the buck.
And I'll just chop it up.
Some motherfuckers I didn't got cool with to the point where like I'm still cool with them niggas to this day.
I got a bunch of homeboys along these California in South Central.
And in the Bay.
On some real shit I'm talking from like Vallejo, Newark, the fucking yeah.
I can pick up the phone right now on call next but.
I don't know.
I guess next week I'll get back to like Aliens and Ghosts and talk about AI and all that type of shit.
But for some reason this shit just been on my mind all week like how you know some shit is vilified.
Some shit is like celebrated and it's just like damn.
What's the difference?
You know what I mean?
I thought murder was bad.
I thought selling drugs was bad.
But it only is this.
Well that's only the case if you know you look a certain way or you from a certain background.
Cause like you know for me it ain't no it ain't never really been about like black and white for me.
You know what I mean?
Like I'm from Baltimore and if you're not aware like South Baltimore specifically.
Yo there's some white niggas out there who's really with the business.
So it's not about race.
It's about culture.
But it's more so like social status I guess.
The haves and the have nots.
You know what I mean?
I don't know that's another deep conversation that I could just go down and suck in like rabbit hole and it'd be just another 40 minutes and just break them down what I observed and all this type of shit.
And everything that I'm saying I'm not saying I'm right about.
Not even close.
If you listen to this and you don't agree with anything I'm saying shit challenge it.
I don't take it personally.
You can always jump in my inbox whatever.
Hey bro you said that one thing that I don't agree with that.
And I'm going to simply reply.
That's fair.
Well what's your perspective.
And then it ain't about being right or wrong.
It's like all right I'm going to tell you my side you tell me your side and you know we can even agree to disagree or shit you might sway me or vice versa.
Because whenever I engage with somebody.
If you want to call engage or debate or whatever the case may be.
If I'm standing across the table from right.
And I draw a six in the middle of the table.
From my perspective it's a six.
But from your side of the table it's a nine.
And we both right.
It would take for one of us to come to that other side of the table.
So we can see it from the same perspective.
Or we'll just agree to disagree that you know that's a nine that's a six and shit nigga life goes on.
I'm fucking loving doing this podcast shit but I can't lie.
These are the thoughts that I have on a daily that I'll usually just like keep them myself but this really gives me an outlet to go.
Yo this is how I feel about this this is how I feel about that.
Yeah I mean and ask people out here listening.
And anything that I say like I'm not saying that for the sake of being controversial or just for the sake of being a real person.
That's not my goal man.
These shit is like many therapy sessions for a nigga if I'm keeping it honest.
Because I don't have too many people in my life where I can just.
Hey you want to know what I've been thinking.
I have something don't get me wrong.
I'm not saying like I'm all alone.
I have friends family significant other like it ain't that you know me but it's like.
There's a certain level of freedom and this shit.
Which might might really be the reason why I love it is that it's that sense of freedom is that sense of this is my shit.
Can't realize something when I can it can't say I'm not getting fucking awkward looks like damn that's how you feel about.
You know me.
Like I'm not like the most religious person.
I mean I believe that that's something greater to me but for me to specifically name what it is.
What gender it is if it even has a gender with his rules.
I don't know that shit.
And in my opinion I don't believe anybody does but I get it.
Like you know people use that for you know it gives them hope.
It gives them faith and I'm never going to knock that whatever you believe in whatever you believe in.
Whatever sector of you know belief religious beliefs like that you travel down.
Yo I wish you nothing but peace and blessings on that role.
Because whatever you pray to once you look in the mirror and it makes you feel good you feel good inside have a fucking bless.
But my only.
It don't my only you know pushback from that shit is when a person approached me and go oh wait you don't believe exactly what I do.
Then somehow you're bad or you're going to go to nigga you don't know that shit.
That's probably my favorite part about life is that I search for like unique shit.
I like shit to be different.
If everybody was the same this shit would be fucking born.
Everybody had the same favorite color the same favorite food all chairs for the same sports team.
Life was fucking be phony and shit.
So keep being unique. Keep being yourself. Keep thinking outside the box.
Whatever motherfucking say is weird about you embrace that shit champion that shit.
I mean there is no prototypical person that we try to live up to.
You know I mean there is no average height there is no average weight.
I don't give a fuck what you identify as man woman kangaroo whatever you say.
Man woman kangaroo whatever if you feel good about it they can keep doing it.
Keep pushing as long as whatever you doing ain't fucking hurting anybody.
Olivia life man.
I think that's what we also do.
Shit that's what I'm doing.
I'm a carefree man peaceful mind.
Super confident in who I am.
And I'm gonna stay that way.
I'm gonna get out of here man.
This has been another episode of the cognitive collage.
I'm Quentin Gold man if you're trying to follow me or getting contact with me hit me up on Instagram at QG Music.
That's QGMUSIC Instagram back home or Instagram app or I don't fucking know.
Peace.