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Dr. Jerry, you got the whole world waiting.

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Been ready for you to start the conversation.

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No point of view.

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We got the haters confused.

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Leave it up to you to bring us all the good news.

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Positive vibes and the sex appeal to Dr. Andre Jerry.

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Can I get an interview for you?

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You, you, you, you, you, you.

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Hello, everybody.

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Good evening and welcome back to an all new episode

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of Live with Dr. Andre Jerry.

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I am your host, Dr. Andre Jerry.

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And I'm happy to be back with you all

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after a two-month hiatus.

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As many of you know, I recently transitioned back

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to the States following a six-month tour in Riyadh, Saudi

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Arabia.

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Now, as with my first tour to Saudi,

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it was a great experience.

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And I learned a great deal.

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But there is no place like home.

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I want to give a quick shout out to Reginald Bullock, who

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guest hosted the show in my absence in September.

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Reggie, thank you.

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You did an awesome job, a fantastic job.

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I got a lot of great feedback.

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So thank you so much.

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So before I introduce my guest for tonight,

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I want to let all of the listeners know

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that we're trying something a little different tonight.

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So my social media team, shout out to Ove,

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has literally been begging me to go on IG Live during my shows.

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And I admit I've been reluctant.

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I've been scared.

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I'm not entirely comfortable being on camera like this.

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So fast forward 15 episodes later.

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And after a lot of procrastination,

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I'm on IG Live right now.

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Shout out to everyone who's tuning in to our live.

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So listen, tonight's guest is a gentleman

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that I met last year when I hosted the annual relevant

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with Renata event in Atlanta.

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Shout out to Renata Morgan and Pastor Jordan.

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So this gentleman was one of the many talented performers

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that did their thing that night.

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And I'll never forget, I was backstage.

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And normally, while the performer

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is doing their thing on stage, I'm

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reviewing my cue cards for the next performer.

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So I can get their intro right.

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But not while this guy was on stage.

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He commanded the attention of everybody in the room

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with just his sheer stage presence.

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He did spoken word.

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He did poetry.

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He did a little rap.

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He shared about his story, his background.

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And you share a little bit about his passion.

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And so for myself and the audience,

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we were all glued to every word.

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We didn't want them to get on stage.

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At least I didn't.

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So when we had a chance to talk briefly after the show,

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I was like, man, you got to come on the show.

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I want to introduce you to my audience.

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And so here we are a year later, a little over a year later,

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actually.

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And we're finally making this happen.

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So I'm very excited.

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Without further fanfare, please allow me to introduce now

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my friend, Mr. Corey Baker.

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Corey, welcome to the show, brother.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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I appreciate it.

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I appreciate it.

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Yes, it was a pleasure meeting you.

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And I'm glad that I was able to have the impact that I had

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on you and the rest of the people there.

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Shout out to Renata too.

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That was a great event.

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Absolutely.

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Yes.

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So Renata Morgan is a good friend of both of ours.

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I met her through you, of course, as I mentioned before.

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And she also had the show on the artist's first radio

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network, Relevant with Renata, that I believe

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is every second Monday.

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So definitely tune in to her show as well.

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So normally, Corey, what I do is I

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go ahead and give a brief introduction of my guests

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to the listeners.

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But in the spirit of trying something different tonight,

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I'm going to ask you to tell our listeners, in your own words,

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who Corey Baker is.

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Absolutely.

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Absolutely.

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Well, who Corey Baker is?

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Corey Baker is a man now, 44 years of age,

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but to take you back to the beginning, 12, 30, 78,

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I was born in something South Carolina

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by way of my mother, Debbie Baker, and my father,

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Nathaniel Billips.

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And I was born in something South Carolina, my city,

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growing up there in the early, I guess, in the early 80s.

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It was pretty rough.

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So Corey Baker, the guy that came from a rough upbringing,

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went through a lot of trials and tribulations in his life,

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and now is here on the Andre Jerry Show

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to kind of fill in some pieces and share

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with the rest of the world what my experiences was.

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So I'll get it.

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I guess the introduction will be better done with us

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getting into the story, man.

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Right.

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So let's talk about that.

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You briefly mentioned your childhood

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and your background a little.

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So let's just go ahead and talk about it.

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How was your childhood growing up?

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What was it like?

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Well, I'm the middle child in the household.

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It was five brothers.

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It's actually six of us, my oldest brother, Nathaniel,

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from a prior relationship.

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But in the household that I was raised up in, my mom,

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my father, and my four brothers, I was the middle child.

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So I was the one that pretty much I caught all the heat.

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The two younger ones, they were the babies

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and the two older ones.

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They were already a bit older, so they got away

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with a lot more.

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I just always felt like I was the middle child.

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I don't know if that's just a little child thing,

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but I felt like I used to get all the heat, man.

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But I grew up in a loving family, though.

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My dad was a hard-working man.

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And the principal, the main jewel,

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I remember that my dad, because my dad passed earlier on

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and we'll get into that.

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My dad always told me to make an honest dollar.

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And my mom was a hard-working woman and a loving mother.

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And she always taught me, sons, always be a step ahead.

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So growing up, it was kind of rough, though,

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because of the fact that my father died the day

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after Christmas, 1991.

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And I ended up, after bearing in my father,

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that's when the struggle really got real.

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And so that made my childhood and coming up

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a little bit more rough.

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And my mom having the struggle to raise five boys,

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it wasn't easy.

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And it wasn't something that could be hidden.

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I've seen the struggle.

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So I always had an urge to get out there

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and be able to do something to help my mom out.

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So I had to grow up.

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How old were you when your father passed?

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We actually buried my dad on my 12th birthday.

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My dad, I was 12.

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Oh, man, 12 years old.

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Yeah, because he died the day after Christmas, man.

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And my dad, I looked up to my dad.

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My dad is a legend in my family.

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And everybody I've ever met that knew my dad

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had something good to say about him.

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So it took my life to a whole different page

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when my father died.

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And you also listened to a few of your other interviews.

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And you mentioned that your mom also passed.

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Why you were young or was this later?

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Yes, my mom passed later on.

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So when my dad passed, I was 12 years old.

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And my mom had to kind of raise five boys up into the township

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as which was in 1997.

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97 or my mom passed.

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And the trauma, man, it really, really bothered me.

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So those dates, like a lot of times,

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I don't even remember exactly the date it was because I

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tried to block it out.

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It was so traumatic to me because that just, you know,

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that took me to a whole different place

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because I instantly became homeless.

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My two little brothers were cooking in.

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But I was over 18.

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So I wasn't getting a social security check or nothing

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like that.

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So I wasn't cooking in.

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And that was my view of it.

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And that's when I was.

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So wait.

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So by the age of 18, you had already

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lost your father and your mother?

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Yeah.

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And then your family was separated,

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which is going to add to a whole other level of trauma.

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Oh, man.

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Right.

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Right.

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And this is the thing, those way that made it so difficult.

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I was told that my mom was adopted, so therefore,

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I didn't know my real blood relatives.

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I know two or three cousins that I knew growing up,

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but I didn't know that my grandfather was really

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my grandfather, man, because back in the day,

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they used to sweep stuff under the rug.

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And long before the show.

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Yeah, man, when my mom passed, and I was told she was adopted,

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it kind of just put me in a place

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where now I'm 18, 19 years old out here.

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And I felt like it was me against the world.

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And so I definitely took to the streets

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because it wasn't much opportunity.

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It wasn't like I could just jump.

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I didn't have no career or anything like that.

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And it was just, man, survival mode for me.

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So I got into the streets, deep into the streets.

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And I did a lot of things that nowadays I look back, man.

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And I just I'm not proud of.

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But being in the shoes that I'm in,

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I also can look back and say, man,

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I see a lot of growth and development.

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And that I can't be proud of.

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So let's go back to that, because I'm just thinking

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about what you just said.

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You said you were 18.

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By that point, you lost your father,

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Twill, you lost your mother a few years after that.

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The family seems like it was displaced.

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You were separated from your siblings.

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You mentioned being homeless at one point.

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All I'm hearing is trauma on top of trauma,

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on top of trauma.

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And you know, you turn to the streets,

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you talk about trauma.

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How would you describe your mindset back then?

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When you think back to that period of time

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before you went to prison the first time,

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what would you describe your mindset as?

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It was pretty much survival mode.

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Like I said, it was a dark time

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and a dark place in my life.

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Did a lot of hustling in the street,

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it was legal hustling.

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And during those times,

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I had to make up my mind like,

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hey, I got a make-up out here.

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So it was like, I kind of became numb to a lot of things

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and had a mindset like,

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I got to do whatever I got to do to make it.

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And I didn't have the goddess and nobody

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that really kind of cooled me down actually.

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Right.

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You know, I know that I was running

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within the street, he was a couple of years older than me

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and he was kind of guiding me right on down that path

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with him because I was,

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you know, I was the hotheaded one and I'm gonna set it off.

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And, you know, so he would just kind of be, you know,

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yeah, that's how I always been.

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But now I know how to channel the energy in the right way.

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But yeah, literally, man, I was in a dark place

264
00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:08,960
and it's really hard to describe,

265
00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:13,680
but it just, if I could describe it in a way like,

266
00:13:13,680 --> 00:13:16,080
just being in a like, like you wouldn't have would,

267
00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:20,080
you lost is dark and it's dark and you're in the woods,

268
00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:22,200
you don't know where you at, you don't know what can happen.

269
00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:24,680
That's like literally where I was in life

270
00:13:24,680 --> 00:13:28,920
because every day, man, it was so many, you know,

271
00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:33,440
a shootouts, you know, things happening to people

272
00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:36,120
close to me in the street, death.

273
00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:38,760
I dealt with death so much, Dre.

274
00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:41,040
I mean, when I was, you know, in school,

275
00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:44,360
I told you I used to rap and back in high school,

276
00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:48,640
my friend died, cute, the ill son died at 16 in Kenya.

277
00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:52,000
So that was right around the time and then my mom died.

278
00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:53,800
So me and his mom got close.

279
00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:55,760
She lost a son, I lost a mother.

280
00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:57,280
So she became my godmother.

281
00:13:57,280 --> 00:14:00,800
So that was like a life that I had out there in that darkness.

282
00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:03,560
So I did have those, you know, beacons like that.

283
00:14:03,560 --> 00:14:06,120
You have people like mama Lois, you know,

284
00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:10,040
one of my friends like that, my brother kind of took me in.

285
00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:13,640
So I had places that I could go up comfort,

286
00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:16,560
but I was still, when I stepped outside of that house,

287
00:14:16,560 --> 00:14:20,520
it's like, you know, I'm still out here in the darkness, man.

288
00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:25,520
So it was, it was a survival mode.

289
00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:28,440
And I did things that I'm not proud of, man.

290
00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:31,080
I'm really not proud of like to the point that I go.

291
00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:32,680
I understand that.

292
00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:33,520
You know,

293
00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:35,720
Would you say, not to cut you off,

294
00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:39,160
but would you say that going to prison,

295
00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:41,960
saved your life in a way or do you feel like

296
00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:44,920
when you got arrested or in that whole thing went down

297
00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:46,240
in your prison, did you feel,

298
00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:48,040
the part of you feel relieved?

299
00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:56,120
I kind of knew, I kind of knew that it was going to come

300
00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:59,040
to an end at some point.

301
00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:01,480
And when that did happen,

302
00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:04,800
I honestly knew that it was going to be a ride

303
00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:07,760
because once I got in that van,

304
00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:10,800
when we robbed the bank and took them on that chase

305
00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:13,000
and everything, when I was the last one they caught

306
00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:15,360
and when I got in that van over the rest of them,

307
00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:17,600
I said, y'all might as well kick y'all feet off

308
00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:19,240
and move out the ride.

309
00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:23,160
And, you know, off the prison I went,

310
00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:27,600
but that's when I was able to kind of get there

311
00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:32,160
and self reflect, you know, once I got locked up.

312
00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:34,000
So yeah, that did save me, man.

313
00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:36,880
It took me, you know, it saved me off of that path

314
00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:40,120
because it was going to be that of death, you know,

315
00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:44,880
because I wasn't living right at all.

316
00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:52,320
So while you were, I just lost my train of thought,

317
00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:56,040
but when you went in the first time,

318
00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:57,840
were you a father at that point?

319
00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:00,240
Like, had you had kids at that point yet?

320
00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:04,960
Yes, I did.

321
00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:09,480
My oldest daughter, my mother passed

322
00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:14,120
when my oldest daughter, before she was pregnant,

323
00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:19,120
and I have two sons, but my oldest son was,

324
00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:23,160
when I got locked up for the arm bank robbery,

325
00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:25,120
I had a son that was six months

326
00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:27,560
and my daughter was like two and a half.

327
00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:29,600
So it was a lot of pressure.

328
00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:33,920
I was under a lot of pressure, like since my mom died,

329
00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:36,320
like I said, during the time she died,

330
00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:38,560
you know, my daughter's mama was pregnant with her.

331
00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:42,280
So it was like one for another, man.

332
00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:47,800
So you had a lot of time away from your kids

333
00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:50,240
at very young ages

334
00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:53,760
where they definitely needed their father.

335
00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:55,760
So I'm sure that played, you know,

336
00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:58,000
into a lot of guilt on your end,

337
00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:00,520
in addition to, you know, trying to serve your time

338
00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:03,800
and stay out of trouble and just process everything

339
00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:05,960
that had happened at that point,

340
00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:08,720
and I'm sure that added to your angst.

341
00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:12,000
Yeah, absolutely, man.

342
00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:13,320
It absolutely did.

343
00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:18,320
And if I could try to give you guys a picture,

344
00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:19,680
just try to give a picture,

345
00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:23,960
because I know I've got a lot in those years,

346
00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:25,720
but to give you guys a picture,

347
00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:29,520
it was like things kind of slowed down for me

348
00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:32,200
once I got behind those walls.

349
00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:35,320
And that we started to sit in

350
00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:37,920
and I started to experience different things.

351
00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:41,960
Like it was a psychological shock and a change

352
00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:45,920
because I'm coming from wild and on the street, great.

353
00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:48,440
I'm talking about wild and on the street

354
00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:50,240
to going into prison,

355
00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:54,440
and now I'm just going wild mentality.

356
00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:56,520
And it was like they made you,

357
00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:59,120
like you got to work when you're back there, you know?

358
00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:00,920
So I had to transit,

359
00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:04,160
like I was just going to the hole and getting right up

360
00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:09,160
or what they call like being disrespectful to staff,

361
00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:10,800
things of that nature,

362
00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:14,680
because I had to go from that transition from society

363
00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:19,240
into the prison, that institution,

364
00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:22,960
and the whole goal in there is to break you mentally, man.

365
00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:26,200
So it was had to put up with,

366
00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:29,000
but it also was a think tank.

367
00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:33,080
And I began to read and began to learn and grow

368
00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:35,000
and write more music as well.

369
00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:39,440
So there was a lot that happened during those years.

370
00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:42,560
What would you like to talk about that during those years?

371
00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:46,240
Well, I know during our pre-production meeting,

372
00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:49,600
you mentioned that you had spent a lot of that time

373
00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:50,440
writing songs.

374
00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:53,680
You mentioned that you wrote over 200 songs

375
00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:55,120
during your time in prison.

376
00:18:55,120 --> 00:18:57,200
And I want to talk a little bit about that.

377
00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:00,240
I mean, has writing always been something

378
00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:01,560
that came naturally to you?

379
00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:05,120
Or was this more of a form of like therapy for you

380
00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:08,080
to sort of channel your emotions while you were in there?

381
00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:12,920
You know, that's something I always did.

382
00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:16,800
So music was my first love.

383
00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:20,200
Felling love with music by my uncle teaching me

384
00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:22,040
other people's songs.

385
00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:27,040
And then by my fourth grade, my brother wrote my first song

386
00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:31,480
for me, which was for the dare class.

387
00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:35,840
And after doing that, I actually won the little dare talent show.

388
00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:38,200
So by the time I was in middle school,

389
00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:40,800
I started writing my own music.

390
00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:45,800
And to be honest, I always expressed a lot in my music,

391
00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:48,800
a lot better.

392
00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:53,040
And I had a song that I wrote called Times is Hard.

393
00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:55,360
And this was around the time, like I couldn't have been

394
00:19:55,360 --> 00:19:58,120
no more than like 13, 14 years old.

395
00:19:58,120 --> 00:20:01,040
So, it's a perfect time.

396
00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:04,600
And I like to just share that piece right there.

397
00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:06,560
Man, that's from like years ago.

398
00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:09,600
And I really, I kind of pointed out a few things in there.

399
00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:14,320
So if this is a good time for like to share a piece

400
00:20:14,320 --> 00:20:17,560
of that song I wrote back in the days called Times is Hard,

401
00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:19,480
I think I wrote it around 94.

402
00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:24,680
Okay.

403
00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:26,760
Okay, cool, cool, cool.

404
00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:29,080
So Times is Hard.

405
00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:32,840
It's started, I did this to a Scarface beat,

406
00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:35,800
as a matter of fact, a Scarface instrumental.

407
00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:41,520
You might as well go ahead and give us a little bit of it.

408
00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:42,920
Okay, I got you.

409
00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:47,520
It on, I started out by saying,

410
00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:50,680
I'm born as a victim, but still was gifted

411
00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:51,920
with a talent of rap.

412
00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:54,200
And it always kept me lifted from day one.

413
00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:57,800
It was fun to be known as a son of a mother and a father,

414
00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:00,760
but some still got nothing better than me.

415
00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:02,440
That's how I felt for years.

416
00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:05,360
So my father deceased, it broke me down in tears.

417
00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:08,080
Then I thought about suicide and went to the streets.

418
00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:10,840
And I found it was do or die to make ends meet.

419
00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:13,600
Thought I was an example being used by God.

420
00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:16,400
Never thought about bills and things that made life hard.

421
00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:17,600
Still I'm trying to survive.

422
00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:20,560
My mom busted her ass, wrote to work with a friend

423
00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:22,080
cause she paid for the gas.

424
00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:24,640
This year went on for years until we got us a ride.

425
00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:26,440
Sporting poomers and ringlets,

426
00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:29,240
so the boss at the slide trying to earn an honest dollar

427
00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:31,720
so I'm raking a yard, a young man coming up

428
00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:33,160
just when times is hard.

429
00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:36,720
I love that man.

430
00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:38,480
I love that.

431
00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:41,160
Yeah, that was at around 14.

432
00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:46,160
So I started writing and as you tell that writing

433
00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:49,440
helped me express my life.

434
00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:54,440
And I fell in love with it then and I kept at it.

435
00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:57,840
I miss that type of rap man, the storytelling rap.

436
00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:00,400
Not just rapping and talking about nonsense,

437
00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:03,880
but real stories, real parts of your life

438
00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:08,880
that glamour is not so glamour is hardcore, whatever it is.

439
00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:11,080
I miss that form of expression.

440
00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:14,680
You don't hear it a lot in today's rap and hip hop music

441
00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:17,560
but that took me back man, that was really good.

442
00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:21,560
Yeah, you can tell the way it was structured

443
00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:25,600
and still got that old school delivery to it.

444
00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:29,080
And it was, that was back in the day

445
00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:30,680
when you had that in music.

446
00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:33,520
You know, a little bit more of it was the second verse,

447
00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:36,600
my big brothers was busy getting kicked out of school,

448
00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:39,280
steady flunk in their classes so that they can be cool.

449
00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:41,920
Came home and got fussed at and sent to their room,

450
00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:44,600
probably take a couple of light licks with the broom.

451
00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:47,240
Something I had realized, my brother had gold

452
00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:49,840
and I'm thinking it's something that he probably stole

453
00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:52,480
till I saw he be staying on the streets, he be hanging,

454
00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:55,320
having money, driving cars, so I figured he's slaying it

455
00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:58,120
and I stuck in there seeing and saw him talk to a fiend.

456
00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:00,840
Now his pocket just bolded cause he loaded with cream.

457
00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:03,400
Still I think of a plan, but you're what could I find?

458
00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:06,480
I guess I sit here and wait until I made up my mind

459
00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:08,400
and I went out of the spectrum.

460
00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:09,360
You see what I'm saying?

461
00:23:09,360 --> 00:23:12,360
But I'm painting a picture, bro.

462
00:23:12,360 --> 00:23:15,200
You are a lyricist for sure, brother.

463
00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:20,160
I'm glad that you had a form of outlet.

464
00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:23,440
You need a form of outlet anyway, let alone when you're locked

465
00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:27,120
up and you're imprisoned and you desperately need things

466
00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:30,680
to keep your mind focused, your mind trained,

467
00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:32,280
just to keep your spirits lifted.

468
00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:36,680
So I'm glad that you fell back on that first love

469
00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:39,880
of yours, which was music.

470
00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:43,760
But that's a good segue into our transition to the break

471
00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:46,360
here because I've been enjoying this conversation,

472
00:23:46,360 --> 00:23:48,560
but we do need to go ahead and take a quick break.

473
00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:51,200
And when we come back though, what I want to do is talk

474
00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:56,200
about the trauma aspect of all of this.

475
00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:58,800
Because I know that you do a lot of work with mental health

476
00:23:58,800 --> 00:23:59,960
and mental health awareness.

477
00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:02,760
So I want to tie in that piece to it when we come back

478
00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:03,840
for the break.

479
00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:06,440
But listen everyone, we're going to continue this discussion

480
00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:08,160
with Corey in a few minutes.

481
00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:11,120
Once we come back to the break or from the break,

482
00:24:11,120 --> 00:24:13,720
we're going to talk more about Corey's incredible journey

483
00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:16,400
and we're going to talk about his transformation

484
00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:19,880
and his dedication to empowering individuals

485
00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:24,640
for successful reintegration into a society

486
00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:26,040
after incarceration.

487
00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:27,720
And we're going to talk about some of the challenges

488
00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:29,640
that he's encountered in doing that.

489
00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:33,240
So stay tuned, there's more to come when we return.

490
00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:38,220
We'll see each other as joint

491
00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:10,240
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi I'm going back to Sadi

492
00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:14,240
Baby, tell me now I'm going back to Sadi

493
00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:19,240
Wasted, can't take it, taking me a break from all the needles I've been drinking

494
00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:23,240
Spending all my dimes on that black box wine

495
00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:27,240
Cause I'm trying to keep these 80 ass niggas off my mind

496
00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:31,240
I'm flying first class, don't need a buddy bash

497
00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:35,240
The diplomatic pass, going to get me through the air

498
00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:39,240
I'm chillin' the lounge, they never keep me waitin'

499
00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:43,240
Keep on in them drinks, till I reach my destination

500
00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:47,240
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi Sadi

501
00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:51,240
I'm going back to Sadi Baby, tell me now I'm going back to Sadi

502
00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:56,240
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi I'm going back to Sadi

503
00:25:56,240 --> 00:26:00,240
Baby, tell me now I'm going back to Sadi

504
00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:04,240
It's like my second home, the arrows are exotic

505
00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:08,240
I can't leave them alone, they like the taste of chocolate

506
00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:14,240
Sexy, erotic, and if you like to find the things and money, no object

507
00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:20,240
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi I'm going back to Sadi

508
00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:30,240
Baby, tell me now

509
00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:58,240
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi I'm going back to Sadi

510
00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:16,240
Baby, tell me now I'm going back to Sadi

511
00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:20,240
If I meet a chic, I may never come home

512
00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:26,240
Just give me a week, I just might show my camera till I'm going back to Sadi

513
00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:32,240
Sadi Sadi I'm going back to Sadi

514
00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:38,240
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi I'm going back to Sadi

515
00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:48,240
Baby, tell me now

516
00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:18,240
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi I'm going back to Sadi

517
00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:28,240
Baby, tell me now

518
00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:32,240
I'm going back to Sadi Wasted, can't take it

519
00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:38,240
Taking me a break from all the needles I've been drinking

520
00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:42,240
Spending all my dimes on that black box wine

521
00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:46,240
Cause I'm trying to keep these 80-mass niggas off my mind

522
00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:50,240
I'm flying first class, I don't need a bloody pass

523
00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:54,240
Just a diplomatic pass, you want to get me through the gap

524
00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:58,240
While I'm chilling at the lounge, they never keep me waiting

525
00:28:58,240 --> 00:29:02,240
I'm gonna reach my destination, I'm going back to Sadi

526
00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:06,240
Sadi Sadi I'm going back to Sadi

527
00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:08,240
Baby, tell me now

528
00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:14,240
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi I'm going back to Sadi

529
00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:16,240
Baby, tell me now

530
00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:20,240
I'm going back to Sadi, it's like my second home

531
00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:24,240
The arrows are exotic, I can't leave them alone

532
00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:28,240
Taste of chocolate, sexy, erotic

533
00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:32,240
And if you like to find the things that money ain't no object

534
00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:38,240
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi I'm going back to Sadi

535
00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:54,240
Sadi Sadi Sadi Sadi

536
00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:58,240
I'm going back to Sadi, just in the nick of time

537
00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:02,240
I'll party with the Saudis at the end of Ramadan

538
00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:06,240
And when they on their shisha, hmm, it's nice to meet ya

539
00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:10,240
So let's go do our thing while we sip Sadi champagne

540
00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:14,240
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi

541
00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:16,240
I'm going back to Sadi

542
00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:18,240
Baby, tell me now

543
00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:28,240
Sadi Sadi Sadi

544
00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:34,240
Sadi Sadi

545
00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:38,240
If I made a chic, I may never come home

546
00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:42,240
Just give me a week, I just might show my camel toe

547
00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:46,240
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi

548
00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:48,240
I'm going back to Sadi

549
00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:50,240
Baby, tell me now

550
00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:54,240
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi

551
00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:56,240
I'm going back to Sadi

552
00:30:56,240 --> 00:31:24,240
Sadi Sadi

553
00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:28,240
I can't get you out of my head

554
00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:30,240
Baby, baby

555
00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:34,240
Feels like we're going too fast

556
00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:38,240
Cause I wanna make this last

557
00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:42,240
Feels like we're going too fast

558
00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:46,240
Cause I wanna make this last

559
00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:50,240
Feels like we're going too fast

560
00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:54,240
Cause I wanna make this last

561
00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:58,240
Feels like we're going too fast

562
00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:00,240
Cause I wanna make this last

563
00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:02,240
We got forever

564
00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:04,240
Slow it down

565
00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:06,240
Take our time

566
00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:08,240
Baby, our love is right on top

567
00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:10,240
We got forever

568
00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:20,240
We got forever

569
00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:48,240
It's not that I don't wanna be with you

570
00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:52,240
I just need some time alone

571
00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:56,240
I love all the moments we share

572
00:32:56,240 --> 00:33:00,240
I just need some time alone

573
00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:04,240
I can't wait to make love to you

574
00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:08,240
I just need some time alone

575
00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:10,240
Everything's just happening so fast

576
00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:20,240
I just need some time alone

577
00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:28,240
I feel like I've known you forever

578
00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:36,240
I feel like I've known you forever

579
00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:44,240
I feel like I've known you forever

580
00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:52,240
I've never felt this way before

581
00:33:52,240 --> 00:34:00,240
Every day I crave you more

582
00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:06,240
I can't get you out of my head

583
00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:08,240
Baby, baby

584
00:34:08,240 --> 00:34:14,240
I can't get you out of my head

585
00:34:14,240 --> 00:34:16,240
Baby, baby

586
00:34:16,240 --> 00:34:20,240
It feels like we're going too fast

587
00:34:20,240 --> 00:34:24,240
Cause I wanna make this last

588
00:34:24,240 --> 00:34:28,240
Feels like we're going too fast

589
00:34:28,240 --> 00:34:32,240
Cause I wanna make this last

590
00:34:32,240 --> 00:34:36,240
Feels like we're going too fast

591
00:34:36,240 --> 00:34:40,240
Cause I wanna make this last

592
00:34:40,240 --> 00:35:00,240
Feels like we're going too fast

593
00:35:00,240 --> 00:35:16,240
We got forever

594
00:35:16,240 --> 00:35:18,240
Slow it down

595
00:35:18,240 --> 00:35:20,240
Take our time

596
00:35:20,240 --> 00:35:22,240
Baby, our love is right on time

597
00:35:22,240 --> 00:35:24,240
We got forever

598
00:35:24,240 --> 00:35:26,240
Already too long

599
00:35:26,240 --> 00:35:30,240
I just need some time alone

600
00:35:30,240 --> 00:35:32,240
We got forever

601
00:35:32,240 --> 00:35:34,240
Slow it down

602
00:35:34,240 --> 00:35:36,240
Take our time

603
00:35:36,240 --> 00:35:38,240
Baby, our love is right on time

604
00:35:38,240 --> 00:35:40,240
We got forever

605
00:35:40,240 --> 00:35:42,240
Already too long

606
00:35:42,240 --> 00:35:48,240
I just need some time alone

607
00:35:48,240 --> 00:36:04,240
I feel like we're going too fast

608
00:36:04,240 --> 00:36:10,240
You're back live with Dr. Andre Giri

609
00:36:10,240 --> 00:36:14,240
Hey everybody, welcome back to live with Dr. Andre Giri

610
00:36:14,240 --> 00:36:18,240
So you just finished listening to my singles, Wait a minute baby

611
00:36:18,240 --> 00:36:20,240
And I'm going back to Cali

612
00:36:20,240 --> 00:36:24,240
Sally, I'm sorry, I'm going back to Saudi

613
00:36:24,240 --> 00:36:30,240
So both of these songs are now available on Spotify, Amazon Music and all streaming platforms

614
00:36:30,240 --> 00:36:34,240
So if you happen to be an independent artist, musician or an author

615
00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:39,240
And you'd like to showcase your latest project on our internationally broadcast show

616
00:36:39,240 --> 00:36:44,240
Then send an email to my team at livewithdrandridgeri at gmail.com

617
00:36:44,240 --> 00:36:49,240
Again, that's livewithdrandridgeri at gmail.com

618
00:36:49,240 --> 00:36:55,240
So listen, if you're just joining us, we've been having a very candid conversation with

619
00:36:55,240 --> 00:36:59,240
Prison reform and rehabilitation advocate, Corey Baker

620
00:36:59,240 --> 00:37:03,240
And he shared a little bit with us about his life experiences

621
00:37:03,240 --> 00:37:07,240
And how he's overcome pain from his past

622
00:37:07,240 --> 00:37:12,240
And use those negative experiences as fuel for his passion

623
00:37:12,240 --> 00:37:17,240
And in making sure men and women who are coming out of the prison system

624
00:37:17,240 --> 00:37:23,240
Have the mindset and the tools to successfully reintegrate back into society

625
00:37:23,240 --> 00:37:29,240
So Corey, last year around this time I had the pleasure of interviewing another Corey

626
00:37:29,240 --> 00:37:31,240
Corey George

627
00:37:31,240 --> 00:37:37,240
For anyone who's familiar with him, he's a behavioral coach and a trauma recovery expert

628
00:37:37,240 --> 00:37:43,240
And so before the break, we talked a little bit about trauma that's associated with

629
00:37:43,240 --> 00:37:48,240
Doing time in prison and also reacclimating back into society

630
00:37:48,240 --> 00:37:54,240
Could you talk to our audience more about that, please?

631
00:37:54,240 --> 00:37:59,240
As far as the process of the reacclimating back into society

632
00:37:59,240 --> 00:38:05,240
No, I want to touch on the trauma that's associated, the different types of trauma that's associated

633
00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:11,240
With going into the prison system, then trying to reacclimate back into society

634
00:38:11,240 --> 00:38:17,240
And just some of the general trauma that people endure before they even get to prison

635
00:38:17,240 --> 00:38:24,240
That may have led to making decisions that led them to the prison system in the first place

636
00:38:24,240 --> 00:38:30,240
Oh, absolutely, absolutely. As a matter of fact, as a part of my PR max curriculum

637
00:38:30,240 --> 00:38:36,240
I have a PR max addressing trauma 101

638
00:38:36,240 --> 00:38:46,240
Actually, so where I speak about and talk about identifying those different types of trauma

639
00:38:46,240 --> 00:38:51,240
So that's perfect. Actually, I speak about childhood trauma

640
00:38:51,240 --> 00:38:58,240
And with childhood trauma, like how do we as men deal with the childhood trauma

641
00:38:58,240 --> 00:39:05,240
That troubles us in the present day and often times prevents us from enjoying our life to the fullest

642
00:39:05,240 --> 00:39:14,240
A lot of situations that happen in our childhood sometimes affect the way we think or react to any given situation

643
00:39:14,240 --> 00:39:23,240
And a lot of times those childhood traumas lead to people making decisions that can have them ending up in prison

644
00:39:23,240 --> 00:39:32,240
And so addressing those traumas is very important when it comes to the process of reentry

645
00:39:32,240 --> 00:39:37,240
Coming back from incarceration, re-entering into society

646
00:39:37,240 --> 00:39:43,240
Because as you come from the incarcerated side, it's like how do we go from institutional lives

647
00:39:43,240 --> 00:39:48,240
Where we're told what to do every day and when and how to do everything

648
00:39:48,240 --> 00:39:54,240
You know, while being incarcerated to change over in the free world when you face with everything that you got to do now

649
00:39:54,240 --> 00:40:01,240
But nobody to tell you how to do things so you have to kind of learn, relearn how to live life

650
00:40:01,240 --> 00:40:06,240
And man, when you think about the people coming out, the brothers and sisters now

651
00:40:06,240 --> 00:40:11,240
Because a lot of times people only think about men, but there's a lot of women locked up as well

652
00:40:11,240 --> 00:40:17,240
The United States of America has the largest prison incarceration population in the world

653
00:40:17,240 --> 00:40:18,240
In the world

654
00:40:18,240 --> 00:40:23,240
Yup, and that's crazy, but that's a whole other interview

655
00:40:23,240 --> 00:40:33,240
But when it comes to incarceration traumas, how do we turn our brain from a high level, alert survival mode to relax

656
00:40:33,240 --> 00:40:37,240
And plan and work on successful reentry

657
00:40:37,240 --> 00:40:45,240
And when I was in prison, there were certain times when there's tension between different groups or maybe different races

658
00:40:45,240 --> 00:40:51,240
And you got to kind of sleep with one eye open and you got to walk around on alert

659
00:40:51,240 --> 00:41:00,240
And it's just different ways you move and to come out here into society after years and years of living under those type of stresses

660
00:41:00,240 --> 00:41:05,240
It's a process in the transition because I just give a simple example

661
00:41:05,240 --> 00:41:11,240
You people in the prison line and get stabbed up behind, cutting in front of somebody in the line

662
00:41:11,240 --> 00:41:17,240
I'm not saying that it happens every single time, but there's certain things you just don't do

663
00:41:17,240 --> 00:41:21,240
But imagine somebody coming from that type of mentality

664
00:41:21,240 --> 00:41:33,240
She coming back out here into society and not necessarily having the mental or emotional capacity to be able to consciously and intentionally

665
00:41:33,240 --> 00:41:39,240
You know, make that transition like that is a it could be a scary thing

666
00:41:39,240 --> 00:41:50,240
That's why the importance of you know what I do is always at the forefront of my mind because I know that there's somebody that's going through that process

667
00:41:50,240 --> 00:41:56,240
And that may need that help and support in making that transition, you know

668
00:41:56,240 --> 00:42:04,240
Exactly and I'm glad that you mentioned that because I don't think of course there are services and organizations out there

669
00:42:04,240 --> 00:42:12,240
But I feel like they're not enough that are tailored toward

670
00:42:12,240 --> 00:42:22,240
And that's another thing. What is the proper terminology to refer to someone who has been out of the prison system and reacclimating back into society

671
00:42:22,240 --> 00:42:27,240
Because Xcon and Xcon Vic does it just doesn't sound right when I say it

672
00:42:27,240 --> 00:42:34,240
Is there a newer more modern term that we're using that doesn't sound so offensive?

673
00:42:34,240 --> 00:42:48,240
I think that if we want to take the stigma off of it to any degree I think the most general thing to do is just the same way you would address somebody that hasn't been in prison

674
00:42:48,240 --> 00:42:57,240
You know like and like an individual but to give a softer term I've heard the term returning citizen

675
00:42:57,240 --> 00:43:06,240
Yes, yes, yes, however the gold or Drake would I really believe that will make a more effective

676
00:43:06,240 --> 00:43:23,240
I have a more permanent and lasting effect is when a person did they time and they come home from prison that shouldn't even be brought up no more like don't why do we have to be referred to as a label or a stigma

677
00:43:23,240 --> 00:43:35,240
Because that still put the regardless of how we make the term, you know the words or what words we use is still the same thing you just still paint in a pig black brown or a light pink to make it

678
00:43:35,240 --> 00:43:47,240
You know a little bit, you know better and at the end of the day I you know I advocate for the fact because like I said I've been affected by these same things

679
00:43:47,240 --> 00:43:59,240
So I advocate for hey when a person do they time and they come home they make it home after doing a time all those years that we don't been away from our family suffering day in and day out

680
00:43:59,240 --> 00:44:13,240
Like that's a every day you go every day you're going to remember where you at you're suffering through it so it's not like a punishment where something happens to you, you know once because of what you did and you just take that one punishment

681
00:44:13,240 --> 00:44:28,240
No, every single day you wake up you in prison that's a reality for a long time so I feel like the right thing to do is when a person come home and they've already did they time for whatever the crime is like address them like you would address a person

682
00:44:28,240 --> 00:44:48,240
Like let that let that be in the past and I think if we can find a way to do that then you know then we would have more second chance programs that actually you know that that's exceeding do a lot more because there's some brothers coming home from prison man that I know that I'm

683
00:44:48,240 --> 00:45:04,240
going to actually connect you with so you will have a diverse catalog of people that you can you know talk to when it comes to this topic but I know some brothers that been doing time with me that then came home like 1020 years and they're out here

684
00:45:04,240 --> 00:45:21,240
talking about doing it I'm so proud of these dudes man Jasper Allen that's one of them my man chap man man chap we used to be studying being education you know we ran across each other a lot but it was like very good guys we would see on the yard and we always studying we always preparing

685
00:45:21,240 --> 00:45:36,240
ourselves man chap then came home for 20 years and he he'd been home now I think he just celebrated five years and worked at Amazon and just then came up and doing great so shout out to people like him my man came out I was came out

686
00:45:36,240 --> 00:45:53,240
to came out yes yes we will have him on whenever we do a panel I spoke to him today but the brother has a lot to give when it comes to you know knowledge and wisdom and he actually is a personal trainer out here now in Atlanta came out of the body

687
00:45:53,240 --> 00:46:11,240
mechanic is where you can find out that and me and came out used to work out so if and I can take that back into even the interview so we don't get so far off but to point out another thing that helps you through that trauma while you're back there because remember the

688
00:46:11,240 --> 00:46:29,240
process of having a successful reentry starts while you back there the guys that I successful out here now or the guys that when we were back there we was reading and studying and learning and preparing ourselves you know nine time out of 10 if you back there

689
00:46:29,240 --> 00:46:47,240
and you're not studying or preparing yourself or at least making a plan for your release then what are you going to have to come home to other you only know what you know so if you haven't taught yourself anything new when you come home what are you going to do you're going to be forced to

690
00:46:47,240 --> 00:47:07,240
go for what you know and that's a very key point that I want to make to just to the justice society out there for people in society to know that hey if you have people that's incarcerated please encourage them to prepare themselves for their release why they're back there

691
00:47:07,240 --> 00:47:23,240
tell them don't wait to when they get home to try to get the credit clean and all of that they can do a lot of your back there and that way when they come home you up they'll have a better chance man so those are some of the things I advocate for with my prison reform program

692
00:47:23,240 --> 00:47:43,240
man cordial so many questions I want to ask you I'm not going to nearly get to them all but one of the things I want to ask you what has what has a response from the community at large been like and I mean from you know community organizers organizations leaders in the community

693
00:47:43,240 --> 00:47:59,240
and even down to you know some of the read what's the word you just told me the people who are re entering in their families what's been their feedback and their response to the work that you've been doing

694
00:47:59,240 --> 00:48:19,240
well honestly man it's been a lot of positive feedback like and that's that that's from many different aspects that's from the aspect of some people like some just regular community residents that haven't been to prison but have somebody that's been to prison and sometimes by listening

695
00:48:19,240 --> 00:48:39,240
some of the things that I say and teach they're able to get things out of my toolkit as far as to take back and give to their people you know are in letters that they're writing to their loved ones that's incarcerated they're they're actually able to learn certain things for me that they can kind of

696
00:48:39,240 --> 00:48:57,240
use in their relationship with their with their loved ones back there like you know so I've been getting good reviews from residents as far as the as far as the public like as far as the police stations I've been by several police stations and probation offices

697
00:48:57,240 --> 00:49:18,240
and I go by the jail houses to just offer my services as a mentor and with my prison reform program and curriculum so I really I've been being received properly I mean I'm not going to say that it's been 100% you know just open arms and welcome because there there are people that

698
00:49:18,240 --> 00:49:31,240
still have bias and just don't want to see a person to see you because they they look at you like oh you've been to jail or you're a prisoner and we don't want you but at the end of the day I'm like

699
00:49:31,240 --> 00:49:56,240
if the problem is recidivism I'm the prime example of someone that made it home you know and I've been through the recidivism process which mean I relapsed and went back and I came back home and the home now for a decade so being free for 10 years that's a prime example so I was thinking that more of the

700
00:49:56,240 --> 00:50:17,240
prison in jail would be you know quick to just let me in and come to talk to people and and offer my program however guess what's right they still use the fact that I've been in jail before so it's like you got to jump through those type of hoops and this is where I look at the system

701
00:50:17,240 --> 00:50:33,240
and I think that's where things are set up is set up in a certain way intentionally but I still I'm able to kind of make my way through there and get the word to the people that really need the word man but there's opposition but for the most part I get great reception

702
00:50:33,240 --> 00:50:53,240
feedback from what I'm doing and the the the blessing for me is knowing that I'm helping the person that's coming home like when I see somebody with those browns on and those bobo I pull right up I don't care where I'm at I pull right up on him hey bro how you doing man I know the situation let me talk to you for a

703
00:50:53,240 --> 00:51:16,240
minute you know and I offer them wisdom guidance I got clothes that I give people I got a clothes closet I've given out tablets you know so people can be able to contact their their family and stuff man so yeah that's that's true passion man and the reason I do it is because I always say that I know that I didn't go through that for

704
00:51:16,240 --> 00:51:34,240
nothing I'll be down five years ten years in prison for nothing I'm going to help somebody with my testimony with my experience for what I went through because you know I know that people out here feel alone especially a lot of the ones that went through some of the things that I went through

705
00:51:34,240 --> 00:51:50,240
you know so I'm happy to be an advocate especially for somebody that has made the conscious decisions that they want to do better in life and those are the ones I lean towards you have some people that got your mind made up straight a like yo I'm

706
00:51:50,240 --> 00:52:08,240
gangsta I'm street I'm hood for life da da da da da da so hey bro I'm not gonna knock you I'm not God I'm not gonna judge you but I'm not gonna waste my time with you either I'm gonna let you go through your process over there until you get to the point to where we can meet together on in alignment and other than that I'm

707
00:52:08,240 --> 00:52:22,240
gonna go and focus my time and energy on the brothers and sisters that came home and say hey I'm looking for a way to do it better I want to succeed out here this time I'm here like hello hello what's up you're trying to do a game man you on my

708
00:52:22,240 --> 00:52:42,240
head let's get together you know how can I help you and for all the other prison reform ministries out there that might be hearing my voice you feel free to reach out to me because I believe that we can accomplish more than I just because we both doing the same thing doesn't mean that I got a hate on you are you trying to

709
00:52:42,240 --> 00:52:57,240
take my market no let's do more of what we're doing I think that's a problem in our culture to where you know a lot of us when we started getting into business and doing things like a little non-profession we're advocating for justice and freedom and then why should

710
00:52:57,240 --> 00:53:13,240
there shouldn't be no competition it should only be collaboration let's come together and do more of what we're doing and I would like to see that in society and so I'm stepping out to be the the example of what I would like to see others doing in society now like let's come together

711
00:53:13,240 --> 00:53:21,240
and help our people come home and get on the right path and have support to stay on the right path you know.

712
00:53:21,240 --> 00:53:36,240
Absolutely and we're on the same page brother I'm very happy about the work that you're doing you know I've already pledged my support to you and I look forward to collaborating with you on future projects and I really love this form of ministry that you have

713
00:53:36,240 --> 00:53:51,240
because really that's what it is I love that you are the bridge in support that you know bridge that gap in support that people may not have when they come out because now everybody's going to you know have the familial support or the spalval support

714
00:53:51,240 --> 00:54:12,240
or any support and then we already know about the gaps that are present in society that's going to prevent challenges and be discouraging to somebody that's wanting to keep their life on the right track so I just I applaud you man and before we close because this is we're almost at the top of the hour I want you to talk real quickly about the work that you're

715
00:54:12,240 --> 00:54:21,240
doing with Miracle City Mission the organization that you just had incorporated and I also want you to touch on skill sets for life.

716
00:54:21,240 --> 00:54:28,240
Okay absolutely so the Miracle City Mission and skill sets for life.

717
00:54:28,240 --> 00:54:46,240
So I'm going to go far at the forefront of what I'm doing right now especially in my hometown. My hometown if you Google Miracle City something South Carolina will come up and everybody knows Miracle City so my city has been known as one of the you know having that negative

718
00:54:46,240 --> 00:55:00,240
connotation on it and so there's a group of us that got together because I was a part of the problem and I want to be a part of the solution now so there's a group of us that got together made a conscious decision that hey let's do something to take this negative

719
00:55:00,240 --> 00:55:20,240
connotation off of the city and go for a more positive name and push that and so in the process of me doing a conference it kind of stemmed from for as far as me being involved in stemmed from me doing getting with David with a spoon who's from my city

720
00:55:20,240 --> 00:55:38,240
something South Carolina shout out to David and the rest of the team Melissa Jacob Demetria Marlowe and Latika so I got with David and we wanted to do something to bring a positive change to the community.

721
00:55:38,240 --> 00:55:54,240
So to take away that negative connotation so that's what we're doing there we've done kids car washes. I did a speak to the youth conference where I had several speakers that was man it was great the outcome was great and I'm looking to collaborate with more people in the city as a lot of people

722
00:55:54,240 --> 00:56:18,240
reach out to me as a result of that and then with skill sets for life what skill sets for life is all about it's a platform that I'm putting together and I'm launching the podcast skill sets for life launch in 2024 but I already have some footage and some classes but what we're doing with skill sets for life is teaching people outside

723
00:56:18,240 --> 00:56:34,240
of the school system the skill sets that they would need for life and it was inspired my dream was inspired by my oldest son when he graduated he pretty much said dad and I feel like I've been robbed and I'm like what's happening son he said if it wasn't for you I wouldn't know nothing

724
00:56:34,240 --> 00:56:56,240
about finances nothing about how to get a house how to get a car anything like I feel like I've got 12 years in school and they really didn't teach me any life skills so upon me praying and meditating and dwelling on that it came to me skill sets for life and skill sets for life is going to be a collaborative effort for a contribution to humanity

725
00:56:56,240 --> 00:57:16,240
where I'll be interviewing people going into their life and what they've experienced in their life and asking them to leave their five top skill sets for life which is which will be a part of a toolkit that people can have access to by going on my online school skill sets for life or I'll have everything posted on my social media

726
00:57:16,240 --> 00:57:34,240
but it's a way for us to pass down our knowledge and wisdom for example I might have a skill sets for life segment about surviving prison because I learned skill sets like and it takes skill sets to survive that environment skill sets for life for entrepreneurship if you want to start a business

727
00:57:34,240 --> 00:57:56,240
you know skill sets for life for reentry for dealing with trauma so anybody that wants to collaborate with me on that feel free to send me an inbox and we can set it up and schedule it because I would like for everybody to be able to share their skill sets for life and let's start passing down this generational knowledge and wisdom to our next generation

728
00:57:56,240 --> 00:58:18,240
that way that they can thrive and do better than we did. Awesome so for those out there Corey who are interested in connecting with you and learning more about you or even booking your services and collaborating with you and other organizations tell us really quickly where we can find you online and what's the best way to get in contact with you.

729
00:58:18,240 --> 00:58:43,240
Okay you can find me online under my full name Corey Nathaniel Baker on Facebook Corey Nathaniel Baker on Instagram my prison reform program is PR Max and you can actually look up PR Max on Instagram as well and I always put my my email out there as well as

730
00:59:13,240 --> 00:59:34,240
prison reform mental health we have a mental health awareness club as well. Mendible is the app you can download it. Mendible app www.mendibleapp and join us on there as well because I know we won't be able to get to that bro we at the top of the aisle man seem like time just put on it.

731
00:59:34,240 --> 00:59:49,240
There's never enough time when you got a great guest like this no worry I have you back on the show we're going to be collaborating in the future but Corey listen thank you so much for coming on the show today tonight rather and just sharing your passion with us your story with us.

732
00:59:49,240 --> 01:00:02,240
I've enjoyed it I know our listeners sure have as well I wish you all the best you know I love you man and much success to you and I have no doubt that you are definitely operating your purpose and you'll have great success.

733
01:00:02,240 --> 01:00:28,240
Thank you bro love you more and thank you for everything that you've done because you've been a great support system to me as well you've been inspiration to me and times as well and I appreciate everything that you do man so I wish you blessings and the best of success and I'm always here for you as well man thank you and thank you to your listeners for listening as well man peace and blessings I really enjoyed this experience.

734
01:00:28,240 --> 01:00:33,240
Thank you to all of our listeners and whatever part of the world you're tuning in from this evening.

735
01:00:33,240 --> 01:00:36,240
I appreciate your listenerships so very much.

736
01:00:36,240 --> 01:00:40,240
Thank you to those who were on our IG live tonight.

737
01:00:40,240 --> 01:00:42,240
I know it was kind of wonky that was our first time.

738
01:00:42,240 --> 01:00:52,240
It'll get better and subsequent stuff shows, but stay tuned so you can continue to catch some of the great guests that we're having each episode.

739
01:00:52,240 --> 01:01:02,240
Be sure to join us for the next episode of live with Dr. Andre Gerriero air on December 27th that's Wednesday December 27th at 8pm Eastern.

740
01:01:02,240 --> 01:01:10,240
I'll be joined by my favorite comedian and that's Freddie Balloy who was on the show last year so looking forward to that.

741
01:01:10,240 --> 01:01:25,240
Until then everyone have a great holiday season and good night everybody.

742
01:01:40,240 --> 01:01:42,240
you