Dr. Jerry, you got the whole world waiting.
Been ready for you to start the conversation.
No point of view.
We got the haters confused.
Leave it up to you to bring us all the good news.
Positive vibes and the sex appeal to Dr. Andre Jerry.
Can I get an interview for you?
You, you, you, you, you, you.
Hello, everybody.
Good evening and welcome back to an all new episode
of Live with Dr. Andre Jerry.
I am your host, Dr. Andre Jerry.
And I'm happy to be back with you all
after a two-month hiatus.
As many of you know, I recently transitioned back
to the States following a six-month tour in Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia.
Now, as with my first tour to Saudi,
it was a great experience.
And I learned a great deal.
But there is no place like home.
I want to give a quick shout out to Reginald Bullock, who
guest hosted the show in my absence in September.
Reggie, thank you.
You did an awesome job, a fantastic job.
I got a lot of great feedback.
So thank you so much.
So before I introduce my guest for tonight,
I want to let all of the listeners know
that we're trying something a little different tonight.
So my social media team, shout out to Ove,
has literally been begging me to go on IG Live during my shows.
And I admit I've been reluctant.
I've been scared.
I'm not entirely comfortable being on camera like this.
So fast forward 15 episodes later.
And after a lot of procrastination,
I'm on IG Live right now.
Shout out to everyone who's tuning in to our live.
So listen, tonight's guest is a gentleman
that I met last year when I hosted the annual relevant
with Renata event in Atlanta.
Shout out to Renata Morgan and Pastor Jordan.
So this gentleman was one of the many talented performers
that did their thing that night.
And I'll never forget, I was backstage.
And normally, while the performer
is doing their thing on stage, I'm
reviewing my cue cards for the next performer.
So I can get their intro right.
But not while this guy was on stage.
He commanded the attention of everybody in the room
with just his sheer stage presence.
He did spoken word.
He did poetry.
He did a little rap.
He shared about his story, his background.
And you share a little bit about his passion.
And so for myself and the audience,
we were all glued to every word.
We didn't want them to get on stage.
At least I didn't.
So when we had a chance to talk briefly after the show,
I was like, man, you got to come on the show.
I want to introduce you to my audience.
And so here we are a year later, a little over a year later,
actually.
And we're finally making this happen.
So I'm very excited.
Without further fanfare, please allow me to introduce now
my friend, Mr. Corey Baker.
Corey, welcome to the show, brother.
Thank you.
I appreciate it.
Yes, it was a pleasure meeting you.
And I'm glad that I was able to have the impact that I had
on you and the rest of the people there.
Shout out to Renata too.
That was a great event.
Absolutely.
Yes.
So Renata Morgan is a good friend of both of ours.
I met her through you, of course, as I mentioned before.
And she also had the show on the artist's first radio
network, Relevant with Renata, that I believe
is every second Monday.
So definitely tune in to her show as well.
So normally, Corey, what I do is I
go ahead and give a brief introduction of my guests
to the listeners.
But in the spirit of trying something different tonight,
I'm going to ask you to tell our listeners, in your own words,
who Corey Baker is.
Absolutely.
Well, who Corey Baker is?
Corey Baker is a man now, 44 years of age,
but to take you back to the beginning, 12, 30, 78,
I was born in something South Carolina
by way of my mother, Debbie Baker, and my father,
Nathaniel Billips.
And I was born in something South Carolina, my city,
growing up there in the early, I guess, in the early 80s.
It was pretty rough.
So Corey Baker, the guy that came from a rough upbringing,
went through a lot of trials and tribulations in his life,
and now is here on the Andre Jerry Show
to kind of fill in some pieces and share
with the rest of the world what my experiences was.
So I'll get it.
I guess the introduction will be better done with us
getting into the story, man.
Right.
So let's talk about that.
You briefly mentioned your childhood
and your background a little.
So let's just go ahead and talk about it.
How was your childhood growing up?
What was it like?
Well, I'm the middle child in the household.
It was five brothers.
It's actually six of us, my oldest brother, Nathaniel,
from a prior relationship.
But in the household that I was raised up in, my mom,
my father, and my four brothers, I was the middle child.
So I was the one that pretty much I caught all the heat.
The two younger ones, they were the babies
and the two older ones.
They were already a bit older, so they got away
with a lot more.
I just always felt like I was the middle child.
I don't know if that's just a little child thing,
but I felt like I used to get all the heat, man.
But I grew up in a loving family, though.
My dad was a hard-working man.
And the principal, the main jewel,
I remember that my dad, because my dad passed earlier on
and we'll get into that.
My dad always told me to make an honest dollar.
And my mom was a hard-working woman and a loving mother.
And she always taught me, sons, always be a step ahead.
So growing up, it was kind of rough, though,
because of the fact that my father died the day
after Christmas, 1991.
And I ended up, after bearing in my father,
that's when the struggle really got real.
And so that made my childhood and coming up
a little bit more rough.
And my mom having the struggle to raise five boys,
it wasn't easy.
And it wasn't something that could be hidden.
I've seen the struggle.
So I always had an urge to get out there
and be able to do something to help my mom out.
So I had to grow up.
How old were you when your father passed?
We actually buried my dad on my 12th birthday.
My dad, I was 12.
Oh, man, 12 years old.
Yeah, because he died the day after Christmas, man.
And my dad, I looked up to my dad.
My dad is a legend in my family.
And everybody I've ever met that knew my dad
had something good to say about him.
So it took my life to a whole different page
when my father died.
And you also listened to a few of your other interviews.
And you mentioned that your mom also passed.
Why you were young or was this later?
Yes, my mom passed later on.
So when my dad passed, I was 12 years old.
And my mom had to kind of raise five boys up into the township
as which was in 1997.
97 or my mom passed.
And the trauma, man, it really, really bothered me.
So those dates, like a lot of times,
I don't even remember exactly the date it was because I
tried to block it out.
It was so traumatic to me because that just, you know,
that took me to a whole different place
because I instantly became homeless.
My two little brothers were cooking in.
But I was over 18.
So I wasn't getting a social security check or nothing
like that.
So I wasn't cooking in.
And that was my view of it.
And that's when I was.
So wait.
So by the age of 18, you had already
lost your father and your mother?
Yeah.
And then your family was separated,
which is going to add to a whole other level of trauma.
Oh, man.
Right.
And this is the thing, those way that made it so difficult.
I was told that my mom was adopted, so therefore,
I didn't know my real blood relatives.
I know two or three cousins that I knew growing up,
but I didn't know that my grandfather was really
my grandfather, man, because back in the day,
they used to sweep stuff under the rug.
And long before the show.
Yeah, man, when my mom passed, and I was told she was adopted,
it kind of just put me in a place
where now I'm 18, 19 years old out here.
And I felt like it was me against the world.
And so I definitely took to the streets
because it wasn't much opportunity.
It wasn't like I could just jump.
I didn't have no career or anything like that.
And it was just, man, survival mode for me.
So I got into the streets, deep into the streets.
And I did a lot of things that nowadays I look back, man.
And I just I'm not proud of.
But being in the shoes that I'm in,
I also can look back and say, man,
I see a lot of growth and development.
And that I can't be proud of.
So let's go back to that, because I'm just thinking
about what you just said.
You said you were 18.
By that point, you lost your father,
Twill, you lost your mother a few years after that.
The family seems like it was displaced.
You were separated from your siblings.
You mentioned being homeless at one point.
All I'm hearing is trauma on top of trauma,
on top of trauma.
And you know, you turn to the streets,
you talk about trauma.
How would you describe your mindset back then?
When you think back to that period of time
before you went to prison the first time,
what would you describe your mindset as?
It was pretty much survival mode.
Like I said, it was a dark time
and a dark place in my life.
Did a lot of hustling in the street,
it was legal hustling.
And during those times,
I had to make up my mind like,
hey, I got a make-up out here.
So it was like, I kind of became numb to a lot of things
and had a mindset like,
I got to do whatever I got to do to make it.
And I didn't have the goddess and nobody
that really kind of cooled me down actually.
Right.
You know, I know that I was running
within the street, he was a couple of years older than me
and he was kind of guiding me right on down that path
with him because I was,
you know, I was the hotheaded one and I'm gonna set it off.
And, you know, so he would just kind of be, you know,
yeah, that's how I always been.
But now I know how to channel the energy in the right way.
But yeah, literally, man, I was in a dark place
and it's really hard to describe,
but it just, if I could describe it in a way like,
just being in a like, like you wouldn't have would,
you lost is dark and it's dark and you're in the woods,
you don't know where you at, you don't know what can happen.
That's like literally where I was in life
because every day, man, it was so many, you know,
a shootouts, you know, things happening to people
close to me in the street, death.
I dealt with death so much, Dre.
I mean, when I was, you know, in school,
I told you I used to rap and back in high school,
my friend died, cute, the ill son died at 16 in Kenya.
So that was right around the time and then my mom died.
So me and his mom got close.
She lost a son, I lost a mother.
So she became my godmother.
So that was like a life that I had out there in that darkness.
So I did have those, you know, beacons like that.
You have people like mama Lois, you know,
one of my friends like that, my brother kind of took me in.
So I had places that I could go up comfort,
but I was still, when I stepped outside of that house,
it's like, you know, I'm still out here in the darkness, man.
So it was, it was a survival mode.
And I did things that I'm not proud of, man.
I'm really not proud of like to the point that I go.
I understand that.
You know,
Would you say, not to cut you off,
but would you say that going to prison,
saved your life in a way or do you feel like
when you got arrested or in that whole thing went down
in your prison, did you feel,
the part of you feel relieved?
I kind of knew, I kind of knew that it was going to come
to an end at some point.
And when that did happen,
I honestly knew that it was going to be a ride
because once I got in that van,
when we robbed the bank and took them on that chase
and everything, when I was the last one they caught
and when I got in that van over the rest of them,
I said, y'all might as well kick y'all feet off
and move out the ride.
And, you know, off the prison I went,
but that's when I was able to kind of get there
and self reflect, you know, once I got locked up.
So yeah, that did save me, man.
It took me, you know, it saved me off of that path
because it was going to be that of death, you know,
because I wasn't living right at all.
So while you were, I just lost my train of thought,
but when you went in the first time,
were you a father at that point?
Like, had you had kids at that point yet?
Yes, I did.
My oldest daughter, my mother passed
when my oldest daughter, before she was pregnant,
and I have two sons, but my oldest son was,
when I got locked up for the arm bank robbery,
I had a son that was six months
and my daughter was like two and a half.
So it was a lot of pressure.
I was under a lot of pressure, like since my mom died,
like I said, during the time she died,
you know, my daughter's mama was pregnant with her.
So it was like one for another, man.
So you had a lot of time away from your kids
at very young ages
where they definitely needed their father.
So I'm sure that played, you know,
into a lot of guilt on your end,
in addition to, you know, trying to serve your time
and stay out of trouble and just process everything
that had happened at that point,
and I'm sure that added to your angst.
Yeah, absolutely, man.
It absolutely did.
And if I could try to give you guys a picture,
just try to give a picture,
because I know I've got a lot in those years,
but to give you guys a picture,
it was like things kind of slowed down for me
once I got behind those walls.
And that we started to sit in
and I started to experience different things.
Like it was a psychological shock and a change
because I'm coming from wild and on the street, great.
I'm talking about wild and on the street
to going into prison,
and now I'm just going wild mentality.
And it was like they made you,
like you got to work when you're back there, you know?
So I had to transit,
like I was just going to the hole and getting right up
or what they call like being disrespectful to staff,
things of that nature,
because I had to go from that transition from society
into the prison, that institution,
and the whole goal in there is to break you mentally, man.
So it was had to put up with,
but it also was a think tank.
And I began to read and began to learn and grow
and write more music as well.
So there was a lot that happened during those years.
What would you like to talk about that during those years?
Well, I know during our pre-production meeting,
you mentioned that you had spent a lot of that time
writing songs.
You mentioned that you wrote over 200 songs
during your time in prison.
And I want to talk a little bit about that.
I mean, has writing always been something
that came naturally to you?
Or was this more of a form of like therapy for you
to sort of channel your emotions while you were in there?
You know, that's something I always did.
So music was my first love.
Felling love with music by my uncle teaching me
other people's songs.
And then by my fourth grade, my brother wrote my first song
for me, which was for the dare class.
And after doing that, I actually won the little dare talent show.
So by the time I was in middle school,
I started writing my own music.
And to be honest, I always expressed a lot in my music,
a lot better.
And I had a song that I wrote called Times is Hard.
And this was around the time, like I couldn't have been
no more than like 13, 14 years old.
So, it's a perfect time.
And I like to just share that piece right there.
Man, that's from like years ago.
And I really, I kind of pointed out a few things in there.
So if this is a good time for like to share a piece
of that song I wrote back in the days called Times is Hard,
I think I wrote it around 94.
Okay.
Okay, cool, cool, cool.
So Times is Hard.
It's started, I did this to a Scarface beat,
as a matter of fact, a Scarface instrumental.
You might as well go ahead and give us a little bit of it.
Okay, I got you.
It on, I started out by saying,
I'm born as a victim, but still was gifted
with a talent of rap.
And it always kept me lifted from day one.
It was fun to be known as a son of a mother and a father,
but some still got nothing better than me.
That's how I felt for years.
So my father deceased, it broke me down in tears.
Then I thought about suicide and went to the streets.
And I found it was do or die to make ends meet.
Thought I was an example being used by God.
Never thought about bills and things that made life hard.
Still I'm trying to survive.
My mom busted her ass, wrote to work with a friend
cause she paid for the gas.
This year went on for years until we got us a ride.
Sporting poomers and ringlets,
so the boss at the slide trying to earn an honest dollar
so I'm raking a yard, a young man coming up
just when times is hard.
I love that man.
I love that.
Yeah, that was at around 14.
So I started writing and as you tell that writing
helped me express my life.
And I fell in love with it then and I kept at it.
I miss that type of rap man, the storytelling rap.
Not just rapping and talking about nonsense,
but real stories, real parts of your life
that glamour is not so glamour is hardcore, whatever it is.
I miss that form of expression.
You don't hear it a lot in today's rap and hip hop music
but that took me back man, that was really good.
Yeah, you can tell the way it was structured
and still got that old school delivery to it.
And it was, that was back in the day
when you had that in music.
You know, a little bit more of it was the second verse,
my big brothers was busy getting kicked out of school,
steady flunk in their classes so that they can be cool.
Came home and got fussed at and sent to their room,
probably take a couple of light licks with the broom.
Something I had realized, my brother had gold
and I'm thinking it's something that he probably stole
till I saw he be staying on the streets, he be hanging,
having money, driving cars, so I figured he's slaying it
and I stuck in there seeing and saw him talk to a fiend.
Now his pocket just bolded cause he loaded with cream.
Still I think of a plan, but you're what could I find?
I guess I sit here and wait until I made up my mind
and I went out of the spectrum.
You see what I'm saying?
But I'm painting a picture, bro.
You are a lyricist for sure, brother.
I'm glad that you had a form of outlet.
You need a form of outlet anyway, let alone when you're locked
up and you're imprisoned and you desperately need things
to keep your mind focused, your mind trained,
just to keep your spirits lifted.
So I'm glad that you fell back on that first love
of yours, which was music.
But that's a good segue into our transition to the break
here because I've been enjoying this conversation,
but we do need to go ahead and take a quick break.
And when we come back though, what I want to do is talk
about the trauma aspect of all of this.
Because I know that you do a lot of work with mental health
and mental health awareness.
So I want to tie in that piece to it when we come back
for the break.
But listen everyone, we're going to continue this discussion
with Corey in a few minutes.
Once we come back to the break or from the break,
we're going to talk more about Corey's incredible journey
and we're going to talk about his transformation
and his dedication to empowering individuals
for successful reintegration into a society
after incarceration.
And we're going to talk about some of the challenges
that he's encountered in doing that.
So stay tuned, there's more to come when we return.
We'll see each other as joint
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi I'm going back to Sadi
Baby, tell me now I'm going back to Sadi
Wasted, can't take it, taking me a break from all the needles I've been drinking
Spending all my dimes on that black box wine
Cause I'm trying to keep these 80 ass niggas off my mind
I'm flying first class, don't need a buddy bash
The diplomatic pass, going to get me through the air
I'm chillin' the lounge, they never keep me waitin'
Keep on in them drinks, till I reach my destination
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi Sadi
I'm going back to Sadi Baby, tell me now I'm going back to Sadi
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi I'm going back to Sadi
Baby, tell me now I'm going back to Sadi
It's like my second home, the arrows are exotic
I can't leave them alone, they like the taste of chocolate
Sexy, erotic, and if you like to find the things and money, no object
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi I'm going back to Sadi
Baby, tell me now
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi I'm going back to Sadi
Baby, tell me now I'm going back to Sadi
If I meet a chic, I may never come home
Just give me a week, I just might show my camera till I'm going back to Sadi
Sadi Sadi I'm going back to Sadi
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi I'm going back to Sadi
Baby, tell me now
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi I'm going back to Sadi
Baby, tell me now
I'm going back to Sadi Wasted, can't take it
Taking me a break from all the needles I've been drinking
Spending all my dimes on that black box wine
Cause I'm trying to keep these 80-mass niggas off my mind
I'm flying first class, I don't need a bloody pass
Just a diplomatic pass, you want to get me through the gap
While I'm chilling at the lounge, they never keep me waiting
I'm gonna reach my destination, I'm going back to Sadi
Sadi Sadi I'm going back to Sadi
Baby, tell me now
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi I'm going back to Sadi
Baby, tell me now
I'm going back to Sadi, it's like my second home
The arrows are exotic, I can't leave them alone
Taste of chocolate, sexy, erotic
And if you like to find the things that money ain't no object
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi I'm going back to Sadi
Sadi Sadi Sadi Sadi
I'm going back to Sadi, just in the nick of time
I'll party with the Saudis at the end of Ramadan
And when they on their shisha, hmm, it's nice to meet ya
So let's go do our thing while we sip Sadi champagne
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi
I'm going back to Sadi
Baby, tell me now
Sadi Sadi Sadi
Sadi Sadi
If I made a chic, I may never come home
Just give me a week, I just might show my camel toe
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi
I'm going back to Sadi
Baby, tell me now
I'm going back to Sadi Sadi Sadi
I'm going back to Sadi
Sadi Sadi
I can't get you out of my head
Baby, baby
Feels like we're going too fast
Cause I wanna make this last
Feels like we're going too fast
Cause I wanna make this last
Feels like we're going too fast
Cause I wanna make this last
Feels like we're going too fast
Cause I wanna make this last
We got forever
Slow it down
Take our time
Baby, our love is right on top
We got forever
It's not that I don't wanna be with you
I just need some time alone
I love all the moments we share
I just need some time alone
I can't wait to make love to you
I just need some time alone
Everything's just happening so fast
I just need some time alone
I feel like I've known you forever
I've never felt this way before
Every day I crave you more
I can't get you out of my head
Baby, baby
I can't get you out of my head
Baby, baby
It feels like we're going too fast
Cause I wanna make this last
Feels like we're going too fast
Cause I wanna make this last
Feels like we're going too fast
Cause I wanna make this last
Feels like we're going too fast
We got forever
Slow it down
Take our time
Baby, our love is right on time
We got forever
Already too long
I just need some time alone
We got forever
Slow it down
Take our time
Baby, our love is right on time
We got forever
Already too long
I just need some time alone
I feel like we're going too fast
You're back live with Dr. Andre Giri
Hey everybody, welcome back to live with Dr. Andre Giri
So you just finished listening to my singles, Wait a minute baby
And I'm going back to Cali
Sally, I'm sorry, I'm going back to Saudi
So both of these songs are now available on Spotify, Amazon Music and all streaming platforms
So if you happen to be an independent artist, musician or an author
And you'd like to showcase your latest project on our internationally broadcast show
Then send an email to my team at livewithdrandridgeri at gmail.com
Again, that's livewithdrandridgeri at gmail.com
So listen, if you're just joining us, we've been having a very candid conversation with
Prison reform and rehabilitation advocate, Corey Baker
And he shared a little bit with us about his life experiences
And how he's overcome pain from his past
And use those negative experiences as fuel for his passion
And in making sure men and women who are coming out of the prison system
Have the mindset and the tools to successfully reintegrate back into society
So Corey, last year around this time I had the pleasure of interviewing another Corey
Corey George
For anyone who's familiar with him, he's a behavioral coach and a trauma recovery expert
And so before the break, we talked a little bit about trauma that's associated with
Doing time in prison and also reacclimating back into society
Could you talk to our audience more about that, please?
As far as the process of the reacclimating back into society
No, I want to touch on the trauma that's associated, the different types of trauma that's associated
With going into the prison system, then trying to reacclimate back into society
And just some of the general trauma that people endure before they even get to prison
That may have led to making decisions that led them to the prison system in the first place
Oh, absolutely, absolutely. As a matter of fact, as a part of my PR max curriculum
I have a PR max addressing trauma 101
Actually, so where I speak about and talk about identifying those different types of trauma
So that's perfect. Actually, I speak about childhood trauma
And with childhood trauma, like how do we as men deal with the childhood trauma
That troubles us in the present day and often times prevents us from enjoying our life to the fullest
A lot of situations that happen in our childhood sometimes affect the way we think or react to any given situation
And a lot of times those childhood traumas lead to people making decisions that can have them ending up in prison
And so addressing those traumas is very important when it comes to the process of reentry
Coming back from incarceration, re-entering into society
Because as you come from the incarcerated side, it's like how do we go from institutional lives
Where we're told what to do every day and when and how to do everything
You know, while being incarcerated to change over in the free world when you face with everything that you got to do now
But nobody to tell you how to do things so you have to kind of learn, relearn how to live life
And man, when you think about the people coming out, the brothers and sisters now
Because a lot of times people only think about men, but there's a lot of women locked up as well
The United States of America has the largest prison incarceration population in the world
In the world
Yup, and that's crazy, but that's a whole other interview
But when it comes to incarceration traumas, how do we turn our brain from a high level, alert survival mode to relax
And plan and work on successful reentry
And when I was in prison, there were certain times when there's tension between different groups or maybe different races
And you got to kind of sleep with one eye open and you got to walk around on alert
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
It's a process in the transition because I just give a simple example
You people in the prison line and get stabbed up behind, cutting in front of somebody in the line
I'm not saying that it happens every single time, but there's certain things you just don't do
But imagine somebody coming from that type of mentality
She coming back out here into society and not necessarily having the mental or emotional capacity to be able to consciously and intentionally
You know, make that transition like that is a it could be a scary thing
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
And that may need that help and support in making that transition, you know
Exactly and I'm glad that you mentioned that because I don't think of course there are services and organizations out there
But I feel like they're not enough that are tailored toward
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
Because Xcon and Xcon Vic does it just doesn't sound right when I say it
Is there a newer more modern term that we're using that doesn't sound so offensive?
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
You know like and like an individual but to give a softer term I've heard the term returning citizen
Yes, yes, yes, however the gold or Drake would I really believe that will make a more effective
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
and help our people come home and get on the right path and have support to stay on the right path you know.
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
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
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
doing with Miracle City Mission the organization that you just had incorporated and I also want you to touch on skill sets for life.
Okay absolutely so the Miracle City Mission and skill sets for life.
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Thank you to all of our listeners and whatever part of the world you're tuning in from this evening.
I appreciate your listenerships so very much.
Thank you to those who were on our IG live tonight.
I know it was kind of wonky that was our first time.
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.
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.
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.
Until then everyone have a great holiday season and good night everybody.
you