Club Shay Shay - Killer Mike Part 2

Summary

Club Shay Shay – Killer Mike Part 2 (October 1, 2025)

Host: Shannon Sharpe
Guest: Killer Mike
Podcast: Club Shay Shay (iHeartPodcasts and Shay Shay Media)

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Episode Overview

In this deeply engaging, wide-ranging second installment, Killer Mike joins Shannon Sharpe for a candid, philosophy-laced conversation that flows from politics and community responsibility to music industry wisdom, personal stories of family, and the power of embracing one’s purpose. Mike draws on his lived experience as a rapper, businessman, activist, and son of Atlanta, weaving history, advice, and heartfelt tribute to those who shaped him. Listeners are treated to authentic wisdom, memorable stories, and a host-guest dynamic brimming with mutual respect and humor.

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Major Discussion Points and Insights

1. Political Ambitions, Integrity, and Atlanta’s Responsibility

Timestamp: 03:02 – 04:52

• Political Future: Killer Mike admits he might run for office—once he’s “unbribeable:”
  • “I want to service my community. But right now, the best thing I can do to service my community is be as strong individual as I can… Once we as a family get stable, you know, I want to be the Kennedys.” (Killer Mike, 03:36)
• Atlanta’s Black Legacy: Mike explains the unique economic and cultural power of Atlanta, and the responsibility Black entertainers and athletes have to honor and build on that legacy, drawing comparisons to Mecca for Muslims.
• The Cost of Negligence: He warns that reckless behavior by high-profile figures can damage not just individuals but Black Atlanta’s standing and opportunities.
  • “Violence is not good for money. Violence is not good for bringing new hotels, for bringing new tours, bringing new conferences...” (Killer Mike, 06:23)

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2. Mediation, Mentorship, and Community Healing

Timestamp: 10:19 – 17:14

• Peacemaking: Mike recounts how he and T.I. intervened to attempt peace between warring factions, emphasizing the importance of elders and community voices in guiding younger generations:
  • “They want you to be the top of the streets. And I’m telling you, you could be the top of the suites if you play it right.” (Killer Mike, 12:08)
• The Trap of Street Life: Addresses the illusion of power in the streets versus the real, generational influence of Black political and business leaders.
• Systems of Mediation: Encourages the community to develop rituals for forgiveness and grace, paralleling religious traditions and practical violence interruption programs:
  • “If America really wanted gang violence to end, Jeff Ford would be free. Larry Hoover would be free… and they would have been organizing.” (Killer Mike, 14:15)
• Need for Grace: Stresses the importance of second chances and the need to “figure out a way to get at a table together to discuss, to forgive, and then move on in unity.” (Killer Mike, 16:57)

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3. Hip-Hop Legacy, Music Business Wisdom, and Cultural Influence

Timestamp: 17:12 – 36:46

• Recognition by Peers: Mike shares his gratitude at being mentioned on Kendrick’s To Pimp a Butterfly, playfully hinting at wanting a feature (“If you’re at home thinking about it, K Dot, man…” 17:42).
• Ice Cube & Scarface: He describes himself as a direct student of these legends, noting how Cube modeled multidisciplinary brilliance and business savvy:
  • “Ice Cube has shown me since I was 12 years old that all possibilities are possible.” (Killer Mike, 21:59)
• On Jay-Z and Business: Sees business as a creative art for figures like Jay-Z and Magic Johnson, and urges Black artists to use their power to uplift others.
• Major Label vs. Independent: Breaks down the pros and cons in practical terms:
  • “Now that I understand fully who I am… I think I found a middle ground where I’m independent enough to know when I need some major help.” (Killer Mike, 33:12)
  • Recommends practical financial advice: “Put your money in the S&P 500… Don’t try to get too sexy.” (Killer Mike, 34:15)

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4. Acting, Creativity, and New Ventures

Timestamp: 36:46 – 39:20

• The Acting Bug: Killer Mike reflects on stepping into acting for series like Ozark and Reservation Dogs, describing the nervous excitement and the value of using “the lie of imagination to tell a grander truth” (Killer Mike, 38:55).

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5. Politics, Race, and Economic Coalition

Timestamp: 39:20 – 48:10

• Race as a Political Tool: Referencing Lyndon Johnson, Killer Mike explains how racial divisions have been used to pit poor whites and Blacks against each other, to the benefit of elites:
  • “At some point, race is just an economic tool used… to keep us infighting so that we never get greater gains.” (Killer Mike, 44:50)
• Rainbow Coalition: Calls for a united front among workers, drawing on the example of Fred Hampton.
• Working with All Sides: Mike defends his choice to meet with Governor Kemp, arguing that engagement is key regardless of partisan feelings.
  • “If you are politically unengaged, you are a fool… the day after [an election], I’m going to congratulate the winner and say, okay, what we gonna do to make Georgia a better state?” (Killer Mike, 46:36–47:14)

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6. Wisdom on DEI, Capitalism, and Accountability

Timestamp: 50:11 – 55:08

• On DEI: Killer Mike supports Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts—if they work. Ultimately, he advocates for political action, supporting businesses that support the community, and learning from successful economic strategies in Black history.
• Freedom of Speech: Urges defense of free speech for all, even for those we vehemently disagree with:
  • “If you don’t believe in freedoms of speech for those you vehemently disagree with, you don’t believe in freedom of speech.” (Killer Mike, 53:44)

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7. Family, Upbringing, and The Power of the Village

Timestamp: 61:03 – 74:51

• Raised by Grandparents: Mike shares emotional stories about being raised by his grandparents, the sacrifices made, and the strength imparted.
  • “My grandmother was such a good mother to me… And my grandfather gave the second half of their life up to raise me. So you compliment my intelligence? You complimenting them.” (Killer Mike, 76:01)
• On Black Motherhood: He advocates a collective, “village” approach, where extended family and trusted community members help raise children, especially boys.
  • “If the government divorced you tomorrow, you wouldn’t have nothing but us.” (Killer Mike, 68:38)
• Envy and Community: He cautions against envy and the trap of comparison, praising cooperation over competition and recounting the simple joys of family and togetherness.

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8. Loss, Faith, and Purpose

Timestamp: 71:51 – 80:15

• Grandmother’s Passing: Mike movingly describes the death of his grandmother, the woman who raised him, and the profound impact it had on his faith and sense of purpose.
  • “And that day made me a believer that I am here for a purpose. I don’t know that purpose, but I know I have one.” (Killer Mike, 74:39)
• Mother’s Sacrifice: Credits his mother’s difficult but loving choice to let her mother (his grandmother) raise him as one of the most consequential decisions in his life.

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9. What’s Next for Killer Mike

Timestamp: 80:15 – 81:46

• Mike looks ahead to new music, more “truth telling,” and continued community service and family focus. He’s focused on health, business, and “keep[ing] doing good and keep[ing] doing what I’m supposed to do.”
• “I just know God got somewhere for me to go. It’s my job to be dressed and showered and ready.” (Killer Mike, 80:16)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I want to be the Kennedys… I want to be pandering.” (Killer Mike, 03:36)
• “Our responsibility should be to plant a tree that we’ll never get to enjoy the shade of, that these two, three, four generations down will get an opportunity to say…” (Killer Mike, 07:48)
• “They want you to be the top of the streets. And I’m telling you, you could be the top of the suites if you play it right.” (12:08)
• “At some point, race is just an economic tool used… to keep us infighting so that we never get greater gains.” (44:50)
• “You don’t know what they went through to do.” (Interview Exchange, 71:01)
• “And that day made me a believer that I am here for a purpose. I don’t know that purpose, but I know I have one.” (74:39)
• “I just know God got somewhere for me to go. It’s my job to be dressed and showered and ready.” (80:16)

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Episode Highlights by Timestamp

• Running for Office, Integrity & Atlanta (03:02–04:52)
• Music Industry, Business & Major Label vs. Indie (17:56–36:46)
• Mentorship, Community, Conflict Mediation (10:19–17:14)
• Acting Career & New Creative Outlets (36:46–39:20)
• Race, Politics & Economic Solidarity (39:20–48:10)
• Upbringing, Family, The Village Concept (61:03–74:51)
• On Faith, Grandmother’s Passing, and Purpose (74:51–80:15)
• The Next Chapter for Killer Mike (80:15–81:46)

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Tone & Style

The episode exudes warmth, honesty, and a blend of practical wisdom and philosophical introspection, deeply rooted in the Black Southern experience. There’s camaraderie, humor, and no shortage of hard truths, delivered in Mike’s trademark unfiltered, yet encouraging style.

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Takeaway

Killer Mike’s conversation with Shannon Sharpe offers not just a window into his journey, but a blueprint for resilience, responsibility, and community empowerment. Whether discussing hip-hop or entrepreneurship, social change or personal trials, Mike insists on intentionality, integrity, and always—about planting the seeds whose shade you may never see.

Transcript

[Matt Jones]

Hey, this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin, and this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Oh, my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're gonna get. Listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Dan]

I'm Dan. He's Ty.

[Killer Mike]

Hello.

[Dan]

And we're the solid verbal college football podcast.

[Ty]

Tune in for previews, recaps, bits you won't hear anywhere else, and all the emotional support you need as a college football fan.

[Dan]

Join us all season long as we ride the roller coaster of this ridiculous sport.

[Ty]

Listen to the solid verbal college football podcasts on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dan]

We don't just love college football, Ty. We live it.

[Greg Rosenthal]

The NFL is rolling. That's right. And you should be listening to NFL Daily as we march along to Super Bowl 60. It's in the name NFL Daily, so you'll have fresh content in your feed all season long. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, in an all star cast of co hosts for previews and recaps of every single game. NFL Daily will keep you up to date with everything you need to know so you can sound smooth, smarter than all your friends. Listen to NFL daily on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Matt Jones]

No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Ends 28:26. Open to legal residents of the 50 US states and DC 18 and over. For complete details, how to enter, prizes and official rules, visit toyotasgamedaygiveaways.com.

[Simone Boyce]

I'm Simone Boyce, host of the Bright side podcast, and on this week's episode, I'm talking to Olympian World cup champion and podcast host Ashlyn Harris.

[Ashlyn Harris]

My worth is not wrapped up in how many things I've won, because what I came to realize is I valued winning so much that once it was over, I got the blues. And I was like, this is it for me. It's the pursuit of greatness. It's the journey, it's the people, it's the failures. It's the heartache.

[Simone Boyce]

Listen to the Bright side on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Matt Jones]

Tune in to all the Smoke podcast where Matt and Stack sit down with former first Lady Michelle Obama.

[Sarah Spain]

Folks find it hard to hate up close. And when you get to know people and you're sitting in their kitchen tables and they're talking like we're talking, you know, you hear our story, how we.

[Killer Mike]

Grew up, how Barack grew up, and.

[Sarah Spain]

You get a chance for people to unpack and get beyond race.

[Matt Jones]

All the Smoke featuring Michelle Obama. To hear this podcast and more, open your free iHeartRadio app, search all the Smoke and listen now.

[Interviewer]

Thank you for coming back. Part two is underway.

[Killer Mike]

Would you consider.

[Interviewer]

Because you're so versed, because you're so well read, because you know the history of this country and you understand what our people are going through, would you ever consider running for political office?

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, but I gotta get real.

[Interviewer]

You gotta get some more paper, though.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, real talk. Y' all wanna be unbribeable.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Killer Mike]

See, a lot of our folks get caught up. Cause they poor.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Killer Mike]

You know what I mean? What I mean is when you poor is when you, like, if you look at white politicians, they're doctors, they're lawyers, they're engineers. They're people that understand the economy and finance. So they are above certain levels of bribery.

[Interviewer]

Yes, man.

[Killer Mike]

Some of our folks get caught taking $3,700 for a goddamn youth league team or some shit, and you be like, God damn now, bro, you too intelligent. We ain't need to lose you for it, you know? So for me, it's important that I have a certain amount of stability. So when I get at about 22, $23 million, you see me pop up, I'll run for something local, hyper local. You know what I mean? So I want to service my community. But right now, the best thing I can do to service my community is be as strong individual as I can. Take care of these women and children, you know, take care of my sisters, take care of my nieces, nephews. And once we as a family get stable, you know, I want to be the Kennedys. You know, I want to be. I want to. I've seen the King family. I've seen the King family keep the integrity. I've seen the King family make good investments. I've seen Bernice and Dexter. God bless the dead. And Yolanda. God bless the dead. And Martin III do solid investments in our community. And so I want to be that. I don't want to be pandering. I remember Bernie Sanders. I met with the OG one time in D.C. me king. And then the Turner met. And, you know, I think it was Eddie Gault, too. But Bernie said you used to come to D.C. to make a change and go back home and say, this is the change we've made. Now we've just become a political fundraising, you know, And I didn't like the idea of that. That's not what I want to be a part of.

[Interviewer]

You had Young Thug on the album also.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah. Shouts out to Thug.

[Interviewer]

Well, let me ask you this. What do you feel about. And I don't get this. Why would all of a sudden they release those recorded jailhouse calls?

[Killer Mike]

I mean, as a concerted effort to keep black people out of power. As Thug matured, I saw him mature as a human being. As he matured past you, young, you got ego. I would remember sitting with him. This is before he ever went to jail, got released, him saying, man, I can't feel no way about Lucci. He take too good a care of his mom and his children. So I don't want to see nothing happen to him. Now he's saying, this is we record and run. This is not after he's been in jail.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Killer Mike]

And I've seen him say it post that. I. I talked to Lucci and heard Lucci say, man, I don't have no problems, Thug. I don't want no issue. I'm just trying to make money, take care of my family. I think at the core, we all want the same things, but our pride and ego is a lot of times fuel is added to a fire cause of the people around us because of beefs and stuff we don't have. My hope for Thug and Lucci. My hope for all these young men that are coming up in Atlanta is for them to take time to be mentored by the black men and women that over the last 60 years have shaped and formed that community. Because what you don't understand is a lot of time our behavior is an embarrassment to them, and it loses them political equity and real equity and money. Atlanta is Atlanta, and it's a special place. I feel like Atlanta should be treated by black people like Mecca is to Muslims, right? You have economic opportunity thanks to Maynard Jackson. You have economic opportunity on 10 and international because of people like Andy Young. You have economic opportunity because of Shirley Franklin, Bill Campbell, Keisha Lansb, Kasim Reed, Mayor Dickens. You have economic opportunity, your reputation and the reputation you bring that city could possibly ruin it. If you're too thuggish, you're too ruggish, you're too outlandish, you're too bare bones, minimum bullshit, especially violence. Violence is not good for money. Violence is not good for Bringing new hotels for bringing new tours, bringing new conferences, bringing super bowl, FIFA, Major League Baseball is not good. So when we as the entertainment and athlete class, we have two choices. We can take low road and do the typical bullshit and be the top of the street. And we all know where that ends up. Jail or early funeral. Or we could be the youngest and the mentees of the business class and the social class and say, hey, this is how we can make this city better. We can take our cues from the people on the streets organizing. We can take our cues from the people who are in those big suites organizing, making it work. Like, Andy built a dome with no public money. He was a pension plan out of California, so he was able to build our city and not have to overtax you out, tax you. Kesha Lance Bottoms put a furlough on anybody building that would take taxes up on legacy residents. These people have made the right investments. So we need to consult with the Kesha Lansbaums and Michael Thurman. We need to say, what can we do to be better? Because if we don't, we're going to lose a city for our people that generates so much money and so much economic opportunity. And we don't understand that because we used nobody paying us attention. We used nobody caring about us. We think that because public school teachers didn't pay attention to us like we want to, nobody else is, well, the students paying attention to you. And we owe those students an opportunity. So I would say in Atlanta, keep rapping, keep making money, keep slamming basketballs, keep scoring touchdowns, keep hitting home runs, but keep your ass in front of a YouTube with John Hope Bryant. Keep your ass in front of when Stokely Carmichael or Kwame and Toure spoke at uga, Go look at those old tapes and you will understand we have a greater responsibility than just the flash of right now. We have a greater responsibility than just the winning of right now. Our responsibility should be to plant a tree that we'll never get to enjoy the shade of that these two, three, four generations down will get an opportunity to say, like I can say about Alonzo Hernande, who started the Atlanta Life Insurance Company because he started a barbershop. He had a barbershop that serviced all white men, but it was all black barbers. He heard about the insurance game, life insurance game, which you just learned about now. He heard about that. Start selling black people life insurance. Magic Johnson recently acquired that company. When they asked Magic Johnson, why did you acquire the Atlanta Life Insurance Company? He said, I saw this Interview with Killer Mike. And that's the unique thing about you as an Atlanta. As an Atlanta, you get to live your history. Your black history don't just happen in February. Your black history is happening every day. And your black ass has a responsibility. And part of that responsibility is to rise above the streets. You got an opportunity to rise above the streets and become somebody. Because you have kids that are coming after you, that look up to you, that admire you. And they need to know that opportunity is there. Atlanta ain't been no Champion City. Cause we got no funky ass Reality show programs of some been singing and dancing since 1990. This is 124 years of excellence. You're looking at Book T. Washington. W.E.B. du Bois had the Atlanta Conferences here in 1904, 1905. Alonzo Hernandez had been there since 1900. So you have a social responsibility. John Wesley Dobbs was the mayor of black Atlanta before his grandson became the mayor of all Atlanta. We have a responsibility. We have that responsibility in Savannah. We have that responsibility in Macon. We have that responsibility in Athens, Augusta and Columbus, too. And if we don't hold true to our responsibility, is nobody fault. Like Mr. John told me down the street from my barbershop on Edgewood Avenue, he said, hey, they gonna come along and tell you that white folks bought this neighborhood up and gentrified and took it for us. And that's a goddamn lie. He said, the kids thought they were better than the stores their parents owned and bought. And they sold it and they sold it for too cheap. So I'm telling my athletes and my rappers out there, we have a responsibility. And our responsibility is to learn to do good business and become businessmen and women.

[Interviewer]

You wrote a letter for wife and Lucci?

[Killer Mike]

Yes.

[Interviewer]

Why'd you do that? What made you do that?

[Killer Mike]

Because it's the right thing to do. That brother is better on the streets with his mom and his children and people. I remember getting a call from some very powerful people. And they said, hey, man, we called you and TI and we telling you to call Lucci. Cause I know you have a relationship with Drew Finley, his lawyer. And I know you have some relationship with him, although it wasn't a very deep or long relationship. Drew is my guy. Love his lawyer have grown to love and respect the hell out of Brian Steele, who defended Thug. I consider both of them friends now. And I talk to them more often than not. But I got that call. It said, hey, man, we want you to call Lucci and tell him if there's any bullshit, tell him it's time to cut the bullshit. Tip got the call. Said, hey, man, call Thug. Tell him if there's any bullshit, it's time to cut the bullshit. Me and Tip both did what we asked to do. We made the calls. We both got the same applause. Oh, man, ain't nothing. I don't even know what you're talking about. You know, the big homie, little homie talk. So the little homie, man, I don't know what you talking about. You know? And the next thing you know, all hell broke loose and everybody went to jail, got snatched. Because you guys who think that you run the streets, God bless our souls. Cause I've been one of them guys. We don't run shit. The black political class in the Southeast runs us with a absolute hand. And if you get in the way of that money, if you get in the way of that port money of Savannah, if you get in the way of that peaches and cotton money or that tobacco money in the Carolinas, if you're getting away with that airport money in Atlanta, they got somewhere to sit your ass down for a few years. And if you have a reputation. They've been ruining each other's reputation in politics so long, you don't think they know how to ruin our reputation. You understand what I'm saying? So I just want to tell the athletes and the entertainers to take yourself more seriously than the homies around you take you. Because they want you to be the top of the streets. And I'm telling you, you could be the top of the sweets if you play it right.

[Interviewer]

Wow. You are a great peacemaker. You can sit down and somebody might have been arguing for years and years and years, and you can bring them together. Your voice is soothing. You just have a way with words. And people gravitate towards you. Mike, you think you could sit down and get Thug and Gunnar back together?

[Killer Mike]

I don't know if I can get Thug and Gunnar back together. Cause I don't have that relationship with them. But I do know a guy named Troop. God bless the dad. And I love Troop because Troop was a big homie to an entire neighborhood. And before he was ever even known as a big homie to that neighborhood, he saved one of my cousin's life. Troop was a gambler. Instinctively, he gambled. Him and a lot of athletes. He made a lot of money off athletes. He never had to touch a field. Right? And what I do know is that, is that Troop had the respect of a lot of people. And it wasn't based on violence. It was based on the fact that he in a gambling house could get you out of that gambling house without getting your head knocked off. Cause he could help everybody understand that. Hey, man, you gonna win some, you gonna lose some.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Killer Mike]

So next time when you win it, ain't nobody gonna put no hands on you. Tonight, you can't put your hands on them. So if I had an opportunity to say anything to Gunnar and Thug, I remind them. Cause they so young. Of a guy named Art. Art was in a gang, I believe the gang was. I refused. And he remembered. I remember watching the news with Art sitting in a hotel room as they busted these guys. And the guys were getting locked up. And everybody looked at Art, man, he a snitch. He a rat. And I saw Art go serve time. And then I got a message in my Facebook one time from a guy named Art who said, I need you to help me help some young men. And I remember how turned off I was about it at first. Like, man, you the guy that sent the neighborhood. I remember how the big homie felt about you. But I remember how many big homies had used and abused us, had took advantage of, paid us a dollar on $100 when we should have been getting $10 on $100. And I thought about what that man must have had to went through. And he got out of jail and his job became helping and saving young men. And I said, well, I owe him that. I gotta do something for him. So Art is do a favor for me. I saw Art change and evolve, you know, that's what I saw. So I would just encourage them brothers to change and evolve and show an example that we can get past whatever. Whatever our differences are, Whatever our differences are, we can get past them. And if we choo. See, when America lands in Afghanistan, they get the tribal leaders together and they say, hey, now we need y' all to stop doing so. We need y' all to come up with a peace agreement. When we go into other countries, that's the first thing that we do. If America really wanted gang violence to end, Jeff Ford would be free. Larry Hoover would be free. They would have been free 30 years ago, and they would have been organizing. You know, if America really wanted this shut to stop. You know, there's somebody man right now in this city, I don't know if he's going to do jail time or not. You know, his name was Big. Uh, they got their brother locked up, and they got him, you know, some pretty serious charges. But the guy I saw, the guy I saw Wasn't, wasn't bullying people. Me and Tip said it. We said, well, he never, never asked us for anything, never forced our hands. He never asked us for anything. But our presence in front of the little boys that he was mentoring. He told me, mike, you know, money will flood in when the violence is high. And when we get violence to come down, the money dries up. And then the money dries up, goes to the police force and then it rises back up again, then money comes back our way. So a lot of this is just a part of a system that perpetuates it. So I just, I'm highly suspect of our people when they get locked up. I'm highly suspect of a system that has an incentive to keep us enslaved because incarceration is slavery. And I would just encourage every young man out there to do what Amina Matthews and Gary Davis. Gary Davis has the next level Boys Academy in Atlanta. Amina Matthews is Jeff Ford's daughter. And they get young men together at a table and they moderate and mediate conversations. So I get to say to you, this is what you did to offend me. I believe the Jewish people. There's somebody Jewish in the room, let me know. Is it Rosh Hashanah where you get together and you ask each one another's forgiveness and the person has the option to forgive or not forgive or wait till the next year. We need to develop systems like that in our community where we can sit down and say, man, I know I did you wrong and I'm asking that you forgive me and give each other an opportunity to give each other grace. Because at the end of the day, you know, most of us in the Southeast are Christians of some sort. And we follow this guy named Jesus, this ultimate character. And when you look at who was the last person that he saved that he cared about was a prisoner, a self confessed thief. Somebody had took something from somebody, somebody that was loathing somebody, nobody cared about. Christ gave that person grace. That's the person who went to ascended to heaven. So for me, I would just say we need to learn to give each other grace. We need to give ourselves some grace. We need to be real leaders amongst our crews and tell our crews, hey man, that beef we had, that beef gotta go because nut dead. We don't need another dead man. Troop dead. We don't need another dead man. We've lost too many good people. Trouble dead. We don't need another dead man, you know, so we need to figure out a way to get at a table together to discuss to forget, to forgive, and then move on in unity because it's better for our people if we do. That's all.

[Interviewer]

Kendrick put you on the Pimple Butterfly.

[Killer Mike]

He mentioned you in Pimple Butterfly. Yeah, he did. He did, man.

[Interviewer]

What I mean. Cause at the time, that was Kendrick's biggest.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah. Oh, man, I appreciate him. I just. Man, man, thank you, Katie. I appreciate you. You can, you can. You know, from a stylistic standpoint, you can overtly hear the Dungeon family influence on him, and it's just amazing. And I'm glad somebody was paying attention to DF like I was. I'm glad to have been mentioned by him. But, boy, I could use a feature. So if you're at home thinking about it, K Dot, man, I would, you know, I love to get, you know, shit. And that's for his whole crew, Al, you know, Schoolboy. Just amazing. What TD is baby was able to do was amazing. But K lot I would. I love it.

[Interviewer]

You work with Cube.

[Killer Mike]

Work with a hov. I mean, what.

[Interviewer]

Cause, man, I don't.

[Matt Jones]

Hey, this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin and this is NFL Cover Zero. We think NFL Cover should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to get. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game.

[Interviewer]

What was that?

[Matt Jones]

Looks like something that should not be sold.

[Interviewer]

Oh my.

[Matt Jones]

So that was my other big Colts takeaway. They sold that.

[Killer Mike]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

Might want to go back to the Colts stadium. Yeah, I might want to go back to the drawing board on that. Yeah. I thought the shape we had with pretzels was working pretty well for generations. We're just here trying to enjoy it. We hope you all will join us throughout the year. And let's go. I hope I'm as youthful as Pete Carroll is at his age. He's a young 73. He is a young 73. He is spry. I wouldn't fight him. I would listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Dan]

I'm Dan, he's Ty.

[Killer Mike]

Hello.

[Dan]

And we're the Solid Verbal College football podcast.

[Ty]

College football season is here and you know what that means.

[Dan]

Your team is going to break your heart three times probably before Halloween.

[Killer Mike]

Uh huh.

[Ty]

But fear not, the solid verbal will be right there with you through every soul crushing loss and impossible comeback.

[Dan]

Join us all season long all year long as we ride the rollercoaster of this ridiculous sport.

[Ty]

Whether you're a die hard fan or a casual observer, we'll help you make sense of all the chaos and, of course, celebrate the madness. Tune in for previews, recaps, bits you won't hear anywhere else, and all the emotional support you need as a college football fan.

[Dan]

We don't just love college football, Ty. We live it.

[Ty]

Listen to the solid verbal college football podcasts on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Simone Boyce]

I'm Simone Boyce, host of the Bright side podcast, and on this week's episode, I'm talking to Olympian World cup champion and podcast host Ashlyn Harris.

[Ashlyn Harris]

My worth is not wrapped up in how many things I've won, because what I came to realize is I valued winning so much that once it was over, I got the blues and I was like, this is it for me. It's the pursuit of greatness. It's the journey, it's the people, it's the failures. It's the heartache.

[Simone Boyce]

Listen to the bright side on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Sarah Spain]

Get fired up, y'.

[Killer Mike]

All.

[Sarah Spain]

Season 2 of Good Game with Sarah Spain is underway. We just welcomed one of my favorite people and an incomparable soccer icon, Megan Rapinoe to the show, and we had a blast. We talked about her recent 40th birthday celebrations, Co hosting a podcast with her fiance, sue, bird watching former teammates retire and more. Never a dull moment with Pino. Take a listen. What do you miss the most about being a pro athlete? The final. The final and the locker room. I really, really like you. Just you can't replicate. You can't get back. Showing up to the locker room every morning just to s talk. We've got more incredible guests like the legendary Candace Parker and college superstar AZ Foote. I mean, seriously, y', all, the guest list is absolutely stacked for season two. And you know we're always going to keep you up to speed on all the news and happenings around the women's sports world as well. So make sure you listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ashlyn Harris]

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports Times.

[Interviewer]

Me personally, I don't think Q get the love and respect that he deserves.

[Killer Mike]

Oh, man, I'm a student, though, Pen. Oh, man, oh man, he ain't lost a step. Oh, man, he the one him and man, Ice Cube and Scarface. I'm a direct student of them. You can hear it in my music. I'm a direct. But that boy, o' Shea Jackson Senior, man, oh, man, that man don't play everything he has become. You know, I remember reading the Rolling Stone article where his parents made him go to drafting school in Arizona. They were like, rap shit, cool, but you gonna have an education. He's always been proud to be brilliant. He's always using his imagination to give you a world that you might not have known but he brought you into. Whether it was NWA or whether later America's Most Wanted Death Certificate, Kill at will. He's always taking you beyond where you thought he could go. When he showed you you could laugh in movies, like Friday 1 2, when he gave you new. When he popped up as an actor. Cube has shown me since I was 12 years old that all possibilities are possible. When you see Killer Mike going on now a television show, you know the lowdown. When you see me next to Ethan Hawkeye, I'm unafraid. I'm informed by Ethan on this is how you pull it off. But unafraid because I saw my idol do it. I saw Cube do it, so I know I can do it. I'm unafraid to do business with people who don't look like me because I've seen Cube do it with Priority Records. I've seen him do it with Hollywood. I've seen him be a black man, stand up. I've seen him be married to one black woman, create these black children. I just shot a scene with O' Shea Jackson Jr. Just did a scene in a movie with him. And I say, first of all, Trippy, you look so much like your dad. You know what I'm saying? I scraped the up, nigga, I'm telling you. But I thanked him for sharing his family, for sharing his dad with the world. Because your dad has been an uncle. He's been a father like figure. He's been a big homie to so many of us. So, man, when it comes to Ice Cube, I just want to tell kids, hip hop's finally 51, 52 years old. It's finally old enough for you to go back on a nostalgia run. Make him a part of that nostalgia run. Make Ice Cube a part of that. Make. Make E40 a part of that. Make Scarface, who is my personal goat, a part of that. You know, the ghetto boys. You have to know where you're being to know where you're going. Or else if Somebody resell you something you already did and give it a new name. You know, Rock and roll did not look like Elvis. And ain't no disrespect to Elvis, but he wasn't no Chuck Berry or Little Richard, was it? Hov? Hov, that's my guy, man.

[Interviewer]

I mean, we hear this, he might be coming out with music. I talked Bleak said, man, that ain't where his head is right now. He. You. He ain't in that mindset. He's a businessman.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Interviewer]

So that's where his head's at. You think hov gonna give us something?

[Killer Mike]

I don't know. I think when you're an artist, I think you never stop. Like, I walk around the house just mumbling to myself, you know what I'm saying? So I don't think he ever stops. I think hov got some raps in there. He never stops. And as an artist, he sees the world in an artful way, just maybe channeling that in a different way. Like, I look at no ID, no IDs, been taking more pictures and making more beats now, you know what I'm saying? And there's an art to business, like I remember. So we got Mayor Bill Campbell in Atlanta, black mayor from the Carolinas. But he understands the Atlanta way. The Atlanta way is you create opportunity on the private and equity side for black business people who are going to do the job right?

[Interviewer]

Correct.

[Killer Mike]

What other city would have told Magic Johnson, who had been involved in scandal with acquiring hiv, but then becoming a staunch advocate for everyone being tested and all, had been basically treated badly toward his last days in the NB and stuff, how they handle him. And then Smajic, at some point had to figure out what to do and how to do it, and he figured out business brought him, to some degree, the same satisfaction of athleticism. Exactly. So in my mind, Jay Z has made business his art in some capacity. So he wants to master that in the same way he mastered bars and flows. I saw Magic Johnson come to Atlanta and I saw Starbucks want to get in southwest Atlanta, and they did it with Magic Johnson. I saw TGI Fridays get in southwest Atlanta with Magic Johnson. AMC theaters get in there with Magic Johnson. I saw Magic Johnson completely become a businessman by way of doing business in Atlanta and then coming back 30 years later now to own the Atlanta Life Insurance Company. So for me, I cheer for HOV in that capacity, because it's not only hov. Nas has learned how to become a business person.

[Interviewer]

Absolutely.

[Killer Mike]

Big Boy has learned how to become a Business person, my man Chameleonaire has learned how to become a business person. And there's nothing wrong with that, because when we lose that, when we lose these people, what we're losing is people who give other people like us an opportunity. So I cheer for hov. I would love another HOV album, but if you never give me another one, if you just give me some guest verses, you know, we can live. But I would like to see him succeed more, not less. And I would like to see Kareem succeed, and I would like to see Dame succeed and Dee and wa. You know what I mean? I would like to see Dallas Austin and Jermaine Dupri, Brian Michael Cox, keeper keep succeeding. Because if we don't have these mega men of sorts, then you never get people like me. I'm a small business person, but I'm invigorated when I see my brothers win huge and big. And I know this isn't small business to some people, but it's small business compared to the billionaires. I think I have a hundred million dollar company here, but would I dare to think like that if it hadn't been for James? Would I dare to think like that if it hadn't been for brands like outkast? Would I dare to think like that if it wouldn't have been for people like Yeezy taking over the world? What? I dare to think so. I'm inspired by that because as I have grown into a stronger, more competent rapper, I've also learned to do better business. And, you know, my businesses are small businesses, but they're ones I believe in and they're brands I see growing. I want this to be $100 million company. I want Bankhead Seafood to be a destination point. I want you to land in Atlanta, get off at Bankhead highway, stop by the Blue Flame, then come to Bankhead Seafood. You know, come see us, man.

[Interviewer]

T.I.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, that's my friend.

[Interviewer]

You've known T.I. for a minute.

[Killer Mike]

That's my brother, man.

[Interviewer]

You in business together? I mean, hey. I mean, he called himself the King of the south, and I can't say that I disagree with him.

[Killer Mike]

He is.

[Interviewer]

But when you talk Atlanta rappers, you gotta mention him somewhere. Some shape, form or fashion.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, absolutely. How did you and TI meet, man? Kp, who's a Dundee family member, and DJ Tune. They found the kid and they developed him. I mean, I remember walking in the gentleman's club, seeing the kid in some Cartier frames. He used to have a gold toothpick on. And I never Understood how his hat stayed on his head. Yeah. Cause he used to wear it like that. He was like one of them old men in the south who owned the gas station they might call player, you know, man, you ever see player, man? But he was such a player. He was such a player, man. At a young age he was. I'm five years old and tip. So if he's 19, I'm what, 24. But such a player, man. So confident, you know what I mean? He reminded me of my cousin Jimmy, you know, my cousin, man. And not just. I knew I rapped though, so I never was intimidated. So when we would get in rooms together, people ask us to do versus rap. Whatever I was. It's like watching. It's like watching on the football field. Your boy get it off. Oh, man. Your boy might play defense, but he got it off. Oh, man, I got to get it off. I got to get it off now. I just seen my dog do it. And that's how I feel around him. And in drove particular, like when you talk about the west side, man, you talking about from patterns and flows. Who are people emulating? You talking about Tip. You talking about DRO in terms of just lyricism, man. So I really am grateful to be his brother and his friend. In business, in music and beyond. Cause I truly love him. As though we.

[Interviewer]

Blood, you dropped your debut album the same day 50 dropped Get Rich or Die Trying. We know where that happened.

[Killer Mike]

Filth whooped everybody ass that year, man. He was a ass whooping machine. I got a lot of love for Filth, man. I tell you him every time I see him. He let me. When I was on the down. I think I made maybe ten grand for a show. I had to go to Europe. Yale was always kind to me. Shouts out to Buck and Banks too. But Phil let me open for a show and I made some money. And I really appreciate him. Cause I really need it at the time. But let me tell you something, boy. You kicked everybody ass. Oh, man, you whooped so much ass. I just remember looking at the billboard charges, looking at myself falling like, damn. And every week you sell a quarter of me. Boom, boom, boom. But what I really love about it is I still win gold. And I was proud for that. But I learned to. Don't confine yourself to gold and platinum. Don't confine yourself to what's good enough.

[Interviewer]

Cause that's what I was gonna ask you. I was gonna ask you. Why didn't you get discouraged? You could like, man.

[Killer Mike]

Man, I get it.

[Interviewer]

This man did Came out, he jumped out the box, did 10 minutes, he.

[Killer Mike]

Diamond, and here I am.

[Interviewer]

I'm gold, which is good.

[Killer Mike]

But that ain't cause you got drafted 192 in the seventh round.

[Interviewer]

Yep.

[Killer Mike]

And you're in the hall of Fame. Yep. And you got a ring.

[Interviewer]

Yep.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, that's why. Cause you don't. Cause all I need is the opportunity.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Killer Mike]

You went to Savannah State.

[Interviewer]

Correct.

[Killer Mike]

You didn't go to uga? Nope. You know you didn't go to Georgia Tech, right? You went to Savannah State. You didn't go to Bama, you go to Tennessee, you went to Savannah State.

[Interviewer]

So in other words, you like. You know what? I'm not judging my success by somebody else's. I'm Michael.

[Killer Mike]

I'm here. I'm here, baby. Y' all let me in. I'm gonna stick around for a while. See, when y' all asked God for a lo. For a long career, I didn't understand the perils that came with it. I just know I asked Lord, I said, I want a career like Bun B. I want a career like Scarface. But I didn't understand that a 20 year career, you're gonna take some ups, you gonna take some downs. You know, I didn't understand that. The highs and lows. And you gonna learn as much in the Valley as you enjoy seeing the peak. So I'm thankful. I'm thankful to still be in a room and have 50 Cent acknowledge me and I acknowledge him and me again. Say, hey, man, thank you for that show years ago. You don't know, it kept me going another couple months. I really appreciate that. I'm thankful to watch you. Because his first attempts at doing film and television didn't just take right off, but I saw him not quit. So I've learned from him, you know, as much. And I'm just a student, man, and I'm appreciator of, you know, even people who I might not agree with, might not agree with me. I still appreciate you. I still learn from you. But fifth man, that year, I just gotta say, man, you whooped ass. You whooped ass, Bubba. And shouts out to you, Dre and.

[Interviewer]

Em, you know, independent.

[Killer Mike]

Oh, and I gotta get shots to the game, too. Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that game was early in my career, man. He was on the West Coast Gang's, one of the best rappers ever. And he. I never forget they had Vibe magazine, had us do like a call one of your homeboys who wrap up and tell him you just got a flat tire. And I Would cross tire. I said, gang, man, I'm out here on such and such. I'm in a. So I forgot what street of the neighborhood. I said, I'm in. I said, man, but I'm fucked up. He was on his way to buy Bentley. He told whoever he said, hey man, stop the car. He said, kills. Don't get out the car, man. Turn around for the come get you now. They said, no, no, we just joking. We just joking. But I got to appreciate the game too. As a. It was as a member of Gene unit. He was definitely friend and just won the raw. Gene unit just had a Trump type crew name.

[Interviewer]

So shouts out major versus independent. Yeah, I hear Stephanie Mill. I think she's going on Tour with Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan.

[Killer Mike]

Somebody saw that show, they told me.

[Interviewer]

About it and they asked Stephanie Mills and she said if I knew then what I know now, I would do it independently. She said, because basically a major record company, they're marketing. Yeah, but I know what I'm worth. I know what I want to sell. If I sell this many, I get that. If I sell that many, I get this breakdown. You've been at this thing three decades.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Break it down. Major record label, independent pros, cons for both.

[Killer Mike]

Well, I mean, a major label, man, you're in a major way. You got that engine. Yep. And they really believe in you on a major way. But man, I don't. I'm in the NFL. I don't give a damn if I'm playing for the New York Times or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I'm in the NFL.

[Interviewer]

I'm in the NFL.

[Killer Mike]

I'm in the NFL, baby. So I have had a better relationship working as an Indy with a smaller Indy that's backed by a major in Loma Vista, being able to work with Loma Vista, who's parented by Concord. Now that I understand fully who I am, now that me and will have been through the pure independence of smc, now that I've turned down a major in virgin when Jermaine was the head over there and I've been on a major with Columbia and lecturer before, I think I found a middle ground in where I'm independent enough to know when I need some major help. Right. You know, and I think that that really is it because if you can go through the roof, you're gonna need some extra fuel on that fire. And that's what they help you. And there's nothing wrong with that. But Andy Young said to me, I don't understand why you Young guys, don't just buy a house you can afford. Get a couple of nice cars. I know you like nice cars. And just be satisfied beyond major or independent. One of the best things you could do now, I've encouraged a lot of artists and athletes to do this. I is find you a house in the South. Find you a house in Atlanta, Savannah, Nashville, Chattanooga, Charlotte. Find you a house, send your mama, your baby mama, whoever, there, and buy it outright. And you don't need every car. Get you a couple. You want something fancy, get you a couple German cars or whatever. Get you a pickup truck. Get you one German car and just stack everything for the first five, four or five years. Put your money in the S&P, five hundreds. Don't try to get too sexy.

[Interviewer]

You know that, Mike, when you grow up like we grew up, man, all we dreamed. That's my car. I dreamed of having that when I saw Miami Vice.

[Killer Mike]

Yes.

[Interviewer]

When I saw them wearing Versace. And I saw Rolex in the Ferrari, man, but we gotta have it.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, what you gotta do? What? Get you one Rolex. You don't need four. So your boy got the Ferrari, you got the Porsche. Get what you gotta do. Hey, man, I can drive your Ferrari today. Yeah, let me hold that Porsche, dog. Don't nobody know. The girls at the club ain't gonna know. So I'm just here to say, man, I'm here to say, man, you gotta stay tucked in a tight, man. The most successful drug dealers I saw lived like working dudes. The most successful ones I saw, the ones that managed to escape the game. Like, you look out in my neighborhood, a guy like my man Roy. If Rod, if you didn't catch Roy, 4, 7 o' clock or after 7, you wouldn't catch him. Cause he had a job, never went to jail, came pinned out, ended up doing well for himself, got out the game. But, man, he lived like a regular guy. If you manage living modestly for long enough, man, you're gonna have an abundance. So again, if you and your homeboys, if you 18, right, you ain't got a bunch. But you and three of your cousins, y' all go to trade school. One learn carpentry, one learn flooring, one learn everybody learn something. Go buy y' all a quadruple together, live in one or two of them and rent the other two out. And then repeat process till you buy another and another and another. Then you can do it. Instead of saying, well, I got a car. Well, man, shit, I bought a Chevelle. My brother bought what's the name. If I want to drive with Cutlass, I just get my brother cutting, right? We have to start doing these little tricks because we talk about immigrants doing these tricks now. Your grandparents did these tricks. My big mama and big daddy lived on land. My big daddy's sister, T. Sweet, lived at the top of their land in the house. In the next five years, I'm gonna have a compound where me and all my sisters got houses on the same compound. We're not gonna sell the houses we got. Those houses gonna go to my nieces, my nephews, somebody. They gonna be in a trust so they can't wake up and do no stupid sh. But that's what you do, right? That's what you do. Repeat what made people in your family successful. Everybody got that one conservative ass auntie and uncle who do it the right way. So that's who we need to start emulating. I love Miami Vice, but that one Don Johnson, Ferrari, he just got to drive.

[Interviewer]

It seems to be you've been bit by the acting bug now. Yeah, I mean, I saw your. I mean, I saw my favorite show, Ozark.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, man, oh, man. Man, oh, man, man.

[Interviewer]

And you're in this movie now with the series with Ethan Hawke?

[Killer Mike]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

When did you get the acting bug, man?

[Killer Mike]

I mean, I been acting out my whole life, you know? I mean, I acted my way out a few tickets. I act like I wasn't that woman. How? When she pulled that pistol off me. But it's just creative, man. It's just my imagination. I remember acting like Miami Vice scenes when I was a kid. Laura Linney I met on a plane. She used to be on a show called the Big C where she met a woman who was dying of cancer and what her last days were like. It was a very uplifting show. I met her. My wife says I do this all the time. I introduced myself to people on the plane. I learned that when I flew to Daytona when I was a kid. You sit down and you say, and it used to be in the plane. You didn't put your luggage right above you. You put your luggage across from me. So you can see your lady, right? So I still doubt it. I still do that. And then I introduced myself. Hey, I'm Michael. I was like, hey, I watch your show. My wife loves it and whatnot. And we just kept in contact. So she's always been an encourager of Omar Dorsey. Friend of mine has always been an encourager of Ethan, when I met him on Bill Maher's show, called me out to Do Good Lord, Burr. Just a big part, but he saw something in me that I wanted. I wanted to kind of act, you know? You know, you figure out what else you knew. Cause as an artist, know you sometimes you're compelled to do other things. But Sterling, who wrote the show, who wrote Reservation Dogs and just is a brilliant writer. And he and Ethan thought I might be good for this part.

[Interviewer]

Reservoir Dogs?

[Killer Mike]

Yeah. No, not Reservoir. Reservation Dogs.

[Interviewer]

Reservation Dogs.

[Killer Mike]

Reservation Dogs was a series about kids who were growing up on Indian reservations.

[Interviewer]

Okay.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah. Reservoir Dogs was written by Tarantino, who's a favorite director of mine. Hateful Ladies. One of the most amazing movies ever. But they had collaborated on an episode, right? And they thought I'd be perfect to play this character. And I was nervous as shit. Ethan gave me one of them pep talks. Like, hey, man, you're made for this, buddy.

[Interviewer]

Right?

[Killer Mike]

You know, he gave me one, you know, your white friend pep talk. Hey, buddy, what do you mean, you're made for this? And I tried out and I got the part, and then I got called back saying you're gonna be in a few more episodes. And the next thing you know, oh, shit. I'm really acting. And acting is about using the lie of imagination to tell a grander truth. And I think I'm kind of made for that.

[Interviewer]

You've been at this, speaking about politics and race and understanding, and I think Lyndon Johnson had a quote, 60 years.

[Matt Jones]

Hey, this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin, and this is NFL Cover Zero. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week. That is exactly what you're gonna get. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game.

[Interviewer]

What was that?

[Matt Jones]

Looks like something that should not be sold. Oh, my. So that was my other big Colts takeaway. They sold that.

[Killer Mike]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

Might wanna go back to the drawing board at the Colts Stadium. Yeah, I might wanna go back to the drawing board on that. Yeah. I thought the shape we had with Pretzels was working pretty well. It's worked for generations. We're just here trying to enjoy it. We hope you all will join us throughout the year. And let's go. I hope I'm as youthful as Pete Carroll is at his age. He's a young 73. He is a young 73. He is spry. I wouldn't fight him. I would listen to NFL Cover 0 with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the Iheartradio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[Dan]

I'm Dan, he's Ty.

[Killer Mike]

Hello.

[Dan]

And we're the Solid Verbal College Football Podcast.

[Ty]

College football season is here and you know what that means.

[Dan]

Your team is going to break your heart three times, probably before Halloween.

[Killer Mike]

Uh huh.

[Ty]

But fear not, the Solid Verbal will be right there with you through every soul crushing loss and impossible comeback.

[Dan]

Join us all season long, all year long, as we ride the rollercoaster of this ridiculous sport.

[Ty]

Whether you're a die hard fan or a casual observer, we'll help you make sense of all the chaos and of course, celebrate the madness. Tune in for previews, recaps, bits you won't hear anywhere else, and all the emotional support you need as a college football fan.

[Dan]

We don't just love college football, Ty, we live it.

[Ty]

Listen to the Solid Verbal college football podcasts on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Simone Boyce]

I'm Simone Boyce, host of the Bright side podcast and on this week's episode I'm talking to Olympian World cup champion and podcast host Ashlyn Harris.

[Ashlyn Harris]

My worth is not wrapped up in how many things I've won, because what I came to realize is I valued winning so much that once it was over, I got the blues and I was like, this is it for me. It's the pursuit of greatness. It's the journey, it's the people, it's the failures, it's the heartache.

[Simone Boyce]

Listen to the Bright side on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Sarah Spain]

Get fired up, y'.

[Killer Mike]

All.

[Sarah Spain]

Season 2 of Good Game with Sarah Spain is underway. We just welcomed one of my favorite people and an incomparable soccer icon, Megan Rapinoe to the show and we had a blast. We talked about her recent 40th birthday celebrations, Co hosting a podcast with her fiance Sue Bird, watching former teammates retire and more. Never a dull moment with Pino. Take a listen. What do you miss the most about being a pro athlete? The final. The final and the locker room. I really, really like you. Just you can't replicate. You can't get back. Showing up to the locker room every morning just to sh.

[Killer Mike]

Talk.

[Sarah Spain]

We've got more incredible guests like the legendary Candace Parker and college superstar Az Foot. I mean, seriously, y', all, the guest list is absolutely stacked for season two. And you know we're always going to keep you up to speed on all the news and happenings around the women's sports world as well. So make sure. You listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ashlyn Harris]

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, yeah.

[Interviewer]

He said if you can convince the lowest white man that he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket.

[Killer Mike]

He won't notice.

[Interviewer]

He said if you give him somebody to look down on, he'll empty his pockets for you.

[Killer Mike]

There you go. At the time that Dr. King was in Mississippi trying to help workers organize, the Klan was at its height trying to fight against blacks having the ability to organize and be on jobs with them. The lowest paid white man in the country was in Mississippi. When me and Bernie Sanders went to Alabama a few years ago to try to help them unionizing Amazon, you know, you can just know Alabama for as far as it could be. It isn't as far as it could be because there's something holding it down. I just want to say to my brothers and sisters in the south or the working class, doesn't matter to me which color you are. Doesn't matter to me who you like in terms of national figures. Speaking on social issues, I need you to understand that the same people that invented the word, invented the word cracker and they meant for you and crackers that stay on the bottom because there's a rich class in the South. There's what they call a planter class, a master class of people. And they own Georgia and Tennessee and the Carolinas, Florida and Mississippi, all up through Arkansas. They own it and they rule it with an iron fist. And if we don't start to understand more like Fred Hampton understood, that we truly need a rainbow coalition of workers pushing forward in this country on each other's behalf, then we're going to stay separate, we're going to stay unequal, and we're all going to stay without.

[Interviewer]

How have they been able to convince one group to vote against their own best interest and to look down on the other group when you're in the same boat?

[Killer Mike]

Well, the oligarchs have always done it. Cause you get to thinking that a trailer park is different from the projects. Now it's both set aside for people who poor. That's it. We have to understand that at some point race is just an economic tool used under this particular system of capitalism to keep us infighting so that we never get greater gains. I believe there's a more compassionate version to capitalism. I believe that there's a version where Free trade and labor will work where a working man can grow his own food and sell his food to his neighbor, and that's not outlawed by the state. Again, I believe in being able to brew your own whiskey. I don't think you should have to have a tax stamp on your whiskey. So when I hear about somebody like Popeye Sutton, you know, who was a white man who was a bootlegger up in Tennessee, rather than serve federal time, he killed himself. He said, I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to bow to these oligarchs. He becomes a hero of mine, and the same way that John Brown is a hero of mine. So for me, I think that we need to look outside of our own culture, our own race, our own class, for other people that we admire and that we agree with, too, because that way, you know, the possibility of better is in other people as well. And you start to. To form union, you start to form collaboration, you start to form coalitions in which the best interest of everyone is served. And I believe in particular in the working class in the south, that we have a duty and an obligation to just like we work them fields, to have an opportunity to work other things that will work better for all of us.

[Interviewer]

Did you always feel like this because you caught a lot of criticism because you went and sat down with Dio?

[Killer Mike]

No, no, I sat down with Kemp. Governor Kemp. Governor Kemp, Yep.

[Interviewer]

And you got a lot of like, man, Mike, why you sitting down with him?

[Killer Mike]

Cause he's my governor.

[Interviewer]

And you say, look, I'm gonna sit down with the man because it might be an opportunity before I can help people that look like me.

[Killer Mike]

Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. And when you see. When he passed the. When he reinstated the Hope Scholarship, he added trades to it, too. Yeah. The Hope Scholarship used to exclusively be for intellectual. You know, if you go into college, you know, go to Savannah State, going to uga, or you go to Hope Scholarship. But our boys and girls who wanted to go to trade school were left out. He added that. Well, I was an asshole about trades. I was picking them, poking him. He put me in touch with the head of trades. I talked to him, but I still was calling him back. Governor, I think we need to do this right. So if you are politically unengaged, you are a fool. I'm gonna just tell you that no matter who wins, no matter who I campaign for, the day after, I'm gonna congratulate the winner and say, okay, what we gonna do to make Georgia a better state?

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Killer Mike]

How can I Help you. So no matter who ends up being governor, if it's Kesha Lance Bottoms, if it's Michael Thurman, if it's one of the people who run from the other side, I have to. I'm required to. Like my grandmother said, you do this. Cause it's what to do. You know, you're supposed to have a political voice. Whether it's your city council, whether it's your county commissioner, whether it's your mayor, whether it's your governor, your congressman or senators. You better make sure you do that. Because what you don't want to be is without voice. So a lot of people that criticize me, they aren't even Georgians. If you go to Georgia, I'm not even fucking with you.

[Interviewer]

You don't even worry about what you're talking about.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, fuck are you folks you thinking about? You a minority where you live at, right? Yeah. Listen. No goddamn minority. We make up 35% of the state in Georgia. We may go just under 50, 80% in Atlanta. What am I gonna listen to you for? Not gonna listen. You don't even know what it feels like to be the majority. You don't know what it is to see a black city council. You don't know what it is to only have known black marriage. You got so goddamn happy about Obama, you could have peed yourself. I ain't never known but nothing but black leadership. That's it, my guy.

[Interviewer]

And then good luck trying to get another one in here.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah. That's all I'm saying. So I don't have the capacity to tolerate some of the shit y' all be talking. Cause y' all don't know what y' all talking about. Right again. All my heroes and enemies look like me. All my heroes and enemies when I was growing up looked like me. I grew up in an all black neighborhood. My neighborhood wasn't a form of Fair Street Bottom or Buttermilk Bottom, which were real neighborhoods in Atlanta. I didn't grow up in the Bluff. I ended up buying apartments in the Bluff as the Bluff. And the Bluff's only two miles from the Dome. As the Bluff is changing, I'm a part of that change. I grew up in the Collier Heights. I grew up in these working class people. 900 square foot houses. Grew up white with the Russells, who were the biggest black developers in the nation at the time. That's who I grew up with. I grew up with the people that built the Fulton County Stadium and the Dome. So, nigga, you can't tell me Nothing impossible. Cause I could ride my bike three streets back and see a black house with an indoor pool, tennis court and basketball court. So what the fuck you gonna tell me? Nigga, you talking out your imagination. I'm talking about some shit I seen. For real. You know what I mean? So I don't listen to y' all Negroes. Just know when you write that kind of. I giggle. I roll over my big old bed, my $11,000 bed. I get up, you know, that my wife got for $4,000. You know what I'm saying? I wake up and I yawn. I look at y' all nigga like me. Y' all nigga know what y' all talking about. Cause you ain't never seen nothing. That's why you tend to only think it's an impossibility. It can't possibly happen because you've never seen it. Your grandfather didn't tell you about Jack Johnson. So you didn't know you could whoop no ass. You didn't know who Tiger Flowers is. Tiger Flowers. Middleweight champion. They call him the Deacon out of Georgia. Owned a mansion right there in Dixie Hills. So when you walk by the fire station, you get to read about this. Man, you never stop to read. Nigga, you don't know what the you talking about. I read the Wretched Narrative. I've read Frantz Fanon. I read all these books, but I also read why Should White Guys have all the Fun? I've also read some Thomas Sota. I also read some Walter T. Williams. So I read enough to take a look from here, to take a look from there, and to form my own. If you only read or instructed by you read, you're just a clone. You know, I read that nigga book. He read that book, he ain't do nothing but quote a bunch of other people to tell me what I can't do. Shut up. I'm out here doing it. You Professor? Professor. What'd they say? They say those who can, do, do. Those who can, do.

[Interviewer]

Those that can't, teach.

[Killer Mike]

And those who can't and don't know how to teach. Teachers.

[Interviewer]

Talk to me about DEI because, you know, I've heard a lot.

[Killer Mike]

Diversity, equity, inclusion. Yes. I mean, I think if you can get it, get it. But if you can't now, just understand you can't and make a way. I think DEI is best served when politically we put the pressure. There are federal grants and loans that should be given to you that aren't given to you right now, that don't have nothing to do with just overt DEI programs. Because let's say DEI programs work for white women too. They work for immigrant populations. They got a chance to jump ahead of you and things of that nature. But my thing is whatever you can make work, work. So if DEI is working, work it. But if it ain't working, you got to find something else to work but work it. What works better than DEI is having politicians that understand the need for it. George Wallace was a white politician. George Wallace was a band who essentially said segregation now forever. George Wilders got shot. And then getting shot, he saw Jesus. He must have saw Jesus was black. Cause after that, his administration was blacker than any other administration before or after. So you didn't have to tell him about Di because he all of a sudden understood once being shot. Oh, shit. I need to change my ways and models and thinking. Black people coming out of slavery were the most skilled workforce in this nation. And they understood capitalism. They understood business in a way that other people did. If they didn't, they wouldn't have been able to build things like the land life insurance company. If they didn't, the blacksmith wouldn't have been able to say to master, well, boss, he wasn't calling them master no more. Well, boss, you know, I can do the work. We gonna cost you now. We understood capitalism when we were still slaves. So I used to wonder how when they would say, well, how does a family buy their freedom? Well, they rented their own self out on Fridays, I mean, on Sundays. Because every landowner wasn't a slave owner. You had some people that were just middle class or working class, that were poor class. They didn't have the ability to have an extra set of hands. So those people would then say, hey, if your guy let you work for me on Sunday, I need you on Sunday. You go negotiate a price. Then you pay your master out 60. You keep your 40%, you save until you bought your own freedom, bought your wife freedom, bought children freedom. So it's not like you don't understand capitalism. But the question becomes, how are you gonna make it work for you? How you gonna make sure that the gas stations you go to are owned by you? How are you gonna make sure that the dollar is turning in your community, beyond your church? You've done it before, right? I don't have all the answers, but I do know that the guy who does my H Vac lives in the same neighborhood as Ti. You know, I do know that. I know he makes as much money doing H Vac as we make singing and Goddamn dancing. And we have the opportunity to use our minds in this country to advance ourselves in a way that other black folks globally are not. And we should take advantage of that. And now the companies that don't want to play fair punish, they assume punish their ass by not supporting them. I like what Jamal Bryant has done. Right or wrong. Showing target. Hey, man, I can knock you down a quarter. I like what TI did with Gucci. When TI Said, hey man, we gonna knock Gucci down a quarter. They worked. Now, Gucci was smart. They went and got Simone Sanders. They said, hey, Simone, we need you. We need you in that pretty haircut. And your momma give you some purse, we give you some money. But TI Showed they ass, he bumped they ass down. And they had to haze. They had to tighten up. So it ain't nothing wrong with showing companies they have to tighten up, you know, Ain't nothing wrong with that.

[Interviewer]

Freedom of speech. We saw what happened with Jimmy Kimmel. I guess they didn't agree with the marks that he made about Charlie Kirk, who tragically lost his life at a rally in Utah. And they took him off the air. Yeah, I think one of the biggest. Sinclair said we're not gonna put him back on, but ABC Disney has reinstated him.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, he should be.

[Interviewer]

Where are we headed with this, Mike?

[Killer Mike]

A scary place. Freedom of speech. If you don't believe in freedoms of speech for those you vehemently disagree with, you don't believe in freedom of speech. And what scared me most about freedom of speech, I think Noam Chomsky said that. But what scares me most about freedom of speech is everybody only want it for their side. Yes. And I'm pro freedom of speech for all sides. Eric Nielsen wrote a book called Wrath on Trial. I wrote the foreword for it. But we're figuring out maybe putting together a tour of some sorts because we have to get back in this country to having hard conversations with one another. And that requires freedom of speech. It requires that I'm going to listen to something I may not like that will make me uncomfortable, but in listening to that, I'm going to learn or impart a wisdom or that goes both ways. We have reciprocity, but that's what makes this republic different. That's what makes this republic great. Hey, man, I got no problems against Europe. They got some cool museums and old shit over there. They got some nice food a couple places. But I do not like hate speech laws in the United Kingdom. Like, how you gonna give me a hate speech law? You ain't gave me My artifacts from Africa back yet? Shit, you gonna make it so I can't even say I want my shit back. You know what I mean? So I would warn Americans against any restrictions on your First Amendment, because that restricts you from protesting police officers. That restricts you from congregating religiously. It restricts you from policing and talking down on politicians you may not agree with. It restricts you from public assembly. So I'm gonna just say I'd rather.

[Interviewer]

Have the uncomfortable conversations where we disagree.

[Killer Mike]

That's it. That's it.

[Interviewer]

James Baldwin. Say, we can disagree and still love you as long as your disagreement isn't draped in my lack of humanity.

[Killer Mike]

Come on, man. Come on, man. That's him. That's him, man. James, man, that man.

[Interviewer]

I mean, some of the stuff that he said, you. And, like, you know, when our grandparents used to talk to us, Mike. I didn't know at the time what they would actually say. It was when I got much older, because they talked in parables. They talked in phrases. They didn't come out and say, don't do this. You know, my grandfather used to say, boy, don't make me chew this food twice. Yeah, like, you gonna chew it more.

[Killer Mike]

Than that or you gonna chew the drop?

[Interviewer]

But he was saying, don't make him repeat himself.

[Killer Mike]

Absolutely, absolutely. Cause they wanted to raise thinkers. They wanted you to understand that this thing that rests in between your ears is a tool for you to use, not be used by. Don't be used by anxiety. Don't be used by pressure. Don't be used by overthinking. Use this tool to look at the problem and solve the problem. And once I've solved the problem once, I don't need to keep revisiting the problem, trying to save it twice. My grandfather, man, I'm talking about. He would tell me, well, what is they learning you in school? And what I realized is, over the last six years, public schools haven't learned us as much as we should learn. Because they're not truly trying to raise thinkers. They're trying to raise people that go along with the program. You got people now that tell you what you can and can't say. And they've never read the Bill of Rights. They've never read the United States Constitution. It's a beautiful document in its aspiration. Doesn't mean we've always lived up to it, but in its aspiration. You know, there's a brother, man. Brother named Chad. I like a brother. He's a plumber. I like him. Cause he's A tradesman, but he's an intellectual. But this brother's been going on terrible rant about Dr. King. He's probably gonna put this up on a clip, and I hope you do, but I'm saying it's unfair. I support your right to say anything you wanna say. He's very much against Marxism and communism, but he's taking some low blows to me in talking about Dr. King. And I say, I wonder who's funding my brother. He's a black man. And the reason I say that is. Cause you can talk about Dr. King being a alleged perverter, having no orgies, things of that nature, having multiple women, but we are talking about our founding fathers as sex traffickers. Benjamin Franklin had a 13 year old girl, black girl. Oh, they were in love. No, they weren't. He was sexually assaulting that girl. She was his property. George Washington owned 300 human beings and I'm sure took advantage. I sit here right now as a product of Crawford Long's family. Someone in Crawford Long's family had sex with someone that was owned or enslaved, which led to the Long family out of North Georgia, Michael Rynder's mother's maternal family. And I'm related to Crawford Long, the man who invented anesthesia for the battlefield for the Civil War. I'm here because of a rape. And if you're gonna criticize Dr. King and you don't find time to criticize the so many white men that founded our country, then that tells me that somebody's paying you to do what you do. And although I support your ability, your right to do that, your rights to do that, I'm saying that we got to play the game fair, Bubba. We got to play the game fair. And we got to say, oftentimes great men fall short of the glory of God, but that don't mean they can't be redeemed. And that does not mean that dream isn't a redeeming thing. Cause I didn't know Dr. King, but I knew everybody who knew him. I knew Hosea Williams, I know Andy Young, I knew Joseph Lowry, I knew James Orange. And what I know, if these men are stoic in terms of the way they live their life. And as young men, who knows how wild they may have been. But I know that they've got all of the wisdom that they gave us as young men. And the wisdom that they gave us now is priceless. So as a man, I'm gonna fall short and I'm gonna make some mistakes, right? My wife might show up at 357 one day. But I guarantee you, I guarantee you, after I talked to my Auntie Deborah, I tightened up, you know what I mean? So I just wanna encourage us that while we are defending that First Amendment, but let's make sure that we're looking at the rules fair for everybody.

[Interviewer]

What are some of the changes? I will make you president. You, President of the United States. I'm going to give you. You got four years.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

What you going to do?

[Killer Mike]

Create a reparations plan that's going to get African Americans proper education and trades and intellectual education. It's going to get African Americans proper financial education. It's going to give them land grants and the ability to own the land that their ancestors are long, particularly in the southeast. 54% of African Americans live in the Southeast. I think that 54% of the investment should be there. I think that there should be a heavy investment in terms of making sure that that class of people is brought up. Because when African American economy and the community is doing better, this whole country does better. I would make a pathway toward legal citizenship easier. I would create bilingual classes very early so that we can communicate to one another. I would return trades to high schools on a federal level. I would support that. I would guarantee trades programs in high schools. I also would guarantee at minority businesses, construction, like the Ali Construction Company down in Georgia, that they can get more federal grants. The construction company I'm telling you about now is the one who build all the furniture in the Delta VIP lounge. Black company. I would make sure that we have a vested interest. I would make sure that public school returns to the greatness of what public schools was in the 30s, 40s and 50s. Meaning physical education is important, artistic and music education important. And your reading, writing and arithmetic is important. I try to say, why were we so effective in public education, even all through College in the 50s and 60s? And where did we fill out from? I would take debt out of college. I would forgive all college debt. I would make state schools more open to state kids again. I would start to support older people in a way that they would be engaged. I would make the retirement age earlier instead of later. And those that didn't have the option of retiring, I would give them some type of government subsidized job where they can help, whether it be voting booths or librarians or something. So those are some of the things I do. Cause I believe when you have a society that can take care of themselves, that can make money and turn a dollar, it creates a more effective society. Than not. Wow.

[Interviewer]

Upbringing. Your mom had you at 16.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

You was raised by your grandparents.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Talk to me about this. I mean, you've heard different. Like, women can raise men, but they need a. What is. Where are you on this? Black.

[Matt Jones]

Hey, this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin and this is NFL Cover Zero. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're gonna get. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Looks like something that should not be sold.

[Interviewer]

Oh, my.

[Matt Jones]

So that was my other big Colts takeaway. They sold that?

[Killer Mike]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

I might want to go back at the Colt Stadium.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

Might want to go back to the drawing board on that. Yeah. I thought the shape we have with pretzels was working pretty well for generations. We're just here trying to enjoy it. We hope you all will join us throughout the year. And let's go. I hope I'm as youthful as Pete Carroll is at his age. He's a young 73. He is a young 73. He is spry. I wouldn't fight him. I would listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio Adam Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dan]

I'm Dan, he's Ty.

[Killer Mike]

Hello.

[Dan]

And we're the Solid Verbal College football podcast.

[Ty]

College football season is here and you know what that means.

[Dan]

Your team is going to break your heart three times, probably before Halloween.

[Killer Mike]

Uh huh.

[Ty]

But fear not, the Solid Verbal will be right there with you through every soul crushing loss and impossible comeback.

[Dan]

Join us all season long, all year long, as we ride the rollercoaster of this ridiculous sport.

[Ty]

Whether you're a diehard fan or a casual observer, we'll help you make sense of all the chaos and of course, celebrate the madness. Tune in for previews, recaps, bits you won't hear anywhere else, and all the emotional experience, support you need as a college football fan.

[Dan]

We don't just love college football, Ty. We live it.

[Ty]

Listen to the Solid verbal college football podcasts on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Simone Boyce]

I'm Simone Boyce, host of the Bright side podcast, and on this week's episode, I'm talking to Olympian World cup champion and podcast host Ashlyn Harris.

[Ashlyn Harris]

My worth is not wrapped up in how many things I've won, because what I came to realize is I valued winning so much that once it was over, I got the blues and I was like, this is it for me. It's the pursuit of greatness. It's the journey, it's the people, it's the failures, it's the heartache.

[Simone Boyce]

Listen to the bright side on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Killer Mike]

Yes.

[Sarah Spain]

Get fired up, y'.

[Killer Mike]

All.

[Sarah Spain]

Season 2 of Good Game with Sarah Spain is underway. We just welcomed one of my favorite people and an incomparable soccer icon, Megan Rapinoe to the show, and we had a blast. We talked about her recent 40th birthday celebrations, Co hosting a podcast with her fiance, Sue Bird, watching former teammates retire and more. Never a dull moment. Ruth, Pino, take a listen. What do you miss the most about being a pro athlete? The final. The final and the locker room. I really, really like you just. You can't replicate. You can't get back. Showing up to the locker room every morning just to talk. We've got more incredible guests like the legendary Candace Parker and college superstar AZ Foote. I mean, seriously, y', all, the guest list is absolutely stacked for season two. And, you know, we're always going to keep you up to speed on all the news and happenings around the women's sports world as well. So make sure you listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ashlyn Harris]

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart. Women's sports.

[Interviewer]

Women raising black boys.

[Killer Mike]

Man, I'm saying it. Take a village. I like the village concept.

[Interviewer]

That's how it was when we grew up.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like every. Everybody was. Your parent got the Ms. Ophelia might.

[Interviewer]

The lady down the street can be. If you act it up. I'm gonna tell you. I'm gonna tell your grandma.

[Killer Mike]

Ms. Ophelia. Hey, boy. Boy. Yes, ma'. Am. Where you going? The candy lady. Your mama know where you going? Yes, ma'. Am. Hold on. She'll go in another room and call Betty. Betty, this boy, you had a fat one. He going down there to the candy. Did you tell him he can eat some candy? Okay, well, I guess you can go on there. While you're gone, make sure you bring me. And I'm just like, like, damn, it's so fit. You could have just asked me to bring it, but you know what I mean. So it's like, I believe in the village concept. I remember, man, Denise getting on me so bad one time and she said, I'm sorry. You know, Denise is my mommy. She said, I'm sorry I gotta be so hard on you, but you're the only son I got. I don't get a second chance, you know. My grandmother told Shay one time, she said he was so bad, she said, I hate I had to beat him so much, but he was so bad. And what she really meant is I was adventurous, I was curious, I was terrible at times, you know. But she knew that if I didn't impart a certain amount of discipline on this boy, he was gonna go, wow.

[Interviewer]

Yes.

[Killer Mike]

My grandfather only spanked me once. Shit. He and me cried. Cause he, you know, and my grandfather, it shocked you. Cause you didn't expect it. I didn't expect it from my guy, man, but he was so loving. And I realized him not having a father, having to drop out of school in the third grade, having to work in a sawmill at nine years old to support his sisters and his mother, he understood how to be a father. Cause he had been robbed of that opportunity himself. So he was the best to me and my sisters. I come in the bedroom sometimes. Cause my grandfather was, you know, yellow with the curly hair. My sister had barrettes in his hair. He just sitting down on the bed, looking at the Braves game, letting them do whatever they want to do. Because he understood that this is bigger than how I'm perceived, you know, anybody. So when it came time for me to have to put on my sister prom dress while my grandma hemmed it, I'm standing there, my buddy's looking at the wither, laughing at me. I'm like, nigga, I don't care. This is my sister. I got a do this for my little sister. So for me, I take the village approach, which means mothers, right. You're gonna have to allow your young man, if his father is absent via you all don't get along or God forbid, death or prison or something, you're gonna have to allow the other men that you trust, not just a guy you're dating or you might know, but the guy who's dating you, who says, I'm in with you now, I'm in with you to raise this boy. You're going to have to give him. You're going to have to give him some authority over that boy. If you. He has an uncle, your brother, you're going to have to give some authority over that boy. You're going to have to get that boy things like next level Boys Academy, that Gary Davis runs like Bear Strong, which Bear from the neighborhood down in College park, you going to have to give up. Because mothering is an authoritarian, it's an absolute. I'm your mother, I made the sacrifice for you. God sent you through me. And we are indebted to that until we not. And then we get wild. I had a call from a friend of mine yesterday. He's like, Mike, I just don't know what to do. These boys, they were in regular school, I took them out. He in alternative school now. I found out he's not going to alternative school. And she say, I'm fearing the worst now I'm just gonna have to put him out. I said, well let's first sit down, let's have a talk with him, let's get him with Gary Davis, let's have a talk with him at next level. And let's just say, hey, you know, as a mom, I'm so frustrated now. I don't know what to do with you. I'm about to put you out and I don't want to put you out. But you're not holding up your end of the bargain. See, it used to be understood in our community, your bargain was that I brought you a diploma no matter what happened. Your sacrifice requires me to bring you a high school diploma. I'm sure your grandparents said that was it. Right? Right. So for me we have to start to set these regulations back up. And women, Lord knows I love you to death, but man, if the government divorced you tomorrow, you wouldn't have nothing but us. See, because the government could divorce you tomorrow. They've shown you that they fired the ones that worked for them. It won't be so long before they tighten it up on welfare. And I'm not saying every black woman's on welfare cause more white people are on welfare.

[Interviewer]

Absolutely.

[Killer Mike]

They call it snap. They gave it a whole new cool name and shit, right? Snap of the Hill. They changed the name your ass at the ebt. Cause I seen a white man, some goddamn closet and goddamn EBT on life like, oh, you getting the NFL too, you know what I mean? So for me, we better start turning inward toward each other and we better start figuring out how to save these young men from themselves. And that discipline can happen from the village. And I think that we have to return to a village minded concept.

[Interviewer]

Mike, when did this happen that we became so envious of one another? Like Mike got it, man. I don't know why he got. I don't know why he bought that car. I don't know why he doing so well. When did that Mike, it wasn't like that. Maybe I didn't see it. Maybe everybody was like us. Nobody had any more than anybody else. So they couldn't say why he had such and such. Because they didn't have no running water or no indoor plumbing either.

[Killer Mike]

You act like the people who owned you. We become too American. You know, American will sell you a dream of rugged individualism and having more through hard work. But they don't tell you how much they cooperate behind your back. Them state senators in Georgia cooperated, and that's why they got the financial and physical advantage over so many people, poor, black and white underneath them. We have to learn that cooperation is gonna be the way again. Envy doesn't bring you envy. Comparison is a thief of joy. Oh, man, I was so happy we used to be in Tuskegee. The first few days I'm down there, I'm like, we ain't got no goddamn video games. We ain't got no. We can shit one tv, man, by the third or fourth day, you'd have forgot all that exists. Cause you just on a farm with your cousins hanging out. You free all day.

[Interviewer]

Yep. You know, running outside with shorts and no shirt on. Just running.

[Killer Mike]

And there's a freedom in that. So I think that's. I think that I'm gonna say that a lot of the people, most of the people that are telling you how great their life is on Instagram are lying and capping and flexing. Decide what makes you happy. And really, really just decide what makes you happy and aim toward that. And, man, stop comparing yourself to other people. Stop comparing yourself. Cause you ain't had to suffer the suffering they've had to suffer.

[Interviewer]

You don't know what they went through to do.

[Killer Mike]

Boy, I heard that so many times in my life. You don't know what they had to do. You know, go listen to that song Jezebel by Sade.

[Interviewer]

Yep.

[Killer Mike]

You know when she talk about that new dress that that woman is wearing. And, boy, you never know what she had to do to get it.

[Interviewer]

Oh, man. Looks like a princess in her new dress.

[Killer Mike]

Come on, man.

[Interviewer]

How did you get that? Do you really want to know?

[Killer Mike]

She said, do you really want to know? That's what I'm saying. Everybody got something to say. Bad about a dancer. Cause they ain't never been forced to dance. But them girls get up there, they do their job, man. But, man, them same girls that be at church, same girls start their businesses. So don't envy. Don't envy. Envy is a thief of joy. I Almost felt myself envy a friend. One time I checked myself so quick, I literally had to go to the bathroom. Talk to myself. Like, what's wrong with you? This your friend? Yeah, like, what's wrong with you? You know what I mean? Like, I had to have a talk with myself. But that evil never got back in my ear again.

[Interviewer]

Right. You know, Mike, you had a relationship with your grandmother like I had with mine.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

And I remember when my grandmother was about to leave. And I remember coming back in the room and I held her my arm, and I said, granny, I got it. I said, you don't have to worry about Mama. You don't have to worry about spanking Libby. I got it. I said, you done your job. I said, you can go now in peace. And probably a week later, she was gone. But she just needed me to reassure her that her baby could hold it down. Cause now I'm in charge. Your grandmother passed in your arms?

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, my girl, man.

[Interviewer]

What I mean? Cause I slept with my grandmother till I was 15, Mike.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, come on, man.

[Interviewer]

I was going to be a sophomore in high school, and I'm sleeping in the bed. When my grandfather died, I slept with my grandmother. My brother slept with my grandfather. My grandfather died in 77. I didn't get out of the bed with my grandmother until 83.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, man. Yeah, man.

[Interviewer]

So what she meant. And to see the woman that you love so much. That poured everything into you.

[Killer Mike]

And the life just leaves, man. This girl had been trying to get me to believe in the Lord my whole life. Not that I didn't believe. I just had questions. Just like, man.

[Interviewer]

Cause you've been an inquisitive kid.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah. I'm just like, man, I don't really get it. You know what I'm saying? Like. And I remember we was at Shelter in Arms. Man. Shouts out to that organization that take care of my daughter. Mikey went there. Now she's freshman in Hampton. They're having a Black History month. Cause she died in a leap year on the last day. And the guy told us we had to park down and walk up. I said, mommy, you sure? I said, I could dry you up. No, no, I'm fine. Walking and we walked. We got about halfway up the hill, man. She thought her name was too plain. It was Betty with a I. E. So I called her Beatrice. I said, that fancy enough for you? You Beatrice, right? I said, beatrice, I'll take care of them. She said, no, I won't walk. And we walked. And we got about halfway up the hill, but we had just had an argument. I picked her up and I'm taking her down there. And her mother had gotten married. And her mother was married to a solid dude. You know, he was kind of dude coach football. And he had actually coached my youngest son, Pony. And he was involved in kids in the community. So I liked him enough. I told him, you know, we gonna both father this child. We have to have relationship. You know, he ain't gonna just get to be over my daughter and we don't talk. We gotta chop it up. You my friend now, bubba. I asked my grandma, I say, why are you talking to me about mother being married? You know what I mean? She said, well, I've been thinking. I'm like, what you been thinking? Why don't you just let him adopt her? I mean, you got three other kids. I lost my goddamn mind in the car. I lost my mother, man. I said shit to my grandma. I said, what the you talking about? I'm talking to the woman that raised, that used to beat my ass with switches. I'm like, what? Like, what are you. I finally figured my life out. I finally got stable. I've gotten married. I have. I have this.

[Interviewer]

I can take care of her.

[Killer Mike]

I can do this now. And after I went on a rant, she said something she never said. My grandmother, she did something wrong out of bed. She said, I beg your pardon. You know, I beg your pardon, but she said, I hurt your feelings. I said, yeah, Mama, I'm having a cry. I said, what you gonna say something like that for? I said, mother, her name's Michael. The another gonna raise Michael. You know what I mean? I'm looking like, how I'm gonna let another. Her name can't be nothing but Michael Rinda. She said, I'm sorry. And we rolled there and the guy instructed us we had to walk up. And when she got up the hill, she looked at me and she looked past me and she seen something. And I just couldn't take my eyes off her. But I knew I was witnessing in that moment something. And when she seen something, she smiled and she looked back at me and she smiled and she put her arms around me and she was gone. I was by myself. I was in the prison. Was it that quick? It was that quick. I was in the prison. But that moment of my. In my spirit, my mother, because my grandmother raised me. I was in that moment with her and with our creator. And then she looked at me, and it was as though she said, I've done my job. I've done my job and I'm gone. And I remember attempting CPR on her. And then it was just like the spirit that came over me, just say, I got her. She. She's gone. And since that day, I have not stopped working since that day. Blessings have not stopped pouring in since that day. And that day made me a believer that I am here for a purpose. I don't know that purpose, but I know I have one. I know I'm on a journey set forth by a righteous and divine being. And man, I tell you with the other absurdity of having a mother that's only 16 years older than you, my mother told me in the funeral car as we're going to the grave site, she spazzed on me, on my uncle, who's autistic, on everybody. Me and Shay in the car, she's like, that shit went there. You got to be with my mama when she was dying. And I was like, I didn't want the job. So Denise was used to be cursing like I didn't want the job. Like she said, it ain't fair. You think, that's your mama, I'm your mama. And one day I'mma be gone and you gonna realize that. And God damn it, she died on me. She died on me like six, seven years later. And when she died on me, it hit me that my mother, at 16 years old, made a decision like the woman in the Parable of Solomon. When they came before her, two women said, this is my child. And Solomon said, well, cut them in half and give each half. And the one who was really the mother said, no, no, I give this child to you cause it'll be better raised. And that's when I realized, man, I'm so blessed. I'm so blessed. My grandmother was such a good mother to me. She was such an impression that I had. I found a woman and married a woman that was just like her. She was her. And my grandfather gave the second half of their life up to raise me. So you compliment my intelligence? You complimenting them? You complimented an illiterate man from Edmonton, Georgia, who was sitting in his lap and say, read to me. You complimented a girl from a big family that owned land in Tuskegee that said, I'm going to take these kids and show them that it isn't about material stuff, but it's about what's in your head and your heart. You took that. But a 16 year old girl said that I'm allow my mama to raise his baby because he'll have a better shot. Oh, man, that's when I really realized, like, I realized that God favors me. And my mother was a part of that. Favoring. Because as much as a mother as my grandmother was, the choice to give me up to her by my mother is probably the most important decision that's ever been made for me. And I wish. You know, Lecrae got me a tip on a song now called Headphones. And if my mother really did have headphones right now in heaven, I just tell her, thank you. Just thank you so much.

[Interviewer]

I tell people that same story. My grandmother, my mom sending my brother, my sister, and myself to my grandmother. And my grandmother raising my mom's three. And loving my mom's three more than she loved her own.

[Killer Mike]

Yep.

[Interviewer]

I say sometimes the best decision doesn't involve you, man.

[Killer Mike]

Paul.

[Interviewer]

And people don't understand. Sometimes you can only under. Sometimes things can only be seen through the eyes that have cried. Yeah, I know this story.

[Killer Mike]

Cause I lived it.

[Interviewer]

You know my story. Cause you lived it.

[Killer Mike]

Amen. Amen.

[Interviewer]

And you have a greater appreciation.

[Killer Mike]

Amen.

[Interviewer]

Because there ain't no question in my mind. Your grandmother loved you more than she loved her own kids. And that's why your mom said what she said.

[Killer Mike]

Boy. Boy, I get it. I understand. That's all. I wish I could. I understand.

[Interviewer]

What's next for Killer Mike.

[Killer Mike]

I don't know. I just know God got somewhere for me to go. It's my job to be dressed and showered and ready. You know, I know that. I know that I have things to fulfill with people. I love that I made promises to. I know that ultimately my promises to the person. I look in the mirror and I say, I'm gonna do this for you. I know that Shea and I have somewhere to go and grow. I know my children. I gotta make sure they can take care of themselves Before I get out of here. I pray that I'm around to see grandchildren and great grand. So I'm 25 more pounds down. I'm out to 300 Club.

[Interviewer]

So that's what you try to get down to?

[Killer Mike]

I was up the damn near 420. What? I'm down to 325 now, so.

[Interviewer]

So you gonna get on, but you gonna get another three.

[Killer Mike]

I'm getting on the three. That's the goal. Get on the three. Tighten up. Like my girl Shavey. Try to start cooking. Shane be cooking. But I help him help a brother out. I'll give you this in the immediate. I want y' all drinking this. Cause this is really good. And Ellen and I worked Hard in the immediate. I want y' all to listen to me on conversate. Cause I'm talking about some real things in the immediate. I'm gonna put up a newsletter soon in the place about this. I want y' all to. If you can't get to the swag shop to get some products in the immediate. I'm gonna keep truth telling. I'm gonna keep. I'm about to go in, we're about to make another Michael. If Elle is in Amsterdam and he calls me and says, hey, man, I got all the beasts from running jewels five. I'll fly to Amsterdam and we'll get that done. But I'm gonna keep doing what I'm doing. And ultimately it's what my grandmother said. I'm gonna keep doing good and I'm keep doing what I'm supposed to do.

[Interviewer]

Kill the mic, ladies and gentlemen. I appreciate that.

[Killer Mike]

That was excellent. All my life been grinding all my life Sacrifice hustle, paid the price, wanna slice got to roll the dice that's why all my life I be grinding all my life all my life Been grinding all my life Sacrifice hustle, paid the price, wanna slice, got to roll a dice that's why all my life I've been grinding all my life.

[Matt Jones]

Hey, this is Matt Jones. And I'm Drew Franklin, and this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Oh, my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're gonna get. Listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Dan]

I'm Dan, he's Ty.

[Killer Mike]

Hello.

[Dan]

And we're the solid verbal college football podcast.

[Ty]

Tune in for previews, recaps, bits you won't hear anywhere else, and all the emotional support you need as a college football fan.

[Dan]

Join us all season long as we ride the rollercoaster of this ridiculous sport.

[Ty]

Listen to the solid verbal college football podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dan]

We don't just love college football, Ty. We live it.

[Greg Rosenthal]

The NFL is rolling. That's right. And you should be listening to NFL Daily as we march along to to Super Bowl 60. It's in the name NFL Daily, so you'll have fresh content in your feed all season long. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, and an all star cast of co hosts. For previews and recaps of every single game, NFL Daily will keep you up to date with everything you need to know so you can sound smarter than all your friends. Listen to NFL daily on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Matt Jones]

No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Ends 28:26 Open to legal residents of the 50 US states and DC 18 and over. For complete details, how to enter prizes and official rules, visit toyotasgamedaygiveaways.com Tune in to all the Smoke Podcast where Matt and Stack sit down with former first Lady Michelle Obama.

[Sarah Spain]

Folks find it hard to hate up close, and when you get to know people and you're sitting in their kitchen tables and they're talking like one, talking, you know, you hear our story, how.

[Killer Mike]

We grew up, how Barack grew up.

[Sarah Spain]

And you get a chance for people to unpack and get beyond race.

[Matt Jones]

All the Smoke featuring Michelle Obama. To hear this podcast and more, open your free iHeartRadio app, search all the Smoke and listen now.

[Simone Boyce]

I'm Simone Boyce, host of the Bright side Podcast, and on this week's episode, I'm talking to Olympian World cup champion and podcast host Ashlyn Harris.

[Ashlyn Harris]

My worth is not wrapped up in how many things I've won, because what I came to realize is I valued winning so much that once it was over, I got the blues and I was like, this is it for me. It's the pursuit of greatness. It's the journey, it's the people, it's the failures. It's the heartache.

[Simone Boyce]

Listen to the Bright side on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.