Club Shay Shay - Ryan Davis Part 2

Summary

Podcast Summary: Club Shay Shay – Ryan Davis Part 2

Date: January 14, 2026
Host: Shannon Sharpe
Guest: Ryan Davis (Comedian)

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Overview

In the second part of their wide-ranging conversation, comedian Ryan Davis sits down with Shannon Sharpe to delve deeply into topics including comedy’s boundaries, personal growth, family, depression, and finding happiness. With his trademark candor and vulnerability, Davis peels back the curtain on his life story, creative process, and ongoing journey toward self-improvement.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Value and Nature of “Gatekeeping” in Entertainment

• Pro Gatekeeping Stance: Davis explains his belief that certain careers, especially those in commentary or performance, require a filter to maintain quality, fairness, and credibility.
  • "[On gatekeeping:] Somebody has to stop the nonsense... Me wanting to be a commentator in sports, doing sports journalism. You know how many athletes...can't articulate it?" (01:14)
  • He advocates for people to stay in their lanes for the benefit of quality, not just personal gain.
  • Shared an anecdote about auditioning for "King Richard" and realizing first-hand who truly belongs in certain artistic spaces (02:23–03:19).

2. Joke Stealing and Ethics in Comedy

• What Constitutes Joke Stealing?
  • Davis distinguishes between parallel thinking and outright theft.
  • "People don't dig enough in their writing... they'll talk about something surface level, and they'll believe other people couldn't have thought of this, which is bs, okay?" (04:08)
  • Emphasizes challenges with subconscious influence and ethical handling within the community (07:19; 08:00).
• Resolving Similar Material
  • Davis describes a respectful, transparent process with other comedians when similarities arise.
  • "There are just people in this world who are solid people and how you handle this situation..." (08:39)

3. Starstruck Moments & Navigating Celebrity Circles

• Being Starstruck:
  • Most affected by meeting Kelly Rowland at a LA concert:
    • "I'm new, famous. The money ain't here yet... and then she looked at me and I was like, oh, you can see me. Cause I was stuck." (13:00)
• Meeting Legends:
  • Tells a humorous story about an awkward encounter with Tracy Morgan, where he was (wrongly) assumed to be a superfan (15:25–17:32).

4. Acting Aspirations & Boundaries

• Davis is passionate about acting but values personal comfort over money or tradition.
• On Wearing Dresses for Comedy:
  • "The dress to me represents standing my ground... being you is enough... It's just I don't want to do it. And the dress to me represents standing my ground." (20:31)
  • Respects those who did it (Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, Robin Williams), but emphasizes authenticity and being uncompromising when something doesn’t feel right (21:47).

5. Political Correctness & Comedy’s Limits

• Asserts that nothing is fundamentally off-limits in comedy—it's the approach and sensitivity towards audience and subject.
  • "The joke has to appeal more to the people it affects than the person that's telling the story..." (25:49)
• Shares personal experience joking about his autistic son in a way that fostered community among parents (25:33–27:00).

6. Fatherhood, Family, and Co-Parenting

• Navigating His Son's Diagnosis:
  • Davis recounts the journey of learning his son is on the spectrum, embracing “weirdness” as a family trait and superpower.
    • "Weird is not an insult to me. I embrace that. I'm weird. I love being a weirdo." (30:55)
• Co-Parenting After a Breakup:
  • Reflects on how his ex supported him as he launched his career, and on the challenges and guilt endured as their romantic partnership ended (34:08–40:38).
  • Offers rare honesty about his own faults and the ongoing learning curve in navigating co-parenting and personal accountability.

7. Personal Growth, Ghosting, and Emotional Maturity

• Davis admits to a pattern of ghosting rather than confronting difficult conversations:
  • "I'm non-confrontational. I'll take my ball and go home. I don't... We ain't gotta work on it. Damn." (42:24)
• Shares realizations about the need for empathy and growth, both in romantic and social contexts.

8. Therapy, Mental Health, and Masculinity

• Discusses struggling with depression despite career success:
  • "When I deal with depression, like everything could, anything could. It could be seasonal... And then as a creative, like, my brain goes. It don't ever turn off." (61:15)
• Details how he’s the “go-to” person in his circle, but finds it hard to seek support for himself (60:13).
• Affirms the importance of seeking therapy and acknowledges his progress, especially in relation to his upbringing (50:21–51:13).

9. Finding Happiness

• Recounts experiencing pure happiness while renting a private island, living simply and close to nature with friends:
  • "I realized what I was experiencing is the life that he gave us. Everything that we experience outside of that is man made and manufactured. Most of the stress... is created for us to live in." (52:50)
• Yearns to create more moments like this—disconnected from the rat race and closer to authentic living.

10. Sports and Subjective Greatness

• LeBron vs. Jordan Debate:

  • Davis roots for LeBron as the GOAT, despite being from North Carolina; his actual favorite player is Allen Iverson.
    • "I wear my Jordans. I be like, yeah, man, you like these hard. They are amazing. Number two." (70:27–70:38)

• On Emotional Attachments to Sports Figures:

  • Explains the difference between personal favorites and objective bests (71:10–72:57).
  • "There’s an attachment to Michael Jordan...that people...can never understand..." (72:12)

11. Motherhood, Forgiveness, and Family History

• Details an estranged relationship with his mother due to past family trauma, yet expresses unconditional hope for reconciliation:
  • "Come get me. I need you. I want you in my life. I have not given up on us having a relationship..." (81:00–82:35)
• Acknowledges intergenerational pain, early parenthood, and unresolved issues:
  • "They say that you stop some parts of your development once you had children. So sometimes I'm talking to the 13 year old version of my mom..." (84:24)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the artist’s process:
  "Like Erykah Badu said, I’m an artist and I’m sensitive about my sht."* – Ryan Davis (04:42)
• On authenticity:
  "Being you is enough. Standing on whatever you’re standing on, as long as it’s righteous, is enough." – Ryan Davis (21:07)
• On joke boundaries:
  "If the people who go through it can’t laugh at it, they’re gonna feel like they’re being laughed at." – Ryan Davis (25:49)
• On communication:
  "Now I have the emotional intelligence to do it. You know, to really touch the problem, to really communicate about the problem." – Ryan Davis (55:01)
• On depression:
  "As a creative, like, my brain goes. It don’t ever turn off...I need mindless...shutdown mode." – Ryan Davis (61:42)
• On mother/son reconciliation:
  "Come be my mother and I promise I’ll put everything behind us. I really don’t hold no ill will..." – Ryan Davis (81:00)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Gatekeeping and Access in Comedy & Sports: 01:02–04:00
• Joke Stealing and Community Ethics: 04:06–12:30
• Starstruck Experiences (Kelly Rowland, Tracy Morgan): 12:31–17:32
• Acting, Personal Limits, and Wearing Dresses: 18:38–22:43
• Political Correctness, Jokes About Disabilities: 23:27–27:39
• Fatherhood, Co-Parenting, and Family Structure: 27:39–41:27
• Ghosting, Confrontation Avoidance, and Maturity: 41:54–46:34
• Therapy, Self-Reflection, and Communication: 50:19–57:45
• Depression and Mental Health: 57:56–66:31
• Weight Loss and Health Journey: 66:31–70:10
• Sports Greatness Debates (LeBron, Jordan, Iverson): 70:10–76:05
• Family Trauma, Estrangement, and Forgiveness: 76:05–85:37

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Tone and Atmosphere

The conversation is open, funny, and at times deeply vulnerable. Davis is honest about his faults, growth, and pain, often using humor as a bridge. Shannon Sharpe maintains his trademark warmth, empathy, and playful challenge, creating a safe space for candid dialogue.

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Takeaways

• Even successful creatives wrestle with the past, mental health, difficult relationships, and boundaries—growth is lifelong and non-linear.
• Artistic spaces require both openness and discernment for quality and fairness.
• There are few true off-limits topics in comedy—what matters is handling them with care and respect for those most affected.
• Healing old wounds requires empathy, communication, forgiveness, and sometimes, uncomfortable growth.

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This summary provides a comprehensive snapshot of “Club Shay Shay – Ryan Davis Part 2,” highlighting its central discussions, insights, and most memorable moments. For anyone who hasn’t listened, it offers a clear map of the heartfelt and enlightening territory traversed by Shannon Sharpe and Ryan Davis.

Transcript

[Ryan Davis]

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[Interviewer]

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[Ryan Davis]

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[Interviewer]

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[Ryan Davis]

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[Interviewer]

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[Ryan Davis]

At happiestbaby.com thank you for coming back.

[Interviewer]

Part two is underway. I read you say you're a pro gatekeeper. What is gatekeeper?

[Ryan Davis]

Oh, I'm pro gatekeeping.

[Interviewer]

You pro gatekeeping?

[Ryan Davis]

Oh, I'm pro gatekeeping, yeah.

[Interviewer]

Why you do that?

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. Cause somebody. Somebody has to stop the nonsense. Somebody has to stop the nonsense. And I don't mean gatekeeping on some, like. All right, I'll give you a perfect example. Me wanting to be a commentator in sports, doing sports journalism. You know how many athletes play sports, great at sports, can't articulate it? Yeah, tons. Growing up, I had to watch them get jobs that somebody like me who could really articulate it will never get an opportunity that is correct to get. That's where gatekeeping has to happen. It's like, hey, bro, I know you ran for 2,000 yards in the season, but you can't do this. You can't do this. If we go to showing you, well.

[Interviewer]

They'Re gonna at least get a chance. Whether they succeed or fail, it's gonna be their own. But they're definitely getting a chance.

[Ryan Davis]

But you see what I'm saying? And it's just like. And it really takes away how special people like you are, how Terry Bradshaw has been able to do it. Right. You know what I mean?

[Interviewer]

Cause everybody can't talk when that red light comes on.

[Ryan Davis]

Everybody can. So that's the only. That's the thing about gatekeeping. Right. Where it's just like, hey, man, I get it. So here's the story. How about this? Will Smith did King Richard. Yeah, I auditioned for King Richard. They sought out for me to audition for it. I'm touring the touring comedy. I ain't been going to acting class, none of that. And I'm getting the same opportunity as a dude who went to school four years doing theater in college. This dude has done Hamlet. I can't even read a script.

[Interviewer]

For real.

[Ryan Davis]

We getting the same opportunity. Somebody gotta say, nah, he can't come in here. It ain't just gatekeeping to my benefit. You need to keep me out of spaces. I ain't got no business in you. See what I'm saying?

[Interviewer]

I do.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. When I sat there and listened to that man's audition, I was like, why am I here? We had to pretend like it was the part where Richard came back to the game with the gun and was like, you know, turning the tables. I thought a dude was. I thought they really pulled a gun out on this man on the other side. I'm on the other side of the door, like, what they doing back there? And he came out smiling. I was like, you were acting. I walked in, they were like, hey, how you doing? I was like, hey, that's the guy. I'm a read, but that's the guy. But that's the guy. Don't mess this up, guys. I want to see the version of the movie with that nigga in it, but I'm Ryan Davis. Let's do it. Damn. And they're like, all right, the gun's on you.

[Interviewer]

I'm like, ooh.

[Ryan Davis]

And that was my best. Ooh.

[Interviewer]

Where are you on joke stealing, Ryan?

[Ryan Davis]

Joke stealing is awful. But this is the funny part about joke stealing is people need to understand what joke stealing actually is. Like, people don't dig enough in their writing, and they'll talk about something surface level, and they'll believe other people couldn't have thought of this, which is bs, okay?

[Interviewer]

Because all you guys got creative mind.

[Ryan Davis]

You think that out of the thousands of people who are paying attention to this thing, nobody else is thinking of this. But like Erykah Baddieu said, I'm an artist, and I'm sensitive about my shit. The idea of somebody taking something because all of them are like, our babies, Somebody is taking our baby from us. But at the same time, if I go, yeah, man. I fell asleep, and my girl reached over me while I was asleep to. To grab my phone, and I could feel her breath on my face. It woke me up. You think nobody else has ever gone through that situation? Nobody, man. You hear him say, breath on the face. That was. Oh, come on, man. You know that's mine. Breath on the face, that's mine.

[Interviewer]

Right?

[Ryan Davis]

And I'm like. And I hate being in those situations. Cause I be looking at them like, really? You think breath on the face.

[Interviewer]

That's you.

[Ryan Davis]

That's you. Nobody else could ever. So when it comes to joke stealing, I challenge comedians to write the thing.

[Interviewer]

Where you see it and everybody knows your joke.

[Ryan Davis]

Like, if you watch my special.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

Some people, like, will look at my special and be like, man, he's long winded. Man, his setups are long. It's to prevent stealing. You really gotta steal my joke to steal it. That's the work you gotta do. And there's nothing wrong with basic observational humor. Just understand at basic observ. You're not the only person with eyes.

[Interviewer]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

You're not the only person with eyes. But I've been accused of joke stealing.

[Interviewer]

Really?

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. Who is.

[Interviewer]

You stole.

[Ryan Davis]

Have I ever stolen? Yes. Subconsciously. Cause I.

[Interviewer]

Well, you. The accusation was correct.

[Ryan Davis]

No, no, no. I've never stolen from anybody. I was accused of. I caught myself.

[Interviewer]

Oh, okay.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. I was watching Wanda Sykes. I' Ma Be Me. And I was watching it. Yeah, I was watching it, and she was in the middle of a joke. I said, oh, my God, she not gonna say it. She gonna say it. Oh, my God. I didn't think of this. I didn't think of this. It's in the back of my subconscious. And then she said the joke. I was like, yeah, it's not mine. It's not mine. So that's why a lot of comedians won't watch other comedians.

[Interviewer]

No, I can understand that.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. Cause it can get. But in my defense, like, it was just on a rant. It wasn't like I wrote it down and thought it was mine. I was talking about something, and then I said this thing, and it was really funny at the moment. And so it wasn't something I was telling over and over and over again. I said it one time in my entire life, right? And people loved it. And that's why I remembered it in that moment. And I was like, oh, God, it's not even mine. But that's another reason why I don't rift. I don't do crowd work like that. Because crowd work, you're thinking really quick, so you're grabbing things.

[Interviewer]

That's right. On the surface level of your brain.

[Ryan Davis]

Surface Level of your brain. How much of that is you? Not much. Not much, right? So that's why I stick to the pen. Because if I'm going to give you you, I'm going to give you me. I got to give you me, right? So. But even in my new special, my brother, Chico Bean, we have a similar joke within that special. And he called me straight up. He was like, yeah, nah, this was brought to my attention. Blah, blah, blah, blah. He told me not to ever bring it up or whatever. Cause we handle it. But I need people to understand that there are just people in this world who are solid people and how you handle this situation.

[Interviewer]

Right?

[Ryan Davis]

In this situation, you make the phone call, right? And you go, yeah, this and that. Hey, this is how my bit went. This is when I said it. And we released it. Blase, blase, blah. He said it. It came out before my thing came out. So he don't, like. I don't know how long he's been saying it. He don't know how long I've been saying it. But then we talked about it and he was like, this is where I go with the joke. And I go, when I say it, this is where I go with the joke. This is how I got to it. He's like, this is how I got to it. This is where I go with it. His joke is better than mine. Mine is just to get to. I'm actually using it to transition into something else. Yeah, he actually goes in depth with the joke, but we repeated the same words. So it got brought to his attention that I may have stolen it and I didn't. It's just this one piece of observation. But we are able to have a conversation. And because we're both artists and we both respect each other's craft, we could see and we explain how we both got there. And it wasn't that.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

You know what I mean? And I think that's important for people to do that. And I think so many people don't do that. Just have a conversation. Joke stealing. But joke stealing is a no, no big time no, no. And it can happen to you, but.

[Interviewer]

When it's brought to your attention, your attention, acknowledge it. And Cooper, I was on a road.

[Ryan Davis]

With a guy, and a guy did Lil Rel's whole bit, did the act outs and everything. Come on, man. Man, I was mind boggled, mind you. These dudes ain't even from the same culture. Lil Rel from Chicago, he ain't even from America. Oh, you. You went to church in the Midwest. Where he did the same. And I. I didn't even accuse him of it. I. I pulled him to the side and said, hey, man, you ever seen this bit? And I showed him the whole. And then Esau, he's like, dang. I was like, I don't need to hear nothing. I don't need to know if you stole it, if you lifted it or nothing. I need you to know that somebody else has done this already and they have claimed it and it is theirs. They do it exactly like this. Don't do it no more.

[Interviewer]

Wow.

[Ryan Davis]

I didn't run back and tell Lil Rel, people out here stealing your stuff or whatever. The best thing I could do is put an end to it right there.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. Let him know, bro, that's somebody else's people.

[Ryan Davis]

Put an end to it. Right. Then so many people try to be messy and go and run. Nah, go have a conversation with the person. Deon Cole did that. There's another comic who's really smart, Brian Simpson. He in my special, I do this play on dog ownership, and Brian Simpson did one similar on a show. I think it was so one of Adam Sandler's homeboy, David Spade had a show and Brian Simpson did it. Cause Deion saw my special before a lot of people, and Deion was like, hey, this joke is similar. I called Brian, sent it to Brian. Brian was like, but this is the thing amongst writers. Brian saw it and was like, it is not the same. I was like, I know it's not the same, but I had to hear it from you, that if you saw it, you wouldn't go, oh, these are. He stole. My joke is similar. Or maybe it was inspired by. Cause it wasn't. When you write, you know, you're like, nah, I understand. Yeah, the nuances. Context and nuance is so important in joke writing.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

That that's the part people don't necessarily get. That's why the joke stealing thing is so, like, prevalent, because people go to it from an emotional standpoint and not an artistic standpoint.

[Interviewer]

Have you ever been starstruck?

[Ryan Davis]

Yes. Kelly Rowland flatlined me. Couldn't do nothing. Boy, let me tell you. Let me tell you. I've been starstruck. And then I've been accused of being starstruck by somebody I wasn't even starstruck by.

[Interviewer]

So you saw Kelly Rowland. You like, oh, my God, I can't believe I'm staring.

[Ryan Davis]

Shannon. And I was stuck. She got a aura. It's orange. I don't know if you've ever seen her yeah, it goes around.

[Interviewer]

I've seen Kelly rolling before.

[Ryan Davis]

Listen it. But that's a married woman.

[Interviewer]

You can't do that.

[Ryan Davis]

She was not married at the time. So this. It was the Bad Boy reunion tour, of all places.

[Interviewer]

Okay.

[Ryan Davis]

We were in la, and I'm just. And this is when, like, my career is really taking off. I'm backstage, I'm talking about in la. Everybody there.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

You talking about feeling like I ain't supposed to be there. And I'm new, famous. The money ain't here yet.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

Okay, so I'm famous. Dirty shoes.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

Dirty clothes. Everybody there. Designer everything. Like, I'm just back there. Like, dag, I ain't supposed to be back here, but I'm back here. This is crazy. And then somebody, Kelly Rowland was having a conversation, and somebody interrupted her conversation. Now, if you've seen Kelly Rowland in other spaces, she don't take too kindly to people being rude, right? So she checked the person and not in no rude way. She just, you know, hey, I'm talking about. I'm talking or whatever conversation. And I looked like, yeah, that's how you handle that. And then she looked at me and I was like, oh, you can see me. Cause I was stuck. The whole. She was so radiant. It just. I had never seen somebody so beautiful in my life. I was stuck. And dude, like, Destiny's Child was. That group was some of my first. Latoya Luckett was like, my first. One of my first crushes, like, nah. And then I've been accused of being starstruck, which I never want to do to somebody because of how I felt. So Tracy Morgan. I went to go see a friend of mine, couldn't make it to Tracy show, gave me their tickets. I was like, I wouldn't mind going to see Tracy Morgan. Went to go see Tracy Morgan. A couple of people on this team recognized who I was. We're talking, I'm checking out the show or whatever. It's cool. And Tracy Morgan is Tracy Morgan. So when I saw him, I was like, wow, it's Tracy Morgan. You know, that was the end of it.

[Interviewer]

Right?

[Ryan Davis]

You know, I respect everything he's ever done.

[Interviewer]

Right?

[Ryan Davis]

You know what I mean? He is Tracy Morgan. Right? So. And then they were like, oh, come back to the green room or whatever. I'm like, cool. We hanging out, talking. Everything's great. And then they're like, hey, Ryan, you want a picture with Tracy? And if you ever look at my page, I don't take pictures with nobody.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

I'm introverted. I Don't take pictures with nobody.

[Interviewer]

Let me guess. You said no.

[Ryan Davis]

Soon as I. No. I didn't even get a chance. They said, ryan, you want a picture with Tracy? Of course he want a picture with me. He been puppy dogging me all night. I'm the reason he do stand up. He do comedy because of me. I used to do the same thing with Eddie and Morton. I get it, I get it. You wouldn't even do comedy if it wasn't for me. Of course he wants a picture with me. I was like, who? Nobody has ever watched my comedy and went, tracy Morgan, you're not one of my influences, Big dog. Lord have mercy to be told that I idolize somebody.

[Interviewer]

You ordered a picture?

[Ryan Davis]

I ordered a picture. Shannon.

[Interviewer]

Every day you do. Every day I do.

[Ryan Davis]

Yo, Shannon, I didn't know how to respond.

[Interviewer]

You took the picture and just kept it moving.

[Ryan Davis]

I left.

[Interviewer]

You didn't take the picture?

[Ryan Davis]

No.

[Interviewer]

Come on, Ryan, you gotta take the picture. I love to take a picture with you.

[Ryan Davis]

I couldn't. No. I said, all right, guys, it's been lovely. I gotta get back home. I did not take the picture.

[Interviewer]

Nah, you gotta keep the peace, right? You just, hey, yeah, bro, sure. I know.

[Ryan Davis]

I wasn't disrespectful.

[Interviewer]

I was like, the man said, you wanna take a picture with him? And then you say, no. You don't think.

[Ryan Davis]

I didn't say no. I said, woo, look at the times.

[Interviewer]

How long you gonna take a picture? Y' all doing a movie or you taking a snapshot, man?

[Ryan Davis]

I said, oh, my God, Shannon. I was like, yo, it was. I didn't know how to feel in that moment because it's like one. We're in your space. You ain't have to allow me back here. You don't have to. It is a privilege whether. Whether you're an inspiration to me or not. It is a privilege for a young comic trying to make his way in this game to be in your space. Of a known comic. Yeah. Of a legend.

[Interviewer]

Okay.

[Ryan Davis]

No matter how I felt in that space, this is not my time to cause a disruption in this man's space when I can just remove myself from this space.

[Interviewer]

Still should. You should have took the picture.

[Ryan Davis]

I should have. Today we'll attempt a feat once thought impossible.

[Interviewer]

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[Ryan Davis]

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[Interviewer]

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[Ryan Davis]

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[Interviewer]

UFC on Paramount plus streaming this January. You want to do more acting?

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't know acting was fun. I cuz like I said, I like to experience people's gifts. I know how much and I believe in gatekeeping. And I, I didn't think of it as fun because I know how hard they work. For sure, I know how hard they work. So whenever I did like, I worked hard and got to it. And you do it. It actually is fun though. You can have fun doing it. And I didn't know that. I thought it was serious because how serious I take comedy, even though it's like I'm looked at it, we're clowns, but for me it's very serious. So. So now I take acting very serious. I got an acting coach. We, you know, I love her. She, you know, she, she showed me that I had more in me than I. Yeah. Than I knew. And now, because before I wanted to write, I always wanted to write things and not star in them because I just didn't view myself in that way.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

Even in my career, the social media stuff that I did, I never wanted to deliver it. I wanted to write it and then have somebody else do it, but nobody wanted to work with me, so I had to just suck it up and.

[Interviewer]

Do it, do it yourself.

[Ryan Davis]

And that's how I got, that's how I got popular. I was so uncomfortable in front of the camera all the time.

[Interviewer]

I read where you said you wouldn't wear a dress for 10 million. Some of the greatest comedians have worn a dress.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Eddie, Martin, Jamie.

[Ryan Davis]

Yep. Robin Williams killed it. Mrs. Doubtfire is amazing. Norbert is amazing. Nutty criticism. Big Mama's house, amazing.

[Interviewer]

Especially first Dustin Hoffman.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. Tootsie. Or is it Tootsie? Yeah, look at the. Cause it's not about the dress.

[Interviewer]

What's about.

[Ryan Davis]

It's about being uncompromising. If I don't want to do it, then no amount of money is going to make me do it. See the thought when I say it, people have these think pieces. What is it about the dress? But it ain't about is I don't want to do it. And the dress to me represents standing my ground. And then when you say 10 million, I'm like, okay, if I'm worth 10 in a dress. I'm worth four without the dress. I got to be at least worth four without the dress.

[Interviewer]

I just take the four.

[Ryan Davis]

I'll just take the four. And then some people look at me like, man, you crazy. I was like, I'm crazy if I pass on 4 billion. When did 4 billion. When did we get to a point where $4 billion was like poo poo? I'm never going to be. And I want to raise my children to be that way where it's like being you is enough, and being. And standing on whatever you're standing on, long as it's righteous, is enough. See, in that particular case, I don't even look at it as a right or wrong. It's just. I don't want to do it right.

[Interviewer]

And that's enough.

[Ryan Davis]

And that's enough. That's literally enough.

[Interviewer]

I don't need you trying to make me feel bad, trying to guilt me into it. I said, I don't want to do it. And that's the end of it.

[Ryan Davis]

That's the end.

[Interviewer]

So we're not trying to put a number on it. It's just not. I'm not comfortable doing it.

[Ryan Davis]

Do you think that I think that Martin is less of a comedian because he did Big Mama and Shanaynae.

[Interviewer]

Right?

[Ryan Davis]

You think that I think Eddie Murphy is less because he played the mom and the grandma and Nutty Professor? That is two. Those two guys gave two of the greatest performances.

[Interviewer]

And Norbert, I still believe people don't get people. They bag on Norbert. They got all these. Norbert was great.

[Ryan Davis]

Great. That's some of the best performances in cinematic history. The thing is, I can't even do that. I can't even do that. So to act like it's not that I'm above it, I can't even do it right. That's beyond. That's even beyond my capability.

[Interviewer]

Wow.

[Ryan Davis]

So I would feel like if somebody is asking me to do it, that is not because they recognize a skill set. Maybe they just want to see me in a dress. And then I'm like, what is that about? Because it's not about. Because I haven't shown you the skill set. I. I remember when I used to do. I would do standup, and I would. Cause I storytell, right? Those people would tell me after the show. They were like, is there ever a time when you're gonna make the man and the woman in the story sound different? Cause I just would use my voice. That's how little I think about imitating Women. I just don't do it. I just don't do it. It's not a skill set of mine. Right, yeah.

[Interviewer]

You said you don't believe in political correctness.

[Ryan Davis]

No.

[Interviewer]

Let me ask you this. Can white people say the N word? Ralph Rapid.

[Ryan Davis]

That has absolutely nothing to do with political correctness. That has everything to do with how safe you feel in the moment. I tell them to say it all the time. Go to the hood and say it as much as you want to. If you don't feel comfortable saying it there, you shouldn't feel comfortable saying it in your car. Cause the way I feel about it is either you stand on what you stand on. Okay. You know what I mean? I do understand that there's a time and a place for everything, but if it's something that you feel like isn't wrong, you should be able to say it everywhere.

[Interviewer]

Right. And not just when you get upset or just in a rap song.

[Ryan Davis]

Right. And if it takes that for you to say something, then you really don't feel like it's okay to say all the time. And that type of context matters.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

I would never like for me, if I do a clean set, right. They'll go, can you do clean? I was like, I can imagine my grandma being in the audience. Easy work.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

Because I would never speak like that in front of her.

[Interviewer]

Correct.

[Ryan Davis]

Never speak like that in front of her. So in my mind I know that cursing a certain way.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

Ain't okay. It's just. It's just not okay. It's just not. It's not okay. How you don't get that.

[Interviewer]

Wow.

[Ryan Davis]

You get it?

[Interviewer]

Yeah. You did, you did say kids would be off limits. So. Speaking about disability. Cause it used to be, you know, you can make fun of disabled people.

[Ryan Davis]

Yep.

[Interviewer]

Is not as. I don't see as many comics doing it now as they once did. Sometimes they might do it, but they talking about a relative. I know Arnel Jay still talks about his brother. Had Jay on. Ricky. Smiley still does Will Darryl. But is that a space? But you never occupied that space, so.

[Ryan Davis]

No. I actually do a joke on my special about my son believing my son was on the spectrum and then finding out that he was not because he.

[Interviewer]

Was non verbal until he was four years of age.

[Ryan Davis]

Well, we just found out is on the spectrum. They were wrong.

[Interviewer]

He is on the spectrum.

[Ryan Davis]

He is on the spectrum. He started doing therapy and everything, you know, behavioral stuff. And I'm not struggling with it at all. I look at it and be like, I can't Wait to talk about this. And whenever, like, you know, everybody has a day. So the autism. And when the day came, my set about my son came out. And so many parents who have autistic children, people who have autistic siblings or everything was just, like, grateful for the joke that I told and the way that I went about telling it, because they felt seen, and they want to be able to laugh at the thing. That's what I'm saying. The joke has to appeal more to the people it affects than the person that's telling the story, than the other people. Because if other people are laughing, they're laughing at it. If the people who go through it can't laugh at it, they're gonna feel like they're being laughed at. You have to make sure that they are laughing at it.

[Interviewer]

They're laughing along.

[Ryan Davis]

Yes. And we're bringing everybody into this world, not everybody pointing at it. So that's why I don't believe anything is off limits, is how you get to it. Because everything in the world that happens in the world, it's somebody's reality. And everybody should be able to talk about their reality. Everybody. So when you say off limits, I think you're stifling. You're trying too hard to be politically correct, and. And you're leaving. You're slamming the door on nuance, and you're slamming the door on an opportunity for a conversation and a chance to educate people.

[Interviewer]

When you found out your son, because he obviously he wasn't communicating, how did that make you feel as a parent? Because I think. And especially as you being a father and a son, I think we all have.

[Ryan Davis]

He named after me.

[Interviewer]

We all have these expectations of what our son is going to be.

[Ryan Davis]

Mm.

[Interviewer]

And how he's gonna behave and how he's gonna do it. He gonna play football. He's gonna do this, and he still can. But I'm saying, you know, oh, he gonna be this. He's gonna be big and strong. He'll be muscular. He gonna be a storyteller. He gonna be able to write jokes. We have this. So when you found out that your son was on the spectrum.

[Ryan Davis]

Mm. So his mom isn't gonna like it, but I told you, I decided to be twinning. She's struggling. Really? She's struggling.

[Interviewer]

Why do you think she's struggling?

[Ryan Davis]

Guilt. Like, did we do something wrong? Is it something that. Cause he's high functioning.

[Interviewer]

Okay.

[Ryan Davis]

He's high functioning. So it's quirks that you can pick up on. How he uses his hands, how he speaks like, for her, it's like, what are they saying about my baby? I can tell that that's. You know, and it's like, are they saying. And that comes with the lack of exposure to it, you know what I mean? If you've never been around anybody on the spectrum or whatever, you've probably seen the most severe cases and that's it. So you don't know anything. And I get to watch her go through this. And just luckily for me, that's not my experience. Cause it wouldn't surprise me if I am. You know what I mean? If anything, I look at him and I go, boy, you weird. Like your daddy weird. Just like. And she don't like when I say that. And I'm just like, you know, I remember Chris Rock talked about him, Mike having Asperger's. You know, they say that Jerry Seinfeld may be on the spectrum and things of that nature. I see it as a superpower.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

I look at the stuff my son does well and I go, oh, that's what that is, right? Yeah. His ability to lock in onto these things that he care about. In the same way I have tunnel vision about the things that I care about. And people with ADHD can tell. Tell you this. You know, the lock in and then the aloofness and all of this stuff. Like, for me, it's fun to watch. Cause I've gone through this stuff mentally. It's fun to watch. Cause now, like, the way I see it is I go, thank God. I knew it was something. I knew it was something. I knew I wasn't crazy. That's how I see it. So. And I can't speak for every parent. Every parent goes through everything. But for me, I'm super introverted. I consider myself to be a weirdo. My son being weird and some parents.

[Interviewer]

Are going, chip off the old block.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. Hey, like father, like son.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

So there are gonna be some parents who watch this and go, why he keeps saying weird? Why can't he use another word? Well, weird is an insult to you. Weird is not an insult to me. I embrace that. I'm weird. I love being a weirdo.

[Interviewer]

You've taken ownership of that.

[Ryan Davis]

I've taken ownership of it. It's a blessing to pass that on to my son. To you go deal with that. How you go deal with that. But me and my son, we gonna be weird. And that's okay. Cause that's our superpower. And you can tell your child, don't ever let anybody call them weird or whatever. And y' all accept whatever word y' all gifted, special, however you want. Me and Ryan gonna be weird. That's how we gonna get down.

[Interviewer]

Your co parent almost died giving birth.

[Ryan Davis]

Yes. Ooh, she not gonna like this. Go ahead.

[Interviewer]

That would had to be a very scary experience.

[Ryan Davis]

It is. It is. And she think it's funny. Really? Yeah.

[Interviewer]

You tell that in your set?

[Ryan Davis]

I do. She don't think it's funny. Well, she appreciates how I handled it in the set. The problem is, once you put it out, every everybody.

[Interviewer]

Cause everybody didn't know. Probably only. Only her family and closest friends knew. Now the world knows.

[Ryan Davis]

And I still tell. Don't nobody know you when you walk through the street. Don't nobody know that joke is about you.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

But she not a fan of the commentary that surrounds it. But she knows that I care enough to handle the. It would care. But what I also try to explain is you didn't go through this alone.

[Interviewer]

Right?

[Ryan Davis]

I went through it too. I went through it too. No, I didn't almost die. But you don't know what it's like to see somebody you love who's carrying your child almost die and think about whether you're going to lose her and the child or are you going to have the child and not her and then what your future looks like. All of these things. And the place that I put this is in my art. So let me have this. Let me have this. Because it wasn't easy for you to go through it, but it also wasn't easy.

[Interviewer]

It wasn't easy for me.

[Ryan Davis]

It wasn't easy for me. And this is how I get.

[Interviewer]

That's how you dealing with it.

[Ryan Davis]

This is how I'm dealing with it. I'm dealing with. And in that moment. And I found the humor is the fear of being. I was afraid to raise the children alone, which was a silly thought because she's fighting for her life. That's the humor to me. Is that. How ridiculous of me to think about that in a moment like this. Because for her, raising the children alone is a lot easier than what she's currently going through. And it also points at the. I had. I was blessed enough to be selfish in the moment is also how I see that. It's all the emotions that come into creating this. That's what I want people to see when I create my comedy.

[Interviewer]

You guys do have a special bond because when you were an up and coming comedian, she allowed you to quit your job and support you financially.

[Ryan Davis]

Yes.

[Interviewer]

So there is a special bond that you Guys, share. It wasn't like, you know, she didn't support you. You made it. She's not around. Like, when you were trying to become what you've become, she was there.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. Yeah. And she know it. She know. Yeah. I got her forever. I got her forever. And it's so funny. Even when she knows, like, when we're at odds, at the most I'd be like, man, I can't stand. I just hate the way. And then somebody like, yeah, she. Watch your mouth. Watch your mouth. I can say that. You can't say, watch your mouth. That lady has held me down.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

From the. I'm not even a parent without her. I don't have, like, I have a video. I just watched it the other day of the first time I ever did comedy. Right. It's the day after I'm reading off of a plaque that she made to commemorate the first time I've ever been on stage and how proud she was of me. And that's the type of. I remember that person. I still know that person is in that person I can't get along with sometimes.

[Interviewer]

Given all of that, the commemorative plaque, birthing your kids, how difficult was it for you to end that relationship or you guys to go your separate. Say, we're going to be co. Parents. Co 1, 2. We're not one.

[Ryan Davis]

It was easy for me, hard for her. And then it became hard for me, easy for her.

[Interviewer]

Why was it hard? Why was it easy for you and hard for her?

[Ryan Davis]

All I could see was the world that I was about to go, I'm about to be a star. I'm about to do all the things. My career is taking off. I see all the. And this is the funny part. I don't even feel like providing context for people. Cause people are gonna be like, oh, what, he made it big.

[Interviewer]

Oh, he made it big.

[Ryan Davis]

No, we were already. We were already. It just happened after. It was. Yeah. So that's the thing too. I feel some type of guilt about. Because she was this close to the bubble burn, like it happening. And while we were locked in. But we weren't locked in whenever. Whenever it happened. And so for me, like, there's this. There was guilt. So that's hard for me. But it was easy for me because I really didn't want the relationship and it was hard for her. Cause she did.

[Interviewer]

Right. And breaking up is easy as long as you're not the one being broken up with.

[Ryan Davis]

And this is the thing. She didn't want children. I wanted children.

[Interviewer]

Ah, so you done Force the kids on her. Now you.

[Ryan Davis]

She had children for me. Yes. And now I'm not here.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. Like my granny used to say, you ought to be beaten, made to stay.

[Ryan Davis]

But you see what the funny part about this is? I'm in my 20s. The world is my oyster. I ain't even realizing what I'm putting her through. Cause I'm like. Cause we tried.

[Interviewer]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

You know what I mean? It ain't like I didn't try.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

But the. So, like, I'm not seeing things from her perspective. Cause I'm sending money back. I'm getting joint accounts, putting, like, giving you access to all the money anytime you wanted. Like, I never played with her like that. I've never played her. And, like, she's always had access. So whenever. But that's when it was eating me. What was eating me up was, like, I always wanted the family unit. That's what I wanted. She knew I wanted that.

[Interviewer]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

And she was willing to give.

[Interviewer]

Give you that, even though she didn't.

[Ryan Davis]

Want that for herself necessarily.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

And by the time I came around the understanding that I really. All I have to do is come here and make this whole. When I came back, she didn't want you. She didn't want nothing. She didn't want nothing to do with it. And I gave her a pretty good deal. I came back, I was like, look, we gonna live together. We gonna raise the children together. You ain't gotta work. I'm gonna pay for everything. I'll get you a personal trainer. I'll get you a personal chef to teach you how to, you know, cook.

[Interviewer]

And she said, I want my personal space.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. And she was like. She was more or less like, that's it. I was like, God, this lady don't want no butts with me.

[Interviewer]

No.

[Ryan Davis]

She don't want the butts with me.

[Interviewer]

Was that hard for you? Because you said in the beginning you wanted that, she didn't, now that you wanted it and she didn't. Was that hard? Now you. Did you see the flips now? Did you see what she was going through?

[Ryan Davis]

Nope. Still didn't see it. All I could think about is I lost my family. That's all I can think about.

[Interviewer]

Damn.

[Ryan Davis]

That's all I can say I was. That's why I give people the space for growth. I was not always a good person.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

And the funny part is, it wasn't that I was being a bad person.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

I just couldn't. I didn't. I lacked empathy. I could not see somebody else's perspective, right? So, like, then, like. So it took some growing up for me to be like. Cause I know all I could see was what I was going through. It wasn't a walk in the park from my end either. She was not making everything easy for me on my end. And I had to sit there and go, ryan, what is it like being her? What is it like being her? You're doing these things that you feel like make life easier for her, because these are the things you would appreciate. But what would she appreciate? What could you have done to make these 10, 11 years that much easier for her? Cause it wasn't always money that would have done it for her. There were so many things. There was a certain level of, you know, just showing up that she need. Like, she don't need split custody. She needs. Whenever the children. When it feels like it's too much.

[Interviewer]

Somebody to come get to you, you need to come get.

[Ryan Davis]

I need to come get the kids. I had them the last weekend. That ain't got nothing to do with her being overwhelmed right now. So I see all the stuff I do. She see all the time she's overwhelmed.

[Interviewer]

And she's like, yeah, I see the stuff you do, but you don't see how much I do.

[Ryan Davis]

And the thing is, I do, but I didn't give her flowers ever at that time. And the funny part is, I didn't give her her flowers because I was being an asshole.

[Interviewer]

Why you being. Why were you that way?

[Ryan Davis]

I just didn't want to give her the satisfaction. Hurt people. Hurt people. True. I couldn't have my family. You don't get. You don't care.

[Interviewer]

Nah, you will. You ain't have a no.

[Ryan Davis]

Nah, you don't get. Damn right. I'm sorry.

[Interviewer]

You heard it. He said he's sorry.

[Ryan Davis]

I'm sorry. Like.

[Interviewer]

Would you. If she call when she sees this and she said that's the first time that you said you're sorry? Ryan, I want my family back.

[Ryan Davis]

Nah, nah, nah, nah.

[Interviewer]

We good.

[Ryan Davis]

But too much, too much.

[Interviewer]

Too much time is done.

[Ryan Davis]

Well, it's too much of everything.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

Too much of everything.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. Yeah. We died. I saw a stat that says 72% of the people find ghosting more painful than being dumped. The lack of closure keep the brain keep searching for answers. You agree with that?

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah, I'm a ghoster. And when I got you just up.

[Interviewer]

And leave, you just no questions asked.

[Ryan Davis]

So I. The growth of any person happens where discomfort is.

[Interviewer]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

That's where any growth happens of any kind. I'm Non confrontational. I'll take my ball and go home. I don't. We ain't gotta work on it. Damn. Yeah, it's immaturity, but it's also just you protecting. I'm protecting myself. I'm hurting people by protecting myself. So for a long time, I didn't see it as me hurting people. I was trying not to allow myself to get hurt.

[Interviewer]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

That's how I'm viewing it.

[Interviewer]

That's your coping mechanism.

[Ryan Davis]

That's why I tell people, like, I'll say. That's why I'll say in the same breath, I wasn't a good person. But I'll say I wasn't intentionally a.

[Interviewer]

You know, intent only matters to the individual.

[Ryan Davis]

It only matters to me. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Because the person is still.

[Ryan Davis]

They only experience you. So that was the. So that was the thing. So, no, I'm very much non confrontational. And the reason being is because I get to the finish line. Like, if me and you are cool and you cuss me out, I don't like being disrespected. Before I respond to you, I go, is this friendship gonna continue after this? Cause if the friendship is gonna continue after this, let's just go ahead and not, you know, make this worse than what it already is.

[Interviewer]

Damn.

[Ryan Davis]

But if the friendship is over, let's.

[Interviewer]

Go on and get it out.

[Ryan Davis]

Let's go ahead and get it out the way. Let's go ahead. And I'm cool with just going my way. So for me, I never get emotional. Like emotionally dysregulated enough to just throw everything out the window. But in that composure, I just walk away with relative ease. But I don't think of. I never thought about how much that hurt the other person. So I had been ghosted. Right. And when I got ghosted, it left me without answers. But it only hurt my ego. Yeah, it didn't. I didn't feel like she changed the number on you. Nah, probably blocked me.

[Interviewer]

Oh, so everything. Phone number, social media.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah, like so. Cause I was like. And this is how toxic I was. I wanted to know why she ghosted me so I could tell her why she was wrong about why she ghosted me.

[Interviewer]

And then. You gonna ghost her?

[Ryan Davis]

And then I was gonna ghost her.

[Interviewer]

See, I knew it.

[Ryan Davis]

You see, you wanna get back. Yeah. That's when I thought about it. I was like, why do you want closure so you could just do. I was like, you're not a good person. It's just. So I had some growing to do. That's why I'M like, you got to grow. So now I always, like, in any situation, I sit with Ryan. If you feel this way, why do you feel this way? If this is your response, why do you want that to be your response? What is it? That's the part of maturing and then also seeing things from other people's points of view. And that's how you work toward being a better person. And when you do this work, understand you're the only person that know you doing this work.

[Interviewer]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

And whenever you speak, people still hear you through their lens, correct? Right. So, like, I love women. Love black women especially. So when I talk about my love for them, people get on the Internet and go, I'm he pandering. He pandering to him. He just trying to get them. Because that person who says I'm pandering has seen men on the Internet pander to them, right. To make money or to do anything or throw men under the bus or whatever. And then I'll see something that I don't particularly care for or whatever, and I'll criticize it within women, you know, especially in black women. Cause that's the women I see, right? And they'll be like, oh, he has a problem with black women. I was like, dang, I got a problem with black women. And I'm a simp. That's the thing with being fair. When you're being fair, the extremes are always going to. Yeah. Going extreme, they're going to extreme. So I just focus on being righteous, Right. And when I'm wrong, Hope Naim Lynn calls me and Teesprings called me and tell me better.

[Interviewer]

Paul Pierce was trending. He said, if you want to see if a woman really loves you, treat on her and see how she reacts. So if a woman, let's just say you dating, she's like, hey, Ryan, let me see your phone right quick.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. I'm starting to think that Paul Pierce might have mother issues. And I don't know your situation, Paul. I'm just saying. I'm gonna tell you why I think it. Cause it's something I went through. I had mommy issues.

[Interviewer]

Oh, did you?

[Ryan Davis]

And I used to be this person. A lot of stuff he say. I was like, I remember being that dude.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. It's weird hearing it from somebody his age, but yeah. Cause you gotta work through that, Paul. But so this is where I used to be. I used to think in order to see. And it probably, now that I'm thinking about it probably comes from watching my mother never leave my Father.

[Interviewer]

No matter how mad, how bad the.

[Ryan Davis]

Situation, no matter how bad it got. My dad just got remarried. Shout out to my pops and my stepmom, Sheila, love, y'. All. But no matter how bad it got, she didn't leave. So to me, that's love. That's the lens I saw love through. But you know what happened? I would put women through stuff, and they would stay, and then I would want to leave. Cause how could you not respect yourself? How do you allow me to do you like this?

[Interviewer]

You put them in a situation, and then you wonder why they stayed in the situation and then used the situation.

[Ryan Davis]

Because I would never stay with somebody who treats me like this. Damn right. But this is the thing. I was. Are we talking about teenager, early 20s? I don't know how messed up I am. I don't know how bad. That's the funny part. Whenever, like, my peers speak highly of me, my OGs speak highly of me. People in general who know me speak highly of me. So I don't ever, like, get. Like. If the Internet, like, rumors or anything come out on the Internet and say anything negative about me, I don't care. I know it's a lie. I've been good. I keep it moving. I've been. They be like, ryan, don't never respond. Cause it's true. No, I'll never respond. Cause it's ridiculous. But there are some women in this world who do not remember me fondly. Now, if they come out and say something, I'll take that bullet straight to the chest. I did not do right by these women.

[Interviewer]

Okay?

[Ryan Davis]

And it's because of the relationship with my mother. But my mother is not to blame for how I treated these women. It was my responsibility.

[Interviewer]

Yes. To grow past that.

[Ryan Davis]

To grow past that and see what I was doing. I couldn't. Even when I love these women, I could not see what I was doing to them.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

And, man, I remember one time, my girlfriend at the time confronted me about cheating. We both crying, Crying. And some people be like, oh, you was crying to manipulate her. No, I was really hurt. Cause I couldn't stop hurting her. Damn. I broke up with her, and she didn't even want to break up. I broke up with her, and she was like, what? And I was like, I can't keep doing this to you. Something is wrong with me. The funny part is I'm not a good person for cheating. I'm not a good person for breaking up with her or anything. Because really, I'm breaking up with her because of the discomfort it's causing me nothing about this. I'm not trying to sound like a good person. Everything about this is me being a bad person. But that's when I understood you got some deep seated stuff that you gotta work out, bro. It's bad. Yeah, it is bad.

[Interviewer]

You sought therapy.

[Ryan Davis]

I have gone to therapy. Yeah, I've gone to therapy. I've been in relationships, I did couples therapy. And you know what the messed up part is? What? The better you get, the more easy it is for you to see how messed up everybody else is. But now I have empathy on my side. When I see people's stuff show up, I go, ah, that's what that is. It's not me. I don't take it personal. And it helps. Cause once you don't take stuff personal, you see the comments on social media and you go, ah, I get it.

[Interviewer]

Right?

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. This ain't got nothing to do with me. That's them. That's them.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. Have you found how to find happiness?

[Ryan Davis]

Happiness? No.

[Interviewer]

You got this great career, you got kids.

[Ryan Davis]

Nah.

[Interviewer]

What is happiness to you? Because happiness is not something you. It's not something you find, it's something you create.

[Ryan Davis]

Yes. So I experienced it one time. It was wonderful. I ain't gonna say one time, but I remember one time in particular.

[Interviewer]

Okay.

[Ryan Davis]

My friend Danielle had. It was her birthday and we went to Panama, South America, rented a private island. No electricity, no nothing.

[Interviewer]

That was happiness for you, I tell you.

[Ryan Davis]

No, no, nothing. Okay. For food, they just had traps in the water and lobsters crawl into it, can't get out. You eat lobster, like all the stuff that you is market price over here, you have on a day to day at your leisure. Wow. And you know, we congregated. It was a bunch of us. It was like through the day, we spent time together, we congregated, we talked about everything. They had massage therapists there. We all, we did everything together. Mushrooms. And it was just nothing but like water and peace. And you know, right then I was happy. But also, I never felt closer to God ever in my life. And I realized what I was experiencing is the life that he gave us. Everything that we experience outside of that is man made and manufactured. Most of the stress that we deal with on a day to day.

[Interviewer]

Is.

[Ryan Davis]

Created for us to live in. So in order to find your happiness, get further away. Wow. That's the funny part. They put us in this rat race so we can make enough money to not be in it. So now the goal for me is to find a way to not Be in it without, like, needing money to do it. Right, Right. I want to get into gardening. I want to be able to work with my hands and build things and create a life where I don't have to be in the rat race so much. Because that was the time I witnessed happiness where it was. I didn't care. Like, there was no electricity. I didn't care about the lights. I didn't care about. I didn't care. My phone. Phones didn't work. I didn't care about phone. I didn't need to be connected to the world. I was connected to the world. I was with the people I loved. It was great. I was so happy. I was heartbroken when I had to fly back home.

[Interviewer]

Are you a great communicator?

[Ryan Davis]

Am I a great communicator? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Unfortunately, if anybody that's been in your.

[Interviewer]

Life, would they agree with that?

[Ryan Davis]

See this? So I'm gonna break it down for you, okay? So there's two levels of being a great communicator. Yes. Have I always been great with words? Yes. Have I been able to explain things throughout my life? Yes. But one of the things that comes with being smart, with being very intelligent but not emotionally intelligent, is now because you're scared to lean in to deal with your emotions. You can communicate things, but you become manipulative. Right. Because you don't want to deal with that part of it. So I can communicate everything I feel until I'm uncomfortable, and then I can make you feel this way about this because I feel more comfortable over here. And that's the problem that I had in the past. And now I. Because I know discomfort is where the growth is. I. I try my best that when I feel uncomfortable, to stop.

[Interviewer]

Just stay in there.

[Ryan Davis]

We gotta stay in it. We gotta stay in it. So I always had the skill to communicate well, but now I have the emotional intelligence to do it. You know, to really touch the problem, to really communicate about the problem. Because one of my biggest things was I was sensitive. I cared about what people thought of me. Right. So if you told me, like, let's say I made a joke about you and you, like, Ryan, I got a good sense of humor. But when you said this, you took it too far.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

I hear I attacked you. That is not what you said.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

And I need, in that moment, in my discomfort, I need you to say you don't feel attacked.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

But you never said you felt attacked. You wanted to tell me where the line is and what you find funny or what's Acceptable to talk about. About you. That's where the disconnect was for me for a long time. And now whenever someone says something, I go, ryan, what did he say? What did he say? He said this was too far. Apologize to that man. Right? Apologize to that man. Because how he experienced you was, you took it too far. And this is somebody with a sense of humor. It's not that they're oversensitive. This is where they draw the line. Tell them that you respect the line. Make sure they understand that you know that you respect the line and also the course of correction. I'll never do that again. Now I can express how I feel. Now I can tell you I never meant to do that to you instead of keep going. I ain't mean it that way. I ain't do that. No, no, no.

[Interviewer]

You see, that's just the way you took it.

[Ryan Davis]

That's the way you took it. See, now you not. You're not. You're causing a bigger problem.

[Interviewer]

Right?

[Ryan Davis]

Because now it's an argument when you was trying to get some understanding, right? Now I've taken it to a place that didn't even have to go. So I'm always working on. Now, Ryan, what did this person say to you? Not what did you feel about what they said. What did they say? Yeah, what did they actually say? And if you need them to clarify, go. When you say this, are you saying this, not. You said this about me, so that's why I'm. No. Did you mean it this way? Did you mean. Okay, all right, let me sit with that. And enough People don't do that. And you know where they really don't do it? The Internet.

[Interviewer]

No.

[Ryan Davis]

Ever. They see. They consume it, and it's right out immediately. And then a lot of people believe that's the world that we live in.

[Interviewer]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

Because they're seeing people's reactions, and that's not the world we live in. So that's why I need people to go out and start living. We live in that phone too much.

[Interviewer]

Is it true you contemplated suicide?

[Ryan Davis]

Have I ever contemplated suicide? I deal with depression for sure.

[Interviewer]

What, What. What do you think brings it on? I mean, you're successful, you got money, you're living the dream that you. You envisioned. I mean, you. When you map this out, obviously you want to do, you know, you want to be Stuart Scott, but when you, like, man, I can tell jokes. I can be a comedian, I can stand on stage. I'm a great writer. What brings on the depression that you feel that you.

[Ryan Davis]

So for Me, I believe depression comes from multiple places for me. Let's see. Because I want to answer you properly. I want to make sure that I don't answer in a way that's comfortable for me, but it's like honest. With, you know, Because I'm glad you're the person that's asking me this. It means because you talk about your upbringing, to be the person in your family to turn it around. Heavy as the head, right? The crown. Yeah. Yeah. So I grew up in a home. I'm the middle of seven kids now eight. I have a seven year old brother, but the middle of seven kids from two high school dropouts in Kannapolis, Concord, North Carolina. Whenever aunts, cousins, anybody fell on hard times, our house, they came to our house. My parents never turned anybody away. Friends, family, every. There'd be 13, 14 people living in a house, in a three bedroom house at one time. You take care of your people. That has been ingrained in me. And I take on fights that's not mine all the time. And then when I feel it, I don't know how to go to other people, to.

[Interviewer]

Everybody comes to you and dump their problems on Ryan. But Ryan doesn't have the ability to go somewhere else and dump what's going on with him.

[Ryan Davis]

And it ain't even like they don't offer it. I just don't know how. Cause they would show up.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

If I asked them, they would show up. But there's something in me that goes.

[Interviewer]

Yo, you can figure, you can do this.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah, you can do it. You can do it all on your own. And then when it starts breaking, that's.

[Interviewer]

The man in us.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. So it's that or everything could be going great. And I ain't seen my kids in a while or my daughter ain't talking to me, or it's just like. You see what I'm saying?

[Interviewer]

Does she have a phone that you can call her?

[Ryan Davis]

I definitely, definitely, definitely. She's had a phone for a minute when she not answering. It kills me when she. But you know, this is the funny part about it is I make it sound so rough. Cause that's how I feel when it happens. But if you were to see me and her together, you'd be like, she's fine with you. She don't hate me. She's just afraid to give.

[Interviewer]

Let go again, let go again.

[Ryan Davis]

That's all. But so like when I deal with depression, like everything could, anything could. It could be seasonal. Sun ain't came out in three days. Ha. Yeah. Now I've been sitting in the dark, not eating, not doing anything. It's just like. And then as a creative, like, my brain goes.

[Interviewer]

It don't never turn off.

[Ryan Davis]

It don't ever turn. People do not know what that's like for your brain to never turn off. It never ends. Like, I'm always up here. And so I'll do, like. Friends laugh at me because I'll be in the club playing Tetris, and they'll be like, what is that overstimulated? I need to separate myself from every. It's too much going on. There's too much. I need mindless. I need these times of mindlessness. I need to put my mind in a shutdown mode. So at times, I don't do well with eye contact, things of that nature, all this stuff. That's what I'm saying. Like when I say my son's a little weird, I'm glad that he's. He's a little weirdo like his dad. He's gonna have somebody to come to him and be like, dad, I be doing stuff don't nobody else does.

[Interviewer]

I know. I did that.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah, I did.

[Interviewer]

Still do.

[Ryan Davis]

Still do. Yeah. So for me, it's like. So when the depression kicks in, it has nothing to do with success. But, you know, the funny part is I never got into this for success.

[Interviewer]

Wow.

[Ryan Davis]

Not for money. Right, the money. Sometimes I get handed a check and be like, really? Y' all really pay this for me to do the thing I love?

[Interviewer]

I appreciate that.

[Ryan Davis]

Appreciate it. He's nothing but God. But at the same time, like, I think I would be depressed, like, if I put my all into this game and people were like, he was mediocre. Yeah, that would kill me. But that didn't happen, right? So I don't. I don't do. I got the respect from the people I respect. You know, I even get like. Like, shout out to Lil Duvall. Me and Lil Duvall don't have a relationship whatsoever. And somebody messaged him complaining about me. They came to my show, they didn't like it. They didn't like the show. Cause they didn't understand what I was doing, which is fine. My comedy is not for everybody, okay? It's a little difficult for people of a certain iq. I get it. So he didn't understand the nuance, and he went to complain to Duvall. Me and Duvall don't have a relationship or anything. Duvall screenshotted it, marked out all the stuff that would let anybody know it was me and everything posted it and was just correcting him about. You don't know what space this comedian is in. He could be working on something. He could get. You don't know where he is in the process of working through this material or whatever. You just might. Didn't get it that day. Or he might just have missed the mark that day. But it's not representative of who that. That man had no reason to defend me and he had no reason to share it to get other people to understand that perspective. It spoke to the type of person that he is. Which also goes back to the whole beefing thing. Comedians defend the comedians all the time.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

And whenever, like, I go through these fits of depression, I always have these moments of brotherhood and everything. Ron G. A comedian out here in California. Out in California. He's from South Carolina. Carolina, boy.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

He'll call and check on me. Sidney Castillo, call and check on me out of nowhere. Cause, you know, that's just who they are as people. And, you know, Clint Collywood, my girl Paris Sashay, my girl Ty Davis, they would check on me in the roughest of times. So I have a community in those times. But when it comes to suicide, I could never do that. There's a certain level of. I think I love myself too much that I couldn't. I can't even stomp on my own foot hard. I can't. I just. I love myself too much. Like, the suicidal thoughts is. Maybe I don't want to be here thinking about what it would be like if I'm not here. Or maybe. You know what I mean? Yeah. Maybe this would be easier if I wasn't here. But to actually try it, I'll never be. There's no way I could do it where it makes sense for me.

[Interviewer]

You lost some weight. You mentioned that. You know how much weight you lost?

[Ryan Davis]

I had lost £100 at one point.

[Interviewer]

A hundred?

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. I've gained so much of it back, but. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

You gonna lose it again?

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. I've already started the process of losing it again.

[Interviewer]

What made you want to lose weight?

[Ryan Davis]

Health. Health. Shout out to AD he owns this company called D Herbs. He helped Steve Harvey lose weight. All this stuff, like he's A.D. the real deal. And he does his weight loss show called I Can okay. And we went to do the show and we were supposed to shoot it, but me and AD Are friends. Said, AD I got high blood pressure. I'm pre diabetic. I got sleep apnea. I went to go get a checkup. Doctor said it's bad. It's all bad. He said, forget the show. Come early so people don't know. I lost 30 pounds before I lost the 60 pounds that they saw on the show. Damn. Like, man. Blood pressure was the lowest it ever been. Didn't have sleep apnea no more. Didn't. Wasn't pre diabetic anymore. It cured every single ailment that I had. David Banner hit me up and was like, put me on. I put him on. He sent me a screenshot. His blood pressure was the lowest it'd ever been in his life. Wow. I was able to help my friends. Nate Jackson came to me. Shout out to Nate Jackson, amazing comedian, by the way. You know, he asked what he was like, I can't do. I'm not gonna do exactly what you did, but I do want to know what. And he was letting me know his progress, and he was doing well with it. Health is wealth, man.

[Interviewer]

Absolutely.

[Ryan Davis]

And to be able to do something for myself and then be able to give that to people I care about is such a big thing. And the one thing that I didn't care for in that experience is everything was going so well for me. And at times, my partner on the show, Kim Kimball, things wouldn't go as well for her. Cause she was working more than I was. And I would see comments where people were like, she not taking it serious. She going, you know, to work and all of this. She should dig in. Like Ryan digging in. Kim Kimball was doing Beyonce's hair for the Cowboy Carter. Everything. Like, the promo shoots, the everything. I don't. Listen. Let me tell y' all something. If you got a chance to do Beyonce's hair and get paid to do.

[Interviewer]

That, you doing it.

[Ryan Davis]

Skip the push ups. Come back. Come back to it. Come back to it. She was working with Beyonce, Zendaya and all of this stuff. People act like she was. Like, she was. Y' all are talking about her missing out on some of the biggest opportunities in the world. The fact that she was able to lose almost 40 pounds and start to get her health in check while accomplishing some of the biggest things that a hair stylist could ever dream of. Like, people looked at it like I was, like, doing way better than her, but she was like, my hero through that process. Kim Kimball is an amazing person.

[Interviewer]

You're from North Carolina and you catch a lot of criticism because you don't believe Michael Jordan is the goat. Yeah, you set LeBron in. How do you go back home?

[Ryan Davis]

Easy, easy. I go in my Jordans.

[Interviewer]

Because Jordan's from Wilmington Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

I wear my Jordans. I be like, yeah, man, you like these hard. They are amazing. Number two.

[Interviewer]

Number two.

[Ryan Davis]

There's number two. Player.

[Interviewer]

Have you ever met LeBron?

[Ryan Davis]

Nope. Nope. Never met LeBron.

[Interviewer]

You ever met Jordan?

[Ryan Davis]

Nope. Nope. The funny part is neither one of them my favorite players.

[Interviewer]

Who? Your favorite player?

[Ryan Davis]

Allen Iverson. Okay. That's why you see these big stud earrings in my. Allen Iverson was a superhero to me.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

Love Allen Iverson. My love for Allen Iverson extends beyond basketball.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

He ain't even in my top 10 all time. Might not even be in my top 15, 20.

[Interviewer]

But he had a bigger influence on the culture.

[Ryan Davis]

You can't tell me nothing about Allen Iverson. You can't tell me nothing about Allen Iverson. You can't tell me nothing about Kyrie Irving. We can move some furniture. You can't tell me nothing about these guys. And these guys ain't in my top. Because my view of the craft is just an objective view. I'm talking about what I'm seeing, right? And what I've learned is whenever you try to have these conversations, it's so emotional for people. There's an attachment to Michael Jordan that people that's unbreakable, that people who aren't Michael Jordan fans can never understand because you had to be there. You had to be there and you had to experience it. And I get it more than they understand people. And it's so funny because I might get laughed at for the comparison because people like, how can you compare those two? Chris Rock to me is larger than life. One of my first exposures to stand up comedy was Bring the Pain. My mom and dad sat us down because they didn't want to miss. And when you were young, you watched whatever your parents watched absolutely bring the pain. Chris Rock was. He's everything stand up to me. Everything stand up to me. I've met him. I've talked to him. I've never told him because I'm terrified every time I talk to him. He's everything stand up to me. There's people who really don't believe he's as great as he is.

[Interviewer]

True.

[Ryan Davis]

I don't care nothing about what they talking about. He is arguably, to me, the best person to ever step on stage and touch a microphone. Wow. That's who he is to me. So I understand what these Jordan fans are dealing with and what they go through. But I also, in the craft, know that Patrice o' Neal might have been better than Chris Rock. Dave Chappelle might be better than Chris Rock. Bill Byrne might be better. Richard Pryor might be better. You see what I'm saying? Yes. I leave room for the idea that someone could say that and I'll have a conversation. Jordan fans don't even leave room for the idea that someone could see it differently. So it's hard to have a conversation with them because they. There's an assumption that whenever you think somebody is the greatest, that you must be a fan. I think Barry Sanders is the greatest running back of all time. Marshall Falk is my favorite running back. My favorites are rarely ever the best the best. So I'm really looking at it from an objective view, and it's hard to combat the way people feel about things. So I have these conversations and I keep that in mind. And I do my best with just giving people the information and different points of views, but it's only so far. You can take people to see a guy make 20 plus all MBAs be in the league 20 years, and half of those years he was in the finals with the skills that you see, the skill set. People like Kevin Durant exist. They didn't exist in Jordan's time.

[Interviewer]

I won't argue.

[Ryan Davis]

You ain't have to deal with that. You ain't have to deal with, like Steph Curry. That didn't exist.

[Interviewer]

No.

[Ryan Davis]

In Jordan's time, he ain't have to deal with that. And some people were like, well, he ain't have to deal. He ain't have to deal with Olajuwon. Well, Jordan didn't either. He retired when he had to deal with. You see what I'm saying?

[Interviewer]

A Nicola Yokin.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. Nicola Yokin. A Giannis.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

Y' all think Karl Malone was something. Imagine if Karl Malone and John Stockton was running the pick and roll from the top of the key and he could move like Giannis going downhill. The game evolves. It evolves. And it's like Jordan is everything that y' all say he is. Yes. That's the thing, too. When you say he's second, they go, oh, you just don't understand. No, he's everything that y' all say he is. I believe you, and I believe with all of that, he's number two.

[Interviewer]

I saved this part for last because I think I read where you said you haven't talked to your mom in four years.

[Ryan Davis]

Yes.

[Interviewer]

Has that changed?

[Ryan Davis]

I hosted Thanksgiving last year and I invited her.

[Interviewer]

She didn't come.

[Ryan Davis]

She came.

[Interviewer]

She came.

[Ryan Davis]

We speak.

[Interviewer]

Do you have a conversation?

[Ryan Davis]

We do. And I'll answer when she calls sometime. She still.

[Interviewer]

What you mean you answer when she calls sometime, right?

[Ryan Davis]

I don't intentionally miss calls. I miss calls a lot.

[Interviewer]

Okay.

[Ryan Davis]

I'm just not.

[Interviewer]

Do you call back when she. You missed her call?

[Ryan Davis]

Do you call back if I see it?

[Interviewer]

How you not gonna see it, Ryan?

[Ryan Davis]

I don't check my missed calls like that. I wish I had my phones on you. I'll show you. You'll laugh. Being an introvert is a real. Like, I'm introverted in a way that it's.

[Interviewer]

You blame your mom for the trauma that you feel sometime in your life. Your mom had four kids by the time she was 19.

[Ryan Davis]

Yes. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

You still blame your mom.

[Ryan Davis]

I blame my dad.

[Interviewer]

You blame your dad, but you blame your dad for how he treated your mom. But you blame your mom for staying.

[Ryan Davis]

He did that to her. Now, how you respond to how you treated is yours, Right? Like, she treated us the way she treat us. Cause of what she went through with him.

[Interviewer]

Mm.

[Ryan Davis]

I have to understand. Cause I had my first child at 27. I was her third at 17. I wasn't ready at 27. I can only imagine three at 17. At 17. That's what I'm saying. She in high.

[Interviewer]

She'd have been a senior in high school. You say she dropped out?

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah, so. And the thing is, I get my intelligence from my mother. My mother is very smart. My mother could have accomplished everything that y' all think like, people who appreciate my mental capacity double that. That's my mama. She was a child. Her life got derailed. And sometimes I wonder if she looks at me and she see the derailment and not the thing she created that she could be proud of.

[Interviewer]

Cause your parents were married for 40 years.

[Ryan Davis]

40. 40 years. 40.

[Interviewer]

Man. At 40 years, you might would just go on and stick it out.

[Ryan Davis]

That's what I thought, too. They were like, we're getting divorced. Yeah, we heard that. And then they really did it. I was like, oh, shoot. This is crazy. Hold on.

[Interviewer]

You help your mom get on a dating app.

[Ryan Davis]

That's one part of my joke that's not true. It's not. So my mom doesn't. My mom doesn't date. Cause she was a wife her whole life.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. She don't even know what it's like to date.

[Ryan Davis]

She don't even. She's never dated as an adult ever. She doesn't know what that is. You know what I mean? And I use that joke to really put into perspective how close we are in age. If I was to go on a dating app, I could very well See my mother on there. Because we're that close in age. And I would not. My filter wouldn't be. I wouldn't filter her age out of my.

[Interviewer]

Wow.

[Ryan Davis]

Out of my date.

[Interviewer]

Now, your dad now has a child at 60. He's remarried.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. Yeah. He. He be having me laughing.

[Interviewer]

He's like, so when you find out, like, damn, I got a brother that's.

[Ryan Davis]

Younger than my kids.

[Interviewer]

That I was gonna say. I'm old enough to be. So my kid's uncle is younger than them.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. You know what I mean? I don't even introduce him as that. I like, hey, this my brother. I was like, this your Uncle Keith, Uncle Adrian, Uncle Ty. This is Demetrius. Yeah. So, like, it's not. Yeah. I don't even want them to even wrap their mind around, like, the way I want them to respect my older siblings. This is your peer. Just. Cause he has the same parent as me. Don't view him like you view them. That's not the same thing. Cause y' all are more mature than this nigga. Right? If anything, he need to be learning from y'. All.

[Interviewer]

Right?

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. I'm not doing that. Yeah. So. But my dad. See, this is my mother and my father's relationship. You know what's the craziest part about it? What's that I can go back. Cause I talk. Because when something doesn't work, you think about how bad it is and how it ended, man. You know, how hard it was to beat my parents and, like, Taboo, Spades, anything. They could read each other's binds. 40 years.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. For sure.

[Ryan Davis]

A lot of love there. I've never. I've never seen. They could finish each other's sentences. They were locked. And I remember how it ended. But I don't forget about all the love and all the good. I had a great. I'm not me without them. But I want. I talk about the bad because I want people who are going through it to understand how this affects children. And I want my mom. I want my mother. Even if she watches this and she gets upset and she's like, see, he talking about it again. Come get me. I need you. I want you in my life. I have not given up on us having a relationship. But I'm not him. What he did to you and how he. How he's made you feel. I know I look just like him, but it's just. Just come be my mother. Just come be my mother and it'll. I promise I'll put everything behind us. I really don't hold no Ill will. I understand your circumstances, but in order for you to have the relationship with your children and your grandchildren that I know you want and you deserve to have, and we all. The relationship all of us deserve to have, you gotta let it go. You gotta let it go so we can have each other.

[Interviewer]

Are you. Are all of you. Are you and your brothers close?

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah, very, very.

[Interviewer]

Cause you like, you smack dab in the middle. So I'm assuming there's not a whole lot of. It's not like there's 15, 20 years age gap between you guys.

[Ryan Davis]

But listen, the first five, here's the ages. So it's. It is. Let me see. I'm 38, so Keith, 42. 39. 39, 38, 37.

[Interviewer]

Wow. So your mom probably had the first.

[Ryan Davis]

Kid at like 13, 14, 13. Yeah. Good God, buddy. Ma. No, I know. I get it. I'm. I'm past all of it. Just come. Just come be my mama. That's all. I just come be.

[Interviewer]

Have you had that conversation with her? Have you ever said, have you ever sat down and had a conversation with your mom?

[Ryan Davis]

It's hard. It's hard because it's hard to accept how your pain affected your children. You know what I mean? Because she was a child herself.

[Interviewer]

Right?

[Ryan Davis]

Exactly. It's hard to. So when I talk about, it's the defensiveness, you know, you have to hear, what did I say? I said that our relationship is estranged and it's because of the things she dealt with. And I understand she was just a kid and everything and you have to let it go. And a lot of times her response to that is, so I was a bad mom.

[Interviewer]

I didn't say you was a bad mom.

[Ryan Davis]

That's why it's hard to have the conversation. Because there's a place she has to get to within conflict resolution. She just ain't got there because her mind is what it was. They say that you stop some parts of your development once you had children. So sometimes I'm Talking to the 13 year old version of my mom and in order to fix it, I'mma have to get her past that. But it breaks my heart sometimes when I'm trying and it's not working. So I ghost when it gets hard, you know? Ooh, I can't stand you, bro.

[Interviewer]

Fix that. Cause there's gonna be a day you're not gonna have her.

[Ryan Davis]

I know.

[Interviewer]

And you're gonna wish you had.

[Ryan Davis]

I know. Don't.

[Interviewer]

Tomorrow ain't promised. Ain't nobody. He did not. Hey. Cause we all got an appointment that we can't reschedule. We just don't know when it is.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Don't make that mistake, man. Go make things right with your mom. Ryan Davis.

[Ryan Davis]

Appreciate you, brother. 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 be grinding all my life, Look?

[Interviewer]

All my life, been grinding all my life?

[Ryan Davis]

Sacrifice, hustle, pay the price?

[Interviewer]

Want to slice, not to roll a dice?

[Ryan Davis]

That's why all my life I've been grinding all my life.