Grits and Eggs Podcast

Episode 107: “Don’t Be Diddy”
Host: Deante’ Kyle
Date: December 10, 2025

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode brings Deante’ Kyle and his co-host Big Cat back after a whirlwind of live shows, media appearances, and community events, launching into a raw and unfiltered discussion of their travels, pop culture, the culture of competition in Black America, and, most notably, a scathing analysis of the recent Diddy documentary and its revelations about industry exploitation and manipulation. The pod also explores deeper topics of materialism, community, and generational struggle in Black communities, before ending with listener questions that touch on personal growth, podcasting, and dealing with family betrayal and homelessness.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Brooklyn Recap and Live Shows

Timestamps: 00:50 – 06:18

• The crew reminisces about their recent show in Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Art House and the special energy of the local crowd compared to other cities.
• They discuss the unique “tough love” of New York audiences:
  • “Brooklyn is the one, bro.” – Deante’ Kyle (02:46)
  • “The meet and greet is like no giddiness... They not gon’—They’ll show you love, but it’s not gonna be a whole lot of woo!” – Deante’ Kyle (03:18)
• Shoutouts to venues and staff for helping them pivot after a scheduled venue almost fell through due to legal and monetary disputes.
• They express gratitude for their growing community, their Patreon supporters, and memorable career moments, such as seeing themselves on a Times Square billboard and attending the Route 100 Celebration among Black celebrities.

2. The Diddy Exposé and Culture of Exploitation

Timestamps: 12:25 – 29:00

• The central segment dissects the recent documentary on Diddy (Sean Combs), pivoting to an unflinching critique of Diddy’s career, business tactics, and personal failings.
• Main takeaways:
  • Diddy’s pattern of taking things (and women) from others, his inability to allow anyone to become bigger than him, and his predatory contracts.
  • Diddy’s creative vision is acknowledged, but his predatory exploitation far outweighs his accolades:

    “He took the knowledge that he learned from them about fucking up the artist. He took it to a whole nother level.” – Deante’ Kyle (14:51)

  • The manipulation of artists via exploitative contracts:

    “He put shit in the contracts that said, you will be famous. You won’t make no money.” – Deante’ Kyle (15:27)

  • A repeated cycle of benefiting from tragedy:

    “Every time somebody died, he came up.” – Deante’ Kyle (17:46)

• Examples of Diddy’s behavior as described in the documentary include sexual misconduct, manipulation, obsession with fame and power, and an unhealthy fixation with street credibility.
• The conversation sharply critiques not only Diddy, but the music industry at large for its long legacy of predatory practices:

  “The music industry in and of itself has to be predatory.” – Deante’ Kyle (14:51)

• The episode questions the culture of competition over community, and how individual enrichment—glorified in both criminal and corporate American systems—hurts Black communities.

3. Materialism, Community, and Capitalism

Timestamps: 29:00 – 62:50

• The discussion expands into a philosophical debate about materialism versus assets, and competition versus community:

  “We only care about financial freedom. That’s our idea of freedom, is finance…This is where we get into a place where we start putting competition over community.” – Deante’ Kyle (44:53)

• Using humor, the crew imagines what they’d do with a trillion dollars (“going silly with the trilly”), which satirically underscores the episode’s critique of American hypercapitalism and the allure of immense personal wealth.
• Deante’ warns against wealth as a cure for insecurity, emphasizing the emptiness of mere material gain without assets or generational wealth:

  “Just because you can afford it doesn’t mean it’s not a scam.” – Deante’ Kyle (55:05)

• Powerful reflection on how feelings of inferiority or insecurity are exploited by companies via over-consumption:

  “They selling to your internal…they selling to how you feel about yourself when you downtrodden.” – Deante’ Kyle (52:53)

• They call for rooting economic power in true ownership, communal wealth, and self-esteem grounded in internal worth—not how others see you.

4. Listener Q&A and Personal Advice

Timestamps: 63:09 – 87:54

Caller Maya:

• Thanks hosts for relationship advice; shares synchronicity between her life and the podcast topics.

  “Y’all always, like…talking about something that I’ve already had a conversation with my girlfriends…It’s the telepathy.” – Caller Maya (63:42)

• Maya asks for advice on launching her own podcast:
  • The hosts encourage action and iteration over overthinking:

    “Don’t have an idea and go. Once you start doing the show, once you’re a practitioner, you’ll understand what your practice is.” – Deante’ Kyle (66:55)

  • Start with short episodes (20–30 min), talk about what matters to you, and build from there.
  • “You gotta start and THEN figure it out.”
• Other listener letters tackle issues of creative burnout, fighting outrage cycles on YouTube, and discouragement when educational videos don’t perform as well as “outrage” content.
  • Deante’ and Big Cat emphasize:

    “If you put them people that do watch in a room…that’s a room.” – Deante’ Kyle (75:38)
    “Don’t let the YouTube videos get you bummed out, man.” (75:54)

• The most poignant letter comes from a young woman struggling with “mommy issues and homelessness” after being kicked out by her mother under manipulative circumstances:

  “Your mother’s a weird ass…How you go from child to tenant?” – Deante’ Kyle (79:24)

  • The crew offers compassion, practical help (sharing her GoFundMe, offering resources to move to a more affordable state), and affirms:

    “It’s not you. It’s her. We gonna get you away from her…Don’t look back.” – Deante’ Kyle (81:56)

  • The segment highlights the recurring battle between personal responsibility and the generational patterns set by family and community.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Right artist, wrong song.” – Big Cat, on New York crowds (01:15)
• “Brooklyn is the one, bro. I like that.” – Deante’ Kyle (02:46)
• “I respect it…You gotta earn the love.” – Deante’ Kyle on NY audience (03:34)
• “He [Diddy] don’t want nobody to be bigger than him and he willing to take your life. He willing to take your girl.” – Deante’ Kyle (13:03)
• “He’s just a diabolical nigga. Like when it comes to the…freak offs and the sex shit too, it’s just like…he a foul ass mama too.” – Deante’ Kyle (22:47; 23:55)
• “Competition over community…he see you with a girl, he want the girl. It’s more important to him to take something from somebody than to build with somebody.” – Deante’ Kyle (45:45)
• “You was gonna be great either way it went. It may have took you a little longer because you was born poor.” – Deante’ Kyle (47:58)
• “They selling to how you feel about yourself when you downtrodden. When you ain’t got—and you get—you gotta show you got it.” – Deante’ Kyle (52:53)
• “Just because you can afford it doesn’t mean it’s not a scam.” – Deante’ Kyle (55:05)
• “It’s your show. You talk about what you want to talk about…you gotta start and THEN figure it out.” – Deante’ Kyle (70:01)
• “If you put them people that do watch in a room…that’s a room.” (75:38)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Starting up/Brooklyn recap: 00:50 – 06:18
• Diddy documentary & industry exploitation: 12:25 – 29:00
• Materialism vs. assets, community reflection: 29:00 – 62:50
• Listener Q&A and life advice: 63:09 – 87:54
• Closing thoughts & music outro: 88:06 – end

Tone & Style

Conversational, humorous, raw, and at times unflinchingly honest, the hosts employ storytelling, irreverent humor, and serious social critique, seamlessly moving between jokes about “going silly with the trilly” and hard truths about the music industry, family betrayal, and building community. Their language is unfiltered and direct, maintaining a vibe that’s both welcoming and challenging to listeners.

Summary

Episode 107, “Don’t Be Diddy,” is a quintessential Grits and Eggs episode: simultaneously cutting, hilarious, and deeply invested in Black survival and excellence. Deante’ and crew take listeners through the reality of being Black entertainers navigating a culture obsessed with individual fame and material success—a reality shaped by people like Diddy and the structures that enable them. Yet amid the critique and laughter, the episode is firmly rooted in love for the community, offering both philosophy and practical help, whether in boosting a listener’s confidence to start a podcast or supporting a cousin through homelessness. At the heart: choose assets over looks, community over competition, and never forget—just because you can afford it, doesn’t mean it’s not a scam.