Best of 2024- BEST MOMENTS - Wiz Khalifa, Dontay Banks & Kevin Freeman, The Cast of Harlem, Dj Envy & Gia Casey, Recorded 2025.

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Breakfast Club – Best of 2024: Best Moments Featuring Wiz Khalifa, Dontay Banks & Kevin Freeman, The Cast of Harlem, DJ Envy & Gia Casey

Release Date: April 18, 2025

Host/Author: iHeartPodcasts

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Introduction

In the "Best of 2024" episode of The Breakfast Club, hosted by DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, and Charlamagne Tha God, listeners are treated to a compilation of the show's most memorable moments from the past year. This episode features insightful conversations and impactful interviews with prominent figures such as Wiz Khalifa, Dontay Banks & Kevin Freeman, the cast of Harlem, and Gia Casey. Recorded in 2025, this special edition captures the essence of the show's dynamic discussions, offering both entertainment and profound insights.

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Interview with Wiz Khalifa

Discussion Highlights: Wiz Khalifa delves into his latest projects, personal growth, and his entrepreneurial ventures. He discusses his new album, "Cushion Orange Juice 2," highlighting its nostalgic 90s G-Funk sound and the intentional revival of his original vibe to resonate with longtime fans while attracting new listeners.

Notable Quotes:

• Wiz Khalifa: "I like the way movies look when I'm stoned. I like playing with my kids when I'm stoned. I just love being high." [24:22]
• Wiz Khalifa: "It's bigger than just the music. It's about the experience, the memories that people create with it." [32:00]

Key Topics:

• Album Release: Wiz explains the "waterfall method" used in releasing songs to gauge listener response and refine the final album.
• Entrepreneurial Ventures: He shares insights into his involvement with Liquid Death and other business endeavors, emphasizing the importance of innovation and staying current.
• Personal Growth: Wiz reflects on his journey as a father, balancing his career with family life, and how it has influenced his music and business decisions.
• Mental Health: He touches upon the therapeutic aspects of music and how expressing personal struggles through his art has been beneficial.

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Conversation with Dontay Banks & Kevin Freeman

Discussion Highlights: This segment centers on the legal battle surrounding Little Dirk (Dontay Banks), providing listeners with a firsthand account of his fight against the government. Dontay Banks shares his experiences, the challenges he faces, and the unwavering support from his family and community.

Notable Quotes:

• Dontay Banks: "The support is 100%, and I love that about him because that tells you what kind of person he is." [95:14]
• Kevin Freeman: "We're committed to bringing Dirk's vision to life through Neighborhood Heroes." [96:42]

Key Topics:

• Legal Struggles: Dontay discusses the complexities of his case, the strategies employed by his legal team, and the importance of due process.
• Community Support: He highlights the overwhelming support from his community and the role of Neighborhood Heroes in advocating for justice and empowerment.
• Faith and Resilience: Dontay speaks about the role of his faith in coping with adversity and maintaining hope throughout his legal battles.
• Organizational Impact: Kevin Freeman outlines the mission of Neighborhood Heroes, focusing on neighborhood prosperity, emerging leaders, and health and wellness initiatives.

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Cast of Harlem Segment

Discussion Highlights: The cast of Harlem shares their experiences working on the show, the challenges of its final season, and their personal growth throughout the production. They reflect on the decision to conclude the series on a high note and express hopes for future projects, including a potential movie adaptation.

Notable Quotes:

• Jenny Garth: "Playing Quinn gave me a space to reflect on my own postpartum depression journey." [11:06]
• Charlamagne Tha God: "This is a happy goodbye. We closed the book at the right time." [22:43]

Key Topics:

• Final Season Decisions: The cast discusses Amazon Prime's decision to end Harlem after the final season, their reactions, and the emotional impact of wrapping up beloved storylines.
• Personal Stories Mirrored in the Show: Jenny Garth shares how portraying Quinn's struggles with depression helped her navigate her own postpartum depression, emphasizing the therapeutic impact of acting.
• Balancing Personal and Professional Lives: The cast reflects on managing their careers alongside personal milestones such as engagements, proposals, and business ventures.
• Future Endeavors: They express excitement about potential movie projects and continue to support each other as a close-knit family.

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Interview with Gia Casey on "Real Life, Real Family"

Discussion Highlights: Gia Casey, author of the bestselling book Real Life, Real Family: A Guide to Raising Empowered Children, joins the panel to discuss her approach to parenting, the inspiration behind her book, and the importance of building strong family foundations.

Notable Quotes:

• Gia Casey: "Family is the nucleus where we teach children their sense of belonging and identity." [66:23]
• Gia Casey: "We wrote the book alongside a psychologist to ensure our parenting strategies are both authentic and psychologically sound." [86:22]

Key Topics:

• Book Inspiration: Gia explains how her personal experiences as a parent inspired her to create a comprehensive guide aimed at fostering empowered and resilient children.
• Parenting Styles: She contrasts her approach with DJ Envy's more authoritative style, emphasizing open communication and understanding.
• Facing Modern Challenges: Gia discusses how to navigate today's digital landscape, teaching children about safety, self-worth, and responsible behavior.
• Community and Support: Highlighting the role of community, Gia stresses the importance of a support system in raising well-rounded individuals.

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Featured Segments and Highlights

Deepfake Pornography Awareness: Interspersed throughout the episode are brief segments promoting the new podcast Levittown from iHeartPodcasts, Bloomberg, and Kaleidoscope. This podcast tackles the alarming rise of deepfake pornography and the efforts to combat it, emphasizing the technological and legal battles involved.

Notable Quotes:

• Jenny Garth: "Reporting the series took us through the darkest corners of the Internet and to the front lines of a global battle against deepfake pornography." [31:10]
• Charlamagne Tha God: "It's a story about a technology that's moving faster than the law and about vigilantes trying to stem the tide." [32:00]

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Community and Social Impact

Support for Young Artists and Community Leaders: The episode also features a discussion with Dante Banks and Kevin Freeman regarding their nonprofit, Neighborhood Heroes, which aims to empower youth and prevent involvement in criminal activities. They share Dirk Banks' vision and the ongoing efforts to support his legal case.

Notable Quotes:

• Tyler Lepley: "We're trying to bring a real look into what Dirk is really facing and ensure he gets a fair chance in court." [96:52]
• Kevin Freeman: "Neighborhood Heroes is committed to fostering neighborhood prosperity and supporting emerging leaders." [96:42]

Key Topics:

• Empowerment Through Education: Emphasis on providing resources and opportunities for youth to engage in positive activities.
• Legal Advocacy: Discussing the importance of due process and fair treatment within the justice system.
• Faith and Community Support: How faith and community backing play a crucial role in overcoming legal and personal challenges.

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Conclusion

The "Best of 2024" episode of The Breakfast Club encapsulates a year of meaningful conversations and influential discussions. From Wiz Khalifa's artistic evolution and entrepreneurial insights to the heartfelt stories of Dirk Banks and the Harlem cast's final chapter, the episode delivers a blend of entertainment and profound life lessons. Gia Casey's contributions on empowered parenting further enrich the dialogue, making this compilation a valuable listen for both dedicated fans and newcomers seeking inspiration and connection.

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Notable Quotes Overview:

• Jenny Garth: "Family is the foundation that empowers our children to thrive in a world that often silences their voices." [67:35]
• Charlamagne Tha God: "We are raising a generation that knows their worth and stands up for what is right." [76:36]
• DJ Envy: "Supporting each other through thick and thin is what makes our community strong." [84:25]
• Gia Casey: "Transparent communication with our children fosters trust and resilience." [86:21]

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This episode serves as a testament to The Breakfast Club's commitment to addressing relevant social issues, celebrating cultural milestones, and fostering meaningful conversations that resonate with a diverse audience.

Transcript

[Jenny Garth]

This is Jenny Garth from 9021. OMG. Aging is a natural process, as we all know, and we at the deep dive, we embrace it. But I will tell you one thing about aging that I don't care for. It's the symptoms that stem from changing hormones. Especially as you get closer to perimenopause and menopause. That's why, listeners, I want to tell you about Happy Mammoth's Hormone Harmony. It's all over social media. Happy Mammoth, the company that created Hormone Harmony, uses science backed ingredients that have been proven to work for women. Hormone Harmony is perfect for those menopause symptoms that put a woman's life on hold. Hot flashes, night sweats, racing thoughts, low moods, poor sleep gas, no desire to be in bed next to someone, if you know what I mean. Yeah, Hormone Harmony can help with all of these things. I've noticed a little extra pep in my step since I started taking the Hormone Harmony supplement and I love feeling more energetic. For a limited time, you can get 15% off on your entire first order@happy mammoth.com. just use the code. Garth at checkout in 2020, a group of young women found themselves in an AI fueled nightmare. Someone was posting photos. It was just me naked.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, not me, but me with someone else's body part.

[Jenny Garth]

This is Levittown, a new podcast from iHeart podcasts Bloomberg and Kaleidoscope about the rise of deep fake pornography and the battle to stop it. Listen to Levittown on Bloomberg's Big Take podcast. Find it on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[DJ Envy]

Good morning, usa.

[Jenny Garth]

Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo.

[Jess Hilarious]

Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo.

[DJ Envy]

Just hilarious.

[Jenny Garth]

Good morning.

[DJ Envy]

And currently we are on vacation, man.

[Jess Hilarious]

Totally disconnected. Yes, we not even. You think you're listening to us, but we not.

[DJ Envy]

Well, we are not. We're here in spirit.

[Jess Hilarious]

Yeah, yeah, we're on vacation.

[DJ Envy]

So we're playing the best donkeys, the best interviews, you guys, which is the best callers, and some of the best moments the Breakfast Club has had in the last couple of months. So sit back, relax, enjoy, and have fun.

[Jess Hilarious]

Keep it locked.

[DJ Envy]

Red is going to be running the boards. It's the Breakfast Club. Come on.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I'm darling. I'm darling.

[Jenny Garth]

Hey, what you doing, man?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I'm darling.

[Jenny Garth]

I'm calling you.

[Jess Hilarious]

This is your time to get it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Off your chest, whether you're Mad or blessed. 800-585-1051.

[Jess Hilarious]

We want to hear from you on the Breakfast Club.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Hello?

[Jess Hilarious]

Who's this?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You're. What's up, Envy?

[DJ Envy]

What's up, Trav?

[Jess Hilarious]

Jazz. What's up, baby?

[Grace Byers]

What's up, boo?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What's up, star?

[Tyler Lepley]

How are you?

[Jess Hilarious]

Peace. What up, sis? How you now doing good. Just checking on my bro and checking on my girl. See how y'all doing. We are blessed, black and highly favored. My brother. My brother. Who you getting into this weekend? Listen, let me tell you, all right? You see how this.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I just gotta skate by that. And I just keep talking. You gotta just skate by it.

[Jenny Garth]

I'm sorry.

[Jess Hilarious]

Go ahead. So when y'all use the public restroom, Right? Do y'all put y'all bare butt cheeks on the public toilet? Hell, no.

[DJ Envy]

No, sir. I don't think anybody does.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, I.

[Jess Hilarious]

Okay. I had to stop talking to this guy because he be out here, bare button public toilet seats. And he was trying to tell me that it is actually sanitary to not put the liners down on toilet seats. You know what's so crazy? I just called and I was just talking to B and he just answered the phone. He said he heard the same thing. That is sanitary. Wide or like they a bottom? Yeah. You're gonna get a bump on your butt. Don't sit on public toilet seats, please, with your bare butt.

[DJ Envy]

That's nasty.

[Jess Hilarious]

Yeah. The only way it would be unsanitary is if you're using the same liner as somebody. Now, that's nasty. Imagine seeing the liner already on the toilet and you sit on the liner.

[Jenny Garth]

And you like, thank you, God. Like what?

[Tyler Lepley]

But.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

All right, y'all, y'all have a good weekend. Good Friday.

[Jess Hilarious]

It's freaky, Freaky Friday. Make sure y'all do something freaky today. You know, I asked you who you was getting into.

[Jenny Garth]

Mind your business, Char.

[DJ Envy]

Goodbye. Hello, who's this?

[Jess Hilarious]

Good morning, DJ Envy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Charlamagne.

[Jenny Garth]

The Guy. Beautiful.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Chancellor.

[Jess Hilarious]

Peace King.

[Jenny Garth]

Good morning.

[DJ Envy]

Get it off your chest.

[Jenny Garth]

All right.

[Jess Hilarious]

I gotta get off my chest.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Donna Rollins is clearly one of the funniest people on the planet because he's doing it for this long at the highest level. For you to come at the Breakfast Club and complain that people aren't taking you seriously because of them, it's a little whack.

[Tyler Lepley]

I agree.

[Jenny Garth]

It's disingenuous.

[Jess Hilarious]

You, on one interview, you said you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Had a book and brought out a pamphlet.

[Jess Hilarious]

He was being funny. He was being funny. But I. I get it. But you hear Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart.

[Tyler Lepley]

When they speak in interviews, they're funny.

[Jess Hilarious]

But you also have, like, real conversations with them.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It's always a joke, you know what I'm saying? But, hey, they flew to Donna Rollins. You know, you one of the greatest.

[Jenny Garth]

To ever do it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Stop crying. Love to the Breakfast Club.

[Tyler Lepley]

Y'all have a good morning.

[Jess Hilarious]

Peace, King. And that's really what it boils down to. You want to. You are great at what you do, Donnell.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He is.

[Jess Hilarious]

Stop crying.

[DJ Envy]

Get it off your chest. 800-585-1051. If you need to vent, phone lines are wide open. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning, the Breakfast Club.

[Jess Hilarious]

I'm D. I'm D. Hey, what you doing, man?

[Jenny Garth]

I'm D. Calling, yo.

[Jess Hilarious]

This is your time to get it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Off your chest, whether you're mad or blessed. 800-585-1051.

[Jenny Garth]

We want to hear from you on the Breakfast.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Hello?

[DJ Envy]

Who's this?

[Jess Hilarious]

Good morning. This is James calling from North Carolina.

[DJ Envy]

Hey, James. What's up, brother?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Good morning, everybody. Good morning.

[Jenny Garth]

What's wrong?

[Jess Hilarious]

Just love on your kids. Oh, God. We can't hear you, brother.

[Jenny Garth]

You said, just love on your kids, James.

[DJ Envy]

James recently found a text message from his son. And the text message, his son was saying that he wanted to off himself.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, his mom said something about he.

[Jess Hilarious]

Doesn'T want to be a burden, but he's not.

[DJ Envy]

How old is your son, brother?

[Jess Hilarious]

He's 17. Have you taken. Have you took him. Took him to talk. To. Talk to anybody yet, brother? No, I'm gonna go up there today. I was gonna go Sunday to cut his hair and go see that in Captain America movie. I think I'm gonna go today next. You definitely should do that. Yeah, and y'all should go to. Y'all should go to some family counseling, man. Just have him sit down and talk.

[DJ Envy]

To somebody sooner than later, brother.

[Jess Hilarious]

Absolutely. Oh, God, man. I got out of the army after he.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He was born. I wanted to be around, man.

[DJ Envy]

No, absolutely.

[Jess Hilarious]

Where you calling from?

[DJ Envy]

Carolinas. He said, what part?

[Jess Hilarious]

North or South Carolina? I'm gonna put you on hold, man. I'm gonna get you in touch with somebody, man, that you. That you probably can talk to.

[DJ Envy]

Hold on, brother.

[Jess Hilarious]

I'll give you an email to a good psychiatrist I know. Okay, hold on, hold on.

[DJ Envy]

You know, the sad thing is, you know, me and my wife, we do a podcast, Casey Crew podcast, where we take emails, and in the last two weeks, we got four emails from parents saying the same exact thing. You know, like, you know, that they've been talking to their kids recently, and They've been seeing a change in their kids, and their kids have been talking about, you know, suicide. And these are the ages from 8 to 12. And we tell everybody, as a parent, like, my father went through my stuff just to make sure if you see any change, it's not prying. You're the mom, you're the dad. Go through the text messages, go through emails, go through your kids stuff. You want to make sure that you're on top of it. And like Charlemagne always said, get the necessary help. Talk to a therapist. Get help. Don't try to do it on your own because you're not professionally trained for this. Get help.

[Jess Hilarious]

And actually be happy that your kid is expressing that they have an issue, you know? Cause some kids don't express that they have an issue. They just keep it to themselves, and then they actually end up completing suicide.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's right.

[Jess Hilarious]

So be happy that they're actually telling you, because now, you know, that's a cry for help. So go get them some help.

[DJ Envy]

Absolutely. 800-585-1051. If you need to vent, call us up right now. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning, the Breakfast Club. Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy. Jess. Hilarious. Charlemagne, the guy. We are the Breakfast Club. We got some special guests in the building. Yes, indeed, we have the cast of Harlem. Did I say your name? Jerry Johnson and Tyler Lepley.

[Tyler Lepley]

Welcome.

[DJ Envy]

How y'all feeling this morning?

[Jenny Garth]

Phenomenal. Amazing. Feels so good.

[Jess Hilarious]

How many of y'all live in la? I want to make sure everybody house is good.

[Jenny Garth]

Stuff like that. Thank you.

[DJ Envy]

Okay, okay, let's get right into it. Harlem is back January 23rd on Amazon Prime. But sadly, they say this is the last season. Why so many people watch it. So many people are into it. How do they just do it like that?

[Grace Byers]

Ask Amazon prime or Universal.

[Jenny Garth]

We're really, really sad, and I think, like, everybody's super sad because we had so much story to tell. And so, like, if we did have more seasons, this would have. The stories would have been so good. But they did such an amazing job truncating it, bringing it down into this final season. I think everybody's gonna be happy, and hopefully we get a movie. Okay. Period movie.

[DJ Envy]

Did y'all know it was gonna be the final season when y'all started taping? Did you know that already or did y'all find out halfway through?

[Jenny Garth]

No, not halfway through. I think I found out a little late, but sometimes I'm in my own world. But I found out the day of the reading as we Were reading it now going into knowing that it was the last season. Are you saying when we were reading it? No, before. Before I knew, but I hadn't read the last two. I thought they were saving the last two episodes, so I didn't know, you know? And then as we were reading it, I was like, oh, no, this is it.

[Jess Hilarious]

Yeah. Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

But y'all been doing a lot on the side as well. Y'all been engaged. I know y'all been having babies. Y'all been putting out music, living children's books. Like y'all been doing a lot.

[Jenny Garth]

Yes, it's true. It's true. Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

So how were y'all doing all of that on the side as well as taping your show?

[Jenny Garth]

You know what's interesting is that as we've been taping the show, because we started. What year did we start?

[Jess Hilarious]

2020.

[Jenny Garth]

Okay, 2020. And then we got, like, maybe three episodes in. Then Covid happened, Then we took a break. Then we came back. Then we had a year off. Then we went through the strike and all these different things. But during the duration of all these things, we were experiencing life. We were having all kinds of life changes and having conversations in between, because not only are we, you know, friends on the show, we're like sisters in real life, but also with Tracy, and then same with Tyler. Like, that's our brother. That's our family. But each one of us were experiencing things that, you know, as Tracy spoke to us, she was like, what do you think about this? And what do you think about that? And I know you're on this journey, and, you know, do you mind if I implement this and all of that? So. So much of it is actually mirrored in the show of what we were experiencing. So it kind of made it seamless in that way. And, you know, you have a specific story about that, but, yeah, just everything, it just. It feels like it was a part of our actual real lives.

[DJ Envy]

So what's your story with that?

[Jenny Garth]

No, so. So we were talking about this, but you know how Quinn goes through her depression journey in season two. I did a lot of research on depression because it wasn't something I was personally dealing with at the time, but I wanted to reflect it in a very honest way. So went through that, did that research, and then I had the baby, and then I was diagnosed with severe postpartum depression. So even when I came on the show the last time, I was in the depths of that. Didn't really realize the impact and how that affected me until I started to kind of Climb out of that. Right. Going through that journey with Quinn, it gave me a space and a reflect. I call it my help journal. Like a reflective journal to look back on and say, oh, like, this was. This was the way in which it was showing up for Quinn. I didn't realize that postpartum depression can show up as fatigue, as overwhelm. We know about the sadness. We know about all that stuff, but these are some of the ways the mood swings didn't know that that was a part of those things. And so being able to play that and reflect that in Quinn gave me almost like a map that I could go, okay, Grace, like, this is how you can navigate this.

[DJ Envy]

Did work help or hurt?

[Jess Hilarious]

Did it make it worse?

[Jenny Garth]

No, it helped because it actually gave me an enlightenment. Right? Like, oh, this is what it could look like this. What? And so even though I was. I was doing it for Quinn, you know, I felt it on a. On a different nuanced level when I was actually going through it myself.

[DJ Envy]

Got you.

[Jenny Garth]

How are y'all juggling the schedules, though, like, now? Because it's still. It is. It's like y'all personally flourishing in business. Y'all flourishing. How can y'all? Because I know that the schedules. I mean, I know y'all said it's been like, two years since y'all did this, but now y'all all got individually, a lot going on, too. How can y'all still, like, how y'all juggling schedules? We all start with Shanique on that one because she just got a single. You know, I thrive when I'm busy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, I really do.

[Jenny Garth]

I like the structure of figuring out my schedule. I become more detail oriented when I have a lot of things to focus on. And I was very intentional about dropping Feel My Love, my new single after ending season two with a engagement or proposal. And so I wanted to, like, balance that and have that come out at the same time as the show because I knew a lot of Harlem fans would be paying attention, but also just to, like, you know, maybe troll a little bit or make them question whether Angie would actually end up in this relationship. Because we don't get a yes or a no at the end of the season two.

[Grace Byers]

Okay.

[Jenny Garth]

Strategy.

[Jess Hilarious]

It can be anything.

[Jenny Garth]

You know, we trying to have a rollout.

[Jess Hilarious]

Megan, you referred to them as your sisters and your brothers. Does that happen naturally? Because a lot of times, you know, people want to keep things business, so does that just happen naturally? This bond?

[Jenny Garth]

It happened completely organically, like, from the beginning, from day one. If I start with Shaniqua. Like, we were on FaceTime a few years prior, and I had never met her before. And we just spoke and we talked about, like, you know what? One day we're gonna do a show together, and we touched and agreed on the camera of the FaceTime. And then literally, years later, here we are both walking in, we're both testing, and we're in the bathroom, and she's like, do you remember me? I was like, from where? And she told me, and I was like, wait, what? And then we ended up praying and crying in the bathroom. And, you know, there's that. And then literally with Tyler, it was just immediate. Like, just family and just easy and organic. Same thing with Jerry. It was like, oh, like, I've known her forever. Like, you know. And then with Grace, I called her. I was like, girl, I'm get. She, like, don't tell me you get ready to come in for Camille. We were friends. Yeah. Like, for years before that. So that was exciting. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jess Hilarious]

Is that the norm on sex?

[Jenny Garth]

No, it isn't always like that.

[Jess Hilarious]

Okay.

[Jenny Garth]

And then you also, you know, when it. When it's going to be for women. You just never know what you're going to get. You hope that that is the experience. But, you know, and we had talked about this a few years prior, saying how it would be great if we got an opportunity to work on a show together. So when I called her and she was like, I can't believe I'm so excited. It was like, you just knew that God was in it. And I have to say, for me, this has been the best professional experience that I've had in my entire career.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Wow.

[Jenny Garth]

You know. You know, in a way, it's the end of a chapter, but it's exciting because the way that we end the chapter, we're really, really proud of. And I think the audience is going to get everything that they want to get. But also, I think that we got what we want to get outside of having a movie additionally. But. But it's better, I think, to. To move this way where it's. You know, you didn't stay for too long, but you gave everyone exactly what they wanted. And I want to give Megan her props, too, because she was a great leader in setting the culture of our set. And everybody who has come and guest starred, they've had a really great time. But we learned from Megan, from Grace. Like, it truly is a fun time. But also, we have decided. We decided early on that we were gonna stick together throughout this situation. So Nobody could say, well, you know, this person was a difficult one, or this person was a this one or this. Because if there was a problem, we all have the problem. If there was, we all have it. And we're on the zoom calls or whatever. And you won't know where the source is because we didn't want it to be like somebody was pinpointed or somebody is.

[DJ Envy]

This one's personal.

[Jenny Garth]

We promised each other that if somebody says something to one of us about the other one, we not just gonna take it at face value. We coming to the source and saying, hey, did this really happen?

[Jess Hilarious]

That's my mouth.

[Jenny Garth]

People do like to, like, separate women and pin women against each other. And so I think it was really important for us to. And this is my second show. I mean, I was, like, six months out of grad school, and I booked this show, and first time being the lead in something, and then to get to do it like this, which is, for me, my manifestation, and to be like, oh, wait, no, actually, for me, this can be the norm of the experience, and y'all set the tone for that. So I thank you for being.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

All right.

[DJ Envy]

We have more with the cast of Harlem here. Megan Good, Tyler Lepley, Grace Byers, Shaniqua Shanda, and Jerry Johnson. When we come back, it's the Breakfast Club. Good morning.

[Jess Hilarious]

Morning, everybody.

[DJ Envy]

It's DJ Envy. Just hilarious. Charlamagne, the guy. We are the Breakfast Club. We're still kicking in with the cast of Harlem. Megan Good, Tyler Lepley, Grace Byers, Shaniqua Shandai, and Jerry Johnson.

[Jess Hilarious]

Charlamagne, does acting allow y'all to just escape? When you're dealing with all of these personal things now you can just go be somebody else for a few hours.

[Jenny Garth]

It allows you to work through things, you know, past traumas, certain experiences, whether it's childhood. I mean, whatever it may be, it allows you to have a place to put it to good use and for it to be something that someone else can watch or see and take from it and go, okay, that made me feel not alone or that made me feel seen or understood. So I think, in a way, it's therapeutic. I don't know if it really allows us to escape. I get to each his own. I think escape gets a little dangerous.

[Jess Hilarious]

So do y'all allow yourselves to lose yourself in a raw. You don't. You don't keep.

[Jenny Garth]

Because that's. I think if we think about, like, some of our greats that have lost themselves and then we lost them, I think the Heath Ledger, I Was gonna say that. Yeah. It's like when you go there, if you don't know how to unzip that character and step out in order to go home and not have that energy in your home, it gets crazy. But also, the body doesn't know the difference sometimes. So when you go. When you're going deep into a character and you're not doing those things where you are separating when you get home, your body don't know the difference. So if my character is going crazy, if I'm playing the joker and I'm really in there and I'm taking the joker home with me, my body don't know that I'm not the joker if I believe it enough. And so sometimes, you know, it's good to be like, all right, I'm gonna give a cap on this. Like, if I really gotta go there, I'm gonna go there for the six months I gotta go there. But I'm already planning all the things I need to plan. So that day I'm done. It's already set up for me to release this. Whether I'm going to the ocean, whether I'm wherever I am, whether all of my friends come to my house to remind me of who I am. I have to have something that reality sets me back to who I am, or it's not gonna be. It's gonna be on my spirit, and it's not gonna be good for me. Well, then, speaking of then, Jerry, where's Ty's head at after she found out she smashed a mother and a daughter?

[DJ Envy]

Now she just go back in real life to back up with a second.

[Jenny Garth]

I said, now she gotta jump back into being reality. Yes. That's crazy. That's crazy. You know, to find out something like that is like, how do you even deal with that? And I think Ty decides. Cause what does Ty really want? You know, she polish, she's single, open.

[Jess Hilarious]

I think she just greedy.

[Jenny Garth]

Jerry is polygon. But she's loved to be listen.

[Grace Byers]

Right.

[Jenny Garth]

Even though Jerry is poly, I wouldn't describe Ty as poly. I think Ty was really wanting something, but also probably in that moment, being greedy because she was wanting something but having something else. And I think sometimes if my intention is commitment, then I have to go towards what that intention is. And if it's commitment towards one person and I'm letting my energy fly, of course I might end up with a daughter and a daughter and a mother. I knew what was going on, and I was like, I'm sick, Grace.

[Jess Hilarious]

How has motherhood changed you?

[Jenny Garth]

I Think what I did not expect was that I was fully prepared to be like, I'm ready to learn everything I can about motherhood and my child. I did not anticipate that I was going to also go on a journey to learn about myself, Myself. And so I had to face things about myself in order to ensure his well being. Right. So I had to go back to my own childhood, go back to the things that, you know, that I didn't realize that I was, like, holding on to or dealing with or, like, simple things like, you know, like being. Being a recovering people pleaser. I can't do that with my child. I will be so depleted. I will not show up as the mother that I need to be. So how do I then organize in my mind, like, how do I prioritize myself? For real? For real.

[Grace Byers]

Yeah.

[Jenny Garth]

Yeah. You know, so, like, things like that that I didn't expect that are really changing my life. Wow.

[Jess Hilarious]

Yeah. Are these moments bittersweet, knowing that, you know, it's gonna be the last time y'all probably do interviews together and things of that nature?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

They said they. They talk about movie. They manifested movies.

[Grace Byers]

So the last time we need a.

[Jenny Garth]

Petition, even if it's not this, y'all could do something else, y'all, because y'all are so grounded. Even as just outside the cast, just hearing y'all speak, like, you know, like, even from the last interview that we had with you, like, so much growth, like, not saying that you, you know.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Oh, yeah, so I was. I was last time, right?

[Jess Hilarious]

No, yo.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

She said, yeah, well, not that, but y'all just.

[Jenny Garth]

Just. I don't know, it just. It's zenful, it's tranquility. This is a whole bunch. It's. Y'all are very grounded as a cast, so I look forward to saying anything else. Not even don't have to be Harlem or just, you know, y'all can write your own movie. I can directly.

[Jess Hilarious]

We can just get it.

[Jenny Garth]

Well, listen, we love you guys. Come on here. Like, we really appreciate it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And even just like, you know, to all of us before, you know, as we saying goodbye, I feel like one of the biggest, you know, reasons it's not a sad goodbye is like, for a multitude of things. Like a. We have a. You know, we have a great beginning, middle. And now, you know, we knew our.

[Jess Hilarious]

And we knew where we're landing at.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So, like, that's a beautiful thing. But then on the flip side, off of the script, you know, because of the way we was able to come together as family, Like, I feel like this is a. You know, a lot of times when we say goodbye to people, it's like a sad goodbye, you know what I'm saying? But it's like, I really feel like this is a. You know, this is the opposite. It's almost like a happy goodbye, you know what I'm saying? When we say goodbye, it's almost like we raising the trophy up, you know what I'm saying? So it's like, when I do, yeah, it's on a good note. So when I think back about these times, it's not really going to be a sad thing. You know, we're able to experience together, share it with the world and close the book at the right time.

[DJ Envy]

Well, Shaniqua, you tell them we not leaving like that. We leaving with your single. So we gonna play your record. We gonna play your record. We gonna record. But before we play your record. Ms. Grace, I felt the God in you this morning.

[Jenny Garth]

Yes, we.

[DJ Envy]

We going to say a prayer before we get up out of here.

[Jenny Garth]

Do you want me to say the prayer?

[DJ Envy]

No, I'm not saying it.

[Jess Hilarious]

Please, God.

[DJ Envy]

God is good. God is great. Thank you for the food. We eat, so I'm going let you do this.

[Jess Hilarious]

Ain't no dinner on the table. He do that.

[Jenny Garth]

All right, let's do it. Thank you. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this time together. Lord, we ask that you bless the Breakfast Club. Lord, we ask that you bless their minds, their hearts, their words. Dear Father, thank you for a form like this, Lord, that we're able to galvanize as one, that we're able to come together in truth and honesty, in love, and just celebrate amazing black work. Lord, we are so grateful for this moment, grateful for this time. Dear Father, we ask that you go before us, that you make the crooked path straight. We ask that you continue to uplift us in your spirit, O Lord. Let us always stay in your purpose and your will. Lord, we thank you for your love. We thank you for your blessing. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

[Jess Hilarious]

Amen.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

There you have it.

[DJ Envy]

The cast of Harlem, the Breakfast Club. Good morning.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Wake up, wake up. You're locked into the Breakfast Club.

[DJ Envy]

Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy. Just hilarious. Charlemagne the guy. We are the Breakfast Club. Lorna Rosa's here as well. We got a special guest in the building. Where's Khalifa?

[Jess Hilarious]

What's happening, my brother? I ain't seen you in a minute. Not in person.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I know it's been a while. Yeah, yeah, you've been working all Covid Happened. I've been taking care of my kids.

[Jess Hilarious]

How are you?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I'm amazing. Thank you. How are you?

[Jess Hilarious]

You still doing the MMA and all that good stuff?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Absolutely. Every day. Yeah.

[Jess Hilarious]

You wake up and do it early in the morning. Are you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I have like a routine, so I go to the gym five days a week. I do martial arts as well, so I'm like lifting martial arts and I do hot yoga three times a week. So I'll get up at like 6 with my kids, take care of my dogs and my kids. Then I eat breakfast, then I go to the gym. Probably around like 9ish, you know, from 9 till about 1 or 2 in the afternoon. That's my program time. And then after that I got the rest of my day.

[Jess Hilarious]

Program time mean what to smoke?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, no, no. Program is like workout.

[Jess Hilarious]

Gotcha.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, whatever the program is for the day. That's what I do. So you work out high stoned? Yeah.

[Grace Byers]

I was about to say he probably smoke in between all of that or during that.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah, no, I smoke on the way to the gym and then on my way to the next event. Yeah, yeah, for sure. I stay stoned.

[Jess Hilarious]

Okay.

[Grace Byers]

How long have you been smoking now?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Like how many years? I've been high for longer than I've been not high. Okay. Yeah, consecutively. Yeah, yeah.

[Jess Hilarious]

You be doing the shrooms now too though, right?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Nah, I quit doing shrooms. I did it for a minute. So I don't really need. I don't feel like I need to keep doing them over and over.

[Jess Hilarious]

I'm glad you said need. Right. Because I was going to ask, what is your intention when you smoke weed nowadays?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I just love being stoned. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I like the way it makes me feel. I like the decisions that I make when I'm stoned. I like the way movies look when I'm stoned. I like playing with my kids when I'm stoned. I just love being high. Yeah. Off marijuana, though. Yeah, just marijuana. Not anything crazy.

[Jess Hilarious]

The Cushion Orange juice. Orange juice too.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Jess Hilarious]

Great project. I love the first half. Second half is dope too, but I really love the first half.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Thank you.

[Jess Hilarious]

But it got like a 1990 now G funk sound, huh?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

For sure.

[Jess Hilarious]

Was that intentional?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah, definitely. I think that was like the original sound of Cushion Orange Juice for a lot of people. It was like nostalgic for the 90s or G funk or, you know, just riding around in the car, going to house parties, getting fresh. It's just got that whole, you know, player vibe to it and a Little bit of funk to it as well. Just like the way the beats slap and the way that the bass is there. So a lot of the productions, Cardo, Sledgeon and Edan and just the original people who, you know, put that sound together, so it was really easy to just bring it back. Yeah, I'm glad you like it.

[Jess Hilarious]

Slaps.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Thank you.

[Grace Byers]

You had announced in 2024 that this project was done and now it's here.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Grace Byers]

The release of it. So is it traditional release to streaming or, like, how you gonna do it? Because Cushion Orange Juice won. It was like you. You did your own thing. You dropped. You kind of changed the way people were listening to music and mixtapes at the time.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Right now this one's going to streaming.

[Grace Byers]

Okay.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

We releasing it through bmg. And they've been really, really cool at letting me kind of just curate the vibe and what the feeling of it is, and they understand what the project is. And we've had meetings, you know, weekly, just how we're going to attack it and, you know, make it last and make it something real. So I've just been really excited about updating, you know, the format. I think that's what's most important, especially for, like, being an OG in the game, is releasing things with the times how they are now, but also still being innovative as well. And that's why, you see, like, in between, I've been dropping freestyles and doing a lot of stuff, like just entertaining my fans because I still have that freedom. I'm able to do that as we get ready for the album too. So just to put it all together and make it current. I think that was the idea for all of us, you know.

[Jess Hilarious]

April 14th was the 15th anniversary of.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Christian Rs U S. Yeah, I did hear that.

[Jess Hilarious]

You did hear that.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I dropped so many albums and stuff like that. Like, every month is an anniversary of another project, but 15 years. Yeah, that's tight. And I think we're really lucky to be able. Well, I'm grateful to be able to drop, you know, the sequel as close as I did with the original one. I feel like that's like a sign. It just, you know, feels really good.

[Jess Hilarious]

Oh, so it wasn't planned?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Nah, it just worked out like that.

[Jess Hilarious]

But it's just Divine alignment.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yep, it all worked out like that.

[Jess Hilarious]

Do you remember your mind state, April 14, 2010?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I do, yeah. I was just getting off tour. I was in Miami. I was working on rolling papers, the album. But I already had Cushion Orange Juice done, and I had been hyping it up for a lot of months before. So my fans knew it was about to come out. And I remember just going to the hotel room. I was in a nice ass hotel on the beach. I was like, yo, I'm about to drop it. And I just released it from my computer that day. I was really, I still am super confident, but I was really, really like super duper confident about the music and just my connection with my fans. So that was the time to do it.

[Jess Hilarious]

Did it piss the label off when you dropped in?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I really wasn't signed at that point. They were kind of thinking about signing me, working on signing me, but it didn't piss them off at all. They knew how important it was for me to still curate that organic thing because at that time I was doing a lot more for myself than any label could do. And it's still like that. Like I promote myself, I do my social media, I do my merch, I do my marketing, I do all that. I just give you a whole package and then you could just, you know, you look like a genius.

[Jess Hilarious]

Well, Cushion Orange has changed everything though. That was like your. That's like your section 80. That's your. So far gone.

[Grace Byers]

Yeah, that like banded the Taylor gang. All of the like.

[Jenny Garth]

Some of the best memories aren't just about where you are. It's about who you're with. Your crew, your day ones, the folks who always got your back. The ones who turn the most random moments into inside jokes you'll be laughing about for years. And now share a Coke is making those moments even sweeter. This time. It's not just about sharing a Coke with one person. Nah, it's about sharing with the whole squad. Because what's better than drinking an ice cold Coke? Sharing one with the people you love most. Whether you're kicking it at the cookout, vibing at the game, pre gaming before a night out, or just hanging out and catching up. There's a Coke with your name, or better yet, your nickname on it. From friend, bro, bestie or girl to classic names like Sarah, Riley and David, these cans and bottles are all about your people. But it's bigger than just having a name on a can. It's about uplifting your friends and celebrating real connections. It's about appreciating the moments that matter. The road trips, the late night talks, the big wins, even the L's we take together. It's about the little things, the inside jokes, the group chats, the remember that time when moments that turn into the best stories. Because Coke is Here, for all of it. To make sure you enjoy those moments with the people who matter most. Because sharing a Coke isn't just about what's in the bottle. Nah. It's about the laughs, the love, and the connections that keep us together. So go on, grab a Coke for everybody. Raise it up, and turn a regular day into a memory. But don't wait too long, because these limited edition cans and bottles won't be around forever. So next time you're with your people, don't miss your chance to share a Coke, because the best moments are meant to be shared. In 2020, a group of young women in a tidy suburb of New York City found themselves in an AI fueled nightmare. Someone was posting photos. It was just me naked.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, not me, but me with someone else's body parts on my body parts.

[Jenny Garth]

That looked exactly like my own. I wanted to throw up. I wanted to scream. It happened in Levittown, New York. But reporting the series took us through the darkest corners of the Internet and to the front lines of a global battle against deepfake pornography. This should be illegal, but what is this? This is a story about a technology that's moving faster than the law and about vigilantes trying to stem the tide. I'm Margie Murphy. And I'm Olivia Carville. This is Levittown, a new podcast from iHeart podcasts Bloomberg and Kaleidoscope. Listen to Levittown on Bloomberg's Big Take podcast. Find it on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Grace Byers]

We was talking about it before you came in. Like, I remember the feeling when cushion orange juice came out. And like, I was a senior in high and like, they would throw parties where you would literally come to smoke and only listen to cushion orange juice. And, like, it was such a movement.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I love that.

[Grace Byers]

It was like, really such a movement.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. Yeah, that's what it was for. So it was good that that happened. It was all intentional. And it was like. Like you said, that's like my, you know, or my doggy style or my illmatic. Like, I knew I had to make something that was like that, you know, that was a good one to be attached to. And. Yeah, it was just. I always tell people it's bigger than the music. It's stuff like what you're saying. Like, that's what make it what it is. Like, even this album now, it's amazing music wise, but you can't listen to it. You got to experience that. You got to go to a beach. You got to go on vacation, you got to kick it with the homies. You got to hang out super duper late. You got to hook up with somebody who you've been, you know, or you got to meet somebody who you never even understood, understood that with you, that's what makes it what it is. And that's what I'm excited for people to experience, as well as the music being good.

[Jess Hilarious]

People don't realize that, though, when you put out music, music just provides the soundtrack to whatever you're experiencing in life. That's why you can never argue with certain people about certain albums, because that time of life they were experiencing during that album.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, you can't.

[Jess Hilarious]

Like when somebody says, oh, this is. This is going to remind you of Wiz Khalifa. Cushion orange. Nah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Right.

[Jess Hilarious]

I'm on something totally different than I was in 2010.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Exactly. It's personal. Yeah. I think people do have those personal moments or those life decisions, and what you're listening to at the time definitely, you know, dictates, you know, what your memories of that are. So it gets deep.

[Grace Byers]

Do you think that because I saw that you have, like, it's 22 or 23 songs on the project.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, 20.

[Grace Byers]

It's 22, I think so.

[Jess Hilarious]

Four bonus records? Four or five bonus records.

[Grace Byers]

So normally with people who put that many songs on in one place, it's like, you think people are gonna listen start to finish, but, like, I in me listening to it, I don't have any doubt that people will. Do you think that the conversation that you're having at the beginning and then the conversation you're having at the end, is it cohesive or do you just throw songs on there? Like, how do you kind of flowing out of.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, with this project, the last maybe four songs we put out before the album came out, we use this method called the waterfall method, where you put songs out and then add them to the album later. That was a conscious decision because I didn't know what people were going to want to hear. So those songs helped me dictate what I was going to do with the album. And I still like those songs, but they weren't exactly what you were going to get from the full album. So I use that as an opportunity to, you know, do some promo and get the idea of the album out there. But by the time you get the actual Real album, those 18 songs are brand new. Those are an experience that nobody has yet, and that everybody's gonna get together. And that's where, to me, the more of the conversation is, is from the intro to the 18 song. Yeah, it's pretty simple. The whole album is just about keeping it players motivational. It's get stoned and there's songs for the ladies and there's songs to ride around to. So as long as I'm in that pocket, the conversation is good, in my opinion. I know what my fans want and what they expect, so I didn't go outside of that at all.

[DJ Envy]

All right, we got more with Wiz Khalifa when we come back. It's the Breakfast Club.

[Jess Hilarious]

Good morning.

[DJ Envy]

Morning, everybody.

[Jenny Garth]

It's DJ Envy, Jess.

[DJ Envy]

Hilarious Charlamagne, the guy. We are the Breakfast Club. We're still kicking it with Wiz Khalifa. Charlamagne.

[Jess Hilarious]

Why a sequel after all of these? That could be hit or miss, too. That's a put cushion orange juice on something.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. Just again, listening to the fans, man, everybody was telling me, like, how much they missed that sound or that pocket of what I was doing at that time or how much they enjoyed it. So it's nothing for me as an artist to like, you know, dig in my bag and get with the producers that I trust and really not recreate that, but do what that sounds like now. But it's the same feeling, though. Like, you know what I mean? And I'm not scared to do that. And it's all about the fans. It's all for them, and it's what they want, you know, Like, a lot of nostalgic stuff is coming back, and my era, like you said, is 15 years ago. So it's way. Yeah, it's way further removed than it is close. So why not just go ahead and just revisit something that was, you know, big to us and that people appreciate.

[Jess Hilarious]

The problem with fans, though, is they fickle and they don't want you to grow. So you. So you. So even though you've grown, like you're a father now, like, your life might be totally different than it was 15 years ago, they're like, no, I want 2010 wigs. Yeah, that's impossible.

[Grace Byers]

The songs feel like.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't think it's impossible.

[Jenny Garth]

Really?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, because I think they just want the best. Like, I can experiment and I can sing and I can do country songs or pop records. But they like, yo, we like when you rap, or I could wear, you know, high fashion and, you know, Runway stuff. But they're like, we like when you wear street wear. And it's not hard for me to just get right back into that. It's like, okay, I'm trying what I like, and I'm still gonna do that in my off time, or if I get an opportunity to do it, I'm gonna throw a suit on, and I'm gonna do a pop record. But it's not gonna be my song. It'll be somebody else's. And I could still chart and perform it all over the world, but for my fans, I'm gonna give them what they want.

[Grace Byers]

But you are dad now. Dad of two.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Grace Byers]

And then making this music and putting this project together, like, it does still sound like Wiz Khalifa. It's new and it's innovative, but it's. It's still the same feeling. How do you. Because you are different. You are. Your dad is so different now.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. Yeah. I just keep it 100. Like, that's what I always did. I always just talked about my life. I talked about my day. I talked about my week. So, like, I've never run out of bars.

[Grace Byers]

What's it like doing this whole run? I see you got your Coachella band on you doing this whole run. Coachella?

[Jess Hilarious]

You been taking showers since Coachella, bro.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

These bands, they don't go nowhere, man. I need some scissors. Y'all got some scissors right here.

[Grace Byers]

Yeah, I saw you were. You and Amy were dancing on the side of the stage.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Grace Byers]

Why was people so mad at you? That's your. That's your girlfriend. Why they mad at you dancing with your girl?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't think people were mad. I think people just need clickbait. Like, that's what the world we live in these days. But I don't live my life based off of that. I'm still gonna. If I'm hearing some music, like I'ma Dance.

[Grace Byers]

But you never have, like, kind of leaned into all of that stuff, though. Like, you've always kind of, like, just. Even if it was happening, you did your own thing.

[Jess Hilarious]

But leaned into what?

[Grace Byers]

Like, people. The clickbait stuff. So, like, even when you were dating Amber Rose, now with Amy, just. People are really invested in your life because you're such a big star, and now your kids are growing up, and they're on social media as well, too. People just want to know things, and they throw things on stuff.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, I know. I'm in control of all of that, though. I give them enough to. You know what I'm saying? Like, like I said, I don't live my life based off of it. Yeah, but I know that people are nosy. Like, you haven't even seen my daughter, and she's almost a year old.

[Grace Byers]

Right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So I can Keep some stuff quiet. But this is the entertainment industry, so at the end of the day, people are going to have their perception of whatever, Whatever. But as long as my intentions are good, I know I'm out here doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. And nobody who really knows me and loves me is ever going to be embarrassed by my actions when I'm outside.

[Grace Byers]

So, yeah, you won't be doing nothing. You literally really don't. How do you talk to, like. Because Sebastian's older, getting older now, which is crazy because it's just crazy to.

[Jess Hilarious]

See you get older.

[Grace Byers]

No, but it's literally like when you think about when he was first born to now, and just being a fan and watching him grow, there's probably so much things that you guys decide when to talk to him about or not talk to him about, but you're celebrity, so it's different. How do you kind of, like, what is your discretion on? Like, here's what I allow him to know or see or whatever. Cause you can't guard kids from everything.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, we just keep it 100 with him, too. He's a smart boy. And these kids are. We were, you know, grew up fast, but they're growing up way faster on the Internet and everything. So it's just about keeping it real and, you know, just allowing him to make his own decisions as well. It's like, I couldn't tell you what to do, but, you know, what's right and wrong and just instilling that in him. And also his friend group, too. That's a real big thing now is his friend group. But I feel like just him being a kid, he's a normal kid. He goes through the same things that normal kids go through. He gets in trouble at school. We have to get on zoom calls with his teachers. Like, all of that.

[Grace Byers]

Wiz on a zoom call with a teacher, how is it, like, how do the teachers react? I mean, they're probably used to celebrity parents.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

They be cool, they be chill. Like, I think it helps him a little bit more, too. They're like, oh, we get to see Wiz here. You can pass this class.

[Jess Hilarious]

How is it being a father of a daughter now? I got four daughters. All I got is daughters. So I know daughters bring out a different energy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, man, It's. It's super duper sweet. She's. She's real young still. She's only eight months. She'll be nine months. So her personality hasn't come out yet. But it is a little bit different having a little A little girl. And I'm older now, too, as a parent. Like, I was 25 when I had bash. I'm 37 now. So it's just like a whole different mind state, like, having a new child and it's a girl, bro.

[Jess Hilarious]

It was crazy to watch y'all all get older, yo. Yeah, because I remember that whole.

[Grace Byers]

Not kids get older.

[Jess Hilarious]

Because you know what it is. And I don't know if it's because of the Internet. I don't think we've had another movement like that. Like, when I think about the. You and the Kendricks and the.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, I feel like, like, the 2016, like, Uzi and Cardi and them, they held it down.

[Grace Byers]

They had a movement. But I will say it's because I know what you talking about with Uzi, especially because I'm from Delaware, he's from Philly. But it was. It's still just different. Like, I can't really describe it. Like, the whole Taylor Gang and, like, how we were dressing, it was really different.

[Jess Hilarious]

How often do you revisit the first Christian RSG now?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I listen to it a lot because we perform it a lot.

[Jess Hilarious]

Okay.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. There's a lot of, like, festivals and places where they're like, can you come through and perform the whole catalog or give us three songs off of there? Or something like that. So I listen to it. And I listen to it for inspiration, too. Sometimes. I, like. I sampled a couple songs on. On this new one from the old one. I, like, threw it in there. You wouldn't even know, but just to, like, keep the DNA there.

[Grace Byers]

Can you get. Can you tell me so I can go back?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, you'll figure it out.

[Grace Byers]

Now I gotta do it again.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, exactly. And again and again.

[Grace Byers]

Because it feel. Literally. I said that earlier. It feels like the original cushion orange juice. Even though it's new music, but. And a lot of artists can't do that. Not this far apart.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Right? Yeah. Yep.

[Jess Hilarious]

I love how you keep Max B's name alive.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Jess Hilarious]

He's on the new project.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. He's also one of my favorite artists. Artists as well.

[Jess Hilarious]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Jess Hilarious]

How often did you speak them?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Here and there. Yeah. Especially now that the album's coming out and he's coming home, too. Yeah. We talk here and there. It's nothing too crazy. Just be like, I see you, big bro.

[Jess Hilarious]

How'd y'all get him on the project over the phone?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Jess Hilarious]

That sounds good as hell to be a full record.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. Well, the voice notes, it's easy to do it on voice Notes now and then. Just line it up. Like I told you, we manipulate music these days.

[Jess Hilarious]

Yeah. So you take the vocal, then put the beat behind it. He's not rapping.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I guess I don't want people to start up getting their friends in jail on their records, getting them in troubles.

[Jess Hilarious]

Just did a whole album.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't know how much I don't know, but don't do it. Stay out of trouble.

[Jess Hilarious]

The other thing I was gonna say, too, man, do you see the moments in your life when, like, your career just went up? Like, for example, like, when you put out weed and boys, that's another level. You put out. What was the other? Black and yellow. That's another level.

[Grace Byers]

Oh, my God.

[Jess Hilarious]

And then see you again. Come on. That's every white person in America's favorite funeral anthem.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Favorite funeral it is, though. Yeah. No, I look at my career like. Like a basketball player or something like that. Like, me being signed to Atlantic. I did really well, like, being a major artist, so I look at it like that.

[Grace Byers]

How.

[Jess Hilarious]

How do you feel about your children being open to public scrutiny? Like, on social media, commenting and.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, nah, it is what it is. Like, they gonna go through that anyway at school. Like, they got Snapchat, and they be doing all that stuff at school. So that's just the world that we live in now. And, like, back in the day, we used to rip on each other, too, so we just didn't have the computer to do it. But it builds tough skin, and it is what it is. Like, I've always been able to still be confident in myself and function and not crash out, you know, due to what anybody says about me. So I feel like they'll be all right.

[Jess Hilarious]

The dwee. Like, whenever you feel yourself about to crash out or, like, do you roll?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, no, no, no. It's not the weed. It's the confidence, man. I breathe. I do yoga. I believe in myself. I got a higher calling. And sometimes they might be right. I do look funny sometimes. My feet. My feet are ugly, or not ugly, but messed up. But, like, you can't get mad at, like, you know, people pointing out your flaws because we're not perfect. So if you point out a flaw, you might be right.

[DJ Envy]

All right, we got more with Wiz Khalifa when we come back. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning. Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy. Just. We are the Breakfast Club. We're still kicking in with Wiz Khalifa.

[Grace Byers]

Lauren, since you, like, there are people that are younger than you just in music that I'm Sure. Call you about different things because creatively, your music does inspire people, like you mentioned. But, like, just as a dad and in a relationship, a lot of your stuff is public. Like, I saw a conversation interview where I think it was Amber she was talking about. You guys had to sit down, Sebastian, have a conversation. He found her only fans or something like that. How do you guide, first of all yourself and have that conversation with your son, but when your friends, your peers are calling you, like, yo, my girl's doing this online, or like, whatever. What's your conversation with people? Because you handle things so well and so gracefully.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, I think I don't expect everybody to handle things the way that I do. So my advice sometimes is like, man, be up, dog. Like, that's. That's just how it is.

[Grace Byers]

That's real, though.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But you have to accept it, and you have to understand that that's a part of it as well. And it be like that sometimes. But we make these decisions based off of what we think we can handle and what we can't handle, so. Or you're given a lot of responsibility based off of what you can handle, and you don't even know you ready for it like that. So if you really want this, you're gonna deal with the good and the bad. Like, I'm built for it. I know how to smile. I know how to, you know, put on a face in front of people who I know might have talked on me or. Or tried to cut my throat or one up on. You know what I mean? But it is what it is. Well, I don't get no further by exposing all of that. I get further just by being me. But a lot of people ain't built for it like that. So, you know, you really. You. You really gotta be like that.

[Grace Byers]

As a parent, though, are you ever really ready to have those, like, really public conversations with, like, that's such a public thing to have to talk about your child to see. And then in private, you have to deal with it, but then also in public, you have to deal with it, because then y'all talk about the fact that it happened.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I think, like me, I just keep it pushing. Like, as long as I'm good, like, in the household, you're gonna have to deal with that or things like that. Regardless if it's not even directly involved with you, you're still gonna have to have some type of conversation like that with your kid. And it's not easy for anybody so soon as they start finding that stuff or looking at that stuff. Or hearing things about, you know, it might be their parent, it might be their sibling, it might be, Might be, You know what I mean? It could be whatever. There's no age limit to that either. It happens through their teens, it's gonna happen in their 20s. Oh, I heard your son is out here. Da da da da.

[Grace Byers]

Right?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't even know what that's like yet. But we go through the stages. Every parent's gonna go through the stage. But as far as publicly, I don't live my life for the public. So I don't even, like, I don't even consider that when I'm making my moves. I don't care. Like, I don't hear it, I don't digest it. It's not, it ain't, it ain't real to me. And if it pops up, then it's something that I could. You know what I mean? I'll deal with it in a moment, but I ain't tripping on none of that.

[Jess Hilarious]

Are you gonna keep secrets from your kids?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What kind of secrets?

[Jess Hilarious]

Just in general. Like, you know, I always tell people that, you know, you should always have conversations with your parents. Cause you'll find out that they had a life before they were your parents.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, I think having. How old are your kids?

[Jess Hilarious]

16, 9, 6 and 3.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. Having a 12 year old is like, I'm finding out that they know way more than you actually think that they know. So it's hard to keep secrets when they're telling you, you that they know that you thought that they didn't know. So it's like, damn you, there ain't no secrets. Like for real, for real, you. I'm. I didn't even know I was gonna have to explain that to you. But it's just part of it. Like, because I think the benefit of that is them not having to hear it from somebody else. Like I was raised by my cousins and you know what I mean? Bunch of 18 year olds and 20 year olds when I was his age. So I was learning things a little bit differently. Like the filter was totally different. So I would rather be able to give my kids that knowledge than like the streets. Yeah, yeah.

[Jess Hilarious]

Hell yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Cause it's gonna happen.

[Jess Hilarious]

What is a Drake move? Wiz?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What's a Drake move?

[Jess Hilarious]

What is a Drake move?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

A very smart business decision.

[Grace Byers]

I know that's right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's what a Drake move is.

[Jess Hilarious]

You know what? I wanted after you too, man. You've been a mentor to a lot of great people. And I recently saw this thing called The Mount Rushmore of white rappers. And the good brother Mac Miller was on there. You know how. I don't know if you saw it, but how did that make you feel knowing that you was a mentor to him? He's the greatest rappers of all time. It was Eminem, it was Mac Miller.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

They shouldn't be separating white rappers and black rappers. They're all rappers. And Mac Miller is an amazing artist, bro. Like, I watched them, you know, come from just being a kid in the studio to like really changing how people digest and listen to music like on his own. And of course we started. He started like kind of after I was doing what I was doing. So it was. People associated me and him together. Like I was doing that for him or something like that. But he was just inspired by what he was around. And as soon as he like branched off and started doing his thing, he. He gained his own identity, his own fan base, his own expectations of what his music is and his own love and legacy for what his music is. So I love that kid.

[Jess Hilarious]

It's been seven years since Mack passed. Do you have those moments where you like Mac not here?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It kind of still bothers me just because he's not here, you know what I mean? And that's the part that sucks. Cause it happened close to my birthday. So every time it's around my birthday, they celebrating the world, you know, celebrating his life too. So I'm always reminded. I'm like, damn, bro. That was just like. It's like sometimes when people pass, it's like, yo, that's up, bro. Yeah, you never really. It never really sit. Sits well, like, you know what I mean? So that's one of them.

[Jess Hilarious]

Did it shift anything in your life?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Nah, not really. Because I knew him personally, so we would have conversations and you know, he was like, I think out of respect, everybody don't speak on, like how what he was dealing with. You know what I'm saying? So we just like talk about his legacy. But it was a lot to see him go through that.

[Jess Hilarious]

Just to see you smile. Was that a difficult record? No. Okay.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I like to make real songs. It was like I said, it was in the moment. And I talk about my mom on there. I talk about like the original, like what was going on when I first started making music and I brought it till now. And then I talk about my sibling who passed away on there as well. So no, it's not difficult for me.

[Jess Hilarious]

Is it therapeutic? In a way?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I would say that. I think it's just like, for me, I have to talk about everything. Like, I can't just. I can't just give you, like, one side of, like, what's going on. And a lot of people, they may or may not want to hear that, but for the people who do, I make sure that that stuff is there, and I make sure that it's current and that it's real for them to go through, too.

[Jess Hilarious]

Hey, Wiz, man, keep doing what you do, man. You are a. A blueprint.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Thank you.

[Jess Hilarious]

Whether people realize it or not, appreciate it. You know what I'm saying? From the music aspect, even to the entrepreneurial aspect, you got strains of weed, you got mushrooms, you got Liquid Death. Liquid. Liquid Death.

[Grace Byers]

You're involved in that. That is so on brand for you. Oh, my God.

[Jess Hilarious]

Liquid Death was yours.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yes, sir.

[Grace Byers]

Explain that. How did you get involved early, before.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

They even took off? Like, it was like, hey, boom, boom, bam. And the whole business thing and the whole. You be a part of this. We do that. And Liquid Death.

[Jess Hilarious]

I know about the gin.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Grace Byers]

With Sovereign Brand, this was.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. I've been. I've been a part of this. This company almost 10 years now.

[Grace Byers]

Liquid Death.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. Yeah. Wow.

[Jess Hilarious]

You see that everywhere?

[Grace Byers]

Yes. That is so everywhere. The first time I saw it, I was like, what? Why are you drinking that? And then they explained that it was water. Yeah. And I was like, oh, okay. But even the can and the way that it's branded, it just fits your whole aesthetic.

[Jess Hilarious]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's.

[Grace Byers]

What else do you do business wise, on the back end at, like. I mean, if you want to talk about it. But I feel like there's a whole portfolio back there that the people might not know.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Like you said, McQueen. But we. We're part of that whole company, though. The whole Doucet and Bel Air and all of that. Oh, PFL as well. I don't know if you guys ever heard of Professional Fighters League, but I'm involved with them, too. We just bought Bellator and ufc. And then there's pfl.

[Jess Hilarious]

That's.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. Yep.

[Jenny Garth]

I'm.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I'm down with. With them, too.

[Jess Hilarious]

Where's Khalifa, man? Cushion Orange Juice.

[Grace Byers]

Say yes. Like, I made it through.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Come on, now.

[Jess Hilarious]

It's easy for Wiz.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Y'all cool. I came to see y'all.

[Jess Hilarious]

Cushion Orange Juice. Oh, and y'all about to go on tour. The Taylor Gang World Tour.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yep. Taylor Gang, the World. Cushion Orange Juice 2. Follow me on all socials. Tick Tock, Wiz Khalifa. Instagram, Wiz Khalifa X. Wiz Khalifa.

[Jess Hilarious]

Yeah, it's Whiz Khalifa. The Breakfast Club Up.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You're checking out the Breakfast Club?

[Jenny Garth]

I was born a donkey.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It's the donkey of the devil.

[DJ Envy]

That's pretty funny.

[Jenny Garth]

Charlemagne. The devil.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

The Breakfast Club.

[Jess Hilarious]

Well said, sexy Red. Donkey of the day goes to five Memphis men. Mikel Sanders, 18. Rashawn Bryant, 22. Jordan Smith, 19. Mondre Cole Mays, 18. And Desmond Subury, 18. All of them have been arrested. And Yonka Charlotte needs to let all you y n's know something. Please, please, please stop with the organized crime. Seriously, man. If you can create, you know, a criminal enterprise and you can also, then you also have the brain means to start some type of small business. I'm just sick of hearing about young people coming together to form drug rings and fraud schemes, even organized theft. If you can put so much time and energy in doing the wrong thing, then you can put that same time and energy into doing the right thing. Okay? You youngins are not applying yourself properly. And you could be. And that's what frustrates me the most. Okay? Unity and group operation is a must. But why do we only seem to see unity and group operation when folks is coming together to commit crimes and this country not playing with you? Okay? They are ready at all times to introduce you to their good friend Rico. And these five Memphis men, sadly, are the latest example of that. Would you like to know what the criminal behavior was? Would you? Everybody take a deep breath. Come on. Take a deep breath. Because this type of organized crime is triggering. Let's go to the Miami Herald for the report, please.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Tennessee cops say traffic came to a.

[Jenny Garth]

Halt at a downtown Memphis intersection when five men leapt from their car and began twerking before baffled motorists in Tennessee. It happened Monday, March 10, about three blocks east of the Mississippi River. And the dancing was still in progress when a police lieutenant drove up.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What the officer saw was a 2016.

[Jenny Garth]

Chevy Malibu blocking traffic at a green light and four men twerking around the car outside.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

A fifth man was spotted dancing on the car's hood.

[Jenny Garth]

The five men were taken into custody so the offense would not happen again, and they were charged with obstructing traffic. The men ranged in age from 18 to 22. A motive behind the stunt was not released.

[Jess Hilarious]

Five Memphis men got together to disrupt the lives of law abiding citizens just trying to go about their day. A vehicular blockade caused by booty. That's what this was. Hey, Mikel Rashon, Jordan, Maundre Desmond. When you was scrubbing the ground cheeks to concrete did you think about the ambulance you may be keeping from getting to the hospital? The person who just got a job first day of work and they about to be late because of your traffic tampering through twerk terrorism. This should be an episode of Law and Twerk Victims Unit. Okay? Not only is this a criminal enterprise, it's a whole production. You all probably had Glorilla blasting, okay? Cameras out. Just a synchronized routine of reckless rump shaking. Why? First degree felonious fraggle maggotry. That's what this is, okay? The unlawful act of throwing it back in a way that disturbs the peace, blocks traffic, and disrupts people's everyday lives. Why? We cannot let the ass cartel get away with this. Are we really going to sit back and allow an underground network of professional rump shakers to disrupt society? People like this don't think of anybody but themselves. The only real luxury any of us have is time, people, okay? Because it doesn't come back. So imagine you running late for something important, rushing to pick your kids up, trying to make your Brazilian wax appointment. I have one today, by the way. And you're stuck in traffic because five, five grown ass loose booty bandits decided to turn the highway into magic city Monday. They are all charged with obstructing a highway or passageway. But I feel like this should be a freako case. This is a freeco case, okay? There has to be a stiffer punishment for this organized booty movement because this was a coordinated effort to weaponize the wobble in public. Where is President Trump to sign an executive order to stop this street scripting syndicate, huh? If he doesn't intervene, this could get out of control, okay? Men will mimic this behavior all over America. This could get out of hand. Do you really want criminal organizations dedicated to twerk related infractions popping up all over the country? Do we really want booty trafficking? Dee Dee, don't you answer that. Okay? The illegal transportation and distribution of reckless twerking across state lines. Do we need that? Let's do better. Please give Mikel Sanders, Rashawn Bryant, Jordan Smith, Mondre Komey in Desmond Sudbury, the biggest he haul.

[DJ Envy]

I have a question. Now. If this was back in your day.

[Jess Hilarious]

And five women back in my day, like you wasn't born in 1977.

[DJ Envy]

If five women were twerking in front of you, would you mind? Would you call the police back in your.

[Jess Hilarious]

First of all, I don't have time for your hypotheticals. Let's deal with the reality of the situation. So that's what's wrong with people nowadays. They don't never want to deal with the reality of things. Let's deal with the shared reality.

[DJ Envy]

Somebody.

[Jess Hilarious]

I'm going show you this mug shot. Look at that. Don't get bricked up over there. Can you see this, Jess? Jess can. Damn. Can you see it? Somebody send this picture to Jess. I don't want you to get bricked up over.

[DJ Envy]

I'm not bricked up. I'm nowhere near bricked up.

[Jess Hilarious]

Don't get bricked up over women.

[Jenny Garth]

I mean, if you try and get somewhere that's right, like, what are we doing?

[Jess Hilarious]

This ain't got nothing to do with the gender of nothing. Why are you disrupting traffic? Traffic stopping people's day. Okay, we got things to do. You just hopping out of a 2016 Chevy Malibu. The twerk in the middle of the street for what, in 2025? Come on, stop. This ain't got nothing to do with gender.

[DJ Envy]

I keep looking at the picture because.

[Jess Hilarious]

I'm trying to figure out what they all identify.

[DJ Envy]

There's one with red hair, right?

[Jess Hilarious]

Hey, hey, it don't matter. There was an executive order, right?

[Jenny Garth]

You're right.

[DJ Envy]

You're absolutely right. All right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Okay.

[Jenny Garth]

Well, this pride every day.

[DJ Envy]

All right, well, thank you for that. Dog of the day, the Breakfast Club.

[Jess Hilarious]

Breakfast Club. Charlemagne. The God. Lauren LaRosa is here. Just hilarious. Is here. Who's filling in for Envy? Lauren laros is filling in for Envy. Is Envy filling in? He's here.

[DJ Envy]

I'm here. But she's filling in.

[Grace Byers]

Yeah.

[Jess Hilarious]

He's a guest today, though, because his new book, Real Life, Real Family with the queen of the house, Gia Casey is out right now. How you feeling, Gia?

[Jenny Garth]

Humble. By being given the opportunity to write a book about something that is the most important thing to me, the thing I'm the most passionate about, the thing that brings me the most joy. Family, parenting. My household, our home. So, yes, I'm very humbled. This is the second book. Yes. It's amazing. You know what? Let's just rewind it back. For those who don't know, who is the Casey crew? Where did that name come from?

[Jess Hilarious]

How did y'all get started?

[Jenny Garth]

Do you remember the Casey crew?

[DJ Envy]

Yeah, it's our last name. What do you mean?

[Jenny Garth]

No, no, no. But do you remember how we came up with the name?

[DJ Envy]

No. How do we come up with the name?

[Jenny Garth]

We were doing our first podcast, and it was before we were doing, like, the audio version, the. The video version. It was just the audio version. And we started the podcast without a Name. And we sat there and we kind of was coming up with, like, different names. And one of us said, well, how about the Casey crew? You know, our last name is Casey. We have a whole crew of kids, a whole gaggle. What about the Casey crew? And then people, you know, DM'd us and emailed and whatnot, and they said, yeah, we love that name. We love that name. So we decided to call ourselves the Casey Crew. Amazing.

[DJ Envy]

That's what it came about.

[Grace Byers]

And whenever you post on social, you always hashtag the thec crew. Yes, Envy does as well. But one of the things that you guys do really good from the podcast to bringing it online, is you pay attention to the comments and the responses. Yeah. And you guys bring them into the podcast, but you also, like, reflect on them on social media. So I want to read one of the. The posts that. That we pulled. And I thought that this was great. You inspired me. This is someone commenting to you guys. You inspire me. I wish all parents had this level of intention, planning, and vibe. Truth is, most parents, moms are stressed overwork by trying to make ends meet in harboring trauma. Therefore, it's passed down to the children. You've passed down light and love because of that and because of what you are. High five to all of the parents doing their best. And you use that as a moment to talk about, like, no, it'd be. It get a little crazy over here, but. Oh, yeah, but it's important because when you, if you've ever been around your family, it is a lot of love and a lot of light, but I'm sure on the inside, things get crazy.

[Jenny Garth]

Well, you know, that's a big misconception. People assume that. That because you live a certain lifestyle or because you've earned a certain financial status, that you don't have the same problems that they have, you know? So that comment really, really stood out to me because she spoke on the troubles and the trauma and the word trauma that she used. And Rashawn will speak on the word trauma. Sometimes he feels as though it's a word that's overused, but it's a word that represents something that. That so many people endure. The difference now is that we have words to identify how we feel and what we go through. And it's articulated because when our feelings and our experiences are articulated, then you're able to communicate. Yeah. People are able to understand you. You're able to understand other people. You're able to have empathy and compassion for other people. Because now we're all Speaking in universal language, like the word triggered, like the word trauma, like the word gaslit. Gas. You know, these are things that some may think are overused now, but. Yes, but there is value there. There is value there because now we can see each other, we understand each other.

[Jess Hilarious]

When you're trying to create a safe space, you know, how is it to venture into an unsafe space? Like the comments, especially with somebody that's on the air every day, you know what I mean? People have an opinion about every day.

[Jenny Garth]

So I read every single comment, every.

[DJ Envy]

Last comment, every YouTube.

[Grace Byers]

Interact.

[Jenny Garth]

I interact. It started when I had a lower follower count. It started because I always felt that if someone follows me, that's an investment, a small investment maybe, but it's an investment that they put into me. And they're looking at my content. Content. They're looking at my pictures. And you left a comment. I want to respond back to you. I used to respond to almost every comment, you know, but then when my followers went up, I wasn't really able to do that. And that was something that, you know, I had to take that on the chin. I wasn't able to. But it's a sign of respect. And you said, why do I do that to myself? Yeah, because I'm strong enough to do that. That's right. I'm strong enough to do that. The comments don't. If they are negative, and I have to say, I don't receive a lot of negative comments, thankfully, thank God. But if they are negative, I look at it as insight. I might ask myself, why might someone have that perspective? To me, it feeds my mental. Because I'm a thinker. I'm a deep thinker. I mull over things. I love to understand people. So for me, the comments are food. And they also bring me happiness when they're good. It lets you know that you're reaching someone. You're. Whatever it is that you're putting out, because it's. It's in the sense of sharing. There's a lot of things that I don't share. So if I choose to share and it's well received, then that's a good feeling. I think that's why a lot of people are on or part of the reason why a lot of people are on social media. You know what I mean? And I'm strong enough to do so. And that's because of the way that I was raised. Yeah, I was raised to be a very strong and resilient woman. It comes directly from my parents. I'm fortunate in the sense That I can look back and identify things about the way that I was raised that created the individual, the woman, the mother, the wife that I am. And it's. For me, it's a very beautiful thing. Both of my parents are no longer here, so to be able to say, wow, when my mother did this every single day, or when she took me here once a week, or when she took. She said this to me and those compliments. So. And that the way that she fed me and she fed my soul and the joy that I experienced and the amount of fun that I had as a kid, like, I loved my life. And it's not because we were wealthy. We were not. We're a middle. Middle class family. I'm from Brooklyn, from East Flatbush. We weren't raised, you know, like, I'm from an urban area. And it's not. Had nothing to do with money. It had nothing to do with wealth. It had everything to do with what my parents poured into my home and the love that I felt. And that is what we put into writing this book. There's a lot of books that we could have written. You know, so many ideas came out because Real Life, Real Love was a huge success. It was a national bestseller. So it's like, oh, you can write a book about this. We said, we want to write a book about family. It's what we know best. It's what we know best. We've had so many ups, so many downs, so many, many wins, so many losses, so many things that we thought we were doing right that we weren't. That we had to regroup and make sure that we were balanced, you know, as. As a married couple. Because when we didn't agree, it's like, my way is better. No, What? My way is better. And this, you know, we had to come to a meeting of the minds. Yeah. You know what I mean? So our relationship, you know, the relationship grew, you know, because we had to learn how to see eye to eye and as parents. So there was just. There was many, many ups and downs. And we wanted to pour that all into a book. You know, we wanted to let everyone know, like, it's really that village mentality. It's really that, like, we are a community, especially our black community. Because I'm black. Yes. Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Jenny Garth]

For the record. For the record, he is 100 black. But I know that you're well aware because you speak to things of this nature often, but our history is being erased in schools, and it's being stripped away silently in society. So the foundation Starts in our homes. Yeah. We have to teach children how to identify themselves. We have to teach children that sense of belonging. And they have to understand that they come from something meaningful. And if you leave it up to society to teach them that, you're going to wind up with children that are lost, that are overlooked, that don't know how to identify themselves, that get taken advantage of, and that are susceptible to what society wants for them. So for us, our core, our nucleus, our foundation, our home supersedes anything else in this world. We put our family first.

[DJ Envy]

All right, when we come back, we have more with Gia Casey. Our book Real Life, Real Family is in stores right now. A guide to raising empowered children. We'll be back in minutes. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning, everybody. Chancelari and Charlamagne, the guys. We are the breakfast club. Lauren LaRosa is here as well as we're kicking it with Gia Casey. Our new book, Real Life, Real Family is out today. You can pick it up at Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, or Audible.

[Jenny Garth]

Jess, would you say that you and Envy have two different parenting styles?

[DJ Envy]

Absolutely.

[Jenny Garth]

Who's the more lenient parent? Who's the more lenient parent?

[DJ Envy]

It depends what it is.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Okay.

[DJ Envy]

Like, you know, everybody knows. My dad is retired police officer in ex military, so I'm disciplined. I was the yellow, the screamer. Because I said so.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

G is a lot different. Like seven hours. Like she wants to know why. Why did you feel that way?

[Jess Hilarious]

And I can tell she likes to break down.

[Jenny Garth]

You don't get it. You going to get it by the end of the.

[Grace Byers]

Better not trip up on them words.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Exactly.

[DJ Envy]

So you got to think, really think before you speak to her. Cuz she's like, all right, well explain that. Like I just said it just because. No, no, no. Explain this. But so I'm more like. Like cuz I said so. She's more like, well, you can't go to the mall because of this.

[Jenny Garth]

Cuz this. Some of the best memories aren't just about where you are. It's about who you're with. Your crew, your day ones, the folks who always got your back. The ones who turn the most random moments into inside jokes you'll be laughing about for years. And now, Shara, Coke is making those moments even sweeter. This time. It's not just about sharing a Coke with one person. Nah, it's about sharing with the whole squad. Because what's better than drinking an ice cold Coke? Sharing one with the people you love most? Whether you're kicking it at a Cookout.

[Grace Byers]

Vibing at game night, pre gaming before.

[Jenny Garth]

A night out, or just hanging and catching up, there's a Coke with your name on it. Or better yet, your nickname on it. From friend, bro, bestie, and girl to classic names like Sarah, Riley and David, these cans and bottles are for your people. But it's bigger than just having a name on a can. It's about uplifting friends and celebrating real connections. It's about appreciating the moments that matter. The road trips, the late night talks, the big wins, and even the L's we take together. It's about the little things, the inside jokes, the group chats, the remember that time when moments that turn into the best stories. Because Coke is here for all of it. To make sure you enjoy those moments with people who matter most. Because sharing a Coke isn't just about what's in the bottle. Nah, it's about the laughs, the love, the connections that keep us together.

[Grace Byers]

So go on, grab a Coke and.

[Jenny Garth]

Raise it up and turn a regular day into a memory. But don't wait too long because these limited cans and bottles won't be around forever. Next time you're with your people, don't miss your chance to share a Coke, because the best moments are meant to be shared. In 2020, a group of young women in a tidy suburb of New York City found themselves in an AI fueled nightmare. Someone was posting photos. It was just me naked.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, not me, but me with someone else's body parts on my body.

[Jenny Garth]

Parts that looked exactly like my own. I wanted to throw up. I wanted to scream. It happened in Levittown, New York. But reporting the series took us through the darkest corners of the Internet and to the frame the front lines of a global battle against deepfake pornography. This should be illegal, but what is this? This is a story about a technology that's moving faster than the law and about vigilantes trying to stem the tide. I'm Margie Murphy. And I'm Olivia Carville. This is Levittown, a new podcast from iHeart Podcasts, Bloomberg and Kaleidoscope. Listen to Levittown on Bloomberg's Big Tech Take podcast. Find it on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts happened.

[DJ Envy]

Explain your parenting style. Mine is my dad was like, no. And you didn't ask why it was what it was. You just figured out later years a little different.

[Jess Hilarious]

I prefer the explanation.

[Jenny Garth]

Yeah, yeah. So that's how my parents were with me. I knew that my parents were invested in me living A happy, fulfilled, and fun life. And we didn't go lightly on the fun. And because I knew that, and. And my parents never said no just for the sake of saying no. Because parents are overworked and they are stressed, and the last thing they want to hear when they walk through the door is, mommy, can I. Can you take me here? Can you buy me this? Can we watch this together? Can we go, like, slow down? No. And sometimes you say no. You don't even know why you're saying no. That's not a good parenting technique. Yeah. You really have to take a moment. You have to take a beat. We all have to take a beat to listen to our children and be patient. And because I knew that my parents were invested in me that way, I knew that when they said no, there was a good reason.

[Jess Hilarious]

How do you make sure you're not. You're raising the kids out of love and not fear, though?

[Jenny Garth]

That's such a good question. It comes with the explanations. Do you know what I mean? I don't tell them, you can't. Can't do this, and you can't do that. Why? Because I said so. Let me explain to you why. You know, sometimes we'll watch the news together, you know, when they're at an appropriate age, at about nine years old, you know, I think that they're mature enough to ingest certain things. So what I do is I would record it on my DVR and then cherry pick different stories that I think that are appropriate, that speak to the protective measures that we take on them. You know what I mean? So it's like, if I. I see a child abduction that's not too traumatic, I might save that and then show it to a child that's old enough. You know, I did it with Madison. I did it with Logan, and I find that they take that into their adult lives, and they're very, very like. Madison walks around like a police officer. She has a boyfriend. His name is Andrew. And when they go into a restaurant, she's the one that sits facing the door. She feels like the protective force in that relationship because her head is always on swivel. You know what I mean? She could tell you a car that was driving six cars ahead, you know, and she's always paying attention to license plates. When she was young, I used to go through, like, in case you get kidnapped scenarios, because it's the type of information that can save a life. Girls are being taken. Yeah. So if you have a young girl, it is very proactive to educate them. About the realities and the tricks and the cons that people, you know, because even me, as proactive as I try to be, that whole technique with a baby crying outside your house, I would. I would be inclined to open the door. Yeah. If I hear a baby crying and someone that sounds like a mother yelling and screaming outside the house, I am that type of person.

[Jess Hilarious]

But not me.

[Jenny Garth]

But now I. I am. I am wrong. But now I would. My heart with my. I would be inclined to open that door. But now with all the knowledge and some of the good things about social media is that so much knowledge is being spread, so now we're consuming good information as well. So I heard that. I'm like, wow, that's absolutely right. It jogs your thinking. It makes you say, oh, wait a minute. I do have to put myself first. Even if someone else, a stranger, seems to be in need, I have to prioritize myself, my home, my family. So, you know, it's. It's important to spread information and to teach your kids. Even though it may be a little scary, but you do have to do it in a way where it doesn't incite fear.

[Grace Byers]

Yeah. How y'all pick and choose? What do y'all, like, what y'all decide to be transparent about? Like, it's just so much. Your kids are getting older, and they're like, you know, like, they. They're wanting to walk by themselves with their friends.

[DJ Envy]

How do you know if it was up to me? I'm transparent with everything, right? Gia has to hold back a lot. Like, for instance, like with Logan, right? Logan, when he was in high school, used to get picked on all the time, but he used to get picked on. Guess for what reason?

[Jess Hilarious]

Oh, me and life again.

[DJ Envy]

No.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Cuz.

[DJ Envy]

Cuz. Charlamagne.

[Jess Hilarious]

Gay.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yes.

[Jenny Garth]

Yes.

[DJ Envy]

So stop being gay.

[Jess Hilarious]

I tell you all the time.

[DJ Envy]

When you gave me the ass, that's why. Pause.

[Jenny Garth]

What? Wow. Hey, yo, not.

[DJ Envy]

He gave me the butt cake.

[Jenny Garth]

When he gave me the butt. Not much better.

[DJ Envy]

You know what I mean?

[Jenny Garth]

The butt shake kick he gave me. No, we are not about to hate.

[Jess Hilarious]

Don't do that.

[DJ Envy]

He used to be getting made fun of because of that, so. But the reason I'm so transparent is there's so many families and people dealing with the same things but never want.

[Grace Byers]

To talk about it, right?

[DJ Envy]

Scared to. So that's why I talked about the orgasm thing in the first book. That's why in this. In the second book, we talk about, you know, the. The time.

[Jess Hilarious]

Orgasm thing. From the first book.

[DJ Envy]

Every interview, you.

[Jess Hilarious]

Do it every interview. Lauren, do you want to do some research? You should tell the listeners.

[DJ Envy]

So even like in this book, we talk about the time that. That Logan found a bloody condom at one of his friend's house. So he came. But he's comfortable. Why are you looking at that?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It wasn't mine.

[Jenny Garth]

He's like, oh, he found a bloody combo.

[DJ Envy]

It wasn't our house.

[Jenny Garth]

All right. No, it was at his friend's house.

[Jess Hilarious]

It was at his friend's house.

[Jenny Garth]

And he was like maybe nine years old.

[DJ Envy]

Nine years old.

[Jenny Garth]

He was about nine years old.

[DJ Envy]

But he was comfortable enough to come.

[Jenny Garth]

They were in the basement and the little boy had an older brother.

[Jess Hilarious]

So what did you say? That's when Charlamagne gave daddy the ass.

[DJ Envy]

Oh, my gosh. So she had. That's when we had the sex talk. And Gia had to have the sex talks with L. Logan and Madison.

[Jess Hilarious]

What kind of sex talk, though?

[DJ Envy]

No, it wasn't a back door sex talk.

[Jess Hilarious]

It ain't just birds and bees. Birds and wasp and birds.

[DJ Envy]

No, I'm serious.

[Jenny Garth]

They. They got a full blown okay. Sex talk. They had to understand because if you leave it.

[DJ Envy]

No back door sex, though, if that's what you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

If that.

[Jenny Garth]

No, no.

[Jess Hilarious]

I'm really trying to figure out why was the condom bloody? I'm really.

[Jenny Garth]

Somebody ran a red.

[Jess Hilarious]

Like.

[Grace Byers]

Or.

[Jenny Garth]

Yeah, somebody butt open. Somebody ran a red light eye.

[Grace Byers]

Could also be like a first time thing.

[Jenny Garth]

Yeah, yeah. But no, they. At that point I found that they were old enough and mature enough and you're. They're encountering things now. These conversations are being had amongst their peers. And I knew that if I didn't set them straight that they were going be absorbing all of this wrong information and wrong ideas. So I told them, sex feels good. It's a pleasureful experience. God made us that way because God wants us to reproduce. He wants us to create offspring. So he made it something that we would enjoy. But it's meant for someone that you love and that's the reason why. So they're like, oh, okay, so what is it like? And what did you say? Okay, if I'm being honest, I told them that there is a penis and there is a vagina. And my son Logan was like, so, like this. I was like, yeah, something like that. I said, you know, some people look at it as a negative thing. No, no, no, he really didn't. No, he really didn't. Really didn't. He really didn't even. Even like my 11 year old son right now. He does not know, so when they ask me questions that I don't want them to know about. And he's older than Logan was, but now with I. I have a better grip on his friends and a grip on what he's exposed to on his phone and whatnot. And parameters, boundaries. So I'm really abreast of what he knows and what he doesn't. And our lines of communication are better.

[Jess Hilarious]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

All right.

[DJ Envy]

We have more with Gia Casey when we come back. Our new book, Real Life, Real Family, is out today. It's a guide to raising empowered children, and it's the Breakfast Club. Good morning, the Breakfast Club. Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy Jess. Hilarious Charlemagne, the guy. We are the breakfast club. Lauren LaRosa is here as well as we're kicking it with Gia Casey. Our new book, Real Life, Real Family, is out today. You can pick it up at Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, or Audible.

[Jenny Garth]

Jess, you have six kids. So is there anything that you felt like in the beginning, I didn't know until y'all got to that sixth kid, of course. Yeah. Like, what were some of the. I'll give you an example. You didn't know. You just was like, me and Rashawn winging this. Like, I'll give you. I'll give you an example. So one of. One of the fails, and this was something that we disagreed on, so it was the explaining everything to the kids. I have the patience to do it, and he really is a because I said so type of guy. And it worked beautifully with Madison. But with Logan, from a young age, I would explain everything to him, and he's a mama's boy times 30. You know what I mean? Like, we're very, very close. But it kind of went wrong with him because what we found was that we created an environment where he felt that he was entitled to an explanation. And he felt as though, because we gave him too safe of a space, that he could challenge me, and he can challenge a decision that I made. So we had to dial that back, and then we had to teach boundaries and let him know his place. So that was a fail, in a sense. And. And Rashawn would always look at me like, see, I told you. Like, see, I told you I was.

[DJ Envy]

Always the bad guy, because now I gotta go discipline that. So now me and Logan get into it.

[Jess Hilarious]

And now you can't beat Logan, because Logan.

[DJ Envy]

So now I gotta discipline Logan, and then me and Logan get into it. But one thing about Logan in all of our kids, which is the craziest thing, is they're very forgiving. Like, with Logan, I have to get sometimes so disrespectful for him to understand. And the next day, he's like, hey, dad, what's up? And I'm like, hey, dad, what's up? But that's how he is. And he just has conversations. But we have those conversations, and we understand and we talk. But he's. He's the one that. Just like his mom, you know?

[Jess Hilarious]

I love that y'all have a family mission statement.

[Grace Byers]

Yes.

[Jess Hilarious]

What is the mission statement? And tell people the importance of that.

[DJ Envy]

Well, just so we know we don't have it on our wall and make the kids read it when they walk in the house. It's not that type of mission statement. It's not like that. So. So our mission statement is just something that we, you know, as a family, we all live by. Right. And I'll read some of. And the reason is, is we are a close unit, right? So if you see us together, we're all always out together. You see me the other day with Jackson. You seen me before. And Charlotte may have seen me before. So the mission statement is we are a unit, right? We all ride together. Like, we are really a unit.

[Jenny Garth]

A unit.

[DJ Envy]

I'm an only child, so I'm heavy into taking care of each other. We respect each other. Of course. It's simple. We, like. We make sure that, you know, we respect each other's feeling. We always have each other's backs. That's one thing that we always do.

[Jess Hilarious]

And.

[DJ Envy]

And sometimes when we have conversations up here, I always talk about my kids. So when they see stuff on social media, at times I have to stop them because they will go in, especially Logan.

[Jenny Garth]

Logan will go in. He's like that. Oh, yeah.

[DJ Envy]

We always uplift each other and point out the good in one another. Right. We see that more especially with our girls in dance because they compete against each other a lot. So when they do, we have to make sure that regardless of what happens, like, a couple of weeks ago, London lost. And we thought London got jerked. So I told, you know, had a conversation with Brooklyn, and Brooklyn was like, dad, don't worry. I'm gonna get first and second four. And she went out there and bust.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Ass and got first and second.

[Jenny Garth]

She got first place and second place.

[DJ Envy]

You know, gave the first place to her sister, because that's what it was. We represent each other at all times. That's how it always is. So we always tell our kids, if we're not there, you make sure that those parents come Back and say, oh, my gosh, he was such a pleasure. He was polite. He was this. Even with Jackson at the game, you know, Jackson said, thank you a million and one times to you. He said, hello million and one times to you, because that's what he's taught to do, that you show respect with that.

[Jenny Garth]

My goal for my kids is that when they leave our house, I want everyone that they come in contact with to know that they're well loved. What we teach you inside this house, you exemplify outside of this house. And these are things that a lot of parents don't put into perspective when raising children, because what do we usually do? We take, like, you know, an idea and we throw it up against the wall and we. We see if it sticks or not. You know what I mean? Oh, that worked. Oh, that didn't. Okay. But a lot of people don't have something tangible that they can go back to and be like, this is a way to create a foundation. This is a way to create a structure. And because we had so many ups and downs, we were able to do that and put it in one place.

[DJ Envy]

And I think the biggest story I know you hate when I tell a story was Jackson, right? So we had a parent teachers night a couple of weeks ago.

[Jenny Garth]

Oh.

[DJ Envy]

And a teacher came up to me. Teacher that I had no idea, didn't know who he was.

[Jenny Garth]

He was a stem knight, right?

[DJ Envy]

So he walks up to me, he was like, are you Jackson's dad? I'm like, yeah. When a teacher usually asks that, Usually some bs, right? So I'm like, oh, here we go. What did Jackson do? And he was like, I just want to tell you, you know, Jackson did something that no child or adult has done in my life. The other day, I'm walking down the hall, and Jackson comes running up to me, and he goes, you know, are you okay? And the teacher was like, what do you mean? He was like, you just don't look as happy as you usually do. Are you all right? Is anything both bothering you? Would you like to have a conversation with me and just talk it through? Nah, you just don't seem as happy as you do. But don't let things stress you out. Just pray on it, and tomorrow will be better, right? And if you need to talk to me, come talk to me. And he said, jackson ran off. And he was like, I've never had an adult or a child ever do that to me. So he was like, whatever you're doing at home, continue that. And you know what I mean? That just shows what the kids are learning at home is worth everything. You know what I mean?

[Jess Hilarious]

You need to report that teacher, too. He don't need be in the school system.

[Jenny Garth]

He probably was like, you got some.

[Grace Byers]

Time at.

[Jenny Garth]

Y'All is such a beautiful family.

[DJ Envy]

Thank you.

[Jenny Garth]

Thank you.

[Grace Byers]

You know, find my husband.

[Jess Hilarious]

Hey, real life, real family. Thank you. Thank you for pulling up.

[DJ Envy]

And for everybody else, we just want to add this last part. We actually wrote it with somebody that helped us out. Out with terms and helped us with different phrases and helped us with. Made sure that we were actually doing the right thing when it came to raising our kids.

[Jenny Garth]

Yeah. So we wrote it alongside a psychologist because. Yes, because we wanted to make sure that our outlooks were. Were on the level that I would want to put it out to the public. I wanted the psychological research and quarterbacking behind the way that we parent to pretty much put a stamp on it, to know that what we're doing not just from our personal experience driven point of view is sound, but from a psychological point of view is also sound. I wanted to make sure that alongside the truth and the transparency and the experience, that we had that backing to the book as well. I wanted that level of value in the book as well. So.

[DJ Envy]

Yeah.

[Jenny Garth]

And also, you know, if you have a child with anxiety, add, adhd, other setbacks, other disabilities, you know, we speak to you in this book as well, because those people are very like, they don't have that many resources. This book is for anyone who is a parent, a single parent, a parent that is married, a single woman, but.

[DJ Envy]

Maybe about to have kids, someone that.

[Jenny Garth]

Wants to have a child.

[DJ Envy]

I didn't look at you, Lauren.

[Jenny Garth]

Wow.

[Jess Hilarious]

Nobody looked at you.

[Grace Byers]

First of all, you did look over here.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I looked at you.

[Grace Byers]

Thank you.

[Jess Hilarious]

It's.

[Jenny Garth]

It's.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It's.

[Jenny Garth]

It's for everybody. It's a very relatable book. And there's a lot of exercises in the book. We kind of also created it in, like, a workbook style. So there's a lot of reflections. There's a lot of places in there for you to answer questions so you can kind of analyze yourself and understand your own point of view in a way of, like, articulation, where if you haven't really thought about certain things, it'll jog you to think about things. And even if you don't do, don't take our take, it encourages you and helps you to come up with your own takes on parents hunting. So, yeah, you have to now.

[Jess Hilarious]

Real family.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's right.

[Jess Hilarious]

The Casey Crew, it's the Breakfast Club.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You're checking out the Breakfast Club.

[DJ Envy]

Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy. Just hilarious. Charlamagne, the guy. We are the breakfast club. Lauren LaRosa is here. And we got some special guests joining us this morning. We have Dante Banks and we have Kevin Freeman. Welcome, fellas.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Good morning.

[DJ Envy]

How you guys doing this morning?

[Jess Hilarious]

Tell the people who. Well, who y'all are, first of all, so they get some context.

[Tyler Lepley]

I'm Dante Banks. I'm Little Dirk's father.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And I'm Kevin Freeman. I'm the executive director for Little Dirk's nonprofit, Neighborhood Heroes.

[Jess Hilarious]

Okay, well, how is Dirk doing, first and foremost?

[Tyler Lepley]

He's doing great. Wonderful. I just seen him this Sunday, this past Sunday. His spirit is up. He looking forward, you know, to his day in court. Freedom, as, you know, as this is going to turn out to be, you know, releasing him, but he's doing great.

[DJ Envy]

Now you have a story as well. For people that don't know your story, you want to put them on to a little of your story and who, quote, unquote, Big Durk is.

[Tyler Lepley]

Well, Big Durk is known in Chicago, in the streets of Chicago. Not for good, you know, but back in 1993, I got caught in the feds myself. Caught up in the Feds. And I received a life sentence. And it took me almost 24 years or 26 years to get up out of there. So I spent most of my life, more life in jail than I did on the street.

[Grace Byers]

What was it like, you know, when you were locked up and Dirk is here or was out, and he's climbing and he's rising as a star, and you're like, you're seeing it, but you're not seeing it. But like, you kind of. You're calling home, you're feeling it. Like, what was that like?

[Tyler Lepley]

Oh, that was amazing. At first, I'm on the phone as any father would, you know, go to school, get a trade, go to college.

[DJ Envy]

You know, old school, get a trade. That's been something about your parents.

[Jenny Garth]

That's right.

[Tyler Lepley]

I don't want to hear about this.

[Jenny Garth]

Right.

[Tyler Lepley]

Everybody said he's gonna be a rapper. You know, everybody said he finna play ball and different things like this, you know, that's every kid's dream, right? So I didn't really take it seriously. I'm focused upon what I know to be a true career. You can get something up under your belt. And every time I wanna rap, I wanna rap. And then I asked his brother, his oldest brother, which was D Thang at the time, Dante Banks, Jun Jr. I said, is he good? You know, is he good? Is he gonna go anywhere with this? He said, yeah, he's good. And then it was on 100. What was that? 106 and park. I'm in prison. I look up there, he's gonna be on 106 in part. And I said, okay, everybody in prison, he gonna be on 106 apart. So every TV is on 106 and part. We waiting on him. And then that's when we found out. Yeah, he. He got a little buzz, Got a big buzz.

[Grace Byers]

And I see you, like, even just in talking about it, you're smiling, and it's just. I can imagine, like, you know, just as a parent, it's like, I want my child to be successful. And it's happening. And then you're in a predicament that you're in. And seeing it, it feels good to know that, like, he's carrying the family and things are working out, and then everything that we are, you know, seeing now happens. How did that feel when you heard the indictment come down and things of.

[Tyler Lepley]

That nature, you know, from being in there and knowing what he up against now, now you run right there so I can be with him to help them through this. Because this is being in the feds ain't no small task. You know, this is a big thing. They don't. They don't give no room. They just snatch you up with almost and put you in a hopeless situation. You know, everybody goes in, kind of got to fight their way out to show and prove that this is what it is. But, you know, it hurts to know that he have to go through what I just went through. I had to deal with this system. Now. It hurts real bad. You know, first losing the oldest son and to the streets, and now losing him to the government, you know, so that's why I'm there. Hands on lawyers, hands on with him, telling him every step of what to do now and how to fight this.

[Jess Hilarious]

Being a person of faith, you know, you. You know, Allah is the best knower and planner, but when you lose a son, you know, to murder, then you lose a son to. To the. To the jail system. How does that make you feel? Like just your faith? How did that test your faith?

[Tyler Lepley]

Oh, it does. It's test your faith. It takes your faith in a way that's. You have to be a parent to understand what I'm saying here, really test you, you know, but just like you said that fate, you know, everything belongs to Allah. It don't actually belong to me. He just used me as a vessel, but it belongs to him. So I just about to be patient with what's going on here and trusting him and continue to make do I, which is supplication that he brings about the victory that we are looking for in the situation, the relief that we're looking for.

[DJ Envy]

I also, I wanted to ask about his case so much because the Dirk that we knew, that I knew personally, he was such into giving back, right? He would call all the time about the things that he wanted to do for Chicago in the area that he grew up and the things that he wanted to change and how he wanted to give kids an opportunity that they would think more than the street and have things to do. So. So with his organization, is his organization still out there being able to help or is a lot of those funds and things been pulled from that?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Absolutely, absolutely. Envy. So this didn't just happen yesterday, you know, sitting down with Dirk Banks. You know, I remember the day when he was like, kev, this is my vision.

[DJ Envy]

This is what I want to do.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Because he was already doing the work. He's like, okay, but let's, let's do it for real, for real. And we say, for real, for real. Let's get a registered 501C3 and let's really truly, you know, look at the impact that we can make. And one thing that we, we landed on and still to this day is like, Dirk, this is your vision. This is your vision. It's going to be our jobs. And I say our jobs, my job, the board of directors and those that support, we're going to help bring it to life. And to be able to look back and see from 2020 and all the amazing work that he's done. And as you know, in media, you know, a lot of folks don't want to talk about the great things and the positive things that individuals are out here doing. And he didn't do it for that. He did it for the fact that he know that he said, kev, these are things that I wasn't able to experience right when I was a kid. So now that I'm in position to do it, I'm, I'm, I'm all in. Let's go. I'm the voice, right? So I'm like, all right, so sitting with him, I mean, all around the clock. When I say around the clock, I mean, as you know, he's coming from the studio at 3, 4 in the morning. He's calling like, listen, listen, this is what I want to do. And I'm. I'm digesting it. I'm saying, okay, from all the things that I'm hearing, all the things that I. I feel your passion. We created four foundation pillars based off the things that Dirk Banks was truly invested in wanting to do. And it started off with neighborhoods, prosperity, emerging leaders, health and wellness. So with all those four different pillars, there's a bucket of work that lives in within every of us. So. But everyone can't be the next Lil Durk, but everyone can be that guy behind the production. And this is exposing these young black boys and girls that Dirk has been doing for a long time.

[Grace Byers]

I was gonna ask y'all the last thing that he did before he was taken into custody. It was the big prayer event that he had, and then he received the keys to the city.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Absolutely.

[Grace Byers]

But the mayor, I believe was. The mayor got a lot of backlash after he was arrested. And I think, you know, there were certain people and things that, like, stepped back. So how hard has it been? Because the organization is tied to Dirk? Like, are y'all facing opposition? Or people still like, no, we know he's a good person.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You're gonna face opposition just being a young black artist, young black man, a young black woman. There's always going to be trials and tribulations. And if we allow one situation like that to stop us, what we're doing, then we're losing the focus of what his true mission was. Yes.

[DJ Envy]

All right, we have more with Dante Banks and Kevin Freeman when we come back. Of course, Dante Banks is Little Dirk's father. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning. Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy. Just hilarious. Charlemagne, the guy. We are the Breakfast Club. Lon Laros is here as well. We're still kicking it with Little Dirk's dad, Dante Banks, and Kevin Freeman, who is the executive director for Little Dirk's non profit, Neighborhood Heroes. They're in the building now. Can you give us an update on Dirk's case?

[Tyler Lepley]

Yeah. Now, one thing I could say. Well, y'all, the question y'all ask Kevin, I have people looking at him now. It ain't a place I go. It's not a place that I go. A phone call and I don't get where he get 100 support. Ain't nobody, like, turning their back on him or saying nothing negative about other than, you know, a little blob here and there or podcast who's trying to get some type of recognition about saying something negative about him. But overall, 90%, everybody's there in a prayer. They support you get many, many letters. You know, keep your head keep going on. You're gonna get up out of this. You know, things of that nature there. So the support is 100. And I love that about him because that tells you what kind of person he is. When no one is trying to, you know, look at his downfall as something that we can now say, hey, look at him we told you about, right? Not this type of thing.

[DJ Envy]

His.

[Jess Hilarious]

Yeah, what do y'all. When y'all come out here and y'all do these press hits, what are y'all hopes? What are y'all trying to do?

[Tyler Lepley]

We trying to bring a. A real look. What's really. What is Junior? I call him Junior. What is him? What are you supposed to be looking. You know, how you supposed to view him? Don't take allegations and make them a fact. Don't take allegations and make it a conviction. You know, allegations are just that. These are allegations. Give us a chance in court to prove our fact. Them. Give us a chance, you know, and this one thing again, we shout out the mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, when they tried to attack him, he said, don't give the brother his chance.

[Jess Hilarious]

That's right. You know, due process.

[Tyler Lepley]

Give him his chance in court. And this what we ask everybody. Give our chance in court. And we approve that all of this is nothing but falsehood and lies.

[Jenny Garth]

You know, when.

[Grace Byers]

When you talk about going places and wanting the conversation to be just fair for him, even if people are going to have their opinions, how hard is it for you? And you can answer this if you want to. I know it's a legal situation. So, for instance, like, I know I've seen reports of, like, there were, like, text messages that allegedly were, like, between Dirk and the. The guys who are. Who they threw the murder charges at for D thing. And then they have the verse from his song Aha. And they're trying to pin that, like, yo, this is you saying what you did. How hard is it to go up against stuff like that? Just because legally they're talking about that every single time he goes into court.

[Tyler Lepley]

It's not hard if you get all the information. But I will refer. I have to refer all these things to the legal team because, you know, this is some of the things that they would have to answer and give a deeper understanding to. He got three great lawyers on the case. You know, so they working around the clock. They constantly keep. Keep us updated. You know, I talk to them regularly about the case.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And.

[Tyler Lepley]

And so it's going good. You know, all these text messages, these. These things here. They on top of all this, and like I said, give me stay in court and they approved. You know, what's the. What. What's the real truth about these text messages?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Right?

[Tyler Lepley]

How confident are you as a Muslim? I'm confident in Allah as a Muslim, and I just continue to make dua that this. That we victorious in this case, you know, that Allah grant us the release that we are seeking out of this. So looking at everything is weak, but we make sure continue to trust in Allah.

[DJ Envy]

Now, what about with the government? Because, you know, the government, as we've seen with many cases before, they play a nasty game where they try to make somebody look crazy so that the jury looks at them as crazy from the start. You know what I mean? We see that a lot.

[Jenny Garth]

Lot.

[Tyler Lepley]

A whole lot. And who don't know that better than the person that's been in the belly of the beast, you know, I know the tricks in the game they play. That's why, like I said, I stay on this case looking at from every angle because I know their games. I know what they play. I know they lies, they deception. I know they create some things, you know, and creates a witness, you know, I know somewhere out of the blue, it'll be somebody come along. Don't nobody know, like, who is this dude? And they'll put him up there to say some things. So, yeah, I definitely know about them.

[Grace Byers]

And I know y'all brought up India earlier, and we found out that they were married through, like, the new music and the photo on the album. What conversations do you and Dirk have before he decided to get married? And, like, what are you talking to him as dad? You know what I mean? Like, what advice are you giving him? Or, you know, how. What's that like?

[Tyler Lepley]

Okay, now, as a Muslim.

[Grace Byers]

As a Muslim, because it's different for you, right? Right.

[Tyler Lepley]

You got to get married. You cannot lay sleep with a woman that you're not married to. So these are my conversations to him. You have to be married. It's a great sin in Islam if you're not married. We don't believe in fornication. We don't believe in adultery, you know, sleeping outside the marriage and different things like that. If you are interested in this sister, then let her know through marriage that you ready to take on the responsibility of a husband's man. Oh, yeah.

[Jess Hilarious]

As a Muslim, are you on him about the content of his music? Like, if, you know, he beats his situation and comes home, are you going to tell him that musically he should go in another direction.

[Tyler Lepley]

He told me. Oh, he told me. So I'm just keep saying every time I talk to him, he learning more about Islam and what he supposed to be doing as a Muslim.

[Jess Hilarious]

What do you say?

[Tyler Lepley]

He's saying that, hey, I can't talk about these things no more. I can't walk this way of life no more. You know, so he already on point with all this, you know, and that's one of the things about, you know, prison give you time to really reflect, think, give you time, isolation to read, study. So now you're able to, you know, you ain't distracted about these world things. You know, this is a. This is a star. This is a artist. He on the planes all the time. He moving all the time. From the moment he wake up to the moment he go to sleep, he always. He always doing something so saying, you know, he took his harder. He became a Muslim in prison. I mean, at the prison when he came to see me, but then his life took off from there. So now he got a chance now to study. So everything that he needs to know, he learning it right now. So he knowing. He telling me, like I said, I can't talk about that no more. I can't do this no more. I'm glad that I got married. I'm glad that I went this direction right here because he's trying to see now.

[DJ Envy]

Wow. Well, definitely send. Send them our love, man, and tell them that, you know, we. We continue to pray for him, man, and support them.

[Tyler Lepley]

Oh, and no doubt, cuz when I told him about this, he said, that's beautiful. Them. They right there. They going to keep it real.

[Jess Hilarious]

Oh, yeah. We've been watching Dirk since the beginning. Literally, literally, Dirk been up here with Vaughn and everybody. So it's like we literally watched him.

[DJ Envy]

Grow, grow up, up.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's right.

[Tyler Lepley]

And also, we can't forget about our main guy, Swift.

[Jess Hilarious]

Oh, salute to Swiss.

[Tyler Lepley]

Definitely shout out to that brother. And that is. Swiss is one of his biggest mentors. That's one who talks to him, keep him on point. Different things. Like he always calls Swiss. They always talking, what direction? What should I do? You know? And it's good to have somebody like Swiss in this corner, you know?

[DJ Envy]

Absolutely. Well, thank y'all for joining us. Dante Banks, Kevin Freeman, thank you so much. And please keep us updated when you can.

[Tyler Lepley]

Yes, sir, we'll do. And I appreciate y'all from having us.

[DJ Envy]

Absolutely appreciate you some more. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning. Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy. Just hilarious. Charlemagne the guy. We are the Breakfast Club now. You got a positive note.

[Jess Hilarious]

I do. But I want to tell people. First of all, man, make sure you go get your tickets for the third annual Black Effect Podcast Festival happening Saturday, April 26th at Port Pullman Yards in Atlanta, Georgia. Yes, it is year three of an unforgettable day of live podcast inspiring conversations and cultural celebration. Podcast culture celebration. Okay. It's hosted by Mandy and Wheezy of Decisions Decisions. We got the Trap Nerds podcast there for the gamers. Good Moms Bad Choices is going to be there. Carrie Champion's gonna be there with her Naked Sports podcast Tank. And Jay Valentine will be there doing the R B Money podcast live. And Sarah Jake's Rock Hobbits will be there doing the Woman Evolved podcast live. So go get your tickets right [e-mail] podcast festival. Okay? Saturday, April 26th, 3rd annual Black Effect Podcast Festival Atlanta. Can't wait to see you there. And the positive note is simply this. If you're a giver, find another giver to love. Because if you're a giver, likely you've been with a lot of takers, which hurts. So find someone who values generosity as much as you do do. Who loves to give because it's their nature, not their pathology. Just like it's your nature too. Find another giver because you need to be given to too. Have a blessed day.

[DJ Envy]

Breakfast Club finish or y'all Done.

[Jenny Garth]

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[Grace Byers]

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[Jenny Garth]

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[Charlamagne Tha God]

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[Jenny Garth]

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