GARY OWEN in the Trap! | 85 South Show Podcast

Summary

The Breakfast Club: GARY OWEN in the Trap! | 85 South Show Podcast (January 18, 2026)

Episode Overview

This lively episode of The Breakfast Club, featuring special guest comedian Gary Owen alongside the 85 South Show crew (primarily Grady and Nav Green), is a hilarious, candid journey through Gary’s unique career as a white comedian in Black comedy spaces, his personal ups and downs, and the broader comedy circuit. From stories about the dangers of Oakland crowd work to honest confessions about divorce, the episode blends heartfelt moments with laugh-out-loud banter. The crew discusses comic rivalry, crowd dynamics, loyalty to sports teams, and the art of working both “Black” and “white” comedy rooms.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Comedy, Community, and Career

• Roots of Stand-up: Gary shares that his comic journey began in the Navy, elaborating on his early desire to be a comedian but uncertainty about how to get started. The military provided the initial audience and support ("And I knew I wanted to be a comedian. I just didn't know how you did it by yourself." – Gary, 09:03).
• Host of Comic View: Gary reflects on his time hosting Comic View, describing how it transitioned from a contest to an open showcase and produced a season with future superstars (Epps, Katt Williams, Monique, D. Ray, etc.). The show solidified his role in Black comedy spaces (33:33–36:58).

2. Navigating Race and Authenticity in Comedy

• Embracing Black Audiences: Gary honestly talks about performing at Black comedy nights in LA and how he adapted his material for broader appeal as his audience diversified. He jokes about dancing to Destiny’s Child to win over Black female fans and “not be a threat” to the men (32:13–33:18).
• Haters on Both Sides: Gary admits to catching flak from both Black and white comedians for his cross-cultural work, recounting a specific instance where Joe DeRosa criticized him on a podcast (49:11). “He does the black shit. And it's offensive...like, yo, where did this come from? I don't think I've ever met this man in my life.”

3. Showbiz Anecdotes and Comic Camaraderie

• Oakland ‘Hella’ Joke Incident (15:45–16:55): Gary describes a moment when Carlos “took” his opening joke at a DeMarcus Cousins special, forcing him to improvise on the spot. It became a lesson in live adaptability, “You figured it out real time? – Grady, 16:24 | Yeah.” – Gary
• Meeting Richard Pryor (42:10–44:07): Gary emotionally recounts meeting Pryor at the Comedy Store in LA, where Pryor told him, “You're funny. Don't ever change.” Years later, he learned Pryor gave the same advice to other up-and-comers, prompting a reflection on the legacy of comic encouragement.

4. Personal Struggles and Resilience

• Divorce and Family: Gary gets real about his divorce and the difficulties in rebuilding his relationship with his kids (27:06–28:09). He emphasizes never “lashing out” at the kids’ mother online, and reveals the sting (and healing) of public perception versus real relationships: “The Internet is not real life...But the first show in Baltimore...it was nothing but love...the hardcore fans...just. And you guys know on the Internet, people be dragging you, but you never see in real life.” (29:16–29:48)
• Opener Betrayal: Gary shares a story of an opener betraying him during his divorce – both telling his ex-wife about Gary’s relationships and also sleeping with the same woman (25:10–26:41). “I didn’t kill him. I killed his career.”

5. Sports Loyalty and Regional Pride

• Football Fandom: A running bit involves Gary defending his loyalty to the Cincinnati Bengals, despite years of mediocrity, and sparring with Grady over other teams (21:53–22:43).
• Oakland and Bay Area Humor: Gary and the crew joke about the intensity of discussing Bay Area teams, including the dangers of joking about Raiders fans (20:36–21:15).

6. Comedy Club Realities

• Audience Dynamics: The discussion exposes differences between Black and white comedy club audiences, Gary noting that while his crowd might argue over “paper straws,” Grady’s may “turn arguments into fights” (51:20–51:58).
• Matinee Shows and Aging: Gary jokes about preferring 4PM shows as he’s gotten older, reflecting on the changing realities for long-standing comics (31:04–31:27).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On career beginnings:
  • “And I knew I wanted to be a comedian. I just didn't know how you did it by yourself.” — Gary Owen (09:03)
• On realness vs. the Internet:
  • “The Internet is not real life...people be dragging you, but you never see in real life.” — Gary Owen (29:16–29:48)
• On loyalty to his team despite hardships:
  • “Being a Bengals, you hella loyal.” — Gary Owen (22:18)
• On Black and white rooms:
  • “Let me find out you a secret agent. You got a whole other group here on the white side.” — Grady to Gary (31:50)
• On betrayal:
  • “Not only did he tell on me, he was...sleeping with this girl behind my back...So not only did he tell on me...I killed his career.” — Gary Owen (25:41–26:41)
• On comic rivalry:
  • “There was one guy named Joe Derosa...He goes, ‘that Gary Owen, you know, he does the black shit. And it's offensive.’...I don't think I've ever met this man in my life.” — Gary Owen (49:11)
• On advice from Richard Pryor:
  • “He whispered in my ear, he goes, ‘you're funny. Don't ever change.’” — Gary Owen (43:10)
• On comic diversity:
  • “When I came out the Desi's Child, the women loved it, and I was not a threat to the men anymore.” — Gary Owen (33:20)
• On crowd work and social media:
  • “Sometimes it looks like crowd work, but it's really not...things just happen, you know, on stage. Your audience fights. Mine just argues over straws.” — Gary Owen (51:10–51:24)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [03:52–04:45] Dave Chappelle’s Yellow Springs and Ohio music heritage
• [09:03–10:51] Early comedy roots in the Military and Mississippi/Oxford stories
• [13:26–14:34] Gary’s ‘fake beefs’ and content, Netflix brick walls
• [15:45–16:55] The Oakland “hella” joke incident, real-time joke rescue
• [21:53–22:43] Football loyalty banter (Bengals/Super Bowl)
• [25:10–26:41] Comedic betrayal — the opener story
• [27:06–29:48] Divorce, family relationships, and social media perception
• [31:04–31:27] Aging comics, matinee shows vs. midnight crowds
• [33:33–36:58] Comic View stories and legendary lineups
• [42:10–44:07] Meeting Richard Pryor and comic lineage
• [49:11] Gary calls out Joe DeRosa for calling him offensive
• [51:10–52:09] Differences in audience behavior and Gary’s crowd work style
• [53:04–53:39] Being the ‘only white on-air personality’ at BET

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Tone & Show Style

The episode is rich in genuine camaraderie and quick wit, balancing wild stories with honest self-reflection. There’s friendly ribbing between Gary and the hosts, with plenty of Atlanta flavor, down-to-earth humor, and an open acknowledgment of racial realities in comedy.

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Final Shout-Out: Closing & Gifts

Grady gifts Gary a 85 South Show sweatsuit, Gary promises to wear it on his next appearance, and the show ends with playful jabs about traffic, punctuality, and loyalty—an apt reflection of the supportive yet chaotic brotherhood that defines the 85 South universe.

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For Fans:
This episode is a must-listen for fans of unfiltered comedy, real comedian life stories, and anyone who loves the vibrant overlap between Black and white comedy cultures. Whether you’re here for the laughs or the behind-the-scenes stories, this episode delivers both in spades.

Transcript

[Podcast Announcer]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

[Shopify Advertiser]

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[Nav Green]

This show contains information subject to but not limited to, personal takes, rumors, not so accurate stats, and plenty more. What's up, man? This your boy? Nab Green from the Broken Play Podcast. Look, it's the end of the season. The playoffs are here. Guess what? It ain't the end of your season. You can always tune in, but with Broken Play Podcast with Nav Green on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Not a team who ain't going to the playoffs.

[Gary Owen]

The chief.

[Nav Green]

It's time to rebuild. Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Grady]

All right, son, time to put out this campfire.

[Podcast Announcer]

Dad, we learned about this in school.

[Grady]

Oh, did you now? Okay, what's first?

[Gary Owen]

Smokey bear said 2.

[Grady]

First, drown it with a bucket of water, then stirred with a shovel. Wow, you sound just like him. Then he said, if it's still warm, then do it again. Where can I learn all this? It's all on smokeybear.com with other wildfire prevention tips, because only you can prevent.

[Gary Owen]

Wildfires brought to you by the USDA.

[Grady]

Forest Service, your state forester, and the ad council.

[Podcast Announcer]

You know, we always say new year, new me, but real change starts on the inside. It starts with giving your mind and your spirit the same attention you give your goals. Hey, everybody, it's Michelle Williams, host of Checking in on the Black Effect Podcast Network. And on my podcast, we talk mental health, healing, growth, and everything you need to step into your next Season whole and empowered. New Year Real. You listen to Checking in with Michelle Williams from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Grady]

No, you got to tell them when they come fix your mic. They'll get handsy sometimes. It'll fill you up right in the middle of the show.

[Gary Owen]

I can't wait. I can't wait to talk about. I've been waiting to tell this story on this podcast about the dude In Oakland, the DeMarcus cousins.

[Grady]

Which one?

[Gary Owen]

The one we did. We filmed it. Oh, you don't even know the story. But I can't wait to hear it.

[Grady]

J Ray, drop me about 30 seconds worth of pepper right quick, man. I don't need but some pepper and that's all.

[Gary Owen]

Hey, J.

[Grady]

There you go. See, Gary, we don't listen to music over here. This is pimping on me.

[Gary Owen]

I like it.

[Grady]

You feel me? I made this with you and mine.

[Shopify Advertiser]

Thank you.

[Grady]

Is that what white wise got the little. Little guitar twang? Yeah, he from Ohio they don't fuck with.

[Gary Owen]

We got Bootsy Collins.

[Shopify Advertiser]

Come on.

[Gary Owen]

Hey, Isley Brothers.

[Grady]

Come on. Ohio Players.

[Gary Owen]

Ohio players.

[Grady]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Tech 9.

[Grady]

My mom. My whole family's from Cleveland.

[Gary Owen]

Oh, really?

[Grady]

Yeah, you can't forget Bone Bone Bone on the music side, too. You been Yellow Springs?

[Gary Owen]

I did it during COVID and been out there.

[Grady]

This motherfucker got a whole town, bro.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, Yellow Springs. Yeah, we used to go to summer camp there when I was in sixth grade. Every year we went to. What the hell was it called? Camp Kern. I can't remember the name of it. We went out there for a week.

[Grady]

Dave Chappelle got a whole town, bruh. They got a dispensary and everything. They said it's like a camp. It is nice. White people everywhere you look. And you know your black ass is only there to see Dave Chappelle.

[Gary Owen]

It's funny if you look.

[Grady]

That's why they have.

[Gary Owen]

Did you notice when I did it, it was election year. That was The Trump Biden 20, 20 year.

[Grady]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

As soon as you get up the highway, it's chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp. And as soon as you get Yellow Springs, it's Black Lives Matter.

[Grady]

And that was fine in the rainbow flags. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Definitely rainbow flags. They a little oasis. Goddamn it.

[Gary Owen]

It's like a bubble.

[Grady]

Yeah, I seen a rainbow American flag over there. Some strange shit. Now, Gary, before we even get into this. Come on. You know I fuck with the cars heavy. And we recently discovered you got a whole ass dunk out here.

[Gary Owen]

That's yours. That ain't mine.

[Dr. Joy Harden Bradford]

Mm.

[Grady]

Mm.

[Gary Owen]

I was probably fronting on Instagram. I front a lot.

[Grady]

You can't believe everything on the Internet, bro. I've been television. Believe it. This Gary Owens car, it was like a 73 impala or something.

[Gary Owen]

Oh, I think that was Russell Peters car. And I was driving it and I took a picture like it was mine. That was Russell Peters car. That Russell Peter's.

[Grady]

You don't even. You own all the car blogs like Gary Owens. Fuck with the. Oh, yeah, yeah. Hey, he know how to market this.

[Gary Owen]

Cause I, you know, Russell's so generous. You know Russell?

[Grady]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

If you go out to LA and you're cool with him, he'll just be like, stay at the house. What car you want?

[Grady]

I don't know him like that.

[Gary Owen]

I didn't know him like that either. Here's the crazy part. I called him to be on my podcast. He said, when you coming out? I go, you know, Thursday, let's say. And he was like, all right. He goes, where you staying? I go, hotel. He goes, man, stay at the house. This man at the house in Hidden Hills, like right next to the Kardashians. So I was like, oh. All I saw was hitting hills. I see. I probably stayed there.

[Grady]

Yeah, yeah, that's right.

[Gary Owen]

He had this huge house. He was by himself. Cause he just broke up with this girl at the time. He was just chilling. So he literally like, all right. He had like five cars. He goes, take one. So I took the dunk.

[Grady]

Oh, man.

[Gary Owen]

And I was like. Took pictures like mine.

[Shopify Advertiser]

Shit.

[Gary Owen]

Sorry about that.

[Grady]

That's wild. It's wild. Gary, bring my car back now. Bring my car back. I thought you had done dropped a quarter mil on a old school.

[Gary Owen]

Nah, nah, borrowed.

[Grady]

He done took it to car shows and everything. He done won a car show with somebody else. I'm gonna go back and find a post. I'm gonna send it to you. Cause I was like, I did not know he. With the old school. Big on sixes and everything.

[Gary Owen]

I could have lied.

[Grady]

That's funny.

[Gary Owen]

But I didn't want to get in the conversation. You started asking me about spark plugs and shit. Right, right.

[Grady]

Hey, man, welcome back to the 85 South. Dude, we gotta get. We got a very special guest in the house with us today. He been threatening to come for five years, OG man. He said I was. I didn't put him on the show. I was like, I didn't Fucking know you would come on here. I knew he would come. Probably. I ain't know, I thought he would be like, nah, I ain't fucking with that. Cause we just be over here talking shit like we do. You know what I'm saying?

[Gary Owen]

I was like, shit, you can't.

[Grady]

We don't let nobody go to dance room no more. You just gotta hold it. Close the door. You just gotta hold it.

[Gary Owen]

I'll be right back.

[Grady]

No, I won't let nobody go to the bathroom but none other than the very hilarious Mr. Gary Owen. Yeah, Mr. Gary Owen. No F. No F. No S. Oh, man. We do that. No S. We do that. Yup, we do that.

[Gary Owen]

Shrimps.

[Grady]

Krogers.

[Gary Owen]

Krogers. Joe Burrows.

[Grady]

Exactly. Yeah, man. You know black people, we love to make some shit plural.

[Atlanta Is Podcast Narrator]

Yeah, you do?

[Grady]

Yeah, man. And then your shit is specific. It's Owen. We know a lot of Owens. We don't know no Owens.

[Gary Owen]

Carol Owens, Jesse Owens, Candace.

[Grady]

We don't fuck with Candace. But that's.

[Gary Owen]

We got. Well, there's Clive Owen, the English actor.

[Grady]

Oh, no. You know.

[Gary Owen]

You know, if you saw him, he's been in a lot of movies.

[Grady]

Sin City. He been in some other stuff too. What the fuck make you think I'd be watching Sin City? Hey, man, it's the only thing I can think of. Off top. Gary. Welcome to the trap, man.

[Gary Owen]

Thank you, man.

[Grady]

How you been? Good.

[Gary Owen]

I feel safe.

[Grady]

You? You are safe.

[Gary Owen]

Feels good here.

[Grady]

It's fortified around here. Yeah, we got some of that.

[Gary Owen]

I made sure I came during the day.

[Grady]

Yeah. This Antonio Bandettis couch, we flipped that over. All the guns under that.

[Gary Owen]

It's exciting. Yeah, I know what you meant by that. I saw that.

[Podcast Announcer]

Yeah.

[Grady]

They're not just loose under there, they're fitted.

[Gary Owen]

I was like, damn.

[Grady]

To the bottom of the couch. Flip that over to the door. Then we just get to pulling out all kind of yolks and stalks spray that do that, Bro, you were in the military for a long ass time, right?

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, damn. Six.

[Grady]

Six years Navy. And you said that's where you kind of like started with the jokes.

[Gary Owen]

And I knew I wanted to be a comedian. I just didn't know how you did it by yourself.

[Grady]

That was my dilemma too, because I was from a small ass town and we have no Mississippi. Yeah. We have no entertainers for real. Like other than like who go and play music, you know, music at like a bar or some shit. They were like the big stars.

[Gary Owen]

Nobody came through.

[Grady]

Nobody came through. Nobody. Only people who came through in my Whole stepdad was like, Morgan Freeman was a regular. He wasn't doing no comedy.

[Gary Owen]

He's got a part of it. Right.

[Grady]

He owned a lot of shit in Mississippi. It's a cool story about him, too, that he actually went to John Deere to buy two of those big ass tractors, like the big $700,000 tractors. And he was just walking around and nobody would help him. So he went across the street and they. And he bought two of them and was like, fuck y'. All. It was John Deere. And they. Whatever their competitor is, he went over there and bought some shit. Who compete with. Well, I mean, whoever the fuck make practice. It's the number two in everything with the Caterpillar.

[Gary Owen]

I'm trying to think too. Like, what is the number two?

[Grady]

I don't know. But they red. John Deere is green and these is red. Okay, so that. That was a cool. But he was a regular. Cause he's big into, like, you know, not the politics of Mississippi, but, like the representation. And, you know, the tour didn't have.

[Gary Owen]

Like a blues bar.

[Grady]

Yeah, he got some shit down there. I think he from around Clarksdale way. He from the Delta over that way.

[Gary Owen]

Where you from?

[Grady]

I'm from Oxford. The bougie part, that's Ole Miss.

[Gary Owen]

Ole Miss, that's where everything's 18 miles per hour or something, right?

[Grady]

Yeah. Archie Maintenance. It was the speed limit.

[Gary Owen]

Oxford, Ohio.

[Grady]

Oh, the speed limit at ole miss is 18 to honor Archie Manning. Like around the campus, it's just. They change the. Oh, okay. Instead of 20. Yeah, okay. But if you go 20, they ain't go. But if you go 30, they on your ass. You black, they go. If you go 30, they on your ass.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, yeah.

[Grady]

But like I said, he was a regular around Oxford. John Grisham, the author. The author from. Yeah. Jurassic. Not Jurassic.

[Gary Owen]

I wouldn't know what he looked like.

[Grady]

Time to kill. Cool white dude. Cool as fuck. That's a good movie.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Grady]

He used to let us have baseball practice in his yard. Like all the John Grisham when we were like. Cause he got a son that's my age. He was in our class. So he got the big ass, all these acres. And he would let us come out and, you know, play baseball at their house and shit. And Charles Barkley came through randomly. We were at school one day and Charles Barkley showed up and gave these speeches to all the kids and gave everybody a T shirt. You can still see them T shirts around the Oak Banis. When he started touring, he came through, but we didn't really get a whole lot of people through that. We get a lot of, like, white celebrities, like that one lady. You ever seen Chasing Amy?

[Gary Owen]

I know the show.

[Grady]

You know the movie Chasing Amy? What make you think I would have seen Chasing Amy? Cause I know you seen Clerks? I don't know.

[Gary Owen]

Let me look it up.

[Grady]

Clerks? You know Clerks? Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Jason, Kevin Bob.

[Grady]

Kevin Smith. Yeah, yeah. That white girl with the funny voice. She live in Oxford now. Yeah, she played. She was Amy in the movie Chinese Finger Trap.

[Gary Owen]

That's who I am.

[Grady]

She living our truth.

[Gary Owen]

Chasing Amy. Where's the cast? Her?

[Grady]

Yep.

[Gary Owen]

Joey Lauren Adams.

[Grady]

Yep. Okay. Eli Manning. Lived in Oxford. He went to Ohio.

[Shopify Advertiser]

He had to.

[Grady]

Yeah, He a cool motherfucker. Drunk ass. He liked them beers. So you was saying comedy, you always knew that that was gonna be your thing. Like, how did you. How did you get started with it? Was it just like, funny dude in the.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, I was class clown. Most obnoxious. In high school. I did get upset because I was prom king, but they didn't vote me most likely to be famous, and they voted this guy named Chris Jones.

[Grady]

But the prom king ain't never the one who's, like, most likely to be famous.

[Gary Owen]

No, but I was class clown and most obnoxious.

[Grady]

So you felt like stacking these awards. Yeah. And you got prom cake.

[Gary Owen]

You might as well. So I'm going. I was really one of most likely to be famous if you don't take all of them. And it went to this guy named Chris Jones. He was going to Air Force Academy. So I remember I pulled him aside like this. I was like, you know, pilots are only famous when they wreck.

[Grady]

That's fucked up. That's some fucked up shit. I hope that man's still alive. I hope he ain't go down. Okay.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, Professor.

[Grady]

Now he fight. Shout out to Chris Jones. There you go, right there.

[Gary Owen]

I'm sure he watches.

[Grady]

Man, you got the strangest relationship with the Breakfast Club. Why? It's like every time you go on there, like, they give you shit. They make fun of everything you got going on. I can tell some of that shit be bothering you a little bit.

[Gary Owen]

Nah, it's funny. It's all me like this. It's all content. I tell everybody all my beefs are fake on the Internet. I don't take none of it serious. Everything I say is just content.

[Grady]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

So even when they come because they make fun of me about the Netflix thing, Right?

[Grady]

Right.

[Gary Owen]

Been told no so many times they tell you no. They say our It's. Our budget is done for the year.

[Grady]

We got to get in there. And it don't matter what time of the year you hit them.

[Gary Owen]

It's always the same answer. It's like this. I. I only think they watching it. It's fine.

[Grady]

That's crazy.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah. I'm. I'm like. The only thing I'm doing not now is waiting on them, because there's been two times they got me where they had me on waiting for, like, four or five months to answer, and then they just say no. And I'm going, right.

[Grady]

Well, right. You even give it?

[Gary Owen]

Not anymore. I think in the beginning, like, five, six years ago, because it's almost like everybody was at the birthday party, but you weren't invited.

[Grady]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

You're at the door like, yo, I'm happy for everybody. Gets them, right? I'm going. You know? Is what it is. I got a. I got a funny story about this.

[Grady]

This guy, Okay.

[Gary Owen]

I don't think he's ever heard it. So. 2019, DeMarcus Cousins did a special comedy slam. Yeah.

[Grady]

Yeah. Amazon.

[Gary Owen]

So he went up right before me, right? And I don't ever really watch anybody when I'm on them shows like that. Stay in my dressing room, because I've seen comedians psych themselves out if somebody's killing, right? But you got to go up five minutes before you go up, because you're up next, right? So I go up, and Carlos up there, he's killing him. My first joke was his last joke, and I went, talk about sweating. So in Oakland, they always say, hello, yeah, you hella funny. You hella slow. You hella good. He goes, man, you out here. Use hella for everything. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. This here. That was gonna be my first joke. You know, you guys in the bay, hella means everything. And it's like, you had to be there.

[Grady]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

He didn't take it from me, Right. Saw me do it, right? So I wasn't thinking, like, oh, somebody told him. I was like, this. I go, it's just one of the things, comedians thinking like.

[Grady]

But you gotta reposition. What.

[Gary Owen]

Fuck me, dude, especially. I only got, like, five, 10 minutes. I think we got 10, 15 minutes on that show.

[Podcast Announcer]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

And my shit was like, say it right off the bat. Oakland, hella funny, hella slow, right? And then I had a callback at the end, and I go, well, fuck, the beginning of the end's fucked right now. I went up there like, yeah, I just Got into it. I figured it out. But it took me like two minutes. It was like a standing eight count. I was like, ugh. And somebody said, they go, figured it out real time.

[Grady]

You figured it out on stage?

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Podcast Announcer]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Cause somebody said, was you nervous? I go, nah, Carlos, man, he said this hella joke. And they was like this. Cause you was flying the first two minutes. You like trying to get that laugh, you know, I was like this. But it was. It wasn't a knock on him, but it was just funny because I was going. When I saw it happen, he goes, you motherfuckers in Oakland, man, you see you hella. We got hella girls. We got hella weed. I was like this. Okay, There goes the callback at the end. There goes the first joke. Yeah.

[Grady]

Damn. My bad. Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

It happens, man. Fine.

[Nav Green]

This show contains information subject to but not limited to personal takes, rumors not so accurate stats, and plenty more. What's up, man? This your boy, Nav Green from the Broken Play podcast. Look, it's the end of the season. The playoffs are here. But guess what? It ain't the end of your season. You can always tune in with Broken Play podcast with Nav Green on the Black Effect podcast network. Not a team who ain't going to the playoff. The Chiefs.

[Grady]

What's a wrap?

[Nav Green]

It's time to rebuild. Who your MVP right now.

[Grady]

Then Drake May up there. Josh Allen up there still. Oh, my boy Matthew Stafford.

[Podcast Announcer]

Where did Bo Nicks at?

[Grady]

He ain't too far behind.

[Podcast Announcer]

He did all this topic.

[Grady]

What Matthew Stafford is doing statistically, bro is crazy.

[Nav Green]

Bro, you know I ain't no Josh Allen fan, but Matthew Stafford got better weapon. Caleb Williams.

[Grady]

Hey, he should be in that conversation.

[Podcast Announcer]

In what conversation?

[Nav Green]

He should be in it. Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green from the Black Effect podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Dr. Joy Harden Bradford]

The moments that shape us often begin with a simple question. What do I want my life to look like now?

[Gary Owen]

Dr. Joy.

[Dr. Joy Harden Bradford]

I'm Dr. Joy Hardin Bradford, and on therapy for black girls, we create space for honest conversations about identity, relationships, mental health, and the choices that help us grow. As cybersecurity expert Camille Stewart Gloucester reminds.

[Podcast Announcer]

Us, we are in a divisive time where our comments are weaponized against us. And so what we find is a lot of black women are standing up and speaking out because they feel feel the brunt of the pain.

[Dr. Joy Harden Bradford]

Each week, we explore the tools and insights that help you move with purpose, whether you're navigating something new or returning to yourself. If you're ready for thoughtful guidance and grounded support, this is the place for you. Listen to therapy for black Girls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Grady]

Like, if we're on the air here and I literally have my contract here and I'm looking at, you know, as soon as I sign this, I'm gonna get a seven figure check. I've told them I won't be working here in.

[Atlanta Is Podcast Narrator]

From the underground clubs that shaped global music to the pastors and creatives who built a cultural empire, the Atlanta Is podcast uncovers the stories behind one of the most influential cities in the world.

[Gary Owen]

The thing I love about Atlanta is.

[Atlanta Is Podcast Narrator]

That it's a city of hustlers, man. Each episode explores a different chapter of Atlanta's rise. Featuring conversations with Ludacris, Will Packer, Pastor Jamal Bryant, DJ Drama and more. The full series is available to listen to do now.

[Grady]

I really just had never experienced anything like what was going on in the city as far as, like, you know, seeing so many young, black, affluent creatives in all walks of life.

[Gary Owen]

The church had dwindled almost to nothing. And God said, this is your assignment.

[Grady]

And that's like how you know, like, okay, oh, you from Atlanta for real. I ain't got to say too much. I'm Grady, baby. Shut up.

[Atlanta Is Podcast Narrator]

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

[Gary Owen]

Carvana is so easy.

[Grady]

Just a click and we've got ourselves a car.

[Gary Owen]

See so many cars.

[Podcast Announcer]

That's a clicktastic inventory.

[Gary Owen]

And check out the financing options payments to fit our budget. I mean, that's Clickonomics101 delivery to our door.

[Podcast Announcer]

Just a hop, skip and a click away. And bot no better feeling than when everything just clicks. Buy your car today on car. Delivery fees may apply.

[Grady]

Didn't you say some that got them on like they was on your ass? You said the wrong football team or something.

[Gary Owen]

No, no, that's where I transitioned. I said, you got Raider fans and 49er fans.

[Grady]

Oh, they hated that Raider.

[Gary Owen]

And as soon as I said that, the Raiders just like Raiders, they wouldn't shut up. And the joke was, you could die at a Raider game.

[Grady]

Yeah, you know, hey, the Raiders, like.

[Gary Owen]

If you wear a Bronco Joe, they'll just fucking stab you. I was like, it's fucking Tim Tebow, right? Protected by Christ, bro. And like, if Niner fans ain't gangsta. And that's when they started booing in a Fun way. I'm saying, like, oh, we gangster too. Like, why do you. Why are you acting like that's a good thing?

[Grady]

Right, right, right.

[Gary Owen]

Well, you can get stabbed and their stadium is next to Six Flags.

[Grady]

I always stay away from teams because that shit is so tough. Touch it.

[Gary Owen]

It is facts, bro.

[Grady]

We were in Boston and D.C. was like, the Patriots. All of them was up there. I was like, why didn't you do that?

[Gary Owen]

He should have been all right, though, cuz they. There's mostly white dudes on Patriots. When Brady was there.

[Grady]

Nah, they weren't there.

[Gary Owen]

Not that girl.

[Grady]

The other ones, it was.

[Gary Owen]

There was some more about the D line.

[Grady]

Yeah, this. But you know. But they know why he said that. You can't be from Atlanta and not safe. That's real Trump. Yeah, like, they get it. They got all the Super Bowls. That would be crazy, but it would be bad.

[Gary Owen]

Who's your team?

[Grady]

Pittsburgh. Oh, this here, man, the Steelers, man.

[Gary Owen]

Young Bengals fan.

[Grady]

Oh, you're not a Browns fan?

[Gary Owen]

Cincinnati, baby.

[Grady]

Joe Burrow. Why? When have they ever been.

[Gary Owen]

They just win the super bowl three years ago. What you talking about?

[Grady]

You mean win? They didn't win.

[Gary Owen]

I'm saying they went. Does that mean. Man, you got.

[Grady]

Dude, what.

[Gary Owen]

You hella negative.

[Grady]

You being hella weird right now.

[Gary Owen]

Being a Bengals, you hella loyal.

[Grady]

What made you like them?

[Gary Owen]

I grew up there. But that you.

[Grady]

They haven't been good in your lifetime.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, they were. They had boomer size to Nikki Woods. That doesn't mean super bowl twice when I was growing up.

[Grady]

They keep going. They gotta win.

[Gary Owen]

They will bring me back next year. They not going bring me back next year. This month. Who.

[Grady]

Who plays for the Bengals?

[Gary Owen]

Joe Burrow? Jamar Chase T. Higgins? What fool, we.

[Nav Green]

That's not enough motherfuckers to win.

[Grady]

There's not enough people to win the Super Bowl. I don't like how y' all doing. My cousin Shadow up there, I don't like that shit. That's Cleveland.

[Gary Owen]

I don't give Cleveland.

[Grady]

It's Ohio.

[Gary Owen]

That's a whole different team.

[Grady]

I don't give a fuck.

[Gary Owen]

Oh, my God. Georgia Tech. That's not like. I don't. I don't like how you did A.J. green, motherfucker. That's Georgia.

[Grady]

Give a.

[Gary Owen]

He ain't no yellow jacket.

[Grady]

Yeah, but shit, still, somebody should make a call. This is bullshit. Watch what you talking about, Shador. Yeah, cause they let him play that first game. No, because they all his money up and drafted him all late even though he knew he was better. Than him.

[Gary Owen]

He was already rich.

[Grady]

I don't give a fuck about that. You don't get to decide when a motherfucker go. Cause they already got money.

[Gary Owen]

If you think about it though, he treat him different.

[Grady]

Cause he got a daddy and shit.

[Gary Owen]

It was really only like six teams that were passing on him. Like most of the teams weren't five times. Five times?

[Grady]

Yeah, but he was like the sixth round, fifth, 50th, eighth.

[Gary Owen]

But we gotta realize, you know, Kansas City wasn't gonna take him. That was out of the question. So when they pass, that's not really passing. They ain't a quarterback. They don't need a quarterback. They're acting like the whole NFL passing. But really, it was five teams that needed a quarterback. So it really wasn't like 32 teams passed on. It was like the five. You know what I mean? It's fine.

[Grady]

The AFO's watching. Cause folks was watching deep into the. I thought it was televised. This deep. You want me to smoke some weed?

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, you need to calm down. No, I was.

[Grady]

I was.

[Gary Owen]

Cause I know you didn't smoke weed like this. You need to bring it down a little bit.

[Grady]

You right.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Grady]

I just know you didn't smoke weed.

[Gary Owen]

Mississippi, slow pace.

[Grady]

Cool. But I don't understand why you don't smoke weed. You a comedian?

[Gary Owen]

I tried it a couple times. Just hurt my throat. The raspy and. Whoa, whoa.

[Grady]

I knew that was gonna happen.

[Gary Owen]

I knew I was gonna set myself up for that. Hey, man, that was. Hello.

[Nav Green]

Hello.

[Grady]

Have body parts when you talking about. Man, My goddamn.

[Gary Owen]

Cause as a man. Why the fuck is something hurting your throat? That's raspy. This boy hurt when you secure in your sexuality. And you know, you don't go that way. You can say shit like that.

[Grady]

You scared to say my neck, brother. Hey, man, you know, I do a lot of research and shit. And I heard, sir, you say that the motherfucker you had opening for you did some dirty shit and told on you.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, yeah. Dirty motherfucker. You can see him at a coffee shop near you.

[Grady]

Damn. I don't even know who it is.

[Gary Owen]

That's my point. You never will.

[Grady]

Damn. That's the opener. The opener. So he tried what?

[Gary Owen]

When I got. When I got divorced, we was in mediation and my ex. We're pretty cordial. And she just goes, gary, I know about some of the girls. And she was wrong about 90%. Okay, but 10%, she was right, right?

[Shopify Advertiser]

Right.

[Gary Owen]

Not that there was 100.

[Grady]

Right. Right. Just percentage.

[Gary Owen]

Percentage wise, she named off this name she goes, I know about Boom. And I went, wait a minute. There's only one motherfucker on the planet knew about her. And then he told her that he got fired because I found out he was sleeping with this girl behind my back. I didn't know he was sleeping with her either. So not only did he tell on me, he was when I fired him.

[Grady]

So he was sleeping for you on stage and with this hoe?

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Grady]

Damn. That's crazy. And then.

[Gary Owen]

And we knew, we. Listen, I was under no pretense. I was the only one with her. Everybody. She was. She was.

[Grady]

She was cool like that Dirty Diana.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, she was good people. She was friendly. But I'm like, but at what point are you going behind my back? As a Sopranos? You die for that.

[Grady]

No, he went behind your baby Twice. Twice. That's the dope.

[Gary Owen]

That's why I didn't kill him. I killed his career.

[Grady]

Damn.

[Gary Owen]

So he'll never blow up, ever. Damn. It was old. The second he gets a little heat.

[Grady]

Jerry, that's fucked up.

[Gary Owen]

It is fucked up.

[Grady]

Don't do them like Cameron, that was a good idea. You seen this good one.

[Gary Owen]

I'm not paying him 7,500, though.

[Grady]

No, no, no. That's so fucking lame, man.

[Gary Owen]

Lame.

[Grady]

Totally. Like, that was your boy.

[Gary Owen]

That was my boy. Yeah. I let him go in 2018. She gotta realize the divorce happened in 2021. It started. That's when he started talking to him.

[Grady]

I follow you on Instagram. That shit was sad.

[Gary Owen]

It was all right.

[Grady]

I'm saying, like, when you was, like, rebuilding the relationship with your kids and shit, that shit was sad.

[Gary Owen]

Okay, thanks.

[Grady]

For real.

[Gary Owen]

I was like, damn, let's talk about football again.

[Grady]

No. Cause I like how. Where the story ended up going. You get what I'm saying? It was like, hey, we rebuilding. We back talking. And I was like, that last one was heavy. When I saw you when you went to the graduation or some shit, and you was like, I'm just gonna chill. See my baby?

[Gary Owen]

Oh, yeah. My daughter.

[Grady]

Yeah. But you like, I ain't gonna go over there. And I was like, damn.

[Gary Owen]

I was respectful.

[Grady]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

She graduated from A and T. And I went. And then they was like, nah.

[Grady]

But you did something that you don't see a lot of men do, though. Like, you never gave up. Like, you kept pursuing. Like, you kept being there even when you weren't there, the way you wanted to be. It still meant a lot that, like, later on down the line in the grand scheme of things, that you still.

[Gary Owen]

Show that's the goal.

[Grady]

Yeah, yeah.

[Gary Owen]

You always gotta think about it.

[Grady]

So I fuck with you on that one.

[Gary Owen]

Well, it's also. You gotta tell men, too. Like, when you get a divorce, you know, don't lash out on the baby mama. Cause the kids see that. Yeah, you can't lash out. And behind closed doors when you're with your close friends. And then you can drop whatever you want, right? But on social media, it's like, it's no win. And you know what I learned through all that was like, the Internet is not real life. It's definitely when I say I was locked up at the Four Seasons in Baltimore for two weeks. I was under Mohammed Shabazz because the processor was trying to serve me. So I was hiding, right? And they knew.

[Grady]

Well, you picked that name, though.

[Gary Owen]

They knew I was lying. Because when I order breakfast, I get bacon and eggs, like, what? Mohammad Shabazzi. So, you know, I'm two weeks, I'm in the hotel, all I'm doing is reading. Every couple days, a new blog comes out. Everybody knows why we're getting divorced, getting dragged by everybody.

[Grady]

And then as a man, you don't get to tell your side. You just kind of gotta take it.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Grady]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

But the first show in Baltimore, I'm gonna say about 45 minutes. I ain't lying. I got on stage, like, how are these people gonna react to me? And then it was nothing but love. And then about 45 minutes in, this lady in the back just yelled, I love your little cheating ass. I go, you don't know how bad I had to hear that right now. It just hit me, like, the hardcore fans and the people that really with you just. And you guys know on the Internet, people be dragging you, but you never see in real life.

[Grady]

Yeah, they don't.

[Gary Owen]

You never see nobody.

[Grady]

People who do that, they don't buy tickets to shoot that part. They don't buy. They don't leave out the house for the most part. Right?

[Gary Owen]

I gotta tell my guys now. I got my guys that are on the road with me, and they'll get all flustered with a comment or a post. I go, dude, worry about the people that come see you live.

[Grady]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

If somebody comes to you live and makes a comment, like, sends you a message like, I enjoyed this. Didn't enjoy this. You paid to see me. I'll have a back and forth. I've had a lot of back and forth with fans. And then it turns into something positive at the end, like, well, you know, I'm still gonna come see you. Ref didn't like that joke.

[Grady]

Right? You know what I mean?

[Gary Owen]

But they paid to see me. If he was going off something you saw off the Internet a lot.

[Grady]

Crazy, though, because you respond to them and that's all they wanted was the response. They'll back down immediately. Hey, man. Hey, man. I was just fucking with y', all. See if you was gonna say anything you like, bro, but the Baltimore Comedy Factory, that's a rough ass room.

[Gary Owen]

Oh, that's one of my favorites.

[Grady]

What night do they usually fight on your weekend?

[Gary Owen]

Oh, they fight at.

[Grady]

Cause you know they gonna have at least one fight.

[Gary Owen]

Oh, no, I don't have that.

[Grady]

I have at least one.

[Gary Owen]

I think I got. I must have the uncles of the people going to your.

[Grady]

Cause you know, I usually do a three show Saturday. Yeah, that second show, that's where all the fighters be.

[Gary Owen]

Really?

[Grady]

Hell yeah.

[Gary Owen]

So I know I'm getting older because my third show's at 4. When they say, you want to add? I'm adding to matinee. I go, oh, I age down at the midnight show. For real facts, every time I add shows now, they're like, four o'.

[Grady]

Clock.

[Gary Owen]

I'm like, what happened to the midnight show? No, no, no, your fans aren't awake at midnight. Yeah, so I, I, I Prefer the, the 4 o' clock show now. I'm like, all right, I'm still back in my room.

[Grady]

I mean, you know that midnight show on three notes, like that shit is on your ass. Like you feel all of them first two shows, Like, I wanted to ask you this. I know you've been playing most, like all black rooms forever. You ever play all white rooms and be like, what the fuck is going on?

[Gary Owen]

Nah, there wasn't time. You ever play all white rooms? Yeah, all the time. There wasn't.

[Grady]

Well, let me fucking find out. You a secret agent.

[Gary Owen]

You got a whole other group here on the white side. Little bit, Little bit.

[Grady]

I thought you just be in the hood, shit fucking around.

[Gary Owen]

Let me find out. You a mainstream Fox News, son. Leave here 85 south. The fox News, baby.

[Grady]

Say you cover all baby. Right, Right after that.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah. Joe Rogan.

[Grady]

No.

[Gary Owen]

I do, I do remember when I first started doing standup, I was doing all the quote unquote, black nights in la. So that's Fat Tuesday, Moet Mondays, chocolate Sundays. And even on the weekends I was doing like Mavericks Flat and, and all the places in Compton, so to speak. So I do remember when I started getting more white people. My shows, I go, oh, shit, my act. I gotta, I gotta Work this so everybody gets my jokes.

[Grady]

I can't work easy for. Right. For you personally now.

[Gary Owen]

It doesn't matter right now. It doesn't matter in the beginning. You know, a lot of my actors is trying to. Honestly, you're just trying to get women to lie, actually how beautiful black women are. So, like, you know what I mean? You're just trying to get some after the show, hopefully.

[Grady]

Right, Right.

[Gary Owen]

Dance or something. Little Destiny's Child. You say, no, no, no, no, no. Then you say, that was my jam, boy. Back in the day. I used to dance to that whole song. They go, is he gay or is he not? What are we going on here?

[Grady]

You know, brother, it was good three minutes.

[Gary Owen]

Here's the thing. When I came out the Desi's Child, the women loved it, and I was not a threat to the men anymore.

[Grady]

Like fucking with some dude, dancing dusty street.

[Gary Owen]

The whole dance, the whole thing, bro.

[Grady]

What was your experience like hosting Comic View? Because that's totally different pace of just like doing a weekend or doing a night, bro. You. You were the host. Like.

[Gary Owen]

Well, you know, when I hosted, the year before I hosted, it was the contest. Yeah, they only had like 30 of us. Maybe they only accepted 30 comics. There was three an episode, and you would win your episode and you moved on to the next round. And it's just the stars lined up. Like, I kept winning my rounds. You win four rounds, then you get a half hour special. Okay, yeah, it was an hour special, but you only had to do 42 minutes because there was a lot of commercials in hand.

[Grady]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Gary Owen]

So really, it was a 42 minute special when you filmed it. So when I became the host is when they opened it up. No longer a contest. And that's because Def Jam went away. So the Def Jam was no longer around. So what made Comic View different than Def Jam was comedy was a contest. Def Jam was just a showcase. Def Jam goes away. Comedy's like, oh, we can be the showcase now. And that's when they opened up to, like, 300 comics.

[Grady]

Okay.

[Gary Owen]

So the year I hosted. Oh, my God. Like, you look back and Grant, there was 285 comics you never heard of. But Epps.

[Grady]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Cat Williams.

[Grady]

Yeah. Monique. Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Everybody was on that season that D. Ray, Everybody was coming on that year that we didn't know they was going to be who they are.

[Grady]

Right.

[Gary Owen]

I mean, it was wild, but they were just. Honestly, it was just like, I would just go up there with Ronaldo Ray.

[Grady]

That's a legend, man.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah. We had so Much fun.

[Grady]

I'm so glad we got to meet Ronaldo. Shout out. Ronaldo Ray, man. He came to Uptown for a weekend when it was on Marietta Street. You remember when he came, he set all the comics around and he bought everybody drinks and he just told us all these old ass stories and it was just one of the coolest things because he didn't have to, you know what I'm saying?

[Gary Owen]

He would take me, we would get done film in Comic View and he'd take me to like some Training Day shit. We'd show up at some building in la, they had a gate and like he hit a buzzer and the motherfucking gate opened. You came back and then you go back there and it was like Dolomite. Oh, those players. Richard Roundtree. Where the are we at? Some young girls, everybody had champagne. The gold rappers like get sit down and then he cross his legs and then like this my young dude, man. We had that TV show together. Come on down, Richard. You know, I just like, I. I didn't say I was just a sponge on the wall.

[Grady]

I was like, you know what I mean?

[Gary Owen]

And it's the good thing about someone like Ronaldo and stuff, their stories were true. They weren't lying.

[Grady]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

You know?

[Grady]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Okay. The last time I worked with him was at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington. And he fell off the stage. I'll never forget it. The Indians there was like, you can't drink. Well, Ronaldo drinks every show, right? He drinks his champagne on stage. So he drunk the champagne. He drank too much. He was telling a joke, bro, and just fell. He rolled back up on stage and finished the joke and the champagne never spilled. He went and you just saw the glass up and then he rolled back up and went. And then I told that bitch.

[Shopify Advertiser]

Are.

[Gary Owen]

We not getting knowledge that God saved?

[Grady]

He didn't say, just kept it moving. That's hilarious.

[Gary Owen]

Rolled though, rolled back up.

[Grady]

And then I told that.

[Gary Owen]

That was my last time talking to him.

[Grady]

He had those stories, cuz he brought Richard Pryor.

[Gary Owen]

He saw that was the last time I talked to him. And I think he saw, he knew something that clearly I didn't. Cuz he was reminiscing about all his contemporaries that passed away. Remember we got something to eat before the show and he was talking about Redd Fox and I was at Comedians and he was like, he was like, yeah, I'm the only one left. Everybody gone, man. It was almost like he was coming to grips. Like, I don't have much time left. I Think he passed away probably two years, three years later. Yeah, very shortly after that. Cause he was sick for a while. I think he had a stroke.

[Grady]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

So he was kind of down.

[Grady]

Yeah, Red Fox was definitely his guy. Cause that's the drinks that he bought everybody. He made everybody drink Grand Marier and orange juice. That's what we used to drink.

[Gary Owen]

That was in la.

[Grady]

That was in Atlanta.

[Gary Owen]

Atlanta. Okay. You said that.

[Nav Green]

This show contains information subject to but not limited to personal takes, rumors, not so accurate stats, and plenty more. What's up, man? This your boy, Nav Green from the Broken Play podcast. Look, it's the end of the season. The playoffs are here. But guess what? It ain't the end of your season. You can always tune in with Broken Play podcast with Nav Green on the Black Effect podcast network. Work another team who ain't going to the playoff? The Chiefs.

[Grady]

What's a wrap?

[Nav Green]

It's time to rebuild. Who your MVP right now then Drake.

[Grady]

May up there, Josh Allen up there still. Oh, my boy Matthew Stafford.

[Podcast Announcer]

Where did Nicks at?

[Grady]

He ain't too far behind.

[Podcast Announcer]

He did all this talking.

[Grady]

What Matthew Stafford is doing statistically, bro, is crazy.

[Nav Green]

Bro, you know I ain't no Josh Allen fan, but Matthew Stafford got better weapon. Caleb Williams.

[Grady]

Hey, he should be in that conversation.

[Podcast Announcer]

In what conversation?

[Nav Green]

Listen to Broken Playwright with Nav Green from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Dr. Joy Harden Bradford]

The moments that shape us often begin with a simple question. What do I want my life to look like now? I'm Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, and on Therapy for Black Girls, we create space for honest conversations about identity, relationships, mental health and the choices that help us grow. As cybersecurity expert Camille Stewart Gloucester reminds.

[Podcast Announcer]

Us, we are in a divisive time where our comments are weaponized against us. And so what we find is a lot of black women are standing up and speaking out because they feel the brunt of the pain.

[Dr. Joy Harden Bradford]

Each week we explore the tools and insights that help you move with purpose, whether you're navigating something new or returning to yourself. If you're ready for thoughtful guidance and grounded support, this is the place for you. Listen to Therapy for Black Girls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Grady]

Like, if we're on the air here and I literally have my contract here and I'm looking at, you know, as soon as I sign this, I'm gonna get a seven figure check. I've told them I Won't be working here in two weeks.

[Atlanta Is Podcast Narrator]

From the underground clubs that shape global music to the pastors and creatives who built the cultural impact empire, the Atlanta Is podcast uncovers the stories behind one of the most influential cities in the world.

[Gary Owen]

The thing I love about Atlanta is that it's a city of hustlers, man.

[Atlanta Is Podcast Narrator]

Each episode explores a different chapter of Atlanta's rise, featuring conversations with ludicrous Will Packer, pastor Jamal Bryant, DJ drama, and more. The full series is available to listen to now.

[Grady]

I really just had never experienced anything like what was going on in the city as far as, like, you know, seeing so many young, black, affluent creatives in all walks of life.

[Gary Owen]

The church had dwindled almost to nothing. And God said, this is your assignment.

[Grady]

And that's, like, how, you know, like, okay. Oh, you from Atlanta for real. I ain't got to say too much. I'm Grady, baby. Shut up.

[Atlanta Is Podcast Narrator]

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

[Podcast Announcer]

You can accomplish a lot in a decade. You could earn a bachelor's degree and a master's degree back to back. You could compete in two separate consecutive Olympic Games. Well, we made my favorite murder. It's been 10 years of true crime, 10 years of conversation, and 100 years of swearing. Here's the thing, everyone. Politeness. Go f yourself. As much as someone sneezes, from now on, we have something for everyone. Advice, support, and a safe space for your feelings. This is terrible. Keep going. Triflers need not apply. Stay out of the forest. You're in a cult. Call your dad. Don't worry, it gets worse. Toxic masculinity ruins the party again. I said, dad, what the hell? What are we. What are we gonna do? And he goes, I don't. What the hell? I don't know. We're gonna sally forth, Sally. We're gonna sally forth. You guys stay sexy. Don't get murdered. Elvis, do you want a cookie?

[Gary Owen]

A cookie?

[Podcast Announcer]

Listen to my favorite murder on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Goodbye. Goodbye.

[Grady]

I heard you say somewhere that you got to. You was performing one night and you ain't know Richard Pryor was in the crowd.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, well, no, we knew he was. He was sick. This was before the kings of comedy. So this is probably 98 and out.

[Grady]

There in LA, right?

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, the comic store. And they said, richard's coming. And I was like. And everybody was. You know, he sat down his booth, had his two people with him. And they told all the comics, no pictures. Don't go up to him. He just wants to sit and watch the show. And so. All right. I get off stage, one of Richard's guys come up and said, richard wants to meet you. And I was like, all right. So I go sit down, and two things happened. That was funny. One, he asked to get a picture with me, and I was like, all right. I said, well, can I. Can I get my camera so I can remember it? This is for iPhones and all that shit, right?

[Grady]

Right.

[Gary Owen]

I'll be right back. I run to my truck because I had, like, the yellow T sh, right? I said, what? You in la? You don't even know who you gonna be. And I'm young in the game.

[Grady]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

I come back with my camera. That fucking security guard lifted me up.

[Grady]

Motherfucker.

[Gary Owen]

We sent no pictures. I go, he asked me. He asked me. And Richard was so soft. He goes, that's why, you know, he was sick, but he was still coherent. And then he whispered in my ear, he goes, you're funny. He goes, don't ever change. And I was like. I was like the last dragon. Like, the gold, where I'm like, the glow. Right?

[Grady]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Why am I watching Oprah? Two, three years later, Monique's on Oprah. And Oprah goes, when did you know Monique? When did you know you have it? She goes, well, I had a show, and Richard Pryor was in the audience. And after the show, Richard pulled me aside and whispered in my ear, don't change. Don't ever change. I go, was this motherfucker saying that to everybody?

[Grady]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

So you got some whack comedians that are like, I'm not gonna change. Cause Richard Pryor told me, don't change.

[Grady]

Not saying that. Monique is one of them.

[Gary Owen]

No, no, I'm not saying that.

[Grady]

You know how the Internet is. Yeah, yeah.

[Gary Owen]

I told the story before, but I was like this. I was going, I'm sitting here watching Oprah guy. No, it's kind of like when you was on stage in Oakland. No, no, no, no, no. Because at that point, I was like, this. That's my Oprah store. I'm saving it for Oprah.

[Grady]

Yeah, man.

[Gary Owen]

Don't change.

[Grady]

Don't tell everybody that. That's crazy, though. That might be how he just wanted to never fuck over the next comedian. You know what I mean?

[Gary Owen]

I mean, he could have just told me and Monique that, too. You know what I mean?

[Grady]

It could have just been y' all two.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Grady]

Remember, we were the last two to show up At Oakland, we had that long ass van ride.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, I think you were tired. I said, I, I talked about my podcast. I go, the comedians don't realize other comedians could be tired. Cause I was on 10 because I lived there, so I wasn't tired. He got off the plane, I think he went to sound check, and you was checked out. He's like, I just want to go to the room.

[Grady]

I ain't going to sound check.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, it's kind of hard.

[Grady]

Could it be we're not musicians either.

[Gary Owen]

Up or down, Usually up facts.

[Grady]

Not showing up at 2:30. Go to no sound check. I sound the same way everywhere I go.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, that was apparent. You didn't want to be there.

[Grady]

Not at that point. At that point, we don't want to go. We was in the van in the back.

[Gary Owen]

I'm trying to have a conversation with Carlos and every answer's like, yeah, nah, like, where you coming from? Another state.

[Grady]

I was, you know, how'd you get here? Good.

[Gary Owen]

All right, man, I'll see you tonight. But was tired.

[Grady]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

So I went on my podcast and I talked about. I said, man, sometimes comedians, we can get in our own heads. Cause it's like, hey, what the. I do to Carlos. Like, what?

[Grady]

You ain't never did shit.

[Gary Owen]

That's what I'm saying. But I talk. It's funny. That's why I like podcasts especially, because I do a lot of them by myself. Like, you will have a self therapy session. Cause I sat there and realized, oh, he didn't do nothing. He was just tired from the flight. But there's some comedians that some people be like, man, I don't like Carlos.

[Grady]

I don't give a fuck.

[Gary Owen]

Motherfucker quiet to himself. I don't like that motherfucker minding his own business, man. Yeah, I'm sure there's a few.

[Grady]

And then there's some people you meet and you like, oh, man, he seems standoffish and whoop wobby then. And then you come talk to somebody else and you like, no, that's how they are. Yeah. And then you like. And then you get around them another time you like, oh, they not standoffish. They just stay in the same spot. And they not finna do a lot of like, yeah, what about this?

[Gary Owen]

You ever forget this?

[Grady]

Some motherfuckers don't light up till some white women get in the room.

[Gary Owen]

I'm about to say, some bitches get around.

[Grady]

Niggas get niggas making drinks and all that.

[Gary Owen]

You a box now you can juggle he juggle it. Hey, let me tell you the funniest. One of my dudes would be on the road with me, right? I' ma never forget. We was in Oklahoma City. He laughing like he knows this motherfucker is late for everything. He was late today to get me here, right? He's always late. We was in Oklahoma City and these two white girls was at the bar. And then he goes, this had to be 15 years ago. He was like, I don't know how they got my info, but the one girl calls and she goes, are you guys at the choreograph? And I was like, yeah. She goes, okay, we're on our way. I go, why is she calling me? I think he used my phone or something, okay? So I called him. I said, hey, that white girl's coming with her friends to the hotel. I gotta let him in the lobby because you gotta let him in.

[Grady]

He goes, all right.

[Gary Owen]

This motherfucker was like on the 20th floor. I was on the 10th. I hung up, walked out of my room, went in the elevator. When that opened up, he was on it. I go, how the fuck you punctual today? I said, how did you get to the elevator that fast? He was just sitting there like this dress, though. Hat, cock. I was like this. Oh, I see what it is.

[Grady]

I seen that shit happen in years. Nobody time, though. Hardcore gangster ass rapper, bruh. We go out to the bar with him. I don't know where the black dude. I know who he talking about. I know what he talking about. We ended up being the only three black dudes in the club. This motherfucker whole gangster now. I look up this motherfucker asking the white girls, wanna get some Jaeger bombs?

[Gary Owen]

I'm like, what the fuck? What the fuck am I saying? Jager bombs is the panty drop.

[Grady]

Those white.

[Gary Owen]

This drink you can get. You took me back to high school, old man.

[Nav Green]

Whiskey.

[Grady]

But a Jager Bone. Jager bone?

[Gary Owen]

That's crazy.

[Grady]

The crazy thing is, Jaeger meister ain't even real liquor. That ain't even liquid. It's like liquor that, like, melted Twizzler or some shit. Yeah, yeah. I ain't understand the appeal of that Jager, man.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, I don't get it either, Gary.

[Grady]

You ever had. Who was like. Who would you say would be your biggest haters for you being a white dude?

[Gary Owen]

Oh, my God.

[Grady]

Do you have somebody who just hated on you for that?

[Gary Owen]

He talking about stand up or in.

[Grady]

Life, just stand up on the comedy side. Cause you know, comedy beef is way different Yeah, I don't know. It seemed like you could catch it from both sides, though. You do.

[Gary Owen]

I heard some white comedians going on, man. I was like, wow, I don't even know that dude. Like, out of left field, unsolicited.

[Grady]

I'd be like, yeah.

[Gary Owen]

There was a. There was one guy named Joe Derosa.

[Grady]

You ain't have to name him.

[Gary Owen]

Well, it's fine.

[Grady]

Oh, I know.

[Gary Owen]

I mean, if he's gonna name me, I can name him. I really don't know what I did to this dude. He went on a podcast. He goes and that Gary Owen, you know, he does the black shit. And it's offensive. It's offensive. He acts like, I know black women and I know black people. He goes and he does it. It's like, yo, where did this come from? I don't think I've ever met this man in my life.

[Grady]

You do, man.

[Gary Owen]

I don't know where he came from, but I was like, all right, I see him out there now. Like, and the algorithm sometimes on different podcasts, stand up. So it'd be good to, like, talk to him. Like, hey, what'd I do? I had to do something to him. I don't know if he featured for me. And I was cold that day. I have no idea. But the way he did on that podcast.

[Grady]

What if you took a black girlfriend that he had?

[Gary Owen]

Ooh, could have. That's true too, maybe.

[Grady]

Cause you never know, man. Sometimes these motherfuckers hate you. Cause you remind them of somebody that. You know what I'm saying? Like, funny. I didn't do that.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, Think about that like this, huh? It could be it.

[Grady]

You gotta be careful out here, man. That's what the weed do. It give you a quick little therapy set.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Grady]

You don't even have to. You just gotta be around it.

[Gary Owen]

I'm starting to get secondhand smoke high, I ain't gonna lie. You guys got any Fritos?

[Grady]

Yeah. We bring some chips over here?

[Gary Owen]

No, we're good. I gotta go in a minute anyways.

[Grady]

Oh, yeah, you got a minute, bro. Check out the new shib. The new special.

[Gary Owen]

Oh, yeah. It's on YouTube.

[Grady]

Let's go. Okay.

[Gary Owen]

It's called no s. Yeah, I see.

[Grady]

You'Ve been doing the crowd work too. You've been working the audience.

[Gary Owen]

Well, here's the thing. I think we've all done crowd work, right? Yeah, but I just finally bit the bullet and said, I got a full time camera guy now. Always with me. I got a full time editor. And we just filmed the Shows. And sometimes it looks like crowd work, but it's really not. Like the one that hit last month, the paper straws one where the guy. Security guy was there, and I was imitating, like, four people. It was at the Baltimore County Fair. That was back in February. That wasn't necessarily crowd work. I got interrupted. Like, they were. Had such a heated discussion. I go, what's going on right now? I serve him. So it wasn't like I was up there about to do crowd work, but that's where it comes from. Yeah, there is crowd work, but it's also like, things just happen, you know, on stage, your audience fights.

[Grady]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Mine just argues over straws.

[Grady]

Yeah. Cause see, my audience. Yeah. Your argument would turn to a fight. Sometimes they get so excited and they get up too fast. Like, they be. They be up like, before they get. Earlier that day, they done smoke, like, three blunts. They done drunk like, a whole Don Julio. Now they at the show up way earlier.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Grady]

Then they usually be fucked up. And that's, you know, like, kids get sleeping, they need a nap.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Grady]

Same thing happened with grown people. As opposed to saying, hey, I need to lay down. I'm cranky. They just start shit.

[Gary Owen]

So I'm gonna say that next time. If there is a time when somebody starts to fight in my show, I'm like, hey, this ain't no Carlos Miller show. What the fuck y' all doing right now? That's crazy. You hella whack.

[Grady]

And then when they don't fight, I'm.

[Gary Owen]

Gonna be like, man, y' all acting like Gary Owens in this bitch without talking it out.

[Grady]

Y' all act like Gary Owens in there, man.

[Gary Owen]

Y' all knock slap shit out of some.

[Grady]

Like, I bet you won't hear the motherfucker.

[Gary Owen]

No. The latest specials on YouTube is called no s. We just went over a million, which is what's up, man. To keep people's attention for.

[Grady]

Come on, man. Especially when they tried to say it was all short form stuff. They tried to make us think comedy was finna die. But you try to make it seem like, bruh, you ain't you, bruh. We give you your. We give you your flowers all the time, bruh. You cold on that mic, man.

[Gary Owen]

I appreciate it.

[Grady]

And then for you to really be that humble and then not be an actor is crazy, man. Yeah, an hour ain't shit to you. We done saying you rip all the stages, man, and all the time after. Very consistent with the work, Gary.

[Gary Owen]

I appreciate it.

[Grady]

All the comic view comedians. My grandma used to Let me watch Comic View with her. So it's like a special place for the host and stuff, because, yeah, you might have been the one white person she fucked with.

[Gary Owen]

I think I'm the only white on air personality ever. Like, I had the reality show on BET, then I got the host, John McConaughey. People like you. The people obviously, like, you're the first white host comedy. I said, well, I was only White House of Comic View.

[Grady]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

And then the. It's funny, I go out like, eight, nine years ago to pitch a reality show, and BET bought it in the room. And then I was like, dang, out of all the. All the networks, we went to bet. What the.

[Grady]

You was about to say? You said, all done. Network.

[Gary Owen]

Shit.

[Grady]

You think he got this far by being sloppy?

[Gary Owen]

Get this bl.

[Nav Green]

Too close.

[Grady]

All the niggas in that room. What the fuck, man? Don't throw it away right here. This is not where you throw it away.

[Gary Owen]

It's gonna be like Birdman. I gotta edit this. I need to put it. I gotta edit all this out.

[Grady]

I need all these cameras. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Gary Owen]

This didn't happen today, guys. This is not.

[Grady]

I promise you, for like a second. I was like, what the is he doing? Oh, you clean that up, G. Yeah. Networks, networks.

[Gary Owen]

There was a lot of networks in bet.

[Grady]

A lot of networks going on in this motherfucker.

[Gary Owen]

It's kind of like where we're at now.

[Grady]

This is a network. Yeah, this a network right here. And, man, Trump got everybody on edge.

[Gary Owen]

I gotta bounce, guys.

[Grady]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

So this is a mini but mighty show. I'm glad I got to do it. I'm glad you guys came in on your day off.

[Grady]

You mad that the episode ain't longer? You blame Atlanta traffic. It's all my fault. And that took me a hour to get here in traffic.

[Gary Owen]

And how long have you lived in Atlanta?

[Grady]

That's why we don't.

[Gary Owen]

That's why we don't shoot around that.

[Grady]

20 years.

[Gary Owen]

Like, can you. Does traffic just hit you today? 20 years?

[Grady]

No, but every time we have to shoot early, it always get fucked. Cause I gotta come from all the way on the other side to this side.

[Gary Owen]

Tell you what, it's already far. I'm gonna tell you what I told. First time I went to London and I had the opener that did the bitch move on me. And I had the same.

[Grady]

Don't point at me. I didn't do it.

[Gary Owen]

The same guy that likes white girls in Oklahoma City was there. They got to London the night before me. This is about an eight hour flight from Cincinnati to London. They're out partying because of time change. I said, hey, I'm about to take off. I said, listen, have fun tonight. Party, whatever you want to do. I said, my flight lands at 6. One of you need to be at the airport when I get there. I've never been to London and I'm keeping, I'm paying for the trip, right? So I was like, this one of you just be there? Yeah, both of them. Neither of them was there. I'm talking. It got to about noon. I ain't heard from these motherfuckers yet. So I was at the hotel. They was at a different hotel because I had us at the nice shit. They was at the not so nice shit. They start calling me at noon, like, where you at? I told the front desk, I said, I'm not here. Don't, don't, don't let them check in, nothing. So I come down the lobby. The little gym was right next to the lobby. They were both standing there looking at me. I walked by them like this. I'm on a little elliptical. They was at the glass looking. I think I was on a lifticle for two hours. There's a little guy, he was sitting there. This is why I told him. I said, look, if somebody told you there was a million dollars at London's airport, just be there 6am to pick it up, you would have not have overslept, right? I was like, treat me like I'm a million dollars.

[Grady]

Right, right.

[Gary Owen]

So.

[Grady]

Oh, you ain't shitting to me. No, I'm just.

[Gary Owen]

All right. I got a bounce.

[Grady]

No, you gotta drive. Right? I get it, all right? I get it. White people like to be on time.

[Gary Owen]

We do. I was here early. I got here at 3.

[Grady]

But I ain't gonna let you. I was like, oh, I'll let you leave until I give you a gift, man.

[Gary Owen]

That's what I'm talking about. I can't wait. I love gifts.

[Grady]

That's the big shit too. Now you swag.

[Gary Owen]

Oh, it's the hoodie.

[Grady]

You swag now.

[Gary Owen]

This is gonna be awesome in 95 degree weather this weekend.

[Grady]

No, you don't wear it this weekend. But you do live in Ohio Sometimes.

[Gary Owen]

Oh, this is a whole sweatsuit.

[Grady]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

With socks.

[Grady]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Gary Owen]

Thank you.

[Grady]

Hey, man, we appreciate you stopping through. Notice your first time, don't let it be the last.

[Gary Owen]

Watch. I'm gonna wear it next time. I'll wear this on the show.

[Grady]

All right, BET Watch. Well, you know where we at, man. You're more than welcome back too. We gotta do a Long Way south show. Get it on.

[Gary Owen]

Wow. I can't close the box.

[Grady]

Close that box. Close box, bro. Let's get a flick, man. What's up? Then you slide.

[Gary Owen]

Three.

[Podcast Announcer]

This is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.