INTERVIEW: 'Grits & Eggs' Podcast Talk Free Thought, Avoiding The Noise, Parenting + More - The Breakfast Club

Transcript

Interviewer (0:00)

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DJ Envy (0:40)

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Deontay (0:40)

All?

DJ Envy (0:40)

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Deontay (0:57)

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DJ Envy (0:57)

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Deontay (1:06)

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Deontay (1:49)

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Summary

Summary: The Breakfast Club Interview with the 'Grits & Eggs' Podcast (Dec 8, 2025)

Main Theme & Overview

This episode of The Breakfast Club features Deontay and Kyle (aka "Big Cat") from the Grits & Eggs podcast. The discussion centers on the growth and philosophy of their show, candid takes on free thought, avoiding internet noise, cultural commentary, personal growth, and the realities of parenting and generational trauma within Black families. Throughout, they discuss the value of authenticity, community connection, and responsible platform use, offering vulnerable glimpses into their backgrounds and challenges.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Origin & Growth of Grits & Eggs

Deontay’s Start: Deontay, a former truck driver, began producing content on TikTok while on the road, then expanded to YouTube and launched the podcast for deeper, long-form conversations.

"I started doing TikTok from the truck... I feel like I got something to say... The podcast just seemed like the place where people speak freely." — Deontay [03:14]
Team Chemistry: The transition from solo content to bringing on Kyle ("Big Cat") for technical help and eventually as a co-host, relying on their longtime friendship and complementary perspectives.

"We know each other for so long, it's like natural... the ideology is aligned." — Deontay [14:33]
Audience Growth: Leveraged a base of over 100,000 TikTok followers to launch the pod, embracing small wins:

"People be acting like a thousand people not a lot... let a thousand people be outside right now." — Charlamagne [05:46]

Podcast Philosophy: Substance Over Clicks

No Rage-Bait or Low-Hanging Fruit: The hosts consciously avoid trending controversies, relationship debates, or manufactured conflict for virality.

"I stay away from anything that's like low-hanging fruit... I don't do rage bait either... I'm not trying to come with a hook." — Deontay [06:58]
Measured Response: They emphasize research and not responding to headlines immediately to avoid misinformation, especially with today's AI-generated content:

"Don't just make a video soon as something comes out... You don’t got all the information... I just sit back and kind of let get my own perspective on it and kind of research things." — Deontay [07:36] "AI is dangerous, boy." — Deontay [07:40]
Not an Authority, Just Honest: Deontay doesn't feel pressure to be a definitive educator but wants to share honest and well-considered perspectives.

"I never approached it as like an authority. These were things I was talking about anyway... I had these opinions already." — Deontay [09:36]

The Importance of Free Thought and Avoiding the Noise

Cultural Pushback: Discussed the challenge of "free thought" in the Black community, referencing cancel culture and the risks of sharing unpopular opinions.

"Systemically, free thought come with big punishment... Maybe folks be scared for me... If we're not going to say it, what's the point?" — Deontay [16:37]
Platform Navigation: Careful about what topics to publicize versus what to save for platforms they control (like Patreon or Discord) due to shadow bans and algorithmic suppression.

"If I see people constantly getting shadow banned for stuff, maybe we say this for a Patreon... Everything ain’t gotta be for the public all the time." — Deontay [17:26]

Audience Engagement & Live Show Challenges

Transition from Digital to Live: Learning to structure live events, include audience interaction, and manage nerves.

"You want them to be involved... you kind of gotta involve the crowd... my first show... I wasn’t pacing, I wasn’t taking my time." — Deontay [12:23]
Audience Contribution: Crowd Q&As bring "so much substance," with a diverse, engaged community of professionals.

"Every time we pose questions to the crowd they come up, it’s like so much substance they bring." — Deontay [13:34]

Content Selection & Guest Philosophy

Not Chasing Uploads/Controversy: Only cover topics if they have something new to contribute.

"If I don't feel like I can add nothing, if I don't got no fresh perspective, then I'm cool on it." — Deontay [29:55]
Guest Standards: Avoid guests whose motives are clout/hype; prefer experts across fields, especially Black professionals in STEM and beyond.

"I like to take people, that is in fields... like, we just interviewed a black astrophysicist... different schools of thought. It's not about your following." — Deontay [22:14]
Rejecting Certain Sponsorships: They turn down offers from industries like gambling and male enhancement, preferring sponsorships aligned with their values.

"We don’t do no gambling, and for another, we don’t do no dick pills... everybody getting fired. Cause I already said no." — Deontay & Kyle [20:53–21:00]

Parenting, Trauma, and Generational Healing

Parenting Styles: Open about past trauma influencing parenting, striving for balance, vulnerability, and humility with their own kids.

"When I make a mistake, I apologize to my children... I kind of killed the Superman early with them. Like, look, bro, I make mistakes." — Deontay [45:14]
Explaining "No": Moving away from the traditional "because I said so" approach to explaining decisions to their kids.

"The difference is, I explain. My dad never explained... Because I said so, and you just took it." — DJ Envy [50:33]
Intergenerational Honesty: Sharing stories and struggles with their children, breaking cycles of silence around trauma, mental health, and financial realities.

"You gotta have boundaries with your children too... and allow your kids to have boundaries with you as a parent." — Deontay [61:19] "You can extend grace to [your parents] once you learn their story. Some people ain’t gonna change." — Deontay [53:18]
Economic Realities: Facing and explaining financial limitations transparently to model responsible behavior and gratitude.

"Sometimes I be telling myself, like, yeah, bro, I ain’t got it right now, bro... Now we can ball out a little bit, you know what I'm saying?" — Kyle [52:32]

Identity and Vulnerability

Deontay’s Adoption Story: Discussed discovering in adulthood that he was adopted by Black parents as an infant and his biological mother is white, sharing the impact on his sense of identity and how the internet weaponized this revelation against him.

"I didn't know I was adopted... So of course that is going to spark up a whole bunch of stuff around identity... But for me, it was liberating, cause I was like, bro, I knew I wasn't crazy." — Deontay [62:21]
Battling Stereotypes Around Blackness & Masculinity: Pushing back against “overly revolutionary” labels for biracial Black men and refusing to overcompensate.

"I could understand the psychology behind trying to overcompensate, but that just ain't my vibe." — Deontay [65:30]
Impact of Trauma: Both Deontay and Kyle shared formative experiences—Deontay around familial instability and childhood sexual abuse, Kyle regarding his father's incarceration—and how these shaped their worldviews and life choices.

"You spend so much time as an adult trying to heal that little traumatized little boy." — Charlamagne [38:37] “No matter how broke I am, I ain’t gonna sell no drugs. Because being in the car when you a kid and driving through the middle of nowhere to go to a prison, that do something to you..." — Kyle [42:27]

Mental Health, Therapy, and Modeling Healing

Support for Therapy: Both hosts and guests underscored therapy’s value, especially for Black men, and removing its stigma.

"If you don't get your mind right in this space where you sharing a lot of your mind, you gonna lose your mind." — Deontay [40:47]

Critique of Social Media & The Black Community

Self-Censorship & "Mob" Effect: Warned against groupthink and the cycle of outrage/forgiveness on social media, and advocated for genuine engagement over herd behavior.

"We self-censoring now. So then when they take your freedom of speech, it's like, well, y'all slow walked us into it..." — Deontay [18:47]
Seeking Diversity of Thought: Engaging with divergent viewpoints to avoid intellectual echo chambers.

"If you only engaging with stuff that you agree with all the time, your scope of intelligence gonna shrink because you're in an echo chamber." — Deontay [19:36]

Podcast Mission and Meaning

Intentional Through-Line: Rooted in “liberation”—of Black people first, but ultimately all oppressed groups—via exposure to new perspectives, empathy, honesty, and cyclical community growth.

"I know I can't change anybody mind, but I can change their perspective… The big overarching thing is liberation... for black people... but it expands." — Deontay [31:17]
Avoiding Ego & Practicing Empathy: Stress importance of humility, honest self-reflection, and extending grace both to others and to oneself.

"I think the human aspect of it is just being able... just say you wrong. Don't double down when you mess up." — Deontay [09:05]

Industry Wisdom: The Reality Behind Podcasting Success

Preparedness for Success: The industry rarely prepares creators for the strenuous demands of “making it”—scaling, managing a team, feeling responsible for an audience, and enduring creative anxiety.

“What you gonna do when it happens? There’s gonna be days where... you don’t feel like it, but you really gotta tighten up and get to it, because now you got an audience.” — Deontay [72:49]
Consistency & Authenticity: Made easier by just being themselves, but logistics and team-building are the bigger challenges.
Advice for Listeners: Encouraged listeners, especially young Black men, to pursue trades and skilled labor as viable, rewarding career paths.

"All you rappers out there, get out that booth. America needs plumbers, electricians... The trade is what got the podcast off the ground, you know what I'm saying?" — Kyle [74:45]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Avoiding the Social Media Trap:
"Sometimes you just gotta put that phone down, bro. In a real way... My baby hungry, like, Daddy, can I get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? I'm like, 'Hold on, let me respond to this real quick.' Nah, I'm not." — Deontay [33:20]
On Therapy & Healing:
"If you don't get your mind right in this space where you sharing a lot of your mind, you gonna lose your mind." — Deontay [40:47]
On the Show’s Name:
"Grits and Eggs—that's a go to all the time... just reminded me of a time when I was really starting to think for myself. It's Southern, it’s black, and it sounds good." — Deontay [10:58]
On Children and Entitlement:
"Some you gotta earn, some can be given, some you gotta earn. You know what I'm saying? You can't give them everything. If you give a person everything, they gonna feel entitled like, oh, I can get whatever I want." — Kyle [55:27]
On Industry Realities:
"Podcasting in general, for us, this shit easy, bro. We just being ourselves... But scheduling, building the team... that’s the hard part." — Deontay [72:56]
On Bridging Community Gaps:
"What we're really trying to do is bridge gaps... we got a lot of gaps in our community around differences, but our experience is extremely the same." — Deontay [68:59]

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

[03:14] — Deontay explains Grits & Eggs’ origin story
[05:46] — On celebrating small audience milestones
[06:58] — Podcast philosophy: substance over surface
[12:23] — Transitioning to live shows & audience inclusion
[13:34] — Leveraging crowd engagement and Q&A
[16:37] — On free thought and “playing the game like a coward”
[20:53] — On sponsorship ethics (turning down gambling etc.)
[31:17] — Overarching mission: "liberation"
[40:47] — Mental health, therapy, and modeling healing
[45:14] — Parenting, apology, and breaking the "Superman" myth
[62:21] — Deontay discusses his adoption and biracial identity
[72:49] — Reflections on what the podcast industry doesn’t prepare you for
[74:45] — Kyle’s advice to pursue trades & skilled work

Conclusion

Deontay and Kyle of Grits & Eggs offer an unvarnished look at the highs and lows of new media success, the unique needs of Black communities online, and the power of real talk—from generational trauma to generational healing. Their emphasis on authenticity, empathy, and community over algorithms and controversy makes their podcast a vehicle for real growth and connection. The Breakfast Club hosts amplify the resonance and necessity of platforms like Grits & Eggs in today’s culture, closing the episode with warmth, respect, and encouragement for the journey ahead.