21.) Ebro Vs. Rosenberg + Yahya Abdul-Mateen II From Marvel's "Wonder Man" (1/23/26)

Summary

The Ebro, Laura, Rosenberg Show

Episode 21: Ebro vs. Rosenberg + Yahya Abdul-Mateen II from Marvel's "Wonder Man"
Airdate: January 23, 2026

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Episode Overview

This Friday episode is a lively blend of the ELR crew’s signature banter, culture talk, and listener engagement—with a bonus, in-depth interview with actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, star of the upcoming Marvel/Disney+ series "Wonder Man." The show covers everything from playful team ribbing and media hot takes to medicine trends and Black Panther Party history, then pivots to inside-baseball radio industry grievances. Throughout, the energy is candid, personal, and unscripted.

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Key Segments & Discussions

1. Opening Banter & Show Format (00:00–04:15)

• No Intro Music and Friday Crew Vibes: The hosts joke about the lack of intro music and tease Laura over not knowing their guest’s name ("I didn't know his name ... What’s going on? And let me just say, that guy was interesting, smart, great convo.” – Laura, 00:57).
• Friday = Family Matters: Usual news rundown is swapped for FRIDAY FAMILY MATTERS, focusing on real-life topics and conversations that mix it up from their standard news/celebrity format.
• Guest Announcement: Early tease for Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, taped ahead for the show’s closing segment.

Notable Quote:

“You’ve just now put yourself in that category of thinking that somehow I got to this point in my career by making bad decisions.” – Ebro, 01:19

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2. Playful In-house “Beef” and Show Direction (01:12–05:09)

• Ebro vs. Laura: Ebro ribbing Laura’s skepticism over his content choices leads to playful (occasionally cutting) “career evaluation” of each other’s slate—underground rap, politicians, and viewership numbers.
• Content Balance: Debates about including more interesting/impactful political interviews and frustrations with “boring MTA lady interviews” ("I need to know what's happening with ... Congestion Price." – Ebro, 03:09).
• Laura’s Political Cynicism: Laura laments current political climate ("We're literally not going to have an election to vote in. ... None of them are going to have an election." – 04:50).

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3. Viral BBQ “Tenderness” Controversy (05:35–10:02)

• Explaining the ‘Tenderness’ Meme: Ebro explains the viral story about an older Black man (“Unk”) whose catchphrase "tenderness" went viral promoting a BBQ spot in California, only to become the center of social outrage over exploitation and trademarking by the (white) restaurant owner (07:00).
• Internet Justice & Narrative Spin: Laura voices skepticism about online narratives (“We literally just played a clip of AI talking … is anyone basing it on, like, going there and having conversations?” – 09:09).
• Hosts React: Sympathy for "Unk", confusion over why he can't receive his tip or trademark.

Notable Quote:

“What we are witnessing is an old black man being used as a mascot for another man. White man's restaurant.” – Rahsaan (via clip), 07:03

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4. Medicine, Sleep Aids & “PainQuil” Fad (10:02–18:44)

• Dollar Store Medicine Fandom: Ebro brings up the current (surprising) popularity of Dollar Tree/Dollar General generics, believed to be "stronger" than typical over-the-counter medicine (10:03).
• NyQuil, PainQuil, ZzzQuil, Melatonin Riffs: Wild takes on the increasingly potent sleep and pain aids that are over-the-counter (“Pain Quill is wild, bro.” – Ebro, 12:08. “One dose is a thousand milligrams. You’re numb.” – Unk, 11:37).
• Responsible Use & Parenting: Extended debate on giving sleep aids to kids—Rosenberg is critical ("there's idiots out there who give [melatonin] to their kids, bro ... You're disrupting the way they're going to ... sleep." – 15:42).
• Ebro’s Hot Take: Taking ANY daily aid for a natural function is a sign “something’s wrong:”
  • “If you have to take some sort of aid or agent every single day to do a natural function ... means there’s a problem that you need to fix.” (16:51)

Memorable Moment:

• NyQuil Family Feuds: Laura & Rosenberg laugh about drawing straws so only one parent becomes a “NyQuil zombie” while sick, to parent safely—an unexpectedly relatable family moment.

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5. Family Matters – Real Talk Parenting (18:50–27:40)

• Toddler Talk: Ebro and Laura discuss kids’ personalities, challenges of constipation and selective eating, and how childhood quirks stress even the “healthiest” parents.
• Toilet Trauma & Kid Fears: Rosenberg recounts her daughter’s fear of automatic-flushing toilets ("...thought she was gonna get flushed down with it" – 21:02) and the struggle to potty train.
• Ebro’s Food Philosophy: Ebro claims he won’t force kids to eat: “If you don’t want to eat, fine. ... The doctor told me when [my daughter] was born, it takes 28 days to starve a kid" (25:05).
• Friendship & Trolling: Laura calls out Ebro’s know-it-all attitude with a mix of admiration and humor, suggesting friends sometimes want to see “comeuppance,” not downfall.

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6. Friday Freedom – Listener Emails & Voice Notes (27:31–45:16)

Topics Covered:

• Don Lemon’s Media Persona: A listener criticizes Rosenberg’s take; Laura and Ebro debate whether Don Lemon’s “progressive” persona is calculated or consistent (30:06–32:39).
• TikTok Black Panther Videos: Listener observes surge in “Black Panther” videos. Hosts question their authenticity and raise alarms about algorithmic manipulation for social control ("The real setup is why the algorithm is feeding it.” – Ebro, 35:34).
  • Ebro clarifies the historic Black Panther coalition and why “pro-Black is not anti-other,” countering the stoked fears online (37:00–38:29).
• Listener Shoutouts & Humor: Requests for show drops and former show contributors to return (“The pivot was clean. And glad you got some of your drops back, especially the button and Kenza’s.” – Listener email, 41:19), plus a playful dating request to Lewis Hamilton (40:07).
• Show Turbulence: The team candidly discusses their contentious split from prior radio employment—delayed pay, union issues, and the lack of on-air tributes (“They owe us a lot of money. And they don’t want to pay us.” – Rosenberg, 43:55).

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7. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Interview (49:15–68:18)

Background & Main Points:

• Wonder Man Launch: Yahya stars as the Marvel character in Disney+’s “Wonder Man,” focusing on the pre-Avenger days of Simon Williams.

  • “We get to see this dude ... in his pursuit of being a star ... we get to see the backstory of how he became [Wonder Man].” – Yahya, 49:42

• Changing the Superhero Game: Yahya has played multiple superheroes (Watchmen, Aquaman), but insists each project is unique, “We all do it differently ... Simon’s not even concerned with anything to do with superheroes ... He just wants to be an actor,” (53:26).

• Personal Journey: From architecture & city planning, to Yale drama school, to quick breakout in "The Get Down," then a Tony nomination and primetime Emmy.

  • “I’m blessed, but I’m not impressed ... I’m just stacking wood right now ... I want to tell my own stories.” (55:44)

• Upcoming Work: Stars in “Man on Fire” TV adaptation for Netflix (“It’s set in Brazil ... based on the book ... not just the Denzel movie!” 57:23)

• Bay Area Roots & Cultural Identity:

  • Candid about growing up Black in New Orleans and Oakland, the evolving realization of cultural/diversity richness, and balancing strong familial/spiritual support.
  • "I'm blessed, but I'm also creation. My family made me, man. ... They built my confidence," (63:36)
  • Insights on diversity and inclusivity in Oakland/Berkeley, and sharing pride in seeing fellow Bay legend Ryan Coogler’s platform.

• Sports, Community & Family Memories: Laughs about playing high school basketball against Marshawn Lynch (“He was a football dude playing basketball. ... They were tough.” – 62:00)

• Nudity on Screen: Ebro jokingly requests advance notice for any future full frontal scenes. Yahya laughs, admits he didn't know what was in store when accepting the Watchmen role, and wishes he’d negotiated a bonus.

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Notable Quotes

• On show and content creation:
  “You just want to jump on everything on the bandwagon at the end. What's already popping. I'm there when it starts.” — Ebro, 04:29

• On melatonin and parent choices:
  “There’s idiots out there who give it to their kids ... You're disrupting the way they're going to ... sleep ... And people are like, it's natural.” — Rosenberg, 15:42

• On social media manipulation:
  “The real setup is why the algorithm is feeding it … Why are you now feeding this stuff at a time when you suppress real activism and ... [but] you’re making sure everybody sees black men as Black Panthers with big guns in Philly?” — Ebro, 35:34

• On career momentum:
  “I'm blessed, but I'm not impressed. … I'm really just stacking wood right now.” — Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, 55:44

• On family and legacy:
  “My family made me, man. My family poured into me, and they told me. They built my confidence. ... I'm truly blessed, but I'm also creation.” — Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, 63:39

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Opening & Banter: 00:00–05:09
• “Tenderness” BBQ Story: 05:35–10:02
• Medicine Segment / Quill Rant: 10:02–18:44
• Family Matters / Parenting: 18:50–27:40
• Listener Email / Friday Freedom: 27:31–45:16
• Radio Industry Fallout: 42:03–48:52
• Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Interview: 49:15–68:18

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Memorable Moments

• “Congratulations you played yourself” button used in-studio as running gag (01:19, 28:09).
• NyQuil Comedy: Parental “negotiation” over who gets NyQuil to survive the night while sick (13:05).
• Laura’s food hot takes: Getting irrationally mad when kids reject French fries ("How do you not like a French fry?" – 23:31).
• Ebro’s directness: “My dad does not like toddlers. And teenagers. ... You don’t know what you’re talking about.” (24:12).
• Listener’s Lewis Hamilton thirst trap: Aaliyah shoots her shot for a date with Lewis Hamilton, with group encouraging her boldness (40:07, 40:16).
• Yahya’s humility: “I'm trying to figure it out. That's really the truth.” (63:03).
• Radioland Union Drama: Team’s real talk about being owed money and the business realities of their recent transition (43:33–45:52).

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Tone & Format

The ELR crew maintains a conversational, family-style, and unapologetically opinionated energy—mixing sharp humor, friendly trolling, parenting confessions, and unfiltered industry takes. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s interview continues the authentic spirit: thoughtful, relatable, and rooted in lived experience.

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For new listeners:

This episode captures the best of ELR—a space where culture meets candid reality, humor turns honest, and celebrity guests become part of a larger, communal story.

Transcript

[Ebro Darden]

Just don't call it a podcast. Oh, Ebro, Laura Rosenberg show. Rosenberg. Where's our intro music?

[Laura Rosenberg]

Oh, man, I've been enjoying this all week. It changed the whole vibe of the show, if I'm being honest with you.

[Ebro Darden]

Hey, You know, it's Friday. Freedom, okay? We have your emails and voice notes. We have the rundown with Laura, her style.

[Laura Rosenberg]

No, we don't.

[Rosenberg]

No, we don't.

[Ebro Darden]

We're not doing it.

[Rosenberg]

No, it's family matters. That's what we do on Friday.

[Ebro Darden]

Family matters Friday.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yes.

[Aaliyah]

Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

And then we have Yaya Abdul Mateen II representing Disney plus and Wonder man coming on at the end of the show. We taped a convo with him that you guys are going to get.

[Laura Rosenberg]

No, I'm going to say this real quick, all right? I don't. I didn't know his name. I was unfamiliar. I have not seen the movies.

[Ebro Darden]

Okay, okay.

[Laura Rosenberg]

So when the name popped up on the thing, I was like, all right, here we go. Ebro's got some interview. I don't know who this is. I don't know what this is. What. What's going on? And let me just say, that guy was interesting, smart, great convo. You're gonna.

[Ebro Darden]

You're gonna stuff with the button for doubting me. Nah, you're one of the doubters. You're one of the doubters.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I. I saw. I'm right sometimes.

[Ebro Darden]

Congratulations. You played yourself. You're one of the people I was screaming at on Patreon that you just. You've just now put yourself in that category of thinking that somehow I got to this point in my career by making bad decisions. Meanwhile. Meanwhile.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, go for it.

[Ebro Darden]

Meanwhile. How many. How many podcasts you got that nobody listens to? How many pieces of content you make on a daily basis? Nobody checking for how many interviews you do with randos that never do anything, huh?

[Laura Rosenberg]

None. I do not do interviews with randos. Nobody knows underground underground rap. Underground rap.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, exactly. Right now you stop.

[Laura Rosenberg]

No. Ebro likes to interview politicians and ramble on about God knows what, 20 minutes. No one gives a. And they give 12 views and they're boring and uninteresting.

[Ebro Darden]

And guess who I had to call yesterday. One who's act yesterday. Yeah. Which you didn't want to interview when we first started having them on.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Making that up. Making that up. You made that up.

[Rosenberg]

I'm doing that.

[Laura Rosenberg]

You're being defensive.

[Ebro Darden]

You didn't want to support him.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

You didn't want to support.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I'm actually only talking about, like, five of the many political Interviews. Ebro's done.

[Ebro Darden]

He makes it.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Sounds like Laura and I aren't into anything.

[Ebro Darden]

I gotta. You know what? I. I gotta think back. You might have hated On Ado AOC when Laura suggested it.

[Laura Rosenberg]

It. No, I missed it. I wasn't there.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, I don't think you missed.

[Ebro Darden]

And by the way, you missed Bernie Sanders, too. I was looking back at 20.

[Rosenberg]

He wasn't there either.

[Laura Rosenberg]

It was WrestleMania weekend.

[Ebro Darden]

Priorities in order.

[Rosenberg]

All right?

[Laura Rosenberg]

Guess what? Bernie lost. And I. I've been making money ever since that I wouldn't have now because we got fired had I not been at WrestleMania. So I think I nailed it, if I'm gonna be honest with you. And really, I'm just talking about if Ebro get. Puts us on the line with that goddamn woman from the MTA who doesn't say one interesting thing again.

[Ebro Darden]

I need to talk to.

[Laura Rosenberg]

All my.

[Ebro Darden]

Talk to her.

[Laura Rosenberg]

She doesn't say she feels literally.

[Ebro Darden]

I need to know. I need to know what's happening with the.

[Laura Rosenberg]

What is it?

[Rosenberg]

I gotta agree with Rosenberg on this one. She says the same thing over and over.

[Ebro Darden]

We've only. By the way, we've only talked to her twice.

[Ali Jackson]

Twice.

[Ebro Darden]

And you know how many great people.

[Laura Rosenberg]

We haven't talked to twice that we've been like, once was enough.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, I want to know what's going on with Congestion Price.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Well, then talk to someone who might actually give you a real answer, not a propagandist who feeds us their lines. It's horseshit. She doesn't tell us.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, you're not going to get a real answer from the MTA either.

[Laura Rosenberg]

No, no, we got to find some sort of real person who could give us information.

[Ebro Darden]

She's the one that wrote the policy, bro.

[Rosenberg]

And Congestion is back. Okay, but the fact that she's the.

[Laura Rosenberg]

One that wrote the policy means she's defending the way that they're implementing the policy. She fought for years to get it implemented. She's not going to tell you now. Bad news is not doing dick. She's not going to tell us that.

[Ebro Darden]

But of course she's not. But we can discern that from the convo. That's why you engage. And by the way, I got another coming up. I got another one coming up that you're going to want to pass on. You know, Turning Point USA that we make fun of. Of course you're interested in that. No, I'm gonna bring on the people organizing to do something on the left. They're called disrupt.

[Laura Rosenberg]

That's interesting.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah. All right. We'll see. We'll see. We'll see. We'll see how many views it gets. We'll see if it's big enough for your standards in its infancy.

[Ali Jackson]

I don't know.

[Laura Rosenberg]

What?

[Ebro Darden]

No, because you just want to jump on everything on the bandwagon at the end. What's already popping. I'm there when it starts.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Me, of all people. I'm the bandwagon guy.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, so when it comes to politics, you're not ready to take a stand. You're a mushy middle moderate. I'm not really ready to get in there.

[Laura Rosenberg]

No. I'm moving on. I'm moving on from politics. We're not going to have politics soon. We're not going to. We're literally not going to have an election to vote in. So it'll be. You can interview Ebro. Interview them all. Because none of them are going to have an election.

[Rosenberg]

Stop saying that.

[Ebro Darden]

They won't even be able to get out of vote.

[Laura Rosenberg]

So good luck with it.

[Unk]

Jeez.

[Laura Rosenberg]

MTA Lady Chi. Jose. Ebro.

[Rosenberg]

Cheese lit. Cheese.

[Aaliyah]

Cheese.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, now, cheese lit. Cuz that's Laura's little buddy.

[Rosenberg]

So what? He's doing great work.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Was.

[Ebro Darden]

He is doing great work. But you saw what Rosenberg just did. She pull up to the show. Let's mix it up.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I threw in Jumani too. These are good names. No, she's. She's really creating a name for himself, that's for sure.

[Rosenberg]

Yes, he's working hard out here.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I never skipped. I never skipped.

[Ebro Darden]

Freedom Ebro. Laura Rosenberg at Gmail. Rosenberg. You have the voice notes, correct?

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

I do.

[Ebro Darden]

We'll get to the emails before we do that. Were you guys. I didn't get to this this week. Are you guys familiar with the term tenderness? Did that come across your algorithm? Nope.

[Rosenberg]

No, not across my algorithm.

[Ebro Darden]

So your algorithm's not black enough. I want to point that out. All right, but play. There was an old man that was basically doing promo for a barbecue place. And I believe the barbecue place is in California. He's old black man. And he was. You know, people would come by and the meat would fall off the bone and he'd be like tenderness, and it was a whole thing and blah, blah, blah, blah. Well, this old black man. Now everybody's in a tizzy because the owner of the barbecue establishment, they feel is taking advantage of the old black man. Lawyers are coming out the woodwork. They. People try to give the black man money. The ownership of the place was like not letting people contact the older black man.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, my God.

[Ebro Darden]

Clearly the ownership of the place. And the reason people in a tizzy is some white dude who has now lines or had lines around the block because of the promo that this old black man was giving him. Run. Run the clip. Rahsaan.

[Rahsaan]

People thought the worst part was that Unk wasn't the restaurant owner. It wasn't. The real outrage is that the term tenderness was trademarked by the restaurant owner. What we are witnessing is an old black man being used as a mascot for another man. White man's restaurant. And let's be honest, after seeing all those viral videos of the meat falling off the bone, anybody would want to try it. It was tenderness that made this restaurant explode online. People come to see him. Keith Lee came to see him. The viral fame, the business, the buzz that came from Unk, not the owner. But when Keith tried to leave a $4,000 tip, security stopped him, saying Unk was too busy. What made people even angrier was the owner's response afterward.

[Ebro Darden]

If I would have known he was here, I would have probably asked Edie to stop for a few seconds so we could go over there.

[Laura Rosenberg]

That's what I would have done.

[Rahsaan]

The way the owner speaks and Unk's energy just makes the whole thing feel uncomfortable. And ever since then, the owner has been showing up in every Tender Nism video. Now the restaurant is getting canceled with people saying the owner mistreated Unk and he doesn't get paid for all the popularity he's brought to the place. What's your take on all of this?

[Rosenberg]

Oh, my God. I hate this.

[Ebro Darden]

I hate this for. I. I hate this for Unk. If that's really what's happening. I hate that you guys also didn't even see Tenderism at all. That just shows that our algorithms are just. I mean, all over the place. That's not. By the way, this story is not on Yalls radar at all.

[Rosenberg]

No, I didn't see it.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I can't. I saw it. But I think I probably saw it because you sent it a few days ago.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, that was it. But this has been that. That tenderness thing at least been running for the last two, three months.

[Rosenberg]

Where's this restaurant Long?

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, it's been running for the last, at minimum, two, three months. Am I. Rahsaan would know. His algorithm's black. Rahsaan would know. I believe the restaurant is outside LA in California.

[Rosenberg]

Why can't Unc get his little tip? Well, four thousand dollar tip is amazing.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, and. And why can't he, you know, own the Tenderness trademark?

[Laura Rosenberg]

Well, he.

[Ebro Darden]

But you know, that's big business, but it's not dirty.

[Laura Rosenberg]

But the thing is. And it's not even big business. That's the nasty part. Assuming this is all true, of course, we. We literally just played a clip of AI talking and telling us a story from the Internet. So we.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, not. There's multiple sort. There's multiple people talking about this story.

[Laura Rosenberg]

But are they base? Is anyone basing it on, like, going there and having conversations? Or is it just based. So people didn't go.

[Ebro Darden]

I just. I just took the best summarized one that got it. Like, people making legal allegations because there's ones where there's literal lawyers sending in documents, trying to make cases on. On Unk's behalf, feeling like basically the. The who they're calling Unk. I don't know, his real name is literally, you know, being a mascot who's being held hostage and can't make any decisions. I don't know that to be the case either.

[Rosenberg]

Well, let me tell you, when they were both sitting at that table, UN's face was not happy.

[Ebro Darden]

Did not look good.

[Rosenberg]

It did not look good.

[Ebro Darden]

It doesn't look good. It doesn't look good. And in other news, I didn't get to this week. This is. Filed this under Ish. Ebro sense.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Okay, Bring up a lot.

[Ebro Darden]

This struck me. This struck me. This was a big deal to me.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Okay.

[Ebro Darden]

This is a big deal to me. I did not know this existed. And I did not know people would be so excited about this level of. Of painkiller being available on the shelves. Have you guys seen that? Like, people prefer Dollar tree medicine. I mean, because it's stronger. Have you seen this? I did not notice.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I did not know this either. No. Dollar Tree medicine. I didn't know that's a thing there.

[Ebro Darden]

Yes, Dollar Tree medicine. Apparently the generic brand of Dollar Tree, or maybe it's Dollar General. I don't know which one. But it's stronger than your regular medicine, and people go and buy it to basically get knocked out when they have colds or get knocked out when they have, you know, headaches or whatever, what have you. And now NyQuil has release this.

[Unk]

When I was first introduced to you, it was through my mom and you know, her rubbing this on my chest. Right, right. And then as I got older, Vicks, you all had NyQuil because it's the nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coffee, aching, stuffy head, fever, so you can rest medicine. Right. You even started coming out with the twin packs, one for the day so people could actually function and and one for the night. But I don't know what you drug dealers are doing now, now, Vicks, what the hell is Pain Quill? Look at it. It looks like it was milked from the tit of Satan and put in a bottle.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Look at it.

[Unk]

One dose is 1,000 milligrams. You're numb. Now, I understand that you know what we're going through right now. So maybe you don't want us to feel anything, because if the regular NyQuil knocks us out, what is this? Is this profitable in a bottle? You have a nighttime version of Pain Quill? Something's going on over there, and maybe you don't want us to wake up to 20, 28. Maybe we just need it to be over. And I think that you understand that, but I need you to explain immediately.

[Ebro Darden]

Pain Quill is wild, bro.

[Laura Rosenberg]

That's mine. That's mine.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

I'll put that out.

[Ebro Darden]

That's from your teeth.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

That's actually from my bosom. And I will tell you right now, it is delicious. Add a little Sprite.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, my goodness.

[Ebro Darden]

Yo, a thousand milligrams. A thousand milligrams.

[Laura Rosenberg]

9. I want to try Pain Quill. I want to try Pain Quilpm. Nigel.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, no, no.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Just Laura. Just a quick little. Just see what happens on the weekend. Yo, I won't hear Maya. Maya will end up in a crib till Tuesday. She'll be like, I'll be out with.

[Rosenberg]

Crazy.

[Laura Rosenberg]

That's hilarious. I did. I have never seen that. I will tell you, though, nyquil. I don't know if you guys have ever had this experience. Probably not, because, well, maybe Laura, but Ebro's so health conscious.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

We.

[Laura Rosenberg]

When we've needed NyQuil, like, because one of us is going, like, we were both recently sick, we, like, draw straws for who gets to take the nyquil.

[Rosenberg]

Because both of y' all can't be zombies.

[Laura Rosenberg]

We can't both take it. No. Literally. We're like, well, we can't both take it. Someone has to be able to hear the baby. But I'm like, oh, come on. Let me take the NyQuil tonight. You take one. Lay down. Oh, let's watch a movie.

[Ebro Darden]

Y' all some fiends, man.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Let me watch a movie for 60 seconds.

[Ebro Darden]

No, y' all some straight fiends. Look at.

[Laura Rosenberg]

No, nyquil's it, bro.

[Rosenberg]

But you're doing the responsible thing when both of you are sick. Both of you guys did not take it.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

No.

[Ebro Darden]

Why is it so funny?

[Rosenberg]

It's happened to be in Ricardo, where I was like, I'mma take it. Okay. And then he's like, because, you know.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I'm out when I take this. I'm out.

[Rosenberg]

Yes. Yes.

[Rahsaan]

No.

[Laura Rosenberg]

But Ebro. Because the real thing is, if you're really going through it and you need. Because it's not just that it.

[Ebro Darden]

I've definitely taken nyquil.

[Laura Rosenberg]

No, it does. But, like, when was the last time you did it? Have you done recently?

[Ebro Darden]

It's been years, bro.

[Laura Rosenberg]

If you're really. If you get hit this season, hopefully you won't. If you really get hit with it. Because it has medicine to make you feel better, but it also knocks you out so bad. It's like you hibernate for, like, 12 hours. So.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, yeah, you're gone.

[Laura Rosenberg]

You wake up, you're like, am I back? I think I'm back.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, but then, now they got pain. Is. Wow.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I have to know what's going on with the pain. Quill. Pm.

[Rosenberg]

No. And what. What freaks me out is, like, the zquil.

[Ebro Darden]

What's that?

[Laura Rosenberg]

So it's a sleeping medicine.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah. You just take it when you can't sleep. I'm like, this doesn't feel right to me. So. It doesn't. I'm guessing it doesn't have any of the painkillers. It's just to knock you out.

[Ebro Darden]

At this point in American society, in American history, I mess with it. When. When they give us medicine that we could buy. I will Google if it's available in other countries or if it's banned or if it's banned.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yo. Z.

[Ebro Darden]

Because it's banned in other countries where they actually care about their citizens.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Not. But you can't do that because it'll be half the food that you consume also.

[Ebro Darden]

No, it is a lot of the food.

[Laura Rosenberg]

A lot of the food is not.

[Ebro Darden]

It's a lot of the food.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Zquil. There it is. It just says nighttime sleep aid.

[Rosenberg]

That's it. Just to really knock you out.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Rosenberg. So that's. Yo. That should not be sold, bro.

[Rosenberg]

I know.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Because that will. You know, listen, I. I see some people who get hooked on melatonin, and.

[Ebro Darden]

Melatonin is like, what about the Ambien, folks? There's people out here every night for years.

[Rosenberg]

But the thing is, with melatonin, people think it's natural, it's okay. And then you seriously can't sleep it.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Now, listen.

[Rosenberg]

Yes.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah. There are people who get that way.

[Rosenberg]

And by the way, there's idiots out. Out there who give it to their kids, bro. I'm like, you know, you're disrupting the way they're going to their sleeping patterns. Like they're never going to be able to sleep by themselves. And people are like, it's natural.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Like, no, I, I mean, Laura, idiots is strong because I think a lot of people out there have given their kids a melatonin before.

[Rosenberg]

No, but I'm just talking about people who do it every day.

[Laura Rosenberg]

You don't want to. You really. No, they. I've seen it happen. No, I've seen.

[Rosenberg]

Every day is wild and I'm sorry. I'll stand on calling you an idiot. That's horrible for a baby.

[Ebro Darden]

Here we go. Spicy.

[Rosenberg]

I'll stand on it.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, God.

[Rosenberg]

Give your child every night because they're not patience to put them down. They're not to work and create a sleep friendly environment for them.

[Ebro Darden]

The only got to do it.

[Laura Rosenberg]

The only, the only reason I'm defending idiots is that they were sold a bill of goods about things like that being natural and, and that you're not really giving them anything bad. So what's the harm?

[Rosenberg]

So talk to your pediatrician. I'm sure your pediatrician would be like.

[Aaliyah]

No, don't do that.

[Rosenberg]

You can't do that every day.

[Ebro Darden]

You think so here's the thing. Here's the thing, guys. Here's the thing, guys. Here's the thing. I just want to. I'm going out on a limb here. I'm going.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Here we go. Go ahead.

[Ebro Darden]

Hot take, hot take.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Here.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I mean my air horn. Ready? Yep.

[Ebro Darden]

Hot take, hot take. If you have to take some sort of aid or agent every single day to do a natural function, pick one. Peeing, pooing, sleeping.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Nah, I can't, I can't get with you on the pooping thing. Too many adults who need fiber every day.

[Rosenberg]

Right?

[Ali Jackson]

Right.

[Ebro Darden]

Listen, because you're not doing something that you're supposed to be doing. Right. You need five.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Probably right.

[Ebro Darden]

Probably because it's not in your food that you're choosing.

[Laura Rosenberg]

You're probably right.

[Ebro Darden]

So you're taking fiber every day because the meals that you're choosing to eat don't have enough in them.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Probably I'm not probably right.

[Ebro Darden]

Based on your diet, you can't be.

[Laura Rosenberg]

You can't be 100% sure that. I bet there are people who've done the full diet changes. They drink the water and they don't get movement.

[Ebro Darden]

So. So something's right. That's all I was going to say.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Okay.

[Ebro Darden]

Is there something wrong? I'm not saying you're wrong for taking.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Got it.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Okay.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Okay.

[Ebro Darden]

I'm saying there's something really wrong. And taking the agent every day, whatever the thing is, whatever the helpful thing is, means there's a problem that you need to fix so that you don't take the agent. Taking an agent every day and not think. And thinking everything is okay is a problem.

[Laura Rosenberg]

It happens every day. Yeah. You're not.

[Ebro Darden]

No, no. And by the way, everybody listen. Somebody's buying this stuff.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

I always tell people that when they're like, yo, you know, I would never do. I'm like, well, it's popular. Somebody's buying it. So there's clearly a lot of people doing it, right? So somebody's. Somebody's taking the painkillers, somebody's taking the sleep. A wise. This stuff wouldn't be for sale because it's moving off the shelf.

[Rosenberg]

My thing, if you're an adult, you make your own choices, but when there's babies involved, like, you're in charge, bro. Make the right decision.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah. No, listen, it's hard. People gamble. They panic. They panic. Can't get the kid to sleep.

[Ebro Darden]

Guys want. You guys want to get to family matters?

[Laura Rosenberg]

We already did.

[Ebro Darden]

We get to.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I think we already did. I think this became family matters because that's what the subject is.

[Ebro Darden]

I got a toddler in the house, okay?

[Laura Rosenberg]

And.

[Ebro Darden]

And, you know, listen, it's a gift and a curse when you have children that think for themselves, right? Because on one side, you're like, this is intellect. You're showing intellect. Like, you have your own thoughts and you have your.

[Laura Rosenberg]

That's great.

[Ebro Darden]

And you have your own conviction. Just showing intellect. There's also the reality that you don't know is you don't. You literally don't know how to wipe your ass.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Quite literally.

[Ebro Darden]

Literally can feed yourself so, like, you know what's best for you. Yeah. I don't know why he keeps turning the music up. It's kind of crazy.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I'm sorry. I thought. I just have the moment.

[Ebro Darden]

But yeah, no little salasi be having. What is it? Constipation.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Okay. That's common.

[Ebro Darden]

Constipation is real. And you know, in this house where we do eat a lot of fiber, we eat a lot of fruit, we eat a lot of smoothies, we try to do it. This child only wants pasta, bread, water.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Well, that's good thing.

[Ebro Darden]

She loves water.

[Laura Rosenberg]

That's very positive.

[Rosenberg]

Does she push it away when you give her fiber? I don't want it.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, we could get her.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

She'll.

[Ebro Darden]

She'll eat the grapes. Oh, she wants to eat bananas all the time, by the way. Bananas will help make you constipated.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Oh, really? Works backwards.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, Bananas can be. What do they call that?

[Rosenberg]

Like, a binding agent?

[Laura Rosenberg]

Oh, boy. More agents?

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, more agents.

[Ebro Darden]

But, yeah, not the thing. And so then now she's at. She's also at a potty training age, which, if the constipation is, like, traumatizing, now she's scared to use the bathroom harder.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, yeah, it sucks.

[Ebro Darden]

Did you guys go through that, Laura?

[Rosenberg]

Well, Rosenberg has, yes, but Kansas was different. She had, like, a fear of toilets. I think I told you guys about every time we would go into a. It started with a plane. She was like, why is it flushing by itself? Am I gonna get. She thought she was gonna get flushed down with it. And I was like, no, you're not gonna get flushed down. I promise you. And then she was scared. She would be like, every time we walk into a store, start, she'd be like, is it automatic?

[Ebro Darden]

Is it automatic?

[Rosenberg]

And sometimes, like, yeah, it is automatic. But that doesn't mean anything because she felt that whenever the toilet wanted, it.

[Ebro Darden]

Was gonna smack your ass up.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, yo, Rosenberg. It was a thing. And to this day, I still have to be like, you okay? She's like, yeah, Mommy, I got it. You know?

[Laura Rosenberg]

Well, think about when you're. When you're a little. When you're a little. Little kid, basically. Baby, think about how little your ass is. It could literally get sucked into the toilet. I know you can hold a little kid literally like this. That means it could almost get sucked in.

[Rosenberg]

I know. But, yeah, it was. It was a thing. But also, when she needed to poop, she would hide. She didn't want anybody to see her.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Oh, listen, I. You guys know Ebro's. This is going to feed Ebro's narrative of us rooting for Ebro's downfall. And he has it completely wrong. It's not downfall. It's comeuppance. Because. Because Ebro talks a lot of ish. And when you have friends who are, you know, he happens to be right most of the time. And when you happen to have a friend who's very smart, but verges on. How do I say this gently?

[Ebro Darden]

Verges on. Know it all.

[Laura Rosenberg]

You do end up rooting for them to have. To have the most, like, typical someone who just doesn't know what they're doing clash. Like, the idea of health. Bro who's on his bike, he's eating a salad while on his bike with 2 gallons of water connected to his ears, taking shot.

[Ebro Darden]

Taking shots of what is that stuff called that they take the grass.

[Rosenberg]

Chlorophyll.

[Laura Rosenberg]

If Ebro gets stuck with that, if Selassie ends up being one of those, like, 10 year olds who only will eat pasta, yo, it'll send Ebro to such a place.

[Ebro Darden]

I'm blaming everybody. Blaming her mom, I'm blaming her grandmother. I'm blaming everybody.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Literally.

[Ebro Darden]

It's like blaming. Everything loses.

[Laura Rosenberg]

He's gonna melt down.

[Ebro Darden]

Now, the good thing. Here's the good thing. Here's the good thing right now, right? She's got a pretty good palette. She's got a really good palette as far as things that she's expanding and wanting to eat. Right.

[Laura Rosenberg]

But I hear that can change because Maya, too.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, right. Absolutely. Issa went through it where she was, like, trying everything, loving everything, and then all of a sudden, I. I don't like French fries.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

What? Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

Who are you? You don't like French fries?

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yo, I've seen. I've seen that. Yo. Can I tell you guys something? I get legitimately mad when there are little kids if you don't. If you only want to eat carbs and bull ish while it's annoying. And I. And I judge the parents. I'm like, ah, you messed up. I don't get mad at the kid. Of course the kid only wants to eat delicious things. I make. It makes sense. I will get visibly angry when a kid is like, I don't like French fries. I don't like chocolate. I'm like, well, what do you like, dude? How do you not like a French fry? It's the one everybody wants to eat.

[Ebro Darden]

Everybody likes French fries.

[Ali Jackson]

Everybody.

[Laura Rosenberg]

No one's got a problem with it. It's just a little salty vehicle.

[Ebro Darden]

So. But. So this is where I go. And this is why I don't listen to kids. I don't listen to young rappers. I don't listen to teenagers, and I don't listen to toddlers kids. And I tell Issa right now, Issa knows this. My dad does not like toddlers. And teenagers, like, let's establish that, because you don't know what you're talking about. You don't like French fries right now, but you're just saying that to be a troll.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

You.

[Ebro Darden]

What you really want to say is, I don't want French fries, or I'm tired of French fries because you just finished eating a bunch of them. Last year, you were eating them every day.

[Laura Rosenberg]

And now.

[Ebro Darden]

But fine, don't eat French fries. I don't care. And. And I'm. And I'm not Even one of those parents that, like, makes kids eat. You know where parents.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thank God.

[Ebro Darden]

Like, finish this. Not if you don't want to eat. Fine, but you might not eat. I'm not getting back up at 10 o'.

[Ali Jackson]

Clock.

[Ebro Darden]

Because you're hungry. You're gonna have to. I'll see you tomorrow.

[Rosenberg]

Right, right, right.

[Ebro Darden]

Because you're not gonna starve. The doctor told me when Issa was born, it takes 28 days to starve a kid. So if she's finicky food, you got time. Yeah, once the doctor told me I got 28 days. Don't eat. I'm not arguing with you.

[Laura Rosenberg]

All right.

[Rosenberg]

Yo, Rosenberg. My dad would make me sit at the table until I finished all my food. I would cry. I would say I want to throw up. He would. 10 o'.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Clock.

[Rosenberg]

I'm still there from seven.

[Laura Rosenberg]

That's so. Yo, parents were making it up, bro. No idea what to do now. I know we got to get to other stuff. We got a guest and we gotta. We gotta hit the Friday freedom. Maya has just hit. It's hilarious. It's annoying, but it's hilarious. She has hit the. Going in her box of toys and throwing everything out like a maniac stage. Yo, it is comedy. It's like.

[Ebro Darden]

Because it's fun. It's fun.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Are you moving? Why?

[Ebro Darden]

Who are you mad at?

[Laura Rosenberg]

Why are you throwing this stuff? Like something happened. He just goes in little car pillow.

[Rahsaan]

Now, let me.

[Ebro Darden]

Now let me ask you this. Has anybody yet told her not to do it?

[Laura Rosenberg]

I have not.

[Ebro Darden]

Has any. But it's only happened.

[Laura Rosenberg]

It's happened like twice. It's happened like twice. This is brand.

[Ebro Darden]

But nobody's been like, maya, don't do that.

[Laura Rosenberg]

No, not yet. I just watch.

[Ebro Darden]

But by the way, don't.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Why? Because she'll do it more.

[Ebro Darden]

Because depending on her personality.

[Laura Rosenberg]

So you're saying no, sell it.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

Like, be like, that's crazy.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Look at you.

[Ebro Darden]

Or. Or nothing. Give nothing. Because if you give something that she keeps doing it either way.

[Laura Rosenberg]

And now we're having a fight, she'll just get bored of it because she's.

[Ebro Darden]

Just going to get better, get through it.

[Rosenberg]

It's just something new she discovered.

[Laura Rosenberg]

But it is. I try. I got some on camera yesterday. Natalie's, like, trying. Natalie's in there ducking as I'm trying to film her. And you know this kid's teeth, bro. So you. From the front, it just. You just see a little white here, three on the top. But when I'm changing her, that side angle where you could see in her mouth, bruh. She looks Ebro. You have, you've heard on the, on the, on espn when I do the Freddy Keegan character, that is what she looks like right now with her teeth. She looks like I'm Freddie Kiki. She got these, she got these fangs.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

In front.

[Rosenberg]

Of rabbit teeth.

[Laura Rosenberg]

She's like, she's playing an Eddie Murphy character, like in cosplay. What's going on?

[Ebro Darden]

How are we doing today?

[Laura Rosenberg]

It's so damn funny, bro.

[Ebro Darden]

It's a good time, man.

[Laura Rosenberg]

All right. Let's hit some Friday freedom.

[Rosenberg]

All right, let's go.

[Ebro Darden]

Friday freedom. We don't have no intro. Drop a beat.

[Laura Rosenberg]

We need something at least, at least a beat of some sort. Okay. I like this bean. It's just free. It feels free.

[Ebro Darden]

You know, Friday freedom. That's right. You can say what you want to say. Feel how you want to feel. Ebro. Laura [e-mail]. that's right, there's an email. Rosenberg. Scrolling back here to the 15th of January.

[Laura Rosenberg]

15Th of January, right.

[Ebro Darden]

All right. Jasmine says hit Rosenberg with the button. Peter, hit yourself with the button.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Damn. Why at a time.

[Ebro Darden]

Congratulations. You gave your opinion on Don Lemon without clearly having taken the time to watch anything post cnn. His show is not only informative and in touch with our society, but he acknowledges where things are wrong with either party and in the world. We need as many people as we can to simply give facts. You chose to disparage someone doing just that. Trying to be snarky. That's from Jasmine. P. S. Laura, are you ready for your next batch of cookies yet? She also says, wishing you all the best.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Okay, so let me just respond to Jasmine for about one thing. First of all, I don't watch ABC News or taking. I, I was. There was a period where I really enjoyed the NBC Nightly News, but then Lester Holt left and I'm. I haven't been. Been watching obviously can't watch CBS News anymore. So no, I'm not sitting here watching any sort of, any, any sort of big editing. However, I, I am admitting to you guys sometimes it's just personal vibe. Like Don Lemon just isn't my cup of tea. I find him grading and self important. I'm not saying he's on the wrong side of history. I, I also think the same way that Chris Cuomo learned that his best path was to do the dance and seem like a right centrist. I still think Don Lemon is doing the dance. He's doing a different dance. He found the place where his audience would be most likely to resonate. I don't think he was ever some sort of super progressive. I think this was a calculated decision of where my brand goes moving forward. I don't think he's a bad guy at all. I. I find him to be. Even in the stuff that happened this week, a lot of it feels like it's about Don Lemon. He's very much the face of the story.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, I'll give you this. I, you know, I've watched him on cnn and I watch him a little bit now. I wouldn't say I've watched him a lot.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Are you part of the Lemon Nation?

[Ebro Darden]

I don't have any Lemon Nation.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Okay.

[Ebro Darden]

So I will say his politics seem more progressive now because most things in the media seem so chaotic and cry like it's. There's so much craziness. He seems more progressive just because he's in the same. I think he's in the same place he's always been. I don't think he's more progressive than he ever was.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Got it.

[Ebro Darden]

I think he's kind of the same. Based on what I see. He's the same. It's just that when it's almost like. It's like Jake Tapper, who's still on cnn. Yeah, Right. Jake Tapper's always been the same, but as things get crazier. Jake Tapper, who's always been. How about somebody who's so centrist and doesn't even have a. A political identity? Really? Wolf Blitz.

[Rahsaan]

That's Wolf.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, There you go.

[Ebro Darden]

Wolf Blitzer even seems progressive right now. And he doesn't even have an opinion.

[Laura Rosenberg]

No. Right. Because he's not seeming like a crazy right wing lunatic.

[Ebro Darden]

Right. And so Don Lemon does have an opinion. He does have an A stance, but based on what I see, it's some. It's the same.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah. Honestly, it's not any sort of huge thing. Like, I was given Ebro, I was kind of busting Ebro's chops about it. He's just not my favorite. I do end up watching him from time to time. I personally listen. Look in the comments. Many people hate me and find me grading. So it's fine. I just find Don to be a little bit grading. That's the main thing. I'd say.

[Rosenberg]

I feel just a personal choice. That's fine.

[Ebro Darden]

I would say anybody that has an opinion that is their own and can sometimes, because it's their own and they have their own opinion will land in an unpopular place because they're like this is how I feel about this thing. I don't care what's popular, what's trending, or what your fan base or your supporters are saying. I don't like this.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Right, right. But in my case with Don, it's not about his opinions. I generally agree with most of his opinions. I just think I'm like, like even the Nikki thing, like his response to Nikki, it just wasn't super thoughtful. He's in a really good position to have, like thoroughly sunned her. And he just kind of read the Internet and was like, oh, aren't you? You're not even American. They should deport you. I was like, that's not the. That's not thoughtful.

[Ebro Darden]

That's not how you're like, you expect more from Don.

[Laura Rosenberg]

If you're playing the role that you play, it should, you shouldn't have then just went, you know, Twitter commenter attack. It didn't, you know, I'm saying, I just, I thought there was a better play there.

[Ebro Darden]

It's just not my favorite, but I don't hate it. Friday, freedom. Laura, you got an email.

[Rosenberg]

I do, I do, I do. This is from Jessica. Good morning. I grew up listening to you guys. It became a part of my routine. I listen on YouTube now while working or when I'm driving. I turn on the podcast. Appreciate hearing all of your opinions and wanted some insight on something. So recently my algorithm on TikTok has been feeding me a lot of Black Panther videos, which I'm okay with. I think it's because I watch a lot of protest videos. But I'm curious to know if any of you guys have seen any of this in the videos. They're walking around with rifles in the streets trying to protect people from ice. Are they impersonators? Is this AI and would this be a good thing if the Black Panthers were on more on the spotlight? Will this start a full on war? History tends to repeat itself. I'm just curious to know if you guys have peeped any of this.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I'm chomping at the bit. Go ahead. Sorry.

[Rosenberg]

Did you hear that Greenland has a tick tock trend called Fenty Fold? It's where they're making fun of Americans. Oh, no, it's where they're making fun of America by being slumped over, pretty much acting like they're high on fentanyl.

[Ali Jackson]

Oh my God.

[Rosenberg]

America is such a joke right now, guys.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Damn.

[Rosenberg]

I haven't seen that trend, but I'm a look it up.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, I've not seen that trend. I will say this. I saw The Black Panther videos moving around. I saw it, too, and it felt. They felt weird. Felt weird to me. And then I saw Amanda Seals yesterday, put up a post about it that also hit my algorithm that I thought was interesting, where she was saying, does anybody find it weird that there are these Black Panther videos? No one seems to know specifically much about these particular people. And they're all of a sudden being fed to everyone in the algorithm. Basically. It feels like a setup. I definitely thought it was weird. I'm like, they just are out there with open rifles in Philly. That can't be a thing.

[Rosenberg]

I just wasn't sure if. Because now. Is it AI? Are they impersonators? Actually, we don't know.

[Laura Rosenberg]

You. You. You would certainly be the most likely to know something about this. Do you know anything?

[Ebro Darden]

I know what you guys know.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

I don't know. I don't know what's real, what's fake. I don't know. You know, I don't know these people. Obviously, I know people who are. Who are descendants or from the original Black Panthers. You know, look, there have been people who have taken on the Black Panther aesthetic. Themes and ideas popping up using that for generations. So it's. You know, I'll tell you this. There are definitely active organizations that call themselves the Black Panthers before these videos started popping up. So that for me to say that these people. No.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Right. No.

[Ebro Darden]

Because now the algorithm's feeding it.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Right.

[Ebro Darden]

But I would actually. I would actually. My brain actually, while I'm talking through it, goes to the real setup is why the algorithm is feeding.

[Laura Rosenberg]

That's what I mean.

[Ebro Darden]

Not that these people aren't who they say they are.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Right. But what are you trying to make.

[Ebro Darden]

Everyone feel by showing these algorithms that are owned and controlled by entities that, as we know, are interested in monetizing Fear, Division, and also creating an atmosphere that's potentially a powder cake. Why are you now feeding this stuff at a time when you suppress real activism and real information of genocide and things going on around the world? Right, so you're suppressing actual people, trying to do nudes and cover stuff, but you're making sure everybody sees black men as Black Panthers with big guns in Philly, but you're making sure people see that I go more to go to these people.

[Laura Rosenberg]

That's a good place to go.

[Rosenberg]

That's a very good Tik Tok people. Like we mentioned yesterday, new ownership is here. Tik Tok's algorithm will be more aggressive. It'll be more deceiving, and you really have to Be careful with that app.

[Laura Rosenberg]

No, it's, it's. And we live in a crazy time.

[Rosenberg]

They want to make it more pro maga, pro Israel. So you'll, you'll be surprised that things are going to pop up.

[Ebro Darden]

And for this emailer, you must know the original Black Panther intention was a very inclusive thing. The Black Panthers worked with Zapatistas. The Black Panthers had members who were white. The Black Panthers had members who were Asian. The Black Panther worked with Asian revolutionaries, feminists, all of that in Northern California. The. The idea of being pro black was not anti other things. Right. It was. It was about inclusion. And so the videos you are seeing, you also got to know those individuals in that video because I've watched them are saying that they are helping Latinos and they are helping people who ICE is harassing. And then people were saying, but you're Black Panthers. Why do you care about Latinos, Hispanics and Asians and other groups? And I saw the guy who was the guy in the video saying, the Black Panthers have always been about protecting marginalized groups. Yes, the black community, but all communities, because those are extensions of the black experience, whether they know it or not. Your existence in this society and the things that you have as a marginalized person in the society exist because of the black experience.

[Laura Rosenberg]

So you're saying that if that guy is AI, he's on point?

[Ebro Darden]

Yes. From what I can see so far now, I would, I would.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Yeah.

[Laura Rosenberg]

This lady we. This is going to end Friday. Freedom today. The lady can't just write Ebro a message about Black Panthers and we're gonna get back on the track.

[Ebro Darden]

Come on.

[Laura Rosenberg]

We gotta keep.

[Rosenberg]

Well, all right.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, and. And I would suggest for all of them, us, it's a different time, different levels of surveillance, different levels of, you know, tactics being used by, you know, the entity that, you know, controls society. You know, make sure you got your stuff in order, B. Facts don't just be standing out here all will nilly hollering if you're not really ready. Ready. Ready.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I'm ready. Ready. We should play a voice note.

[Rosenberg]

All right, let's go.

[Laura Rosenberg]

We're not gonna get too much more freedom today. All right, who do you guys want to hear from on the voice notes? We just hit Aaliyah. She's the first one I have here.

[Ebro Darden]

Let's go.

[Aaliyah]

Hey, Eber. Lauren Rosenberg. Big up on the show. I'm a long time listener from Connecticut and you all are truly the soundtrack to my mornings. So happy that you have the ELR show now. So we can still spill tea, talk about family life and politics, and share a laugh. We need your voices more than ever, and my day wouldn't be the same without you loving the pod and the YouTube channel. So just know that I am sat for the next phase of the plan. Lol. Also, a special message for Apple, bro, because you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Oh, here we go.

[Aaliyah]

I'm so a huge F1 fan. And your friend Lewis doesn't know it yet, but he's my future husband.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Oh.

[Aaliyah]

So if you want to slide a girl a paddock pass for a race, oh, my God. You're good friends at Apple. You'll have a continued thought. Love y'.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

All.

[Aaliyah]

And keep swimming with all that blood in the water.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yo, Aaliyah, we love you. The fact that you just took a shot. The fact that you just took a shot at literally a top five eligible bachelor on planet Earth. And I know. I know by the way, through. Through me. I know. Ebro friend. I think he was being a little loose there in terms of. Can I set you up with a stranger listener? Don't know if that's the play.

[Ebro Darden]

Hey, yo, Lewis, a lady sent us a voice note to a radio show. Or not even radio show. YouTube show. I do.

[Laura Rosenberg]

We can hook you up with Louie, though. King Louie.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, there you go.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Not Lewis Hamilton. Not that King Louie, though. I can't. We can't do it.

[Ebro Darden]

Lewis Hamilton. Listen, Friday Freedom Rosenberg, you got an email.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, let's see. We got to wrap this thing.

[Rosenberg]

I think this is gonna be our last one, Rosenberg.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, we gotta get.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

All right, all right, here we go.

[Laura Rosenberg]

There's a bunch here. Here we go. What's up, ELR crew? I feel like I pivoted right along with y', all, and I've been a Friday Freedom participant since its inception when it was Freedom Friday. Just want to congratulate y' alls on the new situation. The pivot was clean. And glad y' all got some of your drops back, especially the button and Kenza's.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Laura Rosenberg]

And loving the new ones like blood in the water, doing the dance. Etc. Also, I hope you can bring Caswoman Juanito Shawnee culture over to elr if not, maybe make Hot Rod Rick part of the show. In closing, shout out to my wife Robin and one of her good friends, lashawn. All three of us work at the same place and listen slash watch at the same time. Peace and blessings.

[Ebro Darden]

Yo, look, man, we. We would listen the way they covered my Asap Rocky conversation on Apple Music. By not saying my name makes me feel like it's not all good. Because honestly, what I would have said is Shani, Cass and Juanito, they come hang out whenever they want, but it's starting to feel like they might get in trouble.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, I think so. I don't think they're allowed, but.

[Ebro Darden]

Yo, can someone explain why, though? Like, I'm seriously asking, bro.

[Rosenberg]

They don't like us. They're not happy.

[Ebro Darden]

Them. No, no, no. But. No, but who isn't?

[Rosenberg]

The owners, Management. Not.

[Ebro Darden]

I never had a bad relationship with them. It's not like I never. You. Did you get into an argument? No, no, no, but that's like the CEO. I'm talking about the. The people we dealt with on a regular. Did we have any bad interactions with them?

[Rosenberg]

I mean, I definitely complained about certain things I called out, but it wasn't their.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, but it wasn't their fault that there was roaches and.

[Laura Rosenberg]

And.

[Ebro Darden]

And the bathrooms were broken. It was. They were waiting to get money from the top to make changes. I really think they want. They didn't want that.

[Rosenberg]

No. The woman that I would deal with was wonderful, and she even couldn't believe it. I would never say her name because I'm not going to throw her under the bus.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

But.

[Rosenberg]

But, but listen, she would be like, this is crazy.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Evidence suggests, based on what we're dealing with at this moment, that they are someone. Someone at the top decided we want this to end bad. We don't want this to be clean. It's ending bad. Particularly for Ebro and Rosenberg. We have decided this is going bad.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

And this is good for me, too.

[Ebro Darden]

Wait, why is it particular? Me and you. What do you.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I thought.

[Rosenberg]

No.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Oh, really?

[Rosenberg]

I'm cooked, too.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Oh, I didn't know you were cooked. I thought you were initially not cooked.

[Rosenberg]

Skew me on the Barbie.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Oh, sorry, Laura. That changed. No, you weren't initially.

[Ebro Darden]

Wait, what are you. What do you guys talk. Wait, what are you talking about?

[Laura Rosenberg]

We don't want to get it and we don't want to get into logistics.

[Ebro Darden]

We can't talk about what they owe us. We don't. No.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, we can. They owe us money. They owe us a lot of money. Money. And they don't want to pay us.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, Yeah. I. I don't know.

[Ebro Darden]

And. And by the way, that's a union contract. Let's be clear. We're dealing with our union. Yes. That's a union deal. They are going against the union. So.

[Laura Rosenberg]

And it's so Laura, I thought you.

[Ebro Darden]

Were good all about unions.

[Rosenberg]

No, I'm not.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Oh, but, but I thought, I thought me and Ebro, they're claiming for with cause and not you.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, yeah. But when, when our girl was trying to get be like, okay, so what's up with Laura? Cricket, Crickets, Crickets, crickets.

[Laura Rosenberg]

So it's not popping. Ok. So yeah, all of us are getting done completely dirty. So to your point, the point I was trying to make to you guys was to Ebro. Someone decided it's bad and probably bad because this is the irony. The one of the riffs was political and this is the Trump model. When you're big and you have lots of money, you don't pay people. Let them sue you. You're not going to play the game with me. Let's work out a deal. I'll give you a few bucks on the dollar. This is what happens. This is the game they want to play. It's the same thing that I'd be dealing with if I try to get out of the rental apartment that I have right now that I'm not sure I want to be in. They own hundreds of buildings. Break the contract, we'll sue you. What are you going to do? They don't care. This is America, baby. We just got America'd. They don't. They want. They know they can beat us out. That's what they think.

[Ebro Darden]

But even in that. Right. Even in everything you just explained. And up next, we, we have a conversation with Abdul Yaya, Abdul Mateen ii, who is in Disney plus Wonder man, which is coming out. So we're gonna get to that. But. And we'll wrap this up here. Even in everything you just said, Rosenberg, those are, those are shrewd business tactics. That's not personal. That's just how some people operate. Like, they don't think. Like, I've dealt with people like that. They're. To them, that's just business. Like, come, if you want your money, force me to pay it to you because I'm not going to make it easy for you. Doesn't mean they dislike you.

[Laura Rosenberg]

So you're saying that doesn't equate to the fact that then they wouldn't say your name when referencing you on the air?

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, like, why would you say my name?

[Rosenberg]

I think you're giving people too much grace.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, they didn't give us, they didn't give us a goodbye. They didn't put up a post about it. And yeah, you know what? And really, no one put up a post about us. If we're being honest, yo, when Enough left, it was tribute fest. When we left, I not posted in the building.

[Rosenberg]

It was tribute. Tribute fest with us. Let's be clear. Nobody else. Nobody else did. Maybe, Carlo. That's it.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, no, no, no.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

But.

[Laura Rosenberg]

But I think people were scared to touch us, though, because of that.

[Ebro Darden]

No, no, no. But our public relationship with the ownership of that establishment was clearly based on what I would talk about was clearly not good. So people would be afraid. They don't know, so. Exactly.

[Laura Rosenberg]

So then why are you acting. So then why are you acting brand new about why it's weird. Question.

[Ebro Darden]

No, no, no. But to people who don't know. What I'm saying is to the management that we dealt with every day, but.

[Laura Rosenberg]

It'S not about them. This is coming from whoever made the decision that they were done with your political ranting and the Cuomo thing and me complaining about this and sounding like I had an attitude and not being there. Whatever the things were that set them off, they decided it's enough. And that's the same person who's saying, don't mention them. Don't talk about them.

[Ebro Darden]

You're right. You're right.

[Laura Rosenberg]

It doesn't make sense. It's nasty for no reason. It really didn't have to be that deep.

[Ebro Darden]

And honestly, you're making it. And they're making it hotter. Playing the ASAP Rocky and not saying my name or not is making it scorching.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Well, the not paying is going to make it hot, too. All of it's going to make it hot, yo.

[Ebro Darden]

And also not allowing us to say goodbye made it hot. And I preferred it. People was like, yo, this is bad. I was like, nah, that's how I like it. This is great.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Well, and then when this whole thing starts moving around, too, it's going to make it unnecessarily awkward for the people that are there. You're going to accidentally turn people into scabs because you're breaking union rules. They're about to. You want to be. You want a big rat outside of the front door.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, talk about it.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Y' all are breaking. They're so. They're gonna choose to make this up. But again, this is what people do, and they still think that's fine. It's lots of noise. I'm still not gonna pay you the money. Because they don't care about the brand. That's where. That's where we landed in the first place. That's why I was unhappy there in the first place. They don't care if the brand looks nasty.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Right?

[Ebro Darden]

And that's why I was so vocal, because you have legends like Ant Trip and you have fatigue. Bugsy Bugs is still there, red alert, and they're working in a closet with no windows for the last two years. And you're breaking promises on when you're supposed to open the next studio, and you continue to give us dates, say something's gonna happen and it never happens.

[Laura Rosenberg]

And by the way, and then hand people have contracts in front of people offering to extend them for three years, and then simultaneously say you're firing them with cause. Very interesting.

[Rosenberg]

Anyway, it is what it is.

[Laura Rosenberg]

But, yo, how we do this on a Friday freedom? I gotta go.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, it's Friday freedom. We supposed we have freedom.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Good luck, everyone. If the weather hits, be safe. Just be safe out here. And if for our listeners, be safe, please.

[Ebro Darden]

Yes, man. Yaya Abdul Mateen ii. Great conversation. Next on Ebro, Laura Rose, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Ebro Laura Rosenberg joining the show. We got a quick moment with Yaya Abdul Mateen ii. How you doing, sir?

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

I'm fantastic, man. How y' all doing?

[Ebro Darden]

We're doing great, man.

[Laura Rosenberg]

It's a powerful name right there. It's a powerful name.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

I'll tell you. I'll take it. I appreciate it.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, now, so. So you are about or Disney plus is about to launch and you will be Wonder Man.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

Which is, I'm assuming, as Disney is recalibrating, resorting the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this Wonder man character we're gonna be seeing a lot.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

I hope so. I mean, I know we'll be see, you know, we got eight. Eight hot episodes, you know, coming out right now. But really what I love about it is, you know, to me, we get to see this dude, Simon Williams and his pursuit of wanting to be an actor in his pursuit of being a star. And I know there are a lot of people who do know about Wonder man already. And the Wonder man that people know about, he's already a star. So right now we get to see the backstory of how he became, you know, the person that a lot of the fans know. To me, what's the most exciting is, you know, getting the opportunity to say, okay, well, we see what he wants now. Let's see who he becomes when he gets it. And that's on the other side of what we cover in our show. But, you know, hopefully there's a future for him where we get to see. See how he handles what he's, you know, the responsibility and the fame that he's been looking for.

[Ebro Darden]

Now, according to the comic books, and I had to check. I just checked this. Wonder man was jealous of Tony Starks, huh? Right. And ultimately, like, infiltrated the Avengers and then had, like, a change of heart and, like, risked his life and then joined the Avengers.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Huh?

[Ebro Darden]

Now we're not going to get all of that in these eight episodes.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

No, we not. No, we're not gonna get that. Yeah, that's a whole history, and that's a whole saga. And really, you know, I would. I would tell anybody watching to treat this, Treat this differently, come into this fresh. You don't have to know anything about Marvel, anything about Wonder man in order to. In order to appreciate this. So. But anything that you do know, I mean, you know, come and check out the show, too, but you don't have to do your research and things like that in order to follow. Follow along. What.

[Ebro Darden]

This is when you got your. I think your. Your master's in fine arts at Yale as an actor, and you've done a lot of different things.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Yeah, I have. Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

Did you ever imagine the amount of superheroes was that. It was that, like. Cause at this point, like, yo, like, had that ever. Did that ever even cross your mind that you was gonna be, like, tapped to. I mean, you was an Aquaman. You was in Watchmen. We're doing this now.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Man. I. Man, I'm gonna be honest. When I was in school, I wanted to do a Broadway. I wanted to be on Broadway. Yeah, that's. That's. That's what. And before then, you know, about five years before I went to school, I was like, if I could, you know, do a little McDonald's commercial and then get like a line on a. On a soap opera or something like that, you know, I work my way up. That's really what the. What the. What the dream looked like. It really looked like just being amongst people, acting and getting it how I live, you know what I'm saying? Just kind of getting in there and getting where I fit in. But I went to school and it really turned into something else. I've been on Broadway nominated for a Tony, our play, one best. Best revival. And I think 20, 23, I think so I really. I really been blessed. But also, I'm gonna get back to the superhero thing. You know, Watchmen, Aquaman and now and Wonder man, they're. They're all. It's the superhero genre, but we do it. We all do it differently.

[Ebro Darden]

That's right.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Or I've done them all differently. So what I really like about Wonder man is that this dude, Simon, he's not even. He's. He's not even concerned with anything to do with superheroes or superpowers or anything like that. He's just a dude, or he wants to be seen as a dude who just wants to be an actor, and that's what he's most interested in.

[Ebro Darden]

So. And that's almost kind of like who you are, Who. That's part of your story, I think, coming up, right?

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Yeah, that's a part of a. Part of my story. Yeah. Yeah, for sure.

[Laura Rosenberg]

So what was your journey like? Like, how long of a period was there between the. The studying and things starting to pop off for you?

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Well, on one way, you know, I worked in city planning. I studied architecture for my undergraduate. I worked in city planning in San Francisco. So I got laid off in October 2010, and then I decided to go and pursue acting. I had taken some acting classes in undergraduate, and then I got into Yale. After about 14 months, I got into Yale. Now that was the beginning of my formal education in acting. That was what, 2012. The fall of 2012. 2015 is when I graduated. I graduated in June, and 10 days after graduation, I was filming one of my biggest scenes on this show called the get down with Bad Stuhrman.

[Ebro Darden]

I remember the Get Down.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

I actually got that job while I was in school, and I started traveling from Connecticut, from New Haven to New York to do my rehearsals and things like that. And I was already shooting by the time I graduated.

[Laura Rosenberg]

So that's a pretty crazy story. So you went from being in grad school to over 10 years, Tony nomination, primetime Emmy, three different, you know, incredible superhero sort of situations. Plus things like the Get Down. Do you stop and look at it as like, this has been a pretty insane 10 years? Because most people's. An actor's journey could be. Everyone's is different. Some job in two years. You know, Timothee Chalamet is big at 22.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Yeah.

[Laura Rosenberg]

You know, someone's grinding at 40. How do you sort of view your journey, man?

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

To be honest, I've always been an ambitious person. Always been a bit of an overachiever in my mind. So I'm blessed, right? I'm blessed, but I'm not impressed. That's really the truth, you know what I'm saying? So I'm really just. I'm really just stacking wood right now, you know what I mean? And just I'm on my way somewhere, you know what I mean? I have my production company because I Want to be able to have the opportunity to tell my own stories, to tell the stories that I got in here. To tell the stories that I got in here. And they look different from a lot of the body of work that I've already put out into the world. I'm from New Orleans. I grew up in West Oakland. The stories that I have, they feel like those places. They feel like the people who come from those places now, they all. They still feel, you know, like they come from a big universe. And I still want to tell stories with the same type of scale and scope of the things that I've been involved in, but with a little bit more soul that, you know, connects back to who I am and who I am and, you know, in the heart. So that's really the next iteration of, you know, what I hope to do and what I hope to present. So everything else that I've done along the way has really just been building currency, you know what I'm saying? To put me in a position to open those doors.

[Ebro Darden]

That's dope.

[Rosenberg]

I also saw that you have a TV series on the way based on A Man on Fire. Could you tell us a little bit about that?

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Yeah, that's gonna be cool. That's gonna be cool. I actually. We filmed that down in Mexico City. It's based on the book. And I mean, truthfully, people won't care about that. They'll just go and, you know, they'll say, nah, it's based on the movie. They'll say, look, Denzel. You know anybody?

[Ebro Darden]

Denzel did it. I wanna see Yaya.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, you know, but it's cool. You know, it's set in Brazil, and we actually shot it out in Mexico City, but we did shoot over in Brazil for a while, too. And what I love about that is it's completely different from Simon Williams. Simon Williams is Simon Williams. And, you know, John Creasy. Don't. They'll never cross paths. And as I look at it, I don't even really recognize, you know, the person. So I'm excited to showcase those two different styles. And that'll be out on Netflix in a little bit.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, yeah. You know, do you know Ryan Coogler at all? Have you guys worked together across paths at all?

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

I know him a little bit. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I know him a little bit. We. We. I think we ran track against each other in. In college or we were around the same, like, athletic circle. I mean, not college, in a. In a high school.

[Ebro Darden]

What high School did you go to?

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

I went to Mac. I went to the Mac house. All right.

[Ebro Darden]

I was born. I was actually born in Berkeley, raised in Oakland, Sacramento, myself, so.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Is that right?

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, I've been in New York since 2002. But, yeah, I started. Yeah. In Northern California.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Yeah, I went to Berkeley for my. For my undergraduate.

[Ebro Darden]

Okay. Yeah, I saw. I saw that on. Yeah, you're a cow kid.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, no, listen, Ebro was just born.

[Ebro Darden]

There, you know, he didn't go there. I didn't go to. I didn't go to Cal.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Just be clear.

[Ebro Darden]

I used. I used to just smoke. I used to just be an amoeba records on Telegraph, you know, smoking weed at Blondies, you know.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Damn, I remember Blondies. Blondies. Fast slice.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, fat slice came later, though. Fat slice came. Came later, man.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Now do you.

[Ebro Darden]

But, you know, a little Everett and Jones barbecue down on University in San Pablo, too, you know?

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

Do you.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Have you. Have you gotten to have any satisfaction? I mean, listen, I'm just an observer of someone who enjoys the culture of the bay, etc. And every time I see Coogler speak on a major platform, like at the Golden Globes, bro, I'm just so tickled. Like, my wife is looking at me, just giggling and doesn't even get. I'm like, babe, do you understand how real of BAE Cat, this guy is for you? Being a guy from the Bay and an actor? Like, what kind of satisfaction do you get seeing Coogler just kind of be himself.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

You know? I know Marshawn, too.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Oh, I know Marshall bae. Oh, my God.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

I know Marshawn a lot better than I know. Than I know Ryan.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Okay?

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

And I think it's dope, you know? I think it's dope. I mean, to be able to be comfortable in your own skin, to be comfortable, you know, and who you are, to represent the town, I think. I think that's really the ultimate flex, right? That's, That's. That's. That's really the ultimate flex. And to be. To still not have to compromise your art, to still bring, you know, integrity to the work and still be who you are, that makes me feel like he's like, he's right at home, you know what I mean? And that's the.

[Laura Rosenberg]

The.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

That's the best way to work. That's really the best way to work. So it's cool. And then is. Is. Is you just hear it and you just hear it and you just kind of smile, you know?

[Laura Rosenberg]

Marshawn, of course On a. I mean, Marshawn's been doing it for a minute. He's. There's so many moments I loved, so many audio clips I play on my sports talk show of Marshawn just saying things.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

He's been that way since high school.

[Ebro Darden]

You gotta protect your chicken.

[Laura Rosenberg]

You gotta. Your mentors, your mentals and your. Now you remember Marshawn from high school, too.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

We played basketball against each other in high school. He went to Oakland Tech.

[Laura Rosenberg]

You checked Beast mode in high school basketball.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

I mean, yeah, he checked me. Marshawn, I ain't gonna throw no. I ain't gonna throw no salt on the game. But yeah, I mean, he'll remember, though.

[Ebro Darden]

He'll remember.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

That was like a rival week. Like.

[Ebro Darden]

Marshawn is football first. He committed a lot of fouls just being football first.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Yeah, he was. He was a football. He was a football dude playing basketball. Yeah, you know, they all come over, you know, beef up the team after, after, after football season and, you know, they was. They was. They was tough.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah. Ebro, you think he was using all five fouls?

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

He ran track too, though. He ran track. I ran track. So, yeah, Marshawn was all around athlete around there, but always, always a good dude. Always a real good dude.

[Laura Rosenberg]

You've done it all, bro. You ran track, you played basketball. Thespian. Berkeley, Yale.

[Rosenberg]

And superheroes.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Sorry, sorry. City planning.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Yeah, I've been around a little bit. I'm still trying to figure it all out. So, you know, excuse me if I don't have it all.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Hey, no, listen.

[Ebro Darden]

Based on your resume and your life before acting, you was kind of already headed towards superhero.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Let's be honest.

[Ebro Darden]

I mean, Wonder man is basically what you were doing already. You know what I mean? Like before you even got the role.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

I'm just trying to figure it out. That's really the truth. You know what I'm saying? I'm blessed with. My second memory is my dad coming into the. Into the. Into the bathroom and like, telling me that I was smart, you know what I'm saying? I'm putting together a puzzle on the floor and he. He came home from work and he's telling me that I was smart, you know what I'm saying? He was. He said, what you got in that big old head? And that was his way of telling me that, like, I got a brain in there and that I was smart. You know what I'm saying? That's my second memory. So my, My.

[Laura Rosenberg]

How old were you and how old you.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Three?

[Laura Rosenberg]

Maybe.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Maybe three. Three. Okay. Maybe Three, and I'm the youngest of six. And that's how everybody in my life has always spoken to me. You know what I'm saying? I'm truly blessed, but I'm also creation. My family made me, man. My family poured into me, and they told me. They built my confidence. They made sure I felt good about myself, made sure I thought I was smart, told me that I could do anything that I wanted to do, supported me as I went and tried. You know, I left. I left architecture to go try to be an actor. There's no stability in that. You know what I'm saying? But there's like, no, do it, do it, do it. Okay, cool. I'm gonna go try.

[Ebro Darden]

And another layer of your beautiful story, too. I was reading that, you know, your mother's Christian, your father's Muslim, so you were raised in a very spiritually dynamic world as well. And me, as somebody who grew up in Northern California, I have a Jewish mother.

[Aaliyah]

Right.

[Ebro Darden]

And a crit, and was raised in a Pentecostal church.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Okay.

[Ebro Darden]

And then have Muslim family members and all that. So it's just very. It's a very. You know, I don't know if you want to speak on just Northern California and specifically Oakland and Bay Area, but our interactions with different cultures and walks of life and, you know, so many different things is very, very unique.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Yeah. You know, I didn't. I'm going to be honest, I didn't really realize. Let me see. Growing up, I wouldn't have described Oakland as diverse. I'm from the projects in New Orleans, and then we moved to West Oakland. All I know is black. And, you know, we had some, like, Mexicans and some Cambodians and maybe some Vietnamese.

[Ebro Darden]

Samoans. Samoans. Pacific Islands.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

You know what I'm saying? But, you know what I mean? Everybody was black. You know what I'm saying? So. But yes, you absolutely right. Like, I was growing up with. What I was learning was, like, love for myself, love for people, love for God, you know, humility and, you know, appreciation for West Oakland, appreciation for, you know, black culture. And it really wasn't until I went to Berkeley that I began to, you know, see. To really see and appreciate diversity. And that's really. Because that's when I needed it. You know what I'm saying? That's when I. That's when I needed. That's when I felt like, man, well, where all the. Where. Where is all the diversity at? And then that's when I started to appreciate it. So it was. I. I did grow up in an environment that was rich in diversity, but I didn't even really know it at the time. Right.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, because it's second nature, right? Like, you had so many different. And diversity comes in many ways. Yes, there's racial diversities, but then there's just cultural diversity and then there's, you know, spiritual diversity and, and. And all of that. So this. Man, it's been a pleasure meeting you, bro.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Really awesome.

[Ebro Darden]

I've been a fan of your work for a long time. You know, the. The next time you decide you want to do a full frontal walkthrough on my TV screen, I need a. I need some sort of heads up or warning, you know what I'm saying? Like, because that, that. It was crazy, bro. It was crazy.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

You want me to give you a personal.

[Ebro Darden]

Or just like, give you a personal. No, the. The whole scene, I was like, hey, is that a heads up?

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Like, which one? Which one?

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, no. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He wants to know, you want some advanced motives?

[Ebro Darden]

Yo, did the world go crazy? Crazy. Real talk. Did the world go crazy? And did you get an extra fee for that? Is there like some sort of extra check that comes for that?

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Nah. Look, I'm gonna tell you this. I really wish that I knew that that was. I didn't know who I was playing when I signed up for that job. So I really wish, if I would have known that I would have asked for more money up. You know, if I would have known who I was playing and what I had to do because of who I was playing, I would have. I would have tried to, you know, you know, throw something extra.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, because you. You was given extra.

[Laura Rosenberg]

You threw something extra, all right? And apparently Ebro was there to catch it.

[Ebro Darden]

Yo, Yaya. Abdul Mateen ii. Look for him in wonder man on Disney plus. We appreciate you. Keep going and we hope to see you again soon, man.

[Yaya Abdul-Mateen II]

Appreciate y'. All. Thanks.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Thank you, man. Appreciate it.

[Ebro Darden]

Salute. Just don't call it a podcast.

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