4.) The HOT Departure + iHeart and Netflix Deal (12/23)

Summary

Podcast Summary:

The Ebro, Laura, Rosenberg Show – Episode 4: The HOT Departure + iHeart and Netflix Deal
Release Date: December 23, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this candid and energetic episode, Ebro and Rosenberg (Laura is largely absent in dialogue, but referenced throughout) discuss their post-radio era, reflect on their Hot 97 departure, and engage in sharp critique and pop culture analysis. The show navigates through topics including media industry shifts, corporate deals such as Charlemagne’s $200 million iHeart contract and Netflix's billion-dollar partnership, the Nicki Minaj and TPUSA controversies, racial and generational divides in America, and the realities of pursuing success in media and podcasting. The episode is rich with introspection, nuanced debate, and characteristic humor about their past, present, and the future of their show.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. On Leaving Hot 97 and Media Industry Moves

• The hosts reflect on the transition from radio to podcasting/YouTube, noting the evolution of their content and the legacy left behind at Hot 97.
• Major industry shake-ups are highlighted, including Charlamagne tha God’s iHeart deal (starting at 00:26) and Netflix’s billion-dollar investment in podcast-content creation (51:40).
  • Quote (00:58, Ebro): “If you’re Charlamagne, you should be ecstatic…for podcasting, you should be ecstatic…there’s so much positive from what Charlemagne and the IHeart deal has done.”
• The show addresses misconceptions about podcasting vs. radio, emphasizing that radio is a heavier lift requiring improvisation and resilience in the face of audience volatility (29:11, 31:59).

2. Integrity vs. “The Dance” and Getting “The Bag”

• An in-depth discussion about how people of color, especially in media, have to compromise principles (“do the dance”) to reach lucrative corporate deals (03:01, 22:30, 48:10).
• Rosenberg draws a line between basic compromise and outright promotion of things you disagree with (05:08).
  • Quote (03:01, Ebro): “To get to the big bags…you gotta do certain dances.”
  • Quote (05:15, Rosenberg): “There’s a really big difference between working for companies that do things you don’t agree with and choosing to stand next to things and promote things you don’t agree with.”
• Both reflect on their refusal to fully “sell out” their principles, even if it means less financial success (04:04, 05:08).

3. Nicki Minaj, TPUSA, and Black Women in Public Discourse

• Ebro spotlights commentator Reese Colbert’s viral takedown of Nicki Minaj’s comments linking Black women to the Sydney Sweeney ad controversy and accusations of “bullying” (06:14–09:12).
  • Quote (06:45, Reese Colbert): “Nicki Minaj is a stupid, goofy ass, ignorant ass, clown ass bitch…[Black women] be over here minding our mother business…it’s actually white women and white men [who are the bullies of white women]…”
• Discussion shifts to Minaj’s alignment with right-wing figures and TPUSA, questioning her motives and impact.
  • Rosenberg argues that Minaj’s moves are a grift and disrespect to her base, especially as she turns away from the communities that supported her (36:35–37:50).
• The topic evolves into an analysis of how marginalized people are pitted against each other in media narratives, and how conversations around hair, identity, and representation are often misunderstood (09:12, 20:14).

4. American Racial and Generational Dynamics

• Ebro and Rosenberg dissect feelings of disenfranchisement among college-aged white men and the rise of white identity movements like TPUSA (13:10–14:06, 20:12).
• Ebro shares personal family stories to discuss racial identity complexities and code-switching (16:06–18:28, 48:43), comparing his family’s blended Black/white backgrounds and experiences.
• The show highlights the historical cycle of white backlash and privilege, how perceptions of “equity” fuel reactionary politics (20:14–21:07), and critiques figures like JD Vance for embracing bigotry while acting as “empty vessels.”

5. Critiquing the Current State of Hip-Hop

• Extended debate over Nicki Minaj’s place in rap history, including Rosenberg’s hot take that she’s “overrated,” doesn’t have a classic album, and lacks songs that “make you feel something” (34:23–42:46).
  • Quote (37:27, Rosenberg): “She doesn’t have a classic album. She’s never made a classic.”
  • Ebro pushes back, crediting Minaj’s crowd-moving prowess and technical energy, while agreeing she doesn’t always rap about meaningful topics.
• The hosts riff on what it means to be a “true MC” and how music is judged in retrospect.

6. Inside Media and Podcasting: Misconceptions and Realities

• The shift from legacy radio to independent podcasting is critiqued; hosts discuss personal failures to capitalize on the YouTube/podcast wave early (24:31–24:40).
  • Quote (24:31, Rosenberg): “Yes, I definitely could have made more money on the Internet. However, I’m not mad at anyone who makes that their money that way.”
• Criticism of platforms that pay for interviews (like Vlad TV), with Rosenberg insisting there’s a real difference between paid-for-content and journalism (27:40).
• They debate the misconception that doing well on social media or as a comedian equates to radio/podcast success—“it’s a different discipline” (29:10–30:12, 32:20).

7. Hot 97’s Legacy and Changing Industry Practices

• Both express mixed feelings about the dissolution of their Hot 97 morning show, lamenting changes in management and corporate disconnect, especially around events like Summer Jam (56:01).
• They detail the traditional, slow-building process of successful radio—a process that new media often ignores (59:40–60:16).
• Social media’s shift from being an extension of personality-driven radio to becoming its own, detached business model is discussed as a negative turn for the brand (57:15).

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Code-Switching and Compromise:
  “Everybody’s out here doing a dance. If you’re dealing with corporate America, you’re doing a dance...It's how some people get to the big bag…everyone’s doing it. And it’s not hate when you point it out.” – Ebro (47:31)

• On the Corporate Bag:
  “You want to get to that big bag, you gotta do the dance.” – Ebro (22:34)
  “It is specific to a corporate thing…when you’re an independent person…that’s direct to consumer…It’s nuanced and no, people aren’t going to get it.” – Rosenberg (24:06)

• On Nicki Minaj:
  “She’s not one of the great MCs of all time. She’s a really good rapper who had great marketing and a great packaging.” — Rosenberg (37:27)

• On the History of Radio vs. Podcasts:
  “Morning broadcasts...it is much more of a heavy lift...I know that morning radio works harder than a lot of these other things. That’s all.” – Ebro (29:48)

• On Social and Corporate Disconnect:
  “We approach social media as an extension of the brand…not its own thing…I don't know if that still was their thing.” – Ebro (57:15)

• On Family and Identity:
  “My black father was more involved than my white brother's father.” – Ebro (16:42)

• Rosenberg on Past Mistakes:
  “There's no question I fumbled the Internet bag.” (24:40)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:26 – Transition from radio, reflections on the Charlamagne iHeart deal
• 06:14–09:12 – Reese Colbert's viral rant on Nicki Minaj and the mainstreaming of bad faith narratives about Black women
• 13:10–14:06, 20:14 – White male disenfranchisement and the rise of TPUSA
• 22:26 – Comparing corporate and independent “bags”; discussion of Joe Budden’s success
• 24:31–24:40 – Rosenberg on missing the YouTube/Internet wave
• 27:40 – Critique of paid "interviews" (e.g., Vlad TV) and the line between content & journalism
• 29:11–31:59 – Radio vs. podcasting: skills, risks, and misconceptions
• 34:23–42:46 – Heated debate about Nicki Minaj’s rap legacy
• 51:40 – Discussion of Netflix’s billion-dollar deal and shifts in podcast industry
• 56:01–57:30 – Hot 97 social media/brand disconnect and personal moments lost in translation
• 59:40–60:16 – How long it takes to build a successful morning radio show
• 62:41 – Joe Budden’s critique of over-communicating plans; reflections on staying connected to listeners

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Tone and Language

The conversation is casual, sarcastic, and reflective, filled with “inside baseball” about media, characteristic banter, and willingness to “go there” on topics of race, gender, and industry politics. The hosts’ voices are honest and sometimes self-deprecating, balancing big-picture cultural critique with personal anecdotes.

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Conclusion

This episode stands out for its transparency about the realities of media careers, sharp commentary on pop culture controversy (Nicki Minaj, TPUSA), and an unvarnished look into adapting to the new “creator economy.” Ebro and Rosenberg blend industry knowledge, humor, and critical race/gender analysis, offering listeners both entertainment and behind-the-scenes wisdom on success, compromise, and the future of hip-hop media.

Transcript

[A]

Just don't call it a podcast. All right, Ebro. Laura Rosenberg, back again. You know, we'll do this every day. That's the new program. Thank you for tuning in. Thank you for your comments. Thank you for subscribing, liking.

[B]

Turning on the watch notifications. Gotta have that on, apparently. That's a big thing, I think.

[A]

Big thanks. Big thanks at a time. I mean, it's perfect timing, right? Because here we are podcasting, like we've been doing, but we did it as a radio show that got turned into a podcast, or we were on YouTube for many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many years, but it was a radio show being turned into YouTube content, so we no longer have the radio show. But it's the perfect time, because Charlamagne, the God, has paved the way.

[B]

Oh, thank you.

[A]

That's right. He has paved the way. I saw some clips of us talking about Charlamagne's $200 million deal, and people were saying we were hating because I said, quote, I didn't do the same dance as he did, and I didn't intend it to be that way. I think if you're Charlamagne, you should be ecstatic. I think if you're a fan of Charlamagne, you should be celebrating. Like, I think if you're a podcaster, you should be ecstatic. I think there's so much positive from what Charlemagne and the Iheart deal has done. I don't know. What I was trying to articulate is basically, I have a belief that when you are black in the United States and outspoken against what is seen as the. The norm, or outspoken, especially in this current climate, against Trump, in the ways that I have been since man 2016 and beyond, or as overtly outspoken against white supremacy and unwilling to have conversations with people who propagate white supremacy, I won't even entertain it. There's nothing for us to find common ground on, but there are individuals who are willing to do that dance, and that is rewarded financially in our society. It always has been. Or people who are just willing to, at the wrong time, be critical of a black woman running for President of the United States.

[B]

Who's that one about? No, no, I know it's about Kamala, but, I mean, Charlemagne, I thought he was all on board. I thought he was like a surrogate, practically.

[A]

First for after they were critical.

[B]

Oh, right, right, right.

[A]

Then they made him a surrogate, because.

[B]

I thought you were going to mention that.

[A]

But by the way. But by the way, you should be critical. I'm not saying you shouldn't. I'm just saying the timing was bad.

[B]

Well, and I thought you were going to add that every time there was like a major Democrat moment on their show, it led to something horrifying for the candidate.

[A]

Oh, you mean like Hillary Clinton.

[B]

Yo, Hillary Clinton had the sauce in the bag. Disaster. Joe Biden.

[A]

Oh, by the way.

[B]

But.

[A]

By the way. But by. Oh, Joe Biden.

[B]

Joe Biden. If you don't mean you hit black. Disaster.

[A]

But. But also had the hip hop reference too.

[B]

Don't forget she confused when Tupac was alive.

[A]

Disaster. But also. But also. That's. That's good. It's good. But it's also just something that I would. Wasn't willing to do. That's all I'm saying. I'm not saying he shouldn't be proud. I'm not saying people shouldn't celebrate. I'm not saying it's not great for podcasting and you and whatever you're doing as a creator. I'm not saying none of that. I just want people to pay attention to these things because to get to the big bags. The big bags, you gotta do certain dances. That's all I'm saying.

[B]

Now can I. Can I push back, though?

[A]

You can do whatever you want. Laura Rosenberg. Your name's in the title.

[B]

Here's two things I'm gonna push back on, and I'm at. Let me add a piece. First, number one, the only thing maybe as whack is being everything you just said about you and feeling those ways is being white and doing those things. There ain't no place for me. And black people barely like me. Also, it's. I mean, there's no.

[A]

There's no home when you're a mixed kid like me. Man, you.

[B]

You never had a home. Listen, but I could have. But the thing is, I could have chose the white home. Could have been cozy somewhere in the bosom of the man.

[A]

But you would had to do the dance.

[B]

Some sort of dance. I can't even be cozy in the bosom of the Jewish man because my Israel views. I got no, I got. This is no. No country for old men. You know what I mean? But here's what I'm pushing back on you. Number one. No, it's not hate what you're saying, but we're not going to play a game and pretend that what you're saying is an outright compliment. You are saying it at you. You have to be willing to compromise certain principles at certain points. And you and this program and what we do, we don't compromise principles. We do what we do without compromising principles.

[A]

And we try. I'm sure we have compromised our pr. I'm sure there's just certain ones I'm not willing to do.

[B]

Yeah, people, people often throw that out there. I'll see that too. The, the you're doing all this stuff and you work for this company and they do blank. There's a really big difference between working for companies that do things you don't agree with and choosing to stand next to things and promote things you don't agree with. We all work for someone.

[A]

Yeah. We live in a country that we don't necessarily agree with the origin story of the country.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I don't even like how this thing got started.

[B]

Was not clean. Was not a clean start.

[A]

We're all compromising to some. Some regard to even get to some money and play in this American social experiment. Now, yesterday I brought up black women and how vocal they were against Nicki Minaj. And I see Nicki Minaj is once again on our conversation topic board today.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

And so there's a woman that I love, that I love, and I only know her through the Internet. Her name is Reese Cole. Risi Colbert, I think is how you pronounce her last name. Like Stephen Colbert. She's from Prince George's county, actually Maryland.

[B]

Oh, hello. That's my neck of the woods, man.

[A]

But listen, she does the most prosperous.

[B]

Black county in all of America.

[A]

Well, listen, she doesn't mince words.

[B]

You want to hear it?

[A]

And by not mincing words means a. She's very direct and she gonna cuss your ass out.

[C]

Nicki Minaj is a stupid, goofy ass, ignorant ass, clown ass bitch. And I don't really give a about anything that she has say. Nobody should be paying attention to her. However, since people are paying attention to her. Dumbass. Now I got a address. Now, I really don't care about a lot of that. She said it's a typical Republican grip. It's the same script. But what did piss me off is how she sat up there with Eric Kirk on her dead husband tour and brought in black women. Why the are we in it for her to sit up there and say, well, if black women didn't feel good about themselves, then why would they turn around and try to make a white woman feel bad for herself because she looks good?

[B]

What?

[C]

The idea that black women are somehow bullying white women when black women be over here minding our mother business is stupid. The biggest bullies of white women are not black women it's actually white women and white men. White men are the ones passing these laws to make them baby incubators. That's allowing child marriage to come through. All that ancestors they got going down in some of these states, child labor, y' all the ones that they taking away Di. Which white women benefited from the most? So why the black woman in it? If you go to any discussion that black women are having about black beauty, don't involve white women. If you could pick up a Essence magazine, every magazine, Jet magazine, whatever, we over here mind our black ass business talking about our hair, our face card never declining, and the things that worry us, mind you, we definitely got bigger first to fry them than whatever white women got going on. 300, 000 black women lost their jobs under Trump. 800, 000 black women are unemployed. You could get up there and talk about that. But no, you trying to sit up here and make us out to be bullies. But let me ask you a question. Name the law that white women need in order to wear their hair the way that their hair naturally looks. It doesn't exist. On the other hand, black women and black men, we need the Crown Act. We need the Crown act so that we can wear our hair the way that it naturally looks when we go on a job interview or when people go to school so that they don't have to cut their locks in the middle of a wrestling match in order to continue playing. That's why we need the Crown Act. So if anybody is being restricted from looking and feeling good the way that we naturally do, it will be black people, not white women.

[B]

Well, Reese, tell her. Tell how you feel.

[A]

Well, so, yeah, I wanted to put that out there because I saw a lot of that conversation, like, how did we even. Black women saying, how did we even get near this conversation? Like, so.

[B]

So Rob Markman, friend of the program and great guy and journalist himself, reached out and he was watching us yesterday and he said, I think what we missed was the four. The entry point to that stupid conversation was, I believe, the Sydney Sweeney ad blowback that was. Or that's what it was. Alluding to.

[A]

The city.

[B]

No, no, no.

[A]

And still.

[B]

And still, I'm just trying to give you the setup for sure. And still, the Sydney Sweeney thing really irked me because I really thought at first we. I thought you and Laura were being sensitive. I was. I was playing that guy in my head. I'm like, come on, it was just an ad for jeans. I really believed it. And then when I saw her asked about It. I was like, oh, you're really. Oh, you're really. You're leaning into this.

[A]

Well, and unfortunately, Rosenberg, as much as. As much as I know some people want to act like white supremacy is not a part of it all. And it's not a part of American culture to make people who are not white feel bad about themselves in some way, shape or form, or continually remind people who are not white that you should just be happy to be here. It is a part of the culture, the fabric of the United States of America to behave in that way.

[B]

Oh, yeah. I just didn't think it was right there. I. I just think. Didn't think Sydney Sweeney, who I got to know from, you know, this, this Euphoria show.

[A]

Yo, we got to bring the congratulations, you played yourself button back. I'm figuring it out, by the way. By the way, college voice, by the way.

[B]

But by the way, I don't. I don't think there's anything that can be done except it's not hot. They don't own that.

[A]

Well, anyway, so hit yourself with the button. Where's the button? You don't know Sydney Sweeney. You fixed your lips to say, I got to know Sydney Sweeney. No, you didn't.

[B]

I. She's from Euphoria.

[A]

You liked a show.

[B]

More specifically, I liked her nudity on that show. But what are we doing? What's going on? Yo, no, Zendaya. Drake. Drake did the music. Zendaya.

[A]

I like all of those parts. We don't know them people, man.

[B]

Yeah, well, listen, you were right. Listen, I'm out. I was completely wrong. It was definitely a nod to full on open genetic. The highest level white supremacy, the genetic talk. And she was like, yes. And by the way, is Sydney Sweeney really. Whatever. You know what? That's fine.

[A]

Just leave it alone. But on the T PUSA thing, I saw people calling the Turning Point thing T Pusa.

[B]

No, Tipusa.

[A]

I'm calling it T PUSA from here on now.

[B]

No TP USA Being T PUSA is amazing. It's got a lot. Why do you like that? Why do you think it hit so funny?

[A]

It just sounds ridiculous and funny. So on the T PUSA thing that I think everybody needs to pay attention to, here I am with the whole.

[B]

Pay attention thing at Turning Point usa.

[A]

Their meeting thing, the conventions, all the thing. I brought it up yesterday. Be careful. You're promoting a grassroots community, well funded movement of white supremacy. I think the most. The group most vocal about feeling left out and disenfranchised in this day and Age, ironically, is college aged white men.

[B]

That's a tough time.

[A]

They are so left out of society and so pained that something like T Pusa is what many of them want.

[B]

And need in their life.

[A]

And then on top of that, there's a layer of the whole religious thing. And so you're gathering with people who look like you and feel like you. And there's a lot of money supporting it. And people, people get very enthusiastic when you put those ingredients together, having fun, gathering, seeing people who you can relate to, and lots of money. That's how movements are created. And this is a movement.

[C]

And.

[A]

They have a martyr now.

[B]

Well, that's the thing I saw in the video you sent me yesterday. You know, the assassination of Charlie Kirk led to, like, such a huge uptick in membership. And you're right, they literally have their martyr now. Everyone can say what they want about Charlie Kirk, but you can't argue is that his death affected a lot of people, even people who didn't follow him prior to dying.

[A]

Never forget, bro, I'm so out of the loop with the, with the white dudes. The fact that Charlie Kirk's face. And they had a moment of silence at a Yankee game.

[B]

Nah, it was crazy.

[A]

Blew my mind.

[B]

It was, it was insane.

[A]

I was like, wait, what? He was like that. I'm out the loop, guys. Listen, I guess really the only white American dude I'm. I'm connecting with every day is Rosenberg and Trump. We don't connect. I hear, I hear him. He doesn't hear me.

[B]

He's in your world. Oh, oh, oh, God, no. You talk to other whites every day.

[A]

No. Yeah, but I don't think that personally. Maybe I had to. I really had to ask myself. I reached out to my brother.

[B]

Oh, okay.

[A]

And my brother was like, yeah, it's like that. And I, My, you know, my brother is. If my brother is, you know, he is not effing with none of this, bro. No, but he's.

[B]

But he's. But he's definitively white enough to see what's going on.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Like, he's, he's on the white scale.

[A]

My brother's whiter than Rosenberg.

[B]

No, no, let me finish. Way white. If I'm a. If I'm a 2.5 on, on site, appearance style acting. If I'm only a 2.5 at white. Ebro's brothers is seven and a half. Like, he comes off as. Hey, welcome, welcome. Can I help you? Yeah, no, he's that, but I mean, not, not politically, socially, but as that's how he presents.

[A]

But he was raised mostly by a black family, so he never knew. I mean, he knows some of the white side. He like my mom's side better than I do. But my dad and my grandmother and my aunts and uncles on my dad's side took my white brother to Church of God Christ in North Richmond, California, multiple times a week.

[B]

Yo. In some ways, because of that, your brother's situation may be even more interesting than yours.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

That's like. That's really wild. I cannot picture your dad. The pictures I've seen with your dad and your brother. So you're. So your dad was like my bro.

[A]

My, My. My black father is. Was more involved than my white brother's father. My white brother's father is the deadbeat and left and never talked to him.

[B]

He didn't know him at all. Right.

[A]

At all. Walked out, gone.

[B]

And your brother's how much older than you?

[A]

Five years.

[B]

And, and your parents had been together for how long when they had you?

[A]

A year to a year?

[B]

2. So your dad comes along and your. Your mom has a three year old.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So he meets him as a little little boy.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

So, like, that's an obvious real bond you have then with this little, little boy who you get to know. It is a super little white boy. You know, that is crazy and funny. Anyways, but your Ebro's brother is. Is. Even though his name is Wild Black.

[A]

We'll be on Marius. It's not Maurice, it's Marius.

[B]

Both are black, bro. If I saw someone's name was Marius, there's no way I'm picturing your brother. I'm not picturing your. Your brother looks like a banker, bro. He looks like he was born to be a banker. I. That's not what. And I don't mean like some high level banker. I just mean the guy who's in the bank, like, hey, welcome aboard. But. But he's in touch enough to see that, like out in Minnesota, what his white people, he knows are looking at. And. And they were. Now, I didn't know people that I was aware of that enjoyed Charlie Kirk until later I could see, like, oh, follows and sidebar.

[A]

My brother's wife, who is, you know, I won't put a business out there. I mean, she's from Iowa, a farm in Iowa. She's whiter than him.

[B]

But she's also a crunchy. Crunchy, you know?

[A]

No, she, I mean, no, she's just a Midwest regular. Degla white woman. She can't Stand low. She's work. She's more off the rails. Because if you're a. A real. See, my brother was raised around my dad. My dad is a Panther Activism. My mom's a feminist. My brother, Northern California, Berkeley. So his conspiracy radar, you know, kind of like questioning the government radar, is a part. It's in him. But if you're a Midwest regular degular white American, the type of anger you feel, if you really believed in the potential of this nation, the type of anger you have right now is you're. You're way more angry than you and I.

[B]

Well, I have a couple of friends like that. I have the white. The regular degular white women I know who are super. They're not Jewish. They're not anything. They're just good people. Nah, they're angry.

[A]

No, no, they're every.

[B]

Because it's. Because it's everywhere, and they can't understand it, and they can't get through to it. And. And. And. And the other women that they know who seem like them have these moron husbands who they listen to, and they're like. And, you know, and they're not married to husbands like that. They're married to good men who see things the right way. And so they're like, who are you? Like, they feel like they're stuck in Handmaid's Tale, you know, and they can't escape it. But no, and they've never.

[A]

And by the way. And also, they've never felt this before. They've never been through this before. Which dovetails me back to talking about white men feeling disenfranchised.

[B]

Oh, this is Tipusa. This is how we started with T.

[A]

PUSA is because when you're privileged, you've never dealt with these challenges, these social challenges before where, you know, this. You walk outside, everybody looks at you. You go to the school, everybody looks at you, looks like you. Right? So now you. You.

[B]

What?

[A]

What do you mean? Black people and. And immigrants. And I have to pay attention to all of these other factors and. And wait. They get equity like they get because of things that happen to them that my parents and grandparents.

[B]

Oh, oh.

[A]

They mean the people, like, they get. They get, like, more. A little bit more attention. Somebody gets more attention than me in the real world, maybe.

[B]

Well, this is. This is getting back to the JD Vance line. The assassin JD Vance, saying white people don't have to apologize for being white anymore because we didn't. We didn't spend a lot of time yesterday on JD Vance really leaning into the, like, he's gonna go all the way there. He wants to live all the way on the fringes. He's not condemning any of it, by.

[A]

The way, while being married to nice. It's an immigrant.

[B]

And he still won't condemn the crazed groiper Nick Fuentes, far right people who go after his wife. He still won't come out and condemn it. He will not. He is. I'm telling you, he may be the worst one because he's got. He's an empty vessel. Whatever you. Whatever you need him to be. That's bad because we remember the article about what he was like in grad school and his trans friend who he lost touch with over time, and now he's the full on spokesperson for all of this stuff. And unlike Trump, who is truly only moved by dollars, JD Vance is moved by dollars. But he does have this sort of ideological thing as well that I think Trump is lacking because J.D.

[A]

Vance is getting to that big bag.

[B]

Oh, the Peter Thiel bag.

[A]

And he's doing the dance.

[B]

Oh, they gotta do the dance. But that dance.

[A]

You want to get to that big bag, you gotta do the dance.

[B]

Oh, but here's my pushback for you. Yes. Someone who got a big bag and didn't do a dance, I don't think. Okay, this pains me to say, because I would have liked a piece of this bag. Is Joseph Bartholomew Budden. Joe got a pretty big bag.

[A]

Well, yeah, no, Joe's bag is incredible. But remember, he's a straight indie bag. And he's an early, early, early Internet guy who built a community, monetized the community. He was early, early, early to it. Like, Joe Budden is really. He's really like the, the godfather of the indie Internet hustle.

[B]

Yeah, no, that's a very good point. Yeah, I mean, like, he's rare.

[A]

That's rare air, though, bro. That's rare air. Joe wanted to. Joe as a rapper. Joe created a reality show on YouTube just because. Yeah, girl was hot.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Him and Tahiri was just on YouTube because it was like, my girl's hot. And I want people, like people that.

[B]

People are entertained by us. So.

[A]

And, and, and I just want to create and entertain people.

[B]

No, listen, this is, this is why I think him and I got along. I totally dug that energy. That's what. Oh, so we were talking about misconceptions.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Here's another one that I've seen around that.

[A]

Oh, by the way, by the way. And I want to clarify, when you're doing the dance to get to the Bag. It is specific to a corporate thing.

[B]

It's getting the corporate bag.

[A]

It's maneuvering. When you're an independent person and you're doing your own thing and you're moving around and building your own business with direct to consumer. I don't think that's really a, that's a direct to consumer.

[B]

What you're saying is nuanced and no, people aren't going to get it. But I, I know exactly what you're saying.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Another misconception I've seen thrown about by the people who dislike us, the DJ Vlads and the academics of the world.

[A]

I don't know if they dislike me as much as they dislike you. Academics.

[B]

Yeah. Academics hates you. Vlad always focuses on me. No, Vlad's a me thing.

[A]

And I don't even know why. I don't know why academics hates me. So. Hold on.

[B]

We'll get to you in a second. Don't be so Rosenberg about this, all right? What? But they, they repeatedly say that we hate on them for doing the Internet thing. I'm, I'm impressed. I, I have no, I've never been anti Internet. That was just not the path I was able to be on. They always, everyone always comes after me and thinks the reason I hate on so and so is, is because they made it the way they made it. That's totally false. Yes. I have a lot of criticisms, particularly of academics, that, that gets personal. Although I will admit, even though he has been a bad guy to me and gone well beyond the pale, and I'll never get into it with him again, as a result, I just ignore him. I, I, There are certain things that definitely impress me about him. And I think that if he wanted to do things in a different way, and that's what I've always said to him, I think he could be quite good. I just don't like a lot of the things that he propagates. His ability to work hard and create a business. I never took an issue with my, My hate is the product. I don't hate that Vlad goes on YouTube. I hate that Vlad pays people to talk About Crime on YouTube. Why do you think I'm against creating your own business? The other thing is. Well, you, you just mad you fumbled the bag on the Internet. Exactly right. I am. Of course I am. I didn't understand it. Seif and I, when, when Ebro suggested we get together, do a practice show, and I'm like, oh, this is like a podcast. We could do a podcast. I didn't know we were Sort of reinventing the wheel to some extent. And we just thought, fun little side job. We got to focus on radio. I mean, listen, it sounds ridiculous in retrospect, but that's what it was. There's no question I fumbled the Internet bag. That's not an argument you're not proving a point in. Yes, I definitely could have made more money on the Internet. However, I'm not mad at anyone who makes that their money that way. Like, I. I think there's a lot of upside to not having a boss, to doing all those things. Of course, of course. So I just don't know why the narrative people can't focus on what one thought can be. I can be critical of the way you make your content. Ebro. I went on Vlad's page the other day. Don't ask how I got there. I guess it was a suggestion that I went, let me see what's on this guy's Instagram page. The first interview that he's promoting is him interviewing some random jamoke. I died a jabroni. I have no idea who this guy is. And it's like so and so breaks down inside a night of a freak off with Diddy. And I'm like, this is what I criticize this. And why do you compare our content? Why does he get off going, we're in the same space. Do people even understand that once you pay people for interviews, do you understand that is now a completely different field? There's no journalistic part of it. That is nothing anymore that is just paying for views?

[A]

No. And I think you've spent too much time on this.

[B]

Sorry, you mean this moment or in life?

[A]

Probably both.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

But please subscribe. It's Ebro, Laura and Rosenberg. We're here every day. Obviously, with the holidays, it's. It's not as consistent, but we'll be doing this a lot because now we are in this business more directly.

[B]

Welcome to YouTube.

[A]

Yeah, I haven't been on YouTube since 2004.

[B]

No, it's crazy too, because you didn't actually hire me at Hot 97 because I was hot on YouTube. Oh, wait a second. Oh, wait a second. Literally, I had been.

[A]

And you know, the only reason, the only reason I was. I would poke fun at podcasts and. And I would always tell people, I don't listen to podcasts. I don't. I've never heard our podcast. I have never pressed play on our podcast. I have never pressed play on Joe Button's podcast. I've seen clips of videos on socials. I just don't have time in the day and it's not what you want.

[B]

To listen to when you're moving around. You listen to music if you're moving.

[A]

I would prefer to listen to music or I'm on calls catching up with business stuff that I have to do. I don't think a lot of people and. And I don't mind that they don't know the. The stuff I have to do. That's not this sort of thing. Right? Like I don't daily.

[B]

You ever give any podcast to play?

[A]

I. You know what? That's one of the things I've said to myself I would like to listen to. And I haven't.

[B]

And you still haven't even heard the daily.

[A]

Still haven't. But I know that it's dope. But the only reason I would poke fun at. At, at YouTube and podcasts was simply because people would compare that to what we do in radio. It is not the same thing. Listen, man, I would poke fun at people like David Letterman who do a nightly show. You know why? Because they have 50 writers and they perform for like an hour pre recorded.

[B]

Not even 49 minutes probably whatever Radio.

[A]

Morning broadcasts when you're hosting, writing the content bits, phone topics and all of it is much more of a heavy lift. Now hit us with the button because we never chased the.

[B]

Congratulations, you played yourself.

[A]

That sucks. Okay, that was. That sucks. That's not what you want.

[B]

Congratulations, you played yourself.

[A]

That was terrible too. That's terrible too. But nonetheless, my point being is I poke fun at all type because. Excuse me. Stuff we're not supposed to be cursing because.

[B]

Write it down, Griff.

[A]

Because I know that morning radio works harder than a lot of these other things. That's all. And it's a. And it's a different discipline, which is.

[B]

The funny part about I, you know, I observed some of the conversations and I, I really love the passion that I see of people discussing what could happen next on Hot. And they throw out a lot of names of funny, talented people. And I'm like, oh man, you guys really think if you're funny on the Internet, just crack that mic and go, okay, okay pal. Like I just don't think they have any clue. And it doesn't mean that we're more talented. It just means it is a skill that requires learning and time and effort. And it is not the same as doing a podcast. That is all. Because guess what? When you have a podcast, the people who are listening, like right now, when I just rambled on or ebro Goes on and on about something that we go too long for. They turn it off on the radio, they're done. That's it. They're out here. You already saw. You already came. Maybe you fast forward 15 seconds. Maybe you just listen because you love us on the radio. At any given moment, given the kind of divisive personalities Ebro and I have, at any moment, there is a large percentage of the population that's waiting to push the button and leave us.

[A]

Right?

[B]

And you take a wrong turn, and they're gone. That is not the same. This is Ebro.

[A]

Why?

[B]

I always used to get tight at comedians talking about cancel culture. I'm like, yo, if you're scared of getting canceled in a comedy club with your fans, and I'm not scared of getting canceled when half the audience listening would literally be willing to write a letter to end my career.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

You're a snowflake. And that's what makes radio different, man, that you. You do not have those people. They got all kinds of options.

[A]

But remember, so many people are doing podcasts and creating content on all of these platforms. So few people have actually worked at a radio station.

[B]

Right?

[A]

So there's just so many people who just don't know and don't care. Right. And. And. And like you said, you and I are divisive people in many ways. You're Jewish. It's not going so good right now. I'm a mixed kid. Never really been a great thing.

[B]

Never been that hot.

[A]

People like light skins from time to time, but they also hate them, hate them, hate them. And then we have the nerve to have an opinion. How dare you? How dare you?

[B]

Yeah, there's. There's. Listen, we got Laura. Laura's lovable. You know, most people don't hate on Laura, except for Lord Jamar.

[A]

Lord Jamar.

[B]

If you have anyone has those clips, the Lord Jamar clips, I need to put those in my system.

[A]

No, we have them. We have all. We have them all.

[B]

I got to get that in there.

[A]

We have them all. And besides, they're on the Internet. It's. It's. It's public domain.

[B]

So, Ebro, you didn't think yesterday was a good time for me to tweet that the monsterverse is overrated.

[A]

So back to Nicki Minaj. I don't like what Nicki Minaj is doing. Don't like it at all. Not gonna support it. I'm also not gonna act like it's. Just take it at face value. I think there's more going on there. On a personal level that needs to be discovered over time in many ways, you know, things. She's dealing with so many things. But what I'm not gonna do is all of a sudden just go start picking apart like this. This ding bat Rosenberg picking apart great verses that she has for.

[B]

I've had these opinions, though. I just have not been able to, like, it hasn't been the right time to get them in.

[A]

So, boom. I went through the monster verses. I read the lyrics. I didn't listen. I just read it.

[B]

Yeah. Were you were that impressed?

[A]

It. It wasn't that I was that impressed. It's. I think people rate it based on the fact that she didn't have an album out at the time, which says in her verse, it was Jay Z, Kanye, and Rick Ross.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And the way she sold her verse, the pocket she found, the energy she gave, the fact that she was. The closing verse. Yeah, that's why people regard it so highly.

[B]

Agreed, by the way. That's why it's a bit of a troll, because of course it's a great.

[A]

Verse, but that's why all I said to you was, now is not the time.

[B]

I. But it's the perfect time.

[A]

No, no, no, it's not the time. No, man. Because here's the thing.

[B]

Or what about that? Shawnee put Moment for Life on our top 50 rap songs of all time. Yo, Shawn, he didn't put.

[A]

She did not. He suggested it. The barbs got busy on the Internet and voted it in.

[B]

Yeah, no, but by the way, though, Sean and I, if it comes up right now, we'll still fight about it. He'll be like, nah, but that Moment for Life.

[A]

And I'm like, no, listen, I like that song a lot.

[B]

No, it's a nice. There are a lot of nice songs, man. But that's not a top 50 without. We did. We did 50, right?

[A]

50, 55. 50 years of hip hop top 50.

[B]

That he. That ended up being a top 50 rap song on our list. Moment for life.

[A]

So tell. Tell me why you think right now is the time that you want to jump on Twitter and go after Nicki Minaj's multiverse here.

[B]

She wants to disrespect all of us. So guess what? Here's some disrespect. You're not as great as everyone says you are.

[A]

Why is she disrespecting all of us?

[B]

Because she is. This is. This is to sit up there and lie to everyone's face when you know you have an ax to grind. Yo, she lied and told us Donald Trump was dashing and handsome. You are lying to our face.

[A]

So I couldn't even take her serious.

[B]

But that's what I'm saying. So I feel disrespected that you are all of a sudden pulling this overt, a grift in everyone's face and at.

[A]

A time people are being deported. What are you talking about? She has an axe to grind.

[B]

What's she trying to get from this? She wants something. She wants something while people in this country are suffering, particularly people of color, particularly people from the neck of the woods that her family is from. These people are suffering and she has a personal ax to grind and is saying, f you people who made me a millionaire. I don't care about you people. I care about me. I'm going to stand next to these racists. I'm going to kiss up to these white supremacists so I can talk, do something for my brother or for my partner or for my citizenship or whatever. Her acts to grind is. You are lying to the people who made you rich, who line up online and make you a superstar. Well, guess what? If you're going to be that disrespectful, I'm not going to call you out your name. I'm not going to say nasty things.

[A]

But you did say something nasty.

[B]

No, you're overrated. I'm going to say you're overrated, but.

[A]

That'S not true either. You're lying.

[B]

It is. She's not one of the greatest MCs of all time. She's a really good rapper who had great marketing and a great packaging.

[A]

She's not.

[B]

She doesn't have a classic album. She's never made a classic. She has a lot of good songs and she's really popular.

[A]

End of story. No, bro.

[B]

End of story.

[A]

You don't have to do that. Bro, you don't have to do that.

[B]

She doesn't have to do it.

[A]

That's what I mean. But, like, you don't.

[B]

No, I kept it because I kept it quiet for a long time, and now I'm going to let it be known in my.

[A]

But you have an ax to grind.

[C]

You.

[A]

You have an axe to grind. You're still mad about Summer Chan.

[B]

No, I'm still mad at how she. I'm still. I'm still mad that she sat in my face and made me pretend that it was reasonable to say that her feelings were about gender or race. And now she's against the woke mob. She was the woke one who Got mad at the white guy's opinion, had to bring up gender and race, had to sit there and browbeat me while I was like, I guess you're right, Nikki. I shouldn't have said those things. Well, when really you now hate the song. You think it was a bad record. Starships and you. And you sat there and browbeat me and said I was. Wasn't funny and I wasn't smart and I wasn't all these things. Lasted another 10, lasted another 13 years on the box after that happened. And I had to sit there and eat it. So, yes, you're right. I do have a personal ax to grind. But the truth is. But the truth is, after that time.

[A]

I think you've gone too far on this. I think you're. I think. I think when you look back at this, I understand.

[B]

She's really good. She's really good.

[A]

She's one of the great emcees, bro.

[B]

She's not one of the great Ems. She's not. Who's she better than? That's great. Name a great that. She's better than. You don't want to do it. You don't want to do it. She's really good.

[A]

I don't. I don't. Because I haven't prepared. I'm not.

[B]

You're not prepared. We can save it. And I'm not trying to say she didn't have a great career. She's had a really great career.

[A]

She.

[B]

She has a lot to be proud of. And in fact, it would be nice if she was humble.

[A]

She's definitely. She's definitely one of the great women MCs. Off top. There's no way you're gonna say that for sure.

[B]

But she's not the best.

[A]

I didn't say that.

[B]

She's. She's really good. She's. She needs a class. She needs a true bonafide.

[A]

Fine album. Fine. But so does Drake.

[B]

So does Drake. Hey, listen, you want to get.

[A]

He's not one of the greats either.

[B]

Well, I mean, will I. He's not one of the greatest MCs of all time. He's one of the most popular, greatest big name rappers of all. But most hits. What do I always say? He's got the most hits.

[A]

He does have.

[B]

He has the most hits.

[A]

Yo, listen, this guy got hit.

[B]

He's got hits. But he. He's not one of the greatest MCs of all time. And I'm just. And.

[A]

And.

[B]

And I don't.

[A]

So do you delineate between rappers and MCs? Are you one of those?

[B]

Not really. I did it there to be cute, but no, not really. I mean, but yeah, but slightly. Because being an mc, you do. You do. I do.

[A]

I do too.

[B]

KRS is. You're not krs. No, like neither. Let me say this about Nikki and Drake. We're in the middle of nowhere. The world has restarted and, and, and some little mini club has formed and people are gathering around. There's fire outside and hellfire and brimstone, all the things. And this club, there's just things happening and people are performing and KRS1 is one of the people who survived. And he grabs the mic and, and does krs1 things.

[A]

Oh, no. Bringing us back to life. He's breathing oxygen back into our lungs.

[B]

I don't know. I don't know that either one of them are jumping on immediately after him. I'll say that. Or next to him. Although I would think Nikki actually would hold her own probably better than Drake.

[A]

Well, yeah, because I think those Caribbean roots start to shine right there. Nikki could get on that mic, B. No, she can do her thing. I'm telling you, you're going to regret it. And not because of the backlash from the Barbs, but just because her delivery, you might critique her. She might not be as lyrical vocabulary. Lyrical as you want, but her prowess, her desire to entertain, to move the crowd, she has it.

[B]

The problem is, you're not wrong. She's obviously extremely talented. No one's going to see this part. They all just saw the first part. But she's obvious.

[A]

No, they're only going to edit the first part, Right?

[B]

This part's dead.

[A]

Engagement.

[B]

She's extremely talented. Yeah. She doesn't rap about things that are important often enough, in my opinion.

[A]

No, no, no, no, no. Listen, that is a fact. But that's been our critique of. But once again, a lot of people. But once again, that's our critique of a lot of people. But that's not every MC's responsibility. If that's not your heart, like I don't. And that's not.

[B]

Politics are her heart, apparently. But that's the weird part, right? No, I guess the politics are important. She didn't want to rap about politics, but she's the.

[A]

She's at T PUSA now. Now if she was rapping about spirituality and not politics per se, or, you know, socioeconomic conditions, but she was rapping about spirituality and, and, and trying to find a, A, A better path of life.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, but what are the Ebro? If I ask you to Name the records that, like, have really made you feel something. I think you're gonna struggle.

[A]

You mean from Nikki?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

I would say moment for life.

[B]

Yeah, bro. Yeah.

[A]

No, man, she wish she had this moment for life, man. It was about being present. It was about, like, you know what I'm saying? I wish I had this moment right here for life.

[B]

Let me tell you how Charlie Kirk felt about Nicki Minaj.

[A]

I'd like to hear it. I never listened.

[B]

Girls. I don't. I don't think that songs that are talking about, like, glorifying wet female genitalia is exactly. I don't know which one wrote that song. Which one was it?

[C]

I think it was Ben Shapiro.

[B]

Yeah, that's right. Yeah.

[A]

Greg Flat great is. But.

[B]

And. But by the way, the role models of the 1940s and 50s for black America were completely different.

[C]

So it is a representation issue.

[B]

Hold on a sec. No, not representation.

[C]

It's.

[B]

Who do you get your art from?

[C]

It's.

[B]

What values are they putting forward? For example, more times than not.

[A]

Stop. I can't. I can't.

[B]

You know, it's hilarious that people really propped him up to be, like, so brilliant. And you can hear him get out of his depth so quickly where you're like. You don't. You're just.

[A]

What are you even talking about? Like, to act like black art is so. To use a cliche term, a monolith is ridiculous.

[B]

And to pretend like white people were okay with the black artists of the 40s and 50s is also hilarious.

[A]

Ridiculous.

[B]

Oh, yeah. Everyone's good with all that, right?

[A]

Oh, right. Yeah. Rock and roll. It was embraced by white America right away.

[B]

That's what black people were good. The 40s and 50s. Oh, that's when you treated the blacks great.

[A]

Meanwhile. Meanwhile, guess who they was talking about. Excuse my language.

[B]

Come on.

[C]

Sorry.

[A]

I know, my bad.

[B]

Good Lord.

[A]

Yo, you know what my elders told me, man? You know the term. Is it commonly known that the words. The phrase rock and roll is sex. Is that commonly known?

[B]

No, but as you were saying it, I'm like, oh, I guess that it would be sex.

[A]

No, that is what that means.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

To listen to. I asked Issa's grandmother about it. She's from Alabama. She moved to New York when she was like, I don't know, 15 in the 60s. Rock and roll, sex.

[B]

Like, it was actual slang.

[A]

It was slang.

[B]

Oh, like they're about to rock and roll.

[A]

They bout to rock and roll.

[B]

Wow. I. I'll go be honest. I'm today years old.

[A]

Say Word.

[B]

No. Even though it makes perfect sense. And if you said, hey, what do you think that means? I think I probably would have guessed it. I hadn't thought about it. That it was actual slang. But it sounds. Can I be honest? It sounds like some old timey black slang. If I'm being honest, that's what exactly what it sounds like.

[A]

Yes. So boom. And it's on the Internet. Rock and roll slang primarily refers to sex, intercourse. Originating from African American vernacular English, but also describes a rebellious lifestyle, fast living defiance.

[B]

Wow, look at that. Look at that.

[A]

So, yeah, your 40s and 50s when black artists were. And I guess, listen, they never listened to Ma Rainey, they never listened to blues, I guess where they were talking that talk about sex.

[B]

No.

[A]

So stop it. Please stop it.

[B]

I just. These people can't. No, they just can't accept the fact that Charlie Kirk was a very compelling conversationalist. He was, in his own way, while not our cup of tea, charming, had his thing about him and he was great at doing that thing. You hear him have these conversations. He's a regular dude at the time, in his 20s and early 30s, just talking.

[A]

He's just guys. It was a market. It's a marketing exercise. Stop, man. He's a guy who was given a lot of money and a platform that was paid for to aggregate white males to get them to move a certain way.

[B]

Back to getting the bag. He back to get in the bag.

[A]

Dance to get the bag.

[B]

He met the guy early on. He met the guy. The guy was impressed. He's like, I could be your guy. The guy gave him the best to do the dance. He started tusa tusa. Now, listen, he flipped it. I give him credit the same way you want to give charlamagne credit. He took the money, he flipped it. He knew what to do, but he's just the guy who did the dance to get the bag.

[A]

That's it, man. And by the way, once again, I want to reiterate, everybody's out here doing a dance. If you're dealing with corporate America, you're doing a dance, everyone's doing it. And it's not hate when you point it out. It's how some people get to the big bag. It's how other people just have to survive. There's someone listening to us right now, man. They know they got to show up differently to just get a check. They got to do a dance. I got to cut my hair a certain way. I got to speak a certain way. I got to dress a certain way.

[B]

Well, Listen, we all do it. We all do it to some extent. It's. What's the extent?

[A]

It's what's the extent?

[B]

Although Ebro, I did hear from a very reliable source. I need you to confirm or deny this.

[A]

All right? All right.

[B]

Because. Because obviously you have to be a little different when you go to Apple. I mean, you dress the same, you do all that. But I'm sure when you talk to Tim Apple, you. Your voice goes up a half octave, you know, I mean, tighten up a tab.

[A]

I soften. I soften the voice.

[B]

You soften the voice. We all do it. Right. And everyone knows.

[A]

I'm not cursing.

[B]

No, everyone and everyone knows my code switching is well documented on wherever. Based on where I am, you turn.

[A]

Effeminate, which is interesting.

[B]

But I do that interestingly around black women only because full on gay. It's different. I do sound like one of the whites more when I'm at the sports talk than when I'm here. Although right here, one on one with you, I sound very white. Add Shawnee and like Cass and all of a sudden my tone change. I like once I'm in the group. And now I'm just the one white guy in a group of non white people. My code switch out. It is what it is.

[A]

We are who Code switch man.

[B]

So. So. But I need you to answer.

[A]

Yeah. The way. By the way. And. And anybody listening to this, you soften your voice for your grandmother.

[B]

Yeah, everyone code switches.

[A]

It's.

[B]

It's ridiculous.

[A]

You soften your voice for the old lady. You helping in the building.

[B]

So here's my question.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I heard from a very reliable source, DJ academics, okay. That the day after you. The Hot 97 thing went down the next Monday. Yeah, you showed up early. Normally you're late. Normally. No. You're yelling, you're cursing. Go get me a coffee. No, blah, blah, blah. You were on your best behavior. You were toned down and you were the subservient employee the following Monday. He said he had a source. He said he has source in the building.

[A]

That's right. He said. Well, no. He posted the video.

[B]

No, you posted the video.

[A]

No, no, but he reposted the video.

[B]

But the video was yours.

[A]

Yeah, but he reposted it and said, look, I sure he showed up to work early. You didn't see that part.

[B]

I did. That was so good. Not gonna lie. That was.

[A]

It was funny.

[B]

No, I'm not gonna lie.

[A]

That was mad funny, bro. It was mad. And once again, I'll say it again. I can't believe the amount of promotion that I got. I. And I want to say thank you to all of you for whatever, whether it was based in hate or love, you know, there's a thin line. But I appreciate all of you.

[B]

Yeah, I thought for a job that felt like no one cared, they said, everyone said they were over it. It was interesting. Now.

[A]

Well, it's going to be interesting as this plays out over time because most people never heard us on the. The Internet folk didn't hear us, I don't think in the morning also.

[B]

Right. They just saw clips. And by the way, since no one paid for marketing, they didn't even see many clips.

[A]

So it's going to be interesting as this plays out over the next years, the conversations that we have, it's going to be really interesting.

[B]

Yeah. Because all people know of us, the average person, all they know of us is the. Maybe the interviews. Interview.

[A]

The interview moments.

[B]

That's really it. I think most people won't. Won't know.

[A]

So it'll be an interesting time. So it's a wonderful time to be alive. And I want to thank Charlemagne, the guy for the full circle million dollar bag. That's right. For the $200 million bag. That has opened the door. That's right. For all of us to be.

[B]

That was. It's on YouTube. It's iHeart's bag.

[A]

Well, they got a billion from Netflix. That's right.

[B]

I'm trying to see. I don't even know much about Iheart, to be honest with you. It's a big ass.

[A]

What are you talking about?

[B]

I don't know much about Bob Pittman.

[A]

What do you need to know?

[B]

I don't know what kind of guy he is.

[A]

What?

[B]

I just. I just don't know much about him, man.

[A]

Subscribe, everybody. What are we talking about?

[B]

So. So show's over. No. Well, real quick, I gotta tell you, I did something yesterday that I'm guessing you've done many times because you're a sickly individual. And when I say that, I mean allergenic folk.

[A]

I did.

[B]

I never used a neti pot.

[A]

Oh, those things are wonderful.

[B]

Well, but you know me, I can't just get a neti pot. The doctor told me about the fancy one you can get.

[A]

What's the fancy one?

[B]

The Navage.

[A]

I've heard of it, but I've never used it.

[B]

It's like a thing and you. And you plug the two things into your nose and you hold the button down and it runs the water through one side and out the Other. And it stays contained. Instead of, like, what y', all people do this.

[A]

Lean over the.

[B]

Lean over the sink with the pouring nastiness.

[A]

I do that.

[B]

That's scary. That looks scary to me, and I've never done it, so I'd rather plug.

[A]

A machine up to your nose and let it just flush through your face. That didn't look scary if.

[B]

Honestly, no. I. I watched both, so it seemed less scary.

[A]

So I would prefer to have control over the. The. The. The powered water being flushed up my face.

[B]

Yo, so is it the right feeling that I had, though, that it feels a little bit like you're underwater swimming and, like, water got up your nose? Yeah, that's, like, what it feels like, right?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. I will say, though, like, while it was an unpleasant experience, like, slightly unpleasant, yo, the feeling afterwards, it hits.

[A]

Yeah, all day. Now, if you want to take it up a notch, once you cleanse that out, put a little Vicks vapor rubbers.

[B]

If you're.

[A]

If you're doing it for, like, sick reasons. Yeah, I wanted to get into your. You know what I mean?

[B]

Follow it up with the vaparu right.

[A]

Under a little viva paru right here. Boom. Just a little bit. Because, remember, you're sensitive, so you don't want to od.

[B]

Now, real quick, how often when you're sick, do you want a net?

[A]

I don't know. I don't know. I have no idea. Ask your doctor. It's above my pay grade.

[B]

That's your. Oh, Ebro's new line is that's above my pay grade. That's. That's part of new Ebro. You know, that's. That's. He's. Listen, I. I believe that. I believe that the. The way we went out, like, we knew we were going out at some point, and I think Ebro, Laura and I all had different feelings on when and how and who wanted what.

[A]

Yo, Fred, yo, for eight months minimum, we have been talking about, yo, the show's gonna be over soon. This show's gonna. How many times? How long?

[B]

Countless. And then Shawnie's going, nah, but what are they gonna do? And I'm like, shawnie, it has to. When Shawnee hit me day off, he's like, what the. Yo, I went, seanie, I told you, it's only ending one of two ways.

[A]

Yo. But Seanie doesn't listen. Johnny is literally the definition of don't listen. He does not listen.

[B]

I tried to tell him, but I believe that the way that this whole thing went down, I think it took Ebro down a peg. Now, Ebro went from he just tells you what it is to he might hit you with the. I don't know, man. It's above my pay grade. He. Nothing was above his pay grade up two weeks ago, I'm telling you. But he's now he's.

[A]

He's.

[B]

He's among the unwashed masses now. He doesn't. He.

[A]

I have no, I have no authority. It's over.

[B]

So, yeah, it did. It did happen in a way that I didn't expect. And I was telling Natalie yesterday, I said, just so you know, because I've been good the whole time. Like, I haven't been emotional, I've been good. I said, they're going to be probably moment. It's going to be like a loss over time where I'm sure I'm going to get hit with it at different times.

[A]

What? Hit with what?

[B]

The loss of. Not of that. Of that brand, even though it's not the same. Mediaco is not the same as Ms. Was. But not being a part of Hot 97, that being my life for so long, I'm sure it's going to hit me at different times.

[A]

Yeah, but, you know, it already was hitting you when they were doing things and you were like, what? Where am I? You know, it hit me every day. Well, not every day, but any time that Instagram account pops up on my timeline promoting Trump or promoting Jake Paul or promoting.

[B]

You know how long ago I unfollowed the Instagram? Do you know how long ago that's.

[A]

When it hit me. I was like, bro, what's happening? Like, this isn't. This doesn't even reflect what the brand is. It's its own entity.

[B]

Now, do you know how do you know this is a small thing? Do you know how crazy it was to me when I had the baby and there was no social, public acknowledgment on Hot 97 of Congrats to our very own Rosenberg. I was like, this it. In any previous iteration of what this radio station was, this would have been an. And instead, when you look at what it was, it was whatever that day was, Trump or the Paul brothers or whatever the thing was. And. And not a word. I'm like, this is. And it's not about my ego. I know it sounds like it is. It's not about my ego. It's about understanding what your morning show means to your listeners and that you wouldn't want to share that with your listeners. Meanwhile, Ebro took the post and you posted it and Did a. Congratulations. That joint. The engagement was insane. And I'm like, and y', all, you care so little about what we do on the radio side that you don't even know the stuff that's good for engagement because you don't understand the radio part that we do.

[A]

So we approach social media as an extension of the. The brand. Right. As. As an extension. A way to connect beyond the airwaves, but not its own thing. I don't know if that.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Still was their thing. You know what I'm saying? I don't.

[B]

Yeah. They thought of social media as simply, it's social media and it's.

[A]

It's its own business. It's its own business to do with nothing.

[B]

Well, that. That was part of it. We felt very separate. And another thing that set me off, I mean, if Ebro paid attention to me more, because in the morning, especially on Zoom, there were times when I would just ramble and both Ebro and Laura would be looking at their phone and I would just be complaining about things.

[A]

I probably heard it, but I was like, why do you even care, man? We do our show.

[B]

No. And you probably. It was probably for the best for you. But one thing that set me, sent me over the top was. I mean, I skipped Summer Jam this year for the first time.

[A]

I thought you were busy.

[B]

I was. However, could I have asked wwe?

[A]

No wonder we got fired, man.

[B]

Yeah, know exactly. Could I.

[A]

You weren't even. You weren't even supporting the radio station.

[B]

Could I have asked WWE to shift my tape? Maybe there's a world in which I could have done that, but I was. So Summer Jam had become such a shell of itself. The fact that it was on a Friday, in an arena, at the end of, like, everything that made Summer Jam, Summer Jam was gone. The date, the time of day, the time of month, the time of arena, everything about it was. Was gone. The. The. The.

[A]

The artist, to some extent, Funk flex was still DJing.

[B]

Funk Flex was still DJing. Listen, I think Funk Flex is going to still be DJ no matter what happens. Apparently he's taking the morning show in 2029. Can you make sense of that, by the way? I. I don't know. I was told he clarified it. I asked, said what? And said yes. He meant 2029. I was. I was. I don't. Griff. I don't know if you saw that, but I was told that he clarified it and said yes, he did mean he's taking over mornings in 2029. Now, Ebro, correct me if I'M wrong. That's not nice, Lou. Correct me. What? Correct. Correct me if I'm. If I'm wrong. 2029 is three years from now.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Normally in radio, wouldn't it take two and a half, three years to get a new morning show really in a groove?

[A]

So we listen. It's a new day. The way we used to approach developing shows in radio was that you don't even measure whether or not the show is working for 18 months.

[B]

For 18.

[A]

18 months is the minimum to even know. What do you have? Do we have anything? What's working, what's not working, What. What is it?

[B]

And then what? And then the next 18 to 24 months or, or what is where you.

[A]

Focus on the things that are working and do more of the good stuff and less of the bad stuff to build an actual brand.

[B]

Because I know, you know the morning show at ESPN New York, my show here in New York, I do a show on ESPN and.

[A]

Wait, I thought you got fired.

[B]

No, no, no. It's Hot 97 and there's a morning show. Dpietro and Rothenberg.

[A]

Yes. Like those guys.

[B]

Really, They've gotten really good.

[A]

And how long have they been on together?

[B]

That's. They have now started to find a groove where they're raiding and doing real things. I think they're into year four.

[A]

See, that's right on time.

[B]

Something like that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So. But I know it took at least two for them to even start, Especially if you got a behemoth down the street.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

And Boomer Assisin, you know, is huge in New York. Has been forever on the fan.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

And I don't know if you know this, in New York, there's a morning show in hip hop called the Breakfast Club that's rather popular.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So if you have a behemoth on the dial, it's going to take you some time to make inroads. Are you going to work really hard to make the inroads and then say. And now introducing our new morning show host in 2029. I just. I'm good. I. I was very confused by it, but maybe it'll make more sense. I'll tell you one thing. I do not want to defend Hot 97, but people were coming after those three people they announced as their new talents. Yeah, they were not. I. Unless it was the worst announcement of all time. They weren't saying those are the new morning hosts.

[A]

Well, yeah, I don't know what they were saying, but I guess I'll tell You this. It wasn't a time to announce any hosts. Why would you announce any hosts in that?

[B]

I don't know how they thought it was going to land judgment.

[A]

I don't know.

[B]

But let me tell you how it landed. Not like you wanted it.

[A]

Oh, this is going to suck. Whatever's going to happen next is going to be terrible. Oh no, that was actually good.

[B]

It took too long, but it was the right sound.

[A]

That was good. It was good. We have gotten to the end of the Ebro Laura Rosenberg show and we'd like you to subscribe, share, do all the things that people on the Internets do with things that they like.

[B]

Yeah. And, and the podcast too, if you like the audio, you know, if that's something you, you enjoy because at some point there may be different offerings that you get on the audio than you get on the YouTube and things like that. And so, you know, go find the.

[A]

Definitely. We got plans.

[B]

We got plans. There are things in the work. Things are guan.

[A]

Do you agree with Joe Button saying that we're. We were divulging too much of our plans too soon?

[B]

Listen, Joe made it work for him. So it's hard for me to question him business wise because I at a time worked with Joe Budden and he became very rich and I just stayed me so I can't question him. However. No, I, I think we made the right choice. I think we had to move immediately. I don't think he.

[A]

Well, no, I think, I think he thinks we were over communicating while we moved.

[B]

What were we. What do we communicate?

[A]

I don't know. I don't know what he's like, hey.

[B]

We'Re going to do this for a while and then we're going to do something else.

[A]

Yeah, he thought maybe it was too.

[B]

You know, too much, you know, maybe, maybe we don't have enough self respect and we could have just gone away and then pop back up. But I thought it was important with radio where you're. You don't want to lose people and you're. When you're top of their mind. I thought it was important we hit them and let them know that we have things in the work. But hey, listen, Joe. Hey, Joe, if you want to come with, you know, have a huge conversation.

[A]

I think we see. I'd be interesting to see who sees us as competition now and won't support our endeavor or need us at all. He's been inviting me on his program for a while, so I'm sure that.

[B]

Invitation, that's cool because he's never invited me on, and it's crazy because I started it.

[A]

I don't think he likes you.

[B]

No, I think Joe likes me. You don't think Joe likes me?

[A]

Oh, remember that whole interview with Marissa Mendez in studio?

[B]

He was mad at you, too. But why do you always take the moments.

[A]

What was he mad at me about?

[B]

Go back and watch it. He didn't just walk out on me.

[A]

I mean, he walked out on y' all mostly.

[B]

Oh, it was. It was because I was being like, why were you a jerk to Marissa?

[A]

And I was trying to mediate. I was trying to mediate.

[B]

Yeah, in that case, you may be right. But I don't think he dislikes me. I just think that he. You know, him and I. He's the first rap person I ever knew. I don't know if he takes it seriously when I. When I sort of joke about, hey, man, you can send me a check.

[A]

I don't take it seriously, and I don't think he can.

[B]

Yeah, but I. I also think he doesn't like. There's a theme, though. Joe doesn't. Joe doesn't like being reminded of times when he may have done someone slightly wrong. He doesn't like it. He'd rather ignore it and move on. I do believe that. And. And I'm not saying, like, I. I made. I had. I made mistakes in the Joe situation. I definitely did. But, you know, you could. We could. I thought. I always thought it could. We could at least have an interesting conversation about it publicly. He's never even. We've never even chatted about it publicly. He doesn't want to go back. Like, he didn't want to go back to Mendez, who was on the first.

[A]

He's forward. Forward.

[B]

Yeah, well, and listen. And then when. And when he gets bored of whoever's sitting next to him next, that person's up out of there, and there's someone else to move forward with. You know what I mean?

[A]

Just don't call it a podcast.