7.) Laura's Here!, Drake & Adin Ross In Trouble, Venezuela + Zohran's First Week (1/5/26)

Summary

The Ebro, Laura, Rosenberg Show - Episode 7 (1/5/26)

"Laura's Here!, Drake & Adin Ross In Trouble, Venezuela + Zohran's First Week"

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Episode Overview

This lively installment of the new Ebro, Laura & Rosenberg Show sees the trio back together, discussing their new show’s growth and chaotic launch, and diving deep into several buzzy stories: the Drake/Adin Ross federal lawsuit, major developments in Venezuela, Zohran Mamdani’s first week as NYC mayor, and the evolving landscape of music, media, and podcasting. The episode is peppered with playful bickering, recurring "Congratulations, you played yourself" soundbites, and the candid, unfiltered banter fans expect.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Show Launch & Vacation Woes

• Laura’s Return and Show Growth
  • Laura rejoins after traveling through Hawaii and Thailand, surprised and grateful by the large and supportive audience. (02:14)
  • Quote (Laura, 02:14): “The response has been amazing…our subscribers just grow and grow.”
• YouTube & Podcasting Success
  • The team jokes about YouTube subs hitting 40,000 and reviews on Apple Podcasts. Ebro designates Laura as the stats & feedback “information source.” (02:36–02:48)
  • Quote (Ebro, 02:48): "There's an expectation of professionalism from this podcast."
• Behind-the-Scenes Chaos
  • Jokes about Laura’s absence delaying production values, bickering over lack of equipment, and “the wheels coming off.” (05:15–06:21)
  • Multiple uses of the “Congratulations, you played yourself” button, playfully calling out each other's mishaps.

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2. Segment Name Fails & Production Struggles

• The team debates names for Laura’s entertainment news segment, rejecting both “BNN” and the joking “BBC.” (07:28–09:12; 32:00–32:32)
• Quote (Laura, 08:09): “I don’t have nothing yet.”
• A running gag about lack of intros and low production value, often punctuated by more button presses.

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3. Venezuela: U.S. Involvement & Oil Politics

• Audio Clip Analysis (09:41–11:42) – Satirical breakdown highlights contradictions in US policy—killing “bad guys” in boats but justifying intervention in Venezuela as fighting drugs, ignoring hypocrisy around pardons and inconsistent definitions of war.
• Panel Reactions
  • Laura shares a Venezuelan friend’s mixed feelings about Maduro’s removal—relief, but deep mistrust in what comes next. (11:59–12:25)
    • Quote (Laura, 12:25): “People should listen to Venezuelan people…just pay attention, because they have been through the worst.”
  • Ebro details how corporate and geopolitical interests, not humanitarian concerns, drive U.S. actions (“it’s about money and oil, not service to citizens”). Discusses oil’s role, the China/Russia dynamic, and America’s selective “interventions.” (13:46–16:26)
    • Quote (Ebro, 16:26): “It’s just about oil. Please never forget.”
  • Rosenberg observes the instant rise of “Venezuela experts” on social media, skepticism of U.S. motives. (14:05)

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4. Trump Health Speculations & Political Theater

• Discussion of Trump and Rubio explicitly saying the U.S. wants to reclaim Venezuelan oil “stolen from us.” (18:26–19:25)
• Quote (Rosenberg, 19:41): “Are we not going to mention the fact Trump sounds like he’s talking to us from the great beyond?”
• Ebro brings up online speculation around Trump’s health—possible signs of dementia and medical care—emphasizing it’s all rumor and not to make light of it. (19:52–21:34)

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5. Zohran Mamdani’s First Week as NYC Mayor

• The panel responds to Zohran’s hands-on approach—touring NYCHA properties, addressing slumlords, rapid-fire rescinding of Eric Adams’ last-minute executive orders, especially controversial ones regarding anti-Semitism and protest. (22:23–26:44)
• Quote (Laura, 24:19): “Slumlords are shook right now, as they should be. And I’m happy. It’s about time.”
• Rosenberg commends Mamdani’s speed and transparency, but dissects the complexity and media coverage slant of anti-Semitism orders. (24:54–29:13)

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6. Drake, Adin Ross, and the Federal RICO Lawsuit

• The Lawsuit Allegations (33:13–37:10)
  • Laura explains new federal RICO charges: Drake, Adin Ross, and gambling site Stake accused of illegal gambling and “tipping” huge sums through encrypted, unregulated channels; funds allegedly used for bot farms to juice streaming stats.
    • Quote (Laura, 33:49): “Why does he need to do this? He’s so rich. What is the point?”
  • Audio explainer dissects the role of “Grand Wizard Chat N-word” (George Nguyen) as the operational broker moving money to bot vendors. (36:02–37:10)
• Reaction & Implications
  • Rosenberg points out the irony that the same people screaming about “bots” (Aiden Ross, etc.) are now credibly accused of funding bots. (37:12–38:01)
  • Ebro laments Drake’s apparent decline and risky associations: “I don’t like how Drake is going out here, bro…I don’t want it to be like this.” (39:32–40:59)
  • The team reflects on how this tarnishes Drake’s reputation beyond his “stan” base, with Rosenberg worried that “the real world” view of Drake is changing fast because of these choices. (39:59–40:39)
  • Comparison of Aiden Ross as the embodiment of the “Not Like Us” lyric—Drake’s problematic proximity to culture vultures and the messy overlap with academic’s “streaming farms." (41:17–41:38)

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7. The Aiden Ross/Dochi/Academics Fallout

• Ebro brings up Aiden Ross’s attempts to defend his racist/sexist online behavior and “jewish kid” posturing—Rosenberg expresses deep frustration, especially with Ross’s “dumb, bad-Jew” stereotype and his audience. (42:03–45:49)
  • Quote (Rosenberg, 45:04): "He's not even good at being a Jew. You're a bad Jew."
• Discussion turns to the dysfunction of streamers, the downsides of the democratization of internet platforms, and the danger of unqualified outsiders talking music. (48:49–49:13)

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8. Podcasting, Streaming, and the New Media Reality

• Ebro and Rosenberg analyze the state of podcasting: decline of audio-only podcasts, necessity of video, and how streaming numbers don’t reflect traditional podcast listenership. (50:19–51:42)
  • Quote (Rosenberg, 51:41): “Nobody wants it. ...As much as people say they’re streaming podcasts, they’re streaming [video]...”

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9. NFL Playoffs Rundown (Sports Desk)

• Rosenberg gives a detailed NFL playoff breakdown: matchups, upsets, and the wide-open nature of this year’s path to the Super Bowl. Ebro offers outsider’s observations as a dad with no football time. (53:06–59:07)
  • Memorable Moment: Laura’s dry “Sure” response to the sports desk (59:31)—more “Congratulations, you played yourself” banter follows.

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10. Culture & Doc Recommendations

• Movies: Rosenberg plugs recent Oscar contenders (“One Battle After Another,” “Begonia,” “The Life of Chuck”), praises their accessibility this year. (61:57–64:48)
• Luther Vandross Documentary: Laura (and later the room) praises the vulnerable, emotional Netflix doc, especially how it addresses Luther’s sexuality and weight struggles; noting the generational context and representation for Black audiences. (65:29–67:48)
  • Quote (Ebro, 67:32): “They knew he was gay, but… They just wanted to love him.”

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Ebro on subscriber growth:
  “There’s an expectation of professionalism from this podcast.” (02:48)
• Ongoing Button Sound Effect:
  (“Congratulations, you played yourself.”) Applied regularly after tech mishaps, bad segment names, Laura’s mic struggles, and when the group goes off-script (various, e.g., 03:20, 06:12, 08:12, 09:10, 32:32, etc.).
• Laura on Venezuela:
  “Two things can be true…people should listen to Venezuelan people…pay attention because they have been through the worst.” (12:25)
• Rosenberg on U.S. interventions:
  “It’s never been good when… the United States just shows up whether the guy’s bad or not and removes the president and says we run this place now. We can’t even run here right now.” (14:05)
• Ebro on U.S. priorities:
  “This is all about money… none of this is about some sort of moral compass or law and order… none of this.” (18:04)
• Panel skewering Drake’s legacy:
  “He is ruining his legacy. He is damaging himself in ways that will become impossible to get up from.” (Rosenberg, 39:59)
• On the streaming/podcasting pivot:
  “Audio podcasts just aren’t growing. The only place, quote, podcasts now grow are on streaming platforms…” (Rosenberg, 50:19)
• Laura on the Luther doc:
  “There's so much I learned...when he was...oh, man, it gets your heart.” (65:38)
  Ebro: “They wanted to love him…they knew he was gay, but it was like, so what? He’s fabulous.” (67:32)

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Segment Timestamps

• Show launch/bickering: 01:40–07:01
• Segment names/Production drama: 07:01–09:12; 32:00–32:39
• Venezuela/Politics: 09:12–21:52
• Zohran Mamdani/NYC news: 22:23–29:34
• Drake/RICO Lawsuit: 33:13–41:38
• Aiden Ross/Streamers/Internet culture: 41:38–49:13
• Podcasting/media talk: 49:13–52:43
• NFL Playoff rundown: 52:43–59:26
• Movies/Docs/Luther: 61:50–68:09

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Tone & Style

Casually combative, irreverent, sometimes profane but deeply informed, the episode captures the hosts’ mix of storytelling, analysis, and real talk. Frequent humor and playful roasting are balanced by thoughtful takes on politics, music, and culture.

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Conclusion

Episode 7 delivers classic Ebro/Laura/Rosenberg energy: messiness, big stories, real cultural analysis, behind-the-scenes drama, and a distinctive blend of skepticism and care for their communities. Hot takes on Venezuela, the music industry’s shadowy side, NYC politics, and the current plight of streamers and podcasts keep this episode fast-moving and highly engaged.

Final Word (Ebro, 71:10):
"The United States of America doesn't even care about its citizens. So please don't expect them to care about you. It is just about oil. It is just about money. Please never forget, please."

Classic Rosenberg Closer:
"And also smash, subscribe, turn on your notifications and all that because we'll be back tomorrow morning." (71:10)

Ebro on Drake:
“This is not what we wanted to see Drake go out. Like, we did not want to see this. We did not want to see this... and hopefully it doesn’t go bad.” (71:15–71:27)

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Transcript

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[Ebro Darden]

Just don't call it a podcast.

[Rosenberg]

Looks like we're live, pal. I see the live thing.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, look, there we are.

[Rosenberg]

Blood in the water.

[Ebro Darden]

Okay. Boom. Blood in the water. Ladies and gentlemen, it's Ebro Laura Rosenberg. You know, I'm saying, still on the vacay this the vacay episodes. Do you guys. Laura Styles, welcome back first and foremost.

[Laura Styles]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Ebro Darden]

How did you feel where we had to launch the Ebro Laura Rosenberg brand? And you were in South Asia, Southeast Asia, even?

[Laura Styles]

I was in Hawaii. Then I went to Thailand. But listen, the response has been amazing. It was beautiful to see so many people supporting us, all the amazing messages. It was really nice to see our subscribers just grow and grow and grow, you know.

[Ebro Darden]

Do you know where we're at now?

[Laura Styles]

I haven't looked like 40, like 40,000.

[Ebro Darden]

And that's on what subscribe. On YouTube. On YouTube.

[Laura Styles]

On YouTube. Yeah, yeah, yeah, on the YouTube. Although I did, I did go and read the comments that Rosenberg asked us to read in the Apple podcast reviews. Very nice. Very.

[Ebro Darden]

Yo, listen, very nice, Laura, I need you to stay engaged there. Can you take responsibility for. You don't give us up to date. No, just keeping us up to date, like, you know what I mean? More of like a, like an information source of the program, you know what I mean? Like the goings ons with subscribers, commentary on, you know, how people are viewing our podcast. I will tell you, there's an expectation of professionalism from this podcast. Well, from this product and today we get the button.

[Button Sound Effect]

Congratulations, you played yourself.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, I mean, I mean, it's trash.

[Laura Styles]

Yeah, it's.

[Ebro Darden]

Listen, we have plans, guys. We're going to get it together. We were supposed to be on vacay and so, you know, things started happening.

[Rosenberg]

You, you are the only human I know who takes vacation when vacation ends. Okay, wait, what else is life today?

[Ebro Darden]

When was vacation supposed to end?

[Rosenberg]

Monday, January 5th is when even the people who had the best vacations are back to work. It's today, bro.

[Laura Styles]

Which is.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, Laurel, Laura went. Laura literally leaves earth, but she's back by Monday, January 5th, because this is the day.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, so, so, so now here's the deal. In a normal scenario, the reason I wait a few days, let people get back and situated is because I'm irritated by the. Oh, I'm just getting back. I'm just getting situated. The new year just started. You know, hang on a sec, I'll get back to you. You know, so I'm not, I'm not fully back. I'm still catching up on emails. Well, no, I'm kind of like always on my email. I'm never actually fully gone. Even, even when I'm gone, I'm not gone. So when, when I'm ready to come back to work, I want to work. I don't want to get back to work and people are telling me they're not ready to get to work. So people don't really get to work until like January 11th.

[Rosenberg]

No, listen, you're. I'm not saying that I. I've always liked your plan because I also think you're leaving out a major part, which is that the resorts are more chill. Everything's better because over. So you're cheaper and cheaper. You're skipping all the best reasons. I respect all of this. I just know when you're like, yo, today was supposed to Be vacation. Why are we back? I have to go downtown today. Everyone, Laura's back outside. It's today.

[Ebro Darden]

No, no, no, no. I didn't say, why are we back. I said today's supposed to be vacation, which is why I'm not, at least in my home studio.

[Rosenberg]

But, hey, good. But. But, Ebro, why are you even mentioning this? You're not the one who sounds like ass. That would be Laura.

[Button Sound Effect]

Congratulations. You played yourself.

[Rosenberg]

You sound great.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, wow.

[Rosenberg]

Look at me from God knows. I don't even know where you are, but you sound good. You look basically the same. It's basically the same look you have at home. But, Ebro, when would you. Ibro. What would you say was the first time that I said to Laura, hey, Laura, have you gotten a microphone for us to be able to do a podcast? Like, if we weren't to use the.

[Ebro Darden]

Two years ago. Two years ago.

[Rosenberg]

It has to be two years.

[Laura Styles]

Oh, my God. Don't twist this and turn it on me. You're the one who wanted to go live today on my first day back without even having, like, a little meeting or anything.

[Ebro Darden]

See, there we go. See, there we go. That's why I take longer vacations. Right there.

[Rosenberg]

You want meeting.

[Ebro Darden]

You're not ready to go. Like, what do we need to do?

[Rosenberg]

Oh, wait, no, Laura, that's not fair. I was very aggressive the last few days about making sure you got your equipment. No, I did not set up. You and Baskin should have communicated. Said, let's get on the line tonight. I. You know what, though?

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, man, the wheels are coming off the pro. Wait, hang on, everybody.

[Audience/Chat]

Stop.

[Ebro Darden]

Hang on, everybody.

[Laura Styles]

Let's go live.

[Ebro Darden]

Hang on. The wheels are coming off the program. We just got this thing going. Rosenberg and Laura sty beefing already. We got a lot of things to get to today.

[Rosenberg]

No, I should. You know what? I. I own it, Ebro. I own it. I was the one who was talking all about the mic. I should have been the one who said, let all jump on tonight yesterday and let's work this out.

[Ebro Darden]

I have text messages that actually said from you. Let's jump on tonight. You. You did say that.

[Rosenberg]

I may have, but. But either way, listen, you said, let's.

[Ebro Darden]

Do something at 8 o' clock last night.

[Rosenberg]

Well, listen, we're here together. We're all here together. Now. Laura has the physical microphone in her house, so by tomorrow, we should be fully good to go. Era. When are you back stateside?

[Ebro Darden]

I'll be back on. I can't tell you that. But I. It's this week. It's this.

[Rosenberg]

You're back. You're back this week. Okay, this week. Well, listen, we're here.

[Laura Styles]

This girl is still in full effect.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, yeah. Come on.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, listen, when I. When I leave, I. Listen, I can't be found. You might. You can contact me, but I can't be found. That's.

[Rosenberg]

That's right.

[Ebro Darden]

That's a plot twist there. Now we got. We got stuff to get to today. We got federal RICO charges levied at Aiden Ross Drake and somebody they call Grand Wizard Chat Nword.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, Grand Wizard Chat. N word.

[Ebro Darden]

That's right.

[Rosenberg]

Sounds like a reliable guy.

[Ebro Darden]

Laura's going to be getting all of this in something that has yet to be named. But it's not the flashing lights report.

[Laura Styles]

No, it's not. And it's not the BBC either.

[Ebro Darden]

You named it that. No, you named it that.

[Laura Styles]

No, I did not. I said that was a special special channel on ig, on our Ebro Laura Rosenberg channel, where we kind of just throw on little topics to see if it sticks. But it's not an official report of the show.

[Ebro Darden]

Right, but I told you to name it the Bo Chinchin Chain News network. Yeah, and you went and named it the Bo Ching Chain Chat channel or whatever the hell you name.

[Laura Styles]

The thing is that I don't want to call the entertainment report the Bochin Chain Whatever. No, I don't want to use that.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, what do you have then?

[Laura Styles]

I don't have nothing yet.

[Button Sound Effect]

Congratulations, you played yourself.

[Laura Styles]

But I don't want to call it that.

[Ebro Darden]

Why not?

[Laura Styles]

Rosenberg. Do you feel me?

[Rosenberg]

It's like, I don't know why he. He's acting like Laura's the only one who. Like he wasn't the old man laughing at it the whole time. Like, oh, it's funny because it's the BBC. Get it? Like British broadcast. But also. But also the other definition. Why is he acting like he doesn't know that he's the one who found it? The funniest, that it was called the BBC.

[Ebro Darden]

I just couldn't believe she did it.

[Rosenberg]

I. I missed it. I actually missed. I missed the initial day of it. So I wasn't there for its inception. But either way, she's gonna do something in an unnamed report.

[Laura Styles]

That's right.

[Rosenberg]

Shout out to.

[Ebro Darden]

And by the way, once again, hit us with the button. People expect professionalism. Unwilling to use the BNN created the BBC and it still doesn't have a name. Hit us with a button. Why are we. Why are we live today? We're not even Ready?

[Rosenberg]

They expect professionalism from. From this show.

[Button Sound Effect]

Congratulations. You played yourself.

[Ebro Darden]

So we also got to deal with Venezuela and the inner workings of this whole Venezuela Maduro oil seizure, active war, blah, blah, blah. A lot to delve into there. But first, I believe I have some phenomenal audio. I want you to go to audio number.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, boy. Here we go.

[Ebro Darden]

10.

[Rosenberg]

Audio 10. I got it.

[Laura Styles]

Okay, hang on.

[Audio Clip Narrator]

So we couldn't arrest those dudes in the boats. That's why we had to kill them. But we can invade a country to kidnap and arrest their leader because fentanyl is killing too many people. That's why we shouldn't feel bad about the boats. But the indictment for the leader only said cocaine. So we go after him for the same exact thing we just pardoned the Honduran guy for. Hang on. We can arrest a foreign leader for breaking U.S. law, but we can't hold even one person accountable who associated with Epstein. A foreign president can be held liable under US Law, but an American president can't? That's weird. Hang on. We're doing this because the Venezuelan people want this, but we don't want Venezuelan people here. The people who yell the loudest about refugees sure like to do everything they can to create more refugees. Hang on. The president doesn't need congressional approval to invade and bomb a foreign country and overthrow its leader and run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition. And that's not a war. Hang on. You mean to tell me the people who screamed we are not the world's police force, that Kamala would have us in multiple wars are now cheering on the no new wars president as he starts a war. Omg. I cannot believe it. This is my shocked face. The only thing that would make this even more pathetically comedic is if Trump or someone else started showing Venezuela bombing footage set to some anti war song.

[Rosenberg]

I mean, can we. Jesus Christ. By the way, if you want to know the real Bochin Chain News Network, you're getting that is audio from the Ebro News Network. That's because.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, because I think that that shaped exactly what's going on right now in a way that everybody can understand.

[Laura Styles]

Yeah, it's interesting. I was. I was talking to a friend of mine who happens to be Venezuelan and lives in Miami. Right. And I was just chatting with her a. Of course they're happy that they're no longer under. You know what I mean? That Maduro's gone. Right. They're happy. They're celebrating because they have been through the worst. But she said, do I trust what's going to happen next? Absolutely not.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, two things can be true. Lor stuff.

[Audience/Chat]

Yes.

[Laura Styles]

But I think more people are just like, how are these liberals not celebrating, you know, the capturing of such a horrible person? I'm like, two things can be true at the same time. And I think people should listen to Venezuelan people, listen to how they feel. Like just pay attention because they have been through the worst. What do you mean don't listen to Venezuelan people?

[Ebro Darden]

I mean, based on how Americans are moving right now, well, at least the American government, they're only listening to corporations. And while there's many of us who wish we would listen to Venezuelan people, there were Venezuelan people who wanted all of this to happen. Matter of fact, the woman who won the Nobel Peace Prize, Machado, who thought she was going to probably replace Maduro, but before the last election in which Maduro refused to step down from, they wouldn't even let her run for president. And the guy that she supported actually won for president. And she's been wanting a corporations from the United States and Israel to come down there and take care of Maduro and get this oil for sale because she's selling to a lot of people that it's going to improve the economy for the middle class and the lower class in Venezuela, which I'm hearing a lot of people in Venezuela don't believe that to be true because prior to Chavez and Maduro, there were many, many, many problems in Venezuela with poverty and corporations taking advantage of people, which will probably likely be the same. Oh, by the way, guess where it's exactly like that. In the United States of America. The country that's claiming to go to Venezuela to fix things.

[Rosenberg]

Well, I was going to say that I'm not going to be. I'm not going to purport to know anything about Venezuela, even though somehow everyone on my timeline knows everything about. I didn't know my entire timeline was Venezuela experts. I'm not going to even purport to know the, to understand everything. I just know it doesn't matter. Like it's never been good. When out of the blue the United States just shows up whether whether the guy's bad or not and removes the president and says we run this place now, we can't even run here right now. And to act as if there won't be further ramifications in the world and that you can just show up places and take if that's what you want to be. If that was the whole Ebro, what Happened to. The Republicans are now the isolationist party, and they want to just stay over here.

[Ebro Darden]

And we don't want to be the. We don't want to be the world's.

[Rosenberg]

Police, but now we're going to run an entire country. We're going to just extract their president. All right, man, Sounds great.

[Ebro Darden]

I do encourage. I do encourage people to go do some learning on this oil thing, if you care. You know what I mean? Where Venezuela has a certain type of oil that we used to get from Canada, and now we're going to. People expect us to stop spending money with Canada and start spending it, you know, or start using this oil from Venezuela. It is a very interesting economic thing to watch because there is a shift taking place right now, and there's also conversations around this Venezuela thing because Venezuela sold oil to Russia and worked with China, and there is. There were Chinese ships off the coast of Venezuela and there is talk of this happening in Venezuela because that means we're going to figure out how to, you know, help Ukraine acquiesce to Russia's demands. And Russia kind of controls their sphere of influence over there. China takes Taiwan and controls that sphere of influence and South America and. And that is kind of the. The United States and Israel's sphere of influence. So it's the. It's the. It's the new. Yeah, it's the new. I guess you would call it a axis of powers around the globe. Who controls what.

[Rosenberg]

It's going great, man. This. This whole thing is. And by the way, we're. It's too bad. Hey, Cass. What. What year is this?

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, we don't have cast one anymore. Hit the button.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, damn it.

[Button Sound Effect]

Congratulations. You played yourself.

[Rosenberg]

But either way, you can hit the.

[Ebro Darden]

Button on anybody that believes we're going into Venezuela for drugs. So.

[Laura Styles]

Right.

[Ebro Darden]

Or believe that. Hit that button. And anyone that actually thinks, congratulations, you played yourself. America, the United States of America, is going to improve things in Venezuela economically. Hit the button.

[Button Sound Effect]

Congratulations. You played yourself.

[Rosenberg]

I'd been wondering. I finally started hearing people say it, but, like, I had been wondering the whole time why there was not more conversation about the obsession with the drugs and the blowing up the boats, which has now turned all the way into invading and taking over Venezuela while all he was doing was pardoning drug dealers.

[Ebro Darden]

That's right.

[Rosenberg]

Like. And by the way. And fraudster missed us.

[Laura Styles]

You know, they're going to make sense.

[Ebro Darden]

But none of it makes sense. He was. He's pardoning fraudsters, like guys who were facing, you know, decades for frauding the, the government and insurance companies that are pardoning all of them, as well as pardoning, yes, major world drug dealers, even what's his face?

[Rosenberg]

Big Meech from small fries. Respectfully, small fries, like Big Meech. To like presidents of countries that were moving thousands of tons. He's letting everybody go.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, because they want to get to the money, bro. This is all about money. This is. None of, none of this is about some sort of moral compass or law and order or the rule of law. None of this. None of this.

[Rosenberg]

I can't believe you're saying that with this. Is this oil? Ebro is audio 8 the oil compilation.

[Ebro Darden]

Let me double check. Yes. I mean, a lot of the commentary about all by President Trump's detractors that this is about America wanting Venezuelan oil, which is hard to, hard to rationalize quite frankly, given the amount of oil that we have.

[Rosenberg]

This is just like talking heads at first on Fox News. They're oil. What we want is a Venezuela that is not an enemy of democracy ready.

[Ebro Darden]

To stage a second and much larger attack if we need to do so. So Venezuela unilaterally seized and sold American oil, American assets and American platforms, costing us billions and billions of dollars. We built Venezuela oil industry with American talent, drive and skill. And the socialist regime stole it from us during those previous administrations. And the massive oil infrastructure was taken.

[Rosenberg]

Like we were babies.

[Ebro Darden]

So we didn't do anything about it. Deadly serious about getting back the oil.

[Rosenberg]

That was stolen from us. So as you can hear, as much as the commentators on Fox News and all these right wing places want to say it, they're saying it to you. I mean, that's Trump and Rubio saying it right to your face. Also, are we not going to mention the fact that Trump sounds like he's talking to us from the great beyond?

[Laura Styles]

Oh, you mean he sounds so frail.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, my God. Yo, this is in the middle of big things happening.

[Ebro Darden]

There's definitely.

[Rosenberg]

Does not sound good.

[Ebro Darden]

There's definitely. There's a, there's a couple of doctors that I started following on Instagram deal with that deal with dementia patients. And they talk about the bruising on his hands.

[Laura Styles]

Yeah, and.

[Ebro Darden]

And his leaning forward being associated with some frontal lobe dementia. How he leans forward when he stands. And the bruising on his hands of how he has to take IVs, different IVs to help him deal with kidney failure and all that, you know, like.

[Rosenberg]

Because I wouldn't think it's. I wouldn't think it's traditional dementia. Like, and by the way, even Donald Trump. I don't wish dementia on anyone. It's a horrible, horrible thing. I don't. I'm not making light of it, but this doesn't. Whatever he's dealing with, it doesn't seem traditional. He doesn't seem like he's. Or the drugs are working. He doesn't seem like he's lost track of what's happening in the world. I'll say this. Biden seemed much more confused than Trump seems.

[Ebro Darden]

Yes.

[Rosenberg]

He just seems very tired and, like, barely there.

[Ebro Darden]

I think that's because of the multiple things that are going on.

[Rosenberg]

You mean the different.

[Ebro Darden]

You mean different health, different ailments? Not just one. Like, there's talking about kidney failure, and they're talking about some heart issues, and they're talking about this frontal lobe dementia, which causes people to lean forward a little bit when they're standing, because something with the dementia kind of pokes holes in their memory. It's not like the traditional dementia where they completely forget everything, but it's some frontal lobe dementia where they. It pokes holes in everything or pokes holes in memory, and then they fill those memories with lies. And. And it's actually.

[Rosenberg]

No, that's not fair. I don't like that.

[Audience/Chat]

That's not.

[Rosenberg]

No, Trump. Trump has been lying even when he was in a selfie. I don't like.

[Ebro Darden]

This is what they're saying, man. I'm just sharing you. This is what they're saying. I'll bring. I'll find one of the doctors. I'll bring the audio to the Ebro Laura Rosenberg show. And I also want to thank everybody for subscribing once again, as Laura said, subscribe.

[Rosenberg]

Pounding it.

[Ebro Darden]

Why didn't you go to. Nah, man. Why? We got a smash. Well, I don't think that's our aesthetic. A smash. And subscribe. I think you just click to subscribe.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Laura Styles]

Although.

[Rosenberg]

Although. Shout out to it's the Real my guy, Eric Rosenthal from It's the Real. He hit us at the beginning of the show, and he said. He said he likes you saying, we have plans. He's like, that should be a thing for us permanently. We have plans.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, no, because we got plans.

[Laura Styles]

I mean, we do. We do, we do.

[Ebro Darden]

We do got plans.

[Rosenberg]

Will we get to all the plans?

[Ebro Darden]

We'll see, but we got plans. Listen, speaking of big plans, Zoron hit the ground running here in New York City, didn't he?

[Laura Styles]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Did you see him at somebody's apartment, like, picking up, like, pieces of the floor and, like, questioning, like, how long has this been going on and this and this and that and that? And people are like, bro, you're already making more progress than our last mayor. You're actually caring about the people.

[Rosenberg]

Here's. Here's Zoron from his big inauguration day on January 1st. We will, in the words of Jason.

[Ebro Darden]

Terrence Phillips, better known as Jadakiss, or.

[Rosenberg]

J to the moi.

[Ebro Darden]

J to the moi, be outside.

[Rosenberg]

Because.

[Ebro Darden]

This is a government of New York, by New York and for New York.

[Rosenberg]

Now, I think I'm not speaking at a school. I'm saying I've heard him reference J to the moi before.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, he's definitely said J.

[Rosenberg]

And I would just like to say this is the first moment where I'm going to call out Zoron for trying one notch too hard. When it comes to hip hop, no one except Jadicus refers to him as jades of the.

[Ebro Darden]

Okay, I think he just loves it. I think he just loves it.

[Rosenberg]

No, you're right. You're right. You be. And then also call him a lot of things.

[Ebro Darden]

How, how, how. How much do we expect Zoran to stop being so hip hop now that he's on the job? Because I think it's going to continue.

[Rosenberg]

Well, yeah, I think. I think he'll stay hip hop in the way that Zoron is hip hop. And I think the way that Zoron is hip hop is as a guy with diverse taste from Queens, I don't think he's Joe, you know, into everything hip hop, But I think when you grow up here and you're a true kid of New York, it's all part of your fabric, and I don't think that's gonna go away.

[Ebro Darden]

I really don't, so. And, Laura, to your observation of him being in the projects, looking at people's floor, that was the first thing he did after he was inaugurated literally that same day.

[Laura Styles]

Bro. Slum lords are shook right now, as they should be. And I'm happy. It's about time. So many people who live in Nycha, like, have the worst living conditions, and people just dismiss it, like, oh, well, you're in the projects, like, if that's what they deserve. You know what I mean? And even outside of Nycha, like, private buildings have been suffering for a long time. I mean, all of us have been through slum lord apartments at one point.

[Rosenberg]

Point. Yeah, some of us are going through it right now. Now it's appropriate for Laura to say it too, because her audio sounds like Nycha. Let me.

[Ebro Darden]

Hey, hey, hey.

[Button Sound Effect]

Congratulations. You Played yourself.

[Ebro Darden]

Hey, now let's go to somebody who's a big cynic on this program. His name is Rosenberg. Are you liking the mom Donnie Rollout all the way around. Are you seeing. You saw him resend some of the executive orders. Eric Adams, the redefine, you know that, that anti Semitism executive order, the, the, the divestment executive order. Like, you know how Eric Adams was from September to the end of the year was pumping out these executive orders to try to get cool with his buddies. Are you following this?

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, yeah, I didn't. The only thing I don't like is that I didn't see what the other ones were. Of course, the only ones that got any news were the ones around Israel and anti Semitism. Yeah, I think it's the one that, the one about that definition of anti Semitism I think is an interesting argument, but either way, I like that he was just getting rid of the stuff that Adams was doing at the last minute just to do it. He's. He was. These were not things that had been longstanding pieces of New York to protect people. These were last minute things that Eric Adams was doing just to try to set Zoron up. That's all it was. These weren't things that were part of New York, at least as far as I could tell. Ebro, to your point, it sounds like they all just came up right at the end and Zoron just came and was like, no, but I'd like to know what the other ones were because.

[Audience/Chat]

Well.

[Ebro Darden]

It was called the idhs. I think it was called the Israel Defamation. Something was the name of. It was the name of this definition of anti Semitism. And for clarity for the audience, this. The big problem in the executive order and the definition was that it framed any critique of Israel as anti Semitic.

[Laura Styles]

Any critique, any.

[Ebro Darden]

It was, it was like real loose like that. And that was the big talking point. And so then right after he rescinded this executive order, you know, he launched a anti Semitism office for New York City.

[Rosenberg]

But that didn't get as much news.

[Ebro Darden]

That didn't get as much news.

[Laura Styles]

No, of course.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, because, because, because, okay. The one about the definition of anti Semitism. Yes, I know, I know there are a lot of people who feel strongly about that. And if that's what it includes, is that criticism of Israel's anti Semitism that it absolutely should be removed because that would make everyone an anti Semite. Because if. I don't know if you're paying attention, the entire world is against Israel, right? Now, so the idea that that would be anti Semitic to me is silly. The one that I. That raised my eyebrow a tiny bit was the one about making sure that protests outside of places of worship are like, basically kept an eye on. Yeah, I didn't understand rescinding that one because that is something that bothers me. I don't think you should have. I don't think anti Israel protests should happen outside of a synagogue on.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, I don't think I could argue no protest should be happening outside of any place of worship.

[Rosenberg]

That's what I mean. Like, but so if you're going to specifically attach your. This is where the lines get so blurry about anti Semitism and anti Israel stuff. And it's done so it's used. It always is used so well by people like Netanyahu. If you're going to be an a hole and decide to go stage a protest outside of just a synagogue on a high holiday, that's why you're giving reason for people to call being anti Israel anti Semitic. That is anti Semitic. Don't go bothering. Don't go hassling people who are just trying to go pray. Going to pray to your God doesn't mean you're going to support Israel. That's the point. I didn't understand why he rescinded that one, but I also didn't have enough of an understanding about it to really say much either way.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, and I think that's why he launched the. What is he calling it? It's Executive Order 2, which is the mayor's office to combat anti Semitism.

[Rosenberg]

How does that not get mentioned in the articles, though? How do the articles only talk about what he rescinded? It didn't say. No, he specifically opened up an office, though, that is to deal with real.

[Ebro Darden]

Anti Semitism because, man, that's not how the machine is working right now. They're trying to build a narrative against this guy and it's working overtime over time.

[Rosenberg]

Did you see the New York Post all weekend when under their headlines about Venezuela. Like the third headline would be like, mamdani, Comrade support leader of Venezuela. Like they tie him into anything. They try to put him everywhere. It's crazy.

[Laura Styles]

And then they're also coming for his wife. Did you see. Oh yeah, God, the 600 boot she was wearing?

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, they tried to come for a fashion and then people had to defend her and be like, yo, they was rented.

[Laura Styles]

You know, that's a stylist that lends people pieces.

[Ebro Darden]

No, they don't know that. Lord, no.

[Rosenberg]

And, and by the way, I'm going to step further than that. There are people out here who make $26,000 a year and still have a pair of $600 boots every. If you have a dollar to your name.

[Ebro Darden]

Women are democratic socialists.

[Rosenberg]

They shouldn't wear suits. He should show up naked everywhere. They should just. They should never wear anything.

[Ebro Darden]

I think so.

[Rosenberg]

These people, man.

[Ebro Darden]

So. So I went and Googled. I went and ran my Googles on and I just put in Mamdani executive orders. That's all I put in.

[Rosenberg]

Okay.

[Ebro Darden]

The only thing that comes up is him defending, eliminating executive orders on anti Semitism and boycotting Israel. That's it. I cannot find a link to all of the executive orders that he's put forth. And I can't even find a link. I can't even find a link to the executive orders that he took down from Eric.

[Rosenberg]

Adam. I, I look, too. That's why I didn't have much to say about him. Like, all I see is the same headlines. You cannot find what else he actually did.

[Ebro Darden]

Meanwhile, NYC.gov if you go there, it's Executive Order 2. You could download Executive Order 2 and you can read all about. Executive Order 1 was the resending of the Eric Adams executive orders. I believe Executive Order 2 was the office of Antisemitism.

[Rosenberg]

It's a lot of Executive order. Yeah. The man is ordering and ordering and ordering.

[Ebro Darden]

And he's doing it on tv like the Trump model, you know, with the cameras are rolling on every executive order. It's a press moment.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, did he do it that way?

[Ebro Darden]

I didn't know, like. Well, he was doing it like he. When he was, you know, when he's standing in front of the building talking about going after these slumlords when he's, you know, it's all. He's going to do it all on camera. It's going to be very transparent.

[Laura Styles]

He has to. That's the only weapon that he has. He has to be completely transparent. Anybody who's blocking anything that he's trying to do, he has to put it. He has to put people on blast. That's the only way people don't read. People are constantly trying to hide everything from him. People are trying to attack him in every way possible. Just being transparent is the only thing he can do.

[Ebro Darden]

That's right.

[Laura Styles]

We'll see. We'll see.

[Rosenberg]

Listen, it's very early. I'm excited to see how it goes for the guy. I'm a fan.

[Ebro Darden]

All right, now it's time for Laura Stiles and The Blankety Blank report.

[Laura Styles]

The blanket.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, man. Here we go.

[Laura Styles]

All right, so I was surprised when.

[Ebro Darden]

This popped, by the way. Timeout. Time out. Sorry, Laura. Sorry. Sorry, Laura.

[Laura Styles]

Okay, okay, okay.

[Ebro Darden]

You guys didn't get together to. To designate instrumental for this.

[Rosenberg]

There we go.

[Ebro Darden]

We have zero production value because we're waiting on a name. So we couldn't even produce some sort of intro for this. And the. And the two intros that we've given you, you've said no to. So I just. I want to document this for the audience.

[Laura Styles]

The two intros? What are the two intros?

[Ebro Darden]

I'm sorry. The two names. The two names.

[Rosenberg]

The BBC or bnn?

[Ebro Darden]

You don't want either one.

[Rosenberg]

Yo, meanwhile, I got to give credit where credit is due. Ebro. Ebro brought his real camera to. To on his trip. Yep, I just zoomed in. This is. This is a better picture than you have at home, bro. I don't know what setting you have. This joint looks clean.

[Ebro Darden]

Nice. Here I am, baby.

[Rosenberg]

All right, Laura, here's your unnamed. Unnamed in bed. That will change. Here we go.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, that sucks.

[Rosenberg]

Okay, okay. What about. Okay, okay.

[Ebro Darden]

That's kind of tough.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, it's kind of tough, though.

[Ebro Darden]

It's.

[Rosenberg]

Boom, bat.

[Laura Styles]

Yes.

[Rosenberg]

All right, what do you got, Laura?

[Laura Styles]

All right, so the class action lawsuit that alleges that Drake, Aiden Ross, and along with Steak, have been promoting illegal gambling. All right, so there was this class action lawsuit that was filed on New Year's Eve. It popped up. It alleges that Drake not only promoted illegal gambling on the website stake, but also diverted funds to artificially pump up the song stats on music platforms.

[Ebro Darden]

Can't do that.

[Laura Styles]

That's the part where I was like, what? Listen, I always thought the Steak stuff was a little, like, I don't know. I always thought it was a little fishy, guys. I was like, why does he need to do this? He's so rich. Like, what is the point?

[Rosenberg]

Always look roach.

[Laura Styles]

Right? It always looks strange. So the lawsuit pretty much, I guess it has a tipping feature, guys. So this is where it gets tricky. They're saying that Steak helped Drake disguise funds using this tipping feature and internal transfers to pay bot farms to juice. You know, his click counts on basic sites like Spot. This is what they're saying. Yeah. So, you know, all of this is. All of these allegations constitute a pattern of racketeering activity.

[Ebro Darden]

No, Griff, I'm not sending Drake the ax emoji.

[Rosenberg]

Griff, I already. What does it mean? I already did. Hey, Griff, get online, bro. Get Online, bro. It already happened.

[Ebro Darden]

And I told Rosenberg, ax is wrong. It should have been a hammer, a nail and a coffin, because this.

[Rosenberg]

No, this isn't the nail in the coffin.

[Ebro Darden]

You're just saying that would have been funnier.

[Rosenberg]

I think. I think it. I think it made it more succinct for people online to follow. I just threw up the triple ax emoji in just a moment of straight pettiness. I would have never done it. Except that you were actually waiting on our downfall. The fact that you were actually waiting on our downfall, now that means I have to throw things up when you're getting caught up. And the funniest thing here to me. And here's how you know, there's probably some meat on the bone here. Well, two things. Number one, are you trying to tell me Steak was not for actual betting with money?

[Ebro Darden]

No, I don't think that's what they're saying.

[Rosenberg]

That's not what they're saying. Okay, so it is supposed to be a betting with money website.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, I don't think that's supposed to be.

[Laura Styles]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

Okay, so it's just about how they're allocating the funds. Okay. The. The reason. I think that there's no.

[Ebro Darden]

I think there. I think there is a loophole in the tipping and transfer of funds that's not regulated.

[Audience/Chat]

It's.

[Ebro Darden]

It's. It's a little bit more subversive than the obvious.

[Rosenberg]

Got it.

[Laura Styles]

But we have a breakdown, though. You want to hear it?

[Rosenberg]

Audience, Will this make sense?

[Ebro Darden]

I think so. It's pretty clear.

[Rosenberg]

All right, Here we go. Audio 12. The Drake.

[Audience/Chat]

Account. Then you need to pay attention to this. Drake and Aiden Ross were just named in a federal RICO lawsuit. But the real story isn't the gambling. It's the man that the feds say were secretly moving their money in order to rig the music industry. The lawsuit claims that Steak isn't just a casino. It's a massive money laundering conduit. Steak has an internal tipping feature that is completely encrypted and unregulated. And the feds alleged that Drake and Adin Ross were using this feature in order to move sums of up to $100,000 at a time, bypassing every financial regulator in the U.S. they weren't just gifting each other. The suit claims that this is how they were funding a massive off the books operation. The guy you want to pay attention to is this guy right here, George Nguyen, AKA the man who runs the Grand Wizard Chat meme account on Instagram. The lawsuit actually names him as the operational broker, the feds alleged that Drake and Aiden Ross would tip or gift George this money, who then funneled that cash to bot vendors and streaming farms and in order to artificially inflate Drake's streams so he could crush his competition in music.

[Rosenberg]

So here. Here's why. Here's why I'm going to hit you.

[Button Sound Effect]

With the biggest Congratulations, you played yourself.

[Rosenberg]

Is that. And this will segue us if you want to. If we want to get into this Aiden Ross nonsense. This is the most Trumpian ish of all time. These people are obsessed with saying that bots are affecting people's music numbers. They're obsessed with it.

[Ebro Darden]

Whatever they. Whatever they say you're doing is what they're doing.

[Rosenberg]

This is the Trump thing. Because I'm always like, why is this idiot Aiden Ross always talking about Dochi and bots and this and that and this one? What are they. Because they're doing it now first.

[Ebro Darden]

Why now? Before we get too far down the road, I want to shout out to Billy. They Cyrus at Pablo T. Don. That was her. Their audio.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, thank you. That's good.

[Laura Styles]

Yes.

[Ebro Darden]

You know, I mean, because I want to make sure that we, you know, the people that were using their audio and maybe supporting our community as we build it, we shot them out. Great report. But yes, Rosenberg.

[Rosenberg]

Because I've never understood what their obsession is with this whole Kendrick bots thing. I'm like the only place that I sense bots now. And like, I didn't used to think this. I'm not some sort of expert on that. Anytime I mention Drake, the way that my mentions are shows me that there's an entire bot world that's a part of it. Just like Nikki. It can't.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, so here goes. That guy. The. The name Win. Or what they call a Grand Wizard. Chat N Word.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, whatever.

[Ebro Darden]

When that guy is named, you know, the Internet say he runs also Academics TV on Twitter.

[Laura Styles]

Yeah, I read that too. I read that too. Yeah, there's a connection there.

[Rosenberg]

Well, the fact that he has. His name is Grand Wizard. We won't even get into how offensive that is. But the fact that it's Grand Wizard Chat N Word. That, that.

[Ebro Darden]

And he's a. And he's a. I think he's a Filipino kid from Australia. People have gone as far as to see where his account was made, which is in Australia. And Academics TV was created, which is in Australia.

[Rosenberg]

But. But that. Even that terminology, Chat N Word, isn't that straight up? I think that's academic slang. That's like from his chat.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, okay. I mean, you know more than me, bro.

[Rosenberg]

I just know. I've heard him say that quite a bit when he's saying horrible things about me over the years.

[Ebro Darden]

Listen, man, this is. This is, you know, all the botan and all of. All of that noise aside, I would like to still say I don't like how Drake is going out here, bro. I don't like it. I didn't want to see it. I don't want it to be like this. He's a great songwriter. He's brought great things to the game, great music to the game. Like, I don't want to see this. Like, not like, totally.

[Rosenberg]

Couldn't agree more. No one will believe us. No one will believe us. Everyone will think we sincerely want his downfall. Part of the reason I've been so angry and annoyed about Drake's moves are. Is because he is ruining his legacy. He is. He is damaging himself in ways that will become impossible to get up from. And he'll be one of these cats whose reputation. There are two worlds. There's the real world view and there's the view of your obsessed stands who think everything you do is. Is gold, but the real world view of him is changing in sort of real time with all of this nonsense. And it's not good.

[Ebro Darden]

No, it's not. It's not what? It's not the way it was supposed to go, bro. And I, you know, I don't know how it was supposed to go, but I, you know, Drake is revered and was like, loved for his abilities and his team's abilities to make songs and make music. Music and all that. And for this to go this way.

[Rosenberg]

Nah, bro, nah.

[Ebro Darden]

With a federal. A federal RICO charge alleging that you were like, scamming streams using a gambling app between you and a. A bozo like Aiden 8 Yo, think about Aiden Ross, bro.

[Rosenberg]

No, Aiden Ross sums up Not Like Us. Not Like Us. The version of the version of Drake that Kendrick painted and that so many people are like, wow, is that who you are?

[Ebro Darden]

That guy is Aiden Ross.

[Rosenberg]

That's Aiden Ross. You. You are standing next to. And they stood next to each other.

[Laura Styles]

Laura.

[Rosenberg]

I remember when Laura got here and reported it. They did a whole campaign together. They've been standing next to each other. So tough. This, this, this guy, this. You want to talk about a culture vulture? You want to talk about someone who just sucks from the culture while not even caring about it or giving it. It's. It's disgusting. And that's where Drake may have Been doing all of this stuff while he just tried to file a lawsuit because he didn't like the raps.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, now, well, now, now, now I got to give you a little space here because, Rosenberg, Because I sent you a audio clip that came across my timeline on Twitter and it was Aiden Ross calling into academics. Oh, to try to, but to try to articulate and justify Laura style calling Dochi a dirty banished if. How he calls all women who are just untalented trash. He calls. And it's not based on race and it's not this. And, and then he goes into, you know, everybody just, you know, I' ma call the cops. I walk around with four security guards, and I live in a state where to stand your ground. I don't know why y' all threatening my life. I might get Mossad next to protect me.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, yeah. I don't know why.

[Ebro Darden]

That's crazy. No, it's crazy. And then he starts going. Then he starts going. You know, every, you know, everybody I know, I'm not supposed to be speaking because I'm just the Jewish kid. Yo, he starts throwing around the Jewish kid card. Yo, Rosenberg, I know seeing this has you a level of frustrated that is unbearable.

[Laura Styles]

All of it is a mess to me, bro. And not even even just, because I, I, I just remember this part. Was Drake also giving like, Rolexes to some other, like, right wing streamers.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, yeah, but that was that. Yeah, that's another, that's this, it just.

[Laura Styles]

Went on and on.

[Rosenberg]

No, but the, the Aiden Ross piece here, I'm still, I've been trying to put my thoughts together about it for a long time. I've been trying to put my thoughts together about it for a long time. And, and I, and I do it mindfully because the, the one time I spoke out against Aiden Ross when he said something, I forget what he did. He like, he like, he, he like forgave someone of anti Semitism publicly like Kanye or something. He was like, nah, you're good with the Jewish people or something. I, and I went out there, I was like, yo, bro, shut the F up. You do not speak for anyone. Who are you? When I did that, I, like, immediately started getting threatening phone calls. So I am mindful of dealing with this dude and the crazy people that follow him. He is, it's like everyone who at some point hated me, this is what they thought I was. This is what they thought. A rich. He's a rich, untalented nothing. No love for hip hop, no care whatsoever. Clearly veiled racism and not so veiled racism all the time. And more than anything, the thing that makes me like, all of it's disappointing and gross. But Ebro, the one thing that jumps off the page about him that's unusual for a Jewish person who's in this role, he's also dumb. Like, he's not smart at all. When he talks, I'm like, oh, my God. Even the Jews, I usually don't like. I'm like, yo, I don't like Ben Shapiro. I don't like Ben Shapiro. Shapiro smart dude. He's just a bad guy. You are, like, not educated. This guy is dumb. You're not even good at being a Jew. You're a bad Jew. What is wrong with this guy? Like, he. He is. It's so bad. And then to hear him and academics have this meeting of the mind. No, the meeting of the minds of academics be like, nah, nah. And. And thanks a. Well, you're smart. You're a smart black. Thank you, academics, for knowing I'm not racist. I mean, after all, I hire black people. I can't be racist. I call everyone dirty. I was like, yo, Ebro had me watch this first thing this morning. This is the first thing I did.

[Ebro Darden]

Nah, I did. I did. Yo, yo. But it was. It was an active weekend. It was an active weekend because then, on the other hand, you had this guy, Tracks over in the diamond district, going through the whole fight in the Diamond District over diamonds. So you have Jewish kid Aiden Ross, doing whatever the shenanigans he's doing. And then on the other side, you got this tracks, who's this Jewish Ashkenazi jewelry dealer in the diamond district getting into a brawl with other Jewish jewelers. Yo, it was a bad weekend for the Jews. Rosebud.

[Rosenberg]

Well, I. I don't. I don't even want to count. What the. Yo, 47th Street's a crazy place. Okay? That's like. That's kind of like, I can't even, like, try to joke now. I did send a text. I reached out to a friend of mine. All of us know Greg Yuna. And I did ask him. I'm like, is this real? This seems fake. And Greg said, no, this is very real. Which I was like. I told him. I'm like, nah, bro, nah. I mean, I'm not saying that the animosity is not real, but Tracks had to know what he was doing here, Bro, Those videos are getting 50 million views.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, and he promotes heavy on his Instagram. He's got 7 million followers on Instagram, and he promotes Heavy. You know, go to this dot com. Buy this piece of jewelry dot com, go to.

[Rosenberg]

And he makes good content. Like, it started hitting my algorithm thanks to this conversation. He started hitting me over and over again. I'm like, oh, he. Yeah, he pays to be seen.

[Ebro Darden]

Yes.

[Rosenberg]

And then the stuff that he does is like, well produced, very sticky sort of content.

[Ebro Darden]

Yes.

[Rosenberg]

But I'm like, why is this getting so much attention? I guess the initial video is shocking because you just don't see people screaming like that very well.

[Laura Styles]

The spit is crazy.

[Audience/Chat]

I saw.

[Rosenberg]

I saw the spit later. The spit was crazy.

[Laura Styles]

Oh, God.

[Ebro Darden]

But Rosenberg, it piqued my interest to put it on your radar in such a heavy way because neither of these Jewish stereotypes fit you at all. But people think the this is you. And so I was like, bro, this is what Rosenberg hates the most, is people look at him like he's an Aiden Ross or someone in the diamond district hustling.

[Laura Styles]

Look at his face.

[Button Sound Effect]

Congratulations, you played yourself.

[Rosenberg]

Because he's right. Because he's right.

[Laura Styles]

When I.

[Rosenberg]

No, When I first came along, a lot of people literally associated me with the worst stereotypes they could ever have. And he's right. You have two versions that are just so awful that the diamond district screaming crazy, not to be trusted lunatics. And then you have. Who are just like, you know, money grubbing. Then you have this Aiden Ross, who, by the way, has now made it his brand to do this money grubbing hand thing. He's like, this dude is Simon. This dude is actively trying to create anti Semitism and division between people.

[Laura Styles]

Oh, God.

[Rosenberg]

And why are you obsessed with Dochi, bro? And why do you think you know about music and what music's really being streamed? You have no background in music. This is the problem we accept. And Ibro, this is why I get frustrated even with the good streamers, is that we have. We have accepted that if you come from the video game streaming world and get popular enough, you can talk about anything. And that's a scary, scary thought.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, the podcast world created this, man. These are people who have never played music in public or played music, you know, to find hits or anything like that. And they popped up with podcasts and they started interviewing people who wanted promo. And so you have the convergence of two things. You have people who have figured out how to use the Internet to get eyeballs, converging with people in the music business who just want promo at any cost. They want to get their name out there and their music seen and heard. Like, that's the Grind. And so the convergence of those two things are why you have the world you have. But I got to be honest, when I. You know, now that we're doing more of this, I'm focusing on, like, who's doing what. Right. I'm looking at YouTubes. I'm looking at podcasts. I'm looking at people who have big, big reactions to their podcast content on Instagram, but have zero downloads of the actual podcast. I'm looking at people who have huge YouTube claiming they're a podcast, but zero downloads of the actual audio of the podcast.

[Rosenberg]

Well, that.

[Ebro Darden]

Calling it a podcast.

[Rosenberg]

So that is a big thing, though. I spoke to someone this week who. Who knows a lot about podcasts and has done very well, and she was saying to me, no audio podcasts are growing anymore. Like, there's no growth in audio podcasts, with the exception of if you have a huge video podcast, your audio podcast may do okay, but audio podcasts just aren't growing. The only place, quote, podcasts now grow are on the streaming platform, which is a weird concept. Yeah, but it's so weird.

[Ebro Darden]

I mean, you mean on YouTube is the only place they grow?

[Rosenberg]

Well, yeah, I guess you too. But I mean, I wonder whether the academics of the world, like, did. I don't know, maybe Twitch and other places where they're essentially doing their show, too, or Rumble or whatever these places are that, I don't know, kick. But, yeah, it's all video. The concept of the audio podcast as a big thing, like, I'm. I've been telling you guys for a long time, and I'm finally gonna do it now that life has changed. I'm gonna launch my. This new podcast that I've been excited to do about addiction and stuff. And I was talking to this person about it. She was like, I.

[Ebro Darden]

You.

[Rosenberg]

You're gonna lead video, right? And I was like, oh, yeah. I mean, that's what I assume I have to do. She was like, you cannot lead audio. There's no. And I wanted to. My initial thought was, I want to talk about stuff that's, like, so personal. I think audio is the better platform because I really think.

[Ebro Darden]

I think nobody wants it.

[Rosenberg]

Nobody wants it.

[Ebro Darden]

Nobody.

[Rosenberg]

Nobody wants it. They. As much as people say they're streaming podcasts, they're streaming. Look at this. Our debut on. On We Are. This is our first day ever streaming live, and we're doing it at 8am on a day when everyone except Ebro is back to work.

[Ebro Darden]

And.

[Rosenberg]

And we've broken. We're up near 2700 live people watching this. It's a pretty high number for a morning show.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, we got it. I think, I think we got to do radio stuff here. We gotta like do a shout out. You gotta have people. Do we have a chat? Like, can we shout to the chat? You know, I see, I see. I show speed talking about the chat. I see Kaiser not talk about the chat.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, but there, that's a different kind of show. Ibrah. I don't know if we want to live in the.

[Ebro Darden]

I want to say yo, Chat, how you feel about the show?

[Rosenberg]

If you're gonna say yo, Chat, then I'm gonna say smash, subscribe.

[Laura Styles]

Just please don't, Please don't.

[Ebro Darden]

What's better, shouting out the chat or Smash Subscribe?

[Laura Styles]

You guys just sound so wash, so old, bro.

[Button Sound Effect]

Congratulations. You played yourself.

[Rosenberg]

We sound nuts right now. Ebro, can I hit you with a little. Let me hit you with a little bit of. Can I give you a little bit of a NFL update from the weekend?

[Ebro Darden]

Let's. Now we go now to ESPN's own Rosenberg. That's right. He has other jobs and he wants to give us some sports.

[Rosenberg]

I do not. I, I, I'm, I'm going to the soup kitchen later today. Not to work. To get food.

[Ebro Darden]

That's right. Here we go.

[Rosenberg]

All right. Here we go. So let me see. Ebro, if you're.

[Ebro Darden]

Wait, time out. Sidebar. Sidebar. Let me reset this up. Do you think we would get a cease and desist if we call this the enn?

[Rosenberg]

I don't think we should do that.

[Ebro Darden]

We are bad.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah. The way things have been going with us in cease and desist. Let me not step on my afternoon show.

[Ebro Darden]

All right, all right. All good.

[Laura Styles]

We don't want any more of those. Okay. We have enough.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, no, let's hope, let's, let's hope people support both shows. You know, in the afternoon, maybe they stream, stream me over there. And then, you know, let's, let's, let's work on some community here. So the first, the first playoff games will be on Saturday, 10th.

[Ebro Darden]

Okay.

[Rosenberg]

That's the math, right? Yes, Saturday. That Saturday. So 4:30, probably the worst game of the slate.

[Ebro Darden]

Jumping in. Assuming everybody knows that football's going into the playoffs after this past weekend.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, the playoffs have been set. Your buys are the Seahawks in the NFC and the Broncos in the afc. What a wacky year. All right. No Chiefs get in the buy. No Eagles get in the buy. The Seahawks and the Broncos. Oh, it's wide open this year. Ebro. 4:30 you got the Panthers at the Rams which is kind of a whatever game. Okay, but Saturday night, eight o'.

[Ebro Darden]

Clock, here we go.

[Rosenberg]

The Bears and the packers in the first round.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh come on. That's classic football. That's NFL film.

[Rosenberg]

That's.

[Ebro Darden]

That's NFL films.

[Rosenberg]

The Frozen Tundra. Come on, let's get it on the first. By the way, that Panthers Rams on Fox. The Bears packers is on prime. So that'll be your Al Michaels vehicle. That's. So that's Saturday night, 8 o'. Clock. Then we go to. We go to Sunday January 11th where the early game will be the Jaguars at the Bills. That's also not a particularly sexy game.

[Ebro Darden]

But those Jags people I listen might, I might watch football in the playoffs. I haven't watched a quarter of football all year. Oh, I haven't watched a full quarter. I've seen minimal highlights. I've not checked the sports report and not for any other reason other than just. I have a toddler and I have other things.

[Rosenberg]

But, but how open it is this year is.

[Ebro Darden]

No, I love the names I'm hearing. I love the and, and, and, and I like the LA Rams being back in the hunt. I like this.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, the Rams are very. Rams could go the whole way. So, so the, the Sunday afternoon game, 4:30. Because the Eagles decided to play all their backups and lose to my commies yesterday. Because they decided to do that, they are now the three seed and they will go to San Francisco Eagles Niners.

[Ebro Darden]

Not to game the Niners. Yo. Based on what I'm hearing from my, my friends who are Niners fans who I, I really can't stand. The Niners are something to deal with. Brock Purdy's out here playing football.

[Rosenberg]

No, they're, they are a, they're a real threat this year as well. So are the Eagles. But the Eagles on the road, not quite the same as the Eagles at home. In the playoffs at least. So that'll be interesting. And then the night game on Sunday. You want to talk about another smoker?

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

The Patriots and the Chargers. Yeah, bro.

[Ebro Darden]

Yo, and I never thought, I never thought I would come back around because I wasn't really anti Patriots until the Tuck rule.

[Rosenberg]

Right?

[Ebro Darden]

And then I just didn't. Couldn't do it after the Tuck rule. My Raiders.

[Rosenberg]

Sorry, let me, let me correct myself by the way. The Eagles game is in Philly. Sorry, it's just the 40. They're now playing the 49ers because they lost. But the game is in Philly. Sorry, continue.

[Ebro Darden]

There's something I want to see. The Patriots kind of rebound post Belichick. Is that weird? Is that weird?

[Rosenberg]

Yes, it is weird. I have no interest in seeing that. But it's happening. It's a battle matchup, but I think it's a bad matchup for.

[Ebro Darden]

Who's their head coach? Who's their head coach?

[Rosenberg]

Their head coach is the. Is the man who was part of the entire. You don't. He went down first of all, part of the entire original Patriots run. That's what makes this thing especially is that your man was a linebacker on the initial and then went down. Everyone already thought Vrabel was good and then they brought him back home and now Mike Vrabel has this team smoking. I mean and. And by the way, I thought Vrabel already seemed good on previous stops, but this is. This is where it's all working out. He is. He's got this team playing. Drake May is a legit MVP candidate. And I think it's a bad matchup for the Chargers, who are completely beat up on the offensive line. Justin Herbert's been hurt for like a month. So I don't love that matchup for them. And then the Monday night or thanks to last night's insane game, the Steelers will host the Texans on Monday Night Football. And last night's back and forth was absolutely crazy. Steelers end up winning on a missed field goal by the Ravens at the last second Ebro. I think the reason the Ravens missed the field goal at the end of the game, basically a chip shot to win the game. It was the ghost of Justin Tucker.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, damn.

[Rosenberg]

You know what I'm saying? Like because Justin Tucker decided to go out there and do this full on what's his face desean Watson routine with the massage therapist. The curse of Justin Tucker pushed it wide right. And now the Steelers Aaron Rodgers old man Rogers in the playoffs. So I'm not gonna lie. It's a. It's a fun.

[Ebro Darden]

All I could really think about when I hear Aaron Rodgers is how the jets just fumble everything. The jets are just sell the team. Get rid of the team.

[Rosenberg]

They.

[Ebro Darden]

They got the way they got lambasted by the Bills yesterday. I saw that on my Apple sports app. I do get that. I do get scores on the sports app. I do that.

[Rosenberg]

So you see a little something.

[Ebro Darden]

I see scores and they only because I have the notifications on. So one thing I keep notifications on for I have no other notifications other than sport.

[Rosenberg]

But the. But. But the. The.

[Ebro Darden]

Sell the team.

[Rosenberg]

Sell the Jets Rogers Is playing right now with no DK Metcalf, Yo. His best receiver might be Adam Thielen. Like, they do not have anything.

[Ebro Darden]

Mike Tomlinson, my guy.

[Rosenberg]

Why'd you add a son to Mike Tomlin's name, though?

[Ebro Darden]

Because that's his name. Mike Tomlin's son.

[Rosenberg]

Mike Tomlin's son. Oh, no, I. I guess you're right. Maybe that's a piece of it. I know he loves Tomlin, but. Yeah, maybe there's just a curse on the jets, bro.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, it is. Laura, did you enjoy that Rosenberg sports desk?

[Laura Styles]

Sure.

[Ebro Darden]

She hated all of it.

[Laura Styles]

I was like, sure.

[Ebro Darden]

She hated it. Laura, before we break today, have you came up with a name for your segment?

[Laura Styles]

Not yet, man. I'm gonna figure it out. I'm gonna figure it out when we.

[Ebro Darden]

Got to do this again tomorrow.

[Laura Styles]

All right, all right. Maybe. Hopefully tonight.

[Audio Clip Narrator]

Come up.

[Ebro Darden]

The biggest. Yo. The biggest pet peeve I hear from people who really care a lot about us and Rosenberg. You heard this also is. Our graphics suck. Get it together.

[Laura Styles]

Yes, I heard that, too.

[Ebro Darden]

Why. Why does this look so unprofessional?

[Rosenberg]

I haven't heard that much of that. I just think Joe Budden said that. I haven't heard of that everywhere.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, I've heard it. I've heard it from you. I heard it from Button, and I heard it from two other people. I just remain nameless.

[Rosenberg]

I just think we. We could improve. I don't think it's horrible, but you keep going.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, so. But you operate, and this needs to be discussed. Rosenberg, you operate in a podcast space where at any given time, you're juggling 12 podcasts. Right? Some have high production, some have no production. So you just. You could do this all day and be happy. Just the fact that you have a microphone and you're talking.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah. It still blows my mind that we're able to do this. When I was a kid, this is all I dreamed about. You could do a show from home. You could just jump onto a show. People see me.

[Ebro Darden]

Me, on the other hand, I operate. Operate from a place of delivering. Trying to deliver something that has. Has a higher value.

[Rosenberg]

Really.

[Ebro Darden]

Other. Otherwise, why am I showing up, really?

[Rosenberg]

Where was the last place you did a morning show?

[Ebro Darden]

Well, we were delivering high value.

[Rosenberg]

No, no, we were.

[Ebro Darden]

With what I could control.

[Rosenberg]

Right.

[Ebro Darden]

We were delivering high value.

[Rosenberg]

What about that once? What about that Cheeto backdrop, though?

[Ebro Darden]

Well, that. That's why we are sitting here.

[Button Sound Effect]

Congratulations. You played yourself.

[Ebro Darden]

Who was that button for? Who was that button for? Was that button for me or was that button for.

[Rosenberg]

No, the button was for you for saying you're used to us working in places that do, like high quality.

[Ebro Darden]

No, I. I didn't say that. I said you're used to it at one time. No, no, no.

[Rosenberg]

I'm delivering.

[Ebro Darden]

Delivering delivery. High value.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah. No, and I think we are. We're delivering high value. We try to clean some things up. But listen, even today, we managed to figure it out. You're in an undisclosed location. You sound great. Laura sounds like ish, but she made it back from across the world. She has a microphone. We're days away from this thing being a smooth. We got plans, guys. We got plans.

[Ebro Darden]

I know we got plans, but there's blood in the water.

[Rosenberg]

There's blood in the water, and we got plans. Oh, I had a couple things. Two more quick things I wrote down that I wanted to hit Ebro. I saw some more movies. Here's. I'm gonna say this to you guys. This is a rare year where a lot of the movies nominated are actually, like, appealing and easy to watch and not like a complete slog to get through. Okay, There's a lot of them. So this one this weekend, I finished one battle after another. Amazing. Love that movie. I watched that. That's. That's. That's Leo.

[Button Sound Effect]

Congratulations. You played.

[Ebro Darden]

No, no, Laura, that's why you're getting the button. A, because you don't know it. B, you because you would love it. C, because it's our girl Tiana Taylor. D, because you were on vacation last week when we discussed the fact that we were late to getting to it. We hit ourselves with the button for it. So I'll hit the button again on Laura Styles.

[Button Sound Effect]

Congratulations.

[Laura Styles]

Because I. I've been wanting to watch it. I just got to get to it.

[Rosenberg]

It's so. It's so good. I, I. That was great. Ebro. I watched Begonia, which you never.

[Ebro Darden]

Never even heard of it.

[Rosenberg]

Which I. Which you will love. You will love Begonia.

[Ebro Darden]

What's it. Give me the plot.

[Rosenberg]

It's about these. This crazy guy who. Jesse Plemons, who's an actor. You'll know when you. When you see him, but I'm not going to waste time describing him because.

[Ebro Darden]

Rosenberg knows, no matter if he describes or gives me a name of an actor, won't know him.

[Rosenberg]

He's. No, you'll know. You'll know him from Breaking Bad for sure.

[Ebro Darden]

But no, no, I'll know their face.

[Rosenberg]

But I never know their name. By the way, I wouldn't have remembered his name. I wouldn't have put the name with the face till like a week ago. So he plays like a crazy, you know, a guy who works at this place and has ended up down a rabbit hole of the Internet. And him. And like his, his, you know, sort of autistic cousin, they decide to kidnap the CEO of this company because they've decided she's an alien. And they've been watching on YouTube all the videos about the aliens. And so they full on. They full on kidnapper and bring them to bring her. You'll love it. You'll love it. It's all about right now. It's just very right now. What's going on. So that's Begonia. I really, really enjoyed it. And then I watch on the other side of things. Just a feel good movie. It's based on a Stephen King short story, the Life of Chuck. And it's awesome. Life of Chuck is fantastic. I loved it. Super. Just feel. Can't say it's feel good. It's emotional. It's just. It's just about viewing life and the dude who's getting a lot of talk about this. You want to feel old. Ebro. Mark Hamill is getting nominated for this movie.

[Ebro Darden]

I know that guy.

[Rosenberg]

For best supporting actor playing a grandfather. He's the grandfather, Laura. It's Luke Skywalker. And he's playing the grandfather in. It just makes you feel when you see him now, you're like, that's Mark Hamill. Wow.

[Laura Styles]

Right, Right.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, Rosenberg, I want you to enjoy all of this movie watching. Right?

[Rosenberg]

Thank you.

[Ebro Darden]

Because mj, that's right. My niece is still young enough for you guys to watch things. And without she her completely taking over the television entertainment for several reasons.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, no, she can't be there. I gotta do it at night. You gotta commit to doing this after she goes down. You gotta.

[Ebro Darden]

Really, you're. I can't. I can't. We fall asleep putting the baby down. Putting the baby down.

[Rosenberg]

It takes two days worth. It takes two days. You watch it in a couple of days. That's how it goes. Come on, guys.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, look, enjoy it. Enjoy it before this toddler life hits you because you're. You're on the path.

[Rosenberg]

The toddler life's even worse out here.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, the toddler life is about to hit you, bro.

[Audience/Chat]

Yep.

[Laura Styles]

Wait, real quick, before we go into parenting, you know what? I did watch, guys, that was so good. I saw the Luther documentary.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, I told you it was a good one, right?

[Laura Styles]

Oh, my God, Rosenberg. I shed tears. It was beautiful. It was beautiful. There's so much I learned. And just his. I mean, I always knew about the. The weight fluctuation and the issues, man. But when he was. Oh, man, it gets your heart, you.

[Ebro Darden]

Know, There's a lot of Luthers, Laura. There's a lot of Luthers. I didn't know what she was talking about. This is Martin Luther King.

[Rosenberg]

There was the show Luther.

[Ebro Darden]

I was like, they did a documentary on that. Like, that's great.

[Audience/Chat]

Much.

[Laura Styles]

Never too much.

[Rosenberg]

No, no.

[Laura Styles]

But it's beautiful, man. If you. If you get a chance, Ebro, you'll love it.

[Ebro Darden]

And I saw it already.

[Laura Styles]

The thing about him finding love or not finding that broke my heart. Rosenberg.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, it took long. It took long enough to get to the gay part. I sat there going, if they don't get to the gay part.

[Ebro Darden]

Wait, why? Why. Why was that something you were sitting, waiting for?

[Rosenberg]

Because everyone knows Luther's gay, But it was never, like, a complete part of. Part of Luther Vandross's public sort of Persona is all these amazing things about him. History as a backup singer and then becoming a star and blah, blah. But also Sesame street, weight loss, you know, weight gain. All those things are in there. But the other one is that people always, you know, said that Luther Vandross was gay, but it was at a time in which he didn't come out. So as the movie's going on, I'm just like, are we not gonna. This is definitely part of his.

[Ebro Darden]

I think there's another piece today. But they.

[Rosenberg]

But they got to it.

[Ebro Darden]

In my world, in my world of being raised by black women, black women loved his voice and his music so much that they wanted to love him. This is how it was always articulated. To me, they just wanted to love him. They didn't want, like. They didn't. They knew he was gay, but it was like, so what? He's fab, he's fabulous, and his voice is fabulous, and his music is fabulous. And I feel like the beauty and the love that he talks about in his music is what I want for myself.

[Rosenberg]

Totally. I think. I think you just very well summed up what the sentiment was on him.

[Ebro Darden]

Yes. So I say. I say that to say no. In my world, nobody was sitting around wondering if the Fed Trust was gay. No.

[Rosenberg]

Because they knew he was gay.

[Ebro Darden]

Yes.

[Rosenberg]

Well, no. That's all I'm saying. Yeah, you're right. And listen, he shared. And they talk about this in the doc. He shared as much as he wanted to share at that time.

[Ebro Darden]

Now, Right.

[Rosenberg]

If. If Luther Vandross became a star in 2000 instead of the mid-80s. His life would probably have been different. Yeah, yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

We live in a world now where people can't just fall in love with art without asking questions about the individual's personal life.

[Rosenberg]

Well, not only that, but like, we. 1985 was a bro. When I got on the radio in New York in 07, the homophobia was crazy in 07. So, like.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, I'm not sure that the 80s were homophobic. The way people was wearing leather halter tops and beads and belly rings and all that. You know what I mean? Rappers was running around in halter tops with leather pants.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah. Still homophobic.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah. While While also. While also being in gay clubs and yes. Didn't want to be outwardly gay while rumors of you circulated that you had a boyfriend or a girlfriend.

[Rosenberg]

Exactly. It was a different time.

[Audience/Chat]

Yeah.

[Laura Styles]

But yeah, beautiful doc.

[Rosenberg]

It's a great doc, man. And I didn't even quite realize how I, I, you know, I didn't grow up in a household where people listened to Luther Vandross. So I didn't get to know Luther until later. Until my ex girlfriend loved Dance with My Father. Wow.

[Ebro Darden]

That was your entry.

[Rosenberg]

Not my entry. I'd heard never too much and stuff like that. But like, I didn't. I didn't really have a true appreciation of Luther until way later. Till the 2000s. But yeah, he was.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, we. We learned today that Laura finally got to the Vandross Luther Vandross documentary. We also learned that Rosenberg is a different type of perturbed having to deal with tracks. The jeweler Ross taking up the timeline.

[Rosenberg]

No, I don't think about tracks. That's. You're. You're projecting. I don't think about tracks. It's whatever. That jewelry. That jewelry is weird. It doesn't bother me as much.

[Ebro Darden]

Ross thing for sure. Because it's too close to hip hop. That's why it's like in. It's in your sphere a little bit in your universe.

[Rosenberg]

Well, no, not only that. There's a personal part about like, oh, remember when. Remember when people actually thought I was a bad white guy and you didn't realize what a bad white guy actually.

[Ebro Darden]

And you should also know that people still think you're a bad one and.

[Rosenberg]

People still think I'm a bad white guy. You didn't even know you. And this is the. But this is the.

[Ebro Darden]

There's levels to this bad white guy. Ish.

[Rosenberg]

And we spend our time as a society. We like to always get our panties in a bunch about everything. So then when the real ish hits, you're like, oh, it's like how Democrats used to literally say, I'm not kidding. I remember this Ebro. We talked about this. George W. Bush is Hitler.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, man. They had no idea that was the. No idea.

[Rosenberg]

No. We thought he was as bad a human as could ever. And this is why we have to learn to pace ourselves, because he was bad. But there was worse around the corner.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, and, and on that note of worse around the corner, I want to reiterate to anybody, whether you're Venezuelan or not, the United States of America doesn't even care about its citizens. So please don't expect them to care about you. It is just about oil. It is just about money. Please never forget, please.

[Rosenberg]

And also Smash. Subscribe, turn on your notifications and all that because we'll be back tomorrow morning.

[Ebro Darden]

And I also want to leave on this. This is not what we wanted to see Drake go out. Like, we did not want to see this. We did not want to see this.

[Rosenberg]

No, we did not.

[Ebro Darden]

And, and hopefully it's not. Hopefully it doesn't go bad. Hopefully it doesn't go bad.

[Audience/Chat]

Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

But it, but if it does.

[Laura Styles]

Thank you everybody.

[Button Sound Effect]

Congratulations. You played yourself.

[Rosenberg]

That's how you closing it out. Thank you for joining my Outro Music. Outro music.

[Ebro Darden]

Outro Music. Cause don't call it a podcast.

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