92.) Voting Rights Gutted, Met Gala Washed? + Michael Jackson Discourse (5/4/26)

Summary

Podcast Summary

The Ebro, Laura & Rosenberg Show – Episode 92:

"Voting Rights Gutted, Met Gala Washed? + Michael Jackson Discourse"

Date: May 4, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this lively episode, Ebro Darden, Laura Stylez, and Peter Rosenberg blend culture and commentary with their signature mix of sharp debate and authentic connection. They tackle heavy-hitting current events—including the Supreme Court's decision gutting voting rights, the controversies swirling around this year’s Met Gala, and the enduring discourse over Michael Jackson’s legacy (and the new biopic). With sidebars on community issues, local activism, pop culture, and Mother's Day giveaways, this show typifies the ELR blend of music, humor, and real talk.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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[01:41] Laura’s Return & Remembrance of Lady Shells

• Laura returns (“I missed you guys. You guys are part of my routine, my part of my daily life.” – Laura, 02:43) after a tough week spent grieving Lady Shells, a beloved friend and community figure.
• Emotional reflection on the funeral, with a notable mention:
  • Supreme Casket: Supreme gifted a one-of-one casket for Lady Shells, reflecting her style and Supreme’s ties with the crew.
    • “It was simultaneously the most ridiculous and cool thing I’ve ever seen.” – Ebro, 04:27
    • “A Supreme casket. I just wrote back: limited edition, just like her.” – Laura, 05:09
• Praise for the outpouring of support (“The EL Army sent me the sweetest messages.” – Laura, 02:52).

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[06:08] Michael Jackson Discourse—"Thriller" as "The McDonald's of Albums"

• Hot debate continues over Ebro’s viral remark likening MJ’s ‘Thriller’ album to “the McDonald’s of albums.”
  • “Me saying that ‘Thriller’ is the McDonald’s of albums–it was meant to be the blockbuster... meant to sell to everybody.” – Ebro, 06:36
  • Backlash: people interpreted it as a slight or “cheap” (Laura, 06:56), misreading the tongue-in-cheek nature (“No one can read humor in these clips… they just see headline.” – Ebro, 07:24).
• The eternal debate: “Off the Wall” vs “Thriller”
  • Rosenberg prefers “Off the Wall,” noting more skips on “Thriller:”
    • “I just… there’s more skips for me on ‘Thriller’ than there is on ‘Off the Wall’. And I think ‘Off the Wall’ is the better album.” – Rosenberg, 08:56
  • Ebro reconsiders after listening, noting “Girlfriend” is “worse than ‘Girl Is Mine’” as a skip (09:39).
  • “People getting their feelings... it’s the same as the Jay Z argument... because if you criticize, it’s hate, but like, we love them so much.” – Laura, 16:05 / Ebro, 16:14
• Cultural impact vs. pure music
  • Video for “Thriller” cemented song’s place, not just audio (“Would ‘Thriller,’ the song, be as big if the video was never made? Absolutely not. It’s literally built into people’s brains.” – Ebro, 12:58)
  • “All of the narrative… nothing to do with the listenability of the song.” – Rosenberg, 11:32
• Making fun of icons is part of the game
  • “All I did was make fun of the rap that I love… it was my favorite thing to do.” – Ebro, 16:51
  • “I’m comparing them to themselves.” – Rosenberg, 16:18
• Notable moment:
  • The hosts laugh about “the doggone girl is mine” lyric as peak corny—but can’t deny MJ & McCartney’s vocal greatness. (14:04)
• MJ Biopic & Family Drama
  • None of the hosts have seen the new Michael Jackson movie yet, but they discuss growing up with MJ, “Joe Jackson as villain,” and rumors about his family (“Joe Jackson made his entire family rich.” – Ebro, 24:26).
  • Discussion on sequels and whether the next MJ movie could address allegations, FBI investigations, and music industry conspiracies (25:14–27:12).

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[29:17] Voting Rights Gutted—Major Political Segment

• Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Calais
  • Explained via Joy Ann Reid’s viral commentary (29:38–31:37):
    • “You can use race to profile brown people… to see if they are undocumented immigrants. But you cannot use race to draw congressional or state legislative districts… so black people can elect representatives… So what does that mean? Republicans… will now likely eliminate all of the black-held seats, starting with Louisiana… Look for the black seats to go bye bye.”
    • “Hope you’re enjoying your Trump democracy, everyone. Oh, and y’all can keep Clarence Thomas. We don’t want him back.” – Joy Ann Reid, 31:37
  • Hosts’ reaction:
    • “Don’t think [gerrymandering] doesn’t happen in blue states.” – Rosenberg, 31:39
    • Voting rights erosion is bipartisan and systemic.
• Killer Mike & Black Political Leadership Backlash
  • Blowback over Killer Mike’s past alliances, especially regarding Georgia and partner politics (32:18–34:10).
  • “Never in your life underestimate the power and the tenacity of white supremacists.” – Ebro, 33:26
  • “You’re part of the reason we’re here” – how previous calls for “tangibles” from Black voters were weaponized against progress, a point of tension (34:07; 34:43–36:00).
  • “Between Kamala and Trump… the Supreme Court, voting rights, the economy… Not going, everything that’s happening, we discussed. And for people going, ‘Well, you know, I didn’t’... You will refuse to listen…” – Rosenberg, 35:26
• Other consequences of current politics
  • EEOC/DEI rollbacks, EPA gutting, cancer & environmental deregulation risks (36:14–37:16).
  • Rural community activism and importance of voting local: “The way we can insulate and protect ourselves many times is through local elections…” – Ebro, 39:29

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[42:46] Local News: Deed Theft Prevention in NYC

• NYC’s new measures:
  • City launches first Deed Theft Prevention Office, thanks to AG Letitia James and local coalition.
  • “Deed theft is exactly what it sounds like... steals someone’s home right out from under them.” – NYC Official, 43:14
  • Hosts stress importance of estate planning, will/trusts, and handling affairs so family don’t lose property (“Do you guys have a beneficiary for your bank accounts?” – Laura, 47:42).
  • “It happens so fast. Leaving your children to scramble is the worst.” – Laura, 49:01

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[53:39] Met Gala Controversy: "Washed" by Billionaires?

• Bezos & Lauren Sanchez now chairs of Met Gala
  • Tickets quietly slashed due to waning demand and perception of "bought access" (54:19–56:25).
  • “It's pretty gross. There's no way. It's an event that already had plenty of gross, but this is now, like, next level.” – Ebro, 56:25
  • Laura highlights the (possibly fading) distinction between wealthy artists and billionaire industrialists now controlling the event.
  • Beyoncé’s return as notable among the new chairs (56:55), but her proximity to the ultra-rich is “not a great look.”
• Potential for protests
  • Expect demonstrations regarding Amazon’s labor practices (urine bottle protest), worker rights (59:20–59:54).

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[60:00] Pop Culture & Giving—Chappelle, Nia Long Pay Disparity, ELR Giveaway

• Dave Chappelle headlines Netflix’s upcoming comedy fest (60:14–60:29).
• Nia Long sues Lionsgate for pay discrepancy over her role as Katherine Jackson
  • “Favored nations” clause allegedly breached; possible reason: her scenes were cut (61:04–62:19).
• Mother’s Day: Starletta Estraga luxury bag giveaway
  • A running, slightly chaotic live call-in giveaway segment; lighthearted, but the hosts stress the value and quality of supporting small businesses.
  • “If I received this for Mother’s Day, I'd be hype. So much, I bought it for myself!” – Laura, 66:34

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[68:10] Community Questions & Uplift—"The Gurus"

• Listener asks Laura’s advice on organizing a prom dress drive for underprivileged girls (69:11–73:00).
  • Laura’s wisdom: “Start small. Look for an organization in your neighborhood… even 10 girls is a huge accomplishment. Partner with a YWCA or women’s shelter, seek donations from boutiques, and apply for 501c3 status as you grow.”
  • “Giving back is awesome, and God bless you, mother of six.” – Laura, 73:00

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “A Supreme casket. I just wrote back: limited edition, just like her.” – Laura (05:09)
• “Me saying ‘Thriller’ is the McDonald’s of albums–it was meant to be the blockbuster... Meant to sell to everybody.” – Ebro (06:36)
• “Would ‘Thriller,’ the song, be as big if the video was never made? Absolutely not. It’s literally built into people’s brains.” – Ebro (12:58)
• “You can use race to profile brown people… but not to draw districts so black people can elect representatives…” – Joy Ann Reid (29:38)
• “Never in your life underestimate the power and the tenacity of white supremacists.” – Ebro (33:26)
• “We’re such frauds. It’s so bad. Everything’s bad. Our health care is bad.” – Ebro (40:59)
• “Deed theft is exactly what it sounds like… steals someone’s home right out from under them.” – NYC Official (43:14)
• “Start small… even 10 girls is a huge accomplishment.” – Laura (72:03)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:41 — Laura returns & Lady Shells’ Supreme Casket Tribute
• 06:08 — Michael Jackson "Thriller" discourse: backlash, comparisons, humor and history
• 12:58 — “Thriller” the video vs. the song; 80s cultural memory
• 29:38 — Joy Ann Reid’s summary: Supreme Court, voting rights gutted, impact on Black political representation
• 32:18 — Killer Mike, Black leadership, and the politics of “tangibles”
• 42:46 — NYC launches Deed Theft Prevention Office; estate planning advice
• 53:39 — Met Gala controversy: billionaires take over
• 60:00 — Chappelle, Nia Long, Netflix, and ELR luxury bag giveaway
• 68:10 — “The Gurus” community help: how to start a prom dress drive
• 73:53 — Lighter moments, nicknames, outro and pausing for Patreon/next episode

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Tone & Style

The tone is a blend of energetic debate, biting wit, passionate advocacy, and grounded community spirit. The hosts mix cultural critique and real talk with humor: unfiltered, irreverent, yet connected to community and listeners’ real lives.

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For Listeners Who Missed It

This episode stands as a timely snapshot: national and local politics, the struggle for voting rights, pop culture’s shifting power structures, humorous but incisive music debate, real-life financial/estate advice, and reminders of the power of giving in community—all wrapped in true ELR flavor. Whether you care about social justice, care about music, or just enjoy great radio chemistry, this is one not to miss.

Transcript

[Ebro Darden]

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[Ebro Darden]

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[Laura Rosenberg]

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[Ebro Darden]

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[Laura Rosenberg]

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[Rosenberg]

Just don't call it a podcast. The Ebro Laura Rosenberg show, show, show, show, show, show the show, the show. Laura Styles back.

[Ebro Darden]

Yay. She's in the building.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Guys, I am back.

[Rosenberg]

Thank you for, you know, getting enough gumption. Come back in, you know, I mean, tough week last week.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I debated whether I should come in or not.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, you weren't sure when the moment came.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

If you felt like it was like,

[Laura Rosenberg]

ah, am I ready to go back? But I really wanted to be here with you guys.

[Ebro Darden]

All right, well, we're happy.

[Rosenberg]

So that's your way of saying you missed us?

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yes.

[Rosenberg]

So there's some positive to being around us.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I did okay. I missed you guys. I missed you guys.

[Rosenberg]

How you feel about that, Rosemary?

[Ebro Darden]

I'm not surprised by that, but I feel, it feels nice.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I just didn't want to be honest. I just didn't want to be like slumped up at home anymore.

[Ebro Darden]

I thought it was more that. Yeah, but like, at least the first part of your day can start with Distraction and doing stuff. And then you still have so many hours to get there. So once this is over, the whole day.

[Rosenberg]

But she started with. She missed us, man. I'm pointing that out.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah. But I don't. I thought that was very sweet for her to say. I don't actually think that's why.

[Rosenberg]

You know, I'm just saying.

[Laura Rosenberg]

No, no. I really, honestly, I do. I do miss you guys. And I really wanted to be here with you guys. You guys are at my routine, my part of my daily life, so.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, that's. We feel the same way.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I needed it. I needed to come back and. And shouts to the El Army. They have sent me the sweetest messages. So nice.

[Rosenberg]

It was, you know, so nice. Once again, rest in peace to Lady Shells and all the people who came out to pay their respects on Friday at her services.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

Will we ever talk about the services? Is that something you want to do?

[Laura Rosenberg]

No, we. We. We.

[Political Commentator]

Can.

[Laura Rosenberg]

We absolutely can. I. I just gotta warn you, I'm still a little emotionally fragile.

[Rosenberg]

As you should be.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah. You know, I.

[Advertisement Voice]

So if you see a little off just because I.

[Rosenberg]

Because the. I want to. There's things I want to talk about celebratory of lady show.

[Laura Rosenberg]

We can. And I think it's. I. I could do it. I think there was a lot of beauty.

[Rosenberg]

Well, not. Not only that. There was some exclusive supreme fire too that needs to be covered. You know what I mean? It's. She went out like the. The. The Queen Hype B central. You know what I mean? I was crazy.

[Ebro Darden]

I think we could literally say we've never seen any. No one has and probably never will.

[Rosenberg]

And nobody new have it. I don't even know if people knew this existed.

[Laura Rosenberg]

It did. It was one of those hype drops that came out a couple months ago.

[Rosenberg]

Was it just a couple months?

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, wow.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah. But who. I mean, guys who have things like caught that supreme coffin.

[Ebro Darden]

Literally. It's a Supreme coffin.

[Rosenberg]

We didn't turn any pictures. There's pictures. I don't know if we want to put pictures up, but everybody should know.

[Laura Rosenberg]

My Instagram. You guys can go see it.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

You can find them online.

[Rosenberg]

Everyone should know that our friends at supreme gave shells the one of one supreme casket.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

No, no, no. It's different type.

[Ebro Darden]

It's. I. I thought it was simultaneously the most ridiculous and cool thing I've ever seen. No, but that's literally both parts of my brain. I was like, what?

[Rosenberg]

Well, what's better for Lady Chef?

[Ebro Darden]

No, that's. That's Ridiculous and cool. Well, that's what, that's the thing that turned me on it, like, I'm talking about a five second period of thought, but when I was like, but this is like a. Not only be cool for her, but also like, it's a fun. In a horrible moment. It is creating a fun thing that people are like, oh my God, did you see? Yeah, like, that's what a neat, unique feeling. There are people coming up at this horrible event being like, yo, but that supreme cast, you know, and so it was lovely. It was a very lovely gesture.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Sypha Sounds sent me a really beautiful message. And he said, a Supreme casket. I just wrote back, limited edition, just like her, you know, like, that's it. That's all I could say, you know?

[Rosenberg]

And if you don't know, Lady Shells, she always had a Supreme hat on, like, damn near. I mean, 99 of the time. Yes, she has supreme hat on.

[Ebro Darden]

Right. So that was literally the brand that you saw when you saw.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Correct.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah. So. And then we have friends that have worked at supreme since what, the origin.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Rosenberg]

So it just always was a beautiful thing. Also, I thought Laura was going to say the reason she came back was because the Met Gala and she's not going to miss a show when it's Met Gala time.

[Ebro Darden]

I don't think Laura's is hyped off the Met Gala as usual this year.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, I. It's. Listen, there's some controversy around it. It's not. Some of the things are not looking good and I'm upset that my queen is tied to it. So we'll talk about it later on.

[Rosenberg]

That'll happen in the run.

[Ebro Darden]

That's Rundown Talk.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

Now on Ebro's Algo this weekend. I don't know about you, Rosenberg, but the, The Michael Jackson conversation continued.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, yeah.

[Rosenberg]

And you didn't help out yesterday. You decided you wanted to continue dragging this Michael Jackson convo. Now I got calls from, I mean, songwriters, producers that was like, yo, tell me. I'm not going to say any names. One of the people I debated. Well, all of them, I debated over my. Me saying that Michael Jackson thriller is the McDonald's of albums. And really it's the McDonald's of Michael Jackson albums. It was meant to be the blockbuster. It was the biggest deal. It was meant to sell to everybody. And when you talk to people about Thriller, what do they talk to you about? How big it was.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Oh, yeah. And how huge, how monstrous it was.

[Ebro Darden]

That is true.

[Laura Rosenberg]

But when you Compare it to McDonald's people are going to associate with cheap and they don't like that.

[Ebro Darden]

No, Laura, what it was, what that conversation should be a celebration about is that Ebro has successfully fully crossed over into Internet troll. That's the celebration here. Because it worked. I mean it went crazy.

[Rosenberg]

People talk like people was talking to me like I spit on their mom, bro. People was talking to me like I slapped their newborn baby.

[Ebro Darden]

So that means you chose a way of verbalizing a feeling that so greatly over exaggerates how you like it made you look like you're so negative on Thriller. So I'm engaging in this conversation and, and I was like agreeing and ad libbing with the whole ridiculous because it was a. The fact that no one can read humor in these clips or they never even watch clips. They just see headline.

[Rosenberg]

Well that I forget which blog it was. I forget which blog it was. But they put it up where it said Ebro says thrillers the McDonald's of albums. That was the headline.

[Laura Rosenberg]

So.

[Ebro Darden]

So when it says that, I think maybe they don't watch the clip. Cuz like wouldn't you see that we're laughing? Like we're laughing the whole time. Like I had people who I'm friends with also other people, all kinds of people reaching out about it and they, I guess they did watch it, but I was just confused that they couldn't understand what the conversation was and that it was silly.

[Rosenberg]

They don't care enough. They just responded to the headline. They got their emo moment back to my third.

[Ebro Darden]

And that's what makes you now officially, you're here now. You know how. But this is it now. Well, you know, sorry. The only thing that's changed is we no longer work at a place that makes it impossible for people to see our content. That literally is it. Like now our content is visible again. So anyways. But I did go back and listen this weekend because so many people hit me about the conversation and because I've been so big on the Girl Is Mine is. Ah, I want to skip it. It's a Skipper, blah, blah blah. Cause the argument we made, Laura, was that there were three skips right after the first two songs.

[Rosenberg]

And that was really the whole thing on Thriller. Like let's be clear. We've always said. Well, I've always said I love Thriller. I just. There's more skips on Thriller for me than there is on off the Wall. And I think off the Wall is the better album. And then I proceed to make fun of the Girl Is Mine all the time. Because it's like, no, Michael. And he's like, I don't believe in all of that jazz and jazz hands

[Ebro Darden]

and all of that.

[Rosenberg]

And it's just funny. And then beat it. Which it's. It's cool. But nobody's listening to it on a regular basis. And Thriller, musically I love. But I. When I'm listening to the song and just because I'm like, what do we do? We got a horror. It's horrorcore R B. What are we doing?

[Ebro Darden]

So. So here's, here's. So I went back and listened to it because Natalie, Natalie had never listened to off the Wall all the way Through Play Beginning to end. So she was like, can we listen off the Wall all the way through. So we did on a drive. And here's what I was struck by after the last few years where I mostly listened to it as singles in my jukebox and not the album. Girlfriend is worse than Girl Is Mine. Girlfriend. And it completely. It takes you out. It takes you more than Girl Is Mine does. Well, sorry, is that impression not appropriate? It's just so mealy mouthed. Not as good as the rest of off the Wall. It's not a horrible song compared to other artists. But for a Michael song in the middle of off the Wall, Girlfriend is so cheesy. And then by the time you get so. And you. I've heard you say this. Burn this disco out. It's just what are we doing at the end?

[Rosenberg]

I'm off.

[Ebro Darden]

They were like, let's go do another full on disco song to end this thing.

[Rosenberg]

And it's just not good. Burn this.

[Ebro Darden]

It's just not very good.

[Rosenberg]

And I think when we originally talked about off the Wall versus Thriller, Girlfriend and Burn this Disco out, we always were kind of like it was one and a half skip.

[Ebro Darden]

And then I'm going to add it's the Falling in love is okay.

[Rosenberg]

It's cool.

[Ebro Darden]

It's like, yeah. To me it's the falling in Love feels like just like there are songs where Michael's leaning to pop. It's the Falling in Love is kind of generic R and B feeling for Michael too. It's just kind of like because he's

[Rosenberg]

more than after my opinions, I'm gonna let y' all have whatever opinions y' all want to have from here on out.

[Ebro Darden]

You're done.

[Rosenberg]

I think that. And I discovered the main thing for me this weekend as I debated people on Thriller. I at this point in my life and this is with a lot of things and you guys know how I am. I can't not think about the narrative that was shaped for me and what was thrust upon me in so many aspects of my life.

[Ebro Darden]

That is a great self observation, right?

[Rosenberg]

Like I can't escape automatically going, wait, so everyone thinks this, what? Oh, this was thorough marketing. This wasn't just like, it just happened. This was created, fabricated, turn set on fire fuel, so you're tossed on top of it. And, and at a time. And by the way, Thriller did so many things. Right. Because the other thing that I realized with a lot of people is the minute I started talking about it, they started talking to me about the video and what the video meant and, and what Michael meant to black artists making it on television and all of these other things that have nothing to do with the listen ability of the song. It was all about everything else, all of the narrative. And all we're saying is on a regular basis, when you're sitting down listening to Thriller or whatever. Mic, you love me personally, I'm skipping 3, 4, and 5. That's all I've been saying.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, I get it. But the Internet's not gonna let you rock.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, of course not.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, no, no, no.

[Rosenberg]

And by the way, no, no, no.

[Ebro Darden]

And he said it way saucier than that. So there's a reason that that was his marketing.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

[Ebro Darden]

So also, you didn't even include this in your argument. And I didn't get to the part about Thriller that I disagree with, but I want to. But what would Thriller, the song, be if the video was never made?

[Rosenberg]

Exactly.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Would it be as big?

[Ebro Darden]

Absolutely not. It is literally built into people's brains. They literally just go like, I wonder what people said. And we were all too young to know this. What were they saying about the song Thriller for the year that the album was out and the video wasn't? They were. So I can tell you what they thought.

[Rosenberg]

I can tell you they were caught well up in, through the video. In my household, the religious women were calling it Satan worship.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Oh, Lord.

[Rosenberg]

That's what they were calling. They were like, michael Jackson worships the devil. Oh, my. That was a real convo.

[Ebro Darden]

I know. I'm sure it was. Yeah. I'm sure that was real conversation. Even though there's nothing about the. Well, he has a voice on it.

[Rosenberg]

And yeah, it's horror. It's. It's. It's people turning into zombies. It's the dead coming out of up out of cemeteries. Yeah, that's the devil, right?

[Ebro Darden]

That's. That's gets people all up in their feels.

[Rosenberg]

That is the devil.

[Ebro Darden]

So. So I do wonder what people would have thought. But here's so a. I don't think Girl Is Mine is nearly as bad as we've made it through our conversation over the years. When I was listening back to it, I was like, is it cheesy to hear on a record? Someone go, the doggone girl is mine.

[Rosenberg]

The doggone girl.

[Ebro Darden]

It sure is.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

But it's a fun. It is a pretty. It's a good record.

[Rosenberg]

Well, and I'll tell you this, it's a good record. No matter what you're talking. Usually no matter what you're talking about when it comes to Michael Jackson, you're always going to be taken aback by how great he is vocally. I mean, it's Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson. How is it going to be musically not something you're going to enjoy.

[Ebro Darden]

At least enjoy a little bit.

[Rosenberg]

You're going to enjoy it, right? It's going. There's something about the Girl Is Mine that just over the years it just became super corny to me and I can't do it.

[Ebro Darden]

You know, Diallo Whittle was in our. In the comments of my post this weekend.

[Rosenberg]

Okay.

[Ebro Darden]

And said. I think it was Diallo said this and said that was supposed to be hey hey hey. Which is the better of the two McCartney Michael songs from that era. At least that's what most people think. It's like a more credible legit song.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

And they ended up going the other way and put Girl Is Mine. So Thriller also, I realize I do enjoy listening to Thriller. I really do. Like all year round. I just find the end of it. I find the whole end dint in the whole just musical part playing to be badass. And I enjoy it. And the funniest thing is the one that I think really does hold up as a hard listen is the song that made me fall in love with Michael Jackson as a 4 year old. And that is Beat It. Beat It. I just, it's. It's not like it's a horrible song. It's just such a weird what genre am I listening to?

[Rosenberg]

And so you're telling me when these records come on or you have access to listening to Michael, you're letting these play.

[Ebro Darden]

I think Beat it would be the only one I beck. I'm kind of good on Beat It. I've heard it. That's the one you're skipping and that's the one I'd skip at this point as an adult. Loved it as a kid. I'm good. But girlfriend, it's like three minutes and it's a good listen.

[Rosenberg]

You mean Girl is mine.

[Ebro Darden]

A girl is mine. Sorry. And I find Thriller to be a fun. As crazy and weird as it is to be listening to a horror song, it's just a dope song.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, I get it, I get it. It's just everyone's celebrating, Michael. And how dare you have something negative to say. How dare you.

[Ebro Darden]

This is every convo we have. This is every music convo we have about the artists we love the most. People getting their feelings. It's the same as the Jay Z argument.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I mean, yeah, because if you criticize,

[Ebro Darden]

it's hate, but like, we love them so much. I want to analyze it all the time.

[Rosenberg]

Well, and also I'm comparing them to them. I'm. I'm also comparing them to themselves.

[Ebro Darden]

Of course.

[Rosenberg]

Right. Like, I'm not saying this one is better than that one. I'm not doing, like, I. And I've done that where we go, Prince versus Mike or whatever those fun combos are. But even when we're talking about Jay, I'm comparing Jay's things that I don't love against things that I love more than any other hip hop and music available. Right, right. So the, the, the. Is that a curve that I'm grading it on?

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah. To something that would be a curve.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah. Like I'm. It's not like I'm trying to put the artist down.

[Ebro Darden]

I'm just saying, bro, my whole life used to be. And I can't do it anymore because the era that we live in and I, I'm. Now people know who I am. When no one know who I was. And I was doing college radio, all I did was make fun of the rap that I love. It was my favorite thing to do is like, make fun of the, the music that I love with other people who know it well and can understand.

[Rosenberg]

One of your favorites is Dizzy Gillespie played the sacks.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah. I mean, no, he didn't.

[Rosenberg]

You know what I mean? But maybe he did and we just didn't know him for that. And Greg Nice knew him for that.

[Ebro Darden]

And he said, no, no, I've seen him play the sax. It was actually a declaration. He's like, you know, Dizzy Gillespie played the sax. He's explaining to you, in case you didn't know. But it's all those things, like, I mean, teasing Pete Rock, because I'm listening to a song that I love and down with the King's on, and I'm like, why did Pete have to add a verse to down with the King. It's Run dmc.

[Rosenberg]

You've said this in public before.

[Ebro Darden]

I don't know.

[Rosenberg]

Maybe this is why Pete Rock don't like you, bro.

[Ebro Darden]

Listen, he's the best, but sometimes the producer doesn't need to add the voice.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, but you're not from New York. You wouldn't understand.

[Ebro Darden]

You don't get that the DJ has to rap here. Although down with the King Beat is one of the greatest productions of all time.

[Rosenberg]

But he's not hearing that. Once you disperse, once you say, why'd you rap, you're also not from New York. He can't even hear that. You think it's the greatest thing ever.

[Ebro Darden]

Syph is the number one biggest premiere fan ever and will regularly do the joke where he makes fun of what the premiere chorus evolved into in, like, the, like, late 90s. The. And I'm coming. Chip, Chip, Chip, Chip. New York City. And it's a. It's a joke because you know the artist so well.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, but I don't like it. It's like Mary doesn't like the Burger King song. Stop playing with the Burger King song.

[Ebro Darden]

That's you who keeps bringing it up. And you're the one who's actually friends with her. And you keep bringing it up.

[Rosenberg]

No, no, no. I'm just. She just brought it up again.

[Ebro Darden]

I know, but now you keep bringing it up.

[Rosenberg]

No, no, no. I brought it up because she brought it up. And I'm pointing out that we don't play with the Burger King song, but

[Ebro Darden]

we do play with you.

[Rosenberg]

No, we don't.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I said eo. I. I said, this will haunt us forever. It was like Yandy going, drop that shit.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, man, somebody.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I'm in the background, like, oh, we're loving it.

[Ebro Darden]

We're loving it.

[Laura Rosenberg]

It was like forever.

[Rosenberg]

Yo, somebody just tagged me. Oh, no, it was you that tagged it.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I sent it to you and I sent it to you.

[Rosenberg]

And, you know, I made sure to leave a comment.

[Ebro Darden]

This isn't funny.

[Rosenberg]

I said this isn't funny. Did not laugh. I'm serious. I am super serious.

[Ebro Darden]

Speaking of series, last thing.

[Rosenberg]

Yes.

[Ebro Darden]

Did you see the movie yet?

[Laura Rosenberg]

Which one?

[Ebro Darden]

Michael?

[Laura Rosenberg]

No, not yet.

[Ebro Darden]

Maybe this week, maybe.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Ebro Darden]

It'll be a nice little distraction.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Right, right, right.

[Rosenberg]

Some people I know who are of age, like, 60 that I know that went and saw it, that definitely were, like, big, super Big Mike fans. Loved it.

[Ebro Darden]

Okay, well, I just told my parents yesterday that they have to see it. And then my dad hadn't heard much about it, and then he ended up watching Jafar Jackson interviews for three hours, and he's mesmerized that this person exists.

[Rosenberg]

Well, when you talk about rabbit hole, MJ's going to go down it. He's going to do something. Mj, my dad or mj, Michael Jackson, your father.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, oh, yeah.

[Rosenberg]

He's going to go, Father. Yeah, he's going to go down it.

[Ebro Darden]

Father. You mean like Mother? Mother is here.

[Rosenberg]

Yo, I saw. Speaking of Michael, did you know that he. Michael's dad wanted the kids to call him Joseph? That's why they did that in the. In the. In the movie.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh. It's not disrespect. It's that he asked them to.

[Rosenberg]

That's what I'm hearing. I didn't. I never heard this before. Because he wanted to delineate his parental role away from, like, specifically. This is a business relationship. Wait for it. You know, Joe Jackson has a daughter outside the relationship.

[Ebro Darden]

I'm gonna say this. No, I didn't know that. But I'm not hugely surprised.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Right, right.

[Rosenberg]

Who lived five miles away from the family?

[Political Commentator]

What's her name?

[Rosenberg]

I don't recall that daughter's name.

[Ebro Darden]

Okay.

[Rosenberg]

Anyway, she called him Daddy and those kids called him Joseph. And there's a story going around on the Internet. I don't know if it's true, but

[Ebro Darden]

it's on the Internet.

[Rosenberg]

But it's on the Internet. When Janet met her sister, this person, Jovani Giovanni Jackson.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Okay.

[Rosenberg]

When Janet met this sister, Giovanni said, yes, Daddy. She's like, who's Daddy? And Janet was so upset that she, like, left talking to her.

[Ebro Darden]

Janet was so upset that 30 years later, she slapped Paris Jackson right in the face. Do you remember that story that was

[Rosenberg]

on video, wasn't it? I don't think it was it on video. Remember there was a video of, like, Paris and her arguing at the gate?

[Ebro Darden]

I do remember. I have a visual of something.

[Rosenberg]

Right.

[Ebro Darden]

I don't remember, but I do have a visual of them arguing. And people said. I just remember the Internet and people. Wow.

[Rosenberg]

So anyway, that's.

[Ebro Darden]

That's.

[Rosenberg]

That's a lot, but I didn't know that. And what now when you're watching a film and they're calling him Joseph? Yeah, there's some context.

[Ebro Darden]

I was talking to my dad yesterday. My dad's here, by the way, and he's going to be a guest at. By request from our audience. My dad will be on our Patreon this week in the studio.

[Rosenberg]

All right.

[Ebro Darden]

But we were Having a conversation about what you were saying about like sort of your empathy for Joe Jackson in being a black man in Gary, Indiana, raising kids and how you flawed man, the way you were comparing him to your father in different ways, but the era that he's from. Right.

[Rosenberg]

And I was just basically saying, I know who that man is.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, you're saying it's very familiar to me. And you're able to have some level, I think, of empathy because of that. But he is, you know, clearly the villain sort of in the movie. Right. And I think the Jacksons have decided as an estate, like, we're cool with Joe Jackson being the villain.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

Because Michael ain't good. Michael we're gonna keep as shiny as we can. A, because we love him and Large B, because it's setting records and continuing to make money. That's insane. So we were talking about Joe Jackson and I was like, do you realize though, for as flawed and terrible as he clearly was in some ways, when he sat there and said, I am not going to have my kids working in a steel mill the way I am, do you realize the level of success that it worked out with? It's not just Michael we're talking about. Michael.

[Advertisement Voice]

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[Ebro Darden]

Lot of problems. Tito's kids, bro, have you seen. I've been in. I've been in the rabbit hole on everyone's social. I'm seeing everybody's stories, okay? They are all richer than God, every one of them. There are Jacksons you've never heard of in mansions. Okay? Like, as much as he is flawed and did bad things, Joe Jackson made his entire family rich. Not only that, have you listened to them all talk? They're all Jafar Jackson. These kids are rich and educated and well to do. I've been watching the interviews with Prince Jackson moving around Michael, son, I gotta tell you, they all come off as like seemingly adjusted and like, I'm just saying you got to give some flowers for how it ended up working out in terms of if the goal was I want my family to have more than I did. A mission accomplished, I'd say.

[Rosenberg]

Well, I think that. Laura, I think the numbers are. After Mike's passing. So they spent 40 million on this

[Ebro Darden]

is it on the movie.

[Rosenberg]

On the. Oh, no, on the tour. Remember, that was a tour that came to build.

[Ebro Darden]

To build the tour that they never went on.

[Rosenberg]

That they never went. So they were. 40 million. They put the doc out and made that money back right away. Right. Whoever was involved in that, then they went on to make some hundreds of millions off of the dock. Michael's estate and music and whatever he owns has made, I think like 3 or 4 billion since he passed. Just since he passed, by the way. So now the movie recharges that catalog completely.

[Ebro Darden]

And now there's a greenlit sequel, which we'll see if it happens, because.

[Rosenberg]

Greenlit? Yeah, I mean, you're in TV now. Green lit doesn't mean it's coming out. Let me talk to us.

[Ebro Darden]

Ebro, let me explain.

[Rosenberg]

Talk to us.

[Ebro Darden]

No, I assume it means that they are open to it.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Okay.

[Ebro Darden]

Can you create the story?

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, can.

[Ebro Darden]

Where are you willing to go with it?

[Laura Rosenberg]

You know what I think. But like, how much they're going to continue to run away from the allegations.

[Ebro Darden]

They can't. If. Not if you have a sequel, not if you have a secret.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Because remember, the family put in money into the company, so they're technically part owners of the movie.

[Rosenberg]

Remember? Remember, though, the FBI investigated Michael for a long time and found nothing. Okay, so they could easily do the FBI investigation.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Sure, they could do that.

[Rosenberg]

They could do the whole Mike press conference when he. They made him. You know, he was talking about them looking at his body and looking at his genitals and all that. Yeah, they can do all that. They can do, obviously, his beefing with the label. Right, right. I mean, hell, they may play into the conspiracies around, you know, Tommy Motola, Tommy Mottola and all the hits on, you know that, you know, people trying to take Mike out and shape him as a bad guy because he owns so much of that catalog and they wanted to make him look bad so

[Ebro Darden]

that they can buy in the Beatles catalog.

[Rosenberg]

And that's what I'm saying. Like he owned so much of ATV thing that they could sh. They could come and people would eat that up.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I hear you. I'm just curious to see if they're actually going to go there because they spend so much money reshooting to make everything completely go away.

[Ebro Darden]

I wonder what they. So. But what did they do then? So they did all kinds of stuff in it and then took it out. Well, maybe they could use that in the sequel though, if they decide to. To open it back up if the family allows. And. And will people be satisfied? The public who's angry about the movie though, is not going to be satisfied if they get into it in the sequel, but it ends with him being exonerated. That's not going to be what. Like you're not going to please the people who have decided Michael Jackson's.

[Rosenberg]

No. And if. And by the way, if you're thinking you are, congratulations.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

And by the way, if I'm looking at the books, I'm not even thinking about those people.

[Ebro Darden]

They can't. Because they're making. They're not going to look at that.

[Rosenberg]

Why we're successful without you naysayers and negative nancies. Like we're. We're doing numbers. I'm driving around all. It was beautiful day over the weekend. You know what people are playing this summer? Michael effing Jackson, bro.

[Ebro Darden]

He's having. It's going to be a huge Michael Jackson summer, which is crazy. Again, just like in 2009 when he passed. Yo, were you at the. Were either of you? You weren't at HOT yet, so you wouldn't have been there. Were you at the Apollo when Michael passed? When we went. When we went up there?

[Rosenberg]

No, I didn't go up there, bro. That is.

[Ebro Darden]

That, you know, that is one of the great. I wish I had full video of it. I, among others. It wasn't just me. It was like me. I think. I think C Scythe and a few others. We went to the Apollo in the days after Michael passed because Hot. This is when we were a real radio station and did community things. We would do things like team up with other huge important places in New York like the Apollo. And we supplied us and Kiss supplied DJs and they did basically like all day tours where they were or several hours where they would allow the entire Apollo to fill. And then we would have a DJ and host on stage and basically just have a Michael Jackson celebration with the crowd. Yo. It's one of my favorite things I've ever DJed in my life. So I got to play one of the Michael sets for the Apollo Quest crowd just going. And they had one of his gloves. They had the glove on the stage. It was awesome.

[Rosenberg]

Did you. Was that vinyl? When you was doing vinyl, did you do.

[Ebro Darden]

It's probably Serato. No, it's probably Serrato, but it was.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I never knew you did that.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, yeah, we all sifed it too. It was fun. It was. It. We did it for several days. It was. If you look on YouTube, there's some nasty flip phone era videos of it. But it was, I mean, maybe, maybe what were my, what was my thing? A flip cam, maybe flip cam video. But yeah, very, very cool stuff.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I like it.

[Rosenberg]

Over the weekend, big talk about voting rights. Are you guys seeing this? And the Supreme Court, what they're saying, air quote, gutting voting rights, which I, I think we have Joy Ann Reed, who had an awesome post on her Instagram shout out to Joy Ann Reed continuing to do work after MSNBC. But she's really got a movement clip

[Political Commentator]

4 rahsaan okay, so while I'm on the Internet, why don't I also just summarize for you what the Supreme Court is saying in the Louisiana vs Calais case vs what they said in the Kavanaugh stops case. Basically, the Supreme Court has said you can use race to profile brown people on the street with accents to see if they are undocumented immigrants. But you cannot use race to draw congressional or state legislative districts. So black people can actually elect representatives of their choice who will represent their interests in the state legislature or in Congress. So you can use race to throw people out of the country by placing them in random vans and carting them off to concentration camps. That you can't use race to allow black people to elect anyone to congress. So what does that mean? Well, that means in states where Republicans control the governorship and the legislature, they will now likely begin to start eliminating not some, but likely all of the black held seats in both the state legislature and in Congress, starting with Louisiana, whose governor, Governor Landry, is already looking to stop an election in progress to redraw the maps. And then of course, good old Brian Kemp in Georgia and of course Ron DeSantis in Florida. But really every red state, particularly in the south, where Republicans control the governorship and the state House, look for the black seats to go Bye bye. That's right, friends, they're going to zero out all the black seats and probably the brown and Asian ones too. But they got to get to the black ones first because, you know, racism. Hope you're enjoying your Trump democracy, everyone. Oh, and y' all can keep Clarence Thomas. We don't want him back.

[Rosenberg]

Clarence Thomas been out.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, no one ever wanted him back.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, well, and I think, you know, for us here in, in New York state, where gerrymandering does take place, by the way, don't think it doesn't Happen in blue states. It absolutely does.

[Laura Rosenberg]

That's right.

[Rosenberg]

And there will be people attempting to disenfranchise black and brown voting. Like to try to carve up maps and figure out ways to carve up maps to make your vote less powerful. That's going to be a thing now. Also, over the weekend, I don't know if you guys saw the blowback that our friend Killer Mike was getting.

[Ebro Darden]

You know, I made the mistake of tapping on threads every once in a while. And when I opened it up, I saw a random array of black personalities getting dragged. And I saw Mark Lamont Hill for some reason, Candace Owens. It was like a random collection of people.

[Rosenberg]

But this is tied to people going, weren't you individuals the ones telling other black people to not vote for Kamala

[Laura Rosenberg]

Harris and Stacey Abrams and Stacy?

[Rosenberg]

Well, because remember, Killer Mike.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

Partnered up with Kemp down in Georgia when Stacey Abrams was running for a governor seat in Georgia. So that people brought that back up. He was also somebody that was talking like Kamala wasn't good enough. I tried text Killer Mike, tried to get him on the program so we could follow up on this thing. Hit me back, so maybe we'll have him on. But, you know, I told him. I was like, look, you know, everybody thought the boogeyman wasn't real. Everybody thought that these white supremacists was playing games. And I, you know, shout to my dad and other black men in my life. That was like, never in your life underestimate the power and the tenacity of white supremacists ever in your life. Because it is very real.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I think the reason that all started with Killer Mike is because he put out a video. Something along the lines, like, we all gotta come together.

[Ebro Darden]

And, you know, oh, in response to this.

[Laura Rosenberg]

No, not in response. And I could be wrong. Sorry. Because I was. I wasn't really paying attention to social media, but I saw it quickly. I think he put out a video of something along the lines, like, we all gotta, like, join forces and, like, work.

[Rosenberg]

And everybody was like, really, fam. Now we gotta join forces.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah. Like, you're part of the reason we're here.

[Rosenberg]

And they was hitting him with this.

[Laura Rosenberg]

That was the end of it.

[Rosenberg]

Congratulations. You played yourself.

[Ebro Darden]

And I guess so all the other people, they're saying were either outright like, Trump surrogates or were saying, I don't know about who. I'm not voting for anyone. Or Kamala's not good enough or.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Right.

[Rosenberg]

And if you recall, a lot of black folks was like, hey, tangibles, you Want our vote? What's in it for my community? What's in it for black folks? What's in it for. Which is a valid question.

[Ebro Darden]

Total. Yeah, it is.

[Rosenberg]

But when we're coming down to two candidates, guys, there's two. One, you know, is a white supremacist. Like, like, there's no question. We've seen the resume. We have years of data. We see who he surrounds himself with. Like, it was so easy. And even when she, by the way, when Chiyose was sitting here and we was talking about Kamala and he brought out. Well, you know, some people just didn't vote for her for a policy. Yo, get the

[Ebro Darden]

out of here. You don't. But you don't believe that or you don't really matter.

[Rosenberg]

It doesn't matter. Because what we were voting for between Kamala and Trump was this moment right now. Everyone was saying it, guys, the Supreme Court, voting rights, the economy, literally stabilization. Not going. Everything that's happening. We discussed. And for people going, well, you know, I didn't. You weren't. You will refuse to listen. You're. You're either lying to my face or, or you just were not listening to what people were saying or they didn't

[Ebro Darden]

take it seriously and they didn't understand. This is when we were saying the democracy hinges on it. That's what we were talking about here. This is the demo. This isn't just a race issue, though. It's based in race. This is now about the ability for them to take and do everything they want to do.

[Rosenberg]

And by the way, you know, this is on the heels of their guy, Edward Blum, Right. Taking race based admissions off the board. This is on the heels of hundreds of thousands of black women just losing jobs because they were working in federal government or state jobs or they were working in something that was, you know, connoted as D, D, E, I. Oh, yeah, right. This is also, if you're, if you're paying attention out there, they just got rid of the whole department that does federal research on science.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, yeah. There's a million things they don't want to research anymore. Remember I told you the B thing? That was just one small example. We don't need to know that. What about all the different products that they no longer want to have tested for anything because they just want everyone to go to market. Sell, sell, sell, sell, sell. So in the cancer rates, we're going to see that we're going to have loved ones who die 10 years from now, 12 years. And we're not going to know that it's because of regulations.

[Rosenberg]

If I'm still here, I'm going to remind people that is right.

[Laura Rosenberg]

No, what I.

[Rosenberg]

Because, you know, I don't forget what

[Laura Rosenberg]

I saw that made me want to throw my phone was like, the Maha movement is claiming their vote is up for grabs. I was like, I was like, if you don't get out of here again, part of the reason we're here.

[Ebro Darden]

What does that mean though? Even though.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Because now there some of them are actually coming out. Like, he betrayed us. We thought that we were going to get rid of the pesticide.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, wow.

[Rosenberg]

Well, Monsanto and Bayer, they're going ham. Like, it's not, it's not getting. There's a bill right now where Trump and this administration are attempting to make it so you can't sue Bayer Monsanto, even though there's been tens of millions of lawsuits tying the. What is that? Pesticide call?

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, it's a big one. Sorry, I don't remember the name, but

[Rosenberg]

it's a pesticide that is owned by Monsanto and now it's Bear. But anyway, they've been spraying it cause non Hodgkin's lymphoma is what it causes. And so many people who are farm. Who owned farms, worked on farms have been using this pesticide and they're getting. Got cancer, got paid, and now they're trying to stop those lawsuits from happening.

[Ebro Darden]

They're trying to stop the lawsuits?

[Rosenberg]

Yes. Like you can't even sue.

[Ebro Darden]

You can't even sue for when they give you a.

[Rosenberg]

No.

[Ebro Darden]

So killing people isn't enough? They can't kill you and pay you? They want to kill you for free?

[Political Commentator]

No, no.

[Laura Rosenberg]

But it's okay because they made a generous donation to my campaign.

[Rosenberg]

So Roundup. Roundup. That's what it's called. Roundup. It's pesticide. So, ladies and gentlemen, yes, this is what we were talking about. And I know in your regular, you know, going through your day, trying to keep up with everything that's going on, it's tough to keep up with everything. And it's one of the reasons we've been so bullish about talking about locals and voting local and having local electeds or people running for office on our program for so many years, because I know it's cachet and cool and everybody gets caught up in the voting for the federal government. But the way we can insulate ourselves and protect ourselves many times is through local elections like it really is when you, especially now that you're going to have all of these red states. And even more than that, gerrymandering and basically trying to disqualify or devalue people's voting. Right. The only thing you can do is activate local. And for black folks out there, there's 30 million eligible black voters, 20 million voted. That means there's 10 million that just aren't even voting. And so I think that's where Killer Mike was trying to go, which is like, hey, let's figure out a way to come together on a local level and get more people registered and get more people activated. But people still hit them with the Congratulations you played.

[Ebro Darden]

What happened to Ice Cube's platinum plan?

[Rosenberg]

They were giving Ice Cube to business

[Ebro Darden]

this week because the platinum plan, you know, we want. We need to show up. Every black man needs a Cadillac from Donald Trump.

[Rosenberg]

What?

[Ebro Darden]

You realize.

[Laura Rosenberg]

What was it? I don't even remember.

[Ebro Darden]

It was such.

[Rosenberg]

Lou, can you Google.

[Ebro Darden]

No, please don't. Don't waste your time. But the idea that. The irony, though, that there were people holding up, and again, you have the right, of course, to hope that your elected officials are gonna serve your community, but the idea that you're being like, nah, we have our list of demands that we need from the candidates. Meanwhile, one of them's like, I'll give you whatever you want, cuz when I get into office, I'm literally gonna take away your basic rights. Well, not even does the black woman have the qualifications. It's a disgrace. And now look at us. It's all happening.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's disgusting. We're disgusting.

[Ebro Darden]

We're so. We're such frauds. It's so bad. Everything's bad. Our health care is bad.

[Political Commentator]

Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

Airlines are literally closing. They're just. Your flight just, like, lands at the closest airport. Like, all right, get off. We don't have an airline anymore.

[Rosenberg]

Spirit Airlines thing, It was crazy. It was. Oh, there's the old platinum plane.

[Ebro Darden]

Opportunity, security, prosperity and faith, fairness.

[Rosenberg]

Okay, did any of those check off for anybody watching right now? President Trump's promise to black America over four years, but run that back in basket. Any of that, Dana? Any of that?

[Ebro Darden]

Check out 3 million new jobs for the black community.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Well, not women. Not black women.

[Ebro Darden]

Safe urban neighborhoods with the highest policing standards. Wait, did that include the masked randoms? Criminals running into the neighborhood and kidnapping people?

[Rosenberg]

Oh, you talking about ice?

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, that's interesting. Hold on. Immigration policy that protects American jobs? No, that's what they were doing. Give black churches the ability to compete for federal resources, for their community, the ability to compete for federal resources, the ability to compete.

[Rosenberg]

That doesn't mean you're going to get it.

[Ebro Darden]

Good for you.

[Rosenberg]

You could just run as fast as

[Ebro Darden]

you can get in there, though.

[Rosenberg]

Congratulations.

[Laura Rosenberg]

You can try.

[Ebro Darden]

There's a Try the Platinum plan.

[Rosenberg]

I forgot about that.

[Ebro Darden]

Yo. I was offended by the name Platinum.

[Rosenberg]

I was super offended by it. I ain't like it. I wasn't into it at all here. Locally, though, Zoron, Mom, Donnie and Chios linked up for a stop deed theft. What would this be? A advertisement? What would you call Campaign? Campaign. Yeah. Let's watch. I haven't watched.

[New York City Official]

Imagine waking up one day to find out that you're home, the home you worked your whole life to a full afford, was no longer yours. And you didn't even know it was happening until you got evicted.

That nightmare is a tragic reality for thousands of New Yorkers, many of them black and brown homeowners from Brooklyn and Queens.

It's called deed theft, one of the most egregious housing injustices in our city.

Deed theft is exactly what it sounds like. A buyer forges or fraudulently obtains a signature from a homeowner, often elderly, and steals someone's home right out from under them.

For many of our neighbors, their home has been the foundation foundation of their security, economic stability and sense of community over generations. Until recently, there was little recourse for

victims of deep theft, which only officially became a crime in 2023, thanks to the efforts of State Attorney General Letitia James, State Senator Zelnor Myhrey, State Assemblymember Landon Deyes, and the People's Coalition to Stop Deep Theft.

Which is why I'm proud that our administration is joining tireless advocates, including Councilmember Ose, to tackle this fraud by creating the city's Flight First Ember Office of Deep Theft Prevention. This office will educate homeowners across our city wherever this predatory practice is most prevalent.

It will also work with City Council in Albany to explore legislative options, as well as with the offices of the Attorney General and District Attorney to crack down on those who are committing deep theft.

We will use the full force of City hall to protect those who've been left to struggle alone for so long.

[Ebro Darden]

Proud of you, man.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, I am so happy this is finally getting the attention and the help it deserves.

[Ebro Darden]

But. Well, here's my question, though that wasn't answered in this ad. The office is for prevention.

[Advertisement Voice]

This episode is brought to you by Redfin. You're listening to a podcast, which means you're probably multitasking, maybe even scrolling Home listings on Redfin. Saving homes without expecting to get them. But Redfin isn't just built for endless browsing. It's built to help you find and own a home with agents who close twice as many deals. When you find the one, you've got a real shot at getting it. Get [e-mail] own the dream.

[Ebro Darden]

Can you call that office when it's going down? And can they help guide you once you're in it?

[Laura Rosenberg]

I'm sure, I'm sure that.

[Ebro Darden]

Or they can at least send you the right direction, I assume.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean we can talk about. We can talk to the mayor about it when we get a chance.

[Rosenberg]

Good luck.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, I look forward to that. I hope I'm still, I'm still able to talk.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

Wow. You think I'm getting. We're going to get the Zoran interview.

[Ebro Darden]

I'm not, I'm not pleased.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I'm not going to lie. I was annoyed.

[Ebro Darden]

I'm not pleased with how things have gone. But I'm going to reach out to my guy and tell him just.

[Rosenberg]

I told. I. Listen, ladies and gentlemen, we've been on the books to have a Zoron interview. Things got shuffled around last week and I like Zoron.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, things were shoveled around prior to

[Rosenberg]

last and prior to last.

[Ebro Darden]

We've been playing, we've been playing a hey, hey, hey for months before last week.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

But I will say that we're not from New York.

[Ebro Darden]

That's what you think it is. The old we're not from New York trick. Listen, I love what he's doing so far. We're obviously on board. I'm not gonna let my own ego over our show be more important than how I view his policy.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Right.

[Rosenberg]

But now you both.

[Ebro Darden]

We did go kind of hard though.

[Rosenberg]

But you both are New York homeowners, correct?

[Ebro Darden]

Yes, we are.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yes. And my family is, you know what I mean? I have my, you know, my brother in law, you know what I mean? I have a lot of friends and chosen family that are homeowners and that this is a real, real problem that's been going on for so long and it's been ignored and people have not had the information or the resources. So I'm just happy that at least people are talking about it and offering help because people for so long have completely lost their homes and there's nothing they can do.

[Ebro Darden]

If you haven't watched our interview with Chiyose, I recommend it. We get into more.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I gotta watch it.

[Ebro Darden]

And some more explanation. He Was really good. He was really good. And it is complicated, by the way.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

There are some. It generally always includes the same kind of characters. These, like, real estate companies and hucksters who come and find a way to help steal the home. But there's other. There's different paths to getting there.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

Sometimes it's family members.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

One family member doesn't like another family member, and they're like, I can make a play for that house.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Right, right, right.

[Ebro Darden]

It's really. It's like a nightmare, though, the idea of being kicked out of your home. And they're like, hey, not only is this not your home anymore, if you don't leave, you're going to jail.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Correct.

[Ebro Darden]

That's like, get out. Literally.

[Rosenberg]

What? And for anybody out there, make sure your affairs are in order. Make sure your paperwork is in order. You have your. Your deed and your. And your trusts and all of that

[Ebro Darden]

and that exact stuff. Because when you passed. To know who's there owning the house.

[Rosenberg]

That's right.

[Ebro Darden]

Because that's where the right. Let's say you've been married to someone for a long time, but you never did the work.

[Rosenberg]

That's right.

[Ebro Darden]

And then here comes another family member, like, well, did he actually leave that house to her? That's where we can.

[Laura Rosenberg]

No, listen, helping my friend's family get it together just reminds me of how, like, people do not realize how important it is to have your affairs in order. Like, just. Do you guys have a beneficiary for your bank accounts?

[Rosenberg]

Yes.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Okay. A lot of people don't.

[Rosenberg]

My bank accounts? My stocks.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah. A lot of people don't. Like, little things like that that you're like, I didn't even think of that. You know what I mean?

[Rosenberg]

Well, now they make it really easy because you could just log on to whatever app you use to pay your stuff. You can literally just log on to your profile and they have a section where it says beneficiary. You could type in a name, you know, your kids or whatever, and just put it in there.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

Meaning if you don't make it your spouse or your kids, it'll go to,

[Laura Rosenberg]

who knows, you know, like, if you don't have a relationship with your father, I'm just making this up, you know, it could go half to your daddy, mom.

[Rosenberg]

I mean, that doesn't mean you guys

[Laura Rosenberg]

have a relationship, but I would think that you would want to choose who it all is.

[Ebro Darden]

No, but I do have talked to my parents about this stuff, and when I do, they're always like, ah, it's fine. They literally have it. I believe in a big ste. My mom has a big steel box in their closet. I'm not kidding. She's like, just go in there.

[Rosenberg]

That's how you do it.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I got a box.

[Rosenberg]

That was my mom, too.

[Ebro Darden]

She's at the box, right?

[Rosenberg]

Yeah. You know where the key is to the box?

[Ebro Darden]

I don't know.

[Rosenberg]

I don't think.

[Ebro Darden]

I don't know where the key. I gotta find out where the key is.

[Rosenberg]

No, you gotta know where the key is. My mom was big on do you know where the keys are?

[Ebro Darden]

Right, right. You got to find the key for the box. Got to find the key that's got all the stuff.

[Rosenberg]

That's right. And it's in a steel box. So if the house catches on fire.

[Ebro Darden]

Correct. So I'm saying you still have the box.

[Rosenberg]

Still have the box. These people are thinking, that's right. They've been.

[Ebro Darden]

These are important things.

[Rosenberg]

They've been through some stuff.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Guys, do it, man. Do all the things you have to because it happens so fast. And leaving your children to scramble and figure out what to do is the worst. Like, it's the worst.

[Rosenberg]

844ELR ELR 3. Laura hasn't answer the phone call.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, my God.

[Laura Rosenberg]

This is exciting.

[Rosenberg]

Well, I haven't shouted the phone number out today, so I don't know, you know how long it's gonna take for people to call.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, you shouted the phone number.

[Rosenberg]

844ELR.ELR3 and we should hit the rundown

[Ebro Darden]

intro, and then on the other side, we could say hello to someone.

[Rosenberg]

I was gonna do that, but I also wanted to remind people that it's Mother's Day this weekend. Is everybody.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I forgot.

[Ebro Darden]

You forgot?

[Laura Rosenberg]

I forgot.

[Ebro Darden]

I didn't. Because I gotta be in Tampa this weekend. I'm making sure I come back on time for Mother's Day.

[Rosenberg]

Well, see, and I reached out to the mother in my house, my lady Jazz, and asked her if one of her companies would do some giveaways for Mother's Day.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Oh.

[Rosenberg]

So she gave me.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Oh, my God. Wait, you got the good one.

[Rosenberg]

Hang on. She has a company called Starletta Estraga, which normally she doesn't do giveaways.

[Ebro Darden]

She doesn't normally give things.

[Rosenberg]

She doesn't. It's not a giveaway company. I think it has something to do with the price.

[Laura Rosenberg]

That's right. That's why I said you're not the good one.

[Rosenberg]

And so it is for the fellas out here, if you hold this for me, Laura, please, for the fellas. Get your lady one of these if you have any. She said she can get these turned around for everybody for Mother's Day, but

[Ebro Darden]

we're giving one away.

[Rosenberg]

But we're giving one away.

[Ebro Darden]

This one?

[Rosenberg]

Well, not this one, but it'll be one similar, because this is the. The season. This is the Taurus season Zodiac bag.

[Ebro Darden]

Bag.

[Rosenberg]

So for whatever your sign is, she'll get it shipped over to you. So what call? This is gonna be our first giveaway.

[Ebro Darden]

Wow.

[Rosenberg]

So what. What caller should we take right now?

[Ebro Darden]

You're doing it right now.

[Rosenberg]

Right now. 8, 4, 4.

[Laura Rosenberg]

ELR.

[Rosenberg]

ELR 3.

[Ebro Darden]

You're giving them that? An actual bag?

[Rosenberg]

A bag will be shipped to you. Yes, for Mother's Day.

[Laura Rosenberg]

That's crazy.

[Rosenberg]

If that's.

[Laura Rosenberg]

If that's what you want, because this is very expensive. So it's a really nice gift.

[Ebro Darden]

Let's see. Caller is caller nine. Generic.

[Rosenberg]

Well, that's what we do.

[Ebro Darden]

A number, or should we just pick someone we like? Maybe.

[Rosenberg]

Is it caller three? Or is that too easy?

[Ebro Darden]

That's really. I mean. Or too. Too hard? Nah, maybe. You know what? The. Reward them.

[Rosenberg]

ELR. ELR3. Caller number three. The.

[Ebro Darden]

But you got to have a mother that you're sending this to. You can't just be like, nah, I'm gonna give it to a girl that I'm going on a date next week.

[Rosenberg]

Well, I mean, maybe she's about to

[Laura Rosenberg]

have Louie call for me, because maybe.

[Rosenberg]

Maybe she's a mom. But, yeah, you know, now she's gonna be mad at me, Jazz, because I don't. As many times as she's told me all the details about the Italian this and the. The maid in this and the gold this and the hardware of this, I don't have all of the.

[Ebro Darden]

Really? You didn't remember it all?

[Laura Rosenberg]

It's a beautifully made bag. Trust me when I tell you, Laura, you've had.

[Rosenberg]

You've had one for a little while.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I have mine right here.

[Rosenberg]

Which one? Trip, what's your sign again?

[Laura Rosenberg]

Scorpio.

[Ebro Darden]

Scorpio joint Laura has. That's a Scorpio.

[Political Commentator]

Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

I don't know any of these signs.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Oh, my God.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, we got it. We got a winner. Hello.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Hold on. This is exciting.

[Rosenberg]

It's the ELR Show. Good morning, Griff. What do you do? You still haven't figured out these phones? Griff, when you point to me, that means the phone is ready. Oh, okay. Oh, man.

[Ebro Darden]

We got them on hold, though.

[Rosenberg]

Here we go.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Okay.

[Rosenberg]

All right. Good morning. What's your name?

[Ebro Darden]

Yo, turn. You gotta turn your down.

[Rosenberg]

You gotta turn your radio down and talk to us.

[Political Commentator]

Hello?

[Rosenberg]

Hello. What's your name?

[Laura Rosenberg]

Hi.

[Ebro Darden]

You're killing us, lady. You're killing me. Slowly.

[Laura Rosenberg]

What's your name?

[Rosenberg]

She know how to. Know how? She doesn't know how to call on the phone. Shanessa, we're talking to you.

[Ebro Darden]

All right, put Shanessa back on. Griff, Griff, talk to her and get her out.

[Rosenberg]

Get us another one. No, she lost it. That's it. No, that's it. That's it. You don't know how to talk on the phone. You don't get the Starletta Straga Zodiac back.

[Ebro Darden]

I respect this attitude. I'm sorry, Shanessa. We loved you, but that was bad.

[Rosenberg]

That was bad.

[Ebro Darden]

What do we got? No, YouTube's a delay. You gotta know.

[Rosenberg]

What are you doing?

[Ebro Darden]

This is Starletta Strugga bag.

[Laura Rosenberg]

This is.

[Rosenberg]

And if you want one, she said she can get them out the door for you guys. My wife did. If you go to starlettaestraga.com and she

[Ebro Darden]

can get these out this week.

[Rosenberg]

A R L E T T A estraga, A S T R, O G A. Yes. And she can get them out this week for Mother's Day.

[Ebro Darden]

So why don't we do. Why don't we, Griffin, properly get our winner? Let's do the rundown, and we'll take the one.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Let's go. Let's do it. All right, guys, so the Met Gala is going down tonight. All right. You know, we talk about the. We talk about this every year. The dress code for this year is fashion is art. So I'm actually really excited to see what these celebrities and these designers come up with. But the ticket prices were quietly slashed because of all, you know, it's nobody. A lot of people don't want to come. The demand is low. All because of the Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez situation.

[Rosenberg]

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

What's going on?

[Ebro Darden]

You didn't know about any of this?

[Rosenberg]

No. Yeah, tell me what's up.

[Laura Rosenberg]

So tickets are super expensive. I think they're, like, you know, purchasing a table. It's like $350,000. Okay, well, the things that I've heard is that they've been slashed almost in half.

[Ebro Darden]

Should we get a table for the ELR show?

[Laura Rosenberg]

The demand is not there even at 50.

[Rosenberg]

But I'm. I'm on the Jeff Bezos. Who's his wife's name?

[Ebro Darden]

Lauren Sanchez.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Lauren Sanchez. Okay, so A lot of people felt that they bought themselves into this place where usually you're supposed to be chosen. It's because you have accolades and you've done these incredible things. You're an exceptional artist, singer, actress, or.

[Ebro Darden]

You mean they're correct. They're right, you mean.

[Rosenberg]

Yes.

[Ebro Darden]

They bought their way.

[Rosenberg]

So. And so if the tables are normally for 350,000.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

I get invited, and then I cough up three.

[Ebro Darden]

No, no, no, no. If you're invited, you're going to someone's table. It doesn't matter.

[Laura Rosenberg]

So usually designers or design houses buy the table, and they choose what celebrities they want to invite. Dress and sit and seat.

[Rosenberg]

Got it. And so, because the Bezos were like, nah, we just copping a table.

[Laura Rosenberg]

No, no, no, no, no, no.

[Ebro Darden]

They didn't cop a table. They're the chairs.

[Laura Rosenberg]

The chairs of the whole thing. Oh, yeah.

[Rosenberg]

Okay.

[Laura Rosenberg]

That's what makes it sticky this year when I'm also.

[Rosenberg]

My brain. I guess my brain is exploding because I'm like, wait, so a bunch of rich people are mad at some other rich people?

[Ebro Darden]

But it's different. This is. This is your. You're going from. You know, people consider all these people the same. They're not. They're not like, a rich actor who's at this. You know, Colman Domingo going to the Met Gala is not the same as Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez. Correct. And now it goes from, you know. Yes, there have always been rich people there and the artists there, etcetera, but you're now having the literal billionaires. Like, when Bernie goes. The billionaires. This is literally them. They've bought the chair. It's now their party.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

They're the most important people in deciding all of the things related to the Met Gala. It's pretty gross.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

There's no way. It's an event that already had plenty of gross, but this is now, like, next level.

[Rosenberg]

Well, and we're assuming, I guess, because lack of knowledge and it's never been on Front street before like this, that there's never been. These. The billionaires, the scary ones, have never been on a chair or a thing before. Like.

[Ebro Darden]

No, No, I don't think so.

[Laura Rosenberg]

No.

[Rosenberg]

But not.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Like.

[Rosenberg]

Would you. Would we have known.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah. Laura mentioned who the chairs were. Previous people in previous years.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yes. But the chairs for this year, our girl Beyonce's year.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, man.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, they're friendly.

[Laura Rosenberg]

She hasn't been in a decade, so it's a big thing that she's coming back.

[Rosenberg]

Wait, wait, wait. Time out.

[Ebro Darden]

Who's friendly Beyonce and the Bezos.

[Rosenberg]

Why? Because she went to a party with them or something?

[Ebro Darden]

Or like, I mean, when you party at someone's house, it's hard to escape the friendly label.

[Rosenberg]

Right? I'm just asking because I partied at people's houses I'm not friendly with.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

I've been invited to events at big houses and I don't know the people at all.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, but were you. Here's my question. Were you Beyonce?

[Rosenberg]

No.

[Ebro Darden]

Right. So people care more, you know.

[Rosenberg]

Wait, was I Beyonce?

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah. Think about it.

[Rosenberg]

Were you?

[Ebro Darden]

So, yeah, who knows how friendly they are? Yeah, but it. Listen, it doesn't look great. No, that doesn't sound great.

[Laura Rosenberg]

So on. Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and Anna Wintour are the others. You know, Remember, this is a fundraiser. You know, I think the, the Met gala is the primary source of funding for the Metropolitan Museum of Arts Costume Institute. It's the only, like self funding, you know, department, so they gotta raise this money.

[Rosenberg]

Now. Let me, let me ask you this.

[Ebro Darden]

And that's why they wanted to mess with the Bezos is probably because it's like, well, if we can just get more money for the things that we do.

[Rosenberg]

I'm guessing now if the Bezos just came out and was like, listen, we know y' all don't like us and that's why tickets and sell. So we're paying for all the tickets full price. Cuz it's our fault that nobody bought tickets, would that be a nice gesture?

[Laura Rosenberg]

I don't think people would care.

[Ebro Darden]

No, that's, that's. That's ashtray money, bro.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

So they should do it. They should. Absolutely.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah. They can't do any. I mean, it's just. Listen, Jeff Bezos is Jeff Bezos. It's pretty gross, bro. He's out here. I don't even know that much about Jeff Bezos, except to see what he's done, for example, to the Washington Post. But I've just seen like the things that he does and where his priorities are and you won't believe this. Can I tell you, their priorities are making money.

[Rosenberg]

I'm tell you the most annoying thing for me, because I don't mind billionaires. I. I mind when billionaires start thinking they're tough. That's when I, that's. That's where I start stuff.

[Ebro Darden]

Do that now.

[Rosenberg]

You got a tan and you're brolic and you're buff all of a sudden now. And you. What are we doing, bro? You're a nerd. Shut up. Yeah, you know what I mean? People, there was somebody who seriously had a conversation with me about Mark Zuckerberg's MMA skills. Come on, man.

[Ebro Darden]

It's a bridge too far. Just at least.

[Rosenberg]

And by the way, okay, fine, you wanted to get buff, brolic, whatever.

[Ebro Darden]

But no, it's Zuckerberg's chain that he wears that sends me.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, now your shirts are tighter. What's going on?

[Laura Rosenberg]

I know, but you're prepared to see a lot of protests, though, because I guess a group of people, and I was talking to your dad about it, they were hiding these little bottles of urine and with messages on them. Fake urine, but. Because you know that Amazon truck drivers have always said that their schedules are so rigid and tight that they're not even allowed proper bathroom.

[Rosenberg]

No, not even just the truck. That's not the truck drivers. That's people at the warehouse. Yeah, everyone, though, that's people who are on the line packing boxes. They can't even go to the bathroom.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, but I've seen it in the truck, so it's. It's a problem.

[Rosenberg]

No, I hope they get the urine bottles in there. That's tough.

[Ebro Darden]

I mean, listen, I hope that's the worst. Yeah, yeah.

[Laura Rosenberg]

So let's see.

[Rosenberg]

Let's see.

[Laura Rosenberg]

All right. In other news, Netflix's annual comedy festival will have a special opening act, a very special one. Sir Dave Chappelle. He announced it. He'll be taking part in Netflix as a joke fest, performing three nights at the Hollywood Palladium.

[Ebro Darden]

That's how I felt too. Ebro. I. Everyone made a big story of it. I was like, chappelle's performing it. Netflix is a joke.

[Rosenberg]

Didn't they just give him, like, $100 million?

[Ebro Darden]

He's literally the. The biggest thing. He's the face of all their comedies. Like, yeah, of course.

[Rosenberg]

And they probably gave him another 20 million for this.

[Ebro Darden]

But there is a cool commercial with him sitting on the roof, and it's voiced by Morgan Freeman.

[Laura Rosenberg]

It's.

[Ebro Darden]

It's fun.

[Rosenberg]

It was cool.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Hit the run down. I mean, the load.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, it's nasty.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Because this is. This surprised me when I saw it. Now. Saw this moving around. I saw TMZ report on this, this and other blogs, but they're saying that Nia Long is quietly fighting Lionsgate over pay discrepancy in her role in Michael. Remember she played Catherine?

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, I remember.

[Laura Rosenberg]

And yeah, she had. According to these reports in her contract, she had a favored nations clause in her contract that ensured that she make as much money as her co stars. And that didn't happen.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, so now why they break. You can't break that, though.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I.

[Ebro Darden]

For the record, she's as big as anyone in the movie. Well, almost. I mean, her and Coleman Domingo, I think are like equal billing kind of stars. No.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Well, she learned that Colman Domingo made.

[Ebro Darden]

Made more. Yeah, well, he's very hot right now.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah. But if she had this clause, then why would they even play them?

[Ebro Darden]

That's. That's. I don't understand that part. That's very strange.

[Rosenberg]

Well, or maybe they. Well, because the other part is too. With contracts you still got. Then you got to get your lawyer involved. And then getting your lawyer involved costs money. So you know how that guys. You guys are familiar with this. This game that corporations play where it's like, oh, yeah, we know you. We owe you money, but come and get it.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Facts.

[Rosenberg]

I think I read somewhere that scenes was cut from. Of her. Yeah. So she had like less facetime on the movie.

[Ebro Darden]

So that could be one of the reasons why they. Or I wonder if that's a slick. I wonder.

[Rosenberg]

Thank you, Rahsaan.

[Ebro Darden]

I wonder if that's a slick way to be, like. Well, because you did like less. Got less screen time, which we made sure you had. We don't have to pay you as much.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I know you shot it, but we cut it.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah. So I know, I know. I'm a Hollywood guy now. I don't know the details of this. I'm gonna find out. I want to find out. I did also get last piece, though. I did just see some breaking local New York news, though. That's very unfortunate. The forever radio voice. The New York Yankees. John Sterling just passed away.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, man. Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

Just died, I believe.

[Rosenberg]

80 RP John Sterling.

[Ebro Darden]

So, yeah, I just.

[Rosenberg]

Derek Jita.

[Ebro Darden]

I just. Yeah, I reached out to Michael K. It is. That is official.

[Rosenberg]

There's Michael.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Cool photo.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

So that.

[Ebro Darden]

That's back in the day. That's when. That's when Michael was doing radio with Sterling. And then Michael moved on to tv and Sterling went on to continue to be the radio guy with Susan Waldman for years and years and years. And Laura, he has a very unique style. When I got here and heard John Sterling for the first time, I was like, this guy is bizarre. Made up, crazy nicknames for everyone. Had a really interesting voice. Like, I always made the joke that I don't remember what his Giancarlo Stanton call was, but it was something like Giancarlo Nawa so far low. I was like, is he speaking Spanish? I don't know. But he'd Always add a rhyme to their name. Michael K. Used to always just tell hilarious story. Just a unique, unique dude. Had kids way late in life. Well, had some kids. I think he had a kid early. Then he had, like, twins when he was an older guy already. And then has been, I think, a bachelor the last many years of his life. But yeah, RIP John Sterling, absolute New York legend.

[Laura Rosenberg]

All right, guys, that was it.

[Rosenberg]

Thank you. Outro for the intro for the outro.

[Political Commentator]

Thank you.

[Rosenberg]

Laura Styles, you ready? We got. We got somebody for the Starletta Estraga zodiac bag for Mother's Day giveaway. Remember, Mother's Day is this weekend. Hello? What's this person's name? Jasmine.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Jasmine, hi, are you there?

[Rosenberg]

Griff is doing something wrong. The phones ain't working, buddy. ELR ELR 3844 ELR. ELR 3. It's not working. Whatever your tutorial is that you did with Dan the engineer, it's not working for you, man. Hello? You there?

[Ebro Darden]

So what happened? We're getting her over to Griff, but she's not making it to us.

[Rosenberg]

That whatever they got going on over there is just not working out with the phones. This whole thing, this whole phone thing has been a fail today. It was great last.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Oh, my God.

[Rosenberg]

Are you on? Jasmine, can you hear me?

[Advertisement Voice]

Yes.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Hi.

[Rosenberg]

Hi. Happy Mother's Day.

[Ebro Darden]

What happened?

[Rosenberg]

She.

[Ebro Darden]

She was with us.

[Rosenberg]

Yes.

[Ebro Darden]

And then she started listening. Yeah, listen to. Good. We're here. Listen to us. Don't listen to YouTube. Turn down your volume and just listen to the phone.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I'm here.

[Ebro Darden]

Okay, good.

[Rosenberg]

We hear you. Jasmine, how are you this morning? Still not getting it. Or.

[Ebro Darden]

Or we're not actually getting to her. And that's why she's listening to the YouTube, because she's not hearing us.

[Rosenberg]

She's not hearing us.

[Ebro Darden]

Are you sure you have the right button pushed on the board for her to get us?

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, we can hear you. Hi. Good morning, guys.

[Rosenberg]

Good morning. Jasmine, can you hear me?

[Ebro Darden]

I. I can't.

[Rosenberg]

This is gonna well, Jasmine. Happy Mother's Day. We're gonna give you this Starletta Estraga zodiac bag. When's your birthday?

[Ebro Darden]

You're gonna try that.

[Laura Rosenberg]

I can't hear you on my phone.

[Rosenberg]

See?

[Laura Rosenberg]

Okay, okay, okay. She can't hear us on her phone. She says.

[Rosenberg]

All right, interesting. You're gonna troubleshoot it live. Hang on. Jasmine.

[Ebro Darden]

Just put her on hold and we'll send her the bag and we'll troubleshoot the phones after.

[Laura Rosenberg]

But make sure you get her sign. Okay.

[Rosenberg]

This is Jazz Was worried about.

[Ebro Darden]

Which part?

[Rosenberg]

Well, that our thing will come off low budget and make her bags look low budget. That's why she never wanted to give away a pitch.

[Ebro Darden]

That's what she said.

[Rosenberg]

Yes, bro.

[Ebro Darden]

Hold on. Before. Before Jazz comes for our phone line situation. There's not even a lot.

[Rosenberg]

This bag is like. It's limited.

[Ebro Darden]

No, I understand, but she doesn't have to worry. We're having phone issues in our first couple of days with the phones. We're the only live YouTube show with a proper phone line in the world. This is a big thing. She should feel very good. Look at me.

[Rosenberg]

It's a great spin. Well, you have right there. But that wasn't great execution.

[Ebro Darden]

No, no, but we could have just, you know, when the first one was an absolute disaster, I would have said, let's just get their name.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, yeah. I'm listening to the game, trying to support.

[Laura Rosenberg]

No, the El Army. It's a gorgeous bag. It's a beautiful gift. If I received this for Mother's Day, I'll be hype so much. I bought it for myself, man.

[Rosenberg]

They have this, remember? I had. I had gotten the scarf, the Pisces scarf. They have the. What are those things you guys hang on your bags?

[Laura Rosenberg]

They have. They have these beautiful bag charms, A really cool one.

[Ebro Darden]

Bag charms. Those are like the whatchamacallitz, like, labubu.

[Laura Rosenberg]

But these are high end, bro.

[Ebro Darden]

High end boo boos.

[Laura Rosenberg]

No, no, no. These are like, I. I got a beautiful passport. It's really cute Rose for that. You just, like, hang on the side. It looks chic and it's. You know, the boo boos are kind of childish and. No, this is like, you can stunt with these. There's a beautiful wishbone, like. Well, trust me.

[Ebro Darden]

Well, Jasmine has gotten her bag. We will handle. And by the way, I want everyone to be clear. Our prize, execution and delivery, unlike other situations we've been in, will result in the person actually receiving the items.

[Laura Rosenberg]

You will get your.

[Rosenberg]

Well. And this you're gonna get before Mother's Day. And for fellas out there, let me show you the bag one more time.

[Laura Rosenberg]

No, it's. It's a beautiful.

[Rosenberg]

For the gang, for the guys. Starletta, Estraga, go order your bag. All right.

[Ebro Darden]

Beautiful bag.

[Rosenberg]

Was it a good idea for me to ask her to do this? I mean, do you guys think this is going to play out good?

[Ebro Darden]

I do. I don't like how you're selling it. I think you could have cleaned this up a little nicer the way I was trying to do but.

[Laura Rosenberg]

But one lucky El army.

[Rosenberg]

Well, I'm worried about us. That's why.

[Ebro Darden]

No, well listen, this is a brand new thing and obviously there's some sort of issue between the hold and they're hearing Grif clean and hold. They're not hearing us through the board. That is what just happened.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

So we got to talk to Dan the engineer about whatever happened between last week and today.

[Rosenberg]

That. Let's get to the gurus. Rosenberg. All right. You know you are a beautiful queen. Ebro. Don't ever play yourself. You're not a guru.

[Laura Rosenberg]

The original gurus gmail.com the original gurus gmail.com that's where you email us. Where the gurus unite to fight for what's rights. Hi Rosenberg. Who's out there? Who needs us? Who's writing to us?

[Ebro Darden]

The original gurusmail.com the original gurusmail.com your destination. For clarity. Send your emails today. Maybe you'll hear it on the gurus tomorrow. Disclaimer I originally sent this to the original email, but I'm reaching out here since I'm still seeking guidance. So this is not exactly a guru, but we're gonna take it. Good morning ELR. I've been an avid listener since 2016. Loyal Fat Laura, you have inspired me. I'm a mother of six and a caretaker of my mother with dementia before my mom got a job with the state. We grew up on food stamps and free meals. I became a single mother after my ex husband started to show signs of schizophrenia. He's now been diagnosed. Needless to say, I felt fell into the same struggle. Calfresh benefits and visits to the local food pantry, etc. I now have children in high school and hearing what you've done with Envision giving away prom dresses really motivated me to want to do something similar here in Norcal. I know Envision is more than the prom drive, but that is what inspired me. Laura, could you please give me some words of wisdom on how I can start a similar organization where I can do the same for my community. I'm very serious about this and will take any advice you have to offer. Thank you all for everything you guys do. I'm also a lover of hip hop and music and have appreciated watching and listening to you over the years. The music helped me find you guys. Your diversity in topics and opinions kept my attention. Thank you for taking the time. I hope to hear from you. I love you all. Big mama with six kids. P.S. my name is actually Janelle. I just thought that sign off Was funnier. By the way, Janelle wasn't who we hung up on earlier, was it? No, that was Shanessa.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Okay, okay, okay. I'm like, please now.

[Rosenberg]

And we didn't hang up.

[Ebro Darden]

No, no, You. You. By the way, in the chat.

[Rosenberg]

And. And I may have to buy Shanessa a bag, because if it was our equipment.

[Ebro Darden]

Now it's on us.

[Rosenberg]

Now it's on us.

[Ebro Darden]

That's a good point.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, I may have to.

[Ebro Darden]

I did, but. But it was funny that people.

[Rosenberg]

That bag is like five hondo.

[Ebro Darden]

People in the chat were saying she fumbled the bag, which was pretty fun.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yo. And Shessa gave us $5 in the super chat to see the phone line. The phone isn't working.

[Political Commentator]

This is.

[Laura Rosenberg]

And I try to call back. We can't hear through the phone.

[Ebro Darden]

Yo, hit E, bro, with the button, cuz. Now he's got to buy her a bag. Or at least. At least you know where to get. At least you know where to get a discount.

[Rosenberg]

I know. Discount. Good luck. There's no discount in the house. Damn. No, bro.

[Ebro Darden]

Damn, damn, damn, damn.

[Rosenberg]

Jazz built these businesses. She is not playing games, bro. At all.

[Laura Rosenberg]

And when your friends have, like, small businesses, don't ask for a damn discount support.

[Ebro Darden]

I know.

[Rosenberg]

I know what you were saying.

[Ebro Darden]

I mean, she. It's.

[Rosenberg]

You know, I tried. I did try the discount thing.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Anyway, to this beautiful caller. Thank you. My. I think the best way to go about this is to start small. I think people automatically think that they have to do something big, and it's just not, not, not what you want to do. Look for a. Either, like an organization in your neighborhood, like a YWCA or maybe a women's shelter or whatever you want, you know, whatever you're passionate about. Talk to them, tell them you're interested in helping, and maybe start, like, if you want to go into the whole prom dress situation, start with 30. You know what I mean? Dressing 30 girls is a huge accomplishment,

[Ebro Darden]

even if it's 10, right?

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yes. These dresses are insanely expensive. And, like, lucky for me, as the years have gone by, my team got bigger, and I've gotten more access to ask certain companies for donations. But trust me, it took me a long time to get here so she

[Ebro Darden]

could find an organization like the YWCA or whatever. But then what's the next step? Finding then stores or clothing companies that would want to be involved in.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah, because a lot of time, a lot of these boutiques or stores have a lot of backstock, you know, because they want to bring in their new collections. So they kind of sit there and then eventually as you grow, you can apply to become a 501C3. So it becomes like they can donate

[Ebro Darden]

and they can get a write off for giving you the dresses for free. Yeah, everybody ends up winning.

[Laura Rosenberg]

When I started, I teamed up with the YWCA because I I through them, they could get tax benefits. But a lot of the times I just did it on my own. So that's just like a perfect way to just begin, find where need is, and then just kind of help out small and then you'll grow.

[Ebro Darden]

That's it.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah. It's a beautiful thing to do. Giving back is awesome and God bless you. Mother is six.

[Ebro Darden]

So say the guru. Yeah, I thought it was a good one to do today. Was.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Ebro Darden]

Because she reached out last week, but Laura wasn't here to. To take it. Good for you, by the way.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, the wife just hit me and said, you guys, if you want to get your Mother's Day bag from Starletta, you have to order by tomorrow.

[Ebro Darden]

Oh, by just being realistic.

[Rosenberg]

Yes. All right, cool. You have to order by tomorrow.

[Ebro Darden]

Turn that down for a second. Real quick. Morning from the super chat. Morning, Team Laura. We missed. Missed you, fam. And glad to have you back. Ebro Rosenberg. Love y'. All. Guys, last week's episodes of interviews were great. Thank you. Akeem Broderick said, good to see you back, Laura. Thanks for the shout out about my name last week. Ebro and Rosenberg. Yeah. I had a. I thought the name Akeem Broderick was fun.

[Rosenberg]

It was like Matthew Broderick and Akeem Elijah. One combo.

[Ebro Darden]

And you know that Rahsaan got two new nicknames last week.

[Laura Rosenberg]

What?

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah, we call him Ron now.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Now why?

[Rosenberg]

I just called him Ron. One. One moment.

[Ebro Darden]

He took out the assa part of his name and it. Ron.

[Laura Rosenberg]

Okay, and then.

[Ebro Darden]

And then one.

[Rosenberg]

And that's R A H N for anybody.

[Ebro Darden]

Ron. To make it make sense. And then someone called him Basim, so. So he is Ron Bosim.

[Rosenberg]

At least you got an alter ego now.

[Ebro Darden]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

Ron, if you decide to get back out in these streets doing dirt. Ron Basquin scheme.

[Ebro Darden]

That wasn't Rahsaan. That was Ron Baskeem. You gotta watch out for him.

[Rosenberg]

More on the scheme, huh?

[Ebro Darden]

All right, now we got it. We're gonna do a Patreon. My dad.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah. Get that ready to drop for Wednesday. We'll see you guys tomorrow morning, 8 o'. Clock. We will hopefully have the 844 ELR ELR 3 lined up. Thank you for all the super chatters and everybody in the comments. And for you out there, please subscribe and share. Louie, stressing that we're not Gonna hit the $100,000 or 100,000 subscriber mark, we

[Ebro Darden]

nearby end of June, right?

[Rosenberg]

That's what. That's what the bet was.

[Ebro Darden]

So we need big.

[Rosenberg]

Just don't call it a podcast. Two months.

[Ebro Darden]

We can do it.

[Rosenberg]

We can do it. All right, E. Rosenberg, thank you very much for your time today. See you tomorrow,

[Laura Rosenberg]

Ra.