Joe and Jada - Drink Champs [Hour 1] - N.O.R.E.'s top 3 podcasts & DMX's legendary episode

Summary

Detailed Summary of "Joe and Jada - Drink Champs [Hour 1] - N.O.R.E.'s Top 3 Podcasts & DMX's Legendary Episode"

Release Date: July 22, 2025
Podcast: The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Hosted by: iHeartPodcasts and The Volume

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1. Introduction to Drink Champs and Podcasting Landscape

The episode opens with a vibrant discussion between hosts Jeff Perlman and Rick Jervis, accompanied by guest N.O.R.E. They delve into the evolving landscape of podcasting, especially within the hip-hop community. The conversation emphasizes the significance of "Drink Champs," a podcast that has redefined the genre by providing an unfiltered platform for artists to share their stories.

Notable Quote:
N.O.R.E. (04:14): "I think that eventually rappers would drop their albums on their own podcast, you know what I'm saying? Just think about it. Where you cut out all the middleman, right?"

2. The Rise of "Drink Champs" and Its Impact

Jeff Perlman and N.O.R.E. discuss how "Drink Champs" has become a monumental brand in the podcasting world. They highlight its authenticity and direct connection with the audience, contrasting it with other content creators who rely heavily on traditional media channels.

Notable Quote:
Jeff Perlman (09:10): "We just hear what Joe and Jada is saying. Oh, Fat Joe talking about Michael Jackson with the Taliban and the Haliband. That's their whole show. They don't create content; they're content creators."

3. Personal Anecdotes and Relationships within the Industry

The hosts share personal stories that illustrate their deep connections within the music and podcasting industries. Jeff Perlman recounts his journey from struggling in Europe to achieving double platinum status, thanks to pivotal relationships and strategic moves.

Notable Quote:
Jeff Perlman (08:32): "Coming up from an era where we had to really fight, write our bars, and promote ourselves. We had so much beef in this game with every biggest rap crew you ever seen."

4. Spotlight on DMX's Legendary Episode

A significant portion of the discussion centers around the legendary interview with DMX. The episode captures DMX in a raw and emotional state, offering listeners an unprecedented glimpse into his humanity beyond the public persona. This interview is credited with solidifying "Drink Champs" as a must-listen podcast.

Notable Quote:
N.O.R.E. (18:25): "The DMX episode made us realize the human part of him that people didn't see before."

5. Illuminati References and Industry Rivalries

The conversation takes a provocative turn as N.O.R.E. and Jeff Perlman touch upon the pervasive notion of the Illuminati within the music and podcasting industries. They debate the influence and control wielded by powerful entities, navigating through conspiracies and personal experiences.

Notable Quote:
Jeff Perlman (11:00): "I think I'm Illuminati. Listen, let me tell you something. Nah, nah, nah. I really think…I think I'm Illuminati."

6. Diversification and Expansion of Podcasting Ventures

The hosts explore the expansion of their podcasting endeavors beyond "Drink Champs." They introduce new segments and networks, emphasizing the importance of owning one’s content and fostering a diverse range of shows under their umbrella.

Notable Quote:
N.O.R.E. (14:58): "We've just added new segments to the show… We're in our ninth season… Now we're expanding the empire."

7. Challenges and Triumphs in the Podcasting World

Jeff Perlman shares his struggles with maintaining authenticity while navigating the competitive podcasting space. The dialogue underscores the balance between staying true to one's roots and adapting to industry demands.

Notable Quote:
Jeff Perlman (32:33): "I've been putting in this work in these streets since I'm 14. I don't care what you guys think. You could say anything in these comments and all that you are not like me."

8. Building and Maintaining Authentic Relationships

N.O.R.E. emphasizes the importance of loyalty and genuine relationships within the industry. He highlights instances where true friendships have been pivotal in overcoming challenges and achieving success.

Notable Quote:
N.O.R.E. (22:41): "If you gonna sign with me, guess what? You’re signing yourself. You own your own records."

9. Reflections on the Evolution of Hip-Hop Podcasts

The episode concludes with a reflection on how hip-hop podcasts have evolved over the years. Jeff Perlman and N.O.R.E. acknowledge the pioneers of the space while asserting the unique impact and leadership of "Drink Champs."

Notable Quote:
N.O.R.E. (34:34): "If it wasn't for those three podcasts, probably you wouldn't be here right now. Probably a lot of people wouldn't be here right now."

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Conclusion

In this hour-long episode, "Drink Champs" transcends its role as just another podcast, embodying a cultural movement within the hip-hop community. Through candid conversations, personal anecdotes, and deep dives into industry dynamics, Jeff Perlman and N.O.R.E. solidify "Drink Champs" as a pivotal platform for authenticity and storytelling. The episode not only celebrates the legacy of iconic figures like DMX but also underscores the importance of genuine relationships and unwavering dedication in the ever-evolving podcasting landscape.

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Additional Resources Mentioned:

• Finding Sexy Sweat: A podcast by Jeff Perlman and Rick Jervis uncovering the story of Reggie Payne.

• Behind the Flow: A documentary series following the launch of San Diego Football Club.

• Agusto Papa Podcast: Focused on Musica Mexicana and its cultural impact.

Listeners are encouraged to explore these related podcasts for a broader understanding of the themes discussed in this episode.

Transcript

[Joseph Reeves]

Show me how good it can get today, God, and show the rest of the world what we already know it can't get. No better than being hella black, hella queer, and hella Christian. My name is Joseph Reeves. I am the creator and host of Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian, a fully black, fully queer, fully human, fully divine podcast. From iHeartMedia to Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Jeff Perlman]

I'm Jeff Perelman. And I'm Rick Jervis. We're journalists and hosts of the podcast Finding Sexy Sweat. At an internship in 1993, we roomed with Reggie Payne, aspiring reporter and rapper who went by Sexy Sweat a couple years ago. We set out to find him, but in 2020, Reggie fell into a coma after police pinned him down and he never woke up.

[Joseph Reeves]

But then I see my son's not moving.

[Jeff Perlman]

So we started digging and uncovered city.

[Noreaga]

Officials bent on protecting their own.

[Jeff Perlman]

Listen to Finding Sexy Sweat on the iHeartRadio app, podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Noreaga]

Check out behind the Flow, a podcast documentary series following the launch of San Diego Football Club.

[Jeff Perlman]

San Diego. Coming to MLS is going to be.

[Noreaga]

A game changer because this region has been hungry for a men's professional soccer team.

[Jeff Perlman]

We need to embrace this community.

[Noreaga]

Listen to San Diego FC behind the flow on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jeff Perlman]

What's up, guys? Welcome to the Agusto Papa podcast. The go to spot for everything Musica Mexicana. We're proud Mexican Americans who live and breathe this music. We started this podcast to share and discuss our views of musica Mexicana. Whether you like to vibe to Peso, Pluma, Los Alegres del Barranco, Ariel Camacho, or Pur Ivan Cornejo. When you get in your feels, then this podcast is for you. Well, actually, Peso was supposed to be on Chinito's album. The song with Drake was supposed to be with Peso. Listen Gusto on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Noreaga]

They figured it out. They got together. This is a dope show.

[Jeff Perlman]

Who's the newest, biggest in the game?

[Noreaga]

I went vi.

[Jeff Perlman]

Yeah, yeah. What up, y'? All? This is Joe Crack the Dawn.

[Noreaga]

It's your boy Jada. You know what? It is the Joe and Jada Show. And I'm not gonna even say this is a special edition episode.

[Jeff Perlman]

That's generic.

[Noreaga]

This is really a meaningful episode for me. Cause it's somebody that gave me my first experience in podcasting. So before, with no further ado, let's invite my brothers and friends to the show. DJ EFN and my brother Noriega. This is. This is my show, by the way. Like, these. Both of these people has been on Dream Champ so many times. I created, re. Birthed it like I burped. This is my. Calm down, calm down, calm down. I'm just playing. He been waiting to say listen. Oh, I'm a listen, Listen, listen. I'mma be honest.

[Jeff Perlman]

Yo, yo, listen. Great that you say. You say.

[Noreaga]

Hold on, hold on. Let me be honest. Let me be honest. Congratulations. Y. Finally. You're finally figured it out. Congrat. I watch this. I watch this show and I sit back and I'm like, this is what I did. In a good way.

[Jeff Perlman]

In a good way.

[Noreaga]

Because you know why? I kind of. Well, let me give it to this brother. Like, he kind of knew that this podcast space was going to be something that. That we all eventually get into. Like, in my. In my thoughts, I think that eventually rappers would drop their albums on their own podcast, you know what I'm saying? Just think about it. Where you cut out all the middleman, right? That's because that's what we're essentially doing, right? While we're direct to the audience. So if we direct the audience with our speech, why would we redirect the audience? What got the audience here in the first place, you know what I'm saying?

[Jeff Perlman]

I'm not gonna lie to you, Nori. I want ignorant. Nori, you talking too.

[Noreaga]

Look at this. Now he got. He got two halves.

[Jeff Perlman]

Silver champs, right now. I've been watching your interviews. Been talking too smart. Sangria, you got.

[Noreaga]

You gotta let me grow, man. You know what I'm saying?

[Jeff Perlman]

EFN finally left the cave to come.

[Noreaga]

To a. Ladies and gentlemen.

[Jeff Perlman]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hold on, hold on, hold on.

[Noreaga]

You know what it takes to get EF out of his comfort zone, out of. Out of Miami. This is special.

[Jeff Perlman]

You're happily married. I know you're happily married. We love your wife, but she lying to you. Don't stick to.

[Noreaga]

I need the check.

[Jeff Perlman]

The check.

[Noreaga]

And it's called fast forward time.

[Jeff Perlman]

I'mma try to get you on the shampoo box. I'm not lying. I'mma try to get you in you.

[Noreaga]

The salt pepper joint.

[Jeff Perlman]

I'm not doing this black thing you're doing. This ain't the fake black. Look at my man.

[Noreaga]

That looks like Beijing a little bit.

[Jeff Perlman]

Looking like. Yo, you ever yo, so I dare y' all to go Google some of these guys in the barbershop. They be having that look like Magic Parker all the way. Why fight the time? Nori's on the box.

[Noreaga]

I am on the box. God damn it. But, yo, Jada, this is what you don't know. We're in the middle of, like, a baby Cuban beef right here. They got Cuba beef?

[Jeff Perlman]

Oh, no, we better have beef, man.

[Noreaga]

Yo, let me tell you.

[Jeff Perlman]

Let me tell you how tolerate them because of you.

[Noreaga]

Let me tell you how much they have the first episode.

[Jeff Perlman]

Two and a half.

[Noreaga]

He doesn't like that. He doesn't rap.

[Jeff Perlman]

No, we over that guy. Cuba. How fucking Cuban.

[Noreaga]

You did not rep Cuba in the beginning.

[Jeff Perlman]

In 1992, in relativity records, it said Puerto Rican and Cuban born rap. Where did it say that?

[Noreaga]

Hold on. Which version of Wikipedia to say that. Hold on. He had fin.

[Jeff Perlman]

He's very different.

[Noreaga]

I never really. I'm just really finding out about the Cuban, right?

[Jeff Perlman]

Like the Kiss brand new.

[Noreaga]

I mean, you remember when you just told me that few episodes, I was very shocked. Like, yo, Kiss, I'm Cuban in Puerto Rico.

[Jeff Perlman]

I never saw a Cuban flag at.

[Noreaga]

The Puerto Rican Day Parade.

[Jeff Perlman]

Would you. It's the Puerto Rican Day Parade. But still, you got a rap.

[Noreaga]

You got a rap.

[Jeff Perlman]

I'm kind of. You got. You wanted something.

[Noreaga]

Let me tell you how much.

[Jeff Perlman]

Listen.

[Noreaga]

How much that Joe wanted to prove that he's Cuban. Yo, we had his father's funeral, Joe's father's funeral. And Joe leans up and he turns around, he goes, yo, tell EFN I'm Cuban.

[Jeff Perlman]

I said, what are you saying? I thought he was finally coming. He told me when I got here. I swear to God, efn, no disrespect, I thought you was coming because it was in Miami. Me and you finally could have been around my whole Cuban side.

[Noreaga]

The whole Cuban side. I never told you. Yeah, I ain't going to.

[Jeff Perlman]

You would have dug your own grave after that. You would have been like this thing.

[Noreaga]

This is super Cuban.

[Jeff Perlman]

Beyond.

[Noreaga]

No, I know you Cuban now.

[Jeff Perlman]

You need a record then.

[Noreaga]

Now and then.

[Jeff Perlman]

It's two different things.

[Noreaga]

I love this.

[Jeff Perlman]

So you saying it's cooler to be Cuban now?

[Ebony]

No, no.

[Noreaga]

I'm just saying for some reason now you good with it.

[Jeff Perlman]

Let me tell you a story just for my Cuban people to understand this, right? I have a friend, his name is Robbie Rob. He is the only person. Dj. No, no. He is the only person on the planet Earth that could literally, literally say when fat Joe was fucked up. Pockets hanging. All my friends are going to the feds. I had to go to Miami to hide out. He let me stay in his apartment with my wife, and he fed me for six months straight. His apartment. You know, Robbie was. You know, was on the beach and everything, and he fed me, you know, when I. I don't want to say I was a bum. I wasn't a bum.

[Noreaga]

We just.

[Jeff Perlman]

They caught my brother. They took all the money to this. It was a time everybody's going to jail. I went over there to stay out of sight, out of mind. Twenty years later, big punch, double platinum. Fat Joe's platinum. We the hottest Latinos in the whole fucking game. And we had record labels that were begging me to sign the next Latino. Robbie Rob shows up 20 years later. He was my friend through his whole thing. Shout out to Donna and the whole family, and he says, yo, Joe, I have a rapper, pit bull, a Cuban rapper pit bull. Now, I'm gonna tell you something that I never said before in the world. He gave that shit to me. TBT was begging me to do business with them. I never even listened to the demo. I went up in there and I said, yo, this is your next guy. He said, what you mean? I said, he's the Cuban Explosion. He's gonna be the.

[Noreaga]

This one. He was with Luke, though. He was already with Luke.

[Jeff Perlman]

He was with Luke. Started. But to America, you know?

[Noreaga]

Cause to America. What are you talking about?

[Jeff Perlman]

Everywhere. But you gotta come here to get the check.

[Noreaga]

Okay?

[Jeff Perlman]

You have to. I'm sorry to say, we love the West Coast. We love.

[Noreaga]

Are you talking about New York? Okay.

[Jeff Perlman]

Gotta come.

[Noreaga]

I got you.

[Jeff Perlman]

Birdman flew in from New Orleans here to get the hundred million that flew back to New Orleans. Gotta come to the motherland to get that check. So I walk up in there, Brian Steele was there, and I said, you have to sign it. And they signed Pitbull. No money, no strings attached. And that's my contribution to Cuban hip hop. Pit Bull, the biggest Cuban rapper ever seen on in the world. I got him this deal with tbt. You know, you can cap all y' all want. Man I say is real. Like, it is what it is.

[Noreaga]

We're gonna have Pitbull up here next episode later.

[Jeff Perlman]

No, we gotta have him. Because one time I got into it with Lucas. Luke was like, yo, I discovered him and all. I said, yeah, but I got him the bag. Like, I put him up there and I got him the bag.

[Noreaga]

Yeah, you said it on drink, chaps. That was on drinks I got him the bag. Simple. And by the way, guys, I just wanted to say congratulations on your Illuminati induction. Because when I walked through here, I was like, these things I said. I said, this is. This is. This is what Illuminati feels like. I was like, ah, y' all ain't invite me, though?

[Jeff Perlman]

Like, no, no, no, no. You slip in there by the fault. No, I'm considered. I'm really.

[Noreaga]

You considering Illuminati?

[Jeff Perlman]

I think I'm Illuminati. Listen, let me tell you something. Nah, nah, nah. I really think. Yo, yo, I think I'm Illuminati. We just. We talk to Floss, to Millionaire. Forget about. He gets out every three months. He went to jail every three months. We walk him on Floss. He keep Cap. He's Cap Floss to me. Floss tells me I'm coming home December 6th. December 6th. Come. Yo, it's June 2nd. June 2nd. Come October 23rd, he's spending me. He got me for a loop, right?

[Noreaga]

I don't think he's in control of that.

[Jeff Perlman]

No, bro, he can't just leave.

[Noreaga]

He can't just leave.

[Jeff Perlman]

Listen, let me explain to you. I've been really going through a lot in my life, right? My brother's always there for me. You know, I lost my best friend, Raul.

[Noreaga]

Best in praise Raul.

[Jeff Perlman]

I just want y' all to know we have real. I do Fat Joe, not you guys. I have real life enemies. There's some people that might die that I might throw a fucking parade for in the middle of the street and be like, yo, he died the wicked, wicked West. And these guys been hating us forever, right? So, you know, Raul dies. They lost a guy. Raul's the fucking one man warrior. This, this, that. Then we lose my brother, then we lose my mother. My father, he for sure. He's depressed now, for sure. He's not going to work. The next day after the funeral, we up in here filming our first podcast. They don't understand I'm on a different type of built different. I don't give a fuck. I'm built different. And then, you know, a lot more mudslinging. And I realize you Illuminati like you, you did that gotta be.

[Noreaga]

That's the epiphany.

[Jeff Perlman]

Yo, I figured it out. Because if you really hate me that you want me die, and you keep seeing this nigga in that boat taking shit with front row, I told him the other day, I said, they gotta be upset. Let's be honest. They gotta be upset at Fat Joe. Front row. 30 years in a row in every basketball, boxing match, everywhere. Floating with his wife with diamonds. They gotta be sick. They want to throw a spear from upper deck so bad, I'm keeping it with him. So my whole point is correct, Nori. Only you could figure out I'm Illuminati.

[Noreaga]

I don't know what they talking about now.

[Jeff Perlman]

You ain't got nothing to do. Yo, this is the. Got nothing to do with. How many bullets have you strayed on this Drink champs because of this guy? Could this guy come out of nowhere your finger popping?

[Noreaga]

No, he leads into all the bullshit.

[Jeff Perlman]

What the fuck is wrong with you? You know what, Nori? What is wrong with you? Where do you come up with everything in the world? You finger popping. You eating ass right now. You just. What happened? Do you drink the wrong Japanese whiskey?

[Noreaga]

Well, the show. The show has migrated. It's grown. It started as that started with Tiger Bone matured. Since COVID happened, we haven't had Tiger Bone back. We just different, man. We having fun. We just added a new segment to the. To the show where people are going rap like Rhapsody. The basement we're going. It's called let me see if you still got it. And so, you know, we'll give you the beat in advance, you know what I'm saying? So, like, we. We doing different things right now. We're in our ninth season. What is it? Well, yeah, March20, 26 is 10 years of drink champs. 10 years of drink chance, you know what I'm saying? And it was. It was a hustle that like, was like my seventh hustle to. That went to like my number one hustle, you know what I'm saying? Like, I. I actually enjoy it. We just. Now, we recently opened Dream Champs Network. We got Bleak. We got Angela Simmons. We got Healthy High Run Champs. We got Fatherhood. We got grumpy OGs. We got smoke Champs. We got. You know what I'm saying?

[Jeff Perlman]

That's how the fuck you. That's how doing shit.

[Noreaga]

Yeah.

[Jeff Perlman]

Because I used to go to my mother's house and she be like, she drink Mountain Dew? Because I did a commercial for Mountain Dew. And then she's like, what you doing with Sunkiss? I don't like Sunkiss. I don't like it because, you know, you're trying to be loyal. If you ever realize they all different stamps owned by the same guy, right? So I love that you branching out. Drink Champs is such a monumental brand. But I love what you're doing as businessman and everybody's eating because you Already been battle scarred. You went through everything in the world, and now you putting people on, and at the same time, you're expanding the empire. Don't think I don't fucking watch it.

[Noreaga]

Cause I was slow. I was supposed to have this podcast, you know what I'm saying? I tried to individually, you know, but this is genius, you know what I'm saying? Y' all coming together.

[Jeff Perlman]

But I'm gonna keep it a buck for you. I've just always been a boss, so me personally, I don't know how to be under nobody. I'm just keeping it real with you. Even my brother, I love as much.

[Noreaga]

As I. Yeah, partnership. And by the way, partnership, by the way. You know what the beautiful thing about this is? I can't practice what I don't preach. Meaning, like, I. This is my idea for telling people you own your own stuff. Because one thing for sure, two things for certain, I'm not gonna go as hard as you. You know what I'm saying? If you gonna sign with me, guess what? You signing yourself. You know what I'm saying? You sign it to yourself Records. Not Delusional Records. Signing yourself records, signing yourself records. You know what I'm saying?

[Jeff Perlman]

But I signed up first. I was the first guinea pig of Delusional Records. Oh, delusional. Delusional. Chance.

[Noreaga]

Delusional chance. Delusional chance.

[Jeff Perlman]

I'. I walked out. I'm the original with the. With the hole in my head like a dolphin, you guys. He said, yo, come over. We doing something. When I left, you don't think. Your uncle don't think he the only who catch the bullets for Fat Joe? I walked out of there. I said, it's official. I have beef with every rapper. Tell me about dmx. What do you, Sam. Do what about this? And I'm over there, like. And I'm realizing, oh, these guys trying to do some crazy shit. And I'm going for it. I want my brothers. I'm talking. He didn't hesitate. Yo, I walked out of that motherfucker like I had a hole in my ass. I was like, I got beef with everybody.

[Noreaga]

What a lot of people don't know is me and him had a show called Military Crazy Raw Radio. We had a show on Sirius XM. It was on SiriusXM for three years. Remember XM and Sirius?

[Jeff Perlman]

They.

[Noreaga]

They combined. So we. I don't. I don't remember. We was on XM first. We was on XM4. And then when.

[Jeff Perlman]

Then.

[Noreaga]

So what we did was just recreat the same show. Like, if you look online, we kind of cheated. Like, without meaning. Like, we had a. Same show, but just with no artists. So that. So you and Kenny Anderson was the first two people. Those were pilots. Y' all was our pilots. You know what I'm saying? So we just did what we was.

[Jeff Perlman]

My came out. Yeah, my shit came out.

[Noreaga]

Out the gate. Yeah, it hit. But. But. But my came out our first number one.

[Jeff Perlman]

How many millions of views we caught on that?

[Noreaga]

No, we. We, we, we, we, we. We. We went. We were suspected to do, like, I believe the numbers was like 60,000. No, 15,000. Something like that. Yeah, we did 267. 300,000. First day. Yeah. Yeah.

[Jeff Perlman]

That's my original. We got a black from cbs. I don't think they ever gave. That's why. That's the original.

[Noreaga]

I ain't got nothing to do.

[Jeff Perlman]

This man. He's loyal.

[Noreaga]

He's worthy.

[Jeff Perlman]

Fluidity. This guy will sit there and risk his life with his brothers.

[Noreaga]

But I tell you. I tell you. I tell you what really, really made us was the DMX episode. And a lot of people don't know, you know, how hard it is to get X, right? We filmed DMX in the lobby of the Aloft Hotel. Like, we had it all set up to go upstairs. No, no. In Miami Beach. In Miami, we had it all set up to go upstairs, and the man wouldn't move. He wanted to play pool. So we just said we went all the way upstairs, grabbed the equipment, and came downstairs. And if you notice, if you watch that interview, he doesn't really know he's being interviewed. He didn't know what a podcast was. He didn't know what a. He was like, paul, I don't want to go back to jail. I was like, nah. I was like, we could do a documentary about that episode behind the scenes of that episode. And then we played pool. And then it's like, let's do it right now. And we just start talking. And it was like. It was. It was the first time, like, you got to see X emotional. Like, you got to see him like. You know what I mean? Like, because people saw that. People saw that, but people didn't see, like, the human part of dmx. And that's when we started to realize, like, oh, okay. Like, we got it. And then X came back years later, and it was like. And, you know, he was bigger, like, you know what I'm saying? Like, he was healthy. You know what I'm saying?

[Jeff Perlman]

You know what's so weird? He's like, you Got real relationships, right? Like, the other night, I'm at the fight, I see Kevin Hart. You know, we the first to put him in Lean Back. Kevin Hart set off and Lean Back video, he was telling dudes not to. You know, that was like the number one song in the whole.

[Noreaga]

His first movie he ever did was.

[Jeff Perlman]

All right, that's cool. But that was the biggest. Look, is that Lean Back?

[Noreaga]

I'll throw that out there.

[Jeff Perlman]

No, it's a shooting at his. I'm not gonna be disrespect like that.

[Noreaga]

I didn't see.

[Jeff Perlman]

Lean Back's a big deal. Kevin Hart was the star of Lean Back. Let's be clear. The man, I see him, and whenever I see him, it's all love. He returned the favor, put me in the movie Night School. Years later, I love Kevin Hart. And we talked. Matter of fact, he talked about the podcast. He said, joe, this podcast we looked up, I guess it's hard for some people to give it up, right? He turned around, he said, you're funny. He said, you're real funny. This podcast is something. I said, yo, thank you, Kevin Hart. But I don't ask him for his number. I don't hang out with him. And he's my friend. Right? You, on the other hand, could do a fucking whole TV show based on you and X, you and Kanye, you and this. You really hang out with these guys?

[Noreaga]

I work out with Kevin Hart.

[Jeff Perlman]

You see what I'm saying?

[Noreaga]

I mean, he hits me, he takes me down.

[Jeff Perlman]

I got these numbers and shit like that. I don't do that.

[Noreaga]

No, because I've done that.

[Jeff Perlman]

You see me when you see me, Bottega. That's it, I'm gone. This guy. Illuminati.

[Noreaga]

Illuminati.

[Jeff Perlman]

This guy here, I knew. I walk in the fight the other night, the only guy I really acknowledged was another Illuminati, J. Prince. Fellow Illuminati, you're on your own island.

[Noreaga]

Yeah, bugger. Illuminati.

[Jeff Perlman]

Don'T exist.

[Noreaga]

Yeah, yeah. Relationships is important, though, to speak for yourself.

[Jeff Perlman]

No, I'm speaking for myself.

[Joseph Reeves]

Show me how good it can get today, God, and show the rest of the world what we already know. It can't get no better than being hella black, Hella, hella queer and hella Christian. My name is Joseph Reeves. I am the creator and host of Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian, a fully black, fully queer, fully human, fully divine podcast that explores society, culture, and the intersections of faith and identity. Listen to hello, Black, hello, Queer, hello, Christian. To hear conversations about what it means to sound the way you look.

[Noreaga]

I think what I've had to make peace with is that every iteration of my voice is given to me by.

[Joseph Reeves]

God and I love it. Books that validated our identity.

[Noreaga]

The library now for me is a safe space as someone who is writing books that they're trying to take off.

[Joseph Reeves]

Of shelves and how we as black queer folks relate to our Christianity. Listen to Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Ebony]

Welcome to Pretty Private with ebony, the podcast where silence is broken and stories are set free. I'm Ebony and every Tuesday I'll be sharing all new anonymous stories that would challenge your perceptions and give you new insight on the people around you. On Pretty Private, we'll explore the untold experiences of women of color who faced it all. Childhood trauma, addiction, addiction, abuse, incarceration, grief, mental health struggles and more and found the strength to make it to the other side. My dad was shot and killed in his house. Yes, he was a drug dealer. Yes, he was a confidential informant. But he wasn't shot on a street corner. He wasn't shot in the middle of a drug deal. He was shot in his house, unarmed. Pretty Private isn't just a podcast, it's your personal guide for turning storylines into lifelines. Every Tuesday, make sure you listen to Pretty Private from the Black Effect Podcast Network. Tune in on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Sometimes it's hard to remember, but going.

[Jeff Perlman]

Through something like that is a traumatic experience, but it's also not the end of your life.

[Ebony]

That was my dad reminding me and so many others who need to hear it that our trauma is not our shame to carry and that we have big, bold and beautiful lives to live after what happened to us. I'm your host and co president of this organization, Dr. Lea Trittate. On my new podcast, the Unwanted Sorority, we wade through transformation to peel back healing and reveal what it actually looks like and sounds like in real time. Each week I sit down with people who've lived through harm, carried silence, and are now reshaping the systems that failed us. We're going to talk about the adultification of black girls mothering as resistance to and the tools we use for healing. The Unwanted Sorority is a safe space, not a quiet space. So let's lock in. We're moving towards liberation together. Listen to the Unwanted Sorority. New episodes every Thursday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jeff Perlman]

What would you do if one bad decision forced you to choose between a maximum security prison or the most brutal boot camp designed to be hell on earth? Unfortunately for Mark Lombardo, this was the choice he faced.

[Noreaga]

He said, you are a number, a New York state number, and we own you.

[Jeff Perlman]

Shock incarceration, also known as boot camps, are short term, highly regimented correctional programs that mimic military basic training. These programs aim to provide a shock of prison life, emphasizing strict discipline, physical training, hard labor, and rehabilitation programs. Mark had one chance to complete this program and had no idea of the hell awaiting him the next six months.

[Noreaga]

The first night was overwhelming and you don't know who's next to you and we didn't know what to expect in the morning. Nobody tells you anything.

[Jeff Perlman]

Listen to shock incarceration on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. A lot of men, especially this era, we in, we in a weird time of life where a lot of men are truly upset with their shortcomings in life. Some men might have chased too many women and was in a club every night trying to fuck this, this, that, and didn't handle their business, or they was doing a bunch of other bullshit and they turn around and they say, y' all 45? I'm up. I'm 50, I'm up. Those are the guys you see in the comments that dis you every chance they can. They're mad at their own lives. They're miserable. So you're looking at some comments again, huh?

[Noreaga]

Looking at them comments again?

[Jeff Perlman]

No, no, no.

[Noreaga]

I told him about that. You know that.

[Jeff Perlman]

Yo, let me explain to you. I'm human. Anybody who tell you they don't look, they're kind of lying.

[Noreaga]

Well, everybody. No, we look, but we don't look. You gotta get it out. Listen, listen, My brother, you my brother. We in Dominican Republic, we always littlest guys.

[Jeff Perlman]

And the biggest.

[Noreaga]

I turn, I turn across. I turn across behind them. I'm looking at the comments.

[Jeff Perlman]

Yeah, he's looking through it all with the littlest guys. If you think I'm not watching you because you got two followers.

[Noreaga]

Oh, my God, he's crazy.

[Jeff Perlman]

What are you doing, Joe? I'm watching.

[Noreaga]

Anybody gets.

[Jeff Perlman]

Everybody gets a sublimity or whatever, can't say their name. One time I said, somebody name, they jumped out. Like I said, oh, my God. You, like, breathe life into these guys?

[Noreaga]

Yeah, they happy.

[Jeff Perlman]

You can't mention your name. But if I tell you they know the littlest of the biggest, they know you not like me. Do not like me me. I don't care what you say. You can say is cap or whatever, but I've been putting in this work in these streets since I'm 14. I don't care what you guys think you could say in these comments and all that you are not like me. And when I walk through I walk like a shake I walk like a shake yeah, from Dubai. So when I walk through oh, yo, that's him when you open the door something foreign every time when he come out, he clean oh, dang. Smelling like a billion every. Am I lying, Young? You the only nigga stuck up for me. When they said I wasn't fly 25, I told EFN off the camera. I said, yo, if they lying in real life while we here and we're allegedly known to punish people, and you lying about me now, why, imagine when I'm dead, I'm really all fucked up. You want to tell me you throwing this on? Don't tell me about the old that had it. They be the old that ratted. You understand? Like, you gotta stop, like. And so we not on the same level. And there's one thing that people try to do, they do it to you, too. Whether you see, you don't see it. Obviously you don't know.

[Noreaga]

They do it to everybody.

[Jeff Perlman]

Look, we come up from an era. If you talk on the street level, you couldn't be pussy and get money. You had to put it down. That's just what it is. If you was pussy, you got money, they taking your shit, your own friends. It's over, Bobby. Pack it up. You gotta go. This is how it is, right? In this rap game, I had so much, and I was trying to be a nice guy. I had so much beef in this game with every biggest rap crew you ever seen. Because I was like, you can't be serious. I just fought guys with eight heads in the streets. I'm not gonna fall to a rap. These guys kill babies. Like, you gotta be kidding me. You think that your rap sometimes family show. All right, but what I'm saying is.

[Noreaga]

Family show.

[Jeff Perlman]

What I'm saying is we came with a time where we had to really fight. You had to write your bars. You had to write your bars. You have to work, you have to promote. You have to diss that. You know, the illest album out right now by. If y' all wanna keep lying to yourselves or whatever, them clips dropped the.

[Noreaga]

Fucking clips out of fire.

[Jeff Perlman]

You go get it. If you love real hip hop, I don't even care if you like the clips. Go get that. And the man says, we create content, y' all content creators. So what you gotta understand is when dreamtramps talks about something and these guys with two followers, that's their whole show. When Joe and Jada, we the rookies of the year, we coming, the leaders of the new school, they turn around, they see what we say, and that's their whole show. Yo, what Joe and Jay is saying. Oh, Fat Joe talking about Michael Jackson with the Haliband and. Come on, yo, it's the triple OG I killed 46 dudes in 30C74. Michael Jackson rapping on the Taliban. What's going like, that's their whole. They don't create content. They're content creators. They moving off. What we do, we shift in the culture. And the culture has to be shifted the right way. You have to pay your dues. Because we had a couple of corny guys maneuvering in this podcast space.

[Noreaga]

There was a lot of corny guys maneuvering.

[Jeff Perlman]

This guy's. No, listen, the other day, you said something. See, me and you, there's nothing that you could do to get me to not salute the God. I gotta salute him. You know what I'm saying? He's my brother, and we got the bond that can't be broken. But breathe, let's come back.

[Noreaga]

Let's come back.

[Jeff Perlman]

What I'm saying is. No, no, I'm coming back. I'm coming back. What I'm saying is. What I'm saying is. Yo, listen, man, you either gonna love me for the or you're gonna hate me. There's two ways you could take this. You could laugh at me and say, I'm Cap. Whatever. In any case, we number one with a bullet. Don't get that fucked up. So what I'm saying is, the other day you made a comment. You said, the only podcast that matters is Drink Champs, Joe Button and Million Dollars Worth of gang.

[Noreaga]

That hurts you?

[Jeff Perlman]

No, it never hurts me. Because I do a lot of shit to hurt him that he don't ever get hurt. So I can't get hurt.

[Noreaga]

Right?

[Jeff Perlman]

We can't even fucking hurt each other.

[Noreaga]

Right?

[Jeff Perlman]

You understand what I'm saying? No, we can't. But what I'm saying is I've seen a lot of other podcasts, you know, Steve, Jack, this is my brother. A bunch of them put in work. A lot of guys are doing they thing.

[Noreaga]

I feel like Steve Jackson is a hater. No, this is his second time. This is his second time hating on Me like what?

[Jeff Perlman]

Because he been doing. You see, you gotta understand, I thought.

[Noreaga]

We was all family.

[Jeff Perlman]

We are.

[Noreaga]

I thought so too. And if he had a problem, if he had a problem, he should have handled that. You know what I mean? But I seen him a couple times and he didn't say nothing to me, and I didn't say nothing to him. But it wasn't no feedback. What happened?

[Jeff Perlman]

I believe he was talking to the statement, like, they putting in work in the podcast. It's a lot of guys, Carmelo. There's a lot of different guys putting in a lot of work. When you just say, yo, we the three that matter. Everybody else who don't put in us, we don't care. We just new in the game and we just. I don't give a fuck anyway. So I'm different. But is there any way to say, all right, why did you come up with that decision?

[Noreaga]

I don't know how he was feeling, that it's actually the truth. But it's the truth when they say like this, when it comes to hip hop podcasts, we led the way 1 million percent. All right, all right. Who invented the podcast space, period? It's Peter Rosenberg and Cyber Sounds. Anybody? We all owed him a check. Gotta give Ice T some credit too. No, I'm getting there. Peter Roseburn on that. Cyber Styles. That's the first podcast ever, right? Then you got. When you got come to artist podcast, first artist podcast was Ice Tea, right? Then after that, this was a nerd space. Combat Jack. Combat Jack. Yes, yes. Combat Jack. Yeah. No, no, no. But what I'm saying, overall, that's what it was for. This was like a nerd space. What I'm trying to say, of course other podcasts matter. Of course I'm on this show. I'm doing other shows. Of course that. But what I'm saying is who led.

[Jeff Perlman]

The way is a golden era.

[Noreaga]

Yes.

[Jeff Perlman]

I feel in hip hop, LL Cool J is salt and pepper. Heavy D, Rakim, Big Daddy K. You just saying, yo, we let the listen.

[Noreaga]

And by the way. And by the way, if it wasn't for those three podcasts, probably you wouldn't be here right now. Probably a lot of people wouldn't be here right now.

[Jeff Perlman]

I super agree. I just wish you would have told me earlier. There's so many bags in this space.

[Noreaga]

I mean, I did tell you. Listen, I did tell you. Do you know what you did? Like you said, said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I did tell you. And you know what you did? You went and started Crack vision on your own. Like you said, you can't be under nobody. So you, You. You're living out your words. You. You did that. You know what they say, hold on, I gotta finish. Because you can't just say that and just. We just go off.

[Jeff Perlman]

You know, I say that.

[Noreaga]

19 keys. No, no, no. I'm saying. So 19 keys. Hit me about the same thing.

[Jeff Perlman]

Who's 19 keys?

[Noreaga]

19 keys. He has a podcast as well. So if I say that, if I say something like, I'm the best and you offended, what does that mean about you? I'm saying this is my shit. I monkey fuck this game. I got the viewers every single month.

[Jeff Perlman]

All the best.

[Noreaga]

I don't have to. I don't have to clout Chase. Hold on.

[Jeff Perlman]

No, you guys are the best.

[Noreaga]

I don't have to clout Chase. I don't have to diss. Other podcast. What I was trying to say was that's the podcast that matters. In this milestone, at this moment, at this moment leading up now, of course there's going to be other people. Of course it's going to be other people. You know, everybody's going to have their time. You're going to have their time. You know what it is in Miami? Miami, you get a restaurant, six months, and then you close down Gecko. All these beautiful restaurants, they hot. You can't get a reservation at all. But then, six months, where they at?

[Jeff Perlman]

70, baby.

[Noreaga]

Where they at?

[Jeff Perlman]

That's right.

[Noreaga]

You know what I'm saying? Let me just say. Say something. Not only have I survived this space.

[Jeff Perlman]

That's right.

[Noreaga]

But I. Oof. I've been innovative. I've been innovative. I've been innovative. When people were chasing other people, I went and I messed with a kid from Virginia. No one was messing with kids from Virginia. This guy is still to this day. You know, when they was calling him Dee's nephew, I was the only one outside of the Rough Riders who worked with him. Scott Storch. Yes, you made him famous. But who gave him that first beat when he came out here? Reggae Thong. Y' all both laughed at me. Y' all both apologize. So I forgot. I take y' all forgiveness. But look at Bad Bunny right now. This got a concert for six months.

[Jeff Perlman]

We booked our tickets.

[Noreaga]

Holy moly guacamole.

[Jeff Perlman]

No, we booked our tickets.

[Noreaga]

You telling me that he's telling me that exists Without. Oye, Mikando. Without me? What I did? Like, this is what I'm trying to say. Like, I, I. You know what I'm saying, Busta? Rhymes told me the other day, he said, yo, man, I don't like you still being humble. I'm a humble guy. I know my accolades, though. I know what I did. I know my numbers. I know what I put up on the board.

[Jeff Perlman]

Very aggressive. Bust Rhymes.

[Noreaga]

I know what I put up on the board. So you know what? If I'm finally big enough myself. Hold on, hold on. So if I finally big it up myself, now is when y'. All, When I was humble all these years, nobody got nothing to say. Oh, he's humble, Norm. He's chill. Now I say, you know what? We fuck with that. We put our foot in this game. And I'm not taking away from others. So I'm sorry if I said it that way and people got offended. That's not what I meant. I meant this is. Remember the era, dmx, you know, Jay and Ja. This is. This is what us3 is. It doesn't mean that. It doesn't mean that NAS doesn't exist. Doesn't mean that. You know what I'm saying? Rough Riders don't exist. So that's all. Yeah, I just felt. I felt good. I felt good. Yeah. I felt good about that.

[Jeff Perlman]

I gotta address it.

[Noreaga]

Yeah.

[Jeff Perlman]

Know what I'm saying? So you could explain how you feel about this.

[Noreaga]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jeff Perlman]

Now you're my brother and I go on vacation with you and you guys try to force me to drink, including my wife.

[Noreaga]

No, no, let me say something. Let me give us free bottle. Let me give you a story.

[Jeff Perlman]

Your brother in law was walking in my house sideways. You ever seen this guy? This guy for certain was gonna vomit. I'm watching him the whole time. Yo, I'm watching the brother in law walking like this. So I'm walking behind him with a towel, ready to catch him. Because for sure, he got sideways, forward. He's walking like this. And then his mother. Everybody's watching him. He said. I said, for sure. I've been there, so I know he's going to vomit. One million percent. I'm watching him, the whole shit. He didn't. Right. But EFN said, he brought the drink to the drink champs. He said, you more of a smoker.

[Noreaga]

At that time, we were doing military crazy. Okay. And we had the casino ish. Okay. Spot.

[Jeff Perlman]

I said, they're the drinkers that used to be the smoke.

[Noreaga]

You was Pino. Yeah, yeah.

[Jeff Perlman]

And now you have graduated to the drink chest.

[Noreaga]

Yeah, probably, huh?

[Jeff Perlman]

Because God damn, you guys, it's like a mission. I swear to God. Be like, yo, give him a Shot. Give him a shot. That next thing I know and I'm a happy drunk. You know what happened to me? I don't know if I ever said this, but the one time I got drunk, I was in Morris High School. I was the bully of the whole high school. They could say whatever they want to rob the whole fucking shit by myself. Some of you guys is pussy. You can't imagine it. You got smacked in the back of your neck and you kept walking. But I was the guy. And my man came and said before home. When we said, yo, let's drink. I said, what's this? It was a 40 ounce. We drank a 40 ounce. I never got drunk. Yeah, something like that. So we went to the back of Morris High School where the girls play handball, because that's where all the pretty girls was. And I was disrespectful. I was like, yo, fuck that. This, doing all that. When I tell you this guy's name was Ed, I even give him prop Big Head Eddie. It's the biggest punk in the world. Me and him got into it and he beat the at me. And no one could beat the shit out of me at this time is what I'm trying to tell you. My hands was crazy, right? So I remember I sat down in the gate and I just looked at everybody laughing at me and I said, something's wrong, right? Why do I feel like this? I feel like I can't even move my arms. I can't even fight. And I realize you got drunk, you fucked up. And from that point, if I was gonna have beef with everybody in the world, niggas shooting at me, all type of shit, I gotta be dead sober. The next day I came back, poor Eddie caught the hockey stick to the hockey club, to his fucking big dome. You know, we call Eddie a fucking sniper's dream. You know how the snipers got. Got the heads on the. With the cross on the. This is a sniper's dream.

[Noreaga]

Somebody gonna tell you, you. You're rich, man. You're rich and you live a different life now. Yo, yo, yo, my dude. We're. We're Makoto. It's two o'clock in the afternoon. He gets up, yo, I shot this guy in the face.

[Jeff Perlman]

Legend.

[Noreaga]

I'm like, Joe. I'm like, Joe. We're in front of nothing but beautiful scene. He's crazy.

[Jeff Perlman]

Yo, Nori, you know what's crazy? That I'm not crazy.

[Noreaga]

You bring up the darkest times in the most ridiculous moments.

[Jeff Perlman]

Yo, peace to the gods too. I meant no disrespect he said, crack him. Crack him. I'm just trying to tell you. I was. I'll reiterate, right? I was. The Puerto Rican kid was closing this.

[Noreaga]

He just fix. I just.

[Jeff Perlman]

The gods, they love us again. So peace to the God. And remember, he just said Puerto Rican.

[Noreaga]

He didn't say Puerto Rican.

[Jeff Perlman]

No, he didn't say Puerto Rican. And Cuban kid was an. And they doing the ciphers and all that. And I'm like, ham salambian bacon. And I'm the guy who's always around where they was, just like, yo, Joe, they used to call me Crack Kim. You know, it's nothing I could do about it.

[Noreaga]

Oh, the gods. I'm sorry, man. I'm sorry.

[Jeff Perlman]

I'm just trying.

[Noreaga]

Oh, the gods is on y' all for that.

[Jeff Perlman]

You're not. Listen, we gotta cover everybody. It's 20, 25. We talking about the gods. 126 in Harlem. We showing love to everybody. You know what I'm saying? But when I look at Nori, he go. I let my watch. Talk to me. My guns. What up? Yo, Nori, man, you getting a lot.

[Noreaga]

Of money to have watches. You don't have to have watches.

[Jeff Perlman]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. To get watches, you can't do. You gotta have a lot of money. You're not fooling me.

[Noreaga]

Yeah, I know you do.

[Jeff Perlman]

The problem I see with this is. Yeah, that's your business partner. He wears a Seiko.

[Noreaga]

Yeah, he got all the money. Like you just said. You're gonna borrow from Mayor. You gonna borrow from Mayor. I'm borrowing right from here.

[Jeff Perlman]

He's cashed every day, and there's no problem. I got a best friend, a partner like that, too. His name is Rich Player. Icn. Yo, yo, yo. You don't spend a dollar. And so.

[Noreaga]

I heard that about Rich.

[Jeff Perlman]

He's richer than me. So if you think I'm rich, I'm all flash, no cash. When I need a loan, I'm going to that guy over there. If you ever need a loan, I know you going to that. Cause you got all that money.

[Noreaga]

And what's crazy, you kept all that money.

[Jeff Perlman]

Don't lie to me.

[Noreaga]

Yeah, listen, what's crazy about.

[Jeff Perlman]

I waked up for my job. DFN got all the money.

[Noreaga]

Let me tell you something.

[Jeff Perlman]

I need a loan. I got more. There's a couple of guys I can see by their lifestyle that I could go for alone. I know who got the bag.

[Noreaga]

Yeah, listen, the more checks he got.

[Jeff Perlman]

Two times, felon. Let Me get a diabetic.

[Noreaga]

The less drinks he started. Like, he started with Bacardi and now he's on beer. Like, he's definitely more money.

[Jeff Perlman]

Yeah.

[Noreaga]

The next. The next renegotiation, he gonna be on white court.

[Jeff Perlman]

Who in the locks. Really? Watch. Stay back. Like black is gotta be styled. No, she lose. I was on a vacation every week.

[Noreaga]

We all rich, but Luch is super rich, right?

[Jeff Perlman]

Cause he.

[Noreaga]

What he saved, he still got the money for Canada.

[Jeff Perlman]

He's still got it.

[Noreaga]

Got Canadian.

[Jeff Perlman]

Mickey Rooneys of Canadian. He got Luch's. Luch. He squeezed a quarter of the Eagle screen. Let me tell you something, because, you know, because we out here acting dumb. One thing about Nori, I don't give a fuck if he went through his toughest time on Earth. Because it was a tough time that me and.

[Noreaga]

Absolutely.

[Jeff Perlman]

We was bumping into each other.

[Noreaga]

Absolutely.

[Jeff Perlman]

Yugoslavia and stretch guard and all that. We was out grinding.

[Noreaga]

Dusseldorf.

[Jeff Perlman]

Dusseldorf.

[Noreaga]

Archfurt, Germany.

[Jeff Perlman]

Listen, so we. So me and you, we went through the real chitlin circuit, right? I don't care what he went through. The European version.

[Noreaga]

European chitlin.

[Jeff Perlman]

Yes, it is. Shot shorty in them. That's where they go. Get the bag. Right? Now, that ain't the. What I'm saying to you is, no matter what he went through, we always ate steak and lobster, right? Like this, man. Always was inexpensive. And he's not cheap. This guy covered the bill most of the time for 20 guys. How are you still doing 88? You got 20 guys here now.

[Noreaga]

Well, most of these people are people that. That, you know, I remember during COVID.

[Jeff Perlman]

I don't want to say nothing about you guys. You guys had a lot of money. You. Yeah, let me tell you something. You guys was looking extra with the whole crew. He was like, yo, something weird's happening. I said, what? All my friends are treating me now. They're trying to fight me for the bill. They're doing Covid. I'm like, it must have been Donald Trump. Had a good eye. N O R e You never been cheap, right? You always remember the time you saved my life.

[Noreaga]

Did I say that in Germany? In Germany, he saved my life.

[Jeff Perlman]

He couldn't wait for it. You know, I talk all this shit at Joel. I'm King Kong. I saved the day. I'm the realest guy you ever seen in your life. This, this, that. It's biscuit lager to the star. Come here. Get your cheekbone in here, man. Cause this is one of the good ones. One of the good ones. You Definitely. Right now your outfit turn around. You definitely can't go through tsa, yo. They don't think you got a knee replacement. Hey, buddy, you got a knee replacement, yo. TSA is crazy, yo.

[Noreaga]

Listen, you can't go through tsa.

[Joseph Reeves]

Show me how good it can get today, God. And show the rest of the world what we already know. It can't get. No better than being hella black, hella queer, and hella Christian. My name is Joseph Reeves. I am the creator and host of Hella Black, hello Queer, Hella Christian, a fully black, fully queer, fully human, fully divine podcast that explores society, culture and the Internet, intersections of faith and identity. Listen to hello Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian to hear conversations about what it means to sound the way you look.

[Noreaga]

I think what I've had to make peace with is that every iteration of my voice is given to me by.

[Joseph Reeves]

God and I love it. Books that validated our identity.

[Noreaga]

The library now for me is a safe space as someone who is writing books that they're trying to take off.

[Joseph Reeves]

Of shelves and how we as black queer folks relate to to our Christianity. Listen to Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Ebony]

Welcome to Pretty Private with ebony, the podcast where silence is broken and stories are set free. I'm Ebonae, and every Tuesday I'll be sharing all new anonymous stories that would challenge your perception and give you new insight on the people around you. On Pretty Private, we'll explore the untold experiences of women of color who faced it all. Childhood trauma, addiction, abuse, incarceration, grief, mental health struggles and more. And found the strength to make it to the other side. My dad was shot and killed in his house. Yes, he was a drug dealer. Yes, he was a confidential informant. But he wasn't shot on street corner. He wasn't shot in the middle of a drug deal. He was shot in his house, unarmed. Pretty Private isn't just a podcast. It's your personal guide for turning storylines into lifelines. Every Tuesday, make sure you listen to Pretty Private from the Black Effect Podcast network. Tune in on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite show shows. Sometimes it's hard to remember, but going.

[Jeff Perlman]

Through something like that is a traumatic experience, but it's also not the end of your life.

[Ebony]

That was my dad reminding me and so many others who need to hear it that our trauma is not our shame to carry and that we have big, bold and beautiful lives to Live after what happened to us. I'm your host and co president of this organization, Dr. Lea Tritate. On my new podcast, the Unwanted Sorority, we wade through transformation to peel back healing and reveal what it actually looks like and sounds like in real time. Each week, I sit down with people who've lived through harm, carried silence, and are now reshaping the systems that failed us. We're going to talk about the adultification of black girls mothering as resistance and the tools we use for healing. The Unwanted Sorority is a safe space, not a quiet space. So let's lock in. We're moving towards liberation together. Listen to the Unwanted Sorority. New episodes every Thursday on the iHeartRadio @ app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jeff Perlman]

The summer of 1993 was one of the best of my life. I'm journalist Jeff Pearlman and this is Rick Jervis. We were interns at the Nashville Tennesse Inn.

[Noreaga]

But the most unforgettable part, our roommate.

[Jeff Perlman]

Reggie Payne from Oakland, sports editor and aspiring rapper, and his stage name, Sexy Sweat. In 2020, I had a simple idea. Let's find Reggie.

[Noreaga]

We searched everywhere, but Reggie was gone.

[Jeff Perlman]

In February 2020, Reggie was having a diabetic episode. His mom called 911.

[Noreaga]

Police cuffed him face down.

[Jeff Perlman]

He slipped into a coma and died.

[Joseph Reeves]

I'm like, thanking you, but then I see my son's not moving.

[Jeff Perlman]

No headlines, no outrage, just silence. So we started digging.

[Noreaga]

Digging and uncovered city officials bent on protecting their own.

[Jeff Perlman]

Listen to finding Sexy Sweat on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Noreaga]

Here's the story. Me and crack, we both. We both look at our schedules. We actually at a restaurant, I look at his, he look at mine. So we, we notice that we're not in no town, we're in Europe. But he's in this side, I'm on this side. So just so happens we're both greedy people. We take an extra show, he takes an extra show, I take an extra show. We wind up at the same place. So a guy tells me, yo, Joe is here. And I was like, there's no way Joe was here. Like, I took. I was you just with me on. Yeah, I was like, yo, we going.

[Jeff Perlman]

Away Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and coming back, I meet you on Monday. And so he's like, yo, I was just with him.

[Noreaga]

I was just with him. There's no way. So I called him and I've never heard him like this in my life. He was like. And I go, what? He Goes, I said, you got a show, right? I said, CNN is an early show. Six o', clock, we out. He's like, yeah. And when you in Europe, if you perform at 12. If you perform at 12 in Europe, too good.

[Jeff Perlman]

He's saying it with the right.

[Noreaga]

I told him you're lit. If you perform at 12 in Europe, you're lit. Usually it's 6 o'.

[Jeff Perlman]

Clock.

[Noreaga]

That's real hip hop. And then they go back to work. So when I call him, he's like. And I'm like. He's like, yo. I said, you got a show? He's like, yeah, but I can't invite you. And I'm like, why? Why you? I was like, this is weird. What the fuck you mean you can't invite me? He's like, they said they're gonna run down on me. They're gonna. They're gonna. I forget. I forget the slang, what it was at the time. So I said, what? Oh, I'm definitely going here. You want to say your sidecast.

[Jeff Perlman]

You know what we call those? Real suckers. If a nigga got smoked and he got beef somewhere and he don't tell you, and you show up as a friend, and then the drama come and you in the middle, he lines you up. I had to tell my brother, I got real problems, right? Okay. So when I was scared to fly, I had a manager at the time, and he took bags from. I had beef everywhere. Australia, Europe, Germany, everywhere. Because he was saying, yo, Fat Joe's coming, taking thousand booking me. I didn't know, right? So when I get out there, I go to do. Cause the shows in the same hotel. Downstairs is the club. So they tell me, do press. So I'm doing the press like this with jury on. I'm really comfortable, right? So these girls doing an interview. These dudes come in. They really a fucking Illuminati. They had the swastis, they had the real Hitler tattoos. They brought the guys with the Hitler shit on. They baldies, like tattoos on it. Like this some shit. So a dude comes with a paper. I get it. No disrespect. I get it. Somebody beat him for 50,000. Wasn't me. Me. He comes with the contract. Fat Joe, I send you 50,000. This, this, that. I said, bro, it must be a mistake. I never even been out here, you know, it's my first time here. No, 50,000, I want it. Now this. I ain't gonna lie to you. I had bad Jury on. I was by myself. I get up, I tell him, I ain't giving you shit. I said, what? It says there? So he tells me the guy's name. I said, no, my manager's flex. Felix Cabrera. His name ain't on there there. My name ain't on there. Somebody robbed you? I'm sorry, y'. All. This. He was mad. I get it. He was waiting for the day for Fat Joe to come. He had three of them guys. So that will put you in a pretzel. And I got the up. You know what I'm saying? I was like, yo, what's up, man? Whatever y' all want to do. I'm not gonna lie. This is the humor to the story. It was a gay guy who ran the club, man jumped in the middle of them and saved me, man. Jumped. Nah, you can't. Not a year. I'm telling you this and that. Yo, that dude snapped his fingers too tight. Cancel culture. No, it's a story. No, but it's a true story. I'm picking him up. The man saved my life. When he distracted them, I spun out. I went upstairs. I got a fork. I'm chopping in the fork. Like, I got the fork. Like, all I can guarantee. Take it to American Meat. I am not inventing. First of all, all I can guarantee, America, you will see me go out. They will pound me to smithereens, drag me. I'm not guaranteeing you there won't be a video like that one day. But you will see Joe going out. You'll be like, yo, crack went out with 30 of them. He. He was. He spot that. He said he was about that life. He's bought that life.

[Noreaga]

So let me ask you. Hold on.

[Jeff Perlman]

So Nori calls me. What a blessing in disguise. So I know. Yo, yo, Nori, I can't line you up. They're about to pound me out tonight, right? Because they was coming. So my promoter said he's Germany. Oh, my God. What are they guys? What. What they call them? Not the Aryan Nation. What are they in Germany?

[Noreaga]

Skinheads.

[Jeff Perlman]

These are the skinheads, Joe. They are coming. These guys don't play. They burn people in cars and like that. He was, yo, so I'm up there with a fork, I swear to God, go off. I'm gonna go all out. Trust me. So I'm going like this, and Nori calls me out. Something not to come. Nori comes with a hundred guys. These guys got tattoos all over.

[Noreaga]

Oh, we got tattoos, too.

[Jeff Perlman]

Tattoos in their tongues. This. I was so happy. You never seen the time where I sat back, I said, take all the Food. Yes, he did.

[Noreaga]

He offered.

[Jeff Perlman]

Swear to God.

[Noreaga]

He has sushi.

[Jeff Perlman]

Look, you can drink all the liquor, the food. Don't eat it. Oh, guys, so nice to see you guys. Sushi, please.

[Noreaga]

No, but let me ask.

[Jeff Perlman]

Enjoy them. He came with some, y'. All something to buy.

[Noreaga]

All right, hold on, hold on.

[Jeff Perlman]

These guys. These guys are dangerous guys.

[Noreaga]

For years. For years I've been going to Germany, and there was. I had the same people keep coming to my shows. So I started to realize everybody's not a group. Some of these dudes are allies. You know what I'm saying? And I learned that from Rough Riders. Rough Riders got a chapter everywhere. Like, if I ever was somewhere trapped, I would call D and D would send the biker gang. They look weird and all that, but they coming. You know what I mean? So I learned that. So I built a relationship. Dusseldorf and all that. I used to go there. I couldn't get money in America, so I used to go there. And what I started to realize is, yo, build these little armies. Like, this is what we doing with run champs right now. Everywhere. We want to have a Run Champ segment. So I never had a chance to use them. Hold on.

[Jeff Perlman]

We gotta talk about run.

[Noreaga]

So Crack calls me and go. I mean, I call him. Excuse me. And he's. He's telling me not to come. He's being honorable. Like. Like. Like jail, bro. Like, I'm like, yo, I'm doing the exact opposite. So I'm looking around. I got 25 people here already. I'm like, can you call more people? They're like, I got 10 on deck right now. So we literally show up, like, 35. But by the way, we're 10 deep. We're 10 deep already. This is a component Noriega show.

[Jeff Perlman]

You better stop. Don't do that shit.

[Noreaga]

I ain't gonna lie. I felt so good. Cause we walked through, and I asked one of the dudes, you know, who he's talking about? He's like, I knew who he was talking about. And I guess the people was in the crowd. They was in the crowd. And we.

[Jeff Perlman]

We had a hunted.

[Noreaga]

And he went like, the dude, he was like this. He was like, he can't do nothing.

[Jeff Perlman]

He couldn't do nothing. Thank God for the entourage. We stood on stage, Nor. We sat up there. We had a hundred on that stage.

[Noreaga]

And it's a Capone Noriega show. So we perform, too.

[Jeff Perlman]

They were looking like this. Like, yo, where did he get this proof from? Saved by himself now, okay, because now, you know, I got A place in my house called Bonchincha Way. You know that?

[Noreaga]

Okay.

[Jeff Perlman]

Yeah, I got a place in my house. You sat there. Okay, okay, okay, okay. So I got a whole avenue in my. Where we talk about everybody, right? Yo, what happened with this? Got smacked, yo. Thought he was talking. We talking out on Chincha Way. We used to do it in front of the projects on the bench. Now we in, you know, doing it. So I go like this. It's a bon chinche away moment the other day. So he got run champs. He got dream champs. You got Smoke Chance.

[Noreaga]

Smoke Chance. Yeah.

[Jeff Perlman]

Run champs got into the show before everybody. Hold up, hold up, hold up, hold up. I'm sitting there. No, that's like D Block. Rough Rider this, this, that. He's making an Empire Run champs right now, is the new thing. And they run everywhere. He got billionaires running with him. He sent me running up mountains. Them guys are nice guys. It's safe to say you're nice guys. I'm looking right at you. Kind pedestrians, you got to use rewind. But these guys, they let him into the Rock the Bells before.

[Noreaga]

Young.

[Jeff Perlman]

Really? Yeah, they got. They. The new kids on the block. They signing sc.

[Noreaga]

They let them right in. We can't do that.

[Jeff Perlman]

One Chance back there, he not even listening. Listen, by the way, listen, you cannot. It was Smoke Chance, for real. I said. I said, I'm minding my business, right? I'm listening to the conversation. And you see Chain Blaine was outside. Chain Blame was outside.

[Noreaga]

He didn't treat me. Yeah, yeah.

[Jeff Perlman]

Young Rally, too.

[Noreaga]

I said, oh, my God.

[Jeff Perlman]

I said, it gotta be. Listen.

[Noreaga]

Oh, man, that ain't right. You gotta let Joe throw.

[Jeff Perlman]

We know the Run Chance is the latest.

[Noreaga]

Nothing happened to run champs get their conditions crazy.

[Jeff Perlman]

No, I to drink to that. When they was telling me that's it. And the guy telling me, the guy who was telling me who was trying to regulate was walking sideways at the top. All my brothers just walking sideways. I mean, he's the guy trying to figure this out. I said, yo, papi, you out of your league, right? You trying to do the right thing, but you gotta relax. For real. Yeah. So let's get this established. Run champs cannot get in the contest, in the concert before.

[Noreaga]

Champs and everything else.

[Jeff Perlman]

Drink champs get more season drink champs. Smoke going for the smoke champs. Because this is going to be a problem, right? I mean, let's be love. Literally, Terry type of thing. No, I was in the meeting. Well, no, I was in the pre meeting. Fat Joe was in the pre meeting saying, yo, yo, we got to regulate this, Randy.

[Noreaga]

It was.

[Jeff Perlman]

It was Randy.

[Noreaga]

Randy.

[Jeff Perlman]

And Wendy said, old school. Yo, Randy. Randy. You're old school. You've been my brother for many years. There's something called stay out of that area, Randy. Something called nose to the bone, nose to the brain. You don't want that.

[Noreaga]

Nah.

[Jeff Perlman]

Okay. I gotta keep it a buck. You don't want that type of situation. I love Run check. I love smoke chats. I love drink chest. But you. Let's not do this again, please.

[Noreaga]

Yo. Nah, you know what it is? I'm gonna be honest with you. I've done two shows a year, all right? Just two shows. And I forgot how to snap back into artist mode. You know what I'm saying? Like. Like, you see, Lee, you just came from North Carolina, Fendi party. I imagine you could just snap right back into that shit. You know what I mean? Like, it's a process. You know what I mean? So I went back into artist mode, and I just wasn't paying attention to what was going on.

[Jeff Perlman]

By the way, I was getting the calls.

[Noreaga]

Yeah.

[Jeff Perlman]

Jadakiss is. Jadakiss, my business partner. But he been getting buried just for two months. He been on Fat Joe Joe and Jada. I could imagine what he's hearing out there, right? Cause Fat Joe is hard to be my fault. Cause I say the wildest shit you ever seen in your life. So I know Nori been catching beef for me beyond life. And he just holds it. Jada been going through it for two months. I can't wait for the day he might come one day and be like, yo, I resigned. That's it. You talked about Mother Teresa.

[Noreaga]

We're not.

[Jeff Perlman]

It's over.

[Noreaga]

I almost resigned today.

[Jeff Perlman]

But so much I could do with this guy here. But, you know, it works. But I had to get in this negotiation to be like, listen, I know they hot. This. Y' all gotta chill. Because we don't want that type of action around. Let's all get along, get money. Let's have fun. They're keeping you healthy, right? Because I worry about you because you drink a lot, right? And I don't know how safe that is. I'm not a doctor. I don't give a fuck. I drink too many diets. Pepsi a lot. You know what I'm saying? Very, very much. I got a problem. 30, 40 a day. Let me tell you something. If I went to the doctor, God forbid, and they tell me, yo, you have a problem due to Diet Pepsi, I gotta take the shit on the chin. I gotta just be Like, I knew I was just doing too much with them Diet Pepsis, right? So are you gonna hit one when.

[Noreaga]

You leave the doctor?

[Jeff Perlman]

I'm drinking it now, immediately. They're not stopping me. I was in jail with a thousand diabetes. Imagine you in jail. You can't have nothing else. But Diet Pepsi is illegal. Holy. That's like you a cigarettes. But then I had diapexy every step. Oh, yeah. Super Boriqua was throwing them shits down from all type of angles. The Cubans had them everything. Yo, listen, the Cubans found out the last month that I was in jail because I did my time in Miami. They came, they said, yo, duet Cubano. I said, that was the biggest mistake I ever made because the Cubans won that shit down there. And they came like a thousand D. It was like, what the fuck was that about? They came, they said, yo, we need a fish favor. He said, we need a favor, right? So I'm just a regular doing my time, nigga. You know what I'm saying? So they come and they go, yo, we got a guy. Let me tell you something. I was only there four months. This guy was in the box for maybe three of the four months. The first day I went in there, I seen this little Cuban dude punching through the. He's Cubans got one in the jail. They got this guy was one. He punch a guy in the middle of the basketball court.

[Noreaga]

Cool.

[Jeff Perlman]

He goes to the box. A month and a half, he comes back, plays two, three spade games, punch another guy in the face. This guy is the truth, right? He back in the box? No, no, he get busy, right? Little guy. So they come and they go, yo, we need you to get Ramon out the box. I said, how gonna get Ramon out the box? They said, no, you the leader of this. You know, you could go and talk. You're the leader this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They like, you know, it happened two or three times. And I was only in there for four months. Months. This black dude got into some beef with a Spanish dude. And they had me sit down like, I'm the leader of the Spanish. And the leader of the black guys come because he's real racial in jail. And I sat down, I said, I'm not the leader, bro. I'm going home. I don't give a fuck about none of this shit. Nah, crack. But this, no, I'm not the leader of this shit, right? So they go. And I go up there and I talk to my man, shout out to Crespo. He was like, assistant. Assistant warden of the Whole jail and I go see Crespo. I said, crespo, man, I need a favor. You need a favor, Joe? I said, yeah. I said, you know, my friend. He said, first of all, ain't none of these guys against your friends, Joe. You don't owe nobody nothing. Nobody's your man. I said, nah. I said, you know, he's a friend. When I first came in, he lent me a walk. I just bullshitted. He let me to walk, man. He looked out for me and he's been in the box, and I really need him to come out the box. He said, ramon, like, they all knew the kid was the problem in the whole jail. Black, Spanish, whatever. This guy was a problem. He was 7:30. He was like, ramon, this the guy you vouching for? Crack this. I said, I need him out, man. They prone him out and put him in. The Cubans was now like, ah, he could do anything at the. I was. If I had a year in jail, I'd have had a problem. Because they would have wanted to favor every day. They was like, oh, my God, this guy could do it. I told you, you had the problems. Like, yo, bro, one shot deal. Nothing I could do. But you know, the Cubans, man.

[Noreaga]

Shout out to Ramon.

[Jeff Perlman]

Ramon, very bad guy. He was, but he's the. I respect real guys. You know what I'm saying? I respect guys who call an angel.

[Noreaga]

You know.

[Joseph Reeves]

Show me how good it can get today, God, and show the rest of the world what we already know. It can't get no better than being hella black, hella queer, and hella Christian. My name is Joseph Reeves. I am the creator and host of Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian, a fully black, fully queer, fully human, fully divine podcast. From iHeartMedia to Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Jeff Perlman]

I'm Jeff Perlman. And I'm Rick Jervis. We're journalists and hosts of the podcast Finding Sexy Sweat. At an internship in 1993, we roomed with Reggie Payne, aspiring reporter and rapper, who went by Sexy Sweat a couple years ago. We set out to find him, but in 2020, Reggie fell into a coma after police pinned him down and he never woke up.

[Joseph Reeves]

But then I see my son's not moving.

[Jeff Perlman]

So we started digging and uncovered city.

[Noreaga]

Officials bent on protecting their own.

[Jeff Perlman]

Listen to Finding Sexy Sweat on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Noreaga]

Check out behind the Flow, a podcast documentary series following the launch of San Diego Football Club. San Diego coming to MLS is going to be a game because this region has been hungry for a men's professional soccer team.

[Jeff Perlman]

We need to embrace this community.

[Noreaga]

Listen to San Diego FC behind the Flow on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jeff Perlman]

What's up guys? Welcome to the Augusto Papa Podcast, the go to spot for everything Musica Mexicana. We're proud Mexican Americans who live and breathe this mutual music. We started this podcast to share and discuss our views of musicana. Whether you like to vibe to Peso, Pluma, Los Allegres, El Barranco, Ariel Camacho or put Ivan Cornejo, when you get any feels then this podcast is for you. Well actually Peso was supposed to be on Chinito's album. The song with Drake was supposed to be with Peso. Listen to agaGustopa on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.