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Trauma, Kicks & Project Blowed with Open Mike Eagle
156 Plays13 days ago
This week Open Mike Eagle joins me on the podcast, we talk about his history with kicks. A revolutionary moment he had while on tour with Aesop Rock. I also ask him some burning questions about his migration to the West Coast. Working with Project Blowed and also Hellfyre Club, also we talk about creating community. How QTDR save our lives and how he built that into touring and creating more music. Plus much much more!
Where to find Mike:
Socials: IG: https://www.instagram.com/open_mike_eagle/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mike_eagle
YouTube: @open_mike_eagle
Podcast Linktree: https://linktr.ee/myfirstkicks
Intro Music by The DoppleGangaz: https://thedoppelgangaz.bandcamp.com/
Outro Music by Gordon Bombay: https://thegordonbombay.bandcamp.com/
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Transcript
Welcome and Introduction
00:00:15
Speaker
Hey, Open Mike Eagle, welcome to the podcast. What up, man? How you doing? I'm good, man. Yo, this is a long time coming. This is the longest time coming. We've known each other for a very long time. We've had this podcast for a very long time, and we've talked about doing this.
00:00:29
Speaker
for a very long time.
Podcast Network Aspirations
00:00:31
Speaker
Yeah, even pitched, even pitched getting on Stony Island, maybe like four or five times for to you. Well, I only remember the last time in which I was like, yeah, let's do it. And then we never talked about it. we know I mean, we can talk about it here. Let's have the meeting. Let's have the meeting, the that meeting out loud.
Celebration of 'Dark Comedy'
00:00:49
Speaker
um ah First of all,
00:00:52
Speaker
Well, first, I got to say, you know, even though we've been rocking with each other for so long, it is the anniversary of Dark Comedy, one of my favorite albums. So, yeah you know, me coinciding with my build-up to episode 200, I'm glad that you're able to jump on this specific moment because I can even tell you about the first time I ever listened to Qualifiers and how it just blew my mind.
00:01:17
Speaker
and And I was like, dude whoever this is, is my guy. And then for us to be actual friends after is absolutely insane.
SummerSlam 2018 Memories
00:01:25
Speaker
Yeah, we must. I mean, I remember us meeting in what, 2018? I think we met. Yeah, it's SummerSlam. SummerSlam, I think it was 2018.
00:01:35
Speaker
And I walked up to you and I was like, I forgot what I said. But I know it was shout out to Kyle Lewis. ah He was doing a show and Megarand was on the show. And then you were also doing that show. And then I saw you at the I was going there to say what up.
00:01:51
Speaker
and maybe check it out. But I know I had some some other thing and I ran into you and you were eating and I was like, yo, you're like, I was like, yo, man, you
Involvement in 'New Negroes'
00:02:00
Speaker
understand. I love your music. And then we will go on to be like almost coworkers, almost like almost. I wasn't able to experience your work because you were working out of the New York office um Comedy Central when we were producing the New Negroes.
00:02:18
Speaker
Which, as as you and I know, is a whole nother conversation because, you know, you know the the folks that y'all office guard me. Look, listen, that's letter i don't know if I don't know how much you want to go into. No, no, no. But look, I'm going to just say this because, i look, I'm always going to pitch this podcast, even if it's just a podcast episode at this point, right?
00:02:41
Speaker
not on this podcast because this is my first kicks, but the, if this is just like a, you know, a secret skin episode or something like that, I think what had happened once. Yeah. What had happened once. Oh my God. That'll be, that'll be perfect to be honest. Um, but it's funny because yeah, we were,
00:02:58
Speaker
This is when we actually, like, you started following me and then we would have conversations. um And then I think, yeah, the last show, the first show after we became friends, I went to go see you and that's when you gave me your number. And I was like, oh, shoot, I got over Mike Eagle's number. I remember telling all my friends. And they were like, who? And I was like.
00:03:19
Speaker
um And then I remember that because I was very cool with the talent people and them being like yo we're we're doing this new shows called New Negroes and I was like that sounds familiar and then I see you on the email when they because usually when the when the emails come through of like hey we picked up this show it's like a thing and you read it you and I was ah they do it for every show that they do and I read it and I was like Oh, let's go. And I remember texting you immediately after and being like, yo, let's go.
Nostalgia: First Sneakers
00:03:46
Speaker
Let's go. And I worked in stand up at the time. um So I was like, I remember talking to my boss ah and being like, yo, I'm so hyped for this. I can't wait to see how this is going to do, blah, blah, blah. And then, yeah, we know what happens after. but It went super sideways is what happened. We'll have to talk. we'll We'll have to figure out when we can talk about that and record it.
00:04:07
Speaker
and and upload that on my on my feed somewhere. For sure, for sure. Yeah, but look, you're here. I am. A long time coming. And now you're here to answer the question that I ask everybody each week. And that question is, what's your first kicks? What's that first pair of sneakers you absolutely needed to
Growing Up in Chicago Projects
00:04:23
Speaker
have? So when I was in, I think it was the fourth grade. It was either third or fourth grade.
00:04:28
Speaker
um And this is in the middle of like real real talk Jordan mania. when people, I remember there being a lot of stories in my neighborhood on the south side of Chicago about people getting jacked for Jordans and starter jackets. Okay. Charlotte, the Charlotte joint, the classic? I don't even remember if there was a specific team like just- I feel like the Raiders and the Charlotte, Charlotte starters going crazy. Charlotte for sure.
00:05:02
Speaker
um But me and my sister, our grandparents got us, um I think it was a Christmas gift. They got us Jordan Forest when they were new. And man, I put on them damn shoes and felt like a super hero. Like I legitimately felt like I could jump higher as a child. Like they they just felt like powerful. Yeah. You know, and then. That's crazy. Yeah. Yeah. yeah I mean, it it was really wild. and
00:05:35
Speaker
As far as I can remember, like that was the only expensive pair of shoes that I ever had as a kid. and i think like Because we lived with our grandparents, I think they looked at the cost benefit analysis of spending that much money on shoes and how I was not going to take care of them very well. you know that was I didn't see another Jordan until I was a full grown adult.
00:06:00
Speaker
yeah That's, I mean, look, I do wonder the significance of like growing up, cause this is 89, right? Cause that's when Jordan Forest came out. And so you got an OG pair and like living in Chicago during the height of Jordan. Like it's the height of the Bulls, you know, every like this, all kids want like literally be like Mike, like the old commercial. That's all anybody ever wanted. So like getting these shoes,
00:06:27
Speaker
was like the closest you could get. But I also was in an elementary school that was legitimately in the projects. So this was not a safe idea. That was going to be my next question. It was not a safe idea. Now, nothing ever happened, but Yeah, it just it just wasn't the sort of situation that you wanted to send your you child with expensive shoes and shoes. So I've wondered this growing up, and and I'm glad you brought this up, because I used to hang out on the project. I used to hang out in the projects where Nori grew up. So like I would see Queens. Yeah, Queens. OK. Lefrac City. And so like you you would walk around. You'd see Nori. You'd see like you know Capone just just chilling out on the block, whatever.
00:07:16
Speaker
but it didn't like I don't remember it being dangerous. At what point did you realize, oh snap, I grew up in a dangerous area? Well, OK, so this this is a story from right around the same time for me. We had a new kid in our classroom. So this is I think this is fourth grade.
00:07:36
Speaker
um
00:07:39
Speaker
And this kid, he was kind of cool. This is a dark-skinned kid with a big old afro, because they were still kids with little afros at that time. like um And he was sitting in the back of the class, and he used to lean back in his chair a lot. And the teacher always used to tell him, stop leaning back in his chair, and he ended up leaning it back in his chair again. and like He wasn't even like a asshole. He was just like, he couldn't control it. no So one day, we know we're just in class. I don't remember what the hell we were studying or learning about or whatever. But we just heard this boom, this crash. And everybody started laughing because we knew the kid had fell, and you know and which is what happens.
00:08:17
Speaker
yeah but he hadn't just fallen, he had passed out. What? He had passed out and he had gotten taken to the hospital and a report came back to us in the classroom, came back to the teacher and she shared with all of us that his system was full of cocaine. What? Yes.
00:08:46
Speaker
And the way that she was trying to rationalize it was that maybe he had an older sibling that was like selling or something. uhu But his entire system was just like full of coke. like He damn near OD'd. That's crazy. Just chilling in class. um And like so like for the rest of that week, we didn't even have any like regular study was all like intense dare sessions with like, you know what I'm saying? With just the dangers of drugs and shit like the whole rest of that week. You know,
00:09:21
Speaker
And it was like, yeah, shit was real. Shit was
Sneaker Journey to Adulthood
00:09:24
Speaker
really real. like We was really in the projects, really in the late 80s, early 90s, crack era, like full blown. And that shit was just everywhere. you know like Our elementary school, like I said, was in ah projects called the Prairie Courts, I believe.
00:09:40
Speaker
I lived about a a mile away in these buildings called Lake Meadows, which was like, they were high rises, but they weren't projects. They were like full of mostly old people. yeah We were living with my grandparents.
00:09:53
Speaker
um I can remember like at one point living in those projects became so dangerous that all of the kids that lived there had gotten these like official IDs. Whoa. Okay.
00:10:06
Speaker
right like And I used to get roasted because I didn't have an ID. So i if I had, for some reason, wanted to go into one of the project buildings, I couldn't. So I used to get roasted for not having that sort of status symbol. ah For some reason, I remember the Kendrick um the kenrick thing, where he's like, who where's that you from? what Where were your mama stay? Where your grandma stay? But instead, they're like, where's your ID? Right? you hear Right. It was really real like that.
00:10:34
Speaker
that's crazy that's it's like I mean even thinking about like growing around growing up around the projects it doesn't seem like the projects until you get older and you're you're looking back at it like when you're a kid it I feel like it's a lot more I don't know if this is the right word to say, but fun. So um my cousin lived in these different projects to Robert Taylor homes. And my family spent a lot of time hanging out over there with like this, like my first cousin. So like my grandmother's sister had an apartment over there. And ah my grandmother's mother lived in that apartment too. Like they had been there for generations. So this is what brick body kids exactly yeah that brick body kids album is about.
00:11:21
Speaker
ah my auntie's building. um Now, when I was over there playing with my cousin and his friends, it was like equal parts fun and dangerous. Like yeah the the Prairie course around my school, like I didn't experience the danger of that too much. But when I was over in the Robert Taylor's, like, you know, it was like pissy elevator. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like go in the house because they shooting like that, that sort of situation. Like it was it was much more real over there.
00:11:52
Speaker
That's insane. I don't know. Look, you're here now. I gotta remind my nervous system I'm good. I'm an Inglewood, but you know what I'm saying? It's not the south side in 91.
00:12:09
Speaker
Oh, man. I mean, you talked you touched it a little bit on my like, you it took until, you know, you and your adult her adulthood to get another pair of joints. But like, what what did you care about sneakers? And was it this is where you took the like, I'm only listening to I'm only copping vinyls, or you know, like where you like, what was the issue with this man was was this. I can college. I never had a bunch of money.
00:12:35
Speaker
So like I would get a pair of sneakers like once or twice a year, basically.
00:12:43
Speaker
And I was just so into hip hop, hip hop, doing the shit that I was never like super concerned with, pardon, with sneakers. And then when I started like performing, I kind of had like this
00:13:04
Speaker
it was like something between preppy, hippie style. See, the thing was, when I first started performing, I was a teacher too. Right, yeah. So I used to like to wear shit that I could wear to school and then also wear to the show after. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? So it was always this weird line of like, like, why you got a button up on those days? Right? So like, I wasn't into sneakers in either. And yeah.
00:13:33
Speaker
I got into wearing these shoes that were like the closest thing I could think of. They were like toms almost. They were like these like these like hard slipper joints.
00:13:45
Speaker
that they didn't have much structure. But they weren't toms? I mean, not they weren't actual toms. like I don't even know how to describe them, because they had a little more structure than a tom. OK. But like they weren't like leather or nothing. You know what I'm saying? I'm trying to think. I'm trying to even think of ah of the shoe then. Yeah. like i got like like They were almost like ah like them slip-on vans. OK. Yeah. Kind of like that, like canvas joints like that.
00:14:12
Speaker
um And I wore them for years, but like I said, like they didn't have no structure to them really. like The soul was not made of nothing. And I remember I was on tour with Aesop Rock. This had to be like 2015,
00:14:29
Speaker
somewhere around there. And I was like, My motherfucking feet hurt.
00:14:39
Speaker
And we were we were we were playing in Detroit. And Ace is a sneaker head. So i'm I'm pretty sure. i' um um Well, he was. I don't know if he is now. But I don't i don't remember his relationship to sneakers. I don't remember it being in a conversation with him. Like, it was more of a conversation with Rob Sonic, who was on the phone with us two. But like, I went to the mall in Detroit. And I got a pair of.
00:15:03
Speaker
all black hirachis. There you go. There you go. And my motherfucker feet felt like heaven. Heaven. I was like, what the fuck have I been doing my whole life buying these fucking whack ass shoes? And then like hirachis wasn't even expensive. And the thing about hirachis is like, I remember when I was in like later on in elementary school,
00:15:30
Speaker
I used to be tripping over, like I thought hirachi's was like the coolest looking shoe. Oh yeah, yo. bro Like I thought that little logo was sick as fuck. Like I used to be all, it's almost like, wait a minute, I can buy the shit I wanted when I was little. You know what I'm saying? And then hirachi's wasn't even expensive like that. So then I just started only wearing hirachi's like for the next like few years after that. And then like that kind of ushered me back into like just buying sneakers. Like I got, I got a bunch of,
00:16:00
Speaker
and A bunch of shit right over there behind me. Way too many. Way too many. Now I be getting roasted because I got too many sneakers. Some shit I don't even wear. I got a pair of Jordans right now in the box. I never wore. It's like some like the new kind of 11s. The low top. I got a pair. I don't wear them. I don't want to fuck them up.
00:16:17
Speaker
Listen, shoes are making me more laid. I know, I know, I know. You want to see my class? I'll send you a picture of my class. What the hell? I got the Tekken foams. I've been wearing those. but yes council That sounds beautiful. I don't even know what that is. Tekken foams? I'll show you after. OK. But there yeah, so I mean.
00:16:34
Speaker
to catch you up on that but nike dropped two teins phones right they just recently dropped gin phones which is white with like lightning strikes on it wow and then i have the i have the kazuass which is like based off of his jacket oh shit and it's like it's like scale it's like it's fire i'll show it to you and it' on the bottom it's got the fistin what's it called fistton ah the Iron Fist tournament? not No, no, no. It's like, well, you know, in the beginning of the fight of every match, it's always like fist, then it's like fist and something. I'll show it to you after. I mean, I don't know if you're a big ah FGC guy. I like Tekken. Tekken's my joy. Yeah. Like Tekken is one of my favorite fighting games of all time, but I haven't really liked
00:17:19
Speaker
mastered a Tekken since like Tekken Tag Tournament, you know what I'm saying? Like in a bunch of years. I'd even when I was playing Tekken Tag, it was mostly just for Tekken Bowl. Tekken Bowl was the fifth. And the volleyball was the shit? Volleyball was fired. Yeah, that shit was hard. They had they had some great mini games and I'll be like then and then people just ten combo me and I'll be like, but see me on the lanes, you know, see me on the lanes, bro. That's when I used to know combos of shit. Like I used to be really good with like fucking um What's his, uh, uh, was lay will long in tech and second tag tournament or was he just three? I think lay will long was on.
00:17:54
Speaker
Yeah, because he's the one, he's drunken style, right? Yeah, he had all the different stances. He's the Jackie Chan. Yeah, he's Jackie Chan. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can get that Lin Shao Yu, you know what I'm saying? I'll fuck you up back there. So yeah, you're talking about the hirachis. And I think hirachis are really dope because it's funny because it's connected to Jordan still, because Jordan wore the hirachis in the Olympics. OK, I didn't even know that. Yeah, he had that pair. He had the purple.
00:18:22
Speaker
the purple and the OG colorway, which is like white, purple and. It's like green or something? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't know what to talk about though. Yeah, and those, I feel like the little sock thing was like greenish. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And so, yeah, that shoe is absolutely insane to me. And then, I mean, you were saying like, you know, recently, or I mean, not recently. So then adulthood happened, right? You were playing, you were playing these shows. And you know, I always find it funny because like,
00:18:50
Speaker
even though i've I've interviewed a couple other artists such as yes yourself, you know, and I'll hip hop is so synonymous with like sneakers and sheet wear culture. It's like, and then, you know, you're in, especially like when I when I first started following you and listening to you, it was like the height of like underground hip hop. Like you had, you know, the death jugs era. And like,
00:19:17
Speaker
but Mainly for me, the Deaf Jucks era. And the Rhyme Sayers. Rhyme Sayers, yeah. And so, I mean, MF DOOM, shout out to him, get him getting his own his own SB. I got i got to i got them Deilaj Soul Joins. I don't know what I think. i think I think that's an SP too, it's the De La Soul joints. That's the only other pair of shoes I have that and then pair Jordan Levenson, I just won't wear. I have both De La Souls. I wore the high top De La Souls to Dante's book signing. See, I can't. I can't. I can't, man. They look too cool. I don't want to fucking get them dirty.
00:20:00
Speaker
Yo, look, you got sneak a sneaker cleaner, man. You just got a little sneaker cleaner. Hit him with the sneaker cleaner after. I mean, I feel you. I just i just got like 40 other pairs of shoes I can wear. So, you know. Look, um I don't think I'm at like 200. Oh, yeah. I ain't nowhere near that. I'm going to count real quick. Hold up. I'm just quick math. OK.
00:20:23
Speaker
That's about 50 in there. Yeah. About 50 in there. You know, some light, some light. Some light. Some light.
Hip Hop Journey: Chicago to LA
00:20:28
Speaker
I had to give a bunch away, but I realized I wasn't going to wear no more. Why? And how come? I think I just was, I just wore them out, fucked them up. And I don't like to wear, since I have options, I don't like to wear them after they look too fucked up. And I probably should have hit them with the sneaker cleaner years ago and didn't. So they look shitty, so I had to give them away.
00:20:52
Speaker
now No, no, I'm with you on that once you what you feel like I've been I don't think I'm wearing these anymore. Yeah, they just start collecting dust and I'm good man. I'm at that I'm at i'm like I'm trying to find a way to give away some sneakers too because like, these is not I'm never gonna wear them again. I don't think I'm gonna put them on and be like, all right, cool. Even though I go to a lot of shows, and so the one thing I do hate is when people step on my shoes. Right. So you don't want to wear your cleanest shit to the show. Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I'll rotate in the stuff that I think is going on. I'm about to be like, all right, cool. Whatever. Step on my feet.
00:21:24
Speaker
like
00:21:27
Speaker
It's funny. i So I bought a pair. there's a There's this shoe that is called the General Purpose shoe. It's called the GPS, right? Nike put out this shoe. And it's supposed to be like, you're supposed to just wear it every single day. And I'm wearing it, whatever. And so far, it was looking clean. It was looking clean. And it's an all gray shoe. And then I decide, I'm thinking like, oh, let me go to this show. And you know this is like my everyday shoe. It's whatever, like even if it gets dirty. I i don't think anybody's going to really step on me. Guess what show I went to? What show did you go to? Danny Brown.
00:21:59
Speaker
yeah ah Yo. My shoe was black. Blunt guts all over your shoe and shit. Yeah. With toast at that point. And the worst part was like, I was like i was pretty tired that day. So I was like, I'm not going to get in the pit. But then I ran into Ari Shafir and Ari dragged me into the pit. God damn it.
00:22:22
Speaker
Just a tall dude to be dragging you around too. Yeah, I was just, I mean, it was funny. But so I definitely want to talk about like, you know, your journey in hip hop, which is, you know, now, now, you know, recently with previous industries, and you know, but like,
00:22:41
Speaker
Coming out of Chicago and moving to LA, what was the ah culture shock of rapping out in Chicago with still riffing the gang and then entering Project Bloed? Well, I had been to Project Bloed a few times before that because I used to come visit my pops out here when I was in high school. And well, even in elementary school. But um when I started coming out in high school, I was rapping.
00:23:08
Speaker
so And I'd heard of the Project Blow from AC Alone's first album, so like 96, no, 90, is that 95? Might've been 95 when he put ah All Balls Don't Bounce out, so. Yeah. I heard of the Project Blow and I saw you know the video to Mike Check, like he's at the Blow, and you see all these heads and shit, and like, you know, to me it looks like, oh my God, and and you listen to it, we come for the glory of the B-Boy kingdom, like,
00:23:36
Speaker
You know, I thought it was going to be like this magical haven for lafer like like a hip hop artist collective. And it was, but it was also very much influenced by LA gang bang culture. Really? Oh, I didn't know this. Yeah. Like where the bloat is, 43rd Lemur, it's like the edge of two different hoods.
00:23:57
Speaker
So there's just a lot of tension in that neighborhood anyway. And then a lot of the rappers was from different sets. So like there was a there was a heavy, heaviest feeling of territorialism. um Because you know when I started coming around there in 96, 97, or whatever, you know it was 91, 92. That was like the worst time. Yeah. like The worst time. like you know you You talk to the so the the OGs now.
00:24:26
Speaker
like They was getting pressed walking home from school. Wow. you know like and And they didn't even give a fuck if you rap. like if You know what I'm saying? It was on just based on you not being for whatever set you was walking through back then. Jeez. Yeah. um So what I wasn't prepared for was that part of the DNA of the blow. So where I had a lot of like arguments where heads um just because it kind of had to be that because I wasn't about to leave. You know what I'm saying? And it's very much like, you ain't from here. Like, you know, and and I'm like there, though, like I'm not going nowhere. i like yeah So, you know, there's a lot of a lot of hair button with that. a lot Where'd you learn to stand your ground like that? I mean, it I don't even know if there was a particular place I learned it. I just like
00:25:17
Speaker
Man, Ben Caldwell, who ah owns the building that The Project Bloat is in, um and he's been ah a film teacher and a filmmaker forever, and he's been a real patron for the arts in the La Merck Park area. So he's a you know he's like you know probably 60 something years old, but he fostered The Project Bloat.
00:25:37
Speaker
um He told me a couple of years ago, he said from when he first saw me, he knew, and this is his words, I was in it to win it. Like I wasn't bullshit. But I think part of that is due to like, I had completed college already. yeah Like I was a grown person. you know So like, I don't know, like the the the the antics weren't gonna phase me really. right yeah you know and And I was learning,
00:26:07
Speaker
so much from the people who did
West Coast Hip Hop Scene
00:26:12
Speaker
see what I was trying to do and respected what I was trying to do and understood that like the generation I came with, we were going to be the next generation to like keep the shit going. You know, like by the time I got there, um ah the OGs who had major label deals, all that shit was done. Yeah. Now they had established the independence scene, which is amazing.
00:26:31
Speaker
um But part of how this whole thing kept going was through indie labels, signing cats, investing in them. And then everybody would connect back to Project Load and it keeps shouting it out. And then that's how the underground was happening. By the time I got to the table, by the time my generation got to the table,
00:26:54
Speaker
All them indie labels folded. Oh, yeah, for sure. So it was really on us to figure out how to adapt to the social media era, to figure out how to get our names known, and these conversations, and these message boards. You know what I'm saying? Like, it was really on us. Posting on OK Player like every time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. OK Player, filler flavor, the access music boards. Like, you know, Galapagos 4 boards.
00:27:22
Speaker
um It was really on us. The old heads weren't going to do that. I remember the old heads on the project blow boards getting mad at the fans. like They just didn't have a stomach for that kind of feedback from people. you know So they you know after a while, they realized, like you know were we're we're here to carry the torch. And eventually, they passed it to us. you know That's crazy. I mean, you know, these are these for the record. These are not questions I ask him in person. Yeah, no, we never talked about. I wouldn't even thought you were interested. This is the problem when you have a podcast, you know, all the interesting questions you want to just have in conversation. You'd be like, let me talk that for what we talk. I don't even know what you was holding. I don't even know what you was holding. But it's like so.
00:28:16
Speaker
It's interesting because as a person, look, I'll give you a little bit of my background. When I was in high school, obviously I wanted to be a rapper. It didn't work out for me. That's why we're here today. But the that I fell in love with underground hip hop to the point where I was on all a lot of these forums. And you know i wasn't as I wasn't Don Will becoming a moderator out here. I was very talkative. Shout out to Tanya Morgan. out to Tanya Morgan. Hell yeah.
00:28:44
Speaker
but It's like I was part of just like going to these underground shows of like, you know, 50 people in, you know, somebody's basement, you know, I was I was going to a lot of this stuff and, you know, it's part of the Q and five fam like I love like I always mess with like tone deaf pack FM all of them. That's what's on the jump. Right. So The New York scene, ah it's very insular, right? like If you only fuck with the New York scene, you're only going to know about the New York rappers. Shout out Pete. you know Rest in peace, pump your head. Just fuck your head for sure. Poison pen. Poison pen. Everybody in the plague, like it's like everybody listening to this would be like, what the hell are these guys talking about?
00:29:26
Speaker
but you up yeah But it's interesting because you don't get to hear a lot about the West Coast stuff when you're over here. And it's the same over here. that's ah That was another realization to even, and not to intentionally loop back to the question you asked, but that was a thing that I didn't know till I got here too.
00:29:48
Speaker
was that there was this robust LA West Coast underground thing that me, who had spent my whole life in Illinois, either in Chicago or Carbondale, when I went to school. If somebody had a major label deal, you'd hear about them. You'd hear about AC alone. You'd hear about abstract rule. rules right um But between Seattle, Portland, the Bay Area, l LA, San Diego, there was this whole ass underground movement. Old Dominion up in Seattle, ah Mystic Journeymen in the Bay and living in how they came together where LA has to form Living Legends. like What I learned was the underground was really all about
00:30:33
Speaker
these touring loops. yeah And so to this day, you got underground heads that connect to that West Coast movement from you know Seattle, Portland, ah you know the college towns in Oregon, Humboldt County in Northern California, Bay Area, LA, San Diego, Phoenix.
00:30:55
Speaker
ah New Mexico, you're going up to Colorado, Salt Lake City, like that whole Western region loop.
Acting Industry Challenges
00:31:04
Speaker
Wow. Because that was what you could do. Yeah. And like really book a solid tour as an underground act like that was your loop. You know what I'm saying? Salt Lake City, Boise, North to the Northwest. Yeah. That's like when dudes from New York would do like the fungo out of Boston. Yes. And then from Boston, you go to you know Connecticut, whatever, and come back here. You Rhode Island or whatever. like know and mean You go south to DC or whatever. fuck like But because of the way the country is set up, a lot of that West Coast shit didn't get past the Mississippi. So like me and Illinois, I didn't know about a lot of that shit. yeah So I had to get a whole education.
00:31:45
Speaker
and what was popping out here in the underground, because I didn't know about so much of it. You know, like, you'd hear about a MERS, because MERS was working with Knife Wonder and doing shit with Def Jugs. But the majority of the underground heads out here weren't doing that.
00:31:58
Speaker
No, yeah, the first time I heard AC alone was on Tony Hawk Underground. Wow. So that's, yeah, that that game probably opened up my brain to like some crazy stuff. Because that's what I heard. You know, that's what you hear at imaginary places by Bus Driver. And yeah, I used to be a monster at that game. So I had that whole soundtrack memorized, bro. So yeah, yeah, like that was big. Like, we don't realize that at the time, too, how big stuff like that was, you know,
00:32:29
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, you got music in ah in a game now, right now. i got ah I got a little music in Fortnite. I got a little music in 2K22,
00:32:40
Speaker
I think. I think it's 22. I think it's probably 22. See, it's 22 or 21, but I think it's 22. It's definitely, because I remember being like, oh snap, let's open Mike Eagle. Yeah. I think it's 20.
00:32:53
Speaker
yeah Yeah, but that shit's huge. That's huge. like you can't You can't beat that for exposure. I mean, it don't mean the same thing it used to mean, because there were a lot less consoles, a lot less big games. Everybody was playing more of the same shit back then. So if you had a song and like Tony Hawk, like that was a huge fucking deal.
00:33:11
Speaker
So like when I texted you about you being in ah that your song being an episode of Brilliant Minds, you are like I was like, oh my god. And you were like, yeah, it's all right. So but like explain explain that explain that to me. um
00:33:30
Speaker
so Like most things in music, getting a sync license doesn't pay like it used to. h you know so like that's kind of um it's it's you know I think it's just a lot of just me being jaded, you know where it's just hard to get as excited about that as you used to. you know um And I think I was in the middle of fighting to get paid for it too. like oh really and it not And it's not fight like somebody was trying to hold it back for me. It's just like, there's a certain amount of hoops you got to jump through.
00:34:07
Speaker
like To claim it? Well, no, to make sure that, because you've already made the deal for it well before you know it it airs in the episode. But then it's like, well, OK, now, OK, it's aired. So now I need my check. And and you know we got a smaller operation over here. So you know it's it's a little more like pulling teeth to get shit done. But they it all got taken care of. It was all good. It was just like, you know you caught me in the rough part.
00:34:37
Speaker
Man, I was, i see but so like me as a fan slash friend, and like, for me, I'm like, oh, snap, you know, like, remember I text you when the shy post posted, Big Body Kids had yeah that actually album. That shit was exciting for me, too. Even though, even though, um i did I ever tell you why?
00:34:57
Speaker
My little bitterness about the shot. Did I ever tell you that? Nah. OK. You want this on record? I don't care. It's all good. Back when this was in kind of pre-New Negro, but just pre-New Negroes days, I was doing a lot of auditioning. I was really trying to act. OK, OK. And I had auditioned for one of the roles in the shot.
00:35:24
Speaker
Ooh, OK. And I really like I did good. Like, I think I got a call back for that one. Mm hmm. I know i I worked really hard on the audition. And this might have been one of my first auditions, but I was like really pissed I didn't get it. was fucking mad Like that, you know, I had to I had to learn that hard lesson. And like, that's you know, that's acting acting is putting your putting your heart and soul into an audition. And you know you then you gotta let go completely. oh yeah Just coming from coming from music, that was hard for me to do. you know Right. Yeah. but Is it because music is more everlasting? like You put it out and then you're able to put it out yourself, you get instant feedback of like, yeah, I fuck with it, I don't fuck with it. And then versus being like,
00:36:14
Speaker
I don't know if they like what I just read, you know. Yeah, yeah. That's that's certainly part of it is the feedback part of it, because. That's the thing with with I don't know if you've auditioned, but like no the.
00:36:31
Speaker
It's almost like the default, like. If they don't like it, you'll never hear from them and you'll never hear why. yeah you know like you'll just that they don't like That's not how that works. yeah i'm saying like you know They don't really give a fuck how you feel about having spent a whole lot of time.
Revisiting 'Dark Comedy' Impact
00:36:50
Speaker
practicing, because they're not really there to foster relationships. They're there to like, fucking staff the thing, you know? Yeah, exactly. They don't care. To me, that seems like so I was unemployed twice. And it's like resume. I was putting 20 resumes a day for like six months, bro. And That's you can don't maybe you'll hear like three responses. It's very similar to that. Yeah. So and i and because I think but I understand it more when it comes to. Hiring, because to me, that feels like a cold thing already is working for somebody. Does it like I don't expect the warm fuzzies and shit, right? Yeah. But like with with creative stuff.
00:37:34
Speaker
I feel more like I need something back. And I think because of music, I'm used to getting something back. Interesting. So it's hard for me to not to hold on to that entitlement, you know? I mean, it's it's definitely interesting. ah I definitely want to go back to like, you know, the start, well, putting out, because we mentioned, you know, music, putting out dark, dark comedy and that process of like, because I i felt like i don't know if you I don't know if this is going to sound terrible. But like I felt like you were the only one doing that type of, like let me do introspective like slash humor. like I'm not going to take myself too, too serious. right And then at the same time, you were working with Hannibal Burris. And it's like the first time anybody heard animalnial Hannibal spit anything. yeah
00:38:25
Speaker
so The I mean one actually I'm gonna switch my question up like coming back thinking about like the journey that this album has taken you on like Did you think putting that out? Was gonna make you you know, do this or like, you know build towards these different this crazy thisography as well I didn't um I Mean I worked hard on it. Mm-hmm Um, I did feel like I was becoming more seasoned and how to like be a recording artist. So I felt like I was ah doing a better job of like crafting my ideas and shit, you know, but this was my fourth album. Right. Yeah. And so, you know,
00:39:15
Speaker
It's the sort of thing where, yeah, when you like when you put out your first album, you feel like you're going to change the world. huh you know like you're youre You feel like you're going to be on the cover of Time vaccine. This is the one. right they of you They're going to invite you to the White House and shit. like you just you you just That's the spirit. That's the ambition you have then. and then you kind of um you learn more of of the practical way to manage your expectations after that, right? And you understand this is the underground, these are independent labels, these are small things. So everything is kind of just like, you know, you take a step and a step and a step and a step. But like, but between 2013 and 2015, and that album came out in 2014,
00:40:01
Speaker
I was able to like do a bunch of shit that seemed like, oh, at the end of that, oh, this does seem like a level up. you know But I didn't go into it expecting that, no. I mean, look.
00:40:14
Speaker
I could probably recite the whole album front to back if you just play the beats. But the yeah i would I would love to see that. Don't test me. um But it's like it's interesting because, you know, not to compare you to somebody, but like, you know, one thing I remember when Lil Dicky dropped and he was like, I want to be the rapper, the comedy rapper, not the rapper. I was real mad. I was real mad.
00:40:42
Speaker
And I was already like, oh, this is open mic already did this already. right And the idea of just comedy and music together where you, and i'm I'm on this journey right now to make it a little bit about me where it's just like, I want to mix sneakers and music so bad, right? Where I can find, I can create this like individual lane, right? And you created this lane.
00:41:05
Speaker
that nobody else was doing. Nobody's over here, you know, being like self-deprecating and also making these hilarious jokes within a track, right? what it It's interesting to see somebody take something that you worked so hard on and then elevate it to now he has his own show, right? Where, I don't know, do you feel like there's like,
00:41:30
Speaker
What do you feel about that, especially because I feel that there are definitely now, I think it's more commonplace. Well, I'll say this. um Professional jealousy is an emotion I'm very familiar with. Me and professional jealousy has spent a lot of time together. Yeah. ah And you know that you know little Dickie's rise in particular was something that did not feel good to me in a lot of ways. um Because in addition to me feeling like,
00:42:00
Speaker
Um, like I didn't feel like it was mine to control like that, that relationship with comedy and music, but I did feel like that was the same sort of product I was trying to provide. And I felt like he had a leg up being a white artist, hu you know, and and so, because there's this whole conversation in hip hop about like,
00:42:22
Speaker
you know, is there a white privilege in hip-hop sometimes? And I think that there is to a certain degree just because we live in a white country. You know what I'm saying? So I think there's this default thing where people are going to be open to something that looks like them. You know, especially when this is a brand of hip-hop that is less traditional, so um the face of it does not necessarily need to be the blackest person. You know what I'm saying? Because it's already like this alt sort of of hip hop. So it's easier ah for somebody who um who looks like the majority of the population to to sort of get a foothold there. but
00:43:02
Speaker
All that to say, too, it's not like he's not talented. It's not like he's not good at what he does. right yeah um and And when I was talking to Dante Ross, because Dante Ross peed Lil Dicky way early and kind of knew he was going to be huge. um Dante said you could tell he had his shit together very early. And he was aiming high very early. you know So um I can't fault that either. I can't fault people for using their resources to get where they're trying to go.
00:43:28
Speaker
What I think I think the only thing that I would have liked for him to do more is just be a little more like reverential to the to the culture. Yeah, that's the only that's really it. Aside from that, like, I don't I don't have any like real beef with him. I just got professional jealousy with him. Yeah, yeah. It's definitely interesting because you talk about professional jealousy and I feel like, and sneakers, to harken this back to sneakers, we see a lot of that now. I don't know if you scroll through social medias and you see like, you know,
00:44:03
Speaker
white faces are more successful within sneakers versus saying like, you know, someone like me who's just like, I just want to tell other people's stories using sneakers, right? Versus somebody who's just like, this is what's new. I want you to check this out. Give me your clicks. Give me your likes. I'm going to bring you basically filler, filler content so to to get these, get to the masses. Right. Um,
00:44:28
Speaker
I think and this is why and previously, like on other podcasts, I'll guess I'll be like, I consider myself the underground of this.
Building a Musical Community
00:44:35
Speaker
Because what I'm trying to do is akin to ah just giving people their flowers within the community, right? And When you are so genuine and you're so you want to be so like inclusive of everybody, it's like people are kind of just like, I'll get to it when I get to it. right And I feel like that is so similar to underground hip hop, where it's like,
00:45:00
Speaker
Once people finally get to it, the crowds are crazy. Like, everybody's in every, like, when I go to your shows, everybody, it's like, I remember going to an earlier version of your shows and then the shows that were recently, right? Recently now. And I feel like it went from, you know,
00:45:17
Speaker
of bad. ah This is like such a ah regional example. but It went from, you know, the knitting factory, small room into elsewhere, right? You're, you know, you're, it's like, but that's mostly because people are like, yo, we got a community, right? yeah And, and to segue this into QDTR, you built a crazy community that I feel like it created ah like diehards that are like willing to to to follow you everywhere. and i mean it's it's Yeah, i've I've definitely been fortunate when it comes to community. I think that um it it gets a little tricky too, because a lot of the community I build is full of people who are like my age, and they don't come out the house a lot. And I don't blame them.
00:46:02
Speaker
Don't fucking blame him. You know what I'm saying? like It's rough. like you know you you You use all the effort it takes to come out, and then there's a room full of fucking young people. And it's not... you know like i I totally get it. I totally get it. These kids, let me tell you, I went to a Lord's ghost show. Donte was here. I got to support the stimulated people. Shout out to them. That's what's up. Shout out to the out just stimulated.
00:46:25
Speaker
Yeah. And so I went to the Lord's go show. So I went up to everybody. Everybody's chill. Everybody's chill. You know, these kids, it was like, it felt like I got transported back to to the nineties. Like I felt like I was in lions then watching people battle battle rap on MC battles.com or something.
00:46:42
Speaker
Like, it was just nothing but like kids smoking cigarettes. Everybody's in baggy jeans. yeah like This one kid, you know, I was dressed regular. This one kid comes up to me and I could tell he was like 17, 18, whatever. And like, ah he pulls up to me just like, he's like, yo, I love the fit. 2010s, right? I was like. yeah ah but so Shit!
00:47:06
Speaker
ah Yo, that's, that, that belongs in an episode of some television show. That's too good. That's too good. good That's so fucking funny. Damn. Bro, man, shout out Dante, man. He put on a great show. But yeah, I mean, look.
00:47:27
Speaker
You know, your shows are awesome. And so, yeah, I think that the like QDTR saved a lot of people. Yeah, i did it was important to a lot of folks, myself, obviously, but it was important to a lot of folks for sure. And the the world got to witness video, Dave. and And, you know, and I think that that yes, you're right about community because Even though within the online community, you also have your personal community that you've brought people in on as well. Because when you you know when you go on tour, you bring your guys. yep And I think that's like a lot of a lot more people need to do that more. I don't feel like not many are really doing that.
00:48:09
Speaker
I mean, it's rough, man. Shit. We already on thin margins, and now we're splitting money up. It ain't easy, but it but I do think it's important to expand my world past just me. you know i feel like I tell people this all the time, but I feel like at the end of the day, pop culture on every level is really team sports. Oh, yeah, for sure. like if you have a If you have a flag that has one person's name on it, not a lot of people are going to fly that flag. You know what I'm saying? If you have a flag that's a team that that person is in and also inviting you to be in.
00:48:51
Speaker
then you feel like you can start a movement there. like i I saw that really emphasized with Run the Jewels. Yes. you know like that like in Or Wu Tang. You know what I'm saying? it's it's It's about something that's bigger than one person, and it gives people an opportunity to buy in and feel like they're a part of something. I can't ask the question that I want to ask, so we just move on to the next one. Oh, that's interesting.
00:49:17
Speaker
I don't even I wasn't even following. I don't know what was about to happen. No, this is I mean, I'm not. I mean, look, I'll bring it. I'll bring up the ah I'll say it and then you can just go pass. OK. I'll be like, ah but um to mention Hellfire Club. Yeah. Yeah. um I don't. Yeah. I don't know a problem talking about Hellfire. No, I was just going to say, like, you know, that that was like a collective. I i always look forward to. and Yeah. and And that was that is exactly what that was. Yeah. And was starting to become, right? But I think ultimately, um
00:49:54
Speaker
That is not what it was built to be when it first created. And so it couldn't handle the weight of that. Yeah. You know, like, that's like, like, there's a messier way to talk about what happened. But like, that's the fundamental fact of it is that it was started to be one thing, which was a record label curated by one person. Right. And it ended up becoming this collective thing that structurally it wasn't able to be that.
00:50:23
Speaker
So it fell apart, you know?
Underground Collaborations
00:50:26
Speaker
True. Yeah. I still bump Werner Herzog, right? Yeah, Werner Herzog is the shit. The whole Dorna versus Tukey fucking mixtape. That shit is hard. That is hard. It is a hard. Everybody listening to this, you need to, don't stop. Finish the episode. and then Finish episode. go Go download. Buy it. but I mean, I don't even know what it's supposed to feel like. I don't know. I need to be sniffing around for some royalties.
00:50:51
Speaker
but can but but send an email, man. let me yeah Who's got the, what email is under the account on this? But, you know, Hellfire Club was definitely like, yeah, i I feel like I think it's like you got a taste of like what it was to be in that sort of way. And now, you know, with Stony Island, you know, you got is it like a of it's a it's a whole entire album um like
00:51:24
Speaker
what is It's a record label slash podcast. I mean, it ain't no record label. It's a podcast roster. You know what I'm saying? Well, wait, what did you put previous industries out on? its says Oh, that's on. That's on merge. That's on a whole other label.
00:51:41
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And oh, actually, you know what I wanted to actually ask you about is so the current because I didn't get to ask really asked this to anybody on here. I don't even basically asked it to like cavalier in person. But and I think quality in person too. But you being such a veteran of this game, right? And now we've seen the rise of what somebody like Billy Woods has been able to, and you've got to interview phil Billy Woods ah about, about his rise as well. But the current underground now has been taken aback by like abstract hip hop. And I don't know if we need to, I guess, credit that to like the alchemist or should we credit? me I mean, I think he's a huge part of that. Yeah. But or like Earl, I feel like Earl is definitely. Yeah. I feel like Earl and the alchemist together, um,
00:52:32
Speaker
have created a platform that's given shine to a lot of people that wouldn't have gotten it otherwise. you know That they're inviting people to listen to Woods and the Lucid and Quillic. You know what I'm saying? like it's just it It creates this opportunity where people are lending an ear and leaning in where they might not have been before. Yeah.
00:53:01
Speaker
know so i think it's i think their Their relationships and their tastemaking is very important in bringing the scene to where it is right now. And I mean, so now you're, I don't know if, do you consider yourself adjacent to it or you consider yourself part of it? I think adjacent is probably the closest I could realistically claim. Like I have relationships to certain people within that, but I am not in that. Like like i we won't be able to see an open mic eagle with Mike.
00:53:29
Speaker
like I mean, I'm like Mike. And me and Mike are like mutuals on Twitter for heat. Like, I still feel like i i feel like there's there's potential there. We don't have a relationship, you know what I'm saying? But there's potential there. like and And Mike too, Mike is is also getting glow in like that Danny Brown JPEG, like that area too. And I got relationships with all them people. So like you never know. But I'm speaking more of the center of that Earl alchemist. Yeah. Arm and hammer. Yeah. Like I i know all of them people. Right. Yeah. But I'm not I think it would be overselling it to say that I'm a part of that. Do you know what I'm saying? Like, yeah, i don't I don't have like like I know Earl. I've met alchemist a couple of times. But there's no like real relationship there.
00:54:21
Speaker
Do you know what I'm saying? So I don't foresee that changing anytime soon. You never know. You never know. You never know. I'm not holding my breath. I'll say that. Alchemist was like, yo, put on that open mic. Eagle qualifies real quick. Let me see something. And then you get it. You know what I'm saying? You remember how we spent a lot of this conversation talking about how I do this fucking comedy shit? I don't think Alchemist is into that shit. I really don't.
00:54:48
Speaker
I could I couldn't see him fucking yucking it up you know it like I couldn't see it. He's like, he's like, yeah, let's get him on a track. And then you're like, you're like, you're going to you're going to random. You better check your spam. You've never seen Uncle Al email like three, four years ago. Be like, hey, I want you on this. I want you on this Mavi track. Yeah, I take it in if if if that's what his intention was, he certainly could have said that to me in person a couple of times. Yeah.
00:55:17
Speaker
And he has not. Shout out to Al. Shout out to Al all day. I fuck with everything he's doing. I was at the show in L.A. It was so beautiful. It was beautiful, man. There was this moment during the Arm and Hammer set where Arm and Hammer brought out Quile Chris, Cavalier, ah Pink Seafood. They had Haram DJing for him. It was like all the backwoods just missing fat boys. And it was like, and I'm talking about a big, full ass room. Like they had a thousand people in this place. And like I was telling him, I almost got fucking emotional. For real. Denmark, vest like, it like they was all on that stage in front of all of them people.
00:56:04
Speaker
having this most beautiful moment and like just knowing them how I know them. Like I know like these are my brothers right here. Like like i like i talk I just talked about people who I didn't have a relationship with. These are people like everybody who I just named.
DJ Clark Kent's Legacy
00:56:22
Speaker
I have relationships with all of these people from years. yeah So it was so beautiful.
00:56:31
Speaker
to see them up there in that moment. It it really damn near brought me to tears. It was fucking special as fuck. Yeah. I mean, you've been in the trenches with these guys. Exactly. so actually and And I don't think any of us thought that was in the cards. You know what I'm saying? like No matter what heights we saw for ourselves, I don't think we saw that. you know So shout out to Uncle Al for that. Yo, shout out, Uncle Al. I ran into him one time. No, I ran into him a couple of times, actually.
00:57:00
Speaker
Funniest last time though, was I'm walking through so the San Gennaro, they have this festival out here, San Gennaro, and it's like a Italian festival. They do it for like two weeks or something. No, it's like actually like three weeks. And then mad Italian food, right? And I'm like, I'm just walking through it. I run into alchemists.
00:57:21
Speaker
just mad randomly. And I'm like, I go, oh snap, uncle out. And he turns to me, he's like, and I just hit him with the pound. And that was it. I was just like, that's all. That's all I need. That's what's up, man. That's what's up.
00:57:37
Speaker
yeah you know ah running to people who I have mad respect for all the time, but I don't know. And I try to keep it fucking, you know, ah maybe say a couple words and then bounce. And then, you know, there are people who look at me that way. And I appreciate it when they don't they don't say 1000 words. yeah because like it can It can be a lot if you're in a situation where you're not expecting that, you know. Oh, yeah, for sure. So we're towards the end of the podcast. And usually I ask another question, but It mostly deals with you know ah like, I'll ask you another time when you're on here again. But you know recently, we just lost DJ Clarkett. And so you recently did a video. and Well, you spliced it from ah your live stream, which was amazing. Everybody check out check out like count the morning show. Check out the morning show. You'll see me in there. There you go.
00:58:28
Speaker
ah no So I wanted to do something special, well, special, I don't know. But the since for for me, he's always been sneakers for me. And for you, he's been hip hop. So like if you could, and you know in so many words, talk about his impact for you. And I'll tell you my, my because I feel like we're going to share two different sides that can be one whole. So yeah.
00:58:54
Speaker
Yeah, I spoke about this a little bit on the morning show. Like, my first ah time I ever and came aware of him, this old fucking Dana Dane video from like 1989 or some shit, where him they throw it to Clark Kent and he does this very simple DJ cut, but then at the end of it, he opens his shirt up and he got the Superman on. Oh, he is gone.
00:59:13
Speaker
um And then just from years, like, my my real experience with him is just seeing his name on so many credits. and and not even really ever putting it together. Wait a minute, this dude did this beat and this beat and this beat and this beat. So like memories Memories from Slick Rick is one of my favorite fucking songs. um Junior Mafia Players Anthem, fucking um How We Roll from Cannabis, like just all of these different crazy beats and songs he put together that I had like
00:59:51
Speaker
it's like It's not that I had no idea, because I did open this liner notes and see this name, but I never really sat and put the full picture together like, wait a minute. yeah The same dude who opened his shirt up and had the the S on his chest in the late 80s has been there this whole time, like making banger after banger after banger after banger.
Podcast Closing Remarks
01:00:11
Speaker
um And then I watched the interview he did with Math Hoffa, um where he was really talking about some of the part he played in the early career of Biggie and the early career of Jay-Z. yeah And i didn't I didn't know about none of that shit so like till like, was that a year ago when that interview came out, maybe a little more than that? I had no idea. like So he was a person who,
01:00:39
Speaker
He had become, in the back of my head, one of my dream, what had happened was guests from my podcast. That would have been sick. Yeah, right. like Just being able to cover all of the things he was a part of. like um So it's just like a giant and hip hop, but like a silent giant, which is just hella rare in the hip hop culture to like have somebody that influential that don't feel like they need to be in front of the camera all the time.
01:01:08
Speaker
you know I mean, that's dope. You gotta also check out the 1Up episode that he does, because he breaks down. What episode? 1Up. I'll say this to you. Yeah, yes yeah, yeah. Because it's really good. Shout out to Rosenberg. Yeah, shout out to Rosenberg and Syfe. So for me, my first, I guess, experience with Clark Kent was he used to do the show on Complex called Quick Strike. And it was basically like,
01:01:35
Speaker
In layman's terms, sports center, but with sneakers. Wow. From then on, i only i every Wednesday, I was just like, gotta get gotta to get on it, gotta get on it, right? And from then, you hear about these legendary stories on the forums like, oh yeah, Clark Kent went ah to Baltimore just for a pair of linen linen Air Force Ones. And you know you hear about that. Then like Clark was this, I wanna say,
01:02:07
Speaker
He was like, you know, like the, like the, the, the head, what is it? The Oz, the Wizard of Oz, like, you know, you talk about Oz, whatever. He was like this like overseer of like, oh, if this, if this is what needs to be like cool in sneaker culture, then it has to be cool by Clark standards. Right. Okay. So.
01:02:31
Speaker
Years go on, and you know, he always said, but it's funny because my favorite Air Force One is an Air Force One mid, right? And that's the one with like the strap in the middle. Not not the strap on the top, like the Rashid Wallace ones, the highs, but there's like a ah strap in the middle. And he he would go on Quick Strike and be like, if you're wearing a mids, they're trash. So like. He's talking to you directly. He's talking to me directly, right?
01:02:59
Speaker
Um, so I've met him a couple times, right? And as you were saying, you know, he was one of your, your dream guests for what happened once. He was one of my dream guests for this podcast. Right.
01:03:13
Speaker
I ran into him last year at Complex Con and I didn't really get to say much to him because it's one of those moments where it's like, I want to save it for that that moment where I get them on the podcast, right? So got to speak to him and be like, you know,
01:03:29
Speaker
um Gave him my sticker and I was just, I talked to him for like a hot second and be like, yo, you know, what do you think about this? Blah, blah, blah. That wasn't the first time I met him. First time I met him was at SneakerCon, the first SneakerCon out here. And he pulled up, said, what up? And I got to say, this is before I thought about podcasts and before I thought about like writing about sneakers or doing anything with sneakers. And so for me, it was just like, oh, I got to meet somebody I actually like look up to. You know, fast forward now.
01:03:58
Speaker
And I interviewed the other person, that he the other co-host of that show, Russ Bengston. I know, yeah but yeah, me and Russ follow each other on a bunch of platforms. Yeah. And shout out Russ and and always appreciative ah for letting me interview him. And it's like, that was like,
01:04:17
Speaker
Yeah, I can't wait to get Clark on, you know, and here in his past and definitely it it left. It leaves ah in the culture itself. And I feel like in both cultures, it leaves a giant hole because he's.
01:04:29
Speaker
He was one that he was always trying to push everything forward. He was never trying to keep it all to himself. like Even his first couple of videos, is like what that that video that everybody's been posting, it's the Hata DJ video. you know I feel like, right? is it Or it's just him spinning. it's one of those i don't I don't know if I've seen it.
01:04:48
Speaker
I'll send that to you you're gonna have like several what ah do yeah deb re But but I remember yeah, he's just like he always pushed both cultures forward he was always about this and It said that we had to lose him, you know, so yeah, that's that's what I wanted to say. Let everybody know where to find you and You can find me being sad at my house, thinking about everybody we lost. um i'm ah you know I'm open Mike Eagle. You can find me on Twitter still, unfortunately, um at Mike underscore Eagle there um at open underscore Mike underscore Eagle on Instagram. I got a website. It's got all that shit listed on it to Mike Eagle dot net.
01:05:36
Speaker
ah But yeah, YouTube, Twitch, just check me out. Search open mic eagle on anything and something will pop up. Anything, anything. Actually, if you search me on Pornhub, something will come up. And porn, but something with me will come up. It will. and not even I'm not even bullshit. i have I think I'm in two different videos on Pornhub.
01:05:59
Speaker
sure ah I am fully clothed in both of them. Fully clothed. I would also, I would hope so. I'm gonna let you know, don't be scared. Cuz if it's like, if it's like, you know, somebody's like, yo, let's film the scene to, you know, ah oh what's the Jojo song? Joestar? Joestar song? I am a Joestar.
01:06:22
Speaker
No, you ain't nothing like that. Nothing like that. Fully Fully clothed. And you know where to find me, I am, who is awesome. Also should be just follow the podcast in My First Kicks Pod. Follow the podcast on TikTok, My First Kicks.
01:06:35
Speaker
po on TikTok, follow the podcast. Like and subscribe, all that. If you're just listening to this, go on to YouTube. You can watch me and Mike have ah this in-depth conversation about his his story on YouTube, My First Kicks on YouTube. And if you have a My First Kicks story, hit me up, myfirstkickspod at gmail dot.com. And for everybody out there, you know we say each week, wear your kicks. Peace.