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It's Friday! You ain't got no job, and you ain't got $h*t to do... except listen to this new episode of Spoiler Alert: It's Different Now! We’re kicking back with special guests Mikey and Eroc to talk about the legendary stoner comedy, Friday. From the iconic characters (Felisha! Deebo! Smokey!) to the endlessly quotable lines, we’re breaking down why this movie is a generational classic. Get ready for a deep-dive on the hilarious, chaotic, and essential story of Craig and Smokey's fateful day. It's more than a movie; it's a movement!
Follow Us on Instagram: @spoiler_alert_podcast
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Transcript
Introduction: Revisiting Childhood Movies
00:00:06
Speaker
This show is not suitable for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised.
00:00:21
Speaker
Buenos dias mi gente! Welcome to Spoiler Alert, It's Different Now, the podcast where we lovingly ruin our childhoods by rewatching movies that definitely should have come with a warning label.
Meet the Guests: Mikey and E-Rock
00:00:31
Speaker
I'm your host, Joel Rojas, and each episode, a friend drops by to laugh, cringe, and spiral with me through the cinematic relics of our youth.
00:00:39
Speaker
Because nostalgia is fun. Until you really pay attention.
00:00:48
Speaker
Rated R for Reflection.
00:00:56
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of Spoiler Alert. It's different now. Today, i am joined by my brother from another mother. We have been rocking for the last 20 years.
00:01:08
Speaker
We met for the first time in sunny California. We have been involved in each other's journey for the last two decades. And I'm so grateful to have him here today so kick off ah episode number eight.
Significance of 'Friday' to Mikey
00:01:21
Speaker
Mikey, welcome. Welcome to the podcast. Mikey here. It Thanks for having me. I'm so happy to have you here. Along with Mikey, we have our cameo guest, E-Rock. Kachoon. Hola, hola, hola.
00:01:36
Speaker
but but burn yeah we man we E-Rock will also be jumping in every now and then to provide some commentary. But he is a good friend as well that's but also been rocking alongside Mikey and myself. So I appreciate the support and I'm ready to jump into the movie that you have for us today. So I'll let you go ahead and introduce it and give it a little bit more perspective as to what it meant to you and why we are examining it today.
00:02:03
Speaker
Shoot. Ha ha. Friday. Yo. ah Friday is my movie, man. I'm a goofy dude, Lil' Key. I like to just enjoy life, but, you know, it's always a serious side to everybody, too. So I feel like Friday was that movie that allowed me to be serious, ah hit my serious side, but also hit my joking side, which there's more of. Like, the more you get to know me, the more I play around and act stupid. You what and I mean? But Friday, I think that was a...
00:02:33
Speaker
It was hard for me to actually make a decision. it was. Because originally, my favorite movie is, don't make fun of me, but Lion King. There's no room. There's no room to be made fun of. Not on this couch. Yeah, right, right.
00:02:49
Speaker
But I rocked with Lion King, but I was going between Lion King, then I was like The Wood, then I'm like Friday. I'm like, which one did I watch the most? I'm like, Friday was the one that just hit with me the most, so...
00:03:03
Speaker
I started off, I was like, I'm going with that. Do you remember how old you were when you first saw the movie? i was I was sitting there thinking about like how old, I was thinking like how old was I when I seen
Cultural Resonance of 'Friday'
00:03:15
Speaker
this?
00:03:15
Speaker
And I'm like, it came out in 1995. I know I didn't go to the movies to see it. um might have seen a bootleg, I'm not sure. But I think I was like nine years old, eight or nine maybe.
00:03:28
Speaker
I thought the same. I thought I was around 10. Yeah. But it was still a few years after it came out because in 95, I was seven. So there's no way I was watching this. Yeah. I thought you said it was um probably probably on bootleg.
00:03:40
Speaker
Yeah. I had to, because how long was movies in the movies actually back then? They was in a lot longer than they are now. Yeah, my daughter just asked this, because she was saying that, I think it was Lilo and Stitch or something like that. One of these movies were already on Disney Plus, and i was like, yeah, i was like, that's not how it used to be. I was like, before, the movies used to be in the theaters forever. it was like, Netflix was online. think they would mail this to your house, and then you would only get like three at a time, and you have to mail them back. yeah You know, you can always...
00:04:07
Speaker
She was like, really? And I was like, yeah, like but the movies, yeah, the movies were in the theaters a lot longer. So it was nice. All right. So you're watching Friday at nine, 10 years old.
00:04:19
Speaker
What stuck out to you then that that made you hold on to it as a staple as you grew up? I'd say how it made me feel. Just the the laughter that it brings, I
Diversity and Representation in 90s Media
00:04:29
Speaker
feel like laughter is a medicine to all. like That can help so much, that and music, of course. But just being able to look at something, laugh at it, take it in, it's for your culture.
00:04:43
Speaker
You feel me? like it's Especially all the music we was listening to back then. It was all like like her music, you know what saying, for within our culture. some open music during that, not open, what's the, like some woke music during that time too, but you know saying? And I feel like Friday's a little bit both of that. Like, I feel like Friday, what's up, Iraq? What you laughing at?
00:05:06
Speaker
Say, I don't feel there's anything woke about Friday. No, I wasn't saying Friday a was woke. Nah, yeah. but that Is that what I sounded like was saying? Yeah. That's what you said, yeah. No, was saying it was like more a woke music.
00:05:19
Speaker
It was woke and- Like culture was like, our culture at the time in general. Yeah, we all trying to find ourselves around it. I feel like that's what that, I feel like Friday it was a part of me finding myself.
00:05:31
Speaker
What resonated with you? Which character? hold better questions but Back then, because it might have changed, right? So at eight or excuse me, at 10 years old, eight, nine, 10 years old, which character stood out to you the most and why?
00:05:48
Speaker
Definitely Smokey. Definitely Smokey. Smokey and Pops. Yeah, Pops was crazy. Smokey, well, he just like, he reminded me of my boy Marv. Like back in the day, he was always talking shit. Honestly, they didn't give a fuck. Like, I guess that's probably why it stood out to me because he reminded me of my boy and shit.
00:06:10
Speaker
He was always just there too. He was always there with his mans. Like, Smokey and Craig, they was bros. like they You would think they grew up together if they didn't say that in
Memorable Characters and Scenes in 'Friday'
00:06:20
Speaker
movie. I don't think they said anything about that in Yeah, were in sure. But they was definitely locked in. They was rocking out.
00:06:25
Speaker
Even when Smokey threw his ass under the bus, even though he shouldn't have done that, Craig still rocked out with Smokey. Like I said, that's my boy. That's my really my cousin. He gonna be the worst. He gonna get you on some shit, but he gonna talk his way out of it.
00:06:39
Speaker
And whether you like it or not, you gonna ride with him just cause that shit man's. like
00:07:06
Speaker
One of the things that I noticed off Rip was the cast. It was star-studded cast, right? I felt like... All of these actors and actresses ah had seen either in like the Steve Harvey show or the Wayne's Brothers show or these other ninety s you know, staples in the household. When we were growing up, we watched we actually watched TV. Like we actually did that. We didn't sit there and binge watch Netflix. Like we just watched whatever was on. And in most cases, if it was the CW or WB, we were watching Wayne's Brothers or we were watching... in Living Color when we're watching, right? Like Saved by the Bell or excuse me, not Saved by the Bell, um,
00:07:46
Speaker
ah Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, right? So there's certain faces that reappear throughout these shows, um which makes sense for the time, right? We're talking about the 90s. So I imagine that the black imprint in Hollywood was very light. So you saw the same actors and actresses repeated, but this cast was heavy. Like every single face that showed up, I was like, yo, they went on to be amazing. yes is There's nobody that really fell off from this cast. I felt like there was another movie I could place people in.
00:08:18
Speaker
one of the actresses that was there that I didn't notice until now was, did y'all notice Megan Good at the ice cream truck? Yes, we was talking about that, yo. Yo, that's Ruby. She was sitting there. She was in the very beginning and then she at the ice cream truck.
00:08:31
Speaker
I'm like, yo, she's there. And she was a kid. How old was she during that time? I don't know. was probably like 15, 14. Nah, she looked way younger, bro. She was like 11, 12 years old. You so? Because you know there would be like older people to play a younger parts.
00:08:45
Speaker
Nah, I don't think she was. I feel like she was 15 in Cousin Skeeter. Scooter. Skeeter? Cousin Skeeter. Yeah. Damn, Cousin Skeeter was at work too, man. That's probably where that puppet from Philly came from. What's his name?
00:08:59
Speaker
What was his name, Yorok? Peanut215. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Peanut215. Yeah, you ever
Portrayal of Violence
00:09:05
Speaker
check him out? No. He's funny. I'm going to follow him on Instagram. He's totally doing stuff too. He was jailed for bit. That's why he stopped for a while.
00:09:12
Speaker
Oh, get out of here. Yeah. You won' i remember that? He was he was just in sick with yeah
00:09:19
Speaker
her. So one of the characters that I remember most. Right. so same as you guys before watching this movie, I try took a minute to kind of reflect on who I was when I first started watching this. Right. In terms of like I was eight, nine, ten years old, which character stood out to me over the years.
00:09:37
Speaker
the first thing that came to mind was Deebo. I think Deebo's the one character that I carried throughout all the years. I even forgot Smokey was the character until he popped up on the screen. But Deebo, I remembered, as soon as you said Friday, it associated for me, Deebo. Like I knew Ice Cube was in it as Craig, didn't even know his name. i just knew Ice Cube was in it.
00:09:54
Speaker
But Deebo was the character that stood out. And I feel like, you know, he's, I think he has passed. Did he die? Yeah, he did. Right? I'm right this time.
00:10:05
Speaker
Sometimes I'm wrong and it's really bad. RIP. But, know, he's been the character that has always stood out to me. And one of my favorite, not scenes, but...
00:10:17
Speaker
Quote, right? Because nobody wants to condone violence, right? Deebo knocks out a dude in one of Smokey's flashbacks as he's explaining the story to Craig. And the homeboy gets knocked out and Smokey goes and stands over him. he's like you got knocked the fuck out. And that quote stuck with me because and in my childhood when there was, you know, street fights and little, you know, little crews want to body each other. fast. Right? Like, it was like real fist fights. It was real play yard fights. And I really resonated with watching it this time around where Pops is kind of like hitting to that and he's saying, like, that's a lost art, right? Like fighting it out, scrapping it out is a lost art. We've turned down a different path.
00:10:57
Speaker
And we can talk about that a little bit from from you guys' perspective. But... you know, Deebo was just a
Parental Dynamics and Social Themes
00:11:03
Speaker
staple character for me. And then again, when Smokey popped back up, i was like okay. And then Felicia popped up and I was like, oh my God. ah And then your logs running down the street. And I was like, yo, all these people, right? Everybody's a hit, yeah. yes Yes, yes. Miss Parker.
00:11:19
Speaker
Yes, yes. Down to the little man. Yeah. I was like... And how humble like the times have changed because when I was a kid, I would call that man a a midget. Right. And that's so politically incorrect. He's an intellectual but he's a little person. He's a little man.
00:11:36
Speaker
But yeah, I was I was so impressed. I was very, very happy with every star that showed up. um And again, i feel like they've all gone on to be successful. Yeah. You can't go wrong with none of them.
00:11:47
Speaker
What were some of the things that hit different this time for you? ah I would say, i don't know if it necessarily hit different, but the the relationship between Craig and his his girlfriend. yeah i One thing I didn't realize is that this whole time she was pressing him, right?
00:12:08
Speaker
About running around with a chick out here doing his thing, whatever the case is. She called him talking about what club he was at. Meanwhile, she laid up with a nigga literally right next to her.
00:12:20
Speaker
i't I don't know why I didn't see that when younger. It's a nigga right next to her, and then you got Craig's picture on her mantle. Yeah, right behind her bed with the big-ass mirror. I was like, her furniture was wild back in the day. Like, for row everything looks crazy in that movie to me.
00:12:33
Speaker
She over here getting bombed by this dude looking at this guy's picture. like Yeah, disrespectful. Just scandalous out here. i got to say, i look at Nia Long's character in a new light as to look at it now because first she runs by, runs by them, so she sees that they there.
00:12:51
Speaker
Then she goes over looking for her sister, knowing damn well she at school right now. She's not home. You just wanted to go over and talk to the dudes. But then she mentions, you got a girl. you over here flirt with this man. And in the end, all he does is beat up Devo and now you, oh, Craig, you want come over for breakfast this morning? It's like, whoa, whoa. You said he had a girl. Right. And this was literally like eight hours ago. Yeah, for real. Eight hours ago. Now you did the switch up. Yeah, so I look at her character a little different.
00:13:19
Speaker
Yes, that is true. Growing up, you just look at her as like the girl next door like, oh, man, the music she probably liked him. She probably gave him chance. But it's like, Cee-Lo, you gotta watch her. Yeah, you picked up on game.
00:13:31
Speaker
she was throwing it at And all he had to do was put the glove up and catch the ball. yeah that Low key. They had good chemistry on screen. and I appreciate that. Yeah.
00:13:45
Speaker
Definitely Pops character. today Pop, yeah, he's another character that has gone on to pass. Man, a lot of this cast has gone on to either do really great things or unfortunately they have passed early in in their careers. You know, we never really got to see the the adult side of things.
00:14:01
Speaker
Yeah, one thing I definitely value in the movie is
Community Dynamics and Cultural Portrayal
00:14:05
Speaker
the relationship between the mom and dad. Like, I believe that, you know, for to have a successful marriage or a relationship, whatever the case is, y'all gotta be on the same page.
00:14:15
Speaker
When it came to raising they kids... they was definitely on the same page. Like, cause when, when Craig, when Craig, you know, he had the cereal, this is something small. When Craig had the cereal and, uh, he was about to throw it away and pops was like, yo, what you doing? Don't throw it that way.
00:14:31
Speaker
They just got a different way of delivering it. The same thing came up with his mom. His mom was like, just put wood on it. It won't hurt. But just the way that she delivered it, like you got the deliverance from that's coming soft from the mom.
00:14:42
Speaker
And then you got something that's little harder from the dad. You know what mean? And then in that sense, the roles get reversed towards the end of the movie because now the dad is like, yo, let him fight while he getting his ass kicked by D-Bug. Right. And the mom like, I'm going kill him. I mean, Kelly, she got the gun. She ready to go. but So, like, their rules, their exact opposites, but it's a good balance between the two to raise their kids. Like, I thought that was a good um perspective from an adult.
00:15:08
Speaker
I mean, from a ah parent. And as you know, like, you know I'm saying? Your parents as well, so. Yeah, for all the things that this movie was inappropriate and wild for, I think that it did a great job showcasing a healthy, right, Black family, or at least a healthy mother-father dynamic because the kids were a little wild. But also the daughter, like you could tell, you know, his sister, Dana?
00:15:31
Speaker
Yeah. She had a good head on her shoulders. You could tell that she wasn't with the foolery and, you know, she was also raised right and was, you know, some type of discernment and judgment because she wasn't was wondering if she got, if she had a joined a gang low key.
00:15:47
Speaker
Nah, stop it. With her boyfriend. I don't know. If she came in with the joint on her head, be like, yo, what you got that on your head for? it Like, But it was a black bandana. And and I feel like in a L.A. movie, they definitely would have picked sides.
00:15:59
Speaker
She was just about to get her hair done, too. Right after that. That's true. Yeah, right. yeah Her hair never got done, by the way. I'm a hair person. they played with that, right? I their hair the whole They the setting. yeah They played with the environment. Like, clearly, we're in the hood, right? Like, he he got fired on his day off, right? Like, they got this whole little mini workout gym station in their front lawn. You got crackheads walking by, right? Like, they're clearly in the hood.
00:16:22
Speaker
Yeah. But they they played with a gentle balance of just wholesome, regular, degular stuff and kind of putting a spin where you you got the the subtle hood implications like that.
00:16:39
Speaker
I think just the day of the week they pick was like the best day of the week because it's the one day that everybody looks forward to. Like it's Friday. I probably just got paid or that day or the day before you got the weekend ahead of you.
00:16:51
Speaker
That's when everything, everybody already ready to go out, turn up, the whole neighborhood turns out. This is just a typical Friday in the hood. Like I think that's, That's definitely something to look forward to. Like, nah, I just look forward to watching Friday because I want my Friday to come. like To get lit. Yeah, I want to go lit.
Influence of 'Friday' on Perceptions of Smoking
00:17:10
Speaker
who also got lit that comes to mind is Hector. Oh, Hector, yeah. He's a good character too. He's a sucker. Hector was a great character. and I appreciated so much the scene where, you know, Smokey goes and he's smoking with the Cholos and he figures out that his shit's been laced with angel dust.
00:17:27
Speaker
And they just fuck with him and they chase him with the car and he's in his underwear, he's running down the street. And I just thought that was hilarious. I was just like, yo, but like, this was really a thing. Like, I remember hearing stories of shit like this happening to people. Like,
00:17:39
Speaker
You really can't be careful. Now people lace your shit with fentanyl and you probably won't. It'll be your last one. But yeah it's just funny how, you know, and people would just lace your shit just to to watch you freak the fuck out.
00:17:51
Speaker
you You know what ah we was talking about when we was watching, right? We was thinking, was sitting there counting, how many els did he roll that Friday? Like this is this this is a lesson from Smokey to me.
00:18:08
Speaker
Being able to um handle your responsibilities the right way. You try to your responsibilities the right way. This nigga smoked like eight joints that day. He probably ended up smoking like a quarter.
00:18:21
Speaker
If he smoked a quarter in that, just that morning, he probably smoked a quarter a day. He owed worm, what, like $200? That's probably an ounce back then, right? So he blew through that whole ounce before he could, before he could really even make any money.
00:18:36
Speaker
Right. Like, And then he didn't want to sell to Hector. Right. Yes. He ain't sell none of that weed. That man smokes all that weed. Bro, you had yeah you had your ass on the line, right?
00:18:47
Speaker
You got your ass on the line. And you had to get up out your fillings to go get up and make that money and sell to somebody that you don't want to sell with. Every day we get up we go to work and, well, I know I get up, go to work and I got to deal with people at work that I don't want to deal with. But guess what? I got to go to so work and make that money whether regardless of whether I want to be around this person or not.
00:19:13
Speaker
Smokey, you better get your ass up and go make that money. like Yeah. And he didn't all he did was rope Craig into it so Craig could get the money for him, for real, for real. But he did go make that dub, though.
00:19:24
Speaker
He made that dub. But there wasn't enough money, but he he was drawn on himself. When? Because remember at the end, he called him like, yeah you to have my money tomorrow? And he he was bullshitting at the end, too.
00:19:37
Speaker
No, he had the money. He got the money from D-Bow. Oh, that's right. That's right. He stole it back at the end. That's right. Yeah, so now he's just smoking all everything away. forgot. Yeah, he going to smoke it right back up. That's why he wasn't in the second one.
00:19:48
Speaker
What got me, now that we're talking about the smoking, is the way in which they presented the side effects. Bro, it's nothing like that. Yo, I was sitting here just like, yo, they be doing us dirty, bro. Like...
00:20:03
Speaker
Yo, this is what I believe smoking weed was like back then. Before, when I was eight, nine, ten, I'm like, I didn't smoke until I was in like eighth grade. So before that, and I'm watching this show, i'm like, damn, this is like, is it this like shrooms or something? Like, are you hallucinating? Most in the eighth grade? Yes, I started drinking in eighth grade.
00:20:22
Speaker
Yes. Do you remember like what that was like for you?
High School Experiences and Smoking Portrayal
00:20:26
Speaker
Do you remember the experience? The first time I smoked, I was with my boy, Petey. And we was just sitting in the courtyard smoking a Black & Mild.
00:20:33
Speaker
It ran my way. sitting on a green box, because instead of sitting on stoops and patios, we had green boxes. But we were sitting green box in the court, just got done champing them out.
00:20:45
Speaker
And I remember was with him, I smoked. I was, I don't know, I don't remember it giving me the high that I get now. Like, I just remember being like real relaxed back then, and then smelling like hella weed. And then I just ate some peanut butter so could go in the house and not smell like it.
00:20:59
Speaker
So I didn't get caught by my mom. What? Yeah, I heard eating peanut butter back then. You eat some peanut butter, it'll hide the smell. You know what saying? Then I walk in, breath smells. Sounds like the weed did work that day.
00:21:12
Speaker
Wait, hold on. It hides the smell on your breath? Yes. Okay, but what about your body? but I was a kid. I wasn't thinking like that. thinking it's just in my breath and all that.
00:21:23
Speaker
yeah i was in like you know I was like Craig. I would just dust my ah my shirt off and call it a day. Okay. Why? Do I look high? Right. You're blazed. Yes. You on fire right now, bro.
00:21:38
Speaker
Oh, man. How about you, E-Rock? When was the first time you smoked? First time I smoked was senior year of high school. Okay, you're a good boy. Mike actually called me up one day because... um I had worked at Taco Bell and somebody I worked with gave me weed free.
00:21:54
Speaker
He called me up one day and said, hey everybody's coming over to my house to watch the Trap in the Closet DVD. Bring that weed you got. What? So it was like 12 of us on one blunt. We all smoked. And then we went inside Mike's house and watched like eight chapters of Trap in the Closet.
00:22:12
Speaker
it Yo, what a time. I forgot about trapped in the closet. Bro, music was so fun. I used to sit on the radio waiting for them joints to come out, yo. That's crazy. It'll be like 545. I remember it was right after practice.
00:22:26
Speaker
It done hooping or something like that, and we all sent a car just listening to that joint. It was came out on the radio, guess. Yeah, we was waiting that. It was like a weekly fucking show. and Yep, and the video would be on TV.
00:22:38
Speaker
That's nuts. I think I was a junior. I drank early. i was drinking in sophomore year, like bad.
Changes in Drug Culture: 90s vs Now
00:22:47
Speaker
I used to chill with a...
00:22:50
Speaker
I used to chill with a gang of Cambodians in Providence, Rhode Island. Like, is' it's ah it's odd to say it back out loud. But those were my that was my family. Like, those were my homies. And they put me on to, like, Everclear and Orange Juice and all this other shit. But the first time I smoked weed, it was probably...
00:23:07
Speaker
The end of sophomore year, going into junior year. But the way I... And I remember this because I've never smoked weed like this with anybody else but these people. They would take the weed and they would chop it up, right? like But they would chop it up with a a butcher knife.
00:23:21
Speaker
What? On a block. Like on a wood block. Oh, shit. And they would chop it up like fine, fine, fine, fine. Like damn near powder. Right? And then... they would pack the bowl and they had made this bong out of a bamboo shoot that was easily three and a half, four feet long.
00:23:40
Speaker
And they, it was handmade and they would pack the bowl and they would set the shit on fire and you would hit the bong. And the first time i smoked was like this, yo, when I tell you I ascended to like the fifth ring of whatever the earth was. That was crazy. on Yes, an excursion. You was probably barefoot on the ground, hugging the tree while you were doing it. Bro, I remember just like being in another world, bro. And I was just like, wow. But it was nothing like they portrayed in Friday. To me, I just like, nah, bro, they dragged it. They definitely dragged.
00:24:10
Speaker
and They definitely dragged. This is what it's like on Shrooms. Like to me, it was more akin to that. was like, it's not this. You're not, you don't think the dog's barking at you. I did agree with, sometimes you will hear your heartbeat depending on how- I did, yeah. We talked that up to, that's anxiety. Yeah. Yeah.
00:24:27
Speaker
That's anxiety. It's a side effect. But I feel like also to your point, like the highs are different. I feel like today's weed and yesterday's weed are two different weeds.
00:24:37
Speaker
And while these are better in terms of like potency, I feel like the effects that I used to feel back then, And like the the onset and how long it would last when I was smoking high school was completely different yeah and better to me than it is now. Like to me, I'm just like, bro, this is so commercial. Like it's intended for me to like come off of this high in 90 minutes. night mind They got this shit down to a science.
Parental Advice on Violence
00:25:05
Speaker
agree with that
00:25:12
Speaker
that stood out to you this time that as an adult, right, as a man that has lived life, you view differently? That I view differently? Mm-hmm. Wait, repeat that question one more time. Like the conversation, for example, like the conversation with Pops and Craig when he finds the gun.
00:25:34
Speaker
Yeah. How do you receive that that talk now? What is your thoughts on how Pops... talk to to Craig about the ownership of his gun. As a father. As a father, yeah.
00:25:46
Speaker
Listen, as a father, I'm like, son, if you don't fucking put that pistol down and go grab the semi-automatic in the back, it's no. Real talk though, like that that's something that ah that stuck with me because just me moving forward in life.
00:26:08
Speaker
From me watching that movie, you win some, you lose some. Back in the day, for sure, like it was all fights. We never really grabbed guns like that. like This is me going through high school.
00:26:20
Speaker
You never really grab guns. Like you said, you win some, you lose some, but you live. You live to fight another day. Like, nah, that shit's real. Like, know I'm saying? And I almost got to a point where I may not have lived a fight another day.
00:26:35
Speaker
Like I got, before I joined the military, I was what, 17? I had just turned 18, gun charge. Because i'm I'm out with the homies and they had some issues. They issues is my issues. All right, come on, let's go.
00:26:47
Speaker
And if that would have really sat with me, if I would have really paid attention to that back then, would never had
00:26:57
Speaker
to deal with going to jail and, and trying to find my way out to eventually join the military, which is actually a good thing. Cause I needed that in my life, a little discipline, but, um, I don't know. like Sometimes it's all about making the right decision. And at that point, I didn't.
00:27:13
Speaker
At that point, Craig almost didn't, but he made the right decision. But right now, I feel like nobody, and not nobody, but the YNs, for a lack of better words, they come out here, they shoot in. They don't even...
00:27:28
Speaker
go through the reigns of fighting. they They wake up and they say, right, I'm not losing the fights, obviously because of technology. Not obviously, but I think because of technology, people scared to lose in front of the world. But they go straight to to shooting. And a lot of them lose their lives at a very young age. You know what I'm saying?
00:27:48
Speaker
People just have a hard time dealing with themselves. emotionally, so like the emotional maturity isn't there because their first reaction is to go straight to a gun. Pop's really just telling you at that time, like, listen, sometimes you got to deal with your losses in order to get gains in the end, to get more W's in the end.
00:28:07
Speaker
And I think that's a valuable lesson that should be put in more movies and stuff like that because the way people acting right now and m pulling guns freely, don't know.
Youth Violence Across Generations
00:28:20
Speaker
Yeah. Can I pose a question for you guys? Yeah, of course. Look how you brought up the YNs. The way that Pops brought it up to him, is he said it like it's a it's a generational thing, like it's his generation.
00:28:32
Speaker
But... Throughout history, or throughout our Black history that we've gone through, you know, fathers that have had that conversation with sons that generation, the generation after, the generation our generation, now the generation with the YNs, like, they're all having gunplay instead of fighting.
00:28:50
Speaker
Is that a generational thing, or is that just something, gunplay, something you have to go through, in that youth era, in that like early, that YN era stage. Cause it, cause it keeps happening.
00:29:04
Speaker
is black era too though. It's not like everybody. It's just us, our culture. I to say, I feel like that's by design, right? if Because no, that's not that's not usual for the course, right?
00:29:18
Speaker
The average American teen isn't accessing weapons um unless they're living in the dirty South somewhere. And like that's really the culture of their environment. But for the most part, the only other populations or demographics that will see weapons, especially black and brown young males, will be in inner cities and hoods, right?
00:29:38
Speaker
So yeah, the question i would pose is, is it by design that we keep seeing this generation after generation, knowing that the message has been presented to us in different ways, whether it's through Friday or just different documentaries or different keynote speakers and motivational speakers that have lived the life and are now trying to give back to the next generation.
00:29:57
Speaker
We've heard these stories. um Why does it keep happening? I think because at the end of the day, there's
00:30:04
Speaker
yes, there's this social currency, right? To being the tough guy that doesn't take shit from nobody. and Right, that'll pull up. and There's social currency to that. But at the same time,
00:30:16
Speaker
there's not much work being put into these neighborhoods to rid them of access to these firearms, right? Where the next alternative would be to duke it out, but right? Like it's like, well, why fight it out if I might lose, right? In most cases, these kids ain't growing up on the streets until it's time to be out on the streets. right Does that make sense? Like I feel like when we were kids, we were outside like at six, seven, eight, nine, 10 years old, we were outside until the lights came out. a lot younger.
00:30:42
Speaker
Yeah, we grew up in the streets, whereas now like the YNs, they're growing up in their house until they can finally walk out at 14, 15, and now they think that they're somebody, but because they never trained to be Mr. Tough Guy, right, but they have access to weapons, now they put on this gangsta mask, right, and they they live through that. Like, they
Characters and Societal Understanding
00:31:01
Speaker
live that out. It's it's kind of like they're on a stage.
00:31:03
Speaker
I was gonna say, yeah, to that point, like, if you look at Friday, like, the you know, the little bad kid that was on the bike. Little Chris. Like, he was he was exposed to, like, kids his age, because he was with the kids in the ice cream truck, and he was exposed to older older adults. You know, he's hanging out with them while they playing dice, and when Deebo came up and all that.
00:31:20
Speaker
You know, he wasn't just inside on his computer, like you know, the kids nowadays. No offense to y'all. Exactly. Yo, that kid, Chris, he remind me of, like, how he always messing with Craig and Smokey.
00:31:33
Speaker
When I was younger, my boy, he lived across the acrossest street from me, but he had an older brother. He was like six, seven, I feel like. don't know, maybe he wasn't that tall, but I was, during that time, I was a young kid. think I was in like six, seventh grade.
00:31:47
Speaker
The way Chris used to mess with them is how I used to mess with him. Like I used to, his name was Leroy. And I used to always say to him, hey Leroy, who's the master? And I screamed out, show enough, like ah ah the last dragon whatever.
00:32:00
Speaker
And he would get so mad every time. i don't know why it got him mad, but I just started saying it to all the time, cause I started triggering. Bro, he would chase my ass up this street so far, but bob ill be like, yo, he don't get tired.
00:32:13
Speaker
I'm thinking that he, like, big, and he not going to be able to catch me, bro. And he finally called me one day and whooped my ass. I started screaming, Ira, Ira, help me. My boy, like, nah, nah. He's like, bro, you on your own, Mikey. I told you, stop doing that. Yeah.
00:32:28
Speaker
feel like every neighborhood has a pestle. Yeah. Like, that is the menace. Yeah, that was funny, though. That reminded me that. Yes. But I would argue that. I would say, like, you know, these... We learned how to fight.
00:32:42
Speaker
We had street fights. We had scraps. You know, you you develop your little street fight games. But we grew up on that, whereas these kids don't. And to your point, they're on the computer inside.
00:32:55
Speaker
And it's easy to be be whoever you want to be on the internet. Right? I was just listening to...
00:33:05
Speaker
the Joe Budden podcast, and they were breaking down the Young Thug interview. Yeah. And they were pretty much saying how, you know, at the end of the day, while Gunna is an artist that will rap and, you know,
00:33:21
Speaker
not sing, but he's rapping about different things that he's doing in his life. He ain't really about that life. and Young Thug knew that. Like, this isn't, he he wasn't that.
00:33:33
Speaker
They made him that. And so when shit hit the fan, you couldn't expect him to be this street nigga because he wasn't a street nigga. He was the kid in the house on the computer and he just started playing his part. Yeah, exactly. Right? Like, this was, again, a stage. You got a persona. Yeah.
00:33:47
Speaker
Exactly. And so I think that that that's the new obstacle that our new generation faces is they're not sure of who they are. So they'll just pick whatever is the most popular thing to be in their environment. And unfortunately for a lot of young black men and young brown men, white boys, whatever, what they see is that.
00:34:11
Speaker
this Is the violence, is the gangsta shit, is you know, being in the
Economic and Cultural Elements in 'Friday'
00:34:16
Speaker
streets. Yeah. Everything on the shade room, that's all they see. Neighborhood talk.
00:34:29
Speaker
One thing I learned, um not to say I learned, but one thing I really like paid attention to was, or sat differently with me, I think, was ah just looking at the decision, all the decisions that Smokey made, right?
00:34:44
Speaker
The decisions you make, really it don't just affect you. like It affects everybody around you. You know what I'm saying? him Him... All right, listen, I need to get a couple of dollars. He grabbing butt.
00:34:55
Speaker
He chose to be irresponsible with this shit. So now it's like, you bringing Craig into this. You know what I'm saying? Now, Craig's life is at stake because you're being irresponsible.
00:35:07
Speaker
And you got um Felicia. know what I'm saying? She got her ass beat by Debbie. yeah know I mean, not by Debo. By Debo, because he went in there trying to get that bread back after he got punked by ah buy him in the crib. And he said, yeah, we got about $200, huh, Debo? I got $200.
00:35:27
Speaker
And then Debbie got the shit slapped out of her. You know what saying? Like, trying to stick up for her sister because everybody else is scared. So that's it. Today, nowadays, Craig stepping up and and being that guy, you need a lot more Y-Ns like that.
00:35:42
Speaker
You feel me? Instead of pulling that gun out, I mean, which he did, but he put it back. Instead of pulling the gun out and using it, think for a second. Take a second to think. Take a second to think. What you do doesn't just affect you. affects everybody around you.
00:35:57
Speaker
That's a great point.
00:36:00
Speaker
um two You mentioned Debbie getting smacked or punched in the face by Deebo and Felicia getting smacked or punched. I mean, she got hit a few times because she had a shinies around her eyes. And I was just like, that's one thing that wouldn't fly today. not have Friday today would not have Deebo smacking the shit out of Felicia and Debbie.
00:36:20
Speaker
We wouldn't have seen it that that way. like
00:36:25
Speaker
I think he does something different. out lee does that Yeah, I don't know. i don't know. Maybe because of the nature of the movie, that obviously the time timing of it. But yeah, I don't know.
00:36:36
Speaker
ah ah remake of Friday today, that would be cool to see. I'm talking about I want to see the remake of it with all the social media and everything involved. Kind of like how they did Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
00:36:48
Speaker
right Right, where they modernized. Yeah, I think that would be pretty tough to see. Maybe we should do a Tubi movie of it. ah I did think it was pretty on point to what a regular day outside looked like. you You made that point earlier where it was like, yeah, like it's a Friday in the hood. What's not to look forward to?
00:37:08
Speaker
And there were some things that just resonated. I was like, yeah like i I thought the scene where, like you know, Iraq just mentioned a little while ago where Debbie goes over to Craig's house to see his sister, but knowing that the sister's at school.
00:37:22
Speaker
And I was like, that's so that's so funny because I remember... being like one of those girls that could just go to whatever homeboy's house and like, yo, just chill on the couch and talk shit. And like, we really sat in the living room and like, stared at each other and talked a little bit of shit. I like, all right, well, this is this was great. Right, back then you could just randomly go up to somebody else. You know, so-so here. yeah That don't happen nowadays. You call first, text first. Don't just knock on my door. hurt Yeah, now you'll act like you ain't there, even if you are.
00:37:53
Speaker
You're like, nah, I ain't here, shit.
00:37:59
Speaker
One thing I made note of also was the economics in 1995. And the the liquor store had a few signs on the outside that had pricing for six packs of Coors Light and Bud Light. And I was $6.99 for 12 pack?
00:38:17
Speaker
Bro, that's exactly... I had to rewind this shit back. We said the same thing. I was like, what the
Cultural Reflections and Stereotypes
00:38:23
Speaker
hell? i was like, I knew it had to be a six pack. That shit was a 12 pack. Yeah, I rewinded it back. i was like, not a 12 pack. That's nuts.
00:38:32
Speaker
Now it's running what? Maybe like $19.99? $18.99? there now. eighty ninety nine it's up there now Yeah, that's how you might as well just pull a dub out for a 12-pack now. Right. Another thing that stuck out that had to do with money and, you know, just the value of things at the time was the in Smokey's room, there was a poster that showed a nickel bag And I was like, bro, what? the
00:38:58
Speaker
Like, I remember nickels being phased out when i but when I was buying shit. So it was just like a flashback from the past. i was like, oh my God, ah a nickel, nickel bag.
00:39:09
Speaker
That brought back memories. Me and my boy, you know we used to bag up. We used to get... hella butt, break off all the stems, like the big ass stems. And we had those little nickel bags, man. Stuffing them up. We would just stick as much as we can inside of the, it was no scale, no nothing.
00:39:26
Speaker
Whatever you couldn't. It's much. Yeah. Yeah. Whatever it is, you getting that $5 off of that. But i'm remember I might have PTSD from doing that shit. Green all over my hands, sticky and shit. I'm like, don't even want smoke after this shit. Yeah. Your fingers be mad crusty after breaking up weed.
00:39:45
Speaker
I think i i so I sold a few nickel bags in my day. Now that you mentioned the small bags, I remember carrying them in the side of my sports bra in high school. yeah My boy would be like, yo, I'm going to give you seven. You can keep two. Bring me back five. Like, right, I got you, bro.
00:40:03
Speaker
Yo, it's that's just not a thing anymore. And another thing, like you said, he had sold the 20 bag over to Hector, right? He got that dub sack off. And I was like, bro, I remember, like, buying a dub sack, a 20 twin is what he called it. Like, i was like, yo. 20 twin, twin? Nah.
00:40:20
Speaker
Now everybody's buying apes. Like, you're not going to the dispensary. You're going to your homeboy and saying, yo, let me get a gram off you. Let me get two grams. Nah, for real. I mean, ah you might be able to buy them from, oh no, they pre-rolls. They're just pre-rolls now. Yeah, yeah. You're not buying that. And even the pre-rolls are like a gram and a half and they're $9. So, yeah the 20 sack has been retired, but it was just interesting. Like, i was just like, man, the way they deal in currency in this movie is, it just different, you know?
00:40:47
Speaker
Down to homeboy, like he was like, yo, I'll wash your car for $2. The crackhead, Azel. ah I loved him. For $2.
00:41:00
Speaker
I also thought it was ah play on culture, um especially l LA culture, when they went to the liquor store and the Asian man stood up behind the register. The black-owned business.
00:41:12
Speaker
Yo, this is crazy, bro. You know, it's the black boy that did work there. He's not behind the register. Mm-hmm. Can't be trusted. That's how it was back then. Crazy. Well, kind of still, but...
Portrayal of LA Culture
00:41:24
Speaker
A little bit.
00:41:24
Speaker
yeah one of the things that I i was thinking about thinking about when you were talking about gunplay was Pops had this whole you know message to Craig about gun use and being a man and scrapping it out.
00:41:42
Speaker
And at the same time, they're like... setting up drive-bys in the following scenes, right? And, like, normalizing the violence of that. like it was another day. It was like, oh there's that car creeping. Who's creeping? Oh, drive-by. they hide behind the tree. And then they, you know, they wait for them to pass by. And then they they keep walking.
00:42:00
Speaker
They continue their night. And I'm just like, bro, it's... It's just interesting how they played, right? Like, I get it It's supposed to be kind of like a parody it's supposed to to highlight certain things and make fun of certain parts of l LA culture in the 90s, but... But it's real life out there.
00:42:16
Speaker
Yeah.
00:42:18
Speaker
we were saying that um just watching like everything that they put together, how they put Friday together, that's like the start of Grand Theft Auto, just how they're moving in there and everything. Like...
00:42:32
Speaker
Like, don't know, everything with that, like Cali base is, I think, a good whole home base just for like movies, theater, video games. It looks like it'd be a good culture out there.
00:42:44
Speaker
Yeah. It's nice, right? You saw the convertibles down to s Smokey's car. Smokey even had a convertible and all that. This shit's backfiring every two seconds. But I thought it was interesting because in most most movies or you know, specifically black 90s cult classics, so to say,
00:43:02
Speaker
you see the same trend of the low riders with the hydraulics, the Cholos always pop up, right? Like they did a really good job at kind of like, well, someone would say branding, right? What this LA look is and carrying it and being consistent throughout. And I think while there are other movies, right? filmed A million movies filmed in Hollywood.
00:43:22
Speaker
There's no, there's nothing like the LA that black movies portrayed in the nineties. Let me ask you this, right? Going from, you remember Chino from Cali? Yeah.
00:43:32
Speaker
So going from um the East Coast to the West Coast, which we both did, which we both did and we out there with P and all them. and All our East Coast homies? Yeah, all our East Coast homies. And then we go over to somebody's crib and they got like, don't know if you remember, he had this lowrider sitting on like 10s with the little wheels, but it had all the high jogs on it. Yeah.
00:43:54
Speaker
Going from where we was to then and then seeing all the movies, it almost felt like you was like like, this ain't real, but it's real. like yeah This is what I've seen on TV, but no, it is really like that out here.
00:44:07
Speaker
I thought that was like a ah pretty dope experience for us said to be able to share it that. All of us coming from there from here to going over there, thought that was pretty fire. But execution, like you said, the execution was pretty on point.
00:44:19
Speaker
Yeah. And one thing that I picked up when I was out there was not only the fact that like this is real, right? These people actually exist. they there's The movie is clearly made on stereotypes.
00:44:30
Speaker
But these demographics of people are actually embedded in Southern California culture. But one thing that I also wanted to add on to that was that When I got to LA, San Diego, me and you always
Setting as a Character in 'Friday'
00:44:43
Speaker
got lost. yeah Like my whole time, all of the years I ever lived in San Diego and Mikey was along my side ah by my side, we got lost. MapQuest was pretty much the only thing that we had and we didn't have a printer, so we just winged it yeah and it was what it was. But when I went to LA, I knew where I was.
00:44:59
Speaker
everywhere I went, especially in like the Hollywood, you know, Western area of of l LA because, and South Central, because of these movies. So I would see like Wilshire and be like, oh, I know what that is. Oh, Rodeo. I know what that is. Oh, Sunset. Oh, Santa Monica. And I just, I would recall from all of these movies that I grew up watching.
00:45:17
Speaker
And so I wouldn't get lost in LA. You had something relate to. Yes. Like all I recognize the highways, the freeways, right? Like the shopping centers. I just knew where I was, was where I was. Oh, we're in, oh shit, we're in Crenshaw. We probably want to turn around, right? Like,
00:45:30
Speaker
This is not where we want to be. So it was, it was nice, right? Like to be able to connect the dots later in life, right? Getting started in our Marine Corps career. So definitely came back up.
00:45:49
Speaker
Anything else you guys noticed while you guys were chilling as a little, what you, Ethan, how many of y'all were chilling? It was like 30 of us. Nah, it's like not. You'd be sold tickets on Eventbrite.
00:46:01
Speaker
No, I just noticed that, um like yeah how you guys are pointing out, LA, like they did a really good job in the movie, movie like building the community. Like the community kind of was like a second character to like everybody. Like you had,
00:46:15
Speaker
Parker's next door from the but from the wife to the husband to the pastor that was over there cheating to Hector just only coming in for that one scene. But you should know, you know, the Spanish people are also in the neighborhood because, you know, Hector and them, like, like I said, like, it felt like the community was a whole other character in itself as, like, a whole.
00:46:32
Speaker
You know, then everybody comes together at the end and watch, you know, Craig and Debo fight. But, yeah, they's just they just portray, like,
00:46:41
Speaker
how back in that day, like, it was really like a village that, like, raised everybody. Like, you knew everybody on your block. You knew everybody in your neighborhood. You knew Debbie and Felicia down the street. You know, you knew Smokey. Like, we had all these characters in the neighborhood, but, you know, maybe it's because we're older now we don't see that anymore. But, yeah, I just think they did a good job at that.
00:47:04
Speaker
Good sense of community. Agree. It's definitely not common anymore, unfortunately. Not common.
00:47:15
Speaker
of the other One of the last things I wanted to bring up that was in the movie that I thought was on point and relevant still to this day was Not so much this part, but i I'm going hit on it here in a minute.
00:47:27
Speaker
So again, Debbie goes over. and then while she's there waiting for or checking to see if Dana's home, she's chilling with Craig. Craig's high off his ass. Smokey's like, yo, you bringing a friend for me? What's up?
00:47:40
Speaker
Right? So she's like, yeah, I got a friend for you. Call someone. So she's home. Give a call. Tell her to come through. So Smokey sets himself up with who he thinks is this
Personal Stories: Catfishing
00:47:50
Speaker
Janet Jackson. Little baddie. little baddie that's about to slide through that he's going to hook up with, right? That's what they keep saying. Oh, they're hooking up.
00:47:57
Speaker
oh And essentially, he's catfished. Yo, the first time niggas got catfished was over the phone. Yes. So I wanted to ask. Y'all niggas got catfished. Yes, yes, yes. Tell me about an experience where you can remember as a young guy.
00:48:15
Speaker
Young, young, YN, right? That's the term. Yeah, I definitely got one. Like my boy, I said I first got blasted with.
00:48:23
Speaker
So he was telling me about some chick that he was going to go see, whatever the case is. And he's like, yeah, I got this joint. He's describing his joint. We pull up to the crib.
00:48:36
Speaker
um Well, he's like, I got this joint. He's describing his girl. I'm like, okay, yeah, his girl right, this, that, and that thing. Then... um He talking to her like, yo, you got a friend for my mans, this, that, that. So I started hollering at the girl, whatever.
00:48:48
Speaker
And she sound good on the phone, all that. I'm like, oh yeah, we lit. She tell me how she look. We pull up to the crib. I'm like, just call me Smokey.
00:49:00
Speaker
Just call me Smokey. I'm definitely in a position, but listen, bro, I ain't, listen, I'll be the point guard on the court, man. I'm going make sure I dish you the ball and let you lay it up. Like, I don't got a shooting score. i can always i I can always pass you the rock and make sure you're going to get a bucket. Like, so I just played my part, let him do his thing and kept it moving. Like, she just wasn't for me though.
00:49:23
Speaker
yeah I've never been shut up, but in college, my friend came was like, yeah, I've been talking to this girl for a week. She's so pretty. you know, we've been doing the thing on MySpace. And then he showed us the pictures and I had to break the news to him. i was like, yo, these are pictures of the girl from City High, bro. Oh my God, bro. This not who you're to. Sad.
00:49:49
Speaker
But one thing about that scene, though, would that be problematic today? Because the whole thing is just kind of like just a fat joke on her. RIP Andale. Yo, you can't be lying to people. You can't say you look like Janet Jackson and you don't.
00:50:03
Speaker
This lady was bald-headed, bruh. She took her hat off and the hair came off with it. Like, what's going on here? i was dying. i was like, well, I don't remember this from the first time watching. Like, I didn't remember this at all. So I was just taking for a loop. i was like, yo, know this is so fucking funny because one, I could resonate with being with my homegirl and like,
00:50:23
Speaker
her having a guy or you know, getting a call and being like, hey, I'm over here, come hang out. We, you know, he has a friend. and then the friend is always like the lesser of the the equation, right? And it's like, fuck.
00:50:38
Speaker
like But again, got to be a team player. You got to your cape on. and the bra You got to save the day. You got to be nice. You got to just play the part. And I feel like that was one thing that definitely resonated. And I was just like, bro, I feel like I have also been on the opposite side where my homegirl has a dude and it's like, yo, you you have a friend, you have a brother, you have yeah, I got a cousin.
Cultural Impact and Timelessness of 'Friday'
00:50:59
Speaker
And it's always the short cousin or the cousin with fucked up teeth. Why height got to matter? What's up? Why y'all got to bring height in today?
00:51:08
Speaker
I mean, you're at least taller than me, so we're good. But you can't you can't be like two inches shorter than me, right? And I'm in the ninth grade. I don't think I was even like fully vertical yet. wasn't fully vertical.
00:51:21
Speaker
But I just thought it was funny. I was just like, nah, not for nothing. Like if anything has gotten worse to this day, like I feel like the internet has become everybody's favorite playground. And fact like the points I was making earlier, you can really be whoever you want to be.
00:51:36
Speaker
From anywhere you want to be at night. Yeah, from anywhere you want to be at, you could literally make up a whole narrative and play that out for years and nobody be the wiser. People do it every Yeah.
00:51:48
Speaker
That sucks because ah feel like you don't really get to know nobody until you truly get to know somebody. You got to be around them for years. for me I can't say, yeah, I truly know this person unless I've been around you for years. like And I really know who you are as a person, your morals, your character, what you will, what you won't do. You know i'm saying? Like, okay, now I can say know you. But if we meet on the internet and we hang out two or three times,
00:52:13
Speaker
I don't know you, dude. We getting to know each other. You know what I'm saying? It's social currency. it's like ah Usually it's a transactional type of situation. like Especially i mean in in the worlds that we kind of operate in today. If you have some type of business or side gig, like usually you're collaborating with others. like I feel like that's what I try to leverage social media for these days is collaboration. right And like leveraging whatever it is that I'm working on and trying to introduce it to the masses. Other than that,
00:52:41
Speaker
I might post a picture of myself or my family every now and then, but I don't really live there. I don't really care.
00:53:02
Speaker
I just want to note that Friday is perfect slice of life movie. And movies today just don't have the a ability to work like that no more.
00:53:13
Speaker
They really can't. They can't capture the essence. Yeah. Because that was, what, 12-hour?
Quotes from 'Friday' in Everyday Language
00:53:20
Speaker
Right. Like a 12 hour day condensed to an hour and a half. And you got to see every highlight of their day, every decision making point. Right. Every point of friction or every win.
00:53:34
Speaker
And they just did it flawlessly. it did It didn't skip. You didn't feel like, OK, wait, what happened? How do we get here? like Everything just flowed. Right. It was good storytelling. One thing that I think that.
00:53:46
Speaker
I did want to talk about one thing that I i think that was going on then that definitely wouldn't fly now is nigga just bullying the whole neighborhood. Like he literally bullied the whole neighborhood.
00:54:00
Speaker
i but Somebody would have shot him. bro yeah One of the YNs out here. west what a finger inside Yeah. at the At the very least. A Drake fan. Yeah.
00:54:13
Speaker
i I would definitely... you I never liked seeing somebody get bullied. i always thought that was fucked up. Like, I would have just fought that nigga. I didn't care if I won or lost. Right. would have fought that nigga Like, how you're jumping at this point? Exactly.
00:54:26
Speaker
Like, man, i mean, Smokey did say it, but Craig told me he said that he hit his ass down. Like... I don't know. Maybe Craig was a little more scared than Smokey. I do think that Smokey was the more courageous of the two. yeah I would give him that. I think Craig was a little bit more reserved. But I mean, look at his parents. He got to sit out the way.
00:54:44
Speaker
Exactly. Craig, I mean, not Craig. Smokey, he just he just living life, man. Right. He just living life. One day to the next. I don't know. I got the feeling that Craig and Debo had like a mutual respect kind of because like you saw how Debo came up there like check yeah Smokey's pockets. ain't do that to Craig. He talked down to Smokey and other boy. He do nothing that to Craig. He kind is like te of kept a cool.
00:55:10
Speaker
I mean, Smoke, I mean, Craig, mean. Until he yeah so he couldn't keep a cool in the air What's the morning Debo did choke him out one time? Who about Craig? Yeah. Who that? He said he smoked them out and choked and and smoked backyard.
00:55:24
Speaker
Remember? I forget that part, but yeah. well But yeah, somebody definitely want to shock. Craig don't want to smoke no more. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. they they They came to a mutual agreement. I ain't going fuck with you.
00:55:35
Speaker
Craig literally only fought because he wanted some ass. yeah In the end, yeah. He fought for that ass. like And he got that at 7.30 in the morning. But also, like, what do you do in that situation, right? Like, let's say you're Craig.
00:55:50
Speaker
Or you find yourself in a position, right, like where you have to face this bully. Do you just say, fight it? Like, going to fight it out and get it over with? Or, you know... Nah, I'm approaching it right then and there. As soon as I feel some type of... tent If it's that serious, and the way he act, and the way he be pulling, like, yo, what you got on my 40? Smokey, nine.
00:56:10
Speaker
Craig. Man, i ain't got nothing. I'm like, if you don't get the fuck out of my 40s. Like, you thirsty? That's crazy. Yeah, because what you got my 40s is wild. I still use that line today. It's like, nah.
00:56:23
Speaker
There were some amazing quotes that did come out of this. I wrote a few down. Oh, there's a whole lexicon. Yo, man. whole Our whole generation. That's what I said. as I'm watching this, I'm like, did they say it first? Or did it just influence us? Or was that just the set the the way they talk about it? I was like, hey, this is an iconic movie.
00:56:42
Speaker
And all the memes you're birthed to. Uh-huh. Even the Remember This, where you kick some of the back of somebody's foot while they're walking. Remember that? That's all a bro's t-shirt. All actually what I was thinking to myself, too.
00:56:54
Speaker
I was like, which came first, the chicken or the egg? Right. But we don't have a frame of reference because we were kids, right? So it's like we can't even... Our memory is so distorted in terms of how that all like meshes
Nostalgia and Cultural Resonance
00:57:06
Speaker
together. But if we asked our parents, they'd probably would be like, oh, no, that's just what people were saying back then. Yeah.
00:57:13
Speaker
one other the things One of the quotes that stuck out was, you know, he'd be like, shut up. And I'd be quiet. But when he leaves, I'd be talking again. I was like, yeah. That's just a way of coping with yourself of getting bitched. yeah I was like, yo, that was me in the Marine Corps, bro. This line played out in my head a million times being a Marine, bro. like Just like, I'm going to shut up. but but Wait till you leave. I'll be talking again. Not real talk.
00:57:41
Speaker
Bye Felicia was another one. right I was like, oh man, bro. Like that's exactly where that came from. And it just didn't click all these years later until I watched it back. and I was like, oh my God, that's right. That's exactly where that. Bye Felicia. You ain't got a lie, Craig. You ain't got a lie.
00:58:01
Speaker
many gems, bro. so who ma yeah money ja but So many did so good.
00:58:11
Speaker
Like I said, it was a cultural experience for sure. yu mean? Like looking back at the end, you have freaking Craig with the clap on, clap off lights. I was just like, oh my God. Now we just be like, hey Siri.
00:58:23
Speaker
Or hey Alexa, turn off all the lights. Right.
00:58:27
Speaker
Yo, everybody, just so you know, all the lights just turned off in here when she said that. Make sure Alex and Siri not really listening. The lights went off. There's a fire machine in the corner. They out here.
00:58:48
Speaker
Guys are different. Really? Yeah. Very different. Easier or I wouldn't say easier, just different because men are men. Like you guys aren't in your bag, right? Like you're not like in your reflective bag. You're not trying to like connect the dots on too many things. And you know, so when I talk to the ladies, they want to connect, you know, I was five years old and I was, you know, when I was in high school and you know, it's,
00:59:18
Speaker
It's just different because you guys offer a different perspective because I'll never understand what it is to be a man. So you guys always contribute that. Friday used to be on. ah USA, they used to play Friday all the time.
00:59:30
Speaker
i just remember being like in my grandmother's kitchen because we had a little TV in the in the top corner. would just always be on. the USA version is funnier to me because, like, they cut out all the customers. It's editing. Mother thumb, or suck my thumb, and all that. Like, yeah, Friday's just a ah classic that's just been around for, like, forever, and, like,
00:59:50
Speaker
um ah To me, watching it back, I was like, this is a perfect movie, man. like There's not too much stuff in there that like is inappropriate today. thing like A lot of movies like age poorly Yes, yes. But this one didn't because it was kind of just like about the community and about the people at that time.
01:00:07
Speaker
It's timeless. It's a regular day in the neighborhood. Yeah. And people from the 90s, whether you lived it or not, again, there's so many references, whether it's your personal lived experience or just the movies and the culture at large, right? Whether it was movies in the theater or the movies you were getting at Blockbuster or on the corner store.
01:00:26
Speaker
Right, because you know you don't don't have to live in the hood to like relate to Friday, because like everybody has the girl next door growing up. Everybody has the bully in the neighborhood. You got the cheating wife. You got the cheating wife across the street. I had one literally across the street from me. Right. Literally across the street from me. When Miss, oh my god, what's her name?
Generational Shifts in Parenting
01:00:43
Speaker
Parker? Yeah. Yeah. When Miss Parker was on the front lawn, right, and she has her titties out and shit, I was like, bruh, I immediately thought of Stacey's mom, right? The rock song back in the day. I was like, yo, but like, moms were really on this shit back then That's because all of them were teen moms.
01:01:02
Speaker
So by the time their kids became like teenagers, they were in their prime of 30s and they were ready to be cougars. Like... brother You know what I was saying? I was saying, ah because E-Rod brought up the point. He was like, she would her in dead grass. I'm like, yo, she came out here when she come on trying to catch her nigga for the day while her husband was at work. oh She was came out here searching who's going to bite the bait.
01:01:25
Speaker
a Of course, it was Pastor. Come on, Pastor. yeah And Bernie Mac was such a great actor for that position, like for that role. He did a good job. Yeah, he killed that.
01:01:37
Speaker
Just in and out perfect. okay Not too much. Not too much. And that's why said, like like, little characters like that built the community. like Now I kind of would i wanted a spinoff of what the that crazy pastor was doing. He over there sleeping with women in the middle of the day. That'd be a crazy spinoff. 90s LA.
01:01:55
Speaker
Right. All the sinister stuff that was happening in the underground. Yeah, nah. Definitely a good movie. I would say at the end of the day, i would want... i was I was juggling the idea of having my daughter sit with me down here to watch it, and i was like, nah.
01:02:11
Speaker
Too soon. That's funny, because... Because I watched it at 9, 10 years old, but for me, like, my 12-year-old, I'm like, eh. Our 9, 10 is, like, like,
01:02:23
Speaker
13, 14. Yes. Agreed. Like, we grew, we were forced to grow a lot faster than they are. Like, we allow our kids to actually be kids. We but we a wasn't afforded that when we was younger like that. We had to get ourselves together and and get prepared for the real world because at the end of the day, at the at the at the latest, you're out by 18. Right. that just,
01:02:45
Speaker
and i think that just Like the ability to be an actual kid, I think that kind of like grew as a generation to grow because we were able to be more kids and silly than our parents' generation.
01:02:57
Speaker
And, you know, and then now the generation after us, like they're really able to be kids and stuff. Maybe because, you know, our generation kind of shelters them, but they're still able to be kids longer and more innocent longer than we have. Yeah.
01:03:12
Speaker
So I have a theory on why we shelter our kids. I think it was because we were latchkey kids, right? So we were given the world at our fingertips to go explore and figure out and stumble and fall and succeed right, from young. like ah Like we were just saying, like we were outside from like eight years old chasing streetlights.
01:03:29
Speaker
And so we were exposed to all of the fun, creative, developmental, great things, but we were also exposed to a lot of sinister, nasty, bad, right?
01:03:41
Speaker
Stuff that we should have never seen, heard, yeah or witnessed at very young ages. And I think when we got to have our kids, it was like, nah. Y'all don't need that. Y'all don't need that.
01:03:51
Speaker
So I'm to protect you from ever having to experience this at an age that you're not ready to process it at. Like, that's my theory. I think yeah I might have said it previous episode or had it with a conversation recently, but... No, that tracks, yeah. It was like, nah, like, hold on.
01:04:04
Speaker
Because... I've been struggling with that. Right. My daughter, she's in the seventh grade now, and we made it a point to move here and be in a situation and a excuse me in ah an environment that was conducive to her having a childhood like mine, where she could ride her bike around the neighborhood and stop in at her friend's house that's a few houses down and go see the other friend that's another few blocks down and have community. And really live that out the way that I did. right like I want her to have the freedom to walk to Wawa and me not think twice about it, right or go to the park and with your friends.
01:04:40
Speaker
And at the same time, when it came time for us to allow her to do that, it was like, yeah, but also you need to wear this Apple Watch so that I can literally follow you because I don't trust the world to let you live your best life right without exposing you to the ugly. Yeah.
01:04:58
Speaker
Like, it's not that I don't trust my kid. I don't trust
Debate: Does Overprotective Parenting Stunt Growth?
01:05:00
Speaker
the world. Let me ask you this, all right? Because cause I do agree with you on that. Now, do you think that us being like that, are we taking away from our kids by doing that? And taking away from allowing them to grow?
01:05:16
Speaker
As a non-parent, I say no because, like she said, from from ah um my perspective, is people our age did those things. We grew too quick. So, like, they can kind of take the space and wait to get to those things. yeah So we're allowing them to grow naturally.
01:05:34
Speaker
Like, I look at your kids sometimes and I think about You know, I'm talking about my kids. I think about what I was doing and like the things that I was getting into at that age and how looking at them, like they wouldn't do that because, you know, like they got like, don't know, bored. don't know if I said I did that bored. I hear But you know what i mean? Like they had, it's just they're more innocent now because they've been given the room to grow.
01:06:03
Speaker
That's me as not. Yeah, we've we have removed obstacles and distractions that are not conducive, right? Like to unhealthy, healthy development, whether that's an understanding of their role in life or the role of others, specifically grownups, right? And what's appropriate for their age and being able to process it and or handle it, right? in terms of responsibility. So like, for example, i had a key to my house at nine years old.
01:06:28
Speaker
Right. Yeah, same here. then Maybe younger. I don't know. My kid at nine years old, I was dropping her off at school and picking her right after of picking her up right after it was over. she wouldn't right like There wasn't even a school bus for
Early Exposure and Parenting Decisions
01:06:40
Speaker
this kid to take. good And even if she had one, I don't know if she would have been on it at nine years old for me.
01:06:44
Speaker
right And I think it was because I'm looking back at nine years old and what I was exposed to at the time. And i can recall a lot of... my understanding of the evils of the world happening around that age, right? So it was like, how do I protect you from ever having to even have to process what you've seen or experienced by virtue of me just wanting you to like live and experience on your own, right? Like there's there's a level of responsibility that I felt that because I had experienced so much so early that it was like,
01:07:16
Speaker
I'd rather you focus on being a kid and play with dolls for as long as you can and feel like Roblox, right, is the best thing ever and that you want to go to Starbucks for pink acai, whatever, and that that's the highlight of your day is taking you to Target. yeah Versus you wanted to be out here in these streets, right, doing the wild shit I was doing at 12 years old.
01:07:38
Speaker
You know, you get to a point where it's like... might mess around and take it even further than I was taking it. Exactly. And that was that's really why struggle right now. Because it's like, they are different. Yeah. Like, mentally, and when it comes to lived experience, they're very immature.
01:07:53
Speaker
Because they haven't had to deal with the consequences and obstacles that... Of real life. Yeah. That we were put into, right? So it changes your brain matter. Like, you get rewired. So... But at the same time, they're so advanced in terms of the the stuff that they can access and the things that they do get exposed to just by so a search bar. Yeah, that's a fact.
01:08:14
Speaker
Like, right? Like, it's literally at their fingertips. So it's like, but if I don't tell her, then her friend's going to tell her. If I don't
Importance of Open Communication with Children
01:08:20
Speaker
talk to her about that, then somebody else is going introduce her to that. Or going to look it up. They might not have the best of intention. Yeah. Right? And I'd rather me introduce certain things to you than you ask your best friend what is weed or what is sex and then tell you a completely wild...
01:08:33
Speaker
answer and you think that it's not a big deal or that it is for you. That's the reason why I started my kids drinking at five years old. I just better introduce it to the outside. I remember where were you coming from. I've been drink training. Y'all heard about sleep training. There's drink training. We started with the Jewish wine at Christmas and then we just went off from there. Yeah, straight vodka. Fuck it.
01:09:03
Speaker
But yeah yeah, I mean like this and that's kind of where i think me and Mikey were at where we've reached this place where it's not so much about protecting their innocence as children because they're not really that anymore. Like we're aware that the world is raising our kids just as much as we are. But you have to have more of an influence over your kids than the world. Exactly.
01:09:21
Speaker
That's all it is. You got make it so your kids is able to be open to you, come talk to you, whatever the case is. Like, you know, don't give your kid a reason to not want to speak to you or be open to you or say, hey, my friends asked me if i wanted to smoke weed.
01:09:35
Speaker
I would never told my parents that, but my kids, I leave that open for my kids to be able to tell me that. So, right, so you bring that to me now. we All right, well, let me tell you but what you, did what's going on, what's your experience. it Like, whatever.
01:09:47
Speaker
However, the best way for me to break it down to them, like, you know, maybe you should just wait a little bit longer, wait till you have legal age at the very least. And at that point, if you want to try to try, your brain is still, your brain is still developing. Like, whatever the case may be.
Balancing Friendship and Authority as Parents
01:10:00
Speaker
But as long as you can have a, leave it open for an open conversation, ah feel like that gives you the most power in raising your kids. Mm-hmm.
01:10:08
Speaker
And I'm not saying being their best friend, because I think sometimes people get confused. right and And that's where some of our generation fucked up. right they They had so much tension with their parents growing up that were like, when I have a kid, I'm to be their best friend and I'm going to, you know, whatever, whatever the intentions were.
01:10:24
Speaker
And that didn't play out well for a lot of, you know, I was a late bloomer and amongst my peers. right I had a kid at 36 years old. Most of my peer friends right now, their kids just got sent to college.
01:10:36
Speaker
So they they've been the game from early and I can understand how, again, because of all the shit that we kind of experienced early, that they want to flip parenting on its head. And it was like, well, if I'm their bestie, then i will know everything.
01:10:50
Speaker
they'll They'll tell me everything. There's nothing that there'll be a secret between us. and that's not exactly it because you still have to be a parent. You still have to be able to set boundaries and expectations and be able to enforce consequences at the end of the day on your children so that they understand how to grow into independent, responsible citizens, right? Like I was telling my daughter, she'll be, sometimes, you know, I'll tell her no for whatever. She'll be like, I don't go fuck like don't give a fuck.
01:11:14
Speaker
Like, just point blank. I don't care. My job is not for you to like me. right At the end of the day, my job is not to raise you to be a 12 year old. My job is to raise you to be a young, adult that is responsible and an independent woman that has discernment and can practice good judgment on your own and knows how to handle her finances whenever you decide to leave this household.
01:11:33
Speaker
That is my job. Other than that, everything else in between, you might not like, and that's okay. But at
Enduring Need for Parental Figures
01:11:40
Speaker
the same time, know that when you find yourself in trouble or you find yourself in these weird situations or your friends ain't acting right you feel a little funny tension in your inner circles, that like you can come talk to us about that shit. yeah That when your friends are presenting to you, hey, take this shot or have this beer or smoke this J or take this line or pop this pill, that you should be running that back to us.
01:12:00
Speaker
That way we can let you know the best way to maneuver and navigate that situation because at the of the day, all we want for you is your safety. We understand you're going fuck around. You're going to do the things, right? Hopefully we've minimized the amount of things that you'll try because we're having open dialogue with you and your curiosity, and my I would hope, is minimized through that, but you're going to try things.
01:12:21
Speaker
Yeah. For me, i would hate for my daughter to try something that she has a bad experience with and she's scared to death to share that with us. Yeah. And then we find out years later through her going through years of therapy that this bad thing happened to us. And then, know what I mean? Like, so no, it's, I think we've, we've as advanced as they are and they have resources at their disposal. So are we. And so, you know, i keep that in mind when it comes to this parenting game, cause this shit get hard, bro. I think relating that, even relating that right back to the Friday, right?
01:12:49
Speaker
Like, no matter what, like like, you just broke everything down about raising a kid and all that. Leaving that door open from a young age, from where they're at then, till they was like 22 years old in the movie, still needing their parents. yep Regardless of how young or how old you are you always gonna need your parents, like.
01:13:08
Speaker
You always want to need at least a fatherly, motherly figure to be able to ask questions too And you want to be that person for your kids. So even when they get older in life, they're still coming back
Conclusion: Parenting and Cultural Reflections
01:13:20
Speaker
to you because at no age are you too old for your mom or your dad or whatever. So I'm to make sure that as long as I'm alive, I'm going be there for my kids and my nieces and nephews and all the in-betweens.
01:13:36
Speaker
And my son, Iraq. Period. Thanks, Dad.
01:13:47
Speaker
Well, this has been an amazing talk. We broke down Friday. talked about the amazing past. those that have remained and gone out to do great things and those that have passed and we are hoping they are resting in peace.
01:14:02
Speaker
We have dissected the cultural references and influence that it has had on our lives and the unforgettable moments that still create laughter and joy on this end. Any last notes, Mikey?
01:14:14
Speaker
Last notes. Make sure y'all tune into the podcast because this a fire podcast. I want make sure my girl, Joa, y'all listen to it. Tap in on her old episodes, her previous episodes, and the ones coming out after that.
01:14:28
Speaker
That's my last note. My last note is tap into my girl.
01:14:33
Speaker
Thank you, Mikey. E-Rock, any final notes? No, just thank you for having me. Hop in and out of here. You know, this is my first podcast. Thanks for breaking my podcast rigidity. Hey!
01:14:48
Speaker
appreciate you. Keep doing the thing. Don't stop. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate you guys. Thanks for having us. There's a unique perspective that is offered by my my guy friends. You know, I've had a few guests on this podcast already. Many of my lady friends, they've offered amazing feedback and they've shared amazing stories with us.
01:15:06
Speaker
But I think there's something special about the male perspective, especially males that are fathers or leaders in their community and are able to articulate to the next generation how to be their best selves and how to how to be successful. So I appreciate you guys dropping jets throughout podcast.
01:15:22
Speaker
Please join us next time for new guests, old movies, and the uncomfortable truths we uncover along the way. With that being said, stay focused, stay motivated, love one another, have a great day. It's number five.
01:15:36
Speaker
And we're out. Uh, here. Here. One, two.
01:15:43
Speaker
two