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Bengali Boys Unite! with Anik Kahn
106 Plays1 day ago
This week I am joined by Anik Kahn, we talk about how we met. How he got into music and the significance behind his latest release. Also we talk about his history with sneakers and fashion. How growing up in Astoria, Queens changed his life. The work he put into reclaiming his name, and how family has always had a huge impact on him. The places he has been to and the different cultures he's been able to experience. Plus much much more.
Follow Anik:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/anikkahn_
YouTube: @AnikKhanmusic
Podcast Linktree: https://linktr.ee/myfirstkicks
Sign up for the Patreon: https://patreon.com/MyFirstKicks
Music by The DoppleGangaz: https://thedoppelgangaz.bandcamp.com/
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Chapters:
00:00 Life's Ups & Downs
03:41 First Pair Needed
06:46 Full Circle Moment
10:30 Culture Shock
14:02 Bangladeshi Struggle
18:15 Talking Religion Now
22:07 History of Hip-Hop
25:13 Steinway Stories
28:24 Discovering SB's
31:35 Rolling Stone Article
35:18 Essence of Core
38:09 Correct Pronounciation ️
41:30 Unapologetically
45:02 Traveling the World ️
47:53 Authenticity Matters
51:34 Younger Self Advice
Recommended
Transcript
Life Challenges and Personal Growth
00:00:00
Speaker
the pat I haven't put out a record in four years. Yeah. And in these four years, ah life kicked my ass. So I went through a lot of ups and downs, and ah think I grew a lot.
00:00:11
Speaker
And, you know, I surrendered. I started working out. I changed my entire body. um You know, I went from having four herniated discs in my lower back to being able to run 5Ks every Sunday now. Jeez.
00:00:23
Speaker
um I, you know, I'm almost at 10,000 minutes of meditation. um I've learned how to write completely new genres. And I did a lot of work on myself to be able to become the person that I am.
00:00:40
Speaker
And think at the core who I am, who anyone is your mother's child. Yeah.
Introduction to Onik, the Artist
00:00:52
Speaker
What's good, everyone? Welcome back to My First Kicks. This is episode 227, and this week, I bring to you, yo, fast friends. If you ever had somebody that's just like, you just meet ever, and you just become fast friends, this is my homie, Onyx.
00:01:07
Speaker
What's up, bro? I said it right. I said it right. You did. You did. You did. Listen, if you if you don't know, um we we're definitely going to touch on why I emphasize why I had i said his name right. It's because um I've been saying in my head for the past week, and I've been saying it wrong in my head. i've been I was telling ah my girlfriend about you, and and i was I kept saying, Anique. And I was just like, no, it's wrong. After I heard that the the album and I saw the the promo, and I was just like,
00:01:37
Speaker
I've been saying it wrong. It's okay. I've also been saying wrong to people. yeah I've been telling people it should be Onique. And then I was like, my parents call me Onique. So where the fuck did I make that shit? Yeah, for real. But for people who are ah familiar with you, how about you introduce yourself?
00:01:53
Speaker
Yeah, um my name is Onik, formerly known as Onik Khan. I am an artist from Queens, New York City. um And I like to make music, travel, eat food, and watch anime.
00:02:07
Speaker
Shit, you didn't tell me about anime. We can talk about it. We're going to have to talk about that too now. But man, it was a huge honor having you on. We several conversations. Shout out Sango. Shout out Kai. He introduced us. And from there, felt like, I was like, yo,
00:02:23
Speaker
we got to keep in touch. And then you were just like, going just disappear for two months. Oh, I was gone. It wasn't two months. It was like a half a year. Yeah, yeah. it was half a year. The first time I met you was Kai's show in, what was it?
00:02:40
Speaker
ah Webster Hall. Yeah. Webster Hall. Yeah, it was the fall. It was cold. Yeah, yeah. remember it cold. And that was like... And then I dipped. Yeah, you dipped. I don't do so winters in New York no more. I'm trying to be like you, man. I try to get the fuck out of here. You know?
00:02:55
Speaker
It's a sad place. Look, I remember i kept telling people, i just like, yo, I would love to be bi-coastal. just like, if I can just be like, yo, I'm here through the summers, spring, and then I'm out to Cali.
00:03:07
Speaker
Like, I'll do Cali. I mean, look, I'll just do Cali because... It's funny because somebody told me one time, bro. Somebody told me one time that was like, I understand why people are depressed in Cali. Because the weather's always good and you're just doing nothing. Because you can only pay to live in those houses and then that's it.
00:03:24
Speaker
Word. Word. I can see that. I can see that. Yeah. I mean, look, shout out to the Cali people. No shade. A lot of y'all, I mean, a lot of previous guests that from Cali are pretty happy. So maybe I'm wrong.
00:03:38
Speaker
He said it, not me. But you're here to answer the question that I ask everybody each week. And that question is, what's your first kicks with that first pair sneakers you absolutely needed to have?
Sneaker Culture and Influences
00:03:50
Speaker
um This is ah this is a is a layered question. Because the ones I absolutely needed to have was Air Max 97s. Okay. Because I'm from Queens, New York City.
00:04:02
Speaker
And everybody had them. And when you're younger, you know, You want to be like the other kids. Yeah. And those 97s was perfect. Silver Bullets? Yeah.
00:04:13
Speaker
Silver Bullets, man. yeah the but Yeah. and the and the ah the And the blue with the neon green and the like ever you know just the classic ones we wore in school. Yeah. you know um So that was like my first pair and I was like, I have ah have to have these shoes. Yeah.
00:04:31
Speaker
But the funny thing is...
00:04:35
Speaker
My first field trip, one of my first field trips in this country, because I moved here when I was four. One of my first field trips in this country was to the U.S. Open. I used to play tennis or be in a community tennis thing. That's crazy, yeah.
00:04:47
Speaker
And we got to watch Andre Agassi. And when I was watching Andre Agassi, I saw his kicks. And I was like...
00:04:58
Speaker
oh, I got cop. Those are so fire. um I've always been in love with those shoes. And obviously he's Persian. So there was like a, oh, you kind of my cousin. You're next door. You're close. You're not that far off.
00:05:13
Speaker
So it was dope to like see somebody um that comes from similar places as an athlete doing so well. And that's why in celebration of that, I wore my I know I saw them I was like whoo I wore Agassiz man um these are the recent pair or this is the what year is those from these no so these I had a pair when I was younger yeah but then you know I grew out of them right and I recently like two years ago did a show at Nike the headquarters and they were like yo what's your favorite shoe No way. And I gave him the story. So I was like, yo, Agassi, watch them all, you know, always. Them flights, crazy.
00:06:00
Speaker
The tubes, the black and pink ones. Them drones, you know what I'm saying? Because infrared air maxes are my favorite air maxes. Infrared 90s? Yeah. Yeah. ah my favorite I need to get a new The original ones, not the new shits with the now yeah mesh or whatever. the The original ones, right? um And these kind of look like that as well, but they they have such a special place in my heart.
00:06:20
Speaker
So I told Nike that, and one of one of one of the guys there, man, he's such a sweet soul, like went back to his crib, brought his pairs and gave them to me. That's crazy. And so now whenever I wear them, I feel like, you know, I'm carrying tradition from one person to another. Hell yeah.
00:06:36
Speaker
I mean, those are insane. The tongue, the Nike logo on the tongue is upside down. Yeah, bro. I was like, oh yo, those is wild, man. That's crazy. That's such a crazy story. Yeah. agass ah yeah I mean, that's such like, i to me, that's a full circle moment. Like, I love full circle moments. Like, when it comes to where you just think this like pivotal moment in your life and then you get something down the road.
00:07:01
Speaker
Like the can, you kick the can down the road then somebody kicks the can back and you like, oh shit, let's go. yeah That shit it is crazy. Absolutely. Coming here at the time, you know, I was illegal as an immigrant and like...
00:07:14
Speaker
Don't say that too loud. I'm legal now. What the fuck they gonna do?
00:07:20
Speaker
But at the time, I was like nine years old. and you know i was I was still figuring that out. And you know watching Andre Agassi and seeing the shoes and then to fast forward and perform at Nike headquarters and then get him as a gift, I was like, it's kind of hard.
00:07:38
Speaker
You know, that that's cool. I mean, that's the that's the American dream, essentially. You know what saying? Like, from that to that is what you hope for, right? Yeah. so Well, I know you're, like, super swaggy. So I need to know.
00:07:49
Speaker
I need to know. i mean, we we both grew up in Queens. Did we figure out? We grew up in the same area, too? You from Historia? Nah. I'm from Corona. Yeah, No, but I lived in Lefrack. That's what we talked about. Yeah, that's what we talked about. But where'd you get your sense of style? Because every time I see you, you're putting on some crazy fits. But like, yeah, were you like that in high school? Like, where does it come from?
Fashion Inspirations
00:08:12
Speaker
No. I'm going to have to give it to...
00:08:18
Speaker
Nas, Prodigy. I love like the way they dressed.
00:08:25
Speaker
And also women in my life. Like I know a lot of women in my life who are great at styling. Yeah. And I was blessed to be around them. And I learned a lot from them.
00:08:37
Speaker
yeah as I mean, well, shoot. I wish I could dress like Nas. and the in ah That was my thing with Nas and Ain't Hard to Tell. yo That fit? Snook a Uzi on the island with my homie jacket lining? I remade the Prodigy Hennessy jersey yo um from the Shook Ones video and put Queens on it.
00:09:00
Speaker
And Yeah, I mean, they, you know, growing up at Queens, seeing that, you know, seeing the Maxes, seeing, good you know, Clarks and because of the West Indian community and all that, like Wallabies and shit, like being able to mix and match all of that was really cool. But i I feel like I'm finally coming into like, you know, like what?
00:09:23
Speaker
Because fashion's always evolving. Yeah. know? And now when I do fashion, I think about it more from, like, a feeling. Before I wouldn't. Before, like, it would be like... you know, what's the best thing to wear today? know, now I'm like, how do I feel?
00:09:39
Speaker
What do want to do? I mean, is it it is self-expression. so it's like, how do you... I never approached it like that. Right, yeah. Like, now I'm like, it's 90 degrees outside. I'd like to wear the least amount of clothing as possible.
00:09:51
Speaker
Yeah. And, you know, I would just... the shirt off, but that' not but that's not, that's not really acceptable in a lot of places. YouTube would be like, what's good? But I was like, you know, bare arms, half legs, like I need, you know, because I'm like, it's too hot. And this is how ah want to be today yeah but then there's days where that's a different feeling right yeah and it might be hot but I'm going to an event and I want people to you know i want to feel um like I'm dressed up so I'm ah wear the pants regardless and sweat a little bit you know i'm saying like I i think the intention intention of how I do fashion now has changed
00:10:29
Speaker
Yeah. the So like, I definitely want to know about when you first came here. Like, what is what is the culture shock? Oh man, i was too young to remember. I was four. so really, I just grew up here. know what I'm saying? But...
00:10:43
Speaker
um I had to go back to Bangladesh when I was nine for like almost a year. um got And then when we came back, I almost forgot English.
00:10:54
Speaker
And like kind of had to start all over again, like with ESL and stuff like that. No way. yeah Had you a year so? I was a year so until like third grade, fourth, third grade or something.
00:11:06
Speaker
And then when I got back fourth grade, I think I had to do it again anyway. Cause I just forgot. I was like, yeah you know, um, but culture shock was crazy, man. I mean, inside the house,
00:11:18
Speaker
And you know this because you Bangladeshi. Yeah. So if you don't know, I'm half Bengali. Which is why we connected to begin with. So this is the first, don't know, bang bang Bengali boys pod right here. Word. That's crazy. Yeah.
00:11:31
Speaker
yeah Because I've never had, straight up, I've never had another brown person on the podcast yet. You will be the first. Come on then. Come on then. But yeah. Yeah.
00:11:43
Speaker
so it's like in the house was very Bangladeshi you know music film um food food oh my gosh the food um and then like every week my parents would have like uh post parties like dawahs we call them dawahs and then you know there was six people growing up in low-income housing so um All we looked forward to is like those nights where like my parents were done working their double shifts and overtime and they built like a little community and everybody would come over and they'd cook and we'd sing and, you know, just chill on the floor and hang out.
00:12:21
Speaker
That was one life. And then outside i was with my friends who was like listening to and Nas and, you know, you know a completely different experience did you because i've always wondered this did you did you feel like you were black or like like what you know you were different like what yeah for sure i mean growing up it was an interesting like perspective of it all there was so many people that were like
00:12:56
Speaker
you know i'm but When I would say I'm Bangladeshi They'd be like That's how black You know what saying? Like some black People be like was black You good, right? yeah But then There really is a whole other side Especially because if you're from New York or London Or you know Toronto Where there's a higher Bangladeshi community Yeah Where like I would literally get in fights for being Bangladeshi.
00:13:18
Speaker
Because we was like the bottom of the totem pole. Like even the Indo-Caribbeans would be like, I'm not that. I'm not that. I'm got any skills. There's always something, There's always a ah weird yeah race hierarchy that you got to follow somehow.
00:13:31
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So there was there was obviously moments... And those moments happened more when I was in the South. Like I moved to the South. I moved to Virginia for a little bit. And I remember people being like, oh, you just black.
00:13:43
Speaker
Like, and I'm like, no, I'm not. You what I'm saying? um But you really think that you can keep watching this episode without like subscribing or leaving a comment?
00:13:54
Speaker
Come on, man. And also, if you've been listening to this episode, leave a review. But back to the episode. Out in New York and out in Queens where like there was a lot of Bangladeshis, you know?
00:14:05
Speaker
Bangladeshis had to work really hard to like just exist. Yeah. At the time.
Cultural Identity and Music Career
00:14:10
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I remember my dad was busting his ass. Yeah. And then was... There was a spot in Brooklyn. Look.
00:14:19
Speaker
Your father's a boss because he married a Brazilian. Yeah. Look. Y'all about to know a whole different side of me on this one. But but this is why this is why he's here. but But yeah. My dad used buzz his ass working. And then he'd come home.
00:14:35
Speaker
And then he'll be like, all right, I got to leave. I'm like, where you going? You just got here. And he's like, what he would do is there was a spot in Brooklyn, like on the, on a train, on, on a bus line.
00:14:45
Speaker
don't know if green bus, I think, or whatever the bus that ran through Queens that went from Queens to Brooklyn. Okay. And then he would go to this, uh, it was a, like a deli.
00:14:57
Speaker
And in deli in the downstairs, there was like a slot machine. Okay. And so they would, he was, it was all him and his friends. He took me there like twice, I think, I remember. They would just smoke cigarettes outside.
00:15:08
Speaker
then play with the slots. Play the slots. Yeah. That sounds so barganess. So like that, that was like, like the little glimpses that my dad would like take me in and see that my mom wouldn't like, no, you, he has to stay here type of thing. Like I was experienced in that, but I didn't get a lot of Bengali experiences. I mean, I've told you this before. Yeah. You you grew up more Brazilian. Yeah. I grew up straight Brazilian. Straight Brazilian. Straight Brazilian.
00:15:37
Speaker
There's no, there's no more. There is straight Brazilian. Yeah. Yeah. I get that. um Which is hilarious. Cause I grew up Bangladeshi, but I grew up around, Brazilians and Caribbean. and ah the I'm very curious of just like the culture.
00:15:55
Speaker
Right. Because like this was like when I was thinking about what what we're going talk about. my My thing is how we perceive culture, especially in New York, because there's so many of it. And so, you know,
00:16:07
Speaker
we kind of we kind of blend everything together and then you'll have moments where people are just like, nah, you now you acting, you know, now you're too specific to one side or, you know. um So like, how are you able to, you know, mix the two where you're outside and also, you know, inside with the family? Like, how are you able to experience both cultures?
00:16:27
Speaker
Man, I'm still struggling with that now. I think it's going a lifelong thing, you know? um I think, like, my entire life has been finding that balance between the two and knowing, like, you know, what parts of me is very Bangladeshi or very immigrant in general and then what parts of me are, like, super American and Queens and New York.
00:16:48
Speaker
And I think, like, it's ah It's a constant evolution. i think the most I figured it out is now, especially from like reclaiming my name to be Onique instead of Onique Khan, you know?
00:17:02
Speaker
And being able to be like more open with my family because before it would be like, this is my life here and this is yeah my life here.
00:17:13
Speaker
I wouldn't necessarily like, talk to my mother, my father, my sisters about like my friends or the things I'm doing or where I'm going and what type of interests I have.
00:17:27
Speaker
But now as you you know as you get older, you know I've learned because of my little sister actually, who's been, you know what is who is one of my biggest inspirations, who's taught me to kind of challenge them, you know, and and challenge the status quo of like what it means to have a relationship with your family.
00:17:45
Speaker
And I've never thought that they could be like friends or like people that I could open up to about certain things. But the more I challenge them, the more surprisingly they did open up to it because by the end of the day, they, their unconditional love is kind of like toxic.
00:18:01
Speaker
And like that by the end of the day, like they could be really mad, but but but they love the kids. So they always get over it to be able to, you know, and knowing that is kind of, you know, I could have fun with that. yeah But I think now when I get to talk to, you know, my parents about religion, where it was hard for me to do that before and be able to be like, I'm not as religious as you and that's okay, you know, and I'm not going to live that kind of life and I'm not going to,
00:18:28
Speaker
you know I'm probably going raise my kids that way if if and when I have them. you know Whereas before, I would be like, yeah, yeah, yeah, just pray for me. Yeah. They're like, no, no, no. Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. I'm going to make sure that you live. you know, like just agreeing to them. But really, I'm just lying to their Yeah, exactly. You just like, look, you just want to hear what I'm telling you. I'm just hearing what you hear. Yeah, yeah, But now, I think that challenge, my sister inspired me to challenge that has helped a lot.
00:18:56
Speaker
And I think that obviously there's, it gets, there's friction and and in in some areas, but then it evolves and it becomes kind of like an acceptance and and it becomes beautiful. my My two older sisters are hijabis and me and my little sister were microdose here and there. so You know what I'm saying? So like we're in other ends of the spectrum, yeah you know?
00:19:23
Speaker
um And although we are you know, it took us challenging each other from both sides to find a mutual respect and, you know, appreciate each other's lives and to understand that like we're not the same.
00:19:41
Speaker
And even though we was raised in the same house. And I think...
00:19:46
Speaker
right now is the best i've been able to balance the two because now i don't try to hide the two i'm like this is happening over here and this is happening over there yeah you know and you both should know it um how does but i think it's gonna keep evolving yeah how did how does how did that inspire you to get into music damn um My
Passion for Music and Hip-Hop
00:20:10
Speaker
bad, hard questions. No, no, it's good. It's good. I'm trying to see i don't I don't think that inspired me to get into music. I think like my family's always been the entertainers. like They love entertaining. My father would always bring people over. He would recite his poetry. you know There would be harmoniums. People would sing all the time.
00:20:25
Speaker
They'd make me dance to Bollywood music when I was younger. And that kind of evolved to me you know loving entertainment and just liking to entertain people.
00:20:38
Speaker
And i remember to like in Astoria finding this little, I was at the deli and across all of these like Bollywood tapes, I found this one tape that didn't look like a Bollywood tape.
00:20:52
Speaker
And it was, it's dark and hell is hot. Wow. Okay. And I was like, I'm getting this. yeah I didn't know what it was. Yeah. Like nine years old, eight years old, something like that. Ten maybe.
00:21:03
Speaker
i didn't know what it was. Real a bootleg? I don't know, probably Boulette. It has to be, it was like 75 cents. Yeah, definitely Boulette. Yeah. um And no, it had to have been Boulette, cause let me tell you why. Cause once I put it in my sister's deck,
00:21:20
Speaker
ah the first song, like the intro, it wasn't the intro that played. No? No. It was Rough Riders Anthem. yeah But listen, but think about it. My first entrance to hip hop was um but um um um that um I lost my fucking mind.
00:21:37
Speaker
I was like, what is this? Like, what I'm like, I've only been in this country at this point four years. Yeah. so I'm like, what is happening? Like, bass. You know what saying? Like, I'm hearing kick drums and bass. I'm like, don't know.
00:21:51
Speaker
And it just, it would that became my music. And then I just fell and so deeply in love with it. I just did research. I found, you know, I found all the illegal downloading platforms. And that's when I started downloading it. Shout out LimeWire. Shout out LimeWire.
00:22:08
Speaker
And ah just got deeper into the history of hip hop. And by like 13, 14, I loved it so much. I just started writing my own stuff.
00:22:20
Speaker
And there was somebody in the hood that was like, yo, your shit is kind of aight. Your shit's kind of aight. I was like, shut up i'm not i'm trash you know what i'm saying he was like no it's all right i was like hold on so then i kept going and then my friends would invite me out to battle rap people because they didn't think like someone who looked like me would be good at that yeah so then i did that and then that evolved into just not looking back i just kept taking it and made a career music later after that
00:22:51
Speaker
That's crazy. the i'm I'm curious because, like, you know, hip-hop culture, I always say that there's, you know, I do battle it when people would just be like, you know, sometimes I do think sneaker culture is part of hip-hop culture, but I think sneaker culture is just part of black culture. yeah um But, like, when did sneaker culture, you know, touch you?
00:23:10
Speaker
a man. It was a while, bro, because we was poor. Yeah. and Like, we didn't just... I think i we couldn't even afford... I couldn't afford Jordans until, like, I was...
00:23:24
Speaker
six 16 that's something i think my first pair of jordans was like 15 or 16 but people been having them i've been seeing people having since they were like oh yeah like when i was like seven eight years old i've seen people with jordan yeah i've seen i remember there was one person i think i had one person on it might be sean collar but he had baby jordans when he was a baby that's crazy like as jordan was coming out they made jordan yeah like baby jordan's and i was like he was like yeah i got a picture of me Or like, there's one collector, he has his baby fives, bronze. Wow.
00:23:55
Speaker
So yeah, man, like, you know, nobody ever put me on game because I was the only one in the family that cared about sneakers. So like nobody put me on game like, don't buy the $250 kicks. Get like three or four $70.
00:24:11
Speaker
seventy dollars yeah You're going to be good. Like you can stretch it. You can mix and match the fashion. Nobody told me that shit. So I would get one sneak. It would last me all year. everybody would Everybody would cook me, bro, because my shits would be absolutely fried. Because they're the inside and the outside shoes. By the second quarter of school, my shit was fried. And my mother's like, don't have to wear these all fucking... don't know what to tell you. You ain't... Like, you fucked up. You know, but it was Payless before that.
00:24:38
Speaker
Yeah. That's like immigrant palace. Oh, yeah, for sure. Well, I remember being in there and it's just nothing but just immigrants. That shit was hard. I don't care what anyone says. And Skechers used to be in there. Yeah. I used to tell people, people don't believe me, but Converse was there. Converse was in there. Converse was in there. Nike, they had not some Nikes in there. For real? I remember I copped one. Or you go to Modell's. not my fucking not mom we said a you already too far.
00:25:03
Speaker
I'm in that story. I'm going to Steinway. My bad, my bad, my bad, my bad. But I lived onsteinway for i live on Lived on because I always say Steinway. Why would you do that?
00:25:14
Speaker
Because that's how my mom would say it. Steinaway? Steinaway. Oh, right. And so I did live on Steinaway for a hot minute. Right. Because I remember as I was like a kid. the Most ba Brazilians were in Astoria. Yeah.
00:25:25
Speaker
Yeah. i there were I remember the, whatever they that venue is with the car, Yeah, Basurero. No, it's next to Basurero's. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's know. Yeah, the car sits out. Yeah, the car is like outside. Yeah, do they still got the car? They still got the car there. Yeah, why would you take that out? That thing is legendary now, bro. Yeah, it Yo, I've seen it be so many different businesses. Yeah.
00:25:48
Speaker
To like what it is now. I don't even know what it is i think it's like a bar or something. don't think it's a bar. I think it's like an actual like venue. Like it's too small for that. But like to part like to just to throw like a birthday party. Oh, i didn't know That's what I think it is. Okay.
00:26:02
Speaker
One day. we We should just go. should just go. We should do a screening of this episode. That's too early. This is coming out next week, bro.
00:26:16
Speaker
Oh man But I remember i remember as a kid Like Like maybe like ah Two or three Or something like that And my mom was walking And I was like Oh no the car Like that's That's that's what I remember Yeah But That's my my history With Steinway The department we lived there Had rats It was crazy Whatever Yeah. So yeah to full circle answer your question, I didn't really get into shoes until I started making my own money because my parents couldn't afford to, you know, get anything that was, you know, even anything decent enough to buy. Yeah. So I had to, you know, it it took a second. I started working when I was like 16.
00:26:55
Speaker
What was your first job?
00:26:59
Speaker
CVS. CVS. Yeah. There was CVS back then? Yeah. Yeah. Dwayne Reed. Dwayne Reed. Yes. now that Now they're all cool. Dwayne Reed. All the same shit to me, but you know what I'm talking about. Yeah. Yeah. yeah I was like, I was working under the cashier.
00:27:18
Speaker
And were you also, were doing music also at the same time? At 16? Yeah. I mean, like for fun. Yeah. Yeah. Did you do any like open mics something like that? Like end of the weeks where you hitting up end of the weeks? don't know if you remember end of the weeks. Nah, no. Nah, but also I did like last half of high school, like most of my high school in Virginia.
00:27:36
Speaker
So when I was 16, I was in Virginia and we did this like backyard, me and my boy did this backyard graduation party. And I remember like, I would never look up.
00:27:46
Speaker
Like I never looked up into the crowd. Like the whole time rapping, I'm rapping to the floor. This shit. like but first stop trying it out and it i was trying to figure it out man what what is it like so did you have like a fit that you were like yo i have to put this on for this first show like i gotta to make this iconic like bro remember i think i had a i definitely had on a tall tee uh-huh some jeans what was i wearing back then what was the kicks
00:28:18
Speaker
I'm gonna need a picture. We gonna need a picture. We gonna to find them. don't even know. I don't know. Oh, SBs. Oh, SBs. Come on. SBs. That was a whole thing. Yeah. It was SBs for while. Yeah.
00:28:30
Speaker
Yeah. What got you into SBs? My friends. Yeah. I didn't know shit about no skateboard culture. I was just like, oh, my friends is wearing SBs. I should wears asha cop, you know? Yeah, it took it it took my whole life to value my own opinion. Yeah.
00:28:49
Speaker
But it's real. you know i mean, it's wild that, well, SB culture really is what brought me into sneaker culture. Oh, really? Yeah. So like, I love SB's like, What's your favorite pair Oh, I mean, the tweed, tweed highs are my grails or the huff highs, like the ones that I could show you them, but they got the the plaid in the middle. And so I don't know. just like, they remind me of like a grandpa's couch.
00:29:13
Speaker
Yeah. I was just like, yeah, was a fire. remember? What's it called? The pen penny, Penelope? Which one? The peewees? No. Was that everyone called a Penelope Cruz?
00:29:24
Speaker
Definitely not know Penelope Cruz. That would been hilarious when they dropped the Penelope Cruz, bro. Damn. They would call something. I forget the name. It's the the the pink shits.
00:29:35
Speaker
The pink ones. There was a couple of pink ones. ah Low or high? Low. Low? didn't wear highs back then. I don't think. The only highs I had was the Wallace's.
00:29:45
Speaker
The patent... the the pat Oh, the Dontrell Willis joints? The white with this with the baby blue. Oh, the white with the baby blue. baby White with the baby blue uptowns. It was Rashids. thought you were saying dunks. I was thinking dunks. dad yeah I think that's the only hot tops I fucked with. High Air Force Ones are always fire with the strap.
00:30:09
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And you could just those you could take the strap off and just have like tie it behind. Yeah. And shit like that. That's what I do with my vandals. I got a pair of vandals and had with it at the back.
00:30:20
Speaker
So, yeah. But the I mean, as bees is is just like a ah moment in time, because I feel like a lot of people, the way that it it was able to help you express yourself, because the the colors are always crazy.
00:30:33
Speaker
And they always had some crazy story to go with it too. And also you're Virginia where ice creams are probably going crazy at that time. Ice creams are going crazy. I never had a pair. I didn't live there long enough to know because I went to school in Florida.
00:30:48
Speaker
So I was in Orlando and it's a music school. So everybody came from different places. Mm-hmm. My homie Tony Shout out to Tony He live in LA now But he from St. Louis And I was just was just Borrow his shoes Cause he had mad shoes He was getting money And I was He like Saw me like a little bro So like Uh huh And I didn't understand, like, I'm like a size 9. He was a size like 11 or like maybe 12. was, don't know. I was just making it work. I'm wearing these regardless, bro. We about to go outside. Let me hold them. So he was the one who put me on to like SBs and all the other shit.
00:31:27
Speaker
Until I came back to New York very swiftly and then Went right back to Uptowns and Max's Thames. I was cool. Yeah. No, yeah. um I definitely, because like i read your your Rolling Stone article. Oh, wow. Thank you. And so like the east the this one was for, damn, why did blank on the name? It's not East meets West. that East to West. East to West. But it's not that. It's the Com...
00:31:53
Speaker
Where I'm from from? Came from. Came from. My bad. nice Sorry. No, you're good. good. You're good. You're good. But like what inspired that song? Because I know you touch on it in that article, but like. Yeah. Yeah.
00:32:04
Speaker
I mean, came from is about what about celebrating culture and immigration. And it comes from my entire life. I mean, I was an illegal immigrant until I was 15. I didn't get my green card until i was 15. And I didn't get my citizenship until 2019. So that was like a huge jump after that. I mean, that's got to be a huge relief, too.
00:32:22
Speaker
Yeah, it was. um So, you know, talking about this isn't new to me, even though, you know, our president office, people might seem like that inspired it. But I've been talking about this my entire career because I think it's an important topic and a topic that I don't think like...
00:32:39
Speaker
fades away um immigrants are the backbone of this country with natives and black folks you know i'm saying like it it took all of them to build in and i think you know especially in new york city bangladeshis are the labor force right whether you walk into a dunkin donuts or a uber or a cab or you know, your Uber driver, your Uber driver who's dropping you off food or your groceries is a Bangladeshi man, you know?
00:33:06
Speaker
Um, and we have, we're also the ones in the kitchen, like cooking you the food. So like we are, we are such a, such a heartbeat of the city.
00:33:18
Speaker
And so, so are so many other nationalities that, you know, I just wanted to celebrate, um, these people that,
00:33:30
Speaker
that work really hard and their business and try to do the best they can for the people they love. Yeah. The,
Identity and Pronunciation
00:33:39
Speaker
is it interesting? Like, I mean, listening to part one, make sure you, by time that drop, I think both parts is to be out, right? No. Only part one. Yeah. The album don't drop till September.
00:33:47
Speaker
Okay. So you just tap into part one, yeah you know, you know, and also we touched on you know, actually correctly saying your name.
00:33:58
Speaker
Um, but like what inspired that? Like, yeah, so that a lot, I mean,
00:34:08
Speaker
I would say
00:34:11
Speaker
i've and the the pat i haven't put out a record in four years. yeah And in these four years, ah life kicked my ass. So I went through a lot of ups and downs and ah think I grew a lot.
00:34:24
Speaker
And you know I surrendered. I started working out. I changed my entire body. um you know I went from having four herniated discs in my lower back to being able to run 5Ks every Sunday now. Jeez.
00:34:36
Speaker
um i you know i'm almost at 10 000 minutes of meditation um i've learned how to write completely new genres and i did a lot of work on myself to be able to become the person that i am and i think at the core who i am who anyone is is your mother's child.
00:35:00
Speaker
You know what I'm saying? Like you came in that way, right? And if that's the essence, if that's like where you're the most, before all the influences and all the, you know, no matter where you're from or how you was raised, before all of that, you know, influence who you are,
00:35:18
Speaker
You know, for me, I was like, that's what I want to tap into as close as possible to like, what is the essence of my core being? And I had to look inwards a lot. And that made me go back to like thinking about, you know, when I, which I don't remember, but I'm sure like when I was first born and what that,
00:35:41
Speaker
what that felt like. And when my mother calls me Onik, that was the most genuine form of me at the time. yeah And so I was like, these four years and and this evolution feels like I went as, you know, as inward as I could for myself and and and looking into my personal space.
00:36:06
Speaker
And and I think to today is the most authentic I've ever been for myself. And I think that comes from being authentically what my mother named me. yeah You what I'm saying?
00:36:21
Speaker
um Do you, do you, my bad for cutting? No, no, you're good. Do you feel like you reinvented or you feel like you feel like you started from your back to like, are you back to zero?
00:36:33
Speaker
No, I think it's like, I think it's both one and the same. yeah I think I've reinvented it, but I've also just re-found. You know what I'm saying? Like I found it again. like yeah there's a There's a lot of times you could get lost in all of this with with the way we live and, and and you know, what matters in the world today. and And I needed to kind of like,
00:36:55
Speaker
let all that go and remember you know where love came from when my spirit felt the highest vibrations and like what really mattered to me and i think you know i had a really dope run 2018 2019 and i was traveling the world and i was doing all all of these things i'm sorry i wasn't traveling the world i started traveling the world after 2020 but um But you was doing that off of music? Off of music. Yeah. and And I kind of lost sight of of what was important.
00:37:28
Speaker
And I think, you know, I had to get humbled. um And that humidly humility helped me remember myself as the most fragile I've ever been. And again, the most fragile I've ever been was when my mother, you know, named me.
00:37:43
Speaker
Honey. Yeah. And you know, I remember Hassan being on Ellen. Yeah. And that also inspired me when I heard him correct him, and be like, it's not Hassan, it's Hassan. And I'm glad he came to that conclusion because, you know, if I could learn how to fucking say Bartholomew. Yeah. Yeah.
00:38:03
Speaker
or petunia, yo ass can definitely learn how to say onik. We're just gonna figure out how to do it. yeah you know Before I didn't even have the time, I'd be like onik, or like onik, and I'd be like, oh yeah I could do that. Because it's phonetically, it's easier for people.
00:38:18
Speaker
And I'll like, Anik, and I don't mind. like get them It might take 45 seconds until a minute and 30. yeah And I'm like, I'm right here. We can figure it out. Come on, let's keep going. We're going to get it when we get it. Natalie.
00:38:29
Speaker
Yeah.
00:38:32
Speaker
Gertrude. Gertrude. Don't let me, see what I'm saying? Gertrude? Yeah. I had to learn how to say Gertrude. You can't say Onyx. That's crazy. Yeah. ah I do feel like, is that a sense of, because I do, i you know, I remember that moment when Hasan said that and he was just like, and then, you know, sometimes he'll jump back. He'll be like, you know, he'll be like Hasan sometimes or he'll be like, you know, but I also feel like, or he'll let it pass if somebody says it, you know, right in certain interviews or whatever.
00:39:01
Speaker
Yeah. But when it comes to, I don't know if I, cause I feel like I'm wording it wrong, but I don't know if it's like, are we just assimilating or are we making ourselves feel smaller because we're just like, no, you're, I don't want to correct you. Like, I don't want to make, like, I don't want to make you feel inferior. So I'm not going to correct you from saying my name. Like, um,
00:39:23
Speaker
there was a There was a moment, and I'm going to bring this up because Connor's here, but when I first started coming here and recording here, Maxim, who's his the partner his other partner here working with him, um I said Max because I was just like, you know, I was just like being quick. i just like, oh, my bad, Max. And I just wrote Max, and he was just like, it's Maxim. And i was just like, I like that. like Yeah.
00:39:48
Speaker
Also, if my name was Maxim, you calling me Maxim because I've never heard no, that shit is hard. that' That's fine. Yeah. Yeah. um But yeah, do you think that's like a... ah Are we we as immigrants or children of immigrants? are you know i don't know if it's like we don't have pride in our name or the way it's phonetically pronounced. Yeah, i don't I don't know. I think it's very individualistic between people because like I don't think you can...
00:40:14
Speaker
If somebody wanted to assimilate the name and they like it better like that, who am I to tell you you not or you can't, right? If that's your story and and and that's who you'd like to be, then cool. You know, I know a lot of people who even go out there where to change their names because they just feel more comfortable with that kind of name.
00:40:33
Speaker
ah in you know in how they live and how they were brought up. And then there's people like me who, you know if you grow up in a place like New York and you're actual native New Yorker, like culture matters.
00:40:45
Speaker
yeah It's some important. like People love being Puerto Rican. People love being Guyanese. They do not assimilate. you know i'm saying like There's sound systems everywhere. Dominicans running around talking about some D-Milo logo. yeah You know what I'm saying? And I had to get to a point where I was like, I want to be that proud of my shit too. yeah We the only ones out the box like that, at least in my experience growing up.
00:41:10
Speaker
No, I mean, I'm with you on that. there was you know That didn't want to be the place that they was from. And again, I think it's individualistic to everybody because I grew up here and that was my and inspiration. And I inspired to be like my cohorts, the Puerto Ricans, that you know the Dominicans, the Africans. like They love being where they're from and they love talking about it. Yeah.
00:41:31
Speaker
I inspired to want to be that way. So now I'm like unapppe unapologetically Bangladeshi because shit is fire. And my name comes with that. And there might be people who, Weren't raised like that. And they might want, they might prefer their name to be um pronounced the way someone outside of their culture pronounces it. And that's their business, you know, and I don't necessarily know if there's really like a right or wrong answer. I think it's just like how you feel and who you want to be.
00:42:01
Speaker
No, yeah. It's definitely, I mean, cause growing up, obviously, you know, when you are a part of two different races that don't really, like, you wanna be part of the popping one. And this is when Brazil's winning World Cups. And he was watching on the, if I was half Brazilian, I'd be Brazilian.
00:42:21
Speaker
and Growing up, yeah growing up, I'd be like, oh, hold on, hold on. yeah um But like, yeah, you know, i mean, you could, growing up, especially in New York, you get a lot of bullying, especially when, especially around nine eleven Oh man, like that's when- You was Brazilian for a decade. You wasn't even telling nobody you was You had to wait.
00:42:40
Speaker
yeah You had to let the steam cool off. Oh yeah. Man, you are not lying. The way- I'm in here fighting people. yeah i mean like and I'm like, fuck God, I'm Bangladeshi. And what, what's up? I've been saving my life. but
00:42:57
Speaker
You over here getting it easy, man. I'm gonna make sure you tell everybody you Bangladeshi on this pod now. Your intro gonna be, yo, what's up? Welcome to the pod. I'm half Bangladeshi. les yeah Look, my name is Hassan. So it's just like, it's a people be like, what are you? And I'll be like,
00:43:16
Speaker
um I say it. Now you say I say it. yeah oh I've always said it. I know. I've always said it. But I just think it's just like when people and I've said it before, when you look racially ambiguous, people just assume you're something else. yeah Nobody's going ever correctly pick your your race, especially when you're two races. The funniest one is Trinidad or Ghana. Yeah.
00:43:35
Speaker
Like that's not like that's not Bangladesh. Yeah. Listen, man, I've gotten Panamanian and like, I've gotten in Guam before. I'm like, Guam. Guam? I've never gotten that. Yeah.
00:43:47
Speaker
Yeah, I've gotten almost everything. Never Guam. Yeah. Man, I just think it's just like, ah but I'm i'm such a a lover of culture. Same. Right? So, and I don't know if that comes from ah being around like a lot of the, a lot of people that, you know, they're just like, oh, you got to try ceviche when I hung out with my food. Yeah, you're from Queens. Yeah. you get like Queens is definitely the world's borough. Yeah, it's definitely the world's borough. I mean, World's Fair, all that stuff.
00:44:16
Speaker
ah There's 138 languages spoken in one borough. That's crazy. It's the most in the entire world. And people still shit on the Queens. I'm not. That's not even. That's a whole nother podcast. I'm not doing it. You're going to get angry or riled up.
00:44:28
Speaker
There's too much awesome shit about us. I don't understand it either. because it's It's okay. They don't need understand me. Come to Queens. We'll find out. Yo, for real. Pull up on Roosevelt. Like, you know, see, you walk the whole Roosevelt Ave.
00:44:44
Speaker
You'll literally travel the world, bro. Like, it's so crazy. yeah Oh, man. It's the fact that you can get dumplings on one block and then get, like, curry goat the next block and then get, like... Momos. Yo, was just about to say momos. Momos is crazy. Kalal. Uh-huh.
00:45:01
Speaker
Kebabs. Stop playing with me. not I'm not doing it. So like you traveling the world doing your music,
Authenticity and Collaboration
00:45:10
Speaker
what have you like? what Have there ever been like a moment where somebody pressed you? Because, you know, like has there ever been a moment you're just like, no, no, no. I am who I am.
00:45:20
Speaker
And you have to be like, you got a chill out type of. What you mean? Like someone's like, are you. Like they just judge you off of your color, your skin or like, you know, your representation and like, or have you always just had like, because of the type of music you make, nobody's really ever been like, nah, man, you don't belong here.
00:45:40
Speaker
You know? I've been a little lucky. yeah i mean, I haven't had that, but I also try my best not to like, I'm very intentional about how I do it. you know like I'm not gonna get on a Downsall record without a person from the West Indies. That don't make no sense to me. If I'm just doing Downsall by myself, you know that's that's kind of different. I could get influences from it, but...
00:46:06
Speaker
You know, um and that's one example, but I try my best. And you know, there's a learning curve because global music was not popular. Right, yeah. Right, so like, Don Saul was for a bit, then Afrobeat was for a bit, but like, you know, what does it mean to have records where you're having a South Asian do a record with a Brazilian or a Brazilian doing a record with somebody from ah Congo or Ethiopia? Like, what what does all of that look like in...
00:46:32
Speaker
you might be a kid that grew up around all that shit and you're like, well, i love all of that shit and I grew up around all of that shit. and And so I think we're going to figure it out on ah you know along the way. But i think I think global music is forgiving as well. Like, you know, people love when other people know about their heritage, right? And I think you can do that through music really well, right? Like if I come to your country and, you know, I can name a food or two or speak three or four words of your language,
00:47:02
Speaker
you know, they their heart opens in a way that I can't explain. And I've seen it in real time. I've traveled to so many places now, you know, between Brazil and Jamaica, Toronto, London, Dubai, India, Bangladesh, Thailand.
00:47:16
Speaker
You know, been a lot of places. yeah um And, you know, when I get to these places, you know, and I can, I can,
00:47:30
Speaker
speak a little bit or try my best to speak a little bit and then be like, yo, where's the broccoli rice and the steak at? You know what saying? When I'm in Rio, right? And I'm like, du-du-bang. They're like, and like that i hold hold on. like he' like He's trying. yeah know And then and it's and it's it's more comforting and it's more open-hearted. so It's appreciative for sure. Yeah, for sure.
00:47:48
Speaker
And I think, yeah, I think ah I've never really dealt with that. um But again, I try to stick to being as authentic as I can. Even even with this new record, like there's nine languages on the record. But yeah those languages that are being spoken um being spoken by the people who are from there.
00:48:12
Speaker
Right? So when the album comes out, you know, there's an Arabic record on there. My guy Mo Flo is singing the Arabic. You know, I would never try to just like get in there sing Arabic because I'm not...
00:48:24
Speaker
ought to be yeah yeah um and then you know there's other records like um ya baba ya baba more arabic right i'm not the one it was crazy because you sang that shit to me we were drinking one night and the other night and you sang you sang that shit to me you're like you gotta listen to this is gonna sound this is how it's gonna sound like and then you sang it and i was like this is gonna be hard and then i actually heard it and i was like this is fire damn don't even remember that yeah we were we were we were messed up that was a I don't even do shit like that so that's how know I was fried Yeah Okay But yeah um Yeah And so You know There's Urdu on the record But I'm not the one singing the Urdu You know i'm saying There's French on the record I'm not the one singing French You know So um It's me appreciating it And wanting to To continue to raise the The
00:49:11
Speaker
just elevate as much as I can of like what it means to cross pollinate and what it means to, in my opinion, to be a human being is to share each other's, you know, upbringings and culture. And, and I think the best way I can do that is through music and then food.
00:49:25
Speaker
No, yeah, you, I definitely think like, and the reason why asked this, cause like, I think you do it through respect. And I think a lot of that is, especially within like a creative mindset, a lot of people don't think about those like layers of just like, Hey, how can I do this? Like with respect so that when people are, find it or, or people that are like actually in tune with this stuff are like, that's, he did it correctly, where you know? The people I don't got to explain it to is Queens kids yeah and London kids and Toronto kids, because they grew up like that. yeah like yeah all They have all the cultures right there. so
00:50:00
Speaker
you know They off bucks know at least five different, like five words from five different languages, just because off the the neighborhoods they lived in. know what saying? So, yeah. I love i love cross-pollination. and And it's crazy that like, you know, I found world music
00:50:16
Speaker
Nah, don't count because I was basically born with world music and playing in the house. Like, you know, my mom was playing Hassanega like crazy. Like, yeah. Or like, well, she never played what?
00:50:29
Speaker
Hassanai's MECs? But I found it. Yeah. Yeah. But like, yeah, we was playing world music in the crib all day. Like, yeah. But I think the... My bad. But the rise of it because of the internet, people finding it and then Sango bringing that Brazil music over here. And there's so many others, right?
00:50:50
Speaker
It keeps growing and I think... What's so exciting about global music's future is that it doesn't necessarily have to be looked at as like just Phil Collins, even though he's fire. Yeah. But, you know, all respect to him. Yeah. But, you know, global music is Burna Boy. Global music is, you know, Sean Paul and and and and that new Molly record, Shake It To The Max. You know saying? Global music is Saint Levant, you know, me like.
00:51:19
Speaker
It's for people, whether you can understand the language or not, you understand the feeling. And I think more and more young people are doing that. And it's really exciting. Yeah. So we're towards the end of the podcast and I got one
Advice to Younger Self
00:51:32
Speaker
last question to ask you. And it deals with a little visualization. I want you to think back to when you were younger, about to get those Agassiz.
00:51:39
Speaker
Yeah. The first time. Not when the homie from Nike gave it to you. All right. The first time. And now you're you as your current self behind your younger self. What would you tell your younger self as he opens that box?
00:51:53
Speaker
That's good one.
00:51:58
Speaker
Ayo, bruh, you need to go to Payless immediately and cop some $40 joints before you cook these Agassiz because you spent all your bread on these one pair of Agassiz, okay, bro? So make sure you go back, get something else. It's okay if the kids don't know, you pop in with the Agassiz for special occasions or else you're going to get to the third quarter and them shits, the solos are going to be gone.
00:52:23
Speaker
I'm like, it'll be cooked. Let everybody know where to find you, man. Yo, you can find me on Onik Khan, but it's spelled A-N-I-K-K-H-A-N. And you can find that everywhere.
00:52:36
Speaker
Every social. Yes, sir. name Name my album, you know? ah The name of the album is Onik by Onik Khan. Yes. Pre-saved. I'll put a link in the in the ah description. Thank you so much. Please pre-save it.
00:52:49
Speaker
The part one is out now. um Five records out now. And then the entire record comes out in September. And I'm super, super stoked. Hell yeah. Yo, the video? He was in India?
00:53:00
Speaker
india Yeah, in West Bengal. Yes, West Bengal. Yeah. And the crazy sound systems. And he was explaining to me that like, and we didn't get to touch on it, but the the like, they just have sound system wars.
00:53:12
Speaker
Yeah, sound clashes. Yeah, sound clashes. And it is, the video is insane. I don't know how you sat on that thing. Yeah. Go watch the video. I'll i'll link it in here too. ah You know where to find me. am who is awesome on social medias. Follow the podcast on My First Kicks pod.
00:53:26
Speaker
If you have a story, hit me up info at myfirstkicks.com. Hit up the Patreon. I got tears up. I'm going to be adding more tears. Connor's clapping. ah Support your boy because you know this is not cheap.
00:53:39
Speaker
um And you know what we say each week. Wear your kicks. Peace. um I wanted to jump in at the end here to talk about Patreon and also give the Patreon shoutouts.
00:53:50
Speaker
So just a little bit ah more on Patreon because I only plugged it right at the end. Patreon is something that I'm starting to implement with the podcast as a way to help me grow the podcast. So I am relying on you, the fans or the listeners. I don't you know i don't know what...
00:54:11
Speaker
the, my first kicks listeners call themselves, but I appreciate you. if you've tapped in the first time or this is your 227th time, or, you know, I appreciate you.
00:54:22
Speaker
And because of that, I have started a Patreon, which I've mentioned here a couple times, Patreon is just a way that I'm looking to help probably like add more to the My First Kicks universe. And with that, we have two tiers currently.
00:54:42
Speaker
Currently, we have a $3 tier and in the $3 tier, you know, you get a shout out this week. You get a shout out every week, actually. And then in the $5 tier, I'm looking to make that an ad free video where you just get the video. As soon as I'm done finishing cutting it, it goes straight up.
00:54:58
Speaker
You'll get to watch it. get to tap in. I'm still working on trying to figure that out. ah And of course you'll get the audio there if you don't want to listen to it anywhere else. ah It's extremely helpful, you know, no ads on either of these things.
00:55:13
Speaker
ah But if you're interested to get shout out ah to get a shout out at the end of an episode, Check out the Patreon. Patreon's description. Patreon's, if you're watching this, up I'm gonna put, ah is you're gonna see a patreon.com slash myfirstkicks at the bottom of this.
00:55:29
Speaker
So onto the shout outs. Shout out to Derek, the homie. Derek, Fresh Poetic. Ross Adams. And Adam Neustadar,
00:55:40
Speaker
I've been trying to get your name correct the entire time, but shout out to you, Adam. You know, you were the first one to subscribe and become a $5 tier ah member. So you kickstarted this whole thing.
00:55:53
Speaker
And now you got the battery in my back to make sure that this thing is going to be fun and immersive. And, you know, we are working to make sure that I'm going to continue to add on to it and build around it.
00:56:08
Speaker
We'll ah probably do newsletters or, you know, launches and merch. And, you know, these are things that me and D has talked about. So appreciate y'all.
00:56:19
Speaker
And thank you for tapping in. Make sure you check out one of these videos that you'll see at the end of the end slate here.