Rep. Hakeem Jeffries talks career and Notorious B.I.G. on ‘The Hill with April Ryan’

“I quote [The Notorious B.I.G.] frequently,” Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Leader, tells theGrio’s April D. Ryan in a primetime sit-down interview.

On this week’s episode of “The Hill with April Ryan,” theGrio’s White House Correspondent April D. Ryan talks about President Joe Biden’s second State of the Union address and previews her primetime sit-down interview with House Minority Leader U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. In January, the 52-year-old New Yorker became the first Black lawmaker to lead a party in Congress.

Ryan also dives into how Democrats will govern in a politically divided Congress with Sirius XM radio host Joe Madison.

House Minority Leader U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and April D. Ryan
April D. Ryan sits down with House Minority Leader U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries in his congressional office on Jan. 31. (Photo: TheGrio TV)

During the show, Ryan spotlights Jeffries’ career, his new historic role as the House minority leader, and his Brooklyn connection with the Notorious B.I.G. In an interview with Jeffries – which airs in full on TheGrio TV at 9 p.m. ET –  he told Ryan, “I quote [The Notorious B.I.G.] frequently.”

“It was an honor to be able to do so on the floor of the House of Representatives, just to mark the moment of his 20th anniversary of his passing,” said the New York congressman.

He continued, “I asked my team to check the Congressional Record to see if Frank Sinatra had gotten the tribute, or if Elvis Presley had gotten a tribute, or Bruce Springsteen, and every single instance that had happened for them — appropriately — multiple times. I said to myself, ‘Well, why not Christopher Wallace.”

Watch this week’s all-new episode of “The Hill with April Ryan” above and look out for new episodes every Thursday.

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