Talking tour life, A memoir, & Detroit’s musical history with R&B great Kem
Episode 36Play
Grammy-nominated R&B singer Kem has a lot to share as he talks about the ups and downs throughout this decades-long music career. His memoir ‘Share My Life: A Journey of Love, Faith, and Redemption’ is an inspiring read that will give fans a raw look at his life. Kem joins The Blackest Questions to give fans some backstory on the memoir and to test his Black history knowledge.
READ FULL TRANSCIPT:
Panama Jackson [00:00:00] You are now listening to theGrio’s Black Podcast Network. Black Culture Amplified.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:00:06] Hi and welcome to the Blackest Questions. I’m your host, Dr. Christina Greer, politics editor for theGrio and associate professor of political science at Fordham University. In this podcast, we ask our guest five of the Blackest Questions so we can learn a little bit more about them and have some fun while we’re doing it. We’re also going to learn a lot about Black history past and present. So here’s how this works. We have five rounds of questions about us Black history, the entire diaspora, current events, you name it. And with each round, the questions get a little tougher and the guest has 10 seconds to get it right. If they answer the question correctly, they’ll receive one symbolic Black fist and they’ll hear this. And if they get it wrong, they’ll hear this. But we still have them anyway. Our guest for this episode is Grammy nominated singer and songwriter Kem. His hits I Can’t Stop Loving You and Love Call made him an R&B sensation.
Kem [00:00:57] Had my mind made it. And I can’t stop loving you. I can’t help myself.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:01:10] He’s toured the world for nearly 20 years and his work has been recognized by the Billboard Music Awards, the NAACP, Betty, the Soul Train Awards, and, of course, the Recording Academy. Kem is also an author releasing his memoir this year titled Share My Life A Journey of Love, Faith and Redemption. Kem, I’m super excited to have you here. Are you ready to play the Blackest Questions?
Kem [00:01:33] I will find out.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:01:36] We’ll find out. Listen, you got a lot of fans out there who are rooting for you, so I know this is going to be a great episode. Okay. Question number one, let’s just jump right into it. In 1959, this Black owned record label was created by a former automobile worker who introduced white America to dozens of talented Black acts during the height of the civil rights movement. What is the name of this record label?
Kem [00:01:59] I think that would be Motown.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:02:01] That is correct. Motown Records. Berry Gordy made history when he opened Motown Records in Detroit, Michigan, and was urged to do so by his friend Smokey Robinson. The label gave us chart topping acts like The Temptations, Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Jackson Five, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye. The list goes on and on. And Motown sound became synonymous with great melodies and the use of tambourines and clapping and strong basslines. So you signed to Motown in 2001. How did that happen and how did that change your entire career?
Kem [00:02:34] There was no career prior to signing to Motown. I, I was you know, I did it the old fashioned way. We earned it, right? I was selling CDs out of my my first album, Kemistry. I was selling on my own, literally out of the trunk of my car. Right. And our goal.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:02:51] What was your car? Hold on. We need a visual, Kem.
Kem [00:02:54] I was driving a 1994 Toyota Camry. I put 300,000 miles on that car and then gave it to somebody else. Right. I was selling my album in true entrepreneurial Detroit Hustle style. We sold 10,000 copies on 12 steps at the end. I sold 17,000 copies on my own. And then we we we garnered the attention of the Motown record label and and here we are. And here we sit today, you know, 20 years later.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:03:36] Wow. And tell us a little bit more about this new memoir. It’s called, for our listeners out there, Share My Life, A Journey of Love, Faith and Redemption. Because you have such a beautifully amazing story. And we know that one time, at one point in time, you were unhoused. In your memoir, you talk about sort of your struggles with addiction. How and when did you turn things around?
Kem [00:03:57] I got sober in July of 1990. My last drink was on my biological birthday, July 23rd of 1990. So it’s also my so it was a rebirth. You know, I was literally born again. I, you know, I came to the to a place where I was, as we say, in recovery circles, sick and tired of being sick and tired. You know, and I ran out of all of my ideas on how to solve my problems, because obviously my best thinking got me to where I was. Right. So there’s an adage that I love that says when the student is ready, the teacher appears. And I was ready. I surrender on that dayand met some some folks who showed me a better way to live.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:04:53] I love that. I really do. And did you get your start in the church like a lot of folks in the business or where did you start singing and realize you just you had a real talent?
Kem [00:05:04] I think, you know, when I was when I was a toddler and I was born in Nashville, Tennessee, my grandfather was a preacher. So my earliest musical memories are of trying to emulate the music that I heard in the church, on his piano, in his house, which, you know, drove everybody crazy. Boy, don’t you two, don’t you stay off that piano. Right. So I wasn’t in the choir or in the church, per se. But definitely there was an influence there. And I wouldn’t join a church choir until I was probably in my late twenties, early thirties. And that was a transformative experience as well. I was working with, you know, a lot of great people in the city of Detroit, a lot of great musicians. And I kind of cut my teeth in the choir and in the wedding bands circuit.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:05:56] Before we move on to question number two in a quick break, let’s circle back to this book, because what can our readers expect? I think a lot of people, you know, absolutely love your music. They love to to curl up with a special somebody to your music. But what else do you want us to learn about you? The man from from this this memoir?
Kem [00:06:17] Well, people who’ve been following me over the past 20 years have have heard me speak about some of my journey from the stage and in different interviews. You know, people are familiar, but the book was actually a being able to to to have a book that encapsulates my journey from my beginning until now is the perfect medium to really expound on my life on. It’s not a it’s not a self-help book, but I have experienced great healing and great transformation in my life because somebody shared their story with me, you know, and and and I am, in a sense, paying it forward. I’m hoping that I can do the same for somebody else with my book.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:07:06] Absolutely. You know, as someone who writes as well. You know, whenever I struggle with writer’s block, I always try to remember someone needs to read these pages to see themselves, you know, to see their humanity, to help them understand the world a little bit better. And I know for our listeners out there, if you if you know, you haven’t picked it up yet or put it on preorder. Be sure to check out Kem’s new memoir, Share My Life A Journey of Love, Faith and Redemption. Kem, stay with us. You do it very well. We’re going to take a quick commercial break. We’ll be right back with Kem. And we’re back. I’m with R&B singer Kem Cam. Thank you so much for joining us on the Blackest Questions.
Kem [00:07:46] Is my pleasure.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:07:48] You are doing incredibly well. Let’s see if we can keep this streak going. Question number two, Are you ready?
Kem [00:07:52] I’m ready.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:07:54] Okay. This Black neo classical pianist is also from Detroit and is known for mixing classical music and hip hop. Oftentimes, his covers of hip hop songs go viral on social media. Who is he? And here’s a hint. He’s actually been a guest here and played the Blackest Question.
Kem [00:08:12] It’s not. It’s not. If I. If it is. I didn’t know he was from Detroit. Only person that comes to mind immediately is Robert Glasper.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:08:21] No, it’s not Robert Glasper. It’s BlkBok. BlkBok started playing piano at the age of six. He’s worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry, including Rihanna, Justin Timberlake and John Mayer. And he’s worked to normalize Black figures in the classical music world. Now, do you know who BlkBok is?
Kem [00:08:37] I’m not. I’m totally unfamiliar. I’m embarrassed.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:08:41] No, that’s okay. Well, this is the whole point of the Blackest Questions. A. We’re learning about people we should know. And hopefully you two can collaborate at some point in time.
[00:08:48] Did you ask him about me?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:08:52] We’ll invite him back on the show. Maybe you guys can do a head to head. We can have a special Blackest Questions episode. A musical episode. Maybe you guys can play something for us. My listeners would absolutely love that. But I know that you started exploring on the keyboard at a very young age and fell in love with music. What was it like growing up in such a musical city like Detroit? Is it, you know, like the movies portray where everybody’s musical? Listen, Kem I used to lip sing in church. That’s how bad my voice. Yeah. Okay. Like when I would sing, people would look around thinking that birds were falling from the sky and not in a good way. So is it one of those pressure cookers in the sense that, like, everybody’s got talent and everyone’s playing an instrument and has a beautiful voice? Like, where did you fit in in the larger pantheon of Detroit?
Kem [00:09:34] You know, Detroit is a very musical city, and I cut my teeth in the top 40 bands, wedding bands, okay, singing at bar mitzvahs and the casinos. Detroit is a working musician’s town, you know.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:09:49] So walk us through what that means.
Kem [00:09:51] That means that these musicians are not musicians that you may necessarily see on the cover of Billboard or or Rolling Stone, but they’re they work harder than those of us who are in the mainstream music industry, right, as they’re playing. Because before I signed Motown, my set was, you know, now my set is probably 75 minutes, maybe an hour and a half at the most. But then back then, the working musician is playing four 45 minute sets with 20 minute breaks in between. You know, I mean, they are. Yeah, that’s, you know, and then getting up in the morning and going to their and going to their 9 to 5, you know, you know, the hardest the hardest working musicians I know, you know, are in Detroit and they’re in their represented all over the country, of course. But but you can’t help being from Detroit. You can’t help but be infected. Affected by the legacy of, you know, I mean, from Marvin Gaye to Stevie Wonder, Anita Baker, Aretha Franklin. I mean, you can’t help but but be, you know, affected by that. And if you’re in the music business, you feel a a you know, you feel a responsibility. You know, you’re from Detroit, you know, So you need to so you need to represent, you know, and and that’s something that I’m very proud of. And I’m very, very grateful for being a part of the of the Detroit musical legacy in history.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:11:24] Absolutely. Now, can you think of one of your first big gigs as a working musician where you, like, have made it? You know, I’m playing, you know, a 60 person wedding.
Kem [00:11:34] Right. Right. You know, I still don’t feel like I’ve made it. You know, I keep you know, I keep there’s a there’s a there’s a what? A adage or a maxim I love chop wood, carry water. Right. Chop wood, carry water. And, you know, I’m always in the in the process of trying to become better. I don’t take it for granted, you know, whether there are 300 people in the audience or whether we’re playing to an audience of of tens of thousands. You know, I show up the same you know, I show up the same, you do the work the same and require and demand the the same excellence from myself and those who are working, working with me. So I take it, you know, there are many moments of, you know, playing in the Fox Theater. We just played the Fox Theater on Woodward Avenue in Detroit, which is an iconic Detroit venue. Right. You know, where they used to do the Motown revue, You know, where Diana Ross and the Supremes, Temptations, you know. So, I mean, there are those moments, you know, But but every every performance is important. You know, every every every moment that we have is one that that every every moment in every opportunity that I have to do this is one that I don’t take for granted.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:12:48] Absolutely. Well, we’re going to take a quick commercial break. I’m with the humble and, you know, wonderful R&B singer Kem, who’s also an author. For those of you who have not gotten his book and you’re just tuning in, pick up his memoir, Share My Life, A Journey of Love, Faith and Redemption. We’ll be right back. And we are back with R&B soul singer Kem Kem. I’m so excited to have you here. Are you ready to play question number three in the Blackest Questions?
Kem [00:13:16] Yeah, I’m ready.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:13:18] Okay. This group is the oldest and largest civil rights organization in America and was founded in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for Black people. What organization is it?
Kem [00:13:32] Okay. Can I have two guesses?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:13:38] I’ll let you have two guesses. Go ahead. What’s the first one?
Kem [00:13:41] NAACP.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:13:42] That’s right. Let’s stop there. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, also known as the NAACP. Some of its co-founders included Ida B. Wells Barnette and W.E.B. Du Bois. Its members grew rapidly from about 9000 in 1917 to nearly 100,000 just two years later. And today there are more than 2200 chapters nationwide. And when it first began, the NAACP was focused on eradicating lynching. And over the years, it played a huge role in economic justice, and its significance in the legal realm can’t be measured. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, then headed by Thurgood Marshall, won the case Brown versus Board of Education, which outlawed segregation in public schools. And the group has also organized some of the biggest protests in American history and has posted bail for countless people arrested while demonstrating. And you know, it’s interesting, Kem. Our listeners can’t see this, but behind me, I keep my grandfather’s my late grandfather’s NAACP card right here behind me, just to remember. So some of the quiet activism that he participated in. I didn’t realize that, you know, this is on my mother’s side of the family. I didn’t realize that my mom’s dad was actually a member of the NAACP until he passed. And I was clearing out, you know, some of their drawers. And so this this long legacy of the NAACP and this was in northern Florida always inspires me. And I know that you’ve been nominated for several NAACP Image Award. Do you see your I mean, a lot of us know your music, especially our female listeners out there. We know your music. You know, this beautiful love songs. But do you see your music as political? Or do you leave that to other artists?
Kem [00:15:20] Um, that’s a great question. I have become known for love songs, for songs that speak to relationship, that speak to faith, that speak to that speak to healing. My last album on my last album, Love Always Wins, which came out in 2020 as we were in the midst of the pandemic. You know, I did venture off into talking about not so much politics, but just you know, I talked about social media. You know, I talked about, you know, I didn’t mention our former president by name, but I spoke on that, you know, because of the times that we were living in.
Kem [00:16:15] He’s so much smarter. Please tell me why. Because you make it harder. Just keep living life.
Kem [00:16:30] And nor would we be the same after after after 20, you know, with the with the pandemic.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:16:35] We’ve been through some things we’ve been doing.
Kem [00:16:38] The divisiveness in the country, politics, the pandemic, you know, I mean, it’s really been a lot. So I think that going forward, my music more and more will be informed by current events. Not so much political necessarily, but definitely, definitely speak to to the pulse of like what’s going on in society for sure.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:17:03] Dare I say, Kem, you know, I know your music isn’t it just for Black people, but, you know, I’m thinking of the Black people I know who listen to your music. You know, this idea of Black love is also a radical and a political act. Yeah. That you sort of celebrate, you know? And so I actually do see it and I read into it as this this political act of us loving freely, you know, and the way you sort of allow men and women to have sort of genuine emotion to one another through your music, I think is a pretty powerful and profound thing.
Kem [00:17:35] That’s a wonderful a wonderful insight that I will I will take with me from our meeting today.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:17:44] I think a lot of artists, you know, you all produce and you put out. Yeah. And I’m not sure, you know, besides, you know, reading about your work and getting the awards, you know, the feedback, the genuine feedback of the appreciation of people who allow, you know, you, you provide a space for us to feel. Yeah. In a different way that’s not always provided in society. So I just want to say thank you. I’d like to give people their flowers while they’re in front of me.
Kem [00:18:08] Well, thanks.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:18:10] We are going to take a quick commercial break. I’m with R&B singer and author Kem and we’ll be right back. Okay. Can we are back? We’re playing the Blackest Questions. You’re doing very well. Are you ready for question number four?
Kem [00:18:24] Yeah, I’m ready. Go for it.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:18:26] Okay. All right. This particular type of food originated in Nashville, Tennessee, where you’re from and has become wildly popular the last few years. Its origin is linked to a Black restaurant called Prince’s. Can you name the dish I’m describing?
Kem [00:18:42] And I’ve never had it. I’ve never I have not had it. I have not had it. And well, let me make sure I got the right okay. Make sure that I can answer the question. It’s hot chicken.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:18:55] That’s right. You were correct. Thornton Prince is credited with selling the first batch of hot chicken in Nashville in the 1930s that quickly became his restaurant’s most popular dish. He actually created the recipe by accident when someone tried to sabotage his food by putting too much pepper in it as an act of revenge. Apparently because Thornton was fighting with someone else over a woman. But Thornton took notice with that and with some tweaking, the flavor was actually pretty good. And hence we have hot chicken. And so as you mentioned before, you’re born in Nashville. You primarily were raised in Detroit, I would say Detroit, but I’m just going to say Detroit for today. I know you’ve traveled the world. You’ve traveled the country of all the places you’ve visited, what city has the best food? Because we’ve had lots of chefs on the show and I love food, Kem. I will eat you out of house and home.
Kem [00:19:42] Me too. Yeah.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:19:47] I’m still rocking my Kobe 15. I don’t care.
Kem [00:19:49] I like to, I like to eat. I like to eat. So there are and you know, and I’m the guy who has, you know, I watch the Food Network or I’m watching a Gey Fieri’s Diners.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:20:04] Diners, Drive-Ins. Yeah, yeah.
Kem [00:20:06] I got a list in my phone bit, cities and dishes that I want to try when I get there. That’s how serious I am about about eating. But to be diplomatically, politically and maternally correct, I have to say that the best food is in Detroit because that’s where my mother is.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:20:26] That’s right. Listen, I’m not trying to get you banned from any concert halls or the Thanksgiving table. So in addition to Detroit and obviously Mom’s cooking, you know, when you travel either domestically or internationally, what city were you like, okay, this is this is dangerous because I might not be able to fit in this outfit if I stay in this city too long.
Kem [00:20:44] I went to I think the most I’ve had, this hard because I have memorable meals like all over the country, I think the most internationally, the best meal that I was taken aback by the most was in Italy. Was in Rome. Right. Because we drove up into these mountains and and you know, and you walk into the restaurant and the you know, they have fish on ice as you’re walking into the restaurant so that you can pick the fish out that you’re going to have.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:21:18] That’s right.
Kem [00:21:19] That night.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:21:19] That’s right.
Kem [00:21:20] And I had the best pasta, the best spaghetti than I’ve ever had in my life. Right. And and the vibe is nobody’s rushing it. It lasts all the meal lasts all. You know, it lasts for hours. Right. And that was that was probably one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had dining internationally. Yeah.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:21:40] And you can really favorite it, you know, and you can savor the experience. Okay. So we’re going to take a quick break. I’m with Kem. We’re talking about food now. I want to go back to Italy and have a little pasta and some pizza and then scoot over to France and have a little steak free. But we’ll be right back after this commercial break. Okay. We are back. I’m with R&B soul singer Kem, who’s also an author of a new memoir that you can be sure to check out. Kem, you’re doing incredibly well, playing the Blackest Questions. Are you ready for question number five?
Kem [00:22:08] I think so.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:22:10] Okay. You’re killing the game, Kem. I mean, listen, you know, this is smooth sailing. Last big question. All right, Question number five. This nonprofit organization was founded in 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland, my favorite city. And they help Black churches across the country plant gardens on their land so they can become healthy food hubs for their communities. What is the name of this organization?
Kem [00:22:36] I do not know.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:22:39] The name is the Black Church Food Security Network, and this is a nonprofit group that works to create sustainable food systems in areas that are often overlooked in food apartheid, meaning racist policies that have led to limited access to healthy foods for certain areas, usually where Black and brown people live. The Black Church Food Security Network also hosts farmer’s markets and prides themselves on buying wholesale from Black farmers. So and I know you’ve spoken and written about food insecurity as an issue you’re very passionate about, and you’ve done a lot of philanthropy work with food banks and unhoused people. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?
Kem [00:23:15] Yeah, I mean, my my background is and thank you for that information. I was unfamiliar with that organization. I spent a few years as a teenager and young adult, my early twenties being, being, being homeless, being, you know, out in the streets of metropolitan Detroit, in and out of rescue missions and in shelters. And I benefited from I benefited from organizations like the Salvation Army and and Gleaners Food Bank. And, you know, I so, you know, there is being homeless and being without the the basic necessities that, you know, that we can sometimes take for granted, you know, is one of the most traumatic experiences that a human being can go through. You know, so any opportunity that I have to to be of service through my foundation, make it better. We donate resources to people who are doing that, who are on the ground doing that work, you know, helping people in need. And when I was you know, when I was homeless, you know, I was just you know, I was out there just, you know, I was I was a young kid and I was in the throes of addiction, you know, and I met a lot of people on the streets who were, they could be veterans or they could, you know, have mental illness, you know. But today, you know, the average the average person can be experiencing food insecurity. You don’t have to be you don’t have to have any of these these issues that we typically associate with being homeless and not having a place to live or food to eat. You know, people have lost, you know, Fortune 500 jobs and executives, you know, and have found themselves in this predicament. People who have worked and held jobs, held down, jobs and families, you know, all of their lives have found themselves in this situation. So I’m grateful.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:25:20] And we know for so many families, it’s one paycheck away.
Kem [00:25:22] You know what I’m saying?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:25:24] From and COVID showed us that.
Kem [00:25:25] Yeah. For real.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:25:26] Literally.
Kem [00:25:26] You know, so so it’s something that’s very near and dear to my heart and, you know, and and I feel a responsibility, a privilege, you know, to give back to those causes when I can.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:25:37] You mentioned your foundation briefly. Can you tell us a little bit more about it so we can support in any way we can imagine?
Kem [00:25:43] Mack & Third is a foundation that we started in in Detroit back in 2012, and it was it really was an event that culminated around a live performance. And it was a free concert and people brought canned goods and donated money. We elevated to the point where we were getting sponsors. It wasn’t a bona fide foundation until, you know, D.T.E and and Kroger and some other people started it, home Depot and Lowes, you know, they started. So we we became bona fide.
[00:26:17] Not a movement. This is my life.
Kem [00:26:20] And we haven’t done the event since since 2014. But we still but I still use it as a vehicle to to give. So we donate to causes and different organizations, you know, around the world to help meet the needs of of of things like. Like what? Like, like we’re talking about Yeah so yeah that’s Mack & Third.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:26:43] Well, thank you so much for the work you do and for those of our listeners who want to do more. Again, the name of the organization that I mentioned in question number five was the Black Church Food Security Network in Baltimore, Maryland. Okay. So, Kem, I’m so appreciative of you spending some time with us. Are you ready for the Black Lightning Round?
Kem [00:27:01] Okay, here we go.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:27:03] Okay, here we go. Now, there are no right or wrong answers. I just want you to tell me what first comes to your mind, Into your heart. Okay. Okay. Now we know you like soul food. What’s the one dish you can’t live without?
Kem [00:27:13] Greens.
[00:27:15] Collards or mustard?
Kem [00:27:18] No. Turnip and mustard mix.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:27:22] Turnip and mustard mixed. Solid one. What’s the most recent song you jammed out to?
Kem [00:27:27] The most recent Right on Time by me.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:27:32] And who’s that by?.
Kem [00:27:33] The book.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:27:34] That’s right. On vacation. Are you looking to relax or fill it with activities and sightseeing?
Kem [00:27:39] I’m looking to relax.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:27:41] Okay. All right. Before life performance. Are you calm or are you anxious?
Kem [00:27:45] I’m anxious
Dr. Christina Greer [00:27:47] And what do you do to, like, resolve that?
Kem [00:27:50] Nothing. It goes along with it if I’m not anxious. Okay. You know. Yeah, you. If I’m not anxious, it’s not right.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:27:57] Okay. All right. At Thanksgiving, are you eating sweet potato pie? Pecan pie? Pumpkin pie or something else.
Kem [00:28:02] Sweet potato pie.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:28:04] That’s right. Listen, I make a sweet potato pie from my grandmother’s recipe that I make you change your life.
Kem [00:28:09] There you go. Ok.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:28:10] And would you rather read fiction or nonfiction?
Kem [00:28:13] Nonfiction.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:28:14] Okay, listen, everyone, you’ve been listening to. One of our favorite singers, Kem. Kem, I want to thank you so much for playing the Blackest Questions. And to our listeners, don’t forget to pick up a copy of Kem’s new memoir, Share My Life A Journey of Love, Faith and Redemption. And Kem’s new live album is also out this year. Kem, thank you again for joining us.
Kem [00:28:34] Truly, truly, truly a pleasure. Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:28:38] This is a lot of fun. All right. This show is produced by Sasha Armstrong and Geoffrey Trudeau. And Regina Griffin is our director of podcasts. If you like what you heard, subscribe to this podcast. So you never miss an episode. And you can find more from theGrio Black Podcast Network on theGrio app, the website or YouTube. Have a great one.
Panama Jackson [00:28:56] Coming this February, theGriol Black Podcast Network presents Dear Culture: Tru’ish Black Stories.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:29:05] When you think of sheer artistry, sheer creativity, the ability for someone to bring Black people together in the most fundamental ways, it’s, you know, I would say of my four, Randy Watson’s my number one.
Michael Harriot [00:29:19] When the news about Rickey first broke, what I heard about it is the thing you hear about, you know, every time somebody Black dies that it was gang related. That means the police don’t know what happened. So they just said part of the gang’s probably, you know, the other Black dudes.
Damon Young [00:29:35] When I think of Akeelah, you know, I think about I think about how impressionable white people can be. I think about how, you know, if you watch that movie again, you know, if you should have lost like three times.
Panama Jackson [00:29:48] Where were you when you heard the story about them suckers getting served by Wade’s dance crew?
Shamira Ibrahim [00:29:54] You know, it’s crazy that you mention this. So as a New Yorker, right? Everyone knows where they were on 9/11. Right. You know, couple of years later. Right. It’s 2003. Everyone hears about this crazy moment in a boxing ring because that’s where dancers duke it out. Right. In boxing rings.
Panama Jackson [00:30:11] If you could say something to Ricky right now, what would you say to him?
Monique Judge [00:30:15] Ricky, you should’ve never got that girl pregnant. You knew I had a crush on you. You should have got with me instead.
Panama Jackson [00:30:19] Moments in Black culture examined like never before. Join us each week as we dive into the Black moments that changed us. That changed the world. Make sure to subscribe to Dear Culture so you never miss an episode.
