The Culture

Moving The Culture Forward with Manny Faces

November 29, 2021 Jeff and Anthony Episode 71
The Culture
Moving The Culture Forward with Manny Faces
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Show Notes Transcript Chapter Markers

Award winning Journalist, DJ, Hip-Hop Advocate, Public Speaker, and fellow Podcaster Manny Faces, sits down with The Culture to discuss his work as a scholar and advocate on how we can use Hip-Hop to educate, empower, and uplift humanity. Manny also gives us his top 5 rappers of all time and the boys make him spit a few bars.

Other Topics Discussed:

  • Snoop Dogg album review
  • Ant insists Rakim wrote Summertime for Will Smith
  • The "island boys" get booed off stage
  • Ahmaud Arbery receives justice?
  • Manny Faces discusses Eminem
  • Who is the most influential figure in Hip-Hop history?

Special Guest: Manny Faces
Hip-Hop Journalist, Speaker, Podcaster, Advocate, Host, DJ, Manny Faces

Referenced Links:
aka Jimbo Jones on Twitter: "Will Smith explaining why Summertime sounds like Rakim https://t.co/W0PQ5TtwAP" / Twitter

aka Jimbo Jones on Twitter: "Rakim on hearing “Summertime” for the first time https://t.co/fDG7fCWDSR" / Twitter

News Beat: Social Justice Podcast Mixing Journalism + Music (usnewsbeat.com)

The Center for Hip-Hop Advocacy: A Nonprofit #ForTheCulture (hiphopadvocacy.org)

Social Media:
The Culture - Home | Facebook

Jeff De La Rosa (Creator / Host of “The Culture”) (@delarosaelite) / Twitter

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Jeff DeLaRosa (delarosaelite) - Profile | Pinterest

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Jeff:

pays pays pays yo episode 71 of the culture. I'm Jeff here with my man and happy Thanksgiving.

Anthony:

same to you,

Jeff:

you stubbed your face.

Anthony:

I'm not really ate enough. I just Yeah. Come on,

Jeff:

It was straight. You know how it is family ship ate a lot man. We've been doing thanksgiving for like 30 plus years. You learned not to go crazy like it's don't make no sense. It don't. Everyone who goes Thanksgiving like they eat some shit didn't end up taking some shit home with them. So of shit. Drink a lot of shit. Yeah, fuck you up. it's not like a one shot thing, but mine was good. What about yours? But yo, shout out to our patrons. I've been told I've been instructed to mandatory you have to shout out grant Kaiser on every episode.

Anthony:

Did he pay more?

Jeff:

but that's what no because that's what he that's what he's paying for. You know I'm saying you pay more Dan just to hear his name being mentioned. Then we could have mentioned that in the middle of the episode we in the beginning. We're gonna talk about something Oh, yeah. What brand cars and just jump in. But yo or not because Oh, no, no, I remember. Because and I gotta give him credit because we started the new segment last week reviewing albums, you know, giving them albums like that. I don't even know what to call the segment yet. album reviews. Mike's a bust. I don't know what rhymes with mics.

Anthony:

The bar exam

Jeff:

the bar exam I like that. The bar exam right this damn good look so you get credit for that. But he got credit he gets caught grant cards are one of our patrons shout out he gets credit for suggesting that he gave me that idea. Yo, so we don't have the Source magazine anymore. You know, y'all should do the reviews and give them the mics you know? And let us know what we should be looking out for some Lighthouse grace that's a good idea.

Anthony:

I'm glad to think So Holly was the thing we the source. I don't want to go to source source went bust. We now need a new source. We need a new source. Now. They

Jeff:

don't got we don't got Benzino Oh,

Anthony:

you busy. No, I'm not Dave Mays. I'll be Dave. You'll be Benzino Go ahead.

Jeff:

But the only album that I would listen to this week was that new Snoop shit. Snoop Dogg presents algorithms.

Anthony:

Yeah, we could add more compilations.

Jeff:

But that's what I'm saying. That's what I'm getting at. Let me start off by saying it's not a snoop album, because I thought you see Snoop, it says Snoop Dogg presents algorithms. And it's not a snoop album. It's more of a Def Jam compilation album hosted by Snoop Dogg. That's probably the most accurate way to describe it. And oh, boy, do they let you know that it's a Def Jam production. Very clear. Almost every song they remind you that is Def Jam. You know on the cover of the shittest says Snoop Dogg presents algorithm then there's like a chalkboard that says Def Jam on the bottom it says Def Jam. The first thing Snoop sock says he had like an intro and he's talking Def Jam present and he says it on the songs they mentioned Def Jam There's a song I forget what chick is doing the hook. And on the hook she's mentioning Def Jam. I wonder the songs so all throughout the album they mentioned Def Jam they refer to Def Jam Jam Jam is in the lyrics. Snoop Dogg reminds you that it's a Def Jam album whatever. Okay, now that being said it's very diverse album it's like a Def Jam All Star playlist. You know I'm saying and Snoop Dogg is on most of the songs he's not on all of them. He's on most of the song but he got a song with fabulous he got the one we're ready man that's obviously like the song All right. It's called all right with Metro Redman and met the man it's probably one of my favorites and the shit with Dave east and fabulous that's called make some money. Those are my two favorite that's probably the best one. The one with DVDs they're fabulous because they spend and they got a lot of r&b saw they got some singing he got the shit with Mary Jay called Diamond life with Mary J. with samples just cruising from Will Smith.

Anthony:

I know but you didn't like the one with Him Vinnie. Jada and imbecile. Oh,

Jeff:

yeah, yeah, of course. Yeah, my bad. Oh, love now.

Anthony:

Oh, yeah, those are those are spinner spinners. Yeah.

Jeff:

Those are the three best songs the one we're ready to map the one with Dave East. And the one with with Jada. Fabulous. All right.

Anthony:

Cool. Shit. Oh my god. Um, it's a video game growing up called like, I think Def Jam fight for New York.

Jeff:

They had they had to they had that one and it had Def Jam, Vendetta, right. So a bunch like a bunch of Def Jam character. That's

Anthony:

what it is. Oh, this is this this album. This is just a bunch of random people. Like, like Snoop Dogg.

Jeff:

He got called in there. Yeah, he

Anthony:

got cocaine. Oh, here. I heard cocaine. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, it's a it's a good album. It's good. But it seems more like you know, your introduction to the new Def Jam than the actual Snoop app. That makes sense. I mean, yeah,

Jeff:

I'm like I said, I like that shit diamond life. Because he sampled. He sampled it just cruising but it wasn't like just a little sample. They sample the entire beat. Yes, the entire like the whole they took the whole beat and just have Mary singing over it.

Anthony:

Didn't catch it.

Jeff:

No, no, no, baby. like keep the one singer on here. She has several songs Jane Hancock and I know she's been singing for, you know, for a couple years now several years she's been out. But I felt like this was like an introduction to her. Jane Hancock, she's like in a bunch of the song. I felt like this album was like an introduction to her. Almost. Yeah, it

Anthony:

seemed like they tried to blend it up like a mention of the new artists and the mention of like the, I guess you'd call it legacy acts. Yeah. To try to get them all together and do something about it. It'd be interesting. I, I would say from giving it out of five Max is three and a half. It has 45 tracks.

Jeff:

It's like 23 songs. The only problem I have like, yo, it's a nice album, I could do without all the Snoop dialogue. Like he literally talks before and after every it's like, you know, he's like, he's like a radio station. He's like, Oh, nice track. Now coming up next, I got this fabulous with Jada stone, whatever. Like, he does that shit throughout the whole album. Like he's just talking.

Anthony:

It seems like he's more hosting the album than

Jeff:

it is he's hosting it. And he's also in he's in most of the songs. But I could do without that and I could do without all the Def Jam references. Like I get it. It's a Def Jam song. You don't have to mention it on every single track like God damn,

Anthony:

that might have been how he got his check son.

Jeff:

Yeah, like I read you to say Def Jam at six times. I cool.

Anthony:

How many times a minimum, two per hour two per track minimum. She would love more. Oh my god. It's just she said Def Jam. Def Jam. Def Jam, Def Jam. Fuck.

Jeff:

It's equal parts r&b And Hip Hop though. I gave it a three mics.

Anthony:

I gave it three and a half just because the Def Jam thing didn't bother me too much. It's just interesting how they're trying to implement this. I just thought, bro. I know it is but like, it's almost like subliminal messaging. Now. This is an album about snoop. Right. But we've talked about more about Def Jam we have about snoop. In fact. That's the whole point. Like Alright, that's good. subliminal messaging. It's not subliminal. It's straightforward. But yeah, three and a half is interesting. We want to see where it goes in the future. Congratulations. Snoop. You got another one.

Jeff:

All right now. We also have a special guests coming on later on in the show. A gentleman by the name of Manny faces. So we'll get to him on the second half of the show. Yeah, we spoke about Will Smith for like the last three episodes in a row. But last time we spoke about summertime remember how we said it sounded like Rakim. Right? Alright, so I actually got cuz they asked him about it. And they asked Rakim about it too. And I got both of the audio clips. Who you want to hear first?

Anthony:

Let's go with let's go with the perpetrator.

Jeff:

So well. I think Snoop Dogg he was on with Snoop Dogg. Go back to snoop. He was always Snoop Dogg. Snoop Dogg acts to build

Unknown:

the fucking song. Summertime, right. And I'm listening. My ears say either rock him wrote that song. You had a meeting or something? Absolutely, without question. I was trying to sound like Rocco. See what happened was rock him was my favorite rapper at the time. I wrote it from top to bottom, just how it is. I've been out partying all night. I couldn't get my higher voice. The only way that I could get my voice out is to be gone in there. So I was like four, and then what I was doing, I was like, Oh, I sound like, but I wrote it all Rakim didn't didn't have anything to do with the lyrics other than the massive love and respect and the imprint that he left on me as an artist.

Jeff:

So that's what he said. So I cleared that up a little bit. Yeah. And I think a lot of rappers do that when they have you know, they try to emulate whoever they favorite rappers and sometimes they, you know, inadvertently sound like them.

Anthony:

Make a line man, rock and rock him sign an NDA like Yo, don't ever say nothing in the checks go and keep on coming and call the dead because even then he's like, this is like this. Almost 2030 plus years later, he said, so excited about this. Like, I'm excited to hear about my favorite rappers and singers and entertainers, too. But like he sound a little bit scared. Like, no, no, I didn't do cuz Rocky was one of my favorites. He I love him because he's, I just Just tell him you cut the check man aside, man. It's okay. I trust you. And your book was very revealing. So just reveal it.

Jeff:

And then write facts. And then Peter Rosenberg. He was on we rock him and he asked him you did not write summertime? No,

Unknown:

no. Jazz you're Fresh Prince was not written summertime was not written. When you heard it. Here it is. Oh man. Listen, listen. I'm gonna show you real real shit among Ron to New York. Flipping through the radio stations we had we had no 798 It is flashing back and forth flash to run I'm like okay and I changed the channel I was like oh shit I was me that shit back tuner shut up and you're like like the funniest film and you get a feeling like you're somebody just robbed you know point blank and for everybody like I was sitting there like it should have just said a joke man like so you know time went on and you know I started listening and then you know hit me like yo rah you you pop in right now I mean your style that was him world is boring yeah I mean and you know in the beginning like like I said any artist man when you when when you're going to you know your artistry and you're doing your thing you hit some I'm touching on your style anything you're going like Yo what I'm after is settled.

Jeff:

Yeah, so you know pretty good respect.

Anthony:

mine because I like

Jeff:

he got paid so you think we'll cut Rakim a check and made him sign a lifelong contract and you ain't gonna talk about this? Is that what

Anthony:

you're saying? Rakim said I never wrote the song. Rock Kim never fired it though. Right? Rock Kim said he never wrote the song right? That means pin the paper. He didn't say he did not say I didn't call we're like yo, say this shit word for word. And we'll wrote it. Listen to me. Here it is the group slightly transformed. No, no the norm but not not normal. No. No our norm will norm. He tells him we'll write it down. But he goes ahead. He's like, man, man, I wasn't driving on the radio. I was hearing myself cuz you was

Jeff:

yo and yo, you're gonna get a kick. You're gonna get a kick out of it. I know you told me he's Muslim. He changed his name. His birth name rock Kim's birth name is William Michael Griffin Jr. So he's also we'll see Will Smith is Willard Rakim is William

Anthony:

look at that so will he will wrote it will wrote it will route it they both the same fucking name will didn't write it William wrote it will didn't write it though. Mm hmm. Just enjoy the check man relax. You see, here's the thing all right. Well, all these other legacy acts and hip hop and everything else going on in the world and he took them out sometimes they struggle with money anything else like that? You ever heard about Rakim ever being broke? Hey, y'all know what last time he rockin released some

Jeff:

shade he dropped that with the Indian beach shit.

Anthony:

The truth hurts joint was good now was like letters like 20 years ago. Right? You know why he don't got to he's still getting money from summertime. 2530 plus years they still play summer time every summer. You know? You you go to a barbecue and they don't throw on some time and ain't no fun. It ain't it's not alright, he wrote the ship will still pay him it's okay. They probably laugh NAS off to the bank he felt like my robbed them he robbed him

Jeff:

I can't wait to to get to that chapter in the book I'm still reading and there's a pocket chapter where he got to pay rock him like yo I need some royalties for that book.

Anthony:

He like rock Kim Have you ever heard of Bitcoin? 4030 years ago he will admit the Bitcoin yo trust me take these letters and numbers just hold on to them in the future. I got you

Jeff:

every year in a certain day Rakim gets like a letter an email from like, you know Will Smith's lawyer or stay saying that you know some time is wills today most successful song your percentage will be in your bank account on this date.

Anthony:

You can get old you get a point you probably still got a beeper guy you're the last remaining before he gets a page and then he gets a phone call. Go to this payphone it still works. He drives there and there's a message saying this is mine This $1.26453 million be deposit to your account on December 13 2021 Thank you click that go get the money and call it a day then they get rich. I never heard about that you might have money because it could they the two wheels. They want a bullshit truck you respectfully rockin got the money.

Jeff:

They can fuck you. The three gentlemen, the three gentlemen that the three gentlemen that were involved in the murder of Mr. arbory have been found guilty on most charges, not all charges, but on most charges. About like what like 23 out of the 25 or 25 out of 27 charges, something like that 23 out of 27 charges, and they're gonna spend the rest of their lives in jail. But they asked under the jail. I mean, I guess the laws are different in every state. I expected Michael Travis McMichael to go to jail because he was the trigger man. I honestly wasn't expecting his dad and the neighbor to also go to jail. But I guess they're co conspirators their actions. The way they explain that is that their actions lead to the murder. So they're all guilty by sociated. I appreciate Yeah. You know, I'm saying if they went to harass them But they weren't followed him if they went ag Travis on none of the show would happen. Right? So they're going to jail. I don't care

Anthony:

was just a served all right, um, get justice was served but that's the it's a very tricky thing about being a person of color in America. Like this is an open and shut case like it's so simple it's video and everything. But even then when it seems so clear, there's still this this kernel of doubt, like the defense might be able to pull off this trick or they might be able to do this or might be able to do that. Therefore they might get them off when it's such a clear establishment of a crime a clear violation of this man's rights who's no longer here and it's a mindset that's tricky for us that we were trying to get past but we can't help it because like I said, that happen I mean, the car written written off thing I knew his ass is getting off because the whole thing is that there was really no racial element to it outside the three white guys or whatever. Black Lives Matter protesters that weren't black guys do their black guys be a different story. But since you're a white guys, they like white people should white people automaton. So they kind of like the one slot. But to see this guy driving them shoot these guys come up in the fucking pickup truck, and then fight for his left and they gunned him down. Your thinking is open and shut. But we thought, you know, Eric Garner was open and shut. We thought no, George Florida was open and shut. It eventually was but there was still some consternation over time like, like, are they really gonna be able to convict bees, officers. And these guys, I think one was a retired cop and whatever. Just just three assholes in a truck. They took this man's life they thought he was stealing something. And he thought he was here he was in their neighborhood and their place even though this is our country. So am I surprised by the verdict? No. I figured that it was just too obvious for not to be that way. But I'm still kind of surprised that we still have to have these think pieces and thoughts afterwards about these things that occur because we still don't feel comfortable in our own country because we weren't allowed to feel comfortable in our own skin.

Jeff:

Where it up. But yo, let's take a quick break. Like I said, we got our special guest coming up right after the break.

Unknown:

Thanks for listening to the culture podcast. We'll be right back after a quick word from our sponsors.

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Unknown:

They represent a culture to represent like the culture podcast.

Jeff:

Our next guests on the culture. This man has a very lengthy resume. He's an award winning journalist, speaker, hip hop advocate. He's going to tell us how hip hop uplifts and improves humanity. I'm interested to hear about that. He is the founding director of the Center for hip hop advocacy. He has a podcast called The hip hop can save America podcast as a free newsletter called The hip hop advocate. The award winning social justice and hip hop news beat podcast he's a part of that. He has a show called Sunday r&b Brunch live on the bonfire. radio.com And that's just half the shit. He's he does. My man Manny faces What's up, man?

Manny Faces:

Peace, peace. Thank you for having me on. Thank you for that introduction for

Jeff:

some annoying Yeah, I mean, I was looking at it. And I was like, Damn, that's not even half the shit. I'm not gonna read every now. But you know, tell us a little bit about yourself, man.

Manny Faces:

Yeah, no, I appreciate it. Yeah, at the heart of what I do. I guess I'm a journalist. I've done a lot of more things than like, you know, like you mentioned, involved with hip hop music and culture and just living life and doing stuff along the way. But I've kind of settled into this journalism role for the past, maybe 10 years or so, where I was covering hip hop music culture independently. I wasn't working with an outlet or whatever. I started my own outlet in New York City called birthplace Magazine. And I just started covering the independent scene, you know, sticking my nose around New York hip hop was dead, you know, and I was like, oh, no, this something's kind of still having it, you know, so out there kind of covering it as a journalist, that was my kind of my day job. And then I was doing it at night, you know, hip hop journalism superhero, did that for a bunch of years. And as I was doing that, I was covering the artistry in the snow, the scene, the music, the shows, and all that stuff. But I started coming across folks that were, you know, using hip hop in real inventive ways, you know, outside of just entertainment, sort of, you know, in educational settings, and health and wellness situations, you know, just therapy or, you know, working with juveniles in juvenile detention centers, and helping folks, you know, express themselves and all these different little areas. And I started seeing a lot more of that, I started seeing that that was another thing that wasn't really being talked about as much or covered as much. And so I started evolving and covering that. And that's sort of become sort of what I've, what I'm about now, is sort of telling those stories, using my platform, some of the things you mentioned, the podcast and the nonprofit that I founded, to try to find a place to, you know, have these stories and concepts exist so that they can amplify the work of people who are doing some really good work, helping people's lives as you said, you know, in the beginning, uplift humanity, you know, to music in a culture that a lot of us love. And so, yeah, I talked about

Jeff:

dopamine. Is that magazine still around? I don't know if anybody reads magazines anymore.

Manny Faces:

No, no birthday, it was birthplace. mag.com. It still exists. Like, you know, archives, I sunset it, I don't know, maybe, maybe three years now. But I did it for about 10 years. So it had a lot of concept. We had a really good New York area, calendar, like event calendar was pretty dope. It was it was a it was a real advocate for the independent scene in New York City, between like, 20, you know, 10, and basically 2018 When I kind of put it to rest, but it was cool.

Jeff:

You find like that The following is mostly like conscious rap heads.

Manny Faces:

Yeah, for that. I think we're doing that it was it was more like conscious or musical, you know, like, you know, I covered a lot of shows over there were, you know, artists that have live bands or, you know, some of the law. I don't know where you're at, I forgot to, okay, okay, I lived in New York for the last five years, by the way, I was under, you know, Anthony from Oh, that's what's up. That's what's up south of Brick City. So, it was some conscious work, but independent artists we used to cover No, like, sort of like the series, the end of the week. I mean, freestyle Mondays. You know, some of these things have been going off for 15 years. That that was a weekly series or monthly series. The lineup man's Silent Night the band called fuse, they're from Jersey, they used to have like a monthly showcase, you know, brown bag, all stars used to have, you know, ongoing thing. So not necessarily only conscious, but somebody who's like, more independent vibes and movements in and around New York City. And again, through that you find there's a few people that have that are like teaching artists, I mean, they're they spit but then they work in a school and so they were bringing that into that now that rain. Right? Well, yeah, that was a real blending of that. Right? So that's just became fascinating to me like CMI people were using hip hop in different ways besides just you know, getting out there in you know, partying or you know, doing show or

Jeff:

smoking weed and fucking bitches and hoes and especially shots. But like, I don't even know how I think I don't mean this. If I found you on Twitter, you found me and I know you're active on Twitter. So I'm most active on Twitter than any other social media that you can engage more with people you know, there's I'm in a bunch of little chat groups you know, I mean, we talk about hip hop a lot we talk about sports whatever, and I don't know if I found you You found me but I was interested when I was reading your bio because I you know, argue with people like it when they say you know, the other day I was arguing some dude on Twitter who said knives and shit right? And because knives you know, he hasn't switched up his style I'm like, yo, when you're the go you don't need to switch up everybody else has to switch up you don't have to change anything when you're the Michael Jordan didn't change his game, you know, I'm saying and I was telling him you know, I was like, Yo, people study Illmatic and universities bro you know, I'm saying that's just colleges it should that that dissect the lyrics of Illmatic you know, K RS one is teaching shit in universities, you know, I mean, so that that's the type of shit out like, I find interesting like how Empower hip hop because I don't I don't know any other genre when you can go to a university and let's dissect rock and roll let's dissect the Beatles catalog. Like they're not doing shit like that. But hip hop you can do like that like that.

Manny Faces:

I'll give you yes to all of that but I'll give you one way that my brain works right because I see Anthony over here like I mean you have that argument because subjectively there's a lot of subjective in you know with the music you could have the arguing you can say that nice could have you know done data or maybe had album flop and how can you how can be the greatest you got a bad album you know, whatever we all forget he wildly anyway,

Anthony:

but no, we do not. Yeah, right. But

Manny Faces:

But um, but the here's how my brain works. The argument today for among a certain group of folk, right, older folk generally, you know, elders within hip hop. We can have that discussion day and night. What We also have to remember is that Nas has relevance expands past what he recorded. Right? So the fact that he has a fellowship at Harvard University in his name, right, and that that fellowship has opened doors for the the use of hip hop and academic studies. And number two, which I tell people, the venture capitalists Yeah, like a super successful venture capitalist. I hear young folks on my NAS any relevant because he's not on the radio. I'm like, but he's super relevant, because he shows you life after back being on the rap on the radio, still, hip hop, still dropping dope albums. I like the Kings disease, right? But he's a venture capitalist, this dude invested in lift and the first version of puppet, so I'm saying, so, so yes to all of that, but when we talk, that's how my mind works a little bit, try to, you know, emphasize that there's other ways to talk about someone's impact. Besides just, you know, whether you like how they spit or not,

Jeff:

yeah, but I used him as an example to say that, you know, I mean, that hip hop, you know, expands into poetry, and to scholarly shit. I mean, different different things. And, you know, I think that's some of the things that you teach. You know, I mean, how hip hop can teach the community can expand into other areas and shit. Yeah, 100%. But that I'm interested to hear, like, you know, when you talk about how it uplifts humanity, you know, how it helps in business helps in this and helps in that? Yeah, some examples that I should,

Manny Faces:

yeah, I liked, I want to be sort of working on where you can say why I'm a plumber, right? You know, how can make me be a better plumber? You know? Well, it can, you know, my whole thing is this. Obviously, if off the top, you got to deal with authenticity, and being an authentic, you know, Ambassador of the culture and having some history and having respect and reverence for everything that came before us, you can't just, you know, come out and be, I'm gonna even educate us, us hip hop in a classroom, right? They use it as a way to teach kids specific knowledge, right is an easy way to take facts from a textbook, put in a rap song, you know, have a good writer write it, and then the kids will memorize it, and they'll learn it. I mean, we've been doing that since we were kids, right? I learned we learned the ABC, we're going to alphabet from a rhyming song about the alphabet that we learned from day one. So you can do that. And that's great. That's important, because it's an easy, it's a tool. It works. Every kid knows how to rhyme and rap, and it's kind of the language of the youth. But there's more to it than that when you start introducing the idea of and I'm gonna get I'm a vacillate between, like $25 words, and, you know, and regular, no everyday talk, but culturally relevant pedagogy. Right, this idea of teaching with culture in mind, right. And that's been a thing in education circles. And it basically says this school in built for black and brown kids, it's not built for that it's not designed for that it's not doesn't have that ability, it doesn't have that it doesn't come with that in mind, it's a Eurocentric, outdated way of teaching, especially when the stories are false. And that's why I'm saying 100% Not only that, when the, you know, there's no funding in certain communities, you know, there's a lot of, you know, reasons why the way you teach and how, you know, and how effective that is, can be improved. So, folks are saying, well, you know, if you come into a classroom, or your kids come into your classroom, and you immediately tell them, don't dress like this, don't talk like that, you know, put this away, don't you know, all these, you know, all these things, where it's like, leave your authentic self at the door. I'm not saying come in and be rambunctious and rebellious, and all those things, but there's cultural things that you come that you carry with you, when you're, you know, you know, a young you know, person of color in America, and a lot of classrooms to tell you to leave that at the door. The idea of hip hop teaching with a hip hop lens is like we're gonna actually bring let you come in with that. And we're gonna authentically engage you using that. So yeah, we're gonna teach you some songs that have the facts. But here's a good example. There's a thing called Science genius, scraped program started in New York. And now I think it's like six, six cities and a couple countries. I think they in Jamaica now in Canada, and they, they come into the science classroom, high school, right? And kids are like, whatever science biology chemistry, right? Cuz I was like that, too. I'm like, and then

Jeff:

they and then they put on Wu Tang, a bomb atomically Socrates philosophy,

Manny Faces:

said they'll go over that, right? So they'll bring in this concept of, okay, let's talk about this. Let's talk about it. And what they do is they they will absolutely use, you know, lyrics that I've talked about scientific notions, right and and explain that because kids will be familiar with that. But then they, the kids actually will work on creating a song about whatever they study, right takes them a little time. They work on it really hard. They get coached, etc, etc. But they're all it so because I get to make a rap song about what I'm working on in class. But the next level is that they also compete. So they're gonna compete among other classes within their school. And then the top classes in the school are going to compete against other class other schools in a district, you get this whole competitive thing. But what you get out of it is that not only do they know the material, you're not giving them a text and saying, memorize this, they're creating the song so they have to have a real mastery of the you know, the content You got to really know what you're saying. I'm gonna give you the greatest example of this real quick and then there can be another question if you want. This one young lady did a song her song was about how the human body is affected by poison by toxins, biology, right, your heart, your kidney, your bloodstream, all the scientific key things that she was learning in class about how a body would break down or get failures and all these things. But what she was doing was she was the way she put it together storytelling wise in the song was her telling. The analogy was I have been broken hearted, someone I just broke up my boyfriend, and my body feels like and this is so she's making this connection to how she feels she's actually talking about an actual real life thing that happened to her using science and hip hop and to actually and the instructors like she never would have got the story out if we didn't give it us outlet. So all in one better school performance, better engagement, better grades plus plus an outlet to you know, mean like to express yourself in a way that maybe was never open to you in your school building doors,

Jeff:

and they're improving their writing, expanding their vocabulary,

Manny Faces:

all that and still sticking to the you know, the not the whatever the Common Core, like you know what I mean? The things you need to learn to be able to get to that definitely,

Jeff:

definitely expanded my vocabulary. Like I used to the way I used to learn lyrics. I used to write them down. Like I would have my little tape. Yeah, my Walkman and I would listen to the shape. And the should only have three buttons. It was like stop, fast forward and play. Sometimes you have to flip over to rewind and then flip it back. Yeah. And I will just list I'll be listening to what you know, right and delivered then what do you say that let me rewind. Okay, and then writing whatever I thought he said, and then I'll have to look some of these words up like I don't know what the fuck he means right here. And I was looking these words up like oh shit. Like, why not bomb atomically verse down, throw a bomb atomically Socrates philosophies and how what the fuck is he talking about? I wrote this shit down. And I'm like, Socrates would focus Socrates and I'm reading I'm looking at you know, me, that was like a whole Saturday morning for me right there just doing that shit.

Anthony:

I'm hip, I would set a different point. That was back in the day, when you bought an album, he bought a CD, you bought a tape or whatever. But at the time you got it. The Insert was like written that seven, seven layers over. So you scroll it, you have the lyrics to everything there. So like, you could write it or you can literally like when they're going along with it. Like it's like reading a book, a story by story of it going into it, I think is intriguing. The idea that you're talking about in regards to how hip hop and education and so forth hand in hand, because we took if you don't mind me asking it, who's your favorite lyricist?

Manny Faces:

of all? We'll get to that. But I know, I know, I know cuz I was like, this got to be, you know, whatever that I mean. Rakim is my, you know, my rock. That's where Coker for the transformative nature of how he you know, developed is, you know, yeah.

Anthony:

So even if you take a guy like rock him, or Jeff took a guy like NAS, I say, I take a guy like big, and they're, they're quote unquote, finest work, you're going to find sociological methods, psychological methods, mathematics, you're going to find finances. If, for particular artists, I can say, if you're listening to their album, just one, not their history, just one album, you're pretty much getting like a college course on a bunch of different things, right, just about life, society, and everything that goes involved. So I applaud you for what you're doing. Because I think it's an access point into society that people fail to realize the importance of hip hop that it's not just people putting words together, if you take it down, you hear the stories, and so on and so forth. Before we got on here, I was watching HBO, and has a documentary about DMX. And like I said, a lot of people's like, favorite song is like, slipping. It's like, if you really listen to it, like it's a song about like, no mental health, like, like this deep wounding, explaining things going on his life and trying to recover and things like that. These are things that people can just study this probably why they feel it. So yeah, I think that the aspect of what you're trying to do is like, these aren't just words, these aren't just beats and putting together to make music. There's something that the depth here that you have to look and peel back and see like, the things about the societal ills, the poverty, the crime, the passion, the joy, the love, the things that we all go through, can be done like this. And not only can they just be rapping, sung or heard in the record, we can actually teach the youth and make them expand their own minds. You know, like I said, save the save American since like that, you know, be more than just what it is. I get it.

Manny Faces:

Yeah, appreciate that. You know, what you just said is another aspect of what I do is, you know, X I'm a journalist, right. Hip hop is journalism. I know that this you know, stuff that is not you know, there's levels to this, you know, I mean, there's this stuff that has no such redeeming qualities a mumble ship, but well, I'll talk about that too, though. But two things so journalism, the what you're talking about reflecting some Seidel is talking about mental, you know, mental health status, which, again was something that, you know, past a year and a half people say it's great that you know, more people are talking about mental health, self care, and all these things are coming out. And then you look and say, Well, some people have been doing Yuki Cuddy was doing it DMX was doing, there's been people that have been, you know, engaged in this talk through music, which is great. I know, folks that are literally school counselors and therapists that are using this information. And again, you everything we just talked about in a classroom, doing it in a therapeutic setting. Dr. La Gan does therapeutic beat making session schools and you know, so using music making as therapy, you know, what I mean? Like actual and he's a trained psychology you know, trained whatever ology you know, it is to make sure that it's authentic to not damaging someone, you know, using all the tools and techniques that have been traditionally tried and true, but also adapting it using music and and again, the cultural aspect. And then I do a podcast called Newsbeat where we actually study social justice. We cover social justice issues. So whether it's, you know, mass incarceration or felony disenfranchisement in Florida, or, you know, the movement to close youth prisons, or you know, so very specific, but underreported issues, right. And then we have we Dr. Cornel West has been on our show, Rosa Clemente has been on our show. So it's like serious people talking sit, you know, the interviews are serious, and they're high level journalism. And then what we do is we invite independent rap artists to come in and craft three sixteenths over the course of this podcast about that topic. So we covered you know, so they'll come in and spit about environmental know, redlining and climate change and how, you know, people who are in need have been redlined, or being more affected by climate this affected by climate change, but they'll come in, they'll rap about the right and record specifically for that episode. I say that because I say I'm giving hip hop artists, the same level of respect, to be able to express the nuances of an issue as Dr. Cornel West, because hip hop artists have a different way, like real, you know, smart, you know, talented artists have a way of seeing the world that can be expressed in that manner. And that's a you know, pat the techno, we won awards for that, like we beat the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal for best journalism podcasts, to a podcast, a news podcast when rappers beat nightfall. Come on, because it's that good. And it's that compelling and powerful to come a long way. To your point journalism. Yeah,

Jeff:

a couple of weeks ago, we had a gentleman by name a professor lyrical, who's a he's an MC underground MC and he's also a professor. He's a doctor to from Massachusetts. I got them on Twitter, you might want to look them up don't like that. I speeches, but you know, and he Raby actually spent a 16 foot and everything. Now I'm gonna get into this time and I don't wanna spend too much time on this. Anthony's gonna get mad at me. First, let me ask you, where are you from? You're you're white. You're just a Caucasian gentleman.

Manny Faces:

Yeah. Yeah. Italian by descent. I grew up in Long Island. So I grew up in Westbury, Long Island, Long Island, and

Jeff:

we're not going to spend too much time on this. But I guess I have to ask that because this is a very it's a very polarizing topic. Oh, good. Do you or do you not like m&ms music?

Manny Faces:

I've liked it.

Jeff:

But you don't like Yeah,

Manny Faces:

I think he's talented.

Jeff:

Is he in your top?

Manny Faces:

I think I think I think he is a top MC

Jeff:

not in your top.

Manny Faces:

Top 10 Wow.

Jeff:

Okay. Because I'll

Manny Faces:

be I mean, again, the only way I only qualify that because if let's what are the quality? Top Five is always a hard thing. For me. It's like overall. No, because but if you were talking about ability, like qualifications, we need to have some characteristics.

Jeff:

This topic has been has it been in a mind open eye opener for me? I always thought you know, automatically Eminem was considered to be the great of the greats by everybody except African Americans. Me and Anthony have argued about this. All my black friends nobody really fucks with Eminem. They always give me the you know, the excuse that we can't relate to his music. That's fine. Okay, but I'm starting to mind more and more just people in general, regardless of color. Like I said, You're white gentlemen, we have another guest Mike sheet that he comes on regularly. He's a white gentleman. We have Professor lyrical that I just mentioned to you. He's a white gentleman. They all have told me the same shit. They don't fuck with Eminem's music, and the more white people tell me that shit, the more I'm like, shocked, you know? I mean, maybe because I was naive about the shit. I'm like, damn, like I get it trailer park. He's killing his mom. He kidnaps his daughter. He talks a lot of dumb shit. But you know, yeah, I'm like, I'm really shocked at the amount of people that don't really fuck with m&ms music, even though he's the highest selling.

Manny Faces:

No, I definitely fuck with it. I you know, you know, there's again qualifications of great great, you know, is he a goat? I see the goat you know, is he uh, no, I mean, Aiko, but he's not. Yeah, I think he's a goat and some In some ways, I think, you know, lyrically, you know, there's a there's an extreme talent there. Obviously, there's no commercial success. There's some joints that have been like really sort of groundbreaking Lee. No, I had this conversation a while ago, I said, you know, we talked about again, I don't spend too much time. I know, we talked about the great storytellers of all time. And like, you know, everyone goes back with slick, Rick. And I'm like, Well, hey, let's think about more modern people, because other storytellers are great not to take anything away from slick, Rick. But I think Stan, is an incredible piece of storytelling. Like if you just talk about that, if you talk about like levels of Best Story of all time, and we talk about children's story, and we talk about, you know, some of the stuff that Immortal Technique is done some of the stuff that, you know, someone said, Jay Z's, when it was Jay Z song, I forget the name of it. And people talk about big there's a lot of conversations to be had about best storytelling, artists of all time, but damn, says, I heard Stan and I was like, this was just a masterful piece of, of artistry of, of storytelling. Does that make him the greatest artist or my favorite

Jeff:

or no, because we don't get I don't feel like we don't get enough stands. But he makes stands and in the next couple of songs are going to be goofy shit, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,

Manny Faces:

I don't know like goofy.

Anthony:

He made stand. He didn't make stands.

Jeff:

But that's one thing, right? But we don't get many songs like that from him.

Anthony:

Right? And that's the problem is like, it's like, if you're able to create this, why don't you write? It's so in like, I was talking before. Like, it stands so good. It's yeah, that perspective. Because it's brilliant. It's every time I heard it, I didn't. I knew it was him rapping off right? But the guy talking in the beginning, I'm thinking that's him because he always talks to the crazy yada yada stocker thing then as him at the end responding back and kind of piecing the story all back around and literally the last four bars when you're capable of that, and then you only show us that glimpse that one time and you don't really show it to us anymore. What's What's the song that everybody loves? The one from eight mile loses out? Yes. Like it's like the beginning what's right Shawn? That's great song. Right but but you're getting the the the operatic storytime because he's very descriptive by like, him being nervous to vomit his mom's spaghetti so the little things like that, like you're so good at

Jeff:

our restaurant Mom's spaghetti out in Detroit anyway.

Anthony:

Right and that's that's the problem with Eminem. He took the thing that he's amazing at and he just make it something marketable.

Manny Faces:

And then anyway, and then he gets suit and then to overcompensate. I would posit then he drops Rap God or something that's like so technically lyrical, spiritual miracle data. It's like it's technically incredible rap, writing and deliver it it says nothing, but it's not come. It's not compelling.

Anthony:

Right? You know, we are we know who you are. You don't have to do this. You don't have to prove this point we get that's probably

Jeff:

his argument. Why don't you make enough stand songs? Because then you'll be just be nice. You know, I mean, and he wants to sell records. He's the highest selling rapper of all time. He doesn't want to just stay in I mean, um, you know, whatever. Right? I'm not I prefer that.

Anthony:

I get it. But for the sake of him being Eminem, if he made a whole bunch of stands, him being this great white MC, he's going to sell those albums anyway, stop missing anything. I can see like he will lose his fan base. He's really not standard standards, arguably his biggest record and won a Grammy. I mean, I don't really say anything else about that. So that Yeah, yeah. So he opens him think I'm sorry.

Manny Faces:

I get it and I get the white thing, because to a certain segment of the population, you know, that's a real hero. You know, I mean, that's a real connective tissue to somebody else, you know, but I think that's trying to grow that same hard way. I grew up in a white neighborhood. I don't know nothing about that. I'm not even on Long Island. I mean, I grew up in Westbury, you know, New Castle Westbury was predominantly blackness, you know? So I don't know nothing about being white trash. You know, me personally, I'm not that white guy. You know, but there are parallels to being poor to being broke to being you know, a pressed against in certain ways is, you know, there's there's some stuff to relate to, I think across the board. Yeah. Is he a good? Is he Yeah, he's, he's a great rapper, right. He's a great artist in an amine. But for some of these reasons, you know, that we just talked about, I would hesitate to put him in a top five unless we were talking about, alright, technical, lyrical, you know, robotic, like, you know, just on a very, very technical level, then then then then truly I don't think and in that we know of not many surpass him in pure technical ability to put words together like letter man, you know, me like he does a really good job at putting words together that that rhyme, you know, but you know, I listen, I'd say homeboy, Sandman over, you know, over Eminem any day. You know, I mean, just because it's more interesting stuff there in an amine He's almost as good as I'll take black thought over the mean, because there's this more. But But top 10 Yeah,

Jeff:

he let Black cooking out song he did his last album. What was Yeah, I mean, and all of them, he just let Black Dog go. You can hear him and just keep going

Manny Faces:

black girls to the point where we talked very beginning about NAS commit, like progressing, like black though to someone that like he's coming up in the rankings of everybody's top 10 I think over the years, you know, I mean, like you might have known he was dope, and I've known a lot people be like, Yo, I kind of really slept on him over the years. And then he just keeps dropping these little things. And people reconsider him and I see him like kind of moving up in the rankings. If you look to the collective approach to moving up, I you know, it's maybe shouldn't have been so low in the first place. No, you know, you know, maybe,

Anthony:

you know, that is those three files he did. It's like equivalent, you don't really think of black thought you think of the roots, the room, I see that he's the lead member of the band, but that's the problem knowing just how amazing is

Jeff:

yeah, that's the same problem that data kids faces. I feel like he's, he's one of the goats. But he's in the group, you know, I mean, so people never really mentioned him as one of the tops.

Manny Faces:

That's interesting. Like there's a handicap for being, you know, that's interesting,

Jeff:

too, and he's considered one of the best but he's never put out a single album. Hmm, I'm saying you

Manny Faces:

don't need black Blackland never put out a solo album right? No, he he didn't

Jeff:

like that right.

Manny Faces:

Yeah, that's interesting that it might drag down your your you know your cue number your X Factor if you part of a group, but you're actually better than than the sum of the part gets three

Jeff:

stacks of albums on his own, and he could probably be ranked among the greatest of all time.

Manny Faces:

You know? Yeah, we're not doing that. You know what I'll tell you one thing what you just said though, the reason why Lauryn Hill entered great lyricist conversations is because she put out a solo outing if she never did that album, I have got lost on Hazara even though she's just as good as argument

Jeff:

all the time because you know, he hates to put

Anthony:

all your your attention all of Jeff's pleasures in order right,

Jeff:

right buttons. I'm sorry, I'm pressing the right buttons because I always tell Anthony we did an episode for ladies night, and we broke down our top female authors and Lauryn Hill is number one on my list right? A female okay. And he always argued he got like think Missy on his on his number one. And he argues that all Lauren didn't put out enough shit. I'm like, Yeah, but you have 103,000 on top there. And he hasn't put on a Lauryn Hill has two group albums and a solo album. And then that unplugged album, which I know you hate, but whatever, you're unplugged. It's the same. They're still there. But I'm saying like she has content.

Manny Faces:

Yeah, it makes it because people do the big argument that Biggie had two albums, how can you beat it?

Jeff:

Right buttons? Because a

Manny Faces:

big part. I'll tell you one thing though. I still, I still put Jean Grey above. So let's get it you know, Santa's thrown in there. The same

Jeff:

argument laws, right? Same argument about Biggie, only having two albums in the same argument were Big Pun, I have big point. In my top, he only had two album, and he had the exact amount of albums as Biggie collabo albums or whatever, or one collabo album in two single albums. Same amount of material. But everybody puts Biggie up there. They don't put been up there. Because he didn't have enough material. What are you talking about? The same amount of material is maybe

Manny Faces:

I think, yeah, but then subject to it. Like I said, before, subjectivity comes in. And I think our preferences and our imagination fill in some of those gaps. And I mean, who we like personally, yeah. And and, and because big was a more commercial artists, more people are gonna have a connection to him just because he was out and bigger and brighter. And so that, again, that drags up your affinity to a certain art, collectively, it's just you know, I don't know,

Jeff:

there is any, any artist, any celebrity you come across in your, in your, you know, your work, doing your work. And, like there any stories and you Hip Hop stories you can share.

Manny Faces:

I mean, I haven't done too many up close and personals, I was kind of always from afar. What I do like is, you know, in this lot of work that I'm doing now, you know, you look at someone like ninth wonder, you know, who's who's again, teaching in university, you know, the universe, North Carolina, and being one of the, I guess, early connections between like, Hey, I'm a really successful actual Hip Hop guy. You know what I mean? And now I'm going to take this into the education realm. So someone like that, so I try to find people who are doing some kind of work that connects there aren't, you know, there aren't tons, you know, artists have foundations and artists, you know, do some things and you see folks like Meek Mill working in the social justice arena, which I don't really know if that's very effective. So I look for the folks who are doing that kind of work. So in my days, I was very heavy in the New York scene. I wasn't I didn't care much about you know, internationally acclaimed artists and such. Yeah, you know, I mean, I'm a fan I you know, I like what I like and all those things, but as a journalist where I was, you know, up close and personal or whatever it was like in a backstage or when I was with, you know, duck down in them, you know what I mean? Like I was, you know, doing stuff like I did ride around actually a bit with Smith and Wesson for a couple of shows a few years ago, which is real dope to be kind of like, like I did a ride along. Yeah, me and it was real cool to see kind of a veteran group and how they navigate you know, doing things nowadays and that whole dynamic so that was pretty cool. You know, but nothing too exciting for the, you know, for the clickbait right.

Jeff:

Now the one question I wanted to ask you was, Who do you think is the one person that's done the most or probably has meant the most to hip hop? Like, if you can just name one person? Geez, like to move the genre forward to move the culture forward? You know what I'm saying?

Manny Faces:

Yeah, one person Good lord. What a move the culture backward. What is a lot? Oh, meant the most Yeah, man. Could be Yeah, a lot of those backwards. Bill Clinton didn't help the game by signing telecommunication acts like that, like real, you know, but, um, I don't know, moving the culture forward moving genre forward one person. I don't know if it's, I don't know. It's impossible to say to me.

Anthony:

It's an opinion. Don't

Manny Faces:

worry about it. It's not even. Yeah, I'm because I tried to really think about, like, who did it? You know, the person who signed yo, MTV Raps, right. You know, I mean, like, it's the behind the scenes person. Like, maybe it's not one person, you know, because yo, MTV Raps really expanded Hip Hop streets, you know, cross country, you know, everyone had MTV and that was a huge thing. You know, it's Ed lover and Dr. Dre so them maybe but actually the person that made that happen, so then you want to take it all the way back to the person influenced that Ralph McDaniels Video Music Box video, most important person, but not

Jeff:

a lot of people will probably say like Russell, they'll probably say, Yeah, Rubin, you know, I mean, you know, a lot of people probably say, Chris,

Manny Faces:

right, and I would say that but without Ralph Yeah, you're right at that time in New York City. And I mean, so it's to me, it's always the not the underdog, but it's the unsung hero right? You know, I mean, who's actually been without video music box. How big does Def Jam get? Some saying like, you know, because we had the radio thing kind of radio. Matter of fact, radio wasn't like hip hop radio wasn't even on the radio. You only had it Saturday Night Magic or Red Alert only certain hour blocks. So radio could only do so much when it was video. If you grew up in New York like you know you came home at four o'clock you

Jeff:

made a visual for 100%

Manny Faces:

and who blew up from that? LL NAS Wu Tang you know all the you know, Biggie all from video music box and then slash you MTV Raps just reach just to get it out there without having to buy a mixtape without having to fight you know, go to your corner store or have you cousin from New York, who's visiting Houston and got a clue take a you have to do is turn on a radio, TV. And you saw hip hop. And it was an event yo, MTV Raps was an event. Yeah. You know, that was you know, it wasn't like now where you could just you know, the 700,000 You know, you can see everybody anytime being interviewed. You had to watch that Yahtzee wraps that was it. What else where else are you gonna see bus to come out? So anyway, I think along those lines, so hard question.

Jeff:

I just saw the heart I just saw the drink champs episode where Ray and ghost shows like fucking more I was long I had to watch that shit and like section and they talk about you know, the video music box and all that shit. And they talk about how when they made the Triumph video, it was like the most expensive video up to that time in hip hop history. It was a million dollars they spent to do the Triumph shit. And they wanted to make sure on it

Manny Faces:

and look how big hip hop got during that timeframe. When they were making big budget videos Missy talked about Missy earlier, you know, Wu Tang Biggie puffy, that whole movement and then and then West Coast Dre and Snoop all the you know all the people the golden the second golden era, I guess you would call you know what I mean? Came out when videos was big time action, so I don't know I've given up to Ralph McDaniels. That's my

Anthony:

first, first people actually wasn't a person for people to dump my mind was stretch and Bobbito

Jeff:

thinking about

Manny Faces:

yep, that's on the same line. That's gonna say yeah,

Anthony:

my Redman and Wooten like bait, like they all were trying to Big J but they all wanted to, they like it's, it's these things about like these particular points in hip hop were like, everyone serves a purpose, but there's always going to be gatekeepers. That's why I care Recipe feel the second thing that came to my mind, not just like, because of his lyricism that's that pretty much stands alone. But he's always trying to push forward and talk about the education of hip hop to the masses. Yeah, like his entire career. But we're stretching by being like this, that golden age of hip hop that we're talking about the Wu the big the J the, all the all of them had to go through that radio station, and you had to be good for you to go ahead and be the star superstar, you're going to be without them. It's impossible to have knives and everybody They're like, this is the place to be like, these are the gatekeepers this, this Spanish guy and this white guy, they kind of hold the doors for us to kind of be what we think we want to be. And when you went up that everyone gave their best. So I'm saying the importance of hip hop. It's a lot of people but but just for me for my time, and my age is probably them. Because I wish I still had those tapes. I shouldn't have been listening to him. To tune that down just right and put the antenna out the window a little bit to the left, once you got to do is press record and just let it go catch the tape flip it over. It's probably for sure, Bob.

Manny Faces:

I would I wouldn't say we're also

Jeff:

playing the album with singles to you know, man, everybody was just listening to singles or whatever, they let us listen to the raw shit. Yeah,

Manny Faces:

not stress about this. I used to rock down I said, Listen, I was on Long Island so we had hops away. You know, Chuck D was doing college radio. So college radio as a thing was super important and stretching Bob are obviously the pinnacle of that I would I would go for that. I you know, I you know, that's that's a quality answer. So

Jeff:

you guys can feel

Anthony:

my cookie, my head's too big. It's cold.

Manny Faces:

I had it. I did the thing that New York is New Jerseyans do. I left the tri state now I'm down outside of Atlanta. So I'm enjoying a warmer November than I have all my life

Jeff:

down south wrap. Um,

Manny Faces:

some, you know, I mean, like, I don't tune out a lot of stuff. Um, I try to take it all in. You know, we talk real quick about the newer stuff or the you know, mumble II stuff or stuff that you don't prefer. Some of it is cool. Some folks would like I don't know where they're from. Like, I couldn't. I couldn't tell you like, I like some new artists, right. I try not to be that guy. I like what earthgang does, you know, I don't know what the hell they're from. I think that from down here, you know, I mean, but I like what they do. I like what they do a lot. You know what I mean? So there's definitely people you know, phony people. There's this this artist that I love what they do, and I don't know where they're from, because if I if I don't happen to know where they from, but if you tell him about like, you know, the Bootsy badass in a no rowdy riches here in there, you know, but not it's not, you know, it's not my cup of tea. Like, it might not be your cup. It's

Jeff:

just like, boom, but again, oh, like they ate away shit. I don't like trap. I'm not a fan of it. I don't you know, it's whatever. I don't this it

Manny Faces:

but yeah, I mean, I DJ too. So sometimes I gotta, you know, I'm not gonna because I won't, you know, play for the masses. But you know, sometimes I, you know, when I'm toying with that genre, you know, there's some vibes and like, it's different times for different, you know, it's a different vibe for different times. And sometimes I can enjoy and I can see why it's enjoyable. That's what I think some of us need to do. Maybe not, you know, you I'm not speaking specifically to you. But when we talk about, again, I'm everything comes around back to what I do now, which is the intersection of hip hop in ways that can uplift and help you know, humanity, especially those from whence Hip Hop came. And so I might have preference for my music. But if we're talking about young people, then we know we're not going to change them. They're gonna like what they like, but how can we use that to educate, make a better connection with Yeah, educate, connect with them better? And, you know, we talked about mental health and how young people will come in, and what juice were was singing about, which, you know, we used to, I will say this, I know, you've heard this 1000 times that we used to rap about selling drugs, not a rap about taking drugs. And it's like, well, a, that's not something we necessarily need to be proud of. But you know, but be, if there's a reason why they're this is sort of the topic of conversation. And if young people are listening, and relating to that, that as a parent, if my kids are vibing out with somebody on some depressing, you know, take Xanax and I just want to escape from the world type stuff. I want to know why. So I'm not gonna be like, turn that shit off as garbage. I don't like how that sounds. It's not even music. It's not rap stuff. But we can have that discussion. But I'm also concerned about what is it that you're connecting with in this music that I need to pay attention to, that I need to understand better? And I'll give you one example I talked to Dr. Lauren Kelly, who's super dope. She's out of Rutgers, New Brunswick speak in New Jersey, and she teaches sociology, sociology, hip hop, kind of kind of vibe. I interviewed her and she had a talk with some kids, she was doing a lot of their work, not sociology, sorry, pardon me. Education. So a lot of these folks are working in graduate school of education to teach educators how to educate kind of with this hip hop mindset, right? So that's their job. And she says one time she's doing like a workshop you think she had a bunch of kids? And at the time, she was like, well, What songs do you like what videos you like that? And it was um, two Chainz right birthday All I want for my birthday is right. Yeah, that was that was poppin at the time that was there and they you know, they were like, I would like to saw you know, we'd like this video right in the video is all outrageous, you know, I if I recall correctly, you know, strippers, putting the butts in cakes and all right, whatever. Something along those lines.

Anthony:

You will be correct.

Manny Faces:

Yes. You know, I've heard

Anthony:

No, I know. I know. You're absolutely right.

Manny Faces:

So he said, I'll take it. I was watching it. But we grew up with Schilling put it on a glass and baby got bass, I'm saying so like, it's not right. It's just a different, but but his beep this, this is where it got kind of deep for me. She was like, she asked these kids, she was like, Why do you like that? Cuz he's old. He's like us, I was like, Why do you like that? And they're like, oh, no, we just like it, like, you know, whatever. And she's like, is that how you want your birthday to be like, is that you know, is that something that appeals to you? And some of them most, I don't know, from what I'm saying all of them. Were like, Nah, not really. Like, we don't. I mean, we get it, this girl's and no cake and stuff. It's not really that she's like, I don't understand, is it it's not like lyrically connecting to you some way. It's not like one of those songs that you relate to and makes you feel some type of outer life. It's not like that kind of, she couldn't get it on a per se, because and we might not get it. Although you made a good analogy to what we did. Like when we're younger, and it might just be hormones, right, all that stuff. But even the girls, she said, she got to this, she's a they said, it's not that we want our birthday to look like this. It's that we want our birthday to look like that. If we wanted our birthday to look like that. It's the freedom, right? It's the power, it's the that I could do that if I want to that I have the money. I have the self sufficiency, I have the you know, it's not illegal, they weren't doing anything, you know, that was like, it was just I just, I just want that freedom. I just want to, that'd be great if I want. So it's sort of aspirate, we look at a lot of hip hop, it's aspirational. Specifically, like, oh, I want this car, I want this money, I want this chain, I want this, all these things. But I think it's deeper, it's a deeper want than that. It's not the specific things, it's the ability to get those specific things if you wanted to, to have a life where you had some freedom and some, you know, financial security and could afford to hire strippers to put the bucks in your cake and then buy the cake in the case cost money to ship so I thought that was really what she when she when she broke that down. I was like, wow, kids, you think that they're looking at it? And you think about us when we were younger? Same thing. Yeah. We we didn't want to like run the streets. We just wanted some freedom. And we wanted some dough. And we didn't want and for people who are more way more oppressed or situations worse than me. There's a whole lot that they just wanted to be free of. And it comes out in the music in certain ways. But I think there's that deeper want there than the specifics and people get caught up in the specifics. Oh, you want to do is, you know, smoke weed and fuck bitches? Well, no, but I'd like to have a job.

Jeff:

Don't just want to go to the SIBO. Tell

Manny Faces:

me where I could have where I could have some financial freedom. Yeah, you know that? Should I want to partake in these activities. Let's go.

Anthony:

If I wanted to grow up and be like Nellie and slap my charge card between the cheeks of a woman, I earned that credit.

Manny Faces:

Good. Like, yes. So I could do that. I agree. But no, no, I think so. That's what I was really blown away when she broke that down to me. And that touched me in a way to saying okay, let's not throw the the uplifting baby out with the mumble rap bathwater. You know what I mean? There's a way to take some of the stuff that they listened to and some of the things that they're involved in, and just use it to enhance our understanding of issues they're going through or whatever. Do I have a longer conversation about where the direction of the music Yeah, how 2% you know, and how corporations play a part and whether or not there's a planned insurgency and like I get it, I get all those discussions. But at the end of the day, I just don't want to throw out I don't want to dismiss what young people are listening to or doing because to tell the truth. If you look at this whole music business, streaming and doing inventive things and you know what Nipsey was doing this ingenuity and brilliance in there just like when we were you know making mixtapes to get around the fact we couldn't sample so there's a lot of smart kids doing a lot of smart stuff I just don't want you know, ignore it all because I don't like the music.

Jeff:

Yeah, but they ignore our shit though. You know, I'm saying that's what I have a problem with to the truth generation shit. Like when we come in, we listen to the biggest juicy you know, we never diss the fact that Diddy was using samples from the 80s he used juicy fruit to make that song. You know, I'm saying to Slick Rick KERS. One cane. I didn't grow up with them. But you know, I acknowledge them as the as the forefathers of the goats, these young kids, they disregard everything that came before them as irrelevant. You know, I mean, and that's the problem I have. Yeah, I mean, you have people like little Yachty, or whoever the fuck saying to pocketing shit, or biggie is not as good as this mumble rapper, like, get the fuck out of here. You know what I mean? Like, just show respect. This the shit that you know, pay me

Manny Faces:

again, again, I'm trying to Yes, I agree with that. I think that this should be more of that. But I don't know that it's a necessity because when they told us that rap wasn't music, do we didn't respect them? When I told you? No. I mean, when they said we're not gonna play rap on the radio between these hours because we don't want to upset our r&b listeners. We didn't respect that. Like we're not gonna respect those To say you have to do it this way this way is the way I think we were smarter than I don't know if say smarter. I think that you know, the Russell Simmons of the world, the moguls who, who took the past and kind of remixed it and made it the hip hop way of doing things or talking about mixtapes, you know, like when we couldn't sample anymore, and the records wouldn't clear samples. So then artists started making mixtapes was a brilliant way around the restrictions that were put there. But they understood that, hey, I'm just going to do the same thing, the record, you had some respect and understanding of from whence you came. But, you know, technology changes so fast, a lot of things change so fast, and we are going around telling them this is how you have to do it. I think that's just as bad if we're trying to dictate to them and put in a box, something that shouldn't be in a box. So I get what you're saying. But I think there's a give and take there that probably isn't, oh, no, no one's really trying to figure out how to do that is what I'm saying. I think people are in their silos and young people like fuck y'all, and all people like, Well, fuck y'all. And then that's it. And there's very few people trying to say, Fuck all y'all, let's try to figure this out and meet in the middle, you know, and try to you know, because I think they could learn and do better if they had some of the knowledge and the, you know, stuff that the mistakes made and guidances from the past, but at the same time, we don't know how to be on tick tock like data. Like, they know how to do this inherently. Like it's, it's, it's native to them. So which I say, Well, this is how you should market your app. No, I'm on tick tock, I don't have to, you know, send an email. What are you talking about? You know, so there's, I think there's some give and take there as to where that can come from.

Jeff:

So you know, tick tock I saw I saw tick tock video with them. The island boys they got booed Island book, and yeah, I was like, yes, Boo the shit out them. fucking garbage. But

Manny Faces:

like, I get it, we don't we proud of, you know, we proud of what we have what we created. Um, and I get it. But so again, that's why the timing of what I do, and I bring it back all around, and not not to make it about me. But it's not because Definitely not. We could be spending this time not this time, not not saying generally speaking, older folk, because we are now the gatekeepers of we work in the schools, or we go to school board meetings. And if the school board is trying to decide whether a hip hop infused education program is good for the students, if we just sitting here in the barbershop talking about, you know, why Lil Yachty, you know, should respect to pot. But we're not in a school board meeting, where we can get Hip Hop put into the school that has older folk, we're not doing the job we need to be doing now we can still have those arguments. But there's things we could be doing as older folk that have some sway and some power in community where we can help use hip hop for sort of its non entertainment purposes. And they will

Jeff:

get to a point where hip hop is an elective in high schools, like I'm gonna take this hip hop course.

Manny Faces:

I mean, I think we're getting there a lot, because there's a lot of I talked to a lot of educators and I focus on education. I could have what I could do it here, obviously, you know, I really thank you all for your time. But education, health and wellness, science and technology, social justice, politics, the fine arts, there's a million ways that hip hop's squeezing its way into, I'm gonna look at Hamilton as just as an example of taking over, you know, the discussion. But there was, there was hip hop theater before Hamilton, and there'll be hip hop theater after Hamilton, I want to say that this is not the end all be all. Same thing with education, we're finding it I talk to a lot of educators that are incorporating it and I just talked to this great interview I did on hip hop can save America, I talked to a three people that are using hip hop in the school, inside the juvenile detention center in California. It's not It's so it's part of their curriculum. And they go and they made songs, and they did some some some kind of stuff. So that's now it's a school inside of a juvenile detention center. And I would argue, because I'm a social justice guy that we shouldn't have juvenile detention centers to begin with, but I think they're doing good work. They're doing, you know, work with intent and purpose while they're while the situation exists. So we're seeing it there. I talked to a lot of educators that have bringing, bringing into the the class, the, the like, the high schools, middle schools, it's sort of an elective in that a lot of times they're not making it part of the curriculum, but it's the after school program, I mean, or go during your lunch hour, you know, so a lot of teachers I talk to that want to use hip hop in the class are like, we're battling still, yeah, we're still battling for the respect that this needs to be not just something that you know, because, you know, maybe kids got sports after school and who wants to give up their whole body a little bit, give up a lunch, just to come and do this therapeutic Hip Hop work in my little studio that I built JC Hall, built a studio in his that he was able to build a studio in his high school in the Bronx as part of his therapy like kind of in school therapy but why you got to give up a lunch to get access to that like make it a make it an elective so I think there's a that battle is being for waged as

Jeff:

we as we go More and more guys like Kyla Mike, you know, I mean, who are political rappers or political activists too, and they're Come on, there'll be on CNN, you know what I mean? And there'll be on Bill Maher and talking shit. So I guess I guess slowly we're getting there.

Manny Faces:

That is more that to happen. And again, it's not just the big names I talked to Genesis be who's out of Mississippi. She was in New York for a while, but she's from Mississippi, she had a great whole, I have a whole talk with her about how she protested the Confederate flag as being part of the imagery in the Mississippi state flag to this day, like it was like a, and people have been trying to get the Confederate flag symbol out of the Mississippi State Flag, because picture you being in, in a courtroom, and you're looking above the judge, and the Mississippi State Flag is hanging on you. You got to winking at you, like, Hey, I'm still here.

Anthony:

Wait a minute, right? Isn't that it.

Manny Faces:

So there's a long movement, she was part of that movement, and did some other stuff for voting rights and traveled around the country. Now, she's not a superstar rapper, she's not someone that you're gonna see on. But she was in Billboard, she was covered for her work. But that grassroots artist activist on the ground shit, come on. I mean, at Ras Baraka is a, an example of hip hop dude, that, you know, what do praise doing what, you know, right there in New York, you know, so it's not just to kill them. I'm not saying not to take anything away from what you're saying. 100%, the killer mics are important. And they're letting it be known that you can have policy discussions from a hip hop lens. So when I say Hip Hop can save America, it's increasing education across the board, because it works for white kids to like white kids will get better grades to university, Alabama, University of North Alabama, Professor I talked to she teaches a sociology of hip hop course, in the University of North Alabama, it's where you think it is, it's red state, white people. 80 plus percent of our students are white, but it's sociology of hip hop. So and we were talking about earlier about, you can actually learn a lot from the people who are rapping and their communities and their struggles and their, that's cultural, you know, building a cultural understanding by looking at their music in a way that you never looked at it before. And maybe cherry picking and make sure that not you know, listening to the wrong people grow. She told me, the white kids in now they're actually getting a better understanding cross culturally, because they're not just listening to rap, but we're analyzing it. But I get it. It's respective way.

Anthony:

Like I try to explain to people like like, what does that mean? Like literally. So what that means is, rap is just really what is its rhythm and poetry. This rap is what it is. You're taking words, and you're putting it in a way that it attracts the masses, same thing, you do a poetry, the little things you scribble. Sometimes you make it wrong. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it's freehand, sometimes it goes wherever it goes. But the whole thing is that there's a lesson to be learned from it. It's something that if you're going to teach poetry, where people are using words, to create images in your mind, and then you have to break down a complex meaning of what they're trying to say. Rap is literally the same thing. But you're looking at it from a perspective of negativity, of degradation, of violence of misogyny, and thinking, that's what defines the art. The art isn't that the art is just like any other piece of art. It's how you define it and what you take from it. A lot of people miss that. And that's why I think it's something that shouldn't be taught in classrooms. It's something that should be taught to children, and it should be taught to adults because, like, they're the people who like they listen, they don't understand why your kids listening to this, like, there's a deeper meaning behind it. Like like before, we're talking about Stan, if your kid is listening to stand every day, more than likely they're probably going through something cuz because it's not a cheerful song. It's about a guy going through this deep depression. No one loves them. He find some kind of thing to be fanatical in. And

Manny Faces:

it's definitely that's radicalization. Correct. You know that he was radicalized in some way, you know? And letting that sit at the heart of what's happening when you see you know, people being radicalized off the internet. So let's say a music that does it, man. It's the music that tells you how to that is happening. The music giving you the lessons and if you know how to work that and tap into it. You can stop people from Oh man, that's brilliant.

Anthony:

The music series Yeah,

Unknown:

but music sandboxing real quick man

Jeff:

we appreciate your time before we go final question Who is your top five dead or alive?

Manny Faces:

Yeah, again, without like, you know, categories. I do. I do start you know, I'm an older cat. I do start with rock him as being kind of the foundational guy just because for a lot of reasons, I don't have to tell him to explain myself. I'm dope. So Rakim to me was always the greatest Kane was always my favorite. Just because I was a stylistic kind of guy. And the next three I mean, they they fluctuate. My said I blackdot wasn't always in my top five. But I think, you know, rising through the ranks just because, you know, you know, I really, when I mentioned before I really liked homeboy, Sam and I noticed like, it's really what's this random guy that knows Linda top five that are alive, but you know, we have preferences. I really don't know, I know a stupid thing to say it's how I feel on any given day. You know, I have put Lauren at one time in there again, you know, if you if you look at strictly what she was capable of, I'm pretty good. But now that's not I'm not gonna be my my top five. No Buster, like, again, it's just not the most lyrical guy. But most but like, as a showman like it's this without qualifications, it's really hard to say. It's mostly the same names as everybody else. And again, I'm biased, like, I've worked with silent Knight who's out of Jersey. And and I know, we normally think of artists that have had, you know, great commercial success. But he's one of these the artists and residents on Newsbeat. So a lot of the songs that we're talking about, like social justice songs, but other episodes that are about social justice, he writes about them. It's brilliant. He's probably the most brilliant emcee I've ever heard. But I know but you gotta understand, like, it's sort of like, if I give you an aside, if I give all these MCS and assignment and say, write me a song about this, who's gonna come back with the dopest song about that? That has been here, you know? Yep. I mean, a black thought as that kind of thing. Some people might surprise you. But Busta Rhymes not gonna come back with the most compelling deepest analysis of a social justice issue, doesn't mean it's not brilliant, you know, the mean? So I'm biased by what I surround myself with. And, you know, so you know, and I don't want to discount folks that I think are as equally talented rap artists as some of the biggest names in history, because they're just the ones that we all know. Right? You know, the best NBA players never made it to the NBA. I mean, like the best, the best, sorry, the best basketball player never made it to the NBA. So, you know, it's that's why it's hard for me to answer that question.

Jeff:

And says, you brought it up and you might have to give us a 16 man cuz I know you. I know you as a spirit. I thought he was a DJ. He was like, Well, I'm a pretty good rapper myself. I'm like, Oh, okay.

Anthony:

We got tested man out now man. Like say you got a family get to my leftovers.

Jeff:

Yeah, we appreciate your time.

Manny Faces:

I mean, but hold on. No, hold on. I can't duck it. Like, you know, I mean, people he was just bullshitting you when duck the smoke go you know, I like you know, I really like also certainly a top 10 Because I'm from the era but Kool G Rap. You know, I mean, one of my one of my favorites, anti left. He's still there. Okay. So I did a little redo. I said, you recognize the verse I said Manny faces nice. I get tight and my voice is twice as electrified as anything that they write. But some sleep they say this fella makes him hella hot beats and no way he got heat when he speaks. So man, he rips the mic from day to night. The type of hype that you like to make the people stop say, you know, I rip up kids I chew up a swallow competition like ribs. Take a deep breath might be the last pass to your lungs when I blast this caskets for you half as best you manufacture plastic every week glad you spit I got for this fantastic rip the damn show like I'm John Rambo kindergarten rappers damn let this man flow check the verses grow man SOCO some curses I spit in one take with no verses.

Jeff:

Mr. faces the many faces of Manny face

Anthony:

I can't everybody comes on here rap cuz I can't rap for shit. Like hello y'all go ahead, man. Dude, you gotta do

Jeff:

better buddy where they can find you, man.

Manny Faces:

Yeah, I appreciate y'all man. I really do I know. You know we try to we dance around and make this happen. I appreciate it. Man he faces.com is like the headquarters you know everything is listed there reached off you have you know all the shows that I do. I do a couple of other podcasts. I've made podcasts for a living that's kind of what I do. Some of them are mine. Some of them are for other people but still pretty good. Instagram any faces official and on Twitter at Manny faces but everything's at manifest.com If you need to find me or see more what I'm into.

Jeff:

Thank you for stopping by man. We appreciate you man. Happy Thanksgiving to everybody. Yeah, it was fucking some turkey up some juicy as Turkey made. Go eat some leftovers today. On Deck. appreciate our Patreon shout out to them.

Anthony:

Hola. Hola. Hola. Before we go, there's a question someone asked me earlier and I have to ask you. What is the longest you will go eating leftovers after Thanksgiving? Like is it probably to the

Jeff:

ribbon? Probably till Sunday after Sunday is old. I gotta throw it out to Sunday about three days. I know some people are like yo, Black Friday is everything got to go like I know people are savvy good for over use. And I was driving around yesterday looking at cranberry sauce and I seen a long as line at the Gamestop and it's like two and a half afternoon. And I'm like yo, what the fuck are these people what video game is coming out like now we try and we still trying to get a pivot PlayStation five, long as line outside of Gamestop I'm like yo, you motherfuckers don't have a family to go to and enjoy dinner. Waiting on this line all day and night to for fucking PlayStation Get the fuck out of here that's actually

Manny Faces:

the sad to always get oh so they stand for like the overnight yeah getting that Thursday

Jeff:

you have to have the longest line out there be I'm like yo these people are sad that's sad to me man.

Anthony:

It rained last night

Jeff:

it was out there were little little chairs and shit chillin you're camping out waiting for the PlayStation to come out I'm like Get the fuck out. I'm gonna go home and eat this dinner with my family man.

Manny Faces:

I hit that I moved to Atlanta to be closer to my family just because this whole pandemic thing made you think twice about things and I mean people's

Jeff:

family I'm gonna get a PS five ship

Manny Faces:

mean some people family and shit so maybe you know call it but you know we were eating like like, you know doing the traditional thing but uh,

Jeff:

but your auto link I have many faces link on the show notes. Check that out. appreciate everybody. La Cultur yo pe

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