Breaking Bread with Tom Papa - Episode 133 - Byron Bowers

Episode Date: November 29, 2022

Byron Bowers gets a special bread for his new Hulu standup special "Spiritual Ni**a." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Hey, it's time for Breaking Bread with Papa. Hey, don't you know? Hey, it's also a show. Hey, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Breaking Bread with Tom Papa. I'm Tom Papa. How are you? Happy holidays.

We can say that now, can't we? That we're past the big fatness of Thanksgiving. I hope it went well for you. Hope you had a good time. My kitchen was popping off. We had a gigantic turkey. Everything went smooth. The only flaw I would say was that we went away for a couple days right after and didn't get to eat any of it.

Came back and you look at a bag of turkey and it's like, all right, I guess I can make a sandwich out of this. But it was good. Hope you're enjoying yourselves. I hope you're eating lots of good things. Even if you're not making good things, you might as well just eat them all. We've got a great show for you today. We have a very funny comedian Byron Bowers on the program. He's got a new special streaming on the HBO Max called Spiritual N-word.

Put a little trick in there, so certain hosts won't be saying it. GGA, which gives it a little softness, but spiritual N-word is very funny. He's a very funny comedian. You're really going to like the conversation that we've had. But more than that, you should go and check out a special because it is really good, really thoughtful and very, very funny. Today's program is brought to you by, oh, look at this, tompapa.com. That's exciting. On the 13th, we have the Come to Papa Christmas special at the Village Underground, the comedy seller in New York City. That's going to be on the 13th.

I believe it's up on the website. Also, we've got a bunch of dates coming up, but first. The Netflix special. Streaming on the Netflix. What a day. The new hour-long special streaming on Netflix starting the same day on the 13th. That's kind of weird. I'll be doing the live coming to Papa while my thing starts streaming. Very exciting. Maybe it's good mojo. Yeah, it seems good. It'll be the holidays and you get to watch your new special and it's going to roll for the next couple of weeks. I think it's good timing. I hope. I think you'll enjoy it. And then the big tour the 2020 tour is up. We've got Town Hall in New York City. We've got the Paramount in Denver, a whole bunch of shows coming up all through January, February, March. I think we're even out

to April and May. So a lot of great dates for the new tour. I can't believe we're already touring a new thing. Very exciting. So go to Tompapa.com and look up all of that good stuff. I am traveling around a lot, going to be doing a lot of promo for the special. So I'm going to be, even though I'm not going to be doing that many live theater dates in through December, I will be cranking out some plane trips, which means that the sourdose starters will not be fed as often as I would like. But I will be back baking like crazy, I think, as we get closer. So that's just to say that you don't have to put the pressure on yourself to be making all this stuff. You can't just trot along and eat it all.

But I have to say, I will say my early report, I am very conscious that I may double in size this year. I mean, just from Thanksgiving weekend, I literally feel like I may have gained five francs. I would say five francs. And you know Frank, our pug. He weighs about 10 pounds. and I would say, I feel like I've gained, yeah, five of those in just four days. Oh, it would be good if you could just take a pill and just completely deflate. You could just eat whatever the hell you want.

Just take one pill, squeeze it all out and keep on going. Like, I want to go up to Vito's pizza. My parents are in town. I feel like I should be going and doing that. What kind of animal just goes off and eats pizza the day after Thanksgiving weekend? Only a monster. But I am a monster. And I hope you are too.

All right. Let's get right to this. This is Byron Bauer's. Like I said, the special streaming on the HBO Macs. Go check it out and enjoy this conversation. We really get into some cool stuff. He's very funny, very thoughtful, and enjoy. Your special literally looked like a show.

I was like, oh, maybe he direct didn't push me. towards a show that he's doing him and a special something different. I didn't realize that your girl is directing it. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I realize when you do these things, and I mean, you're in this longer than me. Are we on? Yeah, you're on.

Are we on? Yeah, you're on. Oh. I couldn't see myself. I'm sorry. I realize when we do these things that you need someone that truly believes in you and know your strengths. and you know she's been a partner mine um you know for six years now bless her soul um so she know me probably better than I know myself at this point yeah that's really helpful can you

or how are you with her telling you about yourself uh you know it at first you fight it and then you have to go sit with it because I'm realizing oh this is how I had to go to the man cave and then be like, am I this way? And it's a discovery, you know? Because I've been married before. And when she said something that the first wife said, I was like, oh. Oh, it's me. Interesting.

So going through that and not having the most relationship, I'm not seasoned in relationships. Yeah. Because I didn't date much. Right. It's a thing of like, oh, okay, now it's me. What are we going to do? And then at first, you know, as comedians, we walk around in it. I'm like, this good.

I can make so much material. about how, you know, pity I am and, you know, all these other things you say about me. Uh-huh. And then it's like, you know, six years in, it's like, how do this affect, you know, affect the overall journey that we want to, we want to go on? Yeah. How, how, how many things was a repeat from your early relationship that she pointed out in the new relationship?

Was it like a couple big things? Yeah, I think it's. big because if if like my mom wasn't married so I'm already coming in with no not even seeing what a relationship looks like right and not even knowing what a true partnership is and these things yeah so it's a lot of patience on her thing yeah on her side you know and I'm like you know that wow book that got a like that stallion they got to be broken down over a while so and it's like do I want to be broken down? Like how deep do I want to go?

But I think once we have a common goal, say we have a kid and you really have to either adapt or I don't know. Yeah. Well, that's interesting because in a way, her directing you in the special and like working with you creatively, that's a big step on your part, opening. up and letting her into that. Yeah. That's, that's not a small thing.

Like, we've, I've had kids, and I still have, I still have a hard time letting my wife in creatively. Like, I trust her, but it, it, and when she says something, she's always right. Like you said earlier, it's like it's, but I don't see it as right, right off the bat. And like, you know what I mean? We have all of this stuff to. together and yet when soon as she comes in is like I don't know you sound like this at this point I'm like well what do you mean yeah it's nothing like that now I know I have the dumb face

when she's talking to me now and I think the more I come in a relationship now like they got the power because I grew up with my mom yeah so to me a household was already ran by women right but woman you know I mean yeah so that's one of the reason my last relationship had problems because my ex the man runs the relationship parts of the relationship that I didn't know about

make certain decisions that I didn't know about so it looked like I didn't care so now I know like when she do say things and want to be more inclusive even if you'd be like hmm that looks good

and learning how to respond like oh that's kind of cool yeah First she'd be like, hey, should I wear this? I'll be like, I don't go to fuck. Let's just clothes. We go on to the store. Right.

Just put it on so we can go to the store and come back. But then it's like, oh, I have to be a part of this decision making. Mm-hmm. So, yeah, it's growth. But it is hard because we would beef on set, and I didn't know you couldn't beef with a director. Or should I say a female, how it makes her look. So she had to break it down and tell me like, this is what it.

I have to be in control of 150 people. And when you do this, how it affects everything. Yeah. It's a lot because, you know, we go like, there's too strong-willed people. Yeah. They can't be done in front of everybody. It was, we do. Because she's a redhead of Israeli and I'm a black man from Atlanta.

You know what I mean? Right. So it's too, like people like, pop, pop. you know, so, um, when it happens, like, it happens. So, uh, it's just, it's just learning how to communicate better. Yeah. It's really good just to start off the whole conversation. Your special is really good. Thank you. It really is. It's, it's, and I was thinking the cool thing about it is you're, you're talking about some heavy stuff at times. Like there's some really deep things that you're talking about your dad, your own journey, culture, kind of opening up to the universe, the way you,

the great way at the end of the set with your mom. And those seem like just saying them out loud, like they're kind of big heavy things. But you do it in such, your way on stage doesn't change when you're talking about that or you're doing the jokes. Like it's, you kind of, it's, almost like a spoonful of sugar kind of effect. Oh, that's good. You know what I mean? Like, it's not like, let's stop down and do a one-man show. It's, you're just funny and you've got this nice way about you. And then all of a sudden these things come in and it makes you actually, as someone who's watching, it lingers with you. It, like, I want to know more about you and your dad and all that kind of stuff. You know what I mean? Yeah, thank you. Yeah. And

And it's a unusual thing to be able to do comedically. Where you, did it take you a while to be able to talk about that stuff? Yeah. As you were working it out. Well, even my first two jokes got booed, right, when I started. And I got booed for months. Really? Six months.

And then I realized to the day, I tell the same jokes. It just took 16 years to learn how to tell the jokes. And you've been in show business a while. So you know the ups and downs that. come with it. So every down to me, once I made it past every down, I was stronger. So it's the downs that allow me. And you realize the way we look at failure is different. And just my education and life and being in L.A. leaving home and sleeping outside, being stripped of everything, even the regional jokes. The comedy store stripped me from the regional jokes and

living in my car stripped me from what people think about me. Because I already live in stuff home and they was like, you should leave home. I'm out here. So it's the stripping down and getting to your essence and then building up from there. Even when I started, I went to Montreal and everybody seemed like it was tap dancing for the audience.

And I felt bad. I called that my prior moment. Yeah. And then I just started talking about slavery right there for new faces. Oh, really? And then I came back to L.A. and then the clubs was like, yo, we like this other buyer and we don't like this edgy dark. And I was, and I was like, I can't perform here. I need to go find myself, so to speak.

Really? That's pretty, that's pretty, that's pretty ballsy at that moment, because new faces from Montreal, for our listeners, I mean, that's kind of, that's kind of a lot of people's first break. Yeah. It's like, okay, we're going to let you, we're going to, there's a doorway through comedy that can get you into the rest of show business, and this is one of them.

So for you to be in that, to make that decision to change course at that moment is, what do you think, where do you think that came from? Well, my gut is the only reason I stayed in comedy or the universe was like, this would take you to the promise land. So when I did Montreal and they was putting me in the writer's room and I think there's two people went to Saturday Night Live. You know, it's almost like a draft. I call it like the EA draft of stand-up. I just didn't like the path that they were offering me. It's something that within me that was like, this won't be the best version of myself

because I had sacrificed so much already. And I think once any time in life, once you stripped down, like I said, to your bare minimum, then you know how far you're willing to go. How long were you in comedy at that point? I think it had to be around seven in nine years. Okay.

Yeah, seven years I realized I was funny. Uh-huh. That I could tell a joke. And I think at nine I realized I didn't need the jokes no more. Mm-hmm. I was in the Middle East and I bombed. And I know that sounds, you know. But it happened.

I was in Afghanistan. U.S.O? Yeah, U.S.O. And it's bad as an American when you bombing on your own soil. And the jokes I had, I was talking about medieval times and all this stuff just wasn't working. And I'm like, oh, I'm reminding people of home. And I was sitting in this barracks and these bomb shelter or whatever. And I was like, you have the tools.

You're funny. You're funny. So go be funny. Yeah. And I went on stage and everything I experienced in Afghanistan, I talked about. And then I got a standing old. And that was one moment that changed everything. And I got in trouble for this stuff I was talking about

because it's observations that I observed that I probably shouldn't have been sane. But the soldiers all felt it. Yeah, yeah. And so I became like a union rep out there. And yeah, man. They're ready to riot. And then I went to the next base and the command said something like, don't do this. And by the time I got to the next base, they was like, man, we heard about you.

And then I just kept getting into it with command. So, by my last show, I just did something light and then the soldiers got mad. Oh, no way. Yeah, they was like, we put in our life on the line every day. So you could, you know, do this thing for us. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I was like, you're right. And that was around the time, you know, all this was happening around like Montreal,

time. This is all around 2012. Right. And then another key moment is when I did my, this is not happening. Yeah. For Comedy Central. And I took all the jokes out because I was shooting the TV. I was shooting a drama. And I landed to do that show. And I was trying to remember the jokes. I knew the story. And I always follow my gut. My instincts was like, don't worry about the jokes. You live the story. Right. Tell the story. Just tell it. And, it was a game changer because I was at a moment of low self-esteem and comedy because everything, you know, was about relatability. Like Kevin Hart, I got family and I got all that and I just had a moment like, man, I don't have a family. I have, what do I have?

Like, this is who I am. I was always doing these Harry Potter jokes and these clever type smart material, but I just like, I can't relate to nobody. So I'm just going to talk about why I don't relate to nobody. Right. father schizophrenia drug addict. I remember the first day I saw him to smoke crack. Now it's all coming out, the therapeutic stuff. Right.

And that's when people was coming out of the woodworks. Isn't that crazy? Like, that happened to me too. And, you know, this and that. And one guy was on heroin when he saw my, this is not happening. And he had kids. And he said, stopped that night. Jeez.

So I saw how it affected people. Yeah. So the power of that. The power of that brute. honesty, you know. And that's something we have as comics and storytellers. Yeah. You know, so. But it's, it's, again, it's a pretty courageous thing, especially when you're starting out, you're not really established, you're not making money yet, you're struggling to not go the, and you see what likeability gets you or gets certain people. But I'm on the side where likeability

also can cause you to kill yourself, if that makes sense. We know guys who get the things and it just doesn't fulfill the thing that people with our traumatic experiences need fulfilled. So then the option comes like, okay, do you want to fight for your, for, you know, what you believe in? Or do you want to, like, kill yourself in a beautiful, home. You know.

So, well, basically I'm saying depression and all those things that comes with life. Yeah. And we don't talk about those things, the stigma of those things. You talk about that in the special. Yeah. You talk about when people in celebrities and you think they have it all and they don't and you want to know what was really going on. And why weren't you more creative?

And that was based on a, I was frustrated with this one business woman who was worked 400 million who killed herself. Uh-huh. And I was upset because she did it with a scarf. Right. Yeah. It's a true story. So.

Yeah. Because, you know, if you ever been in that dark place, you always think of, I've been there and I was like, man, I want to do it. And my sense of humor came from that place because the universe was like, do it. You want to kill yourself? Do it. Really? If you do it, you're going to be fucked up at the club and the wheelchair.

All the funny, crazy scenario. as you go through because you already, I'm already a failure at this point. Like, I'm 18, I'm in college. So the thought of killing myself and just failing at all type of ways, I was coming up with killing myself. My sense and humor was just like, and I was able to laugh at it like out loud. Right. So, man, to be at a place at 18 to be thinking, I'm a failure, when most people don't even think they've started yet, they're still lacing up. their shoes at 18. Was that a product of having to figure out a lot of stuff early that maybe made you feel

older at that point? It's the, it's the, um, byproduct of growing up in certain situations and then feeling like your family is curse type thing. Yeah. Right. and then your environment is cursed. And by that time I already was cutting myself and doing stuff, I ain't even know black people did, you know what I mean?

Yeah. And... A butter knife. With a butter knife. Very embarrassing. Another failure. I used a butter knife to cut myself. And that was the only time I did.

I got one cut on my arm. Good thing it was a butter knife. Yeah, good thing. And I'm not mad because my lady also has the cuts on her on. So we trauma bond. You know, we lick each other. You know, but I think it's, and then not knowing how to deal with it, there's no conversation around it. No.

You know, especially in our community. We don't talk about sadness and depression in those things. Where was this? This is growing up in Atlanta, Georgia. I mean, I'm a part of, I'm from a part of town where you have the blue collar on this side, family blue collar, and then you have the white collar, family white collar on. this side and the projects to the back and I'm in the in the county jail is in my neighborhood so I'm already outside of these different communities and then I'll get bused to upper middle class white school uh so it's a lot of like she is fitting in figuring out where you are figuring it out

but I go through the same thing in the career like this is high school all over again yeah well it never lay out that's life they never stop Yeah. It never stops. So now I could navigate it better, but at the time it just wasn't. Then I got dropped off in college. I was the first to go to college. So there's no predecessor.

So I found out my home boy's parents went to college, so they had all the tools of how to survive this thing. Yeah. And this was a totally different world. Right. To get dropped off in a town, a small town, religious school, and no... No... No roadmap. No blueprint.

Yeah. And I'm failing classes. My basketball thing is not going good. I'm hustling on the side, you know, so I'm living like a triple life over here. Yeah. So, I mean, it's a sum of like all those things. And I'm an A, B student too. You are?

Yeah. What in high school you mean? In high school, yeah, I didn't have to really take senior classes. Right. But like I said, nobody was, it was really, aside from a counselor, it was nobody there to tell me, like, oh, you should graduate at 16, 17, 17. Yeah. And go do these, these other things.

Right. It was a big gap of, like, emptiness. Jeez. How much of that is, because you stopped down at the end and talk about how important your mom was. Yeah. And which was really nice. It was a very heartfelt moment. But then you tell this story about how your dad, he was still in the town.

Like, because you were aware of him. but he wasn't raising you. How much of, how much of... He was a major influence my grandfather and my dad. It was probably some of the most fun times in my life. Because it was probably the most stable times in my life. When? When I was with my dad.

Which was like five, six around of the age because he had money. He worked and I never needed or wanted anything, so to speak. Right. And then I got with my mom, who's more of a, like, struggling person in Atlanta trying to figure her life out. Like, my parents are young, you know. Your kids. Yeah, that kid. You don't know that yourself.

So you have to either have kids or become of age for you to realize, like, man, this person was 19 with a child. Yeah. And they didn't have the self-help and stuff we have now. No. No, it really is kind of crazy that, like, now, if a. kid has any utterance of I'm in trouble, there's a lot of people that can swoop in and be like, go talk, go talk here, go talk to them. And it's out in the open now. It wasn't. No, it wasn't. So like if you're, if you're, I mean, I can't even understand like I take for granted just having

people point to you around or at least just having like when it's almost like they put you in a little boat and sent you in the ocean and said go find land yeah and you like i don't even know how a boat works and that's how i feel like what is what is what is land like what is good land yeah and what is the why is the ocean so choppy yeah and how will i know when i see it so yeah man but i feel privileged to I'm realizing that shaped me in a way because at 25 a lot of my friends' parents

was executives and my mom wasn't we got put out when I was 25 so I started to see and I wasn't doing nothing I was the first grader from college but I wasn't going to work a job so I started to see like

uh-oh like you know this is a sum of our decision making because I went to engineering school so I could at least see patterns and stuff so I I just, you know, try to find something that I was good at and figure it out.

And I think, you know, God for that because I had time. Yeah. Time is a great thing that we take for granted. Yeah. I love that part of your special talking about past, future. Past, present. And seeing the physical act out of that. Yeah.

It was really well done. Thank you. Thank you. That was shrooms. psychedelics yeah yeah that was a very important thing I think I should

wanted to gift everybody especially my culture because we are a culture of trauma and every time we trigger we go back to the past to that past right there's a lot of gaps in that in that past

so you know it's a healing of that to be able to meditate or take shrooms. Meditate is walking up the mountain. Taking shrooms is taking a helicopter up the mountain. And not having that pass on your shoulders. And now you're existing like, wow, look how beautiful this mountain is.

And look at the air and those things we do take for granted. And then having a positive outlook on your past, which is tough to do if you haven't. capitalized on it. What do you mean capitalized on it? If you're not stuck in it. Right. If you're able to look back and like I was a, you know, I've accomplished college.

I've seen the world. You know what I mean? I got damn there a million miles on my, you know, flights. Right. But I've traveled even for not for comedy and have a chance to sit down and observe everything and take these things home. So those, if it wasn't for my upbringing, I wouldn't have the outlook that I have now.

Right. And I'll be in a whole different place for better for worse. When you talk about... It's an acceptance. An acceptance of you as a person. What I've been through and how far... It really kind of catapulted me when I thought it was holding me back. What did?

The uncomfortableness and stuff like that. Uh-huh. It actually allowed me to go see the world. Not having a home, what I figured, a home has allowed me on a journey to go find a home. Right. And that journey has allowed me to say no to living in places and stuff like that and going around the world to find that. And realizing that home for me is earth. The whole place is my home.

Right, right. Yeah, the connective part of it. Was there, when you're at this point, how old are you on this bit of a journey? I'm probably like 35 I think Because I didn't really Drinking stuff much Because of the addict

From a family addicts From tobacco all the way to like crack cocaine Right And once I understood addiction Which is I'm not masking anything I'm experimenting with it To see what it is Right

And I had to be very careful Not to use it to hide sadness or anytime I feel a certain way, be like, I'm going to do this. Yeah. And that takes away. Yeah. Yeah. It's a discipline, right?

Oh, man. So that allowed me to have these experiments. And then I was able to understand my dad more. Right. Yeah. A bad trip for seven hours. Let me understand what he goes through every day. Every day.

Was he able to, people that I know in my family that have, had the same struggles and they were cool for a while and then it takes over was he when you were like five six and hanging with him was he together or was he was he dealing with it already oh that's that's the part that shapes my life uh-huh uh because he would give me advice like you can't trust no you can't trust no women out here they after your money uh-huh and he was one of the only few people in town that had a little bit of money uh-huh but I don't know was that was him or not. So that, excuse me, that changes everything.

Yeah. Because I thought he smoked crack and it affected his mind. And then as a result of that, he went crazy. But when people say, because they never talked about it, that he was that way when he was like 18, they started to see signs, then to me it's like, oh, man, now I could be affected by this thing. and it's not from drugs. And he was trying to suppress it the whole time.

Right. And he wasn't in a community or a place that allowed him to get help. Or they just be like, oh, you know how he is. Right, exactly. Versus doing the extra research and, you know. And when you have that mental problem, those drugs loosen it up. Yeah. And then you're, now you're in a place where few people come back.

It's tough to come back. Imagine if you if you was paranoid that people was trying to poison you and the only way to get help is for people to give you medicine. That's tough already. That's a tough existence.

Yeah. And, you know, everything else compounds with that. When you... And I had to learn how to go with him after my band trip. Uh-huh. I remember telling my grandmother, we was wrong.

Everything he experienced is real because he believes it. And if he believes it, that means it's real to him. Right. So I would have to go into his world with him. And you would have a normal conversation, and he'll take a left. Right. And he was like, and then I have to push my emotion now.

He was like, yeah, I was on the bus today, man. I was looking at this lady who I know, and I think I've been with it before. She was sitting next to a kid and he looked just like me. And he's like, that's my son. I got to go take care of my son. Oh, man. And I almost cried.

Yeah. And I had to push it down because I saw him make a sacrifice for somebody else that I might have lost out on. Right. So I was like, my voice, I remember my voice getting shaky and stuff and then I pushed it down. They have to be in this world with him. What do he looked like? Oh, man, that could have been your son. What are we going to do to help you get?

get to him and then we get out the phone I would have to decompress for like 30 minutes oh yeah at least yep at least so you could either pay for improv classes or hang out with schizophrenia it's so uh people like man you kind of natural acting how you pick that up so when you when you are uh when you're from 18 to 35 was there anybody that was a bit of a mentor was there anybody who i mean the universe put so many people in my life a friend of mine aged her son mother i accused up being a drug dealer because she was making moves i ain't ever seen and she started a company like a head start program or something to give kids uh grant money from uh early uh development um to help educate the youth and she gets

gave me a book to read. She was like, I'm not a drug dealer. I just think differently. I've educated myself and changed my thought process. So she gave me a book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and another book. And I read those books, and my mind slowly started to change to the point I was reading Brian Tracy and Tony Robbins by the time I was 22, and I'm making all these. My homeboy, we would bootleg all these CDs. Right. That's how we made money, right? Yeah.

So I would bootleg the time. I'd be like, give me the Tony Robbins stuff. So I would get the street version of, a bootleg version of all the Tony Robbins disc. That's great. That's great. And then I would try to push these to people. Nice.

Especially family and stuff like that because by this time, I'm out trying to live my dream and stuff and not accepting anything. Right. And I'm like, you can have it too, you know. Yeah. So. So that was just one. That's huge, though.

That's a huge stepping stone. Yeah. But it always been these, I call them like angels, so to speak. Yeah. Like, I've been walking down the street and people, the first time I was seeing homeless people and people would ignore them. And then they would say something to me. They'd be like, you know, asking people for change.

And they'll be like, hey, go to the left down the street. And I would do that. And I would end up in a better. place. So it's always been these hints, but I think if you're in tune and aware, if you're in tune in your instincts and aware, those things have helped me the most. Because the signs are there. It's out there. But you've got to,

there's got to be some spark inside of you that's looking to save yourself, right? Save yourself or others. Because after a while, you know it's others like you. Right. Right? And you're like, oh, I need to do this for them. Mm-hmm.

So sometimes I go deeper in show business because of that. Yeah. But at the early part you're probably not thinking about others. It's...

Well, not at first because you're living on the street yourself. Yeah. When I hit bottom, it was like ask for help. Mm-hmm. It's something I never did

because when I did when I was young, I got in trouble for asking for help. Mm-hmm. So, you know, I did ask for help. I think I was in a car I used to sleep on Hollywood Boulevard in my car, and I seen Neil Brennan and coffee bean.

And I was like, A man, got no place to stay. And he was like, oh, I got a little, I'm running a little spot in the hills. You got a two days. You can stay up there. And then that turned to sleeping on this couch and that couch. So it was definitely a community of, like, you know, everybody that believed in you. It was like a few of us just on couches because it was, it was 08 and 09. Right.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Good timing. I mean, anytime you want to move to a city, go when it's rock bottom. Right, when the entire economy collapses. Yeah, nobody can get hair cut or nothing. We all figuring it out, you know.

What part, Byron, did you, was, did comedy pop into your head? When I was in junior high school, my mom put a disc on my desk, Martin Lawrence talking shit. And I listened to it. I never heard nothing like that before. and I would listen to it at night before I went to sleep and then this whole death jam thing started and by the time that happened

that's where my personality came from as far as making people laugh and I went from being bullied to becoming a bully I could talk trash about anybody I can go against three people you know I mean and then I also start playing sports I became an athlete also which is weird because I would be

classes. I used to get kicked out of these schools. And this is, this is show you the difference in education in certain communities. In my neighborhood, I would get kicked out of schools for having this, for getting into it with the teachers or whatever.

And then I got sent to a mixed school. And that took a standardized test. And I excelled in math and English. And they took me out of my class of like all majority of black people until a class where it was only five of us. And that's another moment that changed everything because it took me from going to school in my neighborhood

to an upper middle class area where I'm seeing like BMWs. I'm a car guy, so I'm seeing the first 740 IL and these yards were like beautiful grass and all these things that look attainable to me. And you get used to seeing that and you believe that you could live like this. So that's a defining, that's another defining moment, you know. Yeah.

No, just, just answer the questions, but. Just seeing the world. Yeah, just seeing a different part of world and the food was different. And I remember going to my homeschool and I'm like, damn, this is what y'all eating. And, you know, the books we will read. And I didn't take fully advantage of this because on the weekends, it was, I guess, CEOs or bankers, investors that were parents of the students, they were actually

teach investing and stuff on the weekend. Right. And then when those times, and it's like, man, we had access to all of these things that we didn't know about. And we still do. We just not open to it. So, and then I would have to go back home and worry about

somebody still in my books. Because they didn't have books at the school, at home school and stuff like that. Right. God, it's amazing with just the exposure, you know? Like, it's like, you know, it's like, it's like, it literally is different planet. Yeah. A different planet.

And like I said, I'm in this one community. I got people over here. Mm-hmm. I got people over here. And I got people with the project behind me. Yeah. And my homeboy said it was a blessing because I was able to bounce around all these different communities.

Yeah. You're like a little sociologist. Yeah. I was weird. I was weird to everybody. though. Yeah. But I'm soaking in everything.

Like I would be in the hood and they'd be smoking the, they'll be rolling weed. And I would read the magazine they rolling weed on. And it'd be like a National Geographic or anything. I'm just looking at the photos. Right. And that was my first time to like mentally like travel. Oh, I want to go here. I want to go there.

And I would just imagine myself in these places. Right. So. Yeah, it's kind of interesting when you. they would be like, fix my computer because I would fix hustlers computers. Yeah. But I went to engineering school. Yeah.

Hence the bootleg and then the P2P networks and all this. It's pretty crazy because there's there is a thing about you in your stand-up where you don't really know where you came from. And until you say it. But there's like a, it makes sense now that you're talking about this being in all these different places because you do seem. like you're from a bunch of different places. But that's the thing, without you mentioned it, the pattern of like,

oh, I need to find a home. Mm-hmm. And like, the journey of finding. Yeah. Yeah. You know?

So. So when you have, when you talk in, in the special about, uh, having this experience with mushrooms and the biggest thing, which I'm hearing in the, in the culture a lot is when people

experiment with mushrooms on some, level, a big thing is that the anxiety goes away. Yeah. It makes you present, depending on how you do it and who you are. So when you're present, you're not thinking about the future, right? Yeah. And you're not thinking about the past. And it's crazy with Mushroom because it opens your third eye, right?

So it's just making more aware of stuff that's in front of you. You do this all the time. If you make real good love or if you do them last three pumps, you're present. You don't think about, oh, shit, I ain't with no condom or nothing after you finish. But you feel good, you're present, and you're in tune of what's going on right now. And when you make love, it's the same thing. You ever have the experience, which took me a long time to really, like, do because I had a situation when I was 10 that robbed me of, trustful, like, sexual experience.

Yeah. Yeah, you mentioned that in the special. Yeah, I just mentioned it, but I didn't go into it because I didn't, I didn't realize the effects of it until the relationship I'm in now. Which is such a, which is still a thing in, in the world. When a boy has something happened to him, the reaction is good for you. Yeah. Someone, a woman fooled around with you when you were,

10? Yeah. Hey. But I still don't know how to take it, but I do know, uh, because I'm in a loving relationship, hey baby, um, there is some intimacy, uh, walls. Mm-hmm. There. Yeah, of course. Um, and to this day, I don't like teenage, uh, girls. Right. I don't trust them. Like, they like, if it's, I shy away from like, black people just walk away from black cats. I don't like looking at them. It's something in their eyes I don't trust, you know, so I know it's something. How old was she? I just know it's something there.

I thought she was older. Yeah, she was older. She was older. Yeah. Right. So why the teenage girl think? Because it's like early, got a 14, 13 year old. Oh, she, right.

You were 10. She was a teen. Oh, you're thinking like 18 and all that. Yeah, I thought she was like grown. Wow. That would have been a whole different experience, I think. Yeah. Because then you would have had to be leery of all the women that you'll ever run into.

I think it was a thing of like the adolescence of a young lady. And I don't know what they experienced during those times because they body go through changes. Yeah. So. But regardless, I definitely know something is up. And it's one of those traumatic experience where you question like, did that really happen? Mm-hmm. Like, I could see it and I can, I know what it sounds.

sound like and I know it is like the the sensory of it but then it's like you know is that really yeah did it really why is it so detailed yeah because I remember I told my mom she's like that didn't happen and I was like oh shit this what the ladies be going through uh-huh yeah I'm slapping the table don't tell me it didn't happen oh really yeah nice restaurant too oh really that's a good thing about being successful and when you going through the struggle you can't process emotion because hunger is the only thing you feel. But once you start being able to like afford Starbucks every day,

because when you broke, you got simple dreams. Like, man, I just want a new pair of draw. You could tell I was bro, I got like five new pair of draws in the drawer. And since COVID, I can't fit none of them. I was like, dang. You know, I'm a large now. But you'd be able to have

get triggered and have traumatic experience in beautiful places. I got an argument with my lady in Italy and she was like, yeah, yeah. And I'm looking outside like, man, I'm in Italy

right now. This is cool. I worked hard to get, you know how hard you got to work to get cussed out by your lady in another country?

See the clauses in the hotel room? Come on, people. We're living life out here. But I'm like, people have these experience every day. That's why it's trippy to me.

Some people don't even know the other side because they grew up in the night. things and then they just have their arguments normally. But when you didn't, sometimes you take a step back and be like, wow. This is crazy. Now, the thing that popped in my head when you're talking about going through that at 10,

it's a, and then you have to process, your whole life you have to kind of process this. You have to lie and pretend you're a version. Who does that? All throughout high school. And then you take a step back and you. take a step back and you realize that like 80% of the girls have something in their past where someone messed with something. So think about the number of women that have to have to deal with that. It's such an ongoing thing. And you don't, you don't know the circle of it. Because if it happens to them,

they might do it to a young. It's a thing like, nice guy meets a bitch, become a bad dude, meet a nice girl, fuck her over, she become a bitch. It's like a circle, right?

Yeah. So it's very interesting how these things, and then with women, especially, you know, back in the day when you hear these ladies stories. Like, I had to hear these ladies stories. Because I got a lot of female cousins in my family, and I'm like,

yeah. Yeah. And that's when race don't matter. That's when you're like, man, I'm a dude. Mm-hmm. You know, thank God I'm a dude. If you're allowed to say that, that's how I'd be on the inside. Right.

Yeesh. What was the order that you said when you said how you consider yourself? It was spiritual. Spiritual. First. Right. Man? Human.

Human. Man. Black. Now, it's so much, though. Comed. It's so much fit in there that doesn't evolve. Sure. Straight race or straight male, you know, like,

but having like a human experience. Like I was telling somebody earlier, I can be at a Black Lives Matter rally. But if I'm hungry, like, that's a human experience. Right. You know what I mean? I would bite your hand on. I don't care if you black, white, you know.

I'm just a hungry man. If I see a cop and she got some nice titties, she can be Latina. And I'll be like, hey, you know, this ain't got nothing to do with you. It's for the other cops. So, I mean, that's the male version taken over. And the hunger is the human version taking over. And you've experienced it before, ladies and gentlemen.

If you ever shit it on yourself, you've had a human experience. Everything else that's going on goes out of the window. Right. Right. And then you have. the straight panic and anxiety of like, oh, oh, oh, like when you clinch that triple clench. And it's like, all right, well, I need clothes, what I need. Like, I need to find a bathroom.

Like, so. Right. Now I said, shrooms just heighten, heighten certain patterns and stuff that we have. And then you humanize it almost or you realize like, oh, we've all experienced this thing. Right, right. Right. You don't have to be a black person to experience disrespect from the government. We know that.

Right. You know, we know that now. So, oh, not all of us might not be aware of that. But like me traveling to other countries and seeing racism with other countries made me realize how privileged we were as Americans. How so? It was crazy. From where? I was in the DR and our Haitian dude was asking me for money.

And I was like, man, I ain't coming here for all that. I remember saying that. I'm here with my home boys. We can't eat, drink. And he was like, I get it. He was like, you from America? I was like, yeah, yeah. He was like, yeah, police, they, they fuck with us too over here.

He was like, I got the scars. He was showing me his scars. And he was like, the only difference is over there, y'all got a chance. And I was like, hey, man, he's going to take this. Take this $9. Because that was a life-changing, like, outlook. Yeah. Because looking at America from the outside, you realize some things about yourself.

One, you're an American. I don't care what you think you is. When you go to, like, certain countries and you pull out that blue passport and they look at you a certain way, I knew that we've done some things in that country. And I was like, oh, shit, I'm the white man over here. Uh-huh. Right. That's how trippy things get. that we don't know about.

Yeah. And how privileged we are, no matter even if you're poor in this country, you're not worldly poor. Mm-hmm. We have a lot of privilege and stuff that other countries don't have. And in America, one idea could change your whole life. Yeah. And your family's life for at least three generations. Yeah.

That guy here gets a Tony Robin bootleg in his country. Does it? How much help is it? That is true. Right. Like you started to hustle. You started to find a way. Yeah.

I mean, just think being in Cali, I remember the first time I sold a script. I was like, oh, I got to call a drug dealer and be like, hey, they just gave me a few kilos for nothing. For words. I didn't have to fly nothing else across town and take no chance. My heart never raised. I understood because before I was doing comedy, but then the pandemic happened, and then I just started moving to stuff, nothing. And I turned it into something.

Yeah. And I was like, this is what this city is. Right. It's a bunch of hustlers. That's right. Doing all type of it. And I was like, wow, this is crazy. So that's what I mean by turning some misfortunes into fortunes,

and then you meet people that did it on a bigger scale. Mm-hmm. So. Well, where are you at at this moment then? Because you've had some success. This special comes out. It's really well received.

Like, you see, like, what you're able to do. Yeah. Has it, has it, what's it done to your head at this point? Does it make you think, all right, now we're not going to stop? Or is it? Now it's like, what do I want to do? Yeah. Because I was filming a show in Baltimore for nine months.

So I had comedy stripped from me. I had a way of life strip I had the essence of LA like seeing the mountains and that strip from me so I went I took a I took a dive mentally and I had to come out of there and work through that this year and be isolated me and my lady

you know we all because she was directing the show and I'm in the show so she was tested at work and tested at home right you know and and vice versa so and we made it through stronger and it made us tighter

You know, we did that. We already came from a pandemic. Yeah. You were together? Yeah, we were together. We lived together through that. So, and then we came through this, and then it just made up. Which was harder?

This was harder. This was harder. Yeah. This was harder because it's stuff that I didn't know that she was, the empathy wasn't there enough for me to do my job, what she needed me for. Mm-hmm. And I was like, and I wasn't aware. Right.

either. Right. Because I was caught up in my own thing. So it's something like you got a decision to make at that point, especially because I got baby fever now and I want a kid. And all these things are going to affect that when it comes to like teamwork. Yeah. And this is a long haul thing. You know what I mean? So tell me about baby fever. I seen a girl one day. She was pretty. And she was walking down the street and then she had a kid with her. and the kid turned, and I was like, man, that's a cute baby. And I was like, what the fuck? Because I don't like the word. I never liked the word cute and all that stuff. So when I said, I was like, oh, and I jumped back. I ain't even looking at her no more. And wherever I was, I remember sitting down.

Yeah. And like, what is going on? What's wrong with me? Yeah, I never. And I was like, you know, mind you maybe a year or two before, I met this lady and I had a one night stand. And I remember the next morning, I was sitting in the parking lot like, I wonder what our kids would look like.

I'm introduced her to my mom. And this stuff I would hear women like say, right? And I'm like, man, I'm tripping. And I was like, I'll give you two weeks to go down this wormhole. And I'm calling her and she dissing me and all this stuff. And I was like, you know, man, this is terrible. You're a very weird. You're doing bad.

And I was like, so this is cool. This is a human experience. Like, people go. through this in high school. Right. You know what I mean? Yeah. So I'm like, man, I get a chance to go through this.

So when I had, when I saw the baby and it was cute, I didn't have a California license. I ain't had no credit. I ain't have nothing. And then I still drove coops. And then I think within, within two weeks, I had a California license. And then within six months, I think my credit was like 500. In six months, it was like 740. and then I had my first four-door car.

So I was already... You're already... Yeah, I'm like... Because you got to be... You're smoking a pipe. Well, you know, you meet somebody in a situation. Yeah. And, you know, you want to be...

I always think you want to meet somebody on a journey. Yeah. Because I already had a had a failed, you know, relationships, so to speak. So, and then I think something was like, you would have a girlfriend. So, and I think it was three years. after that when I met my lady that I have now. Yeah. And now you've been together six years?

Six years. Wow. Yeah. Is she a baby fever? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We talked about it at first date. Mm. And I didn't back down.

I did that. I wanted some actions. I just wanted to see where this was going to go. You know what I mean? I did that with my wife. I just immediately started talking about babies. Wow. And it freaked her out.

She was like, she started drinking. She was like, where are you coming? But I was just, I just knew. I was like, yeah, no, we can make babies. Wow. Yeah. And it just came. It's just like naturally.

Just came out. We're just having a drink at the bar. And I'm like, how did you know though? I don't know. Chemistry. We also had like this. It was a comfort level. We had the shared history that we didn't know about.

Wow. Where we went to the same kindergarten. And then I moved in third grade and we were just one year apart. So we had all this common. We knew the same people. We knew. That kind of upbringing. We just had all this together.

And I was just like, it was a St. Patrick's Day. I was like, you're going to have my babies. And she was like doing shots. What are you talking about? That's an amazing story. St. Patty's Day. Yeah. Yeah, I met mine on the app.

And she was supposed to meet me like on a Saturday. Then Friday, I'm at the comedy store. And she texts me. Like, we texting back and forth for, like, a few months. And we just cut communication. Then we started back up. And she was like, oh, I'm down the street. And we're like, four of my gay friends.

We want to come over to see you do stand up. And I'm with a homeboy. Shout out to Matt. I ain't seen Matt in eight years at this point since I left Atlanta. He went to the Navy. So he's fresh off a boat. Oh, God. He comes to town to party, and I'm with Matt, and she show up.

Long story short, I'm like, Matt, look, man, I'm going to catch you later. And we went to, you know, going to Alcove and eating dessert. And that's when all the conversation came up. And she was just like in my ass about my sit. Oh, really? Like, and you're in L.A., right? Yeah. You're in a city where everything is passive aggressive and, oh, I love, we love everybody.

And then it's just, it's really like. So, you know what I mean? And then it was just, we started on that. And I'm leaning forward. She was like, you ain't no Trump supporter, are you? And I was like, what difference does that make? And she was like, ah, she was that, you know what I mean? She was like, she was analyzing everything and not letting you off the hook.

Yeah, so. And then it was just on. And I told her that night, I was like, you know, I'm scared. Something really never say, right? I'm like, you seem like the person that could really break my heart, but something just saying like just kick it and um if anybody can do it i'd rather be you that's what i'm instinct my instincts are yeah and it was like yeesh why did i say that but everything was so honest anyway up to that point yeah um and then it was just it was just on and three months

into our dating uh because we all got mutual friends uh that i didn't i didn't know and she i told her i was in japan and she was like hey did you make a video why you was in Japan? She was like, I was supposed to come to Japan. Uh-huh. And I was like, yeah. And she was like, what was the video? Was you with another black dude?

I was like, yeah, my cousin. And we was like, just, you know, 2016, going to be the best year ever. And she was like, oh, that was corny. She was like, I seen that video. I was supposed to come to Japan and I was seen that video. And I was like, nah. And she went to New York. And I was like, yeah.

I'm like, man, I'm glad you didn't go because we were. doing debauchery over in Japan. And you talk about moments. Yeah. That's moments where if our paths were to cross then, it wouldn't. Right. It would have ruined everything. But then we met later and we still laugh about that situation.

Do you live together? Yep. You do. Yeah. Oh, yeah. You're going to have a baby. One of the, one of the, I think, yeah, it's very dope. You know, women, a good woman, from my understanding, can triple your worth.

Right? Like, my diet's, the diet's together. You know, I never really ate salads and stuff like that. Right. I don't like all the sauce and stuff, but, you know, her being from the Middle East, they make fresh salads. Uh-huh. With no dressing, they use, like, olive oil, lemon, sprinkle salt on it. Yeah.

So it just changed, like, my diet and my diet. my way of life, but the vibe, we both want the same household, uh, spiritual vibe in the house. Oh, nice. And she's able to create that. Right. You know. Yeah, that's great. Let me ask you, uh, when you say, changed your diet, um, what were you eating as a, as a kid?

As a kid, here's the thing. Because my grandfather and grandfather. mother had a form or they grew vegetables and everything at the house peanuts uh they made wine from the from the musketine vine i mean squash collard greens they had eggs from chickens uh hunting dogs we were fish on the weekends wow uh watermelon so every the universe or the granddad provided everything because that that was the former generation they dropped out of school to form right um and on an acre less than an acre of land he grew everything all that and the ex-exeasy all that and the ex-exe would go to the neighbors.

He would fish. He catch 18 fish. We would cook it right there on the spot, and the excess went to the neighbors. Amazing. So that was, and made cream corn from scratch and all these things,

you don't even take for granted, don't even know. And then when I moved to my mom, it was just like, halt. Everything. You don't know at the time. Mama young, it'll pop that can. You know, and then my mom would find ways

to get us. Like she had a hookup at the steakhouse. So we had, we would eat the steak. She told her to make a rice. And we just had a trashy food. Right. Like snacks and like the snacks that you would want. You know, we had decent stuff though.

You know, I didn't in front. Yeah. But then I went and you go to college, it's all fried food and stuff like that. Right. And it's just soul food. Mm-hmm. Right. But then before I left, I stopped eating soul food.

Because everybody in my family has some. some type of, you know, blood pressure problem and stuff. Right. And my body was just over it. Uh-huh. So I would eat rice and gravy at Thanksgiving. Uh-uh. He was like Chinese food because, you know, so my diet changed already.

And then when I got the L.A. It was just whatever I could afford, which would be like cheese and like, like, uh, like, uh, the burrito rap. Right. And I'm just cooking that on the stove. And I remember looking at homeless dude eating whole foods and I'd be mad. Right. yeah i had five dollars i can get a burger now i can get a burger later and a big ass drink and make it last

until i get to the comedy club you know we had all these ways of surviving and then um and then i got to a point where i would eat foods again but it was still like it wasn't like now right somebody's in your ear um and i never got blood test done right i'm with my lady and it's like something we could do together and i'm all right great yeah you know these are the things when you become like adults that you do with your lady. He met his lady. She pounding shots and now it's like looking at results together. Right, exactly.

Making adjustments, getting the vitamin. Picking each other up after your colonoscopy. Oh yeah. That's got to be, you know. So I'm getting the dog results last night because I'm technical and we had our issue with the dog and I diagnosed the dog. What do you mean? The dog had issues.

and I told I was going to take a day that I was offering research the issues the dog was having and I looked at all the dogs charts and all the vets in Baltimore is doing a runaround they do the same test and give a charge

like $800 and be like, let's just watch it for a few weeks. I'm like we can't keep doing this so I read all her notes from like I think 2012 and this is just the engineering part of me and I'm going on line, I'm looking at all of the

symptoms that she's had. Yeah. And I just start finding the common denominator and I took all the fat out of her diet. She was having diarrhea and she was throwing her. She was lethargic. And once I did that, she started to feel better. Really? Right?

And I'm giving a certain probiotics and I'm giving a bland diet and I'm switching the diet, but you got a, you have a prescription for this food now. Right. And I'm giving her. Uh-huh. And so they got it. And then just recently, she came. When we moved back to LA officially, she took her to the vet. And then they was like, oh, yeah, she got chronic pancreatitis.

And they said, just keep on the food that you did. You're already doing it. So, you know, whatever weakness I am in a relationship, that's a strength. When you could save your lady's thing that she loved. Yeah. You know what that sounds like? What? A dad.

Oh, that's hilarious. Yeah, because I looked at it like, imagine. If it was your kid. Yeah. And it's a racket. Yeah. To me, some of these hospitals and the way these things work. And I'm like, man, you can't believe, I can't lean on them.

How am I going to lean on them and then tell you get this news of my lady that the bad medicine made her dog die? Yeah. Yeah. I already had to tell a parent that their child died before. That's tough. So I just went and like, did it. And I was like, I'd rather put it on my shoulders. Yeah.

You know. Oh, and you did it. Yeah. And you don't want to hear your lady mouth, you know, crying and all that shit. Yeah. Man, your grandparents, the picture you just painted of that one acres. Man, it was heavenly. It was beautiful.

Pecan. I mean, food fell from the trees. These things you take. I mean, we walk outside and we play and when we hunger, we grab two pecan with our hands and pop, pop. And you're just doing this in a yard. You know what I mean? You're going to get grapes off the thing and you get older and the way the food is now.

And then they now they overcharged for the form of the table. Now I got a name. Right. Exactly. Yeah. Now farm the table you know you're going to have to pay. Yeah. So I mean, I've been blessed to like have some of this life.

And that's in Athens, Georgia. And they moved to the city and have the city life and still be anchored and rooted in like a lot of those things. Yeah. Right. Yeah. So. No,

that's a big thing. Joey, are you here? Yeah. Where are you? Will you hurry up, Joey? Thank you. Yeah.

You're the best. All right. Normally, I would bake you bread. Uh-oh. But I've been on the road. I literally just got, got home.

And this is my favorite bread in, uh, in Los Angeles. Okay. This is Lodge bread. Well, at least this is the favorite, you know.

This is for you. Wow. That is, You and your lady will love that. Wow. Look. That's an olive loaf. So if she's Israeli, she's really going to love that.

Oh, yeah, she's on love this. You know what else she will love is this Jerusalem bagel. How did you know? I didn't know. Wow. It was all they had left. That's how the universe works sometimes. You see that?

Yeah. Yeah, this is a Jerusalem bagel. So you bring these home. And I will bake. you bread when I and I will see you at the comedy store or wherever we meet up cross past because I bake bread like this but again I've just been gone for so long this is um these are the things you get exposed to when you don't you know grow up eating your bread coming plastic and I really slice um well we all did you know there was a there was a time when bread really kind of went off and

it was just nothing but chemicals and now people have brought back Pure bread without anything in it. And it just makes you feel so much better. So that's a gift to you. Oh, also, for those who don't know, you know this. Yeah. But in Europe, it's at least 10,000 chemicals we have in our food that's illegal over there. Yeah.

So you can eat whatever you want and still not gain a weight or it won't affect you in a way it does here. That's right. And seeing this bread and the practices that he's doing is a part of nurturing the, the, soul. Yeah. So I've been to Jerusalem and they definitely have bread like this and they got a thousand cheeses that I wasn't aware of. Yeah.

Wet cheese, dry cheese. We really should add cheese into this for sure. Now how would I, how do I just cut it? And I got to learn how to eat. You could just slice it. Jerusalem bread. You could lick the middle of it to all the seeds come off. I'm just joking.

That's the dirt. Now you're on the road right now. So you're in a hotel? Well, no, I'm back. Oh, you're back? Yeah. Okay. Yeah, I'm back.

So it's good to be home. Okay, good. And next week when I leave, I'm on the island. I'm in my vacation time. Ooh, nice. Yeah. Okay, so. Can I take this?

This travel on planes? It's not one of those. It could travel. Okay. Yeah, for sure. You have a good knife? You have a nice rated knife? You just slice that.

You're going to be able to eat that for the rest of the week. This is, Olive. My favorite way of eating this. Straight toaster with butter is going to be great. The best. Okay. Cream cheese. Do you like cream cheese? It don't like me. Oh, don't like you. All right. Well, I like putting cream cheese on it. Maybe she likes it. Butter and I will do the butter. Yeah. Just toast it. You'll be in heaven. Okay. Yeah. All right. Yeah. It's great spending time with you.

Thank you, man. Yeah. This is very therapeutic and fun. Yeah, really fun. And I'm excited to see what you're going to do next because that special was to come right out of the gate like that. And people can watch it on Hulu. Because it was on FX. And Disney, if you're in Europe. Ain't that crazy?

I don't put a nigga on Disney. Was that big Mike in the audience? Killer Mike? Killer Mike, Susan Saranin, and Shay Bigger, his wife. Oh, really? Really? Yeah, that was trippy. Yeah. That was trippy. He's great.

How did you, was that just the Georgia connection? I forgot how we met, but he's a very solid, solid person. Yeah. And, yeah, sometimes when you meet people, you, you connect to them right away. Mm-hmm. And they believe system. He got, he got an old soul that reminds me of, like, my grandfather and somebody with with morals and

conviction and stuff they talk about. So, yeah. That's where, like, the respect and stuff came from. And I,

and I still want to find something for us to do together. Yeah, that would be great. Yeah. That would be great. So, Mike,

anything you need, you know. Because you don't say it during the special or anything. You just see him kind of like laughing and then, wait a minute. Yeah. And then at the end,

he kind of shook your hand. I was like, yeah, I think it is. Yeah. It's him. Yeah, so he's a car guy also. He does a father.

I mean, he wears so many hats. Yeah. So that's another thing that's amazing to see. Like, how do you give your energy to all these things? He's an activist, like a very active. Intelligent, hyper-intelligent person. Yeah. He's a force.

Yeah. Just a force. I remember him coming out a couple times and speaking politically. It was like, it's kind of summed up everything that was happening at the moment. Yeah. I said, I can't do that. Yeah.

No, we tell jokes. And I think, well, this is a, this for the culture, but I don't think we our, we rely a lot on entertainers to be leaders and we shouldn't, we shouldn't do that. Yeah, it's a problem because

because politics and news has become entertainment. So that means entertainers become newsmakers and politicians. So it's like this weird crossover. Yeah, but it makes it easy to, easier to get rid of the voice to me. Without getting too deep in it.

Yeah. But we should move like some of the other coaches where it's quiet like it is now. Yeah. But that's not, that's not to be talked about here. What do you mean? I think it's ways of grooming leaders like everybody else do and have them do that and then you probably could fund them that way. Yeah.

That way you can still be over here doing your thing and they won't catch you on no scandal over here. You got to make sure this guy is clean. Yeah. You know, it's like leverage how people do their portfolios, I guess. Yeah, yeah. No, it can happen. It's going to be weird. It's going to be interesting to see where it all goes because you do have this all.

Now everything's supposed to be entertainment. And we have people that from TV shows become presidents. And, you know, but then you have other people that just emerge the other way. And people get tired of it too. It's fun and games when everybody's doing it. Yeah. But some countries, they people are old war people. And that's what a problem come in.

You can't tap things your way out these missiles. Right When they're button press You're over there doing all that talking And this guy's like Yeah Yeah But you know

It's human nature Yeah Well keep exploring It was really nice That you shared your story with us Because it is You've been on some journey And it's nice to see you

Kind of locked in And I think it seems like It's going to be all good things From this point No I don't can go so far But you know I think you're definitely ahead further than me on the on the journey so it's guys like you you know books tv shows um that's done a bunch

of things that i have to like it it allows us to see like it's so much more that could be done where you ain't got to be in a remodel on friday all the time you know especially like me having a kid and working with like chapelle definitely changed my outlook on how um you know i should do this thing. Yeah. Because if I have a kid, it's become 10 years old, I want to go to a game. Yeah, right, exactly. You know, so I want to go to the, to the, to the, see my child perform art. Yeah. Instead of being, you know, doing a spot. Yeah. No, I know. You know, it's balanced. It's all balance. We fall so hard to get a spot. And it's crazy moving for a spot. I know. But truth be told, then you like, you squeeze it in. Then you go see you're on your way to doing a spot. It's like, it's a balance.

Yeah. But really, all good things. Thanks for being here. Thank you. We got it, Aaron. There you have it, kids. There's Byron Bowers. I told you he was a good guy.

Very funny. Go check out the special spiritual N-word streaming on HBO Max right now and look for him doing live dates. He is a really good comedian, and you should go check him out. Go to Tompapa.com. Look up all of the good stuff.

We've got the new Netflix special coming out on the 13th, and we've got the live coming to Papa. at the Village Underground on the 13th in New York City and then the whole 2020-3 tour up on sale now. Thank you so much for listening. Go eat some good stuff and we'll see you soon.